Skip to content

Author Archives: Amanda Ash

Gootloader infection cleaned up

Dear blog owner and visitors, This blog had been infected to serve up Gootloader malware to Google search victims, via a common tactic known as SEO (Search Engine Optimization) poisioning. Your blog was serving up 380 malicious pages. Your blogged served up malware to 0 visitors. I tried my best to clean up the infection, […]

Sold-out Rexall crowd can’t hide their love for the Eagles

Published in the Edmonton Journal September 10, 2013. BY AMANDA ASH, EDMONTON JOURNAL EDMONTON – If there was any animosity remaining between Eagles members Monday night at Rexall Place, it was hidden beneath friendly jokes and campfire stories about the good ol’ days. Perhaps a handsome dollar figure attached to their North American tour made […]

Life & Times: Country-blues sideman was a mainstay of Edmonton music scene — Fred LaRose (1954-2013)

Published in the Edmonton Journal September 8, 2013. BY AMANDA ASH, EDMONTON JOURNAL EDMONTON – Fred LaRose was the rhythm, the heartbeat and the lifeblood of many Edmonton bands. A pillar in the music scene for 40 years, LaRose jammed and toured with nearly every local act. Onstage, he was the bassist in the background. […]

For country fans, all off-roads lead to Big Valley

Published in the Edmonton Journal August 1, 2013. BY AMANDA ASH, EDMONTON JOURNAL When you’re out in the wild, living in a jungle of tents harbouring strange shirtless beasts, life’s priorities change. Shelter comes to mind as an immediate survival necessity, but Nick Mytopher says things are different out here. On this dusty patch of […]

Festival preview: Elliott Brood brings tour to Edmonton

Published in the Edmonton Journal on July 24, 2013. BY AMANDA ASH, EDMONTON JOURNAL EDMONTON – Mark Sasso is painting the trim of his house. In the background, his dog barks at a field mouse that’s crept into his Toronto yard. The vocalist for Toronto death country trio Elliott Brood enjoys these little pleasures. For a small […]

Young Edmonton model makes the cover of Italian Vogue

Published in the Edmonton Journal July 18, 2013. BY AMANDA ASH, EDMONTON JOURNAL Dorian Reeves received a flustered phone call in early spring. On the line was his New York agent from Soul Artist Management, telling Reeves he had three hours to prepare for and attend an important meeting clear across New York City. Just […]

#yvrshoots connects fans to the film industry

Published on OpenFile.ca on September 13, 2011.  At any given moment, Twitter connects people to pop culture chatter and real-time events developing across the globe. But for Vancouver-based journalist Susan Gittins, the popular social media tool boasts some star-studded appeal. Gittins, a self-professed movie and television aficionado, created the Twitter hashtag#yvrshoots in November 2010 at the suggestion […]

Review: Taylor Swift hearts Vancouver

Published in the Vancouver Sun September 10, 2011. BY AMANDA ASH, VANCOUVER SUN Taylor Swift curled her hands into the shape of a heart. With a sweet smile, the 21-year-old country-pop superstar hoisted the symbol above her head, letting it float above a sold-out crowd at Rogers Arena Saturday night. It was unlike the usual […]

Review: Ke$ha feeds Vancouver’s party hungry

Published in the Vancouver Sun September 9, 2011. BY AMANDA ASH, VANCOUVER SUN Good thing Ke$ha’s glitter orgy fell on a Friday. If it were a weekday, no one would’ve made it to work the next morning. As can be expected from the 24-year-old pop-rock star who sing-raps about brushing her “teef” with Jack Daniels, […]

Vancouver’s geography reels in film industry

Published on OpenFile.ca on September 8, 2011. Vancouver’s backyard is sprinkled with snow-capped mountains, lush forests, sandy beaches and glittering waters. Drive a few hours outside the neighborhood and you’ll discover dusty deserts, icy ridges and cozy rural towns. In all its vegetative forms, Vancouver and B.C.’s geography has been its calling card for major motion […]