In this video made for Boing Boing tv, Russell Porter (Porter Report) interviews Canadian rap / IDM / hiphop / house / genre-bending artist Cadence Weapon, aka Rollie Pemberton. Cadence Weapon originally hails from Edmonton, Alberta.

Cadence Weapon, who is 22 years old, is touring Europe and US throughout the summer. Dates are listed — where else? — on his MySpace, along with various blinky things. His newest record Afterparty Babies was just released on Epitaph, and is, as the kids say, fierce.

While I was in Toronto for NXNE, I got the chance to sit down with Toronto’s singer/songwriter Mia Sheard to talk about NXNE as well as what opportunities there are for Canadian musicians. We also touch on what Canada and the world expect from musicians.

Mia Sheard, as you may recall, is a talent to be reckoned with! If you don’t quite remember the profile of Mia Sheard that was featured on TransCanadaRadio, go ahead back and check it out.  Then be sure to come back and check out the exclusive interview!

Interview With Mia Sheard, Part One

Interview With Mia Sheard, Part Two

While at NXNE, I managed to steal away some time from Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sonicbids, Panos Panay, for an interview.

Sonicbids is a web site that helps bands get gigs, and promoters book the right bands. Their community includes over 150,000 bands, singers, songwriters, and performers of all kinds, and 14,000-plus music buyers of all kinds, including promoters, licensors, festival programmers, and much more. Bands go there for gigs; promoters go there for bands. They have lots of both!

Panos’s childhood dream of being alternatively the next George Best or the next George Benson came to an end when each canceled the other out. The idea for Sonicbids came to him while reading the book “Blur” and decided to go for it in September of 2000. Before that, he worked on the “dark side” of the business as an international talent agent. Panos hails from Cyprus and is a self-described “voracious” reader, usually traveling with more magazines than clothes (that’s a LOT). He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1994 with a degree in Music Business. In 2005 Panos was named as one of Fast Company Magazine’s “Fast 50″ entrepreneurs and is currently serving as co-chairman of CREATE Boston, an initiative launched by the Mayor of Boston to bolster the creative economy in the city. He is a diehard supporter of English football club Arsenal and by last count he owns over 25 jerseys of “The Gunners” dating back to 1983. He loves his coffee extra strong and blames Elvis for his lifelong fascination with America.

Check out part one of my interview with Sonicbids‘ Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Panos Panay, where we talk about what Sonicbids does and why artists should be all over it like glue.

What Is Sonicbids? An Interview With Panos Panay