SOUNDTRACKING: A Few Thoughts On The Sudden And Unfortunate Closure Of “John”

photo credit: Dave Pullmer

by Daniel Colussi | There’s a ridiculous amount of top notch music created in Vancouver and much of it exists on a slim periphery of the city’s entertainment industry. We’re blessed to live in a city that’s willing and able to incubate some fairly cerebral stuff (I think, for example, of how Nu Sensae were long-nurtured here and are now embraced way beyond our borders). For a lot of music-folks, it’s the city’s capacity to accept and nurture weirdo art projects that makes Vancouver such a supreme city to live in. That it’s undeniably beautiful here doesn’t hurt either.

I do not partake of any No Fun City-type whining and I’m not framing this in terms of a partisan culture war between art and commerce, but there are indeed occasions when it feels like spaces for Vancouver’s marginal goings-on don’t have a chance to operate, let alone grow and develop. This is all to say that I was very disappointed to hear that an especially promising new gallery/studio and show space was recently shut down without warning. As many readers are already well aware, this space was called John, and for a two-month stretch that passed by all too quickly it was home to 13 artist studios, a performance space, a gallery, as well as a printing press and video/photography studio. There was also to be an accompanying John magazine, a kind of party organ for artists, writers and performers, however closely or loosely involved they were within the space. Alas, one of John’s organizers informed me that he arrived at the space on April 29th to find an eviction notice and the locks changed, the landlord apparently having received pressure from the city to shut the space down.

I had the pleasure of taking part at one of their first events and I was duly impressed by how well organized (and so discreetly!) John was operated. Art spaces are rarely run with such care and efficiency, and so this space really struck me as something different. Its organizers were pretty ambitious and received a lot of good reaction to their initial efforts which all took place in a very short time.

Simply put, John showed a lot of potential as a multi-purpose space, a spot where music, art and print could cooperatively interact. It’s too bad that it’s gone, but its organizers are planning on relocating and rebuilding in a new space. For John, and for the city as a whole, I hope that this the closure was just a bump on the road of a briskly maturing city.

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Daniel Colussi is the Music Editor of Scout Magazine and a contributing writer to Ion Magazine. A veteran employee of Zulu Records and tuneage aficionado, he DJs on an infrequent basis (about four times a year) and is a musician around town who plays in several ensembles.

SOUNDTRACKING: On The Two Black Flags And Which One Plays Vancouver On July 20

by Daniel Colussi | Since discovering them sometime in Junior High School, Black Flag has held a kind of otherworldly, god-like status to me. I’ve read and re-read Rollins’ tour journals. I listened and re-listened to Damaged. The intensity and heaviness of their music totally spoke to my teenaged self, but at the same time it was completely beyond my comprehension. They were so angry, so jacked up on their own anger, and so heavy about being Black Flag. They were the most badass band of all time, ever, except maybe for Black Sabbath (hard to say). So it’s perhaps fitting that the heaviest band of all time would pull off something that’s never been before: reunite two times, concurrently, as two distinct and unrelated entities that don’t even like each other.

It’s like this: Greg Ginn – who we all accept as the originator/leader/soul of Black Flag – is touring as Black Flag with Vancouver’s own Ron Reyes (Chavo Pederast) on vocals, plus two other dudes no one knows. But wait, there’s also this thing called Flag, comprised of Chuck Dukowski, Keith Morris, Bill Stevenson, and even Dez Cadena, plus one dude no one knows. If it’s all a bit confusing, maybe a diagram will help. Personally I have no gripes about all these guys reuniting and playing the old songs. And frankly, even if it’s all just a cash-in it’s still cool because lord knows these guys never made any money back in the day. But what does trouble me is the Sophie’s Choice-like decision that’s forced upon fans. On the one hand, there’s Ginn’s Black Flag. The fact that Ginn is in the line up makes this version of Black Flag appear totally legit, and yet Ginn’s playing on his own pedigree when he slags Flag as a poseur cover band. Because Flag features four foundational BF alumni all playing together, and they seem to be legitimately psyched on getting the band back together, man. At this point, an amicable, super line up of Ginn + Flag seems unlikely…

Whether or not you care about Black Flag reuniting will depend on certain things, like your age, your feeling towards 80′s hardcore, and your willingness to accept these aging rockers as they are now and not as they were in their prime. Whatever your allegiance, Ginn and Reyes are playing Vancouver in July and that’s for sure going to be a great show. Regardless of the cross-band drama, I highly, highly recommend that you commit a full hour of your life to the little seen Super 8 document of Black Flag’s final 1986 tour, a film by Dave Markey entitled Reality 86′d.

It’s Black Flag on their final legs. The hair is long, the jam’s are long, everyone’s really burnt out, and no film better shows the inanity and pathos of being in a band on tour. Enjoy!

ZULU REPORT: All The Awesome Sounds That You Should Be Listening To This Week

by Nic Bragg | From Kitsilano’s Zulu Records, we once again present our weekly Scout feature, the Zulu Report. Within, we provide The Track - the song that is on heavy rotation in the shop this week; The Playlist - which is pretty self-explanatory; The Gig - the ‘must see’ show of the week; and The Glance - which details the best live acts that are on the immediate horizon. From our ears to yours, enjoy… Read more

SOUNDTRACKING: Five Minutes With Angel Olsen When She’s Not Making Sandwiches

by Daniel Colussi | Angel Olsen has a commanding voice. Even through the crappy pinhole speakers of my Macbook Pro her voice comes across like a wave. The Chicago singer has done time in Will Oldham’s Babblers (a pick up group that covers Kevin Coyne and the Mekons at house shows/pajama parties) and she’s released some small run cassettes and 7″s. But it’s on her recent full length, Half Way Home, that Olsen really shines. The songs on this album possess a sincerity and directness that not all singers are capable of, much less without crossing into schmaltzy bathos. This music almost sounds beamed in from a previous age. The effect is transfixing, as if Olsen is playing a private set for you in your living room. That’s her over there on your couch, with a guitar and a bottle of wine, just telling it like it is. She’s is actually totally nonchalant in conversation, seemingly just happy to have a break from her day job of making sandwiches at a cafe counter. Her first Vancouver show – at the Media Club later this month – should be a good one. Readers, I give you Angel Olsen…

Tomorrow is the start of a pretty big tour for you. You’re touring up the West Coast, over to the UK, and then back to the East Coast. Have you toured a lot? For my own music, not really. I went on an East Coast tour in November and then I went to the Netherlands in September when the album came out. I’m trying to plan more tours on my own, for my own music. But for the last few years I’ve toured a lot with Will Oldham, which is a totally different experience.

Back in Chicago what are the cool spots you like to play? My friends own a cafe in Chicago and I’ll play there, just solo sets or whatever. I like the smaller bars. I think they have way more charm. There’s a place called The Burlington in Chicago that’s been around forever and they just opened up a back room that’s awesome. It’s really mellow. There’s another place called The Hideout that’s really cool. But yeah, I like playing in bars, which is a bit weird because you’d think that someone who plays solo a lot would like intimate situations. But I think that bars can be intimate. You go see someone play and you buy a drink. I’m not turned off by it.

I’ve been listening to Half Way Home and it’s really nice. You have a really strong voice. Something that I appreciate in particular is that your voice is pretty much unadorned. So much music today masks the singing in dollops of reverb and delay. My first album was super lo-fi and not really well done, and going from that to working really hard on making things sound good has been a really good step for me (laughs). But I prefer playing live. It’s just more…I feel like I’m having fun, too, and I’m not just giving my record to people and saying, “See ya!”

So it’s a little more immediately satisfying? Yeah, totally.

When did you start singing? I dunno. I’ve pretty much being doing it since I was a little kid. But trying to seriously write songs, I didn’t start that until I was 15 or 16. I think I’ve always wanted to be a performer, definitely.

Your singing is really strong and it’s got a really classic quality, almost like someone from the 50s or 60s… I think I draw from a lot of different singers. I really like Spanish music. I really love Amalia Rodrigues. There’s just something about it that really moves me. And I also like The Miracles and The Everly Brothers. I like a lot of old music and I know my music has a kind of nostalgia to it and I don’t really mind that it does because I don’t think I’m writing in the same way that they would’ve written back then.

What was the first cassette or cd you bought when you were a kid? I think it was a Mariah Carey CD or maybe Boyz II Men (laughs).

How does it feel to have your music get this much attention? Interviews, kind words from The New York Times, etc. Is it unexpected? It kind of feels weird. It’s kind of unexpected. We were talking earlier about how Half Way Home is really kind of dry and you can hear my voice, versus my first album which was drenched in reverb, a rainshower of reverb. I wasn’t sure if everyone was ready to hear something so dry because everyone likes that comfortable distance, you know? I don’t really want to listen to what someone is singing about. I’d rather listen to this zoned out music. And I was just kind of like, well I don’t know if people are going to like this at all but we’ll see. I mean, I played a show in Los Angeles last January and I didn’t expect anyone to be there. And it was full of people and I thought, “Who are these people? I have no idea why they’re here!” It’s a strange experience, but not a bad one. Before I was just over here making sandwiches, living my life. It’s surprising but it’s good.

So it gets you away from the sandwich counter for a little bit. Yeah, I can stop making sandwiches for a minute!

Angel Olsen plays the Media Club on Sunday, Apr. 21st. Tickets at Zulu, Red Cat and the venue.

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Daniel Colussi is the Music Editor of Scout Magazine and a contributing writer to Ion Magazine. A veteran employee of Zulu Records and tuneage aficionado, he DJs on an infrequent basis (about four times a year) and is a musician around town who plays in several ensembles.

ZULU REPORT: All The Awesome Sounds That You Should Be Listening To This Week

by Nic Bragg | From Kitsilano’s Zulu Records, we once again present our weekly Scout feature, the Zulu Report. Within, we provide The Track - the song that is on heavy rotation in the shop this week; The Playlist - which is pretty self-explanatory; The Gig - the ‘must see’ show of the week; and The Glance - which details the best live acts that are on the immediate horizon. From our ears to yours, enjoy… Read more

SCOUT LIST: 11 Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now & Next Week

by Michelle Sproule | The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit. The Scout List is our carefully considered, first rate agenda of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours…

PUNCH DRUNK LOVE | Every month, producer/presenter Melanie Friesen of Vancity Theatre’s Cinema Salon asks a prominent Vancouverite to present their favourite film and speak to its greatness. This month, it’s award-winning musician and producer Steve Dawson. He’s screening his favourite film: Punch Drunk Love (Adam Sandler, Emily Watson). Discussion of the film follows the screening with drinks
Tuesday, April 2 | 7:30pm | Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour) | $13 | DETAILS

TEA | This Tuesday night, Kitsilano’s O5 Tea kicks off a series of Tuesday night movie screenings designed to be a fun way to connect with other Vancouver tea wonks. The series begins with Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited starring Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson. Have a laugh and enjoy compilentary tea and nerd-out with like minded tea drinkers. Best part, it’s all free.
Tuesday, April 2 | 7pm | | O5 Tea bar (2208 W 4) | Free | DETAILS

TASTE | We can think of no better way to celebrate Spring than with a four course ‘Cuisine de Terroir’ meal prepared by Joy Road Catering, except for the same dinner paired with wines from Road 13 Vineyards. The Country In The City dinner has the Okanagan coming to us inside the beautiful Vancouver Urban Winery on Wednesday night. Cam Smith and Dana Ewart of Joy Road do a stellar job of making the most out of fresh local ingredients (think wild nettle pesto with house made ricotta prosciutto, fresh oysters, poached trout, roasted lamb, pearl barley risotto with wild fire morel mushrooms). Tickets are going fast. See you there?
Wednesday, April 3 | 7pm | Vancouver Urban Winery (55 Dunlevy) | $100 | DETAILS

KNOW YOUR CITY |  Check out the Secrets of the Penthouse tour this Thursday night. Led by the good folks at Forbidden Vancouver, this tour will reveal the juicy secrets and varied histories of Vancouver’s most infamous nightclub. Meet owner Danny Filippone, hear star-studded stories, take in the wall of historical photographs, catch a bit of burlesque, and learn about police raids, murders and fires. As you can imagine, this event will be popular and, although there are two tours running, it will likely sell out. If you don’t make this tour, don’t panic. You can get in line for the ones on May 2nd or June 6th.
Thursday, April 4 | 6:15pm + 7:15pm | The Penthouse (1019 Seymour) | 6pm | $38 | DETAILS

GET UP | This Friday brings Creative Mornings, the monthly morning gathering for creative types. Each event includes a 20 minute lecture followed by a 20 minute group discussion. It begins at 8:30am and ends with everyone splitting for work at 10am. This month’s speaker, Ian Ruhter, is an old school photographer. Way old-school. This is an artist who sought to restore some of the depth and soul of the photograph by returning to over 100 year old technologies and methods. He captures on film what he could not achieve with present day equipment. Sign-up for a ticket here (they get snapped up FAST, so don’t wait.)
Friday, April 5 | 8:30-10am | Dodson House (25 E Hastings) | Free | DETAILS

NIRVANA NIGHT | Celebrate the life and talent of Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) at Fortune Sound Club on Friday night. Event organizers will screen the documentary “I Hate Myself & I Want To Die” followed by a chat with the film’s director Benjamin Shapiro and an evening of Nirvana covers performed by local bands.
Friday, April 5 | 6pm Film 8pm music | Fortune Sound Club (147 E. Pender) | $10 | DETAILS

ENTANGLEMENT | Vancouver artist, photographer and environmentalist Michael Hall is fascinated by single-use plastic waste. He might see the ugliness in the physical evidence of a consumer-driven society disenfranchised from the natural environment, but he also sees the beauty in this man-made and easily discarded material. He plans to use that beauty to engage the community in thinking about it. Head to the EastVan Studios this Saturday for an art auction and party with DJs and such, the proceeds of which will help Hall pay for the printing of photographs and the development of the theme.
Saturday, April 6 | Auction 2-9pm Party 9pm | EastVan Studios (870 E. Cordova) | DETAILS

BLOSSOMS | How awesome is it to have a city full of cherry blossoms right now? Get excited about it with the likeminded at the Sakura Days Japan Fair at VanDusen this weekend. Cruising the Sakura Days Japan Fair is like being teleported to Japan, or as close as most of us are going to get by Saturday anyway. The gardens are packed full of cherry blossom gazers, live entertainment, arts and crafts tables and martial arts performers as well as tea ceremony stations, flower arranging stations, origami making booths and lots of traditional and anime-inspired costumes.
April 6+7 | 10am-5pm | VanDusen Botanical Garden (5251 Oak) | $12 | DETAILS

LISTEN | Canadian artist Roy Henry Vickers will be in town this week for an art exhibition and storytelling event in support of his new book, Raven Brings the Light. A collaboration between Vickers and historian Robert Budd, Raven Brings the Light tells the ancient First Nations legend of how Raven brought light into a world of darkness. Vickers will treat attendees to a reading from the book and a look at 18 new prints created as illustrations for the book. The one day show will pop-up at the Waterfall Building near Granville Island (1540 W 2nd) and is free to all.
Saturday, April 6 | 10:30am-4pm, Storytelling @ 11am | 1540 W 2nd | FREE | DETAILS

GO GREEN | It’s time to get your garden sorted. Hook up with Victory Gardens this Saturday for a composting workshop with soil specialist Emma Holmes. The hands-on workshop will cover important topics such as what different types of compost can be made, the different soil situations that will influence the type of compost you choose to create, what you should and should not put in to compost, and how a compost should be maintained for maximum benefit.
Saturday, April 6 | 10:30 | 151 W 1st Ave False Creek Village | $18 | DETAILS

CHEKHOV | It’s altogether too seldom that Vancouver sees a Chekhov play on stage. That oversight will be addressed this week by The Only Child Collective when they present Three Sisters at the Vancity Culture Lab. The century old drama opens a four year window on the lives of the Prozorov family (sisters Olga, Masha, and Irina) and their brother Andrei as they come to terms with their place in a changing Russian society.
Now-April 20 | Various times | Vancity Culture Lab (1895 Venables) $14-$28 | DETAILS

Check the Globe & Mail every Thursday for our Special Weekend Edition of the Scout List

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Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended University in Australia and the University of Victoria before receiving her graduate degree in Library Sciences from The University of Toronto. She lives in beautiful Strathcona and enjoys wandering aimlessly through the city’s shops and streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy, and uncooperative camera.

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SOUNDTRACKING: Stevenson’s “Visions” Takes Over Thursdays At Dunlevy Snackbar

Daniel Colussi | Vancouver musician, producer, studio-wiz and general man about town Josh Stevenson recently informed me that he was resuscitating his dormant Visions night at Strathcona’s Dunlevy Snackbar. This is good news. Stevenson helmed Psych Night at the Anza for years and I enjoyed many mellow evenings playing darts and bobbing my head to finely curated sets of psych rock, acid rock, biker rock, freak rock, art rock, fillipino folk trance rock (I’m making the last one up) and whatever else he saw fit to play. The Anza Psych Night effectively moved to The Waldorf for a brief stint and became Visions, but we all know what happened with that place. I was enthused to learn that he’s secured a new locale for his killer DJ night, and I’m now even more enthused to share a mix that he’s made for all Scout readers to enjoy. In typically esoteric fashion, Stevenson’s mix flows casually from one end of the spectrum to another, taking time to spot the many music anomalies that are only found at the side of the unbeaten path. We get everything from 60′s Process Church casualty (and mob puppet) Tommy James and Sunset Boulevard schemer Kim Fowley to two of my personal 90′s faces: Unrest and Royal Trux. In someone else’s hands this could be a bumpy ride, but Stevenson ensures a smooth journey, always. Enjoy!

Visions every Thursday evening at the Dunlevy SnackBar 433 Dunlevy Ave.

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Daniel Colussi is the Music Editor of Scout Magazine and a contributing writer to Ion Magazine. A veteran employee of Zulu Records and tuneage aficionado, he DJs on an infrequent basis (about four times a year) and is a musician around town who plays in several ensembles.

DEFINITIVE RECORDS: The 3 Albums That Anchor The Tastes Of Super Vancouverites

Definitive Records asks interesting Vancouverites to pick the three albums that anchor their musical tastes. Today, we hear from the owner of Eugene Choo and the Annex next door on Main Street…

“I struggle with “Best Of’ lists. I usually make a point of not doing/answering them. So when Scout asked me to come up with 3 definitive records I had to confront my demons. I took a desert isle approach: 3 albums I could listen to repeatedly and find new appreciation for with each listen. It’s hard not to pick older albums, but I guess that’s what makes them ‘classic’. They have the benefit of time.”

VAN MORRISON – Astral Weeks | LISTEN | “My cousin introduced me to this album in the late 80’s while I was on an extended stay in Los Angeles. I knew Van Morrison as a collection of singles. Hearing this album for the first time was an epiphany. It’s so layered and nuanced with elements of jazz, soul, blues, folk, rock, and classical. That coupled with Van’s stream of consciousness lyrics make it a repeat listener.”

TELEVISION – Marquee Moon | LISTEN | “An album by a seminal New York City punk band that really helped to usher in the post-punk sound. Its introduction in my childhood – via giant headphones and a big brother with good musical taste – helped it stand out. It seems to pop into my life at regular intervals and always sounds fresh.”

THE PIXIES – Doolittle | LISTEN | “While I always really liked this album and had seen The Pixies numerous times, it was when my wife took me to see the 20th anniversary of Doolittle (performed in its entirety at the Paramount in Seattle) that it really resonated as a whole album. There isn’t a dud track on it.”

ALL DEFINITIVE RECORDS

HEADS UP: Julie Doiron To Play Exclusive Show At Zulu Records This Saturday Night

Julie Doiron is going to be performing an in-store show Kitsilano’s Zulu Records this Saturday, March 30th at 5pm. Zulu’s Nic Bragg calls her October 2012 release So Many Days “truly sublime” (have a listen) and adds that “the show is free, all ages, and we suggest coming early as it will be a packed Saturday evening.” She plays later that night at Electric Owl with Dead Soft and Shimmering Stars (Julie’s on at 9:45pm).

SCOUT LIST: 10 Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now & Next Week

by Michelle Sproule | The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit. The Scout List is our carefully considered, first rate agenda of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours…

ELECTRIC CAR | If you think electric cars are just breaking on to the scene, think again. They’ve been trying to get our attention for a century now. Amazed? Fill in the blanks with a screening of 100 Years of the Electric Car on Tuesday night. The show is followed by an illustrated lecture on electric vehicles with a BC context courtest of electric vehicle advocate John Stonier. Peek inside a 1912 Detroit Electric Model 3.1 and a brand new Chevy Volt, and generally get yourself up-to-speed with the entire concept by chatting with reps from The Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association and General Motors.
Tues, Mar. 19 | 7:30 – 9pm | University Women’s Club | 1498 McRae Ave | $12 | DETAILS 

FOR REAL | Spring gets real this week. The Vernal Equinox (March 20 at 4:03am) officially signals the beginning of longer days and (fingers crossed) warmer weather. And not a minute too soon! Enough with the cold and dark business! It’s time to turn soil and take in all the cherry blossoms, t-shirts and dresses. Pack up the hats and gloves and break out a nice bottle of celebration. If you’re looking for a community event to mark the occasion with – head over to Renfrew Ravine Park for a Spring Equinox Labyrinth Walk.
Wed, Mar. 20 | 4pm | Renfrew Ravine Park (Renfrew @ E 24th Ave) | Free | DETAILS 

IL GIARDINO | Make some time in your schedule to slip down to Umberto’s Il Giardino for a glass of wine and a plate of antipasto before the restaurant is gone forever. Yup, after 37 years in business, Il Giardino closes it’s doors on April 15th and reservations for these last days are getting increasingly difficult to snag. As a Vancouver food lover, you are honour bound to take this opportunity to sit in the room with so much culinary history. It once upon a time set the bar for fine dining in this city, training and employing dozens of people who went on to serve, cook, and manage local restaurants. It also set a few icons on towards restaurants of their own (think Pino Posteraro of Cioppino’s and John Bishop of Bishop’s).
Now through April 15 | Il Giardino Restaurant (1382 Hornby St) | DETAILS 

DRAWFORTH | East Van artist Ehren Salazar is showing his work (charcoal portraits and landscapes) in a solo exhibit at Kafkas Coffee House beginning Thursday night. You may know him as the long-time Director of Little Mountain Gallery. He recently stepped down from the role in order to concentrate on his artwork. We highly recommend stopping in to check it out.
Thurs, March 21 | 8pm | Kafkas Coffee House (2525 Main St) | Free | DETAILS 

SUPPORT LOCAL | Portobello West is holding a Spring Market this weekend. Flip through clothing, accessories and trinkets from loads of local designers; eat well (Mix Bakery will be there, along with La Chocolaterie); and enjoy the gorgeous setting. Grab a cuppa and a hot crossed bun at Terra Breads and then take a stroll along the seawall afterwards.
Sat + Sun, Mar. 23 + 24 | 11am -5pm | Creekside Community Centre | $2 | DETAILS 

VANCOUVER FASHION | Check out the latest from up-and-coming local designers as well as award-winning talent from around the world at Vancouver Fashion Week. There’s something pretty great about sitting in a crowded room watching models strut the runway with flashes going off – it’s an energy that just can’t be explained. So get yourself a ticket(s) and feel it for yourself. VFW takes place at the Chinese Cultural Centre until Sunday. We recommend pre and post-show drinks at the Keefer, Bao Bei, The Parker or The Union.
Mar. 19-24 | Various times | Chinese Cultural Centre (50 E. Pender) | DETAILS 

GET GROWING | Evidence of Spring is already pushing through the soil. Don’t miss out in the fun! Get growing! The ladies of Victory Gardens are offering a workshop this Saturday morning that will walk you through the basics of preparing your garden for a season of plentiful food production. Not only will participants leave schooled on the importance of compost and soil, they’ll also have some crucial understanding of timing (which edible plants will do well in Vancouver soil, how to sew seeds and then transplant seedlings from pot to garden, and so on). Each participant will receive a pack of seeds. The perfect way to start the first week of Spring!
Sat, Mar. 23 | 10:30am | 151 W 1st Ave | $18 | DETAILS

LEARN | The Homesteader’s Emporium on East Hastings is offering a Introduction to Sausage and Charcuterie Making workshop this Saturday. Presenter Rick Havlak, owner of Homesteader’s, is an amateur sausage maker on the side (as well as an amateur wine and beer maker, bee keeper, cheese maker and probably candlestick maker). Rick’s workshop is not intended to be a professional sausage-making gig,  but rather a fun and informative workshop that will incorporate a demonstration of the basic principals and processes involved in making tasty cured meats and sausages. Participants will have the opportunity to check out equipment and ask questions and talk meat amongst themselves. “Topics covered will include fresh, smoked, and cured sausage as well as cured whole cuts (e.g. prosciutto), with tips and safety concerns discussed throughout.” Sold!
Sat, Mar. 23 | Homesteader’s Emporium (649 East Hastings) | Suggested donation: $5 | DETAILS 

HEADS-UP | The Vancouver Writers Fest might not officially go down until October, but the Writers Fest staff make a point of bringing us some pretty amazing speakers all year round. Case in point, this coming Monday night the VIWF presents and evening with Canadian journalist and human rights activist Sally Armstrong. Not only has Armstrong travelled extensively through ‘zones of conflict’ around the world, but she’s also a member of the Order of Canada and the International Women’s Commission at the UN. She has also penned four books – Veiled Threat: The Hidden Power of the Women of Afghanistan, The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor and Bitter Roots, Tender Shoots: The Uncertain Fate of Afghanistan’s Women, and most recently, Ascent of Women.
Mon, Mar. 25 | 7:30 pm | St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church | $21 | DETAILS 

Check the Globe & Mail every Thursday for our Special Weekend Edition of the Scout List

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Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended University in Australia and the University of Victoria before receiving her graduate degree in Library Sciences from The University of Toronto. She lives in beautiful Strathcona and enjoys wandering aimlessly through the city’s shops and streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy, and uncooperative camera.

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DEFINITIVE RECORDS: The 3 Albums That Anchor The Tastes Of Super Vancouverites

Definitive Records asks interesting Vancouverites to pick the three albums that anchor their musical tastes. Today, we hear from the chef/co-owner of The Acorn…

“It’s fucked up how hard it is to choose only three. Five was relatively easy, but axing two of those gave me grey hair. Anyways, here goes nothing…”

REFUSED – The Shape Of Punk To Come | LISTEN | “Even after growing up on punk rock, this album still lived up to the title in ’98. There may or may not have been some air punching to this album.”

SIGUR ROS – Takk | LISTEN | “Took my wife-to-be to this concert on one of our first dates and fell in love with Sigur Ros…and incedentally fell in love with her, too.”

THE KNIFE – Silent Shout | LISTEN | “It’s hard to believe an electronic album beat out Tom Waits, but dammit this album is good.”

ALL DEFINITIVE RECORDS

SCOUT LIST: 10 Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now & Next Week

by Michelle Sproule | The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit. The Scout List is our carefully considered, first rate agenda of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours…

AFFORDABLE ART | If you like the idea of furnishing your walls with original art but don’t have a full-blown art collector’s budget, you’ll want to check out Uncovered Vancouver this weekend. The collaborative effort from a group of 13 students from Vancouver’s Visual College of Arts and Design will fill the walls of The Chinatown Experiment with 26 pieces of original art priced between $100 and $250. Art work will be available for purchase beginning at noon on Thursday until 7pm. Organisers aim to sell every one of the 26 pieces by 7pm and then throw a party to celebrate (cover for the party portion of the event will include music courtesy of Chapel Sound and Cariboo Brewing beer with proceeds going to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre)
Thu, Mar. 14 | Sale 12-7pm, Party 7-11pm | The Chinatown Experiment (434 Columbia St) | $5 | DETAILS

ST PATRICKS DAY CRAIC | Craic is an Irish term for “mischievous fun, entertainment, good conversation and company”, and a proper one is often accompanied by a wee bit of cleansing ale. In anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day, a couple of fun-loving Vancouverites have rallied together to put on a Craic at the Anza Club this Friday night. The evening includes a set from Celtic band The Halifax Wharf Rats, $3 Bowen Island beer and lots of beer pong. That has all the makings of a good Friday night, wouldn’t you say?
Fri, Mar. 15 | 8pm | Anza Club (3 W 8 Ave) | $20 at the door | DETAILS 

FIGHT CLUB | The Rio Theatre is showing a sweet line-up of modern cult classics for their Friday Late Night Movies series this month. This Friday night brings the original 35mm print of Fight Club. $2 off the price of admission if you arrive in costume, so break out the red leather jackets and sunglasses and put those two bucks toward a cold beer (for the shiners) and some buttered popcorn.
Fri, Mar. 15 | 11pm | Rio Theatre (1660 E Broadway) | $8 | DETAILS

WHISK(E)Y TASTING | Fuck line ups, green beer and sparkling, shamrock-adorned hats. Celebrate Ireland’s patron saint on the eve of the madness known as St Patrick’s Day with a civilized whisk(e)y tasting at The Shebeen. A seat will get you a deep flight of Jameson whiskies, a traditional meal of house-made corned beef with colcannon (cabbage and potatoes), and a dessert of Okanagan fruit bread pudding with whiskey cream. Don’t wait on this! Score tickets before it’s sold out!
Sat, Mar. 16 | 7pm | The Shebeen at The Irish Heather (210 Carrall St) | DETAILS 

NIGHT FOREST | Shadows, noises, animal calls and the sound of snapping branches – walking through Pacific Spirit Regional Park at night can be an intimidating prospect! It’s best to do it in a group. Follow a guide and add more than a few cheerful lanterns and all of a sudden you have a pretty magical Saturday night. That opportunity presents itself this weekend when The Pacific Spirit Regional Park Society hosts Night Quest. A gentle 2km walk along a lantern-lit trail, this is an outdoor evening of storytelling, campfire music and a bit of wildlife education. Wear your gumboots, pack a flashlight and bring a travel mug as well as a pocket full of change to use at the pop-up Girl Guide concession. Read that again: Girl Guide concession!
Sat, Mar. 16 | 7-10pm | Pacific Spirit Regional Park, 16th Ave Park Entrance | DETAILS

NEWS! | The Presentation House Satellite Gallery is currently exhibiting a show comprised of hundreds of thousands of images taken from the news photography archives of The Vancouver Sun and Province newspapers. Not only do the walls of the Satellite evidence a progression of the style and craft of news photography, they also tell the story of the evolution of a city through the eyes of its many news photographers (1880s to the 1990s). This weekend the Satellite Gallery presents a panel discussion with some of those very same photographers!
Sat, Mar. 16 | 3pm | Satellite Gallery (560 Seymour St) | DETAILS

BUY LOCAL | The Winter Farmers Market fills the Nat Bailey Stadium parking lot on Saturday. Stinging nettles are in season and there are usually some kicking around the market. Full of iron and tasting like spring, pick them up and feast upon them while you can. Also hook yourself up with hearty root vegetables, fresh bread, dried fruits and scores of other locally-grown goodies.
Sat, Mar. 16 | 10am – 2pm | East Parking Lot of Nat Bailey Stadium 4601 Ontario St | DETAILS

OWLS | Hustle down to the Stanley Park Pavilion this Sunday to learn about owls. In addition to imparting all kinds of birds-of-prey knowledge, representatives of The Stanley Park Ecology Society will also provide you with specimens to explore as you learn about unique characteristics and adaptations of these local birds. You’ll even get the chance to dissect owl pellets to see what critters ended up as an owl’s meal. Pre-registration is suggested for this popular event. Get yourself sorted by sending an email to programs@stanleyparkecology.ca.
Sun, Mar. 17 | 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm | Salmonberry Room -Stanley Park Pavilion | DETAILS

UPCYCLED URBANISM | This Sunday, the Museum of Vancouver plays host to the third in a series of four workshops aimed at brainstorming new public spaces. Professional planners, architects, makers and thinkers will be on hand to facilitate a collaborative process that uses hands-on exercises to explore ways in which physical infrastructure in public space can influence how we connect with others. Participants will use modular blocks, imagination and teamwork to design Vancouver-inspired spaces aimed at encouraging a stronger, more vibrant community. Later this summer (July), groups will have the opportunity to come together again to build their creations at a large-scale outdoor event.
Sun, Mar. 17 | 2pm | Museum of Vancouver (1100 Chestnut St.) | $12 | DETAILS 

WHALE MIGRATION | This is migration season for Pacific Grey whales. They’re on their way from their breeding grounds off of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula to their summer digs in the Bering Sea. That’s over 20,000 Greys cruising up the coast of BC this spring, with the bulk of them doing it over the next few weeks. With a front row seat to the migration route, the towns of Tofino and Ucluelet are now in their 27th year of holding The Pacific Rim Whale Festival. It’s a 10 day whale watching and learning bonanza that celebrates whales and marine nature as well as those aspects of West Coast living unique to the region. In addition to free whale watching stations and scores of whale watching boat and float plane tours, the Pacific Rim Whale Festival offers everything from marine life lectures and walks to storytelling (with artist, Roy Henry Vickers), an Electric Gumboot Bash, and everything in between.
Sat, Mar. 16 – Sun, Mar. 24 | Tofino and Ucluelet | DETAILS 

Check the Globe & Mail every Thursday for our Special Weekend Edition of the Scout List

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Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended University in Australia and the University of Victoria before receiving her graduate degree in Library Sciences from The University of Toronto. She lives in beautiful Strathcona and enjoys wandering aimlessly through the city’s shops and streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy, and uncooperative camera.

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SOUNDTRACKING: Talking Spirit Animals, Philly & More With Nightlands’ Dave Hartley

by Daniel Colussi | Talking with Dave Hartley, you get the whole package. As a sideman (he plays bass in cosmic-Americana band War On Drugs) and frontman (of his own band, Nightlands, ostensibly the subject of this post), Hartley knows every angle of the music game, and then some. He’s all over the map. In addition to being a full on rock ‘n roller he’s also a total NBA freak (scope his WXPN basketball column here) and a gifted photographer. But Hartley never comes across as an over-achieving show-off. The 2002 James Madison University philosophy student of the year still strikes me as a totally cool, laid back guy. Oak Island, his second album as Nightlands, came out on the venerable Secretly Canadian label back in January. Its richly layered vocals sit atop guitars, saxophones, and motorik drum machines to form some kind of 21st century version of Beach Boys pop. Hartley describes the sound as “bedroom baroque pop.” It’s awesome. I caught up to Hartley and his band as they were driving through West Texas. Naturally, they were in the midst of discussing their spirit animals…

So what’s your spirit animal? I hit a hawk with a frisbee once, so we were talking about whether that makes the hawk my spirit animal or my not spirit animal. It was crazy, were were playing frisbee golf and we were a little high, and I threw a frisbee and it went the wrong way and it hit this hawk, like, square on…I swear to God. I felt bad.

Tell me about going from being a sideman in War On Drugs to crafting this strange Nightlands music on your own in your bedroom that you then took on the road as a four piece band. It’s really challenging, and really rewarding. It’s weird because I write the songs as I record them; it’s not like a sit down with a guitar and write a song and then go and record it thing. I kinda tinker around in my studio for long periods of time and construct the songs from the ground up. I’ll often start with a drumbeat or a drum loop or something. I like old drum machines, so a lot of times I’ll start with one and write on top of that and then start layering until I get something that connects with me. But then when you go to play it live you basically have to re-write the song. I’m really lucky that my band is really musical and they all sing. It’s really fun, actually, to see them put their mark on the songs. It’s really scary at first, but the process is very fun. I’m enjoying it.

I wonder, too, about transitioning from being a sideman to being a frontman, the guy out front… I’m starting to realize that it’s like anything else: you get better at it over time. Like the first Nightlands tour, which was a couple years ago: I didn’t really have any business being a frontman in a band. I kinda didn’t know what to say or when to say it; I didn’t feel comfortable singing necessarily. I still have so much to learn. The whole thing is just about being comfortable and being yourself. I’ll never be the kind of guy who runs around on stage and makes eye contact with everybody in the crowd. But I think you can be captivating in your own way. But you know I’m working at it. I drink less. In War On Drugs I can be as drunk as I want to be and still play, but I just have one drink before a Nightlands show. Loosen up a bit.

What’s also interesting to me is the amount of emphasis on vocals in Nightlands, transitioning from playing the bass to creating music with a lot of vocal presence and layers of vocals. I guess it’s just that singing is something I don’t get to do in War On Drugs. Because I love singing. I sing in a men’s choir in Philadelphia, and I sing in church choirs. I just love to harmonize. I grew up on the Beach Boys and Simon and Garfunkel. That’s just a huge part of my genealogy, musically. And I also think it’s really hard to do live and I’m really proud of my band that we work hard at it and sing really well together, because it’s just a rare thing when you see a band of four people who can sing really well together. Read more

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