COMPOSE Magazine Issue No. 2 by COMPOSE Magazine

CO MP OSE

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CON TRIB U TOR S

WE’RE D I G G I N’ : SP R I N G ED I T I O N TAST E T EST : BO ’ S BA R & GR I LL THE T R U T H I N T H E MI L K B OW L K N OW YO U R BA R M AN

WH Y BEI N G A F EMI N I ST I S COO L. . . H AT ER S G O NNA H AT E

Q +A : G H O ST FAC E K I LL AH STO L EN SI S T E R S

PORTF O L I O : VAG A BO N D STU D I O S IF T H ESE WA L L S CO U LD TALK

TENT

FROM THE PUBLISHER Another issue is coming at ya hot off the press and boy am I ever stoked. The overwhelming response from the first issue has given a perfect amount of ammo to keep on trucking through to bring you guys the latest platform for arts + culture in Red Deer. I want to say thank you to everyone on their kind words of support and encouragement that has flooded our way since putting out the first issue. This magazine is for YOU! We can’t wait to keep pouring the issues out and keep celebrating the dopeness that is Red Deer. There’s not much I want to say about the second issue as I believe it speaks for itself. We’ve had an incredible amount of talent pour in for this issue. This is my favourite part of doing this magazine- taking a peek into the way other individuals think and see the world. I want to give a momumental thank you to all those who came out to our launch party at Bo’s Bar & Grill. I am so grateful and appreciative of this community’s support and am look forward to getting to know you all better in the very near future. We had some amazing live art by local cats Jesse Gouchey and Ryan Willert, along with some kick ass art and local goods provided by some outstanding individuals for our silent auction. I cannot express enough gratitude to Bo’s Bar and Grill for hosting the event and doing such a great job in helping us out with this. Their dedication, staff and support was amazing. Another colossal shout out goes to Dose Coffee Co. in providing the crowd with some bomb-ass Irish coffee. It’s the unification of the people like this that really makes Red Deer so unique; helping one another out and creating something we’re all stoked on. The ways the community comes together is phenomenal and I am beyond grateful for their, as well as your support. F O R I N Q U I R I E S O N CO N T R I B U T I N G , A D V E R T I S I N G A N D A N Y T H I N G E L S E , CO M E S AY H E L L O @ R E A DCO M P O S E . CO M

PHOTO: ANDREA WISEMAN PHOTO: EVERETT TETZ

PHOTO: EVERETT TETZ

PHOTO: ANDREA WISEMAN PHOTO: ANDREA WISEMAN

PHOTO: ANDREA WISEMAN

BUSINESSES: BO’S BAR & GRILL DOSE COFFEE CO. CROP HAIR BOUTIQUE TRUE NORTH REALTY BLUE COLLAR TEXTILES THE SOUNDHOUSE LUCID TATTOOING AND DESIGN STEEL PONY FARM SETH VAN HAVERE OF TO THE LOST ART 4 KIDS

PHOTO: EVERETT TETZ

ARTISTS: STEVE JOHNSON MICHAEL HUYZER ADEENA NASHOLM

ARTISTS: JESSE GOUGHEY RYAN WILLERT CRAIG WOODS

R E A DCO M P O S E . CO M

@ R E A DCO M P O S E

# R E A DCO M P O S E

ARTISTS: BRANDON FANCIE GERTJAN ZWIGGELAAR JASMINE NELSON CHRISTINE KARRON JESSICA PETTIT CHUCK GASPER EMILY THOMSON DONAHUE THE ASHLEY HUNDRED

CON TRIB U TORS

1. Who are you and what do you do?

JODI NEUFELD

STEPHANIE RHODES 1. Former West Coaster. Singer, music lover, foodie, straight shooting wordsmith and aspiring judgementalist. Owner of Fishbowl Magazine, an arts and entertainment magazine on Salt Spring Island in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia 2. I contributed Haters Gonna Hate - a piece that hates on haters. 3. @cheesecurlsofinstagram - Cheese curls as art. @newbeeraday - Darrin Wingard drinks a new beer every day and has been for 858 days. @ darrylljones - follows the adventures of Eric, a tiny Star Wars figurine 4. Songza’s Blogged 50 playlist; Scary Berry smoothie from Booster Juice; People who think 40 year old chicks are still cool.

2. What did you contribute to this issue?

FOUR QUESTIONS

1. My name is Jodi Neufeld and I am an artist/photographer. 2. I contributed to this issue by writing an article on social equality. 3. @jennymorganart –super cool painter of portraits ; @babesrideout – featuring women who ride motorcycles, I also like to ride; @slowerblack – a tattoo artist who does only beautiful stick and pokes 4. Planning getting some chickens on our new farm; Drawing and inking, making prints; Kombucha.

3. Three favourite instagram accounts you follow?

4. Three things you’re diggin’ right now? STEVE WOOLRICH MIKE KOZLOWSKI

TWO

Art Battle.

COM PO SE

1. I am Mike Kozlowski - farmer, yogi, general lover of life. I own and operate Steel Pony Farm 2. I contributed an article called Truth in The Milk Bowl 3. @ prairiegoldmeat (for ideas on solar conversion to protein) @_cyberyoga_ (unreal body awareness to keep us humble) @JTM_FIT (big inspiration) 4. Time in the humid and warm greenhouse; Yoga at all of the amazing yoga studios in town; Russell Brand’s book Revolution

1. I’m Steve Woolrich. I am a Crime Prevention practitioner specializing in Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) and social development. 2. I submitted a feature on improving our communities and built-environments through arts and culture. 3. I am a big fan of Twitter and follow @Imagine_Art @GoogleStreetArt and too many great musicians to mention in this column :-) 4. Our downtown scene, local live music and

W E ’R E DIG G IN ’ : S PR I NG P R E P P I N ’ WE’VE COMBED THE LOCAL SCENE AND HAND PICKED A FEW THINGS WE’RE DIGGIN’ FOR THE SPRING SEASON

1. CALISPEL I8 CRUISER BY DIAMONDBACK: SAVY CYCLE : SAVYCYCLE.CA THE LOST, DOWNTOWN ON ROSS.

3. 1917 WORLD WAR 1 EDC BAG : ETSY.COM/MULELEATHER

CLEANSE : REMEDY HOLISTIC JUICERY, DOWNTOWN ON ROSS. STUDIO : 5571, 45TH STREET.

2. BLOOD AND SAND COCKTAIL : TO 4. 1 DAY JUICE

5. MY REVOLUTION BOUTIQUE CYCLE AND YOGA

6. retroSUPERfuture LUCIA PUMA SUNGLASSES : ALTA SHOP, DOWNTOWN ON ROSS.

7. CLEAR QUARTZ NECKLACE : DAWN AND DAY JEWELRY : DAWNANDDAYJEWELRY.COM

DOSE COLD BREW

ICED COFFEE : AVAILABLE AT DOSE COFFEE CO., RED BOAR SMOKERY, CAFE VERO, COCONUT ROOM AND BIG BEND MARKET.

TASTE TEST:

BO’S BAR & GRILL Bo’s has been a longstanding go-to for Red Deerian’s for the past 20 years. Well known as a classic sports pub, there’s been something [really good] in the water over there lately and we’re taking notice. Bo’s is stepping up their game with the addition of live music, handcrafted cocktails and more recently- a revamped menu. It’s refreshing to see a Red Deer original take a brave new spin on an old classic. Not reinvent the wheel, but just give it a new coat of paint, so to speak. I mean, change is good for the soul, right?

T H E COM POSE T EAM

We set foot into Bo’s to sample some of the dishes on their new menu, which still includes some of their classics (Mac n’ Cheese bites, anyone?) along with a handful of newcomers. Bo’s is elevating their pub experience into a place where you can enjoy a legit meal that you’ll actually want to talk about in the company of some of your favorite people. Transcending from the usual overdone pub varieties of deep fried vegetables and glorified sandwiches, Bo’s new menu has got you all like ‘f*ck, that’s delicious’, coming in as another contender on the dinner scene. Now more than just a place to go with your boys for a steak sandie, Bo’s is now an experience with this menu giving way as What do I try first? Everyone eagerly dug in to the family style mains (meant for shara place you could take your lady friend out for dinner to. ing) and started with something different. At this point I was experiencing a bit of what the kids call ‘FOMO’. “Wait! Save some of that for me! I haven’t tried that one yet!”. It all started when we were cut off mid-conversation Oh god, oh god- I need it all now! This was a feeding frenzy. Sadly there was indeed due to the influx of saliva in our mouths upon catching a main that I missed out on which was the Buttermilk Fried Chicken. I was able to a waft of that heavenly scent of sizzlin’, crispy pork. Ya’ll live vicariously through everyone else at the table and came to the conclusion that it know what I’m talking about- bacon, baby! The amia- was good. Really good. I was pissed. Especially when it continued to be the talk of the ble server slowly rests the pile of sticky, icky gooey back town for days to come. Alas, I knew I had ample opportunity to come back and see for bacon in front of us. Shit yeah. This- ladies and gentle- myself so I carried on to the Prosciutto Wrapped Pork Tenderloin. There’s not much man- was Billionaires Bacon. A hint of brown sugar and more you can say about pork wrapped up in more pork. I mean- it’s foolproof. My knife served with a sweet and spicy mustard, you just want to sliced through the soft, juicy loin and met my mouth with the perfect balance of saltsavor the moment until you realize it’s gone faster than iness in the Italian ham that hugged the tenderloin. I throw a bit of this thick, tangy you can finish the name of the dish. Not many words orange substance on my piece of pork. “What is this!?” I wondered out loud. “That’s the we’re said throughout the table during this dish, aside sriracha aioli” another carnivore tells me from across the table. I carry on and try out from the frequent ‘mmmm; oh my god; oh yeah’. If I one of the sides. I take a bite of the Roasted Root Vegetables, which were a bit too we’re blindfolded and didn’t know I was in a pub, the firm for my liking however savoury and flavourful nonetheless. Let’s try the creamed noises coming from the table would have told me oth- corn, shall we? I load up my fork with the creamy, thick sea of yellow niblets. Damn. Is this how they ‘do’ in the South? Sweet, savoury, soul satisfying goodness. erwise… Next up: Corn Fritters. That fluffy ball of deep-fried dough that always takes me back to childhood. But this wasn’t any ordinary fritter though; this was the grown up version of a fritter, complete with jalapenos, sausage and a dash of cajun spice which blended perfectly to provide a not-so-spicy yet interesting spin to a simple ball of dough that made me want to say, “Oh you fancy, huh?” I keenly looked across the table. What was that? I narrowed in on these angelic looking pillows of pastry. I was told they were Baked Brie Bites. I realize brie can be an acquired taste for some so if you dislike brie, carry on to the next dish. Or read up; maybe I can convince you to try and work things out and give brie another chance. I couldn’t contain my excitement now. Baked brie!? Heck yes! I pop one back without an ounce of hesitation. Oh .. my…. lord! My taste buds we’re throwing a black tie rager in my mouth. The delicate, buttery, fluffy pastry that was met with the decadent, piquant, earthy slice of melting ivory I call brie cheese. Damn, where the brie at! Pass me another.

“Oh my god!” I panted. And this was only the beginning. The mains and sides were now flooding to the table and I felt like a kid in a candy store. Not sure where to rest my eyes, the visual of the dishes alone had me panicking.

After all this meat I had to balance it with another vegetable when I saw the Roasted Brussel Sprouts to my right. As a former hater of brussel sprouts, I quickly grew to love them as my tastebuds matured. I mean, who has time for brussel sprouts when you’re a kid, amiright? However if you threw these brussel sprouts in front of a 9 year old me, I would’ve ate a shit load more of them and then asked for more (sorry mom). Roasted in garlic and wait for it- more bacon- they’re a great side to go along with any main. I can’t go on anymore. I.. just.. can’t. The food was expanding in my belly and getting the better of me. Cue meat sweats. My tastebuds we’re partying like it was 1999 as I try my hand at the arduous task of narrowing down my favorite dish. I look around the table and notice everyone looking the same as me; leaned back in their chair with a satisfied, accomplished smug look on their face. I wish I could’ve tried every single item on the menu however as mentioned earlier, Bo’s isn’t going anywhere anytime soon especially when, in my opinion, they just opened up a whole other world to people looking to switch up their venues for dinner. Now, if you just read through all of this meat talk and are feeling a bit left out, don’t worry; there are plenty of choices for vegetarians. Celiac? My partner in crime for the night is a Celiac and she was able to eat nearly everything we had sampled (with the exception of the deep fried bits and cornbread, of course). We applauded the gang at Bo’s on an incredible job well done on such an extremely difficult undertaking. We were told they spent months preparing, learning and testing the dishes and with that, thousands of nerves we’re fried. ‘What will people think? Will they like it? Will we do it right?’ So many questions, wonders and doubts creep up at such a vulnerable time of transition, which I thought was carried out and executed with such grace. Kudos, gang. Kudos.

COM POS E : LIFE-

En route to capture another baked brie bite I was intrigued by another hunk of cheese, the Mozzarella Balls. Thick chunks of gooey bocconcini were wrapped in bacons warm embrace, bathing in a mini-skillet full of velvety fresh marinara. Enough said.

Next up is the dish I’ve been eyeing up since it landed on the table. I noticed myself starting to get a bit territorial about it as I intently watch the others, making sure nobody was going to snap it up before I had a chance. The alluring charred black exterior contrasting against the vibrant pink inside was just begging me to devour it. ‘You’re such a babe’ I thought to myself. Yes, I’m referring to a piece of meat; the Carne Asada Steak to be more specific. The tricky yet flavorsome flank shone with the beautiful grilled taste. I started to feel a little guilty, a bit like a player as I quickly moved on to the next piece of meat. ‘Hello Rib Eye Steak, I’m Dee, it’s nice to meet you.’ Tender, juicy, succulent, inserteveryotherdescriptiveword here, goodness. This was the meat for me.

THE

TRUTH IN

THE MILK B OWL MIKE KOZLOWSKI

H oly smokes, the complexity of the food industry is boggling. Everyone has an angle. Everyone,

including me, is trying to sell something. Everyone has a peer reviewed scientific study backing up a claim. GMOs are good. GMOs are bad. Eat organic. Don’t eat organic. Enjoy a plant-based diet. Start eating more fat from animals raised on pasture. With all the information to sift through, sometimes it seems like we are kids in a candy store, unable to make any choice at all because of the amount of options we are overwhelmed with.

Recently, the term social license has been used with more frequency by proponents of industrial scale, conventional, chemical agriculture. Social license is an unwritten agreement between producers and consumers that defines the extent to which the public approves of and accepts the practices of industry. Enough information has been made available, enough documentaries have been produced, enough small-scale food producers have shown an alternative to the chemical intensive, factory farmed, profit-before-people-and-environment style of agriculture. Accordingly, consumers all over the world are beginning to cast a skeptical and judgemental eye toward industrial ag.

As a result, some producer groups and ag companies are beginning to feel the small tears at the edges of their social license. Disappointingly, they are not altering their practices to be more in line with consumer’s demands; they are instead using their marketing prowess to convince consumers that GMOs are the only way to feed the increasing population and that chemical agriculture poses no threat to humans, or the natural world. Recently, I even read an article stating that if you do not actively support conventional, chemical agriculture, you are a proponent of starvation, because there is no other way to feed the world. This is ludicrous. I fear that because of the huge amount of conflicting information available about food, teamed with the massive resources available to producer groups and agricultural companies, the public may be swayed into the belief that there are no realistic or productive alternatives to the conventional system. Our ability gather, digest, and process information is what will decide on the outcome of this food fight. I’ve heard that the term generation gap originated in the 60’s when the collective information that humans gathered was doubling with each generation. The speed at which this body of information is growing has increased drastically. Last I heard, by the time that you lift your head off of the pillow in the morning, the recorded information that existed when you went to bed has doubled.

So there is this huge mass of information, much of which comes from credible sources. And strangely, for every study that says Roundup is safe, there is another study proving the opposite. It’s hard to know who or what to trust.

Perhaps one way to get our bearings in this disorienting situation is to obtain some our own direct experience, and then to test the information we gather against the information we consume through the media and other areas. This can help us to form our own opinions and make important decisions.

Life begets life begets life begets life. You know this because you were born of a living mother and living father. You were not born of a rock and rock; that doesn’t make sense because rocks are not alive. And it doesn’t make sense either for living food to grow out of dead soil, whose living components have all been killed off by chemicals. All of the food that we eat, at one point, was alive. Living things grow best in environments that support life. Environments that support diverse forms of life such as earthworms, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, actinomycetes – these are the environments out of which we want our food to come. These are the environments in which there is a constant and healthy exchange of energy, matter, carbon and nutrients from plant to critter and back to plant again. If this energy is freely flowing, it will flow more easily to us humans, when it is on our plate. Find this out for yourself. Take one square foot of your garden, cover it with organic matter – straw, grass clippings, leaves. Water it. Let it sit. Come back in a month and compare it to a spot of soil that has not been covered. When you peel back the rich, moist mulch, I would be surprised if you do not see a place teeming with earthworms, beetles, and other creatures that are a sign of good soil health. The spot that was uncovered will be dry, dusty, less vital with less life. Plant seeds in both pieces of earth. Which spot grows the best, which is sweeter, which is a deeper green, or orange or purple?

There are so many ways to get direct, personal experience. I’ve been pointed toward studies lately with findings that herbicides and pesticides pose no threat to the food system, to human health or to the environment. Last fall, as a neighbour sprayed a pre-harvest dessicant, (a poison used to kill a crop just before harvest so as to accelerate the drying process and create uniform moisture levels), I was driving by on the way back to town. Seeing him from a distance, I rolled up my windows and shut off the circulating air. This stuff is so potent that the little bit that did find its way to my lungs had me hacking all the way back to town. There is a big trout in the milk right there. How can we for a second believe the studies that tell us these things are safe when our own direct experience screams to the contrary?

We can increase the interaction we have with food producing systems, and actually, I think that we are obligated to do so if we want to participate in this dialogue. Grow your own gardens. Look up any of the small food producers in the area and take a drive out to one of our operations. Do the same for any of the big operators you might know too. Ask all of us questions about our experiences. Ask us hard questions. Look around. Feel. Absorb. Look for truth; it’s out there, and we don’t always need graphs, lab coats, and beakers to find it. I want you to know that you have a choice, that there is an extremely productive alternative food system that will provide food for you and your family when you need it. I want you to know that all farmers are doing their best with the information that they have gathered. I want you to know that all of us, together, are building community and culture around the joy and challenge of food production, and that this experience becomes richer for us all when you reach out, get involved, and create your own experience.

COMP OSE : LIFESTYLE

When all of the information that we use to form opinions and make decisions comes from the experience of other people, I fear we will never truly know. What is true? What is right? What is life affirming, what is loving and whole, what builds community and relationships, and develops a strong local economy? How do we sort through the information?

Henry David Thoreau said, “Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk.” That guy was pretty out there, but I think he’s got a point – when we see a trout in the milk, there is no mistaking it. I propose that we spend a little bit more time looking for trout in the milk, as opposed to relying on others to figure out if something is a bit fishy. Engaging in agriculture for the past seven years, I feel I’ve had a chance to find some trout in the milk. Let me tell you about it.

CO MPO SE : LIFESTYLE

KNOW YOUR BARMAN 10

W E H U N G O U T W I T H S E T H VA N H AV E R E , H E A D B A R M A N O F TO T H E L O S T , L AT E R J O I N E D B Y C H R I S G OO D I N G , A N D C H AT T E D A B O U T COC K TA I L S T H AT TA S T E L I K E M O N E Y , T H E C R E AT I V E P R OC E S S B E H I N D C R A F T I N G COC K TA I L S A N D T H E VA N CO U V E R C A N U C K S B R AW L I N G W I T H T H E H . A

W O R DS AN D PH O TO S B Y T H E CO M P O S E T E A M

SAT MYSELF DOWN AT

the end of the long, hand-crafted wooden bartop, finding myself surveying the titles of the cocktail themed books against an old history of exposed brick. “This is a good looking place’, I thought to myself. “How’s it going?”, I was greeted by Seth Van Havere, head barman for To The Lost. “You going to have a drink?” Intrigued by the plethora of high end liquors and liqueurs that scattered across the back shelf, I steadily look over the wide selection of hand-crafted cocktails that fill the pages of the aesthetically simple and clean menu.

“What’s good?” I ask such an open ended question naively. That’s when Chris Gooding, the Young Jedi in training, suggests the Aperol Sour. A low alcohol variety consisting of Aperol liqueur (at 11% alcohol, it’s one of the lightest liqueurs on the market), lemon juice, simple syrup and egg whites. Aperol is an Italian aperitif dating back to 1919 that displays a balance of subtle sweetness and bitter flavours (bitter orange, gentian, rhubarb, and cinchona among other ingredients that remain a secret). Chris brings the bottle of the liqueur as I admire the label artwork that appears to have remained unchanged since the 1950’s. I take a waft of the Aperol. “It smells like Tahiti Treat!” I declare in excitement as childhood memories of walking down the street to the video store for a pop, video game and a gumball come rushing back. Chris starts the process by separating the egg whites followed by fresh lemon juice. Then comes the beautiful bright orange hue of the Aperol. I watch Chris as he pays a considerable amount of care and attention into the process. After a good shake I watch the now pale pinkish, frothy liquid pour so elegantly into the glass, Chris dips a straw into my drink, plugs it, then helps himself to a taste. This is quality control at its finest, and it goes into every drink you get. My lips met the pillowy softness of the egg whites. The lemon juice balances well with the Aperol resulting in a beautiful composition that cracked a smile across my lips. This, ladies and gentleman, is how a drink is meant to me. Not mass manufactured watered down beer or well highballs. This is drinking as an art. I started off getting fresh with Seth. You know- some basics to get to know him better and what path has led him to this present day.

So, tell me a bit about yourself.

Then you came here! So that sort of leads me to how did To The Lost come about? Sean [Draper] and I have been.. Well, we always saw each other around town and in different places and that kind of turned into

COM POS E : LIFESTYLE

Born and raised in Red Deer. I went to Mount Royal for broadcasting back in ‘99-’00 and then after a brief stint at Zed 99 I realized that wasn’t the way I wanted to go. So I came back, got a job at Tony Roma’s in the summer of 2000 and then went to a few more restaurants around town. I’ve done quite the circuit of places in Red Deer! Then I went to the film program at The Red Deer College. Tried to be an actor, moved to Vancouver for two years and - every actor is a bartender and every bartender is an actor. I couldn’t find a job doing either so then I came home and was at Redstone for five years. Out in Vancouver I was doing the dive bars, pubs, I’ve done family restaurants then I went to fine dining at Redstone and that was great but after five years I just needed to move on. After a couple places I went to finish up at State and Main and then I quit about a month ago and came here.

LIFESTYLE

COM PO SE :

“ I T H I N K C R E AT I N G A COC K TA I L I S A L L A B O U T B A L A N C E .”

you know, ‘I’d like to eventually open up my own place’ and ‘oh me too, what kind of place?’, ‘well something like that’, ‘oh, me too!’ so we got talking more and more and then it was maybe two or three years ago we started to actually put some stuff together to open up a place. It was going to be just another place downtown but our visions didn’t really line up so we decided that maybe this isn’t the time and we’ll try it again. He has two kids, I have three kids and he said ‘I’ve got some money, I want to open a place” and I said ‘I don’t really have the time to be an owner right now but I’ll be your head bartender and we can actually create the place we want to create’. They say when you’re out looking to open up a restaurant or bar, take your original opening date and add six months and that’s exactly how it was. I think he wanted to open in November. But it was good because it gave us time to create the menu we wanted to create and you know- just to really get everything perfect.

What attracted you to the concept of To The Lost and handcrafted cocktails. What sparked the passion? I was bartending, like most bartenders, just to pay the bills. You know, in my 20’s it was just a job and to drink and party [he says with a mischevious look] and then when I was turning 30 I thought ‘I’ve got two kids. Do I start a ‘real job’, as they say, or what do I do? Can I be a professional bartender in Red Deer for all my life [said with a slight note skeptisim]? And I thought and decided that yes I can. So after I decided I’m going to do that and do everything as best I can, I started doing a lot of reading. The Classic Cocktail movement started maybe five or seven years ago down in the States and in the big cities and slowly it’s spreading. At home we live our lives very healthy with locally sourced food as much as we can and try to get no hormones in our meat and that kind of stuff so I wanted to take that approach to my drinks. You know- you have to do what your boss tells you to do and if your boss tells your to pour Bar Lime, Coke and Clamato then that’s what you do but that’s what intrigued me so much about this place is- can we stray away from that [with a serious curiosity across his face]? Can we get into real flavors and flavors that we’re not really used to here [in Red Deer]? For years it was ‘Oh you need a virgin drink? Well here’s some cranberry cocktail or a pineapple or orange juice and soda- there you go’ but there are so many different options. There’s low alcohol cocktails, there’s non-alchoholic cocktails that you would never know are non-alcoholic you know, that don’t really look like Mexican restaurant tiki drinks. So that’s what really intrigued me. Actually the book Imbibe by David Wondrich is the one that really turned it all around for me. [Seth reaches back to the shelf stocked full of cocktail books and spots Imbibe]. This one, it’s all about Jerry Thomas who is the grandfather of the American cocktail. He’s the first one to write up a recipe book. He goes over and explains all the drinks; where the Manhatten came from, where the Old Fashioned came from and a lot of history. A lot of history plus drinks for me is a win. I’ve steered my focus towards classic drinks and what makes a cocktail family. Creating cocktails, you know, there’s a formula for pretty much every cocktail. One is sour, one is sweet, one is strong, one is weak so when you break it down, every cocktail has that flavor, that componenet. It’s like wine; the more you learn, the less you know so that always really fascinated me and I’m really into the science of things. You know, why you’re shaking, why you stir, fermentaiton processes- all that kind of interesting stuff.

The unwritten rule is that you stir anything that has mostly or just alchohol and if it has juice, milk, cream, egg white or anything like that that you shake it because shaking wakes up the flavours and it’s getting millions and millions of bubbles in there so it gets that effervescent feel and a stirred drink, like a Manhatten, doesn’t have any bubbles in it so it’s got the really silky taste to it. It’s almost like an

It really is a science then hey; learning how to work with each ‘material’ so to speak. Do you see yourself as a bartender or mixologist? What is the difference? I see myself as a bartender. I’ve had a friend introduce me as ‘Oh this is my friend, he’s a mixologist’ and I say I’m not because bartending is- first and foremeost- about the customer and creating a experience for them, and your drinks really do come second. Whereas I think a mixologist is concerned with just drinks and you are almost like, behind the scenes. There’s a bar called The Aviary in Chicago; their bar is in a seperate room. They don’t even deal with the customers. There’s five of them and they just create really cool things but I think a bartender is concerned with tending his bar and a mixologist is creating flavours.

That’s a good way to look at it. I never thought of it that way and I honestly didn’t know the difference, aside from thinking mixologists we’re the ones making the nice cocktails, such as yourself. Well that is the definietly one of the main concerns; making a good cocktail. But the job number one [of a mixologist] is creating without having the customers. If you’re in New York, you’ve got 8-9 million people and an endless cycle of people. Here, if you don’t deliver top notch service then it doesn’t matter how good your drinks are.

Do you experiment in creating new cocktails at all? What is your approach? We do. We launched this original menu having none of our drinksjust all classics and modern classics, tried and true. People ask us what our signature cocktail is and we don’t have one yet because we want to find what matches us, really; what works the best. So we’re always experimenting with flavours. Chris made an amazing Caeser mix with a whole bunch of different recipes. I don’t like Caesers and I love this mix. It’s delicious. [Chris grabs a glass jar of the thick, red juice from the fridge and pours me a shot glass]

It looks pretty intense! Yeah, there’s no spicing it after- it’s all right in there.

So what is the creative process when trying to find the rightA good drink?

Yeah! [I eagerly take a sip of the shot sized sampler of the Caeser mix...] That’s f*cking good. It reminds me of a food I’ve had (oh how very sophisticated of me to word is so eloquently). Chris jumps in and tells me about a lady that came in a few nights ago and ordered a Caeser, to which they did not have the proper mix so they got what they needed and whipped one up. Twenty four hours later, two girls sat at the bar stating they had heard To The Lost makes a good Caeser. I friggen’ love my Caesers and let me tell you- these guys are on to something here.) For the creative process, we want to take our time and make sure that it’s right. I’m not saying we can do anything that nobody else can do. Anyone can make and put a whole bunch of flavours in a drink but we think it really has to, in order for it to be on the menu, it has to sing. It has to be ‘wow’. I think creating a cocktail is all about balance. It can’t be too strong, otherwise it’s just doing shots, you know. And especially being in Red Deer you can’t alienate people with taste. You can’t give them anything too shocking- you really have to ease them into it. [He pauses to mix another one up for customers sitting by the window. The concentration, care and focus on his face means business. My nose awakens from the citrus scent wafting from the freshly peeled orange rind] Last spring I went to

COMP OSE : LIFESTYLE

Why DO you shake vs. stir?

evening drink compared to an afternoon drink. It’s really fun.

The Art of the Cocktail which is an annual bartenders conference where I saw a guy named Tony Coniglario from down in London. He twice won Bartender of the World. So he was talking about his creative process and he makes- just the most amazing drinks. He’s created a drink called the Nosferatini. He wanted to make a drink to creep people out for Halloween and he made the drink out of gin but he wanted to put drops of blood on there so he used food colouring and iron and so when you tasted it, it actually tasted like blood. You know you’re not drinking blood but your subconsience tells you ‘something’s really wrong’ and you just get tingles up your neck. I mean- just far out ideas. He’s got a drink on his menu that took two years to make. He made one that tastes like Church, like a Catholic Church, the smoke they do-

What’s your favorite drink?

Like-frankinscene?

CG: I’ve had to tell a lot of people to respect other people in the bar. Just coming from a small town on the Island and you get a lot of young people that come into the bar and their just rowdy, whereas some of these pepple have been sitting at the same bar for 20 years and have helped grow that bar- it’s very rude. You know, people like that, it’s just kind of like - you kind of wish the younger generations would just understand that it’s been around for a long time and there’s always people before us that have been in the same place and that have helped grow certain businesses. Most people can be pretty good about it though cause they’re out to relax and just have a good time.

Yeah and like a wafer and all that kind of stuff. I’ve never been to a Catholic Church but... I think 95% of his drinks have an ingredient that was made just for that drink. Last year at a competition there was a guy who made a drink taste like money.

[A look of discust washes over my face as I think about the dank and dirty hands money passes through] Why would anyone want to taste money? I know right! And he won. Yeah- I don’t know [shaking his head in wonder]. So it shows the many different things you can do. Our focus is on the summer. Summer drinks. Right now in Alberta you can’t infuse your own alcohol which might change, so when that does we can do things differently. Shrubs, a lot of bitters, you know all that kind of stuff.

I like that Red Deer is finally warming up to all of this, you know what I mean? Before you would be hard pressed to find something like this in a mainly sports pub chain city...

MELVILLE

There are enough people in Red Deer who don’t want a Bud Light, that don’t want a Rye and Coke. But we want to cater to that too, you know. We have Rye, we have Cokewe have cane sugar cola... if you want anything [that isn’t on the menu], we can make it. We’re not snobby about it. We don;t want to change people, we just want to introduce them to another way of doing it.

My favorite drink is the Negroni. It’s equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. It’s a really bitter drink but I heard someone say that the first sip you ever have is the worst drink you ever had and by the third sip it’s the best drink you ever had. It’s like a Guiness you know, at first no one likes a Guiness.

What is one thing you wish you could tell patrons? Ettiquette or .. surely you’ve been bustlin’ on a busy night and you have the assholes in your face.. [Chris, the young Jedi, now joins in on the conversation]. SVH: Yeah, yeah. I think just that we’re not your personal servants. We’re servers but not servants and remember you’re in public.

So have you ran into any uh, I’m trying to find the right words, scenerios in which you basically had to kick someone’s ass and tell them to buck up? CG: Oh yeah, that’s not down just to any one place. I mean sometimes there are just bad apples that unfortunetly, you know, ruin the night for other people but we try and get away from that. Obviously you need to know your customers so you can know when it might be time to shut it down. But yeah I think every bar has been in a situation like that, it kind of comes with the territory. We’re going for a place that’s far from that. It’s a classier bar where we don’t see a lot of that in Red Deer.

Describe your cocktail making style in three words. Simple. Inconspicuous, Unpretentious.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen from behind the wood?

That’s insane! CG: Yeah but we’re running a classy place here so.. we’re not promoting that sort of culture of getting hammered. It’s more to come in, try a few new cocktails and have a conversation. Seth, what’s the craziest thing you’ve seen as a bartender? SVH: Oh! I saw the Vancouver Canucks fight the Hells Angels. I worked at a bar in Vancouver on Granville Street called El Furniture Warehouse and it was just a dive and always played punk rock and just peanuts everywhere. Unpretentious. We always got celebrities and athletes in there, it was awesome. One of the owners apparently got his funding from the Hells Angels and when he paid them off, they kept coming back wanting, you know, more money. But Dan Cloutier and I think it was Tyler Bouck, they were sitting at the table- well I was DJ’ing that night, which was just operating the iPod, pressing buttons- and right beside there was the big owners table and the Canucks were sitting there and the Hells Angels tried to come in and push Dan (the owner) around and Dan was visibly frightened becauseit had happened before, so the hockey players stepped in and it ended up in a full brawl. It was fifty people vs. the Hells Angels. It was quite the sight to see. I never really liked the Canucks before that but after that I was kind of a fan, for sure. And I said to them ‘thanks very much guys’ and they’re like ‘well, your house is our house’.

COM POS E : LIFESTYLE

So there weren’t any issues after that or.. I can’t imagine the H.A taking to that too kindly..

CG: People who order a single drink and say ‘make it a good one’... So annoying. It’s kind of like, it’s almost disrespecting. It’s like saying that the drink you would go to make isn’t going to be good so make it better by adding more booze which is not really how you make a drink better. It’s like if you want a double, order a double and I’ll make it good. Or you get the people that are all like ‘oh I’ll have the staff pour’ [Chris is winking and doing air quotes]. You know the wink wink, nod nod. Like dude- I met you like two seconds ago-

“SIMPLE. INCONSPICUOUS. UNPRETENTIOUS. ”

CG: Oh geez, uh.. I mean, I’ve seen grown men urinate themselves while sleeping, fights, I’ve seen drunk people jump up on stage while a band is playing and take the microphone away thinking it was kareoke night until the guitar player sits at the bar and just wait. I’ve seen crazy fights where it’s not just one on one but ten on ten. I’ve seen bars light up on fire where the electrical was going and all the sudden the roof lit on fire. Luckily no one was hurt but yeahtons of situations for sure. It’s not done yet though [laughs]- I’m still bartending! You never really know what is going to happen. Oh! One of the craziest nights I’ve seen is my roomate. She was out just having a night and she was off with this other group of guys who were friends with her nephew and the guy she was with was jealous so he went outside and actually blew her car up in the parking lot. They we’re out that day at Canadian Tire and buying a bunch of accelerants for the house and he went outside, smashed her car window with the paint thinner and whatever else was in the car. By the time I got out there with the fire extinguisher, the whole car blew up. Tires exploded, the windshield blew; the car was engulfed in flames and set the car beside hers on fire. That was one of the more recent things I’ve seen.

SVH: Half a drink and you can usually nail them down. I’ve been fooled by a couple where I think ‘this guy’s going to be cool’ and then he just has a couple drinks, flips switches and.. yeah. But we can usually feel out the people who are going to be a problem and the people who are cool. There are no tell tale signs, it’s just the way they talk to people and-

SVH: Yeah they weren’t happy but.. he also didn’t last long after that. I think he [the owner] was gone the following year. Ended up getting pushed out of town. It [the brawl] was ballsy; I wouldn’t have done it!

What are your top pet peeves behind the bar? SVH: Seeing guys creep on girls... Not knowing when to say- not taking a hint.

So you guys probably do a lot of people watching to then, huh. [They both enthusiastically agree]. Do you think you can figure someone out just by watching them at the bar? How long does it take till you can usually ‘get’ someone?

SVH: Why would I do you favors. Why would I steal from my boss for you... CG: Yeah, exactly so I mean usually you can just make them the drink you were going to make them anyway. I’d say the best customers would be the ones who have faith in you and come up and go ‘you know what, you can decide what I’m having and I’ll just sit here and wait for it and enjoy it’. Those are the kind of people that I like. Or the people that you know, if they’ve had too much to drink they just go ‘can I please have my tab, it’s time for me to go, can you call me a cab’ and take off. Every once in a while you run into someone who is quiet like that and will just take off like that.

What about the ones that don’t want to leave? CG: Well, you just have to be patient because it is an environment where you are serving people alcohol right, and alcohol does change the way people act and think and do things and it kind of takes them out of the way they normally may act so you need to have a lot of patience. I know people that have tried to bartend and didn’t last very long doing it at all just because they can’t deal with the constant changing of people and the abuse you sometimes get in this industry. I’ve seen waitresses quit jobs with tears running down their face because someone wasn’t happy and they take it out on the girl. It’s a type of thing where they’re having a bad day or they’re not liking the company and I mean- sure sometime’s it is the staff [at fault] but most times it’s them having a bad day and they’re taking it out on the first person that’s there, which usually is the server or sometimes the bartender. It’s unfortuante but it does happen. You just deal with it as it comes. It’s just another one of those things. It’s a forever changing environment.

SVH: I’d like to add to my pet peeve. Adults who don’t know when to say when. So many of them. You’d think people that have been drinking for twenty years would know [when to stop] but they don’t.

So do you find it difficult not to judge? SVH: Yeah you never know. Everyone has a bad day and some people may be covering it up and have a couple drinks and it comes out. You try and put yourself in their shoes and steer them in the right direction. I’ve had a few people apologize the next day. Every bartender has. You give them the benefit of a doubt. CG: You don’t really know what’s happening in peoples lives that day so it comes down to reading the person and try and make recommendations that way.

What are your guys’ thoughts on the hospitality industry in Red Deer today. How has it been improving, as you see it?

whether it be art, music, stand up comedy. I mean there is a ton of talent in this town and a lot of people that are really going out of the norm of the 9-5 thing and stepping up which I think is totally rad. That’s one of the reasons for wanting to come back as well. Taking it to the next level and I believed in the vision Sean had for the place. I knew it was going to actually be something special and not just another bar. So many cool little spots such as The Olive next door, we have 50 West just down the street, just a

whole bunch of new businesses that are coming into this area. I think over the next year we’ll see some awesome changes down here and I’m actually really happy to be back here.

and make you comfortable. So the Germans sip on it but all of the sudden we started shooting it and it gets a bad name but I think it’s underrated

Absinthe is... Yeah, for sure! Alright let’s finish off with a complete the sentence... Jagermeister is...

CG: Wonderful SVH: Complicated

CG: Made by angels SVH: Misunderstood. It’s supposed to be an after-dinner digestif to calm a full stomache

Nice, thank you for your time guys. Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for To The Lost.

COMP OSE : LIFESTYLE

CG: I just moved back from being away for 5.5 years. I got my start here in 2005 bartending then did the lounge scene as well as the nightclub scene. That’s actually how I met Sean and since then I’ve just come back for a few visits per year and one thing I would say is the music scene. It’s really stepped up since I left in 2009 and it wasn’t really as strong as it is now I find. Now that I’m back here I find there is a lot more people doing their own thing whether it be magazines [gestures towards me],

JODI

riter Caitlin Moran says, “What is feminism? Simply the belief that women should be as free as men, however nuts, dim, deluded, badly dressed, fat, receding, lazy and smug they might be…” Caitlin Moran is a funny lady and has some really good ideas about being a Feminist. But I would go one step further and say that Feminism is about equality for all people, no matter what race, gender, or what sexual orientation you might enjoy. It’s not about being pro-women or anti-men but giving a big thumbs up for the six billion! Feminism has had resurgence in 2014 with a lot of good press, bad press, and confusing press, including women standing up against Feminism. What these women might be forgetting, is that the brave feminists (including men), who have stood up over the decades, have really given us our rights we have today. Here is an incomplete list of women/mother/family issues feminists have fought for: the right to vote, paid maternity leave, the right to an abortion, to have a career, get divorced and basic rights for domestic workers. These women against Feminism might like male sexual attention, to be stay at home mom’s and are ok with needing a man to change the light bulbs, but this doesn’t mean they don’t need Feminism. We all need it. First and second wave Feminism has paved the way for us to fight for more rights presently. Yes! We’ve come along way for Women’s rights but let’s not forget about what else we need. Currently, this third wave is working on stuff like gender equality, gay rights, trans rights, race equality and so forth. If the word Feminism for you is scary and embarrassing, I suggest you buck up, get more educated about the movement and re-access the old definitions and ideas and perhaps find your own. There have been some pretty crazy ideas and opinions from past Feminists. And although the word “feminine” is directly in the title, it’s not just about being a woman, it’s about equal rights for your Mom, brother, friend, and your gay Uncle Marvin. Gender equality means that of course, women should make the same amount of money in the same jobs as men. It means that men shouldn’t have to suppress their sensitive side or be overly ‘masculine’ and tough to be considered a ‘MAN’. Race equality and equality for gay and trans gender means that we would all be treated the same, no haters, hating anything or anyone just because they are different. Doesn’t that all sound super cool? For those still wondering if it’s cool to be a Feminist and are still afraid to say they are one, let’s discuss some of the rad people in our past and present culture that believe in social equality. Beginning in 1990, we were presented with the band Bikini Kill. If you don’t know about these bad babes, I suggest a quick google search. These girls were a women’s punk band involved hugely in the Riot Grrrl movement, these girls spoke loudly about women’s rights in the loudest and coolest way possible, through punk

WHY BEINGANDANFEM OT J

“AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED, BEIN -PATTI SMI

NEUFELD

FEMINIST IS COOL OT JUST FOR GIRLS

D, BEING ANY GENDER IS A DRAG.” ATTI SMITH

rock. Punk rock in general, was created to demolish any standards that are outdated and unfair. Sounds like Feminism hey? Although Patti Smith, one of my favourite musicians, didn’t come right out to say she was a Feminist, she is quoted saying “As far as I’m concerned, being any gender is a drag.” This cynical and real quote pertains wildly to what we are discussing. Everyone has struggles, everyone deserves love and equality, and everyone is cool! Some other classic figures who I would argue are considered Feminists are: Andy Warhol a gay fine artist from the 60’s pushing boundaries and using art to put pressure on societal norms. Jimi Hendrix being a black musician in a time when blacks were considered the lesser. He brought up concerns on equality with music. Nan Goldin used photography as a medium to give voice to the lives of societies outcasts and ‘weirdoes’, creating beautiful images of drag queens, drug addicts, lovers of different races, and again all to sabotage societies ideas of inequality. Punk Rock is cool, Pop Art is cool, photography and classic rock, these are all really cool. I’d say it’s also super cool to promote equality and to be a Feminist. For some more recent examples, I suggest you check out a few instagrammers who are avid feminists, taking cell phone pics to subvert ideas of what beauty is and the hyper sexualization and the pornographication of women in the media. These girls flood their pages with images of body hair, all things pink and girly, and images raw and unconcerned with the male gaze. These girls are being themselves without being wrapped up in society’s idea of beauty (hairless, sexually appealing to men and quiet). See bottom of article for instagram suggestions. Others creating an interesting dialogue about equality are Lena Dunham who wrote a book called “Not That Kind of Girl”, Caitlin Moran wrote a book called “How to Be a Woman”, it is hilarious and I would boldly say is an essential read for everyone, not just women. From the TV show “Orange is the New Black” we are encountered with a new actress who is one of the first successful transgender actors to present day, Laverne Cox. You can find articles on the web of her speaking to what it is like to be a transgender woman and the backlash she has encountered. Emma Watson (the cutesy Harry Potter actress) has launched the ‘He for She’ campaign to the UN, which talks about how crucial our need for equality among men and women is. There are also quite a few men standing up and declaring themselves Feminists and even wearing those shirts that say ‘This is What a Feminist Looks Like”. With the overwhelming information you can find on the internet, you can find many “think pieces” and opinion pieces on Feminism. I would like to suggest… instead of investing too much in to these one sided opinions, we form a discussion around the equality/Feminism issue. Maybe if you can think being a Feminist is cool like I do, you won’t be afraid to talk to your friend, lover, sibling or gay Uncle Marvin about it. He for She, He for He, She for He. Equality is cool, tell your friends! Instagram suggestions: @petrafcollins @tatitulle @lenadunham

SOUNDS WE DIG WAKING UP- RYAN CARNDUFF

Usually caught behind his acoustic at The Olive pouring his soul into his silverywords, local homeboy Ryan Carnduff has got a voice that stops you dead in your tracks and sends shivers down your spine. Comparable to Damien Rice, Carnduff recently won Light Productions Studio’s monthly original song competition, recorded his single ‘Waking Up’ in the company of a full band. Joined by Cody Bardwell (bass), Dan Barton (drums), Katie Thompson (backup vocals) and Peter Wahl (electric guitar), Carnduff hits us

with the despair of when the love you had suddenly walks away, leaving you waking up with that empty spot in your soul. You know the feelingwhen something is missing, nothing feels right and you second guess everything you thought you just had up until the night before. Ah yes lovethe only place that can be both heaven and hell.Have a listen at the link below and make sure to check out the acoustic version as well.

ALBUMS WE DIG

COM POS E : MUSIC

I DON’T LIKE SHIT, I DON’T GO OUTSIDE: AN ALBUM BY EARL SWEATSHIRT- EARL SWEATSHIRT

Earl Sweatshirt is stepping out of Odd Future’s shadow to find the outside world ain’t all that sunny either. For some reason, darker music, especially rap music with darker themes, has always appealed to me. An inspired album, it feels like it was recorded in a pitch black room with nothing but Earl’s pure emotion spilled into its tracks. The production isn’t too complex but still envelops the listener into Earl’s universe. All the tracks on here are arguably better than anything he released

on Doris. I see a maturity in Earl’s approach to his work, taking hImself away from the shock rap that he began with, feeling the a sense of rawness against the minimalist beats. The cohesiveness both thematically and sonically make this an album worth listening to.

STEPHANIE RHODES

’ve always been passionate about music. Even in utero my mother claims she once had to leave a dance in the last term of her pregnancy because I was dancing in her belly harder than anyone in attendance. I like everything from old to new, obscure to mainstream and can find something I love in every genre. I grew up thinking Olivia Newton John was a god, until I was introduced to Metallica’s Master of Puppets album which changed my life. Now there’s a spectrum for ya.

I have performed acoustically solo in coffee shops singing my original jewelesque break up songs and in cover bands singing everything from The Pretenders to Jackson 5. I know a lot of incredibly skilled musicians. A commonality I find with these technical virtuosos is their hate for the “mainstream” music. It’s too predictable they say. It’s got no talent, nothing that impresses them. Any chump could play it, sing it, write it. All I can think of in my head when these conversations happen is “Bitter...Table for one please.” Me, I love pop music. I’m a true addict of the earworm, like most of the general population. I’m part of the masses, I admit it. Sure I might listen to more unique progressive stuff at home but when Katy Perry or Bruno Mars comes on the radio I am all over that shit

totally fine but don’t complain if the general population doesn’t get it. I like to tell my bitter Jazz player friends that they can choose to play 3000 chords to 3 people, or 3 chords to 3000 people. Your choice. Straight up. I personally pick the party. For those that know me, that’s far from shocking. If it’s so “easy” to write these “predictable” pop songs than why aren’t more people doing it? Why aren’t Katy Perry and Lady Gaga and Britney Spears all writing their own? There’s literally 1 or 2 guys writing all these songs for these artists. While I can appreciate unique sounds like Dog Faced Hermans and The Pixies, when I’m out with my girlfriends on the dance floor, I’m begging for some Miley Cyrus. Hate her if you want but Bangerz has some great tunes on it and that girl can sing when she’s not pretending she invented twerking. Check out her wicked version of Jolene by Dolly Parton and try to tell me she has no talent. Artists like Miley and Kanye West are more famous for being despised than for their music. Kanye especially. He’s a dick. We all know it. But the guy is talented. I love his Yeezus album. The reactions I get when I tell people this are mind blowing. They get enraged. How could I like him he’s such an arrogant asshole? Well, fact is, I’m not listening to his album because he’s a pillar in the community or a role model for young people. I’m listening because he has a point

Haters Gunna Hate like a fat kid on the last red smartie. Tay Swift’s Shake It Off gets me every time. I don’t care what people think. Songs like Uptown Funk and Dark Horse have a way of weaseling into my head until I’m singing them all day. At the pharmacy, in the shower, to my dogs, chewing my dinner to the beat...and so on. I’ll take Swifty any day over some complicated jazz composition that only really appeals to their own elite group of instrumental scientists that can appreciate the complexity. I’m not there for the complexity, I’m there for the hook. Bring it on. I got the moves like Jagger! My jazz friends are likely reeling right now and cursing my name but let me say this. I can totally appreciate the musical ability required to play something like, and I could NEVER even begin to imagine doing it myself. It’s a true gift. But you can’t tell me you walk away from one of those experimental Jazz shows humming anything in your head. For me personally, it’s gone as soon as the note is played.

Most people just want to hate artists. Whether they are good or bad. Bieber or West, it doesn’t matter. They’re either pussy’s or pricks. Aren’t we all? Justin Bieber was for a long time a great role model for youth. His songs were positive and his look was clean cut. We still hated him. We sit here in an age where we stand up against bullying and teach our kids the same. Yet 18,000 adults sat and booed the 18 year old off the stage at the Grey Cup. Way to lead by example, parents. So now he’s a bad ass and we all still hate him. People actually tell him to kill himself on social media. Who wouldn’t turn into an asshole. The poor guy can’t win.

MUSIC

In the eloquent words of Kanye himself “There’s leaders and there’s followers. I’d rather be a dick than a swallower”.

CO MP OSE :

The mind loves repetition, it’s a form of operant conditioning. You can complain all you want about the “real” musicians struggling while these radio hits are making a killing but it’s essentially your choice on where you go with your music. I have a hard time believing that anyone that wants to be in the music industry would purposely NOT want to write a major hit song. Instead they write songs that impress a small market of brainiac chord wizards while constantly complaining about the ignorant ears of the masses. There’s only one thing that is worse for your music career than not writing hit songs, and that’s accusing your audience of being stupid. If you want to just play for you, and a small market of people like you, that’s

of view, he does things other people are afraid to do in fear of bad publicity, and his songs get stuck in my head. It’s like Eminem. That Slim Shady album was all about killing and beating his girlfriend, which is terrible, but that shit was good! Next time someone bashes Kanye I challenge you to ask them to name three of his songs. I’ll bet my ass they haven’t even listened to his album. I like to call this “The Nickelback Syndrome”. Definitively it’s when it becomes trendy to hate a band or artist for no particular reason other than everyone else is doing it. Check out Black Skinhead by Kanye, which I think is awesome. Sure it’s a bit of a Marilyn Manson rip-off but everything’s a rip off of something nowadays.

Q + A:

Words and photos by TH E CO M P O S E TE A M

GHOSTFACE KILLAH LANDED IN RED DEER WITH FELLOW WU-TANG MEMBERS GZA AND CAPPADONNA FOR A LATE NIGHT APPEARANCE TO A SEA OF FLESH COLOURED ‘W’S’. THE WU-TANG ICONS ALL BROUGHT MF’N RUCKUS FOR A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE LEGENDS RIGHT HERE IN OUR VERY OWN HUMBLE CITY WHILE ON THEIR CROSS CANADA TOUR. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL GFK IS UP TO NORTH OF THE BORDER; GFK IS SEARCHING THE COUNTRY FOR CANADA’S NEXT EMCEE TO SIGN TO HIS LABEL SUPREME RE-

lright so you’re a man who needs no introduction however please state who you are.

CORDS AND $100,000. WE CALLED UP GFK AND CHATTED ABOUT WHAT MAKES A GOOD EMCEE, HOW HE STAYS ON POINT AND GETTING GROWN.

My name is Ghostface Killah straight from the Wu-Tang Clan.

You’ve had some impressive collaborations throughout your career including MF Doom, The Revelations, Kool G Rap, and Pharoahe Monch (just to name a few). Is there one or a few that stand out to you? Probably on my Wizards of Poetry album. I had a bunch of collaborations on that. That’s the one that probably the most stands out to me, yeah, it turned out very nice.

Your latest collab album Sour Soul just dropped in February. You worked with Toronto’s young jazz trio BADBADNOTGOOD, who also produced the album alongside Canadian producer Frank Dukes. How was working with them? Yes, that’s another good one too. Knowmean. That right there, my man Frank Dukes that brought the project to me. Told me ‘I gotta band that I want you to hear’, knowmean. He sent the beats to me and after he sent the beats I just took care of business and one thing led to another. Sour Soul.

CO MPO SE : MUSIC

Describe what’s going on in Ghostface’s head during the creative process.

Oh. Nothing I don’t- you know. It’s just- whatever the beat calls me to do, you know what I mean. I just- I just do it. It’s like, it’s nothing like ‘oh’, knowmean, ‘I’m doing this’. Whatever just goes on , whatever the beat calls for and I think should be done to it and I just, I just, that’s my process. I just do. You know, as long as I’m in a quiet place- a clean, quiet place so wherever I’m at.. it could be on a plane, it could be wherever and um, you know, just give me a pen and a pad and a radio and I’m good.

22 years later and you’re touted as one of the most consistent rappers

of all time. How do you stay inspired and what keeps you on point? Just the love for the music. Just strength from God, knowmean, to keep me focused and all that but just a love for the music that keeps me going and um yeah, I just love it. I mean, I love to record. I like to write really, knowmean. When I’m going to record the music, knowmean, I don’t really care too much about it but you do what you gotta do. I just like to write to good music.

How has your mentality evolved since you released Ironman in ‘96? I mean you got grown. You get grown, you ain’t thinking like a child no more like that, you know. You still got a lil’ ways but you know as you get older, knowmean, your family, knowmean, kids and, knowmean couple of your friends, right, they older, knowmean, and a lot of us got us wives, knowmean, without all the dumb people, knowmean, people running around so you just, you just start to see things for what they really are, not what they appear to be.You never thought how it been 20 years ago, knowmean, you couldn’t see as far as you can see right now. You know, things just change so mentality changes like everyday.

The rap game has changed a lot since the 90’s. What is one of the biggest ways you’ve had to adapt to how the industry runs today? Oh- you just have to adapt. It’s a new generation, too, you know what I mean, so you know, the generation is- they more younger, they dress differently, knowmean. There’s a lot more of them, [and] more on the radio than the 90’s, cause I came out in the 90’s, so you gotta adapt to it, deal with it, embrace it and try to do shit together cause at some point that’s if you wanna, you know, the radio like- do what you do, you know, and take that,

“ I G U E S S W H E N I ’ M I N M Y O L D AG E , A S FA R A S L I K E - I N M Y 9 0 ’ S O R W H AT E V E R , I C A N L OO K B AC K O N I T A N D B E L I K E ‘ W OW ’, YO U K N O W W H AT I M E A N ? ‘ T H AT WA S A N ACCO M P L I S H M E N T ’, YO U K N O W W H AT DO I N G I T , YO U DO N ’ T - YO U DO N ’ T R E COG N I Z E YO U R TA L E N T. ”

COM PO SE : MUSIC

I M E A N ? R I G H T N OW , I T ’ S L I K E S I N C E YO U ’ R E S T I L L I N I T A N D S T I L L

MUSIC

CO MPO SE :

“YOU JUST GOTTA GET IN WHERE YOU FIT IN”

know, for radio purposes but right now the album purposes yeah you just do what you gotta do, knowmean, and just try to grow with the times that’s right now, knowmean? Don’t just be stuck in the 90’s cause we not the 90’s- don’t get stuck in it because that’s not what everybody is all into. Not sayin’ you gotta be a follower and that but you know you just… It’s almost like being a scientist. It’s like you start mixing different elements together now but still try to keep it, knowmean, so that people know what you’re here or. You might add a lil’ dab of this, a lil dab of that to fit inyou know what’s going on today and still do you.

Was there ever a point where you felt a pressure to compromise your artistic integrity in order to appeal to a wider audience or to keep up with the trends in hip-hop? Nah, I’m not pressured. You just gotta find ways to do things. It’s like ‘okay this way’s not working no more’, you gotta go do what is working for you, knowmean? And try and do it right. Like I said, you know, overdoing it, knowmean, stuff like that. No, I don’t feel pressured. I mean it is what it is right now and you know, like I said- I understand what’s going on more as opposed to like, maybe like 5 years ago, I probably didn’t understand it, like 6-7 years ago, knowmean, like ‘damn, what’s goin’ on’, but right now I learned how to embrace it and you know- I like this kids music right here and this and that and the sound is like, it’s not so much of a sample sound... It’s so much of a lot of bass and you know, like live sounds. The beats these kids got right now, knowmean. Yeah, you just gotta get in where you fit in.

Who’s listed in the Top 50 of all time?

You’re one of them.

You! Oh, am I?

Yeah, you’re on the list, yeah. For whose list is that?

About.com. It’s all good man. It’s like- I’m humbled, I’m humbled. You know, those things is great but it’s like I just, I just keep moving and do what I gotta do, you know and all that shit. I guess when I’m in my old age, as far as like [in my] 90’s or whatever, I can look back on it and be like ‘wow’, you know what I mean? ‘That was an accomplishment’, you know what I mean? Right now, it’s like since you’re still in it and still doing it, you don’t recognize your talent- you don’t recognize, knowmean. Until you out of the game and you can look on back and just see what it was, what it was like. When you doing it, it’s like things are [moving] so fast for you, you know, and it’s like ‘wow’, you know, it’s like everything is taking place so it just goes off my head.

You’re searching the county for Canada’s next emcee with your new competition ‘Canada Takes the Mic’. I’m curious to know, from a Ghostface point of view, what is a good emcee? I mean- originality. Someone who knows how to write and has his own flow, that knows how to put the words together and knows - just really knows how to write. Ya gotta know how to write, knowmean, someone who don’t use the same words all the time and, knowmean, and you know, someone that just gotta good mind and good imagination, knowmean, to take it to some places and someone with love for the music and that’s gunna stay right, know mean, so I mean- that gotta be my definition.

What was the first rhyme you ever wrote and what was it about? Uh, I’m not really, really sure. [Says bless you to someone who sneezes on the other end] I know I wrote- started when I was like, back in ‘85, 1985, stuff like that. Yeah, like ‘85, ‘84 and yeah I never stopped releasing a thing.

Any last words? We out here in Canada you now and I just wanna tell everybody ‘yo just look us up’ if you in a part of Canada we gunna be in and just come out and have a good time.

Nice, well thank you for your time GFK. I appreciate you chatting with me today. Enjoy the rest of your time in Canada. I appreciate that.

MUSIC

Cop Ghostfaces latest collab, Sour Soul with BADBADNOTGOOD on iTunes. Canada Takes The Mic will be hosting auditions in 10 Canadian cities and a semi-finalist will be chosen from each of them. They will then live in a house together, reality TV style, and perform each week with two contestants eliminated weekly. The last singer standing will be crowned the winner on November 13. For more information on Canada Takes The Mic, visit canadatakesthemic.com.

CO MP OSE :

From Wu-Tang, to an impressive and successful solo catalogue, to being listed as one of the Top 50 MC’s of our time, at what point did YOU decide you made it?

Who?

STOLEN SISTERS

COM POS E : ART

ANDREA LACOURSIERE

ack in July 2014, we, at the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery were preparing to bring in a photography exhibition that dealt with some emotional subject matter. Missing Lives, was commissioned by the International Committee of the Red Cross and through photographer Nick Danziger lenses and writer Rory MacLean’s words portrayed 15 families who lost relatives during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. T he impacts of war are far reaching, devastating to those that remain to tell the tale, the ones left behind. We know this; our newsfeeds, broadcasts and papers are a constant reminder of how horrible humans can be to each other. B ut how do you get Central Albertans to really pay attention to a war that happened over twenty years ago on the other side of the planet, without having been directly affected by it? How is this relevant? I immediately thought of our own national crisis, our missing and murdered indigenous women, our sisters, and the families in mourning. We are embroiled in a war we don’t want to recognize, with a faceless enemy, and no heroes. A friend of mine, Erin Konsmo, who I had worked with in Red Deer, was living in Edmonton working as the Media Arts Justice & Projects Coordinator for the Native Youth Sexual Health Network and had become intrinsically involved in Walking With Our Sisters, which I had been following through Facebook for about 6 months. Through the First Nations traditional art of beading, guided by ceremony and protocol, Walking With Our Sisters is a massive memorial, honouring the lives of the missing and murdered Indigenous women from across our nation. It offers a place to grieve for those that have not had the chance. It has been mobilizing communities across Canada since November of 2013, when the memorial exhibition opened in Edmonton. That much I knew. What I came to know was that its origins were rooted in social media and online discussions between Edmonton lawyer and activist Tanya Kappo and Ontario artist Christi Belcourt. In the midst of the Idle No More demonstrations happening across the country, the two women became increasingly interested in answering two questions: how can you honour the lives of missing Indigenous women through art? How can you represent a void left in families and communities? They settled on the idea of an exhibition of vamps. “The vamps are the top part of moccasins, so they’re unfinished moccasins to represent the unfinished lives,” said Kappo. A call went out on social media across the country – people who wanted to contribute had a year to finish their beadwork and mail the vamps in. “The Facebook group started to become a community of people talking together, talking about their experiences as they’re making their vamp,” said Kappo. “It became a healing process for some and a learning process for many who never knew how to bead before.”

COM PO SE : ART

When the first exhibition date was set, Kappo and Belcourt hoped for 600 pairs of vamps– representing the number of Aboriginal women believed to be missing or murdered at the time – but that seemed a long shot. It was a huge surprise when the number of vamps mailed in soared past 600 to around 1,800. While their volume overwhelms, much of the hopelessness that is evoked is countered by their innate beauty. I called Erin, as I had noticed a gap in the schedule of about three weeks, and thought about how perfect the timing and the opportunity would be. After all, it was in my mind at the time, a gallery installation, the same as many that come and go through our exhibition space. She said that the schedule was filled until 2019. When I asked her about the openings that were visible on the touring schedule, she simply said there wasn’t enough time for preparation.

“ W E A R E E M B R O I L E D I N A WA R W E DO N ’ T WA N T TO R E COG N I Z E , W I T H A FAC E L E S S E N E M Y , A N D N O H E R O E S .”

In September, Erin called, and asked how serious we were about hosting, “We’re serious” I replied, almost too quickly. She told me that a gallery had dropped off the schedule in June of 2015, and asked if we would we want the memorial in Red Deer? I put her on hold and quickly asked Lorna Johnson, the Executive Director at the MAG, who without hesitation said yes. Since then, we’ve joined with local agencies, the Red Deer Native Friendship Society, Red Deer Aboriginal Employment Services, families and friends directly affected by the loss of loved ones and caring individuals that are called to this work from Central Alberta. This is a project unlike any I’ve had the privilege of working on. The strength and beauty of ceremonies and traditions that I had never understood now hold a place in my heart, in my life. But at its core, the culmination of work that we’ve accomplished and all we continue to work towards is because of thousands of lives, sisters, mothers, daughters, nieces have been taken, some without a trace, most without justice. Out of respect for the missing and murdered women, their cultures, and in the spirit of the equality they were so denied, there are many protocols to be followed while in the lodge, our exhibition galleries that are transformed into a sacred space for three weeks: no outdoor footwear; no walking over the vamps; no touching them with your hands (gloves only); no police or military uniforms, or weaponry allowed into the space; everyone is treated as equal (politicians get no special treatment); smudge before entering the sacred space; no alcohol before a shift; no photos after the official opening; visitors are encouraged to hold tobacco as they walk by the vamps, which will be burned in a sacred fire… Many people never had the opportunity to honour their loved one. “When our women go missing or become murdered (there are) all the stereotypes in the media that dehumanize us even more than we already are in real life. Walking With Our Sisters became a beautiful opportunity to re-humanize our sisters in a way that they hadn’t been honoured in their lifetime,” said Kappo.

In Red Deer, ahead of Walking With Our Sisters’ June arrival, there has been a community conversation once a month, since October 2014. “This is a huge strength of the project. It brings that resurgence, it builds those relationships and it creates opportunities for our women to become leaders in a way that maybe they never did before,” said Kappo. Each month, as Central Albertans gather in the circle at the Community Conversations, the reasons that we need the memorial to come here become clearer. There are mothers that bring their young daughters that need them to know they are not disposable, men that have been the victims of multi-generational tragedy that need a place to begin healing, people from around the world that want to expand their knowledge of First Nations ways, and too, have their own first peoples story to share, fraught with a violent timeline. For me, it is simply because I have to. I have no indigenous bloodline, although the dark hair has often led to the question “are you Metis?” As a woman, as a mother to sons that grow into men I need to be proud of, as a survivor of sexual violence, the question left to answer becomes less why, but how could I not? The exhibit has now travelled to nine cities, and it’s booked solid for the next four years across North America. Each place it goes, said Kappo, it becomes a ceremonial site around which communities express their grief, and use the time to pass on teachings. Run entirely by a volunteer national committee operating on crowd-sourced funds (no government or resource-extraction corporation money is accepted, and no one is paid). It will tour 32 communities across Canada and the U.S. before finishing its run in 2019. Walking With Our Sisters will be at the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery from June 1 – 21st, 2015. For more information, please email us wwosreddeer@gmail.com , call the museum at 403-309-8405 or like us on Facebook, Walking With Our Sisters Red Deer.

PORTFOLIO:

How did you get into photography? I always enjoyed taking photos as a kid, as I picked up all different types of art I found I enjoyed painting and photography the best. Eventually I decided on majoring in photo and got accepted in to Emily Carr University. Their program was mostly based on analog photography and I think now I am a better photographer for learning analog prior to digital. A roll of film only has 27 shots not a thousand, less room to screw up.

Any artists you look up to and why? I really look up to Nan Goldin as a photographer, she proves that you don’t need the fanciest equipment or the perfect lighting to create beautiful photos, she shot all of her photos with a 35 mm film camera with flash. She took photos of the moment. I believe taking good pictures isn’t about how good your camera is or how good the conditions, it’s about whether or not you know what you are doing. I also look up to so many painters and other artists, too many to name here.

Where do you get inspiration for your own art and what mediums do you like to work with? I get inspiration from people, from nature, architecture, good design, beautiful personalities and smarts. I like to work with work with many mediums but mostly acrylic paint, India ink, pen and cameras.

VAGABOND STUDIOS What are you doing when you’re not creating? What (other) hobbies do you have? My husband Tyler is my main squeeze and I like to hang with him and our dogs. I love music, reading, yoga and drinking coffee with friends. And in the future I’d like to have a hobby chicken farm.

What main challenges do you face being an artist in Red Deer? Perhaps feeling understood.

Favourite or most inspirational place? Why? My studio. I have all of the things I like there, books, prints, paintings, furniture, etc. These things allow me to be myself and create more openly.

What is your dream project? A huge painting of someone’s face. I don’t know who yet.

What else do you do? Where can people find your work to purchase? www.vagabondstudios.ca for photos

COM POS E : ART

I also teach fine art classes, and they’ll be on the website soon!

“ I B E L I E V E TA K I N G G OO D P I C T U R E S I S N ’ T A B O U T H OW G OO D YO U R C A M E R A I S O R H OW G OO D T H E CO N D I T I O N S , I T ’ S

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A B O U T W H E T H E R O R N OT YO U K N OW W H AT YO U A R E DO I N G . ”

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S T E V E WOOL R I CH

Red Deer’s Art Alley Project is well underway this year and will build upon the support and success of its debut last summer in downtown Red Deer. The artists were recently chosen and are already working on their mock up designs for several walls. This initiative is a collaborate effort funded by the Red Deer Downtown Business Association and the City of Red Deer. Although there are those that may think this is just about Street Art, it’s much more than that. Just as it did last summer, the project brings an entirely new element of energy to our community, something that’s becoming common place in many other cities around the world where Street Art thrives and artists share their vision and talents. Many urban environments remind me of an old hit song by musician Terry Jacks in 1972 when he released Concrete Sea. The lyrics that standout for me suggest that “No one was meant to be living here in this concrete sea.” Maybe this is why so many of us are drawn to more natural places, particularly those that get us out of the city and back to nature. Its projects such as Art Alley that help us cover up bare walls and deliver a splash of color back into our lives, escaping the mundane.

When we create more public art, in this case Street Art, we entice people to get out and see their community and this generates more activity on our streets. It also demonstrates more ownership as businesses get more engaged in beautifying the buildings they own or operate from downtown. When we care for our spaces it shows and people will frequent these places and feel safe doing so, more so than a location that doesn’t, making people feel uncomfortable. It’s a win, win situation for those that recognize the benefits and take action. As spring is upon us and summer is just around the corner, join us downtown as we begin to create more Street Art from June through August. As Jane Jacobs wrote, “you don’t really get a clear picture until you get out of theory-land and get onto the streets for a closer look.” There will surely be a kaleidoscope of colors and artists hitting the streets, eager to share their passion for art with all of us.

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Escape the concrete sea, if only for a few moments as we kick off another fabulous summer.

CO MP OSE :

Whether it’s musicians performing live music on our award-winning Ross Street Patio through the summer months or local artists painting a mural on a secluded, dark and tagged up wall, the end result is positive! Difficult to argue with success when you see our streets being transformed and more and more people starting to flock to our downtown. As a keen observer of people and how they interact with the built-environment I’m intrigued when I see a real connection with the space they have come to explore. Our senses are keen and we are naturally drawn to a catchy tune being

played on our street piano or a mural that leaves us in awe. The are many benefits to continuing this process of revitalizing our downtown and the pros certainly outweigh any of the cons, which are generally not well supported and come from those with little vision or passion for their community. With projects such as Art Alley being supported, our city will continue to thrive and it’s contagious and will spread into other areas such as the Riverlands District too. With this commitment to enhancing our public realm we ensure strong and consistent economic growth and more safe places for our residents and visitors to enjoy.

L I K E W H AT YO U S E E ? B U Y U S A CO F F E E A N D H E L P G R OW R E D D E E R ’ S O N L Y ‘ F O R T H E P E O P L E , B Y T H E P E O P L E ’ M AG A Z I N E D E D I CAT E D TO A R T S + C U L T U R E

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