Q&A | Sad Mag

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It’s fair to assume that the majority of people in Vancouver like being outside during the summer. Besides being an ideal time to appreciate the city’s many outdoor amenities, the summer also happens to be a wonderfully generous time in the sense of yielding opportunities to appreciate local artwork. Each of these warrant our support and appreciation I would argue (and I encourage you to investigate as many as you have occasion to), but one such opportunity is perhaps in particular worth getting excited about. That is, the currently debuting ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ exhibition, showing from now until September 7^th at the Ayden Gallery (88 W. Pender St., Suite #2103).

Billed as a visual exploration of pleasure, the exhibit showcases an impressive range of original illustrative works independently conceived and curated by eight local female artists of varying artistic backgrounds. The combined collection aims to evidence a diversity of different artistic meditations on the topic, and can be expected to offer an intriguing look at some of the impressive works to recently emanate from Vancouver’s emerging class of enterprising young female artists.

Over the weekend I caught up with the chief curator of the exhibition, Pandora Young, to quickly glean from her some further details about the show.

Sad Mag: Right—so if you don’t object, we’ll start by briefly treading over some biographical details, then from there we can proceed with more inquiring questions concerning the artwork you’ll be exhibiting along with your peers at the Midsummer Night’s Dream exhibition. I gather that you’re a graduate of Emily Carr University and that you currently work and reside here in Vancouver; aside from those details however, I can’t speak much to your background. Can you tell me where you’re from?

Pandora Young: I was born in Victoria, British Columbia, and enjoyed an unorthodox upbringing. When I was young my parents brought me along to nude beaches, Star Trek conventions, Renaissance fairs. I grew up among Klingons and Vikings, suspended between 1500 and 2500. The period I was least adjusted to was that in the middle.

SM: What school(s) did you attend here and/or elsewhere? Were you enrolled in a specific program, or concerned with any particular area of focus?

PY: I spent a year in Japan as an exchange student at 16 due to, as my mother might have put it, an unhealthy preoccupation with the Japanimé. Immersion into such an illustratively versed and illustratively permeated culture was thoroughly enriching. I can’t think of a time when I was more ravenously, feverishly, ragingly inspired. I was surrounded by things that were so devastatingly cool to a teenaged kid, I knew what I thought was sick and what I exactly wanted to make, and I couldn’t draw fast enough to get it all out.

I spent two years at the University of Victoria in my early twenties, majoring in Anthropology, and studying linguistics, history, archeology, comparative religions, and more. Basically if it was a science you wouldn’t get paid for, I was there. In the end, I felt that Anthropology was too academic, though methodized as it needed to be, and ironically lost touch with the very humanity it studied. That in part led me to finally pursue art as more than a hobby, and to find a livelihood where humanity not only has space, but is requisite.

SM: You previously mentioned that ‘A Mid Summer Night’s Dream’ has an artistic lineage that to some extent dates back to your involvement with Rain City Illustration a couple of years back. Can you explain to me what Rain City Illustration was and or is, and clarify the specific nature of your involvement with it?

PY: A few years back, Emily Carr introduced a small new major, Illustration, anticipating little interest. They received well over a hundred applications for around two-dozen spots. Rain City Illustration was created as a space for the tremendous amount of passion we were made aware existed within the student community.

My involvement began when I took on manning their social media channels. In their third year I became president for the group. By that point we were the largest student group on campus with well over a hundred members. It was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever been part of. I was posited at the nexus of the numerous individual practices that bled into illustration, helping them communicate and cross pollinate, and from the vantage that hub provided the view was ceaselessly inspiring. Where others might only be witness to their own departments, entrenched in our own work as we often become, I saw unquantifiable creation happening in parallel, everyday. Over a hundred artists, each with their own heritage of media and method, all growing and evolving around me. I can’t imagine how a career professor of art isn’t overwhelmed by it.

Jane Q Cheng showcases her art. Image: Ayden Gallery

SM: It’s been a few years since you ran Rain City Illustration, and now your expertise are being solicited to host and curate an exhibition at the Ayden Gallery. Can you explain to me what the show—‘A Mid Summer Night’s Dream—is about, and detail to me the exact capacity in which you are involved?

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a visual exploration of pleasure. Each of us, myself and the seven other women involved, we’re given the theme, and will bring back our own interpretations. I was asked to curate a show by Ayden Gallery, and it was a real fantasy come true for me as I’d often day dreamed what my perfect roster of favorite artists would be.

SM: What would you identify as the primary intellectual and artistic inspirations for the show?

We wanted to take pleasure and turn it over and over in our hands, investigate it. It seems like such a simple thing, but it’s so inalienably intertwined with pain, with drive, with creation, with mistake, with loss. It’s possibly the second most basic and universal impetus after feeding one’s self. […] Escaping poverty of pleasure, is the drive behind just about anything you can name; why human beings migrate to unknown continents, why one empire takes from another, the motive behind why human beings strive to do just about anything we do. It can also be the thing that hurts us the most, as the Buddha would tell us. The Greeks venerated Melpomene as the goddess of celebration and despair. So obviously there is a rich conversation there, and at its heart is an anthropological body of work we are creating.

SM: What does ‘pleasure’—the underlying conceptual focus of this exhibition—mean to you, and how has that interpretation of pleasure informed your own art submissions?

My own take on pleasure has been a darker one. I feel like, with the struggles in my life, I’ve had nine parts pain to every one pleasure. And yet, there’s been pleasure in that too. That string quartet quality of sublime heartbreak, the clean, perfect beauty of bottom of the pit sorrow, of harrowing pain. There’s something exquisite even in wretchedness. The very best love songs come from heartbreak, and poetry. Our humanity is universalized through it. I count myself lucky to be the kind of artist who thrives from this, because these are the inevitable aspects of life. I’ve always been one whose sails are filled by pain. I suppose you could call me a masochist. I tend to think of it simply as having a refined palette for a certain bitter wine.

SM: In what sense(s) are your submissions cohesive with those of the other contributing participants? Do your works share many similarities besides their common topical focus, or do they demonstrate a fairly wide range of aesthetic tastes and techniques?

In truth, I’ve yet to actually see. There’s a wide range of specializations involved: two oil painters, several illustrators, and a print maker. We’ve shared progress shots with one another, but each woman has worked from her respective studio, and the day of hanging was like opening a present on Christmas morning for me.

SM: Do you have any discernable tendencies in terms of where and when you like to practice art?

At home, in total solitude.

SM: Right—ok so before we wrap this up, I have left just a few slightly more personal questions concerning your life, and your aspirations and interests outside and beyond this particular exhibit we’ve been discussing. Have you in mind any plans for after the conclusion of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’? Are there yet any other projects you’re planning or working on that we can look forward to?

I have an upcoming show in January with Vancouver artist Nomi Chi at Hot Art Wet City that I’m really excited for. There is no theme, and for the first time in ages I won’t have to work around school projects, which means I can finally attend to the list of ideas I’ve forever wanted to explore—in my mind, that list is something like an old tattered papyrus scroll which unfurls comically across the floor and out the exit.

Tina Yan's pieces mix realism with bold colour and pattern. Image: Ayden Gallery — Tina Yan’s pieces mix realism with bold colour and pattern. Image: Ayden Gallery

Q. What are some of your interests besides art?

Sudoku. History. Science. Languages.

SM: Are there certain artists/people/things from who/which you derive most inspiration?

[…] I love Schiele, Klimt, Ingre, Rackham, Dulac, Dore, Parrish. I cannot express enough love for the work of Norman Rockwell, whose works timelessly bring a tear to the eye and tell an entire story in an image. I think Canadian artist Kate Beaton is a genius beyond measure. I love Brad Kunkle, Vania, Yoshitaka Amano, Katsuhiro Otomo, Sachin Teng, Jeff Simpson, my teacher Justin Novak, Yoann Lossel, Michael Carson—Just to name a few! And of course, all the ladies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream!

Q. Lastly, who, if anyone, would you identify as your hero or role model?

My personal hero is Sponge Bob. Yes, seriously. He is enthusiastic, caring, thoughtful, eager to excel at his profession, loves his friends, and is insurmountably sincere.

A Midsummer’s Night Dream runs from now until September 7^th at the Ayden Gallery (88 W. Pender St, Suite #2103) For more information about the show and its featured artists click here.

Grit & Gristle artist Nicola Tibbetts has organized a new group exhibition for the North Vancouver Arts Council. On until July 26th, it features her work along with that of Ying-Yeuh Chuang and Ben Lee. Sad Mag talked with her about her donut painting on the back of the Grit & Gristle issue and her love of food.

Sad Mag: I was introduced to your work when one of your paintings was on the back of Grit & Gristle. The painting has Honey Cruller and Vanilla Dip donuts positioned on a stage of sprinkles and is part of a series that reimagines The Marriage of Figaro using Tim Hortons’ donuts in the place of actors. Each donut was given a character from the opera based on its appearance, texture, taste, and popularity. It was a perfect note to close the food issue and I think readers would be interested to know where the idea for this series came from.

Nicola Tibbetts: I had been using food as my subject for a few years at that point and was looking to put the foods into a context instead of painting them into flat saturated colour fields. I was sitting in Tim Hortons in Halifax drinking a hot chocolate and I began thinking of ways to do this. I realized that Tim Hortons donuts were a perfect “food” to anthropomorphize and play with because of the variety of textures, colours, shapes, fillings, and associations people have with certain varieties.

I chose The Marriage of Figaro as my narrative because it’s a ridiculous and melodramatic opera, which exaggerates the absurdity of anthropomorphizing donuts. I liked that Tim Hortons donuts are the epitome of low quality food while opera is one of the most bourgeois and “high art” of art forms.

SM: I’ve been looking at your work and food is common to all your series. Could you give a little context to your interest in food?

NT: I’ve been interested in food for a long time. It began with baking and moved on to cooking when I realized meals were more important than dessert. Growing up we would talk about food, recipes, and our family food history around the dinner table and my sisters and I have continued that into our conversations today.

I love to read books and watch movies about food as well; two of my favourite books are The Art of Eating by MFK Fisher and Charlemagne’s Tablecloth by Nicola Fletcher. My favourite food films are ‘Tampopo’ by Juzo Itami and ‘The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover’ by Peter Greenway. Because I lead a food-centric life that’s all I want to make art about. For now.

SM: Many of your paintings anthropomorphize food and I think the result is at once humorous and elegant. Do you find the use of humour to be a balancing act?

NT: Sometimes the humour in my work is evident from the very beginning like in The Marriage of Figaro series while other times it becomes apparent later. I often appropriate ideas from art history and tend to choose stories and images that I find entertaining and strange which then find their way into my work. For Progress of Love series I copied the backgrounds and took the titles of French Rococo painter Honore Frangonard and inserted my own food characters where he had painted a courting couple. The Rococo genre was a very romantic, playful, and often frivolous period in art history and I wanted to heighten and exaggerate those aspects when I made my works. I’m not laughing at my ideas as I’m making the work but I do sometimes chuckle during an artist talk when I realize how crazy I must sound.

SM: Some of your work explores performance and theatre as well as food. Do you see an inherent connection between them or is there something else you are wanting to evoke in bringing them together?

NT: I think of cooking and serving food as performative even within my home. The series The Feast is inspired by medieval feasts, which were extremely performative. Every dish served had a specific history and meaning. In the Progress of Love series I took this concept even further by making the foods themselves the characters.

SM: You, Ying-Yeuh Chuang, and Ben Lee all use food as inspiration in your practice. What was your intention behind the exhibit with works from you three artists?

NT: The three of us have been colleagues in the Studio Art department at Capilano University for the last few years until the program was cut in April. Oddly I didn’t realize until about a year ago that our processes’ were so similar. I was interested in bringing together three very different practices that were united by the use of everyday objects like food to make curious and unexpected artworks. And in your words from earlier they also balance humour and elegance in their work. Basically I just love both of their work!

Processed with VSCOcam with m5 preset — ” I realized that Tim Hortons donuts were a perfect “food” to anthropomorphize…”

SM: Most of the pieces you have at the exhibit are from The Feast series, which imagines a banquet from beginning to end—untouched ingredients to dirty dishes. Was there a reason you brought this series to the context of this particular exhibit?

NT: Of all my paintings The Feast series is most focused on food and this exhibition highlighted food as subject. I felt that the minimalist nature of much of Ben and Ying-Yueh’s work also contrasted nicely with the abundance and excess in The Feast paintings.

Extraordinary will be on until July 26, 2014 at CityScape Community Arts Space in North Vancouver. More information about the exhibition and artists.

Skye Wallace is a national treasure. Her third studio album “Living II Parts” is a melodic, raw and orchestral beauty that tells an untold narrative about the vast Canadian landscape. Skye has the ability to reel you in for story time, paint portraits of barren vistas and give the illusion that all things are dead. Her music and performance elicit power and beauty, coupled with vulnerability. She’s currently traveling the country but we caught up with Skye to ask her SadMag Local Musics Q’s:

If life weren’t filled with music it would still be filled with stories and art, some way or another.

A good show means heat and heart and soul and barely remembering what it is that you’ve done—not due to any kind of intoxication, but due to being lost in what you’re creating.

Your backing band is a very talented bunch. Devon Kroeger is my right hand (wo)man. She’s been there through thick and thin. The release show is an excellent example of what the ideal setup tends to be: myself on vocals and guitar, Devon on violin, Alex Hauka on cello, Stevie Beddall on drums, Wynston Minckler on bass, Owen Connell on keys, and Ben Doerksen on electric guitar.

Bedtime is nice, if it comes naturally.

My daily rituals include definitely brushing my teeth twice a day.

Touring is hella enjoyable; having moved around a lot when I was younger, I have certainly practiced detachment when it comes to things and homes. I don’t find it difficult to shed domestic comforts.

Best city to eat in while on the road: Burrito Jax in Halifax makes this answer Halifax

The musician to make babies with would be: Tom Waits. I like to think we’d get each other.

Favourite music video as a teenager: Sun 41 – Fat Lip/Pain For Pleasure

Favourite much music VJ: George Stromboulopoulos

Name of your favourite pet: Gummybear. A funny anecdote regarding pet names: I saw a chain email once saying your stripper name is your first dog’s name and then your first street name. This lands me at Willy Putsey. Not very sexy.

Skye is headed to Toronto to release “Living Parts” at the Horseshoe Tavern on June 4, 2014. Listen to her new album on Soundcloud and escape into the beauty that is skyewallace.com.

Upon receiving an intriguing press release about up-and-coming Vancouver label Mateelda, I could not wait to learn more about Maryna Hrychana, the designer behind the gorgeous collection. I was not disappointed. In fact, the more Maryna and I corresponded, the more I realised we have this major thing in common: the belief that you can never be overdressed. With every question it became clearer to me that Maryna has valued style and beauty all her life. As someone who is frequently asked “You are wearing that? We’re just going for coffee?!” I completely understand Maryna’s desire to continually showcase her personal style, not only in how she presents herself, but in how she creates her collections.

The Vancouver-based designer draws inspiration from her surroundings in order to create stunning clothing and custom made jewellery sure to make everyone in the presence of her designs feel gorgeous. Maryna’s personalized collections incorporate chic femininity alongside clean lines with a classic look, simultaneously showcasing inspiration from her Eastern European upbringing and Vancouver’s modern style.

Sad Mag: How did Mateelda come to be?
Maryna Hrychana: Mateelda was a long-time dream. Growing up in Eastern Europe I realized how much effort most women put into looking fashionable every day. An imprint of my mother walking up the stairs in her high heels will always stay in my mind. After moving to Vancouver, I had an opportunity to attend a fashion show where someone randomly approached me with a question: “Are you a designer? We love your outfit!!” This question led me to a final decision with my career choice—to go into the fashion industry instead of the medical field. And that’s where it all began! I made a promise to myself to follow my passion towards beauty and aesthetics, and through my designs, to help people feel beautiful.

SM: What is the meaning behind the name of your label, Mateelda?
MH: I have been asked so many times how I came up with not just the name for the company, but also the logo. When starting the brand I wanted the company name to reflect and define exactly what the brand is about—classy and strong lines with unique details. The meaning of the old English name “Matilda” is “might, strength.” Changing the spelling from “I” into “EE” added unique detail, together with 3 classic colours. It just made perfect sense.

SM: What is your favorite piece in the current collection?
MH: The beautiful, chic, classy and tailored white cotton dress “Aliana.” It has structured lines that highlight a feminine body shape with a small detail of black French lace that adds just enough of a twist to make it look modern.

SM: What was your biggest influence/inspiration when designing the collection?
MH: Designing each collection the foundation of my inspiration comes from architecture, as I always have been fascinated by structure, lines, proportions, and of course, textures. Final accents in each collection are influenced by various cultures, mythology and the grace of body movement.

SM: How much is the collection a reflection of your personal style?
MH: It is funny, in the beginning one of my close friends commented that I design my own perfect wardrobe. I was always drawn to the elegant lines of the 50’s and the fun colours/patterns of the 60’s. In design, especially in fashion, there is a very fine line between your personal taste (as a designer) and the client’s needs and preference. Yet saying that, your personal style is the “soul” and definition of your brand, which you carry throughout each collection. That is what makes your brand different from others and appealing to your clients.

SM: How would you describe your personal style?
MH: As you constantly grow as a person, you change and so does your lifestyle and personal style. I love versatility and trying to break down the collection to mix and match it. With such a busy world these days you want to have functional outfit that will take you through the day looking professional and comfortable, but can still gravitate to a classy dressed up look: tailored dresses, skirts, but also a pair of jeans paired with high heels.

SM: Are you inspired by any other designers, or collections?
MH: Most inspiration comes from the people around me, life itself, and the journey of your work as you go. But I do admire designers such as Alexander McQueen. And of course Tom Ford is one of the most inspirational artists ever, in every field he works in.

SM: How was Eco Fashion Week?
MH: Participating in Eco Fashion Week was an amazing experience, as I met new colleagues and like-minded people! It is great to be a part of community where you can find beautiful art pieces designed with awareness towards the environment around us.

SM: Where would you like to see Mateelda five or ten years down the road?
MH: I’m a big believer that men and women are using fashion as a tool to express themselves to the world. I hope to see more people out on the street wearing Mateelda designs!

Mateelda designs are quickly spreading through Vancouver and being carried in boutiques such as Edward Chapman Woman on South Granville. Customized designs can also be ordered from www.mateelda.ca

Christepher Wee, Mr. Gay Canada 2014 is an energetic and amazingly positive guy. He thinks of himself primarily as an educator and uses his success in modeling, acting and pageantry as a vehicle for his activism. Shannon Waters caught up with Christepher to talk about his new title, what he thinks about the Olympics and what he plans on doing next.

We'd be more than happy to high five Christepher for diversity! — We’d be more than happy to high five Christepher for diversity!

Sad Mag: Who are you?

Christepher Wee: I’m just a collective contribution of everything since my childhood—my parents, teachers, education, upbringing, the things I’ve learned. That’s who I am today. And every time I experience something, like this competition and the people I meet — well, you grow a little more every day. I live life just as a normal human being, doing the best I can, being a humanitarian. I’m going through life being the best human I can. Christepher Wee is a collective being of all of the positive things that have gone through my life.

SM: Tell me about the Mr. Gay Canada competition.

CW: I didn’t actually know there was a Mr. Gay Canada. Since I was young, I’ve always loved pageants. I always watched them with my mom—Ms. Universe, Ms. World, and all that. I was watching pageants on YouTube and I’d always known these ladies have a platform for charity and I wondered if I could do something like that. You see, as a teacher, I knew I could influence my students but the range kind of stops outside of your class or your school. I realized as an actor my voice was more powerful and I could influence more through my TV shows or as the spokesperson for a particular cause. I watched Ms. America and the winner, you know, was of East Indian descent and the runner up of Chinese descent, and I thought, wow, what a change! What a celebration of diversity! And then I watched Ms. World and I wondered…so I Googled Mr. World. And I found out they do have one and I was kind of blown away. So I wondered, do they have a Mr. Gay World? And they do. So I applied and the next thing I knew, I was in the Mr. Gay Canada pageant. I didn’t really expect anything of it—I thought I could use it as a platform to do what I wanted to do. I thought it would be a good place because the press would be there and lots of different organizations would be there and I could make connections and network within the community to do what I wanted to do.

SM: And you came out on top!

CW: I came out on top! I’m the first Asian winner of Mr. Gay Canada. I’m also the first competitor to win all of the accolades. I won Best National Costume—the winner wears their costume at the Mr. Gay World competition. I won with a Chief Justice costume (from the Supreme Court of Canada). I thought it would be a good costume because Canada is so progressive in its human rights; we’ve always been a leader in that, that it would be great. You know, instead of the usual, like a Mountie or a hockey player. The Supreme Court Justice costume speaks to a national philosophy, a belief behind what we’re striving for in the world. I didn’t expect to win—there were so many other amazing costumes—but I did.

I also won Mr. Congeniality. All of the guys were so great so the fact that I was voted Mr. Congeniality was really touching.

And then there was People’s Choice award. I was a bit worried about that because, having just come back to Canada, I didn’t think I would have Vancouver or BC voting for me. My group of friends is mainly in Asia so I messaged them to tell them I was a finalist in Mr. Gay Canada and asked them to vote for me and to get the word out and I was overwhelmed. My Facebook account had maybe 800 or 900 people on it and then every day it would increase by 100, 150. And I received messages and messages. I had so many messages from Asia, from strangers, from people I didn’t even know. And then I received messages from people in Saudia Arabia and Venezuela and all over the world—messages of support saying, “You represent us,” “You are our voice,” “You are our hope.”

Like I said before, I try to live my life just as a human being. I’m not doing this because I’m Asian, to benefit the Asian community, or even to benefit the LGBTQ community. I’m doing it because it will benefit all humankind. So it really hit me when I realized that I am a representative for people.

SM: So now that you’ve got the title and the platform, what are you looking to do with it?

CW: My platform has always been with youth because I teach. In Canada, we have the Gay/Straight Alliance and in BC, we have Out in Schools. But I’d like to build on that—I think we need support programs in every school. I bet every school has an annual club and every school has a student council and now, pretty much every school has an anti-bullying campaign with the pink T-shirt day. So why not make a club in every school that celebrates diversity?

I would like to start High Five Diversity. Little kids are taught to high five when they do something good—it has a positive association. The word diversity also has positive associations and lacks the stigma of, say, tolerance or inclusiveness. Instead of saying, ‘Let’s be inclusive,’ let’s celebrate our diversity. Let’s learn from our diversity, let’s educate each other on our differences and let’s celebrate them. Diversity should be a part of everyday life. And I think we’re at the point where we can make that shift and make diversity a part of education and let kids feel safe and secure and be who they are.

I’ve started Hi5Diversity on Twitter—@WeeChristepher and #hi5diversity—but I want to see it in schools. I’d like to create a Facebook page as well, where people, especially kids, can upload artwork or poems or whatever that celebrate diversity.

In the meantime, I’m in touch with GSA and Pride Education and Out in Schools, to see how they can use my sash for their cause. Because this is something that I want to do long term and a year is just going to fly by. After a year, when you’re no longer Mr. Gay Canada, how loud is your voice? I want to spend this year being very active.

Being a role model is top on Christepher's list. — Being a role model is top on Christepher’s list.

As soon as I got back from Whistler, I emailed Tim Stevenson (Vancouver City Council member) in Sochi and told him, “I’m the new Mr. Gay Canada, I want to see how I can contribute.” I didn’t think he would respond. But within hours, Maureen Douglas responded and said, “Tim got your email, he’s really busy right now but he’s interested in getting in touch with you when he gets back from Sochi.” So I’m really excited about that!

SM: Let’s talk about the Olympics. Have you been watching them?

CW: I watched a bit of the opening ceremony yesterday with friends. One of my friends asked me a really good question. He asked me if I support the Olympics. I said I do support the Olympics and the athletes, especially the athletes. Because they have worked so hard and this is a time for them to show their excellence, their unity and what they’ve worked so hard for. This is something we need to celebrate. But I don’t support what’s going on in Russia. Those are two different things. I actually think the fact that the Olympics are being held there is fantastic as previously there was talk of a boycott. I don’t think boycotting is the right route, necessarily, especially in this case. Here you have the global media on site at the location of horrible repression. What better way to draw attention, to get it out into the world, than to have the world’s athletes there and the press that goes with that? Maybe the world unified and all of those voices unified can change a few politicians’ minds, can change the country. Maybe. But at least it’s better than having a boycott. I think when we have social issues, they need to be addressed and out there. We need to build awareness for it and build a discourse in every country for it.

Sometimes I think we kind of forget that our pioneers got us where we are today. That’s why I can sit here and have that freedom to say what I want and to wear a sash that says Mr. Gay Canada. We’ve moved a long ways but that doesn’t mean we can take it for granted. Depending on who is in power, things can regress very quickly. I don’t think we can take it for granted at all, that freedom, and I think we need to be very aware of what is happening with our global neighbours because what’s happening to them could come around and affect us. And these days, with social media, we are so interconnected that we can make a difference in each other’s countries.

SM: Have you seen some of the athletes at the Olympics sporting LGBTW supportive gear?

CW: It gives me goosebumps, all the way to my head. It’s exciting. That’s why I said; we need to have presence there. Those rainbows—the world knows what the rainbow means, what it represents. And they know what pink represents and what the red ribbon represents. We all know those symbols and when they see them, people make that connection. That’s why I think it’s great that we’re not boycotting the Olympics. We should celebrate what these athletes are doing. We shouldn’t condone what’s going on in Russia—we need to speak up—but the athletes are there to show their dedication and their excellence. They’re great ambassadors. It just goes to show that we can be united and maybe we can get a few politicians to change their mindsets so that our brothers and sisters in Russia can have the freedom to live. Just the right to live and not be beaten up or spat on. I think it’s about more than just the LGBTQ community. It’s also about bullying. Because if it can happen to the LGBTQ community, it can happen to other communities too. Whoever is living in a country and is identified as not belonging or fitting in. specific criteria.

SM: You’ve moved around a lot—tell me about your travels and your time in Asia.

CW: I traveled a lot as a kid. My parents made a point of taking us on a trip pretty much every summer. It ‘s something I’ve always been interested in: traveling and seeing different cultures. When I left Vancouver and went to Asia, I was teaching International Baccalaureate Art and I wanted to go and study Asian art to be able to incorporate Asian art and art history into my program. So I took a leave of 6 months…that then turned into years. While I was in Asia, I was discovered for modeling. And then the modeling took off and led to TV. TV took off and led to film and I found a whole new existence I’d never thought about it. I found that what I could do with it was amazing. As an educator, you always have that inner drive to influence and have an impact. I know that kind of sounds cliché, like world peace, but I think that’s the way I was brought up. It’s been my mentality since I was young: to make a positive difference and to be a role model. So when I found a bit of fame and found that I could use my voice to impact so many, it drove me to become even more involved.

SM: It sounds a bit as if you saw modeling and acting as a means to an end, so to speak. Was that always how you saw it or did that change over time?

CW: It was that way from the start. At first, I was doing my art research and doing a bit of modeling and it was good, the money was good. But when you’re modeling, people don’t really know your name—they associate you with a brand. I knew people recognized me and there was an element of celebrity there but it wasn’t until film, when my name was out there and people started saying, “That’s Christepher Wee,” that’s when I realized that they really knew me. That’s when I started to do a lot of interviews. I’d done interviews before as a model, but these were much more intimate and I realized that I had a lot of options. Then I started to be approached by local newspapers to write as a guest journalist about social issues. I was approached by Teen Magazine! Charities would ask me to just show up to their events. Some people would get really excited about going to the fancy parties and stuff but to me it’s just a job. I go to the shoot because that’s my job. I’m in a TV show because that’s my job and I want to do the best I can at every job I have. I don’t think, “Oh, I’m famous, I’m better than you,” because I’m still Christepher Wee. Before I started doing any of this and who I am now, it’s still Christepher Wee. Nothing has changed in the core. But now I have the ability to use my name to do something and so I’m going to use it.

We wish Christepher luck in the future! With a smile like that, how could he lose?

SM: Do you have any particular role models for your activism?

CW: So many! So many people have gotten us to where we are today. People in science and arts and languages and technology, humanitarianism and social work—it’s taken people in all of those areas to get us to where we are today.

I love quotes. When I find a quote that really speaks to me, I Google who wrote it or said it to learn about them. I find out about their contributions and so I’m always finding new role models.

Chris Morrissey of the Rainbow Refugee Association, was at the Mr. Gay Canada Competition. She spoke to us about refugee issues and international LGBTQ issues. That’s someone who has done amazing work! And Ellen DeGeneres or even Obama, those are the people that I hope to emulate. They’re my ah-ha! moments. I’m hoping that soon I will be able to be someone’s ah-ha! moment. I think I’m getting there, some of my former students have told me I’ve inspired them. I told my students that I was a finalist in Mr. Gay Canada. At first, I didn’t but eventually it got out – and they all gave me their support!

I think if I can leave some kind of impression on people, they way that all of these other people have left an impression on me, that’s a worthy goal. If everyone can leave ah-ha! moments for others, instead of negative impacts, I think our world would be so different. In terms of what’s going on in Russia right now, people are spreading these videos of violence against LGBTQ people around, trying to raise awareness. But some people who see those videos won’t be educated – they may go the opposite way and think, if others are doing it, why can’t I? I think there are two sides to the activism coin – why not be on the positive side?

SM: So it sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate as Mr. Gay Canada this year. Do you know what comes next?

CW: Well, Mr. Gay World is coming up in August so I have to prepare for that. It’s not just about your good looks or nice body—it’s about what you bring to the organization and what you can do. The past Mr. Gay World’s have been amazing ambassadors for their platforms—they’re inspirations. The winner for this year will have big shoes to fill so I’m working towards that, towards making the judges know that I’m doing this for more than glamour. I’ve done that, I know what it’s like to have celebrity and to be in the papers. It’s irrelevant to me. It’s what you do behind the name and the title that matters. So I want to be really prepared for that and, regardless of the results, I know that, being on the world stage, my voice will be bigger. And if I win? Wow, that’s another sash that will launch me to a different level in terms of what I can do. I’m excited! I’m not getting my hopes up that I can win because, regardless, just making it there to the world stage is a win and it already gives what I want to do a bigger platform.

You can follow Christepher Wee on Twitter (@ChristepherWee) and on Facebook. He also holds the Twitter handle @WeeChristepher as a platform for his hi5Diversity program.

How Poetry Saved My Life — Winner of the 2013 Vancouver Book Award

After attending the 2013 Mayor’s Arts Awards in December, Sad Mag correspondent Shazia Hafiz Ramji caught up with the fiery but modest writer, Amber Dawn, to discuss her genre-crossing memoir How Poetry Saved My Life, which won the 2013 Vancouver Book Award. Having garnered numerous awards, including the Lambda Award for her previous book, Sub Rosa, and an award-winning docuporn, Amber continues to achieve more—by retaining a candid, engaged stance in How Poetry Saved My Life. Read on to share Amber’s thoughts on what it means to be a “Hustler,” ways of living and healing in Vancouver, and the role of genre in being “emotionally accurate.”

Sad Mag: In a recent article about The Vancouver Book Award in The Globe and Mail, you told the Globe: “I usually don’t say I want to win something, but I really want this.” Congratulations on having your desire come true! Why did you really want to win the 2013 Vancouver Book Award?
Amber Dawn: I’ve had some dark days in Vancouver, and I made a promise to this city that if it took care of me that I’d take care of it. I’m keeping my promise in the ways that I know how: using my voice, volunteering, activism and ongoing learning. How Poetry Saved My Life shows aspects of this city that not everyone sees directly; however, I believe issues of sex work, risk and violence against women are palpable in every Vancouverites’ mind. We know that the number of missing and murdered women in this city is inexcusably high. We know that the city is changing in ways that causes homelessness to continue to rise. We all wonder what to do, and how to heal from the traumas we collectively feel or witness. I wrote my book in part because I wanted to remind Vancouverites that there is always something we can do, there is always some way we can heal.

SM: Even though your book is categorized as a memoir, you employ many genres. Why did you decide to use many genres?
AD: I did not start of by saying, “I want to write a mixed-genre prose and poetry book.” But as I wrote, I came to understand that my story couldn’t be told through a single prosaic “confessional memoir” chronological narrative—from inciting moment, to so-called rock-bottom, to redemption. Whose life is really like that? That memoir formula is far too tidy to tell most of our life stories. To be emotionally accurate and true to my experiences I needed to use poetry, essay and short memoir. I needed the dynamism of all three.

SM: Please discuss the decision making process around using the word “hustler” in the title of your book.
AD: I love the term “sex worker.” I love the history of that term—the history of explicitly naming sex work as work. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Margot St James and Carol Leigh, aka The Scarlot Harlot, two early San Francisco-based sex work activists who have taught me to take pride in the history of our movement. But my book and my identity are about more than just sex work. Class, survivorship and queerness are prominent themes in the book too (they can’t be separated). I felt “hustler” encompassed more of who I am. “Hustler” can mean to move through something or to take a gamble, a risk. Sure, I hustled as a sex worker. I also hustled my way through university. I’m hustling my way up the class ladder. I’ve hustled French women in a Parisian dyke bar …

SM: How do you feel now that you’ve won the 2013 Vancouver Book Award?
AD: What does it say about our City to name a scrappy, queer, sex worker memoir as the 2013 Book? I hope it says that Vancouver wants to be inclusive, broad-minded and vocal. I hope it says that Vancouver wants to hear from under-represented peoples—and that we’re not afraid of topics like sex, poverty and survival. With this hope, I feel awesome about winning. I want to high five everyone I see.

SM: What are you currently working on?
AD: I’m working on a magical realism novel called “Sodom Road Exit”—set in Crystal Beach, Ontario (the former site of Crystal Beach Amusement Park) during the years 1990 and 1991. After dropping out of the University of Toronto and racking up significant financial debt, my protagonist, Bailey, moves home to Crystal Beach to live with her mother. Her arrival coincides with the aftermath of the amusement park’s bankruptcy and closure, which leaves Crystal Beach a ghost town, both financially and literally. It’s a ghost story. Magic and ghosts (and a few sex workers, too).

***

Follow Amber Dawn @AmberDawnWrites, keep apprised of independent publishing at Arsenal Pulp Press, @Arsenalpulp, and visit Shazia to keep cool @Shazia_R

GLORIA BERNAL

Meet Gloria Bernal, a co-founder of Glitz Entertainment. Hosting the second annual Lab Art Show, Glitz is a marketing firm with big goals and a flair for the unique. They customize and design programs and events tailored to each client, committing to creating a memorable experience.

Born in Guadalajara, Mexico and now living in Vancouver, Bernal is both an art appreciator and an art creator. She plays the violin, upcycles old furniture, and has a knack for creating special events.

Currently, Bernal is working on the Lab Art Show. In its second year, the multidisciplinary event is a showcase of some of the best local artists in town. From dancers to musicians, painters to fashion designers, the Lab Art Show has it all. This year, the Lab Art Show is supporting a charity in Mexico called the Huichol Home, an institution that supports the health and well-being of aborigional Huichol people.

Interested? Get your tickets for the Lab Art Show on September 21^st at the West 7 Studios ASAP. Sad Mag subscribers are entitled to 50% off their ticket price – email creative@sadmag.ca to have your name added to the list.

Sad Mag: Who are you?
Gloria Bernal: I was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. Since I was 8-years-old, I started painting, using different techniques. From there, I slowly fell in love with different types of art, like music and dance and I started playing the flute and violin in the following years. I decided to study in Vancouver at Vancouver Film School (VFS) to learn more about different styles of art and culture.

During my studies at VFS, I realized that Vancouver has so many talented people who needed to get together and showcase their work in a fun environment, so Etel Bernal [Glitz Entertainment’s co-founder] and I decided to develop the Lab Art Show.

SM: How did Glitz Entertainment pair up Sad Mag?
GB: I got involved by searching for local Vancouver Art magazines because I was looking for artists to perform at Lab Art Show as well to learn about other Vancouver editorials. I met with Katie [Sad Mag’s Creative Director] and since the first Lab Art Show in 2012, we’ve been working together to support local artists.

SM: What kind of marketing does Glitz Entertainment provide?
GB: We try to be creative with our marketing without wasting paper, money, and people’s time, so we came with the idea of creating flash mobs, film exhibitions and videos of artist from the last year’s [Lab Art Show], as our goal is to create awareness of Vancouver’s local artist community.

The first flash mob was a secret fashion show for designer Tamara Montes Claros, who is inspired by bicycles and uses recycled materials to create each new piece.

SM: What inspired the creation of Glitz Entertainment?
GB: Etel and I were inspired by Cirque du Soleil because we loved the experience of attending one of their amazing shows. We decided to start a company to create unique events full of creativity and new experiences for our customers – from the moment they are part of the show to the moment the show is over.

SM: Why did you want the Lab Art Show to be a multidisciplinary show?
GB: The big reason is because we wanted to create a community of different types of artists, a network where they can share their knowledge with each other, as well a place for them to get inspired by seeing other people’s work. We wanted the Lab Art Show to be an incubator for creative minds.

SM: Why is the Huichol Home charity important to you?
GB: The Huichol Aboriginal House has been my inspiration for a long time. I always want to help them because they create wearable and non-wearable pieces of art by using a variety of coloured beads.

The mission of the Huichol House is to provide accommodation to the Huichol community when they the need to visit the city, as they live quite far away at an aboriginal reserve in mountains north of the province. The majority of aboriginals also speak a different dialect than what is spoken in the city.

I want to share their work with Canadians and the passion they put in every piece of art that they make.

SM: What other project(s) are you working on right now?
GB: Along with the upcoming Lab Art Show, I am working on creating a short film exhibition in the city, with the mission to showcase local Vancouver short films.

SM: What you most excited about right now?
GB: I am very excited to host our upcoming Lab Art Show on September 21th (at West 7 Studio) as we are showcasing over 100 artists in one night!

SM: What do you love most about what you do?
GB: I love to see other people’s inspirations and creativity. Every time I create a blog or open a new artist portfolio for the show, I feel that I will never stop being surprised and that encourages me to continue to motivate myself to produce new events in this magical city.

I always get inspired by this quote: “Life is about the people that you meet and the things you create with them, so go out and start to be creative.”

For more information about Glitz Entertainment and the Lab Art Show, visit their website. You can also visit them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This spring, Sad Mag mailed disposable cameras to various Canadian electro-pop bands so we could see what they see and wander where they wander. Maya Postepski, drummer of Austra and one half of goth duo TRST, was one of the lucky participants in Sad Mag’s Disposable Camera Project.

Get a sneak peek–before Saturday’s Mad Mad World Party–of the various objects, subjects and locales on Maya’s radar, and read her thoughts on music, feminism and feeling like a rock star.

ARIEL FOURNIER: Maya, you toured with Vancouver artist and musician Grimes, who holds strong opinions about stereotypes in music. What did you think about Grimes’ open letter about sexism in the music industry? Did you identify with any of her points in particular?

MAYA POSTEPSKI: Touring with Grimes was awesome, I think what she’s doing is relevant and interesting. Her open letter was brave and refreshing. So many female artists or public figures are afraid to even say they’re Feminists—I found her letter very intelligent and compassionate, and powerful. I liked how she specifically explained how being a feminist does not make one a ‘man hater’ and how she went into details about her family, her father and brothers. Being a feminist does not make one a man hater. I am in line with that and I think the word Feminist has way too many negative connotations, which is a such a shame. Being a feminist, in my mind, means I’m looking for women and men to gain equality

AF: What was it that grabbed you about The Organ’s music before you went on tour with them?

MP: I liked the sound, the aesthetic, [and] the nostalgia in Katie’s performance of the vocals. I loved how sad and romantic the songs were. I also loved how greatly they’re crafted—the pop structures in each track are impressive and sophisticated. Each song is barely over three minutes long and hits you where it hurts. Wicked songwriting and awesome musicianship.

AF: How influential was The Organ for you?

MP: They took me on my first real tour. That’s a huge deal—I felt like a real rock star, like my dreams came true, like they saved me from all the horrible thoughts I had of failure as an artist. I felt like I was finally real, like I mattered, and that was very empowering. As a fan I was also very inspired because I finally found a band that I looked up toward, that I could relate to on some distant level, and that I believed was writing music for people like me: young, gay, and confused.

AF: Maya, we talked about how Vancouver used to be less associated with an innovative music scene in your mind. Did Vancouver seem like a more interesting place to you when you were a teenager or when you joined up with The Organ’s tour? Do you feel now that that has changed?

MP: I don’t know Vancouver intimately enough to comment that deeply but I think it’s been a city that people in Canada consider to be kind of sophisticated or fancy, bourgeoisie. I guess it’s quite expensive and getting really developed with condos and the nouveau riche, as is Toronto. With money comes innovation, so there you go. I don’t think any of that affects the art scene though. In fact, I think it draws artists away because artists are generally not wealthy so they leave and go to cheaper cities like Berlin or Montreal. I might do that soon as well, heh.

***

More photos from the Disposable Camera Project will be on display at The Gam Gallery on May 18th. Come hang out with us at the Mad Mad World Party and peruse photographs by HUMANS (Robbie Slade), MODE MODERNE, AUSTRA and CITY OF GLASS; Lauren Zbarsky, Alex Waber, Brandon Gaukel and Matty Jeronimo.

{cover photo of Maya c/o Hannah Marshall}

“Sad Mag’s Disposable Camera Project is like a behind the scenes from the folks who are in the scenes you wanna get behind.” –Katie Stewart, Sad Mag’s Creative Director.

The perils and misadventures of online dating in No Fun City, with bonus date-stalking tips from a tech-savvy single lady.

I’ve just completed watching seven seasons of Gilmore Girls. The entire series. And it’s not even on Netflix. Watching this much senseless banter (mixed with alcohol) seems to be my only distraction from the fact that I’ve just ended an eight-year relationship.

Let’s just put this into perspective: the last time I was single Facebook didn’t exist. We found our apartment in the newspaper. The paper paper. And online dating was reserved for the dregs of society. Most of my friends say this isn’t true anymore, but obviously I’m hesitant. Actually, I’m hesitant about dating again in general. Telling my life story to a bunch of new guys sounds tedious. You know that person, who tells the same story over and over like you’ve never heard it, but you just have to grin and bear the awfulness? I fear I will become that person except the listener will be me, and I’ll be torturing myself. At least with online dating you get all the basic questions out of the way on your profile. And it does seem to be the most cowardly way to get back into dating, which is appealing. What do I have to lose?

A friend of mine told me never to message first. She says that guys are genetically predisposed to love the hunt and it’s our duty to allow them that privilege. She also employs this strategy by ignoring texts and emails from any guy for anywhere from 8 to 24 hours. Apparently common decency is old-hat. I have so much to learn. I scratch together my profile with the cutest (ahem, er, photoshopped) photo of myself I can find and wait. Almost immediately, I get an enticing offer:

“I want to clean for you, be your house bitch like, scrubbing your floors, toilet, doing dishes, dusting, doing laundry, ironing, etc… on my hands and knees under your control. I am not looking for sex, I want to be your slave.”

Ummmm, jackpot? Why shouldn’t I take this guy up on his offer? I really do hate cleaning. And I could still date other guys, right? He would probably love that because it would be even more humiliating. I’d be making out with some guy and he could be vacuuming. “Oh him? No, he’s just my slave, Ralph. Ignore him.” Actually, that might be awkward. And I love being a bitch so this is surprising. I think I’m more afraid that I’ll like it and then I’ll be stuck craving this sort of arrangement. I feel bad for people who need such elaborate set ups to get off. Autoerotic asphyxiation, infantilism, plushophilia..etc; it all just sounds like a hassle (and possibly life threatening). Pass.

I get why you can see when someone has viewed your profile on these dating sites, but it also makes obsessing hard without looking crazy. It’s also really hard to keep everyone and their information straight: was this the guy who enjoys yoga, or yodelling? I need to click on that profile to find out – over and over again. So I’ve devised a simple and effective method that doesn’t involve paying the “stalk anonymously” fee. First, screen capture their profile (if you don’t know how to do this, Google it). Second, save all their photos to a folder with their name on it. And lastly put that folder in your dropbox so you can access and scrutinize their photos from the comfort of your own palm or wherever you like. I’m a genius. You’re welcome.

I get another message. A funny, rambling message, but rife with spelling errors. This is unfortunate. If you don’t spell check, how much do you really care what I think of you? The occasional error is fine, but peppered throughout the message and I think you’re a meathead. Don’t I deserve someone who can tell the difference between their and they’re? But I’m trying to be less judgemental. My shrink says I gotta go easy on these guys cause I’m too picky. So I give the guy a chance cause it seems like the decent thing to do and he has a really good head of hair. We’re messaging back and forth and it’s nice. Having something like that to look forward to is exciting. Then I get my first piece of evidence that enables me to find out his real identity and I’m on Google as fast as humanly possible.

I only have his first name and what he does but ding ding ding, I find a video! That’s like the Holy Grail for Google stalking. I press play nervously. He looks okay, albeit older and chubbier than his profile photos would suggest, but he has a nice coat on and it’s not horrible. I immediately forward this to all my friends, of course. With their blessing I keep talking to him and that’s when I got the message that should have been my cue to exit.

He tells me a story about his childhood and brings up his past flagrant use of the “n” word (though he spells it out). He says he admits it was horrible but I gotta ask myself, WHAT THE FUCK?! Even if you did use it and now regret it WHY ON EARTH would you bring it up now? In an email TO A STRANGER you may want to sleep with?

I ask my panel of friends and there’s a lot of air sucking, but he seems clueless about this being bad form, maybe it was just his weird attempt at humour? In the spirit of trying new things and being forgiving of people’s stupidity I send him back this message: “Well, my general rule of thumb has always been not to drop the N bomb until at LEAST the 3rd date.”

So I end up meeting him. I arrive at the coffee shop and he seems nervous; his hands shake a bit as he sips his coffee and I’m instantly turned off. Plus he was wearing a jaunty scarf that emasculated him further. I try to have a conversation with him but he mostly talks about himself. Then, somehow, he gets on the subject of people “not from this country” taking our jobs….fuck. This guy actually IS RACIST. I should have seen that one coming, I know. This is my first date in eight years, cut me some slack. My eyes dart around for the nearest exit.

During the weeks we were talking I felt so sure it would work out with him, and this alarms me. I don’t know how to date. Not that I thought it would be easy but I don’t seem to have any sense around this subject. How much should you put up with and when are you just being too picky? I’m just going to have to find something to learn from this first experience. Like, don’t pin all your hopes on one person. Or, if he uses the “n” word, he’s probably not marriage material.

Jenny Ritter is the goat herding, choir conducting, former member of Vancouver Island’s beloved, now defunct, folk band The Gruff. Now she’s struck out on her own on the mainland and is releasing her first solo album.

For a bright spot in the cold and rainy winter months. Jenny Ritter brings Bright Mainland to the world tonight (October 13) at Saint James Hall. Sad Mag talked to her about leaving her previous band behind, busking for the internet age (i.e. crowd funding) and starting Vancouver’s best choir – and now their potential rival group.

Sad Mag: How long have you been working on this album?

Jenny Ritter: The process started last October. I started a crowd-funding campaign and I raised about half of the funds I needed for the album. I wouldn’t be releasing the album without that money, so it was pretty amazing. We started recording in March of this year. We went over Mayne Island and did a recording-slash-retreat. My producer (who played most of the instruments on the album), my drummer (who I brought from Saskatoon) and I just hid out in this house in the country. The only hitch was that I lost my voice as soon as I got there, so what was supposed to take ten days in total ended up taking another month. We recorded everything but the vocals and then I came back a month later and finished it in May. I’ve been sitting on it for a couple of months and I’m just releasing it now.

SM: What did you think about crowd funding as a way to finance an album?

JR: It was a great experience because it made visible the support network I have. It was interesting to see people I know and that I don’t know come together to help the project. I don’t want to call it donating because everyone who contributed gets some kind of reward for it. There were a couple of dissenters and I got some negative feedback from people who thought that crowd funding was akin to begging. But people will think what they think. I guess they’ve never tried to do a project they couldn’t afford to do on their own.

SM: How does your solo work compare to the experience of working in a band?

JR: It’s really different. I’m basically a dictator now. It’s a lot more work than being in a band where to some extent we split up the work, but now it’s just me calling the shots. It’s been difficult, and sometimes I wish I had back up, but I also find it kind of liberating to make the decisions myself and execute them as I see fit. I like having control over it. I’ve been joking a lot about being a control freak and I guess I’m starting to realize it’s not really a joke.

SM: How would you describe the sound of this album?

JR: I would describe it as indie folk. I would describe myself as a folk musician. I’m obsessed with folk music – new and old – so I think I have that in me. The songs that I write are not folk songs in a traditional sense, but they’re influenced heavily by it. So while I feel like a folk musician, I’m presenting the music in a rock band format with a drummer and an electric bass player and pedal steel and whatever electric instrument I can get my hands on. Just because you’re a folk musician doesn’t mean you don’t want to rock.

SM: What can people look forward to seeing at your album release?

JR: A lot of happy people. We’re going to play through the album beginning to end. I have a number of guests including members of my choir, the Kingsgate Chorus, who recorded on the album. I have some new songs too. All sorts of things will be unveiled. The general message of the album is hope and positivity, and I think when we perform that kind of feeling goes out to the audience. This will be my biggest show in a long time – biggest in terms of audience, and the size of the band, and excitement. And whenever the Kingsgate Chorus gets together there’s a lot of giggling, so I think they’ll be a lot of that too.

SM: How did the choir get started?

JR: I started the Kingsgate Chorus when my band broke up. There’s a specific feeling you get when singing with other people that I was longing for. I missed that harmony that you feel when…well, when you’re harmonizing with people. So I got a handful of friends that were really supportive and then within a few months it became about thirty people. I’ve now even started a second choir called the Mount Pleasant Regional Institute of Sound – the name still makes me laugh every time I say it because it’s so unnecessarily official sounding.

When I started the first group, I found that a lot of the feelings I had about life getting better were connected to the choir, so they ended up singing on some tracks on the record. And if you have a choir you might as well use them!

Jenny Ritter plays her album release concert October 13th with Tim Tweedale on steel guitar, Jay Hosking on bass, Kevin Romain drums and members of the Kingsgate Chorus.

Tickets are $20 at the door and $16 for members.

The Sad Mag Archives

Interview / Pandora Young, Rain City Illustration

Interview / Nicola Tibbetts

Local Musics / Q&A with Skye Wallace

Q&A / Maryna Hrychana of Mateelda Designs

Mr. Gay Canada chats with Sad Mag

Q and A // Vancouver Book Award Winner Amber Dawn

Vancouver Notables // Gloria Bernal

SNEAK PEEK! Disposal Camera Project w/ Austra’s Maya Postepski

SAD LOVE // THE RACIST

Q&A: Jenny Ritter