Jeff Ducharme
Telegraph-Journal
Wednesday November 21st, 2007
Saint John native helps create BANDthology, a diversion centred around music
Angela Major and her husband, Geo, are the co-creators of a new board game called BANDthology that will be available for Christmas.
Telegraph-Journal
Wednesday November 21st, 2007
Saint John native helps create BANDthology, a diversion centred around music
Angela Major and her husband, Geo, are the co-creators of a new board game called BANDthology that will be available for Christmas.
SAINT JOHN - Sometimes boredom is the mother of invention as much or more than necessity.
Saint John native Angela Major, who now calls Calgary home, knows that better than most. Her husband, Geo, and buddy Cal Wilson were working on a movie set when they started throwing music questions at each other. Movie sets often take boredom to a new level because hours and hours are spent waiting while a director fiddles with a shot or something has to be moved or the weather isn't co-operating.
"They basically invented it and they didn't even know that's what they were doing it," she said of the pair. What began as a tool to alleviate boredom has now grown into BANDthology, a musical board game.
"They have to be really creative some times, conversation will only go so far," Major said of working on movie sets.
The impromptu game, Major said, began to draw a crowd of other bored souls on various movie sets they worked on and then the light bulb went on.
"This was about five years ago they started thinking that way."One night Angela and Geo sat at home and took out a piece of cardboard and drew up what the game board might look like."We still have that old piece of cardboard with the outline of a guitar on it."
Players answer questions such as name three songs that have the word love in the name, but there are also true and false questions, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank questions and even charades. Players then build their own six-member supergroup. The first person to get their band together wins. "There's a lot of trivia games out there, but our game is not a trivia game."
Wilson's wife, Sharon, does all the marketing for the game.Major and her partners have also developed a DJ-based game that can be played in bars similar to the live trivia challenge that was once all the rage.
The game is being produced by a company in China and the first production run of 3,000 games will begin appearing on store shelves later this month. Music giant HMV has agreed to take the game on."We still don't know how far this is going to go," Major said "It's been a really fun journey through the whole thing."
Saint John native Angela Major, who now calls Calgary home, knows that better than most. Her husband, Geo, and buddy Cal Wilson were working on a movie set when they started throwing music questions at each other. Movie sets often take boredom to a new level because hours and hours are spent waiting while a director fiddles with a shot or something has to be moved or the weather isn't co-operating.
"They basically invented it and they didn't even know that's what they were doing it," she said of the pair. What began as a tool to alleviate boredom has now grown into BANDthology, a musical board game.
"They have to be really creative some times, conversation will only go so far," Major said of working on movie sets.
The impromptu game, Major said, began to draw a crowd of other bored souls on various movie sets they worked on and then the light bulb went on.
"This was about five years ago they started thinking that way."One night Angela and Geo sat at home and took out a piece of cardboard and drew up what the game board might look like."We still have that old piece of cardboard with the outline of a guitar on it."
Players answer questions such as name three songs that have the word love in the name, but there are also true and false questions, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank questions and even charades. Players then build their own six-member supergroup. The first person to get their band together wins. "There's a lot of trivia games out there, but our game is not a trivia game."
Wilson's wife, Sharon, does all the marketing for the game.Major and her partners have also developed a DJ-based game that can be played in bars similar to the live trivia challenge that was once all the rage.
The game is being produced by a company in China and the first production run of 3,000 games will begin appearing on store shelves later this month. Music giant HMV has agreed to take the game on."We still don't know how far this is going to go," Major said "It's been a really fun journey through the whole thing."
Trivia game ready to rock
Board game targets music fans
Board game targets music fans
Louise Hudson
For The Calgary Herald
Thursday, October 04, 2007
CREDIT: Jenelle Schneider, Calgary Herald
For The Calgary Herald
Thursday, October 04, 2007
CREDIT: Jenelle Schneider, Calgary Herald
Geo and Angela Major, left, with Sharon and Cal Wilson developed a board game entitled Bandthology.
A Calgary marketer is hoping to add a little rock 'n' roll to the staid world of board games this winter, with BANDthology, a new concept targeting music fans of all ages.
"Think Cranium for music lovers," says Sharon Wilson, referring to the popular board game that has grown into one of the industry's biggest successes of the decade. Wilson hopes her game, resembling a musician's road case, will follow the success of Cranium, and may be even entice people back to traditional board games.
"It crosses over different age groups, different musical tastes and genres to make it a game that really anyone could enjoy," she explains.
Invented by Wilson and three partners in Calgary, the barrier-breaking game leaves players singing, humming and avidly discussing their music interests. Teens can vie with older players, pitting their encyclopedic Sum 41 and Plain White Ts knowledge against determined Springsteen or Beatles buffs.
At BANDthology Live events at pub or corporate functions, competitors can "band" together, with diverse expertise creating the strongest teams.
Players compete using a combination of music trivia, multiple choice options, true or false questions, word unscrambling, Jeopardy-style cards and charades-style auditions.
Each game is different depending on the musical taste of its players. Whether you are into pop, rock, metal, blues, jazz, hip-hop, rap or country, you can pit your specialization against anyone.
The idea first came five years ago when Sharon's husband, Cal, and his colleague, Geo Major, were working as sound technicians on a TV miniseries. They started spicing up tedious breaks with increasingly inventive music challenges.
"First we had to name songs with 'rock' in the title, then it was 'love' in the title," recalls Major. "In no time we had the whole crew and cast all playing it, too."
The duo brought their wives on board and the game came together.
"Angela (Major) and I have been involved in respect to what it would include and what it would look like," Sharon explains. "There is a lot of 'us' in the game."
For five years, the partners developed the project while working full-time jobs, squeezing in work on the game when they could. Over that time, BANDthology has gone through various incarnations.
"I'm so glad we took so long over it," says Sharon. "We have added many more features since the original idea."
The foursome has funded most of the development of the game themselves. They were unable to land a Canadian manufacturing deal, so Sharon found a Hong Kong factory via a Canadian agent.
Now Sharon has left her 17-year career in the travel business to concentrate on marketing the game, and with the help of an investor and their experience in the television industry, they have big global plans.
Exotic TV commercials have already been produced by the creative team in locations including the Bahamas, Arizona, Las Vegas, Sweden and the Turks & Caicos. The game will be translated into Swedish for release there, too.
"We have the unique ability to write and self-produce commercials and other promotional media," says Sharon. "This puts us at an advantage and should be considered a real plus for retailers that choose to work with us."
Even the game itself has expanded beyond its initial conception.
"We're planning specialty card packs as accessories," says Sharon. "There will be the Canadian box set, a Beatles pack and one for consummate blues lovers, for example."
There is also a "Touring Edition" planned, with a musicology card pack intended for car and plane journeys. MyBANDthology is a downloadable digital version for portable devices such as iPods, phones and BlackBerrys. And BANDthology Junior will be out within six months.
The interactive entertainment package, BANDthology Live, is already available for corporate team building and pub theme nights. The group test-drove the event at a Talisman Energy function two years ago and at a recent fundraiser for the Between Friends charity, for which Angela still works. While working currently on the set of CBC TV series Heartland, Cal and Geo have lined up another 100-strong event for the crew later this month. The foursome is building a downloadable version for DJs to license and play at their own venues.
The group is also supporting music programs in Calgary schools. "As parents in these days of cuts to school budgets, we want to help keep music appreciation and music programs alive in our schools," explains Sharon. She will be piloting a fundraising program in one local school this year.
The partners have collaborated on other creative projects since establishing their friendship. Geo, Cal and Sharon have worked on film projects and also co-wrote the musical theatre show Collage. Cal is also an accomplished songwriter and musician.
The first shipment of board games, which will retail for $39.95 each, will arrive in time for the Christmas shopping season. With the game available in local stores and online at bandthology.com .The holidays could take on a musical tone this year with families forgoing last year's poker tournament to contend for musical mastery instead.
Take Aim at BANDthology Trivia
1. Unscramble the name of this Linkin Park song: KABNREIG HET TIABH
2. This concert took place in the summer of 1982. T_E _S _ E_ T__A L
3. She had a No. 1 hit song in 1967 with To Sir With Love
4. What artist was born Cornell Haynes Jr.? A. Glenn Lewis; B. Ryan Cabrera; C. Nelly
5. What song is this lyric from: "At 7 p.m. the main hatchway gave in, he said 'Fellas it's been good to know ya."
6. Name any three of the Spice Girls.
7. What two band members appear on the front cover of the Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album?
8. What was Foreigner doing "for a girl like you" on their fourth album?
9. Name three types of drums found on a standard drum kit.
10. Name two songs with "types of food" in their title.
Answers
1. Breaking the Habit
2. The US Festival
3. Lulu
4. C. Nelly
5. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Gordon Lightfoot)
6. Posh, Baby, Ginger, Sporty, Scary
7. Stevie Nicks & Mick Fleetwood
8. Waiting
9. Open ended (Examples: Tom, Kick Drum, Snare)
10. Open ended. (Examples: Brown Sugar, (Put the Lime in the) Coconut, Lime Light)
© The Calgary Herald 2007
A Calgary marketer is hoping to add a little rock 'n' roll to the staid world of board games this winter, with BANDthology, a new concept targeting music fans of all ages.
"Think Cranium for music lovers," says Sharon Wilson, referring to the popular board game that has grown into one of the industry's biggest successes of the decade. Wilson hopes her game, resembling a musician's road case, will follow the success of Cranium, and may be even entice people back to traditional board games.
"It crosses over different age groups, different musical tastes and genres to make it a game that really anyone could enjoy," she explains.
Invented by Wilson and three partners in Calgary, the barrier-breaking game leaves players singing, humming and avidly discussing their music interests. Teens can vie with older players, pitting their encyclopedic Sum 41 and Plain White Ts knowledge against determined Springsteen or Beatles buffs.
At BANDthology Live events at pub or corporate functions, competitors can "band" together, with diverse expertise creating the strongest teams.
Players compete using a combination of music trivia, multiple choice options, true or false questions, word unscrambling, Jeopardy-style cards and charades-style auditions.
Each game is different depending on the musical taste of its players. Whether you are into pop, rock, metal, blues, jazz, hip-hop, rap or country, you can pit your specialization against anyone.
The idea first came five years ago when Sharon's husband, Cal, and his colleague, Geo Major, were working as sound technicians on a TV miniseries. They started spicing up tedious breaks with increasingly inventive music challenges.
"First we had to name songs with 'rock' in the title, then it was 'love' in the title," recalls Major. "In no time we had the whole crew and cast all playing it, too."
The duo brought their wives on board and the game came together.
"Angela (Major) and I have been involved in respect to what it would include and what it would look like," Sharon explains. "There is a lot of 'us' in the game."
For five years, the partners developed the project while working full-time jobs, squeezing in work on the game when they could. Over that time, BANDthology has gone through various incarnations.
"I'm so glad we took so long over it," says Sharon. "We have added many more features since the original idea."
The foursome has funded most of the development of the game themselves. They were unable to land a Canadian manufacturing deal, so Sharon found a Hong Kong factory via a Canadian agent.
Now Sharon has left her 17-year career in the travel business to concentrate on marketing the game, and with the help of an investor and their experience in the television industry, they have big global plans.
Exotic TV commercials have already been produced by the creative team in locations including the Bahamas, Arizona, Las Vegas, Sweden and the Turks & Caicos. The game will be translated into Swedish for release there, too.
"We have the unique ability to write and self-produce commercials and other promotional media," says Sharon. "This puts us at an advantage and should be considered a real plus for retailers that choose to work with us."
Even the game itself has expanded beyond its initial conception.
"We're planning specialty card packs as accessories," says Sharon. "There will be the Canadian box set, a Beatles pack and one for consummate blues lovers, for example."
There is also a "Touring Edition" planned, with a musicology card pack intended for car and plane journeys. MyBANDthology is a downloadable digital version for portable devices such as iPods, phones and BlackBerrys. And BANDthology Junior will be out within six months.
The interactive entertainment package, BANDthology Live, is already available for corporate team building and pub theme nights. The group test-drove the event at a Talisman Energy function two years ago and at a recent fundraiser for the Between Friends charity, for which Angela still works. While working currently on the set of CBC TV series Heartland, Cal and Geo have lined up another 100-strong event for the crew later this month. The foursome is building a downloadable version for DJs to license and play at their own venues.
The group is also supporting music programs in Calgary schools. "As parents in these days of cuts to school budgets, we want to help keep music appreciation and music programs alive in our schools," explains Sharon. She will be piloting a fundraising program in one local school this year.
The partners have collaborated on other creative projects since establishing their friendship. Geo, Cal and Sharon have worked on film projects and also co-wrote the musical theatre show Collage. Cal is also an accomplished songwriter and musician.
The first shipment of board games, which will retail for $39.95 each, will arrive in time for the Christmas shopping season. With the game available in local stores and online at bandthology.com .The holidays could take on a musical tone this year with families forgoing last year's poker tournament to contend for musical mastery instead.
Take Aim at BANDthology Trivia
1. Unscramble the name of this Linkin Park song: KABNREIG HET TIABH
2. This concert took place in the summer of 1982. T_E _S _ E_ T__A L
3. She had a No. 1 hit song in 1967 with To Sir With Love
4. What artist was born Cornell Haynes Jr.? A. Glenn Lewis; B. Ryan Cabrera; C. Nelly
5. What song is this lyric from: "At 7 p.m. the main hatchway gave in, he said 'Fellas it's been good to know ya."
6. Name any three of the Spice Girls.
7. What two band members appear on the front cover of the Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album?
8. What was Foreigner doing "for a girl like you" on their fourth album?
9. Name three types of drums found on a standard drum kit.
10. Name two songs with "types of food" in their title.
Answers
1. Breaking the Habit
2. The US Festival
3. Lulu
4. C. Nelly
5. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Gordon Lightfoot)
6. Posh, Baby, Ginger, Sporty, Scary
7. Stevie Nicks & Mick Fleetwood
8. Waiting
9. Open ended (Examples: Tom, Kick Drum, Snare)
10. Open ended. (Examples: Brown Sugar, (Put the Lime in the) Coconut, Lime Light)
© The Calgary Herald 2007
ANDREA MACDONALD
The Daily News
The Daily News
Geo Major (from left to right), Angela Major, Cal Wilson and Sharon Wilson play BANDthology in a Calgary bookstore.
Lower Sackville native Geo (pronounced Joe) Major and his friend Cal Wilson were looking to pass the long waits between TV takes when they stumbled onto a potential money-maker.They were working on a mini-series in Alberta, where they do location sound, and they began throwing out some challenges: name a song with the word rock in the title. Name a song with a girl's name in the title."Sometimes there's long setups between shots, so we just wanted something to pass the time," Major recalled."It became something that the whole crew and cast played and we just thought, well, let's try and do something with that.
So over the course of five years, it's evolved from those types of questions."The mockup for BANDthology was a hit with not just friends and family, but Aussie heartthrob Heath Ledger - who played it while filming Brokeback Mountain - but they knew even that wasn't an accurate test. So they took the game to test audiences of strangers, who gave them 90 per cent positive feedback. With a little tweaking, they came up with the current version of BANDthology, which rewards players for their musical knowledge. The two business partners recently finished a TV series called Heartland, which featured one scene where the characters played BANDthology
Lower Sackville native Geo (pronounced Joe) Major and his friend Cal Wilson were looking to pass the long waits between TV takes when they stumbled onto a potential money-maker.They were working on a mini-series in Alberta, where they do location sound, and they began throwing out some challenges: name a song with the word rock in the title. Name a song with a girl's name in the title."Sometimes there's long setups between shots, so we just wanted something to pass the time," Major recalled."It became something that the whole crew and cast played and we just thought, well, let's try and do something with that.
So over the course of five years, it's evolved from those types of questions."The mockup for BANDthology was a hit with not just friends and family, but Aussie heartthrob Heath Ledger - who played it while filming Brokeback Mountain - but they knew even that wasn't an accurate test. So they took the game to test audiences of strangers, who gave them 90 per cent positive feedback. With a little tweaking, they came up with the current version of BANDthology, which rewards players for their musical knowledge. The two business partners recently finished a TV series called Heartland, which featured one scene where the characters played BANDthology
Major has been living in Calgary for 16 years, but his family still lives in metro. He says the venture has been a family affair since the start, when the two friends drummed up $35,000 from family and friends for the initial investment.Major's wife Angela is handling some of the artwork and Cal's wife Sharon quit her job to take over sales of the board game full-time. The two couples have also received their children's input. It has sold out in Alberta and they have had to re-stock in Ontario. The game is selling in a chain of Long & McQuade stores and the business partners are finalizing a deal with HMV.Major said they're pretty impressed, given the lack of advertising and the fact the website just went up. They're still looking for a distributor in the Maritimes. The game retails for $39.95 and will soon be available to order online.
amacdonald@hfxnews.ca
amacdonald@hfxnews.ca
'Think Cranium for music lovers'
Two Calgary couples devise board game both teens and grownups can play
Louise Hudson
Special to The Journal
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Two Calgary couples devise board game both teens and grownups can play
Louise Hudson
Special to The Journal
Sunday, October 07, 2007
A Calgary marketer hopes to add a little rock 'n' roll to the staid world of board games this winter, with BANDthology, a new concept targeting music fans of all ages.
"Think Cranium for music lovers," says Sharon Wilson, referring to the popular board game that has grown into one of the industry's biggest successes of the decade. Wilson hopes her game, resembling a musician's road case, will follow the success of Cranium, and maybe even entice people back to traditional board games.
"It crosses over different age groups, different musical tastes and genres to make it a game that really anyone could enjoy," she explains.
Invented by Wilson and three partners in Calgary, the barrier-breaking game leaves players singing, humming and avidly discussing their music interests. Teens can vie with older players, pitting their encyclopedic Sum 41 and Plain White Ts knowledge against determined Springsteen or Beatles buffs.
At BANDthology Live events at pub or corporate functions, competitors can "band" together, with diverse expertise creating the strongest teams.
Players compete using a combination of music trivia, multiple choice options, true or false questions, word unscrambling, Jeopardy!-style cards and charades-style auditions.
Each game is different depending on the musical taste of its players. Whether you are into pop, rock, metal, blues, jazz, hip-hop, rap or country, you can pit your specialization against anyone.
The idea first came five years ago when Sharon's husband, Cal, and his colleague, Geo Major, were working as sound technicians on a TV miniseries. They started spicing up tedious breaks with increasingly inventive music challenges.
"First we had to name songs with 'rock' in the title, then it was 'love' in the title," recalls Major. "In no time, we had the whole crew and cast all playing it, too."
The duo brought their wives on board -- so to speak -- and the game came together.
"Angela (Major) and I have been involved in respect to what it would include and what it would look like," Sharon explains. "There is a lot of 'us' in the game."
For five years, the partners developed the project while working full-time jobs, squeezing in work on the game when they could.
Over that time, BANDthology has gone through various incarnations.
"I'm so glad we took so long over it," says Sharon. "We have added many more features since the original idea."
The foursome has funded most of the development of the game themselves. They were unable to land a Canadian manufacturing deal, so Sharon found a Hong Kong factory via a Canadian agent.
Now Sharon has left her 17-year career in the travel business to concentrate on marketing the game, and with the help of an investor and their experience in the television industry, they have big global plans.
Exotic TV commercials have already been produced by the creative team in locations including the Bahamas, Arizona, Las Vegas, Sweden and the Turks & Caicos. The game will be translated into Swedish for release there, too.
"We have the unique ability to write and self-produce commercials and other promotional media," says Sharon. "This puts us at an advantage and should be considered a real plus for retailers that choose to work with us."
Even the game itself has expanded beyond its initial conception.
"We're planning specialty card packs as accessories," says Sharon. "There will be the Canadian box set, a Beatles pack and one for consummate blues lovers, for example."
There is also a "Touring Edition" planned, with a musicology card pack intended for car and plane journeys. MyBANDthology is a downloadable digital version for portable devices such as iPods, phones and BlackBerrys. And BANDthology Junior will be out within six months.
The interactive entertainment package, BANDthology Live, is already available for corporate team building and pub theme nights. The group test-drove the event at a Talisman Energy function two years ago and at a recent fundraiser for the Between Friends charity, for which Angela still works. While currently working on the set of CBC-TV series Heartland, Cal and Geo have lined up another 100-strong event for the crew later this month. The foursome is building a downloadable version for DJs to license and play at their own venues.
The group is also supporting music programs in Calgary schools. "As parents in these days of cuts to school budgets, we want to help keep music appreciation and music programs alive in our schools," explains Sharon. She will be piloting a fundraising program in one local school this year.
The partners have collaborated on other creative projects since establishing their friendship. Geo, Cal and Sharon have worked on film projects and also co-wrote the musical theatre show Collage. Cal is also an accomplished songwriter and musician.
The first shipment of board games, which will retail for $39.95 each, will arrive in time for Christmas shopping season.
BANDTHOLOGY trivia
1. Unscramble the name of this Linkin Park song: KABNREIG HET TIABH
2. This concert took place in the summer of 1982. T_E _S _ E_ T__A L
3. She had a No. 1 hit song in 1967 with To Sir With Love.
4. What artist was born Cornell Haynes Jr.? A. Glenn Lewis; B. Ryan Cabrera; C. Nelly
5. What song is this lyric from: "At 7 p.m. the main hatchway gave in, he said, 'Fellas it's been good to know ya.' "
6. Name any three of the five Spice Girls.
7. What two band members appear on the front cover of the Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album?
8. What was Foreigner doing "for a girl like you" on their fourth album?
9. Name three types of drums found on a standard drum kit.
10. Name two songs with "types of food" in their title.
ANSWERS
1. Breaking the Habit
2. The US Festival
3. Lulu
4. C. Nelly
5. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Gordon Lightfoot)
6. Posh, Baby, Ginger, Sporty, Scary
7. Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood
8. Waiting
9. Open ended (Examples: Tom, Kick Drum, Snare)
10. Open ended
(Examples: Brown Sugar, Lemon Tree, Lime Light, Put the Lime in the Coconut)
© The Edmonton Journal 2007
Home
"Think Cranium for music lovers," says Sharon Wilson, referring to the popular board game that has grown into one of the industry's biggest successes of the decade. Wilson hopes her game, resembling a musician's road case, will follow the success of Cranium, and maybe even entice people back to traditional board games.
"It crosses over different age groups, different musical tastes and genres to make it a game that really anyone could enjoy," she explains.
Invented by Wilson and three partners in Calgary, the barrier-breaking game leaves players singing, humming and avidly discussing their music interests. Teens can vie with older players, pitting their encyclopedic Sum 41 and Plain White Ts knowledge against determined Springsteen or Beatles buffs.
At BANDthology Live events at pub or corporate functions, competitors can "band" together, with diverse expertise creating the strongest teams.
Players compete using a combination of music trivia, multiple choice options, true or false questions, word unscrambling, Jeopardy!-style cards and charades-style auditions.
Each game is different depending on the musical taste of its players. Whether you are into pop, rock, metal, blues, jazz, hip-hop, rap or country, you can pit your specialization against anyone.
The idea first came five years ago when Sharon's husband, Cal, and his colleague, Geo Major, were working as sound technicians on a TV miniseries. They started spicing up tedious breaks with increasingly inventive music challenges.
"First we had to name songs with 'rock' in the title, then it was 'love' in the title," recalls Major. "In no time, we had the whole crew and cast all playing it, too."
The duo brought their wives on board -- so to speak -- and the game came together.
"Angela (Major) and I have been involved in respect to what it would include and what it would look like," Sharon explains. "There is a lot of 'us' in the game."
For five years, the partners developed the project while working full-time jobs, squeezing in work on the game when they could.
Over that time, BANDthology has gone through various incarnations.
"I'm so glad we took so long over it," says Sharon. "We have added many more features since the original idea."
The foursome has funded most of the development of the game themselves. They were unable to land a Canadian manufacturing deal, so Sharon found a Hong Kong factory via a Canadian agent.
Now Sharon has left her 17-year career in the travel business to concentrate on marketing the game, and with the help of an investor and their experience in the television industry, they have big global plans.
Exotic TV commercials have already been produced by the creative team in locations including the Bahamas, Arizona, Las Vegas, Sweden and the Turks & Caicos. The game will be translated into Swedish for release there, too.
"We have the unique ability to write and self-produce commercials and other promotional media," says Sharon. "This puts us at an advantage and should be considered a real plus for retailers that choose to work with us."
Even the game itself has expanded beyond its initial conception.
"We're planning specialty card packs as accessories," says Sharon. "There will be the Canadian box set, a Beatles pack and one for consummate blues lovers, for example."
There is also a "Touring Edition" planned, with a musicology card pack intended for car and plane journeys. MyBANDthology is a downloadable digital version for portable devices such as iPods, phones and BlackBerrys. And BANDthology Junior will be out within six months.
The interactive entertainment package, BANDthology Live, is already available for corporate team building and pub theme nights. The group test-drove the event at a Talisman Energy function two years ago and at a recent fundraiser for the Between Friends charity, for which Angela still works. While currently working on the set of CBC-TV series Heartland, Cal and Geo have lined up another 100-strong event for the crew later this month. The foursome is building a downloadable version for DJs to license and play at their own venues.
The group is also supporting music programs in Calgary schools. "As parents in these days of cuts to school budgets, we want to help keep music appreciation and music programs alive in our schools," explains Sharon. She will be piloting a fundraising program in one local school this year.
The partners have collaborated on other creative projects since establishing their friendship. Geo, Cal and Sharon have worked on film projects and also co-wrote the musical theatre show Collage. Cal is also an accomplished songwriter and musician.
The first shipment of board games, which will retail for $39.95 each, will arrive in time for Christmas shopping season.
BANDTHOLOGY trivia
1. Unscramble the name of this Linkin Park song: KABNREIG HET TIABH
2. This concert took place in the summer of 1982. T_E _S _ E_ T__A L
3. She had a No. 1 hit song in 1967 with To Sir With Love.
4. What artist was born Cornell Haynes Jr.? A. Glenn Lewis; B. Ryan Cabrera; C. Nelly
5. What song is this lyric from: "At 7 p.m. the main hatchway gave in, he said, 'Fellas it's been good to know ya.' "
6. Name any three of the five Spice Girls.
7. What two band members appear on the front cover of the Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album?
8. What was Foreigner doing "for a girl like you" on their fourth album?
9. Name three types of drums found on a standard drum kit.
10. Name two songs with "types of food" in their title.
ANSWERS
1. Breaking the Habit
2. The US Festival
3. Lulu
4. C. Nelly
5. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Gordon Lightfoot)
6. Posh, Baby, Ginger, Sporty, Scary
7. Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood
8. Waiting
9. Open ended (Examples: Tom, Kick Drum, Snare)
10. Open ended
(Examples: Brown Sugar, Lemon Tree, Lime Light, Put the Lime in the Coconut)
© The Edmonton Journal 2007
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