13 minute read
Poetic Fodder for Political Souls
arts editor Jes_slca Dan lchuk
THE CASCADE 13
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They call him Mario
By Natalie Vermeer
Mario Nieva started "dickin' around" on guitar and drums in grade nine when he was about fourteen. He played drums In the Steve Toon band. When that ended, he went to Mission to try out for The Cretins, for which he soon ployed guitar. Through The Cretins Mario hooked up with Gob guitarist Tom who introduced him to Kyle of Spawner records. He took a year oft and then got a call from Chris of Wisecrack (on Spawner) and Marlo played guitar for them for awhile. Mario also filled in on drums for Brand New Unit for a day when their drummer left to play for Gob. Then Mystery Machine was out of a drummer as Jordon Prott left the band. The drummer of Limblifter tried to fill In for awhile, part-time, while Mystery Machine struggled to find a new drummer. Dean Young called up Marlo to see if he was Interested In being in the band. Mario tried out, and is now a part 9f the band, though they are now called Montapa. Through years of different shows, Marlo can Identify a few memorably bad gigs. One was with The Cretins, playing a show In Surrey. A bunch of Nazi skinheads showed up for the show and took the opportunity to recruit and shave kids' heads In the back sink. A guy was stabbed in the throat with a broken beer bottle. A sweater Mario borrowed from a friend was ripped off. The Cretins played about half a set when the show was shut down. Cops had shown up and were macing kids In the face who weren't even involved in the disturbance. So, basically everyone there was not in the best of moods. In terms of good gigs, it's hard for him to pick out one in significance. Mario says it's also difficult to pick out one band In particular that is his favorite to see live. But he says that he trusts Red Hot Chill Peppers and Descendants/All to always put on a good show. When asked who he would play with If he had the opportunity to collaborate with anyone he wished, he quickly responded that he would have Mike Patten (Faith No More) on vocals, John Frusciante (RHCP) and Trey Spruance (Mr. Bungle) on guitar and his friend Aaron on bass. Influences on his playing are simply "rock - anything that's good". He does not like to listen to rock as much as he plays it as he says, "you hear it so much". He affirms, "It calms me to go for a cruise and listen to some rap." Lately he's been listening to WuTang Clan, especially O.D.B .. Eaze-E, A Tribe Called Quest, and the new Snoop Dagg. Future plans, he says, are to "make money" and If you would like to see him and the band Montone In the near future, keep your ears open for a show at the Piccadilly Pub (pending) for sometime next month.
Poetic Fodder for Spiritual and Political Souls
By Christine Muise
Crosshairs: Being Poetic, Being Political, Being Canadian written by Professor Ron Dart contains poetry that Is rare in today's liberal individualist society. Powerfully written, it draws us into the appetite many have towards attaining more within the soul while It keeps us grounded in the reality of the world we live in. This is summed up with the metaphor of the unicorn and the lion: "the absence and longing for the unicorn and the obstinate tenacious presence and reality of the lion". For Dart, poetry is not an act of abstraction or narcissistic escapism but an art form that ,should speak to the deeper common human condition and experience. His is a poetry that looks to the whole and asks the big questions of the sharks rather than focusing solely on the minnows. He also portrays an unqerstanding of the needed Integration of one's head and heart, mind and imagination, past and present, rationalism and romanticism, and most desperately spirituality and politics. It is not poetry for the superficial but for those willing to look at a world whose beauty has been ravished and scarred and challenges notions of what is viewed as freedom that may instead be a kind of entrapment. Ron Dart brings to the table an aspect that deeply impacts political outlook but is often swept under the rug. His deep connection to Red Torylsm and its even stronger connection to religion: specifically Anglicanism. The poetry brings attention to looking for God, of waiting for Jesus and the seeking of truth. It Is not of faith in a vacuum or ot fundamentalism without critique. He begins in the state of INNOCENCE, of childhood in all Its goodness and na'ivete. This Is quickly broken as EXPERIENCE in the world shatters the early faith. For many this brings a turn away from the faith, sometimes into a world of faith· lessness: for others this brings a turn towards alternative myth seeking, such as belief in Wicca, Lilith and the Matriarchs of old. Dart's poetry articulates his return to the ancient yet new roots of Torylsm of his Christian faith that is gained in experience and rooted In firm soil. It is a faith that thrives In struggle, In activism and in liberation. Eyes are open to the world, open to the constant contradictions of life itself: In the outer world, the inner world and the spiritual world. It Is the tension, the push and pull, and tugging that, for Ron, is the essence of the human condition. Crosshairs confronts Issues In the Fraser Valley's yard and issues conlrontlng humanity and livelihood elsewhere. His poems will spark the hearts of many activists, as their loneliness in the struggle for consciousness raising will be temporarily put at bay. He addresses the issues, poetically and sincerely: the struggles of East Tlmor, of the Kurds, of the Irish, and of the Palestinians; the grappling and waiting for the arrival of Jesus, for where is he in all of this suffering. Weyerhauser does not escape Dart's gaze for its rape and greed of the land. There is a frustration in a society where people are so trapped in their own worlds that the light fails to reach them. A call both personal and political is made to carefully clean out our souls and take responsibility for our failures. A request further to the only place that has the capacity to free us: forgiveness. The poems discuss Bay Street in Toronto and all other business streets that "slay and seduce", the expense of Capitalism. Dart has not forgotten the Kings and Queens of Freedom who allowed eco· nomlc and social injustice to prosper: Thatcher, Mulroney and Reagan, with their support of individuals such as Somoza, Pinochet and Suharto. Back in the Fraser Valley, the poems expunge peoples' diverse journeys and the continued life in tension at the crossroads. They challenge the contradiction that lies in so many hearts In this area of the folks who cheerfully attend the Abbotsford Air Show (supporting the machines of mass destruction and the showcasing of weapons technology) who also devotedly line South Fraser Way each year to protest abortion. Counter to this group are the folks who organize and participate in the Arts and Peace Festival (opposing violence) who are In the same breath pro-choice on the issue of abortion. These are the real tensions that Dart eloquently displays for the reader to ponder. An injection of today that could further challenge our alliances would be the issue of SE::2; both camps were in attendance for this event, allied in the environmental fight. The human condition is complicated. Dart writes of the culture of consumption that exudes society and of Individuals "struggling to be what we should be, and forgetting what we are meant to be". There is a yearning for the old Tories and the mean· Ing of commitment in a time where the "distractions and diversions are many•·. The new Romans have conquered our minds in times where there has been huge tragedy: Tiananmen Square, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chechnya, Grozy, Rwanda, and Bosnia; and the evil of the counter-insurgency training at the School of the Americas in Fort Bennings, Georgia. The poems are not for the weak of heart, for they call to those who are willing to not only look In the mirror but to look at the harsh reality we call 'society'. The thievery of our language and rhetoric has done much to harm the Canadian population, and Crosshairs addresses this. Dart writes that the "rhet• oric of freedom, liberty, equality and individuals are just a sort of iron cage". For those who have had the pleasure to catch a glimpse of Dart's vision, 'freedom' begs some questions with the most vital "WHAT ARE WE FREE FOR?" This may begin philosophically, but it ends at UBC back In reality. It was the 1998 APEC protest where Canadian freedom was pepper-sprayed and non-existent In the face of dining with dictators; and most of our nation slept through it. Dart is a poet with a long memory, from the English romantics of the late 1700s to our present day. He is a poet who, unlike the Beats, Compradors, Anarchist Liberals and the majority, is off the individualist path, deeply rooted and strongly committed to his faith, his politics and his struggle. He realizes that the path with the Commonweal is one that may cost him some comrades, but asks what their worth Is If they abandon him In his quest for the truth. His poetry cries for the 'vita contemplativa· to balance the 'vita activa' that has infiltrated our daily lives and kept us aimlessly on the move. To live in Dart's poetry is to live in the human condition, an active contemplation by people to "make sense of their insights not just on the peaks so high but in the valley so low". Much of the poetry takes place on a journey into the mountains in that ominous country to the south of us, through valleys and mountains, across lakes and up and up to 'Desolation Peak'. This is a place I would hazard a guess that many of us have reoched in our souls many times. Dart has displayed the battle of mind and soul, whilst holding fast to religious roots, looking onward and upward. His is a journey to "seek to understand eternity and time, spirituality and politics, sacred and profane, community and the individual, permanence and progression".
14 THE CASCADE
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SAVING
SILVERMAN FEBRUARY 16 2001
SAVING SILVERMAN REFRESHING
by Jal Dee
As I ventured to the movie theatre Saturday night, I have to admit I didn't have high expectations for Jason Biggs· new movie Saving Silverman. The decision to spend my hard-earned money on the probably crappy flick was inspired by the fact that my date had seen just about everything else already. My pessimistic attitude was quickly turned around when in the first scene I laughed as hard as the 'Dog fights man' scene In There's Something About Mary. I just knew there would be more good to come. As somebody who usually frowns at unusually stupid plots, I found this particular one refreshingly entertaining and downright hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard since Dumb and Dumber. The only weaknesses that I didn't let slip were the cheesy scenes of Judith's Kung-Foo fighting, and hooker clothes worn by Innocent Sandy. Coach was also very annoying, though he too provided me with some hefty laughter. The 'flashback' scenes were also classic, as they usually are. Typically portraying the characters as funny looking, uncoordinated morons. I highly recommend this sidesplitting film to anybody. That especially includes you stuck up, stressed-out
Frcnc Blcd<aro 1he a:t ms
By Darrell Alary
Frank Black has finally reconciled with his past. The exPixies front-man has finally been able to amalgamate the sound which made him one of the most important musical figures of the 1980's, with that of his solo career, on his fifth album, Dog in the Sand. Of his five post-Pixies albums this is
Death By Stereo "Day of the Death"
By Natalie Vermeer
First of all, I have to put in a good word for the Punk-orama program Thursday nights on CFOX, 11-midnight, from which I received this disc. This is an excellent hour of local and international, old and new school, punk rawk'n'roll: the best stuff I have ever heard on mainstream radio! With that in mind, I describe Death By Stereo and their latest album, "Day of the Death"
K-Ci and Jojo "X"
By Jal Dee
K-Ci & Jojo's latest album, titled X, is a boring R&B wanna-be rant filled with various paces and styles. The first single off of X is the love song, "Crazy", probably the only song that has a similar sound to K-Ci and Jojo's previous CD. It is one of the few slightly enjoyable tracks, only because I recognize it from the radio. You can easily tell that "Thug N U Thug N Me" was written with assistance from Tupac
MUSIC ON TRIAL
by far his most consistent effort. He has had moments of brilliance which have surpassed those found on this album (a couple of songs from 1996's Cult of Ray album, and 'Headache' from 1994's Teenager of the Year), but always on albums lacking in depth. This album presents the best of Black's quirky personali--...... .... ..--' ty, from his faux-Mick Jagger imitation on 'I've seen your picture' and 'Hermaphroditos', to
with the vague term of hardcore punk. Unpredictable, melodious bass lines dominated by solid, cocky guitar chords, mixed with Efrem Schulz' occasionally overly dramatic and erratic vocals make this album a fascinating listen. It's obvious this band has a fixation on death - be it physical, spiritual or musical. The disc seems to be a collection of battle anthems: fighting against hypocrisy, selling-out, closed-mindedness, greed, conceit, and deceit.
Shakur. His voice is prevalent in the first half of the song and definitely supports the remainder of the track. Another track that jumped out at me was "Game Face." It is a bouncy, repetitive annoying attempt at a catchy hip hop gig. Very unnecessary. The rest of the album is comprised of slow, heart-felt renditions of love songs, very typical of the modern R& B artists. The only ideal rationale to buying this CD is that it could be handy for Valentine's Day. With all the filler love songs, I'm sure you could set his country-twang, which he has slowly developed over his last couple of albums, on 'Llano Del Rio'. While these oddities might take away from a different performers music, they add to the enjoyment of a Frank Black album. The album reaches it's highest point on the lead-off single 'Blast Off', 'Bullet', and 'I'll Be Blue'. 3.5 / 5.0
A summary of the work can be based on the lyrics: "You cannot take away the pride. You cannot take away our minds. We have the freedom to fight, the freedom to push, the freedom to decide," from the song "You Mess with One Bean, You Mess with the Whole Burrito". Yes, there are some curious song titles - I think they are there to make fun of stupid things people say and to keep the titles from being as intense as the songs they are labelling.
the mood right. But be sure to avoid the tracks mentioned above or you could destroy the mood, and the evening, before it's even begun. There were other appearances by artists such a Jodeci, and help from Babyf ace and Timbaland Productions. Even with all of this well known assistance, K-Ci and Jojo still managed to barely put together an OK disc.
2/5 records
