MUSIC: Shuyler Jansen leads the herd through grunge rock, alt country and beyond

This was really weird: All the Edmonton punk rockers from the early ’90s seemed to unplug their guitars and “go country” at the same time. By the end of the decade, you could barely find an alternative rock band playing in an alternative rock bar. They were all playing country. No, not the sort of […]

EDMONTON RADIO: War is hell with too much Katy Perry

Continued heavy casualties are expected in the escalating Top-40 Wars of Edmonton, which has so far claimed the souls of at least two radio stations, an errant program director, numerous worthy but fatally overplayed recording artists and thousands of civilian victims. The numbers are grim. Here’s the top 11 of the commercial FMs in the […]

Neil Simon’s Chapter Two a lime green slice of 1977 in 1929 theatre

Do you dare enter the theatrical time machine? There’s sure to be some temporal confusion among citizens attending the latest theatrical amusement at the Capitol Theatre in Fort Edmonton Park – a 2011 reproduction of a 1929 theatre in a 19th Century historic park presenting a Neil Simon play from the 1970s. Good theatre is […]

Story Engineers spin yarns in the service of commerce

You may have seen the commercial – more like a mini documentary, really, about modern womanhood. We see little girls declaring they can do anything, teenage girls learning how to do anything, grown women doing anything: scientists, doctors, lawyers, captains of industry, you name it, their stories all quite believable and touching and empowering. At […]

Media celebrity Mark Scholz to prove his musical mettle in Blue Montegos

When faced with a media celebrity in a band expecting to be taken seriously, some observers cross their arms and frown and say things like “OK, Mr. Bigshot, this better be good.” It comes from the feeling of the unfair advantage that all non-musical celebrities have: an already established name airlifted into a comparable level […]

Barry Allen and the Rebels to play oldest CD release in Edmonton history

Edmonton rock ‘n’ roll legend Barry Allen, who’s getting set to play his first gig in 22 years with Barry Allen and the Rebels at the Century Casino on Saturday night – maybe their last gig ever – has this to say: “It was easier back then.” Yeah, yeah, heard it before, grandpa and – […]

GIGGLE CITY: Wayans Brothers keep it personal

For all the complaining that stand-up comics do about being stand-up comics, it can be a road to the big-time. Just ask the Wayans Brothers – this amazing show-biz family from Brooklyn that used comedy to escape poverty. Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2, White Chicks and the TV series In Living Color are just some […]

TRUE TALES OF THE ROAD: Steven Page comes clean

It’s hardly worth stopping the presses for a drug scandal in the music business. Of course the Barenaked Ladies were a special case: cleancut, fresh-scrubbed Canadian popsters whose most popular song referenced Kraft Dinner. They didn’t live that scene often witnessed backstage at rock shows: Pot smoking, booze drinking, journalists being asked to leave so […]

LEADER OF SIDEMEN: AB Trio the indie rockers of jazz

This happens in jazz more than any other genre of music: A collective consisting of amazingly impressive soloists winds up sounding like a bad lounge act – with amazingly impressive solos – and gets away with it because people don’t want to appear dumb for disliking such an allegedly higher form of art. Occupational hazard. […]

GIGGLE CITY: Nikki Payne an inspiration to those who have trouble saying ‘inspiration’

Here’s a question: Is Nikki Payne’s obvious speech impediment in any way funny on its own? Depends who you ask. All should agree that no professional comedian could reach her level with just one lisp joke. The Nova Scotia comic has been on TV, radio, moved beyond the comedy clubs into the theatre circuit – […]

Depth from the heart of darkness for Tom Olsen

Depth from the heart of darkness for Tom Olsen

There’s a new alt-country star emerging in Edmonton – from a most unlikely place. Leading to a gig with his band The Wreckage at the Almanac on Friday, April 21, Tom Olsen has been a noted journalist – he was the legislature bureau chief for two major Alberta dailies (Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald) – before […]

Those who can do, teach – Kevin McDonald shares his comedy secrets

Everyone’s a comedian – that’s one cliche come true in the age of the internet. What will NEVER become a famous saying, according to Canadian comic actor Kevin McDonald, is this: “Everyone’s a GOOD comedian.” But he’s here to help. The Kids in the Hall member perhaps best known as the “Slipped My Mind” Guy […]