Vikas profile picture

Vikas

viksharma

About Me

Having been involved in the local Toronto (and Eastern Canadian) music scene for many years playing in the bands, Dead Face West, Grifter, Tenth Planet and lastly, Merkury Burn, I decided to retire from music in 2003 and focus on my career as a corporate trainer.
Recently, however, my former Merkury Burn bandmate, Jones, has created a new project called At the Funeral (see myspace link below). It is a darker, quieter music project that is penned to include various strings, piano and perhaps some voice ... but, don't count on vocals. Jones has asked me to play guitar in the project and I have started to work with him on arrangements and song-writing ... but don't be fooled, Jones is the mastermind of At the Funeral!
I also enjoy many different types of books, films and art.
I enjoy going to the Y, walking around the city, cooking, wine, travelling (mainly to Spain). and spending time with my partner, Isabel and my friends (when the opportunity arises).

My Interests

Music, Reading, Films, Food, Wine, YMCA

I'd like to meet:

Paul McCartney, the guys from Keane, Peter Mayle, John Turturro, the Cohen Brothers, Bill Fuckin' Murray ...

Music:

ABBA, Alice in Chains, Amaral, Andy Stochansky, Antonio Carlos Jobim, At the Funeral, The Beatles, Bebel Gilberto, Ben Harper, Big Wreck, Billy Holliday, Billy Talent, Bjork, Black Sabbath, Bloc Party, Buena Visa Social Club, Chet Baker, The Cardigans, Coldplay (before things got stupid), Danko Jones, David Bowie, El Fary, Elliot Smith, Estrella Morente, Fiona Apple, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, Gonzales, Glenn Gould, Herbie Hancock, Hooverphonic, Iron Maiden, Jeff Buckley, José Feliciano, Judas Priest, Junetile, Keane, Keith Jarrett, KISS, The Kooks, La Oreja de Van Gogh, Led Zeppelin, Luz Casal, Madeleine Peyroux, Merkury Burn, Michael Jackson, Michel Camilo and Tomatito, Miles Davis, Morphine, Morrisey, Motorhead, Muse, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Paco De Lucia, Panjabi MC, Paris Combo, Paul McCartney, The Police, Portishead, Quadro Nuevo, Queen, Radiohead, The Smiths, Soundgarden, Stevie Wonder, STP, Talvin Singh, The Tea Party, Tenth Planet, Travis, U2, Weezer, Yann Tiersen, The Zutons

Movies:

Cohen Brothers (Barton Fink, The Big Lubowski) JP Juenet (Amelie, Delicatessen), Pedro Almodóvar (Carne Trémula, ¿Qué He Hecho, Yo, Para Merecer Esto?) Luis Buñuel (Los Olvidados, Diary of a Chambermaid, El Bruto) Michelangelo Antonioni (Le Amiche, L..Aventura) JP Jeunet (Amelie, Delicatessen) Woody Allen (Shadows and Fog, Small Time Crooks) George Cloony (Good Night and Good Luck, Welcome to Collinwood) Others: Malena, Good-bye Lenin! wait ... there are too many good movies.

Television:

60 Minutes, Gene Simmons Rock School, Restaurant Makeover

Books:

The Shadow of the Wind, Perfume, Palace Walk, A Suitable Boy, One Hundred Years of Solitude, A Year in Provence, Blindness, Che Guevara..s Bolivian Diary, Lemony Snicket..s Series of Unfortunate Events, anything by Edward Gorey, ... again, too many good books

Heroes:

The wonderful people who I have met in this life, and have made my life just that much better ... you know who are.

My Blog

India - Part Three

We arrived to Udupi by bus ... which, as usual, was a rough ride.We arrived in the later afternoon, and we were really jonesing for a good Dosa!In Toronto, one of the best spots to get a Dosa is at Ud...
Posted by Vikas on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:42:00 PST

India - Part Two

When we got up the next morning in Mysore, we had to jet to the bus station to make our way to a very small town called Kushalnagar. It is near Kushalnagar that I saw (in the Lonely Planet Guide) that...
Posted by Vikas on Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:09:00 PST

India - Part One

Last October ... it was a depressing, cold, autumn Sunday afternoon, and I was in the Ottawa Training Room getting my things together for my trip back home to Toronto (I had given a series of workshop...
Posted by Vikas on Thu, 07 Feb 2008 05:37:00 PST

Back to Spain ... and France, part two

Although I could have stayed in Paris for more days, I was excited to go to the north of Spain. Isabel has always told me about it, but I really wanted to experience the stories.We just barely made it...
Posted by Vikas on Fri, 21 Sep 2007 06:25:00 PST

Back to Spain ... and France, part one

For the past three summers, I have made August (among other times of the year) my time to head to my other home ... Spain!This year, getting ready for it was a little stressful at work ... making sure...
Posted by Vikas on Mon, 17 Sep 2007 06:16:00 PST

Heading back to Europe - Spring 2007 - Part Two

Airports are some of the most interesting places to have to re-trace your steps ... because, if you have to go back through security, you never know what the experience is going to be like.I was almos...
Posted by Vikas on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 07:19:00 PST

Heading back to Europe - Spring 2007 - Part One

Hey Everyone,Well, what can I tell you? I am a very fortunate person.I had the opportunity this past spring to visit Europe for the second time this year ... and, I will be going back in August.As man...
Posted by Vikas on Sun, 22 Jul 2007 09:40:00 PST

New York City

So, Isabel came to Canada to meet me in the middle of April and wanted to meet up somewhere cool.What could actually be cooler than Toronto? Of course, NYC!The weekend started brutally. I took the Fri...
Posted by Vikas on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 07:25:00 PST

What happens in Cairo ... part two

All right ... So part one is kind of cool, right? Well, that's nothing.Isabel and I decided after the second day that we were going to head back to Madrid ... enough with the madness of Cairo.Back to ...
Posted by Vikas on Tue, 20 Mar 2007 05:47:00 PST

What happens in Cairo ... part one

At Christmas time, I had this crazy idea to go to Cairo.I figured that I would be on that side of the planet anyway, so what the hell, right?!Wrong.I was in Madrid, spending time with Isabel and her f...
Posted by Vikas on Sat, 03 Mar 2007 08:44:00 PST