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38 The Chronicle November 29, 2011 Entertainment
54-40 rock out in Oshawa
Angie Doucett
The Chronicle
On a rainy weekend in November,
Oshawa’s Regent Theatre
was dazzled by Canadian
legends 54-40.
After 30 years in the music
industry producing albums and
a number of popular hits such
as Ocean Pearl, She La and I Go
Blind, the band made a stop in
Oshawa to promote their new
album Lost in the City.
The recently restored Regent
theatre welcomed a full house
of screaming fans. A crescendo
of “Yeah Neil!” sent tremors of
excitement through the crowd
as Neil Osborne, Brad Merrit,
Dave Genn and Matt Johnson
filled the stage.
It was an intimate show
full of nostalgic 54-40 classics
and a tribute to fallen soldiers
with an acoustic song opening
for their 1987 hit, One Gun.
Alongside their classics, 54-
40 slipped in a few new songs
from Lost in the City including
a song of the same title.
Brad Merritt, who co-founded
the group in 1981, said the
new album is more present and
emotive than previous albums.
Lost in the City takes much
of its influence from classic
blues songs and references old
lyrics, applying them to the
world today where other albums
often reflected an alternative
post-punk style.
Frontman Neil Osborne and
his daughter Kandle came up
with the concept of the new album
and video, which follows
a mime on his way through the
city.
“We’re not lost in the city,
we’re lost in the future,” Osborne
said to the crowd during
the show.
Unlike many bands who
often play and promote their
new songs while touring, 54-40
played many classic tunes with
a variety of instruments beyond
the basic two-guitar, drum and
bass setup, that brought the
crowd dancing to its feet at the
front of the stage.
On Oct. 23, 54-40 was
awarded the Hall of Fame
award at the Western Canadian
Music awards.
“It was an honour to be a
part of something like that,”
Bassist and founder Brad Merritt
said in an interview before
the show. “It started because
we were passionate about music
and to be honoured by our
peers felt good.”
But success rarely comes
without hardship. Ranging
from 18 to 20 years old when
the group started, Merrit said
they faced challenges when it
came to getting along.
“You’re trying to define your
Angie Doucett
54-40: Neil Osborne, lead singer of the Canadian legends 54-40, rocks on stage
at Oshawa’s Regent Theatre.
place in the band while keeping
your own ego in check for
the good of the group,” Merritt
said. “But we were all very process
oriented and still are. We
keep putting things in front of
us and just do it.”
It wasn’t the first time 54-40
has rocked Oshawa. Performing
In previous years at Durham
College and formerly Le
Skratch in 2006, 54-40 is no
stranger to the ‘Shwa.
Broken
Arts
host new
event
Hillary Di Menna
The Chronicle
Broken Arts will be presenting
‘Soundtracked 22:
… And the Night’ Nov. 26
and ‘Soundtracked 23: A
Very Broken Arts Christmas’
Dec. 10. Both will
take place in Mad Café, a
downtown Oshawa business
at 38 King St E.
Soundtracked 22 will
have musical performances
by Moon King, Odonis
Odonis and The Undrummer.
The evening event
from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. will
have a moon theme.
“Where will you be when
the world ends next year?
How will you face the last
days of this dying planet?
Some turn to the bible.
Some turn to the bottle.
We turn to the moon,” the
Facebook event page says
hauntingly.
Soundtracked 23 is
a daytime event, also at
Mad Café from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. Twenty-three will
be another musical event
with bands Alley Kat and
the Boozehounds, Bloody
Boy Blue, Chris and Cassy,
Darling Meadow, Katrina
James, Nick Reynolds and
Watershed Hour.
Admission is free. “But
we’ll be accepting donations
of money, food, beds,
toys, or anything else petrelated
for the Cat Town
animal shelter.”
Carrasco dances his way to the top
Chealse Howell
The Chronicle
With his parents and
grandma pushing Moto music
on him at age 3, Wayne
Carrasco found not only his
love, but passion for hip hop
dance.
Although he never took part
in any formal dance lessons,
Carrasco’s determination and
ambition has led him to have
success in the dance industry.
From meeting Drake, Peter
Jackson and Karl Wolf at the
MMVA’s (Much More Music
Video Awards), to performing
before Classified at Campusfest,
Carrasco’s list of celebrity
encounters keeps growing.
He has also met, Lady
Gaga, T Pain, Jabbawockeez
and Busta Rhymes
at various dance events.
On campus the Digital Video
student is known as the founder
and manager of The Geek-
Freaks, a competitive hip hop
dance group.
Taking part in many competitions,
the GeekFreaks have
won several awards, with their
most recent being O.U.C.H.
(Ontario University College
Competition of Hip Hop). In
the past they have also won
Dance Champions 2010 as
well as Summer Jam 2010 in
Toronto.The GeekFreaks are
extremely youth orientated,
participating in Youth Day in
2010-2011. They also had the
privilege of dancing at Z103’s
Summer Rush 2007-2008,
and Campusfest 2010-2011.
Some titles Carrasco has
obtained himself are first
place overall duet at Humber
Hype 2010, the Choreography
Scholarship Award of $1,000
for the GeekFreaks routine at
Humber Hype 2011 and first
place Hip-Hop Award at BAM
2010 also taking place in Toronto.
In 2008 Carrasco enrolled
at Durham Collage and also
started The GeekFreaks that
same year. Original GeekFreaks
group came together in
2006 when Carrasco and his
friends would get-together to
share their dance skills such
as popping, locking, bobbing,
freestyle and hip hop.
While managing and choreographing
routines for the
GeekFreaks, in 2009 Carrasco
also created H.E.R. (Hip Hop
in its Essence and Realness), a
club on campus that introduces
members to the elements of
hip hop.
His love for hip hop dance
is extremely strong. “ I bleed
H.E.R. and GeekFreaks,” said
Carrasco. “ I never had something
mean so much to me and
Wayne Carasco
WAYNE CARRASCO: Creator of Durham’s GeekFreaks
and H.E.R.
to have something that can
make a positive difference in
peoples lives, it’s a cool feeling.”
His favourite part about being
in The GeekFreaks is the
time they spend together both
on and off the dance floor.
“It really is just one big family.”