December/ January 2017-18.

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Dec / Jan 2017 - 18 Stylus Magazine

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DEC /VOL JAN28 2017 NO. 6

Production Team Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gil Carroll

On the Cover MARIE-FRANCE HOLLIER is an artist and musician based in Winnipeg.

Assistant Editor . . . . . Kaitlyn Emslie Farrell Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Campbell Cover Art . . . . . . . . . . . Marie-France Hollier Advertising Contact . . . . . . . . . Rob Schmidt

manager@ckuw.ca Print by JRS Print Services . . . 204-232-3558

Contributors Rachel Narvey Jen Doerksen Max Hamilton Allegra Chiarella Mitch Merrick Nicole Tomala Chris Bryson Topher Duguay Nate Forest Alex Roberecki Lisa Ewasko Ryan Steel Ben and Erica Edie ZoĂŤ LeBrun Skye Callow

Stylus is published bi–monthly by CKUW 95.9 FM, with a circulation of 2,500. Stylus serves as the program guide to 95.9FM CKUW and will reflect the many musical communities it supports within Winnipeg and beyond. Stylus strives to provide coverage of music that is not normally written about in the mainstream media. Stylus acts as a vehicle for the work of new writers, photographers and artists, including members of the University of Winnipeg, of CKUW and of the Winnipeg community at large. Stylus reserves the right to refuse to print material, specifically, that of a racist, homophobic or sexist nature. All submissions may be edited and become the property of Stylus. All opinions expressed in Stylus are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors.

Contributions in the form of articles, reviews, letters, photos and graphics are welcome and should be sent with contact information to:

Stylus Magazine Bulman Student Centre, University of Winnipeg 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9 Phone: 204-786-9785, Fax: 204-783-7080 Writing submissions: editor@stylusmagazine.ca Graphics submissions: design@stylusmagazine.ca www.stylusmagazine.ca

Table of Contents Blah, Blah, Blah Events Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CKUW Program Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CKUWho Flailing in a Time Warp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Prarie Punk Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reviews The New Customs // Birthday Wishes Vol. II // + more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CKUW Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Features West End Cultural Centre 30th Anniversary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Big Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Castle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Winnipeg Live . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Space Jam: Moon Tan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Urban Vacation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Contributions will be accepted in the body of an email. No attachments please. All submissions may be edited and become the property of Stylus. Unauthorized reproduction of any portion of Stylus is strongly discouraged without the express written consent of the editors.

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BLAHBLAHBLAH Let’s s a y h e l l o to the Winter with some live music shows***December 2 at the Handsome Daughter is Snake River (Regina), Junipur Bush, and A La Mode, or over at the Pyramid is the Rural Alberta Advantage with Yukon Blonde, or another great local bill over at The Cavern with Mmmeats, The Psychics, Greg Rekus and the Inside Job***December 6 New Music Night at the Good Will featuring Malcolm-Jay, NDU, Peshanakwut, and HAVS*** December 7 is Real Love Thursday at the Handsome Daughter with Bungalow (first show!,) Trampoline, and Lounge FM and over at Finch Gallery is Rayannah***December 8 at X-Cues is EST. 1873 E.GG Release Party, that same night at the Good Will is Marshall & Some Buddies, Mmmeats, Holy Void, and Homeward

Bound***The Ripperz play with Dangercat (final show) at The Park Theatre on December 8th***December 8 - 9 at the Windsor Hotel is the third annual “F*CK HUNGER” Heavy Music Food Drive with Inverted Serenity, Eyam, Guilt-Trip, Dissident Mindset, Atomic Order, Endless Chaos, Suburban Hypocrites, and Ebon Flow***December 10 at the Pyramid Cabaret is Choir! Choir!

Choir!***Six Outta Ten, GuiltTrip, and The Brotherhood & Co. take over Punk Fridays at the Club St. B on December 15th***December 16th at Club St. B catch Righteous Fist, Wicked Gift, and Noise Generator***December 20th at the Handsome Daughter Edmonton’s Faith Healer is back with Cecil Frena and locals Veneer***December 21 at Time(s) Changed in Heinrichs Maneuver and Grey Jays***December

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23 at the Good Will is 1971 “No matter where you go, there you are” release and finale***Also on December 23rd, Johnny God, Simple Jack, and Ash and The Arsonists at Club St. B***December 29 at the doghouse is Slow Dancers, Palm Trees, and Animal Teeth***December 29th also sees Kojak, MK Ultraviolence, Juke, and Road Rockets at Club. St. B***December 30th at Club St. B see MYNT, Drug Skull, and Darkroom***December 31st, Real Love New Years Eve at the Handsome Daughter with Micah Erenberg, The Garry’s (Saskatoon), and Cannon Bros. or over at Time(s) Changed local legends The Perpetrators***Celebrate 30 years at Time(s) Changed on January 5 and 6***January 9 at Times(s) Changed is an Andy Shauf tribute night***January 12 at Time(s) Changed is Lanikai with Slow

Leaves***January 13 at the West End Cultural Centre don’t miss Am I Not King cocollaborators Matt Peters and Tom Keenan in a new music venture, Heavy Bell***January 19 at the Good Will is Chad Vangaalen with Mauno***January 20 at Time(s) Changed is Bo Legged and Cheering for the Bad Guy***Red Fang is at the Pyramid Cabaret on January 21***January 24-28 is Big Fun, Winnipeg’s best indie winter festival featuring a legendary lineup of local and touring acts across several different venues including one on the River***January 26th at Club St. B catch Trouser Mouth, Suburban Hypocrites, Yer Mum, The Thrashers, and One of Us for feast of local punk***

Dec / Jan 2017 - 18 Stylus Magazine

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WEST END CULTURAL CENTRE 3 0 th

A N N I V E R S A R Y

BY MAX HAMILTON

B efore it had opened its doors for the first time, the West End Cultural Centre was already differ-

ent than most venues. For one, the intention of the Centre’s founders was never to make a buck off the place, and to this day it remains a not-for-profit, charitable organization. It began as just an idea, one that, as work began on the run-down church at the corner of Ellice and Sherbrook, drew interested and generous citizens out to volunteer their time and expend their energy on refurbishing the building.

Some stayed on for months after the first show was held, which was headlined by the folk group Spirit of the West. That was thirty years ago as of October twenty-first, an anniversary which the West End celebrated with a tribute show to that band.

In the sense that it was intended from the beginning to be a community organization that supports its artists, the WECC hasn’t really changed. Although some letterheads and logos have been redesigned this year (and which now depict the sun radiating from the old church), and the building itself underwent a major renovation in the mid-2000s, the importance of the WECC has grown as Winnipeg’s musical community has grown.

“A lot of people just see the West End as a venue, but we do a lot within our community,” says marketing director, Kerri Stephens. This includes conducting sing-alongs in old folks’ homes, an upcoming tapdance workshop, the Ellice Street Fest, a free holiday dinner for members of the community, and free music lessons for anyone between the age of nine and eighteen. Often youth who outgrow the programs age range will return as mentors, and help fledgling bands get opening slots at shows around the city.

The kids work with some of the major names to come through the WECC, including Polaris Prize nominee Leif Vollebeck, who came through at the start of October. Before his show that night he sat down with the kids, played a few songs for them and answered some questions about being a professional musician. The hope is that, when they are exposed

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PHOTO BY MITCH MERRICK

to different styles of music, different ways to play and think about their instruments, they’ll be more likely to stick with it. Some of the bands to have come out of these programs have played festivals around the province and opening slots around the city.

Apart from cultivating the talents of the younger generations, the WECC does a lot for local artists. They’re often looked to as opening acts, and there is a special rate for renting the hall if you are a local band doing an album release. It’s a considerable discount. Facilities are also open during the day for anyone who wants to use the space for rehearsing, or song-writing, or whatever.

“People don’t realize that we do some of these things,” says Stephens. “We want to see people in here all the time. We’re super passionate about our local artists especially. We want to be an organization that can support artists, even the brand new and up and coming.”

Initially, the focus was on giving folk music a home, and was meant to be something of an extension of the Winnipeg Folk Festival, whose founder, Mitch Podolak, was something of a spearhead for the group of WECC founders. But the focus quickly shifted away from one style, and became more about challenging, unique music of all kinds.

All venues operate to put music on the stage, of course, but at the West End, that’s all they do.

They’re not open as a bar when there’s nothing going on inside, so it’s only for music that people come out.

Jack Jonasson, the executive director of the WECC, says that, as a musician, it’s refreshing to walk into a room and know that the people who are there care about the music. He knows, too, exactly what’s lost when that’s missing. “Nothing is more demoralizing than pulling into a town after driving all day and finding that there’s no one there to greet you at the venue, feeling that what you do is unimportant.”

Arts and culture define a city. “It’s the thread that winds through everyone’s experience,” says Jonasson.

Supporting your local artists is about more than supporting the art they produce, though. Says Jonasson, “It’s caring for your neighbour. You may not care about arts and culture, but do you care about the health and well-being of your city? Do you care about social change, or any of those things? Because all of that comes from arts and culture.”

The founders of the WECC were, as Mitch Podolak puts it, “loudly socialist.” Mitch himself came from a far-left background, learning how to organize politically as a kid. These teachings deeply informed the projects he would undertake later in life, and are at the foundation of both the WECC and the Folk Festival. A short time after they began operation, the Conservatives came to power and the Filmon government cut funding to the WECC. Instead of letting the Centre die, Mitch and others poured their life’s savings into it, and watched their home equity disappear.

They knew they were on their way to going broke without the additional funding from the Manitoba Arts Council, so they attacked it publicly with four-thousand posters, all reading that the Council spends $960 thousand on themselves every year, for shame! Today, Mitch gladly admits that, while this was true, it was taken out of context. He’d gotten a copy of the Tories’ budget, and that that amount, which went to administration, was only one seventh of the entire budget, which he feels is fair. The politics of that action was pivotal and necessary for the survival of the space, however, and allowed the WECC to continue and flourish as it never had before. But Mitch had to resign his position there in the fallout of the event. His name was poisoned.

“And it still is,” says Podolak.

It should be noted that these events occurred many years ago, and many names have come and gone within the provincial government since then. Today, the conservative leaders support many artists and creative institutions.

For Mitch Podolak, his interest in political and philosophical theory grew in tandem with his desire to create a home for experimentation in and around music, and one fed deeply into the other. He describes the WECC as the marriage of two different music venues that he visited in the sixties and early seventies. One was in California, near Santa Rosa, called the Catalby Cabaret, and the other was the Vancouver East Youth Centre. It was at Vancouver East that he saw Dame Peggy Ashcroft reading the poems of Pablo Neruda with accompaniment from a string quartet.

“Now that is a nutty idea,” was Mitch’s reaction, and he took it back with him to Winnipeg. It lives on strongly at the WECC, though he notes that the Folk Fest has become kinda corporate, despite it originally being “structurally, a Bolshevik model.”

This in the sense that it is composed of self-acting pieces that share a mission statement and work towards a common goal as one. The thinking behind the festival remains, though, and so does the thinker.

Today, Mitch watches festivals all over the place, just to see how they work. Even commercial ones, where it’s owned by one guy and volunteers get a t-shirt.

“It’s very interesting, seeing the way people will or will not be treated,” says Mitch, “and for their love of music, people will be treated like shit. But people will give of themselves. That’s the thing about the West End.”

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BY CHRIS BRYSON

BIG FUN

ABOVE PHOTO BY NATE FOREST

T he Big Fun festival has been going on since 2012 and has become a beloved staple and grow-

ing fixture of the Winnipeg music scene. Since its inception, the multi-genre festival has been evolving and changing. It is now comprised of four members, and covers 14 shows over 5 days at multiple different locations.

Talking about the changes the festival has gone through over the years, Big Fun co-founder and coartistic director David Schellenberg says “it’s sort of been the nice pace of a natural evolution. The first year it was only three days. It was all just local bands and that year was entirely at unconventional venues.

We did the live shows in warehouses and sort of more DIY, and then the Sunday we had the brunch at the Lo Pub. And then it just progressed naturally and got a bit bigger and bigger and sort of found our niche happy place of five days, fifty-ish bands and nine venues. Featuring out of town acts and flying in artists and some touring bands from Western Canada, and sometimes bands come up from the Midwest and the US.” Schellenberg says that the process of running and managing the festival has become easier over the years as they’ve been able to create and foster stronger partners and ties within the community and the festival system.

The festival’s success over the years has also made it easier for Schellenberg and his Big Fun partners to have greater liberty with the decisions they make.

“It’s been good, it’s been steady each year. It gets easier to get bigger and bigger crowds and more and more people are aware of the festival. More people are taking a risk on some programming,” says Schellenberg. “And it’s nice the community sort of trusts us in what we’re curating where sometimes we were more hesitant to do some more weird or more out there stuff and now we feel confident in what we’re doing and the community has been supporting us very well. So it’s been a nice organic progression.”

TRIAGE AT THE HANDSOME DAUGHTER, BIG FUN 2017

Schellenberg says the Big Fun festival came about after co-founder and co-artistic director Stefan Braun volunteered at Pop Montreal in 2011 and returned wanting “to make a mini-Pop Montreal, a mini-Sled Island.” The resulting Big Fun festival, Schellenberg says, being “modelled after those larger multi-venue festivals that our country has.”

“The whole point is to sort of get yourself some culture in a very culture-less time of the year,” says Schellenberg. “Get yourself out of the house and doing something fun.”

The festival also advocates Safer Spaces policies as something to promote more safe and comfortable atmospheres at their events.

“We’ve become more public with it of course,” says Schellenberg. “We have Safer Spaces training for all of our volunteers and all of the staff leading up to the festival. As being a music festival in the small city that we are we have ties and open lines of communication with Rainbow Trout and Real Love festival and everything like that so we all sort of banded together to make sure that we all create a safe environment for audience members.”

In deciding the lineup, Schellenberg says they get anywhere from 200 to 500 submissions each year. And between the two artistic directors, Schellenberg says they sort of have a wishlist of potential headliners that they like, and curate based on those headliners and what shows they think would complement each other. “We cuRIGHT PHOTO BY LISA EWASKO

THE O.B. AT THE SHERBROOK INN, BIG FUN 2017

06 Stylus Magazine Dec August Apr //May Jan / September 2017-18 2017 2016

rate the locals and the headliners just sort of based on availability and what makes the most logical sense stylistically.”

Upon the time of interviewing Schellenberg and company were still keeping the festival lineup tightly under wraps, as they will be doing until the announcement online and through pamphlets on December 20th. But if you’re curious of what’s to come, you can browse their previous lineups on the festival’s website. Although this year’s lineup will be totally fresh and new, it’ll give you a taste of what the festival has featured in the past. And show you that even though this festival takes place in the dead of winter, it’ll give you plenty of reason to put those dancin’, rockin’, winter boots on.

the

Castle Local high schooler Maeve produces downtempo electronic gems as “The Castle.” We chatted with them about influences and future plans. Do not miss out on this creative new sound out of Winnipeg.

Stylus: What influences you to make the art you make?

Maeve: My music is probably mostly influenced by 90s house/dance/alternative music like Stereolab or Deee-lite. I was mainly influenced to make music because the idea of creating your own original art and releasing it to the world was something that scared and excited me!

Stylus: What is your favourite instrument to use/ listen to?

Maeve: The bass is probably my favourite instrument to listen to in a song, but it also really depends on how the other instruments interact with each other. My favourite instrument to use is my keyboard because of the variety of synths. Plus it’s the instrument I’ve been playing the longest.

Stylus: How did you decide to use Bandcamp as a platform to share your music?

Maeve: I decided to use Bandcamp because I figured it was the easiest way to release music. It’s pretty easy for people to find my music and listen to it, even though I’m not very well known.

Stylus:. What is the story behind “The Castle?”

Maeve: As far as the name goes, the story isn’t too exciting; I just thought it sounded cool. As far as the actual project goes, I’ve always loved music and have been playing piano since I was five years old. I decided more recently to actually start creating my own music because, why not? At first I was just experimenting, but then it turned into something bigger. So far it’s working out and it’s my go-to creative outlet.

Stylus: Future plans for collaborations or more releases?

Maeve: Definitely! I have a new full-length album coming out very soon, hopefully in December. As for collaborations, I’d totally be down for them, but I don’t have any concrete plans. If anything comes up though, I’d be happy!

Stylus: What is the ideal setting for creating music?

Maeve: Really just any quiet place where you have an unlimited amount of time to do what you want to do! I like to create music in the summer on my porch, watching the animals and people pass by, but being alone at night is also a good setting since it

S STAFF

BY STYLU CALLOW

BY SKYE GRAPHIC

gives off a cool aura and a good creative feeling.

Stylus: What is your dream collaboration?

Maeve: I’d love to collaborate with, in terms of modern artists, Fletcher Shears from Puzzle and The Garden or Mac DeMarco, even though our genres aren’t quite the same. Collaborating with Miss Lady Kier would be very cool or with Mort Garson, if I could go back in time.

Stylus: Who inspires you to make music?

Maeve: Many people inspire me to make music. Musicians’ lives always seem so exciting (travelling, creating, performing, etc.) and someday I’d like to get in on that scene, which is one reason I was inspired to start experimenting with sounds. Feelings also inspire me to

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make music. I find it intriguing how an emotion can be created and felt through sounds.

Stylus: What would your live show be like?

Maeve: If I had a live show, hopefully people would be dancing! My songs currently don’t have lyrics, so it’d be a different sort of show… the show would mainly be a set of songs I could DJ. Oh and there would be lots of colourful lights! Can’t forget those!

Dec / Jan 2017 - 18 Stylus Magazine

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No Matter Where You Go, There You Are A Tribute to Cameron Cranston

BY ALLEGRA CHIARELLA

No Matter Where You Go, There You Are is the

title of Canadian rock band 1971’s upcoming debut album - as well as a favorite saying of former bassist, Cameron “Cran” Cranston, who passed away earlier this year. The band’s three remaining members have decided to pursue separate paths in his absence, but will reunite this December for one final show where they will release the full-length album, as a tribute to their bandmate and friend.

In February 2017, the group was about to finish their recording for the album when Cranston passed away unexpectedly. Drummer Jory Strachan, lead singer Garrett Iverson and guitarist Tanner Neill returned home to Kenora to be with their families and loved ones, and the three decided to part ways as each member took time to grieve.

Cranston and Iverson started playing together in the winter of 2011 in an effort to keep cabin fever at bay. Strachan, who had jammed with Cranston periodically, was also brought into the mix, and the three finally gave themselves the label they’d been avoiding up until that point: a band. After writing a handful of songs and playing a couple shows, Strachan decided that it was time to take the new project on the road, and promptly booked a two-month tour. It was a rocky start: “We spent all our money - I’d never seen Garrett more miserable in my life.”

Iverson quit for a brief period following that first tour, but the three weathered the break and 1971 soon picked up where it had left off.

The band continued to evolve over the years following, adopting childhood friend Tanner Neill on guitar and developing a darker, post-punk sound.

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PHOTO BY BEN AND ERICKA EDIE

Strachan and Iverson moved to Winnipeg while Cranston and Neill stayed in Kenora, forcing the band to adjust to a long-distance relationship. “Cran was going to school so he’d drive up every Tuesday and Thursday,” Strachan says, “And that was when we’d rehearse. We were a little hesitant at first, because we’d taken such a long break, but it started feeling really good - we just got back into it.”

In late 2016, the band began recording material for a 14-song LP, their most ambitious endeavour to date.

The album would feature some of Iverson’s darkest, most honest writing yet, and experiment with a wider range of instruments, from trumpets to pedal steel guitars. No Matter Where You Go, There You Are will consist of the songs that were completed before Cranston’s passing.

The album’s title is one of what the band affectionately call “Cran-isms,” and in many ways serves as a perfect summary of Cranston’s approach to life. “I remember, when one of us was feeling bad,” Iverson explains, “He would always say that. It was like, ‘you can’t run away from your problems - no matter where you go, there you are.’” This sobering thought also implies the hopeful promise that familiarity and comfort can be found anywhere, particularly in the chosen family with whom you surround yourself. “Cran would always say to us, ‘We’re not friends, we’re brothers,’” according to Strachan. “We’d fight like brothers, but cared about each other like brothers too.”

Strachan and Iverson credit 1971’s steady tour schedule for strengthening this bond, from their initial two-month marathon to their last expedi-

tion out east in 2016. “Our formative years were spent together,” says Strachan, “and it’s crazy now, looking back, how important that was - it kind of incubated a family.” Both Iverson and Strachan agree that despite Cranston’s introverted nature, he had a remarkable ability to bring disparate people together, through his genuine fascination with life.

“He brought a lot of people together, brought a lot of people closer,” says Strachan, “and I don’t think he even realized that he did that.”

1971’s final show will take place on December 23rd at the Goodwill, and feature 12 different bass players in Cranston’s place as well as other friends of the band on additional instruments. The band will then return to their hometown of Kenora for a show on the 29th at the Kenora Curling Rink. All proceeds from the shows will go to the North End Women’s Centre in Winnipeg, and the Kenora Sexual Assault Centre.

No Matter Where You Go, There You Are will be available not only on CD and cassette, but also vinyl, which had apparently been a long-standing dream of Cranston’s. “He would tell us, ‘My dream is to have this…’ and they’d always be these totally attainable things - but it was telling of how humble of a person he was.” Pressing vinyl is an expensive pursuit, and an often unreturned investment, but one that the band considers worth it: “We’re putting it out to have our last thing together documented, out there in the world - to kind of immortalize another piece of Cran.”

MAUNO AT THE HANDSOME DAUGHTER

BY JEN DOERKSEN

LOCAL LIVE MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY

NIHILIST SPASM BAND AT SEND AND RECIEVE 2017

BY NICOLE TOMALA

VENEER AT FORTH

BY JEN DOERKSEN JAMES RUSHFORD AT SEND AND RECIEVE 2017

BY KAITLYN EMSLIE FARRELL

NIHILIST SPASM BAND AT SEND AND RECIEVE 2017

BY KAITLYN EMSLIE FARRELL

IVORY WAVES AT THE HANDSOME DAUGHTER

BY JEN DOERKSEN

ROGER ROGER AT THE WECC

BY JEN DOERKSEN

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Dec / Jan 2017 - 18 Stylus Magazine

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BY CHRIS BRYSON

PHOTOS BY CHRIS BRYSON

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In a small room in a building on the outskirts

of Lockport, Manitoba, Moon Tan have nestled themselves a nice little home. Two-thirds of the prog-funk fusion trio let Stylus into their jam space to show us around, snap some shots, and tell some stories.

The band has been in the space since the end of 2012. Moon Tan bassist and vocalist Adrian Dyer says moving into the jam space “kind of marked the end when we were looking for a singer. Because we had been looking for a singer for probably two years or something. And then finally I just decided ‘Hey, I’ll try to learn how to sing’.”

Dyer says he pretty much taught himself how to sing in the jam space, over a period of over two years.

“I was just doing this program I found online called Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy.”

The first three pictures showcase three angles of the Moon Tan jam space.

“It’s a tight little spot but we’ve pretty much written all the songs that we do in here,” says Dyer. “Definitely need to wear these ear muffs because you’ll blow your head off if you don’t”.

The guys say that because of the location of the space they’ve had some encounters with wildlife along the way.

“Because it’s in such a secluded place you get certain wildlife around sometimes,” says Dyer. Mitchell saw a huge bear on the driveway that he says drummer Nick Knock scared away.

Mitchell says a bunch of coyotes are there too. And Dyer says there was one guy who saw a “huge wolf that was roaming around.”

“I remember one time I was singing in here,” says Dyer. “And you can stay here pretty late because it’s pretty secluded. No one’s going to come at you for making too much noise. And the coyotes were howling pretty close. And since there’s that gate out there I usually lock myself in. But consequently, my car’s parked outside so I have to unlock it and leave yourself vulnerable while you lock it again. So I actually blared one of our songs and I was just yelling my head off.”

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Picture three shows two massive speakers that are stacked in behind Dyer’s rehearsal spot. Talking about them, Dyer says that one of them he bought before he had a car that could hold it. “I ended up buying a station wagon just so that I could haul this around”. He traveled with it for a year, and then downgraded to another, which is still pretty big itself.

The fourth picture shows a Moon Tan poster that the guys say was their first.

The fifth picture is the poster from a Halloween “Pumpkin Bash” at the Garrick Hotel where the guys say they dressed up and performed as babies in diapers. With Moon Tan guitarist Brady Mitchell apparently getting some questionable looks when he went to get beer from a nearby vendor after the show.

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“I was still wearing a diaper wanting to get an 8-pack”, Mitchell jokes, “Do you have ID?” The sixth picture shows two posters above the jam space bathroom door. Dyer says the one on the left is from Moon Tan’s first EP release show. The one on the right is their first album release poster, 2013 and 2015 respectively.

For jamming in such a small space, these guys sure pump out some major sound.

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Dec / Jan 2017 - 18 Stylus Magazine

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MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY F R I D A Y SATURDAY S U N DAY

ckuwho?

Listen to: Flailing in a Time Warp 9-10 PM on Wednesdays

BY TOPHER DUGUAY

Topher Duguay : So how did you meet anyway?

Also, I like how you both have the same name.

Hollie E: Well, we went to the same junior high and high school Hollie R: Westgate Mennonite Collegiate. Here’s my description of Westgate. So there were two teachers that were very prominent, and they were both asked by their kids about what stoning was.

So the first one talked about Jesus and people getting martyred for spreading the word of God, and the other one was like “Well, it’s when you sit in a circle with a bunch of your friends and have a good time…” So it was a nice balance.

TD: What got you into radio?

HE: We tried doing it last year...

HR: We did it. But yeah? What got us into it?

HE: I dunno, I guess it’s just a sweet way to express yourself, and maintain relationships, too. So you can be like “Hey, I can’t hang out with you, but you can listen to my show…”

HR: We also had radio shows when we were kids.

Not actually on the air.

HE: We’d make radio plays and record them. A while ago we were thinking about getting a transmitter so we could broadcast, but only our neighbours would be able to hear us, and at the end of the day it’s really expensive, so we didn’t.

TD: What sort of music do you play?

HR: A lot of neo-soul, hip-hop, alternative… Basically what we play in our house.

TD: What sort of bands are you into?

HR: We like Anderson Paak and Erykah Badu a lot.

TD: You know where it’s at. Wait, how old are you two?

HR: Twenty-nine.

HE: We’re geezers, basically.

HR: We don’t even go to the U of W. HE: Well, I do. I’m in a joint program with the U of M and the U of W. TD: What do you do?

HE: It’s the graduate program in peace and conflict studies. I always end up tying it into our radio show, too.

TD: How? HE: There’s just no separation in anything I do in life [laughter]. It’s like with the music question, too – I’m trying to do an approach to the show that’s really in the moment, so we’re like whatever we’ve been listening to that week, I guess that’s what the people want to hear. We kind of have themes and talk about it, but we really just respond to our guests and each other with songs we’ve been listening to a lot. This week I kind of took over the show with Kendrick Lamar’s album Damn, which I never really liked…Although this week it suddenly clicked.

TD: I really liked how the “second” album there were rumours about Kendrick Lamar releasing

12 Stylus Magazine Oct Dec//Nov Jan 2016 2017-18

GRAPHIC BY KELLY CAMPBELL

was actually just him telling people to listen to the album backwards.

HE: Yeah! I was analyzing some lyrics of Lauryn Hill’s, and I started writing lyrics that were the opposite of hers and then writing a set to balance them out. It’s like listening to music backwards and finding hidden meanings in it, or how the message of a song would be delivered in the opposite way. I

feel like a lot of lyrics end up being about peace and conflict.

TD: (To HR) And what do you do?

HR: I was thinking about being a professional musician, but then I figured I’d finish my degree and then dedicate my life to that.

TD: What do you play/do/what bands are you in?

HR: Keys, guitar, singing, writing, composing, and

managing. I also front The Grey Jays.

TD: That is a very impressive resume. How long have you been doing it for?

HR: Seriously, for about a decade now. I’m a classical pianist, too, and I’m working on a project about [Claude] Debussy, although I found out yesterday that I need to make a stance on whether he was anti-colonialist and anti-patriarchal, so I have to tie that in now…although I think he was probably a dickhead French white guy…but he made beautiful music. I think Chopin was probably okay, though.

TD: He was a small bean.... Tell me about the weird and wild stuff that you’ve done.

HE: So the basic list is I bought a one way ticket to Mexico when I was seventeen – I really had to get out of Winnipeg and get some stories for the grandkids – then I came back, went to Red River and became an accountant/auditor at the Canada Revenue Agency, which was good money but was also super bleak. Then I went and managed a boxing club, which was fun but became way too all-encompassing. I bought a house, which freed me up a lot, and started foster parenting and heading back to university, and then I got into Artbeat if you’ve ever heard of that program.

TD: Tell me about it?

HE: You get free studio space for six months, and you’re together with nine other artists in kind of an open studio setting where you support each other in different ways, like sharing your art or going to art galleries, and there’s a big show of everyone’s art at the end. Everyone there is there because they want to use art as a way to work through mental health

issues. It’s funny, lots of things are coming full circle; now that I’m in school I’ve realized how open my department – and the university in general – is to trying to understand how to include art-based research, so I’m really excited to include all these elements in it. I feel like there’s a bit of a danger of it becoming tokenized in the same way that Indigenous knowledge does, instead of actually learning from it, so I’m really focusing on trying to change the way people think about it, and I feel like I learned how that works through my time at Artbeat.

TD: So what is your research project, specifically?

HE: I’ve dealt with suicidal ideation and I find it very interesting how I relate to it differently at different times. I used to just be like “This is bad, I shouldn’t have these thoughts”, and then like “Oh, these are just thoughts, I can let go of them”, and now am more like “Oh, these thoughts are here for a reason, what can I learn from them?”. It’s sort of like the idea of transforming despair into faith – which can be secular – in the same sort of way as the “dark night of the soul” that a lot of mystics talk about. Being in school makes me feel like I have some power to influence; even if my paper’s only being read by my professor, they’re still reading it. What I’m trying to say is that you’re in a position where you can create knowledge, and that’s at the crux of creating change. Basically it’s about working with suicidal urges, and my theory is that “Yes, it’s asking you to do something, to face the darkness in your life and the difficult questions, but at the same time it’s because you’re disenfranchised”, and that’s at the root of a lot of ideological conflicts.

I’m focusing on an interpersonal level instead of an international level, because I feel like you need to understand things at that level, but ultimately I have to actually decide on my project next term.

TD: Okay, last question. Would you rather instantly have ten million dollars but have one additional crying baby per day following you around for the rest of your life – HR: No. T: Or would you rather get a lifetime supply of pizza but have one additional sad dog that wants your pizza per day following you around for the rest of your life?

HR: NEITHER. HE: But pizza, definitely. I can deal with the sad dogs. Dogs are adorable. Can I give them the crust?

TD: Yeah, you can choose.

HE: Perfect, that sounds like my life. I’ve had unlimited pizza this weekend and had a sad dog following me around.

TD: Honestly that choice is probably better here.

HE: Pretty much. What about you [Hollie]? I could use a million bucks at this point.

HR: No crying babies.

TD: It’d turn into a truckload of crying babies really fast.

HR: I’ll take the dogs and the pizza, because I’m allergic to wheat and I can just give them the crust.

Then I’ll have a million dogs.

PRAIRIE PUNK PERSPECTIVE

KAITLYN EMSLIE FARRELL

A lright December, full of your unnecessary spirit, the world won’t collapse because of you. Holidays

are great for some and incredibly not great for so many others. A couple days off work though is chill, so we won’t bitch and moan too much. Tis’ the season of charity. The third annual F*ck Hunger event is upon us and for the first time ever, it’s a double header. With two nights back to back falling on December 8th and 9th, brace yourself for a catastrophic weekend of punk, metal, and overall debauchery.

The launch night of F*ck Hunger sees Inverted Serenity, Eyam, Guilt-Trip, and Dissident Mindset for a layout of metal/metal/punk/punk. A 50/50 split down the center of the night to create a satisfying concoction. None of these bands are unheard of in our music communities. Inverted Serenity launching forward with the release of As Spectres Wither in July of this year. With Dissident Mindset’s apocalyptic video shoot at The Pyramid in February, and Guilt-Trip’s first show ever in September, all these bands have left a tasty stain in our recent memories.

The second night of debauchery includes Atomic Order (formerly Rebel Yell), Endless Chaos, Suburban Hypocrites, and Ebon Flow. We all know Rebel Yell, call em’ Atomic Order now, you’ll get the same promised energy they always deliver. Not

a play-every-weekend type of trio, but these two dudes and one gal are hard to stand still for. Endless Chaos are pals of the whole scene, always a pleasure, and Suburban Hypocrites released We Wrote Four New Songs and Reused an Old One this summer and embarked a gross tour all while frontman Nick is putting this whole show together.

This whole event takes place at The Windsor Hotel, located at 187 Garry Street. A venue originally dedicated to blues, The Windsor has been catering to alternative genres for some time now. We’ve all shed our fair share of blood at this iconic people pleaser but nobody is stoked that the vendor is indefinitely closed. Without beer to take home, it’s still a hub of entertainment and likely the tallest stage us small timers get. It was good enough for Charlie Chaplin so who are we to complain, even if the roof leaks during a set. There’s a pool table in the back, the beer is reasonably priced, and we don’t need much more than a couple speakers.

If you like music and going to shows, you’re golden on this event. But let’s talk about what separates this one from the rest. All the proceeds are going to Winnipeg Harvest to redistribute to people in need of food. Winnipeg Harvest has been feeding the hungry for as long as our memories will allow us

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to be sure of. It’s easy to grab a can of non-perishable something or other, but sometimes Winnipeg Harvest gets a lot of the same stuff and it’s difficult to properly feed people. Real dollars certainly help them to efficiently do what they set out to do.

So, you can pay ten bucks to get into each show or you can pay five if you accompany that bill with a couple of the non-perishables. Feed the hungry this season while simultaneously feeding yourself with beer.

Let this night you’d probably go to anyway be your good deed for the season. And then keep going to the shows afterward because it’s unlikely we’ll hit much of a deadzone in the tragedy of winter we’re all accustomed to. We’re going to creep into the new year the same way we always do, and it doesn’t start to really hurt until January/February anyway. I’m more than certain 2018 will be full of just as many, if not more, album releases, tours, new bands, and everything else you expect from your local musicians. Hell maybe we’ll even have better luck with venues, maybe.

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urban vacation

BY ALEX ROBERECKI

A new beginning and a new line up for local indie

band Urban Vacation. With their show on October 19th at the Handsome daughter being the final one for a while, it was a sad affair. It was a send off for their drummer/vocalist, Noah Hoffman. He is going on a permanent vacation from the band before they plan to hit the studio to record their debut LP later this year. I sat down with the lead guitarist/ vocalist, Isaac Tate, along with the bassist/vocalist, Sean Henderson, and their new synth player, Jesse Lawrence to talk about their Avant Garde blend of sampling, dreamy instrumentals and what the future holds for them.

“You can expect a lot, something big.” says Tate about their new album. “It will cover a lot of ground and span many genres.” This is evident as you can hear the band’s style chronologically develop while sifting through their Bandcamp page and YouTube profiles. Initially their sound had a psychedelic indie pop feel but it shifted to a more experimental shoegaze sound on their latest single called “After the Flood”. The song is the first of their recordings to extensively use audio samples that Tate recorded on a four-track cassette recorder. He would make a tape loop of someone talking on the radio or a percussive sound and intertwine it with the instruments.

To me, this song has an early Pink Floyd type feel but Henderson says their influences are drawn from artists such as David Byrne and Brian Eno who recorded this album together called My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. The recording techniques for Urban Vacation’s “After the Flood” drew heavily from the

14 Stylus Magazine Dec / Jan 2017-18

PHOTO BY RYAN STEEL

vocals on the Eno/Byrne collaboration which were also sampled from the radio. They plan on continuing with this theme for their new album. They said that using loops from other non-traditional sources will make their music sound bigger and give them more musical girth.

Tate is a composition student and Henderson studies the tuba at the University of Manitoba, so they have experience with arranging and playing many instruments. They already have most of the songs written and arranged for their new LP. Some of the songs date back to 2014. Though they are just starting to record their debut album now. The addition of Jesse Lawrence on synths has brought new life into the band’s sound and they have reworked old songs to create new material to record and tour with. Jesse is also the band’s go to guy for producing and studio recording.

Expect their new album to be full of “messy tape loops” and unconventional sounds. “I want an album that fades in and out of coherency, something that’s like a mess but is coherent still.” says Tate. “I’m interested in taking a more unconventional method to recording. I don’t want something that sounds too nice but something with character.” continues Tate. “It’s like trying to record everything as we actually hear it” adds Henderson. When asked for the album’s title they were very secretive on that topic.

All they would reveal was that it had a very strong “plant motif ” and that listener must wait and see to what that could mean.

I later caught their live set which occurred right af-

ter the Vancouver based indie band Peach Pit performed. This was part of the Real Love Thursday concert series at The Handsome Daughter. Urban Vacation played stripped down versions of their new songs and some of the songs they wrote with Hoffman. Their set started after midnight so the almost sold out crowd was beginning to disperse.

This didn’t affect the band as they continued to deliver their signature sound of ominous guitar, low vocal harmonies and consistent rhythm. They played a plant themed song and there was plenty of silly jokes and interaction with the audience. At one point Henderson got the audience to chant “Fuck Sobeys” due to his distaste for the supermarket chain. He would also comment about his love for soup and thick sweaters. They played their final song of the night which was a new and final arrangement of a song they have been working on for a while.

“We have been slowly working on these songs for years, since high school, always writing, consistently adding and working out our songs live until they feel right.” says Tate.

When I left Urban Vacation sitting at their small table in the restaurant portion of the Handsome Daughter, they were happy, confident, and excited to be recording an album that has been a building project for years. This is a new chapter for Urban Vacation and for plant themed music lovers everywhere.

Local Spotlight

THE NEW CUSTOMS All Walls Fall A neo-folk duo from our very own city, The New Customs, is made up of locals Emma Cloney and Dale Brown. Capable of producing tearjerkers, foot-stompers, sorrowful ballads and everything in between, the multi-instrumentalists have established themselves in both the local music community and all across Canada through their original and engaging sound; the band’s latest album All Walls Fall is storytelling through music at its finest, with an undoubtedly Canadian voice that sounds like home. The music of The New Customs has everything from soulful harmonies, soaring fiddles, and guitar

like a heartbeat, combining to make a passionate and heartfelt experience almost tangible to the listener.

The band recorded the nine songs written for All Walls Fall all on their own during a four day stay at a cabin near Falcon Lake, MB; creating a work that was purely original while embracing a DIY attitude. One feature track off the album is “Leave Me Cold”. The song is reminiscent of a broken heart, filled with haunting fiddle lines and brought together

by Cloney’s emotional voice and profound lyrics. “Stretched Upon Your Grave”, another must-listen song off the album, is an adaptation of an old Irish poem by an unknown author about a bereaved man who refuses to leave the grave of his deceased lover, and the uplifting title track “All Walls Fall” is said to have been written in the wake of the 2016 U.S. election in an attempt to inspire hope in their audience.

You can see The New Customs when they play at Festival du Voyageur on February 17th, 2018, or listen to them through Spotify or the band’s website (www.thenewcustoms.com).

Zoë LeBrun

BIRTHDAY WISHES VOL. II Birthday Tapes Birthday Tapes have announced their second compilation album appropriately titled Birthday Wishes Vol. II. Featuring seventeen artists, many of whom are local, Birthday Wishes Vol. II provides a wide range of steady pop and shoegaze. This is a mellow album, there’s no way around that.

So if you’re looking for something to pump you up, try another route.

If you’re looking for a soothing array of blended melodies, electronic tones, and whispered vocals, then slap this in your tape deck. With artists like housepanther, Jaywood, Rust Owl, Lounge FM, and Ciel, we know we can expect a dreary prairie vibe. But

that’s not necessarily synonymous with misery. This structure of music isn’t set out to put a damper on your day, but to hold your hand and walk you through it, all the while shielding your freshly washed hair with a trusted umbrella. Birthday Wishes Vol. II will get you to wherever it is that you’re going, and it’ll get you there dry. There are out of towners on this diddy too, but they’re outnumbered, keeping the focus on the locals and using the not so locals like sprinkles on a cake. Smaller in quantity, no less important. Give it a listen and see what it tastes like to you. Kaitlyn Emslie Farrell

Under the Needle

GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR Luciferian Towers Luciferian Towers’ first track, “Undoing A Luciferian Towers”, opens with an aura of slow rumination, subtle abrasions, with screeching strings and an eerie momentum towards some portentous fate. Horns wail, squirm and squeal. Drums patter in the background as ringing guitars cry out into the expanse. The rhythm section be-

gins to fill out, and the band seems to finally find themselves in unison, staying there until the song fades out.

The second song, “Bosses Hang”, has a beautiful post-rock bloom. Taking shape with flourishing and shifting details, swaying strings, a teetering drum beat; the tempo builds as notes rise higher. The celestial space is quickly reduced to chiming tones as the rhythm slows and then gradually builds again, transitioning into an almost jungle-like trance, but with violin and the subtle discord of noise guitar sailing atop the mix. The melody sways, guitars grow, and the drums follow suit. An offbeat waver emerges through the midrange as the band locks into an uptempo Krautrock drone. Then transitions into a bustling groove, moving seamlessly through every motif that proceeded, before slowing down and closing out, doing so only the way Godspeed You! Black Emperor can.

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“Fam / Famine” is a beautiful glistening drone. “Anthem for No State” builds slowly from sparse instrumentation, emotive and unfurling. The song saunters in a hypnotic sway, before coming to a halt, finds a wall with a door, opens it to frantic strings and wailing noise. Eventually the drums come pummeling in, thunderous in its descent. A western-style guitar line twangs, the band again finding themselves in unison, meshing seemingly unexpected and disparate sounds into a beautiful montage, a beaming and bounding din. The song and album trails out accompanied by violin, soaring, swaying, then finding its place with fierce arpeggio.

What made Godspeed brilliant in the past was their ability to contrast and compel space with growth, momentum, and the inevitable force that would ultimately prevail. For being a shorter album with tracks of more moderate length (in comparison to

their 20 minute epics of the past), Luciferian Towers doesn’t even hit the impactful peaks that early career Godspeed EP Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada reached with two songs in just under half hour (even with two sample recordings thrown in between the two).

Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s form of flowering drone and titanic post-rock have never lacked the vital elements that make them a great band. And as with Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress, Luciferian Towers is never an unrewarding album, it just seems to serve more as a compact form of the band, and because of this, some of their force has been lost.

Chris Bryson

Dec / Jan 2017 - 18 Stylus Magazine

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Iconoclast Converge is exquisite and calculated anarchy. And these guys are long past needing anyone’s approval. Guitarist and producer Kurt Ballou’s colossal wall-of-sound production feels like a meteor crashing from the sky, seismic slabs of crushing weight, with his guitar brandishing enough charisma and jagged sawtooth riffs to shred through miles of thick skin.

CONVERGE The Dusk In Us For a band so far into their career, Converge have retained and enhanced the raw power and violent passion that have come to be associated with their name and reputation. The quartet’s newest release, The Dusk In Us, continues to push their boundaries.

The album opens with the vicious paroxysm of “A Single Tear”. Relentless blast beats and whirlwind guitars. The track could be categorized as one of Converge’s best and its chorus boasts a stunning example of the band’s ability to enmesh front man Jacob Bannon’s fierce vocal volatility with wavering, shimmering guitar into a melody that elevates the song to an oddity of transcendent beauty. The embodiment of punishing catharsis into sonic serenity, and that just starts things off.

“Under Duress” opens with cleaves of jarring sludge guitar before Bannon emerges like a rabid dog at the mike, visceral and frenetic, going for the throat. Shrieking guitars morph into post-metal arpeggios and back into the flame-fuelled frenzy and chainsaw riffs, pummelling drums never far behind.

“Arkhipov Calm” is frenzied fireball fury. “I Can Tell You About Pain”, the first album single, is classic Converge maelstrom, opening with rampant drums, wailing guitars, and Bannon savagely leading the pack. The song plays off Converge’s math metal rage with staccato breaks and screeching guitars before moving into one of the shortest but heaviest coda grooves you’ll hear all year.

Album somewhat centerpiece and title track, “The Dusk in Us”, is a brooding slow-burn epic that evolves slowly over the course of 7-plus minutes into luminous furor. Album closer “Reptilian” starts out slow with a singular meditative guitar line before opening up with a Mastodon-like riff that transitions into the ferocity and heaving acrimony that’s unmistakably Converge, with the song ending four and a half minutes in, far quicker than it started.

16 Stylus Magazine Dec / Jan 2017-18

Converge continue to create their own beautifully convulsive chimera.

A monster of heft and sound, full of blood, brawn, brains, that pulverizes and prostrates. But under all the chaos and carnage, there’s still a pounding heart beneath it all, beating from new life.

Something thrilling, beautiful, and savage can be said of all of the tracks

on this album. If you haven’t already heard it, being either a lazy Converge fan or reader in passing, are willing to have your face ripped off, and you like it fucking heavy, listen to The Dusk In Us. Crank the speakers, make sure it’s loud, and let Converge tear you apart.

See you on the other side. Chris Bryson

THE CATAMOUNTS AT THE HANDSOME DAUGHTER

PHOTO BY JEN DOERKSEN

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