vitaminwater canada blog

what do you get when you bring together hundreds of ontario’s up-and-coming independent music artists with juno-nominated performers, big deal industry professionals and $60,000 worth of prizes?

one seriously bumping awards show, that’s what.

we hit up the phoenix concert theatre july 23 for the fifth installment of the timas to take in some homegrown talent and support the local music scene. little did we know that we were in for a full-on awesome fest, complete with no less than 13 live performances that spanned from rap to rock to rabble-rousing rambunctiousness (or whatever category the underwear-and-floppy-hat-wearing band jumple fits into. they were insanely entertaining).

we tapped our toes, we banged our heads, we swayed to the jams of singers like mike celia and shobha – we even slapped our knees, until we realized how dorky we looked slapping our knees.

we also spent a lot of time chilling with nominees and performers in the greenroom, which was stocked with vitaminwater to keep everybody feeling their hypest.

we took a whole whack of photos and did some on-camera interviews too, including one with the adorable miss morgan sadler, winner of this year’s best song award.

other big wins included darrelle london (best pop), conflicted (best metal), rich kidd (best live urban), cut throat kids (best punk), the strange (best indie rock) and the river junction band (best country).

you can see the full list of winners here.

check back soon for our video featuring live performance clips and interviews with some of toronto’s finest independent music artists

*photo courtesy of brick wall*
now that I’m a few weeks in, i’ve learned some things about drunk people.
first, let me say that drunk people have never bothered me. i’ve been working with drunk people for years. being completely sober around them in clubs was never a worry of mine on this month-long mission.

for the most part they are funny and excitable, and sometimes annoying.

i think the worst thing i’ve witnessed is drunk girls in pretty dresses. it’s just so gauche to dress up and look your spiffy best then get so wasted that you ruin your pretty look with snooki-like palsy. side note: i love the snook to death, and she’ll always have my heart, but there’s only one woman who gets away with this look. you can’t.

also, I’ll have to say that dating is over. it’s impossible to go on a date, even the most casual of dates, with someone who is drinking if you are not partaking. they ultimately ended up grabby or too revealing.

the best stuff I’ve witnessed so far is less the things i’ve seen, and more what i’ve heard. like life stories, secrets revealed, passions unfolded and every veil lifted. i have all the gossip people. all of it in the back pocket, because of course, i remember ever dirty detail with this razor sharp water-drinking mind of mine. every infidelity, every indiscretion, every bit of dirty laundry. clearly it’s all kinds of perverse fun.

but I’ll tell you this, all the secrets in the world don’t even come close to the unbridled excitement of breaking into a public pool with 75 other inebriated people on a hot summer night. And that is the kind of foolish idea that only a few drinks will bring.

For now, I’m just watching on the other side of the fence.

vancouver, you’ve shown us so much love, we want to give some back! we’re sending gtv’s finest out to see you this weekend, they’ll have all your favourite varieties of vitaminwater on hand to keep you hydrated at the hottest spots in the greater vancouver area.

so who are these fun loving hydrologists?

jasmine ostad has her flip flops on, and she’s always ready to hit the beach for a good time. she’s a bundle of positive energy, who has never had a bad job or a bad time, so if you can track her down, rest assured the fun (and the vitaminwater) will be flowing. her autobiography isn’t out yet, but with a projected title of ‘funny people’ this is one lady you always want around. you just might want to keep her away from the wheel of your car, because rumour has it she has been overheard screaming “whoah! that was a close one!” in the very recent past. maybe she just needs a focus? ask her in person when you see her this weekend.

adrian hilge loves pizza pockets too. he just thought you should know that. adrian possesses extreme skills in the karaoke department, and can rock out to “cold as ice” by foreigner on command. this, coupled with a bottomless appetite for knowledge about pittsburgh penguins captain sidney crosby, show what a well rounded man he is. he’s been blown away by the northern lights, bought a topsy-turvey tomato planter from an infomercial and used to work as a bouncer. that’s a true renaissance man! when adrian is slipping you some hydration, ask to be regaled with some tales of the diamond mines. you won’t be sorry, and we’re proud to have a real life allan quartermain on our gtv team.

sindhu ratnanesan is hard at work on the story of her life, tentatively titled “the upside down life of singe…” her favorite karaoke jam might be “lucky” by britney spears, but…her lyrical tastes run a bit deeper. like “please don’t stop the rain” by james morrison. which, if you think about it is perfect for a vancouver gtv’er. rain or shine, sindhu will let nothing deter her from her mission to keep you hydrated wherever things are popping off in the greater vancouver area. when you say ‘hello’ to sindhu, ask about her baby whale story. it actually is a whale of a tale.

now that you know the who, vancouver, what about the where? we’ve got you covered, and this upcoming weekend is wall to wall packed with great things to do around vancouver.

there’s going to be two sets of vitaminwater peeps running all over vancouver this weekend, to make sure nobody goes thirsty. you can find jasmine and her crew all over the place, so don’t miss your chance to say ‘hello’ in the flesh.

this weekend is the kickoff for the world famous vancouver pride! friday july 30 head on over to the heart of pride on davie street for a lunchtime blitz and then over to hydrate all the sunbathers at kits beach near the concession. you can also get hydrated on commercial drive and main and broadway. we all know that celebrating can make for a thirsty good time, so there will be lots of vitaminwater in every colour of the rainbow for the taking. our gtv team will also be at davie and thurlow, kits beach, commercial drive and main st and broadway st, so you’ve got four other chances to grab a cool drink during your party pit stops.

saturday july 31 is the whistler bbq championships! who doesn’t love a good bbq, and you can be certain that what’s on the grill here is the best of the best of the best. what goes hand in hand with some killer bbq? a giant sized thirst to match, so grab some vitaminwater to wash down all that ‘cue. our gtv team will also be in mt. washington on vancouver island for the bc cup.

adrian and sindhu will be adding a few more colours to the rainbow at vancouver pride all weekend, so here’s where you can find them in person to get your vitaminwater fix.

aug 1st they’ll be over on davie street, with hydration in hand. the good times and pride celebration will continue on english bay’s grass triangle and at denman and robson st outside the safeway, so come out and see us.

it’s a really exciting weekend to be in vancouver. there’s so much going on, how can you even decide what to do? whatever your plans are, we hope they include coming out to meet our teams in person. we’re looking forward to it, vancouver, and we’ll see you this weekend.

if you’re not a scott pilgrim fan yet, don’t worry – you will be soon. the 23-year-old bass-playing slacker boy may be a fictional character, but he’s pretty much the definition of canadian cool.

boys love him. girls love him. i’m pretty sure cats and dogs would love him too if they could wrap their furry little brains around irreverent pop culture references and the concept of a leading lady who can rollerblade through subspace highways in peoples’ heads.

bryan lee o’malley’s award-winning graphic novel series has been building up a die-hard fanbase for years, but with less than a month to go before the highly anticipated “scott pilgrim vs. the world” movie hits theatres, a video game on the way, and the final chapter of his epic book series only just released, sp fever is hotter than ever – especially here in toronto where the flick was filmed (a yeah, yeah!)

the 6th and final book in the saga, ‘scott pilgrim’s finest hour‘ was released at exactly 12:01 a.m. on july 20th and hipster nerdling fankids flocked to comic book stores across north america to celebrate.

midnight launch parties raged on all evening long. the twitterverse was straight bumping! by midnight, “scott pilgrim” was the number two trending topic in canada (take that, justin bieber!).

a toronto boy himself (though he lives in los angeles now), o’malley showed up to toronto’s midnight launch party at the beguiling comic book store to sign autographs for fans and judge one seriously rockin’ costume contest.

to say markham street was jumping would be an understatement. i could sit here and write about the hundreds of costumed fans who filled the street, the sick bands playing at different venues around the block, the wicked indie video game demonstrations and sweet new t-shirt i scored… but pictures speak louder than words – and if we buy that logic, then videos must scream like a thrash metal band in the early 90′s (in a good way). we just so happened to get tons of both.

check out our flickr album from the event or watch this little video of the massive scott pilgrim costume contest – complete with a wee interview featuring bryan lee o’malley and the contest winners.

ps – we totally got our new books signed and can’t wait for the film!

canada loves guests, no questions there. recently canada.travel decided to invite more people to cross the border for tim hortons, mounties and beaver tails. how did they do it?

they asked a simple question: “how can we get busy americans to pay attention to canada?” twitter of course. they created three interactive twitter billboards, in new york, la and chicago. these billboards display live tweets and photos from people currently traveling in canada. you can see the reactions people have while passing by, and it is amazing. what would you post to a live billboard to highlight your favorite things about canada?

*this is kenny mac getting a tray of shots for the group, midday in st. john’s for the junos.*

every promoter I know has tricks to fake drinking when they’re out. some people are just so persistent that it’s easier to say yes than no. if you have a deal with the bartender as previously mentioned, then you can get a fake drink, but almost everyone orders shots.

there are three ways to fake a shot. the obvious is order vodka and make sure the bartender serves you water, but that takes a lot of foresight and in a busy bar, there’s no guarantees. besides, the last time I got away with a vodka shot was forever ago; almost everyone drinks jager as a safe bet or the dreaded jack daniels, they’re hard to cheat with substitutes.

the best way to do it is to cheers with everyone and shoot your head back fast, close your mouth or block the shot with your tongue and as you bring your head back down (before everyone else), tip it forward and throw the shot on the floor before putting it on the bar. the most important thing is to do it while everyone else has their head back and to throw it on the floor quickly at the same height as the bar. you might end up with jager on your shoes though, so watch your feet.

if you are wearing nice shoes, you might want to opt for the over the shoulder throw. just take the shot, throw it back, but over your shoulder and your gold. no one will notice because they have their heads back. the drawback on this one is that you will most definitely hit someone with that shot if you’re in a busy bar or club and you might get it on your shoulder.

so the real decision is: your shoes or your shirt?

i’m a week in and i gotta say, i feel great. mostly.

i’ve been bounding out of bed in the morning like nobody’s business. i’ve even taken to working out in the morning and I’ve given up coffee, since i don’t really need it anymore.

i will say though, that come 6PM when the sun is shining and the fabulous cafe across the street from the pinkmafia office is rammed with people sucking back bud light limes in the sun, i get squirrely. like at 6PM every day, i’m ready to cut someone for a frosty corona.

going to clubs has been okay thus far, but meeting people after work and sipping soda like a teenager on a carrot stick diet in a lunch room seething with french fries and burgers, is hell on wheels.

in a club, i feel kinda full of myself, like i have a line on something no one else has. walking a few blocks after a saturday night in the west end, fills me with a certain superiority as i watch dozens of girls in nice dresses and slack jaw, sitting by the side of the road scarfing down poutine or shwarma with their high heels kicked off. i know they’ll feel like a hot mess sandwich when they get up the next day.

besides, half the time, my friends think i’m right there with them. cause i cheat. tip #1 to cheating at a bar: you order soda all night, but make sure they serve it to you in a short glass and it looks like your drinking. if you’re a promoter, host, DJ or anyone else who works in bars, it’s not a good look if you’re holding a water bottle or nothing at all. a drink in the hand tells the people around you that you are participating; you’re having a good time. if you know the bartender, then give them a heads up in case someone buys you a drink. tell them to make yours soda and pocket the cash, they’ll love you all night long.

but the after work drink? oh I miss it something fierce. there is no way to cheat your way out of that. it’s just you and your friends (who feels guilty for both drinking in front of you and drinking in the first place). so far, the only excuse that works is “i’m taking antibiotics”. that seems to make people relax.

brian flaman is leading the charge of the saskatoon gtv. he’s known as the glaceau party machine hydrating captain of the west! so you can only imagine the great times that unfold when he’s on the scene. brian feels beastly like a dragon, when sucking down a mega-c, which helps get him amped up for wakeboarding. his only problem? he needs more fan mail! let’s help him out people.

if josh klein wrote an autobiography, he’d name it “living and loving the crowded lifestyle”. which is awesome, because among the crowd is where you’ll find him handing out the vitaminwater. josh is obsessed with google maps, which is a great thing to know in case you need help tracking down the gtv crew. which you should do as soon as possible. how about this weekend?

jocelyn pidskalny is a heavy facebooker, who is on the lookout for people wearing mismatched clothes (she just can’t have that). she’s been blown away by going tuna fishing and knows that “it’s all about what you make it.” she’s also given someone a tattoo before, so watch out saskatoon, you may just walk away inked.

here’s your chance to meet the gtv’ers in person, saskatoon. we’ve got a huge weekend planned, and we can’t wait to meet all of you in person. friday night, july 23, you can grab a sample on your way out of the drake concert at the credit union centre.

saturday july 24, swing by the rotary park dragon boat festival. dragon boat races are a fantastic spectacle to watch, and the gtv crew will be out in force to keep the dragon’s flames at bay.

finally, on sunday july 25th head on over to kiwanis park, where the taste of saskatchewan will be in full swing. this festival features more than 55 of saskatchewan’s best performers, and food from the best local restaurants. you don’t want to miss the 15th anniversary installment of this great outdoor event.

we’re excited to spend the summer with you saskatoon, so come on down and say hello in person

it’s day one of what is probably going to feel like the longest month of my life.

it’s not like i have some big drinking problem or anything, but picture this: you’re fat, like american fat, and you decide to go on a diet, except you have to hang out at the best ice cream shop in the world 3-5 days a week. torture right? well that’s what it’s going to be like for me (except I’m not fat).

i’ve most definitely thrown events or bar nights where i haven’t had a drink in the past, but 4 weeks straight? this will be the first time since high school that I’ve jumped on the old purity wagon for that long.

at most of the parties i throw, i carry around a fist full of drink tickets to host with, sometimes they give me a table and bottles on the house, sometimes (hardest of all), I just have an open tab at the bar. this last option is especially killer, because there is no definitive way to pace yourself at all, and after 12 years in the industry, you could say i’m in the pro leagues when it comes to my ability to drink copious amounts of just about anything and still be highly functioning.

tonight , I’m going to a movie with my best pal (and favourite drinking buddy) then to motel, a new parkdale watering hole that I am helping to launch. I may have to hit boystown on my way back to grab some photos for a column I write for xtra magazine as well. both parkdale and the gayborhood are my two favourite spots to really let loose. xtra magazine

c: hey shimmy. thanks for chatting with me today. i’d like to start by
asking who you are, how old you are, and where you’re from.

s: hey corey! it’s my pleasure to be talking to you. everyone, did you
know i met corey, a fellow canadian who lives less than a few hours
from me in california? that’s kind of sad! but anyways! i am currently
19+1 years old and i’m attending the university of waterloooo for
psychology. i don’t want to say where i live because teen girls will
be at my front door asking my parents which room is my room.

c: how would you describe your youtube videos? what do you say to
people who aren’t familiar with what you do?

s: well i’ve been doing youtube for more than 2 years now so i’ve gone
through a lot of change just like what puberty does to your body. at
first i made just random videos about any kind of topic i could think
of and threw in random humour that i knew would make people
roflcopter. as my youtube channel progressed i decided to actually
choose trends and issues that are going on in today’s world and throw
some humour in it. why?!?! well kids these days don’t learn in school,
seriously. they learn from the media, so i was like why not be a
teacher in a positive influential way? people say my videos are too
immature, too vulgar for children, but a lot of people at the same
time understand my point of views and perspectives that i have. it’s
not like i only make videos to solely be funny, but i always have a
message behind my video & if you’re old enough to understand that,
props to you baby. then i know the world isn’t half bad and can
understand what a joke is along with having a sense of humour.

to the people who aren’t familiar with me, no i’m not gay. what’s
wrong with a straight guy who cares about having a fashion sense?
straight girls can, so why can’t straight guys? that’s like saying
from this point on, men can only make sandwiches for girls because men
make them better. it makes no sense. wait, this has
nothing to do with the familiarity of what i do in videos .. oh maybe
that’s because people time to time leave comments that are always
questioning my sexual orientation based upon how i look. well for you straight guys out there…it’s called being metro yo, girls all have
different preferences, not all girls want the hollister abercrombie
buff dude who works out 24/7 and eats steroids for breakfast. plus the
moral line everyone “appears” to follow daily something along the
lines of, “be yourself, be unique, don’t let anyone change who you
are.” you know what i’m saying? so be your own
person.

wow, i am off topic. so based on what i do on youtube is, I
bring immaturity to a whole new level asian style and i love using
random topics and trends that are viewed today and bring that twist
into my content.

c: how do you feel culture and ethnicity factor into your content and
your successes – both being canadian and being asian? is this
something you find yourself thinking about or trying to appeal
towards?

s: i think being asian has a lot to do with my success. every e-mail
or comments towards me based upon appraisal always has to do with
something of me being asian. a lot of my viewers and people who come
up to me in person are usually asian teeny bopper girls. i think being
a canadian has a strong feature in my success too, a lot of youtubers
tend to be from america and tend to be widely viewed
on youtube. so being one of the only few asian canadians on youtube
gives me some form of background already of people praising that. Well
i’ve always used asian related jokes in my videos and will probably
never stop because no matter what it represents my asian side of
eating rice & noodles. i don’t specifically think of asian content to
add into my videos, but it automatically always ties itself in
somehow, it’s just my rice eating skills kicking in.

c: which of your videos was the most fun to make? which was the most
work? which are you the most proud of?

s: the funniest video i made was definitely the parody music video. i
was originally going to make it with a friend but for some reason i
didn’t like his asian accent so i scrapped him out. lol! terrible of
me.

this was definitely the most amount of work because of it being a
music video i had to take a lot of random shots. i also had to make a
song to go with it. i ran into a lot of syncing problems and i got
pretty frustrated but for the efforts and work put into it i think i
did a job well done and it only took a few hours. i’m proud with any
video i make because I know no matter what it will at least bring a
smile to 1 person in the whole world who decides to watch it.

c: do you think making videos is something you could see yourself
doing full-time? do you see a career here, or in something similar?

s: i really would love to do youtube as a career, but i
think no matter what education is just as important as looking fresh
is gangstuh. it’s like every kid’s dream, you want to make it big with
everyone knowing you and just doing what you love, but it doesn’t work
out for everyone. education no matter what is important no matter how
much money you make, it’s the base foundation of everything from even
having a career. wow serious mode tom `1“!~!

c: what might you share to someone looking for tips on making their
own youtube videos? starting their own channel?

s: don’t let anyone get in the way of you doing what you want to do.
honestly, a lot of people are going to support you but at the same
time there will be others who try to bring you down, look how far
other people have gotten who didn’t let things get in their way. just do
what you wanna do gangstuhs.

c: is there anything coming up from you that we can look forward to?

s: more videos in general!

c: anything else you’d like to say or share?

S: “have fun at all times.” – snoop dogg