After a few false starts I am finally sitting down to write this feature on Edmonton’s own Wares. My brother sent me a link to the new LP Survival back in early April, and since then a lot has happened. In a very true sense, Cassia Hardy’s sonically diverse, punk-spirited, compositionally skillful release has become […]
A while back I reached out to Saskatchewan fantasy-pop artist, Natural Sympathies, (human name: Amber Goodwyn) to ask if she would be interested in working on this article. At the same time, I was in a place of acute life renewal. My efforts extended to examining the dynamics and substance of my most important relationships […]
When I was thirteen years old, my Dad drove me from our hometown of Regina to the next neighbouring major city of Saskatoon. Built into the itinerary of our father/son road trip was the excitement of visiting my brother Marek, and his friend and band mate, Ayla Brook. I recall on a few occasions […]
In the year 1996, I visited my brother in Edmonton, Alberta. He was studying percussion in music school. One evening my brother, our dad and I went for some coffee at a little spot called “The Sugar Bowl” (café/bar/music venue). Something happened to me that night that I will never forget. I saw a real […]
I was running a small contemporary art gallery in Toronto’s Parkdale area, also referred to as “Sparkdale” in the parlance of Toronto-centricity. It can be described as a historical and colorful west end neighborhood with tree-lined streets and offering a vibrant nightlife. It is characters such as Michael Dent, one-half of the experimental raunch-wave outfit […]
Canada is 150 years old this year. Although I wasn’t alive to experience Confederation first hand, I direct my thoughts to another time – to Expo’67 that took place in Montreal, and the altruistic and porous Canada that would have been projected through various cultural constellations. I can imagine that part of the perennial conversation […]
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada… This city has bred a fruitful history of genre-bending cult bands dating back to the mid-1980s. Most notably, we can look to legendary punk rockers such as SNFU, as well as the unclassifiable, recently and temporarily reunited, The Smalls. In recent history, we can aim our laser pointers at Albertan sweethearts, The […]
World class bands. Three nights, four including our early arrival to find a spot, set up a tent, and watch disco-rock co-op The Darcys play a festival warm-up gig. The weekend weather offered up a sun so scorching that my skin is still peeling a week later. My WayHome Festival adventure was an exciting experience that took me […]
