Edmonton Radio music report is in!
The rules of the “Find Any Good Song on the Radio” game are simple: Start at the bottom of the dial and work your way up until you find a good song. If you fail, you have to listen to CBC until you figure out what they’re talking about before you can try again. Back […]
The Needle and the Damage Done
“I want them to fail.” These were the bold words from Brittany Lyne Rudyck, who made a huge impact when she recently came forward with accusations of sexual harassment against one of her employers at the Needle Vinyl Tavern. She got her wish. The club is shut down as of Tuesday afternoon. There’s a sign […]
CKUA announcer says he was ‘elbowed’ out
Peter North had to do an awkward band introduction recently. “This is the first time in 17 years I’m not announcing myself as ‘I’m Peter North from the CKUA Radio Network.’ I quit on Wednesday … Ladies and gentlemen, Russell deCarle!” Wait, what? The news quickly spread that one of Edmonton’s resident roots music experts […]
Opera creator speaks of forbidden love
People who’ve never seen opera before are being drawn to Lilies (Les Feluettes) – maybe because it’s billed as “Canada’s first gay opera.” But in the upcoming Edmonton Opera production based on Michel Marc Bouchard’s 1987 play, the opera’s creator isn’t making a big deal about the gay thing. It’s an opera. As such, it […]
Remand Centre haunts Edmonton singer
Going back to the decrepit, ugly, shut-down old Edmonton Remand Centre for a recent film shoot was an emotionally wrenching experience for Stephanie Harpe – because the local singer and actor was there as a prisoner in the past, “before I got sober,” she says. Harpe tells her story openly, “I was in and out […]
Protest erupts at BreakOut West
It’s interesting to reflect on the slow and steady increase of how often and in how many ways musicians have been convinced to perform for free – for “exposure.” On the flip side, shouldn’t they be free to do so? The music business is a different beast than it used to be. So here we […]
Where will Willie get his weed?
We can only speculate why Willie Nelson doesn’t come to Canada more often. Is it because he’s 84 years old with 72 albums and dozens of classic songs to his name – or because he allegedly smokes pot and doesn’t want to get busted at the border? He’s certainly not going to bring his stash […]
EDMONTON RADIO: Morning men
The pairing of Scott McCord with Yukon Jack on The Bear’s new morning show promises to deliver your maximum recommended daily dose of testosterone. These are two of the manliest men on Edmonton radio. Their voices are deep and gruff, and they talk of manly things, like sports. They speak their minds. Sometimes they lose […]
CANADA 150: Two long strange trips
It looks like each of us is going to celebrate Canada 150 Day in our own way – or not, as the case may be. It’s a free country. Edmonton novelist Janice MacDonald is marking the occasion with a new book called Confederation Drive, detailing two cross-Canada journeys: One the author and her mom took […]
Theo Fleury doc turns victims to victors
Northwestfest kicked off Friday at the Garneau Theatre with a screening of the documentary Victor Walk, following NHL star Theo Fleury on his 10 day walk from Toronto to Ottawa. He did it to raise awareness about sexual abuse, promote healing and to voice the need for stiffer laws against predators. It’s continuation of a […]
Review of the Cat Cafe: HISSSSSSSSS!
FULL DISCLAWSURE: I grew up in a cat house. The rotating clowder of strays my mother took in numbered up to 16. I’d left home by this point, and moved in with a girl who had a cat. Then we split up and she moved out, and I kept the cat until it died. Another […]
Blood in the Cut: Pop music gets edgy
Before a beautiful rock show by Mother Mother at the Shaw Conference Centre on Thursday night was an opening act that has really hit a nerve. K.Flay’s Blood in the Cut has been all over the radio lately, a song about a woman who deals with a heartbreak by expressing ideas of self harming. It’s […]
