GUELPH POLITICAST #93 - Scott Thomson, Guelph Jazz Festival Artistic Director

September is coming, and everything will get back to normal. Then again September starts with one of the biggest cultural events of the year: the Guelph Jazz Festival. Now in its 23rd year, the Jazz Fest is getting ready again to fill the downtown core with the finest improvised and creative music from across Canada and around the globe, but this year, things might sound a little bit different.

GUELPH POLITICAST #73 - Brad McInerney, Kazoofest

Kazoo, noun, "a small, simple musical instrument consisting of a hollow pipe with a hole in it, over which is a thin covering that vibrates and produces a buzzing sound when the player sings or hums into the pipe." For Guelphites that like local music and grassroots art though, Kazoo means something very different. It means the start of the local festival season, and maybe some of the best music you've never heard of.

A Brief History of Hillside (With a Chance of Doom)

The year was 1984. A generation of young people were given the eternal answer to "Who you gonna call?", Cirque du Soleil redefined just how far you can make certain body parts bend, and John Turner began an epic three-month ride as Prime Minister of Canada. Meanwhile, here in Guelph, a small community music festival was launched that more than three decades later endures as a summer destination that's synonymous with the Royal City.

GUELPH POLITICAST #34 - Bryan Munn, Royal Cat Records

Next Saturday is Record Store Day, an annual occasion for people that still like to buy their music in person, on a physical medium, at a brick and mortar location. It sounds weird, but it still happens, and it happens in Guelph everyday at Royal Cat Records, one of the small independent record stores that Record Store Day aims to celebrate on a yearly basis. 

Local Music Legend Mo' Kauffey Passes Away

Mo' Kauffey (L) relaxing between shots on the set of 'Staff Entrance'

It's a sad day for Guelph music fans with the news that Gary W. Wickizer, AKA: Mo' Kauffey, has lost his fight with cancer. He may have been born in Colorado, but Mo' was quintessentially Guelph, and like all good Bluesmen, he's strummed his last song and exited the stage.

Hillside Honoured by Festival and Events Ontario

Who doesn't love Hillside? The annual music festival at Guelph Lake has a great many admirers, and among them, it seems, are Festival and Events Ontario. Festivals, along with the organizers and volunteers of said festivals, were recognized Friday night as part of the FEO’s Annual Conference Let the Inspiration Flow in Niagara Falls, ON.

Another Meeting About a Cultural They Don't Get

It's strange how just one week after touting an awards victory in communicating that the city sends out a press release with one day's notice for an event held the very next day, but I digress.

Today's announcement is about a Chamber of Commerce sponsored-discussion about local culture, music to be precise. The press release says that the panel discussion - featuring Culture and Tourism General Manager Colleen Clack, Hillside Executive Director Marie Zimmerman, and musician Royal Wood - will be about how the Royal City can "leverage music from an economic, cultural and social perspective." Sounds impressive, but what we have here, I think, is another attempt by the powers that be to tap into a cultural they don't get, and in a real sense only want to pay lip service to.

The Show Must - And Must Not - Go On

As the weather situation continues to pay havoc with people's schedules, the City's been sending updates about shows currently scheduled for tonight in the Royal City.

Gang of Four Features End of Year Specials

So it's the end of the world year 2012, and to mark the occasion (and because we appreciate a break at the holidays) The Gang of Four on "Beyond the Ballot Box" on CFRU 93.3 fm are doing a pair of holiday specials over the next two Mondays.

Benefit for Newtown in Guelph, Help Wanted

The tragedy in Newtown has made a lot people wonder if there's anything they can do to help the many victims of one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. Locally, Allan Boynton, President of the Artist Booking Management Group (ABMG) is putting on a benefit concert that will take place January 16th at the Stampede Ranch on Woodlawn in Guelph.

Fresh Water Jam This Weekend

With all the drought lately, and the City being on Code Red water use-wise speaking, it's understandable that H2O issues are foremost in our minds. So it's with good timing that this weekend the Fresh Water Jam takes place at the Concert Shell in Riverside Park. Nothing says cherish our water resources like a long day of good times and good music, I know that sounds like sarcasm, but it's not.

On the schedule is a great line-up of musicians including: Bamidele Bajowa, Chynna Lewis, Anthony Damiao, Gayle Ackroyd, Peter Slack, Space Crayons, Shane Phillips, The Lullaby, Cornelius & The Damn Dirty Apes, and Éva LaPrairie. Below is the information straight from the event's website.

Guelph Politicast #4 - James Gordon

Will James Gordon be The Music Man that leads Guelph voters to an Orange Wave of our own on October 6th? He certainly thinks so. After years of combining his love of music with his love of community and social values, Gordon is putting his politics to the ultimate test by running as the NDP nominee for Guelph in this Provincial Election. 

From the arts (Hillside Festival), to the environment (Wellington Water Watchers), to community engagement (Guelph Civic League), Gordon has been immersed in politics for so long that running for political office is a natural next step. With a combination of experience and name cache, Gordon is sitting in prime position to make a solid run for Guelph's seat in Queen's Park, and in an Ontario-wide race that seems like a three-way dead heat, Gordon's chances are as good as anyone's. 

With so much to talk about, let's not waste anymore time. Click play below to start the podcast and my interview with James Gordon. 

Gordon Opens Campaign Office with Tunes (and Speeches)

There were cupcakes with orange coloured icing, orange coloured punch, and, of course, oranges. So it must have been an NDP campaign event. 

James Gordon and staff officially opened their campaign office tonight offering a cozy atmosphere, light refreshments and some tunes in the old Alma Gallery space. Considering that Mayor Karen Farbridge used the space last fall in her successful re-election campaign bid, perhaps the Gordon crew are hoping the good karma will rub off. 

"It's new what we've got here," said Gordon kicking the night off in front of over 100 supporters and well-wishers, "It's democratic and it's a party."

Keeping that democratic spirit, Gordon introduced several key members of his campaign staff who then talked about their role in trying to colour Guelph orange on the electoral map this fall. Campaign manager Ravi Joshi said that he's going to do his part to make sure the Royal City elects an MPP that doesn't "bring Queen's Park to Guelph rather than send someone from Guelph to Queen's Park."

"James Gordon is a guy who can actually take our voice to Queen's Park and it's my job to amplify it," later added Communications Co-ordinator Erinn White. 

So far Gordon's off to a promising start. It was announced that to date, his campaign had raised $8,000 and there are already two more fundraisers scheduled to help carry him through to Election Day. Supporters were also encouraged to volunteer their time including helping out in the office and assisting the distribution of lawn signs.

Charlie Angus, NDP MP for Timmins-James Bay, was also on hand for the opening. Angus played some music, along with the candidate himself, and local favourite Tannis Slimmon. "Suddenly it's okay to for a musician to be an MP, and it's okay to bring music to politics," cheered Gordon before he broke into his first song of the night.

Check out a few pictures from the evening's festivities below.

Summer Editorial Series – Part the Third: The Song Remains the Same

My original thought for this week’s column was to write about the growing gulf of disgruntlement between the city’s car drivers and its bike riders, but then something unusual happened: 1969 broke out downtown. In an effort to peacefully protest the going-on five year construct-a-thon on upper-Carden Street, Kris and Adrian Raso, brother/owners of Little Shop of Guitars fought fire with “Kashmir” and other great hits from the Zepplin catalogue.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, it didn’t long for by-law to get suited and (jack)booted, marching over to the Raso’s shop to tell them to stop pumping up the jams. You see, the Little Shop is just across the road from both City Hall and the courthouse, and people in those buildings complained that the music was an irritant and disruptive. Just to be clear, do you mean to tell me that a little Zep is more of a nuisance than some 40 tonnes or more of construction machinery moving in and out of the area?

What’s especially impressive is the response time. Granted, by-law officers could walk, saunter if you will, from City Hall to the guitar store, but the music started playing Wednesday afternoon, and the first visit by by-law was shortly there after. Now that is service. God knows that whenever I’ve called by-law, the only way I could get a response that quick is with a four-leaf clover, three rabbits’ feet and a purple horse shoe. But all the lucky charms in the world are worthless when it comes to certain occasions in my neighbourhood where the parking is limited, but the laziness of drivers is not.

The stage of today’s little drama is Margaret Green Park off Westwood Rd. in the city’s west end. It was a Sunday in November, and members of my family were taking my sister to a birthday breakfast at a popular Guelph eatery. Like idiots, we take the bus and so gathered at the bus stop along Westwood. Now typically, as per city by-law, there’s no parking in front of or around city bus stops. But today there was a cross-country activity in the park, and thus a lot of people coming to enjoy the greenery at Margaret Green. So to everyone’s surprise, and nobody’s knowledge, parking in front of the bus stop, and up Westwood, and on the bridge over the Hanlon Parkway had been allowed.

Try to tell any of these scofflaws that parking’s not allowed in these areas and they’ll complain that it’s the only place they can park. Apparently, there’s some little used amendment in the Highway Traffic Act that says parking laws can be ignored in the event of parking running out. Wait a minute. No there isn’t! They just wish there was. And to add insult to injury, just a year earlier, the city shuffled around the playground equipment in Margaret Green Park, so as to create a new 20-space lot. They literally paved paradise and put up a parking lot and there was still not enough parking to suit people.

But where was by-law enforcement? I don’t know, but two hours later, coming home from breakfast, there was only a hapless City of Guelph employee trying to tell people that they couldn’t park on the two lane bridge over the Hanlon because it’s against the law, AND ONLY TWO LANES WIDE. (Sorry about the caps, but Hulk’s ready to smash over here.) I talked to this man, not as a reporter, but as a neighbourhood resident, and though he seemed a little out of his depth, he was doing the best he could do.

The one thing he could have used was by-law enforcement out in, you know, force. I heard once that the city has about $5 million in uncollected fines for speeding and careless driving. If the city went after these people with the same zeal as they took on the Raso Brothers, we could go a year without hearing the words “budget crunch.”

Which brings us full circle. And while no one outside Kevin Arnold’s dad would consider the music of Led Zepplin tunes of the Devil’s choice, the Raso’s simple and elegant protest has brought something real to the forefront. Construction can cost in more than one way, and for the merchants in that part of downtown, the half decade renovations across the street may be near a breaking point. And now that the tension is broke, perhaps relations between City Hall and the Little Shop of Guitars can be a little less “When the Levee Breaks” and a little more “Stairway to Heaven.”

Yes, I just wrote that. You’re welcome.

Guelph Music to Help Japan

Trying to do our part for the people of Japan suffering the after effects of the 9.1 earthquake and accompanying tsunami earlier this month, a group of Guelph-based organizers and musicians are pulling together for the victims. Find the details and line-up in the below press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Raise the Sun” – a benefit concert for Japan

April 10, 2011 at Norfolk United Church at 3:00 pm.

Join us for an afternoon of Guelph musicians and dancers and a tribute to the art and culture of Japan.

Following the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, members of the Guelph community have pulled together to organize a benefit event featuring a wide selection of our amazing and world-class local-area talent. With overwhelming support from the local community, event organizers (Paul Clarkson, Ajay Heble, and Marie Zimmerman) have come together in the strong belief that music and artistic expression can create opportunities for hope and help to mobilize new communities of involvement. Proceeds will go to the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Foundation Earthquake Relief Fund. (All donations are guaranteed to go to the Japanese Red Cross and to infrastructure in Japan.)

The afternoon will be both a gift from Guelph musicians and dancers as well as a tribute to the art and culture of Japan through the performance of Nagata Shachu, a six-member ensemble who perform Japanese taiko drumming and music. We are also very happy to welcome Joy Kogawa, a brilliant Japanese-Canadian writer whose work, Obasan, was instrumental in the redress movement of Japanese Canadians interned in Canada during WWII.

The “Raise the Sun” concert will begin and end with contemporary dance and music by the Fall On Your Feet dance lab working with improvisational greats such as Jane Bunnett, Matt Brubeck, Kevin Breit, Amadeo Ventura, Larry Cramer and Colin Couch.

Improvised jazz by the Vertical Squirrels, dance by David Earle's famous company, and folk music by acclaimed singer-songwriter Tannis Slimmon will round out a tribute to the resilience of the Japanese people and our wish to support their recovery efforts.

Details:

Date: April 10, 2011

Time: 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Title of Concert: "Raise the Sun: a benefit concert for Japan."

Place: Norfolk United Church, (Norfolk St. and Cork St. in Guelph)

Tickets: $30 available through the River Run Centre (35 Woolwich St., Guelph; http://riverrun.ca/tickets; 519.763.3000; 1-877-520-2408)

Proceeds: JCCC Earthquake Relief Fund (http://www.jccc.on.ca/japan_earthquake_relief_fund.htm)

Organization: "Small" (Spirit, Music/Movement and Literature for Love)

Website: www.raisethesun.ca

Performers:

Dancetheatre David Earle - www.dtde.ca

Fall on Your Feet Dance Lab

Jane Bunnett -www.janebunnett.com

Kevin Breit -www.kevinbreit.com

Amadeo Ventura

Colin Couch

Matt Brubeck -www.mattbrubeck.com

Joy Kogawa

Nagata Shachu- http://www.nagatashachu.com

Tannis Slimmon- www.tannis.ca

Vertical Squirrels- www.verticalsquirrels.com

Music for the Cause

This was interesting event that came across my (virtual) desk in the last couple of days. A special fundraiser is taking place next Sunday at the Albion, part of a five-city tour called "The Red Shoes Tour." The point is to raise funds and awareness around issues involving violence against women.

The tour is the inspiration of Lynzie Kent, a former Guelphite and former lead singer of the Juno-nominated band God Made Me Funky. The name of the tour comes from her new single also called "Red Shoes." "The single is about women that have struggled with abuse and are now on the road to gaining self- esteem and finding inner strength and confidence," says the press release.

The Guelph show will feature performances by Natasha Pasternak, Ambre McLean and Danielle Todd with Kent headlining. All proceeds will go to Guelph Women in Crisis which works towards ending violence against women and children in all forms: physical, sexual, emotional and verbal.

The show is Sunday May 24th at 7 pm at the Albion Hotel.