I’m going to start off by saying I am a little biased when talking about Jamie “Gunner” Smith.
I owe a lot of my media career to his bald, shiny head. He gave me a position as head of the INDI intern crew when I was a little whiney high school girl. That was 6 years ago, and I haven’t looked back.
Strangely, in all the time I’ve known Gunner, he gets nominated for a plethora of Hamilton Music Awards every year, and every year, he walks away empty handed.
This became somewhat of…

To some, 18th century art might mean ancient, lifeless pictures gathering dust in a museum, but for the McMaster University Museum of Art, it is a chance to show the disbelievers that it is a magnificent piece of history that is cherished by many.
The Museum is midway through their current exhibit “Rising to the Occasion: The Long 18th Century” which is comprised of several quite significant works. The collection is highlighted by Thomas Gainsborough’s “Ignatius Sancho,” Jean-Antoine Houdon’s “L’Écroché,” and John Verelst’s “The Four Kings.”
“I thought about going big on the 18th…

The 2011 Hamilton Music Awards were held at Mohawk College’s McIntyre Theatre on Sunday.  The event was Emcee’d by Blackie And The Rodeo Kings guitarist Tom Wilson and stand-up comedian Shelly Marshall.
“This is such a great and important event for our community,” said Wilson.  “It gives everyone a chance to meet everyone else in the scene and play their music for people who may have never heard of them before.  This event is one of the reasons why Hamilton is such a great music city.”
Along with awards, numerous performances were given during…

The old adage is suppose to go ‘third time’s the charm’.  But, in the case of Mohawk College’s and INDI 101′s very own Jamie Smith, it’s more like 10 times.
At the 2011 Hamilton Music Awards, Smith’s radio show ‘Sounds of the Hammer’ won the award for best radio show of 2011.
“I’ve been doing this show for about 10 years now,” says Smith, who often goes by the moniker ‘Gunner’.  “Every year that the show has been around, it’s been nominated, but I never won.  It was always a swap between Ric Taylor…

Jeni Szelag is a Mohawk graduate living out her dream.
The born-and-raised Hamilton girl graduated from Mohawk’s music department in 2008, and since, has followed her musical dreams to the mecca of music in North America; New York City.
Szelag was an extremely athletic child, but music began to catch her eye when her friends began audition for the Hamilton Children’s Choir.
The songstress recalls walking in to a giant cathedral to audition for the choir, and belting “Oh, Canada” with all the gusto she could muster.
Her love of music lead to recording…

Have you ever thought of combining your two favourite foods together to create something amazing? Mixing french fries, gravy, cheese curds and pulled pork together? Well, creator and entrepreneur of Smokes Poutinerie, Ryan Smolkin, did just that. Smoke’s Poutinerie has all different styles of poutine, from traditional, for the not-so-daring, to their bacon cheeseburger poutine, which combines ground beef, double-smoked bacon and cheese sauce for someone with a devilish sense of taste. Do I have your mouth watering yet? If I don’t it’s most likely because you have a different type of taste, which…

A cancelled Canadian adaptation of the popular hit reality TV series ‘Jersey Shore,’ hosting of local club events, and becoming viral through the Internet, a tag team has been born.
You may have seen them featured on the websites whatsgoodtoronto.com or bringingthehammer.com; you may have attended one of their events at a local club, or even heard of them through friends.
Bobby G and Joey V have recently been tearing up the local entertainment scene.
They met while auditioning for the television show ‘Lake Shore’ and quickly developed a friendship.
“He got on the…

If one picture is worth 1000 words, how much is 365 pictures worth?
That’s the question Matthew Burgio is hoping to answer as he starts Project 25 in honour of his grandmother who passed away almost two years ago and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
“It got progressively worse,” he said. “She would forget that her husband passed away. We’d have to break it to her every time. You’d see her reaction, and that was bad.”
He says he got the idea from 365 projects, where photographers take pictures everyday for a year.
He’s two…

Facebook and Twitter are just two of the key ways that new musicians can market themselves, according to industry professionals who spoke as part of the Cossart Exchange’s fall workshop series.
Last Wednesday, the Exchange’s “Marketing the Music” brought experienced professionals from the music industry together with Hamilton musicians who are striving to get their music out into the marketplace.
Social media is just one way to give up-and-coming artists a starting point and a way to break into the industry, according to the music industry professionals who spoke at the panel.
The panel…

Second albums are tough, especially for artists who achieve a moderate level of success with their debut. With 3 big hits on rock radio, Hamilton’s own Arkells definitely achieved success. For their sophomore “Michigan Left” they decided to up the ambition, producing the album themselves and as well as designing the album artwork.
The music here is not as catchy as that of their first album, but it is more song oriented, and this yields  more consistency and maturity to the record. The band still lays the poppy rock hooks on thick with such…