Artist, author, playwright, musician
Vivek Shraya headlines Sled Island 2023
20. Vivek Shraya set to headline this year’s Sled Island festival
4. With the anniversary of the Calgary Tower, Mike Platt looks at a somewhat less successful evangelical sister structure that remains unfinished south of the border
10. Beloved Canadian authors Will and Ian Ferguson interview one another on the eve of the release of their new novel
12. Contemporary Calgary launches new exhibit from iconic photographer Diane Arbus
26. Calgary indie acts Free the Cynics and BETABOYS set to release new albums
Editor-in-Chief Mike Bell mbell@redpointmedia.ca
Design Kris Twyman
Print/Digital Production Manager
Mike Matovich
Cover: Vivek Shraya
Photo: Vanessa Heins CONTRIBUTORS
Cyana Jo. Andalis
Tom Bagley
Sebastian Buzzalino
Autumn Fox
Nicole Gruszecki
Kim Guttormson
Cam Hayden
Leah Hennel
Nick Johnson
Jeanne Kwong
Darren Krause
Hamish MacAulay
Michelle
Magnan-McIvor
Teresa Maillie
Joe McFarland
Nathan Millar
Lori Montgomery
Aaron Navrady
Jay Nelson
Adora Nwofor
Rick Overwater
Mike Platt
Shea Proulx
Gwendolyn Richards
Caroline Russell-King
Jenna Shummoogum
John Tebbutt
Don Tse
Krista Sylvester
Zoltan Varadi
David Veitch
Mary-Lynn Wardle
Ian Wilson
Client Support Coordinator Alice Meilleur ameilleur@redpointmedia.ca
Account Executives Michaela Brownlee mbrownlee@redpointmedia.ca, Jocelyn Erhardt jerhardt@redpointmedia.ca
Accountant Jeanette Vanderveen jvanderveen@redpointmedia.ca
Administrative and HR Manager
Tara Brand, tbrand@redpointmedia.ca
Marketing Specialist Kristen Thompson kthompson@redpointmedia.ca
CEO, Co-owner Roger Jewett
President, Co-owner Käthe Lemon klemon@redpointmedia.can redpointmedia.ca
1721 29 Avenue SW, Suite 375, Calgary, AB, T2T 6T7
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.
If the point was to dominate the skyline through a phallic thrust of concrete, then Rex Humbard’s shaft in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, is the obvious winner.
True, the trailblazing television evangelist never got to finish his unapologetic, slightly longer – sorry, taller – copy of the Calgary Tower, but when it comes to overwhelming the local surroundings with architectural tumescence, “Rex’s Erection” is the champion.
“It doesn’t look all that great, but I suppose it is iconic to people around here because they are so used to seeing it for so many years,” says Don Walters, mayor of Cuyahoga Falls, OH.
“It’s just a tower – I really wish it was some beautiful landmark like your tower in Calgary.”
For those living in the small, rural-flavoured community (home to the factory that produces the world’s supply of PURELL® Hand Sanitizer), Humbard’s vanity project is just part of the horizon, and it’s been that way since 1971.
“I talked to our city engineer, and he said it will probably be there for another 100 years, structurally, as it’s not in any state of decay,” says Walters.
“The concrete still looks clean, and some days when it’s rainy or foggy, you can’t see the top.”
In a city where three or four storeys amounts to a tall building, a skyscraper-scale concrete shaft standing 494-feet high is hard
to ignore – and love it, hate it or just accept it, there’s no one in Cuyahoga Falls who isn’t aware of Rex’s unfinished tower.
It’s just the opposite in Calgary, where the man who was once the most famous preacher in North America fell head over heels with what was then named the Husky Tower, which like Rex’s copy, once dominated the local skyline.
While Calgary’s spire, festooned with modern lights and a glass-floored observation deck, remains a beloved landmark now nestled among much taller skyscrapers, both Pastor Rex and his outlandish scheme to build a bigger, better Husky Tower are all but forgotten in Alberta.
"Rex and his entourage visited Calgary, saw the Calgary Tower and they liked it," structural engineer Henry Ricketts was once quoted as saying of the attempt to reproduce Calgary’s signature tower in Ohio.
Ricketts was a key designer of the Husky Tower, which officially opened on June 28, 1968, to headlines which gushed, “Only the mountains challenge the tower's command over Calgary.”
Meant as a national 100th birthday gift for all Calgarians, the $3.5-million investment, shared by Canadian Pacific and Husky Oil, certainly impressed the American preacher, who immediately wanted his own, matching tower – only his would be 750 feet high, as
compared to Calgary’s inadequate 626 feet.
Humbard hired Ricketts and other Calgary tower experts to oversee his project, which would also feature a revolving restaurant, while boasting the world’s tallest television antenna.
The latter was key for the first evangelist to realize Jesus and television were a match made in fundraising heaven, and the huge TV tower would be the final touch for Humbard’s Cathedral of Tomorrow, which already
featured the world’s largest unsupported dome.
Bigger and better was something of a pattern with Pastor Rex.
“We drew up plans for a tower of poured concrete, with a restaurant and a TV studio, and an observation deck,” wrote Humbard in his book To Tell The World, which makes no qualms about having lifted the idea from Calgary, after visiting the city on a continent-wide preaching tour.
Indeed, Humbard was so smitten with the shaft, he started to end his weekly sermon – broadcast to 20 million people worldwide –with an image of the Calgary Tower, crowned with a slightly different antenna.
Hence, for a few years in the early 1970s, Calgary’s tower was far more famous outside of the city, to a television audience that assumed Pastor Rex’s dream tower was already
“They don’t hate it, but they don’t love it. It’s just there.”
DON WALTERS, MAYOR OF CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH.
a reality out there in rural Ohio.
Humbard, who died in 2007, was a somewhat controversial figure who married dramatic preaching with lucrative fundraising, in a TV-friendly style that would soon be copied by a whole flock of cash-focused evangelicals.
Humbard was the first evangelist to have a weekly nationwide television program in the United States, running from 1952 to 1983, and his $4 million Cathedral of Tomorrow had seating for more than 5,000 people.
By the time Humbard officiated at the funeral of Elvis Presley in 1977, he was a household name to Christian followers around the world, with his show airing as far away as Australia.
But the man who dreamed of tall towers and big domes had already hit his peak of wealth and fame, and “Rex’s Erection,” as the tower is now known to locals, had been sitting unfinished for almost six years when the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll passed away.
Why construction stopped after a few months and $4 million is still an open debate, with Ricketts reportedly saying it was halted by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission over the questionable use of church fundraising money.
Other stories say the local government halted construction over a lack of water and sewer permits for the tower, while the ministry itself once claimed construction was paused due to a poor local economy.
However it happened, the tower that was started to great fanfare in 1971 was also quietly finished in 1971. Despite Pastor Humbard’s claims that the tower would someday be restarted and finished in all of its promised glory, it never was.
So the tower remains, looking more like a giant smokestack than a place where tourists might flock, and these days Rex’s unfinished spire functions as an oversized cell phone and broadcast tower, owned by a local family.
That doesn’t stop Cuyahoga Falls’ mayor from thinking wistfully over what could be, and Walters says he’d love to see a light or beacon added to the unfinished top, to transform the grey tower into a more visually appealing landmark.
Until then, Cuyahoga Falls residents will just keep living with a giant shaft of Calgary-inspired concrete dominating the skyline.
“They don’t hate it, but they don’t love it,” says Walters. “It’s just there.”
It was once the most prominent protuberance in Calgary, and for a brief moment of bragging rights, the tallest structure west of Toronto.
But 55 years after the Calgary Tower opened to a three-day celebration of modernist, skyline-dominating magnificence, the once-proud steeple is now barely adequate. In 2023, the former Husky Tower ranks a modest 8th among downtown buildings, a full 56 metres shy of Brookfield Place’s 247-metre whopper.
Size doesn’t matter, unless you’re talking about a tower built to astound, impress and attract tourists because it can be seen from everywhere, while offering a view of everything. Then size is all that matters.
Short of an architectural manscaping session in downtown Calgary, it seems the once impressive tower will forever be hidden in a forest of taller buildings, with each economic boom cycle adding another structure or two to block the formerly breathtaking view from the top.
But the Calgary Tower has a secret.
Designed to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes, the tower was over-engineered from the moment it was planned, as a monument to celebrate an exuberant young city and country.
“Foundations for the tower extend 18 feet below grade and form a gigantic 30-foot wide doughnut shape below the ground. The doughnut contains 2,600 cubic yards of concrete,” reads a newspaper report from June 28, 1968, the tower’s opening day.
That massive, hidden base – amounting to a full 60 per cent of the tower’s mass – means the tower can be taller. Much taller. The secret beneath the eighth-tallest building in Calgary is that it was actually designed to grow someday, when deemed necessary.
It even came close to happening once.
In 1982, two years before the Petro-Can tower overtook the Calgary Tower as the city’s tallest structure, a feasibility study was conducted to see just how much the former Husky Tower could grow, if the money could be found.
The result was a blueprint for a
revamped tower standing 276 metres tall –which perhaps by coincidence, is the exact height of the tallest public observation deck of the ever-so-slightly more famous Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The plan for Calgary Tower 2.0 called for a new 85-metre concrete shaft to be added to the current shaft of 191 metres, while leaving most of the current “flying saucer” observation deck in place.
One or two more flying saucer/observation decks would be added to the new section, and with a needle or torch capping the project, the new tower would easily dominate the downtown skyline once again.
Of course, standing between any superlative dream project and reality is money, and finding someone with the millions required to back a taller tower seems unlikely. Cynics would also rule out any public money, unless one of the new observation decks happens to include a professional hockey rink.
And then there’s the opinion of the architect who actually conceived of the Calgary Tower, sketching his rough tower design on a piece of paper. It was 1963, and W.G. Milne was arguing that Calgary’s centennial project, to celebrate Canada’s big birthday, should be something impressive.
"They were looking for a project for Canada's centennial, and most were pretty hum-drum – one idea was to construct a utility building for non-profit organizations," Milne told this writer, back in 2005.
"I thought we should do something that everyone in the city can use, and that it should be an icon. The tower started in my head."
Milne died in 2008, and while he can claim credit for the idea of a landmark tower in downtown Calgary, his own design was actually closer in appearance to the modern Kuala Lumpur Tower in Malaysia.
Still, as co-architect of the final design, Milne made it clear he liked the Calgary Tower as it was and still is, and he argued against adding any height to the old needle.
“I like the proportions of the tower now,” said Milne.
— Platt
By Don Tse
When Banded Peak Brewing (519 34 Ave. S.E. #119; bandedpeakbrewing.com) announced it was being acquired by the world’s largest brewing company in 2020, there was immediate and fierce blowback from the local beer community. There was the usual labelling of the co-founders as “sell outs.” But there was also handwringing over what would happen to the “Barley Belt,” the name many area breweries had been sharing to promote themselves.
It was a rare rift of the beer community, which had been otherwise known for congeniality and camaraderie.
“It was a great opportunity to grow,” says Colin McLean, head of marketing for Banded Peak. “We were at a point in our business cycle where the next step would be pretty challenging. It was a good time for us.”
To that point, the three co-founders of the brewery that was a cornerstone of the cluster of breweries in the Manchester Industrial area had been lauded for their promotion of local beer. It was important that they continue to do that, even under the umbrella of a multi-national brewing concern. “If we can get it locally, we get it locally,” says McLean.
Since the acquisition, Banded Peak has increased staff from 11 to 35 people. Their base malt is sourced entirely from Strathmore’s Origin Malting, where all of the barley comes from the family farm on lands around Calgary and southern Alberta. And they
have purchased a top-of-the-line canning line from Calgary-based Cask Global Canning Solutions.
Having the support of a large parent corporation has provided great opportunities, like having their beer sold at the Saddledome and brewing beer for the Calgary Stampede. But Banded Peak has continued to share the love. In 2022, they brewed a collaboration beer with their neighbour, Dandy Brewing Company, which then gave Dandy access to the Saddledome – something that small craft breweries could never otherwise dream of.
“Obviously, as part of a global corporation, there is always pressure on our costs,” admits McLean. “But I think we get a better ROI from supporting the local community. Every local person, every local supplier and every local organization we support becomes
a fan of our beer.”
Banded Peak is celebrating its seventh anniversary by christening a new, $9.6 million, Canadian-made brewery, quadrupling capacity. The state-of-the-art brewery is in keeping with Banded Peak’s outdoor adventure ethos by including several environmentally friendly features. On top of the usual things small breweries do to save water and heat, Banded Peak’s new brewery
recaptures and reuses cleaning chemicals, includes a stack condenser to recapture heat from steam coming off the brew kettle, has a waste-water treatment skid, a silo to store spent grain, and reduces waste and improves beer stability with a centrifuge.
“All three of us (co-founders), are Calgary born and raised,” says McLean. “It’s been amazing to grow the brewery and support the community.”
It’s in the name.
So it’s nice that, 10 years in, the beloved local brewery has upped its physical footprint in the city and opened a new taproom, with more community building to come by way of an event space.
The new renovated taproom will be under the direction of brewmaster Jeremy McLaughlan, and the menu, curated by Don Saviak of ABC Outpost Kitchen. Expect all of the liquid Village goodness you’ve come to know and ex-
pect — the new taproom promises “16 rotating taps which, along with Village’s essentials, will pour the latest releases of Explorer craft beers and Taproom exclusives (like Nitro Blacksmith, Village Hard Tea, and specialty ciders) as well as their award-winning non-alcoholic line, CR*FT” — with a food menu that’s BBQ-inspired including southern brisket as well as twists such as smoky chicken bánh mì sandwiches.
As for the new community or private event space, which should be open this month, it’s
“located above the Village Taproom … (and) features a private bar and is complete with all the tech you need to pull off an awesome event. Chefs and brewmasters are standing by (right now!) to develop custom menus and tasting experiences for your guests.”
“For more than a decade, Village Brewery has brought people together over delicious beer and the dream of a more connected community. We’re jumping into the next 10 years of craft beer headfirst, showcasing a
new generation of Village beers and community leaders,” Village Brewery president Jeff Popiel said of the grand opening.
“We’re beyond excited to once again be welcoming people into our space to experience what we’re working on, rediscover Village Brewery, and connect over a beer.”
Village Brewery’s taproom is open Tuesday 11:30 a.m. to 6 p,m., Wednesday, Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday, Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
”Every local person, every local supplier and every local organization we support becomes a fan of our beer.”
COLIN MACLEAN, HEAD OF MARKETING, BANDED PEAK
16 BEERS CURRENTLY ON TAP
WE BELIEVE BEER IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE PEOPLE YOU ENJOY IT WITH, BUT WITH SO MANY CHOICES, YOU'LL HAVE NO PROBLEM FINDING THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO JOIN YOU.
OUR TAPROOM OFFERS EASY-DRINKING CORE BEERS, AN EXCITING ROTATION OF SESONALS, TASTY SNACKS, AND A UNIQUE CELLAR MENU OF BARREL-AGED WILD BEERS.
SEE YOU SOON.
by Chris Landry
For those who grew up in Calgary in the early 2000s, Tubby Dog was the place to be, especially after a night on the town. With its ketchup and mustard colour scheme, pinball and arcade machines, the projector screening old cartoons and the deliciously wacky hot dogs, Tubby Dog was a fun and exciting addition to the city’s casual restaurant scene.
So, when Tubby Dog closed during the COVID-19 pandemic due to leasing issues, it was a blow to the hearts and stomachs of many Calgarians. But owner Jon Truch saw this as an opportunity to reinvent the Tubby name, and get back to his roots in Calgary’s nightlife.
(Fun fact: Tubby Dog’s origins can be traced back to Truch’s days at the old local live music venue the Night Gallery, where he would serve free hot dogs to patrons on slow Tuesday nights.)
Now, the late Tubby Dog has grown up and become Tubby’s, a no-nonsense bar that is an unexpectedly sophisticated evolution of the Calgary institution.
It’s a combination of his time at Night Gallery, Tubby Dog, and 17th Ave. cocktail lounge The Mercury, where he bartended for years.
(As a result, the Guinness pour is one of the best in the city.)
From the outside, Tubby’s new location has an unsuspecting facade — the only identifying marker is the neon sign reading “Fresh Meats” through the tinted windows. Inside, the sleek space, adorned in mid-century modern furniture, is a surprising split from the Tubby Dog days. Tubby’s feels elevated and comfortable, and, as Truch says, like “a place for people to just come in and have a good drink.”
They’ve also just recently added a modest, dog-friendly patio, which faces 8th St. S.W. — a prime people watching location — and is always in the shade.
Tubby’s focus is on the service and atmosphere, and, in contrast to fancy cocktail bars, is all about keeping things simple. While the experienced bar staff can still make just about any cocktail in the book, the emphasis is on highballs, classic cocktails, wines and local beers, including Tubby’s own Tubby Lager.
Truch wants Tubby’s to be a place people want to be, not just a place to try once.
On the food menu, there are, of course, a few holdovers from Tubby Dog. Some of the most popular hot dog options remain, like the Tubby Dog, topped with mustard, chili, bacon, onions and cheese sauce, or the A-bomb, with a pile of chips on top for crunch. There are also a few bar snacks, like the famous Ukey sausage served with dips and pickled eggs (Truch’s mother’s recipe).
And on Sundays, it’s a sandwich special night, where, in recent weeks, there has been everything from meatball subs to avocado sandwiches — all delicious, all affordable.
Other remnants include a pinball machine, some of Truch’s artwork from his former ACAD days, a large screen that, on any given day, will be showing sports or Baywatch reruns, all complemented by the relaxed service from an incredible staff.
And, on certain weekend nights, you’ll find
Tubby, himself, or another special guest DJing to keep things mellow but entertaining. But overall, as Truch’s tagline goes, “It’s just a good bar … that serves hot dogs.”
Tubby’s is located at 100A, 1210 8 St. S.W., and open Monday to Sunday, from 4 p.m. to late. For more information, please go to tubbybar.com.
“Spring has sprung/The grass has riz/
I wonder where the new food is.”
That’s a thing, right?
Well, this year it kind of is. Or iz.
As the temperatures rise (earlier, but, don’t you worry your pretty little head, we human beings have nothing to do with it), so too does the heat on the local food scene.
New restaurants, popups, other things — if eating is what you want, eating is what you’ll get.
To eat.
Let’s start with the latest opening from Calgary drinking and dining dynasty the Concorde Group, which has added into their area food fold — Major Tom, Model Milk, Barbarella, NTNL, etc. — the Canmore sequel to their Beltline blockbuster Bridgette Bar.
If the mountains aren’t worth the trip, the new, stylish dining room on 1030 Spring Creek Drive in the town in the shadow of the Rockies most certainly is.
The new one, like its city sister, is “a chef-driven bar with mid-century vibes and a focus on wood-fired meats and vegetables.”
“Part bar, part restaurant, Bridgette Bar Canmore offers an array of delicious small plates to sample and larger plates intended for sharing,” the release announcing the opening says, referencing the successful approach that made the original 10th Ave. S.W. location the hotspot it is.
“Patrons will find a wide variety of grilled protein on the menu, along with a variety of vegetable and snack options like wood-fired pizzas and cheese-stuffed garlic bread.
“A simple selection of desserts, including the ever-popular Banana Pie, rounds out the menu.” Mmmm. Pie.
On top of that, as if you needed another reason to head to Bridgette west in the Spring Creek community, they also boast a unbeatable happy hour during the week, featuring 50 per cent off all drinks and pizza.
You can find the menu and all of the pertinent, delicious info at bridgettebarcanmore.com/canmore.
If Canmore is too far to go, stick around and take in what should be a once-in-a-lifetime event featuring Vancouver Top Chef Canada competitors Billy Nguyen and Dez Lo, who will put on a three-day pop-up, Dai Ga Jie, which will showcase their “dynamic approach to contemporary Asian cooking.”
Running June 8-10, the dining experience is being held at The Prairie Emporium, “a multiuse event space ‘hidden’ inside of Ill-Fated Kustoms that puts on a variety of events throughout the year including Blue Jay Sessions, the Eggs Henny! drag brunch series, full-band shows, private parties and much more.”
According to the release, “The first two nights of the pop-up (June 8 and 9) will see the chefs cooking a collaborative seven-course tasting menu.”
For each of the two evenings, there will be two seatings.
On the final day, from “11 a.m. until sold out,” the two chefs will be offering “their creative versions on congee.”
As per the release from event organizers, “The June 10th congee menu (meat-based, seafood-based and plant-based versions available) can be ordered a la carte on a first-come, first-serve basis and will also feature a mix of
snacks and salads.”
Says chef Dez Lo, “I have heard so much about Calgary and what a foodie city it is.
“I know Billy had a great time during their last pop-up,” the chef says, “so I wanted to join the festivities this time around!”
Adds chef Billy, “I’m really excited to to come back to Calgary. When I was here last year, I had a wonderful time sharing my food with Calgarians and now I’m lucky enough to be bringing my ‘dai ga jie’ (big sister) with me.”
Tickets for either experience can be found online at showpass.com.
Speaking of popups, albeit in a way that’s a little more Domo arigato — man, food and machine come together at the University of Calgary with the first local PizzaForno location in the city.
It’s pizza served up 24/7 by our robot minions — overlords? — when we want it, how we want it.
How it works: “Every PizzaForno automated pizzeria holds 70 12-inch pizzas. Once a customer places an order, a robotic arm takes their selection from the refrigerated section and moves it into a patented convection oven where it is baked. Customers can also opt for
a take-and-bake option to customize at home. Once ready, the pizza emerges from a slot at the front of the machine for the customer to grab and enjoy!”
So. Yeah. It’s the perfect vending machine for people who are hungry.
And probably very, very high.
As for the selections, which start at a university student-friendly cost of $8.99, PizzaForno’s 12-inch offerings include: BBQ Chicken, Meat Lovers, Four Cheese, Pepperoni, Veggie and Hawaiian.
They are Canadian literary treasures, brothers from a mother and partners in print: Alberta boys Ian and Will Ferguson.
Between the two of them, they’ve won awards (Leacocks, Gillers, etc.) and produced books and plays that are now part of the contemporary Canadian pantheon.
The first time they teamed up and put their talents together was in 2001 for the now-classic How to Be a Canadian (Even If You Already Are One).
Now, the sibs have collaborated on a fictional novel, I Only Read Murder, which they’ll celebrate the release of with a Wordfest event June 27 in the Memorial Park Library, where the duo will be interviewed by Wordfest ringleader Shelley Youngblut.
But prior to that, the Fergusonses (Fergusoni?) went head-to-head for an exclusive, no-holds-barred tête-à-tête for theSCENE. Enjoy.
Ian: We’ve both done a ton of interviews over the years, however this is the first time we’ve been asked to interview each other. I thought I’d start off by asking what your least favourite question is?
Will: It would have to be, “How did you get to be so good-looking?”
Ian: No one has ever asked you that.
Will: Exactly, because I discourage it. Proves my point. I guess my second least-favourite question, just because it is such a bizarre scenario, is, “If you were trapped on a desert island, which one book would you bring with you?” Fortunately, you’ll be glad to know I finally came up with the correct answer.
Ian: Which is?
Will: How to Survive on a Desert Island.
Y’know, how to spear fish, make a fire, build a lean-to, which mushrooms are poisonous. A survival guide. Why would I want The Complete Works of William Shakespeare? I’m on a desert island, man! I gotta survive! Anyway. I came up with that answer on-stage during a writers festival many years ago, and it remains the best answer I’ve ever given.
Ian: And your question for me — and it better not be, “How did your brother Will get to be so good looking?”
Will: Fair enough. What is your least favourite question?
Ian: My least favourite question is, “And you are who, exactly?” Tends to come up when talking to Toronto folks. Now Will, this is the second time we’ve worked together, after How to be a Canadian: even if you already are one, and when we were doing press and publicity for that book, we kept getting asked about something called “sibling rivalry.” Will: We don’t have that. Sibling revelry, however . . .
Ian: When my nephew Genki, which is how I like to refer to your oldest son, published his first novel, Satellite Love, a lot of people commented about how writing must run in the family. Which was a nice enough thing to say, and I certainly basked in vicarious and reflected glory, but I really think the advantage Genki had was growing up watching you write every day treating it like a profession.
I’m quite lazy and easily distracted, and I’ve always admired the discipline and focus you brought to writing. I mean, not enough to emulate it, but still.
Will: Ah, but you’re too kind. I’m just a different type of lazy. I work really hard to not
have a day job. I hated having a “job.” I’m basically working to avoid work. You’re an accomplished playwright and award-winning author, including the Leacock Medal-awarded memoir Village of the Small Houses, about our wonky childhood in northern Alberta. It’s a brilliant book. So, no. There isn’t any rivalry. Why on earth would there be? I always wonder what type of families these people come from who keep asking that.
Ian: The idea for collaborating on I Only Read Murder really came out of the lockdown and general boredom and malaise. I believe we’d both watched everything on Netflix and possibly YouTube and we thought it might be fun to come up with another Ferguson Brothers joint operation. You’re in Calgary, I’m in Victoria, so we couldn’t really hang out together over greasy spoon breakfasts like we used to, so this was a way for us to spend time over the phone coming up with the most outlandish and funniest storylines we could.
Will: I remember when we came up with the show-within-the-show, called Parrot P.I.! We laughed till we cried. But really, it all started because you had this terrific idea of a former
’80s TV detective who’s hit hard times and is cast in a local small-town theatre production, and then sets out to solve a real-life murder that happens onstage. On TV, he’d played a character named “Pastor Frank,” in a show called Pastor Frank Investigates. His ex-wife owned a mystery bookshop called I Only Read Murder. That was the original nugget. I remember you calling me up, early on when we were still working out the story, with a eureka moment, saying, “We have to flip it! Make the ex-husband the owner of the bookstore and the ex-wife the former TV detective.” Hence, Pastor Fran was born.
Ian: The other thing that interviewers seem interested in is the process. Which I don’t think is all that fascinating to actual readers, but mainly I remember us making each other laugh (a lot) and topping up each other’s jokes. The idea being that, if we both found something funny, people reading the book would also get a laugh. I’m happy with the humour and the characters and also that we’ve got a pretty good plot with a couple of nice twists. So it’s a mystery that’s funny — or a funny book with a mystery in it, either way a really fun read.
By Benjamin Heisler
Most of you are familiar with the infamous twin ghosts of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Film folklore and historians credit Diane Arbus’s photograph, Identical Twin, Roselle, N.J., 1966 as inspiration for the casting.
Strange portraiture from her mirage-like world, the subjects in this Contemporary Calgary exhibit range widely. Titles such as the following offer promise of intrigue and excitement.
Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C., 1962 / Dominatrix embracing her client, N.Y.C., 1970 / Mexican dwarf in his hotel room, N.Y.C. 1970 / A naked man being a woman, N.Y.C., 1968 / Woman with bangs, N.Y.C., 1961 / Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr / Jack Dracula lying by a tree, N.Y.C., 1961
/ Three-headed twins in a jar, Coney Island, N.Y., 1961 / A rock in Disneyland, Cal., 1962
I was drawn to Albino sword swallower at a carnival, MD., 1970.
Head thrown back, arms flung out, the sword swallower poses, garbed in a goldtrimmed thin chemise with sleeves flared and a heavy skirt that falls like a theatre curtain. Sunlight and wind glorify a bohemian prow. The blade is gorged, with its gold hilt at 12 o’clock. Ta-da. The figure stands before the disturbed canvas of a dark striped pavilion tent on which the fire chief approval stamp is semi-revealed. The scene is set at the back of the tent, where plywood leans on a trailer tire, and anchor lines are taut.
The photograph’s corners are dark and the edges rough. The framing of the figure suggests a view into a crystal ball. I see
Arthur’s legend played out on Coney Island. But it’s Maryland, and this my flash visual association.
If you have never heard of Diane Arbus, allow my introduction.
Arbus was an influential 20th century American photographer and photojournalist. Her style is characterized by intimate, black-and-white portraits. Curated by Sophie Hackett, the current show at Contemporary Calgary presents 139 silver gelatin photographs from the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario in a review of her career from 1956-1971.
Senior curator of Contemporary Calgary Ryan Doherty states: “She was a visionary artist who created intimate portraits of people she encountered throughout New York City and beyond.
“Whether made in public – be it a park, a dance hall, a movie theatre – or in private spaces, she is renowned in particular for her direct and poignant images of people and places rarely depicted until then.”
Arbus marked the beginning of her artistic career intentionally with a roll of film labeled #1. Since then, her work has been debated and mythologized, and the cult of her personality well entrenched.
Today, as when she produced it, her art prompts many questions. Notably, the world she portrayed was considered deviant in the day. Taboos persisted through the ’50s, ’60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ’90s. Where do we stand presently?
In the same way you would pay a mid-20th century carnival agent to view individuals referred to in the discourse of the day as “freaks,” now, for the price of gallery admission, you may gaze upon and gawk at the subjects of Arbus’s images. They gaze back. Do decades of cultural acceptance of Arbus as a pioneer of journalistic practice and portraiture wash the grime off this social activity? Dirty or not, I’m delighted.
Viewing her work can instigate confrontation with aspects of our own bias and
personal anecdotes. Many of the images are emotive and evocative, human and humane. Conversing with this body of work might lead to a mixture of emotions, be they rooted in one’s opinion of the photographer, her subjects, or our own viewing selves.
Subjects that were taboo then are familiar in our lives today. Drag shows can be corporate events, and the tattooed man appears almost neighbourly in 2023. However, dialogues inspired by the hardships of marginalized individuals are still relevant and powerful.
How do we feel about the ethics of Arbus’s photojournalistic practice? Does she empower marginalized individuals with the opportunity to show themselves, as they were otherwise invisible? Or does she objectify them, like a collector’s oddity kept in a cabinet of curiosities? Both might be true. Additionally, her subjects’ consent is shrouded in ambiguity. She was known to befriend some, but stalk, wait in doorways, and confront others unexpectedly. American biographer William Todd Schultz quoted Arbus as saying, “I think it does, a little, hurt to be photographed.”
People in her photographs are often
shown in vulnerable states; we can relate to some empathically. Images gain power given the context in which the photograph was captured. A mewling infant might appear just that, until one learns the child is a losing contestant at a diaper-derby event. A woman standing on her front lawn with hands clasped looking up to a bright sky might appear mundane. The image, produced by Arbus at the behest of Harper’s Bazaar captures Coretta Scott King five days after her husband’s death, on the day of his funeral.
Curator Sophie Hackett notes, “If you think a portrait is meant to be a flattering likeness, Arbus will challenge that.”
The portrait A naked man being a woman, N.Y.C., 1968 serves as a revelation of identity.
The exhibit label informs us that this is one in a series that documents the transformation of “Catherine Bruce” into “Bruce Cather-
ine.” Starting and finishing on a park bench, the subject is at first a woman, and by the end a man. “When Catherine Bruce’s brother first saw the photograph after his sibling’s death, he remarked: “(Catherine Bruce) was able to show the world – like it or not, this is me. I’m sure he was tickled pink to have the pictures taken.”
The gallery is dimly lit, adhering to museum standards for the conservation of photographic works. Low lumen levels are necessary to preserve these historical images. We are lucky to have institutions like Contemporary Calgary that meet best practice for touring exhibits of this tier.
Arbus used a 35mm handheld camera and later in her career, a medium-format twinlens Rolleiflex. All photographs in this exhibit were printed by Arbus, unless noted as “printed by Neil Selkirk.” After Arbus’s death, Selkirk was commissioned to make prints for her 1972 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. The silver gelatin prints are sized 11”x14”/ 14”x11” / 20”x16” / 16”x20”.
Arbus softened the edges in the development process, using cardboard pieces from negative boxes in the negative carrier. Arbus’s humanity was on the street, but her
crystal ball was in the darkroom.
Daily guided tours are available and included with the cost of admission. Admission is free on the first Thursdays of the month. Photography is prohibited in this exhibit.
Diane Arbus: Photographs 1956-1971 runs at Contemporary Calgary (#701 11th St. S.W.) until Sept. 17, 2023.
Left to Right:
Diane Arbus. Triplets in their bedroom, N.J. 1963. Gelatin silver print, sheet: 50.8 x 40.6 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of Robin and David Young, 2016. Copyright © The Estate of Diane Arbus.
Diane Arbus. Tattooed man at a carnival, Md. 1970. Gelatin silver print, sheet: 50.8 × 40.6 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of Robin and David Young, 2016. Copyright © The Estate of Diane Arbus.
Diane Arbus. Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C. 1962. Gelatin silver print, sheet: 50.8 × 40.6 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of Sandra Simpson, 2016. Copyright © The Estate of Diane Arbus.
Diane Arbus. Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr. on her front lawn, Atlanta, Ga. 1968. Gelatin silver print, sheet: 50.8 x 40.6 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of Phil Lind, 2016. Copyright © The Estate of Diane Arbus.
Diane Arbus, Puerto Rican woman with a beauty mark, N.Y.C. 1965. Gelatin silver print, sheet: 50.8 x 40.6 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of Phil Lind, 2016. Copyright © Estate of Diane Arbus.
Diane Arbus. A woman with her baby monkey, N.J. 1971. Gelatin silver print, sheet: 50.8 x 40.6 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of Jay Smith, 2016. Copyright © The Estate of Diane Arbus.
“I think it does, a little, hurt to be photographed.”
DIANE ARBUS
So much has changed and grown for Calgary’s Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival over its 25-year history, while some things from the past have, sadly, resurfaced.
For one thing, Fairy Tales is bigger than ever, with more than 60 films this year from 30 countries across the world. It’s also grown from being a two-day event to now offering a full week of diverse programming and events.
James Demers, Calgary Queer Arts Society executive director, has been with the film fest since its early years and says the festival remains one of the only two queer film festivals in Alberta.
“There isn’t an equivalent festival in, for example, Saskatchewan, so it covers a big geographic area, and we’ve always been aware of that,” Demers says, adding Fairy Tales has worked with Jasper Pride, Taber Pride and Lethbridge to have a broader impact.
“That’s where I’ve seen the growth be so interesting is by (watching it move) into rural communities and creating those opportunities, which was a lot of fun. And now the festival is in a position where it can start doing that again.”
While the level of acceptance of the queer community has also grown over the years, it’s no secret that there’s been a lot of backlash towards the community lately, especially for drag performers and trans folks.
“It’s sort of this history-repeating-itself problem,” Demers says.
“And it’s interesting because I think you have a generation of younger queer people who have not faced this kind of homophobic backlash before. And then you have generations of queer people for whom this has been their entire lives up until very recently.”
Demers points to the Reading with Royalty program — where drag queens read to children at local libraries — which has been under fire from protestors recently, including from a Calgary pastor who is facing charges in connection with several incidents.
“When the Reading with Royalty program started five years ago, we expected there to be protests and there just wasn’t. Now, five years later, there are.”
Demers says it’s worth recognizing that a
lot of the arguments that are being used now are old arguments from the ’70s and the ’90s.
“But because we’ve had this break in community, a lot of younger people and newer activists don’t know how to handle them,” Demers adds.
That’s why it’s important for the community to unite and support each other, Demers says.
“There’s this real necessity to come together around events like film festivals and learn about history, learn about other activist movements, connect with new people and see yourself represented, which is the fundamental principle of why films are important.”
And sometimes, it’s valuable to be able to watch stories about queer people in a theatre full of those community members, Demers adds.
“It’s a very different kind of engaged
experience than just watching queer stories at home on Netflix … But that the communal experience of laughing at similar jokes and having similar experiences, I think that’s what knits us together.”
Demers says it’s heartwarming to see the community come together in unity, especially during these more difficult times.
“This kind of homophobic, Christofascist backlash that we’re seeing is fundamentally designed to make people feel afraid. It’s designed to make people feel like they can’t leave their homes and they can’t participate in public life,” Demers says.
“So, it’s even more important to have queer events that are visible and that are open to the public. These events are about celebrating who we are. And it’s always more important to celebrate when the noise is louder.”
That’s why it warms Demers’s heart when people who used to volunteer at the festival 20 years ago bring their kids to the event now.
“It’s so cool to see the generations of people coming together to watch films on purpose,” Demers adds.
One great way to celebrate together this year is the festival’s June 9 opening night showing of Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Globe at 7 p.m. A cult classic, Hedwig is a retro film from 2001 and will be played on 35mm film.
“The goal is to bring people together to have a celebratory screening in the theatre in person,” Demers says.
The Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival explores LGBTQ+ stories and themes as it celebrates diversity and inclusion, Fairytales programming director Marissa Cupples says.
It also offers filmmakers from across the world a chance to share their stories beyond their borders.
“It’s really exciting to have so many films from all over the world,” Cupples says, adding there have been as many as 40 countries represented in past festivals.
“There’s a decent amount of films that we’ve gotten from Iran and a lot of people have had to make those in secret. The level of effort that goes into making queer films around the world and what people are willing to risk to make queer films is pretty amazing,” Cupples adds.
This year’s highlights also include a night dedicated to Calgary filmmakers on June 10 and a new musical called Glitter & Doom coming to the screen that people won’t want to miss.
“For the musical fans in the house, I think that there’s a new classic coming to the festival this year, and it’s a great excuse to celebrate,” Demers says of the film that is sure to be a hit.
The festival is still accepting volunteers who will get to watch the films for free while getting to spend time with community members.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet people,” Demers adds
Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival runs June 9-18 at Globe Cinema. For tickets and more information please go to fairytalesfilmfest.com.
July 6th-15th
2023
ENTER TO WIN A boss pass for 4 people TO ENTER, SCAN THE QR CODE
Thursday July 6th
Monday July 10th
tuesday July 11th
Wednesday July 12th
Thursday July 13th
Saturday July 15th
Eleven years ago, Calgary alternative model and bloody bendy weirdo
Visha Loo was a celebrity guest at the Calgary Horror Con.
Now, more than a decade later, she’s still a celebrity guest but has since been flanked by notable horror names including the Exorcist’s Linda Blair, Billy Zane, whose resume includes everything from Titanic to Zoolander, Dead Calm and the MacGruber series, and Doug Bradley, who played the iconic Pinhead in Hellraiser.
The 11th annual Calgary Horror Con has grown from its modest roots as a small event at Mount Royal University, to now being a two-day event at the DoubleTree by Hilton (formerly the Clarion Hotel).
And next year, it might need to move to an even bigger location to accommodate its growth, says founder Dan Doherty, though he says growth has never been the goal.
The first horror convention in Canada
While the original local event was the first horror convention in Canada dedicated to horror films and culture, and, today, also stands as one of the biggest, Doherty says his goal is to keep the fan experience at the forefront and doesn’t measure the convention’s success by its size.
“We keep expanding, but we’re also trying to stay fairly small,” Doherty says, adding he has been putting off moving into a bigger space for a couple of years, but he thinks it’s time.
“It’s not as important for me to be the biggest. I don’t want it to be a big organized show because I don’t like them. I think fans get a better experience at smaller shows,” Doherty says.
“It’s more about the fan experience, and I’m trying to keep true to my fan base. If you’re paying to get into the doors, I want you to have the best experience with the vendors and the guests.”
It’s important to Doherty that people who pay to get through the doors get a return
on their investment, which is why he gets as many people working the doors as he can because he doesn’t want to see fans lined up at the door.
“I clear that line as fast as possible and I do it intentionally. I’m getting people ready to get in the door as quickly as they can,” he says.
“It’s a different experience because you get to talk to the celebrities. It’s not just a signature, it’s an experience.”
He points to when Linda Blair signed autographs for two hours past the convention’s closing time a few years ago.
“I want to bring in guests that are good to the people,” Doherty says, adding his vendors have also been there since day one.
“It’s more like a family; it’s a community.”
Doherty says the growth over the years has felt like watching his horror baby grow up, but it hasn’t always been easy.
“None of my team has ever been paid; we are doing it for the love of the genre. Ideally, we’d like to see paycheques at some point. But basically, this is my other full-time job that I don’t get paid for,” he laughs.
Doherty initially launched the horror convention because “nobody else was doing it.” “I
wanted to do something, but it hasn’t been a success overnight.”
The convention is a gathering for the community of macabre fans who love all forms of horror; cinema, literature, live performance, and art.
The initial idea sprung a grassroots movement by a group of volunteers and the support of amazing local Alberta talent. The convention consists of celebrity guests, vendors, panels and an international film festival.
This year’s guests include James Jude Courtney, who most recently played Michael Myers in the recent movies, Milly Shapiro from Hereditary, Tony Cecere from Scream, Peter Cowper who starred in the original 1981 Canadian horror film My Bloody Valentine, and Mark Burnham from Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
As well, this year Doherty is hosting a “killer clown” theme in honour of the 35th anniversary of Killer Klowns from Outer Space.
Names from that franchise include Mike Martinez, Kyle Edward Ball, the Chiodo brothers, and Suzanne Snyder, who may also be familiar to fans of ’80s comedies for her role in Weird Science.
“I always said I’d do a killer clown theme and I couldn’t think of a better time to do that than the 35th anniversary,” Doherty says.
Like other expos, cosplayers dress as their favourite horror icons while roaming the convention floor, posing for photos and interacting with fans.
There is also a costume contest on the Sunday of the weekend but Doherty says attendees often dress as their favourite horror icons all weekend.
One of the highlights of the convention is the panel discussions, featuring horror film directors, writers and actors. Fans get to ask their favourite horror icons questions about their experiences in the industry and learn about the process of making a horror film.
As for Loo, she will, of course be back again this year. The freaky fan who makes all of her costumes and also designs and creates costumes for others, says she loves dressing up and spending the weekend with like-minded horror weirdos.
“It’s just fun to see all of the costumes coming through the doors,” she says.
Horror Con 2023 runs June 17-18 at DoubleTree Hilton (formerly Clarion Hotel).
By Autumn Fox
t’s an ethical dilemma for our times; what defines our identity? Who we are? Or what we do?
Though her celebrity and notoriety are defined much by her trans identity, that might actually be the least interesting thing about the multi-talented, multi-multimulti-hyphenated writer, artist, musician and creator, Vivek Shraya.
And really, that’s how she’d prefer it to be.
“At the core, I feel like I’m an artist. I love the process of having an idea and trying to realize it into something you know, quote, unquote, ‘tangible,’ and to then connect with someone else.
“I think the nature of making work, especially as a marginalized person, is that people need to find a way to understand you. And the way that is done is through the lens of identity. And sometimes that feels hard because mostly at the end of the day, I’m more than a trans person, or I’m more than a queer person, more than a brown person. I would identify as an artist. Like, that’s who I am.”
Perhaps best known for her work as an author, her first foray into non-fiction, 2018’s I’m Afraid of Men, a vulnerable yet scathing exploration of toxic masculinity, is what really put her on the map after nearly two decades pursuing a music career.
Since then, she’s become an assistant creative writing professor at the University of Calgary, has been the face of M.A.C. Cosmetics’ 2019 M.A.C. Originals and Pantene’s 2020 Hair Has No Gender campaigns, started her own publishing imprint, V.S. Books, with Arsenal Pulp Press to support emerging BIPOC writers, worked as a visual artist and filmmaker, written, composed and consulted for HBOMax’s Sort Of, and written and performed How to Fail As a Popstar, an autobiographical one-woman play, now in post-production and set to debut as a TV series with CBC Gem.
The irony being, of course, Shraya hasn’t failed as a popstar. The journey to get there just hit a few roundabouts along the way.
“I feel like if people are familiar with me, or if I have the privilege of people knowing my work, it’s usually the writing. And to that end, I even created the play because I spent all of my 20s essentially trying to make it in the Canadian music industry, and it just didn’t quite work out for me. But I’m still here
making albums somehow against the odds. And so for me, I always say that music is the love of my life. It’s such a strange thing to be known again, if I’ve been known at all as a writer, when like, music is actually the thing I love doing the most.”
Her new visual album, Baby, You’re Projecting, out now on Mint Records, has her set to tour the country, including an appearance at this year’s Sled Island Music and Arts Festival. It’s pure pop gold — and further defies any attempt at defining her as an artist, writer, or musician.
Featuring an 11-song track listing and 12-minute accompanying film, Shraya calls Baby, You’re Projecting her “breakups album” — breakups, plural — a genre she’d never really explored as an artist before. The concept came to her, naturally, on the heels of a bad breakup — one that had her reflecting on pre-
album.’ ‘This is my orchestral album.’ And I think one of the nice things about making music in my 40s is that I feel less pressure in terms of, you know, it must feature a giant hit song, or it must cater to this audience, or this label, or whatever. I really try to approach the album, and I’ve really been trying to approach music in general now from places like, ‘OK, if you didn’t have the success that you were hoping for, what do you wanna do?’ I still want to make music, but now I get to kind of do it on my own terms.”
Shraya says the album has allowed her to focus on crafting “the best songs possible first, and then aestheticizing them in whatever way that the song calls for.”
As such, her influences on the album are “a vast spectrum,” yet strangely cohesive; the Bollywood tapes she listened to while growing up in Edmonton, ’90s R&B, country, hip-hop.
audience already knew the words and were singing along. I mean, nothing makes me happier than that, I think.
“You know, making music in this landscape, can feel sometimes like an act of futility. And there’s so many other things that people have access to, and I’m playing a 40-something game, not a 20-something game. So just having people listen to the album, know it enough that they want to sing along, and come to the show; all those things are great. Those things mean a lot. I don’t take an audience for granted. I don’t take any of it for granted.”
Shraya says that concurrently working on the television adaptation of How To Fail As a Popstar, while, well, succeeding as a popstar was “very weird and very exciting.
“Once you start telling a story, and trying to figure out how to dramatize it for television, and for viewers to like it, it sort of all becomes a little bit fluid. When I was on set, something would happen and the crew or the cast members would be like, ‘Did that really happen?’ And it’s like well, in the multiverse, perhaps not in the same way.”
Shraya admits to having struggled during pandemic lockdowns — with isolation, with productivity, and with the concept of “doing it right.” Her experience even inspired her to write Next Time There’s a Pandemic for the CLC Kreisel Lecture Series.
vious relationships and their subsequent endings — be it romantic, friendship, or familial.
“It’s multidimensional in that way, too. My hope was for it to feel like it had an emotional arc, you know, like moving from beginning to end, as someone who is sort of processing the various stages of breakup.”
Shraya calls the album “genre-fluid” — something she admits she’s been trying to accomplish in her music for a long time — and something she’s proud of herself for accomplishing on Baby, You’re Projecting.
“I think one of the ways that I’ve tried to make myself more palatable and more accessible to audiences is by trying to streamline my sound, and say, you know, ‘This is my electronic album,’ or, ‘This is my singer-songwriter
“There’s some Madonna in there. PJ Harvey, Radiohead.”
There are nods to ’90s ballads, there are bops, and there are definitely songs to get you on the dancefloor. And staying true to theme, there are sad songs, and there are angry songs. It’s a little bit camp; a little bit tongue in cheek.
So how does that translate for her audiences?
“I was in a band with my brother for a while, called Too Attached, and the last album that I put out, which is like in 2018, was called Angry. And we did a show in Calgary and I had no idea what to expect. I hadn’t played Calgary for years, I don’t think. The record had only been out for like a week. And people in the
“I know this is gonna sound hyperbolic, but you know, making the show for three weeks with 50 people every day showing up to work, and just making something creative, not even that it was about me, just making something creative with a very clear end goal in mind was honestly one of the happiest times of my life. The show, to me, was just such a joy to make.
“And on a very narcissistic level, having actors read your words, something that you put on paper… the difference between TV and books is, with the book, you write something and hopefully people read it, or listen to it in the audiobook, but you never get to see it come alive really in the same way. Whereas TV, it’s like I write a line, and then someone shows up and brings it to life, and it’s so incredible.
“It’s just very strange. One of the nice things about the show is that I have this new extended family. I have a TV mom. I have a TV ex-girlfriend. I have a TV teenage me. It’s all very much a trip.”
Continued on next page
“So just having people listen to the album, know it enough that they want to sing along, and come to the show; all those things are great. Those things mean a lot. I don’t take an audience for granted. I don’t take any of it for granted.”
VIVEK SHRAYA
Continued from previous page
Shraya says she hopes to stay involved in the TV industry, but isn’t afraid to continue her journey as a renaissance woman — regardless of the expected or unexpected challenges that pop up along the way.
As part of the MuchMusic generation growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, Shraya says music videos were a huge part of her life, and so the video component to Baby, You’re Projecting was a definitive part of the project.
“I’ve always been drawn to the way that the ’90s music videos told a narrative, you know, like an Aerosmith video, or even a Madonna video. Seeing these artists take a song that then tells a story.
“For Baby, You’re Projecting, I had a choreographer and, you know, I always imagined I had latent dance talents that would just sort of emerge because I dance relatively well in the club. But I actually have no dancing skills. It was very challenging for me. So I just hired three choreographers that really pushed it. I was really bad at it, but I’m just trying to have fun, and, you know, being realistic about a 40-something body. Just because you’re in your 40s doesn’t mean life is over.”
Shraya also pushed her professional boundaries by taking on the role of children’s book author, publishing Revenge of the Raccoons, a picture book on environmentalism illustrated by Julianna Neufeld, in 2022.
“Going back to our conversation earlier, it had to be one of the most challenging books I’ve written to get published, and I think that’s largely because it wasn’t specific to an identity. I think a lot of that came about because institutions know me and want to support me.
“One of the things I could say about the past few years is that I think it’s great that there’s a move to support more diverse artists and more diverse works. But I think
the way we do that is by supporting diverse artists telling the stories we want to tell — whatever that is. And if that’s about our identities, great. If that’s about raccoons taking over the city, awesome — not how unexpected and lovely it is for a trans author to write that book.”
Shraya says questions about her identity and the political landscape often hijack the focus from her creative and artistic endeavours — that there is a certain tendency for others to see someone outside the norm, someone different, someone not the demographic of a stereotypical Albertan — and assume they must have these big outward thoughts and feelings.
“I find that often I’ll get more questions that are less about the art, and more about like, ‘What’s it like being a trans person?’
“I think there are some people who are really good at being spokespeople. I think there are some people who are very good at being vocal outside of their work. But I really struggle with words, to be honest. I’m a communicator, but where I feel like I’m at my strongest is writing a song like, ‘Good Luck (You’re Fucked).’ I feel like that song addresses a lot of the things that we’re seeing.”
Shraya says it’s important to remember that “not everything has to be public, right? So the work that I have tried to do in the province or whatever doesn’t always happen on the frontlines because I don’t know that it needs to. But in terms of the art, I think that there’s a lot there if anyone is really looking.
“I think for me, I’m always just trying to redirect people to the art. I think that the art, that’s where I say the things.”
Vivek Shraya performs as part of this year’s Sled Island, which runs June 21-25 at various venues around Calgary. For tickets and more information please go to sledisland.com.
Shraya says questions about her identity and the political landscape often hijack the focus from her creative and artistic endeavours.
Playing the greatest hits from the 90’s for a 60-minute outdoor charity workout combining strength, cardio, core and stretch.
ALL FITNESS LEVELS WELCOME PRIZES FOR BEST 90’S WORKOUT GEAR
THE ACADEMY PARKING LOT
637 11 AVE SW SATURDAY JUNE 17
ARRIVE 10:15 AM
CLASS FROM 10:30-11:30 AM
REFRESHMENTS & SOCIAL 11:30 AM
WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE BLOX? VISIT THEBLOX.CA @THEBLOXYYC
RSVP HERE
Autumn Fox for The Scene
Ryan Bourne & The Plant City Band
Calgary, AB
YYC’s favourite psych-pop zaddy is back with a new release in tow. Plant City is Ryan Bourne’s latest project, lush with kaleidoscopic soundscapes like hothouse flowers languidly blooming. Like a lazy day drifting on the Elbow, each song builds up to a refreshing eddy of sound. Shoegaze-y and dreamy, and best experienced in the wild.
Rachel Geek Kelowna, BC
Layered contradictions — laidback guitars, pop hooks, chill breakbeats, and rapid-fire delivery define Rachel Geek’s BC hip-hop style. A regular on the Shambhala AMP stage, don’t let the mellow beats lull you away from the hyper-aware lyricism and razor-sharp social commentary.
Midnight Peg amiskwacîwâskahikan/ Edmonton, AB
Picking up where bands like Crass, 7 Year Bitch, and The Gits left off, Midnight Peg’s driving post-punk, post-hardcore stage riots chew up the scenery and spit out the gristle. Prepare to get sweaty.
Super Duty Tough Work Winnipeg, MB
A seven-piece ensemble complete with horn section, subtle samples, and rounded out with MC Brendan Grey’s vocals, Super Duty Tough Work embodies the ethos of 1980s NYC hip hop from Fab 5 Freddy, to KRSOne, and Eric B. & Rakim. The first Manitoba-based hip-hop group to be nominated for the Polaris Prize, their old-school style is the intergenerational vessel that carries lyrical themes of racism, violence, poverty, and an unwavering determination to model the world they want to see rebuilt, but better.
Say what you will about Edmonton, but I’d argue rock’s revolution is being rebuilt by our frenemies to the north. Tebby & the Heavy claim to have “absorbed the back catalogue” of the legendary Creation Records in some sort of full moon blood ritual, and they def-
initely seem to have made it through at least the label’s first decade, soaking up The Jesus and Mary Chain’s post-punk shoegaze and My Bloody Valentine’s dream-pop psychedelia, and infusing it with their own nebulous musical necromancy.
The legendary Sun Ra was — and is — synonymous with Afrofuturism. His amorphous ensemble, the Sun Ra Arkestra, has simultaneously fused and expanded since 1958 in a form of musical mitosis united by elements of jazz, funk and African folk traditionals by way of outer space. Led by original band member, saxophonist, archivist and chief “tone scientist” Marshall Allen since Ra’s death in 1993, this is as close to a cosmic experience as you’re ever going to come across on a Sled Island stage.
With a not-so-subtle nod to ’90s alt-it-girls, complete with baby doll dresses and Virgin
Recognizing the Indigenous trailblazers who have made an impact on music in Canada. The updated exhibition with five new additions launches on National Indigenous Peoples Day, June 21.
studiobell.ca/speak-up
Suicides references, Pom Pom Squad’s Mia Berrin brings a modern and much needed intersectional identity to the sound first made famous by bands like Belly, Medicine, Mazzy Star and singer-songwriter Liz Phair.
Like Athena bursting out of Zeus’s head, fully formed and bedecked in armour, Gustaf burst onto the indie music scene and took almost no time establishing themselves as dancefloor-filling chaotic art-punks descended from the likes of The Slits, ESG, Delta 5, and Bush Tetras. They’ve since toured with IDLES, played Beck’s secret loft shows, SXSW, and Bonnaroo. This is the type of band you’ll be kicking yourself in years to come if you miss out.
Speaking of bands whose legendary Calgary shows have never been lived down, Osees (formerly Thee Oh Sees) absolutely defied expectations with their Sled Island appearance in 2011 — only to see alchemist John Dwyer invited back in 2013 to guest curate that illfated flood year. (The band eventually made it back to the Republik in October 2013.) More than a decade on, folks still talk about those shows. That face-melting wall of undefinable, indescribable sound; shapeshifting psych-rock that could only have been born within a black hole that’s eating a dying star in another dimension … there are Calgarians that still describe those missed gigs as their biggest regrets in this life. Don’t be like them.
Sled Island runs from June 21-25 at various locations around Calgary. For a complete list of artists and schedules, please go to sledisland.com.
Featuring over 80 guitars and a lifetime of legendary stories.
A
Pom Pom Squad
TOM JACKSON FERRON ELISAPIE FAWN WOOD
new exhibition dedicated to the almighty guitar featuring 25 rare and legendary instruments.
Celebrate the Alberta-bred global rock phenomenons through this insightful exhibition capturing 20 years of rock.
DREZUS
By Mary-Lynn Wardle
Pubs and artists, they’ve got a thing going on. Notable creators historically spent ample time in pubs, influencing their art, be it poetry, fiction, painting, music or beyond. Consider Anaïs Nin, Jack Kerouac, Vincent Van Gogh and Calgary’s own songwriting dignitary Tom Phillips.
So, it makes sense that the song Dollarama Prima Donna — from Calgary band Free the Cynics’ forthcoming album, Bloodlines — also arose from time spent in a pub, albeit time that led to an iffy situation rather than a breakthrough of clarity.
“My guitarist and I had our bikes stolen by a man with a Dollarama bag and we went to try and get them back. They were just outside the (Calgary) Drop In Centre … on a fence. I think they were trying to sell them,” recalls singer-songwriter Rich Paxton.
“And we had a few beers (at band headquarters, Leopold’s Tavern) and stupidly went down there to try to get them on a Tuesday night and, yeah, that’s where that song came from. That wasn’t a wise decision. We almost got in some trouble, but we wrote that really fast after that. We kind of thought there was a funny little ditty to that.”
That Paxton views getting jumped and nearly maimed as fodder for a funny little ditty explains his stoicism in mining daunting events from his life to create other songs on Bloodlines.
But back to the story. Trouble arose when a woman named Darla began jumping on them and hitting them. “The lady and a few others started circling and we sobered up pretty quick then and realized what we were doing and where we were. So, we scampered. They did actually give me my bike back but it was not in a recoverable shape, unfortunately,” Paxton says, noting it could have gone a lot worse than it did.
But. Still. Paxton got a tale to tell. The band got a catchy song from the ordeal. And Free the Cynics’ considerable — and still growing audience gets to sing along to the hooky chorus as the tune, released as the album’s second single, has become a live show staple.
These are good things considering Paxton
founded the band about seven years ago during a lull while waiting for a work visa — having moved here the day before the 2013 flood from his hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland to assuage his Calgary-born wife’s home sickness The couple lived in Scotland together for five years before arriving here and, yes, the weather was one of the first things Paxton noticed. Fortunately, he also noticed and appreciated the friendliness of Calgarians, who, despite a population pushing towards two million in the general area, still say hello to strangers on the street.
Since forming, Free the Cynics has endured a few lineup changes. Those lineup changes are part of most bands’ DNA, but the departure of guitarist Alex Klassen for Victoria (also assuaging his wife’s wish to move) last fall, delaying Bloodlines’ release, was at least off-set by Klassen’s superb touch as co-producer. Hollerado’s Nix Boyd earned the other producer credit on the album.
The result is 12 songs that channel a fresh band you might hear through the wall of a rehearsal studio, playing with sounds, grooves, styles and ideas with aplomb while you are doing the same with your band in your own rented rehearsal space, then pausing, listening, and saying, “Whoa? Who is that? What are they doing!” in an envious way. Paxton puts that down to a mix of the UK bands, like IDLES and Irish band Fontaines D.C., that he introduced to the band, and to Boyd and Klassen’s painstaking production.
There is a mix of amusing tunes like Dollarama Prima Donna (“a catchy, fun, dumb punk song”) and tracks that probe life’s rotten underbelly without flinching — also informed by Paxton’s experiences.
“It’s been a really tumultuous year for myself just family wise. It was a lot of seriousness which is why we wanted to put some fun ones in there. High at Work is one of the songs on there which is actually a reworked version of an old song, but that’s pretty self explanatory, you know, being at work in a bit of an altered state.” The song always brings a joyful audience reaction, perhaps in recognition (hope they aren’t taxi drivers).
“There’s a few kind of darker moments on
the album, darker themes, like Start a War, and Same Old Dance, especially those two, speaking of loss and family issues,” Paxton says, stating that some of his own family relationships have crumbled. “Thinking of people who in the last couple of years of Covid and stuff, over that there’s been a lot of family breakups and issues with a lot of people … I think a lot of people can relate to that.”
In fact, one song, Matriarch, about his mother who took her own life 16 years ago, gave Paxton long pause before including it. “It’s quite a personal album. I write the lyrics so it was sometimes a little difficult to give the green light to some of the songs and some of the lyrics and say, ‘OK, this is going to be out there.’” He is grateful co-producer Boyd encouraged him to “lean into that stuff.”
Paxton admits it was very difficult to do so. “Obviously you’ve got people that might not love that you wrote about it and so on. I’m hoping it’s worth it. It’s kind of a strange feeling putting stuff like that out there.”
The songwriter hopes the song will connect with people who have gone through a similar experience, and that it will help lift them. “I think the album kind of captures the feel of that one pretty well. You don’t want to be seen as a grief thief or anything, but I think it comes across.”
Free the Cynics release Bloodlines June 16 at Inner City Brewing with support from NIKU, Yarboro (formerly Biloxi Parish) and The Night Terrors. Also catch them June 15 at Bo’s Bar and Stage in Red Deer with Rural Alberta Advantage.
wears his love of ’80s pop music and culture on the puffed sleeve of his vibrant red vintage Calgary Cannons jacket. A child of the ’90s and 2000s, Perrin found bliss listening to his dad’s Cars albums, which led him down the yellow brick dancefloor to bands like Flock of Seagulls, Duran Duran and Psychedelic Furs.
“I’ve really always enjoyed synthesizers and keyboards in music, and The Cars were sort of my gateway into that. And when I had the chance to have this band and started writing songs for it, that was my reference point,” Perrin says from his Calgary home. “I used them to discover more music and the more I listened to bands that were like them, the more it resonated with me. I love a good mix of synthesizers, really gorgeous guitar, and good melodies and that’s grown in me in the past little while.”
Perrin’s love of the era was showcased in the bands’ first release, the 2021 EP So Shy, which instantly beams you up — A-ha it does — to a Saturday night at Calgary’s ’80s sizzle spot, The Warehouse, on a ray of synth, drum machine and vibe. New six track EP, Just Yesterday, to be released June 2 with a show at Commonwealth — coincidentally, the building that once housed that very same Warehouse — keeps right on vibin’ those spandex ballet kinda vibes.
But a love of John Hughes movies and the larger net of pop culture is tempered with a deeper love of all things Calgary, where Perrin was born, grew up, and has lived, except for four years in Victoria attending U Vic for a psych degree. In an offshoot conversation about his current career as a teacher, we muse on the many Calgary music gods and goddesses who also chose that career – Ramblin’ Ambassadors’ Brent Cooper, Nico Brennan, late of the Dino-Martinis, and Ron Matsalla of
ground zero new wave era band The Unusuals circa 1980, to name but a smattering.
“I’m very passionate about the history of music in Calgary. I’m still kind of a rookie but I have (an Unusuals album) in my dropbox. I actually want to reach out to him.” Perrin has already reached out to other key players from the ’80s Calgary scene like members of Small Horse Big Apple recording artists Tau Ceti, National Hotel Wednesday night house band Cat Ranch, and beyond. “This is the stuff I love talking about, just connecting with people who were doing stuff at the time and cool stuff at that.”
His love of that era and of Calgary collide, right down to a fondness for all things ’80s, including sports, like the ’88 Olympics and the epic Battle of Alberta between the Oilers and the Flames, who both won Stanley Cups during that time. Which explains his fondness for the Cannons jacket he sometimes dons onstage. The minor league baseball team represented Calgary for nearly two decades starting in 1985.
The passion for the era also spawned the bands’ name. “Our (keyboard player) David de Souza kind of coined it for us and it just seemed really right. There’s those cool tie-ins if you’re looking at ’80s pop culture and technology — there’s VHS or beta — and I think we
liked the idea of the alpha versus beta male, and it just sounds right.”
The band decided to write the name all in upper case sometime during the pandemic, when Perrin did a deeper dive into the music of the era he loves so much. “Any of those big synth pop hits, there’s just great songwriting going on; you’ve got amazing teams of songwriters. And there’s something hard to explain; I just connect with it so deeply. I just want to make music that celebrates that era of music and pop culture really.
“I think that’s the big thing with us, too. We’re having fun and celebrating whatever we can and making it our own.”
As for why BETABOYS tend to celebrate the era with EPs opposed to full albums, Perrin explains. “For me, we never necessarily had a final number we wanted. I wrote 20 to 30 songs during the pandemic and we whittled it down to under 10. Then these six just felt like the right collection together. It seemed like the right number of songs.
“I kind of enjoy releasing six versus a few more so that each song has a chance to shine a little bit more.”
BETABOYS’ Just Yesterday EP release and ’80s New Wave Spring Formal with Krill Williams and Sea of Lettuce is June 2 at Commonwealth.
The more songs I listen to, the more I realize most bands fall into the same bad habits. The following advice is what I find myself giving bands constantly, and while this article doesn’t have a hook … that’s the first thing you should think of. What makes me cling to this song. It doesn’t have to have do-do-do’s and whistling but it does need to be a bit ear-wormy. Give me something catchy, memorable, and depending on the format, not too poppy. It can’t just be a catchy chorus. It’s about the entire song’s listenability and song structure. The song itself should run like a story with a solid beginning, middle and end. Take me somewhere. Don’t give me three minutes of verse, chorus, bridge, chorus. The whole song should be a bit of a journey, while also being tight and cohesive. This comes down to self-editing. Probably the biggest problem artists have is they got the songs but don’t know how to end them. There’s so many ideas bouncing around that you’re trying to fit them all into one track. It sounds disjointed, confusing, and
terrible for radio. You want a song that ebbs and flows, that builds around the core parts, it needs to change slightly but not so much that by the end it feels like it’s a different band. Keep the idea to one sound and grow from that. This can be difficult with five members in a band, but at some point, someone must take charge and edit the song down. Which leads to the next point: timing.
A lot of bands joke that radio has a time limit on songs, which is untrue. There’s nothing in our rule books that say a song can’t be more than three minutes BUT rarely do we need something more than five minutes on radio. You can usually turn that five-minute slog with the extended intro, unnecessary guitar solo, and repeating the chorus 12 times at the end, and turn it into a three-minute hit. Of course, I’m talking strictly radio here, feel free to make an album cut. But radio should get the edit, which brings me to the last thing … swearing. You can swear in a song, but make sure you or your producer edit it out for radio.
And watch how many times you are using
curse words. A song that is muted, bleeped or cut to hell because of swears doesn’t sound cool, it just sounds lame.
These rules are not be-all-end-all for getting onto radio, nor are these guarantees for radio play. This is simply a free guideline of things I find myself telling bands over and over again.
Edit. Edit. Edit. Keep it tight, interesting and make it feel like a banger in the studio, and on stage, and you’re more poised to snag yourself a radio hit, or at least a live show banger. There will always be a harder mosh pit for three minutes than five … at least for the 35+ crowd. My back hurts.
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. Valiska** - Wolf Moon EP (Self-Released)
2. Blume* - Inner Vision (Self-Released)
3. Miesha and The Spanks** - Unconditional Love In Hi-Fi (Mint Records)
4. The Rifle County Players** - On a Day Like Any Other (Self-Released)
5. Ryan Bourne** - Plant City (Self-Released)
6. LT Leif** - Come Back to Me, But Lightly (Lost Map Records)
7. Tim Hecker* - No Highs (kranky)
8. Morwan - Svitaye, Palaye (Feel It Records)
9. Mike Tod** - Mike Tod (Cross T Ltd)
10. ALL HANDS_MAKE LIGHT* - Darling the Dawn (Constellation)
11. Ally Fiola* - Interblaze (Self-Released)
12. WKO** - Mineral Format Memory Collections (Noise Sensitivity Research)
13. Uncanny Valley** - Fevering Stare (Self-Released)
14. Tunic* - Wrong Dream (Artoffact Records)
15. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - V (Jagjaguwar)
16. U.S. Girls* - Bless This Mess (Royal Mountain)
17. Meltt* - Another Quiet Sunday EP (Nettwerk)
18. Lalo Schifrin - Man On a Swing (Wewantsounds)
19. Begonia* - Powder Blue (Birthday Cake Records)
20. well, ok then.* - open up soon (30/30)
21. The Thrashers* - We Are Literally / This Is A Pizza Party (Transistor 66)
22. Wish Lash** - 200 Phenomena OST EP (Glow Code)
23. John Rutherford** - Midnight Microphone (JRM Records)
24. Renonce* - Ombre (Mothland)
25. De Bouquet** - Formative Memories EP (Self-Released)
26. Pharm* - Vortex (Self-Released)
27. Stefana Fratila* - I want to leave this Earth behind (Halocline Trance)
28. Tynes* - Tynes (LHM)
29. Mazelfyre** - i want to live forever EP (Afterworld Records)
30. Stranger Still* - The Songs Which Are (All Set! Editions)
** Local
* Canadian
