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Arts

Work of passion gains momentum

The 20-year-old artist said she is saving up for a studio of her own. Photo courtesy of Saige Mukash.

A young Cree artist speaks about her budding business and aspirations for the future

While​ ​homemade​ ​jewelry​ ​and​ ​ink-based​ ​artworks​ might​ ​not​ ​be​ ​an​ ​unheard​ ​of​ ​​business​ ​idea, not​ ​many​ ​can​ ​say​ ​their​ ​orders​ ​are​ ​flown​ ​out​ ​of​ ​Quebec’s​ ​​northernmost​ ​Cree​ ​community.

Saige​ ​Mukash,​ ​a​ ​20-year-old​ ​Cree​ ​woman,​ ​calls​ ​her​ ​business​ ​Nalakwsis​—the middle name her​ ​Abenaki grandmother gave ​her​ ​in​ ​her​ ​native​ ​language. Nalakwsis​​​ ​products include ink​ ​drawings,​ ​digital​ ​artwork,​ ​beaded​ ​jewelry​ ​and embroidered​ ​works, all​ ​hand-made​ ​by​ ​Mukash​ ​herself. While​ ​she is​ ​a​ ​creative​ ​woman​ ​by​ ​nature and ​always​ ​enjoyed​ ​making​ ​pieces​ ​with​ ​her hands,​ ​Mukash​ ​only​ ​recently​ ​chose​ ​a​ ​more​ ​organized,​ ​business-oriented​ ​path.

“I​ ​chose​ ​‘Nalakwsis’​ ​as​ ​my​ ​official​ ​business​ ​title​ ​about​ ​a​ ​year​ ​ago, but​ ​I’ve​ ​been​ ​serious​ ​in​ ​my​ ​work​ ​for​ ​the​ ​past​ ​two​ ​years​ ​now,”​ ​Mukash​ ​explained. Though,​ ​what​ ​is​ ​now​ ​a​ ​profitable​ ​business​ ​first​ ​started​ ​out​ ​as​ ​a​ ​passionate​ ​hobby.

Mukash​ ​attended​ ​F.A.C.E. School ​in​ ​the​ ​heart​ ​of​ downtown ​Montreal​, ​where​ ​she​ ​was​ ​able​ ​to exercise​ ​her​ ​artistic​ ​abilities​ ​and​ ​express​ ​herself​ ​through​ ​various​ ​mediums ​in​ ​an​ ​organized​ classroom setting.​ ​However,​ ​it​ ​was​ ​returning​​ ​to​ ​her​ ​Cree​ ​community​ ​up​ ​north that​ ​had​ ​the​ ​biggest​ ​effect​ ​on​ ​her.​ ​“My​ ​art​ ​really​ ​blossomed​ ​when​ ​I​ ​came​ ​to​ ​Whapmagoostui​ ​to reconnect​ ​with​ ​my​ ​Cree​ ​culture,”​ ​she​ ​said.

Mukash titled this piece, For the missing and murdered.

Not​ ​long​ ​after,​ ​Mukash​ ​created​ ​a​ ​Facebook​ ​page where​ ​she​ ​could​ post photos and descriptions of​ ​her art​ ​pieces;​ ​a​ ​sort​ ​of​ ​headquarters​ ​for​ ​all​ ​​her​​ ​works. As​ ​people began to show​ ​interest​ in buying ​her​ ​pieces​,​ ​Mukash​ ​realized​​ ​she would have to take further steps to establish her business​.​ ​She​ ​created ​two​ ​online​ ​shops ​where​ ​anyone​ ​in Canada​ ​with​ ​access​ ​to​ ​a​ ​credit​ ​card​ ​could​ ​purchase​​ ​her​ ​artworks.

It​ ​was​ ​then​ ​that Mukash​ ​knew​ ​she​ ​was​ ​in​ ​business. While​ ​she​ ​still​ ​lives​ ​​with​ ​her​ ​parents​ ​and​ ​two​ ​siblings in their home in northern Quebec,​​​ ​Mukash​ ​found​ ​a​ ​way​ ​to create​ ​her​ ​own ​workspace ​in​ ​her​ ​spatially​ ​limited​ ​environment. She​ ​has​ ​a​ ​small​ ​studio​ ​space​ ​in​ ​her​ ​home​ ​where​ ​she​ ​crafts​ ​all​ ​her​ pieces, packages and ships them​.

In​ ​the​ ​past​ ​month​ ​alone,​ ​Mukash​ ​has​ ​made​ ​over​ ​$1,000​ ​in​ ​sales,​ ​and​ ​spends​ ​an​ ​average​ ​of​ ​$200​ ​on​ ​supplies per​ ​month.

However,​ ​living​ ​three hours​ ​away​ ​from​ ​Montreal by plane is​ becoming​ ​more​ ​and​ ​more​ ​of​ ​a​ ​problem. Due to​ ​her​ ​isolated​ ​location,​ ​Mukash​ ​must​ ​order​ ​all​ ​of​ ​her​ ​supplies​ ​online.​ ​“It’s​ ​getting​ ​very hard​ ​to​ ​be​ ​able​ ​to​ ​buy​ ​supplies​ ​online.​ ​Shipping​ ​is​ ​getting​ ​very​ ​expensive​ ​for​ ​my​ ​community, which​ ​is​ ​a​ ​fly-in​ ​only​ ​community,”​ ​she​ ​said.

Not​ ​only​ ​are​ ​all​ ​of​ ​Mukash’s​ ​supplies​ ​located​ ​hours​ ​away,​ ​so​ ​are​ ​the​ ​majority​ ​of​ ​her customers.​ ​Shipping​ ​fees​ ​are​ ​added​ ​onto​ ​every​ ​sale​​ ​she​ ​makes. Yet, while​ ​these​ ​obstacles​ ​are​ ​present​ ​in​ ​the​ ​young​ ​artist’s​ ​day-to-day​ ​plans,​ ​she​ ​is​ ​not​ ​letting​ ​them slow​ ​her​ ​down.

“I​ ​think​ ​my​ ​first​ ​long​-term​ ​goal​ ​for​ ​my​ ​business​ ​is​ ​owning​ ​a​ ​studio​ ​here​ ​in​ ​my​ ​home​town,” Mukash​ ​said.​ ​“It’s​ ​a​ ​struggle​ ​for​ ​anyone​ ​here​ ​to​ ​own​ ​their​ ​own​ ​business​ ​because everything​ ​is​ ​under​ ​the​ ​Band​ ​Office. You​ ​can’t​ ​just​ ​go​ ​and​ ​sign​ ​a​ ​lease​ ​for​ ​an​ ​apartment.”

“My​ ​own​ ​studio​ ​space​ ​is​ ​what​ ​I’m​ ​saving​ ​up​ ​for,” she said. “​That’s​ ​what​ ​I’m​ ​aiming​ ​for.”​

For more information about Saige​ ​Mukash, visit her Facebook page or website.

Photos courtesy of Saige Mukash

Categories
Music

The soulful radiance of Bianca Muñiz

Muñiz and her four band members smile through thick and thin. Photo by Alex Hutchins

The singer tackles her experience with cancer with alarming clarity

Overcoming immense obstacles is something 22-year-old Bianca Muñiz has been facing her whole life. It’s something that pushed the Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. native to share her voice with the world.

Don’t believe me? Muñiz named her own eclectic style of music. Titled “avant-pop,” it is a wide-ranging mesh of indie, pop, jazz and rock that works to enhance the singer’s soul-tinged vocals.

Muñiz is currently battling cancer for the second time. At just 11 years old, the aspiring singer was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. You would never be able to tell—Muñiz’s presence is nothing short of radiant, her cheerful disposition as infectious as her smooth musical stylings.

Muñiz attended Pleasantville High School in New York because of its exceptional music program.

“I was involved in musical theatre in high school and then jazz and vocal studies in college, so I got to absorb all different forms of music,” Muñiz said. “I’ve always listened to pop and electronic. I love Radiohead. So, I want to say my style is a little bit of everything.”

At the same time, she also enrolled in voice lessons at the Lagond Music School in Elmsford, N.Y., where she was encouraged to cultivate a singular stage presence. It was where she first learned how to perform solo on stage, which can be an entirely different ballgame without the close proximity of band members.

Yet, Muñiz and her four accompanying backing members are fully attuned with each other. They’ve created a dynamic approach to music performance, interweaving contemporary music with the same spirit traditionally found in jazz music. Each member swaps between jazzy riffs and instantly gratifying pop, all while magnifying the disarming assertiveness of the singer’s voice.

On Sept. 29, Muñiz released the music video for her confident and assured new single, “For You,” through the video hosting service Vevo. The song is the lead single from her first full-length album, which will be released sometime next year.

The video portrays an impending storm of sorts. The person she’s with wants to retreat to escape a cataclysmic fate, but Muñiz flatly refuses, opting to live out her days to the bitter end.

Muñiz’s perseverance alone is more than inspiring, even after coming to terms with her condition. Last November, she developed breast cancer and went through a double mastectomy only a month after her diagnosis. Following the surgery, she underwent three months of chemotherapy and is now on a medication regimen until March.

“Experiencing cancer for the second time has really shown me what’s important in life—family and friends. And music, of course,” Muñiz said. “It’s not something I really think about. My experiences come out in my songs.”

Photo by Alex Hutchins

Categories
Music

The energetic dark-folk of Common Holly

Common Holly's new album pays homage to the saddest of folk crooners.

We talked to her about playing live and the joys of botany

I arrived at Quai des Brumes and pulled out my notebook. I didn’t know what to expect. The bar was relatively small, leaving little room between the performer and the audience. Montrealer Brigitte Naggar, also known as Common Holly, had just set up with her band and started to play.

In that small room, Common Holly managed to produce a sprawling and dynamic sound. Smooth and clean guitars complemented the drum and synth textures. Their sound floated somewhere between gentle and raucous, sometimes coalescing when the whole band joined in. Naggar’s vocals, along with the backing vocals, tied the whole sound together.

The performance was great. It had an intimate but huge energy. A few days later, I spoke with Naggar.

Q: First of all, it was a great show Thursday. How do you feel about that performance?

Photo by Mackenzie Lad

A: Yeah, I feel good about it. I think the audience’s response was really nice, and the band sounded good. Actually, we

had played the night before as well, in the same venue, and I got acquainted with the sound guy. He brought a special mic for me the next night for extra clarity, so that was very nice.

Q: One of the things I noticed about the way you played is that, even though it was a small space, it was kind of a large sound. Is that the sound you were going for?

A: I mean, it kind of fluctuates a little bit because I do perform solo and duo as well, so when we have all five people there, it’s definitely a big sound. I think that, in part, reflects some elements of the record that is coming out, because it’s quite produced and there’s a lot going on and there are arrangements and drums.

Q: Now let’s do a little history about you. When did you start playing music?

A: I played piano as a kid for like nine years or so. That was my first foray into music. Then my dad gave me my first guitar lessons when I was 13. I got my first guitar when I was 16. It was supposed to be a surprise, but then [my dad’s] girlfriend at the time called me to say: “So did you get the guitar?” and I was like: “Um, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” [Laughs].

Q: What type of guitar was it?

A: It was acoustic. I actually only started playing electric about a year ago, so I feel pretty new to it still. I’ll occasionally go back to acoustic and be like: “Oh God, I’m so much better at this!” [Laughs]. But I really love playing electric. I think it gives it a bit of that hard edge that I’m looking for.

Photo by Mackenzie Lad

Q: And what music did you start playing? Did you do covers or did you just play around?

A: I started with covers for sure. I was very much like a 16-year-old doing Elliott Smith and Postal Service and Emily Haines covers, that sort of thing. And then I started to write my own music and some really terrible songs on Myspace, and it was very much in my bedroom for myself, super quiet. I think that’s also how I developed a really quiet sound. It was not that I never wanted to be heard at all. I, you know, slowly started to emerge more and more, as people were showing signs of wanting to hear my music. I kind of got over my fear of being heard a little bit.

Q: Were you always comfortable with your voice? Did you just want to sing for yourself?

A: It wasn’t necessarily that I was afraid that my voice wasn’t good enough, but it’s more an aspect of my personality. I have never been a very external kind of person, and it’s something I had to learn to do. And I do quite enjoy it, now that it’s something I do. I do really like it and it continues to be a challenge for me to get out there and perform and be expressive, because I definitely feel introverted.

Q: Are you anxious before a performance?

A: Less so these days. I think it’s because it’s becoming more habitual, but I just get a little nervous stomach, a little stomach ache. [Laughs].

Photo by Mackenzie Lad

Q: So, how did you get your stage name, Common Holly?

A: I started in a brainstorm circle with a group of my friends. We were looking for imagery that reflected the sound of the music, and we decided that plants and botanical imagery suited it best. So I did some research into plants. When I came upon common holly, I really liked the idea of this very understated, general plant. But it’s also a plant that blooms in the winter, and it has these lovely red berries. It’s a plant that has cultural and religious significance as well, which I liked—I studied religion at McGill, so it’s always been something that has been fascinating for me. And also a plant with dark, spiky leaves, so I think I liked that juxtaposition of pretty and understated, but also with a stark undercurrent, a little bit sharp.

Q: Are you touring to promote your new album?

A: I have a couple of tours in the works, nothing officially announced yet. I know I’ll be touring the first week of November, and I’ll be doing a little bit at the end of October.

Common Holly’s first album, Playing House, was released Sept. 25.

Photos by Mackenzie Lad

Categories
Arts

Capturing the raw beauty in everyday people and places

Figure 3: Hassan II Mosque across the water from Paloma Beach in Mohammedia, Morocco.

New to Concordia’s photography program, artist ASVJAD is inspired by a recent trip to Morocco

Working mainly off of his Instagram account, ASVJAD strives to capture raw beauty in everything and everyone around him. Born in the Bay Area of California and, as he put it, “molded” in Montreal, the Concordia artist discovered his passion while conducting freelance shoots of his classmates and capturing candids for the Fine Arts Core Education High School yearbook in 2013.

ASVJAD explained that he started out using a small second-hand digital camera. The more he photographed, the better he got, learning more about his own style along the way. The artist said he aspires to produce works as eye-catching and provocative as Terry Richardson’s and as timeless as Robert Mapplethorpe’s. These inspirations can be seen in his portraits, which have an incredible dramatic edge, both in black and white and in colour.

ASVJAD photographed by his mother in Morocco.

ASVJAD is also inspired by old black-and-white foreign films and the work of Sally Mann (particularly Candy Cigarette circa 1989). He prefers to use subtle props to pack a punch, a choice that is influenced by Ren Hang’s modern and eclectic photographs.

As a freelance artist, he enjoys collaborating with other freelancers because it enables him to work without the creative restraints that may come with working for an agency.

In his work, ASVJAD focuses on empowerment, sexuality and the body. He said he looks for a unique, structural appearance, a fresh face and a distinct energy. When organising a photoshoot,  ASVJAD will often take the time to get to know his models and go over styling (clothing, hair and makeup) options long before the day of the shoot.

Utilizing his background as a fashion stylist, ASVJAD will even help former clients shop for upcoming events. “I always had a love for fashion—I think it comes from my mother. From a very young age, she and my aunt would make their own clothes,” he explained.

ASVJAD often asks his subjects to think back to a time when they were sad or angry, as he likes to play with emotions in his work, specifically surrounding the past. This creative process allows the artist to enhance aspects of his clients’ personality, mood and overall aesthetic.

During a recent trip to Morocco, the artist spent much of his time photographing everyday Moroccan lifestyle.

Paco photographed by ASVJAD for a new series on the LGBTQ+ community in Morocco.

His goal was to capture members of the LGBTQ+ community, an extremely oppressed group in Morocco because of the country’s strict laws against same-sex relationships. Since he was dealing with such taboo subject matter, he said reaching members of the community proved to be rather difficult.

This series of photographs remains incomplete, due to the fact that only two individuals were willing to have their pictures taken. ASVJAD was able to get in touch with Paco (the model in figure. 2) only after contacting him through social media. ASVJAD said he is planning on adding to the series throughout the upcoming year. “Every single person has something to offer, no matter their skin colour, race or sexual orientation,” the artist added.

One of his photographs (figure. 3) was taken on 35mm film. It outlines the Hassan II Mosque across the water from Paloma Beach in Mohammedia, Morocco. Having visited his home country a mere three times, ASVJAD grew up seeing the pristine landmarks, tourist attractions and stunning Moroccan imagery only through photographs. In order to record a raw, Moroccan reality, he attempted to understand the country with the same energy and attention that he gives to his models, the artist explained. ASVJAD photographed the flea markets and the outskirts of Casablanca, as seen in one image (figure. 4), which shows a man praying in the streets.

The artist said he has “always appreciated the fact that photography can freeze a moment in time that can never be completely recreated.” ASVJAD shows his love for spontaneous moments and quick glimpses into the psyche when it comes to retouching his work. He only ever makes changes to the colouring, sharpness of his photographs and editing their overall appearance when the subject requests it.

ASVJAD is now enrolled in Concordia’s undergraduate photography program. He said he is looking forward to exploring technical lighting, working in studio spaces, developing film in darkrooms and being surrounded by creative people of all disciplines. The artist said he hopes his work will grow and evolve from the constructive criticism of his peers in a new, structured environment.

Photos by ASVJAD

Categories
Student Life

Feel like family at NDG’s Kokkino Café

Photo by Gabrielle Vendette

The relaxed, family-run spot serves up café classics, with a side of charm

John Zampetoulakis, co-owner of Kokkino Café, calls on a customer by name. “Sarah, you want a grilled cheese?” She shakes her head no and he nods. He proceeds to butter her freshly popped toast and walk out from behind the counter to set her bowl of soup and toast in front of her. At Kokkino Café, table service is on the house.

Zampetoulakis and his wife, Angela Reichman, opened Kokkino Café over eight years ago. “I worked in a lot of restaurants, I made a lot of money and I said, you know what, no more. I want to do this for myself, for my kids, for my community,” said Zampetoulakis.

Photo by Gabrielle Vendette

The spot is a family-run business- even Zampetoulakis and Reichman’s four kids participate in the action.

The concept of the café is a little different than the average grab-and-go coffee joint. At Kokkino, the customer places their order at the counter, takes a seat and the food is brought to them.

Zampetoulakis said he decided to serve his customers this way because “it’s nice and it’s relaxed—it feels like home.” Similarly, customers only pay the bill when they’re ready to leave. “They pay me before they go, that way they have time to digest their food,” he said. “When you’re done, whenever you’re done, you’ve had your experience and then you pay me.”  “Relaxed” is a great way to describe the experience at Kokkino.

Photo by Gabrielle Vendette

The café’s food is freshly made every morning by the two owners and inspired by Zampetoulakis’ Greek origins. The variety of the menu is impressive for an operation run mainly by one couple.

Kokkino offers soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps and desserts. There is a wide selection of teas, and of course, an abundance of coffee. The spot also has a variety of vegan options.

At Kokkino, accommodation is the rule, not the exception. It’s not uncommon for someone to walk in and grab an order they texted Zampetoulakis that morning.

“I know everybody that comes in here. I know what they like, I know how they like it,” said Zampetoulakis. He also custom-makes sandwiches ordered at his counter. There is an attention to detail in his work. Every interaction Zampetoulakis has with a customer is genuine and shows his compassion.

Photo by Gabrielle Vendette

The owner’s vision for the café is focused on creating a calm atmosphere for people to enjoy their coffee and meal. He said he wanted to “create a place where people just feel they can relax.”

Customers who walks into Kokkino are greeted with a warm hello from Zampetoulakis. Dogs are also allowed inside, because, according to him, “it’s just chill. That’s what I want.”

When you go to Kokkino, prepare to be treated like family.  Just don’t forget to bring your dishes to the counter before you leave.

The cafe is located at 5673 Sherbrooke Street West. The spot opens at 9 a.m. every day, and closes at 7 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, 10 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Categories
Student Life

Humans of Concordia: Sandrine Vaillancourt

Photo by Ana Hernandez

Communications and cultural studies student by day, fashionista blogger by night

At the age of 13, Sandrine Vaillancourt started a personal project, and kept it a secret for a few months. Today, that project is far from a secret.

When Vaillancourt started her blog, “I am Sandrine”, it was simply a hobby. Now, at age 19, the communications and cultural studies major has 2,000 views per article, and major fashion brands knocking on her door, wanting to collaborate with her.

Vaillancourt first got into blogging when her mentor, Audrée Archambault, a Montreal-based blogger, encouraged her to write a teen column on Archambault’s blog, “Elle M.”  “She really inspired me and introduced me to everyone [in the industry],” said Vaillancourt.

Vaillancourt decided to start her own fashion blog, and most of her friends were doing the same. However, unlike most of her friends, she was able to keep hers going longer than a month. Over time, her blog evolved from being French, to bilingual, to strictly English, as most of her readers are anglophone.

This pastime of hers became life-changing. “I was already into fashion but never showed my outfits on the blog. I just posted pictures of the clothes I liked. I was too shy at the time, especially because I was so young,” said Vaillancourt. The more “I Am Sandrine”’s audience expanded, the more her confidence and communication skills grew.  Today, she is often invited to a variety of events where she is surrounded by people in the fashion and blogging industry.  Vaillancourt said it was “intimidating but also inspiring” at first. She was now part of the world she had been looking in on for years.

Her expanding network of contacts in the Montreal fashion industry introduced her to new friends, as well as new collaboration opportunities. Today, she teams up with Montreal designers like Noemiah and Mimi Hammer.  Vaillancourt said these collaborations are not only good for her blog’s content, but also a great way to promote the local economy.

The blog has helped her improve her editing and design skills, but Vaillancourt said it has also helped her grow as an individual. She said the experience has taught her how to say no to certain projects and collaborations, especially to brands that don’t fit her vision. The blogger describes her style as a mix between Scandinavian fashion and Kate Middleton’s style, as it is minimalistic, but with delicate detailing.

Thanks to her blog, Vaillancourt has worked with big names like Lole, Aritzia, Coach and Nars. Photo by Ana Hernandez.

Over the years, the fashionista has worked with big names like Lole, Aritzia, Coach and Nars.  The content of her blog varies from tips on how to wear frills, to more personal diary-like entries. Her guideline for organizing her thoughts is that there is no guideline. She recently wrote an article titled “I’m Not Apologizing Anymore,” in which she discussed learning not to apologize for being herself, or for her style.  “It’s my blog so I don’t have to please anyone,” said Vaillancourt. Even when Vaillancourt was mocked at times by fellow students in high school, she kept her head up, following what she wanted to do, and talking about the things that she enjoys.

Her story comes full circle with a young girl who was inspired by Vaillancourt to start a blog of her own. “She’s been reading my blog since the beginning and asked me to give her tips on starting her own blog a couple of years later,” said Vaillancourt. “It’s also really nice to recognize familiar usernames from Instagram that have been with me for the past six years.”

Categories
Music

CJLO’s Plebeian Pleasures covers it all

Carmen Rachiteanu, host of the radio show, looks to introduce listeners to bands passing through Montreal

What does being a music plebeian mean? Ask Carmen Rachiteanu, host of Plebeian Pleasures on CJLO, who mindfully describes the distinction between plebeians and patricians in Ancient Rome.

“The patricians are like the upper class, the most knowledgeable ones—the plebes were like the mainstream noobs who like mainstream stuff,” Rachiteanu explained.

That’s the audience that Rachiteanu wants to play music for: the people who like a bit of everything but not to the point of diving into an abyss of obscurity. The show’s genres run the gamut from pop, electronic, hip-hop to metal—she plays a bit of everything, wanting everyone to enjoy a part of her show. The most often played genre is indie rock.

“Everyone kind of likes indie rock somewhere deep inside,” Rachiteanu said.

She is an English major who finds the time between classes to run to CJLO at the Loyola campus and host her show. Immersed in spreading the good sounds, she even found herself DJ-ing at the Loyola Luncheon a few weeks ago. She laughed when she recalled that she received as many compliments about the cat stickers decorating her laptop as her music choices.

“I am a cat person,” she declared, never apologetic for what she likes.

Inspired by her music patrician friends poking fun at her “common” tastes, Rachiteanu embraced her plebeian identity and plays paradoxically hard-to-find music that would be mainstream if only more people knew about it.

The playlists are based on bands and musicians who are passing through Montreal that week, allowing listeners to get interested in and excited about upcoming live shows.

“When I moved to Montreal, there were always like six bands that I wanted to see every week and I just freaked out,” said Rachiteanu. “No one knows about this! No one told me about this! So I’m telling people as much as I can.”

Coming from a “noob” music background, she knows what it’s like to not have a lot of information. To help listeners along, Rachiteanu arms herself with notes on every band she plays in order to give details on concerts, venues and trivia.

“I feel like if you don’t know a lot about music, [my show] kind of directs you to something. You could go see the bands live to complete your knowledge of music.”

Rachiteanu’s ultimate goal is to get listeners out to support their new favourite artists.

“Live music is the purest sound you will ever get, so if you like music, the best thing is to go encourage the band’s tour,” she said.

Until then, Rachiteanu wants you to listen to her show and discover a new pleasure that you might never have discovered otherwise.

Get introduced to Plebeian Pleasures by streaming past episodes on CJLO.com, or listening in on Mondays between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Categories
Music

The New Pornographers want to pleasure you

Vocalist and guitarist Kathryn Calder discusses songwriting and solo projects

When Kathryn Calder joined The New Pornographers nearly a decade ago, the band’s second album, Electric Version, had recently broken into the U.S. Billboard top 200. Only 23 at the time and nearly a decade younger than most of her band mates, they took to calling her “the kid.” Since then, she has not only outgrown the nickname, but gone on to contribute vocals and keyboards to four New Pornographer albums, all of which broke the top 50 in the U.S., and released two solo albums.

When Calder was asked to join The New Pornographers by Carl Newman, her uncle and a vocalist and guitarist in the band, she felt as though she had “been plucked out and put in the band,” a group she admits having been a fan of. Calder confessed that some of the early formative elements of the band, like where the name came from, are lost in time. “People like to say that the name came from a televangelist who said that ‘music is the new pornography,’ but other people say it’s because of a movie called The Pornographers—I don’t know.” Wherever it came from, Calder likes it. “It stands out,” she said, “it even offends some people.”

With seven full members as well as a touring member, many of whom also have ongoing side projects, the band is larger and busier than most acts. It is not exactly a chore to get everyone together, however: “It’s annoying in the way that it’s annoying to get eight people to decide on what restaurant to go to,” Calder said. Being part of such a large band also has its advantages. “There’s so many of us that there’s a good safety blanket,” she said, “I don’t really feel nerves purely due to the fact I’m surrounded by seven other people.”

There have been many memorable moments with The New Pornographers for Calder, but a few stand out: “We were in Mexico City around ‘07 doing this huge show and the fans were so excited,” she said. What really stood out for Calder in Mexico City was that, “outside the show, these people were selling all this fake merch with hijacked images; it was a really funny moment,” she said. Calder made sure to buy some of the counterfeits as souvenirs.

Before joining the band, Calder was a member of the now defunct Immaculate Machine. “I was in a group called The Reactions in high school, grade 12,” Calder said, “ but Immaculate Machine was the first band where we went on tour, and had fans, and people would come out to see us.” One of the biggest differences between Calder’s former group and The New Pornographers is that in the Immaculate Machine, “we all wrote the songs together, in the same room,” she said. “In The New Pornographers [Newman] and [Dan Bejar] do the writing.”  Calder’s role in the creation of the group’s music is geared more towards arranging her keyboard parts. “I come up with ideas and then [Newman and Bejar] sort of decide what’s cool,” she said. “It’s a messy process and I never really know what they’ll keep.”

Being largely absent from the songwriting process is, in part, the reason Calder decided to start her solo project. “I started writing my solo album partly for my mother, who was dying at the time. I wanted to do it for her and I wanted to know what my own music sounded like,” she said. “I had spent all this time making music in a group and I didn’t even know what my own music was.” Whatever the project, Calder feels a link to all the music she helps create: “I feel connected with both [projects]. In The New Pornographers, I like to find my space within the larger picture,” she said, “they fulfill different artistic roles for me.”

Calder only recently started thinking of her future in music. “When I joined the band I had no idea. I never thought that far in advance,” the 32-year-old said. “You never really know. An opportunity would come-up and I would just take it without thinking ‘oh, this will be good for my career.’ I still don’t really know, but we just keep going,” she said. “I know I’ll always be making music, but it was only in like the last five years or so that I started thinking long term.”

The New Pornographers play Virgin Mobile Corona Theatre on Feb. 4 with Operators.

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Branch into BRONCHO’s bottled dreams

The band plays their infectiously catchy songs on tour with the legendary, Billy Idol

“Da da do do do do do do do do do do do do do da da da do do do do do do do do do.” If you haven’t heard BRONCHO’s new hit, “Class Historian,” the lyric above means nothing to you. If you have heard the song, you’re probably cursing this article for bringing the catchy chorus back on repeat in your head.

Ryan Lindsey cements himself on stage, taking the shape of a slacker rocker—baseball cap and loose sweater dragging down to a low-hanging guitar—but within this static slacker figure is a musical mind, gifted with a natural aptitude to flush-out pop hit after punk hit. Perhaps a dead giveaway of the genius behind Lindsey, who languidly chews gum between lyrics, are his furrowed brows and determined angry eyes aimed at the back of the room the whole set through. Pairing melody and lyric comes effortlessly to Lindsey—like a dream.

“I have these recurring dreams of the town I grew up in, but it’s really squished together. Like all the main parts of the city are really close to each other and you can just walk everywhere, like from my house to downtown to my friend’s neighbourhood. Everything is almost cartoonish—how close it all is. Those are my favourite dreams to have about growing up, because it’s this different version of the way things happened. They’re always kind of dark, and it’s always at night, the temperature’s always perfect.”

The distorted dreams of Lindsey’s youth in his native town, Norman, Oklahoma, creeped their way into his psyche while writing the band’s second album, Just Enough Hip to Be Woman.

“When writing [the record], I never was consciously thinking about this being a record about all these things. It just kind of happened,” he said.

Lindsey’s childhood revelry is tell-tale of BRONCHO’s sound: the songs have soaked-up the fleeting moments of the songwriter’s childhood. They’re quick, upbeat, and bottle the badass attitude of a kid at a punk show. The songs also meet youth with nostalgia; one of the slower songs on the new album, “Stay Loose,” pulls at your heart strings by means of the minimal guitar riffs hitting the saddest and happiest notes of your past.

“That’s a song on the record that really hit a certain tone with the nostalgic past,” he said. “It kind of connected some dots between where we were going and where I wanted the record to end up going from our first record to our second record.”

Whatever elixir Lindsey draws from his dreams and injects into his tunes has been picked-up by big names in sales and shows. Lindsey’s songs have been used by Starbucks, Old Navy, and even a Payless commercial. The band’s song, “It’s On,” was also featured on the HBO series, Girls. The excitement a BRONCHO record induces in a listener can’t be cast aside. Can’t Get Past the Lips, released in 2011, is an album you can pick a fight to—or, at least, fuel a small rebellion.

“We almost got kicked out of our hotel the other night because we found a way onto the roof,” Lindsey said. “There was a phone on the roof, and [Ben King] used it to try and order pizza to the roof…. it was the front desk and they said they didn’t have any pizza. And then they asked if we were on the roof, and [King] said ‘no,’ and they sent a guy up there. So we went up there a few more times, and the last time, the guy came and said ‘no way. You guys gotta get off this roof. No way. Uh uh. Uh uh, guys.’” Lindsey paused for a moment, and concluded with, “Ya, I think we like to have fun.”

Currently on tour with the legendary Billy Idol, BRONCHO has been warming up the sold-out crowds and getting people “feeling good and loose and comfortable.” Idol, whose hit songs have surfed the airwaves for decades, has not yet partaken in any of the band’s parties or pizza-ordering endeavours. “We haven’t had a good ‘Billy hang.’ I really hope it happens,” Lindsey said.
BRONCHO plays Metropolis Feb. 3 with Billy Idol.

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You’d be wrong to not listen to Viet Cong

The cheerful band members draw inspiration from their fascination with a post-apocalyptic world

Listening to the dark, heavy tones emanating throughout Viet Cong’s EP, Cassette, and self-titled debut album, one would assume that the men behind the music were sombre individuals. “Everybody thinks that we’re going to be really serious,” confirms guitarist Scott Munro.

Munro was joined by Matt Flegel on vocals and bass, Mike Wallace on drums, and Daniel Christiansen on guitar to form the group, Viet Cong, in 2012. Hailing from Calgary, Alberta, they released their EP, Cassette in July 2014 and are set to release Viet Cong from Flemish Eye Records on Jan. 20.  Their sound can be heavy at times, but is rich with heavy drumbeats, samplers, synths and vocals that evoke the angst of old school British bands of the 1980s. Viet Cong belongs more in the punk rock and experimental spectrum rather than fitting into the all-encompassing school of indie rock.

The new album was co-produced by Munro, Flegel, and Graham Walsh of electronica band Holy Fuck with contributions from musician Julie Fader. Over eight days in the winter, the band split their time between Munro’s home studio, recording vocals at the studio of Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor, then recording in a refurbished barn near Hamilton, Ontario. They see winter as the perfect season to be working, since, essentially, you are stuck inside and somewhat forced to be productive. So, Viet Cong hibernated and then emerged with seven exquisite tracks.

A fascination with the gloomy post-apocalyptic landscape has been an influence for some members of the band and is reflected in their heavy sound. The obsession with apocalypse, natural disaster, raptures, and the collapse of society has been permeating popular culture for decades. This fascination has manifested in novels like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road—a book which Munro fittingly happened to be reading leading up to the end of the Mayan calendar.

On the topic of the end of the world and post-apocalyptic thought, Munro says: “I think everyone wonders how they would deal with the collapse of everything they know… I’m always thinking about how defensible my house will be. [These] thoughts in everyday life, I think, factor into how I think about music.” Hence the melancholic vibes running through their albums. Yet, Viet Cong are not quite the pessimists their angst-ridden songs make them out to be. “We’re all pretty upbeat people and we’re all pretty stoked about everything,” Munro says.

Viet Cong are surely stoked to be embarking on a fourth month-long tour, playing nearly forty gigs across North America and Europe from now until May. In months past, they toured in a compact Toyota Echo.

“Can you imagine that four of us lived in a car that size for seven weeks? I had some of the best sleeps of my life on that tour. I prefer sleeping outside on the grass than sleeping on some hippie’s couch,” Munro says. Now they have purchased a new tour van from fellow musician, Chad VanGaalen. The van came complete with a rainbow coloured floor.

Touring the Viet Cong album will prove to be much different than recording, and to keep things fresh the band tries to build improvisation into each show. Munro says this is good for them, because “you have to listen to each other” and “nobody can just get into their own little world, because its not always the same.” This improvisation on tracks such as “Death” allows for an exciting set, as Munro says that the improvisation “gives you something to look forward to.”

“Being in a band is always a compromise … nobody in [the] band has egos,” Munro says,  which makes the writing and recording process quite smooth. Not to mention, many of the members have been playing and recording music for years, so their experience has helped them to improve on the collaborative process that is music making.

They respect a policy in which ideas presented in the group are “[followed] through to the finished recording,” Munro says. Instead of throwing away material, they try to rework songs and ideas that can be picked apart and then reuse them. When they first began Viet Cong, Munro and Flegel sat down with material they had been collecting and working on, and decided that everything was ripe for the picking, using samples and riffs for new innovative tracks that would end up on Cassette and Viet Cong. Ultimately, as a band, their goal is “to make music that [they] like and [to] make something good” which requires work and dedication. But this has been achieved thus far with both the promising Cassette and their full length album, Viet Cong.

Viet Cong play Bar Le Ritz Friday Jan 30.

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Daydream with The Vaselines

The band fits smoothly back together after their 21-year hiatus with new album, V for Vaselines

Speaking from his living room on a stormy day in Glasgow, Scotland, Eugene Kelly tells me about the genesis of his band, The Vaselines. He sounds very relaxed, almost affable, and his tone does as much as the story itself to help elucidate the central spirit of the group.

“We were just barely out of school when Frances [McKee] and I met,” says Kelly. “We just started going to clubs in Glasgow and meeting people who were into the same kind of music. [We were] discovering things, discovering films and music, really for the first time … Frances and I just decided to be part of it … When you do something when you’re that young, you don’t really see it as the beginning of a career.  You put your heart and soul into it but you don’t really think ‘oh, this is gonna pay the bills,’ you just enjoy it as something that could disappear.”

That youthful ephemerality is one of the central draws of The Vaselines’ early work. It’s comforting in a way to hear what is essentially a few friends taking shots at each other and making dirty jokes (“Rory Rides Me Raw” stars a female-friendly bike seat, “Molly’s Lips” can be interpreted at least two different ways), all underscored with a Velvet Underground style of sunshiney pop that never strays too far from a simple two-chord structure. This sense of ephemerality was further cemented by the band’s breakup almost immediately after the release of their first LP, Dum Dum, in 1989.

A full 21 years would elapse before they released another one. In the interim, nearly every genre of music experienced massive changes, and in fact, a whole new one, known as hip-hop, became the central focus of both the mainstream and the underground. The Vaselines, meanwhile, experienced one of the luckiest breaks a band can really hope for—they were covered by one of the biggest rock groups in the world. During the early ‘90s, Nirvana performed and recorded three Vaselines compositions: “Jesus Don’t Want Me For a Sunbeam,” “Molly’s Lips,” and “Son of a Gun” bringing a level of renown to a set of songs made “mostly for a laugh,” that was completely unexpected. “I haven’t had a job for 20 years,” Kelly told me, which we both agreed was probably the end-goal of being any sort of artist, “the royalty payments from those [songs] really helped us through the early years.”

Both Kelly and McKee had bands in these intervening years. Kelly’s band Eugenius (formerly Captain America), was signed to Atlantic Records, and proved to be relatively successful, while McKee’s band Suckle, formed with her sister, recorded two sessions for John Peel’s BBC Radio 1. After playing a few promotional shows together in 2006, The Vaselines officially rejoined, and in 2010 released Sex With An X, an album that, though certainly the work of at least slightly more mature songwriters, maintain the friendly intimacy that turned Dum Dum and the Sub-Pop compilation album, The Way of The Vaselines, into cult classics. That said, Sex With An X is often more enjoyable than these works, mostly owing to some solid production that manages to make the music more aurally palatable while not sounding overly slick, and the simple fact that Kelly and McKee sound like they’re not straining themselves vocally on most tracks. The highlight of the album is “I Hate The 80’s” which is as catchy as it is bittersweet, closing with the nostalgic “Where did that boy go/ Where did that girl go.”

Last year’s V For Vaselines, is just further confirmation that The Vaselines can still put together a great set of songs, and it contains what I personally think is the hidden gem of their entire catalogue. “Single Spies” feels like taking a breezy jog at sunset, sounding very reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac’s brand of soft-rock with ‘60s handclaps thrown in for good measure.

The Vaselines play Bar Le Ritz (formerly Il Motore) this Sunday, Jan. 18. I’ve already promised to try to start a moshpit, seeing as Kelly vividly remembers a show in Scotland where “people were actually punching lumps at each other,” though I’m fairly certain that’s illegal.

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Ryan Hemsworth revisited: one year later

This up-and-coming Canadian artist has continued to grow in his moments alone on the road

It’s been just over a year since Ryan Hemsworth was last featured in The Concordian, but in those 13 months, he’s grown to astonishing new heights.

Last October, I compared Hemsworth to a tree. Rooted in a childhood of guitar playing and lyric writing, his branches are ever-expanding; he’s toured across the globe, started a label, and released his second studio album. But with the release of Alone for the First Time, his focus is less on stretching towards the sky and more on strengthening his roots.

While many of his best-known songs are upbeat, Hemsworth used this album as an outlet for introspection; it’s a window into himself, an audible documentation of what it’s like to get to know yourself in the endless stretches of hotel rooms, plane rides and alone time between hour-long sets.

“I made this album in the past, like, six to eight months on the road, in between shows and at hotels and airports and stuff,” he said. “I produced it all on my laptop. But I got a lot of friends to help with it, so it’s a lot more collaborative than the last few projects I’ve put out.”

There’s no better place to start the process of self-discovery than childhood, and since he’s been making music since before the days of laptop production, this album incorporates those first roots of musical interest—playing the guitar.

“In ‘Blemishes,’ all that guitar part is me, and a few other tracks have guitar parts throughout them as well,” he said. “But ‘Blemishes’ is the one that I wanted to go all out and play a lot of weird, different stuff on it. If you hear any guitar, that’s me, rockin’ out.”

But one thing we won’t hear anytime soon is Hemsworth’s own voice in his music.

“All the features on this album are basically vocal features,” he said. “But I did little, like, bits of singing in the background, and then I would mess with it until it didn’t sound like my voice anymore. Since the guitar doesn’t come from my vocal chords, it’s a little less personal, I guess. I also made sampler keyboard sounds out of acapellas that my friends made, each singing one note, and then turned those into notes on the keyboard. That’s how I made the intro to ‘Snow in Newark’ and the outro to ‘Walk Me Home.’”

Alone for the First Time is an exploration. It’s hard to create an accurate image of the feelings it incites; you can simultaneously feel the rush of performing and the loneliness of life on the road. There’s something about impermanence—the view out of your bedroom window is never the same, and the scenery flashing by your car windows eventually becomes a kaleidoscope, indistinguishable from one place to the next.

“It’s hard trying to lead somewhat of a normal life when my friends are in one place and I’m not there,” said Hemsworth. “It’s a balance of mostly good and maybe slightly bad, because you’re just becoming a nomad and you don’t have a home. But in a way, you start to get used to it.”

For someone who’s a self-proclaimed introvert, travelling alone doesn’t have to be scary—it can be an opportunity for growth instead.

“It probably would either break you down or make you a bit more of an open person,” he said. “It’s definitely opened me up a little bit. Before touring and travelling, I was definitely a lot more shy than I am now, even though I’m still probably fairly shy. But it’s awesome to be able to start having little groups of friends in different cities. Regardless of not seeing certain people for a while, I’ll always have some friends around, which is cool.”

But as Alone for the First Time hints, a life of constant motion can be a lonely one. Surprisingly, the most crowded places—festivals and clubs, for example—can be the loneliest.

“It’s kind of weird,” Hemsworth laughed. “It helps a lot to be with a crew, because sometimes I’ve shown up at festivals just totally by myself. It’s definitely good to have some friends, and also to get a little drunk beforehand. Sitting backstage by myself is really not an ideal way to pump myself up to play in front of thousands of people, but it happens more often than people realize! But at least backstage we have chicken wings.”

To counteract that loneliness, Hemsworth has planted a forest to grow alongside him with the creation of a project called Secret Songs.

“It’s becoming a ‘label thing,’ but I started it as basically a way to put out my friends’ music who don’t have a lot of listens on Soundcloud or whatever,” he said. “That’s what everyone cares about nowadays, for some reason. I just wanted to use whatever popularity I had to get people into stuff that I think is probably better than my music. And on the tour I’m doing that’s starting up now, I’ve got most of them opening shows across North America. I’m trying to keep everything sort of like a family, I guess.”

Ryan Hemsworth plays at Le Belmont on Nov. 14.

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