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I finally took my first trip to New York, lets say it’s been a long time coming. It has been on my list for such a long time, and as a creative person, it seems ridiculous that it has taken me so long to make it there.
I thought I knew what to expect, I’ve seen it in movies and TV shows (which we all know are safe to base our opinions on, right?), I’ve heard all about my friends experiences, but in all the ways I prepared myself it’s really just a city that you need to experience and see for yourself.
As soon as I arrived I felt a sensation that would be comparable to walking into a river with an incredibly strong current that sucks you in and rushes you around. You might drown, but if you can keep afloat it takes you on a wild ride.
I was in total sensory overload the first couple days, I really wasn’t ready to introduce my camera to the city until I was able to figure out how to focus on one thing at a time. It was really exciting to have so much to look at.
At the end of my week I returned to Vancouver feeling like I just got off a roller coaster. But in a good way. Like when you get off the ride and just look for the end of the line to get back on again.
I brought a new pair of sunglasses with me that made the whole city orange, I became obsessed with shooting everything through my sunglasses. This is the first shot I tried this on.
This fellah was amazing. He was sitting at the base of an American flag with his hair just a flowing in the wind. He was totally into what he was playing because when I approached him to ask if I could take some photos, I was pretty much on top of him before he noticed me… I hope I didn’t interrupt his groove, man.
Another example of my sunglasses obsession.
Yet another shot through my glasses, photographed from the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn bridge looking over to Manhattan. You can see one of the two towers being rebuilt. The day I took this shot, it also happened to be the day they added the floor that made it the tallest building in Manhattan once again.
I shot the reflection from a tinted back window of a car parked on the street.
I took this portrait after a comedy night at the Knitting Factory where Judah Friedlander was the special guest. I love 30 Rock. It was a really outstanding (free) night of comedy with Hannibal Buress as the host and Retta from Parks and Rec in the line-up… so good.
Checking out High Line park was something that was suggested to me a number of times by unrelated people I met or knew in the city. It was a highlight of my random wandering NYC adventures. It’s a park built on a raised rail line above the streets in Manhattan. The billboard art installation was a part of their commissioned works which circulate through. This particular one ran up until May 7th.
Snapped this from the subway looking onto the platform. No time to pull out the sunglasses filter.
I thought this girl was super cute, I saw her get set up in front of a number of pieces where she was sketching them out.
I think I really started to like living here when I got into playing ball at Kits Beach in the spring of 2009. Playing ball and reading on the beach is basically my dream vacation except I don’t have to go anywhere so it’s perfect.
I also really like my neighbourhood. I live just off of Commercial Drive—among artists, graduate students, and other undesirables. I don’t know how to cook, so the crazy restaurant density nearby is helpful. It also appears to be the only neighborhood with other black people. Most of all though, I appreciate that I’ve stumbled on a great crew of friends on my block—an outgoing, thoughtful, spiritual community that embrace me despite my transience.
Tara Mahoney is one half of the Gen Why Media Project dream team, a “community building project that uses public art, participatory media, events and intergenerational dialogues to engage society in new forms of civic participation.” Given their commitment to community engagement, it makes perfect sense they would be part of the force behind this Monday’s Reimagine CBC Celebration. We talked to Tara about the event and why you should get involved in your public media.
Sad Mag: Hi Tara! Who are you and what do you do?
Tara Mahoney: I’m the co-founder and creative director of the Gen Why Media Project. The GWMP is a community building project that uses media, public art, events and intergenerational dialogue to engage society in new forms of public participation.
TM: We strongly believe in public media. We need a non-commercial provider to conenct us with the rest of our country, promote democracy and explore knowledge about ourselves and our culture, even if it’s not profitable. Commercial broadcaster cannot do that to the same extend as public media can. So that’s why when Open Media approached us about hosting Reimagine CBC event, we were totally on board. It’s an honor to be a part of a movement that encourages people to come together in a creative and generative way around such a deeply Canadian institution.
SM: How did OpenMedia and Leadnow.ca get involved? How do your organizations fit together?
TM: OM and LN both exist to promote civic engagement (in one way or another) and so do we. We have different approaches and focuses but ultimately we are trying to accomplish the same the goal, so it makes sense for us to join forces. Plus they are wonderful people and good friends.
SM: The CBC has such longevity as a Canadian institution. What makes it so beloved? How do they stay relevant?
TM: The CBC does many things very well and it has done a good job of innovating with technology – especially with their radio offerings. I think the one thing that keeps them relevant is that they reflect our Canadian identity back to us. They feel like a family member – a reliable and trusted source of knowledge. That is a profound and strong foundation to build on.
SM: What are you most excited about with the Reimagine CBC Celebration?
TM: Hm, that’s a hard one. I’m really excited about everything, we have an amazing group of participants. It will be great to see Wade Davis speak and hear a story from Ivan, and Steve Pratt always dazzles with his visions for innovation and the music will be great, it’s all exciting!
SM: What is your hope for the dialogues generated during the event?
TM: My hope for the dialogues is that people walk away feeling good and positive about how we can shape our public media together. I want people to feel like they have a stake in the CBC and responsibility to protect it, while also imagining the possibilities for the future.
SM: Do you have a vision for the future of the CBC?
TM: I think I’d be cool to see it be more open and integrated into communities so as to promote more cultural production. There is so much talent in this country, it’d be great to see the CBC as a platform that encourages and promotes crowd-sourced cultural innovation.
Rachel Aberle and Adrian Glynn McMorran, by David Cooper
In 1974, Leonard Cohen was asked why his album New Skin for the Old Ceremony was a failure in North America and the U.K. but a success in Europe. “Maybe it’s because they can’t understand my lyrics,” he replied. Both Cohen’s self-deprecating wit and the achingly sad poetry of his lyrics are on display in Tracy Power’s play Chelsea Hotel, which is at Firehall Arts Centre (280 E. Cordova St) until March 3. Chelsea Hotel adds inventive dance pieces and impressionistic storytelling to Leonard Cohen’s classic songs, often totally revamping their musical arrangements so fresh associations are created. The young cast scampers around a set made of paper filled with discarded poetry drafts, while adeptly switching off on an astounding variety of instruments. Adrian Glynn McMorran stars as the Writer, who acts out romantic regret and creative struggle and sings beautifully. His solo turn, a wrenching rendition of Tonight Will Be Fine, is a show highlight.
Theatregoers familiar with Cohen’s work will hear new and often faster paced versions of his songs, such as a sexy cabaret-infused I’m Your Man and an ironic hard-rocking take on American Idol favorite Hallelujah. The cast’s voices are very, well, different from Cohen’s self-admitted limited range. Neophytes to Cohen will find Chelsea Hotel an excellent introduction to Canada’s unofficial Poet Laureate. And any audience should relish the opportunity to appreciate the depth and beauty of Cohen’s catalogue.
Rachel Aberle is a cast standout, playing a Sister of Mercy – a combination nun, nurse, and muse – with playfulness and intelligence. Sadmag spoke to Rachel Aberle about Leonard Cohen’s current caché, wanting to be a muse, and the state of the theater scene in Vancouver.
Sad Mag: How familiar were you with Cohen’s work before you started Chelsea Hotel? how did your relationship to his work evolve as you were doing the play?
Rachel Aberle: To be honest, I wasn’t super familiar with Cohen prior to this summer when I started to do some research for the auditions. I was familiar with Hallelujah, as I guess pretty much everyone in North America is – but to be honest, the version I was familiar with first was the Jeff Buckley version – which I loved. I remember when I finally heard a recording of Cohen singing Hallelujah thinking, “This is awful! This guy can’t sing!” This was several years ago, in my late teens. The cast is all within about 10 years of each other in age, and we all talked about how Cohen’s voice was something that put us off when we were younger, that it’s something we’ve grown to appreciate as we’ve grown into adulthood. Can’t remember who, but one of the cast said at a talk-back that “Cohen’s not for kids,” and I think there’s something to that.
Through working on the show I’ve come to appreciate him so much, not only in terms of music, but in terms of incredible poetry. I’ve always been a pretty lyrics driven listener, and for that you can’t get much better than Cohen. He was a poet before he was a songwriter, and it shows.
SM: Yeah, i think that’s one of the great things in the show. You can appreciate the lyrics as a captive audience
?RA: that’s great to hear. It’s been a really interesting process to connect such poetic language to some kind of playable acting
SM: Were there any Leonard Cohen songs that you wish had been used in the play, or that you rehearsed and didn’t use?
RA: Those decisions were made before I came on board. We did change and add some of the poetry used in the piece – just certain pieces getting moved around or shortened or changed to other things that Tracey felt told the story and got the audience on board faster and more effectively than what she had originally chosen. Because my knowledge of Cohen was admittedly pretty low before the show, and because we use so many songs (27 to be precise) there aren’t any that I wish were there that aren’t.
SM: Were the writer’s lines in between songs also snippets of cohen poetry?
RA: Yes. Every word spoken or sung in the show comes from Cohen.
?SM: OK, a couple more Cohen questions…Do you have a favorite song? Or a favorite line from his lyrics?
RA: I love Tonight Will Be Fine. I think the chorus speaks to something so profound and so honest about feelings that linger long after one might hope they would. More specifically the line “We swore to each other our love would surely last/You went right on loving, and I went on a fast/Now I am too thin and your love is too vast.” I feel like I’ve been on both ends of that statement – probably everyone has at some point. That feeling of regret, wishing you could feel things that you don’t, or that feelings you have could be matched, when they can’t.
I also think that Famous Blue Raincoat is one of the most beautifully heartbreaking songs I’ve ever heard. I’ve never listened to a song that made me sad so repeatedly.
SM: What do you think Leonard Cohen means to Canadians of your generation? How is it different from how he’s viewed by baby boomers?
?RA: To be honest, I don’t think Leonard Cohen means much to most of our generation, and I hope that changes. I wonder partly if it’s because so much of his music has been so widely covered by other artists, but I know for many people our age that I’ve talked to about this show, the most common response has been that they’re not that familiar with Leonard Cohen — which, prior to the show, was pretty much the case for me as well. I think a lot of people my age think of Cohen as someone that their parents listen to, that they weren’t that into when they were kids.
Hopefully it’s like a lot of music that’s just too mature for younger audiences, and people start to give it a listen now that they’re old enough to understand what the hell he’s talking about. I feel like it’s the kind of music people in their twenties should be listening to all the time. One of my friend’s fathers saw the show and said afterwards that he was tearing up through most of the first act because it brought back so many memories from his twenties. He said you don’t feel those incredible highs and lows forever. I think that’s probably what it means to a lot of people my parents’ age – it’s a reminder of the later years of their youth. His lyrics capture so perfectly what incredible love and incredible loss mean, but at a deeper level that anything you feel at adolescence. The love is vast because you’re old enough to feel like it actually means something real, and the loss is devastating, because it feels like a much deeper investment that’s come up dry.
SM: What instruments can you play? Did you have to learn any for the show?
?RA: Oh the instruments…
I played the cello regularly for about 11 years, but those years were between age 4 and 15… so a bit of it’s in the “riding a bike” camp, in that I learned so young that some of that knowledge will never go way, but I also had been out of practice for so long until about this time last year that my musicianship is definitely still a work in progress in my opinion.
I started playing the ukulele this summer for the fun of it. I played the piano in high school, and actually got to a pretty high level, but have been out of practice so long that it’s really crumbled back into a pretty rudimentary skill
And the bass guitar, which I play in the show – I had never touched until our workshops for the show in early December. Our first day of rehearsal Steve said, “Rachel, how do you feel about playing bass on [First We Take] Manhattan?” I said, “Well, I’m willing to try, but just so we’re all on the same page here, I’ve literally never even tried before.” Steve paused for a second and then said, “Oh yeah. I think you’ll be fine.” I leave that to the audience to judge. The more work I get in theatre, the more I’m starting to feel like half of the battle is deciding what you’re crazy enough to agree to try, and then dealing with the fallout of that agreement.
SM: Have you done much musical theatre before?
?RA: I’ve done a bit. I was one of those kids in high school that was really into musical theatre, and then I sort of drifted away from it when I went to university, and then to theatre school. I’d pretty much stopped thinking of myself as a musical theatre performer. Then in the last year all the shows I’ve wound up doing, while they haven’t all been full musicals, they have been full of music, and have required me to sing.
SM: What was it like growing up immersed in the theatre world? Did you always know you wanted to be an actor, or did you ever have phases of rebelling and wanting to go into business or something bourgeois like that?
RA: I had bouts of thinking that maybe I wanted to be a writer, and for a time even a lawyer – I don’t think they came from a place of rebellion however (and you couldn’t really call becoming a writer bourgeois). Growing up with a Dad who was in theatre taught me from a young age that it was a possibility – that the idea of trying to pursue a career in theatre (while maybe still insane) wasn’t impossible. People did it. Having that knowledge meant that I never went through the phase of thinking “Well, yeah, I want to be an actor, but nobody actually does that… so what am I going to do for real?”
?SM: And I bet a lot of your peers did go through that phase, right?
RA: Yeah – I mean when I think of the people I went to high school with who I did theatre with, I don’t think many of them are doing it any more. And to be fair, for some of them it was never something that they wanted to pursue after high school – but I do wonder how many more young people might consider going into theatre, or music, or any artistic field for that matter, if it dawned on them that it was a viable option.
SM: How do you feel about the current state of the theatre scene in Vancouver?
?RA: That is a tough question to answer. I guess what I would say is that I know for sure that I’ve been incredibly lucky with the opportunities that I’ve had, not only because opportunities are scant (and that’s true of theatre anywhere), but also because the projects I’ve gotten to work on have all been very fulfilling, and very different from each other, and have all involved incredible people. Of course I wish there was more funding – that should go without saying but unfortunately we need to keep saying it, and keep saying it, and then say it some more. And I wish I could figure out what would get the average Vancouverite more interested in seeing plays.
There is so much to do in this city. I get why on a sunny day people want to go to third beach, and I get why on a rainy day people are more interested in going up on a mountain where it’s snowing and riding boards and skis back down the mountain. What I wish for is a way to make people who are interested in those things also interested in sitting down and watching some fantastic storytelling. I would like to figure out a way to build the theatre into the recreational vocabulary of this city … I’m just not sure how.
SM: In Chelsea Hotel you play a muse. Have you ever been a muse? Or had a muse?
RA: (laughs) If I’ve ever been a muse, nobody told me. In terms of having a muse, I’ve definitely wrote some things based on or about people that have come in and out of my life – and I’ve definitely used relationships I’ve had with people as a way to connect with material I’ve worked on as an actor.
SM: Is it strange singing the same songs over and over again? Do you start making up your own versions of the songs?
?RA: It hasn’t seemed strange yet, and I think part of that is that the material is so rich that there are a lot of new things to find every day. I have an unfortunate habit of replacing words with other words completely subconsciously, and have definitely sang the words, “Suppose that he froze when the wind took his NOSE,” instead of, “CLOTHES” a few times in rehearsal, and once while rehearsing Take this Waltz I sang “I’ll bury my soul in a sandwich” rather than “bury my soul in a scrapbook.” But intentionally? No, I’m happy with the material so far
SM: (laughs) Sandwich!
RA: I know, I always think that if those were the lyrics it would mean that she dealt with the break up by eating her feelings.
?SM: It’s a good Freudian slip, something to sing when you are hungry.
?RA: Right?
SM: Right!
Chelsea Hotel
Firehall Arts Centre (280 East Cordova)
Now until March 3rd, 2012
$25 regular, $20 students and seniors Ticket info here
On Monday night, Vancouver’s swaggering funk-rap group Panther and the Supafly will be playing live instrumental versions of hip-hop classics while karaoke hopefuls get live on the mic. If you’ve never been to Fortune Sound Club’s Hip-Hop Karaoke, widely considered to be Vancouver’s best Monday night out, this is an excellent opportunity to check it out. And if you’re already a Hip-Hop Karaoke fan, you shouldn’t miss the chance to see the night go unplugged like Jay-Z and the Roots on MTV. Panther and the Supafly will also be rocking tracks from their debut EP “Nikazi.”
Sad Mag’s exploration of the complex motivations of Hip-Hop Karaoke performers continues here:
Tim Mortensen
Shmuel Marmostein: What got you into Hip-Hop Karaoke?
Tim Mortensen: I was at a Nice ‘n Smooth show here wearing a Gang Starr t-shirt, and they pulled me on stage.It was right after Guru died and they were pouring out orange juice on stage, it was crazy! A friend of mine who knew about HHK saw that and suggested we perform DWYCK, the song Nice n’ Smooth were doing.
SM: What was your favorite song that you performed?
TM: Halftime by Nas, on Halloween. It was one of the hardest songs I’ve ever done. It was fun because I was dressed as b-boy priest in gold chains.
SM: What about by another performer?
TM: A Busta Rhymes song by local MC Kaboom Atomic, he did it perfectly.
SM: That’s hard! How much do you usually practice?
TM: It depends on the song. For some of them I’ve already liked the song for a while, so it’s easier. I usually practice the song 15-20 times. I always rap over the vocal, and then I switch to the instrumental, which is a lot harder! For the Nas one, I did it 30 times or more.
SM: What do you love about performing here?
TM: The good vibe, and the fun I always have at the night itself. It’s a privilege to perform. You do it once or twice and you get addicted. It’s great experience if you want to be a performer because you have the spotlight on you. And I love hip-hop, so I get to do what I love.
Chad Iverson, event organizer and co-founder
Shmuel Marmostein: What made you start the Hip-Hop Karaoke night?
Chad Iverson: Paul [Gibson-Tigh, the other founder and organizer] told me about the HHK night in Toronto, and said we should do it here. It was just a drunken conversation on Third Beach, and I though hhk sounded like the illest idea.
SM: What was your favorite song that you performed?
CI: Earl by Earl Sweatshirt, or the one I just did, Tried by 12 by East Flatbush Project. I love that song and I’ve been wanting to do it forever. It’s an underground classic.
SM: It was awesome, you killed it! What about by someone else?
CI: That’s a really hard question…maybe Kyprios doing Passin’ me by at the one-year anniversary show?
SM: How much do you usually practice before performing?
CI: Way too much. If you take a look at my lastfm site, all my top songs listened to are ones I’ve performed!
SM: What do you love about performing here?
CI: The ego boost. It feels good! It’s a rush being on stage. I’m also paying homage to a genre of music and a culture I love. I never thought I would be running a hip hop night in Vancouver, that’s for sure.
SM: How has putting on this night changed your life?
CI: Well, this night has made Fortune a second home. I do promotion here and I’ve learned a lot about, I don’t want to use the term, the “clubbing scene.” It’s a potential career changer. The changes have all been positive, definitely.
Usually we comment on things that make us un-sad, but there’s a fight going on between the Rio and the LCLB that’s making us sad and mad. Fortunately, the Rio’s Corrine Lea is not backing down, which is making us glad. As does rhyming but I digress.
On Thursday, January 26, the Rio was supposed to be celebrating their success in achieving a liquor license, an achievement which was an integral part of continuing as a viable business. Instead, the event became a fundraiser to offset their losses and fund future resistance to the restrictions out on the Rio due to that very license.
Lea has had to cancel film screenings as venues classified as “movie theatres” cannot serve alcohol. Lea maintains they are a multi-media venue and so are misclassified. She also notes that her license only runs from 6pm to 1am, and she is not insisting that liquor be served at screenings, only that screenings be able to take place. After they screen the “Rocky Horror Picture-less Show” on Friday, January 27th, when the soundtrack will play and the film enacted by a shadow cast, they don’t have anything scheduled until February 4th. “As far as the blank days go, we’re just going to scramble and try to figure out what to do. We might have an open mic night every night or a karaoke night…If the government were to reverse their decision I could have movies in those slots like that.” She snaps her fingers with the type of gusto required when going up against said government.
Since being told about the caveat on her license, there have been many statements issued – by Lea, by Solicitor General Shirley Bond, and by Liquor Control and Licensing Branch general manager Karen Ayers – but little constructive communication seems to be happening. Ayers has made many comments in the media about the various reasons the Rio is in this predicament and not, say, Roger’s Arena. Ayers touts public safety and notes the arena’s security as a reason for venue’s such as that being licensed. Lea notes that she was never given the option to increase security as a means to secure the licensing she needs.
My opinion, and the opinion of groups like CAMRA, is that the province and the federal government are maintaining prohibition era statutes. I would add that even the LCLB’s rationalizations seem outdated, not to mention inconsistent. It would better serve public safety to ban alcohol at violent sporting events than at the movies. I’d definitely put my money on not seeing see any post-event riots at the Rio, screenings or otherwise. While Ayers has been answering objections one at a time, there are easy fixes to these, which Lea is more than willing to put into place. For example, worrying about minors having liquor in the dark could be assuaged if the Rio doesn’t serve alcohol during film screenings. Lea notes she simply wants to serve liquor at events, not movies.
Bond has issued a statement, picked up by several outlets, that her office is “aware of the challenges,” are “considering what changes may be appropriate” and they “look forward to having more to say about this in the near future.” While this may signal progress, the lack of specifics are worrisome to Lea. As of Sunday, January 29th, Lea has yet to hear from the Solicitor General’s office or the LCLB on any options she might have going forward. The Rio is consulting with the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association as to whether their civil liberties have been curtailed.
The Rio is scheduled to host films from the Vancouver Island Film Festival, which begins February 10th. This is just one effect the Rio operating without screenings will have, and represents a real deadline for action. The Rio supports a variety of communities beyond film – music, comedy, burlesque, dance and more – by being a unique and accessible venue. It also represents a part of Vancouver history, as the Tyee points out, an architectural and cinematic history that is being demolished.
Thus it’s not surprising that people are raising their voices not just in the street forums (which is what I call coffee shops and facebook comments), but in the press (simply Google “the Rio Theatre Vancouver” for a flood of stories) and among politicians (Jenny Kwan and Heather Deal are both speaking out on the Rio’s behalf). It even transcends political affiliations, with Leo Knight, “Law and Order” opinion columnist, to agree on an issue with a Vision Councilor “for the first time in living history.”
This issue is hot, not only because the Rio and Lea are so supportive of and beloved by Vancouver’s arts community but because, especially to that same arts community, it represents major issues in Vancouver and BC. It’s a hard place to succeed as a small business, and is full of demolished unique cultural venues, archaic liquor and public safety laws and a general disregard for what access to arts does for a community both socially and economically. The story at the Rio has become a point of reference the changing of BC liquor distribution, but it’s truly a point of reference for the intersection of arts, business and government.
On a positive note, the Rio fundraiser née celebration was a success. “We had 200 people attend – it was a beautiful event. Pandora and the Locksmiths made for a really classy evening with a little bit of tease. On a personal level I found it really uplifting to see everyone face to face. It was really great to personally go around and thank people. It was a real good night for people to talk about the issue,” says Lea, sounding hopeful despite her losing thousands of dollars every day her theatre is closed. MLA’s Jenny Kwan and Shane Simpson were in attendance, as was Leonard Schein, the president of Festival Cinemas.
Along with the return (kind of) of gaming based arts funding, the controversy and support the Rio’s latest battle has drawn may herald change. But to win, Lea needs our support. Here’s how you can help: raise your voice and write to your MLA, the Solicitor General and the LCLB; on January 31 Heather Deal is presenting a motion at City Hall to have the movie ban removed, and you can come and speak for the Rio; and support the Rio financially by attending their amazing upcoming LIVE events. Find the addresses and emails, up to date info, FAQs and next steps on Rio’s Facebook group.
The Rio may not be screening movies right now – but there’s still amazing events coming up. Let’s wrap up this chapter of the ongoing saga with a few events coming up. You can check out full details online including advance tickets, but Lea had a few extra tidbits to share with Sad Mag readers.
Saturday, February 4: Patrick Maliha presents the Legion of Stand-Up Comedians
Tickets: $10 Doors: 7pm Show: 8pm
“This is a really exciting night because Patrick Maliha is a well known comedian about town and always puts on an excellent event. Graham Clark will be a special guest, which is amazing, people love Graham Clark. He’s added something like 23 burlesque dancers last minute, so it’s going to be fabulous.”
Friday, February 10: Tongue N’ Cheek: Sex, Dance and Spoken Word
Tickets: $12 advance $15 door Doors: 8pm Show: 9pm
“We’re very excited about this show because it features my four favourite burlesque dancers in town, [Sweet Soul Burlesque’s Crystal Precious, Lola Frost, Little Miss Risk and Cherry On Top]. This is kind of my baby, this particular show, because I’m combining two of my favourite things, burlesque and spoken word. C.R. Avery, Mike McGee and Jamie DeWolf are three really powerful spoken word artists and we’re getting them to collaborate, it’s not ‘here’s a dance, here’s a poem’, we’re getting them to work together. [Plus] there’s 8 local poets who will be competing in the Dirty Haiku contest. … It’s coming up on Valentine’s Day weekend so it’s a good date night.
Tuesday, February 14: The 2nd Annual Sweet Heart Serenade
Tickets: $10 advance, $14 at the door Doors: 8pm Show: 8:30pm
“Last year we attached it with a movie, and we had planned to show Shakespeare in Love but with the predicament we find ourselves in, we are not going to be allowed show it with a movie. So, now it will just be live music but it will be a special night because we’ve hand picked performers from some really great bands in town. It’s a more stripped down, intimate performance which makes it perfect for a date night. It’s adults over so they can have some wine to enjoy during the evening.”
Other events coming up:
Thursday, February 9: David Choi with Special Guests (General Admission/All Ages Show)
Tickets $20 Doors:8 pm Show: 9pm
Saturday, February 12: The Rio Theatre & NightHeat Present: Chali 2na MC
Doors: 8pm Tickets: $18 + S/C advance
Friday, February 24: Comedy Fest: Marc Maron (WTF) with David Cross and Bob Odenkirk Show: 7pm Tickets: http://comedyfest.com/show/wtf-marc-maron
The nearest beach may only be a few blocks from my seat at Gastown’s Nelson the Seagull, but with mid-January hanging heavy over Vancouver, nothing feels so far away as summer. However, as I start to chat with Jody Glenham—local musician and lead singer of newly minted surf rock combo Pleasure Cruise—our conversation turns away from the dreariness of winter.
Instead, in the hours before Pleasure Cruise’s PuSh Festival Club PuSh performance, which will find the band alongside local institutions like Bend Sinister and CBC Radio 3 personality Lisa Christiansen, we end up discussing (maybe perversely, over hot coffee) the hazy warmth of low-fi guitars, the excitement of new horizons for the still-nascent project, and rediscovering the fun of performance
Pleasure Cruise, which Glenham describes as “the Ramones meets the Ronettes,” came together, rather by chance, in the summer of 2011. “Dustin [Bromley] and Quinn [Omori] were looking for a female singer. At the time, I had an injured hand, so I wasn’t playing. And the way they were looking for a singer was on Twitter. They were actually tweeting back and forth, and I happen to follow both of them.” Glenham stops and jokes: “So I was on the inside track. And I half jokingly tweeted back at them ‘I sing, just saying.’”
Before the night was out, Glenham had a series of “bedroom demos” in her inbox; a collection of sweet, summer pop songs featuring Quinn Omori—Shindig veteran, music journalist, and proprietor of From Blown Speakers—on vocals. From those hypermediated beginnings, the trio (now a foursome with the addition of bassist Kyle Bourcier) began taking steps in the opposite direction, towards a low-fi, sun-drenched aesthetic, reminiscent of contemporary acts like Best Coast and Cults, and for Glenham, the 50s’ pop and girl group revival of the 1990s.
“I think our first band practice was actually on the beach,” Glenham recalls. “I just started joining them during their Third Beach afternoons and talking with them, and that started clicking. So we decided to get into a jam space with no idea what to expect.” This rough-shod happenstance, the kind that only summer afternoons can offer, is immediately apparent on the band’s first EP, Business, or…, which jangles and echoes through tracks like “Summer Fling” and throwback piece “I Really Wanna Know.”
In a city where sun is scarce, Pleasure Cruise has quickly become a bright spot, catching the eager attention of fans and journalists alike. Before they had even played their first show, WestEnder had christened the combo “Vancouver’s newest supergroup” and singled them out as one of five acts to watch for in 2011, alongside 2011 Polaris Prize longlist nominees Yukon Blonde and 2012 Polaris shortlisters, The Pack A.D.
Asked why she thinks Pleasure Cruise’s particular brand of “summer beach music” seems to have connected so quickly with listeners, Glenham offers a fairly simple and extremely convincing answer: “It’s fun! Doing your own solo stuff, you can get caught up in being so serious all the time, and this is just so fun! I think people recognize that and respond to it in a genuine way.”
I have to agree. There’s something about Pleasure Cruise that recalls the do-it-yourself, do-as-you-will punk heritage on which Vancouver sits; that compulsion to make music that just works, and to do it joyfully, alongside friends. And that’s exactly what Pleasure Cruise does—a journalist, a singer-songwriter, and a former punk musician making slap-happy surf rock that audiences love.
The coming months, Glenham says, include a possible vinyl release, some potential festival dates, and sinking “fishing lines” into record label inboxes. But for the most part, the future of Pleasure Cruise seems to be as indulgently casual as its past. In Glenham’s words: “what are you planning? I’m planning on doing whatever the universe hands me.”
You can download Pleasure Cruise’s debut EP Business or… for free on Bandcamp. The band will be playing February 3rd at Lucky Bar in Victoria and February 14th at The Biltmore.
Marianela Ramos Capelo pulls up the leg of her jeans to show her right ankle. “Excuse my hairy leg,” she cautions, as she reveals a 3-inch tattoo: one continuous line that forms the outline of a dog pulled length-wise. “It’s a line drawing of a weiner dog. It’s based on a Picasso drawing,” she explains. Picasso’s simple sketch was a love letter to a Daschund named Lump; Capelo’s rendition is a tribute to her childhood pet: “He was my best buddy growing up. The best memories that I have with my family are with that dog there. He was amazing. That was the first one.”
Photo: Marianela Ramos Capelo
Capelo has three tattoos: she has another on her left wrist, and a third on her left bicep. She tells me the story behind each one, and then reveals that a year ago, she had no tattoos. It’s possible, then, that the year-long art project she just completed might have swayed her to get a little ink.
Nearly everyday since September 2010, Capelo, a 22-year-old communication arts student, has been asking strangers about their tattoos. In the hopes of overcoming and understanding her shyness, she challenged herself to talk to 365 strangers. Capelo approached people in cafés, on campus and on Commercial Drive, where she lives, asking them to show her a tattoo and tell her the story behind it. With an iPhone and a smile, she found 420 people who let her take a photo of their body art and share the genesis story on her blog, A Stranger A Day (astrangeraday.tumblr.com).
In July, she captured a vividly coloured portrait of Karma that stretched from a man’s armpit to his hip (he got it just for art’s sake). Last October, she photographed a dot of ink below a woman’s eye (the stranger wanted to remember the tears she had shared with her husband). The tattoos vary, but Capelo discovered “something really beautiful” in the relationship all the strangers had with the art on their skin. “It’s hard to get someone to say something positive about their bodies,” she says. Not very many people say, ‘Oh look at my nose! Look at my fingers!’ But with tattoos, it’s very easy.”
On October 24, she posted her final photo, and cried. “I was done! I was just really happy. But that was about 30 seconds and then it was onto the show.” Less than two weeks later, she and three friends drew about 200 Vancouverites to a tiny, narrow art gallery on East Georgia Street to show the complete work. It was almost impossible to walk through the room and take in the images and stories; the gallery was packed with bodies. Attendees were waiting outside before the show even started at 7 p.m., many of whom were the inked strangers from her website. They’d heard about the one-night exhibit on CBC Radio or read about it on the blog Vancouver is Awesome and came to see their picture on the walls. “It was really cool,” the artist says. “One of my main goals of the show was to reach out to the strangers, and for them to see what they were a part of, because it was all about them.”
Each stranger’s tattoo gave Capelo a document of a meaningful encounter. “A few strangers came by and I couldn’t remember their faces. But they would show me their tattoo and I would say, ‘I remember everything about you now!’ And I would. I would remember where they were and who they were with.” As Capelo has learned, tattoos—or even pictures of them—make indelible memories and memories indelible. When a person gets a tattoo, she says, they’re choosing to put a story or image on them for the rest of their lives. No matter the circumstances of getting the tattoo, good or bad, “It’s a memory they don’t regret.”
I think I really started to like living here when I got into playing ball at Kits Beach in the spring of 2009. Playing ball and reading on the beach is basically my dream vacation except I don’t have to go anywhere so it’s perfect.
Tara Mahoney is one half of the 
