Beautiful Unicorn

Best Spam email yet

2012-01-15T21:24:00.000-08:00

Today I received an email from "Winterful Passions". The subject line was "Enjoy Oneofakind Passion at Winterful Deals".
This would be funny enough on its own. The term 'winterful' alone is pretty much to die for.

But, lo, this is actually only the icing on the cake.
Here is the text that accompanied this email (below the viagra ads enclosed therein). It is a story about paladins fighting over a damsel, and there is mention of "Brunello the dwarf, the subtlest thief in all Africa":

ecollection, and found himself in the same place where Angelica had formerly awakened him with a rain of flowers, and whence he had fled in contempt of her courtesy. This remembrance of the scene was followed by the recognition of his crime; and, repenting bitterly his ingratitude, he leaped upon Bayard,

as he approached the gate. This happened a second and a third time, and Rinaldo at length yielded to necessity, rather than to the entreaties of his friends, and cast away his prize. They soon reached the bridge and passed over without hindrance to the other side, where they found the trophy decorated with their arms. Here each knight resumed his own, and all, except the paladins

The contest was long and doubtful, when Mandricardo, determined to bring it to an end, threw his arms about Gradasso, grappled with him, and both fell to the ground. Mandricardo, however, fell uppermost, and, preserving his advantage, compelled Gradasso to yield himself conquered. The damsel now interfered, congratulating the victor, and consoling the vanquished as well as she might. Mandricardo and the damsel proceeded to the gate of the castle, which they found undefended. As they entered they beheld a shield suspended

Rodomont treated this declaration of the old prophet with scorn, and it would probably have been held of little weight by the council, had not the aged king, oppressed by the weight of years, expired in the very act of reaffirming his prediction. This made so deep an impression on the council that it was unanimously resolved to postpone the war until an effort should be made to win Rogero to the camp. King Agramant thereupon proclaimed that the sovereignty of a kingdom should be the reward of whoever should succeed in obtaining the ring of Angelica. Brunello the dwarf, the subtlest thief in all Africa,

B.McGuigs and the Deadlies!

2011-12-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

I have a show coming up on Dec 23rd! But NOT JUST ANY SHOW.
Check it out:

That's right, next Friday at the Ironwood I'll be stepping out from my typical role of bassist into the ever-so-glamorous role of songwriter/bandleader!

What makes this particularly exciting for me is that, somehow, the cosmic forces of the universe have aligned to allow me to secure my Dream Team of musicians from my years of playing music in Calgary. This is quite literally the DEADLIEST band I have ever assembled!

I've been crafting these tunes over the past 4 years and fine-tuning the arrangements with the help of Warren Tse, whose impressive resume includes collaborations with everyone from jazz trumpeter/vocalist Johnny Summers to Emmy-winning composer Dave Pierce. Also helping with horn arrangements is legendary bass trombonist Dan West, who now lives in London, England and has actually performed for Jonny Greenwood. Nuff said.Following the show, we'll be recording this brand-new collection of tunes at Warren's studio, which will of course be followed by the release of an EQUALLY DEADLY CD!

This, however, is your big chance to hear all these tunes for the Very First Time Ever!

Our special guest vocalist Amy Wood will open the show, to be followed by a feature set by the full 12-piece band. It promises to be an outstanding night of music, and I'd be thrilled to have you there! If you are so inclined, you can reserve a table at the Ironwood by calling (403)269-5581. You can also just show up at the door! Cover is $10.

Hope you can join us!

The Symphony of Cutlery

2011-11-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

This is a short, fun lesson in 4-part group singing that was originally designed for students aged 10-12. However, I have found that people of all ages tend to enjoy it - it's just so silly! I tried it out on my music education class at the university and the reaction was positive:

How it works:

Each student is assigned one of four different utensils/kitchen gadgets: spoons, forks, spatulas and meat tenderizers. Each group has a unique song that is sung as a repeating 4-measure loop (see score below)

When each group has learned their song and is capable of singing it while the other parts are being sung, the next step is to sing along with the backing track (below):
Symphony of Cutlery (backing track - no vox) by Beautiful Unicorn Records

This adds a uniquely engaging element of harmonic context which is a great concept to begin reinforcing with younger students - when learning a short melodic line by rote, it is easy enough to imagine one's own possible harmonic context, or even ignore the concept altogether. In this activity, the chord progression of the backing track changes while the melody remains the same, so students who are unfamiliar with the concept of re-harmonization may suddenly be surprised to discover that the song still works, even though things now sound very different (what makes the harmony element effective is that it is only introduced as part of the culminating activity, after the melody is learned without accompaniment. As an extension, the students can try to create their own chord progressions that would fit the original melody.

JAHBIL - GoingRound EP

2011-08-17T07:09:00.002-07:00

Experimental electronic artist JAHBIL joins the Beautiful Unicorn roster with the exciting digital release of "GoingRound EP". Created over a 2-week period in Surakarta, Java, this 8-track sonic sampler covers an impressive and unexpectedly wide array of aural delights. Curious, off-kilter, full of the kinds of unexpected twists and turns that go along with a whimsically-crafted electronic mash EP.Stephen Hawking slam poetry, synthesized nylon-string augmented chord progressions, filter-sweeping minimalism, gospel-remix sampling 90s pop. All in one place. It begs a listen.

Listen to the title track from "GoingRound":
JAHBIL - GoingRound by Beautiful Unicorn Records

Download "GoingRound EP"

Music Theory: Building Chords That Work Together

2011-07-25T23:33:00.001-07:00

My friend Denis emailed me the other day with some questions about music theory. Ever since I was finally able to digest the fundamentals of the subject in a way that made sense to me and was actually useful for songwriting/composition/performing, I've become quite keen about sharing it with others in case it becomes helpful in the same way it was to me. It's fun to talk about because it's sort of like math. I figured I might as well post this quick little tutorial since he said it cleared up a few things.

Below is a brief explanation about how to generate the 7 different diatonic chords in a major key. Simply put, these are the basic 7 chords that you can start off working with if you are writing a song in a certain key. Think of it as having a palette of 7 different colors, with which you can use to paint a picture. I don't know.

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Say you're in the key of C. All your chords are going to be built from the tones in that scale (C-D-E-F-G-A-B).

When you build a chord on any of those 7 different roots, you start with that root and take every 2nd tone after that until you have a triad (C-E-G for example, if you're doing the 1 chord). in the case of A minor (your 6 chord) it's going to be A-C-E.

Both of these chords, C major and A minor, are triads, but they have different sonorities. What creates the sonority is small differences in the structure of the triad.

To create a major sonority in a triad, you need two intervals: a major third followed by a minor third (for example, in C major, C-E is a major third (4 semitones) and E-G is a minor third (3 semitones). A minor chord is the other way around - minor third followed by major third. So in A minor, you've got A-C (3 semitones; minor 3rd) and C-E (major third).

In the same way that you need the right sequence of intervals to build a chord of a certain sonority, the same goes for scales. A major scale is constructed from a specific sequences of Whole Tones (2 semitones) and semitones. The sequence looks like this:
C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C
W W S W W W S (W= whole tone, S-semi tone)

This is where music gets super math. Think of that as a basic formula for generating your major scale. Now remember that a major scale is what we use to generate all our chords - the fact that we have to adhere to this formula means that the sonority of a chord in each numerical position is consistent, regardless of the parent scale. Take F major, for example:

F - G - A - Bb - C - D - E
W W S W W W S

Notice that while the specific pitches in the top row are different, the interval pattern in the bottom row is the same. Meaning if you take the 4 in either of these scales and build a chord on it (F in the key of C, Bb in the case of F) you end up with a major third/minor third interval sequence in both cases. Hence, the 4 chord is always major. That's what's being referred to in that one sentence you asked about: "A third of an A minor is C because the 6 chord in a major key is always minor". Basically just talking about that pattern.

So then. If that all makes sense, you will end up with a universal pattern of chord sonorities in any major key:
1 - Major
2 - Major
3 - Minor
4 - Major
5 - Major
6 - Minor
7 - Diminished*

* in the diminished chord, the interval sequence is a minor 3rd followed by another minor 3rd.

Sunset Beach Dance Party

2011-07-23T10:01:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we were lucky enough to have a perfect sunset on a Friday evening in the west end of downtown Vancouver. Also, I had the evening off, and had just finished acquiring a bunch of great new dance music from some of my favorite music blogs. Realizing the stars were aligning and the opportunity for Good Times had to be seized, I donned my dinosaur suit, made a quick dance mix (not in that order, mind you) and headed for the beach to stir up some fun. It was great to see so many little kids dancing their faces off. That doesn't happen often enough.

Synthosaurus English Bay Beach Dance Party DJ Set by Beautiful Unicorn on Mixcloud

New Ideas

2011-07-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

Quick mixtape of ideas I am working on. Tell me what you think.
Beautiful Unicorn Records - Sketchbook Mixtape 10-7-2011 by Beautiful Unicorn
Off to see Memory Tapes! Woo!

Cranberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

2011-03-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

So I spent the last few months living in a bush camp working as a baker. It was pretty awesome, and I learned some pretty savage recipes as well. This little beauty is one such bush camp treasure. I think it is probably my favorite coffee cake of ALL TIME. It has cranberries and orange zest in the mix, a splash of orange juice for added moistness and DELICATE CITRUS FLAVOR, and, a cream cheese layer, and a delicious crumbly topping. IT'S THE BEST.

So this cake consists of 3 layers,
Let's do it:

PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 350 DEGREES FARENHEIT

Cake Layer
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2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 egg
¾ cup orange juice
¼ cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chopped frozen/fresh cranberries
rind of 1 orange

Cream Cheese Layer:
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8oz package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1tsp vanilla extract

Topping
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¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ cup cold butter

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. In a separate bowl combine egg, orange juice, melted butter and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in the cranberries and orange peel. Pour into a greased cake pan (9" x 11" or 11" x 13" oughta do it but it's all good).

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth in separate bowl. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Spread over batter. Combine the flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top. Bake for 70-75 minutes or until golden brown.

Contact Info

2011-03-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

So I'm deleting my facebook! If you ever want to get in touch in the future, here are my contact deets:

Email - info@beautifulunicorn.com

twitter - @bmcguig

skype - bigmcguig

I will also continue publishing to this blog. And I will still be keeping www.beautifulunicorn.com as my central website.

See you around everybody!

The Aural Fix - March 23

2011-03-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

Max Tundra - Which Song

Acid House Kings - This Heart is a Stone
My Favorite - Homeless Kids Club
Miami Horror - Holidays

Teds Amongst Men - Road Song
Shuyler Jansen - Wedding Band
Ben Plotnick - The Alaska Highway

Moonbabies - Fieldtrip USA
SSRIs - Making Sense
David Fox / Caglar Juan Singletary - Non-Violent Taekwondo Troopers
Patrick Staples - Moonrise at the Lunar Lounge

Booka Shade - Regenerate (Russ Chimes Remix)
The Pollution - Download or Die
Ellie Goulding - Guns and Horses
Everything All the Time - Hooked

The Most Serene Republic - The Men Who Live Upstairs
Chromeo - Hot Mess (Duck Sauce Remix)
Everything Everything - My Keys, Your Boyfriend (Grum Remix)
Futurecop! - Dreams (Silicone Project Remix)

Tiesto - I Will Be Here (Wolfgang Gartner Remix)
Chilly Gonzales - You Can Dance (Gemini Club Remix)

Capsule - Stay With You

The Mystical Treasure Chest of Intergalactic Blisspop

2011-01-17T12:35:00.000-08:00

3 years ago this month, Synthosaurus took to the stage for the very first time at the High Performance Rodeo Midway in Calgary. Since that first show, so much has happened, and I wanted to do a little something special to thank the wonderful group of fans, friends and supporters who continually inspire to push forward and make the happiest music possible.

With that it gives great pleasure to present *THE MYSTICAL TREASURE CHEST OF INTERGALACTIC BLISSPOP*, a FREE 33-song compilation of Synthosaurus songs past to present. The download link can be found on the homepage of BeautifulUnicorn.com as well.

Though it might sound kind of silly, making this kind of music has become (for me anyway) a way of coping with a world that can often be very cruel, scary, depressing, confusing, and generally overwhelming. When life becomes a little too much to deal with, it helps to be able to escape into an alternate universe of ultra-happy 80s sounds. And it means a lot to think that maybe this music does something similar for other people too.

Wherever you are I hope the sounds of these synths will take you away to happier times. Dance hard, love everybody, forgive the people that hurt you. Forgive yourself as well. Turn bitterness into bodaciousness and hatred into hugs and high fives. Do your best, play as hard as you work, and keep it real. That's how the dinosaurs did it, I think.

Thanks again you guys

-B.McGuigs

www.beautifulunicorn.com

December Haps!

2010-12-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

HOW ARE YOU DOING GUYS AND GALS.

I'm pretty good. I have stuff to talk about for December! Some cool shows are afoot.

BUT FIRST:

New Tunes! Listen and read. Perfect!

1439 by Synthosaurus

I put this guy out the other day. The intro riff is actually super old, I wrote it like when I was still a teenage. I finally tied some other stuff onto it and put it out as a single. It's on the hype machine too and has gotten a bit of love so that's kinda sweet.

Here's another one! It's in 7/4 if you like wild time signatures.

Cheechako by Synthosaurus

Okay, ANYWAY, on with the HAPS FOR DECEMBER:

Dec 11 - SantaCon 2010!
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This one is coming up pretty quick but it promises to be DEADLY. SantaCon is an annual shenanigan-session in which EVERYONE dresses up as Santa and paints the town red. The festivities shall end up at Vern's on Stephen Ave, whereupon I will be busting out a special holiday Synthosaurus set as, you guessed it, SANTASAURUS. Get ready for some synth-heavy renditions of your favorite holiday tunes ;)

Dec 13 Bitter Suite Society Fundraiser
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So, I am part of a Calgary theatre composers ensemble called the Bitter Suite Society. It's a super cool concept and includes some heavy duty names from the professional theatre community here in town; to be on a list that includes heavy-hitter composers like David Rhymer (One Yellow Rabbit) and Joe Slabe (Forte Musical Theatre) is a pretty big honour for me! Anyway, we're putting together a show in the new year that I'll be contributing some music to, and we're having a fundraiser this coming monday. There will be a variety of performances from members of the ensemble, and I'll be looking after the post-show dance party vibes. PERFECT. There will be a silent auction and all kinds of fun things. Come on down and hear some music!

Dec 15 - Wednesday Night Jazz @ Kawa
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For a little while now I've been putting on occasional live jazz events at Kawa Espresso Bar, one of my favorite places in town not only for great coffee, wine & beer, but also for live music! This Wednesday (the 15th) I'll be joined by Stephen Fletcher (Sinistrio, Jay Crocker) on piano and David Marshall (THWOMP) for an awesome piano jazz trio situation! How awesome is that? PRETTY AWESOME. Even awesomer is the fact that there is NO COVER. Free live jazz. Nuff said!

Dec 23 - Festivus Celebration at the Ironwood!
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This one is going to be SO FUN! On Dec 23rd we are basically having a big festive musical party at the Ironwood (one of my favorite venues in town) with my bestest musical buds:

Ben Plotnick - fiddle
Spencer Taubner - guitar
Jarred Albright - mandolin
Sean Softley - guitar/fiddle/cajone
-and me on double bass!

You may or may not be aware that the five of perform music under a few different guises - we'll be busting them all out on the night, performing the music of:

Homebound Runaways
Lark Hill
Ben Plotnick
Sean Softley

We'll have special guests TBA as well! It's going to be SO FUN. Come celebrate Festivus with us!

THAT'S ALL FOLKS! See you around this December!

What's Up in November!

2010-10-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

Just figured I'd take a quick opportunity to give a quick shout out about some upcoming stuff happening this November. I'll be spending the month in Calgary before hopping across the mountains back to my new digs in Vancouver (which I haven't really had a chance to live in yet)

Nov 24 - Dec 4 Sage Theatre presents: The Blue Room
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It's been a while since I've done any theatre work, so I'm really excited to get back into the musical saddle with my favorite local theatre company, Sage Theatre.
This season, their second production is David Hare's The Blue Room, adapted from Arthur Schnitzler's film La Ronde. I'll be composing and performing all the music for the show live, so I'm pretty excited about that! You can find out more about the production at www.sagetheatre.com

Nov 14 - Ben Plotnick/Sean Softley CD release
---------------------------------------------

For those of you who haven't heard Ben Plotnick and Sean Softley, they are two extraordinary young fiddlers and songwriters, whom I have been lucky enough to call my friends for quite a few years now. As chance would have it, they are both finishing new albums right around now and have decided to throw a joint-CD-release party on Nov 14, and I'll be joining them on bass! There will be two seperate shows that day, a matinee and evening show, and I highly recommend checking them out. Ben and Sean are both exceptional musicians and this will certainly be an outstanding show.

Nov 6 - Break & Enter Productions Presents: From Second Fiddle To Top Banana
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Break & Enter Productions is the creative duo of musical theatre performers Brittany Richards and Ellen Sullivan, graduates of American Academy of Dramatic Arts New York and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy New York. This will be their debut prodction, a cabaret-style show featuring a smattering of selections from various musical theatre productions. I'll be part of the live band backing up the lovely ladies, and I anticipate GOOD TIMES. For more info check out the facebook event page.

NewsNewsNewsNewsNews

2010-08-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

HEY EVERYBODY

So I've been doing occassional news-style updates on this blog and they seem so far to be an efficient and relatively non-intrusive way of getting the word out about various things in one fell swoop. So I'm going to continue doing it this way for now.

As is becoming customary of these posts I'm going to begin with some new music I just released. Now you can listen to it while you read the rest of this! So efficient.
Summer 2010 Original Mixtape by DangerLegs

Here is a 22-minute mix of some synth loops I programmed in a couple different locations. It's a little more restrained than some of the crazy Synthosaurus stuff. Let me know what you think!

Emu Butte by Beautiful Unicorn

THIS GUY is a single, I made it last night when I was hanging out with my buddy James. Pretty 80s!

-anyway-

ON WITH THE NEWS

So there are quite a few things happening in the next few months that I'm rather excited to talk about. Let's start with the most immediate:

August/September Calgary Shows!
--------------------------------
For those who were confused, yes, I'm back in Calgary again! I'll be here until Sept 5, after which I'll be shipping off to Vancouver to practice the accordion for an upcoming theatre project in November. More on that in a second.

I'll be playing a string of shows in Calgary before I take off and I'd love to invite you to some or all of them!

- Thursday, August 26 (today I guess!) I'll be guesting with Lark Hill again up in Beddington at Paddy O'Leary's Irish Pub. If you live in the Northeast, come on out, there's no cover and a special on boneless ribs, if you're into that sort of thing. Plus, we play rip-roarin' celtic music. Cheap thrills and even cheaper eats on a thursday night.

- Next Wednesday (Sept 1) I'll be doing a free jazz show at Kawa Espresso Bar, with trumpeter Andre Wickenheiser, guitarist Carl Janzen, and drummer Holly Magnus. It's going to be UNREAL and full of original music. Show starts at 8:30pm. Awesome. That will most likely be my last show in Calgary before heading off to Vancouver!

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Upcoming Albums!
------------------------------------
I'm going to be playing on some albums coming up! Here is some info on that.

The Buccaneers
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September is going to be kind of a crazy month for me, but crazy in a good way! I'm extremely excited to have been asked by Calgary music veterans the Buccaneers to play double bass on their new album - the album is being produced at Lava Tracks Recording Studio in Kamuela, Hawaii. We're still sorting out the logistics of the actual recording, and at the moment there is a possibility I will be going to Hawaii to lay down the tracks, which would of course be unreal. If so, I am bringing a camera. That's for sure. Anyway, moving on...

The Pollution
---------------
For the past few years I've been involved with a long-distance collaborative project called The Pollution, which includes London-based trombonist Dan West (awesome dude and amazing musician/songwriter) and Halifax bro Cody Harper (also an awesome dude, also an amazing songwriter). Basically it is a band of awesome dudes! Up till now our recording endeavours have been limited to us sending tracks to each other using THE INTERNET, but this september, we're all going to be in Calgary for a few weeks and we're going to use the opportunity to finally record our debut album! With a lineup like this I can't imagine how the recording project could be anything but awesome, so I'll be sure to update when the tracks are available for listening. Woop!

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Oh, ALSO, if anyone is a fan of the fabulous Jack Marks (Toronto singer/songwriter), he has a new album in the works that so far sounds just outstanding! I ended up getting to spend an afternoon with Jack in the studio a few months ago and played on a couple tracks. Apparently they're going to use the bass tracks I put down so I'm uber thrilled about that! If you check out his myspace, I'm on the track "Sweet Patricia". Neato!

------------------------------

Outside of these albums, I've got a few other things coming up that I'm pretty thrilled about:

The Blue Room - Sage Theatre

've had the great fortune of enjoying a wonderful creative relationship with Sage Theatre over the last 3 years. Since my first show with them in 2007 I have had the opportunity to work them as a sound designer, composer and musical director, and I'm super thrilled to have been asked back to write music for their second show of the upcoming theatre season! The show is called The Blue Room, and you can read all about it here. I don't want to give too much away about what the show will involve, but let's just say it's going to involve me playing some fun new instruments! Sweet!

Synthosaurus Music Video
------------------------
If you are a fan of my ultra-silly dinosaur-keytar crossover act, Synthosaurus, than this piece of news will most likely interest you. This February I'll be partnering with Joel Goundry and Dan Perrot of RoadWest Pictures to produce a brand new music video. Joel and Dan have a long history of producing outstanding work, including an entry for the Big Rock Eddies that made it to the finals! So needless to say I'm pretty thrilled to have them on board to take Synthosaurus to the next level.

THAT'S ABOUT IT FOR NOW. As always I'll be doing my best to overload the information highway with rad updates about new releases, shows etc. on my twitter account (as well as accounts for Synthosaurus and DangerLegs) and facebook (did I mention there is a facebook page for Synthosaurus now?). Thanks for reading and see you on the road!

Synthosaurus - Vancouver August 4

2010-08-05T14:57:00.001-07:00

Massive thanks to all the amazing Vancouver fans who came out for a tremendous night of SYNTH DANCE. Last night marked the longest-ever continuous dance set for a Synthosaurus show - a full 72 minutes of non-stop dino-dance! It was an honour to play for such a positive, supportive and enthusiastic audience, thank you for having Synthosaurus in your fine city! Further shoutouts to Nyala, whose hospitality, accomodation and support was without equal. For your listening pleasure, a complete download of the live mix is available here:

MP3 DOWNLOAD

Setlist:

1. DanceDanceDanceDanceDance Part 2
2. For Realz
3. DanceDanceDanceDanceDance Part 1
4. Robot Bambi Finds His Mother
5. Cindy and Steve
6. Orrilia
7. Let's Kick It
8. Burning to Bowser
9. Alien Rocket Skateboard Cat
10. Cambie & Hastings
11. Plöq
12. Lazer Beam Heartbreak
13. Hoverboardzzz
14. Barnyard Friends
15. Miike
16. Island Party
17. Tropical Highball Club
18. Whoa Nelly
19. Golden Mushroom
20. Sno Cone, Faux Cone, Bro Cone
21. Spin Dash

Thanks again! See you real soon!

The Jumpkick Disco Throwdown - July 25

2010-07-25T06:41:00.001-07:00

The Pollution - Download or Die
The Knocks - Make It Better (Monsieur Adi Remix)
Rosanna - Waterfall (Fear of Tigers Remix)

JAHBIL - Happy Bunny
DangerLegs - Space Disco
Modeselektor feat. Thom Yorke - The White Flash (Trentemoller Remix)

Daft Punk - Tron Soundtrack Excerpts
DangerLegs - Dusk
Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream (Treasure Fingers Remix)

The Rassle - Celebrate the Days
Cut Copy - Lights and Music (Moullinex Remix)

Modeselektor feat. Thom Yorke, The White Flash – Trentemoller Remix

Synthosaurus Vancouver Debut!

2010-07-20T15:11:00.001-07:00

Yes, that's right folks. August 4 at the Little Mountain Gallery, Synthosaurus drops into Vancouver for the first time ever. There had been a multitude of requests for a Vancouver show on the Synthosaurus Facebook Fan Page, so I'm extremely happy to have the opportunity to bring this show out west. The show is all-ages, so bring your friends, young and old! If you are a facebook user, there is an event for the page with complete details here.

Hope to see you there!

Stuff I'm Excited to Talk About!

2010-07-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, so, before I start yakking too much, I have some new stuff out. I'll post that right away so that, if you want, you can listen to it while you read the rest of this.

This is a new single. It is pretty similar to most of my other synthy stuff, you will probably get a grin out of it. It changes key in the B section
Synthosaurus - The Nuge by Beautiful Unicorn

A few people on facebook seemed to dig this next one. It is a half-hour set of original tracks (plus one mashup plus one remix) that I did for a live Synthosaurus show in Thunder Bay this weekend.
Synthosaurus July 17 Mix by Synthosaurus

SPEAKING OF SYNTHOSAURUS

If you live on the west coast, exciting and silly times await you. I'm going to be doing a show at the LIttle Mountain Gallery on August 4. The show is extremely affordable and there will also be fresh baked goods available as a result of my learning THE DEADLIEST BLUEBERRY MUFFIN RECIPE OF ALL TIME. Details can be found on the facebook event page here

SPEAKING OF LIVE SHOWS IN VANCOUVER,

I will be doing an acoustic folk music show with Vancouver's own Jenn Lauren at Rocky Mountain Flatbreads on August 5th. I played there with Jenn once before and it was the best time; RMF is this chiled out pizza joint that also does wine and beer. Moreover, it does all three very well. Jenn is a wonderful porfermer and I'm very excited to play some double bass for her. We hope you'll join us that night for what should be a very lovely and relaxing friday evening.

SPEAKING OF THE FACT THAT I HAVE TWO ADJACENT EVENINGS OF COMPLETELY UNRELATED MUSIC THAT I AM TRYING TO TELL YOU ABOUT,

I should probably take this opportunity to mention that I've changed how I'm organizing my professional identity lately. I'm making Beautiful Unicorn my label, and under that, releasing music of a few different styles under a few different aliases. Hencerforth, new releases belonging to the more crazy-synths, instrumental, kind-of-silly genre will be released as Synthosaurus, whom you may have seen rocking a keytar on youtube.

I make DJ mixes and stuff, too, so I'm now releasing those as DangerLegs (I have a soundcloud for that too now) - I will also use this alias for my original dance tunes that are less silly/crazy and more "serious" and normal.

I'm going to have both this blog and the Beautiful Unicorn soundcloud remain as a general catch-all for anything I've finished recently. So that means it probably won't be stylistically consistent in any way. So nobody get mad at me in a few weeks if/when I start posting recordings of solo accordion, or teenagers playing Journey covers that I made for this rock camp I working at (that is if I get the releases etc.).

Anyway. I hope that helps clarify a few things for the handful of people who have asked about what the whole deal is with 'who is Synthosaurus' vs. 'who is Beautiful Unicorn' and so on (I think it had some people from The Sixty One wondering, especially during the Bankai tour).

So in conclusion, thanks to anyone who read all of this. I HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO CHECK OUT SUBSEQUENT BEAUTIFUL UNICORN RELEASES

The Jumpkick Disco Throwdown - July 18

2010-07-18T06:46:00.000-07:00

Cut Copy - Where I'm Going
Katamari Damacy Soundtrack - The Moon and the Prince
An Horse - Listen (Bodega Girls Remix)

Housse De Racket - Oh Yeah! (Keenhouse Remix)
Joman - Another Late Night (Bit Funk Remix)

Bit Funk - Things I Can't Remember
Only Children - Funk You! (feat. Brothers Johnson's Stomp)

Synthosaurus - The Nuge
Lemon Jelly - Space Walk

Pogo - Alice

The Jumpkick Disco Throwdown - July 11

2010-07-11T07:17:00.001-07:00

Tony Ferrino - Taxi Taxi
The Glass - Wanna be Dancin' (Eli Escobar)
Treasure Fingers - Cross the Dancefloor (Chromeo Remix)

CFCF - Sogni Rossi
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (Bottin Rework)
Monarchy - Love Get Out of My Way (Holy Ghost! Remix feat. Dixon)

Kele Okereke - Rise
Aeroplane - We Can't Fly
Neighbour - Drop Dem Beats
Glass Candy - Life After Sundown
Michael Cassette - Moonlight Runner
Dragonette - Easy (Fabian Remix)

July 9 Mix

2010-07-09T11:47:00.001-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! Here's a mix of tunes. If you live in the fine city of Thunder Bay tonight, feel free to come out to the Bean Fiend on Bay & Algoma, next to Red Earth. I'll be throwing down double bass grooves along with a sampling of the city's loveliest young musicians. That's all I'll say about the event as I want to keep an element of mystery to the occassion. No cover, 7:30pm start. RIGHT ON.

July 8 Mix by DangerLegs

Mp3 Download

Tracklist:

1. Dragonette - Easy (Fabian Remix)
2. The Good Natured - Your Body Is a Machine (Baby Monster Remix)
3. Royksopp - What Else Is There? (Thin White Duke Remix)
4. The Aston Shuffle - Garden Friends (Kissy Sell Out Remix)
5. The Chemical Brothers - Swoon (Don Diablo Remix)
6. Kirstenana - Love Love Love (Bit Funk Remix)
7. Heads We Dance - When the Sirens Sound (Russ Chimes Remix)
8. Marina & the Diamonds - Oh No! (Grum Remix)
9. Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place (Gigamesh Remix)

Vocoder samples

2010-07-06T07:20:00.000-07:00

Including a host of off-the-charts auto-tune vocoder hooks such as "get some kettle corn in yo' body", and "you can be a hero on the dancefloor". Sample away, friends!

Jamie auto-tune sesh (highly recommended for kettle corn content)

Brendan auto-tune sesh

Jumpkick Disco Throwdown - July 4

2010-07-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day, Americans! Give'er hard today.

Grum - Take Me To the Stars
Marchand - Starlove
Marchand - Supernova
Modeselektor - Silikon (Siriusmo Remix)
The Good Natured - Your Body is a Machine (Baby Monster Remix)
The Chemical Brothers - Swoon (Don Diablo)

The Aston Shuffle - Garden Friends (Kissy Sell Out Remix)
Deadmau5 - Brazil
Zero 7 - Destiny (Fred Falke Remix)
Tennishero - High Scenes
GMM - A Plankton Affair

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

2010-06-30T08:16:00.001-07:00

Let's face it, blueberry muffins are about as deadly as it gets. In fact, pretty much the only way to make them more delicious is to add the refreshing zest of fresh lemon. AND THAT'S PRECISELY WHAT THIS RECIPE DOES. In addition to a nice dose of lemon rind in the actual muffin, the lemon butter glaze topped with a dash of sugar adds a delicious and classy touch that gives it that extra push over the edge. If you bake these for your homies, pretty much everyone is guaranteed to just lose it.

First off, let's get some tunes going. This mix is probably just the right amount of time for a muffin bake and sets a good atmosphere for what's about to happen to you.

May 4 mix by DangerLegs

okay, LET'S KICK IT.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.

MUFFIN MIX
-------------
2 cups - flour
1/2 cup - sugar
1 tbsp - baking powder
1/2 tsp - salt
rind of 1 lemon
1 - egg (cracked; discard shell)
1 cup - milk (cow)
1/2 cup - butter (melted)
1 cup - blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon rind in mixing bowl.
Beat egg in seperate bowl. Add milk and melted butter.
Add egg mixture to dry mixture. Mix. Add blueberries.
Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full with mix and bake for 2o minutes. While that's happening, you can prepare your

LEMON BUTTER TOPPING
------------------------------
1/4 cup - melted butter
2 tbsp - lemon juice
1/2 cup - sugar

This is dead easy. Mix the butter and lemon juice in a small bowl. Have the sugar in a seperate bowl. Don't mix the two bowls together. You're about to find out why.

OKAY, so the muffins are probably about done. Take them out of the oven and let them cool on a wire rack for like 10 minutes. Remove from tins and cool for an additional few minutes, till they're cool enough to handle. Take each muffin and dip it in the lemon butter, THEN the sugar. This produces the most unstoppable lemon-butter-sugar glaze you've seen in your life. Give the muffins another 10 minutes for the glaze to harden, then serve.

YOU WILL GET BIG UPS FROM EVERYONE.

Jumpkick Disco Throwdown - June 13

2010-06-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

Cinnamon Chasers - You
Beni - My Love Sees You (Classixx Remix)
LCD Soundsystem vs. Justin Timberlake - My Love (Diplo Remix)

Anita Ward - Ring My Bell
Junior Senior - Move Your Feet
Tesla Boy - Spirit of the Night

Johan Agebjorn & Sally Shapiro - Spacer Woman From Mars
Futurecop! - Transformers
Moonbabies - Sun A.M.

Guido - The Way You Make Me Feel
JAHBIL - Limbo
CFCF - Big Love (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Neighbour - Drunk on the Funk

The Jumpkick Disco Throwdown - May 30

2010-05-30T17:37:00.001-07:00

The Field - A Paw in My Face
Atlas Sound - Quick Canal
Tennishero - Alone
Memory Tapes - Bicycle
Jonsi - Boy Lilikoi
Cornelius - Beep It
Junior Boys - Double Shadow
Owl City - Umbrella beach (Grum Remix)
JAHBIL - Flowerpusher

The Aural Fix - May 26

2010-05-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

Had an awesome time covering for Linzee today, thanks to everyone who tuned in. I didn't get the chance to record the show but here's the playlist for anyone's who's interested!

Quentin 909 - Sophia
Shinichi Osawa - Star Guitar
Soul II Soul - Back To Life (Monsieur Adi Remix)
Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane Remix)
Decide - Digital Sunset
Four Tet - Love Cry (Joy Orbison Remix)
Claude Vonstroke - Who's Afraid of Detroit?
Gypsy and the Cat - Jona Vark (Shazam Remix)
Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Him (The Twelves Remix)
Empire of the Sun - We Are the People (Jimmy2Sox Remix)
CSS - Move (Cut Copy Remix)
Trim the Fat - How Strange
Tiga - What You Need (Chromeo Remix)
Duck Sauce - Barbara Streisand (O-God Remix)
Le Knight Club - Soul Bells (Quentin 909 Remix)
Royksopp - What Else is There? (Thin White Duke Remix)
Lindstrom & Christabelle - BabyCan'tStop (Aeroplane Remix)
MiMo - Running Out (Fenech Soler Remix)
LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls (Holy Ghost! Remix)
Miike Snow - Animal (Fred Falke Remix)
Ellie Goulding - Guns and Horses (Monsieur Adi Remix)
Fenech Soler - Stop and Stare (Reset Remix)
Tocadisco - Streetgirls (Tocadisco Mix)

May 4 Mix

2010-05-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

Mp3 Download

FM Attack - Sleepless Nights
Deadmau5 - Strobe
Jean Jacques Smoothie - Two People (2009 Reword feat. Tara Busch) - Simpleton Extended Mix
Moguai - Nyce
Cinnamon Chasers - Luv Deluxe (Scuba Remix)
Moguai - ZYVOX
Sally Shapiro - Looking At the Stars (FM Attack Remix)
Breakbot - Baby I'm Yours (feat. Irfane)
Gorrilaz - Stylo (Alex Metric Remix)
Mr. Oizo - Jo

April 26 Mix

2010-04-29T00:23:00.000-07:00

Mp3 Download

The Radio Dept. - Heaven's On Fire
Cinnamon Chasers - You
Lindstrom feat. Cocobelle - Babycantstop (Aeroplane Remix)
Numero# - Hit Pop
Futurecop! - Starworshipper
Louis La Roche - Malfunction
Groove Armada - Paper Romance
Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed (Monarchy Remix)
Klaxons - Gravity's Rainbow (Van She Remix)

Plöq

2010-04-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

Plöq by Beautiful Unicorn

Poco Madre

2010-04-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

Poco Madre by Beautiful Unicorn
So this one time in Playa del Carmen, a super cool waitress and I were yakking back and forth while I tried to improve my Spanish. She dropped this phrase "poco madre" which is apparently the spanish equivalent of "it's all good" or something to that effect. Anyway, this tune is random and silly, has a latin beat and lots of clave, as well as steel drums with portamento and a really fast synth solo.

And if you're a fan of that kind of thing, you'll probably dig:
Tropical Highball Club by Beautiful Unicorn

SYNTH SYNTH SYNTH SYNTH SYNTH

Bente Beats (Klass Summer Edit)

2010-04-22T00:34:00.000-07:00

Bente Beats (Klass Summer Edit) by Beautiful Unicorn

When my old laptop started biting the bullet I figured I had better start offloading all my unfinished electro-silly tunes asap so I wouldn't lose them forever. This little guy is the first of a collection of random odds and ends that I'll be releasing over the next little while as part of a "B-sides"-esque series. Enjoy!

April / May Happenings!

2010-04-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

WELL THEN. It's been a little while since I've posted any news on the the ol' blog. With my laptop going missing in Vancouver at the Olympics, and my backup laptop breaking down shortly thereafter, me and The Internet have been on a bit of a 'break'. However, now that I am in front of a computer again I should probably take the opportunity to give a heads-up about upcoming shows in the next few weeks. There's a few nifty things going on, not the least of which is....

GREG COCKERILL BAND WESTWARD TOUR

So, this is pretty super cool and ALSO super soon: I'll be reuniting with my old pals Greg Cockerill and Pat Phillips for the first week of their upcoming Canadian tour, filling in for James Forrest/Tim Leacock until we get to Calgary. I'll be playing a handful of shows with the guys in Thunder Bay, Winnipeg and a double-header in Saskatoon. Come say good-day if you happen to live in any of these cities! We'll be doing a 'back by popular demand' performance of Neil Young's "Ragged Glory" in Winnipeg, so if you are a 'Pegger, be sure not to miss that one! RIGHT ON.

ALLISON LYNCH QUARTET IN CALGARY

Many of you will be familiar with the sultry vocal stylings of jazz singer Allison Lynch. Well, coming up on April 23, Allie, myself and the rest of the Allison Lynch Quartet will be throwing down a FREE SHOW at Kawa Espresso Bar. For those who haven't been to Kawa yet, rest assured that they offer not only some of the finest coffee and espresso to be had in Calgary, but also a myriad of amazing imported beer, delicious baked goods, and, of course, a fine sampling of live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Our last show there was just a hoot, so come on down if you are the sort of person who likes to have THE BEST TIME.

HOMEBOUND RUNAWAYS CD RELEASE MAY 1

I'm right stoked about this one. Earlier this year Ben Plotnick and I debuted our new collaborative project, Homebound Runaways, to a sold-out show at the Ironwood. The show was a huge success and raised enough money for us to get our recorded album to print. On May 1, we'll be holding our official CD release party at the Ironwood Stage & Grill, in their brand new location at the old Garry Theatre in Inglewood. We're really excited to celebrate with our friends and supporters, and are pleased to offer a complimentary copy of the album (as well as free entry to the show) for anyone who bought one of our pre-release copies - just our way of saying Thanks for making this album possible! Presale tickets to the show are $20 ($25 at the door) and can be picked up at Megatunes, The Ironwood, Aelion Strings, or by giving myself or Ben a shout. This one's gonna be big, folks. Snag your tickets early.

MATTHEW MCGUIGAN GRADUATION RECITAL

This one doesn't really involve me at all, BUT, some of y'all are familiar with my kah-razy brother Matthew. Well, feller's been givin'er hard on the flute over at the University of Calgary, and will be celebrating his final year as a flute performance undergraduate student with a not-to-be-missed graduation recital on Sunday, April 18th. Guest musicians include Nate Waters (Hunter Gatherer) on saxophone, Michael Angell on Piano, and Julius Popa (piano/composer). The program will include classic works by Back, Prokofiev and more, as well as a debut composition by Julius Popa. Plus, we'll probably go out for drinks after. CASE CLOSED.

--------------

That's about all that's new for now! As always feel free to stay tuned to beautifulunicorn.com for the latest news, shows etc. (I have a new show calendar, which I'll paste below) or follow @bmcguig on twitter for updates and silly anecdotes from the road.

LET IT RIDE, FOLKS. LET IT RIDE.

Golden Mushroom

2010-02-01T01:13:00.000-08:00

Golden Mushroom by Beautiful Unicorn

256kbps mp3 download

on hypem.com

Many thanks to Deezer at themushroomkingdom.net for providing the Mario samples here!

Classixx @ Hifi

2010-01-31T02:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick mix of a handful of tunes by or featuring Los Angeles' Classixx, whom I had the distinct pleasure of catching tonight at the Hifi. Gadzooks, what a dance party. There were a handful of tunes that I had never heard before that blew me away, which once again makes me yearn for an age where DJ setlists are routinely published and made readily available to audiences at shows. Without wishing to sound preachy, I know that I for one plan to keep extremely thorough records of all my sets on this upcoming tour, and making mp3s of each one available with setlist ASAP after each show.... because, well, surely we've all been there, listening to an UNREAL tune and thinking "goodness gracious, what IS THIS, I must have this song" and then having no way to access that information. With so many potential opportunities for circumventing this (tracklisting via blogs and twitter feeds, mp3 downloads of full sets, etc.), surely there is more that we, the nerds of the digital DJ scene can do to help connect people with great music more easily.

ANYWAY

mp3

Classixx - I'll Get You (Feat. Jeppe) - Cassian Remix
Beni - My Love Sees You (Classix Remix)
Phoenix - Lisztomania (Classix Remix)

Wibyti

2010-01-28T00:14:00.000-08:00

Wibyti by Beautiful Unicorn

Even though it's been many months since I first came upon the wonderful sounds of Futurecop!, I can't seem to get away from wanting to imitate the blissfully-innocent and wonderfully happy sound of their simple, lo-fi song structures, all of which feature single, incessant arpeggiator line (see Tonight's Hero for a fine example of instrumental 80s synth perfection). So I hope you don't mind if I completely overindulge once again.

For anyone who's wondering about the title, it is a reference to a twitter joke from Amanda Chapman of the AIDS Calgary Awareness Association, who tweeted a link to 10 sexual health tips along with the advice "Wrap It Before You Tap It", which I thought was basically the best expression ever. Hence, WIBYTI.

DanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDanceDance

Cut Copy Vs. Fannypack

2010-01-26T14:27:00.001-08:00

Cut Copy vs. Fannypack (Beautiful Unicorn Mashup) by Beautiful Unicorn

Cut Copy - Zap Zap
Fannypack - Keep It Up

Jan 25 mix

2010-01-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

mp3 download

Memory Tapes - Bicycle
Atlas Sound - Quick Canal (w/Laetitia Sadier)
Delorean - Moonsoon
Bat For Lashes - Daniel
Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars (Cassian Remix)
Empire of the Sun - We Are the People (Jimmy2Sox Remix)
Parallels - Find the Fire
Joy Orbison - Hyph-Mngo

Jan 23 Anti-Prorogue Protest

2010-01-24T22:22:00.000-08:00

Synthosaurus - Futuredance (Live at the Ironwood)

2010-01-21T22:30:00.000-08:00

Synthosaurus ignites the dancefloor at the Ironwood Stage and Grill in Calgary, AB. Special thanks to Mitchell Nybo and crew, Pat MacIntyre, Matthew McGuigan (rocking a Synthosaurus T-shirt in the background, no less!), Greg Cockerill, JP on sound, and of course the amazing Peter Brush for his simply unstoppable dance moves.

I should be sleeping, really

2010-01-21T00:19:00.000-08:00

Work-In-Progress by Beautiful Unicorn

Ben Plotnick & Brendan McGuigan - First Light

2010-01-18T22:13:00.000-08:00

First Light by Beautiful Unicorn

Here's a quick little sneak peek at the album Ben Plotnick and I have been recording with Spencer Cheyne. We're still mixing and mastering but I thought it'd be cool to offer a glimpse of what we're doing for anyone who's interested! This is a tune that I wrote, called "First Light". It features Ben Plotnick on fiddle, myself on bass, guitar and banjo, and Jarred Albright (Lark Hill, McKeever's Crossing) on Mandolin.

We're going to be playing live at the Ironwood on February 9 with some special guests, so mark your calendars if you like what you hear! We're working towards gathering the funds to put CDs to print and do an official CD release, so if you'd like to have a lovely, fancy copy of the album come on out to the album fundraiser show February 9 and pick up a pre-release copy! More info on that event will be on facebook etc. soon.

Happy Monday!

The Lost City of Flesh-Eating Robots

2010-01-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

I didn't date much in high school. I can prove it. Here:

Big McGuig - The Lost city of Flesh Eating Robots by Beautiful Unicorn

NERD

LET'S KICK IT

2010-01-10T11:56:00.000-08:00

Bankai and I are now in full fledged on-the-road mode - let the touring festivities commence! After a few radical-tastic days in BC rocking shows in Victoria, Vancouver and Kelowna, we are in Cowtown and ready for the epic push east! Here is the complete list of all my tour goings-on, from today onwards. If you are in any of these towns around these dates, I cordially invite you to come check out one of the many opportunities to get some Wonderful Musical Enjoyment in your life. I've also included a few extra bonus events that are happening in some of the towns, including the odd sideman gig for a few different bands along the way. Hope to see y'all out soon!

Feb 25 - Calgary - Vern's Tavern

Feb 27 - Private Show

Feb 28 - Homebound Runaways DVD recording concert at Bignote Music

March 1 - Teaching day! (Anyone want an upright bass lesson while I'm in town? In the words of Chromeo: "Call Me Up")

March 2 - Another teaching day!

March 3 - Calgary - The Marquee Room (with 40 Gun Flagship & The Me Monster

March 4 - Regina - Gay and Lesbian Club of Regina

March 6 - Thunder Bay - Black Pirate's Pub

March 7 - Thunder Bay - Electronic music workshop at Colisimo's music

March 11 - 751 Queen St. West (playing bass with the Wordly Savages)

March 12 - Toronto - 751 Queen St. West

March 13 - Toronto - Comedy Bar (Touch My Stereotype 1-year anniversary party with special guest Synthosaurus)

March 14 - Toronto - Opera Bob's

Questions about any of the shows? Call me at 415-992-5583, or text me at 403-874-7056, OR YOU CAN EVEN EMAIL ME AT brendanmcguigan@shaw.ca

Rooooooad trip!!

January shows!

2010-01-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

January Shows
-------------

As I am in Calgary for the month of January, I'll be playing a handful of shows around town, all of which you are cordially invited to attend!

Jan. 8 - Celtic music night at Paddy O'Leary's Irish Pub with Sean Softley

I'll be playing a duo show with Calgary's own Sean Softley for a night of celtic music. This will be our first time playing together after a long-standing desire to share the stage together, so it should be a fun night of original music as well as classic celtic tunes!

Jan. 14 - Palomino show with Deon Blyan

The following Wednesday I will have the pleasure of accompanying songsmith extraordinaire Deon Blyan at the Palomino. The one and only Pat Phillips will be joining in on drums, as well! Show starts at 8pm, come on down!

Jan 22 - Celtic Night at Paddy O'Leary's with Ben Plotnick

Basically the same type of show as the 8th, but this time with fiddlemaniac Ben Plotnick, with whom I just finished recording an acoustic instrumental album that we think will knock your socks off! Stay tuned for more info on that.

January Shows and Other Happenings!

2010-01-06T18:20:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

A lot of people have been asking me lately what's going on, where I'm living, if I'm playing in town soon, etc., so I figured I'd take this opportunity to share all the latest news for anyone who's curious!

The Latest Developments
-----------------------

For those who are confused about my whereabouts, yes, I am in Calgary right now, and will be for the next month. A few of you fine folks and friends are aware that I have recently departed from my longtime position as bassist for the Greg Cockerill Band. While we will all certainly miss one another (and indeed, already do!) it's certainly not so much an ending as it is a beginning of something new; I anticipate great things on the horizon, a few of which I'll share with you now!

Roughlands VIA Rail Olympic Tour
--------------------------------

I'll start with this one, since it's such exciting news! I just received confirmation that one of the newest projects I am involved in, a folk/roots trio called Roughlands, will be touring out to Vancouver in early February to perform in the city streets for the Winter Olympics! What's more (and one of the most exciting parts of this project) is that we will be traveling from town to town courtesy of VIA Rail, and performing live music on the train during the trip! So, if you are traveling to or from Vancouver with VIA, you might just see or hear us! Also, if you are in Vancouver during the Olympics, keep your eyes peeled for a ragtag team of musicians serenading you with old-time country and folk tunes in the streets, and come say hello!

Upcoming duo album with Ben Plotnick!
-------------------------------------

Many of you may be familiar with the outstanding Calgarian jazz/celtic/bluegrass/classical fiddle player Ben Plotnick. Being longtime friends and like-minded musicians, Ben and I have been hoping for a chance to collaborate together for a long time, and I'm pleased to announce that the time has finally arrived! We just finished recording an 8-song album with the wonderful Spencer Cheyne at Crossover Studios, and I can't wait to show you the results; we're planning on holding an album fundraiser show at the ironwood before I have to leave for Vancouver, so stay tuned for news on that!

Bankai Vs. Canada Tour
----------------------

Alright, this is one of the most exciting new developments of all - after the Olympics, I will be connecting in Vancouver with Australian Electro-Glitch-Nerdcore star Bankai, and touring eastward across Canada throwing mad dance parties all the way! The Bankai/Beautiful Unicorn combo promises to bring the party like never before, so stay tuned for an official tour announcement with dates, etc. One of the coolest things about this tour is the unique grassroots approach we are taking with it. In addition to Bankai's crowdsourced tour funding getting him from Melbourne to Vancouver, the tour is particularly special in that we are playing not only in bars in clubs, but at a variety of house parties across this fair land as well. We have some dates open still, so if you would be keen on having us come visit you in your town (Canadian towns only, for now ;) ), please email me at brendanmcguigan@shaw.ca

Right on!

Nileguide!
----------

Another exciting development in my professional life as of late; I've landed my first professional writing gig! A couple months ago I was hired as a Local Expert for the Calgary/Canadian Rockies sections of a new startup web company called Nileguide. It is essentially an online travel guide and trip planner, that combines advanced web filtering software with unique input from local experts such as myself! The whole team behind the company is extremely fun, as well as amazing good at what they do, and I'm very excited and proud to be a part of it. Check it out!

That's all I got for now, kids! Drop me a line sometime to let me know what's up, and don't forget to follow @bmcguig on twitter for the latest news etc.

Cheers!

Badass Synthosaurus

2010-01-04T17:24:00.000-08:00

NYE '09 Mix

2010-01-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Mp3 Download

Johan Agebjorn & Sally Shapiro - Spacer Woman From Mars
Miike Snow - Cult Logic
Mew - Small Ambulance
Mew - Special
Passion Pit - The Reeling (Calvin Harris Remix)
Tennishero - Alone
Empire of the Sun - Walking On a Dream
Lo-Fi-Fnk - City (Teenagers Remix)
Station X - Endless
Foreigner - Cold As Ice (Bastille Remix)
New Young Pony Club - Get Lucky (The Twelves Remix)
Empire of the Sun - We Are the People
CSS - Move
Spoons - Smiling in Winter
Electric Youth - Faces
La Roux - In for the Kill (Lifelike Remix)
Lo-Fi-Fnk - Adore
80Kidz - Getting You Off (Feat. Hey Champ)
Frankmusik - Confusion Girl (Russ Chimes Remix)
Tommy Sparks - Miracle (Grum Remix)
Futurecop! - Tonight's Hero
Phoenix - Lisztomania (Classixx Remix)
Classixx - I'll Get You (Feat. Jeppe)
M.I.A. - Bucky Done Gun (JAHBIL remix)
Diamond Cut - Teardrops (Treasure Fingers Filter Disco Edit)
Treasure Fingers - Cross the Dancefloor (Chromeo Remix)
The Raveonettes - Last Dance

Synthosaurus Holiday Science Silly Mix '09

2009-12-25T13:19:00.000-08:00

Mp3 Download (128kbps)

Tracklist:

1. Matthew McGuigan - Vidjagame
2. Beautiful Unicorn - Distance
3. Beautiful Unicorn - Valencia
4. Synthosaurus - Alien Rocket Skateboard Cat
5. Synthosaurus - Poco Madre
6. Beautiful Unicorn - Robot Bambi Finds His Mother
7. Beautiful Unicorn - FutureDance
8. Beautiful Unicorn - Spin Dash

2009-11-22T03:08:00.000-08:00

Siyahamba - Audrey Gunther Tribute

2009-10-13T07:02:00.000-07:00

MP3 DOWNLOAD

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the recording project - I've had a great deal of feedback from various folks saying how much they appreciated what we did. I think it was a great way to Honour Mrs. Gunther, so kudos to all for your efforts! Shout outs are given to you below!

Musician Credits
-----------------

Laurie Callao - Soprano voice

Jessie Soong - Alto voice

Richard Lee-Ying - Tenor voice

Matthew McGuigan: Bass voice/flutes/clarinet

Erin Macleod: Soprano voice/double bass

Jillian Beacon: Alto

Heather Gamber: Tenor voice/bassoon

Audrey Gunther Tribute Recording

2009-10-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

Alright everybody, as you may be aware, the 3rd anniversary of Mrs. Gunther's tragic passing is next weekend (Oct 17). I know there's more than a few people out there who miss her every bit as much as I do, and if you're one of those people, I think you'll probably agree that we might as well try to do what we can to commemorate her amazing life and the impact she had on all of us.

Since I'm living away from Calgary, I'm not going to be able to attend any memorial gatherings in town, which I'm very sad about. Nonetheless, I was throwing ideas around with one James Billingsley a little while ago, and we came up with what I thought was a pretty nifty tribute idea.

What we want to do is produce a recording of the tune "Siyahamba" that we always used to sing in choir, with as many ex-Gunther students as we can get singing on it. I've prepared a compressed folder download with the full 4-voice arrangement, as well as the 4 isolated vocal parts, played on piano. What we need YOU to do is this:

1. Download the recording template folder

2. Using Garageband or whatever audio recording method is convenient for you, record yourself singing your vocal part along with the template download (wear headphones so the keyboard track doesn't get picked up by your microphone!). Singing along with the template will allow us all to be in unison tempo and pitch, even though we're all doing this in different places. If you need a little bit of help, here's a few links:

"siyahamba" sung by an actual choir (in case you forget how the words go and stuff!)
"siyahamba" printed lyrics

3. send me the recording of JUST YOUR VOICE (by email, or zshare, mediafire, whatever) so that I can compile all the different voices and mix together a master recording of everyone singing together. Please email me at brendanmcguigan@shaw.ca

And that's it! What I would really like to do (pipe dream maybe?) is release the master recording next weekend as a charity download mp3, with all proceeds going towards starting a fund for an Audrey Gunther Memorial Scholarship Fund. HOWEVER, in order to do that we need to make the recording first! So, if you have the equipment and technical know-how to record yourself, or if you know someone else who does, please consider taking the time to add your voice to what I hope will be a lovely tribute to a very meaningful teacher who meant the world to a whole lot of us. If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to email me at brendanmcguigan@shaw.ca

Oh, and please don't worry about trying to make a note-perfect, high-quality recording. I don't want anybody losing any sleep over this. It is not a big deal if your recording has a tiny difference in rhythm from the template, or if it's a little hissy, or quiet, or whatever. Just send me whatever you can throw together, and I'll handle the rest. I think the most important thing is to have as many different people on this recording as we can, so don't let trying to make a professional-sound recording stand in the way of you getting your track to me. That being said, if you can send the recording in .wav format, that would be ideal.

Thanks guys and gals, and hope to hear from you soon!

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving! Everyone chill with your families and take 'er easy now

-Brendan

sept 11 2009

2009-09-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

all of me
when you're smiling
busted (ray charles)
let's go get stoned (ray charles)
see you in my dreams
kiss to build a dream on
sunny side of the street
daydream - (lovin spoonful)
That's life (sintra)
You make me feel so young
All the things you are
mack the knife
you rascal you
I dont care if the sun don't shine

fly me to the moon
that's amore
Makin' whoppee
Cheek to cheek
you've got a friend in me (randy newman
I don't care if the sun don't shine (elvis)
I've got you under my skin
lonesome town (ricky nelson)
My romance
a nightingale sang in berkeley square
old man river
somewhere over the rainbow
rainbow connection
Night and Day
Don't get around much anymore

My New Address!

2009-09-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

14 Denison Square
Toronto, ON
M5T 1K8

August 24 - Auburn

2009-08-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

The Field - Yesterday and Today
The Field - I Have the Moon, You Have the Internet
Bill Frisell - Blues for Los Angeles
Bill Frisell - I Heard it Through the Grapevine
Medeski, Martin, Scofield and Wood - Little Walter Rides Again
Medeski, Martin, Scofield and Wood - Legalize It
Wilco - You Never Know
The Sea and Cake - Up On Crutches
Tennishero - Midnight Love
Phoenix - Fences
Phoenix - Lisztomania (Classixx remix)
Death From Above 1979 - Romantic Rights (Erol Alkan's Love From Below Re-Edit)
Cut Copy - Rendezvous
Michael Jackson - Don't Stop Till You Get Enough
Nina Simone - Sinnerman (Felix Da Housecat's Heavenly House Mix)
Cut Copy - Saturdays
Lo-Fi-Fnk - City (The Teenagers Remix)
Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (The Teenagers Remix)
Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover
James Brown - Rapp Payback (Where Iz Moses)
The Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive (Teddybears Remix)
Empire of the Sun - Walking On a Dream
Lemon Jelly - '76 (Stay With You)
Bob Dylan - Rocks and Gravel (Jahbil Remix)
Dire Straits - Money For Nothing
Classixx - I'll Get You (feat. Jeppe)
Chromeo - Needy Girl (Bloc Party Remix)
Athlete - Hurricane (Camp America Remix)
M.I.A. - Paper Planes (DFA Remix)
Lemon Jelly - The Staunton Lick
Florence and the Machine - You've Got the Love
The Teenagers - Make it Happen
The Twelves - Episode II
1 - Zeigeist - Humanitarianism (The Twelves Replay)
2 - Radiohead - Reckoner (The Twelves Replay)
3 - Mirwais - Naive Song
4 - Of Montreal - Gronlandic Edit
5 - David E. Sugar - To Yourself
6 - The Virgins - Rich Girls (The Twelves Replay)
7 - Daft Punk - Voyager
8 - Jupiter - CHIP
Metro Area - Dance Reaction
Cut Copy - Feel the Love
Junior Senior - Headphone Song
Hey Champ - Cold Dust Girl
La Roux - In For the Kill (Lifelike remix)
Pnau - Baby (Breakbot remix)
80Kidz - Getting You Off (Feat. Hey Champ)
Michael Jackson - P.Y.T.
Marina and the Diamonds - I Am Not a Robot (Starsmith remix)
French Horn Rebellion - Beaches and Friends (Hey Champ remix)
Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone (Deadmau5 remix)

Then my laptop shut down unexpectedly! Good Night Everybody!

Canadian Dance Party Tour?

2009-08-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hey guys and gals!

Here's the deal: I'm moving to Toronto at the end of this month (leaving calgary around the 30th) and I'm thinking of using it as an opportunity to rock a guerilla-style dance party DJ tour. Bascially, I am going to be greyhounding from Calgary to Toronto, so if you live between those two cities and you want to host a party, I will make a stop in your town and put on a mad dance party show! I think this could be a real cool project, which, if successful, will be proof that we can use the internet to do unbelievably cool things! (not that we didn't know that anyway)

My first show in Toronto is on sept 4, so any shows would need to happen between aug 30 and sept 4. Small window, I know.... short notice, I also know! But I just had this idea today and I though, well, why not see what my internet friends/fans think!

Cool? If you're interested in helping me move to Toronto in style and have a synthpop tour on the way, give me a shout via my website and we'll make this happen!

Long and McQuade

2009-08-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

wedding rental

4 mains
4 monitors
snake
a bunch of xlr cables
5 58s
5 stands
3 DIs

firebox - doesn't have midi? is there one that does?

gtr strings (12s)
picks

Oldschool Synthosaurus Recordings!

2009-08-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

Synthosaurus - Prehistoric EP

Arabic folk song

2009-08-11T11:07:00.000-07:00

Umm Kulthum - At Atlal

Fairuz فيروز - Sanarjiou Yawman

Umm Kalthoum - Al Atlal

betty's ad

2009-08-08T23:32:00.000-07:00

here it is!

Swiss Hips

2009-08-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

Swiss Hips rehearsal archive

Brad Stanton - Gtr/vox
Brendan McGuigan - Bass
Kirk McVean - Keys
Dave Marshall - Drums

Chicken with tomatoes and garam masala

2009-07-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

INGREDIENTS

5 Tbsp veg oil
3/4 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 inch of cinnamon
6 whole cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon whole peppercorns
6 oz onions, peeled and finely chopped
7 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 inch cube of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 lb fresh tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped (you peel a tomato by soaking it in hot water... then you can just peel it off by hand)
3 lb chicken (skinned)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garam masala

- heat oil in pot (med-high heat)
- add cumin seeds, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves, peppercorns
- stir once, add onions, garlic, ginger
- Stir until onions turn speckled brown
- add tomatoes, chicken, salt, cayenne pepper
- stir to mix, bring to boil
- cover tightly, turn heat to low and simmer for 25 mins (until chicken is tender)
- Remove cover, turn up heat to med.
- sprinkle in garam masala, cook for 5 additional mins (reduces amount of liquid)

2009-07-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

The B52's - Deepsleep
Blonde Redhead - Top Ranking
Camera Obscura - French Navy
Chromeo - My Girl Is Calling Me a Liar
David Bowie - Moonage Daydream
Deerhoof - The Galaxist
Devotchka - Till the End of Time
The Duhks - Mighty Storm
Mykonos - Fleet Foxes
Harry Belafonte - Jump in the Line
The Hidden Cameras - Hump from Bending
JJ Cale - Mama Don't
James - Runaground
Joy Division - Decades
The Knife - Lasagna
Lau - Hinba
Legendary Pink Dots - Blacklist
The Magnetic Fields - Strange Powers
Mark Farina - Dream Machine
Kate Bush - Them Heavy People
La Roux - Fascination
Mew - Special
Mr. Beasley - Right as Rain
Neko Case - That Teenage Feeling
New Order - Thieves Like Us
The Psychedelic Furs - Dumb Waiters
Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Rainer Hass - Packin' Heat at the Speakeasy
Rogue Wave - Lake Michigan
Roxy Music - If There is Something
Sebastian Tellier - La Ritounelle
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - Standed in Your Love
Sons & Daughters - Monsters
Stephen Merrit - The Meaning of Lice
The Sugarcubes - Hit
Talking Heads - Making Flippy Floppy
Vassar Clements - Kissimmee Kid

2009-07-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

Hooo man, was the DJ tonight ever deadly! Zoe and I popped into a little pub known as Variety in downtown Glasgow for a pint, and chilled and listened to some tunes. Have yet to track down mp3s, but here's some bands that the DJ was spinning:

Paul Haig
Aztec Camera
The Fall
Go-Betweens
Eugenius
Bodines
Orange Juice
His Master's Voice

Can't wait to check out some swell new albums (well, new for me anyway; most of it was super retro-style!)

Synthosaurs T-shirts Now Available!

2009-07-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

Whoa geez you guys, I'm really excited about this! I finally put in my order last week to get Synthosaurus T-shirts made, and they arrived yesterday! I picked them up and MAN DO THEY EVER LOOK GREAT!

I haven't yet had the chance to get a good photo of a sexy friend wearing the shirt, but imagine, if you will, the above image no your chest for all to enjoy!

The artwork was done by the incredible Fiona Staples, whose world-class artwork can be seen in a variety of comics and graphic novels including North 40, Done To Death, and a recent Wolverine cover! Wow! I still can't believe that she agreed to do artwork for Synthosaurus; I'm very honoured and extremely grateful! Thanks Fiona!

Also, a big shout out to Mitch Rutherford and Band Merch Canada for doing a fastastic printing job in a timely, professional and completely hassle-free manner. If you have a band and want to make merch, I recommend them without hesitation; great work guys!

Anyway, if you would like to have the Synthosaurus and his pterodactyl friend on your bod, I am going to be selling these guys around town for $30. Obviously, if that is more than you can afford , we can totally work something out - I'm not trying to rip anybody off here, but at the same time the shirts were really expensive to make, and I'm trying to make sure that this little investment of mine doesn't leave me completely broke. That said, my main priority is hooking people up with something I think is really cool and original, not bringing in massive dollar billz.

I'm going to try and setup a PayPal thing on my blog ASAP so you can buy them online, and hopefully I can sell them through some local record stores as well. If you are operate a music store (or other store as well!) and would like to help me out by having some Synthosaurus shirts available for purchase, please let me know! I'll also be making a point of having a handful on me when I'm walking around downtown, so if you see me across the street or something, be sure to run over and yell in an excited voice "HOLY COW BRENDAN I WILL HAVE TWENTY T-SHIRTS PLEASE!" so that other people may hear and follow your example!*

I'm leaving for England very shortly, but I'll be around town this weekend, especially on the Stampede grounds! I'll be updating this post with more info on how and where the shirts can be picked up! Thanks in advance for your support, friends!

July 8 @ the Auburn

2009-07-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

Wooow, what a great time we had last night! The Auburn was pretty quiet until about midnight, when the cast & crew of the Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show rolled in, and brought the party in a big way! I was pretty stoked when a handful of dedicated partygoers set off the dancefloor - we kept 'er going till about 3 am! Awesome!

Anyway, if you were hanging with us last night, here is what you heard:

Beck - Guero
Moby - Porcelain
Broker/Dealer - Every Other Sunday
Mr. Scruff - Give Up to Get
Booka Shade - Numbers
Burial & Four Tet - Moth
Tennishero - Midnight Love
Gang Gang Dance - House Jam
Tom Vek - Cover
The Album Leaf - The MP
Bob Dylan - Trying to Get to Heaven
Stereolab - Metronomic Underground
Blondie - Rapture
Michael Jackson + Telepopmusik - Remember the Time (Sleeper Heartbroken Remix)
Whitest Boy Alive - Inflation
Gui Borrato - Beautiful Life
Deadmau5 - Brazil
Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better
The Shins - Phantom Limb
Solus - Now You're Here
PNAU - Embrace (feat. Ladyhawke) - Fred Falke Miami Horror Mix
The BPA - So It Goes (feat. Oily Hite)
Flight of the Conchords - Inner City Pressure
Cold Cut - People Hold On
Cut Copy - Lights and Music
Friendly Fires - In the Hospital
Purple Flash - Purple Flash
Michael Jackson - Get On the Floor (Holy Ghost Edit)
Florence and the Machine - Cosmic Love
Reverie Sound Revue - Arrows
Cut Copy - Saturdays
Michael Jackson - Rock With You (Frankie Knuckles Remix)
Florence and the Machine - Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - Leo Zero Remix
Jensen Sportag - Cocktease (Max Tundra Remix)
LCD Soundsystem - Get Innocuous!
Shinichi Osawa - Star Guitar
Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane Remix feat. Au Revoir Simone)
Bjork - Big Time Sensuality
Michael Jackson - P.Y.T.
Corey Hart - Eurasian Eyes
Tahiti 80 - Separate Ways
Empire of the Sun - Walking On a Dream (Treasure Fingers Remix)
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)
Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy (Grum Remix)
Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place (Gigamesh Remix)
Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (Telemitry Remix)
Holy Ghost - I Will Come Back
Michael Jackson - Baby Be Mine
Chromeo - So Gangsta
Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Russ Chimes Remix)
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Blur + Justice - Song 2 D.A.N.C.E. (Sebwax Mashup)
Bit Funk - Love Scientific
Kelis - Bossy (Feat. Too Short - Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix)
Michael Jackson - The Way You Make Me Feel
Futurecop! - Nasa
Futurecop! - Ain't That Fresh!
Futurecop! - Tonight's Hero
Futurecop! - Transformers (Ghosthustler Remix)
Treasure Fingers - Cross the Dancefloor (Chromeo Remix)
Passion Pit - Sleepyhead (Neo Tokyo Remix)

So fun! A definite highlight for me was the three dudes who requested Max Tundra (how often does that happen?), as well as the couples who were doing swing-style dancing to Futurecop! Can't wait till next time!

Max Tundra to Tour with Passion Pit!

2009-07-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

Uber- Eccentric synth-popper Max Tundra has just announced that he will be supporting the massively-hyped Passion Pit on their October U.K. tour, along with the Joy Formidable (who will also be supporting Editors earlier in the month). Tour Dates are as follows:

PASSION PIT + MAX TUNDRA + THE JOY FORMIDABLE
21st Oct: Sheffield Leadmill
22nd Oct: Newcastle Northumbria University
23rd Oct: Glasgow Garage
24th Oct: Manchester 02 Club Academy
26th Oct: Oxford 02 Club Academy
27th Oct: London Koko
30th Oct: Bristol Anson Rooms
31st Oct: Southampton University
1st Nov: Birmingham 02 Academy 2

Unreal! If you are a fan of ultra-blissy indie pop and live in the U.K., well, lucky you!

Miss Kittin - Professional Distortion (Modeselektor remix)

2009-06-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

mp3

myspace

official website

Many thanks to Zoe for introducing me to this tasty banger, which can be found on Miss Kittin's Mixing Me EP. Do listen to the rest of the album, it is just so great. Also very worth checking out is the unstoppable Modeselektor. Enjoy!