the music of CHRIS VELAN

February 18th, 2009

CRUCIAL BLOG ENTRY #29

Dear friends;

Please check-out CHRIS VELAN on myspace and www.chrisvelan.com. Chris has true vision with his music, his lyrics and his soul. Chris Velan's new album SOLIDAGO comes out in April 2009 and Chris also has a song on LOVE IS LIFE Fundraiser CD.

here is Chris Velan's Bio:


A classically trained guitar player from the age of nine, Chris Velan grew up listening to an eclectic mix of his dad’s music: Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson, and Van Morrison, his sister’s early 80’s New Wave cassettes, and his uncle’s extensive reggae vinyl collection.

After University, Velan traveled for a year, following his ears to New Zealand, Australia, India, Nepal and Indonesia. With a beater guitar strapped to his backpack, he rode camels across the Indian desert and hiked through the Himalayas collecting sounds and stories, and questioning his life’s purpose.

Seeing world poverty and inequality made a deep impression, and led him back to Montreal, where he formed the band Equalizer with his brothers in order to maintain sanity while working toward a law degree at McGill University. They played a hybrid of Roots, Reggae and Rock, blending Velan’s compassionate worldview and childhood inspirations with the modern sounds of bands like the Police and The Samples. Despite label interest and a growing fan base, Velan made the difficult decision to leave Equalizer after graduation and continue his pursuit of law as a means to affect social change.

Dressed in suits, Velan spent a year as an apprentice attorney at a Vancouver law firm while writing songs morning and night. "I felt like I was two different people" he recalls, "Tapping out songs at my desk at the office." A call from two college friends presented what would be another life-changing decision. They had support from the United Nations, and wanted to make a documentary telling the story of a humanitarian crisis in West Africa through art and music.

Equipped with only a video camera and a guitar, they toured refugee camps in the Republic of Guinea. Chris played concerts for the refugees, a mission of music. These simple shows evolved into all-day events incorporating children’s dance troupes, skits and magic. They visited eight camps in a month while war raged in nearby Liberia. At a mud hut bar, they met a band of refugees who would become the subject of their documentary, and a lifelong inspiration. They called themselves The Refugee All Stars, and had also been touring camps performing to lift the spirits of fellow refugees. Each had stories of limbs lost, loved ones murdered, and other unfathomable horrors, and none had any doubt about what music meant to them. Chris describes meeting the All Stars as the first moment he knew that he was doing exactly what he was born to do. The film "Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars" helped bring the All Stars home to Freetown, where Velan produced their first studio work, some of the first live instrument recordings there since the start of the war.

In 2005 Velan recorded his second album, "Twitter Buzz Howl" over three summer months in a barn in the Quebec countryside. The themes and storytelling emphasis of the first album continued, but this time with a stronger first person sensibility, and a confident blending of musical and thematic influences. "Shiver" is a short story with an unreliable narrator warning his son of dark forces to come. "Continental Divide" captures a rare awareness that a decision at hand will have permanent consequences.

Velan toured more extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada, refining elements of his performance, and began working with a loop pedal to create his own live samples. He describes the process as elemental and minimalist, but the live sounds he creates are rich, deeply layered, and constantly changing. A single man on stage becomes a textured sonic experience, an expression of his own duality.

No longer questioning the decision to pursue music full time, Velan decided to leave his comfort zone, and spent half a year in California, recording demos, touring, and performing frequently at LA’s Hotel Café. His time in Los Angeles won him many new fans and relationships with a larger community of musicians, including members of the Animal Liberation Orchestra, and Tim Bluhm of The Mother Hips, who produced Velan’s latest album "Solidago."

"Solidago" takes its name from the late-blooming Goldenrod, and represents a masterfully blossomed musical identity. Vivid imagery becomes sage advice on "A Year Can Change A Lot" and "Go Easy" while "Wobbly Bones" conveys the horrors and hopes witnessed in Africa. "House Upon A Hill" paints a loving and grateful sense of place. "May Your Soul Get To Heaven" finds profound spirituality in a book of superstitions and offers a blessing in the form of a lullaby. On "Solidago" can be heard the culmination of a journey from a nine year old boy taking guitar lessons to a mature artist finally giving himself permission to let go.

Now twenty-five years removed from the classical training of his childhood, Chris still doesn’t play with a pick.

Dreams...

Dreams are the touchstones of our personality.

- Henry David Thoreau

T.S Elliot Quote

February 10th, 2009 (4:20 pm)

CRUCIAL BLOG ENTRY #27

Only Those Who Risk Going Too Far Can Possibly Find-Out How Far One Can Go.

T.S. Elliot

Sierra Leone's REFUGEE ALL-STARS

February 10th, 2009 (4:20 pm)
CRUCIAL BLOG ENTRY #26

Sierra Leone’s REFUGEE ALL-STARS

Tonight I am watching an incredible Documentary film by Zach Niles and Banker White titled "Sierra Leone’s REFUGEE ALL-STARS" It is a heart-breaking, heart warming, life affirming, beautiful story of how these musicans overcame all odds by taking all the problems and suffering of the people to create inspiring music and an inspiring message of hope.

"This film tells the remarkable and life-affirming story of Sierra Leone’s REFUGEE ALL-STARS, a group of musicans who form a band while living in a West Africa refugee camp. A brutal, decade long civil war in Sierra Leone (1991-2002) forced the band members from their homes, it took the lives of many of their loved ones and left them with physical and emotional scars that may never heal. But it could never take away their music. Through music they find a place of refuge, a sense of purpose and a source of power. The story of Sierra Leone’s REFUGEE ALL-STARS celebrates the best of the human spirit–the incredible ability of individuals to sustain hope and find forgiveness even in a climate of rage and loss."

http://www.refugeeallstars.org/

The Musical Director of the film was CHRIS VELAN (http://www.chrisvelan.com)/) Chris has a new album coming out in April title SOLIDAGO, and will be making his mark on the international music scene with his unique blend of soul, folk, reggae-infused "Bob Marley Vision" lyrics and incredible musicanship.

Good luck Chris. Keep it Crucial bro. Your massive audience awaits!!

Paul Benoit
Producer / Director / Writer

www.crucialmatters.com

Accomplishing ones goals

February 7th, 2009 (6:20 pm)

Crucial Blog entry #25

To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream, not only work hard but also believe.

Anatole France

Keep it Crucial.

Paul Benoit
www.crucialmatters.com

LOVE IS LIFE Compilation CD feat. Spearhead / Chris Velan

February 5th, 2009

Crucial Blog Entry #24

LOVE IS LIFE Compilation CD feat. Spearhead / Chris Velan ~ PRE-ORDER COPY NOW!

heh Crucial Matters Friends....please check-out this wonderful cause and CRUCIAL MUSIC compilation. VERY happy to say that CHRIS VELAN has the opening song "HUNTING SEASON" on this great album. Chris also did the Opening Intro music for CRUCIAL MATTERS.

Paul B namaste
www.crucialmatters.com

The Love is Life Foudation is committed to improving human wellbeing and alleviating human suffering globally. They initiate charitable projects that support fundamental human needs such as shelter, food, education, clothing, and health care. The Foundation is dedicated to social and cultural change that encourages a healthy lifestyle for all people.Help fight youth homelessness in the United States by purchasing your copy of the Love is Life compilation CD. The CD is packed with 18 amazing tracks. Not to mention some unreleased tracks by your favorite artists like Nine Mile or Chris Velan. Whether you want to listen to a new talented artist such as Martin Purtill, Naia Kete, Jon and Roy or Everything on Fire. You can also be one of the first to hear the solo music of Spearhead's Manas Itene.Check out the site for a full track listing and the amazing cover art by Rachel Miller and Joe Iurato.Pre-Order your copy now and receive it before it's online and store release date of March 3rd.

http://www.thelilfoundation.org/store.html

Thank you for your support...Love is Life,Steve (Lil Foundation)LiL StoreSource: www.thelilfoundation.org

FIVE PRINCIPLES OF REIKI

Wednesday February 4th, 2009 (8:20 pm)

CRUCIAL BLOG ENTRY #23

FIVE PRONCIPLES OF REIKI

- Just for today I will live the attitude of Gratitude.

-Just for today I will not worry.

-Just for today I will not feel anger.

-Just for today I will do my work honestly.

-Just for today I will I will show love and respect for every living thing.

Reiki or Life Force Energy finds the source of physical problems, fills the energy needed and restores the body to wholeness.

CREATE YOUR SUCCESS

February 3rd, 2009 (9:20 pm

CRUCIAL BLOD ENTRY #22


CREATE YOUR SUCCESS.

We are all capable of great achievments. It is within us all to accomplish anything that we set our minds to. A belief in one's abilty is the first step in achieving your greatest goals.

Set your bar high, be prepared for minor setbacks, be determined, FOCUS, listen to your intuition, gain the support of peers and mentors, and go for it with the best positive attitude.


Keep it Crucial. I am.

Paul Benoit

Producer / Director / Writer
http://www.crucialmatters.com/

WHAT IS LIFE?

February 2nd, 2009 (8:20 pm)

CRUCIAL BLOG ENTRY #21

WHAT IS LIFE?

It is the flash of a firefly in the night,
It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time,
It is the little shadow that runs across the grass
And loses itself in the sunset.

1890 Isapwo Muksika Crowfoot, Blackfoot Indian Chief and really cool dude.


Life is found in every instance and in every instance both beauty and uniqueness are found.

In our hectic daily lives we all too often forget WHAT IS IS WE ARE REALLY HERE FOR: to enjoy every moment, to be compassionate, caring and kind. To share love with family, friends & loved ones. To create unique experiences and be grateful for every day. Even the bad ones which help create the good ones.

Life and love are found in every moment.

When we stop to acknowledge LIFE that is when we truly appreciate it.

Keep it Crucial

Paul Benoit
Producer / Director / Writer

paul@crucialmatters.com
www.crucialmatters.com