LOCAL EVENTS AND MUSIC
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CONTENTS september 2016 issue
12 Boneyard Skullptures
18 Matallion 24 The Burden
local events and music I have the deepest admiration and respect for artists and musicians. Since as long as I can remember, I have always worked to connect these creatives to audiences and opportunities. When I see passionate people creating amazing things, I feel compelled to help them. If there is a door that I have the power to open for these creatives, I will open that door. The Scene PG is the door I opened 7 years ago to connect artists and musicians to a larger audience and give them more local recognition. Since then, this magazine has become one the most fulfilling things I have ever done. I am extremely proud of all the artists and musicians we have featured, the artists who have worked on the magazine itself and the readers who have supported it by picking up a copy. I am leaving the Scene PG on a new journey to start a new company called UNLTD Media & Events (look me up!). My new company won’t see me returning to work on the Scene PG so I wanted to send thanks to all of you who have been a part of the magazine and it’s success over the past 7 years. There are still a lot of stories to be told and I know the Scene PG will still be in good hands after I am gone. I am leaving but never far - and I left the door open. See you around! - Norm Coyne Scene PG
AVAILABLE ON-LINE AT:
www.pgcitizen.ca or thescenepg.com General Inquiries ‹ 250-562-2441 Publisher ‹ Colleen Sparrow Editor ‹ Neil Godbout Founder ‹ Norm Coyne Designer ‹ Candice Rosenbaum Writer ‹ Frank Peebles
the line-up 04 Audio Union 14 Ani Kyd
26 Metro Comedy Circuit 30 Corey Hardeman
20 Barkerville Steampunk
Please Recycle
THE SCENE PG IS A PRODUCT OF
Cover Photo by Kelly Bergman, Models Hair & Make-up by Shine Hair Salon
06 Black Donkey
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By Frank Peebles
UNIONIZING THE PG MUSIC SCENE The classic rock ‘n’ roll scene of Prince George has suffered contractions in the past 10 years or so. It’s harder for a group like Audio Union and the fans of crunchy guitars and clobbering drums to find each other, but when they got to open for Honeymoon Suite this summer, it was clear that people love their stuff. Before the headliners even took the stage, the sold-out crowd was electrified and called Audio Union back for an encore - nearly unheard of for an opening act. “That show was incredible, the 4
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fans were amazing,” said Audio Union frontman Tim Ikonen. “Even the Honeymoon Suite guys said we rocked it. I told them they were the ones who made the original material, we were just picking up on what they built.” Audio Union has only been together about a year and a half, pulled together from other past local music projects, but they come with their own sound system (a bonus for many venues unaccustomed to hosting live music) and their own smoke and laser effects. They’re also geared with
knowledge. Ikonon is on lead vocals and guitar, Martin Bodo is on lead guitar and backing vocals, Terrence Moonie is on bass and backing vocals, and Tim Jackson is on drums and percussion. Their accumulated stage experience now gets applied to Audio Union purposes. Classic rock is fundamentally about familiar, energized tunes but this band also knows an audience wants to see proof of talent. That means creativity, be it an unusual rendering of a well known song or homemade songs that
need Some bands some to rock, and bands towns need rock. who need to
Photo Credit: Dev Bachman
kick ass. “We’re getting to work soon on our first record,” Ikonen said. “There is a lot of originality and creative talent in this band so it would be a shame to only do covers. If you have quality music, people will appreciate that and the word spreads and pretty soon you have a following.” Their Facebook page has all their contact information and latest news.
Photo Credits: James Doyle SEPTEMBER2016
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THE MANY COLOURS OF THE BLACK DONKEY By Frank Peebles
The Black Donkey Café is the downtown eatery you can really use. When this restaurant has themes and promotions, it is almost never about the food on the menu or the hot beverages on the feature board. Their themes are about activities. Owner Chris Blackier recognized there were plenty of places to go and eat things. Few of them offered a place to also do things. Music, art, games and entertainment are on the Black Donkey menu, and they are usually free of charge. It starts working on your senses as soon as you walk into the aromatic corner café at 3rd and George. Paintings and photographs populate the walls and ceiling. Tables double as game stations for chess / checkers, snakes and ladders, etc. Over in the far corner is a small but busy stage where musicians and deejays often hold court, often spontaneously. It is a key Pokemon Go destination as well. So instead of Meatloaf or Minestrone Monday, patrons get Magic Metal Monday which pulls the Magic: The Gathering card. There are open mic concerts every Friday, Thursdays alternate between synthesizers and salsa dancing. Wednesdays are for karaoke, Tuesdays are for tabletop games, etc. “Saturday and Sundays we generally leave open for public use if anybody wants to Continued on page 8 6
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Continued from page 6
Photo Credits: Dev Bachman
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utilize our space free of charge,” Blackier said. Then there are the special events. The Black Donkey has hosted concerts, live painting, Dungeons & Dragons playtime, Blackier and some artist friends created an outdoor mural that doubles as a projection screen for outdoor movies and dance parties, even a night market. “My main priority is to bring awareness to the fact our downtown needs a little bit of
work and it’s going to come a lot quicker as long as we continue to keep a positive influx of pedestrian traffic and other events.” It’s also a bright spot after hours. When almost everything is closed for the night, this café keeps the latte on until the wee hours, adding one more interactive layer to this delicious sandwich. The pulse of downtown Prince George kicks like a black donkey.
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Clothing available at Homework
Scene
Fashion
Photo Credits: Brett Cullen
Hair and Make-up by Theresa Riggan and Razor’s Edge Hair Studio
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It took a lot for Dayna Slater to bring her art out into the public to be seen.
An Artist with a
Bone To Pick By Frank Peebles
Photo Credits: Brent Braaten 12
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MakerFaire and first two editions of Northern FanCon were the start. She just signed up for the 2017 event, and she is getting braver about other opportunities. For most artists it is simply a case of swiping the bank card through the machine to book a spot at any convention or craft fair. For Slater, she has to steel her nerves for what inevitably comes with public appearances. Most people get oooos and ahhhs for their creations; she gets ewwwws and awwwwws. Her creations are striking, spectacular, beautiful. But her medium causes some to turn their nose up or, worse, attack her with insults. Her medium is skulls and bones of animals, then adorned with paint and other accessories. It is inspired by the imagery of Jim Hensen and even Disney (the Fantasia demon, the Sleeping Beauty dragon) and would be at home on stage at any heavy metal concert, but the closer one looks, the more one appreciates the detailed nuances. She just wishes the critics would look more closely at her creative process. “I don’t hunt. Everything I use was already dead,” she said. “I’ve been accused of satanism and witchcraft, and all I do is art. It is a tribute to the animals. The way people live on after death is through memories. There are photographs and stories. There is a funeral. These animals never got that tribute, so this is my way of showing that these were beautiful creatures, they were here sharing the earth with us, and this is a way to remember them.” On the other hand, her work also has its fans and appreciators. Many of them provide her with the raw material she works with everything from hunting remains to roadkill to beloved family pets that passed on. “I give people an alternate way to look at life,” she said. “It challenges some people’s core beliefs and I suppose that is exactly what art is supposed to do.”
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Ani Kyd has always been bigger than her surroundings. When she lived in the Lower Mainland, she was always the brashy and brassy one even in the flashy punk and metal scenes where she was a star.
There’s A New
Kyd In Town By Frank Peebles
Photo Credits: Submitted 14
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But what is the lauded B.C. rocker girl doing living the quiet domestic life in Hixon? Simple: first she fell in love with a Hixon guy, then she fell in love with the Hixon hamlet. There is a rich population of performers in the OminecaCariboo, but few with her experience in touring, projectmanaging albums and videos and other cornerstones of a rock career. Almost immediately she was asked to perform on local stages and conduct free workshops to teach the details of her trade. You don’t have to become an accountant, she said, but you do have to seriously delve into your industry. Get a working knowledge of organizations like SOCAN, FACTOR, the BC Arts Council and other support agencies. And you have to meet other musicians, other artists of all kinds, and get to know them. They are your support, but you are also theirs. “It doesn’t matter what your profession, you must contribute to your community, be a helper, because your community contributes to you,” she said. “Crossover in the arts is important – helping and showing respect for other kinds of artists. Music is helped if musicians partner with painters and makeup artists and photographers and filmmakers. If everyone helps everyone, you cease to be disconnected hands and legs and heads, you become a body.” A lot demands the squishing of your performer’s ego, she said, in order to focus on practical goals. It means doing work. “If you want to be a three-chord punk band, you do not need to learn how to read music, but if you want to be a session player or a member of the symphony, you have to study charts.” Kyd has been involved in film projects in the most recent of times, but she is working on a new album - her first as a northerner.
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METALLION By Jonathan Kyrein
To an outsider, Metallion would look like a modern day Mongol horde, celebrating after a victorious battle. Long hair, beards, tattoos, and beer filled drinking horns. In its third year running, this year at Metallion was the best. With pre sale tickets outnumbering total ticket sales of the previous year. On the first day of the festival, metalheads and rockers started coming though the gate and began scouting the best camping spots with their friends. Lots of these camp areas became their own parties, usually named after the group or band who set up the camp site. Such as Camp Hellsmen or Camp Dillion. These mini parties would welcome any passerby into their group to share a drink or talk music. At 3pm, Crucible of Scorn took the stage and got everyone warmed up for the nights events. Being followed by other local favourites Seraphic Nihilist, Flesh Martyr, and non locals Tides of Kharon. As night fell, a lot of fans were anticipating the debut performance of Gladius Sky featuring members of Xul, Cadaveric Lividity, and Prince George metal celebrity Taylor Pottle (Axis Disrupt, Flesh Martyr). After a bone crushing set, heavy music fans were not disappointed. As the night progressed more bands showcased their talents and were the soundtrack to those who were partying at their campsites. When Saturday morning came around, the Sun reminded everyone that it wasn’t the music that was the most brutal thing at the festival, but the heat. As people crawled out of their tents, looking like some sort of lobster zombies, due to sunburn from the day before. The survivors felt their only refuge was the creek that runs near the campgrounds. As the day progressed everyone got reenergized by bands like Deveined who are made up of the creators of Metalloid, Brad Foster, Sean Robinson, and Les Wade. Who have unknowingly become godfathers to the Prince George metal scene by providing one of the best events Prince George has to offer. Saturday had its own relaxed vibe, as even more concert goers showed up to the festival, bringing their kids with them. Lots of families brought camping chairs to sit and watch the bands perform, making future metalheads of their kids. In between bands, people would shop at the merchandise stalls set up by local artists and businesses. Showing that Metalloid wasn’t all about musicians, but also supporting other creatives in what they do. At a festival full of heavily tattooed metalheads with satanic themed band shirts, you would not expect how friendly and welcoming everyone is.
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or there wasn’t any negativity For an event such as this the for g kin pac everyone was drama. Its almost like when re ir ego at home to make mo the ve lea to se festival, they cho you at tre uld wo rs nge stra te ple room for more beer. Com that only thing that mattered is the and , nds frie g lon life like part re we you ant me ng there you were there. Because bei of the family. Photo Credits: Jonathan Kyrein
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Barkerville Steampunk By Frank Peebles
Steampunk came to Barkerville like a slow boil. The historic town is rooted in the wild west and industrial Victorian era - exactly the canvas on which the steampunk movement is painted. Photo Credits: Submitted
This science fiction sub-genre bases its wardrobe and a whole presence on that period. They mix in a dose of “what if” and dash of “do-it-yourself” to make a fictional aesthetic that comes to life on the authentic streets of the Cariboo ghost town. For the third consecutive year, Barkerville invites steampunk enthusiasts to don their finest goggles and gears for three days of magic, mystery....and murder. “This year, we were under pressure to be bigger and better,” said James Douglas, manager of visitor experiences for Barkerville and one of the organizers of the now annual Out Of Time event - an old fashioned murder mystery steeped in steampunk. “There is a superhero sub-genre of steampunk so this year’s theme is It Was A Dark & Steamy Knight, and it plays on the Batman vs. Superman and Suicide Squad stuff floating around right now in popular culture. It is Gotham by gaslight,” said Douglas. It’s a sleek fit. Barkerville was in its heyday in the Gothic era with the dark drama of Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe. These writers heavily influence the fantastical whimsy of the steampunk style, and the early underpinnings of comic books. Batman will be there, played by Charlie Ross who will also appear in his solo stage show One Man Batman. Barkerville staff actor Danette Boucher will reprise her most famous role, Queen Victoria, at one special appearance but even the monarch will have a royal steampunk air about her. “It’s a great way for people to experience Barkerville in a different way,” Douglas said. Out Of Time happens from Sept. 23-25. You can buy tickets to one, some or all the events culminating in the final murder mystery roleplay. For more information, including ticket sales, visit barkerville.ca/ steampunk3. For hints on what to wear, look up the Steampunk Prince George group’s page on Facebook. 20
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Our four cover models for this issue feature hair and make-up from Shine hair Salon
Photo credits: Kayla Hughes - 1, James Doyle - 2, 7, Kelly Bergman - 3, 4, 5, 6. 11
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6 On August 29, Five photographers and over 20 models descended on the Northland Dodge service bays for the Scene PG’s first ever synchronized photoshoot. Models were encouraged to show up ready to shoot in their own edgy attire with their own dystopic hair and makeup. Four participating models were selected to receive hair and make-up from Shine Hair Salon for their appearance on the cover of the magazine and in the double page spread inside.
8 Nicole Gibson - 8, 10, Dev Bachman - 9
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HEAVY ROCK – NOT A BURDEN By Frank Peebles
Start band. Record album. Invest in band swag. Buy a touring van. Have a CD release concert. Go on tour. Check, check, check, check, check and check - all in a matter of just over a year, most of it this summer. The Burden hardly seems burdened by anything, they are rising so fast. The Prince 24
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George post-hardcore quartet (a little bit sing, a little bit scream, a little bit melody, a little bit thunder) has been sending up flares for all to see, especially since they brought debut album Modern Disease into the world in July. The band is guitarist Rob Bacon and vocalist Jake Olexyn (the founding duo), bassist Ross Vanosch and drummer Nick Tindale (Devin Vassallo formerly drummed) and they are becoming a force together.
They just got back from a jaunt to Vernon, Kelowna, Grand Prairie and Edmonton as well as a hometown show. “You get to play for people who won’t usually check out your music,” said Olexyn of the necessity to tour. “The way competition is these days, you have to get their attention by getting in front of them and showing them what you’re all about, and we hope the word spreads.” The band tested the material
a few times before they hit the road, to help control the chemical reactions in the audience, but the road was still a training ground. “We learned to make sure we play earlier, always take the time to talk to everyone after the show, and to downsize the gear because gear is heavy,” Olexyn said. The band invested in merchandise like hoodies and T-shirts prior to departure, and bought their own touring van
Photo Credits: Brett Cullen
as well. In hindsite, said Olexyn, both were wise choices. “The only way to really be self-sufficient as a band of our size out on the road is merch. You get paid only basically gas money for the show, so that merch money is what actually funds the band and makes it all worthwhile. And the van allows you to be active when you want to be, go where you want to go, and it’s a converted 15-passenger van so we can haul all the gear and
have room for all of us to relax and have our personal space a bit.” The next time The Burden plugs in for a P.G. show will be sometime in late October. They are planning a Halloween-themed mosh. The details are still brewing, but with this band, you know they’re going to work fast and hit hard.
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Metro Comedy Circuit By Frank Peebles
The Metro Comedy Circuit has awoken from a sleep of many years, and it started with a belly laugh not a titter. The laugh-child of entrepreneur Jason Luke first emerged in the 1990s but the curtains closed when he moved from town for other pursuits. When he returned, so too did his comedy habit. He reopened the running gag this summer with a double-bill headlined by Erica Sigurdson and Dylan Rhymer.
Later this month The Metro will set the bar even higher with one of Canada’s most applauded comedy names ever. “The Metro Comedy Circuit is very excited to be bringing Bruce McCulloch from Kids In The Hall,” Luke said. McCulloch made himself into an international star alongside fellow KITH cast members Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. They had such a rabid fan following that they were cast into the elite of sketch troupes with the likes of Monty Python, Second City
Television, the Royal Canadian Air Farce, Madd TV and Living Colour. McCulloch excelled at deadpan and man-child blankness in his delivery. He had a hit single with the giggly novelty tune “These Are The Daves I Know, I Know” and established popular recurring characters on KITH like vacuous pop singer Tammy, motormouth schoolboy Gavin, and grumpy suburbanite Gordon. McCulloch was a writer for international hit shows like Saturday Night Live and Carpoolers, he co-starred with the KITH guys in the movie Brain Candy, and on his own was in shows like Gilmore Girls and 26
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Twitch City. As a director, he was at the helm for the films Dog Park (starring Natasha Henstridge and Luke Wilson), Stealing Harvard (Jason Lee and Tom Green) and Superstar (Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell). McCulloch is also renowned for his standup abilities. He will bring his live show to Vanier Hall (along with special guest act Brian Connelly) on Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at Studio 2880. For more information on other comedy shows Luke has planned for the city, check out the Metro Comedy Circuit page on Facebook.
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PLAY GROUNDS CAFE By Chris Dias
Every small town has that one café everyone frequents. By frequent, I stress because of the quality of the food, not because it’s a gym for Pokémon Go. Sometimes, it’s because they boast a chocolatier or a bakery, the common denominator being a central figure with a passion for his or her business. This spills into every corner, resulting in something far more important than a simple coffee shop.
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I feel the distinction is important. A coffee shop is where you go to purchase coffee, and not much else. It’s more a factory floor than a community center. A café, one that earns it’s accented “e”, is something approaching art, where people socialize, unified by a desire to actually be at that café. It must be more than pressing a button and waiting for molten tar to come dripping into a ten-cent paper cup. Play Grounds is no assembly line; it is a true café, one
deserving of its placement atop the list of cafés in town. It wears many hats, a daycare, a social center. It could still be a gym for Pokémon Go; I can’t make that assumption. The space used to be an actual gym, so that wouldn’t be a stretch. Its name implies a play area for children, and this safe bet is justified as it rests beyond a partition splitting the establishment. But it is so much more. Its
tea selection was handpicked. Its coffee is local. The tables are hand-made or vintage secondhand, therefore indistinguishable from those found at Pottery Barn. And they have a crepe machine. Not a frying pan with an extrawide spatula, an actual crepe machine, by this article’s publication a unique feature in town. That alone would draw the thralls. Crepes dominate the menu, and rightly so, with
not a single option unenticing. Beyond that, Play Grounds has an actual personality, and not an intrusive one. Its décor is rustic but not distracting. The food is appetizing without breaking the bank, and wholly made in house. All of this is thanks to Jeni, a second generation restaurateur (could be more, I didn’t probe further, I’m not Ancestry.ca), a professional photographer, and a mother to six. She also
runs a restaurant. Meanwhile, I have difficulty driving and chewing gum at the same time. Play Grounds is not just another café, it is fated to be another landmark people speak of when bragging about the city, the one you tell visitors to try. And if you get the chance to watch a crepe being made, do so; it’s like being hypnotized by a lava lamp.
Photo Credits: Bo Dannefaer SEPTEMBER2016
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BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARDEMAN PLACE By Frank Peebles
The impending passing of Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie hits especially close for the country’s creators.
“I hope that all of us who have the audacity to call ourselves artists will find in ourselves the capacity to do what Gord Downie has done,” said Prince George painter Corey Hardeman, moved by the singer saying goodbye to Canada on a final concert tour despite terminal cancer. “I hope we all courageously and relentlessly pursue our work,” Hardeman said. “I hope for all our lives we take our failing bodies and tired souls and force them out and on, and push and push and push because the life of a human being, even the long life of a long lived human being, is not enough. It’s not enough. Go, go, go.” Hardeman is easily one of the biggest names in the region’s arts community. She has illustrated books, been a court sketch-artist and won awards for writing about that experience, represented B.C. at National Art Battle. In almost every notable way a 30
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Prince George viewer can see a painting, hers are there. She’s held paint tubes in her mouth to keep them from freezing outside in winter because her home was too small. A marriage dissolved. A life-partner died. All of it was turned into intense art. “I guess what it comes down to for me is that making art is how I love the world, and how I love my life, and it’s the thing I am best at and the thing I am most willing to give my time and attention and thought and dedication to,” she said. “And as I get older my options get narrower; let’s face it: this is what I am doing, and I will be doing it to the best of my ability until I die. One life is not enough time to perfect a craft. You’ve got to go, go, go. All the time. It’s a breath and a prayer and a joy and the hardest work imaginable and the biggest frustration and a hell of a way to make a living.”
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