SCENE May 2023

SCHOOL'S OUT

Calgary’s queens of media Tegan and Sara

release graphic novel at Wordfest event PAGE 18

18. Calgary sister act Tegan and Sara return home with new graphic novel Junior High

7. Gen-Xers channel their inner Boomer and finally begin to protest … things

LIVEWIRE

8. The politics of a new downtown arena for Calgarians

CITY SCENE

10. With downtown crime allegedly on the rise, we remember when volunteer crime fighting crew Guardian Angels came to Calgary

SPORTS

14. The city’s new professional basketball team, the Surge, ready to take the court; local footie club Cavalry FC set to take the field

MUSIC FEATURE

24. Canadian rock legend Randy Bachman opens new guitar exhibit at Studio Bell; Calgary artists share the stories behind their favourite axes

Editor-in-Chief Mike Bell mbell@redpointmedia.ca

Design Kris Twyman

Print/Digital Production Manager

Mike Matovich

CONTRIBUTORS

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Hamish MacAulay

Michelle

Magnan-McIvor

Teresa Maillie

Joe McFarland

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Lori Montgomery

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Jay Nelson

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Mike Platt

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We acknowledge that we live, work and play on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, the Métis Nation (Region 3), and all people who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta. And we thank them.

LA TIMES CROSSWORD ANSWERS

RIP Calgary musician and FUBAR actor Andy Sparacino April 5, 2023

We have already, but we couldn’t honour the legacy of local producer and musician Dave Alcock more than what’s needed. He made a difference.

Later in this issue, you’ll find an interview with Des Arcs, the band he drummed for prior to his untimely passing at the beginning of this year.

We thought it also necessary to put his role in the Calgary music scene — what it is now, what it was, what it can become — in the proper perspective, which is why we’re running this interview with him from 2010.

It’s in honour of the closure of the studio where he produced some of the seminal local indie rock recordings of the past 30 years, Sundae Sound.

Again, we wanted you, if you’re a local music fan, to put things into the proper context, make you understand what he meant.

Please enjoy this interview with Dave from more than a decade ago. And for more stories from the Fast Forward archives, please go to theyyscene.com.

Sundae Sound put on ice

The cherry on the Sundae — in 15 years at Sundae Sound

Dave Alcock got to do what he wanted

January 28, 2010 by Jason Lewis

Any fan of local music has at least one album in their collection that was recorded at Sundae Sound. They probably have several.

Everyone from Huevos Rancheros to Key to the City has spent time at Sundae Sound studio laying down tracks. And chances are if you check the liner notes of those records you’ll see Dave Alcock’s name. He’s a musician, an audio engineer and a producer, and for almost a decade he’s been the owner of Sundae Sound. But soon that laundry list of credentials is going to get slightly shorter. After nine years at the helm, Alcock has decided to step away.

“At this point it’s more a matter of me deciding that I’m ready to move on,” says Alcock. “It’s been great. I love this job and that’s pretty much the only reason I did it because you could never really make sense of it as far as making money. It was always something I just loved to do. Now I’m thinking about going back to school. It’s time to pass the torch.”

Alcock first stepped into Sundae Sound 15 years ago fresh out of audio school, and at the time he was an unknown quantity who worked for free. Over time he built his reputation to the point where he was bringing in bands (including his own Chixdiggit and later Falconhawk) to work with him. He eventually graduated to the post of house engineer, and when the owners decided to pull the plug on Sundae Sound Alcock decided to step up and buy it.

“That was nine years ago,” he explains. “I was still super keen and I wasn’t ready to see it stop at that point. So I sat them down and

said, ‘You know this can’t be over yet,’ so we figured out a way for me to buy it.”

And so began the Alcock era of Sundae Sound. After moving from its longtime home at the north end of Edmonton Trail to new digs in northeast Calgary, the studio continued the tradition of being a home for local bands that wanted to get their material recorded.

“That’s all I was ever really about — getting independent records made, whatever it took and whatever their budget was,” says Alcock. “The vast majority of what I did was independent bands who were paying me with their own personal cheque, with money they’d saved. So if someone came to me with enough money for one day, we’d cut a record in a day. And if they had more, we’d stretch it as far as we could.”

There’s definitely a nobility in dedicating yourself to the underdog, but the flip side is the obvious financial stress that comes with relying on artists who are working on the cheap and usually in their spare time to get it done. Add to that the fact that in the almost 10 years that Alcock has been running the studio digital technology and home recording have advanced to the point of being ubiquitous and the music industry as we used to know it has gone through epic restructuring.

“That’s progress,” says Alcock. “It’s a lot easier for bands to get their music out there. It’s a lot harder to get recognized. It’s so wide open right now that it’s hard for everyone on every level to have a business model for it. And I always tried to avoid thinking about it in business ways. It was my pursuit. I just loved

working with music and whatever it took to do it I would do it.”

So as Alcock moves on from Sundae Sound to go back to school the fate of the studio, like the music industry itself, is in question. But that doesn’t mean that the 30-year legacy of Sundae Sound is over for good. As he wraps up his final projects with Chris Gheran, Knucklehead and The Great Evil, Alcock is also looking for someone to take the reins. If the right confluence of finance and personality is found, the studio could rise again. In the

meantime, however, Alcock is content to relish the time he had at Sundae Sound.

“I learned what I did from the guys before me,” says Alcock. “They took over and learned from the guys before them, and that’s the way these things work. I really loved my phase of it. I did what I wanted. It was the music I listened to. I like independent punk-rock — punk-rock in the old sense of the word — and I got to do that. And I got to offer it to Calgary and Alberta, and that was no small feat and I am pretty proud of it.”

Welcome to the world of hyper-politics Home of trucks, government coups and endless, empty anger

By Hamish MacAulay

Gen X is having a mid-life crisis. About a year ago they even had a party in Ottawa to celebrate. There were expensive trucks burning expensive diesel. And there were Gen Xers and older Millennials struggling to give substance to their anger at their place in the social and economic order. Boomers and Zoomers mostly skipped the bog-standard protest that escalated into a national emergency. Obviously, a lot of Canadians who became adults in the 1980s to early 2000s also declined the invitation. But whether they are responding with apathy, ambivalence or anger to our unravelling world, Gen Xers and Millennials have changed the nature of politics.

When the Cold War ended, it felt like the work of fighting authoritarianism was over and the global and social tensions of the previous century were relegated to history. A life of unfettered capitalism and effortless democracy beckoned. A citizen’s duty was to keep the GDP jumping by embracing the individualism required to survive the gig-economy and sustain a consumer culture.

Our nation-states had been held together since the late 1800s by the common bonds of nationalism and state-sanctioned traditions. Those bonds had weakened by 1989 and no longer inspired young adults to participate in the West’s democratic and liberal institutions. The cult of individualism atrophied the skills of

compromise and consensus-building politics need to create change. But we didn’t need that type of politics until the world ruined everything.

Starting with the 2008 financial meltdown, crisis after crisis proved too much for the technocrats we left in charge. Life was becoming uncomfortable and confusing, but we could only respond as individuals focused on identity and the rules around personal relationships. Our dramatic reactions to these problems simply bubbled up and fizzled away like a GameStop short squeeze.

Historian Anton Jager describes this change as a shift from post-politics, where politics did not seem to matter, to hyper-politics where everything is political. A shift that applies to politics across the spectrum, not just the Freedom Convoy’s right-wing ecosphere. He describes them as swarms stimulated to action by influencers and provocateurs rather than mass movements following leaders. Their power is sudden and

loud, but they lack the bonds needed to build coalitions that advocate for durable improvements. There is motion but not a movement. There are angry slogans but no meaningful ideas for change.

How do hyper-politics hurt our democracy?

The testimonies at the Convoy Commission described how the Freedom Convoy was impossible to lead. It was a swarm of agitated, middle-aged Canadians who wanted leaders

to hear their anger. Without a platform of ideas supported by the group, it was unable to demand coherent change and could not be negotiated with. The Convoyists and their supporters were always going to end up dissatisfied with the outcome.

In hyper-politics, political parties coalesce around star performers with media presence like Pierre Poilievre or Justin Trudeau. The leadership and commitment needed to build parties of like-minded people are unappealing in the era of individualism and easy exits. Instead, politicians bring in votes with moralizing and simple visions that stimulate anger or likes. They are policy averse because the effort offers little reward.

Star performers, Rachel Notley and Danielle Smith, will dominate Alberta’s imminent election as well. We will also witness how hyper-politics further diminishes the importance of substantive election promises. More than ever, sound bites and events, not election platforms, will be the story of the election. Partisan voices will amplify every controversy and moral outrage in social media until they dominate all election conversations and media. It is politics, just not politics that produce satisfying results.

‘No doubt it’s a political decision’: Alberta election impact of Calgary Event Centre deal

By Darren Krause

When Danielle Smith was the leader of the upstart Wildrose Party more than a decade ago, she stood firmly against the use of public cash to help fund an Edmonton arena.

That sentiment evolved somewhere along the way. Back in October 2022, now-Premier Smith insisted that Calgary needed a world-class event centre. MLA Ric McIver was appointed as an emissary of the province to help provide whatever support was necessary to shepherd a deal forward.

Smith did this knowing that a provincial election was on the horizon. She likely already knew that Calgary would be the battleground. The folks behind the curtain also likely saw a potential wedge issue for conservatives and progressives.

Then she said this on Tuesday, April 25, during the announcement of a $1.22 billion Event Centre and Rivers District plan: “The province’s contribution to this arena deal must be approved by the provincial cabinet and the Treasury Board before the end of summer. That’s why on May 29, I’m hoping Calgarians give our UCP government a clear mandate to proceed with this arena deal.”

Premier Smith was asked the next day about the apparent flip-flop.

“This money is not going into an arena. Nothing’s changed,” she said.

Premier Smith said then – as she did the Tuesday – that the money was going to supportive infrastructure. It was money that would already be needed for Calgary to build out the ambitious Rivers District Master Plan.

“I’m hoping this doesn’t become an election issue,” Smith said.

So, is it political or not?

“There’s no doubt that it’s a political decision,” said Duane Bratt, professor of political science at Mount Royal University.

Reached an agreement with the UCP, not the government

Bratt said that Premier Smith was much more “blatant” about the politicizing than anyone else at Tuesday’s media event. Others talked blandly about a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Alberta.

“That’s not what Smith said. Smith said, ‘No, you’ve reached an agreement with the UCP. We have to be re-elected for this deal to move on,’ ” he said.

Later, Smith told reporters that she hopes whichever government gets elected that they stick with the deal. Official opposition leader

Rachel Notley has said they need to look at the deal further and then doubled down on Wednesday saying that Albertans weren’t getting the full story and there was some sort of secret deal.

“While broad numbers on the Calgary arena deal were released yesterday, we learned today that there is a confidential financial agreement between the parties that identifies additional financial contributions by taxpayers, contributions beyond the $870 million dollars outlined yesterday,” she said.

“These are details the public deserves to know, along with who is responsible for the share of cost overruns and who is financing the CSEC’s 35-year payment schedule.

“We are told that the agreement will be kept secret for the next six to eight weeks, basically through Election Day, until a definitive agreement is signed.”

Livewire (LWC) has asked for a response from the City of Calgary to these claims and by the time of publishing had not yet received a response.

Calgary’s Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner, who voted in favour of the agreement in principle, said it was unfortunate the announcement got politicized right from the get-go. Penner told LWC that it shouldn’t be political because there’s a clear return on investment for users.

“That’s exactly the kind of investment that we would want and should be expecting from a province. Every municipality should be,”

Penner said.

“Those are the kinds of partnerships we should be striving for and it just sucks that it’s being politicized for an election at this moment, as opposed to being honest and true to values.”

Lisa Young, a political science professor at the University of Calgary, said Smith’s move could be both an attempt to look out for the interests of friends but also sway voters in Calgary.

“I think it could possibly be both,” she said.

“It’s hard not to see it in political terms being announced in the very last days before the election call.”

The political impact of Calgary’s arena deal

Young said that without any recent polling on the importance of a new Calgary arena to voters, it’s difficult to say if it will have an impact on their vote come May 29.

She believes the vast majority of Calgary voters casting a ballot on election day have already made up their mind. Polling has had the Alberta NDP and the UCP neck-and-neck for months now and it would take something major to dislodge committed or leaning voters.

Young referred to a group of voters that have been referred to as orphans, or reluctant UCP voters. Many of these voters are more likely to be female than male, she said.

“There are lots of women who are enthusiastic hockey fans, but excitement about hockey probably skews a bit male,” she said.

“So that suggests that maybe those voters who are on the fence might be less likely to be excited by this.”

Further, when you suss out top priorities in the election, affordability ranks highest.

“A fancy hockey arena with a lot of public money in it may not speak to those concerns all that directly,” Young said.

“Even though the mayor has said that property taxes will not rise as a result of this, half a billion dollars is a lot of money and people may well be scratching their heads and wondering what the implications are for property taxes, which would be on the minds of the

Calgary’s Ward 11 Coun.

Kourtney Penner said it was unfortunate the announcement got politicized right from the get-go.

CREDIT: ARYN TOOMBS

suburban home owning voter who’s trying to make ends meet.”

Bratt’s awaiting further reaction. He said many Calgarians were upset at the original deal and the city’s contribution. Now they’re contributing more, along with provincial cash.

“Smith’s own comments just politicize it so heavily,” he said.

“So, ordinary fiscal conservatives are putting their ideology away and putting their partisan hat on. I think that’s what she’s banking on, is that those reluctant conservatives will bail her out because of the arena deal.”

In the end, when you consider the reluctant UCP voters it may have swayed one way or another, it’s likely a wash, Bratt said.

The impact of a Calgary deal on the election outside of Calgary

Bratt noticed that Premier Smith said kids from all over the province would be able to play in the proposed community rink.

“Let’s call it what it is. It’s a practice facility,” Bratt said.

He said when the Flames, Wranglers and Hitmen are done using it, then there will be some free ice time. But he doesn’t think that teams from Red Deer, Medicine Hat or other points in Alberta are going to skate into Calgary for practices.

He’s curious how the deal lands in those cities.

Young said the provincial impact depends on how other Albertans view the provincial cash: Was it for an arena?

“I think the way it was announced, it’s hard to see it as anything else,” she said.

In Edmonton, the resentment might linger because they didn’t get arena cash. It could seem like favouritism for Calgary, Young said.

Premier Smith did say that there’s likely a phase 2 portion of the Edmonton arena project that will need capital cash. That’s where the province may be able to help out, she said.

Overall, Young wasn’t sure if there would be lingering resentment across the province – or, enough to move the needle for voters. Though it might vary by region, she said. Citizens in Okotoks or Airdrie might be more amenable to the deal over Grande Prairie or Lethbridge. That’s mainly because there’s an increased chance nearby folks get to experience it.

There’s one lingering danger, however. Young said this announcement will likely have a lot more staying power than say… $300 million just for downtown Calgary revitalization. It’s going to stay in the news.

That has an impact not only in Calgary but across the province.

“There’s going to be a lot of, I think, discussion within Calgary about this because not only of the provincial money but also because of the significant stake that the city has to put in,” she said.

“That’s going to keep it in the news in the way that other spending might not have, I suspect.”

Violence against Calgary Transit drivers needs to be addressed

By Darren Krause

One Calgary city councillor said Calgary Transit drivers are working “in a trauma conveyor belt” and asked city officials what could be done to fix it.

Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness brought it up during question period at a late April regular meeting of council, saying operators are going to work in dangerous conditions daily.

“Transit operators are working in a trauma conveyor belt, where we ask them to go to work every day where they are experiencing violence, threats and secondhand smoke from drug use on the transit system,” she said.

“This is leading to short- and long-term disability of our transit operators, where we then just replace that person with another person to experience the same trauma that that transit operator had to go on long-term or short-term disability with.”

The day prior, the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) released a set of recommendations from its Transit Safety Taskforce. They’re asking for all levels of government to come together to support improved safety on public transit across Canada.

They’ve called for investment in safety and security on transit, but also more enforcement positions.

“Violence has absolutely no place on Canada’s public transit systems. We take the safety and security of transit riders and workers very seriously,” said CUTA President and CEO Marco D’Angelo.

“The work of our Transit Safety Taskforce is important in addressing these challenges and ensuring that our transit systems remain safe and accessible for everyone.”

They’re also looking for de-escalation training for staff, plus more education on the outreach and social intervention programs available in each city. CUTA would also like to see hazard assessments done to improve staff safety and are calling on the Government of Canada to increase penalties for assault on transit workers.

Eight Code Blues in April: ATU

Mike Mahar, president of Amalgamated Transit Union 583 representing hundreds of Calgary Transit workers, said Coun Wyness’s description was an accurate one.

“It’s an incredibly difficult situation right now and the impact on the employees – it’s a remarkably accurate descriptor of the environment,” he said.

Mahar said that in late April there had been eight Code Blue incidents. Those are when a transit employee needs to call in some sort

of intervention to help diffuse a situation. Ten years ago, they would average 65 to 70 per year.

A bigger issue, he said, was the number of unreported incidents.

“I know, without any doubt, that there’s a great number of them not getting reported now,” Mahar said.

“I think it’s a sign of the frustration of the ineffectiveness of getting things done.”

Mahar thinks some of the CUTA recommendations will help both short and longterm but believes a national centre for public transit safety would help. He said it brings folks from different disciplines together to

shape longer-term fixes.

Doug Morgan, GM for Operational Services, said they are taking steps to ensure greater safety for Calgary Transit operators. He said they provide programs to help transit operators in the event they are off and need rehabilitation. They’ve also installed driver shields to protect bus drivers. Those were $800 per shield, Morgan said.

“There’s more to do and there’s things happening on our system we’re concerned with so we are opening a dialogue with the local ATU union to have that discussion, and also constantly interact with other employees to see what other things we can do,” he said.

CREDIT: ARYN TOOMBS

When Angels Walked Among Us

Looking back at the short period of time the Guardian Angels patrolled Calgary’s city streets

By Mike Platt

Glamorous, it wasn’t.

If it wasn’t enough to be insulted by police and sneered at in the press, Calgary Guardian Angel Greg Silver was now fighting to end a CTrain night patrol with pants not soaked in piss.

Not that Silver was in any danger of losing control of his bladder. Like all Guardian Angels, he was trained in martial arts, as well as mediation in hostile situations. And, in the short time Calgary’s citizen sentries had walked the streets, Silver had already seen plenty. This wasn’t about fear – this was about not getting urinated on.

“It was on the CTrain platform, and there was a guy there obviously under the influence, and he’s standing there peeing off the platform,” chuckles Silver.

“So he turned around – and I laugh when I think about this – he turned around, still

peeing, and took a swing at me. I didn’t care so much about the punch, I just didn’t want to get peed on.”

Pee, punches and put-downs. Such was the prestigious servitude of Calgary’s shortlived chapter of the Guardian Angels, which existed for around two years, starting on March 29, 2007.

The attempt to establish a franchise of New York’s famed citizen crime-prevention organization here was brief, and it flickered out. Enthusiasm waned, and the few people who took part just gradually didn’t.

Not that the quick demise surprised critics, including Doug King, a criminologist at Mount Royal College. “The Guardian Angels are flashy, but they are going to have zero impact on the crime and social issues in Calgary,” he told reporters at the time.

In total, about 10 Calgarians regularly volunteered for the non-profit Guardian Angels,

taking on a role that included training in first aid, conflict resolution, basic martial arts and understanding of local laws.

“Back then, I was young, energetic and angry to a degree, and I wanted to make a difference as one of the good guys,” says Chris Pauletig, one of Calgary’s former volunteers.

“I was born in Calgary – I’m one of those rare people – so there was that sense of pride, that I wanted this to be a good place, and to be proud of where I lived.”

Vigilantism and aggression was not tolerated, and weapons were banned among members, to the point that patrol members would frisk each other before heading into areas like East Village and Forest Lawn.

To be a Guardian Angel was to serve as a watchdog for public safety, interfering when possible to prevent crime or protect innocent people, and reaching out to police when needed.

And for a couple of years, Calgary’s Guardian Angels did just that, and many Calgarians were indeed happy to see them breaking up fights and occasionally detaining ne’er-dowells for the police.

But it didn’t last.

“We couldn’t get people to join, and nobody wanted to, and finally that was it,” says Silver, who served a stint as chapter president.

When it ended, New York-based Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa was quick to blame Calgary police, citing their indifference to the citizen patrols, along with an official stance of “not needed here.”

“Any time you have resistance from the police, negative response from the police, that’s obviously going to chill some people from potentially getting involved,” said Sliwa, back in 2009.

“I think it’s really incumbent the Calgary Police Service should be embracing the Guardian

Angels as one of their civilian participation groups, like Block Watch.”

But the reality was more than just police not being especially keen on squads of scarlet-bereted crime-fighters doing their job for them – Calgary in 2007 just wasn’t a city looking for extra protection.

Yes, there were pockets of decay, where ordinary Calgarians feared to tread, particularly after dark. But a few crackheads in the then-seedy East Village or a belligerent drunk on a downtown CTrain platform was easily avoided.

Crimes happened, but they were rare, and of little consequence. For your average Calgarian in 2007, Calgary just wasn’t a very scary city.

When Sliwa announced the Guardian Angels were setting up shop in Calgary, the general response leaned more to “why?” than anything else.

Sliwa reportedly claimed violent crime in Calgary and Edmonton (where another franchise was planned) was on a level equal to Los Angeles and Chicago. But of course, that was ridiculous, and it still is. Just a glance at Chicago’s 695 murders tallied in 2022 alone (Calgary had 26 the same year) shows what a farce it is to even compare local violence with U.S. cities, even now.

But what has changed is public unease over safety and crime – and what wasn’t scary in 2007 now is.

Random stabbings, shootings and confrontations are no longer a surprise. Riding the CTrain day or night is considered a risky move, and vast swaths of the city are best avoided, especially alone.

It all leads to an interesting reflection: were Calgary’s Guardian Angels a good idea, just badly timed?

“They’d probably love to see us now,” says Silver, who now volunteers at a downtown homeless shelter.

Maybe. It’s hard to imagine a crew of the red berets wouldn’t be a welcome sight on transit, or in downtown Calgary or the Beltline.

Other Canadian cities have similar issues, and some Torontonians have reportedly started courting the Guardian Angels again, after a jump in transit crime.

In Calgary, there’s no movement to resurrect the Guardian Angels, who operate in 130 cities across 13 countries, and are now trained in anti-suicide measures and providing aid for overdose victims.

Some 14 years after the last Calgary Guardian Angels hung up their berets, the city’s experience with New York-style citizen crime prevention remains a footnote in the municipal history books.

Of course, it’s also a very real memory for the 10 or so men and women who patrolled the streets trying to protect Calgarians.

“It takes someone who cares, and let’s face it, when you’re walking around downtown in these troubled areas, it’s not always safe – and not everyone loved us,” says Silver.

When it ended, New Yorkbased Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa was quick to blame Calgary police, citing their indifference to the citizen patrols, along with an official stance of “not needed here.”

Curtis Sliwa

Around the world onscreen

While the Calgary Underground Film Festival has wrapped for another year, that doesn’t mean local cinephiles don’t have anything to look forward to.

May is actually a busy month, with a pair of multicultural fests hitting some of the city’s screens.

FascinAsian Film Festival

First up is The FascinAsian Film Festival, which runs May 11-14.

The event “celebrates Asian contributions to the film and media landscape and aims to showcase the talents of Asian-Canadian and Asian-American artists in film.”

Things get under way with a free screening

of the Pixar film Turning Red, from Chinese-Canadian filmmaker, Domee Shi. It takes place May 11 at 7 p.m. at the Calgary Central Library.

Other events throughout the four-day FascinAsian fest include: a showing of the Oscar-winning short Bao paired with a dumpling demonstration by chef Jay del Corro from Nan’s Noodle House and Plant Based Asian Kitchen; networking opportunities; and an awards dinner to close things out on the Sunday featuring a 10-course Asian dinner at the Cultural Centre Cuisine Restaurant in Chinatown.

Tickets and passes are available now from fff2023yyc.eventive.org.

For those who prefer to view at home, FascinAsian Online will feature the selected short films of the festival from May 19-28.

Calgary Black Film Festival

Later in the month, it’s the second annual Calgary Black Film Festival, which runs May 26-29 with in-person screenings and events taking place at the Globe Cinema, the Dome Theatre at Telus Spark Science Centre, the Calgary Memorial Park Library and the Calgary Central Library.

The fest, which also has an online component for those still uncertain about sitting in a theatre, features 47 films from 14 different countries.

“What a thrill to be back to the beautiful city of Calgary with the 2nd annual Calgary Black Film Festival!” Fabienne Colas, President and Founader of the Black Film Festivals in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Vancouver and Calgary, said in a release.

“CBFF is more than just ament! At this pivotal moment in our history, the people of Calgary have really stepped up as a BLM ally and have shown tremendous support towards their Black communities. As such, we are seizing on this opportunity to help bring even more awareness through concrete actions.

“It is vital for us to spread our message of inclusion and diversity off and on camera from coast to coast and celebrate the differences that make us unique and the shared values that bring us together.”

The festival kicks off, May 26, with a screening of Desiree Kahikopo-Meiffret’s film The White Line at the Globe. It is, according to organizers, “a riveting untold love story between a man and woman who do not see race and colour, subconsciously going against society’s norms and (finding) solace in love in an era where love was restricted to you only loving your kind.”

Also, beginning at 9 p.m. that evening, all

Turning Red

The White Line

Jam and weed

Nothing like a little bud with your roots and blues.

Diamond Valley’s craft dispensary

Enlightened Herb Cannabis has teamed up with Mikey’s on 12th to make your Sundays a little more memorable. Or easy to forget. Whatever your needs.

The company has worked out a deal with the Beltline music venue to deliver online orders to their location at 918 12th Ave S.W. for a window of time once a week — every Sunday from 4-7 p.m. during Tom Phillips’ Sit Back Jam.

To get your goods, simply place an order online at www.CraftCannabisDelivery.com any time throughout the week until noon on Sunday. They’ll have a table set up at Mikey’s every Sunday, where you can pop by and collect your order without having to drive all the way to Black Diamond. Or, if your needs aren’t so immediate, you can just head to Mikey’s and place an order in person and it will be available for pick up the following week.

Note: You first need to create an account to order online, with a one-time approval needed on the back end of Enlightened’s system before you can access the online menu.

To save the delivery fee, when checking out online, under “Order Type” select PICK UP (instead of Delivery); in the “Notes” section type MIKEY’S; then under the “Payment” section, select PAY NOW.

They do encourage you to leave a tip to help cover delivery costs, but doing it online and using those steps will save you the regular mandatory $8 delivery fee to Calgary.

Housed in an old church outside of town in rural Alberta, Enlightened “are independently owned, run by a team of artists, hippies, and cannabis connoisseurs who have a deep respect for the plant.”

“We specialize in Craft Cannabis and CBD wellness products, and are motivated by a desire to support the well-being of our community.”

films will be accessible online. Other highlights throughout the fest include: South African filmmaker Enver Samuel’s feature documentary Murder In Paris; and the Fabienne Colas Foundation’s Being Black In Canada short film series with entries from across the country.

The CBFF22 All Access Pass is available for $55 and gives access to the entire online programming. In-person single tickets for individual films and short series are available for $12 and $20 for the Opening Night film. Tickets and more information can be found at www.CalgaryBlackFilm.com.

Otafest celebrates 25 years

Now, if you’re seeing cosplayers walking around downtown in May, they’re not late for this year’s Calgary Expo — they’re likely taking in the 25th edition of Otafest, “Calgary’s volunteer-run, non-profit, allages Japanese anime and pop culture festival featuring anime screenings, an exhibitor hall, community panels, cosplay contests, voice actors, concerts, and so much more.”

The festival runs May 19-21 at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre, and will welcome in local drag performers, musical guests from around the globe, voice actors, arcade games, card games, special dining opportunities, autograph sessions, photo ops and a charity auction.

For tickets, passes and the full schedule of events, go to otafest.com.

Courtside Surge: Calgary’s newest professional basketball team’s inaugural season a slam-dunk for fans of the hardcourt

By Chris Landry

Nevermind the surge of Spring weather, Calgarians should be on the watch for another surge — the Calgary Surge. As the city’s new professional basketball team, the Surge will be playing in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), with the first home game taking place on May 27 in a battle of Alberta versus the Edmonton Stingers. The CEBL consists of 10 teams across Canada, each playing 20 games during the season to compete for their chance in the CEBL Championship, taking place this year in Vancouver in August. Led by Nelson Terroba, a coach with an impressive tenure in Canadian basketball, the Calgary Surge’s debut marks an exciting time for Calgarian basketball fans. Here’s everything you need to know about the team ahead of its inaugural season.

The Calgary Surge started as the Guelph Nighthawks

The Calgary Surge is not new, per se — the team is originally from Guelph, ON, where it was known as the Nighthawks. As a nod to the team’s origins, the Surge’s new logo incorporates a hawk, but it also still honours Calgary’s tradition as a city of black and red team colours. The Nighthawks were one of the original founding teams of the CEBL, meaning Calgary basketball fans have even more reason to cheer for this historic team’s move to our city.

The Calgary Surge’s home court will be at WinSport Event Centre

The Calgary Surge’s home games will be played in the WinSport Event Centre, which is no stranger to hosting basketball games — in March 2022, it hosted the Basketball Champions League Americas (BCLA). Opened in 1988 during the Calgary Winter Olympics, the event centre was purpose-built for large-scale sporting events, with more than 3000 seats for fans to cheer from.

The team will play under different rules than the NBA

Teams in the CEBL play under International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rules, which include a few key differences from what NBA fans might be accustomed to. Under FIBA rules (the same ones the Olympics follow), the court is shorter, as are the periods, and the three-point line is closer to the basket, meaning the game has a faster pace than with NBA rules. There’s also more freedom allowed around the basket — players are allowed to play the ball at any point after it

touches the rim — so there are more goaltending plays for the defense, but more scoring chances for the offense, too.

Season tickets can be bought now

While centre court season tickets are all sold out, premium and sideline tickets are still available, starting at $385 for season tickets or $35 for a single game. Or, purchase a Surge Select membership, which gets you special access to events, merch and even the option to get courtside seats (memberships start at $1089). Every game will also be livestreamed through CEBL streaming services or the CEBL mobile app.

FOOTIE FOR ALL

Calgary’s soccer team Cavalry FC already established as an inclusive sporting experience

By Steve Macfarlane

Tommy

Wheeldon Jr.

is admittedly biased.

The Liverpool product was raised on football — soccer, as most North Americans call the sport — and he has been a key figure in its emergence in Calgary.

However, what transpires when his Calgary Cavalry host a rival club down at ATCO Field at Spruce Meadows is magic to many others regardless of their background.

“There’s nothing like it around Calgary,” Wheeldon Jr. says during a brief window of opportunity to chat after some serious travel to start the Cavalry’s sessions as they warm up for their home opener.

“The people of Calgary found another reason to go to Spruce Meadows for things outside of equestrian (competitions) and the Christmas Market. And over the last five years, people have started to come for our game.”

To Wheeldon Jr., it’s the game. The beautiful game. Whether you call it soccer or football doesn’t matter. Approaching the 100th game mark, the Cavalry Football Club has firmly planted roots in Calgary’s soil.

It’s fertilized by a frenzied fan base known as the Foot Soldiers, who followed Wheeldon Jr. over from his post atop the Calgary Foothills Soccer Club — an extremely successful youth soccer club he helped establish as a top team after his time as a player with the now defunct Calgary Storm ended.

“You won’t see a more diverse and inclusive group than the Foot Soldiers themselves,” Wheeldon says when asked about the draw to Southern Calgary for Cavalry games. “They’ve gone from five or six guys to 300. They’ve just grown. They’re so inclusive — there’s different races, ages, LGBTQ+ community members. The fans are what makes us great.

“There’s no energy like it. Those that have been to the game, they’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s that energy that makes us play so well at home.”

Fact: The Cavalry has a 29-8-11 record at ATCO Field in Canadian Championship contests and Canadian Premier League (CPL) games. (Ties are the middle column in soccer.) If the Calgary Flames had that kind of success at the Saddledome, the city would be in an NHL playoff frenzy right now.

Instead, the Flames are plotting their next big management moves, while the Cavalry prepared for their CPL season opener, which was April 30.

Their fifth season in Calgary comes at a

time that soccer is thriving in Canada.

“Football is in this golden age with the women winning the Olympics, and the men qualifying for (the World Cup in) Qatar,” says Wheeldon Jr.

“You can see the direction it’s going for football here.”

Wheeldon Jr. has had his hands in that

since making Calgary his home while joining the US Professional Development League’s Storm in 2002. Things didn’t work out for that franchise, but Wheeldon Jr. made Calgary his home and has been behind much of the sport’s local (and beyond) growth opportunities ever since.

The Cavalry itself is a growth opportunity,

developing players to graduate into other “more established” systems and recognized on larger stages, says Wheeldon Jr.

“What we’ve done in our very short 100 games is create opportunities,” says the Cavalry manager. “That’s been a great success story for us.”

Goalkeeper Marco Carducci became the first active Canadian Premier League player to be called up by the Canadian men’s national team. Former defender Dominick Zator was next, then Joel Waterman became the first former CPL player to make a World Cup roster with Team Canada in Qatar.

Former Cavalry FC midfielder Victor Loturi is another name that made it to Canada’s national matches.

The talent that has rolled through has been undeniable.

“Growing is success for me,” says Wheeldon Jr. “Over the next 100 games, we’d love to see more young Canadians get the recognition they deserve and see the attendance double.

“And we’re always going to chase championships.”

You can be a part of that chase by visiting ATCO Field this season.

“There’s no energy like it. Those that have been to the game, they’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s that energy that makes us play so well at home.”

TOMMY WHEELDON JR.

PHOTO: ERIN BROOKE BURNS

CALGARY BREWERIES TAPPING INTO THE FAMILY MARKET

By Don Tse

“We built being family-friendly into the foundation of our brewpub because, when we started, very few breweries we visited in Canada allowed minors. And as new parents, we wanted a place we could go and relax with a cool beer,” says Laura Coles, co-founder and director of marketing and public relations of Prairie Dog Brewing (105D 58 Ave. S.E.; prairiedogbrewing.ca). “Everything from our music curation that plays at the brewpub, to onsite activities, are all keeping our family guests top of mind.”

While beer may be an adult beverage, a handful of local breweries try to ensure guests of all ages feel welcome. A truly family-friendly taproom is not one that merely allows children, but is one that welcomes them. “We’ve been kid-friendly since day one — it was even specifically mentioned as part of our business plan to focus on families,” says Haydon Dewes, co-founder of Cabin Brewing (505 36 Ave. S.E.; cabinbrewing.ca), “and that

came from a personal perspective because all three founders had small children.”

At Cabin, they make parents’ lives easier, with change tables and free diapers and wipes in the bathroom, and they entertain the kids, with free colouring sheets and crayons, boxes of Lego and charcuterie plates aimed at pintsized Cabin dwellers. Dewes notes that Cabin has no age restrictions at any time, preferring to leave it to parents to make the call about when to bring their kids in.

At Prairie Dog, their day-to-day initiatives to welcome families include colouring sheets, board games, building blocks and other toys. But even the special events at Prairie Dog are designed to include everyone.

“We always have families in mind when we plan events including our fifth anniversary happening in June which will have a carnival feel to it with patio games and attractions,” says Coles. “Our annual Golden Prairie Dog hunt is meant to be attractive to families and many of our winners have been parents who

had fun out searching with their kids! In the works we plan to have family movie days and to bring in more at-the-table entertainment options.”

“Our menu is very kid safe and because of that we have had many young’uns choose Prairie Dog to celebrate their birthdays!” boasts Coles. “We have made ourselves the perfect spot for minor sports teams and their parents/coaches to come after the game or for season wrap-ups of which we

have hosted many.”

Every Sunday is family day at Prairie Dog with their petite menu items being $10. But Dandy Brewing Company (2003 11 St. S.E.; thedandybrewingcompany.com) goes one step further. “On Sundays, kids eat free!” says Benjamin Leon, co-founder. “Kiddos get a free slice (of pizza), pop and colouring sheet!”

It is with great relief that discerning parents no longer have to take their half pints to Chuck E. Cheese.

THE DAVID WARD WALL

We have David’s incredible collection of Dylan memorabilia for sale: Rare albums, song books, DVDs, CDs and books. Come and find a treasure.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Calgary musicians Tegan and Sara continue to build their media empire with new graphic novel

By Mike Bell

It’s asked rather flippantly, but, well, an answer to the affirmative wouldn’t have been too surprising.

What’s next? Tegan and Sara: The musical?

Tegan Quin laughs but doesn’t dismiss the idea outright.

“You know, people have talked to us about it,” she says from her home of Canada’s west coast where both the Quins dwell. “People have approached us about it.

“There’s definitely some things in the pipline that are outside of the music space, but everything sort of touches music.”

She and her sister, Sara, have, over the past few years branched out from simply making delightfully catchy pop music, such as their latest release, 2022’s Crybaby, into other mediums.

There’s a book — the cowritten biography of their formative years growing up in Calgary called High School. There’s the acclaimed TV show based on that book, which was created by Clea DuVall, filmed locally, starring Cobie Smulders, and is awaiting confirmation on a second season pickup (it’s already scripted, just waiting on the green light).

They also have a popular Substack site, I Think We’re Alone Now, where fans can get an even greater look into the lives of the twins.

There’s also the work and outreach they do on behalf of the LBGTQ+

And now, well, now they’re making their way into the graphic novel market, with a new, somewhat fictionalized work called Junior High, which was scripted by the pair and illustrated by award-winning artist Tillie Walden. Set in the modern day, it reimagines what life would be like for the two, growing up queer, making music, just living the Junior High life.

The duo will return home to celebrate its release with a Wordfest event June 6 at the Patricia A. Whelan Performance Hall in the Central Library.

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, Sara also became a mom, her son Sid having just turned nine months old.

So, yeah, they’ve a whole lotta stuff going on.

“We’re still ambitious, but our ambition is different. It’s now can we have a full life rather than just a big life,” says Tegan, before pointing to the newest family member, who she calls incredibly “easygoing,” having accompanied them on their last tour in support of Crybaby.

“He’s added to that. Just being around him and keeping him alive for nine months for Sara, that’s her biggest

accomplishment. It changes her focus, which is really cool.”

He — as well as their many other new artistic outlets — have allowed the Quins to take stock of where they are, how far they’ve come, and reassess their priorities moving forward.

As Tegan says, it feeds into “a lifestyle of being at home and (creating), it’s really appealing.

“It’s a really interesting time creatively, that’s for sure.”

And as Tegan says, while they weren’t expecting it, it also helped them branch out and reach their fans in different ways when Covid shut things down for a couple of years.

Far from being prescient, she says they’d signed the deal for both High School and Junior High back in in 2018, and were happy to have that time to create and find their way around these new forms.

“Not to say that we wanted a pandemic,” she says, “but I think that time of the road really allowed us to really fully lean into and explore and have fun.

“If we had just been on the regular treadmill, I think we would have just been pushing them out, like, ‘OK, we have to stay on schedule …’

“So the pandemic didn’t inspire us going out and trying new things, but it definitely gave us the freedom and the time to explore them that felt really rich.

“And I think that being at home for longer than we’ve ever been, ever, in our adult lives … I think it definitely changes some of our brain chemistry.

“It feels insane to imagine leaving for months at a time.”

She laughs.

“I don’t understand what we were thinking.”

That’s not to say the sisters are ready to pack it in and give up their day jobs. In fact, as Tegan says, all of these other avenues are all relatively music adjacent.

That includes writing a soundtrack for the audio book version of Junior High, which is due out this summer, as well as a sequel to the comic, which will likely further follow them down the path of becoming Tegan and Sara.

“It’s not that I don’t like putting out new music, I love putting out new music, but I don’t want to just pump out a new record every year, just to do it. We want to be really cognizant and it to be very premeditated with what kind of music we make” she says.

“So the writing has allowed us to explore

other music stuff.

“And also, with the books, we have to write them together, so there’s a lot more collaboration, that’s actually seeped into the music. I don’t sit and think, ‘I have to finish this song, it has to be mine,’ I’m more inclined to share it with Sara and say, ‘Well what would you do next?’

“It’s cool, it’s really helping us evolve.”

As to where else that may take them, well, wait and see.

“We’re definitely like, ‘OK, should we do a musical?” she says and laughs again. “I don’t know.

“We’re asking those bigger questions. As a legacy artist, we can go out and tour every couple of years, and we can definitely make some money.

“But it’s not really about money as much any more. Now it’s about how do we satisfy ourselves, how do we be creative, how do we scratch that itch, how do we reach this audience that we really like, and how do we do this thing we like without breaking our backs and without destroying our personal lives.

“We’re definitely having to shake up a new cocktail.”

Tegan and Sara will appear June 6 at the Patricia A. Whelan Performance Hall in the Central Library for a Wordfest event. For tickets and more information, please go to wordfest.com.

“We’re still ambitious, but our ambition is different. It’s now can we have a

rather than just a big life,” says Tegan.

EXPLORE

Taking place on a six-block length of International Avenue at intimate venues with unique food and drink offerings and a range of performers that’s sure to suit all tastes.

Music +FOOD FestivaL

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BRATBOY CATFISHTHEWIZARD DEICHA & THE VUDUDES

BAND THE DUST COLLECTORS CARTER FELKER & THE CFB

THE GALACTICAS HARSH HECO HENDRIKA THE HI-TOPS

KEANU IENCO  JOYFULTALK  KTHECHOSEN  L’OMELETTE

JOLENE MARIE  HEATHER MAY  MEDS  BENNETT MITCHELL

FRANK MONA PANCAKE PEACH PANIC QUIT IT! SCHÄDLICH

SMOKEY ST.ARNAUD TEA FANNIE TEN02 UYEMI

VARO AVA WILD WITCH VICTIM ZEBRA

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MENUS + MORE ETGD.CA food

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*AVAILABLE AT VENUES EXCLUDING

Out of tragedy, Des Arcs find a way to move forward

Band to celebrate the life and influence of local music icon Dave Alcock with album release

By Mike Bell

It was not the way the year was supposed to begin.

On Jan. 1, 2023, longtime Calgary musician and producer Dave Alcock took his own life.

The outpouring of grief and support from the local scene was immediate and genuine. Those who knew him, played with him, were recorded by him or were even in his circle of friends were all devastated by the news. Perhaps no one more than his partner, Kim, who Dave was supporting in her battle with cancer.

You never know what someone’s going through.

So all you can do is listen, and be there.

Interestingly, in Dave’s name, you’ll get to do that at the Palomino on May 13 alt rock act Des Arcs, will celebrate the release of their new album Masks, which Dave played drums for prior his death.

More than that, the band featuring Travis Davies, Mark Rudd and Dave Anderson, along with a collection of some of the city’s finest acts, will celebrate the life of their friend who left far too soon.

Prior to the show, theSCENE spoke with Des Arcs vocalist Davies.

Q: It must be bittersweet. Because you’ve got this fantastic record, and — well, you tell me, does it have a cloud hanging over it? Or is it more kind of a celebration of of what you did?

A: No, I wouldn’t say it has a cloud over it. The timing was very strange. And I think, you know, a part of me is like, if Dave, you know, made it another couple of weeks, you would have had this record under us … You can’t think that way, of course. But you know, it arrived literally one week after after he died. Yeah. So that part was very bittersweet. We didn’t know what was going to go on with the band or, you know, anything like that … We were like, look, we want to play, Dave would want to play, Dave loved the record. We love the record. So let’s just do this thing … And then go about finding the appropriate replacement for Dave, which was super, super hard. But we got really lucky.

I mean, it’s one of those things, right? I mean, it’s somebody that you see, once every week, you see them and you get this dense struggle to make art together. And it’s really more about fit and friendship and trust than it is about this dude having the chops to play drums. And thankfully, you know, we found the right person with Brendan Derrick Tincher. He’s got the skills to do it. But more so he’s just a sweet and gentle human being. And it was the right kind of character to come into

that room in a tough situation, right? Yeah, get in with with three other guys that just lost the best friend and play these songs specifically. But for me, it was a gift.

Q: I know that the show itself will be a mix of celebration of the album, as well as a celebration of Dave’s life.

A: Yeah, absolutely, we’re gonna release the physical copy, which is really fun, really cool package. And so that’s exciting. But also like, just, you know, the bands that are playing this thing, it’s going to be so fun. I mean, everybody, Dave touched them in some way. In terms of the quality and the kind of people we would we would want to share a night like that with, so yeah, it’s pretty great for us.

Q: I imagine it’s going to be a pretty emotional evening.

A: Yeah, absolutely. Well, that’s good, though, right? It’s just like you empty yourself out. And it’s kind of the way the band’s attitude has always been, like you always empty yourself. And that’s part of the reason we got the band together in the first place, right, to have that outlet. It’s gonna be good.

Q: Still, though, it’s shitty all around because you don’t know what people are going through until here. Until sometimes it’s too fucking late.

A: We didn’t didn’t get a chance to talk about it personally. I mean it was the hardest thing I could have ever managed to go through — it was complete devastation as nobody saw it coming. We talked with him that morning … we got a group text to the band and a “happy New Year’s guys” like 45 minutes before he jumped. So it was just fucking devastation. And for (his partner) Kim, she’s gone through hell and she continues to go through hell — she’s really having a tough time.

We’re not shying away from the fact that he died by suicide. You know that’s OK, I think even by not talking about it makes it a whole

lot worse and less easy for other people who might be hurting to talk. Nobody’s shoving it under the rug. It’s a common way for young women and young men to die. All the bands are playing for free. All the door is going to his favourite charity.

Q: Sorry, this is where I do my awkward segue. I don’t want to say it shouldn’t overshadow the album, but I hope the fact that this album, how good this album is, isn’t lost. This is a tough one to dance around, but I hope that this also shines the light on the work, the last work he did and the work you guys did as friends, as a band.

A: Yeah, I hope so, too. And I feel the same way … I’ve always battled a little bit with, like, you know, is it kind of craven to be like, “Oh, well, there’s definitely more eyes on this and on this record, as a result of what what happened, and Dave’s death than there otherwise would have been.” But I’m sure he’d be like, “Yeah, you know, that’s great,” because he worked super hard on this record. I mean, the drums are fucking great. He went in to OCL because he wanted them to be big. And it has that big open room sound.

Q: He definitely left an indelible mark, not just from his performance. Let’s talk about the album itself. Is there a theme? Is there something you want people to take away from this record?

A: Well, there’s certainly a – I don’t know, if it’s called a theme – but there’s kind of a driving element to it that, that makes it a record in my mind. It’s in the rhythm. And it’s that sort of drive — the chunky, rolling feel that all the songs kind of have that make it work as an album, maybe. We recorded 14 and cut it down to 12. It wasn’t because they weren’t good tunes, but they didn’t have that certain something that of all the others did.

Really, it’s a bit hard to describe. And we call it “Hunca-Munca.” That’s the name for

the drive and kind of rhythm that bounces through the whole record. And so core concept as much as approach to playing the songs in a tempo that really pulls everything together and drives it. And that’s an interesting thing, because we’ve got two songwriters and we alternate, but we still managed somehow to have kept that consistent sonic approach that ties it together. But we also think we’ve got the differentiations, different vocal approaches and the different, less lyrical styles. It’s got it’s got a bit of diversity, too. Our other albums were more like, collections of disparate songs. But this one has had a different feel altogether. And maybe, you know, I’d be a fool not to say maybe this has something to do with the sort of time it was written in. And it was COVID times and we were isolated. But, you know, we were hunkered down together, like we still practices, whenever as long as everybody was healthy. And this was dealing with, Kim who was going through cancer treatments. She was immuno-compromised, and so we had to be really careful.

Q: What are your hopes for the record?

A: It’s a weird one for a lot of reasons. But, you know, obviously, we worked years on it, and we’re really proud of it. Dave was proud of it. We’re not going to put on the the iron wheels and go on a North American tour. But in this day and age you can, you can sort of micro target and find out where you’ve done well or where the record is being played. And maybe, you know, book a couple of shows in a place like that and just go do some one offs. I think we’d be happy with an approach like that.

Des Arcs celebrate the release of their new album Masks on May 13 at the Palomino with Pussy Monster, Vailhalen, Rambling Ambassadors, Night Committee and other special guests.

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Guitar is God

Randy Bachman, Eternal Teenager: Music, guitars and playing ‘cause it’s fun

By Mary-Lynn Wardle

Dopamine rushes. Remember the bliss they gave you as a teenager when you cruised around with friends, listening to your favourite music and then talking about said music when not listening to it? A conversation with songwriter, singer, guitarist and broadcaster Randy Bachman is like reliving those teenage chats, when your brain and its dopamine were shiny and new. That’s because, despite the fact he’s turning 80 in September and has been creating music for over 75 years (he started playing violin at five), Bachman, remarkably, still has the enthusiasm of a teenager when talking about music and his beloved guitars.

Remarkably, because he’s earned the right to be jaded and cynical, having been interviewed over a thousand times without purchasing mental real estate in that burntout neighbourhood. And he was interviewed so often for solid reasons. It’s not just that he won international acclaim as member of The Guess Who in the late 1960s, writing or co-writing with Burton Cummings hits No Time, These Eyes, No Sugar Tonight, Laughing, Undun, and American Woman, which was the first Canadian song to ever hit No. 1 on Billboard, all of which no doubt sparked many of those dopamine-rich teenage conversations across the globe half a century ago. In fact, during 1969 and 1970, The Guess Who sold more records than the rest of the entire Canadian music industry combined.

And it’s not just that after leaving The Guess Who in 1970, Bachman created more fuel for dopamine-infused teenage memories by forming Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) with Fred Turner and brother Robbie, recording more hits like Takin’ Care of Business, Let It Ride, Hey You, Roll On Down the Highway, Looking Out for No. 1 and You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet. Yup. More opportunities for millions of music-loving teenagers to experience the difference between “this is your brain” and “this is your brain on music.”

It’s that, despite the fact that the man wrote or co-wrote many hit singles and reached No. 1 with two bands, musically, he’s never rested. “What’s my favourite song? It’s the one I’m going to write today,” Bachman says from his Victoria home. “The one I’m going to write tomorrow. It’s not something in the past. I love playing those songs. I saw Sting on TV about four or five months ago and he’d done a bunch of his songs on television and somebody said to him, ‘Why are still doing this? You don’t need to do this.’

“None of us need to do this. We’re doing

this for fun. We love doing it and we’ve already made our money. Our houses are paid for, everything’s paid for. We do it because we love it. It’s our teenage dream.”

And Bachman is waving that teenage dream in all our faces with Every Guitar Tells a Story, running May 5 to Oct. 1 at Studio Bell, featuring 80 of his guitars, with a special session by the man himself May 4. “Well, I admit it, it’s almost like showing off. Most people

that collect stuff; it’s no fun just to collect it and be a hoarder. You’ve got to bring people in to see your hoard. And I don’t have a room big enough, so having it there at the National Music Centre makes a lot of sense.”

Many of the guitars returned to him from his other homes in Covent Garden, London, and Santa Monica, California, after he sold those places as he couldn’t travel during the pandemic.

“These guitars are basically one of a kind or two or three of a kind that exist in the world and I was lucky enough to get one of them or a couple of them and they should be seen by everybody. They are works of art, all made by hand from exotic woods and material from all over the world. I’ve been collecting them for years. To be able to have people see them and ooh and aah and play them – we’re gonna have little booths you can play in. I’m giving (video) guitar lessons there in some of the booths on how to play some of my songs –and at the end we’re probably gonna auction some of them off. Because I have too many.”

At this point, he offers a fascinating history of how traditional European violin and cello makers switched to making guitars after the Second World War because symphonies had been wiped out for a while but soldiers were patronizing night clubs. He speaks about families with names familiar to music buffs, like Hofner and Hohner, creating a few instruments yearly and being afraid to put their names on them as, behind the Iron Curtain, you were not allowed to make and sell things for your own profit, leading people to sign them in pencil inside the body of the guitar. Collectors use a dental mirror to discover those hidden signatures.

“Some of them are very dear to me and let me put it this way: If you have a house full of books in a library, you don’t sit down and read every book every day so most of them go untouched. It’s a really great hobby because everything I’ve invested in a guitar, when I had to sell it, I’ve tripled or quadrupled my money, my investment. They just go up and up. My ’59 Les Paul that’s in the museum there — my American Woman guitar — is valued at a million dollars. And all of them sell in that range of $750,000 to $1.3 million.”

Even a fabled orange 1957 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins will be present, despite it perhaps needing trauma therapy after going missing from Bachman’s life - but not his heart - for 45 years after it was stolen from a Toronto hotel in 1977 until he was reunited with it during a Canada Day concert in Tokyo last year. It had been the first major purchase of his young adult life at 19, and he wrote all his aforementioned hits on it.

“My life story built around this orange guitar that I learned to play on and wrote and played every hit song on: Laughing, She’s Come Undun, No Time, American Woman, Takin’ Care of Business. That guitar is on every song of mine until it was stolen, and now I’ve got the guitar back. I made it to number one with two different bands with singles and

“None of us need to do this. We’re doing this for fun. We love doing it and we’ve already made our money. Our houses are paid for, everything’s paid for. We do it because we love it. It’s our teenage dream.”

RANDY BACHMAN

albums, and now that I’ve got the guitar back, we’re wondering, will I get another No. 1 out of this? Tal (my son) and I did another album, Bachman & Bachman.” A documentary about the guitar’s journey is in the works and set to debut at the Toronto International Film Festival this year.

“Even if I get No. 1 on Rotten Tomatoes, I won’t care. I’ve got another No. 1 and I got my guitar back.” After all that, you’d think he’d be a bit gun shy about letting it out of his sight again.

“Well listen, it’s under guard. It’s in a locked (space). You can’t get in. I can’t even get in there, for Pete’s sake. It’s hard to get into that museum,” he says, then expands on the guitar’s story. “Neil Young and I went and bought the first two orange Gretsch guitars when they came into Winnipeg. He bought one, I bought the other one. He still has his. If you look up (Buffalo Springfield’s) For What It’s Worth on American Bandstand, he’s playing his there.

“Mine was stolen in ’77; I just got it back. First guy to e-mail me was Neil Young saying glad you got your Gretsch back.”

Speaking of the hometown that spawned so many music legends, he says, “I get back a couple of times a year doing gigs. My brother (Robbie) who was very close to me passed away so there’s not much reason to go there anymore unless it’s for a gig but I have thousands of cousins there (laughing) who I’ve never met who always come backstage and say, ‘I’m your cousin.’

“I spent a lot of years there. I played every church and every wedding and every bar mitzvah and every social and every community centre. Everybody feels they know me, and in a way, I feel like I know them because they were part of me becoming who I am. Every gig I played, every dollar I made, every two dollars I made has added to my life. And I’ve had a great life. Keeping on embracing those teenage years in Winnipeg that were so important. We all had a dream.”

And so, after his music hitting the No. 1 spot in over 20 different countries, and after 40 million album and singles sales, the guitarist remains earnest. Over the course of 50 years, some might get sick of hearing the tinny sound of supermarket speakers regurgitating their music in the meat aisle. Not so when Bachman hears one of his songs.

“It’s fun to look around in a store or at a red light and your song’s on the radio and the guy next to you is playing drums on his dash. The kids are in the back seat and they’re all singing my song. This is amazing. I want to roll down the window and go, ‘That’s me! That’s me!’ But I don’t. In a mall, in a gym, in an elevator somewhere, people are moving and singing to it and you go, ‘Holy cow, that’s really amazing. It’s amazing.’ ”

Every Guitar Tells at Story runs from May 5 to Oct. 1 at Studio Bell. Bachman will host a live conversation there on May 4. For information, visit studiobell.ca.

Every Guitarist Tells a Story

By Mary-Lynn Wardle

Yes, it’s cruel and unusual, asking local guitarists to narrow their favourite guitars to just one, but in honour of the Every Guitar Tells a Story exhibit at National Music Centre’s Studio Bell May 5 to Oct.1, theSCENE did just that. Sure, people wailed that they couldn’t make that Sophie’s Choice. There were tears. There was cursing. There were threats. But. We didn’t flinch.

CHANTAL VITALIS

The Lovebullies, Kris Demeanor’s Crack Band, Same Difference

Guitar: “A Franken-tele (knock off Telecaster) because it Aiwas cobbled together from so many different parts!”

Why: “I love this guitar not just because it sounds great, but because it was gifted to me by my excellent friend Peter Clarke (partner of my Lovebullies bandmate, Joni Brent).”

Story: “The pink paisley pattern, the gold foil pickups, the vintage button on the headstock — all beautiful reminders of the care and thought that went into this unparalleled birthday present a few years ago.”

The Lovebullies play Mikey’s on 12th on July 15.

TIM WILLIAMS

Triple Threat, BMW, winner of the 2014 International Blues Challenge in Memphis –Best Guitarist and Best Solo

Guitar: “An original Stella from the late teens or ’20s, sold to me for the giveaway sum of $100 more than 50 years ago.”

Why: “It was bought by the great aunt and uncle of another old pal, who were touring vaudeville musicians. It has been halfway around the world with me, played by deceased bluesmen including Honeyboy Edwards and Larry Johnson, as well as living legends including John Hammond. David Lindley tried to buy it from me. It’s now semi-retired and lives in my office where I teach guitar with it, and occasionally I take it out for a local gig. It is exactly what so many blues players used in the earliest recordings.”

Williams hosts the Saturday jam each week at The Blues Can.

BRENT COOPER

Huevos Rancheros, The Ramblin’ Ambassadors, Gravity Thugs)

Guitar: 1952 Gibson ES295

Why: “Scotty Moore played a 295 with Elvis. I’ve had this guitar since the early ’90s. It’s a really, really good instrument from Gibson’s golden years. It looks awesome, like it’s been through the war and back. It’s only been stolen once (Cooper had 26 guitars stolen from him in 2018 and has recovered 21 of them to date). It’s just a really cool guitar. Even if it wasn’t mine, I’d be thinking, wow, what a cool guitar.”

Story: “It was in the first video Huevos Rancheros ever did, Cindy with an ’S’ (1993), which was one of the first independent Western Canadian videos back in the olden days. I took it on my first North American tour and it survived. I once used it as a baseball bat and took out a mic stand during a Replacements-ish evening of tomfoolery at MacEwan Hall Ballroom. It’s embarrassing, it’s terrible — it was actually a cancer benefit — and I think we proceeded to drink everyone’s beer and we got very carried away. The guitar does have some marks on it from that gig. It’s a well-worn guitar.

The Ramblin’ Ambassadors are playing the Dave Alcock tribute May 13 at The Palomino.

RUSSELL BROOM

Jann Arden, Art Bergmann

Guitar: A cheap, $200 Squier Jaguar found on Kijiji

Why: “It’s a horrible guitar, difficult to play, sounds like it has the first round of Covid-19, and on many days, the most useful guitar on a session that I have ever owned. It sounds coarse, nasal, harsh, and when put through a great amplifier like a Matchless or a vintage ’60s Fender, it hits it in all the right spots and sounds gloriously thick and cranky. It cuts through everything in a mix while having character, charm and a unique voice. The secret? Flatwound strings, Herco 50 guitar picks, and $200 bucks on the Kijaguar (it has its own Instagram account).

Story: “What’s my favourite guitar? A loaded question, and also one that always has a different answer. My guitars are wrenches in my toolbox, I’m not precious about them, whether it’s a 1950 Gibson acoustic guitar or a 1957 Fender Esquire that I chased for 2 years. The answer today is (the aforementioned Kijiguar).”

ERIN ROSS

Erin Ross & The Rhythm Method):

Guitar: Nashville Telecaster, orange with tortoise shell pick guard, with three different pickups instead of the two it originally came with

Why: Classic Teletone

Story: In 2004 Ross was working at Guitar Works as a music teacher and asked them to order it after it caught her eye. “It was love at first sight.” After about a decade, the pickups degraded and started making noise. She and her husband, musician Shane Roberts, decided to replace the pickups and line the inside cavity with copper foil, known for reducing pickup noise. Roberts worked on the project while Ross ran an errand. “I come home to this guitar that has a superglue handprint and a big wad of paper towels stuck to the back of it. I was like, ‘Oh, at least it’s on the back.’ Just by good fortune we were able to clean off the superglue with acetone and not damage the finish in any way.”

Ross and her band are hosting the Ship and Anchor stage May 20, with Cold Little Crow as a guest.

JOHN RUTHERFORD The Highwater Jug Band, The Hoodoo Sons

Guitar: 1958 Harmony H62 with pickups made by Gibson, purchased in 1987 for $200 from Collector’s Axe

Why: “It has a very distinct old-time sound that can’t be reproduced with any new instrument. It is the guitar used on Juke Joint Guru (from new EP Midnight Microphone).”

Story: “I walked in the store, saw it and immediately said, ‘I’ll take it.’ The guy in the store said, ‘Oh man, there was a customer in the store just a few minutes ago eyeing this guitar.’ After purchasing it I immediately ran down to the jam at the (King) Eddy to try it out. Turned out that the customer that had been looking at the guitar was Johnny V (leader of the house band at the old King Eddy, The House Rockers). He had just gone to get the money when I unknowingly swooped in and bought it. Johnny showed up at the jam, saw me with the guitar and was not at all happy! All my guitar-playing pals want to get their  hands on it.”

MIESHA LOUIE Miesha and The Spanks

Guitar: Red Gibson Flying V

Why: “The way I play guitar, I play in Drop D (tuning) so I can get a nice bass sound as well through a bass amp and two guitar amps. The shape of it lets me go up and down the neck so easily. It just feels like the most my guitar (rather than) all the other ones I played before.”

Story: “It’s been everywhere with me. It’s been my number one guitar since I got it. I think I got it for the photo shoot for the Girls Girls Girls album so it’s on the inside image, that would have been early 2018. It’s been the only guitar I’ve brought with me for every tour since then. It has been a lot of places.”

Rutherford is appearing at the Calgary International Blues Festival in August.

Spank me more

Calgary’s Miesha and The Spanks deliver addictive album of melody, story and grit that begs you to push repeat

By Mary-Lynn Wardle

You don’t have to talk with Miesha

Louie — founder, singer, guitarist and soul behind Calgary band Miesha and The Spanks — to understand she’s a no-bullshit kinda gal. Just listen to her songs, and especially the songs on Unconditional Love in Hi-Fi, released in April on supercool Canadian label Mint Records (at times home of The Smugglers, The Ramblin’ Ambassadors, Carolyn Mark and The Sadies).

For instance, the first track, necwiyéwt, in which Louie — whose Secwepemc or Shuswap grandmother on her father’s side attended residential schools — repeats part of Pope Francis’ apology to Indigenous peoples of Canada for the atrocities committed in those schools, over a searing knot of muscly music that forms the bedrock of next song Dig Me Out, about the discovery of the graves of missing children from the same.

After that, the music gallops flat out into sweet, chunky riffage in So Mad, and by now your body is moving, your brain is leaning in, and you’re inside the song — especially if you happen to be female, gay or trans — when you hear the lines, “You think you wanna walk home alone/You better weaponize something you own.” (Louie: “We’ve all had to hold our keys in our fingers, just in case.”)

Yep, if the best music hits you in the feet, brain, and gonads, Unconditional Love in Hi-Fi qualifies. And it does so while tackling tough topics without being preachy or whiny, which is rare.

And, Louie agrees, she is, pretty much, no bullshit. “That’s been true about me since I was a kid I think,” she says during a break on the road from Saskatoon to Edmonton, after braving white-knuckle weather touring in support of the album’s release. “I think my dad had a pretty no-nonsense attitude and that probably rubbed off on me when I was a kid.” It rubbed off on the album, too, exploring everything from being the mother of threeand-a-half-year-old twin boys (Arthur and Otis) to the loss of her father to a grizzly bear in 2005, and even the surprising connection between the two, to girls finding voice, power and bliss via rock music, and even the oftbashed but very important art of procrastination in the album’s closing track, I Was Gonna. There is also a natural born hit single, I Can’t Wait, custom-made for spilling out of car windows on a hot August day, with a perennial refrain as comfy as your old cut-offs: “Before

the summer gets away.”

Yep, this no-bullshit album is the soundtrack of which lives are made. Hearing it is akin to your first listen to Hole’s Live Through This or The Pretenders’ first album, when, drunk on adrenaline, recognition, and simultaneous disbelief, you were compelled to hit repeat again and again. You. Could. Not. Stop.

A fluke meeting while performing at Liverpool Sound City jump-started things when the band ran into Mint’s co-manager Adrienne Labelle. “She said, ‘We should talk. We have room for a spring release.’ I thought, ‘Wow, we don’t even know each other,’ and then she saw our showcase, became our festival buddy, saw us play a few more times with the co-manager, Leif.”

The band previously enjoyed their partnership with Calgary super label Saved by Vinyl, where Louie says founder Dawn Loucks gave a lot of freedom to the bands to manage their art and recordings. Louie found that with two young, rambunctious boys, Mint’s approach of having someone beside the artist take care of artwork and details freed her up to focus on the music.

“It’s hard trying to balance your business and your art. Your art is your business and you have to start stepping away from that in order to run it, well, so it’s nice to get that art back.”

Due to the kiddos, Louie and bandmate Sean Hamilton will tour a few weeks on, a few weeks off, starting with Western Canada then moving to Eastern Canada and the States, before heading to Europe for a few weeks.

“Ideally the tour and then rest will make us pretty on and energetic for the tour chunks, then we’ll have those breaks at home with family will be really nice.”

During those breaks, Louie teaches Secwepemctsín words for animals to the twins, who are really into animals, as she continues her journey of connecting with her father’s heritage. “I grew up (in Invermere) where my ancestors are from. (My family) migrated from north of the Kamloops area, the Shuswap territories. So I had this really rich, beautiful knowledge of my history because I was literally where it all happened.

The aftermath of the residential schools was present, too. “A lot of alcohol and drugs and our family reunions would be like funerals, so my dad kind of separated me from being immediately within that culture. I’m not even sure my family members had that culture.

They just had sort of the tragedy of the after effects of the residential school system. And so I knew all the beautiful history, I saw all the aftermath around me, and because of that separation that my dad had, I didn’t get to participate in anything cultural that was happening at the moment.”

“We had some really amazing Indigenous counsellors at school who would always try to get me more involved. I never understood until later in life why he was trying to protect me, because he only saw the bad in it, because that’s what he had grown up with. So I didn’t grow up going to pow wows, or dancing, so I missed out on a lot of that.

“And I lost my dad when I was 21 and that was about when I was starting to come around to be like, ’OK, why did you block me from this?’ And I wanted to learn more about it. Then when I lost him, I was in a pretty big sea of grief for a while and I’m trying to connect now more than ever because I want my kids to have the opportunity to learn that stuff.”

Although her heart and history are connected to the Shuswap area, Calgary is, fortunately, a good fit for Louie, who originally arrived here at her mother’s urging to study English and other courses at the U of C, and ended up ditching her studies while upping her music.

“I was going to do a couple of years and go to Vancouver. I don’t know, when you’re in BC, Vancouver just seems like the place to be, but I fell in love with the music community in Calgary.

“I knew some bands already from throwing all-ages punk rock shows. The community hall in Invermere is so easy for Calgary bands to come there because we are so close. So, I knew a handful of people when I got here and there were so many shows, there was so much going on, and I kind of just slid into the community and found it was really supportive.

“And as I stayed longer and started building more of a career, I found it was a great home base.”

The kids also are connecting with music, including occasionally attending their mom’s shows, although they don’t want to hear her sing at home and prefer watching her sing on video.

“They are pretty into music. I just bought them a junior drum kit because they always play Sean’s drum. Our jam space is in the garage, so whenever we’re going anywhere, we go through the jam space to the vehicle, and they always stop over by the drums and are banging on Sean’s drums. So now they have one that’s their size and I’m just trying to acquire a few small instruments for them to see what they do.

“Their auntie got them these keyboards that have microphones attached and they were like playing punk-rock. I’ve never really shown them like a punk-rock video and Arthur was singing like he was in a hardcore band, so they’re drawn to it for sure.”

Find Unconditional Love in Hi-Fi here, then listen to it loud. Then listen to it again: mintrecs. com/releases/unconditional-love-hi-fi

FREE SPRING TUNE-UPS

WITH THE BIKE SHOP

Come on down to The Bike Shop in the Beltline for FREE 20 minute bike tune-ups and live music, with food and drinks available for purchase. Bike tune-ups are rst come rst serve with limited spots. Don't need a tune-up? No problem, join us for food, drinks and free live entertainment from 10:30am - 3:30pm.

MAY 28TH 10:30AM - 3:30PM

COST IS FREE!

THE BIKE SHOP

BELTLINE LOCATION ONLY 801 11TH AVE SW

WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE BLOX?

VISIT THEBLOX.CA

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Stamp your passport in the culinary and cultural capital of Calgary

East Town Get Down festival showcases the sounds, sights and tastes of International Avenue

By Autumn Fox

It’s the return of festival season, and while many of our favourite local haunts gear up for the arts, music and cultural staples Calgarians look forward to every year, businesses along southeast Calgary’s 17th Avenue are prepping for one of the city’s most underrated events as East Town Get Down takes over International Avenue on Saturday, May 27, with its most stacked line-up of musicians and pop-up venues yet.

It’s very much a food and independent music festival, emphasizes Alison Karim-McSwiney, executive director with the International Avenue Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) and event organizer.

Karim-McSwiney is a fierce advocate for International Avenue, having been instrumental in numerous community-building initiatives and events such as the Around the

World Food Tour, Calgary’s longest running culinary tour — held annually since 1997, the International Avenue Arts and Culture Centre, and the International Avenue Mural Society. A former CJSW DJ and indie music lover, Karim-McSwiney is the ideal person to have at the helm of this growing festival.

Now in its fourth year — second after a pandemic-induced hiatus in 2020 and 2021

— East Town Get Down combines Calgarians’ love of good food and good music; embodying a D.I.Y., if-you-build-it-they-will-come vibe, that can be at least partially credited for much of the revitalized perception of an oft-neglected part of the city.

Being that International Avenue spans 35 blocks, and houses over 450 businesses, the goal of East Town Get Down festival organizers was to condense the very best of music, arts, culture, and some of Calgary’s culinary

hidden gems into a pedestrian-friendly, sixblock radius along 17th Avenue S.E.

“East Town Get Down is a community event; it’s unique because we’re using spaces that aren’t usually or ever typically a music venue. We’re creating the space, bringing the arts and culture there, and then sharing the community through music and food. So anyone attending is usually experiencing a lot of the spaces for the first time,” says Colleen Krueger, artistic producer for the festival.

International Avenue being known as the “culinary and cultural capital of Calgary,” it only makes sense that one of the highlights of the festival is the food. Each venue will be offering $5 sample plates, giving festival-goers a chance to try new foods and maybe find their next favourite restaurant.

“There will be a Filipino restaurant, there will be Vietnamese restaurants, there will be a bowling alley, just a number of intimate kind of spaces where you normally wouldn’t see a band. But it creates a really lovely atmosphere and it exposes people to so many different places and also cultures,” says Karim-McSwiney.

“We don’t really have a large performance space, so we really like the idea of having people come into non-traditional venues. So maybe an Ethiopian restaurant — and you get to hear music, but you also get to try the food. So part of our programming is, of course, the independent music, but one thing that we felt was really important was to make sure that food was included in the overall experience.”

Both Karim-McSwiney and Krueger say

the community response and feedback from participating businesses has been overwhelmingly positive — so much so that the majority of venues are returning to host again this year — with new spaces joining in on the experience too.

“They’re very proud to host, and you can see that just even from how welcoming they are, and how much they’re really excited about the whole thing,” says Karim-McSwiney.

In an effort to promote accessibility, the festival is hosting a free event at Unity Park, so local residents who are not familiar with East Town Get Down, or Calgarians who cannot necessarily afford the cost of a festival wristband can partake in some of the music, food, and culture.

As well, Kreuger says, eight of the ten venues are hosting all-ages shows.

“I personally think it’s such a unique part of the festival, having so many venues have access to 18 and under. It’s such an underrepresented age group in Calgary. I only work in music because I was going to shows when I was 15, and I was inspired by the people I met. And it is a young person’s industry. Like, we cannot not invite them in because then we just don’t have a future in culture. They’re not being inspired young.

“We have quite a few younger bands on the bill too; and then we have bands that are like, in their 50s. We’re not ageist. We want to incorporate everybody and create an environment where everyone can just coexist. I think that’s the energy that music has — the potential for incorporating everybody. The old feel

Homeboy Sandman

Dana Sipos

young, and the young feel like they’re involved and they’re part of something. I strongly feel for the all-ages scene, and I think Calgary’s music scene is only gonna survive if we start building that up.”

Krueger says it surprised her just how much the Calgary music scene has evolved post-pandemic as she and the East Town Get Down team curated this year’s diverse roster of local and visiting North American musicians.

“I really realized that as much as I’ve been embedded in music in Calgary, I don’t know a lot of the artists that are now on the scene, which is impressive that so much sort of shifted in such a short period of time. But it’s also really sweet to see a rejuvenation of the scene, and an excitement. So I have booked a lot of artists I don’t personally know, but I listened to them and was like, ‘Wow, this is fun.’ ”

Kreuger says out-of-town highlights include New Brunswick indie legend Jon McKiel, New York hip-hop MC, Homeboy Sandman, and New York/Montreal-based Grim Streaker — female-fronted post-punk in the vein of Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Singer-songwriter Dana Sipos and instrumentalist Keanu Ienco are repping Vancouver Island, while Winnipeg-by-wayof-Nigeria’s Dr. Henry Band bring their own brand of Afro-beat jazz and funk.

“I’ve been to lots of different kinds of festivals — venue festivals and outdoor multi-stage festivals, and as I curated this I just try to keep in mind that I want to provide something for everybody and then hopefully create crossover experiences. So if someone’s just into hip-hop, then I would love to incorporate soul or some sort of a bridge between different genres as I curate across the venues so that maybe there’s some exposure outside of their own comfort zone. And somehow it all jibes, you know? There’s something for everybody.

“It’s just little bridges so that people are exposed to something new, and that they become a little bit more trusting. And then hopefully over the years, people will just sort of put the trust in the curators so that they’re just gonna come, have a great time, and be exposed to something that they’re gonna enjoy,” Krueger says.

“I think the benefit is just the fact that people sometimes get stuck in their city; in their little ecosystem. So it’s nice to draw people away from an area of the city where they are usually attending things, bringing them here, and exposing them to communities that are not too far — it’s like a fiveminute drive, or a 15-minute bike ride. So we’re not too far away from the core, but then the response from attendees is that they don’t feel like they’re in Calgary. And I love that because you’re not even traveling that far! But there’s so much in this city that people don’t even know.”

East Town Get Down takes place May 27 on International Avenue. Full festival line-up, schedule, and tickets to East Town Get Down can be found at easttowngetdown.ca.

East Town Get Down Must-Sees

JOYFULTALK Lunenburg County, NS

Originally hailing from Calgary, but now composing and creatively constructing from the south shores of Nova Scotia, JOYFULTALK’s minimalist soundscapes and atmospheric, resonant jazz scores make him heir apparent to the likes of Brian Eno and Thievery Corporation.

PRIORS Montreal, QC

Criminally underrated garage punks from Montreal, PRIORS shows get sweaty. Aggressive power pop for fans of Uranium Club and Jay Reatard.

Temia Vancouver, BC/London, UK UK drill being a fairly underrepresented influence in North American hip-hop, few female artists outside of Little Simz have broken into the mainstream. Temia’s spitfire lyrics and stylistic nods to South London’s West Indian roots are fresh, clever, and hypnotizing - and have her rapidly rising through the ranks to establish a name of her own.

HARSH Calgary, AB

Queer politi-punks picking up where ’90s riot grrrl rock left off — defying gender norms, challenging the status quo, smashing the patriarchy, and all but eating the rich. Anarchic in lyrics, radical in spirit, HARSH are a return to punk’s core ethos through and through.

Grim Streaker Brooklyn, New York/ Vancouver, BC

Dark wave vocals with an LCD Soundsystem meets Breeders backbeat, these female-fronted New York art punks conjure up grime-filled, underground, after-hours club vibes. Think Slant 6 meets indie-sleaze-era Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Grimelda Saskatoon, SK

Formerly known as The Faps, this Saskatoon duo are no strangers to Calgary’s festival scene, grinding out absurdist, teeth grindingly raucous garage punk riffs while in disguise as absurdist art rockers. Bizarre in the best possible way.

Homeboy Sandman Queens, New York

Armed with lyrically perceptive social commentary and a ridiculous amount of hip-hop clout, Homeboy Sandman pairs chill lounge and lo-fi funk and soul samples with mesmerizing, no-nonsense delivery finely honed since 2007, when he was name-dropped in Source magazine’s “Unsigned Hype” column. Since then, he’s collaborated numerous times with Aesop Rock, released one of NPR’s Top 50 albums of 2020, and garnered industry nods from fans like Pete Rock and Doja Cat.

Dana Sipos Vancouver Island, BC Canadian Folk Music Award nominee Dana Sipos’ voice has a songbird-esque quality reminiscent of Laurel Canyon-era Joni

Mitchell, while her lyrics hold a subtle grit similar to Martha Wainwright or Neko Case. Despite this, Sipos is in a category all her own. Up-and-coming and not to be missed.

Jesse Northey Edmonton, AB) Elliott Smith meets Wings with piano-driven and melodic gumption. Jesse Northey leaves no lyrical stone unturned with subtle songwriting nods to the hooks of Harry Nilsson and Simon and Garfunkel at their most pop-driven best.

De Bouquet Calgary, AB

Relatively new to the Calgary music scene, you’d swear De Bouquet’s catchy, jingle-jangle-y indie rock was penned by a reincarnation of a man-bun-sporting hipster Cole Porter, composing song lyrics on a vintage typewriter at The Roasterie. Feelgood, spring-is-finally-here music.

Tea Fannie Calgary, AB

Though she categorically rejects labels, and lists artists from Green Day, to Kenny Rogers, to Nas among her influences, Tea Fannie, another relatively new addition to Calgary’s music scene, utilizes her poetry background to create a stunning blend of spoken word, lo-fi jazz beats, and hip-hop. A wry maturity and observant call-out style make it hard to believe she’s only been in the game since 2019.

Autumn Fox

Grim Streaker

May Music Event Listing

May 1 Mon Jesse Roper

May 2 Tue St. Francis High School Band

May 3 Wed Open Mic

May 4 Thu Little Red Rooster Booster

May 5 Fri Vic Ruggiero & Jory Kinjo With Special Guest Simon Chardiet

May 6 Sat Vic Ruggiero, Jory Kinjo & Simon Chardiet

w/ Guests Kaley Kinjo & Members Of Mocking Shadows

May 7 Sun Midnight Blue Jazz Society

May 7 Sun John Hewitt

May 10 Wed Open Mic

May 12 Fri Virago

May 13 Sat Prime Time Big Band Brunch

May 14 Sun Summit Big Band

May 15 Mon Notre Dame High School Big Band

May 17 Wed Open Mic

May 18 Thu Esteban Herrera

May 19 Fri Ray Charles Tribute with Donald Ray Johnson

May 20 Sat Bluegrass Sessions

May 20 Sat Ray Charles Tribute with Donald Ray Johnson

May 21 Sun Garrett Mason

May 23 Tue Youth Community Showcase

May 24 Wed Bob Dylan’s Annual Birthday Bash

May 25 Thu Matt Epp with special guest Nora Kotkas

May 27 Sat Prime Time Big Band Brunch with special guest Jens Lindemann

May 27 Sat The Unbranded/ “Old Man Kidd”

May 28 Sun Blue Gospel

May 28 Sun Mike Forge Retirement Party!!

May 29 Mon Jim Mckillop

May 30 Tue Dan Duguay’s “Who Knows Variety Show”

May 31 Wed Open Mic

MUSIC

Midnight Microphone: Calgary bluesman

John Rutherford talks about his new EP

By Mary-Lynn Wardle

Midnight Microphone is an apt title for the four-song EP Calgary blues veteran John Rutherford released in April. Midnight, because the music seems threaded through the keyhole of that lovely, lonely, magical hour, and Microphone, because it sounds like the tunes tumbled through a condenser microphone into a place where smooth, rich vintage tones are cradled within the space between the notes. Perhaps this is the result of the songs being recorded live in a take or two rather than being layered together one instrument at a time.

Rutherford, a Calgary Blues Music Hall of Famer, played in various groups including The Highwater Jug Band, The Hoodoo Sons and, currently, Dice Deluxe since arriving in Calgary from Toronto about 40 years ago. His first solo project, 2010’s Echo Broadcast, received copious attention and airplay, and with song gems like Black Diamond Strings, Midnight Microphone – produced by Tim Williams and featuring Thom Moon and Bill Price – is on track for more of the same.

When not recording or playing at his resident gig at The Blues Can, a venue for which he creates most of the posters, Rutherford lends his talents to creating album designs and packaging for other artists, including Williams, Oscar Lopez and Stephen Fearing. He also parents his daughter while working on a book about the golden era of the King Eddy as a blues venue, featuring photography from the late Joe Campbell.

TheSCENE checked in with Rutherford to learn more about his musical journey.

Q: How do you decide when to release new music?

A: I felt like it might have been time to release new music a long while ago but I struggled with finding what … I really felt and wanted to write about so I didn’t push it until I started to sense a couple of things happening. First, I discovered that I was honing

in on a guitar tone and chording approach that sounded a bit different: full, rich, jazzy and felt fresh and original and pleased me very much. Then I fell into a mindset of how it came to be that I ended up spending much of my life chasing the sound of the blues and began to draw on images and experiences that shaped me and my music. I realized how deeply and beautifully the music touched me from my very first exposure to the sound. As soon as I started to express or explore those roots, I knew I wanted to get that out there.

Q: How do your songs come about?

A: Songwriting process varies but usually I find a guitar groove or chord changes that intrigue me and then I start to create an image or a story that fits and suits the mood. This can often take time over days, weeks, months to mold and shape every turn, but it is also easy for me to pick up and continue after leaving it for a while. Sometimes the music and the words all come at the same time. When that occurs, I need to set everything else aside and let it roll out. If I’m lucky enough to have that time or that moment the song seems to write itself. When that happens, for some reason, I can’t stop laughing.

Q: What’s been on your turntable lately?

A: Love this question. Grant Green, NRBQ and Dr. Lonnie Smith. These are literally the last three things I’ve listened to, but a more complete picture of what I have listened to lately would include Teenage Head, The Neville Brothers, Lenny Breau, Mose Allison, J. Geils Band and Glenn Gould (because my dad left me a pile of Glenn Gould and Oscar Peterson records). I listened to k.d. lang’s Angel With A Lariat recently as well as an R&B artist named Billy Stewart who I learned about via NRBQ. I have also listened to a fair bit of music by The Mavericks after the trumpet player Lorenzo Molina came into the Blues Can a few months ago and sat in with us (Dice Deluxe) for an entire set. Crazy musicianship!

Marvel Studios’ Black Panther quickly became a global sensation and cultural phenomenon, showing a new dimension of what super hero films could be.

Relive the excitement of the first installment of this franchise while the Orchestra performs Ludwig Göransson’s Academy Award-winning score live to picture.

18 + 19 May 2023 / 7:30PM

Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium

Tickets at ticketmaster.ca

Calgary Phil film series partner

© Marvel. Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts. © All rights reserved.

REVIEWS

FEIST MULTITUDES Polydor

In the six years since Leslie Feist’s previous album, the onetime Calgarian became a mother after adopting a newborn daughter. Then, during the pandemic, she moved from Los Angeles to rural Ontario where she quarantined with her baby girl and her father, artist Harold Feist, who passed away in early 2021.

Birth, death, pulling up roots and a global health crisis — that’s enough to change a person and, for Feist, it also changed her art. Multitudes, her sixth and surely finest record, represents a fearless artistic change of direction, commercial considerations be damned. Aside from a few exceptions, the beats and grooves of earlier work are absent or significantly muted. Enter: quietude and almost chamber-folk delicacy. For the most part, the new songs place focus on Feist’s acoustic guitar and her multi-tracked vocals, with only delicate strokes of other instruments (synth, woodwinds, strings, some electric guitar and bass) for colour and texture.

Over this, Feist sings about motherhood, womanhood, anxiety for the future, the impermanence of life, and the need to strike a spiritual connection with nature. In fact, trees, birds, the wind and the soil all play major roles in these new songs. Yet her words evoke mood and emotion rather than offer

linear storytelling; a blend of impressionism and intimacy in the spirit of Kate Bush’s 50 Words for Snow or Jane Siberry’s The Walking.

Multitudes is a lovely, deeply felt record; one that feels deeper and more satisfying with every listen.

David Veitch

The Hold Steady The Price of Progress Positive Jams

In medias res. In the middle of a story. That’s how songs on The Price of Progress present themselves, a hallmark that,

well, Holds Steady throughout the band’s two decades. The details within those moments of progress are honed, right down to a neighbour chopping up pills mid-song, fitting, as some of the songs on this album nearly present ringside emergency room action.

Of course, that’s nothing new for The Hold Steady, but the band veering out of its cliff-diving riff rock lane to sideswipe funk, cocktail music, and beyond, is new, especially when they insert goosy, unexpected horns mirroring theatricality in a song about actors, stagehands, scoring, and the fallout, or

provide what can nearly be considered lounge music as mockery for a song about big stars who continue to rake in the bucks in countries with iffy regimes in charge.

And that is how superbly-honed this album is, musical detours and all. Fair enough. You sure wouldn’t want the same thing on this, your ninth record, as you had on your fourth one, although in this case it’s tough to beat the third and fourth albums (Boys and Girls of America and Stay Positive). Still, the band retains its masterful sense of taking it up and taking it down, and Craig Finn’s lyrics remain a microstudy in humanology, building — breadcrumb by breadcrumb — dystopian stories of sad, small dystopian lives.

His characters, like Finn himself, are older now, and thus have the more sophisticated problems that come with age. No longer is the Party Pit the centrepiece; in fact, as with the falconer calling to the falcon ranging ever wider, the centre has come apart, resulting in tourists in war zones, newscasts that have less meaning than lives lived in the shadow of what could have been, and people breaking down while squeezed by the trash compactor of capitalism. In that way, this album has much in common with Art Bergmann’s Late Stage Empire Dementia, although it’s a little more subtle about it.

Mary-Lynn Wardle

PHOTO: SARA MELVIN COLBY RICHARDSON

X Machina: How to tour

By Matt Berry

You can’t go anywhere without hearing about ChatGPT so I decided to ask the chatbot for advice on touring, and what smaller Canadian bands should know before hitting the road. Here’s what ChatGPT had to offer:

1. Plan your tour route carefully. Research potential venues and book shows well in advance. It’s essential to give yourself plenty of time to promote your shows and ensure you have enough time to travel between cities. Be mindful of travel time and distance.

2. Use social media to promote your tour. Social media can be a powerful tool to create buzz around your shows. Use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok to let your followers know about your upcoming gigs, post snippets of your rehearsals, and share images of your tour travels. Don’t forget to tag the venues and other bands you’ll be playing with to increase your reach.

3. Reach out to local media outlets, music blogs, and radio stations to see if they’ll feature your music or interview you about your tour. This can be a great way to reach

new audiences and gain more Xposure for your music. Make sure you follow up with the media outlets and provide them with any necessary information.

4. Networking with other bands can be a great way to increase your fanbase and build relationships with other musicians. Connect with bands in the cities you’re touring and try to arrange shows together. This can help you draw bigger crowds and create a sense of community within the music scene.

5. Be professional! Treat your music career as a business and be professional in your dealings with venues, promoters and other musicians. Show up on time, be prepared, and deliver a great performance. Make sure you communicate effectively with your fellow bandmates, the venues and promoters. Don’t forget to have a plan of how you will be splitting earnings, transport and logistics.

6. Touring can be expensive, so make sure to keep your expenses are in check. Look for affordable lodging options, try to eat cheaply, and budget for unexpected costs. Be mindful of your finances so you can make better-informed decisions in the future.

7. Have fun and stay safe. Enjoy the experience and make sure you’re taking care of yourself and your bandmates along the way. Stay hydrated, take breaks when needed, and be mindful of your physical and emotional well-being. Overall, touring can be a great way to build your fanbase and gain Xposure for your music. Just make sure you’re prepared, professional, and ready to work hard to make

your tour a success. Good luck!

Don’t be afraid of the future — embrace it! This is some great advice from ChatGPT, which is a system you can use for so many more applications like building a budget, help develop a marketing strategy, crafting emails going to venues, labels etc.

And the best part? It’s free and we all know that artists can use as much free help as they can get.

Direct from your radio pals at 90.9 FM, here is a snapshot of the current artists & albums topping the charts at CJSW. Tune in, turn it up and enjoy.

1. U.S. Girls* - Bless This Mess (Royal Mountain)

2. Cats Cradle** - C.F. & L.O PT II EP (40TTEN APPLE Records)

3. Alvaro Rojas* - Music for 22 (Self-Released)

4. Bria* - Cuntry Covers Vol 2 (Sub Pop)

5. Genevieve Artadi - Forever Forever (Brainfeeder)

6. co-op* - Reward System (Self-Released)

7. Death Valley Girls - Islands In the Sky (Suicide Squeeze)

8. Carolyn Mark* - Off Season (Self-Released)

9. Redline Trio** - Underdog (Chronograph)

10. Fever Ray - Radical Romantics (Mute Records)

11. Miss Grit - Follow the Cyborg (Mute Records)

12. Meltt* - Another Quiet Sunday EP (Nettwerk)

13. shame - Food For Worms (Dead Ocean)

14. Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World (Matador)

15. Mike Tod** - Mike Tod (Cross T Ltd)

16. Disintegration - Time Moves For Me EP (Feel It Records)

17. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - V (Jagjaguwar)

18. Black Belt Eagle Scout - The Land, The Water, The Sky (Saddle Creek)

19. Des Arcs** - Masks (Self-Released)

20. Cat Clyde* - Down Rounder (Mri Associated)

21. Ashi Shonen** - Divergence (Self-Released)

22. Tim Hecker* - No Highs (kranky)

23. Sunnsetter* - The best that I can be. (Paper Bag)

24. Model/Actriz - Dogsbody (True Panther)

25. well, ok then.* - open up soon (30/30)

26. River Tiber* - Dreaming Eyes (Self-Released)

27. LT Leif** - Come Back to Me, But Lightly (Lost Map Records)

28. A Certain Ratio - 1982 (Mute)

29. Yves Tumor - Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simple, Hot Between Worlds) (Warp Records)

30. Gatekeeper* - From Western Shores (Cruz Del Sur Music)

** Local * Canadian