Make Something Edmonton made in Edmonton – so far, so good
Here’s a small sign you might doing something right in your town: When the Mayor forms a task force based on your idea. So it is with local writer and neo-marketing guru Todd Babiak, whose “Make Something Edmonton” project will turn into an $800,000 campaign to help Edmontonians develop a better attitude towards Edmonton. The […]
WHO NAMED THE BAND: Captain Tractor sails 20 years
It’s hard to be taken seriously when your band name is a joke. “Captain Tractor” was coined 20 years ago by an actual comedian, one Neil Grahn, current TV guy and former member of Edmonton’s legendary comedy troupe Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie. He was playing on the “superhero” idea for his friends, a […]
Boonstock 2013: From Limp Bizkit to Benny Benassi
Boonstock 2013 has finally announced its line-up! It’s going to be That Band All Over the Radio, ‘80s Band With One Member Left, Generic Folk Band and Two Dudes with a Macbook, plus many more. It will take place at the Three Hottest Days of Summer in a Really Inconvenient Location. Tickets go on sale […]
Mike Plume performs tribute at Stompin’ Tom memorial
Last Wednesday, Canada lost the great Stompin’ Tom Connors, King of Canadiana, everyman chronicler of Canadian history and life, the Johnny Cash of his country. A nation mourns. On Thursday morning down in Nashville, former Edmontonian Mike Plume was lamenting the loss of what he called a “father” figure when he was struck by a […]
Who killed the friendly neighbourhood mall?
Capilano area blades remain dull because no one at the local mall sharpens knives anymore. The coffee shop is long gone, so is the hobby store, plus the shoe store. The funky little curio shoppe run by the guy with the messed up face is a distant memory. Capilano Mall is the saddest mall in […]
MUSIC: 100 Mile House in the vanguard of folk trend
You read it here first: Folk is the latest trend in pop music. All over the radio we are hearing furiously strumming banjos and mandolins, whomping floor toms, lusty male vocals and rousing drink-along sea chanties writ large, from the likes of Mumford and Sons, the Lumineers and, OK, yes, fun. To that list, on […]
DISASTER DOCS: Who needs Towering Inferno?
There was no shortage of disaster movies at this year’s Global Visions Film Festival, which wrapped on March 3 after screenings of more than 45 documentaries from around the world. Thing is, these were real disasters. Who needs Irwin Allen? Who needs Towering Inferno when you have Twin Towering Inferno? The festival people haven’t crunched […]
Alabama Shakes to headline Interstellar Rodeo
One of the hottest new rock bands on the continent is coming to Edmonton this summer. Alabama Shakes has been announced as one of the headliners for the second annual Interstellar Rodeo, taking place July 26-28 at Hawrelak Park. The full line-up and ticket on sale details will be announced later this month. Distinguished by […]
Zebra Pulse too weird for punk rock?
For the last five years, Zebra Pulse has been making noise. Thanks to an arsenal of pedals, processors, cassette players, turntables and anything else that can generate a racket, the group has been a regular fixture at such places as Bohemia and Wunderbar where fans can indulge in their ear-bleeding nuances. Zebra Pulse has become […]
GLOBAL VISIONS REVIEW: Wampler’s Ascent a manifesto for the disabled
Like the blind man who summited Mount Everest, Steve Wampler undertook an impossible ordeal few people would think was sensible – scaling the highest cliff in the West despite being afflicted with cerebral palsy. Wampler’s Ascent, the gala closer of the Global Visions Film Festival on Sunday, March 3, details the California native’s attempt in […]
OSCAR FILM: Searching for Sugar Man about art for art’s sake
Imagine you wrote and recorded a couple albums only to find them with $1.99 tags in the delete bin at the old A&B Sound a couple weeks later. Now imagine finding out 20 years later that you were bigger than Elvis Presley in some country on the other side of the world. It’s hard to […]
Motley Crue to commandeer Edmonton in April
Edmonton has a special place in its collective heart for Motley Crue, and while it’s certainly no surprise the boys are back in town – playing Sunday, April 28 at Rexall Place – they’re in for a warm welcome. With Canada’s own reformed rock Gods Big Wreck opening, tickets go on sale Friday. Crue has […]
