BeatRoute Magazine BC print e-edition - April2017

FREE APRIL 2017
Harrison
Brome
FLYING HIGH IN THE SHADOWS @ SEASONS FESTIVAL
420 Guide • The Zombies • Father John Misty • Homeshake • Betty Who • Jacques Greene • East Van Baseball

April ‘17
PUBLISHER
BeatRoute Magazine
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
& PRODUCTION MANAGER
Alisa Layne
alisalayne.graphics
WEB PRODUCER
Jash Grafstein
COPY EDITOR
Robin Schroffel
FRONT COVER PHOTO
Maks Eidelson
FRONT COVER DESIGN
Randy Gibson
DISTRIBUTION
Gold Distribution
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Heather Adamson • Sadie Barker • Aja Cadman
Quan Yin Divination • Heather Fenton • Jamie
Goyman • Willow Grier • Carlotta Gurl • Alex
Hudson • Prachi Kamble • Noor Khwaja
Marion Lefevre • Sarah Mac • Lisa Marklinger
Paul Mcaleer • Amber Mclinden • Zoei Nijjar
James Olson • Sean Orr • Johnny Papan
K. Anne Pimento • Scott Postulo • Liam Prost
Molly Randhawa • Mitch Ray • Brittany Rudyck
Hogan Short • Stepan Soroka • Alex Southey
Alec Warkentin • Trent Warner • Gareth Watkins
Savannah Leigh Wellman • Christina Zimmer
MANAGING EDITOR
Jennie Orton
jennie@beatroute.ca
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Glenn Alderson
glenn@beatroute.ca
LOCAL MUSIC/
THE SKINNY
Erin Jardine
erin@beatroute.ca
04
05
06
09
10
11
WORKING FOR THE
WEEKEND
∙ with Tee Krispil
THE ZOMBIES
HOMESHAKE
CITY & COLOUR
JIMMY EAT WORLD
HARPOONIST & THE AXE MURDERER
ALEX AND ALLYSON GREY
THE SKINNY
-Me First & The Gimme Gimmes
-Mickfest
-Brant Bjork
-Dead Time
-Helms Alee
CITY
21
-Community Thrift & Vintage
-Back and Forth Bar
-Circle Game
-Storyhive
-East Van Baseball
GRASSFIELDS
22 -4/20 Events
-Wealth
-Weed Creativity
24
COMEDY
-Ivan Decker
-Ron Lynch
BOOZE
25 -BC Distilled Festival
-East Van Brewery Passport
-Bottoms Up
26 QUEER
-Queen of the Month
-Queerview Mirror
-Betty Who?
-From the Desk of Carlotta
CONTRIBUTING
PHOTOGRAPHERS &
ILLUSTRATORS
Asylum • Jeff Bassett • Ben Cope • Asia Fairbanks
Mathieu Fortin • Cristian Fowlie • Alysse Garfkjen
Jimi Giannatti • Matt Grayson • Chase Hansen
Hyfn2 • Corinne Kuan • Darrole Palmer • Payley
Photography • Jodie Ponto • James Rexroad
Kyle Reyes • Galen Robinson-Exo • Mats Schram
Graham Spence
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES
Glenn Alderson
glenn@beatroute.ca
778-888-1120
ELECTRONICS DEPT.
Vanessa Tam
vanessa@beatroute.ca
QUEER
David Cutting
david@beatroute.ca
CITY
Yasmine Shemesh
yasmine@beatroute.ca
COMEDY
Graeme Wiggins
graeme@beatroute.ca
14 SEASONS
-Alan Walker
- COVER - Harrison Brome
-Sosupersam
-Horsepowar
-Sam Gellaitry
17
BPM
-James Deen
-Riff Raff
-Clubland
-Jacques Greene
28 FILM
29
-Stoner Filmes
-This Month in Film
REVIEWS
-Father John Misty
-Black Mountain
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
-The Internet
38 HOROSCOPES
DISTRIBUTION
We distribute our publication to more than 500
locations throughout British Columbia. If you
would like BeatRoute delivered to your business,
send an e-mail to editor@beatroute.ca
FILM
Paris Spence-Lang
paris@beatroute.ca
LIVE
Galen Robinson-Exo
galen@beatroute.ca
BEATROUTE MAGAZINE
202-2405 Hastings St. E
Vancouver BC Canada
V5K 1Y8
editor@beatroute.ca • beatroute.ca
©BEATROUTE Magazine 2017. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of the contents is strictly prohibited.
Jimmy Eat World – Page 9
photo: ???
April 2017 3

GLENN ALDERSON
Tee Krispil is a young emcee/producer living and
performing in Vancouver. When she’s not making
music and waxing poetic on the mic with her eloquent
flow, she can be found working for Wealth,
Vancouver’s first fully licensed dispensary, writing
for their blog and managing their store. Wealth aims
to inspire positive change through the beneficial
healing properties of cannabis, which is right in line
with the creative and positive mindset Krispil employs
in her musical endeavors. Performing both by
herself and with her crew, The People North West,
her latest single, “Let It Slide,” was produced by Moxsa
(Chapel Sound) and she is currently working on
a full-length solo album, One Way Ticket, due out
some time before the summer. In anticipation of
4/20, we caught up with the creative wordsmith for
a candid conversation about music, weed and everything
in between.
BeatRoute: How do you feel weed culture in
Vancouver has grown up around the arts?
Tee Krispil: Cannabis is definitely a helpful tool
when it comes to creativity. I’m a very high-strung
person naturally and I sometimes overwhelm myself.
When I smoke cannabis I’m transported to a
clear, relaxed mind state where creativity is at an alltime
high. I know many Vancouver musicians and
artists who also use cannabis as a creative tool; I’m
surely not an isolated case in that regard.
with TEE KRISPIL at WORTH
Tee Krispil is an innovative emcee who’s married her art form and her day job.
BR: What relationship does your day job have
with your art?
TK: I work for Wealth as a store manager and inhouse
copywriter as well as part-time blogger for
their online publication. People management is
an important skill, no matter what field you’re in.
It’s definitely taught me how to be a better communicator,
which is essentially the goal of all art,
right? To communicate. As far as the copywriting/
blogging goes, it’s directly related to my art in that
writing/researching/reading inevitably grows your
vocabulary and ability to better reiterate information
in new writing styles- keeping that writer
muscle strong helps proliferate my ability to pump
out songs.
BR: Your new single “Waste Away” has so many
layers and just a ridiculous flow. What inspired
the direction with that track?
TK: I was inspired by the excitement of actively
pursuing what I love. It’s all about making the best
of your days.
BR: What are your observations of the hip hop
scene in Vancouver these days?
TK: It’s really growing out here, at least from where
I’m standing. Opportunities keep presenting themselves,
there’s amazing music being made out of
this city, the community is supportive, everything
is moving organically and it’s great to be a part of it.
BR: What is the key to being prolific as an emcee
in Vancouver?
TK: It’s a product of consistency. Being in Vancouver
or elsewhere, it’s important to do things that
inspire you and keep you held in a creative flow.
Growth is hindered when desire to improve is void,
so staying humble is key.
BR: What is happening in West Coast hip hop
these days that you think is a unique flavour?
TK: What makes us so unique is definitely our
diversity. Where everyone in Toronto sounds the
same, no one in Vancouver sounds the same. We’re
all super unique and bring our own flavours to the
scene. There are so many musicians who I look up
to out here, but I honestly can’t think of any two
alike.
BR: What thematically drove your track “One
Way Ticket”?
TK: The title “One Way Ticket” is a play on words
in itself. It’s meant to display the importance and
inseparability of each human to one another in
our quests as individuals. In order to “get to where
we’re going” we can’t escape oneness, we’re a part
of each other, it’s the ONE WAY ticket. It can be
interpreted a few ways though, symbolic for constant
pursuit and forward motion, or a story of
leaving the old behind and seeking new perspectives.
I guess you could say growth is the theme.
BR: The other single “Let it Slide” was produced
by Moxsa. Tell us about working with him.
TK: Working with Moxsa is bomb. He’s become a
good friend over this past year and his work ethic
is so strong, it inspires me for reals. I’ll send him my
vocals and the first draft is mixed within 24 hours,
it makes for a really smooth creation process. His
production style gets me excited about writing because
it just fits.
BR: What is next?
TK: Heavy question. With music? Well, the whole
album will be out end of spring. Doing lots of shows
with The People North West. Designing some limited
run TPNW merch that I’m super pumped to
release. We have a few music videos and singles in
the vault. Just going to keep creating and performing
and see where this thang takes us.
For more info on Tee, find her online at
www.teekrispil.com. For more on Wealth
and to read their online publication, visit
www.wealthblog.com.
THE ZOMBIES
reflecting on 50 years of Odessey and Oracle
YASMINE SHEMESH
The Zombies reflect on the hot ideas and scorched pages of their heyday.
HOMESHAKE
a breath of fresh air
After leaving Mac DeMarco’s touring band in 2013, Peter Sagar, the
mind and voice behind Homeshake, stepped out of DeMarco’s shadow
to pursue his own musical passions. Moving back to Montreal,
Sagar released three full-length albums: In The Shower, Midnight
Snack and, most recently, Fresh Air. The young songwriter’s years
spent playing guitar for his dear friend Mac were not done so in vain,
but it was time for Sagar to pursue his own musical projects.
“Well it’s very different from whatever I did with [DeMarco]. I never
really felt any personal accomplishment from it. It was like job, you
know? Only my coworkers were very close friends of mine. So it was a
good job, but it was just a job,” Sagar tells BeatRoute. “It was nice playing
big crowds but it never really moved me or made me feel great.
We have been selling out a lot of shows with Homeshake, which is a
much crazier feeling. It’s nice that people want to hear it.”
Although Homeshake’s music doesn’t stray too far from DeMarco’s
smooth vocals and funky bass lines, Sagar brings his own musical
twist to the table, embodying downtempo tunes intertwined with
synth beats, guitar and warped vocals.
Homeshake’s most recent album, Fresh Air, was released in February
of this year. The album won’t surprise any avid Homeshake fans,
with its classic soothing vocals and mesmerizing instrumentals that
keep listeners coming back. Fresh Air is the perfect record to play after
a long day, or even as a soft soundtrack to catch some Z’s to.
In 1967, the Zombies headlined a series of concerts
at the Araneta Coliseum, in the Philippines. It was
a big deal, since the group hadn’t found much
success yet, particularly not at home in Britain —
singles “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No” fared
better in Asia and the United States. After returning
to England, their record contract with Decca
finished and the band’s primary songwriters, Chris
White and Rod Argent, were yearning to produce.
With a vision in place and a new deal inked with
CBS, the Zombies began working on their masterpiece,
Odessey and Oracle.
“That’s really, for me, what life’s about,” says
White. “Writing songs.” The bassist is speaking over
the telephone from New York, where he and his
bandmates are on a North American tour performing
Odessey in full for its 50th anniversary. Though
now critically celebrated, the album was so under-appreciated
when released in 1968 that, by the
time “Time of the Season” became a hit, the band
had split up. White went on to become a prolific
songwriter, collaborating with Argent and frontman
Colin Blunstone. Meanwhile, Odessey slowly
accumulated a cult following, with Tom Petty and
Brian Wilson leading the pack.
Indeed, Odessey is experimental and succinct
in sonic palette and prose. A gorgeous
collection of baroque pop vignettes that stands
independently from its contemporaries and
remains to be an emblem of the psychedelic
era. White never thought it would happen.
“I was going to be an art teacher,” he laughs.
“All of a sudden, I’m a songwriter and a musician.”
White and Argent shared a flat in North London
with Terry Quirk, the artist who would illustrate
Odessey’s swirling cover. As roommates,
White and Argent bounced ideas off one another.
“I had a pedal harmonium and he had a baby
grand in his room,” White remembers. “So, we
used to work on lots of things together. It was an
interesting, exciting time, but you don’t think of it
as exciting then, you just think, ‘it’s all we can really
do.’ You just want to write songs or record things.”
In an effort to recreate the album cover for Pet Sounds, Homeshake’s Peter Sagar found a deer.
Sagar’s sensory music is accompanied by abstract album art created
by his talented partner, Salina Ladha. The cover for Fresh Air i s
a basic yet colorful drawing of a door leading outside to some fresh
air. “She does all art associated with band. I let her do whatever she
wanted and it was so perfect. She’s my favorite artist in the whole
That summer, White penned seven of Odessey’s
12 tracks. “We don’t know, as writers, where these
ideas come from,” he contemplates. “Sometimes,
I’ve heard songs I’ve written and I think, ‘who
wrote that?’ and someone will tell me, ‘oh, you
did!’ because it seems songs appear. And if you’re
working with people like Rod Argent, whose a
great songwriter, and Colin’s voice, you tend to
write for them.” One of Oddesey’s most personal
moments for White is “Butcher’s Tale (Western
Front 1914),” inspired by the death of his uncle in
WWI’s Battle of the Somme.
The Zombies recorded Odessey in Abbey Road,
on the heels of the Beatles who just wrapped Sgt.
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. They were also
the first band allowed in the studio that weren’t
EMI artists. Armed with both limited budget and
time — a thousand pounds and three months —
they went into every session well prepared.
“We used to do three backing tracks in three
hours and then we’d do the vocals the next day,
and it was very, very fast,” White recalls. “We’d
write songs, then we’d choose the songs in rehearsal,
routine them, and then go into the studios.”
Now, life has provided the opportunity to revisit
something the band never had the chance
to. It’s magical, White says. Playing Odessey live
whisks them back to the summer of 1967 — a
time of hot ideas and scorched music pages.
“I was rehearsing [‘Butcher’s Tale’] the other
day and I couldn’t finish it. I broke down. That
emotion flooded back. And I said, ‘sorry, I’ve got
to be professional, I’ve got to finish it!’ but it was
such an emotional feeling. It’s wonderful to feel
like that and not just do it out of routine or just
to earn a living. That’s the important thing, really.
Perform and write songs.”
The Zombies perform at the Commodore
Ballroom on April 21.
world.” Hearing Sagar’s voice light up as he spoke about his partner’s
art sheds light on how the artist incorporates his hidden emotions
into his music.
Homeshake performs at the Rickshaw Theatre on April 14.
4 April 2017
April 2017 MUSIC
5
ZOEI NIJJAR
photo by Payley Photography
MUSIC

MUSIC
LEIF
VOLLEBEKK
JOHNNY
TWIN SOLITUDE
New album available now
CITY & COLOUR
taking the peaceful road with ease
PAPAN
photo by Alysse Gafkjen
ON TOUR
4/13/17 Quebec City, QC @ Le Cercle
4/14/17 Ottawa, ON @ First Baptist
4/16/17 Toronto, ON @ The Great Hall
4/21/17 Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live Upstairs
4/25/17 Los Angeles, CA @ Echo
4/26/17 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
4/29/17 Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club
5/1/17 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
5/3/17 Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
5/4/17 Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
5/6/17 Boise, ID @ The Olympic
5/7/17 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
5/8/17 Denver, CO @ Lost Lake Lounge
5/10/17 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
5/12/17 Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
5/13/17 St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
5/16/17 Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe
“Devastatingly
beautiful”
- NPR
leifvollebekk.com
@leifvollebekk
secretcityrecords.com
@secretcityrcrds
Holding on to the love of his art form remains easy for Dallas Green in 2017.
Dallas Green is one of the most well known contemporary
Canadian artists working today. Originally
gaining notoriety as the guitarist and clean
vocalist of Ontario’s post-hardcore quintet Alexisonfire,
Green made a complete stylistic change
when he released his first solo record, Sometimes,
in 2005 as City & Colour. This acoustic-folk project
would soon become Green’s main act, releasing a
total of five albums thus far, each more evolved
than the last.
Green’s soulfully somber voice often sings lyrics
of a melancholic nature, including themes of love,
death and self-reflection. “I guess I’ve always used
songwriting to kind of ruminate with things in life
that I’m trying to work through,” Green explains.
“I think when it comes to life and death, those
are the two certainties we know in this world.
Hopefully between those two things you get to
experience love in your life, whether it’s with your
family, significant other or yourself.”
City & Colour recently released two new tracks
— “Peaceful Road” and “Rain” — which were originally
tracked for his 2015 release, If I Should Go
Before You, but he decided they didn’t quite fit his
vision for that specific record. “I still really liked
the songs and wanted people to hear them so I
just kind of put them out on their own.”
When asked if over the years songwriting has
ever come to feel like “work,” Green responds: “It’s
hard to call this work because it’s something I love
to do. I’ve had jobs before, this is much different.
Does it get hard? Yes, sometimes very much so.”
One of the difficulties Green cites is lack of financial
support put forth by major streaming services.
“You’re kind of stuck as an independent artist
because streaming is how most people listen
to music nowadays, but those services don’t really
pay the artists. It’s a double-edged sword because
you want people to listen to your songs,” he says.
“Most people would rather pay five bucks for a
coffee from Starbucks every morning than pay a
dollar for a song they could keep forever. But as a
singer-songwriter I just have to go with that.”
Making a living on album sales alone has become
nearly impossible in this digital age. To
maintain stability, musicians must tour regularly.
Though Green confirms his enjoyment of travelling
and touring, he admits it’s not always a glamorous
experience, even for artists as notorious as
himself. “I like touring, thankfully people are coming
to shows. Sometimes you get to visit these
beautiful buildings, and other times you walk into
a bar that smells like puke and you don’t get to
shower.”
Green is unsure what his career would be like
if he had began in 2017, as opposed to 16 years
prior. His only advice to upcoming artists is to be
honest. “I just write these songs for myself. If I can
make myself happy, at least a little bit at first, then
maybe someone after that can listen and take
whatever they need from it. All I ever did was try
to write music that I like and hope that people
would get it.”
Green will be doing a solo tour as City & Colour
across British Columbia, covering 11 cities in
April. “This year I’m trying to spend a lot of time
going to places I’ve never been,” Green states. “It’s
a chance to go out and play, see if there’s anybody
out there willing to hear me sing. Mix things up a
little bit, I like doing that.”
City & Colour will be performing at the
Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 6.
April 2017 7

MUSIC
JIMMY EAT WORLD
getting down on a deeper perspective with integrity
photo by Jimi Giannatti
CHRISTINA ZIMMER
In 2015, more than 20 years after the band was
formed, Jimmy Eat World returned to the studio
from a one-year break to record their ninth studio
album, Integrity Blues. Drummer Zach Lind, who
started off playing the saxophone before switching
to drums at the age of ten, explains the effect the
break had on the recording while spending some
quality time with his family in Arizona prior to the
band’s upcoming tour: “I think it made a big difference.
I think it was the first time we’d ever done
anything like that where we really just truly took
a break and everyone was just sort of absolved of
any Jimmy Eat World responsibilities. And yeah, I
mean it really gave us a lot of new energy for making
Integrity Blues that we wouldn’t have had, had
we not taken that break.”
The band, whose constellation has remained
unchanged since 1995, had high ambitions for the
new record, explains Lind: “The previous album,
Damage, kind of sounds like we made it sort of
over a weekend at a friend’s house or something
like that. It’s definitely more casual and a little bit
rawer, almost sort of more like garage band rock.
Integrity Blues is like the opposite of that, where
we really wanted to make it sound like a big studio
album; something that was more intricate, something
that has more layers.”
To realize this, Jimmy Eat World went “all out”, as
Lind describes it: “We did everything in LA. It was
the first time since Futures [released in 2004 and
given Gold Status by the RIAA] that we booked
like really classic, great studio rooms to work in. We
hired a producer, Justin Meldal-Johnsen [Paramore,
M83], who was incredible to work with and really
helped us achieve what we were hoping to achieve
with this album.”
The mission seems accomplished with sources
such as Pitchfork describing the record as “perhaps
Jimmy Eat World’s best record since Bleed American”
released in 2001 and featuring the band’s
biggest single to date, “The Middle,” reaching number
five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Integrity
Blues combines variety and the desired big sound
with emotionally matured lyrics. In tracks like “Get
It Right,” the restlessness described in the chorus
(“I’m destination addicted, I just gotta be someplace
else, never good time never feel the space to
get it right”) is reflected in the unforgiving beat and
a hammering guitar riff continuing throughout the
song, which is only occasionally interrupted by a
synthesizer that seems to add even more tension
to the track. “Sure and Certain” only compares to
this in terms of the felicitous interaction of music
and lyrics - the guitars are warmer, the melody
uplifting yet a bit melancholic, only the rhythmic
drums remain forceful as ever and are stepped up a
beat in the harmonious and encouraging “You Are
Free.”
Lyrically, the record is encouraging a different
perspective on life, a shift from focussing on a
desired outcome to appreciating the present moment
according to Lind: “The general sort of theme
Jimmy Eat World are crafting an authentic symbiosis of message and sound on Integrity Blues.
throughout the record is about really trying to have
a perspective on your own life and seeing things for
what they really are, appreciating those things for
what they are and maybe not necessarily some sort
of outcome that you’re searching for. On the one
hand it’s good to have goals and it’s good to strive
for something, but on the other hand, by being so
fixated on whatever outcome we’re looking for, we
can miss the present moment and we fail to appreciate
what we have now.”
Jimmy Eat World perform at the Commodore
Ballroom on April 26.
THE HARPOONIST AND THE AXE MURDERER
Apocalipstick takes rock ‘ n’ blues duo to the end of the world
photo by Jodie Ponto
HEATHER ADAMSON
With a new album, big tour and a debut music video
on the go, the Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer
are coming out swinging in 2017. Matthew Rogers
and Shawn Hall make up this Vancouver-based
rock ‘n’ blues duo who have been on fire in recent
years, appearing on some of the most coveted festival
line-ups and venue stages across Canada.
Apocalipstick is the album and the name says
it all about how these two artists approach their
music and their lives. “The way we approached
this album is if the world is going to end, lets have
a party and indulge in things,” explained Rogers.
“The world is becoming a pretty shitty place in a
lot of ways, so let’s turn it around and enjoy it.” This
is further exemplified in their debut video from the
album for their song “Forever Fool,” a passionate,
reckless and take-no-prisoners visual story and
concept. “It is a tune about vengeance and turning
over a new leaf,” says Rogers. “We wanted the plot
to have substance that reflected that.”
Speaking of substance, Rogers admits the songwriting
process does not come easily and the fact
that they wrote and produced a new album is a
huge accomplishment, something they don’t take
for granted. “Shawn and I have really different
styles, so the songwriting process can be heated
and difficult to get through,” says Rogers. “We have
to do it because we are an original band, but we
have to fight through it and hope for the best for
what comes out on the other end.”
Known for their dirty, gritty, blues rock sound,
they took Apocalipstick in more of a psychedelic
direction with groovy hooks. “It is a little noisier
and crazier, a bit out of the ordinary, including not
just sticking to three minute song lengths,” shared
Rogers. “This album has also been a lot more collaborative
for us. We went for a jamming, live-offthe-floor,
Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street vibe.”
Looking ahead to their tour starting at the end of
March at some incredibly beautiful venues across
the country, the Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer
are ready to bring their new music to audiences
in a live show that is going to take it to a whole
new level with the incorporation of a drummer and
some other surprises up their sleeves. “We are always
trying to evolve and do something a little bit
different,” says Rogers. “We have a different process
every time and thankfully we have never been unhappy
with the results.”
The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer perform
April 22 at the Commodore Ballroom.
Shawn Hall and Matthew Rogers take things to an indulgent state on their latest romp, Apocalipstick.
April 2017 MUSIC
9

ALEX AND ALLYSON GREY
finding the sacredness in art and the art in sacredness
JENNIE ORTON
Well within the mind lattice, amongst the Fibonacci
rhythm of the universe, Alex and Allyson
Grey hold court. Long a union forged by a mutual
love of the sacred and the psychic, the Grey’s have
expressed through art what most of us feel but
cannot conceptualize. It is through their efforts as
teachers that the Grey’s look to show us all how
we can find sacredness in art and within ourselves.
“Some artists have a vision but haven’t developed
the skill to communicate it effectively. Some
artists have plenty of skill but haven’t cultivated a
unique vision. The best artists cultivate both vision
and skill and dedicate their work to serving a higher
purpose,” says Grey.
Alex and Allyson have developed a refuge called
CoSM in The Hudson Valley of New York where
they intend to help open minded and budding artists
to do just that.
“Forty wooded acres of beauty and several
buildings support CoSM community in powerfully
attuning with the Soul’s regenerative creative forces
in the tranquil beauty of nature. At CoSM, we
host Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice,
Autumnal Equinox, Deities & Demons Masquerade
Ball, and weddings, baby blessings and
memorials. Grey House is filled with art and altars.
The Wisdom Trail through the woods features
natural beauty, altars, a labyrinth, a reflecting
pond, murals and sculptural installations. CoSM’s
ten-bedroom guest house is open for guests every
night of the year. Day-visitors are welcome four
days a week,” explains Grey.
It is not only funding but understanding of this
rare place and experiences offered there that bring
the Grey’s to Vancouver for their four day event
in Vancouver. Offering an art workshop on April
27th at The Post on Hamilton, a feature presentation
at the Vogue on the 28th, a multimedia night
dubbed ‘MetaCoSM’ at the Imperial on the 29th,
and a book signing event at Banyen Books on the
Alex and Allyson Grey share their tips for getting the best view from your third eye.
30th, the Greys are hoping to stimulate the aether
we all seem so good at ignoring in our hustle to be
self-conscious Vancouverites while further funding
their efforts.
At these events, guests can expect to gain an
understanding of what has made the Greys a
particularly beloved pair of artists by those who
advocate consciousness expansion and creative
expression; everyone from Timothy Leary to
Deepak Chopra to Tool, most of whose album art
Alex Grey was responsible for. It quickly becomes
evident what it is about the Greys and their practice
that lends itself so well to finding sacredness
in the every day.
“From the mind of the creator to the public
meme stream, we recognize the impact of important
voices in our culture, important visions
for the future. We can only move toward that
which we imagine, so that puts the arts and media
in a powerful position to become drivers and
representatives of the collective imagination.”
But if you are looking for a taste of “how to
better remember “a vision” amidst the tumultuous
inner waves of the psychedelicized mind”,
Grey suggests to “try to remember the feeling you
are having when the vision occurs. Write it down,
and sketch even badly, soon after if possible. Then
when you create something and it begins to remind
you of that feeling then you are close. It
isn’t easy. I have puke stained sketchbooks from
Ayahuascaville. Finally, it is about Surrender to
Love. Let go. Explore. Let your mind go free. If you
think you are in trouble, lie comfortably open, untangled,
close your eyes, breathe, look and listen.
Keep your inner eye open for the beauty.”
For more information on the four-day
event, visit http://www.apparentproductions.com/
ME FIRST & THE GIMME GIMMES
cover band made good get their yayas out
GRAEME WIGGINS
When punk rock super-group/cover band Me
First & The Gimme Gimmes debuted in 1995 with
their seven-inch, Denver, and its two John Denver
covers, it would have been hard to imagine they’d
still be kicking 20 years later. Featuring a veritable
who’s who of prominent punk musicians from the
Fat Wreck Chords’ roster, including label head Fat
Mike from NOFX, the band seemed like mostly a
bit of a gag — funny and entertaining, but not exactly
likely to have longevity. Two decades and six
albums later, Me First are back with a new greatest
hits album, Rake It In: The Greatestest Hits, and an
accompanying tour.
For singer Spike Slawson, 20 years of history
has made the band more fun, with a caveat. “The
crowds have gotten bigger, which makes it harder
at first and easier at the end, if that makes sense,”
he says. “It’s harder to stand up and face them,
but once they like you it’s like a drug that would
be impossible to synthesize chemically. Especially
for a lot of musical types who were a sort of pariah
milquetoasts growing up when they’re shown appreciation
and adulation in a live scenario. It’s very
profound.”
Picking which songs to cover is mostly a democratic
process. While every member can veto song
ideas, a number of the chosen songs don’t necessarily
appeal to Slawson, and he likes it that way.
“I don’t know if it’s a layer of irony that gets put on
MICKFEST
giving back to a man who gave it all to the local scene
it when the guy that tries to sell the song doesn’t
really like the song but somehow it works. There’s
some kind of tension. I think most bands when
they actually achieve what they set out to achieve
like 100 per cent they probably wouldn’t be as popular
or as resonant than if they had just tried and
maybe made 60 per cent of the way or less. Supposedly
the Talking Heads wanted to sound like a
Motown band. If that were the case, they would
probably still be playing in bars.”
Not all songs work out and that sometimes
means dropping a favourite. For Slawson, deciding
which he was most disappointed to drop was easy.
“The Easybeats. It doesn’t work for us because
The Easybeats did it perfectly,” he says. “There’s nowhere
to go but down from The EasyBeats’ version
of ‘Friday On My Mind’ or anything else they did.”
According to Slawson, finding and putting together
songs has gotten a little more difficult over the
years too. “It’s gotten harder because we don’t live
in the same town anymore so it’s not something
that just sort of organically comes up from us playing
together all the time. I think a lot of bands that
have been together 20 years don’t play together
all the time either. Considering how many fucking
best-of records we’ve put out, I guess it’s kind of
gotten harder. If that’s any indicator.”
While the process might take a bit more work,
the live show is something different altogether.
photo by Corinne Kuan
The Vancouver music scene is joining forces to support Mick one of our city’s rock heroes.
The original heroes of cover love share the energy and spectacle of their greatestest hits.
STEPAN SOROKA
Reading through a list of bands Mick Tupelo has
been involved in is like taking a decades-long
trip through Vancouver rock ‘n’ roll history. His
resume begins with The Bill of Rights, who along
with contemporaries like D.O.A. and Death Sentence
helped form a distinct Vancouver sound
amid the hardcore punk explosion of the early
1980s. An “intensely political band who combine
new music with crunching guitars and harsh gravelly
vocals,” according to Vancouver fanzine No
Cause for Concern, The Bill of Rights released two
EPs with Mick heading up bass duties. Later, Mick
would do the same for The Bill of Rights’ contemporaries
House of Commons, one of the few
bands who bridged the Vancouver/Victoria scene
divide during the 80s.
In the 90s, Mick took up guitar, vocal and
stand-up bass duties in The Deadcats. Known
as “the godfathers of Canadian psychobilly,”
The Deadcats boasted a career that lasted a full
two decades, including seven albums, numerous
North American tours and international releases
on labels in Japan, Germany and England. Add to
this a number of shorter-lived projects like Los Nitros
and The Highsiders and you begin to get an
idea of Mick’s musical longevity and breadth. As
far as rock ‘n’ roll goes, this guy is a lifer.
Unfortunately, in 2010 Mick was diagnosed
with muscular dystrophy, a degenerative muscle
It’s clear from his voice that, despite some negative
experiences (“I had a whole gallon jug of piss
thrown on me once. So they’re not all positive!”),
he’s just as excited to play live as he’s ever been.
“To me, live keeps getting better. You can put the
truth to the lie of the recordings. You can bring the
fire in your guts and ridiculous costumes. The music
is secondary to the energy and spectacle. That’s
the fun, dancing around and sweating and getting
my yayas out. I love playing live, that’s kind of the
whole point of it for me now.”
Me First & the Gimme Gimmes perform
May 3 at the Commodore Ballroom.
disease with no known cure. As his condition
worsened, Mick was forced to stop playing music
as well as to retire from the job he had held
for 20 years. Robbed of both his livelihood and his
passion, Mick became a self-described shut-in, requiring
a wheelchair to get around and suffering
falls that further exacerbated his already unmanageable
medical bills. With no signs of improvement
and a couple of unrelated surgeries looming
on the horizon, Mick’s prognosis was not looking
good. That’s when several friends decided to step
in and organize a fundraiser.
“I’m super happy to help out an old scene contributor
like Mick,” says Seamus McGrath of Not
Yer Buddy, who is handling the promotional aspect
of the show. “We’ll be doing a raffle at the
show and launching a corresponding GoFundMe
campaign.” The bands playing the fundraiser,
which takes place at Pat’s Pub on Friday, April,
21st, are all composed of Mick’s former bandmates
and good friends, who are hoping to raise
some money towards, among other costs, the
$17,000 required for Mick to get a new power
wheelchair.
Mickfest 2017 takes place at Pat’s Pub on
Friday, April 21st and features The Bad
Beats, Wett Stillettos, Cawama, Wichita
Trip, The Deadcats, Steady Teddy and the
K-Train Babies, Country Club Hustlers and
Crimson Clovers.
10 MUSIC
April 2017
April 2017 THE SKINNY
11

photo by Matt Grayson
Brant Bjork continues to harness California desert organics with friendly feels and deep grooves.
BRANT BJORK
stoner rock gypsy finds his home
HEATHER FENTON
No one knows for sure exactly when the term
“stoner rock” was conceived. And over the years
the meaning has been debated and often skewed.
I first heard the phrase somewhere around 1995.
And it was used to describe bands like Monster
Magnet, Sleep and Kyuss. Those three bands more
often than not are thought to be the innovators
of the genre. Brant Bjork was the drummer and a
main artistic contributor to Kyuss. He is, without
a doubt, a stoner rock icon. “Marijuana has always
been a part of my creative process and my music.
That’s not to suggest that people need to get into
marijuana to get into my music,” Bjork starts to
explain. “Stoner could mean a lot of things. To me
it’s just the return of classic rock. The greatest rock
came from the late Sixties and the Seventies. And I
have a feeling that marijuana played a pretty extensive
role in the development of all that cool stuff.
But that is just my opinion.”
After Bjork left the highly influential works of
Kyuss in 1994, he would drift as a drummer in a few
different bands. Most notably, he put in five years
behind the kit with the like-minded folk in Fu Manchu.
“After Kyuss I was heartbroken. It took me a
while to heal. Fu Manchu was the perfect band for
me to do that. I got to concentrate on just having a
good time,” Bjork reminisces. “Around 2000, I felt it
was time to get back to tapping into my soul on the
level I was doing when I was a kid in Kyuss.”
Since then, multi instrumentalist Bjork has
been on a one-man mission to make you forget
that he is best known as just a drummer in an influential
1990s band. In 1999 he would enter the
studio and track his debut solo album, Jalamanta.
He would write every note and play every instrument.
It is a fantastic gypsy desert beach journey
through smoked out waters. Over the next 15 years
he would churn out another nine albums under
different monikers with an array of support band
members, but all considered solo efforts. The music
is always steeped in California desert organics
with friendly feels and deep grooves. Late last year
he released his latest record Tao Of The Devil. As
he’d sometimes done before, he worked with a
band on this recording rather than do it all himself.
He ended up keeping his touring band from his
previous album on board, and it shows. The music
is tight and has a bit more stomp to it than some
of his past albums. Songs like “The Geeheen” and
“Stackt” contain the heavy strain of desert rock.
While songs like “Dave’s War” go into the tripped
out mirage jam that Bjork is known for as well.
“It’s ironic that I find myself in an almost 20 year
solo career. That wasn’t my intention at all. I’ve always
enjoyed the process of being in a band. Every
collective group of musicians has a different personality
and that chemistry is represented in the
music that is created,” Bjork continues. “Change
is natural and change is good. If you take the time
to study my output, you’ll see where there is a lot
of guys coming and going. And the music reflects
that.”
It’s been a very interesting journey for Bjork so
far and it is still gaining momentum. The unique
confines of SBC will be the perfect venue for Vancouverites
to catch the latest chapter of his trip.
“There is no lasers or bombs going off. It’s all about
grooving, dancing and having a good time. We will
be up there doing our thing. If you have to go get
yourself a couple of beers while were playing, then
go for it man. We’re just rocking. All good.”
Brant Bjork performs at SBC Restaurant
on April 12 with Royal Thunder and Black
Wizard.
shining a light on the value of photography in music
FROM THE DESK OF MITCH RAY
I’ve written before on topics such as the lack
of monetary value placed on the arts, the
unreasonable low rate of pay for musicians,
the stigma attached to crowdfunding and
other similarly bleak observations surrounding
the frustrating interplay between music
and money. What I’d like to do with this
piece is take a moment to shed light on the
people who shed light on others. The most
overlooked and underappreciated cogs in the
wheel of the music community: the photographers.
For whatever reason, their contributions
to the scene seem to have them firmly
placed on the lowest rung of the ladder when
it comes to financial reciprocation for their
work, as well as when it comes to giving them
their due credit.
I would argue that all aspects that comprise
a local music community are relatively
undervalued — musicians, poster artists,
promoters, door staff, etc. — but there might
not be one role that is more comparatively
thankless than that of the photographer,
especially given the amount of time it takes
to become proficient in that medium, the
amount of post-event work it takes to publish
the work done at the event, and the cost
of equipment such as lenses, the camera itself
and sometimes film and the developing
of said film. I think these are things that don’t
normally cross the mind of the average person
involved in the music scene, and I must
admit that even from the perspective of a
promoter, when it comes to breaking down
the already sparsely divided finances from a
particular event, the photographer will usually
find themselves below the musicians,
sound tech, poster artist and even the door
person, as this is the standard practice.
There are two factors that I believe contribute
to this. The first is the unfortunate
and probably unavoidable financial reality
that I’ve already alluded to. The second is a
general lack of awareness and/or lack of respect
for photography as a profession and as
an art form. This is evident because of how
frequently we see the use of photos without
credit given or with a cropped out watermark.
It’s a common occurrence on the social
media profiles of bands and individuals. Perhaps
even more unfortunately, it also notoriously
happens on sites for certain well known
music festivals. There really is no excuse for
it and no logic behind it. It’s disrespectful at
best, to a certain degree it’s theft and it can
only be attributed to laziness and a general
lack of awareness or respect. You wouldn’t
use a song without permission or without
giving credit, and if you did and got caught
then the outcry would be loud and the backlash
unforgiving.
When it really comes down to it, the importance
of photographers within the scene
can’t be understated. They shine a light on a
subsection of society that might otherwise
go overlooked by many, giving it a tangible
visibility. Without the visibility provided
there is no success for bands, there would be
less recognition for the events put on by venues
and promoters, and publications would
be far less effective. With the exception of
strictly off the radar underground scenes,
everyone else benefits and is somewhat reliant
on photographers. So if you see one of
your local photographers out and about, buy
them a drink. Give them guest list to shows
they aren’t shooting. Refer them to paid gigs.
And go to bat for them when they are being
taken advantage of.
Mitch Ray puts on events and manages
artists under the name Art Signified.
photo by AsiaFairbanks
Brass
HELMS ALEE
a decade deep with no foot on the brakes
Hailing from the rain drenched shores
of Washington State, Helms Alee have
crafted a distinctive and instantly
recognizable blend of sludgy, experimental,
melodic hard rock. Each of the
trio’s members, Dana James (bass/vocals),
Hozoji Margullis (drums/vocals),
and Ben Verellen (guitar/vocals) lend
their voices to create searing yet resonant
multi-part harmonies to their
music which shake the listener to their
core. Their fourth record Stillicide
might be their best yet with “Tit to
Toe” building into a soaring climax and
“Galloping Mind Fuk” living up to its
title in every pummeling capacity. As
to the exact origin of this sound, Verellen’s
answer is direct “Having three
people with different backgrounds
and different voices, it came together
without a lot of intention. Just giving
it a go to see what comes out and the
sound of the band came together pretty
much immediately.”
Along with their own diverse experience
in past projects, Verellen cites
tour mates post-rockers Russian Circles
and the legendarily heavy Melvins
as beacons of inspiration for Helms
Alee. “They’ve been creative for a long
time and keep at it consistently” says
Verellen “We spent 3 months out with
those bands last year and it was cool
to see how they do things and keep
it good and light but still get intense
when it comes to the music.”
Last month marks the 10 year anniversary
of Helms Alee unleashing their
maelstrom upon the music world. For
Verellen the time has truly blazed by.
“[Hoz and Dana] are my best friends,
and we push each other all the time
in and outside the band” says Verellen.
“We feel real lucky that we’re all
as motivated about music as we are.
[We’re] planning to do this for a long
long time.”
Helms Alee and Waingro play the
Biltmore Cabaret April 6.
Best buds for life, Helms Alee boast a well-crafted and carefully cultivated voice with their fourth record, Stillicide.
RECORD STORE DAY AT NEPTOON RECORDS
SATURDAY APRIL 22 - FREE INSTORE PERFORMANCES BY:
The Evaporators - Dopey’s Robe - Sore Points - Jay Arner
Peach Pit - Douse - Hamm: One Man Band - & More TBA!
300+ RSD RELEASES - STOREWIDE SALE - BIG PARTY! - OPEN EARLY! - FULL DETAILS ONLINE
3561 MAIN STREET - 604-324-1229 - NEPTOON.COM
12 THE SKINNY
April 2017
April 2017 THE SKINNY
13
JAMES OLSON
photo by JamesRexroad

Seasons Festival
preview 2017
Spread out over five days, Seasons Festival is one of Vancouver’s premiere multi-venue music and arts festivals
VANESSA TAM/JOHNNY PAPAN/MOLLY RANDHAWA
HARRISON
BROME
young, talented and just getting started
BPM
Above & Beyond
Above & Beyond are one of the most well
known progressive-trance trios hailing from
London, England. Creating a one of a kind
sound that contains synth-heavy jives, atmospheric
ballads and classic grooves, the
group has won many prestigious industry
awards and run the world renowned trance
and deep house imprints Anjunabeats and
Pomo
Anjunadeep.
Vancouver native Pomo, known personally
as David Pimentel, has been bringing the
funk back to electronic music. Often armed
with a synth keyboard and a live band
during his performance, Pomo has been
forging his own path both locally and internationally
with his groove-laden, 80s funk
inspired beats after having toured with Anderson
.Paak and Disclosure all within the
last year.
Kungs
ALAN WALKER
Alan Walker builds community with unifying progressive house smash hits
VANESSA TAM
Bursting onto the scene with his 2015 platinum hit
single, “Faded,” Alan Walker is taking the progressive
house and EDM worlds by storm.
Growing up in Norway, Walker started making
music in 2012 and taught himself everything he
knows about music production by watching music
production tutorials online. “When I was just starting
to make music, I watched YouTube videos of
producers showing how they made their sounds,”
he explained over the phone after touching down
in Mexico for a show.
Curating a wide range of international and local talent from genres like R&B and rap
to progressive house and stadium grade EDM, Seasons has something for everyone
to enjoy. Pick up a five day wristband and check out our selection of six must-see acts
on this year’s festival lineup.
Excision
19 year old Valentin Brunel, known internationally
as Kungs, has been enthralled
by the world of electronic music ever since
the success of his remix of “This Girl” with
Cooking on 3 Burners. What started as producing
feel-good bangers in his bedroom,
Brunel is now touring worldwide, sharing
tracks off his debut EP Layers which explores
everything from melancholy feelings
to happy summer beach vibes.
In the highly competitive world of EDM, where
many artists tend to keep their production tools
and techniques close to their chests, Walker has
chosen to make behind the scenes videos on You-
Tube showing his creative process behind some of
his biggest hits. This is his own way of feeding back
into the YouTube education pool that first inspired
him to start producing music nearly five years ago.
“I think that showing the creative process behind
the making of the songs can inspire younger people
and other producers so they can also get ideas,” he
explains.
A strong force behind dubstep’s rise to popularity
in North America during the early 2010s,
Excision is one of the loudest, filthiest and most
innovative players in dance music. Expect to be
immersed in robotic, space-like universes as he
explosively guides festival-goers through alternate
dimensions of time and solidifies the fact
that we are indeed a species living in the future.
Having already developed a signature progressive
style for his music, which is often layered with ethereal
vocals chanting positive messages, Walker has
quickly amassed a strong fan base that call themselves
“The Walkers” and mirror his signature onstage
outfit of a black hoody and a face mask. While
admittedly inspired by the hacker group Anonymous
and the television show Mr. Robot, Walker
maintains that his stage presence isn’t a political
statement. “It’s more like a symbol of unity and community
and not necessarily a movement,” he says.
Which makes sense when considering the positive
self-affirming lyrics “I know I’m not alone” from his
latest single, “Alone.”
Aside from a rigorous touring and festival schedule,
Walker is spending every free moment in the
studio to pump out as much new music as possible.
“For the time being, it’s only going to be singles. No
albums or EPs are planned, all singles pretty much,
more featured vocalists, oh and also remixes.”
Illenium
Denver-based producer Illenium had a killer
2016 with the release of soulful originals as
well as remixes for many mainstream artists
including Kaskade, Tove Lo and the Chainsmokers.
Creating ocean-like soundscapes
where synths crash softly like water on
beach-sand, he takes listeners through an
emotional audio journey with each track
he shares.
Juelz
Born and raised in Vancouver, Juelz, is a hip
hop and electronic music producer with a
diverse track record. With tracks ranging
from moody instrumentals to Sean Paul
club anthems, Juelz is no stranger when it
comes to playing live shows in his hometown
although this will be the artist’s first
time on a festival lineup.
Alan Walker is set to perform at the PNE
Coliseum as part of Seasons Festival April
15th.
Alan Walker produces YouTube tutorials to inspire
VANESSA TAM
After listening to Harrison Brome’s deep and
soulful voice through his music, expectations are
often blown away when meeting the young singer/songwriter
in person; a 21 year old elementary
school dropout. “I [pretty much just took that
time where I would’ve been in school] to focus
on my music. My mom has always been mad supportive,
it’s great,” said Brome over a cup of coffee
on a chilly Friday afternoon. “If I didn’t have that
time [to work on myself], I probably wouldn’t be
where I’m at right now musically.”
Growing up in a creative environment in suburban
Richmond, Brome listened to a lot of Marvin
Gaye, Otis Redding and Nina Simone though his
mother who always shared her love of music with
her family. From a very young age, Brome suffered
from severe dyslexia growing up and never had
an easy time learning in a traditional setting. “I
couldn’t read a book, like nothing,” he shares.
“So my mom bought me a karaoke machine and
something to do with the beat kinda lead me
to be able to string shit together easier. It was
just happenstance that I started singing a whole
bunch.” From that moment onwards, something
clicked in his mind and he knew that pursuing a
career in music was what he was meant to do. “I
knew that this was my purpose,” he explains. “To
make music and that I had a voice that needed
to be heard.”
Fast forward to 2015 when Brome was finally
ready to release his debut single, “Fill Your Brains,”
to the world which eventually culminated in a six
track EP by the same name. Dark and moody instrumentals
laid the foundation for the young
artist’s soulful vocal range that draws inspiration
from the brood-
ing coastal city
he calls home.
“I don’t know
who I would
put in my music
category,”
he mentions,
thinking out
loud. “Like a
James Blake meets The
Weeknd kinda vibe, but like Allan Raymond
too I think. He’s a Toronto guy that’s on a similar
vibe. I fuck with his stuff.”
Building a strong initial following through Spotify
plays and blog features, Brome signed to local
record label Nettwerk Records and started working
closely with Blueprint to continue to develop
his career. “Oh, it’s amazing,” exclaims Brome on
the local support that he‘s receiving from a city
that’s notoriously dismissive when it comes to
emerging local artists. “Like at my first show at
Fortune Sound Club [in Chinatown back in February],
I thought maybe like 400 people would
show but we packed up the place! I couldn’t have
asked for a better first show in my city.”
Surrounded by live plants and vibe setting
smoke and lights, Brome performed his newest
single “Body High” for a sold out audience for
the very first time. Showcasing the young artist’s
vocal flexibility and incredible falsetto, the single
became an instant hit performed alongside other
fan favourites “Midnight Island” and “Fill Your
Brains.”
Self taught in everything he knows about music
production from singing to playing the piano
and guitar, Brome likes to work with another person
to help get his instrumentals down while he
works on the rest of the song. “I usually have an
engineer or a co-producer [to work] with because
I’m not the best when it comes to the technical
aspects of producing,” he admits. “So usually I’ll
start with a certain sound on the keys and kind
of mumble a top line to it. Then I’ll get one of my
producers to start making the drum beats and
then we build it from there. My producers are almost
like my translators [because] they help me
to get my ideas out, but at the same time I also
like bringing in ideas from other people. It’s the
best [of both worlds really].”
When it comes to songwriting, Brome draws
from his own personal experiences and writes
about relatable topics that a wide variety of
people can understand. “I
would never
take back any of the shit that I’ve
ever gone through because then I wouldn’t be
the person that I am today,” he states confidently.
“Everything I write about
is my way to express shit;
it’s cathartic. I’m speaking
my mind and still feel
like people understand
me, even though they’re
interpreting [the lyrics] in
their own way.”
As for what’s coming
up next for Brome, he’s
preparing to release a new
single with Pomo and is
booked to play a bunch of
shows and music festivals
around the world including
dates in the UK, Germany
and the Netherlands.
“I would love to do a lot of
collaborations with producers
as well as features,”
he mentions, already thinking
of the future. “I would
love to be able to sing on all
the hooks for rappers, that’s
my kind shit. I think it’d be
awesome [to work with] a
female singer like Lully or
BANKS too. Having a female
singer with my vocal I think
would be dope, I’ve never
really experienced that so
that’d be fun. Count me in.”
Harrison Brome performs
with Pomo at Fortune
Sound Club as part
of Seasons Festival April
13th.
“I don’t have anything else. I dropped
out of school you know, if I don’t have
music, I’m fucked. It’s my life.”
14 BPM
April 2017
April 2017 BPM
15

SOSUPERSAM
fall in real love with Sosupersam
PRACHI KAMBLE
Championing the revival of classic R&B with her monthly 143 parties,
a name derived from the “I Love You” pager word count from the 90s,
Sosupersam has the Los Angeles party scene on fire.
Regularly playing at LA’s hottest venues, the party has taken on a
life of it’s own and has popped up everywhere from Seattle to San
Francisco and New York City. “R&B is nostalgic. It’s cute and ironic
again!” explains Sosupersam, aka Samantha Duenas. “I know it
sounds like an anomaly. People don’t believe it until they come out
and then quickly become believers.”
Duenas believes strongly in the psychological component of deejaying.
Knowing how to read the room, building an arsenal of dance
floor weapons and playing different parties with lots of different people
is key. Her strategy is simple, “You want to be relatable, a little bit
familiar, but also shed light on lesser known artists. People trust you
when you play a song that they like and they’ll go with you when you
take them to a song that they don’t know.”
photo by HYFN2
Horsepowar’s natural candor shines through her live performances.
SAM GELLAITRY
why just treat the ears when there are other senses just sitting there
MOLLY RANDHAWA
For most young people, figuring out what you want
to do with the rest of your life can be a daunting
task. For producer Sam Gellaitry, however, making
the decision to drop out of school at age 16 to focus
on music was natural for the young star. At age
17, his actions were reaffirmed when he signed to
LA based record label, Soulection. Now, three years
later, the producer has signed to his dream label at
XL Recordings and is crafting music that beautifully
orchestrates the cinematic sounds of his daily life.
The last time the Scottish-born artist stopped in
Vancouver was in October of last year opening for
the Glass Animals’ How to be a Human Being tour
where he played a set of all his own music. “[It was]
very refreshing. It felt like a milestone because I never
used to play much of my own music in DJ sets,”
the young artist shares. “The fact that I can travel
playing my own music really strengthens my self belief
in producing and makes my music stronger.”
Having just released the conclusive third EP from
Dropping her first EP titled Garden this past fall, the young artist
explored the rich spectrum of romance with her first crack at making
original music after hitting a creative plateau in her deejaying career.
“I was going through a lot of changes and a lot of travel, both of which
informed the themes of the EP,” she says. “I was listening to a lot of
Janet Jackson circa ‘All For You,’ which heavily inspired the direction
[of the album overall].”
With her diverse background in dancing, modelling, advertising,
public relations and economics, Duenas’ owes her creativity to multiple
sources. “Inspiration and creativity come in spurts,” she muses.
“They are influenced by how much you’ve slept, what country you’re
in, what you ate that day, or what your mom sounded like on the
phone earlier.”
Being a female DJ may make Duenas stand out from the norm, but
she doesn’t let that phase her. “I don’t play into stereotypes like, ‘oh a
female DJ probably dresses like a boy’ or ‘she’ll flaunt her sexual attributes.’
The conversation should never be about me being female, but
about what I do and how well I do it.”
Sosupersam performs at M.I.A. as part of Seasons Festival
April 13th.
HORSEPOWER
turning pain and experience into powerful music for the masses
MOLLY RANDHAWA
After having just returned back to Vancouver from Oakland, CA to
record an upcoming EP, Horsepowar is ready to deliver. Grabbing the
attention of CBC heavyweight Peter Mansbridge and other major
media outlets like Fader and Noisey, the 25-year-old Richmond native
who normally goes by the name Jasleen Powar, has been making
waves.
When it comes to performing, Powar isn’t shy of the spotlight but
after being compared to artists like M.I.A for their similar “brown girl
aesthetics,” the rapper wants to make it clear that she’s not a gimmick.
“I can’t claim Desi culture, but everything I do will be Indian just
because I am Indian,” the artist said over a plate of hot wings sitting in
a crowded bar on Main Street.
Powar first began performing in the form of slam poetry in the
his Escapism trilogy, Gellaitry has a lot to take in over
his worldwide tour promoting the new record. With
an eye for capturing sounds through an objective
lens and quite literally, a camera lens, he encourages
his fans to take a peek into the sounds that he
composes through photography. “It’s a great way of
capturing atmosphere and surroundings which [in
turn] inspire the music I make,” he explains. “I like
the contrast between photography and production
because it’s capturing something in the best way
possible rather than creating something completely
new and different.”
Gellaitry pushes the sound in his new album
through enigmatic imagery, intricately detailing
the vivid sounds of his surroundings. He shares how
each of the songs off of his new EP has its own picture
to paint. “[My sound is] very hard to pinpoint
to a specific genre. I just call it ‘electronic,’” explains
Gellaitry. With tracks like “Jungle Waters” being inspired
by film scores and “Acres” being inspired by
photo by Kyle Reyes
his hometown, Escapism III showcases the diversity
within the young musicians sound.
Sosupersam uses her magnetic personality and elegance to stand out
ninth grade, after the death of her older brother. The artist explains
how the experience was therapeutic and helped her express her
feelings of loss in a positive way. “I feel like [writing and slam poetry]
helped me not become a bitch.” Working to channel her energies
into developing her own style as a rapper, the confidence that Powar
naturally radiates is undisputed. With years of experience performing
live under her belt, the artist’s natural candor shines through.
However, even with the confidence that Powar carries, the rapper
reveals the struggles of remaining powerful, yet humble in her hometown.
“[People] say that you have to be a narcissist [in order] to be an
artist, but I don’t believe that. If you wanna be successful, you gotta
know how to love yourself,” she explains in between bites of wings.
“You can see through that shit when it’s not authentic. This is real for
me, it’s not a gimmick”.
Having taken a hiatus from performing while working on her new
album, Powar expressed her excitement about showcasing her new
material at her upcoming shows. “I want [this record] to be very full of
itself, I want people to know that I am the shit and the urine.”
Catch Horsepowar performing with Playboi Carti at Venue
as part of Seasons Festival April 12th.
Using photography and music production,Sam Gellaitry flawlessly paints a picture with Escapism III.
Catch Sam Gellaitry at Fortune Sound Club
as part of Seasons Festival April 13th.
JAMES DEEN
through being cool
VANESSA TAM
“Yo being cool is overrated,” said Brennan
Henderson in between sips of pour over
coffee. “That shit's dumb.”
Producing music under the name James
Deen since high school, Henderson originally
grew up in Kelowna, the hometown of
electronic music juggernauts Datsik and Excision,
before deciding to move to Vancouver
a few years ago. “It's funny because the
first ever article about me, well not the first
one but the biggest one, was on THUMP,”
he said reminiscing. “They premiered a song
and I think the title was just like, ‘Hear a
song from a Kelowna producer that's not
Datsik or Excision.’ Which is super funny.”
Growing up in such an isolated town in
terms of music culture and diversity, Henderson
chose to publish most of his work
to Soundcloud which helped him find the
majority of his fan base through the internet.
His move to Vancouver, however, really
kickstarted the visibility of his music especially
around 2014 when comparable artists
Ryan Hemsworth and Wave Racer were experiencing
their heydays.
While clearly inspired by the shiny and
bright samples commonly associated with
2014’s infatuation with PC Music, Henderson
has complete faith in his overall sound
RIFF RAFF
living perpetually in the moment
VANESSA TAM
Each person has a different maximum point of saturation when it
comes to the Houston, Texas born artist Riff Raff. For some people,
their tipping point was reached early on during the beginning
of the artist’s career on Myspace, for others it was with the Neon
Icon album. There are still people out there who can’t get enough
of Riff Raff, and maybe never will.
A physical manifestation of how popular culture and music
can shape a human being, Riff Raff was born as Host Simco to a
family of four where he experienced a complicated upbringing
before finding commercial success after being cast in the MTV reality
show From G’s to Gents. Often recognized for his flashy outfit
choices and his intricate hairstyles, his viral singles “DOLCE &
GABBANA,” “TiP TOE WiNG iN MY JAWWDiNZ” and “AiR CANA-
DA” more accurately define his overall vibe as an artist.
After a two-year hiatus from releasing new music after his first
LP Neon Icon came out in 2014, Simco decided to drop a whopping
three records over the past seven months, the latest of which
is titled Aquaberry Aquarius. “Sometimes music is fun,” Simco says
about his music making process. “But sometimes it’s not even fun
and I don’t stay in the studio actually. I go in the studio probably
like three times a year. Or I only go to the studio when I have to do
a feature or like do an album. I don’t just hang out at the studio.”
Amidst the nine tracks on Aquaberry Aquarius that talk about
partying, luxury goods and making money all day, there are couple
tracks that shine a light on what’s happening in Simco’s life as a
person. Specifically, the track “I’m Not Waiting on the Summer”
touches on the time where the artist lost his father late last year.
“Yeah, sometimes I’ll make a song talking about things that are
going on in my real life that I normally wouldn’t do,” he shares
over the phone. “The last time I did that, I made the “Time” song
and that was a long time ago. Now [with] “I’m Not Waiting on the
and his ongoing growth as an artist. “I think
there's been a natural progression [with my
work since then. For example, I] still keep a
lot of the elements that I enjoyed from the
style of music I made in the past, but I also
incorporate new stuff that I like, think and
feel now.”
As a testament to his overall development,
the young artist prepares to release
his debut LP this month titled Never Been
Cool. “The bottom line when I make music
is that, it's all for myself,” he explains. “I was
thinking about this recently while I was listening
to the demos of [the album] while I
was walking to work and I was like, ‘Is this
pompous or is this like narcissistic?’ And I
was like, ‘No, because if I don't like the music
I make, then why would I make it?’”
Filled with a selection of inspiring vocal
features and moody atmospheric tracks
alongside his signature upbeat production
style, the album is really an audio representation
of how far he has come as an artist.
“It's just like a testament to my life,” he says
confiently. “Because like, I've never been
cool and I'm also through being cool.”
James Deen’s debut LP Never Been
Cool comes out April 13th.
photo by Mats Schram
James Deen’s bright and shiny debut LP,
Never Been Cool, comes out April 13.
With an action movie on the horizon, Riff Raff isn’t slowing down.
Summer,” that’s like [referencing] my real life. I don’t like to make
a whole album based on what’s going on in my life because I think
that’s like too like sad or depressing, so I don’t know.”
Currently in the midst of releasing his first action movie where
he will be acting in the lead role, Simco seems more self aware than
ever when it comes to his work and career. “I like to be in a good
mood sometimes so that’s why a lot of my songs are like more
high energy and stuff,” he says. “When I’m on stage I’m not sad or
thinking about what’s going on in my life, I’m thinking about just
partying. So that’s where I’m in my element I guess.”
Riff Raff performs at the Harbour Event Center April
14th.
CLUBLAND
your month measured in BPMs
vanessa tam
Lucky us! Winter is almost over and with the arrival of spring
comes Vancouver’s most illustrious high holiday. What better way
to celebrate than to check out some of the top hip hop and electronic
music shows we’ve highlighted just for you. The 420 gods
must be smiling down on us. Amen.
Mall Grab
April 7 @ The Waldorf Hotel
Hailing from Newcastle, Australia, Mall Grab is a relatively new
name in the deep house and techno scenes who can find inspiration
anywhere from popular internet culture to rap music. Known
for playing dusty house DJ sets that were once described as, “hella
stoned,” you’re definitely not going to want to miss this one.
Skepta
April 18 @ The Vogue Theatre
One of the most well known grime artists in the world, Skepta
returns to Vancouver in support of his latest release, Konnichiwa.
Aside from his latest feature on Drake’s album More Life, the UK
top boy is most well known for his prowess as a MC in his popular
singles “Shutdown” and “That’s Not Me.”
Freddie Gibbs
April 20 @ Fortune Sound Club
Fredrick Tipton, more commonly known as Freddie Gibbs, is an
American rapper born in Gary, Indiana. Well known for his stylistically
diverse rapping ability, Tipton is back with a fresh new LP
titled You Only Live 2wice. Be sure to check out the track “Alexys”
from the new album produced by a couple Canadian favourites,
BADBADNOTGOOD and Kaytranada.
Nicolas Jarr
April 11 @ The Vogue Theatre
New York based experimental electronic music composer, producer
and recording artist Nicolas Jarr returns to Vancouver in
support of his lastest release Sirens. After working on a soundtrack
for the Cannes Film Festival 2015 Palme d’Or winning film Dheepan,
Jarr has continued to cultivate an almost cult-like fan following
for his internationally recognized ambient compositions.
Kehlani
May 1 @ The Vogue Theatre
Not one to shy away from controversy, Kehlani is an Oakland,
California born R&B singer and songwriter who speaks openly
about whatever she wants to in her music. Known for surrounding
herself with an all female team when it comes to production
and touring, Kehlani is currently on an upward spiral travelling the
world to promote her latest album, SweetSexySavage.
Kehalni
BPM
16 BPM
April 2017
April 2017 BPM
17

JACQUES GREENE
a moveable feast of a life story on one LP
photo oby Mathieu Fortin
Jacques Greene plunges his fans into earnest and melodramatic emotions with the release of Intimate.
JAMIE GOYMAN
18 BPM
Having graced the sound systems of numerous
clubs, lofts and warehouses around the world
with his music, the now Toronto based Jacques
Greene, known by his friends as Philip Aubin-Dionne,
has finally released his first full length album
Infinite and it’s phenomenal. “I think a lot
of art and culture needs to be extravagant or extreme
[towards] whichever direction you want to
get people to,” says Aubin-Dionne. “If you’re trying
to make people feel sexy there are R&B songs
that are almost pornographic, about fucking, but
you [actually just] want to make people get close
and grind. It’s almost a caricature of the mood.”
The LP itself, chock full of earnest and melodramatic
emotions, not only tunes fans into where
Aubin-Dionne is headed musically, but also displays
the talent it takes to connect listeners to his
entire body of work in just one album. “It’s sort of
exciting and scary time because the album is sort
of a manifesto of the Jacques Greene sound up
until this point, a sort of celebration of all those
EPs,” he says. “With that comes the need to switch
it up. I’ll have a bit of time in studio between a
couple festival things and hopefully be able to do
that. To just keep it going really.”
Spending the past five years teasing fans with
EPS and singles, it would seem that the album
took longer than the five or six weeks during the
summer of 2015 for Aubin-Dionne to get the album’s
11 tracks ready for mastering. With “Feel
Infinite,” the second track on the album, setting
precedent for the remainder of the LP closing out
with the artist’s own favourite track, “You Can See
All My Light.” “Even to this day when I play it gets
me in my feelings and resonates a lot,” tells Aubin-Dionne.
The only intentional vocal feature that happens
on the album is with How To Dress Well who is
artistically very much on the same level as Green.
“I really like the guy and we have very similar ideas
as far as our intersections with pop music. He’s
a pretty smart guy and it’s always fun to pick his
brain,” explains Aubin-Dionne. “When it came
time to make this record I didn’t want a producer
album that was full of random ‘features.’ It also
made so much sense to call upon a really good
friend and someone I trusted to work with how I
wanted this record to be.” Infinite came from an
honest place and when something is created in
absolute purity, it can’t be tarnished.
Deciding to bring half his studio with him on
tour, Aubin-Dionne has been working on a responsive
light set up to work alongside customized
projections with friends from Montreal:
Melissa Matos, Adam Hummell, Shadi Assadi and
Emmanuel Rinfret. “It’s the first time I’m going on
tour with a full body of work, but the way I perform
it’s going to be a little different every night,”
he says. “A bunch of the synths [I have] can’t save
pre-set sounds so I have to make it up as I go
along. I want it to be sort of like a show that needs
to work out the ebbs and flows.”
Catch Jacques Green performing live at
Fortune Sound Club April 9th.
April 2017

RIO
THEATRE
1660 EAST BROADWAY
APRIL
2
APRIL
3
APRIL
5
APRIL
8
12
APRIL
13
APRIL
16
APRIL
17
APRIL
19
APRIL
26
APRIL
28
APRIL
MAY
1
MAY
4
MAY
5
APRIL
HIGHLIGHTS
WWW.RIOTHEATRETICKETS.CA
MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI
EYE OF THE STORM XII
AN IMMERSIVE A/V EXPERIENCE
KRISTEN STEWART IN
PERSONAL SHOPPER
M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN'S
SPLIT
GHOST IN THE SHELL
(1995)
THE NORTHLANDER
FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE!
KEDI
THE LURE
THE VOID
THE ROOM
THE GENTLEMEN HECKLERS PRESENT
KEVIN BACON IN
FOOTLOOSE
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
THE RED TURTLE
THE 10
COMMANDMENTS
MONTY PYTHON'S
LIFE OF BRIAN
DAVID LYNCH:
THE ART LIFE
THE FICTIONALS COMEDY CO. PRESENTS
IMPROV AGAINST
HUMANITY!
#IAHATRIO
THE CRITICAL HIT SHOW
A LIVE IMPROVISED EPIC FANTASY
#DNDLIVE
THE SQUIDLING BROTHERS CIRCUS SIDESHOW:
CARAVAN OF CREEPS TOUR
THE EVIL IN US
FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE!
PAUL ANTHONY'S TALENT TIME:
THE STAR WARS SHOW
FIRST THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH!
THE GEEKENDERS PRESENT
THE EMPIRE STRIPS BACK:
A SCI-FI BURLESQUE ADVENTURE
*ALSO HAPPENING MAY 26 & 27
COMPLETE LISTINGS AT WWW.RIOTHEATRE.CA
CIRCLE GAME
captive on a carousel of time, the music of Joni Mitchell transcends once again
NOOR KHWAJA
STORYHIVE
video grant initiative gives bands a budget to create
JENNIE ORTON
As the music industry has evolved to suit changing
delivery methods and developing mediums, one
supplement to a good song has remained viable
and that is the music video. Not all artists can foot
the bill to complement their music with visual poetry
and that can make it difficult for those artists
to develop a brand and be visual to their fans. Enter
STORYHIVE: Music Video Grant Program.
A competition for serious artists with a vision
for a music video the program offers the chance
to pitch for their shot at one of 30 $10,000 grants
towards production costs. The application deadline
for this year’s grant awards is April 14, with any Video
and Music Lead team eligible to pitch their music
video idea and plan for their production within
that time. Several local Vancouver artists have gone
on to produce music videos that helped launch
them into the public eye in a way that would’ve
been considerably more difficult without the STO-
RYHIVE grant.
Vancouver band Amistad, originally from Vernon,
BC, enjoyed early success with the grant program
on their very first pitch.
“Working with TELUS and STORYHIVE was a new
experience for us. This was our first time ever applying
for a music video grant, so to get the $10,000 on
the first try really blew us away. We used the funding
to make a music video for our song “HUMAN”
off our new EP ‘Talk Peace to a Wolf.’”
The support is not only financial, but also the
photo by Asylum
If Joni Mitchell were first coming out
on the radio today, what would her
music sound like? This is the question
that guides Anna Kuman and Andrea
Cohen’s millennial interpretation of
Mitchell’s music in Circle Game. By
mashing up some of the politically
driven songs and adding additional
instruments, the production, which
premieres at the Firehall Arts Centre
on April 29, gives the “intrinsically
‘70s” voice of Mitchell’s music a modern
revamp.
After speaking with creators/directors
(and dynamic musical spouses)
Kuman and Cohen, it quickly becomes
clear that the delicate music
of one of Canada’s most renowned
sweethearts couldn’t have been in
better hands. The idea of the project
was sparked from Cohen’s memory of
his mother’s “tinny record player” and
her sing-alongs to the “sensory nostalgia”
that characterized Mitchell’s
albums. “I remember being a kid and
thinking how kind of funny it sounded,”
Cohen laughs. While Cohen at
the age of eight couldn’t grasp the “almost
religious connection” that earlier
generations had with Mitchell’s
music, he later discovered the lyrics’
transcendent nature. Adding on to
the recognition of this intergenerational
relationship, Kuman explains
that the couple quickly became aware
of how “poignant her lyrics were to
[them] now as adults.”
The creative process, too, stemmed
from the power of Mitchell’s lyrics.
Cohen describes “riffing on a theme
of hers” or “really resonating with a
certain phrase and seeing where that
goes.” In terms of the sound of the
re-imagination, Kuman admiringly
notes about her husband: “Andy is
a musical prodigy in his own right…
he has his own style that people will
catch on to.” While influences from
many current artists, as well as Cohen’s
original direction, are embedded
into the performance, the overarching
genre will be indie rock.
Many of the issues that Mitchell
artfully incorporates into her music
are still very much relevant today. Kuman
notes the parallels between feminist
values in Mitchell’s work and the
current “influx of our generation becoming
politically charged” with controversial
policy changes. There are
also relevant relationships between
Mitchell’s theme of environment and
current conversations. However, as
Cohen explains, many of his friends
and his generation, in general, “didn’t
really know who she was.” That is,
“except for maybe ‘Big Yellow Taxi,’”
Kuman chimes in.
Issues in politics, environment, and
love present in Mitchell’s music are
just as significant as they ever were.
bolstering energy that comes with having someone
believe in your artistic vision. Alberta band The Doll
Sisters found that part of the experience very nourishing.
“We felt supported not only financially, but we
felt validated in our art! It was so nice to know that
the folks at STORYHIVE believed in our project the
same way we did, and it made the experience that
much better.”
For any artist with a song that just begs to be
Circle Game is a reimagining of Joni Mitchell’s music for today’s generation
Hopefully, Circle Game can help to
take the timeless influence of her
legacy and make it into something
new, connecting generational themes
and bringing things full circle. After
all, as Mitchell herself so beautifully
phrases, “we’re captive on a carousel
of time.”
Circle Game runs at Firehall
Arts Centre from April 29 –
May 20.
made into a visual experience, you have until April
14 to submit your pitch. Winners will be announced
by May 11 and then the winning videos will be published
via TELUS Optik TV On Demand and online
for a second round of voting after they are completed.
For more information on how to submit
your pitch, visit www.storyhive.com
photo by Jeff Bassett
Local bands such as Amistad have had the chance to thrive thanks to the support of STORYHIVE.
EAST VAN BASEBALL LEAGUE
peanuts and cracker jacks not included
SEAN ORR
pinball
brunch
cocktails
Ramones burgers
poutine
draught
vegan friendly djs
picklebacks
beers
mirth
wing wednesdays
quantum singularities
blue jays
¢o$mic bathroom
vegan wing mondays
live music
Gravel dust fills the air like late August wildfire
smoke. Wild hand gestures by real umpires. I don’t
understand any of it. “What happened?” I ask, fully
aware of my naivety. “Greasy baseball.” It was the
old hidden-ball trick, apparently. Although it was
probably an insignificant play in an even more insignificant
game, it felt momentous.
“You’re not much of a sports guy,” notes Bruce
Dyck, member of the Mount Pleasant Murder and
drummer for the now-defunct B-Lines. He recalls a
chance encounter when both our bands were on
tour in San Francisco. My band NEEDS had bought
me a ticket to a Giants game for my birthday. It
would be my first baseball game. “Well, I do like
hockey,” I reply sheepishly.
“You’re going to write about this,” demands
Heath Fenton, another local musician involved
in the East Van Baseball League’s Mount Pleasant
Murder chapter. He is drunk. I am going to politely
decline, having zero knowledge about this bizarre
summer ritual, when we are interrupted by an errant
foul. “Heads!” It’s my chance to sneak away.
I stand next to some burly men who can only be
described as men who look like baseball. Like it’s
the only thing they care about in the world. Tightly
creased ball caps, arms folded, wide stance, speaking
in riddles, saying things like, “Nice lights.”
“That guy throws pretty hard,” I say, now starting
to revel in my ignorance. “Yeah, he played in
college. In Louisiana.” ‘That doesn’t seem fair,’ I
think to myself. More riddles. Someone yells something.
Was it trash talk? I want to hear trash talk.
I want to hear Trash Talk. The inning is over and
pop-punk comes on instead.
I roam the edges of Strathcona Park, strewn
with squatting camper vans and a modified school
bus with a sauna in it. Someone has set up a kiddie-pool.
Sean Elbe, captain of the East Van Black
Sox, is walking around with just his jockstrap on.
I’m amazed by the dichotomy between rigid organization
and free-spirit.
Evan Wansbrough, better known as Evan October,
so named for baseball’s post-season, expands:
“[The East Van Baseball League] is primarily embodied
by players who are musicians, artists, small
business owners — or patrons of those things
— based in East Vancouver. The balance we’ve
achieved comes from embracing and managing
a culture within the league that reflects the same
values as are applied in to those interests off the
field. There’s a DIY mindset in the league, and a
healthy sense of friendly competition between
players that makes the league feel like home to our
players, as opposed to just their individual teams.
That’s where we differ from other leagues.”
Indeed, the musical pedigree is impressive.
HOT DOGS
servers who don’t take shit
(and one who does!)
official home bar of
EVBL founders (L-R) Court Overgaauw, Justin White, Sean Elbe, Evan Wansbrough
Such musical entities include Youth Decay, Daggermouth,
Sunshine, The Greatest Sons, Parallels,
Tranzmitors, La Ti Da Records, The Corps, Broadway
to Boundary Records, Timbre Concerts, Isotopes,
Needles//Pins, The Courtneys, Rain City
Recorders, Fox Cabaret, Shockload, The Real McKenzies,
B-Lines, Ballantynes, The Uptights, Milk,
Teenburger, Regrets, The Tubuloids, Negative
Nights, Hot Loins, Vicious Cycles, and Nervous
Talk.
While I wrote above about the late summer finals,
it’s now spring, and spring is to baseball what
Sunday is to church. This year, the EVBL is looking
to capitalize on last year’s tremendous success.
2481 e Hastings
brunch sat + sun 11-3
happy hour 3-6 daily
open late
a guy forgot his kids here once
CITY
photo by Gaetan Harris
“This time last year our goal was to add a third
team to our sandlot group. We figured we could
probably pull it off. Once the word got out that we
were recruiting players we quickly ended up with
enough for three new teams for a total of five. This
season we are expanding yet again, this time doubling
in size to 10 teams. We never thought Vancouver
was such a baseball town.”
Neither did I, and I never thought I’d be writing
about it. But here I am, excited for some more
greasy baseball in 2017.
For schedules and merchandise go to www.
eastvanbaseball.com
20 CITY
April 2017
April 2017 CITY
21

THE WEALTH SHOP
VANCOUVER’S FIRST LICENSED CANNABIS SHOP
I GOT
FIVE
ON IT.
SIGN UP ONLINE AT WWW.WEALTHSHOP.CA
4/20 CALENDAR
ZOEI NIJJAR
We’ve compiled a list of six marijuana-inspired events for you
to enjoy this 4/20 season, ranging from the iconic Vancouver
Art Gallery gathering to concerts to informative cannabis exhibitions.
President’s Dream Colloquium: Marijuana
Legalization 2017
Join Dr. Beau Kilmer, the senior policy researcher and co-director
of RAND Drug Policy Research Centre, at SFU’s Harbour
Centre campus on April 6 as he discusses the legal aspects of
marijuana use and the current state of research on the topic.
Admission is free.
Snoop Dogg with Cypress Hill, Method
Man, and Redman
On April 14, join the weed king himself at Rogers Arena for his
Wellness Retreat Tour and get into the 4/20 spirit a bit early.
4/20 Vancouver at Sunset Beach
Enjoy the holiday surrounded by sand, sun, and fellow marijuana
lovers. There will be a cannabis farmers’ market, music,
public speakers, and much more. Come out to protest against
marijuana prohibition and to celebrate all things green.
4/20 Vancouver at the Vancouver Art Gallery
Celebrate April 20 at the Vancouver Art Gallery and enjoy
over 50 vendors, guest speakers, a 4/20 farmers’ market, and
a 4:19 joint giveaway. There will also be a peaceful protest
against marijuana prohibition.
Alex Wiley’s Stoner Symphony Tour
Keep the party going with Chicago rapper Alex Wiley as he
promotes his new album, Stoner Symphony, at Alexander Gastown
on April 21.
Cannabis Hemp Conference & Expo 2017
Held at the Nest at UBC on May 6 and 7, this event gives the
opportunity to learn about the therapeutic and medicinal
uses of marijuana from an array of guest speakers, authors,
and specialists. There will also be exhibits, live demos, samples,
and giveaways.
WEALTH SHOP
aiming to eliminate the negative stigma around modern cannabis use
VANESSA TAM
Safely tucked in the bottom left corner of
Canada, Vancouver has always been somewhat
of a liberal haven when it comes to
cannabis use while simultaneously serving as
a home base for marijuana enthusiasts. Both
Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong once lived
in the west coast metropolis, and current residents
include activists Marc Emery and Dana
Larsen. With over 200 dispensaries operating
around the city, most Vancouverites are being
exposed to the resilient weed every time they
leave the house.
“Additionally, I think there is also way more
science backed literature bringing the positive
properties of cannabis to the forefront,
you know not just the psychoactive high but
also the beneficial cannabidiol elements of
the plant,” explains Brad Quevillon, one of the
co-founders of Wealth Shop, one of Vancouver’s
first licensed cannabis dispensaries. “It
allows for more information to be put into
the public’s view so people can educate themselves
and become a bit more comfortable
with the subject, which is something we see all
the time operating a licensed storefront. Once
people get over what they believe cannabis is,
they begin to feel comfortable enough to ask
questions and learn about how it can benefit
them personally.”
“The whole concept behind Wealth Shop is
to really focus on health and wellness,” added
Nico Sto Tomas, another one of the co-founders
of Wealth Shop. “We originally started the
brand probably two years ago when we identified
a large gap in the current market. Our
tagline is ‘Rich in Health’ because we want to
reposition what wealth is in people’s minds.
True wealth is not about how much money
you have, but how healthy you are physically,
mentally and spiritually.”
In terms of cannabis legalization in Canada,
it seems like a no brainer for anyone even
vaguely interested in the industry.
“I think we should go beyond legalizing
cannabis in BC and Vancouver,” says Connor
Mcnamee, another one of Wealth Shop’s
co-founders. “I would like to see it legalized
on more of a national scale, or even the world.
We’ve only just begun to scratch the surface
of cannabis research and with a little more
support from our governments around the
world we should be able to allocate more
funds to research and isolate specific cannabinoids
with diverse medical benefits. On the
recreational side, however, I’d love to see more
of an open-minded country partaking in cannabis
for recreational uses whether it’s infusing
products or infusing food. It’s just a matter
of time before we’re able to use cannabis with
pretty much anything.”
Wealth Shop is located at 4545 W 10th
Avenue.
Wealth Shop believes the true meaning of wealth isn’t money but being rich in health.
So Loki
ART: DOES MARIJUANA
HELP OR HINDER?
local musicians discuss if there’s a connection between cannabis and creativity
MARION LEFEVRE
Louis Armstrong first tried cannabis in the 1920s and
used it throughout his career. Lady Gaga told Anderson
Cooper in 2011 that she smokes “a lot of pot” when
writing music. Astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan
wrote, “For the first time I have been able to hear the separate
parts of a three-part harmony and the richness of
the counterpoint,” about his experience with marijuana.
So what does science say about weed promoting creativity?
Unfortunately, due to the prohibited nature of the
drug, science has been unable to conduct long-term
peer-reviewed studies on the matter. This means a lot of
our “hard data” has come from the anecdotes of users.
BeatRoute interviewed a few local musicians to get their
input on weed and the potentials and pitfalls of its creative
side.
Robbie Slade of HUMANS
“[I find it] helps — but only in very small doses, and at the
right point in my creative process. Too early on and I can
hit stumbling blocks. I find it helps me look at a project
from another perspective. It can be a gamble. Sometimes
it can cause anxiety, or tiredness. I try to stay away from
Grassifieds
the mild-acid-trip level of strength, and I don’t really like
using cannabis to, like, spice [up] my life.”
Richie Alexander of Did You Die
“I smoked it throughout high school almost every day. It
was a part of my lifestyle as a teen and from what I can
remember with weed, I don’t really see it as a channel
for creativity at all for myself. I would write a song every
couple months, but without, I pump out so many more
songs. I work on them harder; it’s a completely different
approach. I just want people to understand that marijuana
does work for a lot of artists when they are creating (I
know for a fact that a lot of hip-hop artists I listen to use
it and bang out some awesome stuff) but for me, personally,
it hasn’t worked out that way.”
Sam Lucia and Geoffrey Millar
of So Loki
“We find that weed definitely helps. It helps with creativity
but hinders productivity so we generally smoke while
writing and having creative dialogue, but when it comes
to the hard shit — stay sober, kids.”
WEALTHSHOPCANADA
WEALTHSHOP
$5 OFF
your next purchase of $25 or more
LOCATED AT #104 - 4545 W. 10TH AVE
22 GRASSIFIEDS
April 2017
April 2017 GRASSIFIEDS
23

COMEDY
IVAN DECKER
Vancouver’s voice of the millennial generation
JOHNNY PAPAN
Dubbed “one of the funniest and most
likable young comics in the country”
as well as “the hilarious voice of the
millennial generation,” standup-comedian
Ivan Decker has been doing
comedy for over a decade. Getting
his first comedy-club gig at 19 years of
age, Decker has impressively worked
his way into television specials, Just
for Laughs appearances, award wins,
and a plethora of headlining shows
across Canada and the United States.
“I always liked performing and
being on stage. It could be a middle-child
centre-of-attention thing, I
don’t know. If you wanna overanalyze
it, better get your notebooks out psyche
students reading this!”
Inspired by comics such as Jerry
Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Dave Chappelle,
Decker’s clean comedic style
is geared towards commenting on
personal experiences and social behaviours.
“I was working in a grocery
store when I first started, so a lot of
my act was about that,” Decker confirms.
“I made a lot of jokes about cat
food.”
With Vancouver being as tough as
it is to get by financially as an artist,
Decker unsurprisingly worked numerous
day jobs to support himself in his
early career, including: landscaping,
door to door sales, telemarketing, and
even spent an enjoyable time working
at Science World while building the
skills and resources to turn stand-up
comedy into a full-time gig.
As is the case with most comedians,
Decker’s journey was a long, winding
road. “There was this one time I performed
in front of mayor Gregor Robertson
on Valentine’s Day,” Decker recalls.
“I would have figured he’d be at
some fancy restaurant, but instead he
was at this Vaudeville variety show in
an old former porno theatre.” Decker
was the only comedian that night,
and was forced to perform alongside
many live bands. “I was in this crazy
environment where everybody is
talking. Since it’s Valentine’s Day people
are trying to find someone whom
they can exchange liquids with, and
I’m trying to calm them down. I don’t
think Mayor Robertson laughed once
during my set. His date laughed,
though. Maybe that’s why he didn’t
like me.”
Decker recently released his very
funny debut album I Wanted to
Be a Dinosaur, where he discusses
relatable topics such as finding a
Vancouver apartment on Craigslist,
watching Netflix, and the unwritten
social rules of public transportation.
Ron Lynch brings a bag of tricks to every show so he never gets stale.
RON LYNCH
no punchlines for this stand up guy
GRAEME WIGGINS
Sometimes stand-up comedy can
seem a little formulaic. A person gets
up on stage: set up, punchline, repeat.
Ron Lynch has been doing comedy
for a long time (though probably even
more famous for his appearances on
Bob’s Burgers, and The Sarah Silverman
Program) and has defied that
convention from the beginning. His
comedy is almost a throwback to a
different era, though which era is a little
ill-defined. There’s nods to magic,
ventriloquism, and an oddball sense
of slapstick about it.
Lynch describes it thusly, “it’s probably
as far away from stand-up as you
can get without being called standup,
I guess. I do characters, I do the
Magician, a hypnotist guy, I do some
stand up. It’s a little crazier than your
normal jokey joke type stand-up. I
Decker is homegrown talent who will make your girlfriend laugh in front of you
The album was recorded live at Vancouver’s
Comedy Mix, where he’ll be
headlining again mid-April. “Expect
to see me telling jokes. A lot of them.
It’s upbeat. I’m not gonna talk about
the government, and try to make
you think while making you laugh,
I’m just gonna make you laugh. You
come, you have some drinks, you
have a good time.” I Wanted to be a
Dinosaur can be found on iTunes and
Spotify.
probably have no set up and punchline
type jokes in my act. A lot of its
physical stuff. I don’t talk to the crowd
that much but I work off the crowd.”
The idea seems to harken back to
the theatricality of old vaudeville acts,
which featured comedians and other
performers. Lynch would agree, “It is a
little vaudevillian, yeah. I wouldn’t call
it modern vaudeville or something
like that but it’s based in my love of
vaudeville and taking that kind of humour
and modernizing it. It’s a pretty
clean. I’m not saying I don’t swear ever
or anything like that but it’s basically
clean.”
It didn’t start out so off the beaten
path. While his sense of humour and
some of the sensibility was there early
on, the early life of a struggling comic
brought the harsh reality of typical
crowds into the mix which toned
down the absurdity level. “I would say
it’s always been absurd, but when I
left Boston and went solo, I would go
on the road a lot. And when you go to
bar in the middle of nowhere you can’t
be too crazy because people don’t get
it. I did more jokes about airplane and
food and stuff when I was on the road
because I thought you had to please
the audience.” Even then, sometimes
mainstream crowds forced unthinkable
choices: “There was one point, in
“I think the Vancouver comedy
scene is one of the best in North
America. Having performed all over
this country, I can say we really do
have something special here. It’s not
just all the great comedians, it’s also
the audience. They actually come to
shows.”
Catch Ivan Decker at the Comedy
Mix April 13-15.
a really bad gig in Oregon and luckily
I brought on stage, just for a joke with
the other comic, the Playboy Book of
Party Jokes and just put that on the
stool, joking that I’d never have to get
to that. But eventually I just pulled it
out and started reading jokes out of it
and they loved it. So apparently this is
what you want, and I’m getting paid
either way.”
This took a toll, and eventually he
moved forward, and has developed
his own audience. “I started working
the road so much that I didn’t like
what was happening to my act so I
pretty much stayed in cities after that.
Though I did tour and do other stuff.
Now I do what I want to do. I think
people come to me, and like what I
do so I’m pretty happy with it.” What
should his audience expect from his
Vancouver show? “I’m going to have
to do my entire act in French, right?
Maybe we’ll have a guy on the side of
the stage repeating it in French. I’m
doing my act without any mention of
our president at all. That’s what’s hard
about it.”
Catch Ron Lynch live April 5th
@ the Fox Cabaret
BC DISTILLED
BC’s bold and brash approach to spirits sets us apart in a world of ancient grain.
While Mount Pleasant’s Brewery
Creek has established itself as
an essential tourist stop for visitors
with a sweet tooth for craft
brew, another scene has quietly
become a goldmine for the
same. What has been affectionately
nicknamed “Yeast Van” by
brewers and regulars is a vibrant
brewery district inhabiting the
area of East Van between Clark
Drive to the west, Powell Street
to the north, Semlin Drive to
the east, and Grant Street to the
south. The breweries, which have
all lovingly popped up around
Storm Brewing, the originator
who began operations in the
area in 1993 before it was cool,
have created a concentrated and
largely co-operative district for
craft beer and spirits that is gaining
momentum exponentially.
That’s where the East Van
Brewery Passport comes in. Developed
as a way to encourage
people to come enjoy what sets
Yeast Van apart, the challenge
is to collect a stamp at each
participating brewery with the
prize for doing so being a special
growler to take home and pass
out with.
Pop in to Bomber Brewing
and enjoy a refreshing start with
their Park Life Passionfruit Ale,
then hit up Callister Brewing for
a Blossom Dearie or to try one of
the collaborative casks they promote
from independent brewers
who use their facilities, then grab
the wallop of the Rye India Pale
at Doan’s, the kick-you-in-theteeth
Jerkface 9000 at Parallel 49,
an OG pint of Black Plague Stout
at Storm, Czech-Style Pilsner at
Powell Street to wash down that
plague, and then stumble into
Odd Society for a sip of their
Wallflower Gin.
This culture of experimentation
is what makes this district
distinct. For example, at Odd
Society, they combine Canada’s
general lack of strict distilling
traditions with innovative ways
The festival provides no better way to see what is being barreled in BC
Most regions throughout the
world that become known for
a certain style of distilling earn
their distinctions through years
of cultivating strict traditional
techniques and practices. And
much like the youngest child in a
family, Canada is not only just as
interested in these things as our
older counterparts, but we have
fewer rules and therefore can get
away with WAY more.
It is this newness to the practice
and the vagueness of the
overall rules that create an atmosphere
for experimentation
and artistry that makes BC Distilled,
in its fourth year as Canada’s
largest spirits event reserved
exclusively for local distilleries,
so genuinely interesting.
“It’s really a new-world approach
to making product,” says
BC Distilled founder and organizer
Alex Hamer. “We aren’t
bound by any tradition here and
that means we are able to make
whiskeys that are aged in barrels
that have had different things in
them in the past. None of that
would’ve happened 10 years ago,
and certainly wouldn’t have happened
in the places where these
things traditionally come from.”
Recently the province
changed the liquor laws to allow
for more participation by
independent distillers and more
creative license with production.
Since this development, the
number of craft distilleries has
increased exponentially, thus
achieving the province’s goal of
creating a vibrant and inclusive
industry in the province for spirits.
And the results are intriguing
to say the least.
“We’re getting to the point in
BC where we are developing a bit
of a terroir with gin; we’re creating
some really unique styles,”
says Hamer. Case in point: Sheringham
Distillery in Shirley, BC,
has begun distilling both gin and
akvavit with hand-harvested sea
kelp.
With British Columbia being
a bounty of natural gifts, the
local flavours that can be locally
sourced are very exciting. The result
is a festival featuring a staggering
34 BC distilleries, which
amount to about 80 percent of
the distilleries operating in the
province. In one place, with a liver
of steel, you can see what your
province has been doing with
grain at the main tasting, which
takes place at the Croatian Cultural
Centre; one of three spirit
showcases taking place at Legacy
Liquor; or the Distillers’
Dinner at Forage. Hamer urges
newcomers to the festival to go
in prepared.
“You need to decide, ‘Am I
going to focus on a region or a
type of spirit?’ but you should really
come into it with a plan. You
need to figure out an approach;
there are too many products to
try them all.”
to include international malts
within the rules about local BC
ingredients within the craft designation.
“For our peated malts we’ve
done something no one has
ever done before: for a variety
of reasons, we don’t mash with
the peated malt; we put it in our
gin basket so we run the vapours
through and get the flavour
through vapour extraction,”
Glanz explains. Without using
the malt itself as fermentable
Challenge accepted, sir.
BC Distilled runs from April
3 – April 8. The BC Gin
Showcase is April 3, the
BC Whiskey Showcase is
April 4, and the BC Aged
Gin Showcase is April 5, all
at Legacy Liquor. The Main
Tasting Festival is April 8 at
the Croatian Cultural Centre.
Tickets for all of these
can be found at bcdistilled.
ca. The sold-out Distillers’
Dinner is April 7 at Forage;
visit the festival website to
get on the waiting list.
sugars, thus colouring within
the lines of the craft designation
rulebook, Odd Society brings
something new and exciting to
the neighbourhood collective
and those who have embraced it
as their new favorite crawl.
East Van Brewery Passports
can be picked up at any of
the participating breweries
mentioned in this piece.
East Van Brewery Passport offers a way to get to know the new hops zone.
BOTTOMS UP
getting to know your local bartenders
YASMINE SHEMESH
Ever wanted to know more about that person behind the bar
pouring your liquid courage? Here’s your chance. This month,
meet Nina Mila from the Boxcar.
HOW DID YOU START BARTENDING?
My parents work in the restaurant industry so I feel like I’ve
been serving and bartending since I was eight years old. My
mom is going to love this answer.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED AT THE BOXCAR?
I’ve been working for the Cobalt and the Boxcar for just over a
year. Don’t ask me where I was before; I’ve blocked it out.
BEST THING ABOUT YOUR JOB?
The best part of my job is definitely meeting new people and
finally feeling like I’m part of a community. We have an A-plus
staff and our regulars are comprised of some of the best people
in this city. I could go on forever about it.
FAVOURITE DRINK TO MAKE?
My favourite drink to make is whatever the heck you want. It’s
not about me, it’s about what’s going to make the person I’m
helping happy. But if it’s for me, I’d like a mezcal margarita, no
salt please — I’m salty enough as it is.
GO-TO ON A NIGHT OFF?
I can’t lie because I’ll get called out. My favourite place to drink
on my night off is the Boxcar. If it’s Saturday and I’m feeling
adventurous, I’ll go to Cobalt and visit my queen Alex Hulley
at the back bar for Glory Days. Otherwise, I’d go the Narrow,
especially if Jody Glenham is working!
TELL US ABOUT THE GREATEST NIGHT YOU’VE EVER HAD
AT WORK.
Any shift where everyone pays their bill, all my favourite pals
come in and I don’t have to cut off a grown man and hear him
call me something rude.
THE WORST?
I don’t have bad shifts at Boxy but if you want to hear about
some real horror stories from other gigs, come sit at the bar
and I’ll tell you a tale (or five).
The Boxcar is located at 923 Main Street.
The Boxcar’s Nina Mila knows how to shake it
24 COMEDY
April 2017
April 2017 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
BOOZE
25
JENNIE ORTON
EAST VAN BREWERY PASSPORT
never has getting stamps by stumbling distance been so easy
JENNIE ORTON
photo by Food Gays Media Inc
BOOZE

DAVID CUTTING
The audience is roaring as the crescendo of
“Pity Party” approaches. On stage Ilona effortlessly
nails every movement and proceeds to
smash her face into a cake, only to finish the
performance lip-syncing her way to icon status
with a face full of blue icing. It’s hard to
express the level of art that this queen brings
to the stage because it is very rare. She is ferocious
and unrelenting, and it is not lost on
anyone who watches her perform.
Her name seems very unassuming; however,
for most artists inspiration comes from
real life. She shares, “I worked at a fabric store
and I shared a cutting table with an 87-yearold
woman named Ilona. She was sassy just
like me. One day she said to me, ‘You know, I
hate the gays but I like you,’ so I started talking
about gay culture with her. She began bringing
me makeup because I told her I was interested
in drag. We got real close and I told her
that if I ever did drag that I would name my
character after her. She was so extra, she was
like a movie character.”
There is a common narrative with many
artists surrounding adversity. The world we
live in is progressing in many ways and when
it comes to homophobia, the tides are turning
fast. Ilona shared that homophobia was
something that surrounded her her whole
life. “My family is very old-fashioned and
there were a lot of homophobic comments
growing up. When I was in high school and
found out about homosexuality I just knew
that I was; it was simple. I was worried about
coming out, because of my family’s view, but
I thought about it and realized that I grew up
playing with dolls and wearing girls’ clothing
so I hoped that my mom would just want me
to be happy,” Ilona shares of her family. “After I
came out I realized that my family just needed
facts; they needed to know what homosexuality
is. When we looked back on that time
when comments were made when I was still in
Ilona
“Full living, Realness, Slaytina, Attacked, The look”
the closet, my mom said she was growing up
too and that she had no idea that it hurt me.”
Drag became a form of expression for her.
It became her whole life. It took over. “I do
drag because it’s such an amazing creative
outlet, cliché I know, but for me being able to
transform myself to look the way I want is so
empowering. I honestly don’t have much confidence
as a boy so being able to look full hot
in drag is such a great way for me to get my
confidence together and channel that into my
day-to-day life as regular old me,” shares Ilona.
“Being Ilona isn’t just a drag character for me;
it’s honestly who I am. It makes me so happy
when people call me Ilona, in or out of drag,
because it’s a name I picked for myself and reminds
me of what I’ve built!”
Ilona is one of five members of The House
of Bitches, a drag family that is mothered by
Alma Bitches. Drag families, similar to real
photo by Chase Hansen
families, have the same ups and downs. These
relationships to Ilona are not a one-way street;
they serve as an opportunity for both parties
to learn from each other. It’s a testament to
the fact that sometimes family isn’t about the
blood that flows through your brain; rather,
it’s an energy that likens your spirit to theirs.
“I am a sensitive person and I feel that
doesn’t come across all the time. It has always
been easy to be a cold bitch because I don’t
want to be hurt, so being a cold bitch is a way
to keep myself from getting hurt. But it’s not
who I am. I am changing and growing and right
now I am focussing my behaviour and learning
from it. I am focused on my happiness.”
Ilona performs at the Odyssey on the
last Saturday of every month for Lollipop,
among other places.
QUEER VIEW MIRROR
doing the right thing
THANKS JEM
Well, grab your tissues, because I have a bunch of issues.
Maybe my biggest issue involves the very ground we walk on.
I still can’t believe we have people in power who do not believe
in doing the right thing. The right thing about the environment,
about women rights, about equality… Unless it’s the “White”
thing.
That brings us to my next grievance. “White people” and the
self entitlement that comes with that. You know who you are and
what I am talking about, I do not blame anybody. I will however
call out the fact your life is easier; but most choose to bitch and
whine about mundane [even trivial adjectives], living egocentric
life styles and the falsehood that’s represented by social media
accounts. Saying this, I can’t lump everyone into one category and
say that all white people are awful.
But I just did.
First thing is realizing you [white people] are the problem.
Second thing is we are living in 2017; you must become aware of
this so called problem and have more gratitude in your everyday
mundane lifestyles. You should realize you’re really fucking lucky
you have clean water and food available, even in our own country
of Canada, a country famously known for the raping of women,
children, land and cultures, we do not have clean drinking water
in half of our reserves. To worry about yourself like you are the
most important thing around you is to be glib about the reality
we have created and have done nothing to change.
Talk is cheap, people. So wake up and change, you lazy fucks.
The fact is we [all living things] are all important. Every damn
thing around you is important, but mostly you and everybody
else. Not just one group of humans who have more, but everybody.
If as a human race we shift our thinking towards inclusion
and love, we could move into the future of ourselves and make
not just yourself happy but us happy too.
So long story short: shut up and try harder.
Because when you know better you do better.
BETTY WHO
a radiant sophomore effort with heart and hustle
DAVID CUTTING
It’s 2017: anyone can hit the recording
studio and make a song and be a
pop star now. One key factor that sets
Betty Who apart from these individuals
is her hustle.
On the cusp of the release of her
second full-length album, The Valley,
Who took a few moments to chat
with us about her newest project and
what kind of vulnerability went into
creating the sophomore album. “I
don’t know why you would be an artist
if you’re not willing to be vulnerable.
It makes it harder because you
are constantly exposed to what people
think of you,” says Who. “I would
rather share myself entirely with people
and do it all the way and not feel
like I am not being true to my fans but
myself as well.”
Who has a presence that radiates;
warmth on the phone was easy, as
were her new music insights.
“I think there is an energy you feel
from me the second I walk into a
room. I am quite myself. I am rarely
pretending to be anything that I am
not; I think that comes across when
FROM THE
DESK OF
CARLOTTA GURL
CARLOTTA GURL
Hello, wonderful people, and welcome back to the
inner sanctum of Carlotta’s crazy mindscape, a
place where many have entered, but only few have
left.
I find myself marveling at the incredibly vast
and wildly colourful stories of our gay history lately.
Whenever I get the chance I try to impart some
small measure of wisdom from the things I have
learned while spending a large part of my life living
in Vancouver and being involved in gay culture
since the early ‘90s. I see many young people today
coming into the scene with very little understanding
of the trials and tribulations people had to go
through to make it okay to be gay in society today.
To understand oneself it is also important to know
where we came from, and what it took to get us
here.
I had the great fortune of being involved in a
groundbreaking made-for-TV miniseries recently
I am working with new people in and
out of the studio. I share how I am
feeling and we find a way to translate
that into songs.”
The album opens with an incredible
intimate moment where we hear
a raw Who singing a capella: crisp,
concise, and with clear emotion. It’s
a bold intro for a sophomore effort.
Who elaborates. “The inspiration for
that track was that I wanted there
to be something on the record that I
had done on my own that it was completely
mine; it was my vision. It feels
so connected because of that, which
is why I love collaborating but I wanted
there to be something that was
entirely mine. I took the day, I took
eight hours, I locked myself in the studio
and I created something with this
vision and this album in mind, and
this is me entirely. That’s how The Valley
came to be; that’s how I made my
record. I sat down, I wrote that intro
and then I named the album after it.”
Who maneuvers her way around
songs about falling in love with your
best friend (“Blue Heaven Midnight
Crush”), explores the post-breakup
hookup with your ex (“Human
Touch”), gets a little tawdry and sexual
(“Mama Say”) and takes us to pop
heaven with her lusty ‘80s/’90s-inspired
pop anthem “Some Kinda
Wonderful.”
Who is an open book but there
is something she still finds people
don’t understand about her. Who
shares, “It’s really simple, but people
don’t know that I am really tall. I feel
like I talk about it a lot, but I am like
that focused on the start of the gay rights movements
from the early ‘70s and through all the eras
leading up to today. It’s called When We Rise and
is a production from acclaimed directors Dustin
Lance Black and Gus Van Sant. I would advise everyone,
especially our younger gay culture, to view
this series in its entirety. It takes us from the early
days in San Francisco with pioneers in the gay
rights movement such as Cleve Jones and Harvey
Milk, all the way through the ‘80s showing how
AIDS affected everyone and took away so many
loved ones at the time. It continues on up till today
and shows how hard it was to achieve strides
in equality and to finally see the legalization of gay
marriage. I hope everyone has a chance to see this
Betty Who is reaching surprising heights, both figuratively and literally.
QUEER
photo by Ben Cope
six-two; I am like a very tall person.
That’s very tall for a girl, so whenever
I meet someone they are blown away.
I’m like, ‘How do people not know
this about me by now?’ I guess you
don’t see how tall I am in Instagram
photos, but that’s something people
always assume, that I’m a cute fivenine.
I’m like, ‘No no, I’m an aggressive
six-two.’”
Betty Who plays on April 27 at
the Imperial.
photo by Graham Spence
amazing miniseries and to learn much from it.
I would also encourage our gay youth to take
advantage of the many sources of information
in our community. If you get a chance, take the
opportunity to sit with an older gay person and
strike up a conversation; you never know what
you’ll learn by being willing to listen. God knows I
bend enough ears when I’m out and about partying
in the community after a few drinks. Oh wait,
that may not be the best example. Anywho, that
ends my somewhat educational diatribe on the
importance of knowing gay history for this month.
Until next time, dahlings, be good to each other
and live life to the fullest... Now let’s go for a cocktail.
Loving u all.
26 QUEER
April 2017
April 2017 QUEER
27

FILM
11 FILMS YOU DIDN’T KNOW WERE
PERFECT TO WATCH ON 4/20
Getting high before watching movies is, for many people,
a necessary ritual. And we’ve seen ‘em all: the usual
suspects like Cheech and Chong, stand-up comedy specials
on Netflix, trippy musicals like Moulin Rouge. But
this is the year to try something new: pick any one of
these underrated yet marijuana-friendly films to watch
this 4/20.
Slither
This self-aware B horror flick is about slugs turning
townsfolk into zombies. Like any successful riff on a
genre, classic tropes from movies like The Blob are elevated
with an interesting story and hilarious screenplay.
Like all the best campy horror films, Slither is
filled with inventive deaths, plot twists, and character
one-liners to create a quirky movie-watching experience
that can only be enhanced by weed. Be careful,
though: smoke too much and you’ll have more in
common with the slug-brained zombies than you
might hope.
HOGAN SHORT
Drunken Master
Not only is this some seriously classic kung fu, it’s a
hilariously clever display of some of the best fighting
sequences of all time. Jackie Chan plays a kungfu
master whose skills rely on alcohol, and proffers
ripped-pants gags, self-crotch-hitting accidents, and
drunken shenanigans. This movie famously has some
of the most inventive and intricate fighting choreography,
and while a High Master would make more
sense for the purpose of this list, that doesn’t exist
… yet.
Galaxy Quest
As the all-time favourite Star Trek movie (even if it
technically isn’t), the official space pick for 4/20 viewing
is going to have to be Galaxy Quest. With an
incredible cast (Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan
Rickman, Sam Rockwell), this is a hilarious comedy
with a seriously interesting plot and serious consequences.
Aliens recruit the retired cast of a Star
Trek familiar TV show in order to help them defend
their species against a war-loving alien general.
Super Size Me
A danger to watch with the munchies, but worth it.
Every time I see Morgan Spurlock in this fascinating
documentary, I get two thoughts. One thought is
that I am never eating fast food again. The second is,
“Except for this time because those fries and Big Mac
look so good.” As he goes through every McDonald’s
menu item, the cravings get very real. It also happens
to be captivating and incredibly entertaining no matter
how many times you have seen it.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Hunt for the Wilderpeople, from the mind of Taika
Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows) is not a cult
classic, like most other weed-worthy films, but it deserves
to be. This New Zealand-made film is the story
of a young delinquent boy and his newly adoptive
father going on the run from the police in the gorgeously
shot New Zealand wilderness. Hunt for the
Wilderpeople was one of the best movies of 2016
and it went completely unnoticed and unrewarded.
Now you are aware of it and 4/20 is the perfect day
to check it out. Get high and go on this hilarious and
exciting journey with your new favourite runaways.
Head to www.beatroute.ca to check out our
full list of stoner gems.
Slither
THIS MONTH IN FILM
HOGAN SHORT
Mine
The Transfiguration
A gritty film about a bullied and damaged young black boy named Milo growing up in Queens.
The movie follows him as he interacts with his community in this chilling slow-burn of a movie.
Oh, and it’s also a vampire horror movie. This looks like Let the Right One In meets Moonlight in
the absolute best way possible. Opens April 7th.
Colossal
After being dumped, jobless party girl Gloria (Anne Hatheway) moves back to her hometown
when she realizes she is inexplicably controlling a giant sea monster that starts terrorizing South
Korea. She must look within herself to discover why. Need I say more? It looks original, creative, fun,
thoughtful, and hilarious. Also stars Jason Sudeikis and Dan Stevens. Opens April 7th.
Mine
A Marine (Armie Hammer) becomes stranded in the desert and must wait 54 hours until evacuation.
Forced to deal with sand storms, wild dogs, guerrilla fighters, and the harsh conditions of the
desert, he must remember his family and his reasons to live. He does this all standing in one place…
with his foot stuck in place on a triggered land mine. Opens April 7th.
My Entire High School Sinking Into the Seas
This hilarious looking film, animated through mixed media, follows a group of high school
students making their escape to the roof because, well, it’s in the title. Created by acclaimed Graphic
Novelist Dash Shaw and voiced by Jason Schwartzman, Lena Dunham, and Susan Sarandon, (to
name a few) this destined to be cult classic looks to be a very unique ride filled with pop culture
references and genre homages. Opens April 14th.
Bill Nye Saves the World
Bill Nye has spent the last few years defending science. While Neil Degrasse Tyson is educating the
world on the front lines of the argument, Bill Nye has spent his time behind enemy lines. Whether
debating climate change deniers on FOX or debating creationist christians in their church, he finally
has his own platform to talk about these important issues. Expect celebrity cameos. On Netflix
April 21st.
Father John Misty
Pure Comedy
Sub Pop
Father John Misty is worth listening to because of
the work his listeners must put forth in order to
understand him. There’s nothing he does that can
be taken at face value, whether it’s a song, album,
interview, or short film, because, as he admits
himself, it’s all for show. He admits this in many
ways: he smirks at whatever camera happens to
be trained on him, he over-exaggerates already
melodramatic stage antics.[Text Wrapping Break]
FJM gets away with this because he is an acknowledged
character; a moniker with which former
somber songwriter Josh Tillman can (ironically)
express a different, truer side of himself. Father
John Misty is an exuberant, attention-seeking,
self-serious singer – one who takes pleasure in
what sometimes feels like performance art. In all
of his music, it’s clear Misty’s usually making fun
of someone, but on Pure Comedy, the third album
he’s released as Father John Misty, Tillman sets
his sardonic sights on making fun of humanity
and existence in general. [Text Wrapping Break]
In 2011, Tillman released his first album as Father
John Misty, the wandering, folk-rocking Fear Fun,
which may be the piece of art most clearly related
to the Misty character to date. It leans heavily
on aesthetics and musical styles established
in the early ‘60s and ‘70s by Kris Kristofferson
and Neil Young, the latter of whom Misty name
checks on the album’s free-reeling riff on life in
Laurel Canyon, “I’m Writing a Novel.” In 2014, he
released I Love You, Honeybear, where he continued
to keep his audience at arm’s length, but
draws back the curtain ever so slightly, bridging
the gap in some ways between the man and the
character, even though his performances then
became more stylized (read: more ridiculous). On
“Chateau Lobby #4” he sings, “Dating for 20 years
just feels pretty civilian / I’ve never thought that /
Ever thought that once in my whole life / You are
my first time.” Knowing that as he wrote Honeybear
he married his girlfriend turns his lyrics from
interesting character-wise to touching in a more
tangible, appreciable way.[Text Wrapping Break]
Now, on Pure Comedy, an album filled to the brim
with references to Misty himself, his past albums
and their obsessions with romancing L.A. life, and
pointed attacks on politics, love, and humanity’s
exceptional ability to absorb and recycle these
things, he’s his least funny – but it suits the present.
Another smirking comedian, arms-crossed
wearing a know-it-all persona isn’t what we need,
we need someone known for jokes to revisit his
old seriousness and use how big a deal that switch
is to emphasize his point.[Text Wrapping Break]
On “Leaving L.A.,” the crux of the album, it feels
as though he’s pointedly acknowledging it’s time
to hang up many of Misty’s most enigmatic qualities
in pursuit of a more personally fulfilling, open
relationship with his audience; a method that,
based on the way the songs come across, and the
tone with which he delivers them, makes it easier
for him to comment on the present without the
trouble of framing everything within the context
of this other Self. Still, Tillman displays his relentless
self-awareness; he’s always known exactly
how he’s come across (“‘These L.A. phonies and
their bullshit bands / that sound like dollar signs
and Amy Grant’ / So reads the pull quote from my
last cover piece / titled, ‘The Oldest Man in Folk
Rock Speaks’”).
The irony of the album’s first track “Pure Comedy,”
which gives the album its name, is that for the
first time this isn’t in reference to his own kind of
comedy, it seems like it’s a reference to everybody
else’s. The song’s accompanying music video de
picts (amid a chaotic swirl of crude cartoons) memes,
viral Youtube clips, and political sound bites,
all of which were cited and used again and again
throughout the presidential campaign and for a
time afterwards. For the first time Misty seems
comfortable not only creating something for his
fans to look at, but something he can look at too,
next to them, with them, instead of across from
them at a vantage point where he can take their
temperature and adjust accordingly.
There is slight disappointment with Pure Comedy
being made of the same (or similar) ingredients
found on I Love You, Honeybear. However, there
are some inspired arrangements from in-demand
composers Gavin Bryars and Nico Muhly, like on
the album’s penultimate track, “So I’m Growing Old
on Magic Mountain,” a song where Misty sounds
tired, resigned to the fact that he’s spent too much
time running from adulthood, and is therefore
destined to become lost, unable to use his latent
self-awareness for anything other than perspective,
or at best to help others. Really, it’s gorgeous. It is
reminiscent of Neil Young in style, and once that
becomes clear, there’s little investigative work necessary
to draw it to one of Young’s similarly themed
tracks, “Sugar Mountain.” Another bright spot on
an otherwise musically satisfactory album comes
in the form of the Bowie, “Young Americans”-esque,
“Total Entertainment Forever,” the only song
that balances lyrics and music as perfectly as anything
on Honeybear, where the inclusion of buzzing
horns successfully distracts from the increasingly
foreboding song lyrics – a method of delivery
which suits them perfectly, as throughout the song
Misty warns that although we’re living in the greatest
age, where we seem to be our happiest, it’s all
superficial happiness. [Text Wrapping Break]The
rest of the smartest arrangements on the album
should be considered as such not because they do
anything splashy, but quite the opposite: they leave
large space for the lyrics and Misty’s unmistakable
voice (which has never sounded better).
Even with its similarities to Honeybear, the music
is intoxicating, immersive, and satisfying. Still,
Misty has always been a more gifted lyricist (able
to translate and articulate humanity’s worst, modern
insecurities) than he is a musician, which he acknowledges
in a way on “Leaving L.A.” “So I never
learned to play the lead guitar / I always more preferred
the speaking part.”[Text Wrapping Break]He
bookends the album with the message that none
of this really matters – no matter how good or bad
it all may seem. “We’re hurtling through space,”
he sings on “In Twenty Years or So.” This message,
which he delivers like it’s his ultimate point, contradicts
a lot of what he says throughout the album’s
second act. It’s an indication Misty’s as confused as
we are. As he puts forth a variety of argumentative
theses that tackle why the country is the way it is,
where it’s headed, and why it’s headed there, it’s a
comforting notion that he, too, is unable to make
reasoning the present seem like it’s anything other
than a method of throwing everything at the wall
and seeing what sticks.
•Alex Southey
•illustration by Cristian Fowlie
28 FILM
April 2017
April 2017 REVIEWS
29

2417 EAST HASTINGS STREET
Beatroute Oct.indd 1
SAT APRIL 1 SUN APRIL 2
TUES APRIL 11
VALE
(OAKLAND)
NOSTRUM
DEATH WINDS
K A R A O K E PARTY EVERY W E D S NIGHT
TUES APRIL 18 / CHEAPSKATES TUES APRIL 25
RENT CHEQUE FRI APRIL 28 (last FRIDAY of the month)
THE EAST VAN GARAGE SALE
SUN APRIL 30 from 1-6PM (every last Sunday of the month)
2016-10-21 2:17 PM
TUES APRIL 4 THURS APRIL 6 FRI APRIL 7 SUN APRIL 9/23/30
RAMONA (SEATTLE)
DEAD BARS (SEATTLE)
NEEDLES + PINS
JESSE LEBOURDAIS
QUIETER (SEATTLE)
LEISURE CLUB
GUILT TRAP
BB
THURS APRIL 13 - SUN APRIL 16 MON APRIL 17
FESTIVAL
EAST VAN 90S ALT PARTY
FRI APRIL 7 11-2AM
PSYCHIC POLLUTION / LIÉ
SCREAMING QUEENS / LUST ERA
BLACK MAGIQUE / SEX PARK
DETACHED OBJECTIVES
ADRIAN H + THE WOUNDS
CYGNETS / BAND APARTE
QUANTIZE / BESTIAL MOUTHS
WIRE SPINE / TERROR APART
UNCSRD / GROUP VISION
GIRLFRIENDS + BOYFRIENDS
VACANT STARES/ TIMING X
EARLY
SHOW
WEEKEND DANCE NIGHTS
EAST VAN 90S PARTY
FRI APRIL 21 9:30-2AM
THE DARK
EIGHTIES
SAT APRIL 8
SAT APRIL 29
THURS APRIL 20
BORED
DÉCOR
RICKY RUTH
BAND
DEEP END
NEW WAVE
POST PUNK
1980S
DJ JEFF RPM
SAT APRIL 22
MADCHESTER
MONDAYS
HACIENDA CLASSICS
80s/90s UK + BRIT POP
MONDAYS WITH DJ SUZANNE
NO COVER/$4 HIBALLS
FREE POOL
Arca - Arca
Arca
Arca
XL Recordings
Arca is an artist that exists between
worlds. Intermittently, his beats might
attract fanfare from ravers, art aficionados,
or even up and coming pop
stars. If you’re familiar with his experimental
sound, you’ll know to expect
dissonant kick drums, howling synths,
or iconoclastic machine music. His
first album Xen was clearly influenced
by classical sounds and melodies, but
by 2014’s Mutant he was forcing a new
musicality unlike anything before it.
On his self-titled third album, he brings
his own voice, his own history, and his
own language to the juncture of these
ideas.
While working on the album he was
inspired by his Venezuelan heritage,
and walks through a Victorian Burial
Ground (and popular cruising spot for
gay men) in London. As he says, “…so
much poetry: Life. Death. Gayness.”
And there’s a certain melodrama - a
certain pain - that gay men, historically,
have evoked so well. Think Oscar Wilde,
think Pedro Almodóvar. Arca is no
exception. Of the eight songs where his
vocals are present (thirteen make up
the album), all are in Spanish, and act in
direct obstruction to their instrumental
counterparts. “Coraje,” a beautiful
choral arrangement will stretch your
heart strings and fill you with hope,
before it erodes into “Whip,” a spastic
interlude, which syncopates obtusely
and assaults the listener, catching its
stride and shifting to a rhythmic hiphop
beat in the final counts.
Though his music may not be everything
to everyone at a given time, he
offers a labyrinth of sounds a listener
can get lost in, finding harmony in the
edges of musicality.
• Trent Warner
Do Make Say Think
Stubborn Persistent Illusions
Constellation Records
While Canada has a rich and diverse history
of musical expression, few genres
are so indebted to our cold, northern
climate as post-rock, and Montreal’s
Constellation Records have been at the
forefront of the often scoffed-at niche
Amelia Curran Watershed
for so long that no other label even really
comes close.
Sure, there are other ‘big’ instrumental
groups, ones that have managed to
grace film scores and art installations
alike, but none are so deserving of their
due as Do Make Say Think, and Stubborn
Persistent Illusions — the collective’s
first record in eight years — isn’t
so much another fitting transplant into
the swell of Canada’s post-rock repertoire
as it is a life-affirming appreciation
of the expressive power of sound
in its purest form.
As though brimming with energy
from their almost-decade away, Do
Make Say Think open up Stubborn
Persistent Illusions with “War on Torpor,”
a five-and-a-half minute anthem
of panicked percussion, fired off with
a frenetic urgency reminiscent of the
crescendoing buildups of 2000’s Goodbye
Enemy Airship the Landlord is
Dead.
From there, “Horripilation” slips in
as the Yin to “Torpor’s” Yang, showcasing
the archetypal Do Make Say Think:
sliding bass lines as addictive as any
earworm, brief reposes of crystalline
flittering held together by the puncture
of drum-strikes, and enough turns
to keep from dragging out its emotional
stay, before slipping in ceaselessly
to the shuddering “A Murder of
Thoughts.”
The latter half of the album finds
DMST honing their introspective skills,
and from the placid “Her Eyes on the
Horizon” through to the hopefully
melancholic “Return, Return Again,”
the group further explores the swelling,
humming fragility found across
many of the records from Constellation’s
stellar roster.
In their eight year absence, DMST
have reinforced their sound without
stagnation, returned to familiar
rhythms without relying on tropes, and
Stubborn Persistent Illusions strikes
down the notion that instrumentalists
offer nothing but lackadaisical ambiance.
• Alec Warkentin
Jom Comyn
I Need Love
Independent
Drake - More Life
Listening to the new Jom Comyn record,
I Need Love, feels exactly like
shaking off the dusty, dirty snow of
winter and sprinting into the sun while
wearing sparkly hot pants. Or being
able to fondly look back on a relationship
once it’s over. That good feeling.
The 28-track record features several
Edmontonian all-star appearances including
Marlaena Moore, Jesse Northey,
Renny Wilson, Mitch Holtby and
more. It’s broken up into bite size lovelorn
morsels, from tender and earnest
to twangy and sassy. The quality of the
album is in no way surprising, but the
sudden shifts between jangly country
on the track “All or Nothing,” to cavernous
and somber tones on “Echo
Chamber,” do offer wide variety. The
first single, “Why Do You Love Me?”
has a danceable, Motown vibe and
perks up some of the sadder tones on
the rest of the record.
Each full listen through offers up a
new set of emotions to comb through.
Sometimes while sitting quietly alone
in the dark, or up on your feet shakin’
it. The many layers and flavours present
on this album have already cemented
it as one of the best in 2017 thus far. I
think we have plenty of reasons to love
you, Jom Comyn. Plenty.
•Brittany Rudyck
Amelia Curran
Watershed
Six Shooter Records
After seven albums, it seems a strange
shift for Amelia Curran to be at her
most vehemently political on her latest
album Watershed. However, it’s a welcome
change, as her sharp wit has been
present throughout her whole career,
and the political undertones of this album
especially are complemented by
the grit in her voice.
Lyrically, she’s always been open, if
you’ve been paying attention and reading
between the lines. On Watershed,
she’s more direct and more readily
available – something that can be attributed
to her work as a mental health
advocate in Canada over the past few
years.
At her softest and most tender on
“Act of Human Kindness,” Curran calls
for empathy and love to ensure that
humanity makes it out of her perceived
darkness. Shortly after, she’s at her
Fucked Up - Year of the Snake
hardest. On “No More Quiet,” she is
backed by Canadian blues artist Shakura
S’aida for a feminist anthem against
the patriarchal status-quo often found
in the music industry. She sings, “…the
river has changed its direction, while
I’ve had to move my own inflection…”
while her voice maneuvers various
rhythms, powerfully, before reaching
a long drawl and celebratory, LOUD,
horns. This crescendo brings the song
home and demonstrates the artist’s
prowess for wordplay.
Now at eight albums, Amelia Curran
is a Canadian musical institution showing
no signs of relenting. She’s willing,
still, to share more with her audience,
but it’s got to be a trade-off. If we’re going
to get more from her, we’ve got to
start trying a little harder, as she sings
on the second last song “Try,” in our
own way, to make this country a little
more loving.
• Trent Warner
Drake
More Life
Universal Music Canada
Drake’s newest album, More Life, is
stylized as a playlist by the rapper for
a good reason. While the track listing
is 22 songs long, it feels like he’s unable
to get a coherent message across to
listeners. With a few catchy tunes that
are both like and unlike Drake’s usual
style, the overall theme of the album
seems like something we’ve heard before.
Solo tracks make rare appearances
on this album, with most songs including
features from a variety of artists
like grime dons Skepta and Giggs, to
South African house mainstay Black
Coffee, to a cast of many including Jorja
Smith, Sampha, Quavo, Travis Scott,
2 Chainz, Young Thug, Kanye West, and
PartyNextDoor.
It’s not surprising that Drake’s OVO
labelmate PartyNextDoor is featured
on the album either, continuing a long
trend of Drake hooks carrying the Toronto
auto-crooner’s career. It’s these
lacklustre coincidences that make the
playlist less than perfect. It doesn’t
help that Drake’s lyrical content covers
well worn territory. Drake’s celebration
of success, word of warning to
the haters, and pining for women, are
Future Islands - The Far Fields
all themes that have been heavily overdone
by him already.
What’s new on this album? Its sound
is disconnected, from a relatively interesting,
house-influenced “Passionfruit”
to what sounds like Drake’s attempt at
a club hit, the Black Coffee sampling
“Get It Together.”
It’s no surprise the Kanye West-featuring
“Glow” is a playlist highlight.
“Watch out for me/I’m bound to glow”
won’t go down as one of Kanye’s most
lyrically complex hooks, but it has that
signature Kanye infectiousness that
adds to an otherwise mediocre track.
Overall, it seems like More Life was
a lot of tracks that Drake had nothing
to do with anymore, which explains the
playlist stylization of the album. Individually,
the songs are decent to listen
to, and it’s the Drake fans are used to
and that’s about it. Fans of Drake don’t
expect revolutionary music from the
rapper, but rarely does his music feel
like this much of a grab bag.
•Amber McLinden
Fucked Up
Year of the Snake
Tankcrimes
Sitting atop a pedestal that few
post-millennium hardcore bands can
even begin to fathom, Canadian punk
outfit Fucked Up have been downright
prolific since winning the prestigious
Polaris Prize almost a decade ago for
The Chemistry of Common Life.
Year of the Snake, the latest 12” in
their acclaimed Zodiac Series, further
emboldens the crew as quasi-art-hardcore
forerunners, finding them mixing
methodical, diegetic noise with vocalist
Damian Abraham’s telltale growl
over two new tracks: the 25-minute
epic “Year of the Snake,” and “Passacaglia,”
which finds the group exploring a
more introspective, nuanced approach
to heavy and relentless.
While Fucked Up are no strangers
to bending the formula of what constitutes
a solid-while-still-brutal album,
the beauty of Year of the Snake lies in
its ability to avoid common hardcore
tropes: There’s no egregious noise for
its own sake, no shriek or howl that’s
not uncalled for or unwarranted, and
even the experimentalism, something
usually frowned upon in hardcore’s
April 2017 31
REVIEWS

FEATURED CONCERTS
VICTORIA, BC
Jom Comyn - I Need Love
Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me
The Real McKenzies - Two Devils Will Talk
JON & ROY
PLUS ASHLEIGH BALL (HEY OCEAN)
AND TERENCE JACK
SATURDAY, APRIL 8 | SUGAR NIGHTCLUB
FIVE ALARM FUNK
PLUS THE LEG-UP PROGRAM (FRI)
AND SWEETLEAF (SAT)
FRI, APR 14 & SAT, APR 15 | SUGAR NIGHTCLUB
THE HARPOONIST AND THE
AXE MURDERER
PLUS LEEROY STAGGER
FRIDAY, APRIL 21 | SUGAR NIGHTCLUB
LONGWALKSHORTDOCK
PLUS GROSSBUSTER AND NO TYPE
SATURDAY, APRIL 22 | SUGAR NIGHTCLUB
FOR FULL CONCERT LISTINGS & TO PURCHASE
TICKETS, PLEASE VISIT:
WWW.ATOMIQUEPRODUCTIONS.COM
FACEBOOK /ATOMIQUEPRODUCTIONS TWITTER @ATOMIQUEEVENTS
dedicated niche, is done immaculately and dystopian
instrumentals occupy more space on the
album than anything else.
In short,Year of the Snake is a strong release
from a band who obviously knows what they’re
doing, and the only gripe, really, is when the fuck
is the next full length?
•Alec Warkentin
Future Islands
The Far Field
4AD
Around 12 seasons ago, Future Islands danced
their way into the mainstream spotlight with a
career-changing performance. Other than leaving
David Letterman elated and confused, “Seasons
(Waiting on You)” from 2014’s Singles, landed a
spot on nearly every song of the year list. We’ve
been eagerly waiting for new material ever since.
“Ran” is the lead single from The Far Field
tasked with going toe-to-toe with “Seasons.” Lyrically,
“Ran” is slightly less memorable, but Samuel
T. Herring’s vocal performance carries the track
in a way that few musicians can. A love song that
features the line, “Nobody seems to me so perfect
and so sweet,” sounds like it came from a
fifth grader’s crayon-covered Valentine’s Day card
when read out loud. When Herring delivers a line
like this, it is truly so perfect and so sweet.
“Shadows” is one of the finest Future Islands
tracks of all time, largely due to a surprise Debbie
Harry feature. Harry and Herring compliment
each other in a way that demands a full-length
duet album.
Herring’s songwriting and vocals on this album
are its biggest strengths, but that’s not to say the
instrumentation is lacking. Each track features
memorable bass, drums, and synths, but it’s hard
to imagine how the album would hold up without
Herring. Other synth-pop and indie rock groups
spew interchangeable lyrics without believing in
them. With Herring driving the boat, every song
feels genuine and unique.
While “Seasons” remains undefeated as a single,
The Far Field showcases the band at their best, offering
a handful of songs that come close to taking
the crown.
•Paul McAleer
Mobina Galore
Feeling Disconnected
New Damage Records
Hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, punk rockers
Mobina Galore have returned with their second
full-length album, Feeling Disconnected.
As a duo, Mobina Galore only have a guitar and
drums in their arsenal, which seems not to matter
since they’re totally fucking killing it. Comprised
of two fierce females, Mobina Galore are proving
to be a force to be reckoned with, while completely
kicking ass in a scene monopolized by men.
These ladies are dominating the fast, hard hitting
and melodic punk rock style. The vocals are
heavy but belted-out gently when required. Vocalist
and guitarist, Jenna Priestner possesses a
vocal range that many dream of, destroying both
melodious and scratchy stylings at will. The guitar
is fierce and Priestner executes addictive hooks
with ease and at a comparable class to veteran
punk bands. The thunderous beats are courtesy of
drummer, Marcia Hanson, who also provides the
perfectly harmonized backing vocals. Their sound
is an anthemic punk-style; fast, catchy riffs and aggressive
tempos. Tracks “Nervous Wreck,” “Start
All Over,” and “Going Out Alone” are all stellar examples
of the overall sentiment of Feeling Disconnected.
And despite the title of the record and the
underlying lyrical content, Feeling Disconnected
is sure to resonate with many listeners.
•Sarah Mac
Mount Eerie
A Crow Looked at Me
P.W. Elverum & Sun
It’s reductive to try and encapsulate A Crow
Looked at Me purely in its context. This is an
album about the death of Phil Elverum’s wife,
recorded in the room she died in, using her instruments.
Yes, the record is just as dreary as it
sounds, but it’s hardly as simple. Elverum’s work as
Mount Eerie, as well as The Microphones and his
own name, share a collective downtrodden temperament,
but nothing this forward.
The true genius of A Crow… comes from its detachment;
melodramatic it is not. From the first
line of the first track, Elverum introduces his own
discomfort with the act of grieving through song.
“When real death enters the house all poetry is
dumb,” Elverum whimpers on “Real Death.” The
record is stark, bare, and strikingly direct. Elverum
refuses to entertain fanciful notions of death
and dying, only it’s unflinching, dark impenetrability.
This groundedness provides a realism
that reinforces the emotionality of the record. Elverum
reveals his grief like an old friend over coffee:
honestly, and with pause, with emotion welling
up in the breaks between the lines. We know
he’s grieving because he tells us he is, but we feel
it because he doesn’t want us to.
•Liam Prost
Prozzäk
Forever 1999
Lefthook Entertainment
There’s something to be said about the movement
going on in the last few years; that whole resurgence
of somewhat popular bands from the early-to-mid-‘90s,
throwing an album down like “yes!
We’re still here! And it’s not just for the royalty
cheques!” Except, IT IS JUST FOR THE ROYALTY
CHEQUES.
It seems we’re living in an era where people
seldom hear the word “no” anymore. Maybe their
label agreed, and said of course the fans want to
hear more, even if the duo has been inactive for
twelve of their nineteen years in the business.
What’s to say, then? You could look at Prozzäk’s
Forever 1999 with the same sort of wonder and
amazement a toddler would look at anything.
Those words don’t always have to imply a positive
connotation, by the way, but for fairness sake, uptempo,
bubble-gummy, radio electro-pop appeals
to some people because it’s catchy, uncomplicated,
relatively easy to ignore, and won’t cause allergies
or homicides.
To this reviewer, it’s like deliberately causing
someone to suffer anaphylactic shock. “Love me
Tinder?” No, stick with “Sucks to be You.” I know,
I know. Be nice. Unfortunately, numbers don’t lie,
and if we can go ahead and compare this to prescription
anti-depressants (big reach there) it’s
safe to bet that out of 100 people, at least 65% will
suffer an adverse reaction to this album.
•Lisa Marklinger
The Real McKenzies
Two Devils Will Talk
Stomp/Fat Wreck Chords
Canadian rebels The Real McKenzies have returned
with a brand-new album, Two Devils Will
Talk.
This latest album is a stellar example of the
McKenzies’ style and sound, which after 25 years
hasn’t slowed down or sold-out. Two Devils Will
Talk is the tenth full-length release from these
rowdy Scottish-Canadians, and the follow up to
2015’s Rats in the Burlap. Two Devils features the
raw, thundering vocals of founding member and
frontman Paul McKenzie, as well as his bandmates’
perfected harmonies. Both accompanied
by the classic melodic tempos we all love raising
a glass and singing along to. The album is reminiscent
of early punk-rock scene, slightly gritty with
dark undertones. As always, the McKenzies combine
this with old-fashioned, Celtic-hymn-style
bones, giving the album a cozy pub feel we’re all
April 2017 33
REVIEWS

Traditional English-Style Dry Ciders
New Flavour!
Shines - Heartworms
familiar with.
And who could forget the bagpipes?
A staple in the McKenzies’ sound, bagpipes
can be heard throughout Two
Devils, which is something their fans
look forward to.
2017 marks the 25th anniversary of
the Real McKenzies and Two Devils
Will Talk is a perfect way to celebrate
such a momentous achievement. An
album which pays tribute to both their
Canadian and Scottish roots, as well as
the journey that got them here.
•Sarah Mac
The Shins
Heartworms
Columbia
To be honest, when I first listened to
this album it sort of irritated me. Coming
from the camp that listened to The
Shins for emotional reprieve when going
through sweetly powerful and sad
times, this album often feels too happy.
Perhaps it was my own foolhardy
intent of listening while lying morosely
in a dark bedroom. The sounds just
clashed.
Upon second listen, walking in a bright,
sunny and warm day, everything
clicked into place. The title track of the
album, “Heartworms,” manages to capture
that impetuously squirmy feeling
of being unable to shake a crush, a love,
a feeling. There are moments that feel
overtly Beatles-y (the complex mysticism
and elation of “Fantasy Island”),
moments that feel like a humble southern
country throwback (“Mildenhall”),
Suicide Silence - Suicide Silence
and moments that do touch upon that
old Shins vibe of being somber and saccharine
at the same time (“The Fear,”
“So Now What”). With a perfectly balanced
production, this album slowly
scratched and crawled its way into my
heart, like its own little Heartworm. It’s
burrowed its way in and is there to stay.
•Willow Grier
Suicide Silence
Suicide Silence
Nuclear Blast
Trying to improve on deathcore by
making it into nu-metal is like trying to
improve a pool of cold vomit by eating
it and turning it into shit. That’s what
California’s Suicide Silence have done on
their fifth and definitively worst album.
Self-titling an album is a bold statement:
this is us, pure Suicide Silence, the
closest you’ll get to a best-of. It’s probably
not a good move on SS’s part to
abandon their sound (more or less prototypical
deathcore; death metal and
metalcore mixed without a single good
element of either) in favor of toneddown
baggy-shorts-core with a reliance
on clean singing that inflicts every one
of vocalist Hernan “Eddie” Hermida’s
inane lyrics on you.
They’ve not only gone nu-metal for
no particular reason but released a
bad nu-metal record. Nowhere do they
match KoRn’s groove or Deftones’ soulful
slow burn: all that’s left is a band that
could be on the 2006 Family Values Tour,
scheduled mid-afternoon between 10
Years and Deadsy then forgotten.
•Gareth Watkins
Surf Dads - All Day Breakfast
Surf Dads
All Day Breakfast
Grind Central Records
While it is doubtful that Regina duo
Chris Dimas and Gage McGuire are
fathers, they are the talent behind the
Surf Dads. After releasing three EPs,
they come at us with their first fulllength
album, All Day Breakfast. While
it might be a little bold to call them
the fathers of surf, this album is warm
and breezy and encapsulates the young
energy that summer brings. The first of
12 tracks, “Up All Night,” is reminiscent
of bands like Weezer and Alvvays, with
the fast guitars, nimble drums and
starry-eyed vocals. It speaks to the mistakes
we make and the remorse that
often follows. It’s like doing the walk of
shame in your head. Beyond the catchy
hooks and shimmery riffs, there is substance
in the lyrics. On one hand you
have the track “Pinpoint,” where “dig
your own hole / I’ll pass you a shovel”
is hollered out, only to have Beach
Boys like harmonies in “Apologies” two
tracks later. Yet the album flows well,
the energy is wired and to resist the
urge to dance like a maniac would be
futile.
• Aja Cadman
Tennis
Yours Conditionally
Mutually Detrimental
Tennis - Yours Conditionally
Staring at the cover of Tennis’ new
album Yours Conditionally, I can’t
help but feel that I’m staring at a sunbleached
portrait of my parents in
the mid to late ‘70s, shortly after they
would have met. The album harkens
to that period, where my parents were
falling in love; my mom had the same
tight curly hair, and my dad had a hilarious,
if not ironic, Gregg Allman-esque
mustache, both like Tennis’ Alaina
Moore and Patrick Riley.
Through its softness, opener “In the
Morning I’ll Be Better,” reminds the
listener that your physical or mental
exhaustion can be cured by morning.
Atop Moore’s soft falsetto, the reminder
is bittersweet, like ice cream melting
down the cone and into your hand on
a brazen summer day.
Like a long-term relationship or a
particularly scorching summer, the album
kind of moves in and out of a haze;
there are moments of heartache and
grandeur. Besides the above, “Modern
Woman” and “Ladies Don’t Play Guitar”
are two standouts. The first is a
heartbreaking lament for friendships
lost, which uses musical repetition and
haze as a means to an end. The second
is a sarcastic take on the instances
where females have been (and still are)
treated as muses, not musicians, in music
journalism. The sting of its wit and
of its guitar don’t go unnoticed.
Unfortunately for Tennis, I don’t
think this album will stand the test of
time quite like my parents (29 years
and counting!). It’s enjoyable, light,
airy, and sweet, but fades from mind
too quickly.
• Trent Warner
Western Addiction - Tremulous
Western Addiction
Tremulous
Fat Wreck Chords
For fans of San Francisco based hardcore
band, Western Addiction, it is
time to rejoice! The band has finally
released their very long-awaited follow-up
record, entitled Tremulous.
Released 12 years after their debut
album, Cognicide, Tremulous was
worth the wait. To produce this record,
many of the band’s founding members
were called upon, which rooted Tremulous
with the same aggressive feeling
as their past recordings. The difference
from past releases is the distinctive
melodic sound, which gives the album
a twist that both fans and first-time listeners
will appreciate.
Tremulous is a dark and heavy album
featuring deep, brooding lyrics, but unlike
most hardcore releases, Tremulous
features frontman Jason Hall’s finest attempt
at singing. Not the hoarse, scathing
vocals normally heard in the genre.
Songs like, “Righteous Lightning,” will
have you chanting along, while “Honeycreeper,”
will have you yearning for a
circle pit. Although the overall feel of
Tremulous is dark, the rhythm has its
highs and lows; upbeat and melodic to
a steady downtempo.
The guys in Western Addiction haven’t
lost their edge in the decade that’s
passed, they’ve fine-tuned their sound
and perfected their style to produce a
record worthy of waiting 12 years for
and absolutely one to be proud of.
•Sarah Mac
Equal parts crisp, fruity and refreshing
In-stores and fresh on tap
big rock urban | 310 west 4th avenue
April 2017 35
REVIEWS

REVIEWS
Shoe Eater
Carapace EP
Independent
LA Vida Local
The first few seconds of this EP are not indicative of the rest of the listening experience.
Abrasiveness is an undertone that Shoe Eater plays with, but their simple, neat riffs and clean
vocals dominate the album’s tug of war with melody and grit. There’s definitely room to
perfect the growling whiney vocals characteristic of this genre, but Shoe Eater places a firm
footprint in Vancouver with this release.
• Erin Jardine
Aggression
Fragmented Spirit Devils
Xtreem Music
With their first album in 30 years, Aggression take up where they left off, old school, high
velocity, American-style thrash. Anchored by Denis “Sasquatch” Barthe’s blistering, justthis-side-of-in-control
guitar-work and supplemented by vocalist Brian Langley’s (ex-Infernal
Majesty) almost Lemmy-esque vocals. They’ve also added a little bit of death metal sounds
to the mix. It’s on the edge of chaos in the best possible way. They also do a fun cover of
“Razamanaz” featuring Nazareth’s Manny Charlton himself.
• Graeme Wiggins
I M U R
Little Death
Independent
I M U R’s first full-length release is a collection of nine laid-back and pleasantly polished
songs. Singer Jenny Lea’s jazzy vocals blend nicely with producer Mikey J Blige’s sparse, yet
deceptively complex hip-hop and dance beats. The group’s relatable attitude and easy sound
make it obvious as to why they garnered so much attention from festivals last year, and likely
will again this year based on this solid hip shaking release.
• Scott Postulo
Little Wild
Bodies
Dipstick Records
You can hear the hangover in Little Wild’s newest release, BODIES – the distorted garage
rock and trippy visuals leave you feeling like you were just at a cigarette-smoking beer-cantossing
basement party. But you want to go back for more - probably because underneath
the howling vocals and rowdy guitars there’s some infectious riffs and melodies that you can
actually sink your teeth into after the party clears out.
• Savannah Leigh Wellman
Black Mountain, Destroyer, zZz
Vogue Theatre
March 10, 2017
The Internet
The Imperial
March 16 2017
It truly was a special affair for fans of the Internet at the Imperial
on Thursday evening. The neo-soul group from Los Angeles
has truly come into their own in the few years since their
first Vancouver show in 2012. The atmosphere in the venue
was rich with anticipation to hear the chill groove and mellow
funk of the Internet.
The Internet Presents the Internet Tour was intricately
mapped out to showcase the talents of each individual artist
within the band. With Syd, Steve Lacy, and Matt Martians
having just released individual projects in the past couple
months; the close-knit group emphasized the promotion of
their individual works, as well as their latest album as a group,
Ego Death. Their bassist Patrick Paige II and their drummer
Christopher Allan Smith are also set to release solo albums in
the coming months.
Through each of the artists individual spotlights, none overpowered
the other. The dynamics of the band were authentic
and it was evident for everyone in the crowd to see that they
were just a couple homies jamming on stage. Through quirks
and giggles, the bands chemistry shone through and their energy
was unparalleled to what I have seen before.
Black Mountain and Destroyer are two of Vancouver’s most
celebrated indie rock exports, but sharing a bill, they make for
a slightly strange pairing. While Destroyer is known for poetic,
cerebral songwriting, Black Mountain specializes in devil-horn-raising
hard rock, making for an enjoyable but slightly
uneven night.
Following a ho-hum selection of organ-driven dance rock
from Dutch duo zZz, Destroyer mastermind Dan Bejar took
the stage with an acoustic guitar for this solo performance.
While Destroyer’s album arrangements are lushly ornate, Bejar
stripped his songs down to their bare essentials.
Those waiting for noisy riffs would need to be patient, since
Black Mountain opened their set with the eponymous ballad
“Black Mountain.” Starting with only vocalists Stephen Mc-
Bean (who also played guitar) and Amber Webber, the rest of
the band gradually filed on stage to flesh out the ghostly number.
After that, they cranked the volume for “Stormy High,”
paving the way for a set filled with Zeppelin-esque fretboard
fireworks, horror-movie synths and epic jams. Highlights included
the hypnotic stoner rock grooves of “Wucan” and the
grandiose loud-quiet-loud dynamics of “Mothers of the Sun.”
As powerful as the songs were, the overall effect was woozy
rather than invigorating: this mystical sludge was better suited
to blissing out rather than headbanging or moshing. But even
if neither of the main acts were quite at the top of their game,
they left no doubt that they are among our city’s best.
•Alex Hudson
photo by Jash Grafstein
Surprising fans with a cover of OutKast’s “Prototype”, Syd’s
confidence in her vocals manifested in unison with her band.
Closing the show with “All About Me” off of Syd’s new record
Fin, it was clear the Internet takes care of the family that they
came with.
•Molly Randhawa
photo by Darrole Palmer
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Rogers Arena
March 18, 2017
Red Hot Chili Peppers used to be like
a Scotch bonnet pepper: exciting in
small doses, but a little too intense
for popular consumption. Nowadays,
however, they’ve matured into a fine
jalapeño: they’re still spicy, but with a
little more nuance and a side of cheese.
For this night’s Chili Pepper buffet,
spiciness came in flavours like funk
and rock, with tangy set-opener “Can’t
Stop” giving bassist Flea a chance to
do some sexy gyrating while hot-asfuck
sk8erboi Josh Klinghoffer fried
up a sizzling funk guitar riff. Following
“Dani California,” the Peppers pumped
out some smooth cheese in the form
of “Scar Tissue,” and then got help
from a couple of backing musicians on
photo by Galen Robinson
the recent single “Dark Necessities.”
The newer songs ranked a little lower
on the Scoville scale, but the dash of
keyboards and singer Anthony Kiedis’
tasty melodies added some rich and
delicious elements to the sonic stew.
The Red Hots preached a message
of peace and love, but there was nevertheless
a bit of an aggro-bro vibe in
Rogers Arena, and the sweetly smokey
“Californication” had the crowd hollering
like a frat house singalong. When
drummer Chad Smith paid tribute to
the recently deceased Chuck Berry
with a chant of “Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!”
it regrettably sounded a bit like “Chug!
Chug! Chug!”
In the end, all of the fans left the spicy
feast full, and presumably went home
to soothe their scorched tastebuds
with some milk and Pepto-Bismol.
•K. Anne Pimento
Isotopes
1994 World Champions
Stomp Records
Vancouver’s baseball-punk band Isotopes pitch an in-your-face record mixing influences of
classic street-rockers with a modernized-pop feel. When it comes to writing tracks about
America’s favourite pastime, 1994 World Champions has all the bases covered and will keep
you swinging from start to finish. No curveballs here, this surely is a homerun for punk rock
and baseball fans alike.
• Johnny Papan
The April Fools Childrenhood
Low Colour
Independent
Pop music tends to side thematically with the victims of love - the jilted, rejected and lost.
On Low Colour, Vancouver musician David Cowling (working under the spliced-together
pseudonym The April Fools Childrenhood) suggests listeners feel things from the side of
the rejector; and damn if it isn’t very dark and sad over there. “Never Alone” and “Miss Resentment”
get to the point here with sheaths of shivering reverb, ghost-y vocals and jarring
moments of synth. Don’t leave Low Colour on in the background; take the time to let these
five tracks sink in and feel the rumination in all its gloomy glory.
• Sarah Bauer
April 2017 37
REVIEWS

NEW MOON RISING: your monthly horoscope
Month of the Yang Wood Dragon: New Moon March 27, 2017; Full Moon April 10, 2017
QUAN YIN DIVINATION
•illustration by Syd Danger
The stem (element) of this lunar cycle is Yang Wood, adding fuel to
the annual fire stem of the Fire Rooster, and with this support the
annual energies take full charge. This is a time to move forward with
plans, initiate connections, and build toward the year’s accomplishments.
The branch combo of the Rooster/Dragon adds the righteousness
and precision of metal to the mix, which makes this a very active elemental
transformation: the image is of a large log being chopped
up and added to a small fire. With plenty of fuel, the fire ignites and
we face a busy time of initiative and a powerfully productive cycle.
A good time to carefully examine your motives before taking action,
this month offers peak heights to those in favour, and record lows for
the ill fortuned. Risk adversity and due diligence are good measures
for these times as conflict paves the way for true growth and change.
Get it in writing and read it twice before signing.
Rabbit (Pisces): Seek solitude. Lay low and rest from over-exposure
and surround yourself with friends, lovers, and stargazers in
relaxed and cozy situations.
Dragon (Aries): Pick up the tab if you can, but avoid being
overly generous to those who are on the take. Some pressure falls to
you now for action where you might be conflicted. Be prudent with
your time and money.
Snake (Taurus): Collaborate to work your magic and meditate
on higher qualities to get higher results. Words are powerful, so keep
your comments clipped and to-the-point.
Horse (Gemini): Changes in the workplace and family connections
feel strained. Don’t hesitate to retreat and allow time to pass
before making your next move.
Sheep (Cancer): Find fun in your social circles and personal
connections. Get together and discuss intellectual ideas and philosophical
truths. Party time! You’re looking fine.
Monkey (Leo): Engage all fronts. Active romance, money matters,
work relationships, and family engagements. Balance it all and
find your advantage.
Rooster (Virgo): Active time management and swift decision-making.
Display the courage to make a self-correction when necessary
to set the tone of trust amongst comrades.
Dog (Libra): Make the most of every situation and keep your
attitude open, optimistic and loving. Look for the good in others and
you will find it there.
Pig (Scorpio): Feeling high society? Take in a romantic dinner
for two or share space with someone you love — double your pleasure
with good company.
Rat (Sagittarius): See results on your investment. Opportunities
for creativity abound as long as you stay out of the line of attack.
Dodge the bullet with your focus on creation.
Ox (Capricorn): Don’t be hurt if lovers and friends don’t have
as much time or attention for you as you’d like, and give your time
freely when it’s needed. Connect to the divine and make the time.
Tiger (Aquarius): Procrastinate productively and get all of
the small stuff done. The heavy load of this month could throw you
off-balance — pick your battles and avoid petty quarrels.
Susan Horning is a Feng Shui consultant and Bazi astrologist
living and working in East Vancouver. Find out more
about her at QuanYin.ca.
June 10th & 11th
1024 Main Street @ The Ellis Building
Vendors/Brands email:
mainstreetbikeexpo@gmail.com
to get involved!
mainstreetbikeexpo
mainstreetbikeexpo.com

UPCOMING
SHOWS
APRIL & MAY 2017
FRIDAY MAY 5TH
TIMBER TIMBRE
THE VOGUE THEATRE
SUNDAY APRIL 9TH
COURAGE
MY LOVE
& THE NEW ELECTRIC
THE BILTMORE CABARET
DOORS AT 7PM
ALL AGES EVENT
SATURDAY APRIL 22ND
JON &
ROY
THE IMPERIAL
DOORS AT 8PM
19 + EVENT
WEDNESDAY MAY 3RD
HEATHER
MCDONALD
THE BILTMORE CABARET
DOORS AT 7PM
19 + EVENT
SATURDAY APRIL 22ND
NATASHA
KMETO
THE BILTMORE CABARET
DOORS AT 7PM
19 + EVENT
THURSDAY APRIL 27TH
CLOSE
TALKER
THE BILTMORE CABARET
DOORS AT 8PM
19 + EVENT
HOPSIN
4/5 | THE VOGUE THEATRE
VANESSA CARLTON
4/7 | THE RIO THEATRE
BLANK BANSHEE
4/21 | THE WALDORF HOTEL
JO JO
4/13 | THE VOGUE THEATRE
HELMS ALEE w/ WAINGRO
4/6 | THE BILTMORE CABARET
MALL GRAB
4/7 | THE WALDORF HOTEL
ODDISSEE & GOOD COMPNY
5/12 | THE BILTMORE CABARET
THE WILD REEDS
5/16 | THE BILTMORE CABARET
/MRGCONCERTS @MRGCONCERTS @MRGCONCERTSWEST
~
FOR MORE INFO AND TICKETS
GO TO MRG CONCERTS.COM ~