Verb Issue R105 (Nov. 22-28, 2013)

Issue #105 – November 22 to November 28

arts

culture

music

regina

Meaghan Smith

+

It’s the f-150 raptor Check out our new, monthly vehicle section!

val halla Q+A with Regina rocker dvorak’s quintet RSO tackles a classic

Photo: courtesy of Carlyle Routh

contents

On the cover:

Meaghan smith

Restless ambition. 12 / feature Photo: courtesy of Carlyle Routh

culture

NEWs + Opinion

entertainment

Q + A with val halla

Live Music listings

Regina rocker on giving back. 10 / Q + A

bad seed

Nightlife Photos

christmas at the vinyl cafe

Local filmmaker explores medicinal marijuana in new doc. 4 / Local

Local music listings for November 22 through November 30. 16 / listings

We visit Birmingham’s + The Press Box 18 / Nightlife

With the Good Lovelies! 11 / Arts

DvoRák’s quintet

catching fire + call me kuchu

The RSO tackles a classic. 11 / Arts

We review the latest movies. 20 / Film

a life in pictures New photovoice book examines gang culture in Saskatchewan. 6 / Local

jailhouse rock

good neighbours

on the bus

Our thoughts on revamping our prison system. 8 / Editorial

We visit 13th Avenue Food and Coffee House. 14 / Food + Drink

Weekly original comic illustrations

by Elaine M. Will. 22 / comics

comments

Music

Game + Horoscopes

Here’s your say about changing liquor laws in SK. 9 / comments

Louis-Jean Cormier, Lucid Skies + Library Voices 15 / music

Canadian criss-cross puzzle, weekly horoscopes and Sudoku. 23 / timeout

vehicles Check out the F150 Raptor + more in our new monthly feature section 24-27 / vehicles Editorial Publisher / Parity Publishing Editor in Chief / Ryan Allan Managing Editor / Jessica Patrucco staff Writers / Adam Hawboldt + Alex J MacPherson Contributing writers / MG deschamps + jeff davis

verbnews.com @verbregina facebook.com/verbregina

Business & Operations Office Manager / Stephanie Lipsit account Manager / thomas adair Marketing Manager / Vogeson Paley Financial Manager / Cody Lang

contact Comments / feedback@verbnews.com / 306 881 8372

ART & Production

Please recycle after reading & sharing

design Lead / andrew yanko Graphic designer / bryce kirk Contributing Photographers / marc messett, Maxton Priebe, Adam Hawboldt + jeff davis

advertise / advertise@verbnews.com / 306 979 2253 design / layout@verbnews.com / 306 979 8474 General / info@verbnews.com / 306 979 2253

2 Nov 22 – Nov 28 verb magazine

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

news + opinion

Bad Seed, Good Documentary

local

A local filmmaker tackles the medicinal marijuana issue

by ADAM HAWBOLDT

S

ometimes when you step outside of your comfort zone, a whole new world opens up before you.

Just ask Shayne Metcalfe.

A few years ago, Metcalfe was a filmmaker who specialized in industrial films. Then one day, out of the blue, he got a call to make some training videos. Figuring the gig to be well within his wheelhouse, Metcalfe accepted. But the videos he signed on to make were different than any other subject matter he’d ever dealt with.

They were instructional videos training people to grow marijuana.

Uninitiated in the world of weed, Metcalfe was skeptical. He didn’t know about the legality of what he was doing, and wasn’t sure what to expect.

That skepticism soon vanished when he met Jason Hiltz of Jake’s

Photo: courtesy of isee motion picture company

Fertilizer — the company that had hired him to do the videos.

“Jason was suffering from chronic pain after he got in a really bad car accident,” explains Metcalfe.

“He’d hurt vertebrae in his neck and shoulder, was constantly in pain.”

Looking to ease his suffering, Hiltz went to see a doctor, who prescribed him a “witches’ brew of drugs” that left him zombified. The drugs did little to relieve his discomfort, though they did mess with his sleep patterns.

“He hadn’t really slept properly in something like 18 months,” says Metcalfe. “Then one day one of his friends jokingly suggested he should try smoking pot, see if that helps.”

Hiltz did. And it worked.

The next challenge was to find a doctor to prescribe him medicinal marijuana. It wasn’t easy. When he asked healthcare practitioners,

Hiltz was told there was no way he was getting the marijuana prescription. But he was welcome to more pharmaceuticals. “The more I talked to Jason, the more his story made me think,” says Metcalfe. “When I first started, I had this perception, this stereotype of marijuana smokers.

Kind of that they were a bunch of drug smoking hippies. But the more I found out about [Hiltz], the more I realized that’s not the case. There was something there, a real good story to tell. So I started shooting a short film about him.”

A short film that would eventually morph into a feature-length documentary called Bad Seed.

Bad Seed is a movie about marijuana. It is also a movie about Jason Hiltz — a man who has grown weed legally, given expert witness Continued on next page »

4 Nov 22 – Nov 28 news + opinion

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

testimony about marijuana in court and been thrown in jail for growing recreationally. It is a documentary about the ethical, political and spiritual aspects of the plant.

But at the very heart of the whole thing, Bad Seed is a film that asks one simple question: why is weed illegal? The answer, well, it’s not so simple.

“When I first started doing research I expected there to be a black and white answer,” says Metcalfe. “But there wasn’t. It’s a complex issue full of different reasons and angles. If you go back to the very beginning, here in Canada, there were really strange reasons.

It started as sort of an attack on Chinese opium dens.”

What Metcalfe is talking about is drug prohibition in Canada. In 1907, then-Deputy Minister of Labour Mackenzie King traveled to Vancouver to investigate the causes of the Asiatic Exclusion League riot.

King came away from Vancouver with the impression that opium should be suppressed because it was beginning to filter into white Canada. The result was the Opium Act of 1908 His recommendations were the basis for the first Opium Act, which made the drug illegal for anything other than medicinal use.

Three years later the Opium and Drug Act of 1911 outlawed the sale and possession of not only opium, but morphine and cocaine as well.

It was only a matter of time before marijuana came under fire.

In 1923, cannabis found itself added to the Confidential Restricted list. Ask most historians and they’ll tell you that it was Emily Murphy who inspired this addition. See, Murphy was a suffragist and a police magistrate who wrote a series of articles for Maclean’s magazine using the alias Janey Canuck. “She wrote about the menace of drugs in society,” says Metcalfe, who researched the history of weed’s vilification for his film. “She drew strong links between drugs and race, in particular the white Anglo-Saxon women and how they were being lured into opium dens.

People got all panicked over this and they decided to just kinda tack marijuana on to the list of drugs — that was basically the beginning of prohibition in Canada.”

The first seizure of marijuana in Canada didn’t happen until 1937.

More than seven decades later, in 2010, Shayne Metcalfe began shooting Bad Seed to try and figure out why people are still being arrested.

Why weed is still illegal. Why a plant with so many health and economic benefits is still not allowed in our society.

“When we began, I didn’t really know what I was doing,” says Metcalfe. “At that time, it was just me following Jason around, telling his story.”

Photo: courtesy of isee motion picture company

But as he did this, a new story began to emerge. Because cannabis was so central to Hiltz’s life, Metcalfe started to see a side narrative forming. A narrative that would explore the ethical, political and spiritual aspects of marijuana.

“Through Jason I met a lot of advocates and activists,” says Metcalfe. “I learned about the whole cannabis scene. We started in B.C. Went to Nelson, then to Vancouver.

We talked to Dana Larsen at Sensible B.C., we talked to Jodie Emery, we talked to people at the Vancouver Seed Bank.”

Metcalfe and the Bad Seed crew also visited Alberta, made a stop

at home in Saskatchewan, and ventured east to Toronto. Along they way they spoke with a vast array of people, from doctors, marijuana activists and lawyers to teachers and a woman with terminal cancer who is breaking the law to ease her pain.

But it wasn’t easy getting all these people to open up.

“When we were tracking people down to talk to, some of them were really eager to do it. The activists in the scene were all more than happy to talk with us,” says Metcalfe. “But it was a little trickier finding people who aren’t part of that scene. Lawyers, doctors, police officers. When we first wanted to talk to these

people, a lot of people we found shut down. They didn’t want to put their necks out there, have their opinions known.”

Eventually they did, though, and the result is an engrossing “tale of mischief, magic and medicinal marijuana” called Bad Seed.

A documentary that, five years ago, Shayne Metcalfe wouldn’t have dreamed of making.

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina ahawboldt@verbnews.com

5 Nov 22 – Nov 28 @verbregina

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

Nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

news + opinion

local

Photo: Courtesy of Robert Henry

A life in pictures

New photovoice book, Bright Days Ahead, takes a look at gang life in Saskatchewan. by ADAM HAWBOLDT

T 6 Nov 22 – Nov 28 news + opinion

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

A life in pictures

New photovoice book, Brighter Days Ahead, takes a look at gang life in Saskatchewan by ADAM HAWBOLDT

T

he photo on the cover of the book features a gang member from Regina. In it, the young man is standing with a bit of a lilt. Right arm bent at almost a ninety-degree angle, right hand flashing a gang sign. His other hand is pressed to the front of his jeans. His head is tilted down, face hidden by the flat brim of a baseball hat.

In white lettering, near the bottom of the cover, are the words Brighter Days Ahead by Robert Henry.

The picture, once in color but now in black and white, isn’t just some generic, oh-that-looks-cool photo-op. No, this photo has a story.

“Dave and I were driving to Regina, that’s where he participated in the [gang] lifestyle,” explains Robert Henry. He’s standing in the D-wing of the Health Sciences Building at the University of Saskatchewan, addressing a crowd of people. To his left photos flash on a projection screen. The images are of a needle being stuck into a tattooed arm, of Stony Mountain Institution, of a gang member with a shaved head leaning back in a plaid chair, smoking a cigarette and flashing a gang sign.

And Henry says, “As we were driving down there, Dave asked me, ‘As you were doing research for this book, have you ever been jumped, beat up, stabbed or anything?’”

Henry told him he hadn’t. Dave, who was only identified by his first name, nodded, then told Henry that when they got to Regina he didn’t

want to stop. Just wanted to drive around the neighbourhood and take pictures from the car. Something didn’t feel right.

Which is understandable. Years ago, back when Dave was in a gang, a backpack with $1200 worth of drugs in it had been stolen from his car. He tried to make the money back but couldn’t, so a hit had been put out on him. Dave had to move out of Regina.

Back there again, on that sunny Saturday with Henry, Dave tried to take pictures from the car but couldn’t get many of merit. So Henry suggested they get out of the car.

It was 10 o’clock in the morning, nobody was around. Why not?

Dave said okay. “We got out of the vehicle and the first thing Dave said, and this will always stay in my head, he looked down and said, ‘Don’t worry about me. If anything happens, you run as fast as you can.

Anything is a weapon. Get into a business or a building as fast as you can and I’ll find you later,’” remembers Henry. “That was his warning to me.”

Dave’s warning wasn’t unjustified. Not even a minute into their walk, Dave and Henry turned a corner and out popped three gang members from behind a tree. Dave looked down, realized he was wearing all black. This wasn’t a good thing. That’s part of the Native Syndicate’s colours. They were in the Native Syndicate Killers’ hood.

They wear red. “They started coming across the road after us,” says

Henry, who chuckles and admits at this point he’d taken off about a half a block out of harm’s way.

“And what really showed the connection to street socialization and street mentality is, Dave has been out of that lifestyle for a long time, but as soon as they challenged him, he was right there in the middle of the street, up in their faces.”

Gang signs were flashed, tension mounted. Eventually Henry doubled back and they all started to chat.

Cooler heads prevailed, they shook hands, and Henry explained to the gang members what they were doing there. He explained about the book and asked if they were interested in contributing.

“Two of them told us to piss off,” says Henry. “But the other guy said, ‘Fine. You can take my picture, but I have to be on the cover of the book.’”

So that’s what Henry did. He put him on the cover of his book.

When Robert Henry began doing his research for Brighter Days Ahead, he wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to do it. He knew he wanted to focus on indigenous gangs, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it.

Then he found a book called It’s Alright buried somewhere in the university’s law library, and a light went on.

“It’s Alright was a ethnographic study of individuals living in the Bronx, New York,” says Henry. “The people in the book went out and

took pictures of what was going on in their community, then [the author] did an ethnographic study with them and displayed it all. I thought that was really interesting how it worked. The images that were taken were very powerful, very emotionally connecting for the reader.”

Henry took the idea to Father Andre Poilievre and Stan Tu’Inukuafe at Str8 Up, an organization that helps ex-gang members leave the lifestyle.

They thought it was a great idea and rounded up 10 guys to help Henry work on the project.

“The trickster called Life caught up with some of those guys,” says Henry. “Out of the 10 individuals we started with, only three of them actually finished the project.”

Not to worry, though. Through Str8 Up Henry was put in contact with three more ex-gang members, who went back to their old neighbourhoods, took pictures of their old lives, and revisited old demons.

They also sat down to interviews with Henry.

The result was a black-and-white photovoice book full of powerful images and heart-wrenching stories about child abuse, drug abuse,

violence, death, gang life and so, so much more.

“The goal was to understand masculinity and identity. How does an individual’s idea or construction of masculinity change or shape them? How does a gang help support that from an indigenous perspective?” says Henry.

For the next few minutes Henry talks about the process of making the book. About writing the stories from the interviews he conducted and about how the guys featured in the book — like Dave, Emil and Bonks — had so much control over what made the book and what was cut.

Henry talks about a lot of things.

And as he does, the images on the projection screen keep flashing.

Shoes dangling from a telephone wire, blood splattered on a sidewalk, a gang member wearing a Black Sox hat pointing a gun directly at the camera.

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina ahawboldt@verbnews.com

7 Nov 22 – Nov 28 /verbregina

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

news + opinion

editorial

It’s our get out of jail free card We need to fix the serious problems with our prison system

I

t’s no secret that prisons in Saskatchewan are crowded. Space is at a premium, with classrooms being converted into dorms and cells packed to overflowing. Money that was once spent on rehabilitative programs is now being used to hire more guards to take care of more inmates.

It’s a hellish circle for all involved, and something clearly needs to be done. Which is why we propose giving our current system a shake-up. We need to revisit the way correctional facilities operate, bring the focus back to rehabilitation and reintegration, and stop stuffing our prisons with people who don’t really need to be there.

And our jails could certainly use the help. According to Statistics Canada, Saskatchewan has the second highest number of adults in correctional services out of all provinces in the entire country (195.2 per 100,000 people), behind only Manitoba. And, as mentioned earlier, our facilities are crammed, with some prisons that were built to hold 800 inmates housing almost double that.

So let’s turn our attention to Scandinavia, where Sweden is currently in the process of shutting

try’s more progressive approach to incarceration. See, in many Scandinavian countries the system focuses on rehabilitation, not punishment.

Prison officials’ goals are to build

down four prisons and a remand centre, thanks to a sharp decline in inmate population. Since 2004, the number of prisoners in Sweden has been decreasing by about 1% per

inmates are housed in cells with comfortable mattresses and private bathrooms, and have access to a kitchen and gym, all of which works to humanize the individual. In fact, according to the International Penal and Penitentiary Foundation, Sweden’s philosophy when it comes to prisons is one that is characterized by a humane attitude and good care of the prisoner, all of which works towards influencing the inmate not to commit further acts.

Halden prison in Norway operates with a similar premise. There, prisoners are encouraged to go to work and participate in educational and self-betterment activities every day, from music programs to cooking classes. Officers who work at Halden frequently eat and play sports with the inmates, fostering a greater sense of community. And prisoners are asked for feedback on what would make their jail experience better — sounds a little touchy-feely, yes. But it works: although calculating a country’s the recidivism rate is notoriously difficult, according to Public Safety Canada, around 60% of released prisoners released from our jails

Halden prison cell in Norway.

Photo: Courtesy of www.dailymail.co.uk

their prisoners up to decrease the instance of recidivism, a move that we think Saskatchewan — with its bursting jails — could benefit from.

One such innovative prison is Sollentuna Prison in Sweden, where

annum. Between 2011 and 2012, they dropped by 6%.

And according to Nils Ŏberg, Sweden’s head of prison and probation services, part of the reason why this is happening is because of that coun-

lation would be doing away with mandatory minimum sentencing, and adopting Sweden’s model: embracing probationary sanctions instead of short prison sentences for theft and drug offenses.

Now we know what you may be thinking: but that’s impossible!

The omnibus bill that the Harper government enacted makes mandatory minimums, well, mandatory.

Which is true. Under the the bill, which is part of the Conservatives law-and-order agenda, the mandatory minimum sentence for gun possession is three years. Grow six plants of marijuana (without a license), and you get minimum six months. Produce oil or resin from said marijuana and you’re looking at a year — minimum.

This, like the very nature of our prisons, has to change. Now, everyone can agree that certain criminals need to be punished, but no sensible person can argue that passing a sentence without first considering the crime is just. In fact, last week Ontario’s top court took it one step farther and struck down the federal government’s mandatory minimum laws for gun possession, declaring them unconstitutional and “cruel and unusual punishment.”

It’s time we did the same here in Saskatchewan. We need to shift our focus from simply punishment to rehabilitation. We need to change how prisons operate, and work with inmates to reintegrate into the general population. We need to lower our rates of recidivism, which would take some of the strain off our bloated correctional facilities, and doing away with mandatory minimum sentences would go a long way to helping that.

It’s time we become proactive instead of being knee-jerk reactive. Do that, and maybe we’ll be able to solve the problem with our overcrowded prisons.

These editorials are left unsigned because they represent the opinions of Verb magazine, not those of the individual writers.

will reoffend; estimates peg the percentage at 35% in Sweden.

And yet implementing a new prison system is only the first step.

What would go a long way towards getting reducing our inmate popu-

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina feedback@verbnews.com

8 Nov 22 – Nov 28 culture

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

comments

On Topic: Last week we asked what you thought about revamping Saskatchewan’s liquor laws. Here's what you had to say:

– Buy some jug wine at the supermarket while getting the fixings for some homemade lasagna - an idea whose time has come..Pick up a 2x4 at the gas station for the road trip tot he Rider game in Regina..

DUMB idea

– I agree with bringing alcohol into supermarkets and other places.

Many other countries do this. Having an open and honest relationship with alcohol is just responsible and progressive. Hiding it away and pretending it’s shameful doesn’t do anyone any favours.

– There is no reason to put booze in grocery stores where kids can see it and normalize it. Your to lazy to drive five minutes to a liquor store? What a stupid idea.

and admitted to smoking crack, buying drugs, driving drunk and stated he had enough to eat at home?

How about the td manager, the Air Canada pilot, the CPR engineer, the church minister.. OR you….

text yo thoughtsur to 881 ve r b 8372

– What’s happening in TO is not a circus; Rob Ford’s addiction might be worthy of your empathy if it were not overshadowed by his hypocrisy and sense of entitlement..

with ireland and italy who have had problems with this before Truth Is Power-Try It

– Changing liquor laws in Saskatchewan is a must. Vote SDAP in 2015 to remove all sin taxes from Alcohol & help create a fairer tax code. SDAP.CA

– Ford needs to step aside, as much for himself as for the city. He is supposed to be a representative of Toronto, leading the city, and he is doing anything but. He’s so desparate to hold on to his power, but he needs to go. Good first step having council severely restrict his power.

– I disagree on selling booze in supermakets it’ll be like selling firearms at toy stores. Having booze only sold where you need ID prevents underage drinking.

OFF TOPIC

– The Best Halloweens ever Lumsden and Craven in the 1960s.

People baked treats Halloween eve!

Fudge popcorn balls candy apples cookies cake.... Warm treat bag!

– Gordon Wilson is a treasure, and we can never adequately repay him for what he did for our country. What an amazing man.

– Watched the Argonauts play TiCats thought I saw Rob Ford ib the stands - waving an 40 pounder

In response to “A Day of Remembrance,”

– The US has had liquor in grocery stores for years. How are they more progressive than us when it comes to something like this? Oh right they don’t think of alcohol as a drug.

– Yes! Every time my wife and I are travelling in the States, we marvel at the convenience of being in Safeway, grabbing what we need for dinner and then picking up some wine at the same time. Good luck getting this to ever happen, though.

– Saskatchewan has the highest rate of .08s in the land. Suds and bingo juice at the gas station?

Why not who wants to drop in the standings

– Before we go so far with making alcohol so available we should talk

Local #104 (November 15, 2013)

– GO RIDERS! We’re going to bleed green this weekend LET’S GO RIDERS LETS GOOOO!

– It was touching to read about Wilson and his rememberances of the war. Thank you for featuring him. It’s important to listen while we still have these survivers around. To remember there stories is to never let that happen again.

– Go Riders! Let’s bring home that Grey Cup!

– Green is the colour. Football is the game.

In response to “A Day of Remembrance,” Local #104 (November 15, 2013)

sound off

– The Riders are gonna play The Grey Cup in Regina. Way too much pressure to win! Can you say “Choke!”? (or rigged game if they do win)

– Winter tires should be mandatory. All season tires give people a false sense of security. Having winter tires might help reduce the accidents people keep having.

– Thanks to all the volunteers who helped put on the Santa Claus parade! Your efforts are very much appreciated!

– What would happen if your kid’s teacher got up at a school meeting

Next week: What do you think about changing SK’s prison system? Pick up a copy of Verb to get in on the conversation:

We print your texts verbatim each week. Text in your thoughts and reactions to our stories and content, or anything else on your mind

9 Nov 22 – Nov 28 @verbregina

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

culture

q+a

Val Halla Photos: courtesy of chad coombs

Regina rocker on her forthcoming record and the need to make a difference in the world by Alex J MacPherson

V

al Halla hasn’t released a full-length record in more than three years.

But that doesn’t mean the rock musician from Regina hasn’t been busy. Val Halla, whose real name is Valerie McLeod, spent most of the last two years on the road, playing screaming rock and roll for audiences across North America. And when she wasn’t watching the miles tick by, she was working on new songs. Val Halla has been writing songs for two decades, and chasing a career in the music industry for almost as long. She left Regina for the bright lights of Nashville before she graduated from high school. But experience is cumulative, and her new songs reflect a wisdom and a maturity absent from the searing love songs on her eponymous debut and 2010’s No Place. Her forthcoming album promises to deliver a very different side of Val Halla, while retaining her penchant for bluesy guitar riffs and the sort of volume that can strip the enamel from your teeth. This growth, both

pro self-esteem and just encouraging people to sort of be proud of who they are and not feel insecure and not let anyone get to them. I feel like it’s a good thing to shoot for, too, because I can probably keep working on music in the studio for the next two years if I didn’t set a deadline.

ey, because I spent money to do that.

But I feel almost like an obligation, that if I didn’t write about those things and just went back to writing about myself and relationships and stuff like that it would be almost like being ungrateful for everything all these families and people did for us.

AJM: How do you think your songwriting and performing has changed since No Place?

AJM: I think people understand that this upcoming concert is a benefit for the SOFIA House shelter, but it might surprise people to know that you’re also involved with music education organizations in the U.S. and Afghanistan.

VH: It’s not that I’ve grown, it’s that I think I gained the confidence to talk about more serious topics maybe, and maybe speak for people that don’t have the chance to do that for themselves. I think that with No Place I was talking about myself a lot. That was just where my writing was at. I was writing from personal experience, about my life and what I was going through. I think that the new music I have is not just focused on my own experiences, but talking about what’s going on with the average working class family in Canada and the United States right now. It’s more about their stories, too. I couldn’t have done that before because there’s certain things you’ll never grasp when you’re 20 but that when you’re about to turn 30 you have a little more perspective.

as a person and an artist, emerged from her relentless tour schedule, which carried her and her band through some of the most depressed areas in North America. She came back touched by the stories she heard and the people she met — and determined to help both at home and abroad. I caught up with Val Halla to learn more about her new record, her experiences on the road, and the importance of giving something back.

across the United States. I had tried to do a Kickstarter campaign in 2011 because I wanted to do a music video that was encouraging and supportive of people fighting breast cancer. But I got pneumonia at the end of 2011, in the middle of that whole campaign. So that never happened, and I had to just refund everybody that had pledged already. It was just something I’d done before, and I thought to help finance this album it was a good time to give that route a try again.

Alex J MacPherson: You helped pay for your new record through crowdfunding.

What was that process like?

AJM: No Place was released in 2010.

When can people expect the new one to come out?

AJM: What compelled you to channel those experiences into your writing?

Val Halla: I first kind of tried crowdfunding back in 2010, because that was when we were about to do this tour opening for Ted Nugent. It was a great opportunity but it was somewhat of a bad deal, like, they weren’t really paying us next to anything — it was a very small amount that would never cover the cost of doing 41 shows

VH: Um, yeah. [Laughs] I know the single is going to come out in late February, because I want it to sort of be tied in with the anti-bullying day in Canada. It’s called “I’m a Loser and I Like It.” We went down to L.A. in August and shot a video for that.

It’s just sort of talking about being confident in who you are and the way you are. It’s not necessarily that the song is anti-bullying as it is more

VH: It was being on tour and spending all that time out on the road and being at the mercy of other people’s help — we stayed with a lot of families, a lot of people, and everyone was going through different things and everyone told us their stories. I think I put my time in on the road and it wasn’t glamorous at all. It was more raw than anything. I don’t really know how to explain it. It definitely wasn’t for mon-

VH: When I got back really sick — I had pneumonia — and it was the first time I was back here, living here, in ten years, and my family was here and my grandmother wasn’t so well. But I got to at least spend a good year with her before she passed away. It was like realizing that I’d been chasing that music dream for so long — I left Regina when I was not even done high school yet — and it had been so long that I’d been pursuing it with tunnel vision, and coming back I realized that it just can’t be about getting there and attaining the goal and being a success or whatever. There’s so many things you’ll miss along the way if you look at it that way. So I guess I just wanted to focus on how even if I’m doing music it could have a benefit and a social impact right now, without waiting for some level of success to do it.

Val Halla November 30 @ The Exchange for the SOFIA House Benefit $10 @ Eventbrite.ca or at the door Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com

10 Nov 22 – Nov 28 culture

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

arts

across the continent each weekend, touching audiences with its unique combination of humour, pathos, and joy. Stuart McLean is an incomparable storyteller, and his droll baritone has worked its way into this country’s national fabric. But the Vinyl Cafe is more than just a radio program. Each year, McLean takes the show on the road. And each year he brings along a musical guest. For the Good Lovelies, being asked to join the annual Vinyl Cafe Christmas Tour was an opportunity they could not pass up.

“I don’t even know if I can actually put that into words,” says Caroline Brooks, one third of the trio, whose buoyant three-part harmonies are as powerful as they are playful, and whose songs straddle the border between modern folk and upbeat pop from an earlier generation. “When we were asked earlier this year, we were like, this is unbelievable. It’s really a dream that we get to do this.”

The Good Lovelies consists of Brooks, Kerri Ough, and Sue Passmore. They have been writing

Christmas at the Vinyl Cafe Photo: courtesy oF Matt Barnes

The Good Lovelies on being the iconic program’s musical guest by alex J MacPherson

S

ince it first aired in 1994, the Vinyl Cafe has grown

to become a national institution.

The CBC program is broadcast

songs and singing together since 2006, when they came together for an ad hoc performance at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto. They have since released three records, a collection of upbeat Christmas songs, and, most recently, an album of spirited live performances titled Live at Revolution. Their fusion of cheerful folk music and selfdeprecating banter has attracted both fans and critics. In 2010 they won the Juno Award for best roots and traditional album; their latest studio record, Let The Rain Fall, was nominated for the same prize in 2012.

But the Good Lovelies have always been a touring band first, and Brooks is proud of their live performances, which are warm and funny and make even the largest halls feel like a cosy living room.

Going on the road with the Vinyl Cafe, which they did once before, in 2010, is a different experience — but it confers benefits foreign to most hard-touring bands. “We have a great following across Canada and we’re really thankful for that,” Brooks says, “but to show up and

play to a room full of people, like two thousand people a night, a lot of whom will probably never have heard of us before, that’s like a dream come true for us.”

But winning over new audiences and listening is only part of the reason Brooks is so excited about joining the tour. She says the Good Lovelies have a special affinity for the twelfth month, having formed in the depths of a Toronto winter and honed their skills as the snow rained down outside. Their 2009 Christmas album, Under The Mistletoe, demonstrated that the band is as comfortable playing holiday songs as they are channeling more conventional folk influences — and provided a wealth of material from which they can draw on the road this winter.

“We like to say that our band was born at Christmas time,” Brooks says. “And doing the Vinyl Cafe Christmas Tour is an extra level of special.”

The Good Lovelies December 4 @ Conexus Arts Centre $32+ @ ConexusArtsCentre.ca

DvoRák’s Quintet

R.S.O. chamber ensemble tackles a Czechoslovakian classic by alex J MacPherson

I

n classical music there are many different types of composition, some more prominent than others. Just as orchestral music is defined by the symphony, chamber music is associated with the string quartet.

Almost every major composer has contributed at least one string quartet to the canon, and several produced dozens. Joseph Haydn alone wrote sixty-eight of them.

The string quartet — two violins, a viola, and a cello — is important because it aspires to formal perfection; the best represent the pinnacle of what can be achieved with four instruments. But other types of composition, though not as common, are just as evocative.

One of these is the string quintet, which is perhaps best exemplified by Antonín Dvořák’s String Quintet No. 2 in G Major.

Dvořák has always been an anomaly. While his European contemporaries devoted themselves to universal ideas, Dvořák toiled in obscurity, composing works that reflected his zealous nationalism.

Many of his works incorporate elements extracted from or inspired

by Czech folk music. He probably would have died penniless and alone had it not been for Johannes Brahms, who recognized his genius and promoted his work in western Europe. String Quintet No. 2, which was first performed in Prague in 1876, adds a bass to the traditional quartet lineup, a simple change that according to Stephen McLellan changes everything.

“Adding a bass creates a whole different atmosphere and quality,” says McLellan, who plays bass in the Regina Symphony Orchestra.

“It’s intrinsic, it has to be there.

It becomes this perfect unit.” In chamber music every note is vital.

The players must work together to create melodies and harmonies, to build and release tension. Removing one will cause the whole edifice to crumble. And more so than many other similar pieces, String Quartet No. 2 relies on the complex interplay between instruments, between different sounds and textures, to create its distinctive atmosphere.

“With Dvořák, you will find that all of the voices will be intermingling, sometimes in a support nature of somebody else doing the solo, which could be second violin and not always the first or the viola,” McLellan explains. “And the bass has its little moments here and there, as it always does.”

String Quartet No. 2 is more refined — and also more power-

ful — than many of Dvořák’s earlier works. The melodies and harmonies seem to emerge from within the body of sound, rather than from a single instrument. As the sound cascades outward, it is impossible not to be transported to somewhere, anywhere.

String Quartet No. 2 was one of the works that established Dvořák as a serious composer, someone with identity and purpose. But McLellan says its sonic complexities were a reaction to works emanating from Germany.

“It’s like, everything had been said. How do you compete with Beethoven? The answer is you can’t,” he says. “So the composers had to find new ways of expressing themselves, and often in Dvořák and in this piece are original melodies, but they almost sound like other melodies — sometimes

he actually would use an old folk tune from Czechoslovakia at that time and incorporate it in the music very cleverly. He’s really given first place for being one of the very early nationalistic composers.” And in the end nothing else sounds like String Quartet No. 2, which is probably what Dvořák intended. And why it needs to be played.

Dvorák’s Quintet November 30 @ Government House $30.45+ @ Regina Symphony Box Office or 306 791 6395

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com

11 Nov 22 – Nov 28 /verbregina

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

culture

Feature

Restless Ambition Photo: courtesy of Carlyle Routh

Meaghan Smith made a new record, wrote a book about it, and can’t stop touring by Alex J MacPherson

V

incent van Gogh sold exactly one painting in his lifetime. Today the Dutch post-impressionist is regarded as one of the most brilliant and innovative painters ever to have lived, his genius confirmed by generations of critics and scholars. But when he shot himself in northern France, van Gogh was convinced that he was a failure. He had created almost a thousand paintings, yet managed to sell only one, a stunning oil known as “The Red Vineyard.” In the end, the remarkable thing about van Gogh’s life is not that he forever changed the way people see the world, but how critical and commercial failure blunted his creative impulses not at all. Van Gogh was as driven to create at the end of his life as he was at the beginning. His body of work — worthless at the time, invaluable today — is a testament to the idea that success cannot be measured or quantified. This is exactly what Meaghan Smith needed to hear after a songwriting session in Amsterdam went sideways, leading to a heated

argument and what she describes as “a meltdown.”

Smith was in Amsterdam to write songs for her forthcoming album.

Her record company had enlisted a pair of Dutch producers to help guide her between the imposing pillars of modern pop music and the warmth of her beloved vintage jazz and soul. When the sessions fell apart — an experience Smith chronicled in excruciating detail in a series of

That question changed everything. The realization that success and failure are not dependent on album sales, or any other measurable quantity, was a revelation.

It gave Smith the strength and the courage to finish her album, a project she came perilously close to abandoning that very afternoon.

And then she decided to write a book about making the record, an even more ambitious undertaking

…I still have a vintage vibe, and it’s still very true to me. But [the album] is much more ambitious… meaghan smith

posts to her website — she and her husband walked to the nearby Van Gogh museum. It was there that her husband asked the fateful question, which Smith describes as “one of the most important questions I had been asked on my artistic journey.” The question was simple: “Do you think [van Gogh] was a failure?”

for the young singer and songwriter from London, Ontario.

“I’m not sitting comfortably at the end of my career, having won a bunch of awards and able to say, ‘this worked out for me and now I’m going to tell the story,’” Smith says of her decision to write and publish a book about writing, reContinued on next page »

12 Nov 22 – Nov 28 culture

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

cording, and completing her forthcoming album, the title of which have not been announced. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in the middle of climbing this huge hill, which is essentially just life, and going like, I want to hear from someone who is also on the side of their own mountain. For me to write this book about how I made these songs and to put it out before the record comes out, before I know how it’s going to do, I’m hoping that’ll also kind of connect with people. Give them a bit of courage in their own lives to tackle things that might seem insurmountable.”

Smith has been extremely candid about the difficulties she faced while making her new album, the follow-up her critically acclaimed 2010 debut The Cricket’s Orchestra and her 2011 Christmas album It Snowed. That was why she wanted to write about it: “That’s how people live their lives, they go through all these crazy experiences. And I’m lucky enough that I have a platform where I can share those experiences with my listeners — and they can listen to the music and put it in context, like, now I know how she made this.” But while Smith’s career has been nothing short of luminous, she is exceedingly modest about her accomplishments, which include winning the 2011 Juno Award for best new artist and having her synth-driven cover of the Pixies’ 1989 song “Here Comes Your Man” included in the film (500) Days Of Summer. But perhaps the

Photo: courtesy of Carlyle Routh

most interesting thing about Smith’s music career is that she didn’t plan on having one.

Smith grew up surrounded by musicians and immersed in music.

Her mother was a piano teacher, her father a bassist in several different bands. Her three sisters were also accomplished piano players. In

fact, Smith is the only member of her family who cannot read music.

Growing up, she was interested in Broadway musicals and animation.

After finishing high school she went to Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario to study the art of animation.

But music soon caught up with her, and her career was born in the back stairwell of the college’s animation building. Within a few years Smith had overcome her healthy fear of the stage and started playing shows in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she had moved to find work as an animator. Then, suddenly, it was time to make a record.

The Cricket’s Orchestra was released in 2009 and re-released

by Warner a year later. Featuring lush jazz arrangements that evoke Smith’s beloved musicals and airy vocal performances that capture the spirit of Broadway in the 1920s, The Cricket’s Orchestra is a charming hybrid of classic sounds and modern sensibilities. There are saucy piano lines and punchy horns, sombre clarinets and soaring flutes.

On the other end of the spectrum, the record benefits from blistering guitar licks, the spacey sound of a mellotron, and some turntable flourishes from Kid Koala, whose fascination with music from the early part of the last century parallels Smith’s. But the heart of the record will always be Smith’s voice.

Sometimes anxious and sometimes languorous, her voice is steeped in regret and garnished with longing.

She can derive as much power from how she sings a word as she can from the word itself.

Smith’s interest in bridging the divide between vintage and modern continued on It Snowed, which pairs straightforward jazzy versions of “Silver Bells” and “Silent Night” with a groovy, bass-heavy “Little Drummer Boy” and a collaboration with Buck 65 on “Baby It’s Cold Outside” that ranks among the best songs Smith has ever recorded. (“Think about my lifelong sorrow,” she sings, her breathy alto a pleasing counterpoint to Buck 65‘s measured baritone, “if you got pneumonia and died.”) But all of that is about to change. “It’s totally different,” Smith says of her forthcoming record. “I went though

so much in the songwriting process, I changed how I write songs. I changed how I think of songs, what makes a good song. Everything’s different. The new material is very pop-oriented. I wanted to write bigger choruses, I’m tackling similar subject matter, it’s all relationship based, but the production’s really different — ­ there’s a lot more modern elements. But I still have a vintage vibe, and it’s still very true to me. But it’s much more ambitious, it’s much huger, it’s kind of a totally different beast.”

Since her new record and book won’t be released for some months, fans hungry for material from The Cricket’s Orchestra and It Snowed will have one more chance to hear the songs that made Smith into the artist she is today — confident, eager to experiment, and determined to push herself and her songwriting into new territory. “This is kind of my last time,” she says of her current tour, a quick jaunt across western Canada. “The new year’s all about the new record, so these shows are going to be my last times playing in my older music world.

It’s going to be really special for me, and I hope for the audience.” And while Smith is excited about returning to some of her favourite venues

this winter — she only booked shows she really wanted to play — she can’t help but look ahead, past the difficulties inherent to making a new record, past the challenges of writing a book, and past the fear and anxiety that accompany every new phase of a career. And she will do it while remembering her epiphany in the Van Gogh museum.

“It’s exciting to put something out,” she says. “And it’s really risky.

I mean, I could look like a total idiot because my album could go either way. People could be like, ‘she was really successful’ or ‘it wasn’t really successful.’ But regardless, the point of the book is to talk about how I learned or am learning to — and this sounds really cheesy — believe in myself and go

for what I want. I look up to a lot of people and I’m always encouraged by other people’s stories, so I just thought I’d share mine, too.” In other words, Smith has built her career on openness and honesty, both with her fans and with herself. And regardless of how her forthcoming projects fare, she’ll never think of them as failures.

Meaghan Smith December 10 @ The Artesian on 13 $15+ @ picatic.com, The Artesian Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com

13 Nov 22 – Nov 28 @verbregina

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

culture

food + drink

Photos courtesy of Maxton Priebe

GOOD NEIGHBOURS

13th Avenue Food and Coffee House captures a community feel with broad appeal by MJ Deschamps

F

inding a ‘hidden gem’ sort of restaurant is often a food lover’s greatest accomplishment.

Whether it’s a cozy little joint housed in your own neighbourhood that only the locals know about, or a divey hole-in-the-wall with hearty, no-frills comfort plates that you found out about through word of mouth, you know one thing is for sure — these places always have the best food.

Tucked into the heart of Regina’s Cathedral Village in a converted character home is 13th Avenue Food and Coffee House, which has that eclectic-but-cozy look and feel of any great ‘hidden’ neighbourhood food spot — except for the fact that

from 13th Ave. a countless number of times.

And here’s one great way to measure how good a restaurant’s food is: if its owners eat there on a frequent basis, too. Emanuela Bandol and Dalton Fayad were already regulars at 13th Ave. before they bought the place back in 2011 — and still spend many a meal there.

They said that when they took things over, their goal was to keep serving up beloved menu items while tweaking recipes here and there, and incorporating fresher produce and more local ingredients.

Many of their hot beverages now originate from just down the street (a custom blend of coffee from Roca Jack’s and loose leaf tea from Cuppa T), and they’re the only licensed coffee shop in the Queen City (as far as I know), with a solid selection of organic wines and local/imported beers.

“We bought the business because we’re customers, too,” said Bandol.

“We didn’t want to change the things that were working — ­ we just wanted to better them.”

One especially welcome addition to 13th Ave.’s menus has been the introduction of breakfast bowls: generous helpings of Saskatchewan-grown quinoa with different combinations

it might be one of the city’s worstkept secrets.

Well-known and loved by the locals — and touted as one of the best places to eat in Regina on travel and restaurant review websites — 13th Ave. is your ‘typical’ coffee house in name only.

Its (largely) vegetarian lunch and dinner menu is full of from-scratch soups, fresh salads, stews, veggie burgers, sandwiches, wraps, rice bowls and more, all made in-house.

There are a couple of carnivorefriendly options offered too, but I promise the rest of the menu is worth forgoing meat for. Even my partner — a very Italian, prosciuttoand-cheese kind of guy — has suggested picking up veggie burritos

let’s go drinkin’ Verb’s mixology guide ULTRA ALEXANDER

Ingredients

I’m not really sure who Alexander is, but he sure makes a mean dessert drink. Chocolate lovers — you’re welcome.

2 oz. brandy 2 oz. crème de cacao 1 tbsp whipping cream 1 tbsp chocolate syrup

directions

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add in all ingredients. Shake well and strain into a glass. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings or cocoa.

of fresh fruit, sweet spices and nuts, served until 11 am.

A favourite of mine is the ‘Summer Bowl,’ which incorporates all the brightness and freshness of its namesake season: vibrant strawberries, ripe chunks of mango, crunchy shredded coconut and granola, atop quinoa garnished in cinnamon and drizzled in sweet maple syrup.

If you’re looking for a smaller portion to start off your day, quick takeaway items like homemade vegan power bars (creamy peanut butter, vegan chocolate, pumpkin seeds, coconut and maple syrup), morning glory muffins and double chocolate raspberry cookies (seriously, chocolate lovers need to try these) are also waiting at the counter.

What I particularly travel across the city for on a regular basis, though, are 13th Ave.’s rice bowls. You’ll never feel so full and yet so good at the same time, eating these.

I am a creature of habit, and my go-to has always been the ‘Fiesta Bowl’ (if you love guacamole, I challenge you to try and find better), but I switched things up and tried the ‘Sushi Bowl’ when I visited this week.

Served on a thick bed of short grain brown rice is a vibrant mix of cucumbers, shredded carrots,

red peppers and edamame beans, accompanied by tofu and a creamy wasabi dressing, alongside pickled ginger, nori and toasted sesame seeds. The sauce is only mildly spicy, and the wasabi and ginger act as compliments rather than overpowering the other ingredients.

I know that non-vegetarians (myself included) can sometimes be wary of tofu, both in terms of texture and taste, but this particular tofu has been well marinated, and turns out moist and flavourful.

So with Regina now fully in winter mode, it’s nice to know there’s a casual neighbourhood spot worth facing the cold for — whether it’s to cozy up and spend an afternoon at, or simply pick up some healthy take-out on your way home.

And for those who refuse to come out of hibernation, lucky you — 13th Ave. now delivers.

13th Avenue Food and Coffee House 3136 13th Avenue | (306) 522 3111

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina mdeschamps@verbnews.com

14 Nov 22 – Nov 28 entertainment

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

music

Next Week

coming up

Louis-Jean Cormier

Lucid Skies

Library Voices

@ bistro/Carrefour des Plaines Friday, November 29 – $10+

@ The Club monday, December 2 – $10

@ The Exchange friday, December 20 – $12

For the past 15 years or so LouisJean Cormier has sang and played guitar in the Karkwa, an indie rock band from Montreal. And what a 15 years it has been. They’ve won numerous Felix Awards, a couple of Junos, were longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize three times and won once in 2010. Yet even with all that success, Louis-Jean Cormier — a talented vocalist and multi-instrumentalist — wanted to try something different. That something was his new solo album, Le Treizième étage. And the move to solo has paid off, big time. Le Treizième étage won a Juno for best francophone album earlier this year. Featuring songs filled with sincerity and soul, the album (along with Cormier’s live show) is something you should definitely check out. He’ll be in Regina next week.

Thrash metal, groove metal, metalcore. Take all that, mash it together, and you’ll have an idea what Lucid Skies sounds like. A hardcore/crossover band from Edmonton, this four-piece plays with raw, unadulterated aggression. Their stage shows are energetic and wild, full of jumping around, headbanging and bantering with fans. With growling vocals, melodic riffs and serious hardcore influences, Lucid Skies took to the studio to record their most recent album, a four-track EP called Hounds. But instead of offering the sanitized, squeaky clean brand of hardcore so prevalent today, Jesse Berger, along with Nick Ogden, Sam Jackson and Justin Smith, serve up a heavy dose of music that smacks you straight across the mouth. They’ll be playing The Club in early December.

A lot of collective bands don’t work because, to put it plainly, they sound convoluted — too many competing voices and sounds, not enough cohesion. That isn’t the case with Regina’s Library Voices, whose smoothly edited music, which is full of sweeping guitars, upbeat keyboards and catchy melodies, is harmonic and hypnotic.

Originally a 10-piece, these days Library Voices have scaled things back a bit. But their sound hasn’t suffered at all. In fact, some might say it’s getting better, and their album, Summer of Lust — released in 2011 — has too many good songs to list here. They’ll be hitting up the Exchange in mid-December with Saskatoon rockers Close Talker, a group who has shaken things up since they emerged on the scene in 2012. Check them out!

– By Adam Hawboldt

Photos courtesy of: the artist/ truncata/ amanda ash

Sask music Preview The North by Northeast Festival and Conference (NXNE) is turning 20 in 2014, and they want you there! Seen as the most anticipated summer music event in Canada, NXNE Music, NXNE Film, NXNE Comedy, NXNE Art, and NXNE Interactive are essential gatherings for artists, industry professionals, and fans. Early-bird deadline for the music category is December 1, and the regular deadline to submit is January 31, 2014. Please see http:// nxne.com/submit/ for more details.

Keep up with Saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org

15 Nov 22 – Nov 28 /verbregina

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

entertainment

listings

November 22 » November 30 The most complete live music listings for Regina.

S

M

T

W

T

22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Friday 22

Coverboy Concert / Artful Dodger — It’s the KidSport Fundraiser! 7pm / $30 Barenaked Ladies / Brandt Centre — Kick off Grey Cup weekend. 8pm / $37+ Hollerado / The Exchange — With The Zolas, PUP. 7:30pm / $15 (ticketedge.ca) Ultimate Tent Party / Gabbo’s — With the Trews and Fly Points. 9pm / Cover TBD Snake River / The German Club — With The Slim City Pickers and Zachary Lucky.

9pm / Cover TBD DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s — Local DJs spin top 40 hits. 9pm / $5 cover The Project Jazz / Lancaster — With Megan Nash. 9pm / No cover F.O.G.D.O.G. / McNally’s Tavern — Time to break out your dancing shoes. 10pm / $5 Rah Rah / O’Hanlon’s — Local indie rock favourites. 9pm / No cover Third Degree Birnz / Pump Roadhouse — It’s going to get hot in here with this party band. 10pm / Cover TBD BILF / Sip Nightclub — Playing your favourite cover songs. 10pm / Cover TBD DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs. 8pm / Cover TBD Alex Runions / Whiskey Saloon — A locally based country singer. 9pm / $10

Saturday 23

Special Grey Cup Event / Artful Dodger — Come celebrate the big game. All day/ night / Cover TBD Grey Cup Festival Series / Brandt Centre — Featuring Big and Rich. 8pm / $51+ Romantics / Conexus — By the RSO. 8pm / $66.15 (reginasymphony.com) Dallas Smith / The Exchange — With Cash Crawford, One Bad Son. 8pm / $100+ Ultimate Tent Party / Gabbo’s Nightclub — Featuring the Spirit of the West and Fly Points. 9pm / Cover TBD Grey Cup Party / Lancaster House — Featuring Green Zone Cabaret. 9pm / No cover Def 3 + Sound Society / O’Hanlon’s — A night of local hip hop. 9pm / No cover

F.O.G.D.O.G. / McNally’s Tavern — Time to break out your dancing shoes. 10pm / $5 Third Degree Birnz / Pump Roadhouse — It’s going to get hot in here with this party band. 10pm / Cover TBD Ken Hamm / Sawchyn Guitars — A virtuoso acoustic guitar player. 8pm / $20 BILF / Sip Nightclub — Playing your favourite cover songs. 10pm / Cover TBD Alex Runions / Whiskey Saloon — A locally base urban country singer/songwriter.

9pm / $10

John McCuaig Band / McNally’s Tavern — Rock and roll with bagpipes. 10pm / $5 The Service / Pump Roadhouse — Winnipeg’s finest Top-40/rock/pop cover band.

10pm / Cover TBD Chris Henderson / Whiskey Saloon — Rocking country! 9pm / $5 DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs. 9pm / Cover TBD

Sunday 24

Louis-Jean Cormier / Carrefour des Plaines — With Anique Granger.

8pm / $10+ Nearly Neil with the Solitary Band / Casino Regina — A tribute to Neil Diamond.

8pm / $20 (ticketbreak.com) DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s — Local DJs spin top 40 hits every Friday night. 9pm / $5 cover Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster Taphouse — With DJ Fatbot. 10pm / Cover TBD John McCuaig Band / McNally’s Tavern — Rock and roll with bagpipes. 10pm / $5 The Service / Pump Roadhouse — Winnipeg’s finest Top-40/rock/pop cover band.

10pm / Cover TBD Albert / Pure Ultra Lounge — Appearing every Friday night, come listen to Albert as he does his spinning thing. 10pm / $5 cover Sonic Orchid / Sip Nightclub — Playing hard rock tunes all night long. 10pm / Cover TBD Chris Henderson / Whiskey Saloon — Rocking country! 9pm / $5 DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs. 9pm / Cover TBD

The Service / Pump Roadhouse — Winnipeg’s finest Top-40/rock/pop cover band.

10pm / Cover TBD Drewski / Pure Ultra Lounge — Doing what he does best, every Saturday night.

10pm / $5 cover Sonic Orchid / Sip Nightclub — Playing hard rock tunes all night long. 10pm / Cover TBD

Chris Henderson / Whiskey Saloon — Rocking country! 9pm / $5

Get listed Have a live show you'd like to promote? Let us know! layout@verbnews.com

Friday 29

Grey Cup Festival Series / Brandt Centre — Featuring The Sheepdogs. 12pm / $33 BILF / Sip Nightclub — Playing your favourite cover songs. 10pm / Cover TBD

Monday 25

Open Mic Night / The Artful Dodger — Come down and jam! 8pm / No cover Monday Night Jazz / Bushwakker — Featuring Uptown Jazz. 8pm / No cover

Tuesday 26

Troubadour Tuesdays / Bocados — Come check out some live tunes from local talents every week. 8pm / No cover Said the Whale / The Exchange — With Escondido, Dojo Workhorse. 8pm / $18 (ticketedge.ca, Vintage Vinyl, Madame Yes)

Wednesday 27

Hugh Poorman / The Artful Dodger — Debuting songs from his first album, Red Road.

8pm / Cover TBD Wednesday Night Folk / Bushwakker — Featuring Bradford. 9pm / No cover Amanda Rheaume / The Club — With Fraser Holmes. 8pm / $15 Jam Night / McNally’s Tavern — Come on down and enjoy some local talent. 9pm / No cover Chad Kichula / O’Hanlon’s — Local singer/ songwriter that’s all kinds of good. 9pm / No cover

Saturday 30

The Steadies / The Artful Dodger — A CD release party for one of the funkiest bands around. 8pm / Cover TBD Nearly Neil with the Solitary Band / Casino Regina — A tribute to Neil Diamond.

8pm / $20 Carson Aaron / The Club — With Brandead Romeo + more. 8pm / Cover TBD Johnny Reid / Conexus Arts Centre — A country artist on his Christmas Gifts to You tour. 7:30pm / $44.50+ Raleigh, Danny Goetz / Creative City Centre — A night of folk/indie music.

7:30pm / $10 Sofia House Rock! / The Exchange — Featuring Val Halla, the Fortunate Isles + more. 7pm / $10 John McCuaig Band / McNally’s Tavern — Rock and roll with bagpipes.

10pm / $5

Thursday 28

Saskatchewan’s Got Talent / Casino Regina — Featuring Blake Berglund and Kelly Taylor. 5pm / $35+ (ticketbreak.com) Bermuda Love / The Club — With R.C.D.P, Birch Hills, Sea of Dead Serpents. 8pm / $10 Chester Knight and the Wind / The Exchange — With Hugh Poorman. 8pm / $20 Decibel Frequency / Gabbo’s Nightclub — A night of electronic fun. 10pm / Cover $5 PS Fresh / The Hookah Lounge — With DJ Ageless and DJ Drewski. 7pm / No cover Open Mic Night / King’s Head — Come show Regina what you got. 8pm / No cover

16 Nov 22 – Nov 28 entertainment

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

entertainment

Nightlife

friday, november 15 @

Birmingham’s

Birmingham’s Vodka and Ale House 2635 East Starlite Street (306) 546 3647

Check out our Facebook page!

These photos will be uploaded to Facebook on Friday, November 29.

Photography by Marc Messett facebook.com/verbregina

18 Nov 22 – Nov 28 entertainment

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

Nightlife

sunday, november 17 @

Press box

Press Box Sports Bar 909 Albert Street (306) 924 0111

Check out our Facebook page!

These photos will be uploaded to Facebook on Friday, November 29.

Photography by Marc Messett facebook.com/verbregina

19 Nov 22 – Nov 28 /verbregina

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

entertainment

film

Photo: Courtesy of lionsgate

Catching Fire, again

Second installment of The Hunger Games lives up to, and surpasses, expectations by adam hawboldt

I

t’s really hard not to love Jennifer Lawrence.

She’s beautiful, goofy, funny, and, in a day and age when most movie stars seem manufactured, she seems down-to-earth and real.

Oh, and did I mention she’s ubertalented? True story. Not only can Ms. Lawrence take on serious, demanding roles, like in Winter’s Bone and Silver Linings Playbook (for which she won an Oscar), she also takes parts in franchise flicks like X-Men and Hunger Games, and brings some real weight to these roles, no less. Case in point: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Picking up where the first movie left off, we see Lawrence as the reluctant hero Katniss Everdeen. She and her co-survivor of the 74th Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) have returned to District 12 before embarking on a victory tour of the other districts. All around them a rebellion has been slowly gathering steam against the dictatorship of President Snow (Donald Sutherland.)

Needless to say, Snow isn’t a fan of this revolution that’s brewing.

And because Katniss has become a beacon of hope for the rebellion, he’s looking for a way to get rid of her, without making her a martyr.

Enter Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the new commissioner of the Hunger Games and the man who comes up with a plan to take care of Katniss.

His idea?

A special, champions-only edition for the 75th anniversary of the games. They draft former winners (against their will) and pit

the hunger games: catching fire Directed by Francis Lawrence Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson + Philip Seymour Hoffman 146 minutes | PG

competition Katniss and Peeta are doomed, right?

All this, the setting of the stage and the introduction of new characters, takes up the first hour or so of the

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire brings you right to the brink…

Adam Hawboldt

movie. Oh, and let’s not forget the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth.)

And while this portion of the movie is necessary for developing the plot, at times it would’ve

them in a fight to the finish against one another.

Surely with past-winners like Finick Odair (Sam Claflin), Beetee (Jeffrey Wright) and Johanna Mason (Jena Malone) involved in this next

seemed a bit too much if not for Lawrence. The subtle nuances she brings to the role add a new dimension to the character of Katniss, and helps the viewer become more invested in the story.

Then the tournament begins, and holy hell does the adrenaline ever flow. Because all the competitors are seasoned killers who have survived previous games the stakes are higher, the situation more dangerous, and the killing more sophisticated and tricky.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire brings you right to the brink, sitting up straight on the edge of your seat, and then … it ends. It ends on a cliffhanger that will leave you saying

simultaneously “Yes!” (as in, “Yes! I can’t wait until the next installment to see what happens”), and “No!” (as in, “No! I cant’ believe the bastards would end it there and make me wait until next year for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1.”)

If you were a fan of the first Hunger Games (and Jennifer Lawrence), you’re gonna love this installment.

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina ahawboldt@verbnews.com

20 Nov 22 – Nov 28 entertainment

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

An issue of utmost importance

Call Me Kuchu sheds light on Uganda’s LGBT community, and the hardships it faces by adam hawboldt

Photo: Courtesy of cinedigm entertainment group

T

o say that Uganda is dragging its heels when it comes to LGBT rights is an understatement.

On October 14th, 2009 MP David Bahati submitted a private member’s bill that has come to be known as Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill (or the “Kill the Gays bill”). That somebody submitted a bill like this is no shocker. In a society where more than 90% of the population feels the LGBT lifestyle is wrong, and where an anti-gay law — which mandates a 14-year prison sentence for homosexuality — already exists, new anti-gay measures are bound to be proposed.

What is shocking, though, is the severity of this proposed bill. Under its provisions anyone found guilty of “aggravated homosexual conduct” would be put to death. Yep. You read that right.

And the thing is, the Ugandan government didn’t dismiss the bill outright. Hells no. Instead, they spent the better part of two years debating it.

It is within this environment, under this terrifying cloud of human rights violations, that the documentary Call me Kuchu takes place. At the centre of the story is a charming, witty man named David Kato, the country’s first openly gay man and the nation’s first full-time gay activist.

Directed by Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall, Call me Kuchu follows Kato through Uganda’s LGBT community. Along the way we are introduced to a host of memorable characters in memorable moments. There are joyous moments, like when the folks in the LGBT community are partying or

LGBT community in Uganda and the hardships members of that community face. That would be too narrowminded. So, to give the film balance, Wright and Zouhali-Worrall also talk to people on the other side. Like Bahati, the guy who introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, and Giles Muhame, the managing editor of a

Call me Kuchu is a shocking, eyeopening, disturbing and yet still joyous documentary about a current issue that should not be ignored.

Adam Hawboldt

when Kato, smiling, recalls the day when he first came out of the closet in South Africa.

Conversely, there are moments that will break your heart. Like when a young lesbian recounts the harrowing tale of how she contracted HIV from a man who committed “curative rape” in order to show her the right way to have sex.

But Call Me Kuchu isn’t simply a documentary that sheds light on the

tabloid called Rolling Stone, whose sole mission is to out all the gay people in Uganda in order to protect the public.

Yet for all the people that we meet in Call Me Kuchu, the toughminded Kato is, without a doubt, the protagonist.

At least for half the film.

You see, in January of 2011, while the documentary was being made, Kato was attacked in his home, hit

call me kuchu Katherine Fairfax Wright, Malika Zouhali-Worrall Starring David Kato, Bishop Senyonjo + Stosh Directed by

87 minutes | NR

twice on the head with a hammer, and later died en route to the hospital.

After that, the film takes us to Kato’s funeral and to the ongoing struggle the LGBT community has taken up in his passing.

Simply put: Call me Kuchu is a shocking, eye-opening, disturbing and yet still joyous documentary about a current issue that should not be ignored.

It’s a documentary that lives up to all the critical praise it has received — and then some.

Call me Kuchu opens at Regina Public Library on November 28.

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina ahawboldt@verbnews.com

21 Nov 22 – Nov 28 @verbregina

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

entertainment

comics

Š Elaine M. Will | blog.E2W-Illustration.com | Check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!

22 Nov 22 – Nov 28 entertainment

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

timeout

crossword canadian criss-cross 28. Copy of a magazine 31. Satellite of Saturn 35. They are used in pairs, shaken, and thrown 36. He once played for the Maple Leafs 37. Sub ___ (in confidence) 38. Miscalculate 39. Operatic singer 41. Move from side to side 42. Leaked slowly 44. Island northeast of Trinidad 46. Relating to the nose 47. Sky-blue colour 48. Voice amplifier 49. Tear away

A

1. Slept outdoors 2. Apply liniment 3. Cuckoopint, for one 4. Imaginary source of fear 5. Specialized vocabulary 6. Just about 7. Country stopover 8. Photoelectric cell 9. Spirit inhabiting a place 11. Fences placed in streams to catch fish 12. Maori war dance 14. Family diagram 17. Female donkeys 20. Feeling of wounded pride 22. Circus employee 24. Feel badly about

25. Food for infants 27. The sun 28. Day in the ancient Roman calendar 29. Dangerously seductive woman 30. Cry uttered in fear 32. In the direction of B 33. Accepted practice 34. Pudding thickener 36. Soup scoop 39. Turtle feature 40. Move like molasses 43. Letter preceding omega 45. Bread roll

6 7 2 9 5 8 3 4 1 9 4 5 6 1 3 2 8 7 3 1 8 2 7 4 6 5 9 5 6 7 8 9 2 4 1 3 1 3 9 5 4 7 8 2 6 2 8 4 1 3 6 7 9 5 4 5 6 7 2 9 1 3 8 7 9 3 4 8 1 5 6 2 8 2 1 3 6 5 9 7 4

1. Flat crustacean 5. Black cuckoos 9. It was formerly called Pleasant Island 10. Continue a subscription 12. Peppermint-flavoured candy 13. Fish-eating seabird 15. Piece of concert equipment 16. Very important 18. Word used when speaking to a customer 19. Hang onto 21. Put money on 22. Ripped 23. Holder for fireplace logs 25. Describe grammatically 26. That once was

© walter D. Feener 2013

sudoku answer key

DOWN

8 3 6 9 4 1 5 7 2 5 2 7 6 3 8 9 4 1 4 9 1 5 7 2 3 6 8 1 4 2 3 6 9 8 5 7 9 8 3 2 5 7 4 1 6 7 6 5 1 8 4 2 3 9 3 1 4 8 2 6 7 9 5 2 5 9 7 1 3 6 8 4 6 7 8 4 9 5 1 2 3

ACROSS

Horoscopes November 22 – november 28 Aries March 21–April 19

Leo July 23–August 22

Sagittarius November 23–December 21

Don’t be selfish this week, Aries.

Instead, try to go out of your way to help others. Magnanimity is the key in the next few days.

Communication with friends and romantic partners will be more physical than verbal this week, Leo. Try to keep a cool head on your shoulders.

Chances are, Sagittarius, that if you go out this week you’re going to meet someone who could change your life. Things are about to get exciting!

Taurus April 20–May 20

Virgo August 23–September 22

Capricorn December 22–January 19

Is there something you’ve always wanted to try, but never have Taurus? If so, this is the week to give it a go.

A problem will present itself this week, Virgo. At first you might be at a loss for a solution, but stick to it. You’ll get it.

At some point this week you will receive some advice from someone close to you, Capricorn. It’s best you heed what they say.

Gemini May 21–June 20

Libra September 23–October 23

Aquarius January 20–February 19

Your head and your heart, mind and emotion, will be in sync this week. Doesn’t happen often, so make the most of it.

A deep conversation this week could lead to a deeper strengthening of an already strong relationship, Libra. Your hard work is paying off.

Interesting news will come your way this week, Aquarius. It may not seem so good at first, but that’ll change. Give it time.

Cancer June 21–July 22

Scorpio October 24–November 22

Pisces February 20–March 20

You might find insight and inspiration in the strangest of places this week, Cancer. You never know when it will present itself, so be on the lookout.

You’re going to need a break from the diurnal this week, Scorpio. It’s time to get out there and do something exciting.

Your head is going to be in the clouds at times this week, Pisces.

But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Dream big!

sudoku 4 1 5 2 7 8 9 4 1 7 3 8 4 2 3 6 9 5 9 2 4 1 6 2 3 1 8 7 9 5 7 3 6 8 6 5

crossword answer key

A

6 2 9 5 3 1 1 2 1 8 7 5 5 8 9 4 3 9 6 2 8 1 6 7 4 5 6 7 2 8 3 4 3 9 7 4

B

23 Nov 22 – Nov 28 /verbregina

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

entertainment

vehicles

Ford’s Rippin’ Raptor Off-road tuned blingmobile the Cadillac of the Prairies By jeff davis

M

ost urbanized Canadians with, say, $60,000 to blow on a flashy new ride might think Porsche, Mercedes or perhaps Maserati.

But since few of these could survive a trip to the hunting camp or tow a trailer, Prairie gearheads with cash to blow want something both rugged and luxurious at the same time.

Enter the Ford Raptor. The Raptor is a specially outfitted F150 cooked up by Ford’s Special Vehicle Team, which also makes the Shelby GT500 version of the Mustang. And in case any passersby may not know this is a Raptor (and assume it’s an ordinary truck), there are SVT and “Raptor” badges all over it, inside and out.

The Raptor carries some serious cultural significance here in Sas-

katchewan — the capital of Truck Country — where more trucks are sold per capita than anywhere. This beast attracts bewildered stares of admiration and envy everywhere it rolls, especially from men driving ordinary trucks.

Groups of boys on the sidewalk, meanwhile, literally jump, point and cheer at the sight of it.

Standing at curbside, the first thing you notice is how wide the Raptor is. It is six inches wider than a standard F-150, which is very noticeable on narrow roads, where just keeping it between the lines takes some attention. But why didn’t they make it even wider? This is the widest truck that they could squeeze through the assembly line.

On a quiet Friday afternoon, I checked out this eye-popping arctic

24 Nov 22 – Nov 28 entertainment

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

all Photos: Courtesy of jeff davis

camo Raptor and headed out of the city. Once out on the back roads, it was all I could do to resist the temptation to crank the wheel over and charge into a cut wheat field for some off-roading.

After all, that’s what the Raptor is made for.

Its unusual height is explained by the Fox-brand Baja suspension and large, aggressively treaded tires. It has also got a sophisticated, electronic locking rear differential which, in English, means it can crawl through even the craziest terrain.

If you don’t believe me, check out some YouTube videos of it climbing over massive boulders, tackling steep inclines and sloshing through deep mud pits.

One really cool offroad perk is the front facing camera, which

works only at slow speeds, to help negotiate really hairy off-road terrain. There are also reinforced tow loops (two each at front and back) and a four wheel drive “low” setting for towing your buddies’ lesser trucks out of the muck.

Under the hood it’s got a 6.2 litre V8 gas engine that cranks out 411 horsepower and 434 torques. Enough said.

With no cars in sight, I came to a stop on a secluded grid road. I turned off the traction control — by holding down a button on the dash for 10 seconds — turned on four wheel drive and took a deep breath.

I stomped the pedal, and the Raptor spun its tires in the gravel and lunged violently forward.

The engine screamed, with a bowel-shaking high pitched note that sounds more like a tuned motorcycle than a 6,000 pound behemoth. Moments later I was cruising at 140, with my heart racing even faster.

The raw power of the Raptor makes driving it an alarming, almost frightening experience.

Perhaps for this reason, it is particularly popular with moneyed, single, young oil workers who wear Oakley sunglasses.

The cab is very high off the ground, but tough-looking black running boards and handholds help the step up.

The interior is very roomy, even for big guys, with more headroom than any other car I’ve ever sat in.

The extra width of the Raptor makes it especially spacious, and the gap between the seats is huge, making

it feel almost like a Humvee on the inside.

Comfortable, wide leather seats are sewn with bright metallic blue thread, and “RAPTOR” is embroidered into all four of them. The floors and surfaces, meanwhile, are made of tough black rubber and brushed steel-looking plastic, giving you the sense you could probably hose the inside down after a day of mudding.

Other perks include electronic folding rearview mirrors, power sunroof, backup camera, towing package, a sweet sound system, and 12 and 110 volt plugins in the central console.

This contrast between luxury seats and simple floors gives the impression Ford really understands the mindset of its customers, and is focussed on delivering what they want.

I was really quite blown away by the Raptor. There was honestly nothing I didn’t like about it, though I did think the horn pitch was too high and squeaky for this Darth Vader of trucks.

If I had the $63,449 to buy the truck in the tested configuration (and a similar amount to pay for gas), I’d buy it in a heartbeat.

Next time I see a guy doing burnouts in his Raptor, I’ll know how he’s feeling. Though I’ll still pass on the Oakleys.

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina jdavis@verbnews.com

25 Nov 22 – Nov 28 @verbregina

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

entertainment

vehicles

What’s that paint job?

Rappin’ about vehicle wraps by Jeff davis

I

n fact, it’s not a paint job at all — it’s a wrap!

Sean Heitmar is the young entrepreneur behind the wrap featured on the F150 Raptor (featured in this issue), and went into business a few months back as Vivid Auto Graphics in Saskatoon.

Heitmar says his wraps, which cover the entire painted surface of the vehicle, are made from vinyl by materials innovator 3M.

Wraps benefit from more frequent cleaning than paint, since dirt and grime can get into the adhesive and cause it to unstick, Heitmar says. But even without meticulous cleaning, the wrap should last for five to seven years.

And since it is basically a huge sticker, the wraps can be easily removed. “When you decide to finally peel it off, all you need is a heat gun or a hair dryer even, and it comes

Off-the-shelf wraps come in a wide range of solid colours, Heitmar says, or he can print off any custom pattern, such as the arctic camouflage seen on the Raptor.

“The camouflage thing is really popular with guys with big trucks, the riggers and all that,” he said.

“There are a lot of camouflage options and a lot of guys are wanting that kind of thing on their skidoos and other toys.”

A

Tips from Jerry

fter decades of owning and operating an automotive oil change service, Jerry Lupul has learned an awful lot about what makes cars succeed or fail.

I sat down with this maintenance guru for some choice tips on how to keep your car healthy and safe during the winter months.

Winterizing your ride will save you stress and cash by jeff davis

5

6 8 2

1 7

3

1

Ever see cars driving around with jagged holes in their bumper? Jerry says all these happen in the winter, since many parts of your car — everything from side mirrors to the hood latch — get very brittle in very cold temperatures. Thus, it’s best to avoid driving in extreme temperatures below -30°C, since

4

off pretty easily,” Heitmar says. “The paint is mint underneath.”

Full wraps begin around the $3,500 price point, and climb up to about $5,000 for custom jobs.

Heitmar says this is cheaper than a quality paint job, and helps preserve the resale value of your ride.

“Once people start customizing their vehicles, you don’t really get much return on the money you put in,” he says. “By keeping it a stock vehicle, you’ll get a better resale price.”

Besides enthusiasts gunning for a flashy look, wraps are also popular with businesses looking to

turn their vehicle fleets into rolling billboards. This is especially popular with small companies trying to look like big ones.

For those with smaller budgets, Heitmar says he sells vinyl in spray cans, which can coat a vehicle for a fraction of the cost of a full wrap.

even the slightest bump or nick can leave lasting damage.

2

ice scraper can take nicks out of the soft rubber blades. Jerry says the best practice is to flip them up when you’re not driving to make scraping easier, and to keep your blades out of harm’s way.

3

Getting your oil changed is always important, but Jerry says it’s especially so during the winter months. Full synthetic oil can help you get started on the coldest days, though it will cost you about $50 more than the regular stuff.

While it can help you get rolling on a cold winter morning, plugging in your block heater draws about $1 worth of electricity per night. This can add up pretty quick, so get a timer for your heater and set it for about an hour before you intend to head out.

Getting stranded on an isolated country road in the dead of winter can be a life or death situation here, so Jerry suggests packing a winter survival kit.

Basic items include a blanket, candles, granola bars and a small shovel. A folding traction grate can help you escape from snow banks, and road flares can help grab the attention of a driver barreling down the next grid road over.

4

This may seem a little obvious, Jerry says, but get some winter tires! A set of winter tires reduces your stopping distance by 30 to 50 per cent, plus they’re usually cheaper than repairs. For extra traction, get some with studs or sand built into the rubber. Also, remember to take them off once daily average temperatures go about 8°C in the spring, since the soft rubber wears out very quickly in warm temperatures.

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina jdavis@verbnews.com

6

7

This may be a hard one to swallow, Jerry says, but it’s best not to use an autostarter.

Turning on your car from inside your house offers some real comfort, but leaving it to idle for long periods gums up your injection system and reduces performance. Painful as it may be, Jerry says, it’s best just to scrape off your car, get in, start ‘er up and drive right off.

8

To help your engine from taking extra wear during the winter, make sure you have the right antifreeze mix. Cooling systems generally use a mix of ethylene glycol and water to make sure things don’t freeze up on cold days. Jerry says manufacturers usually recommend a 50/50 or 60/40 ratio, so find out what your car needs and fix the mix.

5

Poor visibility presents major dangers during winter driving, so it’s important to be gentle with your windshield wipers. Wipers get very brittle in the cold, and hitting them with your

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina jdavis@verbnews.com

26 Nov 22 – Nov 28 entertainment

contents

local

editorial

comments

q+a

arts

feature

food + drink

music

listings

nightlife

film

comics

timeout

vehicles

VerbNews.com

entertainment

VerbNews.com