MUSIC PREVIEW: Stars align in Edmonton
The city plays host to a milieu of exceptionally talented touring music acts this weekend and beyond. Friday night is punctuated by alt-country Lindi Ortega’s sold out show at the Royal Alberta Museum, which is getting a reputation as one of Edmonton’s best acoustic venues, and the buzzworthy Hollerado gig at the Starlite Room. Saturday […]
Kemo Treats: Sane Clown Posse
The theory that parodying something long enough causes one to turn into the very thing being made fun is put to the test with Kemo Treats. Six years after starting the most ridiculous gangsta rap duo in Edmonton – if not the entire world – its co-founder Greg Goa remains clear on the targets of […]
Flower fracas: White poppies refuse to die
The red poppy is symbolic of the freedom that gives people the right to wear the white poppy – no matter how much it may annoy war veterans. There’s more irony to this emotionally-charged story that won’t go away: Just try to buy a white “peace” poppy in Edmonton. You can’t. Short of ordering one […]
Hollerado: When pop punk gets smart
Next to American country music stars, there is no one in show business that gets accused of rampant stupidity more than “pop punk” musicians. These thinly disguised boy bands play songs just as fast and loud as punk, but with candy coated hooks and lovey dovey lyrics in place of snarling political satire. You can […]
Trusting the School Trustee: A chat with Orville Chubb
It is neither the most glamorous civic office nor the highest paid – just over 30 grand a year – but Edmonton School Trustee may be a more important job than ever at a time when the public is crying bloody murder over education cutbacks and school closures. Now there’s fresh board of scapegoats. Who […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: The show must go on
There’s a trio of rock bands performing in Edmonton in short order that are on the very cusp of making it very big – Strumbellas, Boreal Sons, and Belle Game. Until then, here’s one that’s already huge: the one and only Slayer, which performs Monday night at the Shaw Conference Centre (6:30 pm, $49.50 plus […]
WHO NAMED THE BAND: Slayer slays the course
Slayer is such an awesome band name for a group of guys who loved nothing better than to frighten as many people as possible. “We knew that kind of stuff pissed people off,” says singer and bassist Tom Araya, referring to the devilish songs and imagery the California thrash metal band came to be known […]
NoMoMovember Movement an uphill battle
Hey ladies: How much would you pay for your man NOT to grow a moustache this Movember? The annual spurt of masculine upper lip hair is of course for a good cause: To raise money and awareness for prostate cancer and other ills that assail the modern male. But at what cost? Thirty days of […]
Grim cities vie for horror film infamy
The organizers of Edmonton’s horror film festival, DEDfest, never pass up an opportunity to promote the city to its visiting VIPs as an ideal place to shoot their next slash-fest or zombie-romp. But like the horny camp counsellors at Camp Crystal Lake in Friday the 13th, Edmonton isn’t alone. There are other cities lurking out […]
Why Accidental Racist is racist
Country music, at least the stuff you hear on commercial radio, has been taking a lot of heat for being really, really dumb. It’s a male-dominated world that celebrates rednecks who drive pick-up trucks, love their mamas, go to church and hate their blue collar jobs so much that they can’t wait until Friday to […]
