And Just Like That We Were At The BeRosey Show

Fallout 76 with Chris Chrome is a very fun way to lose 4 hours in a day. I often forget that we need to plan recreational things to keep our spirits high. Streaming video games is fun because it lets us create more content while doing something mindless.

Taking a chainsaw to a zombie is just delightful.

The next few days are going to be more chores oriented. A lot of things that are in progress need some care, attention, and love. I’m sure adventures will appear but sometimes you just got to sit down, and get things done.

The networking, meeting people and hustling my brand will always be there. I still need to finish my website and focus on creating new revenue. In my utopia that’s a combination of freelance work and my art projects.

In reality, I may need to go do whatever job is available. If you are a blog reader and got a tip on some bread, let me know.

Chris hit me with the random event

Chris was invited by Kyle at On A Roll Records to come to an event. Chris did not bother to ask many questions about said event, but since we had nothing on the books, felt like it would be worth checking out.

My day Saturday was not as productive as I would have liked. The edibles I ate during the N.A.R.S. event had me sleep in again. Then I had to write the blog and do a couple of other chores. Before I knew it, it was time to get ready to be at On A Roll/MakeWay.

In the back of my mind, I know that going places, pickled up, I have the chance to move a piece of inventory. Still, I wish I had woken up earlier and started my day with routine. It makes it easier to manage the distractions to have those extra hours in the morning.

The main draw of this event would be the chance to connect with artists that are not from Montreal. As we build up our networks, we have hit the “venture outside of the 514 phase”. Turns out that marketing yourself in a brand-new city is just as hard as when you started in your own city.

Okay, it’s less hard, showing up in a new city with merch on deck isn’t the same as when I just started. It’s still pretty damned tricky. It took forever for Chris and me to confidently say we can move 5-10 tickets to any event we do.

Notice I didn’t even say I can do that myself. I need someone with me to consistently move tickets.

On A Roll/MakeWay Is Far, To Me

On A Roll Records is upstairs and MakeWay Studios is downstairs. They share the same building and many of us have frequented this location. The building is super nice and creates a cool ambiance as it was formerly a bank.

There are these vaults all over and Kyle and Budz have done a lot to make this a place you want to go to. If you are trying to impress an artist from out of town, I cannot recommend MakeWay Studio enough. While you CAN record at home, and I do, if you are already paying for a feature with a name, put up the extra bit for MakeWay.

The video of that would be way more lit than your crib.

On A Roll, with the upstairs more spacious part, throws concerts too. We did the Killah Priest show there, where Chris and I debuted “When The Night Dies”. The sound is nice, the gear is proper, the aesthetic is a vibe.

They serve drinks and offer the whole kit and kaboodle. The problem is the location. For those that drive, it takes 20 minutes or so from my crib with no traffic. For me, it’s over an hour on public transit.

There are so very few places I must go in the city where the time difference between public transit and car is so different. As a venue it’s tricky because it’s a trek from the nearest metro. Still a vibe though.

What was this event anyway?

I only even saw the flyer after the fact, and I’m grateful I found that because I didn’t know all the performer’s names. Even the ones from Montreal.

Unfortunately, in the screenshot I took where I did find the flyer in a story, the name is cropped. So, a flyer does exist, but after 2-3 minutes of looking I am moving on.

It was a concert though.

We knew to pull up at 8:00 PM for doors open, so I got there for about 8:05 PM. I’m never confident doors open is a good time to arrive as a member of the audience, but if I want to comment on showtimes, I should play my part.

I know people in the audience can come whenever they want, in fact they are the only group of people involved in a show I feel can arrive when they want. They are the ones paying money and ultimately financing the show. We as performers are catering to them.

Still, audience members, if you want the shows to start on time and flow nice, come earlier. You may not know this, but many opening artists will whine about rapping if the crowd isn’t full enough. Even though an opener’s job is to perform to the smaller crowd to keep the place lively.

If people make more of an effort to show up in the hour or so between doors open and showtime, the shows will start earlier.

The IG follower count goes up still

I know how vain it looks to be a grown man talking about Instagram followers. However, my Instagram is a fat rolodex of people in the music scene. At most 200 of those I follow are personal relationships/celebrities. The other 1600 people are “local artists” or the peripheries that support artists.

One of the ways I calculate ROI on a night is how many new followers I got. All these followers are people who I socialized with, and then we felt the need to stay in touch. Sometimes they want to support the music/podcasts, other times we’re eyeballing how the other one can be useful.

We got to meet people from the Prairies. I don’t know that many people from the Alberta, Saskatchewan & Manitoba parts. We met the homeboy from Kitchener area in Ontario.

Meeting people who are moving like you are, but in other cities is a vibe. At the very least I can book them, and they can book me. The goal is to extend my connections across Canada so that in a couple of years the Holden Stephan Roy & Friends Canadian Tour comes to life.

Manifest your reality baby.

There wasn’t a whole bunch of people there. I kind of like the intimate concert vibes because you get a chance to really talk to new people. The less people in the room, the more time you spend with each person type of thing.

It felt like the seeds to future business moves were planted.

The Show Begins

Diztrikt Apolo started off the night. There was no host for the event, and frankly as much as a host is nice, this event went super smooth. Each artist handing off the mic to the next one up to perform.

Diztrikt came with a cool blend of emotional music and Hip Hop. There was pure joy on his face as he relived memories of strippers dancing to one of his joints the night before. His songs cover a wide array of subgenres breathing to life a versatile, enjoyable set.

Diztrikt had Ethiks come up on his set and they sounded dope. Ethiks was the next act and definitely returned the favour bring Diztrikt up again. These two bounce off each other well as Diztrikt adds a melodic flair and Ethiks hits you with the raps.

Ethiks’ tracks come equipped with bars and he is clearly on a mission of authenticity. His performance was strong, and he understands how to work with the crowd. I enjoyed his set and was now invested in the show.

Somewhere around here I was trying to dance, and I realized how pooped I was. I have put hella work into my stamina and am now learning my new limits. I can say that to perform life at this capacity, not getting fucked up is easier.

Doh-Ski is something special

Doh-Ski came next and delivered an unforgettable experience. He literally paced in a wide circle, at a fast speed while rapping for most of his set. It made it very difficult to photograph him, but it created this intense energy that commanded my entire attention.

He raps fast, with a steady intricate rhythm, unapologetically himself on each song. I can’t say he changes it up that much, but what he says in each song is strong. He tied his songs together with a story about his growth and evolution where the songs fill in the gaps.

Doh-Ski was the highlight of the night for me. What’s crazy is if I heard these songs as records without the context of this live show, I feel I’d move on. These are songs that would have connected with me so deeply 10 years ago, but at the phase I’m at in life, I just don’t listen to a lot that sounds like him.

Seeing his whole performance, stripping off layers of clothes from Canadian Tuxedo to I think a black shirt, made me a fan. It made me a fan in a way I don’t think hearing the songs as an album could.

I’ve seen that happen a lot with my music. People tell me that when they hear it again after seeing it live, it just hits different. Maybe I need to stop putting out music I mix myself, thankfully Leon Stone wants to help me get better.

The Montreal boys kick in

BWILL was the 4th act on stage, and he had a cool energy.

Before I go on, you need to understand, Montreal is a strange city. Something like 85% of the population probably struggles to follow along and understand nuanced English poetry rapped at a fast pace. Doh-Ski would be appreciated by a French audience because his energy is incredible, they’d have no idea what he said in any of his songs.

Being a Montreal performer tends to shift your focus into different vibes and energies where dance and emotion take the forefront and complex lyrics fall back a bit.

BWILL started his set and I was like oh, this sounds like home. He had good upbeat songs with a catchy and infectious delivery. His performance was proper and as we are Montreal, his drip was on point.

I like his melodies and that his music makes me want to move. At this point in the night my focus for listening was low so I can’t comment on the lyrics.

The coheadliner (real term) was UNIK. He knew who I was, and he knew I booked shows. It feels like I’ve levelled up if people are aware like that. I was already following him when I went to follow him.

I loved his ear for beats. Holy smackeroni did his set give me great vibes. His performance brought energy and he owned the stage area. Definitely worth checking for UNIK when you see him on a flyer.

BeRosey and Ace did their thing

“Make some noise for BeRoseyyyyyyy” was said by Ace to hype the crowd up several times across the set. I have to give Ace on the Track his credit, he understands the DJ/Hypeman role and does it well.

It’s wild I had just watched Ace eat tacos on the internet earlier in the day. You never know you will watch on YouTube and then see in real life.

BeRosey performing at On A Roll Records is akin to the Habs playing at the Bell Center. He was in his zone and the comfort and ease in which he performed was admirable. BeRosey cares about connecting with his crowd and makes a point to be up close and personal with people wherever he goes.

His music is upbeat and gets the people moving. I say this with all respect, BeRosey makes good pop music. His stuff feels like it should be on radio and I can already picture him on festival stages. He is dreaming big and putting that work in.

Somewhere along the way I let Kyle know I had my USB. So, after BeRosey was done I went up and did a quick 3 song set. The same set I did in Kanesatake two days prior. People were packing up and the show was clearly done but fuck it, I’m trying to perform 100 times this year, they don’t need to be glamourous.

I’m happy to perform in any circumstance, grateful to be included.

A restful Sunday to a Get Ish Done Monday

On the way home I posted a TikTok of me performing an hour earlier. It hit Chris’ feed and he was like damn, I just saw this IRL.

Sunday turned into a Fallout 76 session and arguably not much else. I was drained and skipped the open mic at Ye Olde Orchard we do on Sundays. I had gone to bed three days in a row past 2 AM and arguably I find it hard to maintain that.

Rest and recreation matter or else we burn out. Keep in mind, as fun as going to shows is, to me it’s still work. I enjoy my work, but it’s not rest, albeit it is recreational. I’ve had people make boo hoo you have to party comments, but sometimes it’s trash.

Sometimes I want to play video games and waste the day.

This week I need to focus and grind. Get back into recording music regularly, something I’ve not done in months. Focus on job hunting more than I have. Prepare for my upcoming NYC trip (I have hours of bag research to do as my last backpack broke).

I need to make this very website look a lot prettier, or at least less in progress. I’ve written more than 30 blogs but put like 5 hours total into the rest of the site.

Anyway, thank you dear reader. This blog has helped me a lot with keeping the chaos in my mind at bay.

Live Long and Prosper Everyone