BEATROUTE MAGAZINE AB EDITION JANUARY 2019

FrEE 

JANUARY 2019 

THE 

B!G 

WINTER 

CLASSIC 

PREVIEW 

COATHANGERS 

MONOTONIX 

FRONTMAN 

YONATAN GAT 

THE OCTOPUS 

PROJECT 

HIGH 

PERFORMANCE 

RODEO 

SCOTT 

THOMPSON 

RESSURECTS 

LOUNGE LIZARD 

BUDDY COLE 

DJD 

CHANNEL 

CHARLES 

MINGUS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

COVER 22-27 

BIG WINTER CLASSIC 

ARTS 7-10 

High Performance Rodeo 

FILM 12-13 

Banff, CUFF, Killer Tomatoes, Vidiot 

MUSIC 

rockpile 16-20 

Kongos, The Trews, The Morons, The Garrys 

edmonton extra 20-21 

Altameda, Del Barber, Zrada 

Yonatan Gat 

and the Eastern Medicine Singers 

jucy 28-29 

Jonathan Toubin’s Soul Clap, Humans, 

Let’s Get Jucy 

roots 31 

The Jerry Cans, Listings 

shrapnel 33-35 

Weedeater, Twitch, The Shrine, Month in Metal 

MUSIC REVIEWS 36-39 

Deerhunter, Beirut, Girpool, Toro Y Moi, Sharon 

Van Etten, and much much more ... 

collecting detective 43 

live reviews 45 

savage love 46 

BEATROUTE 

PUBLISHER/EDITOR 

Brad Simm 

MARKETING MANAGER 

Glenn Alderson 

EVENT COORDINATOR 

Colin Gallant 

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR 

Hayley Muir 

WEB PRODUCER 

Masha Scheele 

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR 

Miguel Morales 

SECTION EDITORS 

Arts/Film :: Brad Simm 

Rockpile :: Christine Leonard 

Edmonton Extra :: Mike Dunn 

Jucy :: Paul Rodgers 

Roots/Jazz :: Trevor Morelli 

Shrapnel :: Christine Leonard 

Reviews :: Glenn Alderson 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Alix Bruch • Emilie Charette • Sarah Mac • 

Michael Grondin • Gareth Jones • Mathew Silver 

• Kevin Bailey • Hayley Pukanski • Nicholas 

Laugher • Arnaud Sparks • Brittney Rousten • 

Breanna Whipple • Alex Meyer • Jay King • Mike 

Dunn • Shane Sellar • Kaje Annihilatrix • Dan 

Savage • Sarah Allen • William Leurer • Jessie 

Foster • Jamie Campbell • Trevor Hatter • Brenna 

Whipple • Trevor Morelli • Logan Peters • Fredy 

Belland • Stepan Soroka • 

Art Director: Jennie Big Kitty 

Graphic Design: Nicole Bruce 

Photography: Drew Ramadan 

ADVERTISING 

Ron Goldberger 

(403) 607-4948 • ron@beatroute.ca 

DISTRIBUTION 

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Banff, Canmore and Lethbridge. 

Greenline Distribution in Edmonton 

Mike Garth 

(780) 707-0476 

e-mail: editor@beatroute.ca 

website: www.beatroute.ca 

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Copyright © BEATROUTE Magazine 2019 

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is prohibited without permission. 

BEATROUTE • JANUARY 2019 | 3

PULSE 

LIFESTYLE OF PLEASURE EXPO 

The Lifestyle of Pleasure Expo brings together your local 

community of presenters, educators, lifestyle professionals, 

and Sexperts for an array of hands-on workshops and 

demonstrations. You will have the opportunity to shop with 

local vendors, and enjoy socializing with people in a safe, 

Sex-Positive, Kink-Positive, LGBTQIA+ Inclusive environment. 

Steamy subjects for your Exploration Education will 

be broken up in to two major themes over the course of the 

weekend: BDSM & Intimacy. 

SCIENCE IN THE CINEMA PRESENTS: 

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER 

On Bell Let’s Talk Day 2019, the Mathison Centre for Mental 

Health Research & Education in collaboration with the 

Canadian Mental Health Association, Calgary are hosting a 

screening of The Perks Of Being A Wallflower. On Wednesday, 

January 30, 2019 the event will be hosted at The Plaza 

Theatre (1133 Kensington Road N.W) at 6:30 p.m. (Doors 

open at 6:00 p.m.) 

Following the screening, join Dr. Scott Patten, MD, PhD, 

Dr. Gina Dimitropoulos, PhD, and Nigel Mayers, Peer Support 

Worker at the Canadian Mental Health Association for 

a discussion on the mental health of youth. 

MIDWINTER MELTDOWN 

One of Calgary’s best live acts, surf rockers, The 427’s will 

join forces rockabilly steampunk’s Punch Drunk Cabaretfrom 

“Dustbowl”, AB for the first annual Midwinter Meltdown 

at the Ironwood Stage and Grill, Feb. 1. Sponsored by 

Hard Knox Brewery, the idea of the event is to combat the 

drudgery of long Alberta winters by combining one of the 

best live acts from the north, with one from the south into 

a show that favours audience participation with a distinctly 

retro edge. 

OCEAN PLASTICS: 

A PANEL DISCUSSION 

With a subject matter so wide - from supply chain and 

consumption to waste management and water treatment, 

the ocean plastic crisis is a topic regularly featured on the 

news. Scientists are finding micro-plastics in our tap water, 

the flesh of fish, filling stomachs of ocean-going birds and 

whales...coming from the 8 million tonnes of plastic going 

into our oceans every year. 

As a non-coastal city but being at the top of a watershed, 

how are Calgarians responsible for their part in the bigger 

picture of the ocean plastics crisis? How does it really affect 

us, what is the real deal with plastics recycling, and what 

can we do? 

On Wednesday January 9, 2019 from 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. at 

Koi (100-1011 1 Street S.W) a featured panel of speakers from 

Plastic-Free YYC, The City of Calgary and Alberta Plastics Recycling 

Association will discuss the issue surrounding plastic. 

For tickets and more information, visit cepcalgary.org 

RACE ISSUES: 

A COMIC SERIES ART EXHIBIT 

Over the past year, Artist, Eman Elkadri has been working 

on a comic series about the experiences of racialized youth 

living in Canada. On Thursday, January 3 at The New Gallery 

(208 Centre Street) at 6:30 p.m. you can expect to see 40 

unique comics about microaggressions, hear from Eman 

about her inspiration, as well as hear from some of the 

youth she worked with, plus learn more about what you can 

do. This is a free event that is open to all ages. The exhibit 

will continue during January 4 and 5 (12 p.m. - 6 p.m.). 

4 | JANUARY 2019 • BEATROUTE

ARTS 

Buddy Is Back! 

Scott Thompson revives his lovable 

Kids In The Hall character 

BY TIM FORD 

know as much about 

Canada as straight people do 

“Americans 

about gays. Americans arrive at the 

border with skis in July, and straight people 

think that being gay is just a phase. A very 

long phase.” 

Those are just some of the immortal wise 

words of Buddy Cole, an immensely popular 

character created and performed by Scott 

Thompson during his time on sketch comedy 

show KIds In The Hall. Thompson is bringing 

Buddy back into the limelight with a touring 

live show, Après le Déluge: The Buddy Coles 

Monologues, which includes a stop at this 

year’s High Performance Rodeo. Recently, 

Thompson spoke about Buddy’s transition 

from screen to stage, and the changing 

attitudes and appetites of audiences. 

How has the tour been going so far? 

It went very well! It was a lot of work, but it 

was very fulfilling doing Buddy Cole in these 

times. I’m always thrilled getting back into a 

smoking jacket. 

You mention “these times.” Things have 

changed quite a bit since you started out. 

The one thing that hasn’t changed is that 

people are still as thin-skinned as they always 

were, and Buddy’s thrilled about that. I’m old 

enough now to see how things are cyclical, 

and I can see that this is a similar time to the 

Kids In The Hall heydays in the early ‘90s. 

Lots of social change, lots of political correctness, 

and those things were very evident 

while we were on television. 

I remember in another interview you did you 

talked about how people laughed “at” the 

character in his early days. 

People laugh less “at” him now than they 

used to. The world is less overtly homophobic. 

I think there’s a sizeable contingent of 

the audience who are very much like, “Oh 

that’s not right, he shouldn’t be making fun 

that way. That seems rude.” I don’t really care, 

he’s just a character! You were wrong before, 

you’re wrong now. Buddy makes fun of the 

world, how everybody’s a hypocrite. 

Buddy has this thoroughly fleshed out personality, 

he his own Twitter account. Where 

do you find the character ends, and Scott 

Thompson begins? 

6 | JANUARY 2019 • BEATROUTE 

You know, I do stand-up now, and perform 

as myself. Back when I first started doing 

Buddy, to be the kind of comic that I am 

now, on stage, you could not do that back 

then. I’m not even exaggerating. You could 

not stand up on stage in the late ‘80s and 

tell material about being a gay man. It was 

not possible. You wouldn’t last more than 

five minutes, before you were driven from 

the stage with “faggot!” I think people 

have a hard time understanding that, but 

that’s the truth. I had to create Buddy 

for my voice. So in many ways, he was 

my early stand-up voice. If I was a young 

person today, I think there’s no question I 

would’ve been in stand-up right away. But 

that wasn’t possible for my generation, so I 

created Buddy. Over the years the world has 

changed, become much more accepting of 

these issues, and there came a point when 

I thought, “I don’t need Buddy any more,” 

and I did put Buddy aside. Now I look back 

on it, and I go, “Well, I don’t NEED Buddy. 

But I WANT Buddy. And the audience wants 

Buddy. And actually… THEY need Buddy!” 

You recorded a lot of the Kids In The Hall with 

live studio audiences, but do you think there’s 

a difference when you perform it for stage 

audiences? 

Yes, absolutely. When you’re on stage, you 

go off on so many different tangents. I think 

I’m better at stage now because I’ve done 

so much stand-up in the interim. I think I’m 

much better with Buddy in terms of crowd 

work. The audience is an animal, it’s a dance, 

and it can be different every time. 

What do you hope audiences at the Rodeo 

take away from this character and this performance? 

Number one: I want people to walk away 

thinking that was the funniest thing they’ve seen 

this year. 

Number two: I’d like them to think: “I might’ve 

been wrong about that,” or “Jeez, that’s a different 

way of looking at it.” 

Number three: I want them to say “God, Scott 

Thompson’s aging VERY well.” 

Tickets to Après le Déluge: The Buddy Coles 

Monologues are available through the High 

Performance Rodeo at hprodeo.ca 

PHOTO: BRUCE SMITH 

ARTS

HOW TO RODEO 

by high performing! 

No, not that Rodeo. This one is Calgary’s rodeo of dance, 

theatre, music, and art of all disciplines, returning for its 

33rd year: One Yellow Rabbit’s annual High Performance Rodeo 

Is this your first time hearing about the two-week Festival 

that takes place every January throughout Calgary? Fear not: 

we have pro tips to maximize your Rodeo time, thanks to One 

Yellow Rabbit Board Member (and former Rodeo staffer for 

nearly 10 years) Todd Hawkwood. 

Todd’s TIP #1: “Go and see the weird stuff.” 

In Hawkwood’s view, the Rodeo is an opportunity to see 

“artists and styles of performance art that you normally don’t 

see.” So what “weird” shows would Hawkwood recommend for 

this year? “For me, the thing I want to see this year is ‘Macbeth 

Muet.’ It looks weird and wild and I’ve learned that the shows 

from Quebec are always interesting all the time.” Macbeth 

Muet is a silent pantomime retelling of the classic Shakespearean 

play, told entirely without words. It runs Jan. 24-25 @ 8 p.m. 

and Jan. 26 @ 2 p.m. at the Pumphouse Theatre. 

Todd’s TIP #2: “There’s a lot of auxiliary and free events, too.” 

“Why not take your lunch break and go see a free show?” 

Hawkwood says, referring to the ProArts@Noon Concert 

Series. The popular free-to-the-public concert series features 

local and guest performers at the downtown Cathedral Church 

of the Redeemer, on Jan. 9, 16 and 23 @ 12 p.m.. Hawkwood 

also says that Rodeo attendees with tight budgets can check 

out a free installation called The Democratic Set which is a 

“custom-made film set” that people can visit and interact with 

at Eau Claire Market Jan 9-10, before seeing the final filmed 

product at Calgary’s stunning new Central Library. It’s all free 

and open to the public. “There’s been many events that happen 

at the Rodeo that are free and fun,” Hawkwood says. 

Todd’s TIP #3: “Try not to do too much research.” 

BY TIM FORD 

To Hawkwood, going into a Rodeo show without too many 

expectations is actually key to enjoying it. He uses the example 

of famed poet Shane Koyczan, who will be performing at 

the Jack Singer Concert Hall on Jan. 22 @ 8p.m.. “I know he’s 

a poet, and when I’ve seen clips of him, he’s amazing,” Hawkwood 

says. But Hawkwood says that it’s much more about 

allowing your interest to be piqued, and allowing yourself to 

be surprised. “Go with an open mind,” he says. 

Todd’s TIP #4: “If a show’s in the Legion, just go see it.” 

Hawkwood says this downtown performance venue “has 

a soul.” The Royal Canadian Legion hosts two shows, This 

Little Piggie (originally co-produced by The Old Trout 

Puppet Workshop and the Calgary Folk Music Festival), 

and Hammered Hamlet (produced by the Shakespeare 

Company). The nearly 100 year-old venue is fully licensed 

and Hawkwood says seeing shows there comes with a 

terrific energy. 

Todd’s TIP #5: “Just go once a week, and before you know 

it you may see two a week.” 

Hawkwood says it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the 

sheer volume of programming at the Rodeo, but suggests 

sticking to a few choices each week to keep it simple. 

“There’s certain pieces you have to hit,” Hawkwood says. 

“Go see One Yellow Rabbit. They’re Canadian theatre 

legends.” This year, One Yellow Rabbit’s show is Live Your 

Prime, with Damien Frost, Jan. 9 -19 @ 7:30 p.m. at the Big 

Secret Theatre. 

The Democratic Set (below): “disturbingly obvious and 

tantalizing strange.” 

RECLAIMING INDIGENOUS 

the culture and the people 

Café Daughter explores identity and racism in rural Saskatchewan. 

First Nations and Indigenous peoples are behind several works 

at this year’s High Performance Rodeo, according to the international 

arts festival’s Indigenous Community Liaison, Chantal 

Chagnon. Chagnon, a Cree-Ojibwe Métis Artist who creates work 

through her independent company, Cree8, sees the volume of 

works being produced by First Nations and Indigenous artists as 

“inspiring.” 

First among those works is bug by manidoons collective, 

running January 18-19 @ 7:30 p.m. and January 20 @ 2 p.m., at the 

West Village Theatre. “[bug] is a very unique project,” Chagnon 

says. “We’re doing outreach with indigenous youth in the community, 

to bring them in for a storytelling workshop.” This ties into 

the play’s themes and narrative,which tell the story of women in 

an Indigenous family navigating addiction and inter-generational 

trauma. 

Cafe Daughter, by Workshop West Playwrights Theatre 

Production in Association with Alberta Aboriginal Arts, running 

Jan. 15-27 at Alberta Theatre Projects, is inspired by the story of 

Chinese-Canadian and Cree senator Lillian Dyck. In this play, a 

nine-year old fictionalized version of Dyck named Yvette Wong 

struggles to find her identity in small town Saskatchewan. “Like 

many of us, if we’re passing for white or other races, we tend 

to deny the fact that we’re First Nations,” Chagnon says. “[Cafe 

Daughter] is really about reclaiming our culture, reclaiming who 

we are as Indigenous people.” 

God’s Lake, by Castlereigh Theatre, running Jan. 17-18 @ 8 p.m. 

and Jan. 19 @ 2 p.m. at the Pumphouse Theatres, is a Documentary 

Theatre piece that tells the story of the reserve of God’s Lake 

Narrows, Manitoba. “[God’s Lake] is very enlightening for people 

who might not understand what has led into the reserve system,” 

Chagnon says. She sees the work as a way to educate people on 

the issues of the reserve systems, and the challenges for people 

who live there. 

Chagnon hopes that audiences will take the time to broaden 

their minds at these and other Indigenous performances. “It’s really 

important work,” she says. “When we experience a show or an 

art piece it reaches into our heart and soul and draws out of us.” 

• TIM FORD 

ARTS 


WELCOME TO THE PLEASUREDOM 

where kinksters and lifestylers explore and make their own rules 

Chris and Don Wilhelm have been together since 1997 and their 

passionate, positive energy carries right through to each of their 

three sex shops. They took over operation of Adam and Eve’s Exotic 

Boutique before renaming it the Little Shop of Pleasures that many 

Calgarians have come to know and adore. Whether you frequent 

any of the stores or you recognize it as a landmark driving around 

the city, this couple has become a significant presence in the “kink 

and pleasure” communities. They happily educate all who come 

into their stores and workshops and have put together an expo 

unlike any other we have in Calgary. 

THE LIFESTYLE OF PLEASURE EXPO 

The Lifestyle of Pleasure Expo is a three-day event offering over 

40 classes to help singles and couples in a safe environment to 

explore different areas of intimacy and kink that they may be 

curious about. 

“The event,” explains Chris, “is a combination of live shows, 

classes and a shopping experience. The biggest focus is on the 

classes and education part. Especially since 50 Shades Of Grey I 

find that lots of people have become excited that they want to 

play and try something new, other than your typical sex with a 

sex toy. They actually want to start using things. And they have 

no idea how. And there is no formal education!” 

Until now. With such a wide range of workshops they have 

split the event into A Meet And Mingle On Friday Night, a day 

of workshops revolving around BDSM And Kink, and a day focused 

on Love, Intimacy And Play. The workshops will include 

things such as: 

• Audrey Absinthe from Sanguine Sirens Burlesque teaching 

modern and beginner burlesque along with a class on pastie 

making. 

• Kimberley Nelson, psychologist, will speak on “What Science 

Tells Us About Extraordinary Sex” and, “Communication 

Skills To Increase Pleasure And Joy in Your Relationship.” 

• Haven Kink, a leather family, will teach all about rope, 

bondage and Shibari techniques and safety. 

• Yara Corvine, a registered massage therapist, whose 

last workshop Chris says was filled with so much love and 

tenderness it brought her to tears as she watched couples “of 

all flavors” connect with one another through the techniques 

they had learned. 

• Chris and Don will also be hosting what they can their 

“Most Important Workshop Ever Written” focusing on “you” 

as an individual. 

FIRE-FLY INC. 

Together Chris and Don partnered with Lynde Diamond and patented 

the Firefly Suspension Unit. It is engineered and inspected as 

a piece of fitness equipment made 100% by a local manufacturer in 

Airdie that carries a 90 day warranty and ensures absolute safety. 

“This is certified for a 700 lbs. drop weight. Basically you could lift 

your engine out with it… while fitting over a king size bed,” Chris 

giggles. “I had to make sure it fits!” 

The design is portable, adjustable and made to be set up in a 

home with ceilings at least eight feet high. It’s not just for kinksters, 

many people use the unit for aerial yoga, dance with silks and a Lyra 

hoop, along with Shibari rope suspension and bondage. In addition, 

you can create a hammock and use a papasan chair with it. Chris 

and Don have brought it to the beach for the grand kids to play 

with. You can even take it on a plane! 

The suspension unit also offers a therapeutic feature called 

cocooning used for children with Autism. The technique provides 

a way of holding someone which helps them to feel comforted and 

safe without human contact when that’s not an option. 

“This is the Mercedes of suspension equipment,” Chris loves to 

tell people. 

THE EVOLUTION OF KINK 

The world of sex has changed over the years compared to what 

was deemed inappropriate conversation and deviant behaviour 

not so long ago. Attitudes and interests have evolved, however, 

and people have become more open to discussing and accepting 

different lifestyles. 

“Todays society strives to be less judgmental and strives to 

accommodate differences in society,” Don says. 

“There are two sort of sexual camps within the community 

and a divide between ‘kinksters’ (S&M play, power exchange and 

impact play, etc.) and ‘lifestylers’ (couples who explore swinging 

and polyamory) and we always encourage people to make their 

own rules. But we have noticed that they don’t typically like to mix 

camps,“ Chris says. 

“They complain about being judged, and then they judge other 

groups,” adds Don. 

In an effort to get people talk and be open without judgement 

they plan on having a Q&A for people to come and ask 

questions for both the kinksters and the lifestylers. 

Regarding young adults probing their sexual lives, Chris says, 

“We have found over the years that the newer generation is 

more adventurous, but are finding less satisfaction. It’s like they 

are looking for something and are lost.” 

Most singles today are about instant gratification with the 

ability to literally swipe through partners and never take the 

time to build a relationship and reach that point of sincere 

passion and intimacy. 

Don suggests and deeply expresses, “Make your own rules, 

make good rules, and follow the ones you make.” 

Lifestyle Of Pleasure Expo takes place Feb. 1-3. 

For more info go to littleshopworkshops.com 

BY CHANTEL BELISLE 

Wilhelm lovebirds 

“Your emotions are not who you are, they are learned and 

can be unlearned,” says Don. “Our emotions change all the 

time. During this workshop I will be spending 90 seconds 

revealing, the secret of life! But you have to come to the workshop 

to find out.” 

Passes can be purchased for individual days with no pressure 

to partake in things you are not comfortable with. 

“You get to make your own rules,” Chris and Don explain 

frequently to couples. There is no one way to approach and deal 

with the sensual and erotic and this event is here to help you 

bond and explore. 

BEFORE 

AFTER 


ARTS

COLLECTING DETECTIVE 

Francis Willey: collecting with heart 

BY DAVID DALEY 

GLORIA 

PHOTO: FRANCIS A. WILLEY 

Francis A. Willey: beholder of beauty. 

PHOTO: DAVID DALEY 

Calgary-based artist Francis Willey is known for his voluptuous photos of beautiful 

women but fewer people know about his affinity for collecting cameras. He also collects 

prints, first edition books, Art Deco objects, African masks, inspiration, and, well — 

lots of things. Collectors are often just as interesting as their collections and the unique 

photographer Francis A. Willey is a great example of this. 

He’s more interested in making art and networking than he is in competitive collecting. 

He also adheres to traditional photographic techniques and never uses software to 

modify his images. I first met him at a launch party for his latest co-production of Seities, 

an internationally acclaimed magazine which allows writers and photographers to share 

their work and connect with each other. As a poet, publisher, pianist, teacher and father, 

this versatile artist is many things to many people. 

I recently sat down with Francis to talk about his camera collection but typically, we 

ended up discussing a great deal more. He brought a selection of cameras along in an old 

suitcase to show me. He begins by telling me how in 2011 a house fire destroyed most of 

his worldly possessions. He luckily wasn’t harmed by the fire but he lost his cat named 

Poem. He also lost most of his cameras, collections and poetry books. This instilled in 

him a deep appreciation for the transitory nature of life and helped him to understand 

what’s important. 

Shortly after his cameras burned in the fire, he had an unusual opportunity to replace 

most of them at very little expense, so he did. He points out that “if we’re generous and 

we pay attention, things come to us when we need them. We get a response to what 

we’re open to.” He tells me of a time when he needed some fabric for a photo-shoot 

which was just a few hours away, when a piece came blowing down the street to him. 

He used it to create a photo which ended up going to the son of the woman who taught 

Duke Ellington, the famous big-band leader. 

Francis opened the suitcase and spread his cameras out on an empty table in the bar. 

He usually juggles between five cameras when works but the 35 mm Olympus OM10 is 

his favorite and most-used device. He got his first one by saving the money he earned 

ARTS 

singing poetry on the streets of Edmonton. His collection ranges widely from cameras 

made in the 1910s to the late twentieth century. He favors the 35mil format but notes he 

can cut-down film to fit into any of his vintage cameras. 

“Everyone has a way of using their tools,” he says. He looks for portability and how 

a camera feels in his hand- it must fit like a garment. His success rate has been good 

with found and recovered film and cameras. He likes to experiment with expired film 

to achieve unexpected effects. “The most important camera mirror is the mirror of the 

mind,” he explains. “Without engaging the mind and soul in your work, there is no art.” 

Willey uses textiles as lens filters and creates his own studio sets and fashion for his photo 

shoots. He uses his camera collection to create his art. 

I found the small Icarette camera (ca. 1912 – 1929) interesting with its collapsible bellows 

and unusual flip-up wire viewfinder that allowed the photographer to roughly frame 

a photo without looking into the little mirrored viewfinder. It had a great vintage look to 

it with its leather-covered body and shiny steel and glass parts. He also had a plastic Polaroid 

One-Step with attachable flash. This classic camera with the rainbow stripe down 

the center revolutionized photography by winding out a finished photo moments after it 

was taken. 

Francis is not preoccupied with possession like many collectors often are. His camera 

collection tends to be fluid and has come to him from a variety of sources. Some were 

purchased but many were gifts to him. He also gives them to his colleagues and photography 

students if he thinks they need one or could benefit from having a particular 

model. I believe many collectors could benefit from embracing Francis Willey’s generous 

and compassionate philosophy. 

Francis Willey’s photo exhibit Oracles Of Nature will be part of the annual Exposure 

Photography Festival. For more information visit: www.exposurephotofestival.com/ 

artscommons2019/ 


BETTER GET HIT IN YOUR SOUL 

unraveling the dark, turbulent, amazing complexity of Charles Mingus 

Better Get Hit Runs from Jan. 10-20 at 

the DJD Dance Centre as part of High 

Performance Rodeo 

BY B. SIMM 

Why The Beach Boys Matter 

We often hear about the wild men of rock ‘n’ roll, and it 

wouldn’t be hard to easily list a half dozen off on the 

spot. But when asked who were the wild men of jazz, most 

of us would need a few moments to ponder and quickly 

do a Google search. But there are many wild men in jazz 

— Charlie Parker, Chet Baker, Miles Davis and Thelonious 

Monk, those are just some of the big names. There’s a whole 

subterranean sea of lesser known horn blowers and beat 

maniacs that wrecked havoc. Charles Mingus also fits in that 

category, although he had a special place of distinction — he 

wasn’t wild as much as he was tormented, and consequently 

know as “The Angry Man of Jazz.” 

Kimberly Cooper, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks Artistic 

Director, retells the story of the infamous “axe chase” where 

Mingus lost his cool and literally hunted down a fellow 

musician with a bare blade looking for blood. 

“He (Mingus) was playing in Duke Ellington’s band and 

got into a fight with trombonist Juan Tizol who pulled a 

knife. Mingus disappeared for a moment, but then came 

back with a fire axe, chased Juan around with it and apparently 

split his chair in two with the axe.” 

That not only makes for a good story, but also a great 

visual presentation when DJD brings back their tribute to the 

music, mind and madness of Charles Mingus with Better Get 

Hit In Your Soul. 

Cooper says not only do they make reference to that bit 

of insanity, but also taps into the romantic tension of Mingus 

and his “many wives” where he was once married to two 

women at the same time and was also their pimp! How 

exactly that plays out on stage? 

“Well,” says Cooper, “we have this piece where two women 

just dance together and you get the feeling they are very, 

very much in control of the audience with their sensuality.” 

Aside from the angry, wild man that consumed Mingus, 


Cooper speaks to his musical genius and why she incorporated 

his work into a DJD production. 

“He just made so much music. Although he died from 

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) at 56, but in that time he 

made hundreds of recordings with this wild range. Some of 

his music is almost third stream, between classical and jazz. 

Duke Ellington had a huge influence on him which I think 

you can hear, and some of it is more simple and closer to 

blues and gospel. The tune ‘Better Get Hit’ for instance, has 

more of a folk-dance kind of feel. So in the 30 years that he 

was making music, it was all such a huge accomplishment.” 

Mingus’ autobiography, Beneath The Underdog, with its 

mix of “colourful characters” and rich, turbulent history, is 

largely what propelled Cooper to created this thriving dance 

performance. It’s an interesting venture that by developing a 

story about this man and his music not only does a performance 

unfold on stage, but it also takes the audience along 

on a journey that explores Mingus life and inner workings. 

Cooper says that there’s a monologue from the book in one 

part of the show that reveals three different sides to him — 

the neutral guy, the angry man, and the gentleman, a target 

for others to hurl their abuse at. 

“There’s some spoken word and some hollering like your 

in a night club there, a narrative to give you some clues. And 

there’s instrument hanging from the ceiling, with the idea 

these instruments are ideas swirling in his head...” 

She adds, “I just hope the audience becomes curious 

about all of it. The first act closes with “The Saint and the 

Sinner Lady,” considered one of the most important albums 

of the last century. It’s thick and dense, complex and cinematic 

that changes drastically every three minutes — you 

keep getting pulled somewhere else over the course of 17 

minutes. There’s something in that tune that when you see 

movement to it, hopefully it’s more accessible.” 

Why The Beach Boys Matter 

by Tom Smucker 

Music Matters 

In the spring of 1965, Tom Smucker 

was just two years out of high 

school, lounging in his bedroom and 

dialed to a Top 40 radio station out 

of Chicago. The Beach Boys came on 

and Smucker had an roaring epiphany: 

“This music was, more than any 

other music, mine.” 

Smucker, raised religious and 

remains religious, was a radical lefty, 

a telephone technician and part-time 

music critic, most notably with 

Creem and the Village Voice, where 

he praised P-Funk as much as he did 

Pat Boone. But more than any other 

artist or band, The Beach Boys were 

number one. 

When a life-long devotee of the 

golden gods of Californian pop writes 

a 150 page testament called Why 

The Beach Boys Matter, you certainly 

expect the ooohs and aaahs to come 

spilling out, and in certain places they 

do. But the one aspect of Smucker’s 

endorsement that’s most engaging is 

that single inquiry, “Why.” Yes, why do 

the Beach Boys really matter at all? 

Smucker starts at the beginning, 

the early ‘60s, when the band had its 

string of surf and car songs tied in with 

cruising the strip, playing rock ‘n’ roll 

bandstands, gettin’ around chasing 

bikinis and heart-pounding sweethearts. 

As Smucker aptly notes, the 

Beach Boys galvanized the suburban 

dream, hot rod heaven, good-looking 

guitars, handsome haircuts, surfer 

girls and fun, fun fun deep into the 

American myth. But it’s not like that 

stuff didn’t exist pre ‘63 or wasn’t 

found elsewhere in America, it’s just 

that the Beach Boys, born and bred 

in sunny California, had the Pacific 

Ocean crashing down on its door step 

and they would ride those waves for all 

they were worth. 

Still, it wasn’t the waves alone the 

Beach Boys rode as to why they were 

great in those early days. Their first 

anthem, “Surfin’ USA”, was a complete 

replica of Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little 

Sixteen” with Brian Wilson injecting 

new lyrics. Although meant as a 

tribute, Chuck’s lawyers threatened to 

sue and soon after Mr. Johnny B. Good 

was added to the writing credits and 

receiving royalties. 

Of course the Beach Boys were 

far from imitators and crafted truly 

seminal works with their gifted voices, 

harmonies, melody lines and song 

structures. But without the support 

and expertise of the equally gifted 

group of L.A. session musicians, the 

Wrecking Crew, would the genius of 

Brian Wilson and his masterpiece, Pet 

Sounds, have been fully realized? Probably 

not. Smucker gives the Wrecking 

Crew a tip of the hat in his essay 

recognizing their contributions. But 

the question lingers, was Brian only as 

good as his band, the Wrecking Crew? 

No, of course he had some other 

heavenly, seminal quality. Smucker 

does note the Wilson’s church choir 

training that when adapted to ‘50s 

doo-wop definitely took on an alien 

form of its own. And of course there’s 

Murry, the overbearing and abusive 

father that despite all the damage 

down, he still pushed them in the right 

direction. 

Why the Beach Boys matter isn’t 

answered so much as to what made 

them a success, and what all the 

factors at work were. Smucker does 

an excellent job unveiling that. But to 

sooth that particular question... the 

Beach Boys matter because they crafted, 

perhaps not single-handedly, but 

they crafted the most sublime vocal 

surf music on the planet, and no one 

does or perhaps ever will do it better. 

Add Pet Sounds on top of that. 

•B. SIMM 

ARTS

FILM 

OFF THE CUFF 

A new series celebrating Calgary Underground Film Festival’s 

year-round programming 

LORDS OF CHAOS 

The story of true Norwegian Black Metal 

and its most notorious practitioners 

– a group of young men with a flair for 

publicity, church-burning and murder. 

Total mayhem! This one needs to be 

seen with an audience. An important 

caveat from the critics at Variety: “one 

must be able to handle severed pig 

heads, cat torture, and casual Nazism.” 

Friday, Jan. 11 @ 7:30 pm 

Globe Cinema 

$10 ($8 members/students/seniors) 

BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM 

FESTIVAL 2019 

An annual celebration of mountain culture 

and sports, the Banff Mountain Film Festival 

World Tour returns this month showing 

16 films in Edmonton at the Metro Cinema 

from Jan. 11-17, and then in Calgary at the 

U of C from Jan. 15 - 29. Ranging from four 

to 43 minunte in length, these jaw-dropping 

adventures slip deep inside mountain spirt 

and strenghth. For more info: 

Metro Cinema @ metrocinema.org 

U of C @ mountainfilm.ca 

THE FRENCHY 

Reveals the secrets of an 82 year-old downhill 

skier and mountain cyclist to stayin’ alive. 


DESTROYER 

The moral and existential odyssey of LAPD 

detective Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman) who, as a 

young cop, was placed undercover with a gang 

in the California desert with tragic results. 

When the leader of that gang re-emerges 

many years later, she must work her way back 

through the remaining members and into her 

own history with them to finally reckon with 

the demons that destroyed her past. 

Monday, Jan. 21 @ 7 p.m. 

Globe Cinema 

RSVP on Ticketfly to claim your free ticket 

THE ORIGINAL KILLER TOMATOES! 

The 1978 spoof on B-movies where a group 

of scientists band together to save the world 

from mutated killer tomatoes with 35mm 

trailers and prizes before the feature. 

Globe Cinema Jan. 25. 

Metal Movie Rundown 

extreme documentaries get medieval on your screen 

aspect ratio 

We’ve all felt it, you’ve had a long week and just want to relax in the apartment that 

half your paycheck goes towards funding. You want to sit in front of the TV, get your 

cat wasted on nip and drink the beer in your fridge, but your ex changed the Netflix 

password. Don’t worry boss, we’ve got you covered, check out these flicks for a dose of 

seasonal affected distortion. 

Grrrrr... Amon Amarth! 

BY TREVOR HATTER 

The Pursuit of Vikings: 25 Years in the Eye of the Storm 

Documents the legendary Viking metal band, Amon Amarth, through candid interviews 

and live footage with a live concert tacked on for good measure. The film details the early 

days of the band — members initially connecting over their shared affinity for shredding, 

their first record deal, and shining light on a turning point where the band was ready to 

pack it in. It makes for a personable look into the minds behind this larger than life act and 

a must see for fans of Amon Amarth’s technical instruments and brutal growls. 

Songs for the Dead Live 

showcases not one but two live shows by Danish black metal giant King Diamond. Filmed 

in a pair of vastly different venues, each performance features 18-song sets consisting of 

classic Mercyful Fate tracks, some King Diamond favourites and the 1987 opus “Abigail” in 

its entirety. Filmmaker Denise Korycki provides a dynamic experience, dropping viewers 

front and center into a gothic world. She focuses on revealing brilliant stage design and 

provides unique angles dedicated to the fans that bleed black. 

Bloodlines: The Art and Life of Vincent Castiglia 

Director John Borowski, famous for documentaries on infamous serial killers, turns his lens 

onto visionary artist Vincent Castiglia. The filmmaker uses interviews of people close to 

Castiglia to highlight his abusive childhood, struggle with addiction and the haunting portraiture 

he creates using human blood. The film features cameos from big names in metal 

such as Kerry King, Gary Holt and Randy Blythe amongst others. 

Maritime Metal 

This Canadian documentary is currently running a funding campaign on IndieGoGo. 

Contributors have a chance to get in on the ground floor, help produce a homegrown film 

celebrating the East Coast’s unique contribution to the metal scene at large and feel good 

knowing they’ve supported something authentic. This flick intends to detail the evolution 

of the metal scene across the Maritimes over the past 30 years. From humble beginnings of 

mailing cassette tapes to today’s social medial entangled world, the filmmakers will detail 

how technology has changed the way music is shared and fans connect. 

FILM

THE VIDIOT 

rewind to the future 

BY SHANE SELLAR 

Dumplin’ 

The Happytime Murders 

A Simple Favor 

The hardest part of being a mother is updating 

everyone on how hard it is being a mother. 

Luckily, the child bearer in this thriller has a 

blog to keep the world abreast. 

Single mom Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) 

becomes enamored with Emily (Blake Lively), 

her author husband (Henry Golding) and their 

lifestyle after their sons share a date. So when 

Emily asks Stephanie to pick her son up after 

school, the mommy blogger is more than happy 

to comply. But when Emily never comes to 

collect her child, Stephanie finds herself drawn 

into a world of sex, lies and secrets. 

While the overall mystery has a twinge of 

intrigue at first, the final reveal reeks of movieof-the-week 

cliché. Moreover, director Paul Feig 

adds so many comedic elements and misplaced 

jokes that it’s hard to take anything serious. 

Incidentally, once your mommy blog starts 

making money you can hire a nanny. 

Dumplin’ 

If you want to critic the way a woman’s body 

looks become a beauty pageant judge. Unfortunately, 

the contestant in this comedy is 

adjudicated both on and off stage. 

Raised by her Dolly Parton obsessed grandmother, 

plus-sized teenager Dumplin’ (Danielle 

Macdonald) is a big disappointment to her 

beauty queen mom, Rosie (Jennifer Aniston). 

So when her grandma dies, Dumplin’ shows 

her resentment towards Rosie by entering the 

teen beauty pageant that she is judging. But in 

order to get her body-positive message across, 

Dumplin’ needs some stage advise from her 

grandma’s friend, a Dolly Parton impersonator 

(Harold Perrineau). 

Netflix’s adaptation of the 2015 bestseller 

touches on some important social stigmas and 

features a toe-tapping Dolly laden soundtrack, 

however, the ham-fisted directing, low-production 

values and childish antics of the script 

diminish the message of inclusivity. 

Incidentally, now that there’s diversity in 

beauty pageants we can finally see some hot 

80-year-olds. 

Phil, a dishonoured puppet cop turned PI, must 

re-team with his human ex-partner Connie 

(Melissa McCarthy) to find the killer. But as the 

felt bodies pile up the FBI (Joel McHale) start 

sniffing around and Phil finds himself the prime 

suspect. Now Connie and Phil’s sectary (Maya 

Rudolph) must prove his innocence. 

While the concept of an R-rated Muppet 

Show from Jim Henson’s son sounds provocative, 

the end result is anything but. Plagued by 

gross-out jokes concerning the bodily fluids of 

marionettes, director Brian Henson tarnishes his 

family’s name for the sake of this vile venture. 

Incidentally, the lifeless corpse of a murdered 

puppet makes one helluva dust rag. 

The Nun 

The easiest way to tell a nun is haunting you is 

by slow dancing with no room left for the Holy 

Spirit. Mind you, the pious pair in this horror 

movie is doing more running than grinding. 

When the Vatican gets word of the deaths of 

two Romanian nuns, it dispatches Father Burke 

(Demián Bichir) and Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) 

to investigate. At the abbey, the Father and Sister 

each experience a demonic episode that’s later 

explained through the convents occult history - 

and its relationship with a possessive spirit. 

An offshoot of the Second Conjuring, this 

fifth installment in the paranormal investigative 

franchise has a spooky setting, capable actors 

and an opportunity to tell a great origin, but 

aside from a few jump-scares the sluggish narrative 

contributes very little to the overall universe. 

Moreover, churches are so desperate nowadays 

I’m sure they’d welcome a few demons to 

the congregation. 

pure cult movie material. 

And now that the drug dealers are off the 

streets, it’s finally safe to open recreational 

cannabis stores. 

The Predator 

In order to successfully hunt humans you 

must first cover yourself in their urine. Or, you 

can do like the tracker in this sci-fi thriller and 

bring some hunting dogs. 

Quinn (Boyd Holbrook) disarms an alien 

and mails its armour to his son (Jacob 

Tremblay) stateside. But when the captured 

creature escapes confinement, it comes 

looking for its property. With help from a 

biologist (Olivia Munn) and some dysfunctional 

marines (Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas 

Jane), Quinn tries to keep his kid away from 

the alien and a duplicitous bureaucrat (Sterling 

K. Brown). 

Serving as a direct sequel to the first two 

films in the franchise, this jokey instalment 

doesn’t surpass either predecessor. While the 

action is intense and the subject matter timely, 

there’s very little plot and character development 

to substantiate this follow-up. 

Moreover, the only human who can really 

stop a predator from harming a child is 

Chris Hansen. 

Venom 

The best thing about sharing a body with 

another entity is sticking them with all of the 

wiping. However, the visitor in this sci-fi thriller 

is more likely to just remove your genitals. 

Disgraced journalist Eddie Brock (Tom 

Hardy) bonds with an alien that grants him 

amazing powers and an appetite for brains. But 

when the scientist (Riz Ahmed) who brought 

the extraterrestrial here from a passing comet 

comes to claim it, Eddie and his parasite must 

get help from Eddie’s ex-fiancée (Michelle 

Williams) before the Earth is enslaved. 

While this origin story behind Spider-Man’s 

most popular villain is less convoluted than 

previous attempts, Marvels beloved antihero 

feels rudderless without the web-slinger 

around to torment. So, instead, audiences are 

left to endure the torment of the cheesy SFX, 

cringe-worthy dialogue and hammy performances 

all alone. 

Incidentally, any aliens living inside of humans 

will soon be exterminated by Type 2 diabetes. 

The Nun 

Peppermint 

The best way to get drug dealers out of your 

neighbourhood is to open a methadone clinic. 

Mind you, the mom in this action movie is 

more interested in dismantling the cartel. 

When her husband gets mixed up with a 

kingpin, mild-mannered mom Riley (Jennifer 

Garner) loses both him and their daughter in 

a drive-by shooting. Frustrated over the lack 

of police involvement in the case, Riley takes 

The Happytime Murders 

matters in to her own hands. After months 

The simplest way to murder a puppet is to of combat training and target practice, she 

sever the hand shoved up its ass. However, the returns to the streets looking for payback. 

murderer in this comedy has more elaborate While Garner does a serviceable job of working 

eliminations in mind. 

with the hackneyed material, this derivative 

When googly eyed cast members of The tale of retribution is par for the course, save for 

Venom 

Happytime Gang sitcom start dropping dead, the female lead. However, the melodramatic 

He’s a No Talent Scout. 

nature and improbability of the whole affair is 

He’s the… Vidiot 

FILM BEATROUTE • JANUARY 2019 | 13

ROCKPILE 

KONGOS 

four democratic dictators 

Four brothers take third release back to 1929. 

The accordion, the harmonic hook, the 

enticement.... “Come with me now!” 

We’ve all heard it, whether over the 

airwaves, in a commercial, on a TV show 

like Running Wild with Bear Grylls, a WWE 

wrestling promo, an Expendables movie, 

even on a late-night program with Jimmy 

Kimmel. I suppose that’s not too surprising 

given it reached the summit of Billboard’s 

THE TREWS 

still sparkle and shine 

Alternative Songs in ten weeks during 2014, 

the quickest song of a new band to top the 

chart since American rock band Evanescence’s 

2003 track “Bring Me To Life.” 

A few years on KONGOS feel that the 

time is right to “reintroduce themselves” 

to the globe. Johnny Kongos (accordion, 

keyboards, vocals) says that even though 

they’ve never actually gone away, it seems 

like it after so much time spent secluded 

in the studio. He and his brothers Jesse 

(drums, percussion, vocals), Daniel (guitar, 

vocals) and Dylan (bass guitar, lap slide 

guitar, vocals) have been hard at work 

putting the finishing touches on their new 

release, 1929: Part 1, the first installment of 

a three-album trilogy that rolls out over the 

next 18 months. To kick things off, they’ve 

chosen Vancouver to launch the tour. 

“We love Canada! We’ve spent more time 

there than anywhere except the States. Not 

sure about this winter tour though,” Johnny 

reports with a good-natured chuckle. “We’ll 

see if we’re cut out for Winnipeg in January!” 

Citing inspiration from legends Paul Simon 

and Jackson Browne, KONGOS aim for 

exquisite alternative grooves that have elements 

of African-influenced house music. 

Still hot off the press, the band’s latest anthem, 

“Pay For The Weekend,” rocks along 

with an elegant, but invigorating momentum 

that sets the tone for an immersive and 

dance-move evoking listening experience. 

“We feel so strong about it,” states Johnny. 

“Conceptually and lyrically it makes a lot 

of sense with the 1929 theme. And sonically, 

it’s a real bridge of what people expect from 

us and where we’ve been headed. We’re 

kinda always moving and changing things 

because there are four writers. This album is 

going to sound like there’s four writers, but 

who are all packing a similar vibe.” 

Departing from their label earlier this 

year, the new release will appear under 

BY PATRICK SAULNIER 

KONGOS’ own banner — Tokoloshe 

Records — allowing them more creative 

control and freedom. Johnny says 1929 is 

“less about what radio seems acceptable 

and more about just going where the song 

wants to go.” 

He adds, “We’ve always recorded, mixed 

and mastered ourselves, even directed our 

videos, which is one of the reasons we left 

the label world. We really do it all ourselves 

and didn’t want to be stuck in a system. 

There are times when you need to make 

that hard push, and we feel more comfortable 

being in the driver’s seat of all aspects 

when those times come.” 

Adding to a “crazy, busy” year in 2018, the 

band’s eight-part video DocuSeries “Bus Call” 

was made available for free via KONGOS 

YouTube channel. The three and half hours 

of content looks at life on the road and how 

the “democracy of four dictators” finds a way 

to work on route to the new album. If you’re 

one of those people who wants to know 

what it’s like “being in a band with brothers 

and fighting and all that,” jokes Johnny, “go 

watch episode eight and all will be answered! 

It’s one of the most positively received things 

we’ve ever put out.” 

KONGOS new album, 1929: Part 1 is out Jan. 

18. Catch Kongos live Jan. 13 at Imperial 

(Vancouver), Jan. 16 at Commonwealth Bar & 

Stage (Calgary), Jan. 17 at the Starlight Room 

(Edmonton) and Jan. 19 at the Park Theatre 

(Winnipeg). 

BY TONY BINNS 

Back in 2005, The Trews were playing where records, Grey Cup halftime shows and Juno 

they ought to be — stadiums. They were nominations, but for some reason the moniker 

opening for Robert Plant on his Mighty ReArranger 

of “household name” has thus far eluded 

tour and from the second their then them. Never mind, The MacDonald brothers 

drummer Sean Dalton started banging on his (Colin on vocals and John-Angus on lead 

cowbell everyone in the Dome knew they were guitar) continue to make Antigonish proud 

in for a good time. If we were living in an era by hitting the road and spreading the hardrock 

when rock was the norm instead of a niche 

gospel cross-country. The fact that you 

market they would have been headlining, getting 

are more likely to see them on at the Coke 

everyone to sing along on straight-ahead Stage or a club these days doesn’t dampen 

rockers like “I’m So Tired of Waiting” and “Poor their enthusiasm in the least. Nor should it 

Old Broken Hearted Me.” 

dampen yours. 

At the time, they reminded one of the 

fictional band Stillwater from Almost Famous. The Trews perform Jan. 18 at Gold Horse Casino 

Just finding their feet, but definitely on their (Lloydminster), , Jan. 31 at Starlite Room (Edmonton), 

Feb. 1 at The Palace (Calgary) and Feb. 4 at Bo’s 

way to super stardom. Success came, but in a 

very low-key Canadian way. There were gold Bar & Grill (Red Deer). 

Not ready to go. 

ROCKPILE BEATROUTE • JANUARY 2019 | 15

THE MORÖNS 

under the F... (for fun) 

BY CHRISTINE LEÖNARD 


Shout out to Canuck Amusements! 

It’s almost a lyric to a Dead Milkmen song, 

Robbie Morön – magnanimous local rock 

‘n’ roll bingo host –decides to pen some 

songs about his beloved game and soon 

the aspirations of forming a party punk 

band are sparked in his bass-riddled brain. 

“I wrote and recorded four punk tunes 

about bingo, and came up with the whole 

Moröns name and concept as a gimmick 

for the show. The show was eventually 

shelved and I got canned, but I still wanted 

to use those songs and the name. First 

thing I had to do was rewrite the lyrics. I 

no longer wanted the songs to be about 

bingo, except “Rock n Roll Bingo Baby”, because 

that jam’s a gem just the way she is! 

The next thing I had to do was get a band.” 

And so, Robbie set about rounding up 

a rag-tag gang of misfits and weirdos to 

forge an alliance and set about the business 

of wrecking rooms across Calgary. Or, 

as they call it, “Hick City.” 

“The mandate for the group was to 

make simple, straight ahead, light-hearted 

and catchy punk tunes. We thought the 

world could use another party rock band 

and that’s right in my wheelhouse,” reckons 

Robbie, who couldn’t be more stoked 

about The Moröns’ freewheelin’ line-up. 

“Well, obviously, you don’t need to 

pass an IQ test if you wanna be an official 

Morön,” he points out. 

Teaming up with drummer Lucky 

Morön, whom he had previously played 

with in La Cagaderas, Robbie identified 

kindred spirits in guitarists G.G. Morön 

(Inventing the Wheel, Torches to Triggers) 

and Dave Morön (Deville). Finally, the former 

ball-caller was confident that his new 

group had the potential to blackout more 

than a bingo card. 

“I’ve known Rob for a long time. When 

he sent me his ‘bingo’ songs, I really didn’t 

have anything else going on at the time. So 

I said, ‘Screw it, sure!’” Dave adds. 

The drinking anthems began to flow and 

soon it was time to hit the stage, playing 

gigs and giving their hometown a taste of 

its own Jägermeister, er, I mean medicine. 

“The Hick City Punk Rawk EP is a raw 

DIY project we recorded on our own and 

did our own artwork, etc. I love the feel 

of those gritty demo’s and think everyone 

should have one,” says Robbie. “The 

upcoming We Threw You Under the Bus 

Cause It’s the Best Place for You EP was a 

more professional approach. And by professional, 

I mean we put a lot more money 

into it. We recorded it at Echo Base Studios 

with Casey Lewis and he just took it to 

another level.” 

An expert when it comes to short attention 

spans, chief Morön Robbie knows the 

key lies in changing things up often while 

maintaining a frenetic dancefloor pace. 

“All killer, less filler.” That’s how they get ‘er 

done. 

“We thought that we might be better 

off releasing two or three EPs a year, as 

opposed to one full-length every other 

year. Just keep new music coming more 

often, but in smaller batches. I could be 

wrong, but time will tell, and we don’t have 

much to lose. So, what the hell?! Let’s try 

something different!” 

The Moröns host their ‘Skate Punk Ain’t Dead 

- Big Ass EP Release Party’ featuring Trashed 

Ambulance, Sessions Grizzly Trail and Aces on 

Jan. 11 at Dickens Pub (Calgary) 

ROCKPILE

THE GARRYS 

fun, fun, fun surfin’ on the South Saskatchewan 

Straight outta Saskatoon, The Garrys are 

an eclectic surf trio consisting of the 

Maier sisters — Erica (guitar), Julie (bass) 

and Lenore (drums). Named after their 

dear old dad, the group’s dreamy aqueous 

sound and infectious “garage surf doomwop” 

harmonies has earned them critical acclaim 

and comparisons to The Beatles. Their father 

couldn’t be prouder. 

“Garry gave birth to us. And now we have 

given birth to him!” pipes Lenore. 

Funlovin’ girl-pop embedded in the slow 

sway of traditional surf, the release of their 

debut CD Warm Buds in 2016 also came 

with a limited edition of 200 cassette tape 

in lovely coral pink. Surf Manitou followed 

in 2017, and The Garrys have been hard 

at work making critical adjustments while 

improving their curl-ripping riffs and 

point-breaking beats. 

“We’ve got better at our instruments and 

in terms of our band’s identity since our 

first release. Surf Manitou has a better produced 

sound, we are coming into our own a 

little more on that album. We’re not going 

to release something if it doesn’t sound as 

good as or better than what we’ve put out 

previously,” says Lenore. 

This standard of excellence and raw determination 

has been keeping them busy with 

a steady stream of shows and events across 

Canada, partnering with high profile artists 

along the way. 

“We played lots of festivals this summer 

which was really fun. We got to do a 

collaborative workshop performance with 

The Sadies at Ness Creek and that was so 

incredible. It was a very organic experience,” 

Lenore recalls. 

Their music has presented them with 

opportunities to tour internationally, as well. 

The trio embarked on a European run this 

last spring; one of their highlights of the year. 

“We got to go to the UK for a series of 

shows and festivals. There were no expectations 

going in and we didn’t have a bad show 

while we were there. It was such a fantastic 

time and people were so receptive. We had 

a blast! It was like a vacation, but we were 

playing every night!” Lenore adds with a 

chuckle. 

Check out The Garrys with La Luz and Strip 

Mall at the Palomino on Feb. 2. 

Permanent vacation. Landlocked prairie surfers follow the sun. 

BY TORY ROSSO 


It was 50 years ago today 

Mike MacKenzie’s tribute to Led Zep I 

BY. B.SIMM 

Rock ‘n’ roll devotees, young and old, who 

grew up reading album liner notes, CD 

booklets then searched through a band’s 

website know the story all too well. You don’t 

have to dig too deep to know Led Zeppelin was 

the brainchild of Swinging London’s hotshot 

guitarist Jimmy Page, known for his vast and 

varied session work who then shed his shy boy 

skin commanding the stage as the Yardbirds’ 

flamboyant fretboard wizard. 

When the Yardbirds chirped no more, Page 

plucked fellow session master John Paul Jones 

from his dreary studio duties, stumbled across a 

teenaged Robert Plant wailing away in Birmingham 

and dragged him along with a brooding 

John Bonham down to London town for a good 

ol’ let’s jam it out. As the story goes, seconds into 

their first tune, the Yardbirds’ crowd pleaser “Train 

Kept Rollin’,” Page and the loose ensemble knew 

right then and there a good thing was going done. 

They went on a quick tour through Scandinavia 

in the fall of 1968 billed as the New Yardbirds, 

then hustled into Olympic Studio on Sept. 25 to 

record five songs listed as originals, and four that 

were noted as traditional or covers of other artists. 

It took 36 hours and cost a mere $3000. 

Now officially christened Led Zeppelin, 

Jimmy Page and manger Peter Grant flew to 

New York and got the band signed to the 

prestigious jazz, soul and R&B label, Atlantic 

Records, for a five year contract. On January 

12, 1969 their debut album with the 

Hindenburg Disaster, and its exploding airship 

sprawling across the front cover, was released 

in North America. Zeppelin had arrived. 

But not to welcoming arms. The Rolling 

Stone, the only real critical rock ‘n’ roll voice 

in the U.S.A. at the time, slammed the record 

severely resulting in a stand off between band 

and magazine for years to come. The British 

press, however, were full of praise that would 

linger on with some blues purist’s feeling LZ I 

was the band’s most perfect outing. 


Mike MacKenzie, a great guitarist in his own 

right, confesses the first album isn’t his favourite 

by Zeppelin, but in honour of the band’s 50th 

anniversary and the release of a debut album that 

changed the world as we know it, MacKenzie 

and his band are excited to jump in and play the 

whole record front to back without reservation. 

“Mostly,” says MacKenzie, “we’ll stay pretty 

accurate to the album with faithful recreations, 

but for a couple of our songs we’ll insert out own 

personalities and improvise especially the bluesy 

ones where they would do the same live. Mind 

you they play everything drastically different, 

they weren’t all about playing it the same on the 

recordings at all. But people are familiar with the 

album and we want to get as close to that as possible 

without being too sterile and rigid. We don’t 

want to think about it, we want to feel it.” 

While the first record has a raw, tough feel 

to it, Jimmy Page still incorporated his signature 

style with a wide cross-section of blues, driving 

rock, dashes of pop, and some splendid acoustic 

work. Mackenzie knows the challenge at hand 

and is up for it. While guitar players clamour 

over trying to emulate Page’s magic, MacKenzie 

is largely impressed by the drumming talents of 

John Bonham. 

“He’s my favourite drummer, the most innovative 

with the most signature beats to come out 

of one guy. Not to mention the tone and sound 

he was able to get. Although you have to credit 

to Page somewhat for capturing that considering 

drums were not that important in the recording 

and mixing process before that. They just a massive 

drum sound on every track. Arguably a huge 

signature part of the band.” 

And is the Mike MacKenzie Band able to pull 

all this off? 

“Oh yeah!” 

Mike MacKenzie Band’s tribute to Led Zeppelin’s 

first recording take place at Mikey’s on 

Jan. 12 exactly 50 years later. 

ROCKPILE

edmonton extra 

ALTAMEDA 

come shining through on number two 

There’s a palpable live feeling at the heart of Edmonton’s 

Altameda second release which is at odds with 

their more tailored debut, 2016’s Dirty Rain. The genesis 

of Time Hasn’t Changed You took shape in a manner that 

might please legendary Big Pink denizens The Band (a 

long-time fixture in the Altameda van’s disc changer), 

in that the new songs were first laid down in somewhat 

primitive fashion at keyboardist Matt Kraus’s cabin. While 

the group considered putting out the recordings in this 

barebones form, the tracks went through a transformation 

under the guidance of Toronto producer Aaron 

Goldstein (known for his work with City & Colour, Daniel 

Romano and Kathleen Edwards). 

Upon arriving in TO, Goldstein invited the musicians to 

Thanksgiving dinner then sent them off for a good night’s 

rest before rolling tape the next morning. According to 

bassist Todd Andrews, there was “a lot of togetherness 

with this record compared to the last one.” Opposed to 

the usual routine where band members worked their 

respective day jobs then got together when they all found 

the time, the group would “get up and walk to the studio 

from where we were staying, work for the whole day, get 

some dinner, walk home, repeat.” 

The organic atmosphere Goldstein fostered meant 

the band would record basic tracks as a group (with 

perfection sometimes sacrificed in favour of feel), while 

overdubs often involved surprise guests as they happened 

BY JOE HARTFEIL 

by. One such instance saw John Prine’s fiddler Kendel 

Carson popping in to borrow a cable from Goldstein. She 

subsequently laid down a gorgeous part for the plaintive 

“Fire,” which, as drummer Erik Grice tells it, had everyone 

“weeping in the control room.” Additional ornamentations 

such as Goldstein’s tasteful pedal steel touches and 

the Last Waltz-esque horns courtesy of Joseph Shabason 

and Vince Spilchuk underline Altameda now playing with 

a relaxed, swinging confidence beyond the best moments 

on its first album. In listening to Dirty Rain and Time 

Hasn’t Changed Me back to back, the former now feels 

like a promising warmup. 

Time hasn’t changed the essence of a band whose members 

take genuine pleasure in playing and spending time 

with one another. Rather, it’s allowed the individual parts 

to stand out more in the context of a cohesive whole. Guitarist/singer 

Troy Snaterse sounds every bit the plainspoken 

alt-country troubadour, and his layers of acoustic and 

swirling electric textures on “Good Will Surely Come” lend 

an intelligent groove to the proceedings. Keyboardist Kraus 

is capable of resembling Garth Hudson or Richard Manuel 

one moment and Ian McLagan at his boozy Faces’ best the 

next, while the rhythm team of Erik Grice and Todd Andrews 

(who have played together from the age of fourteen) 

put enough power in the pop to break Tom Petty’s heart. A 

well-crafted album ready to flourish alongside Altameda’s 

upcoming trek through the Canadian prairies. 

PHOTO: LEVI MANCHAK 

AB dates for Altameda’s Western Canadian tour include Jan. 18 at Arden Theatre 

(St. Albert), Jan. 30 and 31 at Starlite Room (Edmonton), Feb. 1 at the Palace 

Theatre (Calgary), Feb. 3 at the Esplanade (Medicine Hat), Feb. 4 at Bo’s Bar & Grill 

(Red Deer) and Feb. 5 at Average Joe’s (Lethbridge). 


ROCKPILE

DEL BARBER 

with the crest of the wave, comes the crash 

Anyone who pays attention knows that 

even the moderate success of building a 

career as a working artist in Canada is a hard 

run. Some artists aren’t content with creating 

something that’s reflective of their own reality, 

and would rather focus their own efforts on 

appeasing their ego by seeking the validation 

of an industry that is often content to move 

on from them as soon as they’ve served a temporary 

purpose. Even the highest wave breaks 

eventually, and crashes back to the surface. 

Manitoba singer-songwriter Del Barber caught 

a run of breaks for a time, and while he looks 

back on the experience fondly, he realized that 

he might never be exactly what the industry 

was looking for. 

“It’s something I’ve wrestled with for three 

years,” says Barber. “Since I got the call from 

my management saying they weren’t willing 

to work with me anymore, and then the same 

call from the label a week later. Up until that 

point, it was all positivity, and there was all this 

money for promo and touring, and then the 

well was dry.” 

Barber adds that his personal choice of 

where he calls home might have had something 

to do with those business decisions, and 

it might have been deeper than that. “I have 

this really idyllic home here in Manitoba, out 

here in the sticks, and maybe part of it was that 

I wasn’t really visible in the scene. I wasn’t at all 

the shows, I didn’t move to Toronto. More likely 

though, and this is a hard admission, I wasn’t 

really selling many records, and I wasn’t selling 

many records because I wasn’t good enough.” 

While a number of artists work through 

self-doubt in different ways, Barber’s approach 

to admitting his personal faults took a more 

BY MIKE DUNN 

healthy approach. “Clearly, I’m not as good as 

John Prine, and I’m not as good as Tom Petty, 

or any of the other artists who’ve shaped my 

approach to music. And I want that motivation. 

I want to know that the people who 

made me become an artist are always going 

to be better than me, so that it continues 

to push me, it keeps the willingness to keep 

working alive.” 

Barber’s latest record, Easy Keeper, due 

this spring, sees him refining the country-folk 

sound people have come to expect from him 

— folksy, charming, with the happy-go-luckythrough-a-whirlwind 

humour that has defined 

his previous work. Barber co-produced Easy 

Keeper in Edmonton with Grant Siemens of 

The Hurtin’ Albertans, and veteran Alberta 

roots music engineer Scott Franchuk. While 

getting to the actual recording process involved 

some soul-searching, and the swallowing of 

some hard truths, Barber is proud of the work, 

and of continuing to grow into the artist that 

reflects the man he is. 

“Sam Baker told me that the songs are all 

we’ve got. When you’re gone, no one’s gonna 

remember that show where you said something 

dumb, or the tweet, or the Instagram 

post. There are a lot of ways for artists to detach 

themselves creatively from who they really 

are. That’s the deepest evil for artists today, 

that the opportunity for insincerity is as easy to 

grasp as it’s ever been. That’s not what I want to 

do. I want the music I make to be a part of me, 

of who I was, who I am, and who I’ll become.” 

Del Barber plays at The Station On Jasper in 

Edmonton on Jan. 24. 

ZRADA 

breaking out ethno prairie punk 

It’s easy to butcher the pronunciation of 

Winnipeg-based Zrada’s name (Ze-rahda: 

you’re welcome) if one doesn’t speak 

Ukrainian. Given that the band sings in their 

heritage tongue it’s an easy detail to draw 

focus to, and one that Andriy Michalchyshyn 

knew was a potential impediment to their 

band’s exposure. 

“We knew there was a danger in being from 

one ethnic community. Really, we want to 

play world music and to as many audiences as 

possible,” he explains over the phone from the 

plains of Manitoba. 

One of the descriptors often used with 

Zrada is “ethno-fusion” — an intriguing yet 

ambiguous term that makes obvious sense if 

you search for the band’s videos on YouTube. 

Their style is distinctly Eastern European, 

though the raucous, jumping and dancing 

audiences are not. The live show clearly connects 

with Canadian audiences despite the 

linguistic barrier. 

“We’re in our own little world, but when 

you play you have to give the audience 

credit,” says Michalchyshyn. “We’re no longer 

emulating a folk style, and that’s needed.” 

Michalchyshyn adds that there is some 

doubt that can accompany playing alternative 

ethnic music within an Anglo-culture. 

“Suspend your own disbelief. Sometimes you 

BY BEN SIR 

ask yourself, ‘Should I be doing this?’ and 

question it.” 

Yet despite those doubts, 2019 is a year 

of expansion for the band. The lineup has 

changed bringing some new creative fuel to 

the collective fire, and the creative process 

has become more collaborative. In the past 

Michalchyshyn wrote most of the material, 

and having new contributors has been a welcome 

change. 

Since releasing their last album Legend in 

2016, the band has debated what medium to 

focus on in the future. They debuted the new 

single “The Fog” online in November as they 

prepare to re-release Legend. 

“None of us do this full time, we all have 

day jobs,” explains Michalchyshyn. “The new 

questions for artists are, ‘Do you write or release 

something as an album or individually? 

Is it going to get a million plays? Is it going to 

make your money back?’” It’s a frequent conversation 

amongst musicians, but for the time 

being the band is focused on their immediate 

itinerary, with their first Alberta shows in a 

number of years. 

Zrada are at The Station On Jasper in Edmonton 

on Jan. 25 and at Broken City in Calgary as part 

of BIG Winter Classic on Jan. 26. 


THE COATHANGERS 

thick as thieves, Atlanta’s punk trio on the front lines in deperate times 

Nosebleed Weekend, released in 2016, is The Coathanger’s fifth 

full-length that followed a slew of 7-inch singles and EPs since 

their inception a decade earlier. Initially the Atlanta-based 

punk band started out playing parties and lived for that three-letter 

word F-U-N. But when Nosebleed came tumbling through clearly 

the band had evolved towards putting together a diverse mix of 

songs and styles that moved beyond garage-punk tapping into 

arty pop, putting a subdued spin on ‘90s loud-quiet alt-rock while 

revamping ‘60s girl group dance moves and harmonies. One review 

of the single “Down, Down” made a direct comparison to Nirvana 

and The Shirelles. While The Coathangers dug deeper into the 

past adding colours to their palette, they let maturity flourish but 

remained funlovin’. Stephanie Luke, aka Rusty the band’s drummer 

and vocalist, expanded on The Coathangers’ state of mind; living in 

big, bad America; and why their new live recording fell right in place. 

While there’s a lot of cheek, style and excitement in The 

Coathangers, your music, which embraces pop sensitivities, 

is often tough, even abrasive. In true punk fashion, the band’s 

irreverence punches through loud and clear song after song 

with a cynical detachment that you seem OK with. For instance, 

songs that you made recent videos for — ‘Nosebleed Weekend”, 

“Down, Down” and “Perfume” — they all feel connected in 

saying, “Yeah, we’re a bit removed from this relationship, this 

situation, and that’s alright.” You’re part of the scene, but not 

necessary in the center of it. Would that be correct? 

Yes you would be correct in saying that we can play around with 

words and in some ways be semi-cynical or snarky with our lyrics. 

But I wouldn’t say we are ever “removed from relationships or 

situations”, if anything we are smack dab in the middle of them! We 

are just being honest without taking ourselves too seriously because 

life, situations, relationships, etc. are so very serious. We try and find 

a bit of brevity amongst all the chaos. 

We all know Trump is a pathological dumb-dumb, but do you 

think with his stint as president and all the turmoil and polarization 

he’s brought about has been, in a sense, a good thing? In 

other words, the American right has openly played its cards and 

that’s no longer a secret to the country and the world. Now we 

have this clarity, we can confront or at least deal with the beast 

better. Yeah? 

This is the question we all are asking ourselves right? I wouldn’t say 

it’s a good thing having him as president, but I would say that it’s 

amazing how so many different groups of people (including the 

right, women, activists, LGBTQ community, etc.) have reacted and 

responded. Unfortunately, change usually comes with strife and 

Gang of Sisters: Stephanie Luke, Meredith Franco and Julia Kugel. 

PHOTO: JEFF FORNEY 

BY S. ALLEN and B. SIMM 

anger at the current political state. So we can only hope to push 

forward and try and create the right change for everyone, not just 

the elite few who run Washington. 

What do you think is the worst thing Trump has brought about, 

and how have The Coathangers reacted? 

What’s the worst? Uh everything, the wall bullshit is really upsetting 

to me personally as of late. We have responded by continuing to 

write about what we think, so stay tuned to our future releases. 

You had a “two-night stand” recording live at Alex’s Bar in 

Long Beach, one your favourite haunts, and played amongst 

tarot card readings, burlesque dancers, DJs and bunch of other 

sideshow attractions. How did that turn out? 

We called it Two Nights Of Magic With The Coathangers. We tried 

to revive some old songs as well as some current things that we had 

been playing. It was really fun, but a little nerve-wracking because 

you know you’re being recorded. The second night we were like, 

“Let’s just forget that we are recording this and let’s just go for it.” We 

wanted it to sound like an actual live show. If we had over-thought 

it, it wouldn’t have sounded right. 

Gang of Sisters. You’ve referred to yourselves as that, and others 

have made that reference as well. A gang stakes out its territory, 

takes a stand, declares an agenda. What would you say is the 

psychological territory The Coathangers occupy? 

Oooof! This is a big one! We are definitely a gang of sisters, thick as 

thieves! I’d say we simply just stand up for each other and support 

each other and help each other grow for the better. We hope that 

our beliefs and love that we give and present to our fans helps them 

just as much as we help each other. So c’mon and join our gang 

already, there’s always room for more!! 

The Coathangers play BIG Winter Classic, Jan. 25 at 

Broken City. 


Nosebleed Weekend: a heart full of tough love. 

ROCKPILE

YONATAN GAT 

no rules and a new language, as worlds collide and cross-pollinate 

BY CHRISTINE LEONARD 

From shutting down nightclubs in Tel Aviv 

with his confrontational Israeli punk band 

Monotonix to conducting crowds through 

sacred ceremonies in repertoire theatres, experimental 

guitarist and composer Yonatan Gat has 

put a lot of miles on his Guild S-200 Thunderbird. 

After five years and a stunning 1,000 live performances 

with his off-the-hook punk group, Gat has 

honed his musical skills and had the opportunity 

to practice his trade alongside a wide range of 

talented individuals. Somewhere along the way 

he became a collector of sounds, a passion that 

would serve the New York-based virtuoso well as 

he entered the second phase of his career. 

“I think the main thing I learned from touring 

with a band like Monotonix, which was a combination 

of a rock ’n’ roll band and extreme theatre, 

is that the less you try to control everything and 

the more you open yourself up to the moment 

around you, the more interesting everything 

around you becomes,” explains Gat. “Life is crazy 

and unpredictable and can’t be analyzed, it just 

happens!” 

That willingness to embrace spontaneity 

combined with Gat’s broadening knowledge 

of recording techniques and ethnomusicology, 

generated a solo EP, Iberian Passage, in early 2014. 

And, by the following year the ambitious multi-instrumentalist 

was ready to reveal his full-length 

debut, Director. 

“When I’m deep into working on an album it 

consumes everything and every element of my 

work goes into it,” he explains. 

Recognized for his genre-challenging guitar 

rock improvisation, Gat isn’t content to simply 

draw on outside influences when composing his 

albums. He routinely invites players from around 

the world to bring their craft into his recording 

studios to add their own traditional methods to 

his modern curations. 

“Right now, I’m editing an interpretation of 

Antonin Dvorak’s American String Quartet with 

Greg (Saunier) from Deerhoof on drums, Mikey 

(Coltun) from Mdou Moctar’s band on bass and 

an organ player called Curt Sydnor. I play guitar 

and it’s a very live and raw arrangement of a 19th 

century string quartet.” 

This openminded approach to incorporating elements 

of regional music into his own nibble rock 

guitar overtures has made him a much-sought-after 

songwriting partner, especially amongst those 

looking to expand the borders of their art. 

“Other projects I got to be a part of included 

traveling to Brazil and working on some recordings 

with members of a tribe called Wapichana. 

They are from the Amazonian region of Roraima, 

at the north of the country right by the Venezuelan 

border. They create very holy music, full of 

repetition and a lot of imagination. Chris Pravdica, 

who played in Swans, is playing bass on the recordings, 

and Paul from Thee Oh Sees was playing 

drums with us in the studio because we were 

touring together and he was available that day. 

He is a great improviser and did an amazing job. 

I’m also working on more film and music projects 

with the Eastern Medicine Singers and planning 

some recording sessions with my touring band 

that includes musicians like Max Almario and 

Thor Harris, we’re working on blocks of physical 

sound that will be edited into songs.” 

Gat’s vision of music as the universal language 

is perhaps best exemplified by his latest release, 

Universalists, which appeared in May of 2018. 

The culmination of a nomadic lifestyle, rigorous 

cultural cross-pollination and editing more than 

100 hours of recording sessions, Universalists pulls 

together the harmonic threads that run through 

the heart of the Renaissance-man’s transnational 

switchboard of ideas and perspectives. 

“In the last album, a lot of the work focused 

on fitting ideas from different worlds under the 

same umbrella by using sound manipulation and 

editing,” the maestro elaborates. “Good memories 

from a tremulous 2018 were touring with 

an eight-piece band that included the Native 

American group Eastern Medicine Singers. They 

are incredible drummers and singers and working 

with them really changed the foundations of 

how I look at music. Our collaboration is a rare 

project that touches listeners on a deep level, and 

it was an honour to watch it manifest on stages in 

different continents on an epic scale, despite the 

political climate.” 

Honouring tradition while side-stepping conformity, 

the success of Gat’s celebratory sonic smashups 

proves that when it comes to musical innovation 

nothing is outside of the realm of possibility. 

“In music there are no rules and data can teach 

us nothing. It’s really something else. That’s why 

people gravitate to it, when there is no logic what 

we have left is music.” 

Yonatan Gat headlines Jan. 23 at Winterruption 

Festival (Saskatoon), Jan. 25 and 26 at BIG Winter 

Classic (Calgary) and Feb. 1 at Lee’s Palace 

(Toronto). 


There is only one 

In our first year, BIG 

Studio filled Calgary’s 

Gerry Thomas Gallery 

with local art. 

IG WINTER CLASSIC, 

DICATED TO MELTING 

TH ART, COMMUNITY 

THER TASTY TREATS. 

people 

ething 

year that’s 

For BIG 2019, 

bands 

r venues, 

reweries on 

d engaged 

unity in a 

way. 

GRAM, your survival guide, your golden 

e heck out of this Beatroute and get at it. 

whaT 

is 

One beer, two labels. 

big sTudio? 

BIG is welcoming a whole 

bunch of new partners 

to the circus this year, including 

the four (incredible) 

local breweries behind 

the one of a kind, 

totally unique craft beer 

we call the BIG brew. 

The BIG brew is a session 

ale, brewed by our friends 

BIG STUDIO IS A VENUE 

FOR VISUAL ARTS DURING 

CALGARY’S BIG WINTER 

CLASSIC MUSIC FESTIVAL. 

Through Studio, artwork is displayed 

throughout the festival venues, and at the 

BIG Studio Community Stage - a BIG venue 

dedicated to showing off our community spirit. 

at Blindman Brewing, and 

with the help of Citizen 

Brewing Company, Last 

Best Brewing and Distilling, 

and Wild Rose Brewery. We 

also teamed up with a couple 

local artists to create the 

labels featured at this years 

‘ festival. - both inspired by 

the stories of our brewers. 

BIG STUDIO ART WILL 

BE DISPLAYED AT 

MULTIPLE FESTIVAL 

VENUES. FIND STUDIO AT 

LAST BEST, BROKEN CITY 

AND THE PALOMINO. 


ROCKPILE

Thursday 

5:00pm 

5:30pm 

6:00pm 

6:30pm 

7:00pm 

7:30pm 

8:00pm 

8:30pm 

9:00pm 

9:30pm 

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12:00am 

1 2 3 4 5 

broken city Last Best Palomino The King 

eddy 

Monsoon 

Moon 

The Faps 

Kitty & 

The Rooster 

Shannon & 

The Clams 

Sunglaciers 

Efrim 

Manuel 

Menuck 

TCOSS 

Future Womb 

Little Lamb 

Mitch Belot 

Band 

The Hockey 

Black Phoenix 

Fight 

Orchestra 

Good Grief. 

Free the Cynics 

Kyote 

Pink Flamingo 

BASEMENT PARTY 

All night at Last Best 

saTurday 

Night 

Committee 

Bears in 

Hazenmore 

Surf Dads 

Little 

Destroyer 

Too Soon 

Monsoon 

Jesse & The 

Dandelions 

January 

Inner City 

brewing 

Dane 

24 

The Suppliers 

upstairs downstairs outside 

January 

26 

sunday 

1 2 

broken city 

January 

27 

Last Best 

Pink Flamingo 

5:00pm 

5:30pm 

6:00pm 

6:30pm 

7:00pm 

7:30pm 

8:00pm 

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1 2 3 4 5 

broken city Last Best Palomino The King 

eddy 

Ricca Razor 

Sharp 

B*Les and 

The Suede 

Trey Mark 

Project Blue 

Book 

Pat Clifton 

X Blume 

Johnny 2 

Fingers & The 

Deformities 

Zrada 

Klusterfunk 

upstairs downstairs outside 

Yvette 

(4:30pm) 

At Mission 

Dolores 

Close Talker 

Terra 

Lightfoot 

Port Juvee 

Stevie’s 

Revenge 

The Torchettes 

Miesha & 

The Spanks 

Samantha 

Savage Smith 

No More 

Moments 

The Utilities 

Sister Ray 

Alexandria 

Maillot 

Bazaraba 

Chron Goblin 

Bison 

Darcy Turning 

Robe 

Seth Cardinal 

(Soft Cure) 

Sarah Houle 

(Ghostkeeper) 

Elisapie Isaac 

(Elisapie) 

Yonatan Gat 

& The Turning 

Robe Singers 

Inner City 

brewing 

The Ashley 

Hundred 

Physical 

Copies 

Hattie 

Moonrunner83 

Blades of Steel 

1:00pm 

1:30pm 

2:00pm 

2:30pm 

3:00pm 

3:30pm 

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Mark Mills 

Viva Non 

The Octopus 

Project 

Shout Out 

Out Out Out 

Special Edisons 

Demin Daddies 

Faux Rest 

Aruba 

Amy Hef 

Shout Out Out Out Out emerged from 

the frozen north as an all-rhythm 

section, high-kicking, collection of 

local rock stalwarts, diving headfirst 

into the world of electronic music. 

10:00pm 

ROCKPILE BEATROUTE • JANUARY 2019 | 25 

outside 

presents 

BASEMENT PARTY 

Thursday niTe 

All night, Thursday January 24 

A totally inclusive groove party presented by our pals at 

Pink Flamingo. Music, drinks, rainbows.

THE OCTOPUS PROJECT 

never a dull moment —the flailing tentacles of eclectic pop-art 

BY TREVOR MORELLI 

EFRIM MANUEL MENUCK 

Known for his inventive explorations 

with Godspeed You! Black Emperor and 

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, 

Menuck pushes the electronic 

envelope and human psyche to the outer 

regions. Thursday, Jan. 24 @ Last Best. 

TERRA LIGHTFOOT 

Hailing from Hamilton, 

Lightfoot’s extraordinary voice 

and raw guitarwork have carved 

out a special corner in Canada’s 

blues and roots universe. 

Saturday, Jan. 26 @ Last Best. 

Eight arms to hold you. 

PHOTO: MARSHALL TIDRICK 

Mash together video game bleeps, soundtracks or styles,” says Lambert. “We 

harmonious synth scales, a righteous were really trying to dive in and make it 

dance groove and the occasional spontaneous 

yodel and you get indie-electronica and something that fit the project itself.” 

something unique and something our own 

act, The Octopus Project direct from Austin The Octopus Project strives to keep 

Texas. Incredibly refreshing, their sound things innovative and give their audiences 

is random, eccentric and moving in many one of a kind performances. They recently 

played an entirely improvised show in 

directions. 

SHANNON AND THE CLAMS 

“I think we’re all pretty open to a lot of Austin where the band set up in the middle 

Oakland-based garage band 

stuff. We all like so much music and art and and surrounded themselves with ambient 

that roams from hillbilly pop to 

anything we experience we take a little bit mood lighting. 

blazing soul to psychedelia — 

of inspiration from, whether it’s a film or “Most of the time what we’re doing is all 

all things American amazing! 

painting or someone’s record,” says multi-instrumentalist 

Toto Miranda providing some trying to make everything kind of as propul- 

organized around beats and rhythms and 

Thursday, Jan. 26 @ Broken City. 

insight as to where The Octopus Project sive and dynamic as possible,” says Miranda. 

take their artistic cues from. “It’s less trying “This is a chance to explore this other space 

to do different influences than trying to where we also enjoy being really open and 

draw from the widest range of sounds that spacious and working with different qualities 

of sounds.” 

we can. I think maybe less into this style or 

that style and more attracted to this quality Although conceptual performance art 

of sound or that quality of sounds, like has been a part of the band’s MO, going 

textures and rhythms and energies.” 

into 2019 they plan to shift gears once 

The band’s latest effort is Damsel (2018), again. “We’ve released three releases in the 

the soundtrack to the offbeat comedy film past couple of years,” explains Miranda. “I 

of the same name. While The Octopus feel like we’ve sort of exhausted that stuff. 

Project has collaborated with the directors So we’re kind of in the phase of figuring out 

on previous soundtracks, multi-instrumentalist 

Josh Lambert says the quartet really on new stuff and really just kind of ap- 

what’s next — writing new tunes, working 

wanted Damsel to have a sonic quality that proaching things in an exciting way.” 

set it apart. 

“For this one, since it’s a western, we Prepare for fireworks, The Octopus Project 

wanted to fill it with sounds and texture play Jan. 27 during BIG Winter Classic at 

that kind of fit in that world, but we 

Broken City (Calgary). 

didn’t really want to sort of ape previous 

26 | JANUARY 2019 • BEATROUTE ROCKPILE JUCY

JUCY 

BY B. SIMM 

SOUL CLAP a rugged individualist, a Texan punk, throws the world’s best dance parties 

Jonathan Toubin born in Houston, Texas grew up during the 

‘70s and ‘80s in a hotbed of R&B, soul, rock ‘n’ roll and all 

things Southern States. In the ‘90s he attended university in Austin 

playing in a variety of bands and fully emerged in the free-wheelin’ 

punk consciousness that would come to distinguish SXSW as a 

game-charger and new frontier for progressive music. By 1998 he 

was in New York as a musician but after the Twin Tower attacks he 

returned to university to work on a graduate degree critiquing hiphop 

in the early ‘80s. By the mid 2000s Toubin was back in the clubs 

throwing parties under the banner of the New York Night Train 

where he spun an enormous cross-section of music that spanned 

punk, ‘60s garage, psychedelia, noise rock, girl groups, surf, blues, 

rockabilly and country. Eventually he gravitated to ‘50 and ‘60s soul 

and R&B records which are the staple of his fabulous, touring Soul 

Clap show Toubin is renowned the world over for. 

Coming from Texas with all that exposure to pure, raw blues 

and a cultivated garage-punk scene that started to solidify at 

SXSW in the ‘90s, then moving to New York awash with artschool 

hipsters, then studying hip-hop culture as an academic, 

while delving into the archives of American rock ‘n’ roll, R&B 

and soul... that covers a lot of ground. Let’s talk a little about 

that. First, Austin in the ‘90s. A lot of blues can fall into formulaic, 

repetitive three-chord shuffles that often aren’t inspiring. 

Your Austin experience wasn’t that. How so? 

A lot of folks moved from around the world to Austin in the 1980s 

and 1990s to be the next Stevie Ray Vaughan or whatever but that 

was an alternate universe to the one I inhabited. Like electro in New 

York today, it rarely overlapped with my 

world. You gotta remember that, even 

though Austin only had 300,000 people 

then, it had dozens of night clubs with 

all kinds of music pumping every night. 

Blues was popular but Austin also had 

loads of funk and folk and rockabilly and 

surf and punk and country and reggae 

and what you today call “indie rock” but 

we called “college rock.” Since I was in 

some bands and DJing on college radio 

and working at a record store, I was 

around a lot of people with varied taste. 

While by far the majority of me and my 

friends’ idea of the Austin music tradition 

was The Butthole Surfers, Scratch 

Acid, The Dicks, and The Big Boys, there 

were some curve balls. Classic country 

yodeler Don Walser who was huge 

with the grunge/punk crowd. As was 

Jay Clark, a geriatric blind organist at a 

creepy circus-themed bar across from an 

old-peoples’ home specializing in “Girl 

From Ipanema.” And a few of us would 

go see an ancient 1930s barrelhouse 

blues pianist named the Grey Ghost. 

And iconic rootsy legends like Doug 

Sahm and The Texas Tornadoes and 

Willie Nelson and Townes Van Zandt 

were still alive and active and had a big place the hearts of a lot of 

people I knew who weren’t always as heavy into rootsier music! As 

for the blues, the best things ever were the couple of Antone’s Anniversary 

parties where they flew in Pinetop Perkins, Jimmy Rodgers, 

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, and the rest of Muddy Waters’ band. Also 

I’d try to get one of the waitresses to sneak me in or my dad to take 

me when Antone’s had a 50s/60s classic blues star like Albert Collins 

or Otis Rush or whatever. Those nights were the only ones where I’d 

come across local white blues musicians, many of whom were very 

legit, as openers. I wasn’t deep into that scene and only a tourist. So, 

in summary, I could barely smell the blues cheese from where I was 

standing during my Austin years. 

The grad program in American Studies at CUNY where you 

studied hip-hop culture in the early ‘80s. What were you specifically 

trying to focus on? 

No! I was in the American Studies department and my mentor was 

a really cool musicologist named Ellie Hisama and she had a hip-hop 

seminar. My lone published essay was from that class anthology and 

was about the interactions between the uptown hip-hop scene and 

the downtown art/music world. People who look me up think I was 

a hip-hop scholar, but it was just a small part of what I was looking 

into at the time. I was also working on imperialist jazz, Jewish blackface, 

Memphis Minnie, and a number of other subjects. 

As a DJ, you played a lot of genres but gravitated to soul and 

dug in deep. Was there a specific turning point, event or epiphany 

that set you in that direction? 

Jonathan Toubin, NYC’s 45 RPM grandmaster of soul and R&B. 

I’ve loved getting down to some James Brown since my teens and 

a deep feeling for soul music as long as I can remember, but never 

bothered to get a whole lot deeper than Stax or Motown or Atlantic 

sides and hits until I started working with 45s at the rock ‘n’ roll dive 

where I got my start – the much-missed and iconic Motor City Bar 

(in NYC). I found some pretty cool R&B singles outside my house 

and a friend at a junk store who heard me play them called to tell 

me a huge lot of soul 45s just came in. So I went in and grabbed a 

few hundred of them. I think he charged me $3. The small label R&B, 

soul and funk had so much rawness and energy in common with 

the indie label punk, post-punk, and other underground records I 

grew up with that I thought the sounds belonged together. Since I 

initially got a bit of criticism for playing so many soul records at the 

rock club, I decided to start a party where I could play soul records 

all night in a more general space where people wouldn’t mind – so 

the grumps who didn’t like it didn’t have to come. Despite deliberately 

removing the party from the rock ‘n’ roll culture, the crowd 

wounded up being almost exclusively from the North Brooklyn art/ 

punk/rock ’n’ roll community. I didn’t really know any soul people 

at the time. So my crowd and I grew and learned together and built 

our own little world and perception of the music organically at 

first. Also, I continued to sneak some soul in my sets at Motor City 

and over time the people coming to the rock party became more 

tolerant to the point where some of the bar DJs started their own 

soul nights there. Finally, I got offered occasional dance party gigs 

early on. But I was really lost trying to communicate with dancers. 

So soul music became a good way to retain my aesthetics and not 

ruin the party. 

When I read that you scout out record 

stores looking for obscure R&B and 

soul 45s from the ‘50 and ‘60s and 

that places like Cleveland, Detroit 

and Pittsburg are havens for them to 

be found, I instantly thought of the 

Northern Soul DJs coming to pillage 

America for its treasures. But to be 

honest, most of Northern Soul CD 

comps and play lists I’ve experienced 

haven’t been, except for a handful of 

tracks, overwhelming. And I’ve experienced 

your show, which IS powerful. 

With respect to the NS DJs, I’d say 

you’ve cultivated something much 

different. Would you agree? What’s the 

difference between you and NS? 

Thanks! I think there’s no right and 

wrong and its more just aesthetic 

differences. As with seeing a band, when 

I go dancing I want the DJ to be dynamic 

and raw and diverse and exciting and I 

like the music to swing. I don’t just want 

a pulse but I want spice and originality 

and feel. Like the Ronnie Dawson song 

says, “If the music’s gonna move me, 

it’s gotta be action-packed!” When 

Northern Soul started separating from 

Mod, like any other counter-culture, the 

PHOTO: ALEXANDER THOMP- 

JUCY BEATROUTE • JANUARY 2019 | 27

ules became more codified. Specific dances were developed that 

needed a pumpin’ 4/4 beat. Dancers soon identified with certain 

harmonic and melodic signifiers and production conventions that 

let them know this was their music. That’s how subcultural music 

works. And this is not an insult. In a world gone incoherent, I admire 

subcultures for bringing structure and meaning to music. Also, there 

are a lot of big Northern Soul songs that will surprise you. Despite 

an occasional bullying from Northern Soul DJs, I’m a fan of some 

of the tracks they spin. But as someone who developed my sound 

individually and not as a part of a group, and also had artistic aspirations 

beyond belonging to a tradition, I wanted to develop my own 

rules through trial and error. In my own vacuum – for myself and 

my dancers and for the here and now. And since I’ve had the luxury 

of groping around in the darkness for over 2500 nights, I’ve naturally 

gravitated towards the sounds and beats that work for me and the 

floor. Purists, whether they be from Northern Soul or R&B or funk, 

can be upset that I play some of their music but also include a lot of 

sounds they consider unacceptable, tasteless, or even sacrilegious. 

Some can’t accept that my idea of soul music is not the same as 

theirs. But as a rugged individualist from Texas punk, the only thing 

that brings me more joy than pissing off the orthodoxy coming up 

with my own thing. 

What are some of the artists from that time period that are 

largely if not entirely unknown that really shine through? 

Oh man! There’s a whole universe! Soul has so many amazing artists 

with only a record or two and almost all of the artists – even the 

bigger ones are largely forgotten in the general music landscape. 

I’m interested in these singers who went from small label to small 

label to big label back to small label in an era where not a lot of LPs 

were made so are thus mostly remembered by 45 people. Someone 

like Ted Taylor, with his earth-shattering falsetto, had only one LP 

but must’ve been on dozens of records on so many labels and so 

many of them supreme. You may recognize his “Rambling Rose” as 

MC5 took theirs from his version. Also, a number of amazing soul 

stars that are still working today will blow you away — Sugarpie De 

Santo, Young Jessie, Ronaldo Domino, Willie West, Ural Thomas, 

and on and on and on. 

We know Motown had created its own magical soundscape at 

Hitsville USA. What other labels had great, engaging production 

values? 

That’s a rough one. There are so many hundreds of killer unsung 

labels. Off the top of my head a few of the most consistent for me 

are the dirty Detroit sounds of Fortune and Lu Pine. You can always 

tell a Fortune Record the second you hear it. I keep finding new 

killers I never knew about from Atlanta’s Shur-Fine. The East LA 

Chicano rock ’n’ soul sound heard on Faro, Rampart, and Whittier. 

And pretty much everything from New Orleans. Allen Toussaint’s 

amazing labels Sansu, Tou-Sea, Deesu, and even the early ones he 

produced like Minit and Instant, Eddie Bo’s lables like Seven B, Blue 

Jay, Cinderella, etc, Texas labels like Huey Meaux’s Tribe and Teardrop, 

Don Robey’s Duke/Peacock/Back Beat/Shure Shot empire. 

The pacific Northwest’s Etiquette with all of the amazing Kearney 

Barton-engineered Sonics, Wailers, etc. records. I could go on and on 

but I’m sure this is boring to most people…. 

And what is it about the 45 itself that has that “punch in the 

face” quality, which I might add is really true of your live show. 

A very buoyant, sweet suspended smack on the kisser over and 

over! 

A lot of 45s were mastered for jukeboxes and transistor radios so the 

beat and the vocals are really pronounced and loud. There’s a whole 

lotta high and low poking out. Sometimes LPs of the time are more 


nuanced and have a lot more clarity and tonal subtlety. But the 45 is 

big and brash and ideal for a wild dance party…. 

Im curious, do rust belt record stores, still have an abundance of 

obscurities? How often do you travel there on collecting sprees? 

The rust belt, like anywhere, has mostly popular music but certain 

markets are best for certain records. For example, Detroit had so 

many little labels aspiring to be the next Motown, and so much rock 

’n’ roll as well, and such a wealth of local talent, and a huge working-class 

consumer market, that there’s so many amazing unique 

artifacts floating around. And Pittsburgh produced some cool stuff 

but overall had really unique taste. So many songs everybody loves 

today, like The Sonics “Psycho” or Tommy James “My Baby Does 

The Hanky Panky” were Pittsburgh hits before they were known 

elsewhere. Pittsburgh has miles and miles of unique songs that are 

only known in Pittsburgh. Plus there are a lot of more obscure tracks 

played by Mad Mike, Porky Chedwick, and other groundbreaking 

local DJs that can be found – killer stuff from as far away as Los Angeles 

and New Orleans that are still the “Pittsburgh sound.” If your 

lucky you don’t have to look too hard to find a record from Mad 

Mike’s own collection! 

The dialogue, the conversation between DJ and dance floor. 

How do you know where to go in a new room and where to take 

an audience that doesn’t have that much or any real background 

with vintage soul and R&B? Obviously there’s a genuine, 

inherent feelgood factor in the music, but your parties aren’t a 

40 minute set, they’re three hours of lapping it up. What do you 

think is the secret weapon you’re exposing the dance floor to 

and why they readily engage? 

I play five and half hours every Saturday and the Soul Claps in NYC 

are often four or five hours. My job isn’t to justify peoples’ music 

knowledge. A DJ’s job isn’t to give anyone what they want but rather 

what they need. I think people are open to being taken somewhere 

as long as they feel the energy and can lock into the beat. I like to 

play to people who want to go to unfamiliar territory and don’t 

have a lot of respect for people who want more of the same. While 

I have some signature songs and go-to’s, I also play stuff I didn’t even 

know a few months or weeks or days before. So often nobody in 

the room knows the song, not even me. My definition DJ’s of DJ 

is a mediator between people and music. So the communication 

is all there is. I poke around for 30 minutes or so and try to keep a 

fairly steady beat while I try to get an idea of who I’m dealing with 

and what my parameters are. Once I’m there I try to see how far 

we can go together. If something isn’t working I can change it. If 

something works I can prolong it. A DJ should ideally create tension 

and release and try to achieve higher and higher peaks throughout 

the night. The dancefloor is a collection of different people and 

your job is to figure out who they are individually and as a group 

and how to use what’s in your box to unite them and how to play 

off of all of them. As you said, it’s a conversation. Also, I like to see 

them as my band and I’m communicating with them via music. The 

DJ and the dancers are improvising and both play off each other all 

night – reacting to the musical events, anticipating the next move, 

and locking in together. Familiarity can make this relationship more 

difficult because if people already know a song they already decide 

whether or not they want to dance to it. Plus songs are loaded with 

specific associations. Unfamiliar music means a blank canvas with 

less distraction where the sound and the feeling and the beat is all 

there is. I sometimes throw in a hit or a cover to communicate, but 

you can’t do it too often or it’s a dead-end. Ideally you want your 

dancers to get the point of the night where they trust you, accept 

where you’re taking them, and you continue to deliver the goods all 

night long. 

Soul Clap is happening Feb. 9 @ The Palomino. 

PHOTO: ALEXANDER THOMPSON 

JUCY

HUMANS 

crafting a distraction with progressive sonic evolution 

BY JOEY LOPEZ 

Vancouver’s very own electronic dynamic-duo 

HUMANS have just released their 

full-length album Going Late, a follow-up to 

their EP The Feels that dropped earlier this 

year. Going Late feels like the electronic anthem 

of Vancouver. Unique as a duo in their 

own right, Peter Ricq and Robbie Slade find 

a way to still capture the nightlife of the city 

they call home. 

“I can only speak for myself, but we’ve 

been doing this band long enough that all 

of this is a product of being a Vancouverite 

for the past fifteen years. With how things 

have changed [in the city] and how weird it 

is right now… I don’t know, it’s challenging 

being a Vancouverite,” says Slade. “We were 

in that headspace while writing all of this 

stuff. I mean, we try not to do this because 

I think it’s kind of stupid to have a point 

when writing lyrics. We try to write fun stuff. 

‘Breakfast with Liz’ is literally about going out 

for breakfast with my friend Liz.” 

Everything they write comes from the 

source material of their lives and from Vancouver 

as a whole. Existing as a Vancouverite 

in its current climate is tough and HUMANS 

are bringing levity to the challenges by creating 

a danceable distraction with Going Late. 

“It’s kind of darker and there are a couple 

movements to every song. It evolves,” says 

Ricq of their sound and the sound of Going 

Late. “It’s a movement and it always evolves. 

We call it progressive. There’s always a 

progression to the sound. There’s two parts, 

sometimes more, it’s like dancing. We always 

try to make something that moves you, something 

that’s not your typical polished sound. 

We try to take on challenges and I think every 

time we do an album we try something new, 

something we haven’t done before.” 

With Going Late, HUMANS do something 

new by breaking the conventions of what 

makes an electronic album. According to Slade, 

it’s barely using electronics in exchange for 

something more traditional. “Everything has 

very loose percussion. There’s a lot of bass, guitar, 

keys and live drummers. It’s a lot more live.” 

“On some of these tracks it’s Robbie and 

I playing bass over three different sessions 

really stacking it up and Robbie playing more 

guitar and more live drums than ever before. 

We were trying to experiment and have more 

of a band sound without creating it with a 

band. We’re getting more comfortable after 

doing “Noontide” and wanted to do it before, 

but it didn’t feel right. After working with our 

producer Nik (Kozub) we feel like we can do 

whatever we want.” 

With Going Late HUMANS want listeners 

to be able to put the record on at anytime 

and turn everything into a dance party, while 

being able to chill, unwind and listen to alone. 

And of course, HUMANS wants their fans to 

come out of listening to Going Late with one 

thing most of all, “We want them to think 

we should win a Juno,” says Slade without a 

second of hesitation and a laugh. 

Going Late is available now on all streaming 

platforms. Humans perform Feb. at 15 The 

Cvurch of John (Edmonton) and Feb. 17 at 

Commonwealth (Calgary). 

LET’S GET JUCY 

Did you manage to make it through the 

holiday season with some serration and 

a bit of change in your pocket? Here’s hoping, 

because 2019 is starting things off proper 

with plenty of tantalizing shows. Check it out! 

In-your-face, unrelenting dubstep still 

continues to soldier on, and if you feel in 

need of a good bro-down, look no further 

than Downlink and Phiso on Jan. 11 at The 

Palace Theatre. 

Would your winter really be complete 

without a SkiiTour and Smalltown DJs show? 

I don’t think so. Get out your neon, your flannel 

and your goggles and check them both 

out at The Gateway on Jan. 12. 

New Zealand’s Montell2099 is back 

at the HiFi also on Jan. 12. His music is a 

forward-thinking approach to trap and yet 

his dedication to classic hip hop and R ‘n’ B 

shines through in his productions and live 

performances. 

On Jan.15 one of the biggest names of the 

mid-2000s rap scene The Game will be performing 

with his band at The Palace Theatre. 

The next instalment of OAKK’s HiFi residency 

New Wave, taking place on Jan. 17, will 

definitely have the emphasis on the “wave” as 

they bring in Sorsari. One of Alberta’s most 

exciting young producers with releases on 

Plastician’s amazing imprint Terrorhythm, 

his releases embody the wave genre — deep, 

melancholic synth-laden trap beats with 

deft sampling and squeaky clean attention 

to detail. Opening duties for this one will be 

handled by MRKRYL and KR Dub. 

One of my favourite sets at this year’s 

FozzyFest came from Minneapolis’ Megan 

Hamilton. Break Beat Dojo will be hosting 

this talented producer and DJ on Jan. 18 for a 

fun night of breaks, funk and more. 

A Calgary native who has been making 

waves the world, Defunk over will perform at 

the HiFi on Jan. 19 alongside festival favourite’s 

Freddy J and Benanas. Defunk has a true 

talent for infusing his electronic, funky-ass 

bass music with organic instrumentation and 

rhythms. 

On Jan. 24 the HiFi will be hosting Beach 

Season’s Time & Place EP release party. The 

local young duo’s latest work is some of their 

best yet without question — silky, dreamy 

pop over pristine beats. 

I’ll be back with more for February, until 

next time friends! 

• Paul Rodgers 

JUCY BEATROUTE • JANUARY 2019 | 29

ROOTS 

THE JERRY CANS 

let’s get Inuit 

“I don’t think it’ll ever die. We have 

stamina. We survive the harshest climate, 

and I think we can continue to keep our 

language and culture alive regardless of 

what might affect us.” 

BY TREVOR MORELLI 

KARELLA 

The NMC presents 

Karella steeped 

in soul, soca and 

calypso as part 

of the Alberta 

Spotlight series. 

A DJ, producer, 

singer and 

actress originally 

from Trinidad 

now based in 

Edmonton, her 

music seamlessly 

blends all aspects 

of her musical 

influences. 

KING EDDY 

Jan. 19 

8:00 p.m. 

$15 door 

JOHN WORT-HANNAM 

Fresh off his latest 

release, the introspective 

and inspired Acres Of 

Elbow Room, Wort- 

Hannam swings in 

from Fort Macleod 

for a night at 

the Ironwood. 

IRONWOOD 

STAGE & GRILL 

Jan. 11 

9:00 p.m. 

11:30 p.m. 

MIKEY’S 

Jan. 25 

9 p.m. 

STUDEBAKER JOHN 

Raw, Southside Chicago blues harp 

and slide guitar. 

PHOTO: JEN SQUIRES 

Artists. Activists. Leaders. Storytellers. interview in English, Inuktitut is the language 

There are some of the words to describe she exclusively speaks at home around her 

WASHBOARD HANK 

The Jerry Cans, and all of them elude to their family. Despite this, she believes Inuit life in 

Singer, songwriter, 

enthusiasm and endurance for keeping Inuit the northern regions will continue to evolve 

multi-instrumentalist 

culture alive though music. 

but also hold to it to roots. 

and comedic backwoods 

2018 was a breakthrough year for the 

“Up here, I think it’s surviving, and people 

philosopher! 

Iqaluit, Nunavut roots-rock outfit as they are finding ways to preserve our culture and 

BLUES CAN 

were Juno nominated for both Contemporary language in a lot of different ways, and it’s an 

Feb 1 & 2 

Roots Album of the Year and Breakthrough awesome thing to see. And I don’t think it’ll 

7:30 p.m. 

Group of the Year last March. 

ever die. We have stamina. We survive the 

“It’s been an interesting year, as it was our harshest climate, and I think we can continue 

first time all five of us taking on the band as to keep our language and culture alive regardless 

our full-time gig. So it was really our move 

of what might affect us.” 

into making music our career,” remarks throat The Jerry Cans’ latest effort Innusiq (2016) SARAH MACDOUGALL 

KING EDDY 

singer/accordion player Nancy Mike. 

attempts to enlighten fans about life in Nunavut 

Whitehorse-based 

Jan. 26, 7:00 p.m. 

It hasn’t always been easy for The Jerry 

through foot-stomping, catchy songs. 

singer-songwriter Sarah 

$15 advance 

Cans to find an audience. Living remotely in They also released a fantastic cover of The 

MacDougall hits the King 

$20 door 

the north is a big challenge to even exist in Hip’s “Ahead By A Century” in their native 

Eddy stage in support of 

the music business, and the band struggled to Inuktitut language in 2017. 

her new album, All The 

find the right distribution channels when they “A lot of our songs obviously are written 

Hours I Have Left To Tell 

first started seven years ago. 

up here and are about living up here. And so, You Anything which delves 

“Some of the things that we found very when we play in the south, there’s not one 

into life’s consuming 

hard were to find the right places to go to, show we don’t talk about what it is like up 

struggles —identity, birth, 

to have our music distributed … trying to here, and what kind of lifestyle, and what kind death, relationships and 

get our music out there,” Mike explains. of struggles we face, because that’s our life,” the ghosts we honour and 

“That was very hard when we first started Mike comments. “When we are onstage and carry throughout. The nine 

because we’re from a place of 7,000 people, performing, we want to tell everybody and 

songs are inspired by the 

in Iqaluit, obviously it’s a remote place in educate everybody about who we really are dark beauty of Scandinavia 

the North and there aren’t a lot of things and what it’s like.” 

the vastness of the Yukon. 

that you can just go to for easy access to 

get your music out there.” 

The Jerry Cans perform Jan. 19 at The Broadway 

For the Inuit, the pressure to conform to Theatre (Saskatoon), Jan. 20 at The Gateway 

English culture is constant. For instance, Mike (Calgary), Jan. 22 at Bo’s Bar and Grill (Red Deer), 

noted that even though she conducted the and Jan. 23 at Festival Place (Edmonton). 

ROOTS BEATROUTE • JANUARY 2019 | 31


SHRAPNEL 

WEEDEATER 

long live cave metal! 

Grow it, roll with it. 

America’s other favourite string trimmers, 

the indomitable Weedeater, is North 

Carolina’s answer to that persistent mental 

overgrowth that’s been hampering your pit 

game. Whip-snapping spines and ears since 

1998, the outfit was sparked by Dave “Dixie” 

Collins who drove the project forward with 

the same sludgy basslines and swamp-holler 

vocals that helps launch his thrashier, noisier 

outfit Buzzoven back 1990. 

“The formula for what we do is quite 

simple. It’s cave metal. We’re not trying 

to reinvent the wheel,” explains Dixie. “It’s 

easy to play and hard to write. We’ve got a 

bunch of new riffs now that sound just like 

Weedeater, so I imagine we will put them to 

tape as soon as we can.” 

It fits their pattern. Having signed to 

Berserker Records, Weedeater emerged with 

their debut album, ... And Justice For Y’all 

in 2001 with their second LP, Sixteen Tons, 

following in in 2003. Both releases established 

Weedeater as a powerful force to be reckoned 

with. Their strafing vocals and punishingly 

heavy downstrokes were well-aligned with 

tourmates like Down, Arch Enemy and Gwar 

that saw festivals unfurled the green carpet 

for Dixie, guitarist Dave “Shep” Shepherd and 

drummer Keith “Keko” Kirkum. By 2009 Weedeater 

was conquering the world and moving 

on to Southern Lord Records. Their third 

album, God Luck and Good Speed, which appeared 

later that year and 2011’s Jason… The 

Dragon shared the distinction of having been 

produced by punk-producer guru Steve Albini 

(Big Black, Shellac, Pegboy). 

“Yeah, we’re gonna plan on getting in there 

(the studio) in 2019 after this run of shows 

with C.O.C. (Corrosion of Conformity),” Dixie 

confirms. “We might be doing it before or 

after we tour Europe this summer. I’ve gotta 

talk to the guys, Steve Albini and everybody 

at Electrical Audio and find out what their 

availability is.” 

2013 saw more shake-ups for Weedeater 

as Travis Owen took over drumming duties 

PHOTO: SCOTT KINKADE 

and the group migrated to the French 

record company Season of Mist. Their new 

label subsequently reissued the band’s 

back-catalogue and their latest doom metal 

meets southern rock offering, Goliathan, 

which dropped in 2015. 

“We’ve never been much of a political 

band. Even though there are some political 

songs, but their meanings are hidden. Like 

the song ‘Weed Monkeys’ people think it’s 

about weed monkeys, but it’s about government. 

The Goliathan record had a lot of 

weird Biblical themes to it. The next record 

is going to have some themes, as well. Possibly 

plant based.” 

Naturally, given their name, receiving treats 

from fans is an occupational hazard for Dixie 

and the pot diners in Weedeater. 

“We get them given to us all the time, I guess 

that’s built into the name. I like ‘em! Especially 

for long rides, they’re great. We’ve got a driver 

on tour now, so they definitely help pass the 

time and make you feel good! There’s lots of 


places in the U.S. where you can buy edibles 

that have been regulated and packaged up 

and everything. They tell you what you’re 

dealing with, so you know not to overdo it. 

Or to overdo it, if that’s what you’re trying to 

do. The people that bring us their homemade 

gifts like that are forthright about telling us 

what’s in it and how much. One time, years 

ago, our old drummer ate a whole cookie that 

was supposed to be a four-way and that about 

ruined him for a couple of days. But he knew 

better, and he was told not to do it. He said 

‘Whatever, I’ll eat the whole damn thing! I’m a 

grown man!’ and sure enough he was curled up 

in the corner whimpering.” 

Looking out for each other on the road 

meant that it was easy for Dixie and Shep 

to bond with incoming drummer Carlos 

Denogean who replaced an ailing Owen in 

2017. The rapport Denogean shared with his 

bandmates and his passion for performing live 

clearly evident and heartfelt, as is the impact 

of his sudden death in August of 2018. 

“That was very rough. It was very surprising. 

He was a super healthy dude. He was 

young. I mean, he was 30 years-old. I was in 

a band when he was born! Pretty crazy. He 

didn’t smoke. Barely drank. Jogged on the 

beach every day. In fact, he did that morning. 

I guess with brain aneurisms it’s not something 

you see coming. He didn’t. And we 

certainly didn’t.” 

Faced with terrible grief, impending tour 

obligations and the aftermath of Hurricane 

Florence, Dixie and Shep had to make some 

hard decisions about continuing to thrive on 

adversity as a band. 

“It was difficult. I tried to back out of it several 

times. But Pepper (Keenan) from C.O.C. 

is a good buddy of mine and he really wanted 

us to do it. So, we eventually capitulated like 

‘Fine! We’ll do it.’ The guy that’s gonna play 

drums with us now is Ramzi Ateyeh. I’ve 

played in bands with him before. He was in 

Sourvein for a bit with my cousin T-Roy (Troy 

Medlin),” Dixie elaborates. “I’ve played with 

him for years, so I know he’s a damn good 

drummer. It’s cave metal, once again. So, as 

long as he keeps his elbows above his earlobes 

and beats the shit out of them drums that’s all 

we need, and we’ll roll with it.” 

Weedeater performs with Corrosion of Conformity 

and Crowbar at Starlite Room (Edmonton) on 

Feb. 4 with Corrosion of Conformity; Marquee Beer 

Market and Stage (Calgary) on Feb. 5; and with 

Crowbar at Park Theatre (Winnipeg) on Feb. 7. 

SHRAPNEL BEATROUTE • JANUARY 2019 | 33

TWITCH 

attitude change 

BY PATRICK SAULNIER 

Dead can dance! 

PHOTO: KATJA MOELLER 

Few acts survive for a solid decade span, let alone two, and 

Twitch show no signs of hitting the off button. Debuting as oneman-band, 

Shayne Lawrence and his concoction of industrial rock, 

metal and hip-hop first made its appearance via cassette tape in 

1999. Since then, it’s been an evolving state of mind and sound. 

In the early years negativity and depression formed the much of 

the landscape. Looking back that’s the one thing Lawrence says he’s 

changed the most — moving away from a long period when things 

were “just not healthy.” As time passed the vocalist/songwriter got 

to better place and has a better message to convey with “Never 

doubt yourself” and “I will live positively” littered throughout 

the brand-new EP, Instructions To Your Revolution, marked for a 

January release. 

“The theme centers around an attitude change. Rather than 

thinking negatively about the things happening in our world, 

we’re (the band is) moving forward. Although the content is 

semi-political, I want people go away thinking positive things. 

Realize that we’re all different and that we all believe different 

things too. But we should be able to change and grow within that 

without hurting others.” 

Evolving and refining Twitch’s sound with each new release also 

sustains the project. Lawrence, a.k.a. Daemon_w60, is always on the 

hunt for that new unique tone when choosing synths and creating 

dynamic digital compositions. 

“I use a lot of free samples and I’ll get a lot of flak for it. But 

I even love using presets sometimes,” he shamelessly confesses 

with a laugh. “I’ll be listening to a song and I hear these sounds 

in my head… (there’s) a sound that belongs in a spot, and I try 

to recreate it.” 

Reanimating those same specimens on stage, Twitch’s new record 

is “spiced-up” and set for an ear-blasting, high-energy experience as 

Lawrence and his fellow innovators (guitarist Brooke Chiasson and 

percussionist Colin Christopher) prepare for what they call a “Nine 

Inch Nails-style adventure.” 

THE SHRINE 

for the love of L.A. 

Like hooking a pair of jumper cables 

up to your nipples, The Shrine 

of Venice Beach has come to embody 

the energy of ‘70s Dogtown skate 

punk lit up with a high voltage streak 

of Sunset Strip neon. It’s a mantle 

lead vocalist/guitarist/holy roller 

Josh Landau takes on with pride and 

sincerity. He knows that The Shrine 

is defying the odds by taking fate in 

their own hands and building a thriving 

brand one fan at a time. 

“Proud of all the people who have 

wolf tattoos, proud of all the skate 

sessions that have been had to our 

tunes, proud of us managing to survive 

despite the cutthroat death ride 

that is the music industry, proud of 

all the Thrasher videos with our songs 

blasting, proud of having the coolest 

socks, proud of the millions of dollars 

we made from Spotify, oh wait...” 

Realistically, Landau knows what 

he’s up against when it comes to 

carving out a niche in L.A.’s oversaturated 

music scene. But true to their 

DIY nature The Shrine has made 

performing at the most unlikely of 

venues into one of their most alluring 

calling cards. 

“We always end up at the weird 

spots — warehouse, strip clubs, libraries 

— anything that pushes the 

mind deeper,” Landau explains. 

From staging shows with elaborate 

art concepts to running a 

merch and music hub at Eliminator 

Records, the young entrepreneur 

learned to pull out all the stops to 

make an impression on an audience. 

That’s why the band is now 

selling its very own guitar effects 

toy — The Shrine “Primitive Blaster” 

Boost Pedal (via Magic Pedals). 

Now you too can enjoy manipulating 

the solid volume and blood 

thirsty distortion range of The 

Shrine in the comfort of your own 

basement or garage! 

“We needed a secret weapon to 

blast through any amp on any stage 

and this is it! You can leave the pedal 

on all the time, and get the best sustain, 

and I don’t even get feedback,” he 

extolls. “We’re bringing a couple of the 

pedals to Canada with us.” 


It’s a dream come true for the kids 

who grew up listening to the SST 

Records roster and surfing the Venice 

breakwater. They learned what it 

meant to be different in the land of 

conformity. And they loved seeing just 

how far they could push the envelope. 

“I showed up to Desertfest in 

London in a wheelchair once, because 

of a skate accident the night before in 

Holland, didn’t stop us from ripping 

the show though!” Landau recalls. 

The secret to this so-called “ripping” 

and The Shrine’s hangover-proof 

resilience? According to body-temples 

Landau, drummer Jeff Murray 

and incoming bassist Corey Parks 

(Nashville Pussy, Die Hunns), it’s all 

about embracing the grind and living 

your truth. 

“The wolf drinks gasoline and 

snorts Comet! Watch “The Tripping 

Corpse” video for step-by-step instructions.” 

The Shrine performs Jan. 11 at Starlite 

Room (Edmonton), Jan. 12 at The Palomino 

Smokehouse and Social Club (Calgary) 

See Twitch Jan. 10 at Vern’s Tavern (Calgary) 


Say it loud, say it proud! 

PHOTO: JASON SHELDON 

SHRAPNEL

As we leave the holiday season behind 

you might have an urge to wash all 

those Christmas carols out of your ears 

and see some fierce live metal action. We have 

you covered! 

You know those New Year’s resolutions you 

just made to spend less and drink less? Well, 

those can go out the window as we have some 

hard decisions to make for the first Saturday 

night of 2019. 

The Haiduk album release show will be at 

Vern’s on Jan. 5. The one-man wrecking crew 

are releasing their third album, Exomancer, with 

Vile Insignia, Fjell Thyngor and Pecado slated 

to usher them to the stage in style. 

That same night, Calgary Beer Core kicks off 

the year with their first gig of 2019 at Upper 

Deck, where Snakepit, Human Shield, Vexerity 

and Hyperia will defrost your wind-whipped 

ears! 

Friday night is movie night at The Globe 

Cinema. The Off The CUFF series is screening 

Lords Of Chaos on Friday the 11th. The 

controversial film depicts the events of the 

Norwegian Black Metal scene of the early ‘90s 

This Month In METAL 

replete, with arson, murder and corpse-paint. 

Swing by The Palomino again on the 19th 

to satisfy your garlic fry cravings and take in 

an equally potent four-band bill of featuring 

the rumbling wrath of Denver-based doomsters 

Primitive Man. The caustic trio will be 

harvesting souls alongside Wake, Messiahlator 

and Pathetic. 

But, don’t call it a night just yet, you can 

always head to the Blind Beggar Pub for a round 

with Dethgod, Ravage Red, Corpus Callosum 

and Jezus Chrysler. 

On Jan. 25 there’s more evil blackness to be 

had at The Blind Beggar pub as Meggido and 

Misery Tomb welcome Crimson Caliber from 

Medicine Hat and team up to tangle with the 

formidable Chaos Being. 

Let’s round out the month with a visit to the 

crown jewel of the Canadian music scene, the 

National Music Centre, where on the 28th NMC 

will be hosting an Alberta Spotlight with luminaries 

Wake and Begrime Exemious putting 

on a heavy metal showcase at the King Eddy 

heritage venue. 

• Joshua Wood 

SHRAPNEL BEATROUTE • JANUARY 2019 | 35

musicreviews 

Deerhunter 

Why Hasn’t Everything Already 

Disappeared 

4AD 

If a woman, man, human, or human-like creature 

were to immerse themselves into the strange tidal 

wave that was 2018, they’d be sure to emerge with the 

heavy netting of the uncertain future, gooey unknown 

substances put forth by the mainstream media and an 

uncomfortable anxiety-forming itch that closely resembles 

that of sea lice. If after taking a long, hot and 

soapy shower, this being were to form a band, name 

it Deerhunter and release an album with the intent of 

recreating that tidal wave… you might find yourself 

wondering why the heck they thought the desert was 

the birthplace of the wave, let alone the ocean. These 

are the feelings evoked from listening to Why Hasn’t 

Everything Already Disappeared, the latest Deerhunter 

album. With an ocean of possibilities for the band, 

who hasn’t released an album in four years, we are left 

instead with a wading pool. You know, the kind where 

you aren’t allowed to dive or else you’ll hit your head 

on the bottom. 

For fans in love with catchy guitar-driven psychedelic 

rock and dreamy shoegaze, this isn’t your new 

2019 anthem. However, for fans married to the more 

bizarre and experimental personalities of Deerhunter, 

your strange container of sound has arrived and it’s 

ready to take your ears on an unexpected and avantgarde 

journey. This is a brand new era of Deerhunter. 

Beginning with the first song, “Death in Midsummer,” 

you are greeted with a repetitive harpsichord 

riff that sounds slightly like the background music 

to some Shakespearean play – is this why it’s called 

“Death in Midsummer”? Perhaps we’ll never know, 

but what we do know is that the repetitive nature 

and eventual blown out horn sounds like a locomotive 

on acid. Ah, maybe this is the sonic depiction of 

the Thomas the Tank Engine, “Yellow Submarine”, 

Shakespearean hybrid cartoon that was never made. 

Unfortunately in this case, it wasn’t made for a reason. 

The album goes on in this nature until about song 

number five, with “What Happens to People?” This a 

closer match to its sonic predecessors: dreamy, flowy, 

experimental and full of wanderlust. If the album were 

to start here, it would feel less confusing and more 

reflective of previous albums, contributing to the 

cohesive essence of the band. Instead, the first half has 

us confused as to what era we are living in, breeding 

questions like: Is “No One’s Sleeping” an unreleased 

track of The Kinks’ recording session in 1977 Berlin? 

Could this be the soundscape of another frightening 

Yoko Ono performance piece? 

Like a forgetful sun-drenched and dehydrated 

surfer who has smoked too much weed, “Deerhunter 

forgets the questions and makes up completely 

unrelated answers directed at their non-existence. 

It gets up, walks around, it records itself in several 

strategic geographic points across North America. It 

comes home, restructures itself and goes back to bed 

to avoid the bad news.” While this may have been intended 

to be a selling point in review, bad news is bad 

news, and for a band with eight LPs under their belt, 

there is no way to make finding your confused, lost, 

red-eyed uncle sound like a sexy Friday night. Coming 

from an ear in love with Deerhunter’s early days, the 

album Microcastle in particular, Why Hasn’t Everything 

Already Disappeared feels too far removed from 

the band’s true essence. In replacement of a cohesive 

concept album, we are left with something that feels 

like a slightly disappointing goodie bag of plastic toys 

from a children’s birthday party: not nearly as mature 

or quality of a gift as hoped, but still a gift nonetheless. 

This could have something to do with the band’s 

recording process, which has shifted from real vintage 

amplification to pure digitized chrome, plugged 

straight into the mixing desk. Even then, the guitars 

are an afterthought and there is a clear shift in focus 

to electromechanical and synthetic sounds. While the 

intention may have been to align closer with the now 

electronic- and hip-hop-focused music market, the 

album fails to feel relevant. 

Encompassing the many unexpected moods of 

a hormone saturated pre-teen, the album bounces 

through eras of the known, while breeding implanted 

memories and fake feelings of nostalgia. “Detournement” 

speaks through analog robotic tongues, 

greeting us with the words “Good morning to Japan 

and the eastern sunrise over these majestic cliffs and 

the vultures circling,” in a voice that belongs in an 

‘80s sci-fi. While the memory of a visit to this robotic 

dreamland may be about as real as Conan O’Brien’s 

new Japanese family, we are left feeling we were 

there: a point in which we push these theoretical 

falsehoods onto the first half of the album, zapping 

ourselves into a new dimension where we can pretend 

it didn’t happen. Here in this other dimension, 

“Futurisim” resorts all hope. A song that holds the 

much-needed sameness of an expected Deerhunter 

sound, encouraging us to take off our seatbelts and 

arrange ourselves, in comfort, to the new Deerhunter. 

“Futurism” carries a very shoegaze/ surfer-rock 

quality, overwhelmingly reminiscent to that of 

“Agoraphobia” off of Microcastle. This is the moment 

your strange, dehydrated and red-eyed uncle returns 

to reality, clearing all questions of insanity with a tall 

glass of water. 

“Futurism” exclaims “your cage is what you make 

it, if you decorate it,” and while this may be true 

about life, it’s hard to decipher the strange sonic decorations 

and true thematic intention of Why Hasn’t 

Everything Already Disappeared. We are instead left 

feeling a little bit like Siri made a playlist based off 

algorithms on a shared computer – but maybe that 

in itself is a perfect representation of the modern age 

and, ultimately, a perfect sonic depiction of the tidal 

wave that was 2018. 

• Jamila Pomeroy 

illustration: Kyle Hack 



Altameda 

Time Hasn’t Changed You 

Pheromone Recordings 

Poised for a breakout year, Altameda’s sophomore 

full-length sees the band dialing in a 

sound that has a lot of appeal. There’s a certain 

objective taste that hears rock n’ roll as good 

songs with a standard instrumental lineup of 

guitar, keys, bass, and drums, and Time Hasn’t 

Changed You churns with elements of all the 

bands that made that the default setting for 

rock music, whether The Heartbreakers, The 

Band or The Rolling Stones. 

Kicking off with the greasy guitar and keys 

on “Bowling Green,” Altameda presents a more 

driving vibe than their 2016 debut, Dirty Rain. 

“Losing Sleep” punches in with punk rock energy, 

a blast of rave-up giddiness with a whoohoo 

refrain that’s hooky as hell, along with tuneful 

gang vocals running throughout the cut. It’s a 

likely shaker, the kind of number that kicks your 

heels up for you. “Rolling Back To You” lives in 

some wild space near Springsteen’s Born To Run, 

and you get the feeling the band’s well-aware of 

the vibe they’re laying down with the line “And 

I wanna tell you, just how I feel, I ain’t tryin’ to 

reinvent the wheel.” The title track comes in 

near the end of the record, with a ’70s AM radio 

feel, while “Waiting On The Weather” goes back 

to spazzy rock n’ roll energy before closing out 

the record. 

Altameda’s put the work in to get the sound 

of classic rock n’ roll just right, and there’s a lot 

to like about Time Hasn’t Changed You. 

• Mike Dunn 

Beirut 

Gallipoli 

4AD 

Beirut frontman, Zach Condon comes out cymbals 

crashing with Beirut’s fifth studio album. 

Gallipoli was recorded in Southern Italy and 

receives its name from an Italian town Condon 

and his bandmates visited during recording. 

Often times mesmerizing, Gallipoli more 

closely resembles Beirut’s first two albums, 

Gulag Orkestar and The Flying Cup rather than 

Condon’s more recent work. This resemblance 

is in part due to the large presence of the organ 

on which Condon wrote all three albums but 

also the return to the often-incomprehensible 

lyrical style heard in his earlier work. An effective 

return to Beirut’s Balkan folk-inspired, breakthrough 

sound, Gallipoli distinguishes itself with 

eccentric, screeching organ on the instrumental 

“On Mainau Island” and the wonderfully 

wordless melodies in “Varieties of Exile.” True 

to Beirut fashion, the quirky instrumental and 

intricate Gallipoli has the ability to transport 

the listener to a different period in time. 

Gallipoli features a marvelous medley of brass 

instruments, organ and Condon’s hypnotizing 

melancholy vocals. 

Along with the release of the single, “Gallipoli,” 

Condon offers this fairy-tale-like reflection of 

how the album’s first single came to be, 

“We stumbled into a medieval-fortressed 

island town of Gallipoli one night and followed 

a brass band procession fronted by priests 

carrying a statue of the town’s saint through the 

winding narrow streets behind what seemed like 

the entire town. The next day I wrote the song I 

ended up calling ‘Gallipoli’ entirely in one sitting, 

pausing only to eat.” 

• Sheena Antonios 

Cherry Glazerr 

Stuffed & Ready 

Secretly Canadian 

Upon first listen it sounded like Cherry Glazerr 

had a more mature sound on Stuffed & Ready. 

Having gone on as a three piece after losing 

synth player Sasami Ashworth (due to her working 

on her solo career), it seemed like the extra 

space in the mix was met kindly by the remaining 

musicians. However, on following visits the 

album becomes less courageous and more so a 

typical festival-tailored indie rock piece aiming 

to please an angsty teenage audience. Songs 

often being too reminiscent of too many other 

poppy “punk” rockers from the last five years. 

Formulated rhythms and predictable pauses 

and drops keep the listener from being engaged 

or shocked. On top of the characterless instrumentation, 

the lyrics lack depth. Although they 

are sung melodically by Clementine Creevy’s undeniably 

beautiful voice, they struggle to engage 

the listener into the story being told. 

Although there are songs like album opener, 

“Ohio,” where Cherry Glazerr are undeniably on 

point, or “Daddi,” where the lyrics do have some 

backbone and subtle aggressiveness, overall, 

even though Creevy has said an incredible 

amount of time was spent creating it, Stuffed & 

Ready comes across rushed & uninspired. 

• Cole Young 

The Dandy Warhols 

Why You So Crazy 

Dine Alone 

Something happens to people, and families, as 

they age that pushes them to evolve or get left 

behind. For a band entering their 25th year in 

the biz, we should expect nothing less. They’ve 

done, seen, and survived things. With Pete Holmström 

and Brent DeBoer exploring solo projects 

(Pete Intl Airport & Immigrant Union, respectively), 

one might expect the family to drift 

apart, and lose the fire of their early years. And 

yet the band still shows up when dinner is ready. 

They hit familiar territory with “Terraform”, a 

bass driven dance number. Zia McCabe gets her 

time to rock out with “Highlife”, a stompy ol’ 

country tune. Single “Be Alright” boom-clacks 

its way into your ear just fine, if just missing that 

certain something. “Thee Elegant Bum” again

hits that familiar groove, almost. By the time 

they hit “Motor City Steel” they’ve gone full 16 

Tons and what do you get. 

The Dandys likely won’t gain any new fans 

with this effort but Why You So Crazy is not 

without its charm. After all, crazy is better 

than boring. 

• Chad Martin 

FIDLAR 

Almost Free 

Dine Alone 

For the most die-hard fans, FIDLAR – which 

stands for “Fuck it dog life’s a risk” – is a band, 

a motto and an ethos. Rather than become 

pigeonholed in skate punk for fear of disappointing 

fans, the Los Angeles four-piece has 

diversified their sound since their eponymous 

LP and hit single “Cheap Beer.” 

That’s what their latest album Almost Free 

is about. Frontman Zac Carper has said the 

album was influenced by the aesthetics of 

Soundcloud hip-hop, but opening track “Get 

Off My Rock” is more Beastie Boys than Lil 

Pump. 

“Can’t You See” is a departure from 

FIDLAR’s usual sound with a piano solo and 

walking bass line, while the satire on materialism 

is in keeping with Carper’s lyrical style. “By 

Myself” also revisits a familiar subject – drinking 

that teeters toward self-destruction – with 

fresh percussive range. 

“Too Real” is FIDLAR’s most explicitly 

political song. Carper howls, “Well, of course 

the government is going to fucking lie.” While 

much of Too (2015) focused on Carper’s struggle 

with addiction and sobriety, tracks like 

“Too Real” and the Clash-esque “Scam Likely” 

prove he can write as passionately about the 

political as he can the personal. 

Parts of Almost Free retread familiar territory. 

“Alcohol” could fit on any FIDLAR album 

in sound and subject. Blistering forty second 

track “Nuke” has the intensity of underrated 

Too track, “Punks.” “Called You Twice” is a 

surprise standout. Carper’s vocals meet their 

match in a duet with K.Flay about both sides 

of a messy breakup. It’s warm, vulnerable – the 

album’s emotional core. 

While Almost Free is less consistent than its 

predecessors, the range it displays proves that 

FIDLAR is far from finished. 

• Courtney Heffernan 

Girlpool 

What Chaos Is Imaginary 

ANTI- 

Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad have been 

jamming together since they were teenagers. 

It is no wonder then that their music has matured 

dramatically and beautifully since their 

gritty debut four years ago. Having moved 

from explosive transparency into something 

subtler and more nuanced, Cleo and Harmony 

still refuse to compromise honesty for harmony. 

New album, What Chaos Is Imaginary, 

emerges more versatile and multi-dimensional 

than ever. 

Opening track “Lucy” sets the stage for the 

aural vastness and poetic clarity that continues 

throughout the album, marking a shift 

from the more journal-like forcefulness of past 

work. Songs like “Stale Device” and “Where 

You Sink” then erupt into being, alluding 

instrumentally to the ambiently energized 

shoegaze of the early ’90s. It becomes clear 

that this record will confront atmosphere in a 

way the band hasn’t yet, and for the most part 

it keeps its promise. 

“Hire” and “Swamp Bay” revisit old habits 

with freshness, ensuring the band is still 

prepared to feel out loud. As always, they 

sing what they mean, but confessionalism 

turns toward the more opaque and abstract. 

Building fleshy, concrete worlds through 

surreal metaphors, composite scenes, and 

circular symbolism, the writing wrestles poetic 

possibilities with zeal. 

The album’s unpredictability reflects 

the subject matter – dissociation, intimate 

relationships, substances and the volatility of 

the human mind. What Chaos Is Imaginary 

remains faithful to the vulnerability that put 

Girlpool on the map in the first place, but with 

a sensibility that there are a world of ways to 

pull it off. 

• Safiya Hopfe 

Juliana Hatfield 

Weird 

American Laundromat Records 

Juliana Hatfield has always been on the fringe 

of the alternative music scene, defining weird 

on her own terms. Her latest aptly titled offering 

brings everything she’s never said before to 

the surface. 

Feelings of being out of step with the world 

emanate from the mellow track “It’s So Weird.” 

Between the sedate classic rock influenced 

chord choices are stories of awkwardness and 

relations that have gone sour over time, sung 

for all to hear like a big celebration of the 

alienation. This uneasy mellowness continues 

on “Sugar” as Hatfield croons “Sugar, I hate 

your guts, Sugar I love you so much” as the 

acoustic guitar picking seems to quote George 

Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun.” 

Cleanliness is set-aside on “Alright, Yeah” 

where fuzzy glam-rock guitar playing pushes 

things to the edge of alternative rock oblivion. 

Tongue biting anger and distrust bubbles underneath 

her heart melting voice on “Paid to 

Lie,” summing up this album’s self-restrained 

angst perfectly; that which makes it such a 

gloriously tasty bitter pill to swallow. 

• Dan Potter 

Girlpool 

Lemongrab 

It Doesn’t Sound Good But It Feels 

Awesome 

Independent 

Montreal-based Lemongrab’s debut fulllength 

is overflowing with a spazzy and 

meandering hybrid of post punk and stoner 

rock. Opening track, “Too Many Bitches,” is 

righteous and raunchy and by the time we 

hit the “yayayayayaya” chorus of “Naked Ass 

Marimba,” you can’t help but put your head 

down and party through it. 

The most interesting songs sit in the middle 

of the album with the opening of tracks like 

“Scratch” and “Last Night in Jose” being the 

strongest of the bunch. Recorded in Montreal 

with Rene Wilson (Michael Rault, Faith 

Healer), there is an outcry of energy captured 

throughout the whole album that gives you 

the idea that this band is definitely a lot of 

fun live. Their push-around melodies on 

album single “Keep Door Open” will have you 

running in a circle and shoving your friends 

in that playful way where everybody has fun 

while Lenonie Deshaw and Zale Burley’s guitar 

work keeps the arrangements melodic and 

steered away from coming across as shrill or 

screechy. Included are a few tracks from the 

band’s 2016 EP, The One With The Brooms, 

re-recorded and presented here in better developed 

arrangements, showing how this new 

band has grown a lot in the last two years. 

With its sing-along choruses, Lemongrab has 

put together a collection of songs even your 

mom would love, if your mom was a teenager 

in Washington state in the early ’90s. 

• Jody Glenham 

Maggie Rogers 

Heard it in a Past Life U 

Capitol Records 

American, singer-songwriter, Maggie Rogers 

released her single “Alaska,” in October 2016. 

The song now holds 100 million global streams 

to date and is the lead single off her new album, 

Heard It In A Past Life. While Rogers’ previous 

work was released independently, her new 

full-length album is her major label debut. A 

new caliber of pop music, Heard it in a Past 

Life is cathartic, captivating and consistent; an 

extraordinary album that strives from start to 

finish. Rogers’ sound is the result of a desire to 

combine the folk music she heard growing up 

in Maryland with the dance music that later 

influenced her while living in France. Up-tempo 

for the most part, Heard it in a Past Life often 

stays true to the layered sounds, folk melodies 

and pop style of “Alaska,” while tracks like “Say 

It” offer range by possessing a sound reminiscent 

of ’90s R&B. Rogers’ transcendent vocals 

belt out thought-provoking lyrics with the 

album having an overall lyrical theme of reminiscing, 

revival and letting go of resentment. 

Alongside the release of Heard it in a Past 

Life, Rogers will be on tour throughout North 

America and Europe in the New Year. 


Mammoth Grove 

Slow Burn 

Independent 

It’s an analog miracle. The follow-up to Mammoth 

Grove’s consummately groovy desert 

rock album, Suncatcher has arrived almost 

three years to the date of that release’s appearance 

on the horizon in November of 2015. Built 

brick-by-brick in the mortar and metal studios 

of Calgary Recording Studios using exclusively 

non-digital means, Slow Burn glows with an 

inner fire that mitigates such a glacial pace. 

It’s really a testament to the determination of 

guitarist/vocalist Devan Forster, bassist/vocalist 

Tad Hynes and drummer Kurtis Urban to finish 

what they had started as a fresh-faced trio 

with the world at their customarily bare feet. 

Entrusting a trunk-load of their best psych-rock 

adventures to engineer Ian Dillon (The Electric 


Revival), the Barbizons behind Mammoth 

Grove focused on laying down four heavy-hitters 

that blow through the room like a magic 

mushroom cloud. From the plunging vortex 

of “Valleys” to the heart-bruised blues of “Seasons,” 

the Sabbath-sprawl of “Black Meadow” 

to the soaring invocations of the (almost twenty-minute-long) 

crowning triumph “Gloria,” 

Slow Burn will set you on an unpredictable yet 

deeply satisfying off-road detour. 

• Christine Leonard 

Bob Sumner 

Wasted Love Songs 

Independent 

Along with his brother Brian in The Sumner 

Brothers, singer-songwriter Bob Sumner built his 

reputation as one of Canada’s best underground 

songwriters the old-fashioned way, logging thousands 

of miles across Canada, playing bars, coffee 

shops and living rooms. Sumner’s songs have 

always been a bit dark, and his debut solo effort, 

Wasted Love Songs, balances the heavier themes 

with sunny, finger-picked acoustic guitar and 

subtle production notes that allow his conversational 

timbre to shine through the mix. 

“Riverbed” is beautiful opener, feeling somewhere 

between Willie Nelson and The War 

On Drugs, with a chorus that begs to be sung 

along with and beautiful instrumental harmony 

between the pedal steel and electric guitar. “A 

Thousand Horses” picks up the pace to an easy 

mosey while Sumner’s ability to hang a beautiful 

chorus in a tune becomes more apparent. 

He lulls you in during the verses, before he 

drops an achingly lovely melody line when the 

song picks up. That ability would be for naught 

if it weren’t for Sumner’s masterstroke, laying 

words into those melodies with a painter’s 

precision; “All the running of a thousand horses, 

tearing the prairies apart, is but a murmur 

and a whisper compared to the beating of my 

heart.” Not a single word goes to waste while 

Sumner’s poetic minimalism tips its cowboy 

hat to Hemingway. “My Old Friend” waltzes to 

a gentle opening, before cranking the volume 

like Crazy Horse, with a gritty guitar line mildly 

reminiscent of Son Volt’s Straightaways. 

Wasted Love Songs is an early contender for 

2019. It has an easy, laid back feel that fits on the 

highway or in any room in the house. Sumner’s 

ability to channel the likes of Townes Van Zandt 

and Willie Nelson while adding flourishes of 

more contemporary alt-country ought to make 

him a part of some serious conversations when 

discussing standout Canadian roots artists. 

• Mike Dunn 

Swervedriver 

Future Ruins 

Dangerbird Records 

Swervedriver have been making edgy sound 

waves for decades, but until just a few years ago 

had almost disappeared completely. When they 

released I Wasn’t Born To Lose You (2015), things 

started picking up and their legendary, mythical 

proportions started returning to people’s minds 

as the band started touring again. Now they have 

another, Future-Ruins, which, as the dystopian 

title suggests, leads the listener on a journey into 

a place and time of disjuncture and dark fates. 

Though in the first song, “Mary Winter,” Adam 

Franklin sings, “I’m never comin’ back,” it seems 

they have. They have traded some of their heaviness 

for more modern, spectacular architectures 

of instrumentals. They continue to amaze with 

their usual complex arpeggios, bended notes 

and shimmering guitar strains. Swervedriver have 

always talked or sung about “space-travel” and 

in this song, he sings, “My feet won’t touch the 

ground.” In “The Lonely Crowd Fades In The Air,” 

Franklin sings, “so we stumble into the end of 

days/where the future comes to cry/so choose 

your colors wisely/’cause things ain’t the same as 

in times gone by.” 

Their undulating and circular vocal and 

instrumental lines are reminiscent of a surrealist’s 

film mis-en-scene. They do continue to 

sing about rocket fuel and an engine, which 

follows the propulsive force of their earlier efforts, 

like Raise and Medical Head. Their music 

has mellowed from the force of its sound in 

the ’90s, so those looking to take in the new 

sound should expect something with more 

dreamy complexity, than razor-edged and 

honed wit and darkness. 

• Keir Nicoll 

The Twilight Sad 

It Won/t Be Like This All The Time 

Rock Action Records 

In 2016, the Cure’s Robert Smith named the 

Twilight Sad as one of his favourite bands. He 

personally picked them to support the Cure on 

all their recent world tour dates, and there’s no 

question as to why. The Twilight Sad write some 

of the most compelling, dark and depressing 

music out there. Their name describes their 

sound perfectly. 

It Won/t Be Like This All The Time is the 

Twilight Sad’s fifth studio album and their first 

release with Mogwai’s Rock Action Records. 

It’s without a doubt their strongest and most 

cohesive project to date. 

One of the standout tracks, “The Arbor,” is a 

particularly haunting post-punk offering that 

features wailing, ghostly synths that sound like 

the chatter of spirits in a cemetery. On this 

album the band also delivers their signature 

wall of sound on tracks like “Auge Maschine.” It 

opens with a swirling, intoxicating layer of hazy 

glide guitar that fluctuates in and out of pitch. 

By blending together the strong suits of all their 

previous work, the Twilight Sad come through 

with an absolutely fantastic record that offers 

something familiar yet very refreshing. 

• Robann Kerr 

Toro Y Moi 

Outer Peace 

Carpark Records 

Outer Peace is the eighth studio album from 

Toro Y Moi. ABRA, WET and Instupendo, all 

friends of mastermind Chaz Bear, are featured 

on the album. With every listen of Outer 

Peace comes a deeper understanding of Bear’s 

message and stylistic vision. 

On the surface, Outer Peace is a fun and 

quirky basement jam session, while at a closer 

look Bear alludes to some deeper issues including 

climate change, consumerism and debt. 

Funky bass lines and sci-fi inspired samples 

create a disco-like feel for the album as a whole. 

Recorded in the Bay area, Bear considers it 

somewhat of a homecoming album and has 

allowed himself a more playful approach to 

song making than what we saw on his last 

album, Boo Boo. Autotune is used extensively 

throughout the album and at times you can 

hear the presence of xylophone. Outer Peace 

is unpredictable, groovy and original. 


Sharon Van Etten 

Remind Me Tomorrow 

Jagjaguwar 

Sharon Van Etten has been a busy human 

since the release of her critically acclaimed 

2014 release, Are We There. With the birth of 

her first child, a move into acting as Rachel in 

the Netflix drama, The OA, an appearance in 

David Lynch’s reboot of Twin Peaks and scoring 

her first feature film, Strange Weather, it’s 

clear Van Etten’s sonic palette has expanded 

into new territory. And by goodness, it’s what 

makes Remind Me Tomorrow such a beautiful 

thing to behold. 

You’d be forgiven in thinking that as the 

piano chords chime in on album opener, “I 

Told You Everything,” that you’re listening 

to the direct follow-up to Are We There. In 

Sharon Van Etten 

discography terms it is, but the similarities 

are shattered when the electro beats of track 

two, “No One’s Easy To Love,” kick in. 

The atmospheric and drony sounds she 

employs throughout the following eight tracks 

(fuelled by producer John Congleton) are far 

ranging and, at times, down right eerie. But 

there is always an upbeat feel to even the 

moodiest of tracks. “Memorial Day,” “Comeback 

Kid” and “Seventeen” shine bright like no 

other Van Etten tracks of days gone past. The 

whole record is absolutely mesmerizing. 

Van Etten is a truly remarkable artist. 

2019 hasn’t even really got going yet, but we 

clearly already have a contender for album of 

the year. 

• Adam Rogers 

Warbly Jets 

Propaganda EP 

Rebel Union Recordings 

The dream of the ’90s is alive in Warbly Jets’ 

new EP, Propaganda. With knob-turning, 

air horn squealing Brit rock swagger, this 

short sampling of tunes is reminiscent of the 

Chemical Brothers and Oasis, which makes 

sense seeing how the band spent a good 

chunk of 2018 on the road, touring as the 

opening act for Liam Gallagher. 

“No Allegiance” could waltz into the 

Snatch soundtrack without a ticket, and you 

can’t help but get jazzed by the chorus of 

“Kill Kill Kill” in “Cool Kill Machine.” Reminds 

one of the film Tank Girl and the time when 

we still felt like we had time to reclaim our 

water and avoid a dystopia. But now, as we 

strive to survive this tortured era, these mean 

bangers will do just fine in calming the itch. 

As Warbly Jets shake off the Dandy Warhols 

bop of their former work in favour of 

some mean and sexy fare, we can all rest easy 

in the choice to do the same in our shattered 

hearts. 

• Jennie Orton 


Messages from the Stars: a look into the cycles and cosmic details of an unfolding forevermore, 

paired with a song suggestion curated for your sign 

BY WILLOW HERZOG 

ARIES (MARCH 21 - APRIL 20) Sort the truth 

from the spectacle. Sort the drama from the 

plot. Let new energy into the existing shape of 

things. Do so without shattering what holds you. 

Hold onto the rituals and self care that brings 

you joy states. Review your relationships with 

your desires. The more you understand who you 

are and what you were born to do, the more this 

year will assist you. Look for affirmations that 

expand your sense of self. This cycle is about 

nourishing the bonds you create and being more 

of yourself. Be less of what others expect of you 

and allow your eccentricities to shine marvelous 

Aries. Motivation and advancement are 

keywords this cycle. 

Song suggestion: “Blue Nudes (1-1V)” - Jefre 

Cantu-Ledesma 

TAURUS (APRIL 21 - MAY 21) In chase of an 

everchanging sunset, you find the diamond 

centre in your eyes. Longing for meaning yet 

no defined path. The world, It’s perfect, It’s a 

mess- how will you choose to participate? This 

cycle could bring up feelings of how to actualize 

your existence through contact with other 

people. Allow yourself to joyfully participate in 

life while feeling the sorrows of the world. This 

is a big month for positive reframing and peak 

awareness. Use self control and discipline as tools 

for active rejuvenation. Tap into your flow state 

artistic Taurus and don’t be afraid to access the 

subconscious to create new work. You have a lot 

to say, so figure out your language. Be open to 

tears and breakthroughs. 

Song suggestion: “Adieu Au Dancefloor”- Marie 

Davidson 

GEMINI (MAY 22 - JUNE 21) Getting in touch 

with emotional spaces and personal relationships 

of the past. This is a time when things may feel 

as if they are shifting into new places as much 

as they are cycling back. Refine your headspace 

so that you may direct your consciousness with 

authenticity and understanding. You are allowed 

to create your future. Creating a relationship 

with the natural world will nourish. Tongues in 

trees, books in running brooks, sermons in stone 

and good in everything. Keep a flexible lense on 

the moment to moment. Take care of yourself so 

you may take care of your reality. This is a month 

to nourish and create. Harmonize, synchronize 

and flow with synchronicity. 

Song suggestion: “Bike”- Autechre 

CANCER (JUNE 22 - JULY 23) Highly evolved 

forms of communication will be essential this 

month as there is much to signal and receive. 

You are connected to networks that have the 

ability to make waves in the social and emotional 

creative tapestry. Continue to return to yourself 

and give your heart time to think. Our emotions 

show up in the patterns of our life, watch for 

what is structuring in your field. There is an 

infinite number of emotional blends to experience 

this cycle, remember that there is so much 

experience and that it doesn’t all have to happen 

now. Trust in unfolding, trust in timing and trust 

in what doesn’t seem to work out. Know how 

far to expand yourself concentric Cancer. Feel 

strength in emotional temporality. 

Song suggestion: “A Silver Key Can Open An Iron 

Lock Somewhere” - Carla dal Forno 

LEO (JULY 24 - AUG. 23) May you open to the 

deep rhythms of self love and acceptance of path 

this cycle. When one shifts into heart-oriented 

cognition the ability for overwhelming mental 

dialogue is lessened. Sit with your heart, allow it 

to generate its intelligence. You have large plans, 

expansive dreams and human needs. Look at 

how you are balancing these realms and where 

you could self-organize and prioritize better. 

January will create some softness for you, more 

space to breathe into the unique identity that 

you have come to understand as ever changing 

self. Take a long walk, talk with those you trust 

and don’t be afraid to take a whole day to relax 

and breathe. There is a spotlight on boundaries 

of self and relationship this cycle. Show up with 

respect and honesty for these lessons, transformational 

Leo. Allow life to change you, change 

life with your alchemy. 

Song suggestion: “Fine Again” - Tirzah 

VIRGO (AUG. 24 - SEPT. 23) You care so deeply 

for those around you, nurturing beauty. Have 

you been pouring that same nurturing nectar 

towards your own being? This is a month to 

make your health a priority and reassess where 

energy is being expended and extended. Lighten 

up on yourself. No one is perfect. Gently accept 

your humanness as you continue to refine as you 

do. Reinvigorate the structures of your life with 

new and inventive ideas, without letting go of 

the positive aspects of the structure itself. Find 

new ways of working with the magnetism you 

posses alluring Virgo. This is a month to set big 

ideas into motion. 

Song suggestion: “Horizon of Appearances” - Steve 

Hauschildt 

LIBRA (SEPT. 24 - OCT. 23) Looking at new 

trajectories and shifting meaning. Check in with 

your intuition as you make moves on your life 

path. Career and ambition walk hand in hand as 

you set up future moves. Take time to sit down 

and carve out a map of intended direction. 

Setting up plans for summer months is advised 

during this passage. Trust in flow states and place 

yourself in alignment with where you feel to be 

a river of your own unfolding. Honest, raw and 

real communication changes everything. Say 

what you feel and trust the alchemy poetical 

Libra. The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe 

it to be. Being alive is the meaning. Revel in that 

aliveness and connect to those who help you feel 

the actualization of your dreams. 

Song suggestion: “So Slow” - Yuno 

SCORPIO (OCT. 24 - NOV. 22) You have 

been on a journey of changing landscapes. 

These landscapes both internal and external, 

multidimensional Scorpio. Know Thyself as you 

traverse deeper into your understanding of your 

life. Analyze and use the mind. This time lends 

well to organization, study and higher learning. 

You have been taking some chances that are 

infusing your life with greater meaning. Keep 

taking chances and stay open to the willingness 

to experience new realities. Leave behind what 

is no longer worthy of your efforts. Notice what 

naturally has been gaining momentum on your 

path, focus energy there. Trust your heart as 

the powerful and harmonic oscillator that it is. 

Follow it. Perceive with it. 

Song suggestion: “Lost Ways”- Pye Corner Audio 

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 23 - DEC. 21) Everybody 

wants to love and you are certainly feeling this 

force sweet archer. Asking vs. Hoping is a lesson 

this cycle, claim your life from an empowered 

place and ask for what you want. Make the 

choices that activate the magic and connect 

you to the inspired life flow that you so deeply 

crave. Sift through the realms of possibilities in 

your rolodex of experience. The world is at your 

fingertips, how will you orchestrate? Intense 

awareness of the present moment will allow you 

expand with ease. 

Song suggestion: “City of Light” - Fennesz 

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 - JAN. 20) Your relationship 

to self and others are being highlighted this 

cycle, perceptive Capricorn. In certain ways your 

intentions are bearing successful fruits and in 

other ways missing the target. Focus your energy 

in an evolutionary and expansive direction. 

Watch your forms of communication and ways 

of relating. Check in with inner messages and 

communicate with poetic authenticity. A little in 

your own world always. Expand that world and 

PHOTO: DANIELLE NICOL 

share. Realize your ability to change the energy 

of your life and take that a step deeper. What is it 

you are looking to create? 

Song suggestion for the month: “Koinois” - Laurel 

Halo 

AQUARIUS (JAN. 21 - FEB. 19) Reassessment 

of your personal projects, career trajectory and 

letting go of what simply doesn’t fit. There may 

be a resurgence of past patterns, people and 

feelings. See what the revisiting of cycles can 

illuminate to you. Absorb the wisdom of lessons 

learned. Use your toolkit of known knowledge, 

intelligent Aquarius. See who sticks by you this 

winter; “Summer friends will melt away like 

summer snows, but winter friends are friends forever.” 

Trust in the strength of your foundational 

relationships and nourish them. True friendship 

is a virtue. 

Song suggestion: “Gift”- Helena Hauff 

PISCES (FEB. 20 - MAR. 20) This passage allows 

you to deeply reflect with how to move forward 

especially in the realm of relationship. It has been 

a time of honest conversations, deep flowing 

feelings and timeline trajectory changes. There 

is an internal well of inner strength that radiates 

from and for you. Pull from this internal well in 

a way that allows you to reflect and refine. With 

much to manifest, pour your efforts and intention 

towards your strongest visions. Surround 

your life with influences that respect your heart. 

There is a sacredness that resigns in your own 

heart, a multiverse of stars. Connect those stars 

to create new constellations exquisite Pisces. 

Song suggestion: “Habitual Love” - Okay Kaya 


livereviews 

Between a sock and a hard place. 

PHOTO: T. HATTER 

ED THE SOCK 

Dickens Pub 

Dec. 6, 2018 

In the beginning, Ed the Sock was a low-budget gag. A crappy sock 

puppet spitting hardened opinions perfectly capturing the jaded 

‘90s ethos of putting big messages in stripped down packages. The 

disarming notion of taking a whimsical symbol, the sock puppet, 

and having it tell dirty jokes worked so well Ed became a mainstay 

on MuchMusic and bona fide B-list icon. After 10 years of being 

lost in the dryer, Ed the Sock has returned with a live show called 

“The War on Stupid.” A coast-to-coast show that is eager to highlight 

absurdities in politics, pop culture and hotel room cleanliness. 

After riffing on Canada’s leadership, and pointing out Trudeau’s 

suspect habit of showboating his progressiveness, our grouchy host 

points out the real meaning of “stupidity.” It’s not about ones IQ, 

it’s about willfully operating on a lower level. It’s when someone 

knows they’re being “an idiot” and yet they do it anyway. Ed cut 

the bullshit and got right to the point with criticisms on outrage 

culture, the alt-right all while taking playful jabs at Calgary’s national 

image leaving no political leaning unscathed. The show highlights 

that often, the truth hurts, but the beauty of wrapping it in 

comedy is that it doesn’t have to be cruel. We can find connection 

in the knowledge that we are all a bit warped, shrug our shoulders 

and swallow the bitter pill easier with a laugh. 

• Trevor Hatter 

CALGARY’S PREMIER THRIFT BOUTIQUE 

Meticulously Selected Fashions and so much more 

Supporting the Calgary Community and Local Charities since 2007 

Look Good, Feel Good and Do Good for the Environment 

Urban Thrift is recognized by the Alberta Recycling Council 

Gently Used Clothing and Small Houseware Donations accepted 

www.urbanthrift.ca 3434 - 34 Ave NE 403 769-1934 


SAVAGE LOVE 

men and women 

I’m a 40-year-old guy with a 30-year-old girlfriend. We’ve been together 

a year, and I can see a future with her. But there are problems. 

This girl comes after two minutes of stimulation, be it manual, oral, 

or penile. As someone who takes pride in my foreplay/pussy-eating 

abilities, this is a bummer. She gets wet to the point where all friction 

is lost during PIV and my boners don’t last. It’s like fucking a bowlful 

of jelly. Part of me is flattered that I get her off, but damnit I miss a 

tight fit! (Her oral skills aren’t great, either, so that’s not an option, 

and anal is a no-go.) I love to fuck hard, and that’s difficult when I’m 

sticking my dick into a frictionless void. Is there a way to decrease 

wetness? Help, please. 

—Can’t Last Inside Tonight 

First things first: She’s not doing anything wrong, CLIT, and neither 

are you—at least you’re not doing anything wrong during sex. 

(When you sit down to write letters to advice columnists, on the 

other hand…) She can’t help how much vaginal mucus she produces 

or how much vaginal sweating your foreplay/pussy-eating skills 

induce, any more than you can help how much pre-ejaculate you 

pump out. (Her wetness is a combo of vaginal mucus and vaginal 

sweating—not a derogatory expression, that’s just the term for it.) 

And all that moisture is there for a good reason: It preps the vagina 

for penetration. In its absence, PIV can be extremely painful for the 

fuckee. So the last thing you want to do is dry your girlfriend up 

somehow. 

Now here’s something you are doing wrong: “It’s like fucking a 

bowlful of jelly,” “I miss a tight fit,” “Her oral skills aren’t great, either,” 

“I’m sticking my dick into a frictionless void.” You’re going to need to 

have a conversation with your girlfriend about this, CLIT, you’ll need 

to use your words, but you can’t have that conversation—not a 

constructive one—until you can find some less denigrating, resentful, 

shame-heaping words. 

Again, she’s doing nothing wrong. She gets very wet when she’s 

turned on. That’s just how her body works. Too much lubrication 

makes it harder for you to get off. That’s how your body works. And 

this presents a problem that you two need to work on together, 

but insults like “bowlful of jelly” and “frictionless void” are going to 

shut the conversation down and/or end the relationship. So try this 

instead: “I love how turned on you get, honey, and I love how wet 

you get. But it can make it difficult for me to come during PIV.” 

If you don’t put her on the defensive—if you don’t make her feel 

like shit about her pussy—you might be able to have a constructive 

conversation and come up with some possible PIV hacks. If there’s a 

move (clitoral stimulation) or an event (her first orgasm) that really 

opens up the tap, CLIT, save that move or delay that event until after 

you’ve climaxed or until after you’ve reached the point of orgasmic 

inevitability—if PIV isn’t painful for her when she’s a little less wet. 

You can also experiment with different positions to find one 

that provides you with a little more friction and doesn’t hit her clit 

just so—perhaps doggy style—and then shift into a position that 

engages her clit when you’re going to come. And there’s no shame 

in pulling out and stroking yourself during intercourse before diving 

back in. Be constructive, get creative, and never again speak of her 

pussy like it’s a defective home appliance, CLIT, and you might be 

able to solve this (pretty good) problem (to have). 

I’m a woman in an open relationship of four years. I adore my 

partner. When we were first dating, it was casual and there were no 

ground rules. During that time, I slept with a guy without condoms 

after he cornered me in a motel room. One of the biggest rules in 

my current relationship is to use condoms with other partners. My 

current partner has made it clear that he would consider exchanging 

fluids with someone else cheating. I’m worried he’ll somehow find out 

about that night in the motel room, and I feel bad keeping it a secret. 

If I tell him, there’s a chance that our relationship will end and I’ll be 

living in my car. What should I do? 

—Burdensome Unbearable Guilt Sucks 

This thing happened—or this thing was done to you—before you 

made a commitment to your current partner, BUGS, and before 

ground rules were established. I’m assuming you got tested at some 

point over the last four years; failing that, I’m assuming neither of 

you has developed symptoms of an STI over the last four years. 

(And condoms don’t protect us from all the STIs out there, so 

even if you did come down with something, your partner could 

have passed it to you.) So cut yourself some slack, BUGS: You had 

unprotected sex under a sadly common form of duress. Fearing 

something much worse, you “agreed” to unprotected sex—you 

agreed but didn’t freely consent to unprotected sex. Too many men 

don’t understand that kind of fear or the de-escalation techniques 

women are forced to employ when they find themselves cornered 

by threatening men—de-escalation techniques that can include 

“agreeing” to but not freely consenting to sex, unprotected or otherwise. 

You’re under no obligation to tell your current partner about 

BY DAN SAVAGE 

that night, as it took place before you established your ground rules, 

so it’s not really any of his fucking business. And if homelessness is a 

potential consequence of telling your partner how you were pressured 

into sex you did not want, then you’re lying to him now for 

the same reason you went bare with that asshole back then: duress. 

I’m a man in love with a woman half my age. We met shortly after 

I had to leave the city I was living in to escape a toxic relationship. I 

know this girl has feelings for me. My gut screams it. We also share a 

strange connection. It’s something I know she feels. She simply can’t 

help being tied to the energy I’m feeling. A while back, I hurt her. Unintentionally, 

but it hurt just the same. I was still not over my ex and 

very leery of ever experiencing that kind of pain in my heart again. 

The problem now is that this young woman won’t acknowledge her 

feelings for me. She swears she never had feelings for me. We found 

ourselves alone one day, and her actions were clearly indicating that 

she wanted to have sex with me but her words prevented me from 

taking the opportunity. How can I reach this girl? She knows I love 

her. I know I’m not wrong. She wants what I want. This love is not 

something I chose and I’m beginning to resent it. 

—In Lasting Love 

You are wrong. She does not want what you want. Your gut is lying 

to you. She is not in love with you. You do not share a connection. 

You need to listen to her words. She is not tied to the “energy” you 

are feeling. You have got to stop thinking with your dick. She was 

probably scared out of her wits when you managed to “find” her 

alone. You cannot reach this woman. She can sense your resentment 

and she’s afraid of you. In all honesty, ILL, I’m afraid of you. Just 

as this poor woman most likely fears becoming one of the many 

women murdered every year by men they’ve rejected, I fear being 

the messenger who got shot. But you asked for my advice, ILL, and 

here it is: Get into therapy. You need help. And my advice for her, if 

she sees this, is to do whatever you must to protect yourself—up to 

and including moving away. 

Who are furries and what do they want?: savagelovecast.com 

mail@savagelove.net 

@fakedansavage on Twitter 

ITMFA.org 


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