Youth Rock
West Vancouver Community Foundation Stage
John Lawson Park, 1:00pm-5:00pm

For the second year in a row, we’re bringing Youth Rock to the Main Stage in John Lawson Park! This two-day mini-festival showcases young, up-and-coming local bands with original music in a wide range of styles. Don’t miss out!

Come see what all the fuss is about!

Saturday, July 31st	Sunday, August 1st
1:00 pm - Asha Diaz 3:00 pm - Ready, Steady, Go 4:00 pm - Crossing Lions	1:00 pm - Larissa Feng 2:00 pm - Brittany Ayton 3:00 pm - The Coalition 4:00 pm - Fogon

Saturday, July 31

1:00 pm

Asha Diaz 13 year old Asha Diaz began performing at 8 years old when she wrote and performed ‘Cauliflower Clouds’ for the PNE’s Talent Showcase. Since then, she’s written and co-written over a dozen songs and is currently releasing her first CD: Jumpin’ Off. Asha has performed at the PNE (2006 & 2009), The Harmony Arts Festival (2008, 2009), The Edgemont Village Harvest Festival (2009), Creativ Music’s Live @ Creativ showcase (2008 , 2010), The Edgemont Village Olympic Torch Relay (2010), Robson Square Olympic BC Pavillion (2010), West Vancouver’s Olympic Celebration Stage (2010), and West Vancouver’s Canada Day Celebration (2010). In 2009, Asha was named one of ‘Top 30 under 30’ in the North Shore Outlook.

Asha currently works as a vocal coach for Creativ Music’s Pop Star Birthday parties and studies voice, piano & songwriting with Creativ Music’s Jim Kwan. Asha's favourite colour is omega yellow and she loves eating sushi with friends. Check out ashadiaz.com for more!

3:00 pm

Ready Steady Go - Reggae/Ska/Rock Daniel Clark, Jake Meadows, Colin Clark, Nigel Boeur Good music, good vibe, good times. When watching Ready Steady Go perform it is obvious that they love to play live. The members of this group have been playing music together for over 7 years in music halls, schools, clubs, and festivals all over town, even on a street corner or two. Ready Steady Go have played live on radio and appeared on Much Music at ages 11 & 12. Their songs range from the poppy feel good vibe of Don't Cry Love Your Life to more serious tunes about the human condition such as Room 813 and In Cold Blood. Their lyrics have depth, are socially conscious, and often carry a positive message. Previous Shows West Van Olympic Celebration – Feb ‘10 North Van Valleyfest – Feb ‘10 Harmony Arts Festival – Youth Rock – August ‘09 Keep the Beat War Child Benefit - February ‘09 Roundhouse – Vancouver Independent Promotions Youth Series – November ‘08

It is easy to see that these guys are more than just a catchy melody and clever hooks. It will be exciting to see where these guys will take their journey. CD coming soon. Check out RSG myspace page for upcoming shows and events. Ready Steady Go (YouTube)

4:00 pm

Crossing Lions Boasting flavours of Pop/Rock and Indie music, Crossing Lions is an eclectic four-piece band emerging out of North Vancouver, British Columbia. The band members originally met as rival groups competing for high school audiences: Giuseppe Tolfo and Adam Vajda were an acoustic coffee house duo struggling to contend with the pop-rock energy of Marek Olsen and James Higgins. Merging talents just months before graduating, these musician/songwriters became Crossing Lions, a quartet with a shared passion to pursue music. Inspired by singer-songwriters like Jason Mraz, Dallas Green, and Chris Carrabba, and indie-rock bands like Said The Whale, Mother Mother, and Spoon, Crossing Lions’ sound fuses an acoustic intimacy with the guitar driven force of rock. Tolfo’s percussive chord progressions and infectious vocal melodies flow into Vajda’s jazz infused riffs. Higgins and Olsen provide a balanced foundation for the band’s unique sound, with a rhythmic drum pulse and instinctive bass lines.
	The band members share training and experience in classical piano and jazz ensembles, which add musical depth to their compositions and a natural confidence to their performances. Crossing Lions‘ vocal hooks and harmonies, sophisticated lyrics, and creative instrumentation demonstrate their capacity as artists, and this performance styling is reflected in the diversity of their following.
Recent highlights for Crossing Lions have been performances at West Vancouver’s Spirit Square for the 2010 Winter Olympics and at Vancouver’s historic Vogue Theatre alongside Carly Rae Jepsen and Marianas Trench.

August 1st - Sunday

1:00 pm

Larissa Feng is a 17 year old singer/songwriter who, instead of partying on Friday (or Saturday...or Sunday...) nights, used to sit in front of a computer programming drumbeats. Or fooling with a guitar. Or writing sad unrequited-love songs.

One day, Larissa ran out of people to write sad unrequited-love songs about... so instead, started writing some more quirky material. This material captured the attention of both her peers and music industry professionals alike, such as Jonathan Simkin who, after seeing Larissa perform, invited her to intern at 604Records. Since then, Larissa released a debut album (which only contained a few songs about unrequited love), played all around Vancouver, and is currently pushing her writing boundaries with the help of mentor Steve Marshall.

2:00 pm

Brittany Ayton For 16 year old Brittany Ayton, music has always been the one thing that she was sure of in life. It was the one thing that could make her happy even when it had been the worst day ever, it was a way to express herself & escape from the world’s chaos for a few minutes.

Brittany plays with a pop style singing and accompanying herself on the piano. Her classical training in both voice and piano as well as experience in choirs and jazz ensembles have continually helped and contributed to the artist she is and still growing to be. Brittany has been featured performing in “It takes a Village” a fundraiser for a low income school in North Vancouver, “The Invisible Talent Show” and “Multi-Cultural Night” at Argyle Secondary School, and the West Vancouver’s Youth Talent Showcase during the Olympics. This is just a sneak peak to the bubbly lifestyle of Brittany.

3:00 pm

The Coalition (short for The Melodic Coalition for Unity & Harmony through Sound & Music) was formed in November, 2007 under the name Smajic's Magic. Guitarists Dylan Stickel and Will Hodgins have been playing music together since 2004 in various bands. In 2007, Sina Nazarian joined the lineup on drums and Coalition officially began.

After playing the blues for many years in their previous bands, The Coalition began writing music that incorporates some of their various influences outside of the blues through bands like Nine Inch Nails and Porcupine Tree, all the while remaining heavily rooted in the blues. The Coalition is currently negotiating a recording contract with Arc Of The Universe Music and are preparing to record their first album in late July/early August.

4:00 pm

Fogon

Fogon (Spanish for “bonfire”) hails from Squamish, where guitarist/ vocalist Evan Captain and drummer Brad Klees are students at Quest University Canada, though both members originally hail from Washington State. Fogon draws musical influence from its members’ lengthy world travels, as well as the Seattle music scene. Fogon has been together for one year, but already has recorded an impressive amount of material.