Volume 1, Issue 16 - July 16, 2014

g No such thing as a free brunch P.08

JULY 16-29, 2014 VOL. 01 ISSUE 16 URBANITENEWS.COM

Shawn Micallef examines the eggs benedict divide of social class in his new book

scan with

g

g The puppet master

P.07

P.09

Coney dog days of summer In search of Windsor/Detroit’s best coney dog

g In the kitchen P.05

with TV chef Bob Blumer

Ryan Smith talks about his weird and wonderful friends

VIEWS WINDSOR NEEDS A REAL TRANSIT SYSTEM It’s time to rethink transit. It’s time to readjust our municipal planning priorities. It’s time to admit that transit in Windsor isn’t working as it should be.

Windsor is the other Motor City, second only to Detroit. But like our collective histories, our two cities are intrinsically linked.

And it should come as no surprise that Windsor and Detroit’s transit operators are struggling to provide 21st century level of service in a region that is still very much stuck operating in the 20th century when it comes to public transit.

Both transit providers try hard, and while Windsor fares much better than its Detroit counterpart — which is supplemented by the privately operated Detroit Bus Company — a historical spotlight on the automobile relegated progressive public transit policies and planning to the background.

But just because Windsor is the automobile capital of Canada it doesn’t mean we should be subsidizing the automobile at the expense of other forms of transit, and that’s exactly what’s occurring. Entire cities are designed around the automobile as the primary form of transportation, and Windsor was no exception; our focus on the automobile only accelerated this process.

And while our city and population grew, it also expanded, far beyond the boundaries of the city.

THE URBANITE » URBANITENEWS.COM » JULY 16-29 2014 » 2

Our region’s reliance on the automobile industry and its ability to provide a high standard of living for a large segment of the workforce allows for these workers to afford automobiles, larger houses in suburbs and the gasoline to get in and out of the city — all at the expense of public transit.

It’s 2014 and we need strong public transit.

Residents should be able to get across the city quickly, efficiently and affordably, as well as travel to surrounding municipalities. But the only way to do this is to create a regional transportation provider, one whose mandate is to service the region.

Buses running more frequently and on more routes, light rail transit, dedicated bike lanes with cement barriers to provide safety from automobiles and car share programs are all possible if we get serious about enhancing public transit.

Just last week, the City of Helsinki announced a bold strategy that could render private car ownership pointless in 10 years by completely reimagining public transit and shifting its focus to the concept of “mobility on demand” by integrating ferries, bikes, buses, cabs, Uber services and smartphone apps into Helsinki’s Department of Transportation.

Windsorites deserve the best public transit that money can buy. We’re the automobile capital of Canada and it’s time we become the public transit capital of Canada.

If we can build the best cars money can buy, we can build the best public transit system too.

— JON LIEDTKE

The Urbanite freelancer Walter Petrichyn wrote in our last issue that most people in the Windsor CMA live in a suburb area, and while that is true, it’s also useful to note that many Windsorites actually live outside of the city, whether it be in Tecumseh, Lasalle, Belle River, Amherstburg, Leamington, Harrow … you get the point.

Publisher/Editor: Natasha Marar (natasha@urbanitenews.com) Managing Editor: Jon Liedtke (jon@urbanitenews.com) Art Director: Stephen Hargreaves Contributors: Kieran McKenzie, Don Merrifield Jr., Paul Synnott, Jamie Greer, Clara Musca, Sean Previl, Dan Savage, Jay Verspeelt

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NEWS

THE URBANITE » URBANITENEWS.COM » JULY 16-29 2014 » 3

Apps abound as local tech sector grows

Mobile apps Balloo and MyHoroscope were developed in Windsor » Photos courtesy Daedas/iDream Interactive NATASHA MARAR Windsor’s tech community continues to grow with the recent launch of several new mobile apps, but one developer says funding and recruitment of tech talent continues to pose challenges.

WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation estimates there are over 250 tech firms in the area. Tech jobs, which includes graphic designers, web designers and app developers, is part of a larger cultural industry expected to grow over the next few years.

Census data from Statistics Canada shows that Windsor boasts only 161.8 workers per 10,000 people in the IT and computer sectors, but that there was an 123 per cent increase between 1996 and 2006 which many in the local tech industry and economic development sector find encouraging.

Jacob Duhaime, a St. Clair College animation and University of Windsor visual arts and computer science graduate, started iDream Interactive in 2006. He began his career developing games for the Ontario Ministry of Education but moved on to Facebook games and mobile app production.

“There are games that you make and are hope are a huge success, those games are fun and we consider them indie style type games. And then we have the other games like our new one, Superstar Slots, there’s a business case behind it. We know that the market is successful … just based on some simple research. We sell the game before we even create it to see if there’s a following.”

“We’ll look at what’s popular and stick our own game theme and twist on it,” he added.

“Analytics and understanding you payer is super important.”

Duhaime said low startup cost and chang-

ing technologies have made it easier for other young entrepreneurs to come into app development. New Windsor-made apps that have launched recently include Explore Windsor-Essex from Parallel 42 Systems and Cave Escape from Olympus Development.

Red Piston has made a name for itself producing apps for local and international clients. They’ve released over a dozen games and commercial apps for musicians, corporations and sports brands. The developer is gearing up to launch homecook.in, which will allow home cooks to share their food.

Daedas, an energy awareness and conservation company, is another up-and-coming local app company. It just released a web app beta last week for their first commercial app, Balloo, which will be launched for iOS later this year.

“We want to help people build better habits … people are not interested in looking at charts and figures to conserve on their energy, so the best way about it is to give them tasks on a daily basis and reward them for those tasks, which are trees planted in their community,” said Naiel Samaan, Daedas co-founder and director of research and development.

When people complete socially conscious tasks, such as riding a bike to work or using a reusable mug for your coffee, they will collect points through Balloo towards having a tree planted locally. The tree planting is sponsored through Essex Region Conservation Authority. “... the app community, there is a lot of help [in Windsor]. It’s one of the reasons why we stayed here; we were being pulled by Communitech (in Waterloo) and Mars out of Toronto,” said Samaan.

“The (Downtown Windsor Business) Accelerator has been phenomenal. They helped us out from the start giving us mentorship,” said Samaan. “We have a pretty good connection with the University of Windsor ... I feel people have been approaching us.”

Both Samaan and Duhaime agree assistance exists for local app developers.

Samaan thinks Windsor’s tech industry will grow and the tight knit support has allowed his company to receive more exposure than in larger cities.

“I think the biggest misconception is that there isn’t support here. I would like more students to start looking at the area. It’s an app company, you don’t really need to move it elsewhere. You can build it in WindsorEssex, have the support and you’re not a number in a major metropolitan area.”

For Duhaime, it’s a race to see how quickly some games can be developed to stay ahead of an ever changing global app marketplace. Though his company has seen millions of users for its games, he believes local developers can work together to bring draw investments and talent.

“We’d be better off working together than working against each other in terms of competing because the global market is huge. The money and dollars being spent across the border is different than it is here.

People are willing to drop a couple million dollars on a game, whereas here we have to look for government funding,” said Duhaime. “For us, to find an investor in the States is much easier than here.”

Duhaime said creative companies need more funding, mentors and workforce to draw upon.

“We sharing employees but not training new talent. We need to come together and facilitate these creative people, bring them into the company so there’s room to train them and grow them up through the company,” he said. “We need to take the talent from the university so they don’t go to Toronto.”

“I think Windsor, if you try to start a creative company here or a tech company you’re working against the grain; outside the city.”

Q

Rose City Politics:

»Should the city drop $8M on a new city hall parking lot?

City Council is proposing a civic esplanade and parking structure as part of the new city hall project, at a cost of $8 million dollars.

The $8 million was originally in the budget for additional floors for the new city hall to accommodate potential federal government tenants. Do you think this project should proceed or should the funds be reallocated for other infrastructure in the city?

horizon, we must take care of the decisions being made over the next several months especially the days leading up to Sept. 12 when the current council officially becomes lame duck. Council must proceed with business but there should not be a rush of projects designed to beat the Sept. 12 deadline. They’ve waited this long, they can wait till December after the election.

Paul Synnott

Kieran McKenzie

The new city hall is needed. Years of study and engineering reports have made that clear. The new park and parking garage are another matter. Yes, there is $8 million available, but had city hall gone forward as originally planned would we have been spending an additional $8 million for a parking garage? I think not.

No … in fact, our current council should defer this decision and any others that will have lasting ramifications for the community for the next council.

Given the pressures on infrastructure in the city, I don’t think there is a pressing need for this parking structure at this time. Windsor already owns and operates the most amount of parking in the entire province at the cheapest prices. It’s time for a moratorium on new municipally owned spaces and a study to investigate future options. As it stands now, we operate our parking on a break even basis while there is potential for revenue that could be directed to enhanced Transit Windsor services. Do we need to own and operate all the spaces we have or can some be sold to the private sector?

With a dramatically new city council on our

Paul Synnott

With five (guaranteed) new councillors — assuming Drew Dilkens runs for mayor and Jo-Anne Gignac calls it quits — and as many as nine new potential faces at the council table (in my opinion Coun. Bill Marra holds the only “safe” ward seat) we have to ask a serious question, is this council lame duck?

If accountability matters at all then clearly the answer is yes. Elections are the ultimate test of accountability and it’s a significant factor that shapes the decision making process of any elected official … if they intend to seek re-election.

Several of our municipal decision makers are not going to face the electorate at the end of this mandate and with the utmost respect and gratitude to our current mayor and council for their service it’s time to recognize

Paul Synnott is a committed small ‘c’ conservative with libertarian influences, community activist and co-host of Rose City Politics. He has worked on many federal, provincial and municipal campaign in various aspects including campaign management. No dogs, cats or kids, his passion is politics and the City of Windsor.

you’re no longer really driving the bus, even though you have the keys.

Let the next crop of leaders deal with this question. The murky downtown parking debate is a good one for the next council to dig into anyway …. not to mention the even more contentious new city hall discussion.

There’s a nice little pot of money there allocated for the project, let an accountable council with a fresh mandate decide how, or if, this project moves forward.

Don Merrifield Jr. City council is proposing a civic esplanade and parking structure as part of the new city hall project, at a cost of $8 million dollars.

The $8 million was originally in the budget for additional floors for the new city hall to accommodate potential federal government tenants. Do you think this project should proceed or should the funds be reallocated for other infrastructure in the city?

What is another $8 million amongst friends?

Or, in this case, taxpayers. Originally, the city allocated the extra money as part of the new city hall structure to accommodate the federal employees moving from the Paul Martin so the University of Windsor could move their law program downtown. It sounded like a win, win, win plan, but then the terrible evil private sector got involved and threw a wrench into those plans. Why have the taxpayers foot the bill when the private sector had more than enough space to

Kieran McKenzie

Political activist/organizer with a passion for social justice issues. A lifelong Windsor-Essex resident, Kieran McKenzie holds an honours BA in political science from the University of Windsor and has been campaigning in both elections and on issues since he could walk.

accommodate the feds? That makes so much sense it would never fly in a place like Windsor. With possibly the majority of this council never returning, spending $8 million just because it was already allocated to be spent is obviously irresponsible. When the parking issue came up in public debate on previous projects, the city always responded, ‘Windsor has way more than adequate parking to accommodate any demand that may arise.’

Why now is parking an issue? For people who see the government world as I do, this is a perfect example of what is wrong with government. Instead of looking for a reason not to spend taxpayers money, even when the original plan for the expenditures gets changed, government just can’t seem to put a leash on spending “other people’s money” as a wise man once told me. Allocate this money to alleviating flooding in the areas of the city that need it, give the west end some basic infrastructure, or let’s go for something really crazy and give it back to people that actually foot the bill. This is real money, paid by real working people in an overtaxed city.

Either spend it wisely, give it back, or we all need to move and meet some richer friends.

Mayor, city council, most of you are on your way out, just cut it out. Literally “cut” it out.

Catch the Rose City Politics crew in every issue of The Urbanite. Have a question?

Tweet us @urbanitenews or email info@ urbanitenews.com. You can also listen to Rose City Politics Wednesday’s at 8 p.m. on CJAM 99.1 FM.

Don Merrifield Jr.

Fourteen years as a Windsor realtor, musician, father of one son Miles, politics-run financially conservative yet socially liberal. Merrifield Jr. was a candidate in last municipal election in Ward 3 for city councillor, a cigar aficionado, motorcycle enthusiast and lover of travel.

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FOOD& DRINK

» Photo courtesy bobblumer.com

THE URBANITE » URBANITENEWS.COM » JULY 16-29 2014 » 5

Food for thought

TV chef Bob Blumer talks home cooking, weird restaurants and the rise of Canadian gastronomy NATASHA MARAR Food Network celebrity chef and author Bob Blumer is a seven time Guinness World Record holder and creator and host of Surreal Gourmet and Glutton for Punishment, and a producer and host of World’s Weirdest Restaurants.

The Montreal native, who lives in California, made an appearance at Windsor’s Fork & Cork festival, hosting a food demo and crashing Smashed Apple Gourmet Catering food truck to serve up tacos and sign autographs.

The Urbanite caught up with Blumer while he wolfed down a shrimp po’boy taco at our vendor booth.

would buy this stuff from the farmer’s market and make a yummy meal that that didn’t have any fancy presentation or anything but was made with farmfresh ingredients. ... the pendulum swings between the weird and wacky, and the true, pure food thing. It’s lucky for me because I get the best of both worlds. If I did what I do in real life on camera it wouldn’t be that much fun to watch, so we put on a bit of a show.

Q:

You have your hands in a lot of different projects, what’s coming up next?

When you work in television, you’re always working in a bubble. You can do stuff and shows and hope you’re doing a good job. When you come out and hang out with people .... you get a sense of what’s working, what’s not working.

You get to understand who your audience is. ... I do as many (appearances) as I can because it’s a fun way to get out and get a handle on who you’re doing this for.

I have a new edition of the grilled pizza book that just came out. I co-wrote a book called Pizza on the Grill with a friend of mine and it’s done really well.

It’s combining America’s two favourite things, grilling and pizza, all in one.

You make pizza on your own grill without a pizza stone. I’m developing a new show .... I have an idea for a new cook book I’m in the midst of pitching. World’s Weirdest Restaurants just started airing in America on the Arts & Entertainment Bio channel, so that’s exciting. There’s always something ... doing live shows and chilling out during the summer. So put that together in a blender, and it keeps me off the streets.

Q:

Q:

Q: you?

What is it about public appearances at food festivals, for instance, that interests

Your work on World’s Weirdest Restaurants is pretty extreme. How does it fits into your culinary life?

What I do runs the gamut between eating in crazy restaurants with a monkey bringing me beer in Japan, and then coming here to the farmer’s market seeing wild scapes and wild ingredients. If I was going home tonight I

You’re not living in Canada currently?

I live under the D of the Hollywood sign, but I’m in Canada all the time.

My heart’s always in Canada when I’m not here.

Q:

How does the culinary world shape up in Canada? Does a different foodie culture exist in Canada versus the U.S.?

I’ve been spending a lot of time in Toronto. It is every bit as good if not even better than food in most North American cities. I can see there’s a major food scene here (in Windsor). The passion and excitement for food right now, especially with the Food Network in Canada and the States, it’s across the board. I heard that food trucks aren’t embraced here in Windsor but they are a couple of towns over, so you still have things like that to deal with. But on the whole, people’s pallet has changed so much. I did a little event at William’s Food Equipment store, and stores like that have grown. They used to be just for the trade and now they’re more retail than trade because home cooks want all that gear. ... that’s because of the Food Network and people’s adventurous taste in food expanding exponentially in the last few years.

Q:

Do you think the Food Network helps people become more developed home cooks?

People sometimes talk about it being food porn that they watch, but they don’t do. But I think it’s amazing how savvy viewers have become. They may not cook like that every night like on Top Chef, but I think everybody’s incorporating food in their repertoire that they wouldn’t have 10 years ago.

And it makes events like this happen.

Ask a brewer... about glassware

with brewmaster Paul Brady

What is the history of glassware?

Glassware didn’t really come in until we industrialized the glass making process, it wasn’t very practical to actually have glass. It was practical to have a wood mug because it wouldn’t break and it was expensive to make glass. When glass manufacturing became cheaper, the glass showed up in the bars. When glass showed up in the bars, people wanted to see through their beers and the filtration processes really became more refined and that’s where crystal clear beautiful beers came from … because of the glass making industry.

What purposes do glassware serve?

One obviously is presentation. You get to see the colour of what you’re drinking, perhaps the clarity, perhaps the cloudiness, but also the design of the glass has to do with how well it will retain head retention, the foam on the top, the lacing if you will. The foam or the head at the top locks in what we call volatile molecules or aromatics, which are either hop oils or yeast esters or even spices or any other addition.

It helps to keep that there, and some glasses more than others.

What are different types of beer glassware?

Each beer has its ideal glass, but there are multifunctional glasses as well.

The Standard Pint Glass: The one everyone knows … that glass is just so multifaceted and utilitarian … the reason that pint glass is so popular

throughout the world is because it’s easy to produce cost effectively and it actually works well with so many beer styles. It’s the workhorse or the swiss army knife of glassware because it does so much for so many different types of beer.

Tulip glass: I often drink scotch ales out of a tulip glass, it promotes a nice foamy head.

Chalice: That’s to my personal taste for large Belgian beer because it also promotes a good head, but it really allows the aromatics to just woft around.

Snifter: This is just the perfect example, a bowl shape, because it allows your hand to warm what you’re drinking and release more aromatics. The flute, the tightness of it allows it to trap those volatiles from escaping too; it’ll augment whatever you’re drinking.

Willi Belcher: We at Walkerville have a specific designed glass as well, our style is called the Willi Belcher … our owner, Chris Ryan, actually did a lot of research and I credit him with pulling the perfect glass for what we’re doing in this brewery because it is also a versatile glass but it still serves the purpose of helping to enhance aromatics and allow presentation to be present as well.

All of our glassware at Walkerville has an etching at the bottom of our logo … what that does is creates nucleation points which allows your beer to constantly be fizzing and bubbling and creating a good little head, which will increase aromatics and flavour overall.

A lot of breweries will design their glass before they design their beer.

#Coney2014

The search for the region’s best coney dog

JAY VERSPEELT It seems as though every time you’re heading to Detroit someone will say, “Make sure to get a Coney dog while you’re there.” It’s all sort of without fail. Some presumptuous know-it-all says make sure you go to (insert their favourite Coney Island place here). When you enter into downtown Detroit you’re overwhelmed by the sights of tall buildings, grand, imperial and so formerly regal. But among the grander lies restaurants known for serving up casual coney dog fare.

Recently, Border City Coney opened up on Wyandotte Street, just east of downtown Windsor.

What better a time than now to review the locally favourite non-canned preserve? Read on for a sampling of Detroit and Windsor’s coney dog offerings.

Woodward Coney Restaurant This restaurant is situated next to Forran’s Grand Trunk Pub. Its tile facade looks unassuming, like a hole in the wall diner. Indeed that’s exactly what it is. Narrow and long, its bar appears to be 50 feet of white arm-rubbed-bare laminate with built in stools.

The cost: $2.11 after tax.

The dog has a good snap when you bite in, but is fairly devoid of flavour.

The onions taste fresh but overpowering and the chili — like on the dogs to follow — is devoid of beans. In fact, it’s probably unfair to call it chili even though it seems to qualify by technicality. This coney dog tastes somewhat worse that a McDonalds McDouble, as though it should be consumed by drunk, indescrimating folk.

Down down the street ...

Zef’s Coney Island It was closed. They close at 4 p.m. It was Friday. Nothing says success like closing before rush hour.

Moving on ...

American Coney Island What a place this is. It’s as if Uncle Sam threw up all over a 1950s diner and everyone fled. There was maybe three other people here: the cook, hipster in a paper hat; the server, a big lummox of a man with too much patchy unshaved hair under his chin.

The cost: $2.65 after tax.

This tasted almost identical to the last and looked about the same. The only real difference is the dog was marginally thicker than at Woodward Coney Restaurant and they were a little more liberal with the onions, which is not exactly a good thing. The chili was better, but still not great.

Directly next door ...

Lafayette Cony Island

Border City Coney

Oh the holy grail. This is usually the one everyone raves about. And it’s better, yes, but not by much. It’s not bad, which is to say not terrible. It’s palatable but once again it tastes and looks pretty much the same. It’s slightly more flavourful than the others.

This place is not in a great area, it’s already outside downtown. The interior looks like McDonalds in the 90s but worse.

The cost: $2.73 after tax.

Thoughts: The aesthetics of this diner are a little nicer than the others.

Its marginal uppercrustness is nothing to rave about. It’s better than the other restaurants, but not worth going to if you’re more than a block away.

Back in Windsor ...

The cost: $4.02 after tax.

The taste of this coney dog is underwhelming like all the rest. But considering you don’t have to pay to cross the border it comes out as the winner of all the Coney places. The staff is extremely nice and, like the other joints, your food is up in a matter of moments.

The final verdict: 711, that awful, gross convenience store, has the best coney style dog for under $2. What’s more upsetting is it’s significantly better; there’s no snap but the flavour is there and quality seem to be a cut above.

The Coney dog is entirely overrated; each one sampled tasted the same. Surveying randoms from downtown pedestrians to Cliff Bells employees, the consensus is Lafayette is best.

They’re not wrong, but coney dogs aren’t good enough to merit going out of your way to get one.

ARTS

THE URBANITE » URBANITENEWS.COM » JULY 16-29 2014 » 8

Out to brunch

» Photo courtesy Spacing Magazine

Windsor author’s class study through the lens of brunch ... over easy

JON LIEDTKE You might not think of brunch as a lens to study class issues, but author and urbanist Shawn Micallef found after moving to Toronto from Windsor 14 years ago that it was the perfect way to delve into the subject for his new book The Trouble with Brunch.

“The book was actually incredibly hard to write, it’s not that long, it’s a rather short book, but it’s the hardest thing I’ve had to write,” explained Micallef. “Because class is so ephemeral ... writing the book was very much a process of exploring class and trying to explain it to myself because it was something that I found very hard to articulate.”

After relocating, Micallef found that brunch was handled very differently in Toronto and that it primarily served as a social function, rather than strictly for consumption.

He disliked the meal and identified many downsides, primarily, time consumption, cost, cost versus benefit and realized it wasn’t really enjoyable but that everyone kept doing it.

Brunching is primarily enjoyed by the middle class, according to Micallef, and “despite the people … complaining about how the lines seem endless and complaints about portion sizes … there’s still this compulsion to go to brunch.”

“It does have this, I don’t know, religious fervour about it, this unexplainable fate in what has now sort of become a tradition … it has religious overtones in the way that people adhere to it almost uncritically.”

Brunch has become a status symbol in Micallef ’s eyes and he believes that “if the Joneses are at brunch” that brunch itself becomes “a big part of how we construct our own idea of class and what class we are a part of … if they’re [peers] all brunching, you too will brunch.”

Micallef noticed coming from Windsor — a city with a class strata primarily comprised of the middle class due to the automobile industry and high paying union jobs — that he didn’t notice class like he does now in Toronto.

“The social mixing that happens in Windsor, that doesn’t happen in Toronto. People kind of live in their own world, and I think this replicates in other kind of big cities that I’ve been to.”

Micallef ’s fondest memories of brunch are from when he was in Windsor and attended places like the Hilton, Fogolar Furlan or the Croatian Club. “It was nothing fancy but it was kind of fancy, the food was kind of standard breakfast food with a couple of lunch things and it was served in a kind of assembly line fashion with somebody carving roast beef at the end … it was very fast and quick and you sat around big tables, there were plenty of washrooms and it was very efficient, and I kind of liked that brunch.”

“Then you come to kind of a cute and almost precious brunches of the big city and its crowded and tiny little tables and chairs and it’s uncomfortable. It was pretty quick going to Toronto brunches deciding that it was a largely unpleasant experience.”

The difference in class stratas between the two cities caused Micallef to realize that in Windsor, a city where “the bottom could almost drop out at any time”, that people knew “the end was really close” and this

gave Windsorites “a resilient way of thinking. Life goes on, you buy houses, go on trips and vacations, but you’re always aware and preparing yourself for that [bottom falling out].”

“Whereas Toronto has kind of a dynamic turning economy that’s busy and people tend to overlook those fault lines and the cracks in their economic foundations and the precariousness of unemployment when it creeps in and it kind of takes people by surprise. I got a sense here that there wasn’t the kind of resiliency that a place like Windsor breeds.”

Windsor is both the star and dedication of the book and Micallef hopes that people who read it and aren’t from Windsor “approach things a little like Windsorites do, which I hope rings true for a Windsorite who reads the book as well.”

The Trouble with Brunch: Work, Class and the Pursuit of Leisure is available now from Coach House Books.

The puppet master The twisted mind of a Newfie in Windsor

Strange puppet shows have taken the city by surprise » Photo courtesy Ryan Smith JAY VERSPEELT Every child from the age that they are old enough to understand is warned about the horrors of drug use. This warning is most exemplified through 1980s actor John Roselius and his fried egg “this is your brain on drugs” PSA. It’s been a long time since the War on Drugs campaign began, but the preternatural behaviour associated with drugs in general is still something of a taboo.

Enter Ryan Smith, a 30-year-old a Newfoundland native who moved his family to Windsor two years ago.

Smith is better known, if at all, as Raz Banade.

He’s the psychedelic-fuelled musician and puppeteer whose Instagram feed is an all access pass into the depraved psychosis of those who bear the artistic temperament.

“I try to let myself go as unfiltered as possible because you grow up trying to be this conformed person,” said Smith. “You can’t be weird. I spent my whole life trying to be a little weird but adjust socially because as you grow up you can feel outcasted and different.”

Smith, who is also a musician, used to get banned from clubs because of his weird stage show antics like stringing up stuffed monks from the rafters.

Chatting over a beer recently, Smith remarked that he reached his “fuck it” point long ago.

Meeting the babble named artist is a strange experience. He’s quiet and reserved but every so often drops an outlandish claim like believing Jesus was an alien. It’s unclear as to whether this is him playing up his schtick or altered brain chemistry.

Smith, a film and video production graduate at the College of the North Atlantic, offsets his weirdness with professional ability. His weirdness is no joke. In his puppet-led short film Off the Hook, a green dreadlocked pirate puppet talks with a codfish. Then, a horrifying Newfie shows up out of nowhere that leads to a let down as its protagonist is unable to find the phone he needs to get home.

“It’s a fuck load of work, oh my God, and

doing it low budget,” said Smith. “Dude, you look at garbage and you see what you can make it into. The process, you have to conceptualize it. When [the video production] starts out it’s just random notes on 30 different sheets of paper that are scattered on your desk and you’re slowly piecing it all together.”

Smith’s garage houses a studio where he constructs film sets and puppets, but it isn’t big enough for shooting. In fact, over the years he’s had to saw entire sets apart and throw them in dumpsters due to a lack of space. “It is heart wrenching. It’s fucking horrible. I think the goal of any multimedia artist is to have to accept loss,” said Smith.

This is one of two problems: the other is it’s not his main gig. Smith is a full-time production welder and a single father to two kids.

The man, while saying absurdities, is mostly calm and paced. He’s a subdued character that once seems like he was truly wild. He admits his kids have mellowed him out quite a bit, citing them as a turning point in his life. “Without them I’d be in a ditch smoking crack,” said Smith. He followed up later with, “I’m not saying if my kids weren’t gone for the weekend I wouldn’t do shrooms and go out into the woods.”

While juggling the two main responsibilities of his life, Smith thinks it will take him five years to get the pilot he’s working on finished.

In the meantime he is playing music. He recently played a (literally) shit themed show at The Windsor Beer Exchange. It featured more characters of his own creation such as the lizard monks wearing (fake) shit covered clothes.

Smith’s antics are bizarre, but he just wants to fit in and emerge as a Windsor artist. Where he’d like to end up after all is said and done?

“At the top of a castle playing a pipe organ on fucking acid with a pocket full of Ritalin.”

This is your brain on Raz Banade.

Banade’s puppet videos can be viewed on hisYouTube channel, youtube.com/banderango. He performs a free multimedia exhibition at Milk Coffee Bar Aug. 15 at 11 p.m.

A-Lo’s “Castaway” breaks U.S. charts IIII

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JOSÉ CONTRERAS JOSÉ CONTRERAS APORIA RECORDS

» Photo courtesy A-Lo

Before there was New Pornographers or Broken Social Scene, there was By Divine Right. A Canadian indie rock project that launched the careers of such artists as Leslie Feist, Brendan Canning and Brian Borcherdt (Holy Fuck, Dusted),

By Divine Right never quite reached the popularity levels of the aforementioned groups, achieving more cult-like status than celebrity, all thanks to the songwriting of founder Jose Contreras.

through,” said Marchelletta. “The stuff that we go through in life, some people bottle it up inside forever and me, I’ve got an outlet, I write it down.”

This marks Contreras’ first solo effort, leaving the comfort zone of a large band to being about as stripped down as you can get on record. The self titled disc features 10 songs that present only Contreras’ voice with guitar or piano.

SEAN PREVIL A local musician is making a name of himself on U.S. music charts.

Angelo Marchelletta, a.k.a. A-Lo, recently released a collaboration with artist Santa Clara called “Castaway,” which has made the Billboard Top 40 indicators.

The 28-year-old Windsor native said making the Top 40 is an exciting experience because of what it can mean for future exposure.

“Getting up there (the top 40) in itself is basically getting your foot in the door of the music industry,” said Marchelletta.

The Top 40 are 40 songs radio stations across the U.S. choose from to play. The more plays a song gets, the more chance it has to make the Billboard Hot 100, the popularity chart for singles issued weekly

by Billboard Magazine.

“If you’re on the Top 100 Billboard charts, you’re spinning all over the place,” said Marchelletta.

Marchelletta started his music career when he was 14. About three years ago, he was noticed by Victoria-based Prodigy Music Group, when he put his lyrics to backing tracks from Prodigy producer Steve Kroeger. Instead of suing Marchelletta, they signed him to their label.

Living in Windsor his whole life has given him an interesting experience, but Marchelletta said it had more to do with his own experiences than the city itself.

“I don’t think it really has anything to do with location, it’s just the things I’ve been

Marchelletta’s drive to succeed also comes from his need to support his son, Mason.

“If I’m successful, he’ll be successful,” said Marchelletta.

When asked what’s next, Marchelletta said he’s pushing “Castaway” as far as possible. He said Prodigy wants to get it as high on the Top 40 list as possible until it can’t go any further.

“Now that we’ve got our foot in the door, we’re going to push our way through.”

After that, it’s going to be about choosing a single to be the next impact for A-Lo in the industry. Having written more than 100 songs in the past several months, he’s honing in on the best one.

“Singles are what gets you where you need to be,” said Marchelletta. “You can put an album out, but if it’s just going to be collecting dust there’s really no point.”

Marchelletta said he’s not opposed to releasing an album eventually, but so far has only sold mixtapes at concerts.

Victoria is the next stop for the musician the week of July 13 to work on a single with Kroeger, along with Santa Clara or Sophia Mock, another artist under the label. Marchelletta hopes the next single also breaks the Top 40 to provide him further gains in the industry.

Those looking for new material since By Divine Right’s Organized Accidents last year, unfortunately, won’t find it here. For his first solo album, Contreras has mined the entire By Divine Right catalogue and picked songs to display in a different light.

The upbeat pop sensibilities that BDR is known for is peeled away, leaving in most instances a frailty that isn’t normally associated with the songs. This just goes on to show the power of Contreras songwriting. Songs like “Silver Thread” (also from last year’s Organized Accidents), “Help Me Find A Place To Land” (from 2009’s Mutant Message) and “She Knows” (from 1997’s All Hail Discordia) all become new songs under the scrutiny of the solo songwriter. But the true gem is the beautiful piano rendition of “Past The Stars” (also the lead track on Organized Accidents), which features a small choir of voices to accompany Contreras.

While this compilation probably won’t garner BDR a new legion of fans, it’s a must for diehard fans or those looking for a nice singer-songwriter album to fill in the long summer nights.

— JAMIE GREER

IIII

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VIOLENT VATICAN VIOLENT VATICAN S/R

From the ashes of popular local hardcore band RAID emerged Violent Vatican, who bring a whole new level of creativity to a sound and scene that is often criticized for simply regurgitating aggression.

The intensity on this five-song EP (which clocks in under 10 minutes total) is still there, but it’s combined with a jazz fusion skeleton, complete with a saxophonist. Only the lead track, “Smell the Paint,” and the closer, “Hit,” feature vocals – the rest are short but sweet instrumentals that showcase delicate guitar work interweaved with jazz sax, thrown through an intense experimental hardcore attack. It’s what Huladog after a night of cocaine and Jack Daniels might sound like.

A solid teaser for a insanely frantic live show, the only complaint is the EP’s short length leaves the listener anxious for more. Here’s hoping a full length emerges sooner than later.

— JAMIE GREER

the Windsor Scene w/Jamie Greer

GAZA

Gaza brings the SLC metalcore

JAMIE GREER

Al “Yeti” Bones throws a party and Uncle Ray launch a grindcore flavour

For a decade, Salt Lake City metalcore band Gaza toured the continent and developed a cult following as one of the scene’s fiercest members. They release one EP and three albums in their duration, the latest being 2012’s No Absolute in Human Suffering. But in early 2013, just as they seem poised to hit the next level, they abruptly announced their disbanding, following a personnel controversy. Several of the members regrouped and have now hit the road under the name Cult Leader. They play Windsor on their North American tour Thursday, July 17 at The Windsor Beer Exchange (493 University Ave. W.) in another killer Rose City Promotions event that has local support from Minors, Wasi’chu and Terror Farmer. This all ages event kicks off at 7 p.m. and it’s only $7 at the door.

One of the local scene’s legendary figures, Al “Yeti” Bones, is throwing a birthday bash to rock Windsor’s foundations on Friday, July 18 at Venue Music Hall (255 Ouellette Ave.). He’s a pillar of the local metal scene in bands like Mister Bones, Georgian Skull and his latest project, Gypsy Chief Goliath, and internationally as a member of the stoner metal supergroup The Mighty Nimbus (that also featured members of Sixty Watt Shamen and Alabama Thunderpussy). A genuine supporter of every local genre of music, he’s

simply one of the most genuine and honest musicians – and people – you’ll meet in this city. His birthday bash is headlined by his own Gypsy Chief Goliath (whose latest album, New Machines at Night, debuted on the prestigious CMJ Loud Charts at No. 20) and the party also includes Orillia’s Adrenechrome, the riotgrrl punk rawk of Vancouver’s Kill Matilda and Windsor’s own Sophist opening the night. Stop by and share a drink with one of the scene’s true ambassadors.

DB Cooper, a new indie pop band out of Hamilton featuring former members of the incredible Human Orchestra, hits Windsor on Friday, July 18 at Villains Beastro (256 Pellissier Ave.). They’re joined by Windsor’s own indelible indie bop rockstars Of The Pack and singer/songwriter Gary Van Lare (ex-Surdaster and unquiet dead).

Uncle Ray isn’t just the name of Windsor’s favourite local potato chip, it’s also one of the more popular grindcore bands. On Saturday, July 19, they release their eagerly anticipated self-titled EP at The Windsor Beer Exchange for an all ages showcase that kicks off at 8 p.m.. It’s a “Pay What You Can” at the door event, and the night also features the sounds of Windsor heavyweights The Line Drawn, as well as After School Special and Blank Wall.

Former Before Their Eyes guitarist Landon Tewers takes time out from his current project The Plot in You to perform a solo show in Windsor on Monday, July 21. The Ohio native is swinging by The Windsor Beer Exchange on his current tour, sharing the stage with Windsor’s own Takers & Leavers, Life As Love of Water, plus a solo set from Luc Michaud (One Man’s Opinion, El Misho & The Hombres, Jucbox).

Rhode Island’s Wind in Sails (ex-Vanna), currently on the roster for this year’s Vans Warped Tour, was also slated for the bill, but health will dictate if he makes the Windsor stop. He recently left the Warped tour due to laryngitis and it most likely won’t be back to normal by our stop. But the show must go on and it will, and this Rose City Promotions event kicks off at 6 p.m. for only $5.

For the past seven years, guitarist Dave Houle (The Jet Trio) has been recording and releasing albums under the moniker Supermansion with assistance from co-conspirator Nick Belulis (Bed of Stars, the unquiet dead, Royal Dose, Porcelain Mary). His three albums – including the recently released third chapter, ¡Brujeria! have relied on Houle and Belulis handling the bulk of the production and performance work, with guest appearances by members of Grand Maris, This Is War, The

Jet Trio, Luxury Christ, The Vaudevillianaires, Lodown and even local trivia host extraordinaire Francois Jacques. On Friday, July 25, Supermansion finally makes its live debut in Windsor at Villains Beastro. The seven year itch is about to get scratched.

Local hardcore legends Days Fade celebrate 10 years of sonic destruction with a celebratory event at the Dominion House (3140 Sandwich St.). It’s an all ages affair that starts at 7 p.m. and features a huge line-up including London’s Of Concepts and Kings, Kitchener’s Storyteller, Toronto’s Jaded Voice, plus more local additions in Border City and In Silence We Suffer. Only $7 for this one.

Toronto’s Beams have been taking Southern Ontario by storm the past year with their indie folk beauty, including a stop in Windsor last summer while on tour with locals the unquiet dead. They’re back for their first time since on Saturday, July 25 at Phog Lounge (157 University Ave. W.), playing with another Windsor indie folk favourite, Middle Sister. If you dig the beautiful weaving vocals of bands like Fleetwood Mac or First Aid Kit, then Beams’ Anna Mernieks and Heather Mazhar will be honey to your ears.

Deep blue something

» Photo courtesy The Blue Stones

The Blue Stones turn up the grit and the philanthropy CLARA MUSCA The Blue Stones keep rolling towards success.

Windsor blues-rock duo Tarek Jafar and Justin Tessier are busy recording their first full-length album to be released in the fall of 2014.

Since their sophomore EP, How’s That Sound?, the band approach to music has evolved.

Despite the band’s success so far — their music has been featured on the network show Suits, NBC’s Parks & Rec and Rookie Blue — Jafar said that working with a producer since December has been a new experience for them.

“We are recording in Toronto with Ian Blurton, and gearing our sound towards a darker and grittier theme for this album,” said Jafar.

Blurton has been active in the Canadian music scene since the 80s, playing drums in the original lineup for Cowboy Junkies and has produced albums for countless bands including The Mark Inside, The Weakerthans and Attack in Black.

“It’s really been an eye-opener having a third party lend their advice in the songwriting process,” said Tessier.

The band is also hoping to raise funds via PledgeMusic, a website catered to artists looking to fundraise for projects.

“How much polish and shine our new album is going to have is dependent on this project,” said Tessier.

Jafar and Tessier will also donate half of the money raised to Cystic Fibrosis Canada.

“A very good friend of mine who I’ve

known my whole life was diagnosed as a baby [with cystic fibrosis,]” said Tessier.

“We used to jam at his house so when PledgeMusic gave us the opportunity, the charity was a no brainer.”

The Blue Stones are offering creative incentives to raise the funds — if someone pledges a certain amount, the band will go to their house and play a live acoustic set.

Listing The Black Keys and The White Stripes as some of their influences, Jafar believes it’s also important to craft your own sound.

“At first we embraced it, but now we just want to stand our own feet.”

According to Jafar, songwriting and touring has become easier over the years — especially since there is only two people in the band.

“It’s really important to play the right shows, but one of our biggest challenges is managing our time properly,” said Jafar.

Tessier believes that over the years they have grown to be very comfortable with each other to the point where they finish each other sentences or, in this case, song ideas.

“Our styles have become intuitive to the other person, there’s a lot of unspoken development.”

To find out more about The Blue Stone’s new album and PledgeMusic drive, visit pledgemusic.com/projects/thebluestones.

WINDSOR WINDSOR--ESSEX PRIDE FEST / AUGUST 8 - 10, 2014

RIVER ROCK

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8 / 7PM Hosted by Dan MacDonald from 93.9FM

RIVERFRONT FESTIVAL PLAZA, DOWNTOWN WINDSOR FAMILY FUN DAY APOLLO SATURDAY, AUGUST 9/ 12PM - 5PM

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9 / 7PM

PRIDE DAY

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10 / 12PM

FEATURING

DJ Alyson Calagna

The Walkervilles ALSO FEATURING

Tara Watts Band ▪ The Blue Stones The Unquiet Dead

FREE ADMISSION & FAMILY FREINDLY Inflatable Rides ▪ Face Painting Balloon Animals ▪ Magic Show ▪ Crafts Windsor Fire Truck & Police Car FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT

JOSH KARMIN

www.wepridefest.com

SOFONDA COX

Hosted by: SABIN BIGG WIGGLE ▪ MISS CONCEPTION DJ TRIIFECTA ▪ LIBERTY DEEP DOWN

From smackdown to stand-up

Wrestler turned comic is Windsor bound

Mick Foley is out of the ring and now performing stand-up in Windsor at Comedy Quarry » Photo courtesy realmickfoley.com JON LIEDTKE Former wrestler Mick Foley has traded in his spandex for a fanny pack on his crosscontinental stand-up comedy tour. While his popular sock puppet, Mr. Socko, won’t be making an appearance during the routine, there is a good chance that he’ll come out after the show.

Foley, who performed as Mankind, is a four-time world champion wrestler who transitioned into comedy from the sport.

He’s bringing his routine to Windsor later this month.

“It’s really easy,” said Foley referencing the transition. “Hopefully a year or so from now if WWE decides to actually send somebody to see the show [they’ll] realize that it makes perfect sense to have it on their network.”

“But it’s actually been really easy, difficult in a sense that I work hard on the show and difficult in a sense to get the same people who would willingly wait a few hours for me to sign a book or an autograph [for wrestling] to spend the same amount of time ultimately getting the same autograph for the same price, but seeing a show with it.”

Foley expressed dismay that he hasn’t been approached by WWE to be added to the network, but believes he will be once he gets close to signing a deal with another network.

“There is a little bit of consternation because they’re in such dire need of new programming on their network and they’ve got a show that just fits in perfectly and they just don’t know it yet. So consternation would be a good New York Times best selling word for my feelings on their refusal to come see the show.”

Fans have been enjoying performances, according to Foley, adding that comedy in smaller venues allows for a more intimate connection with the audience.

“It’s almost like an acoustic evening with WWE and as much as I like the grandeur and the huge scale of Wrestlemania …

you’re essentially watching a huge screen with 75,000 other people.

This is a situation where you’re up very close … I wish this type of things had been out there when I was a wrestling fan.”

When asked if fans want something more from his performances, Foley expressed that he lives up to expectations.

“The people who’ve stuck with me through the change I’ve gone through have a pretty good idea of the type of things that I’m interested in and they get my humour …

I’ll go from being the world’s cudliest nerd in one second to reciting a pretty inciting circa Mankind 1997 promo in the next.”

Foley misses the camaraderie of the wrestlers on the road and the chanting of 15,000 adoring fans, but said, “getting a heartfelt applause and a standing ovation, earning a standing ovation, in front of 200 is just as fulfilling.”

When asked what he doesn’t miss, Foley said it was being told how to dress.

“When I’m not working with them … I’ll dress as I please, and that even includes the wearing of a fanny pack which is to fashion what the cheese doodle is to snack foods, a sign that you no longer care what most of society thinks of you … I’ve made enough fashion mistakes in my life that I might as well make one that allows me to carry two weeks of stuff around my waist.”

In November, Foley is releasing I Am Santa Claus, a documentary that he both produced and was the subject of about shopping mall Santa Claus imposters.

“I’m like the rookie who finally gets a shot to be that guy, if only for one day, and since that point, becoming Santa is a big deal for me. I look forward to it every year and we believe we have a really good movie on our hands.”

Mick Foley performs July 31 in Windsor at Comedy Quarry. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available online now for $25.

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SAVAGE LOVE

THE URBANITE » URBANITENEWS.COM » JULY 16-29 2014 » 14

» Shorties Q:

Two questions, Dan. 1. Recently, I went to a bar with my brother and encountered a friend from high school. My brother told me that, toward the end of the night, my friend followed him into the bathroom and made a drunken pass at him (which apparently involved a clumsy grab at his penis).

My brother has no reason to lie about the incident. My inclination is to ignore the issue. If my friend is closeted or bi-curious, I feel like it isn’t my place to force the issue and I should respect his privacy.

Advice?

2. My bisexual girlfriend wants to take me to a gay bar. I’m not worried about being hit on, but I feel like hanging out at a gay club would be somewhat dishonest and touristy. Is my apprehension warranted?

Basic Respect Offered Sincerely

A:

1. If your drunken, closeted friend had shown some respect, BROS, and managed to make a drunken-but-respectful pass at your brother, then I could endorse respecting your friend’s privacy in turn. But your friend cornered your brother in a toilet and grabbed his cock. That’s not okay, and someone needs to make it clear to your friend that there are consequences for behaving like that—outing himself to you as gay or bi and an asshole was the consequence this time, BROS, but someone needs to tell him that he could wind up assaulted and/or facing sexualassault charges if the drunken cock-grabbing continues.

2. Most gay men don’t mind

seeing girls with their straight boyfriends in gay dance/party bars and clubs, BROS, but girls and unavailable/apprehensive straight boys ruin the vibe in darker, sleazier gay pickup joints.

So stick to the party palaces (dance floors and drag shows), avoid the pickup joints (hard rock and trough urinals), and you’ll be fine.

Q:

I suspect my boyfriend of seven months loves his 9-year-old dog more than me. I am 54 and divorced twice. He is 57 and has been divorced three times. I am jealous of the way he treats and talks to his dog. I have even told him so. Is it worth my time and energy to wait around for my boyfriend to start treating me better?

Neglected Human Girlfriend

A:

Your boyfriend has been “with” his dog for nine years, NHG, and he’s been with you for only seven months. Considering his rocky track record with other human females—married and divorced three times—it’s understandable that he might be less self-conscious about showing affection for his dependable old dog than for his brand-new girlfriend. You don’t mention what he’s doing for his dog that he doesn’t do for you (table scraps? Belly rubs? Shock collars?), NHG, but the longer you “wait around,” the more demonstrably affectionate your boyfriend is likely to become.

But I can’t imagine he’ll want you around at all if you continue to waste time and energy being jealous of his dog.

Q:

I My fiancé and I recently shared some kinks and are now trying to realize each other’s fantasies, but we’re having trouble making one of his happen: He wants to see me oiled up and glistening. Do you have any idea what we ought to be using to get a glossy, oiled-up look that lasts? On a more general note, is there a name for the kink for glossy, formfitting things? He’d also like to see me in a super-shiny catsuit made of latex, leaving nothing to the imagination.

Wants To Shine P.S. A latex catsuit is out because we’re poor students and can’t afford one!

A:

Bodybuilders grease themselves up with baby oil—which gets all over everything and requires frequent reapplication.

But there’s a less messy way to achieve the super-shiny look that turns your boyfriend on: Google “shiny zentai suit” and “metallic zentai suit,” and you’ll find dozens of websites that sell catsuits made out of Lycra, not latex, which are easier to put on than latex catsuits, far easier to clean, and a hell of a lot cheaper.

At Zentaizone.com, just one of many sites, you’ll find dozens of different zentai suits for less than $50, with some less than $25.

Even a poor student could afford a couple of those.

Q:

I saw an online ad for an escort who was quite possibly the hottest woman I’ve ever seen. But instead of asking for a session, I offered to take her out to dinner instead. After all, escorts can

have boyfriends, too. She agreed to the date, and we had a lot of fun. During the meal, she asked me what I did for a living, and I told her. I then asked if she liked what she did for a living, and she responded that she just worked in a department store. Most escorts are pretty subtle in their ads—they don’t come out and say, “I’ll have sex with you for money”—so she may think I’m innocent enough not to have realized that she’s an escort. Or she knows I know but didn’t want to mention it. Either way, we’ve been on a few dates since, and at some point, I’d like to tell her that I know and I’m okay with it. Should I? Not A John

A:

It’s also possible that this woman works in a department store and does a little escorting on the side to make ends meet, NAJ. Not all sex workers do sex work full-time, and most full-time sex workers would regard “willing to date guys who contact me via my escort ad” as the mark of either a novice or an endsmeeter. She already knows that you’re okay with her doing sex work—you did contact her via her escort ad—but if you want to let her know that you don’t have a problem with her doing escort work, bring it up and tell her. But don’t assume or imply that she lied to you about working in a department store, NAJ, because she most likely didn’t.

Q:

A lot of kink and fetish events and parties are not sex-friendly—it is standard to meet someone at one of these things to get tied up

and smacked around while still remaining within the bounds of one’s marriage vows as far as anything below the belt is concerned. But if you are going to an event that is promoted as “sexfriendly,” and you have arranged to meet someone there for, say, an extended rope bondage session, how do you broach the issue of being “out of commission” for sex but still happy to get tied up? It’s not like going out for dinner with someone, where what’s happening in the nethers is entirely irrelevant.

It seems rude to string someone along (ha!), but I’m not sure what to do.

New To Kink Scenes

A:

Use your words, NTKS. Whether a kink party you’re attending is sex-friendly or not, you should tell your play partners in advance that you’re only up for bondage and kink play. For many serious kinksters, bondage and kink play is sex, and not being able to access your nethers won’t be an issue. You should make your limits clear before you play with anyone in any context—someone who takes you to a no-intercourse-allowed play party might be expecting to take you home for sex afterward—and decline to play with anyone who balks.

On this week’s Savage Lovecast, Dan talks bondage with kinkster trailblazer Midori: savagelovecast.com

» BY DAN SAVAGE » MAIL@SAVAGELOVE.NET » @FAKEDANSAVAGE

EVENTS

FIND AND SUBMIT EVENTS AT Of the Pack w/ DB Cooper & URBANITENEWS.COM/EVENTS Gary Van Lare Villains Beastro | 9 p.m.

COMING UP WEDNESDAY, JULY 16 HEAT: Art Show and Sale Arts Council Windsor & Region Summer Theatre Day Camp The Chrysler Theatre | 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | $350/two weeks

Alex Pavone Comedy Quarry | 9 p.m. | $10 Johnny Reid Caesars Windsor | 9 p.m. | $45+ DJ DOUBLE A Phog Lounge | 10 p.m.

SATURDAY JULY 19

Phish DTE Energy Music Theatre (Clarkston, Mich.) | 7 p.m. | $45$60

Mask-Making Workshop Kordazone Theatre | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. | $300

HEAT: Art Show and Sale Arts Council Windsor & Region

Pure Detroit Guardian Building Tour Guardian Building (Detroit) | 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.

Max Marshall Curren$y w/ Midwest Rico & Phog Lounge Detroit Che St. Andrew’s Hall (Detroit) | 7 p.m. Downtown Windsor Farmers’ | $20 Market Charles Clark Square | 8 a.m.-1 Grieves w/ SonReal & Fearce Vill p.m.

Magic Stick Lounge (Detroit) | 7 p.m. | $12 ADV/$14 ATG Wine Trail Ride Cycling Tour Aleksander Estate Winery | 11 THURSDAY JULY 17 a.m. | $75

Summer Theatre Day Camp The Chrysler Theatre | 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | $350/two weeks Al Tuck w/ Kenneth MacLeod Phog Lounge 2014 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival DTE Energy Music Theatre (Clarkston, Mich.) | 1 p.m. | $20$92

Pure Detroit Fisher Building Tour Fisher Building (Detroit) | 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.

The Alley Art Show & Sale Maiden Lane | 12 p.m.-9 p.m.

Hackforge 3D Printing Windsor Public Library | 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

THE URBANITE » URBANITENEWS.COM » JULY 16-29 2014 » 15 The Big sLow Down Vol: VI Phog Lounge | 6 p.m. | $15/dinner Mix @ The Max: The Future of Folk Detroit Symphony Orchestra | 7 p.m. | $15-$49

SATURDAY JULY 26 The Generals Phog Lounge Downtown Windsor Farmers’ Market Charles Clarke Square | 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Keyshia Cole w/ Adrian Marcel St. Andrew’s Hall (Detroit) | 7 p.m. Pure Detroit Guardian Building Tour | $27.50 Guardian Building (Detroit) | 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.

TUESDAY JULY 22 Mix @ The Max: The Future of Folk Detroit Symphony Orchestra | 7 p.m. | $15-$49

WEEKLY MONDAYS Open Mic Surgery w/ James O-L Phog Lounge | doors 9 p.m.

TUESDAYS Open Stage Night w/ Andrew Macleod and Leigh Wallace Dominion House | 5 p.m.

V.O.M.I.T. (Vocal Open Mic Instrumental Talent) Villains Beastro

The Amazing Race Windsor Light Music Theatre | 12 Open Mic w/ Jamie Reaume p.m.-2 p.m.

The Manchester Pub

Pure Detroit Fisher Building Tour Open Mic w/ Pat Robitaille Fisher Building (Detroit) | 11 a.m. The Willistead | 8:30 p.m.

Keyshia Cole w/ Adrian Marcel St. Andrew’s Hall (Detroit) | 7 p.m. & 1 p.m.

WEDNESDAYS | $27.50 Spritz 5 Boat Cruise Windsor River Cruises | 1 p.m.-5 Wacky Wexican Wednesdays w/ WEDNESDAY JULY 23 Dee Russ p.m. | $35 Dominion House | 5 p.m.

Winovino Windsor Light Family Picnic P.U.K.E. (People Using Karaoke Phog Lounge Mic Mac Park | 2 p.m.-6 p.m.

Equipment) Villains Beastro Todrick Hall RX Bandits w/ The Dear Hunter St. Andrew’s Hall (Detroit) | 6 p.m.

The Groove Trio & From Indian Lakes | $25 St. Andrew’s Hall (Detroit) | 6:30 FM Lounge | 8 p.m.

Honey Babe with Killer Moon w/ p.m. | $18 Vice Aerial Taxon Clade & GrayBliss Phog Lounge | 10 p.m.

Nine Inch Nails & Soundgarden Magic Stick Lounge (Detroit) | 8 DTE Energy Music Theatre Dave Russell p.m. | $8 (Clarkston, Mich.) | 7 p.m. | Dominion House Tavern $29.50-$99.50 Miner THURSDAYS The Shelter (Detroit) | 8 p.m. | $10 Chelsey Danfield Celtic Night w/ Mark Crampsie Taloola Cafe | 8 p.m.-9 p.m.

MUSIC: OOIOO Dominion House | 5 p.m.

MOCAD (Detroit) | 8 p.m.

Ian Sirota Funk Junkies Comedy Quarry | 9 p.m. | $10 The Manchester Pub | 10 p.m.

THURSDAY JULY 24

The Witches w/ Deadly Viper As- SUNDAY JULY 27 Third Thursdays The Dirty Heads w/ Pepper & Aer sassination Squad & Eroders James Taylor Detroit Eastern Market | 5 p.m.-9 The Fillmore (Detroit) | 6:30 p.m. | Magic Stick Lounge (Detroit) | 8 DTE Energy Music Theatre p.m. $8.90-$30 p.m. | $8 (Clarkston, Mich.) | 7 p.m. | $25$99.50 3rd 3rsdays Monthly Mixer Nicole Macdonald artist recepRoyal Blood The Willistead | 5:30 p.m.-7:30 tion w/ The Blackman Review St. Andrew’s Hall (Detroit) | 8 p.m.

10 Years w/ Crobot & Saint p.m.

Cass Cafe (Detroit) | 7 p.m.-1 a.m. | $12 Ridley The Shelter (Detroit) | 7 p.m. | FRIDAY JULY 18 Karen Morand & Bosco FRIDAY JULY 25 $15 Taloola Cafe | 8 p.m.-9 p.m.

HEAT: Art Show and Sale Beams w/ Middle Sister Vape Meet Arts Council Windsor & Region Alex Pavone Phog Lounge Villains Beastro | 7 p.m.

Comedy Quarry | 9 p.m. | $10 Summer Theatre Day Camp Walkerville Night Market Ford City Market The Chrysler Theatre | 9 a.m.-4 DJ T.A.I.N.T The Willistead | 5-10 p.m.

1168 Drouillard Rd. | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | $350/two weeks Villains Beastro | 9 p.m.

Lynyrd Skynyrd w/ Bad Company p.m.

Johnny Reid After Party SUNDAY JULY 20 DTE Energy Music Theatre TUESDAY JULY 29 The Bull n’ Barrel | 5 p.m.-2 a.m.

(Clarkston, Mich.) | 7 p.m. | $25Mask-Making Workshop $99.50 Black Stone Cherry w/ We As Three Days Grace w/ Adelitas Kordazone Theatre | 9 a.m.-5 Way p.m. | $300 Friday Evening After Work Party Human & Fifth Freedom The Shelter | 7 p.m. | $18 The Fillmore (Detroit) | 7 p.m. | w/ Jo Meloche $25-$35 Ford City Market Rino’s Kitchen & Ale House | 7 1168 Drouillard Rd. | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. - 11 p.m.

Ted Nugent p.m.

DTE Energy Music Theatre Friday Night Lights Bike Ride (Clarkston, Mich.) | 8 p.m. | $20The Alley Art Show & Sale Rosebowl Lanes | 8:30 p.m. $49.50 Maiden Lane | 12 p.m.-6 p.m.

Bachman & Turner Big Gov w/ The Black GuvernSummer Work Student Exchange Caesars Windsor | 9 p.m. | $25+ ment Gang & Tone Tone Ford City Community Garden | Magic Stick Lounge (Detroit) | 8 12 p.m.-4 p.m.

Supermansion p.m. | $10 ADV/$15 ATG Villains Beastro | 9 p.m.

Family Day: Fun and Film w/ Ian Sirota Chas Piper & Logyn Spells Katie Barkel Comedy Quarry | 9 p.m. | $10 Taloola Cafe | 8 p.m-9 p.m.

MOCAD (Detroit) | 12 p.m.

Open Mic w/ Anderson FM Lounge | 10 p.m.

FRIDAYS Crystal Head Fridays Level 3 Vodka Emporium | 10 p.m.

Loveless Fridays w/ Daniel Victor The Loop | 10 p.m.

After Work Party

Rino’s Kitchen & Ale House | 7 p.m.

ONGOING Windsor Illustrators Art Show Milk Coffee Bar | until July 31 Exhibition: Derek Cerovski Rino’s Kitchen & Ale House | until July 31 David Thauberger: Road Trips & Other Diversions Art Gallery of Windsor | until Sept. 21 WE WON’T COMPETE Art Gallery of Windsor | until Sept. 21 Sunday Street Market Detroit Eastern Market (Detroit) | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | until Sept. 28

200 locations in Windsor and area every other week. urbanitenews.com

BE A SUPERHERO FOR KIDS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES

CAESARS WINDSOR â–Ş SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

CHALLENGE YOURSELF AND CHANGE LIVES

Participants raise pledges for the chance to rappel 27 stories down the side of Caesars Windsor on September 15, 2014 all in support of Easter Seals of Ontario which provides programs and services for children with physical disabilities.

REGISTER FOR THE DROP ZONE WINDSOR

www.thedropzone.ca/windsor or call 519.944.0044 ext. 221