INTERVIEW: The Unstoppable Shawn Bernard
Shawn Bernard survived losing both of his parents and his sister to drug overdoses. He survived poverty, living on streets, becoming a drug dealer, gang leader and drug addict himself. He survived jail. In an inspirational story he’s told to youngsters across Canada countless times since, he prevailed over all these trials to break the […]
Kirby leaves Edmonton music scene a better place
The final story Kirby wrote for GigCity was an obituary on Doug Jenson. You can add “journalist” to the long list of things Kirby was good at. She did it because I asked her to, because she was the first person I thought of who would be able write a fitting tribute to such a […]
(RERUN): What do homeless people think of public art?
Homeless people might have more important things to worry about than what they think of public art in Edmonton, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have opinions about it, or that their opinions aren’t as valid someone who isn’t homeless. Besides, they see it every day. They live here. During three days in the summer […]
TALES OF THE WEED RUNNER: Snoop needs high grade Canadian
Better call the Weed Runner – Snopp Dogg is coming to Edmonton. He claims he smokes “81 blunts a day.” Assuming one gram of per blunt – a blunt is bigger than a joint, which is bigger than a spliff – he’ll need about six ounces while he’s here, and that’s if he doesn’t share. […]
(RERUN): Parking Meter Fairy’s days numbered
The breathless Parking Meter Fairy runs to catch a parking enforcement officer about to ticket an illegally parked car. “Am I too late to save him?!” The officer stops writing and mutters, “You could.” Oh, thank you, Parking Patrol Officer. Clink, clink, clink, clink go four quarters into the expired meter – good for 20 […]
End of an era: Goodbye, Avenue Theatre
Edmonton music people are deeply bummed over news that the city is about to lose yet another live music venue. The Avenue Theatre will be closing its doors in the middle of June. The word came Thursday from general manager and talent buyer Steve Derpack, who explained on Facebook that it’s “primarily a decision to […]
Horns for Hope offers addicts musical salvation
It started as a joke about music education, whose context has since been forgotten: “Why don’t we just give musical instruments to homeless people and see what they can do?” Don Berner thought that was actually a pretty good idea, so the community-minded Edmonton saxophonist created Horns for Hope, a program where men in drug […]
COMMENT: Never apologize for selling Alberta to the world!
For decades premiers have been trundling Alberta about like a one-carnival pyramid scheme. The premiers themselves fully immersed in the aesthetic of grift: gold teeth, alligator skin shoes and beluga fat pomade. “I will never apologize for selling Alberta to the world!” was the resonating huckster mantra that the publicly-shamed plutocrat Alison Redford left us […]
What’s next for Alison Redford?
With her resignation announced on Wednesday, March 19th, Alberta Premier Alison Redford will be graduating from the diluted quagmire of public opinion to find work in the private sector. While at the moment still maintaining her role as MLA for the constituency of Calgary Elbow, Redford found herself awash with job offers following her announcement […]
Hip hop knowledge is power
The meeting attracts about 20 young men and women from all races and walks of life. They take turns telling stories, asking questions, airing complaints. Some get emotional. I keep expecting a guy to stand up and say, “Hi, my name is Dave and I’m addicted to hip hop!” Because this is not a support […]
Nobility in Defeat: Where are they now?
Kerry Diotte has popped back up on the radar. The former Ward 11 councillor and failed mayoral candidate announced on his birthday – Feb. 26 – that he will seek the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in the new federal riding of Edmonton Griesbach. That’s right. He’s baaaaack. After Don Iveson surged into the Edmonton […]
Has Black History Month lost its meaning?
The trouble with Black History Month isn’t over the fact that it happens to be the shortest month of the year. It’s the word “black.” Does it mean African, and if so what part of Africa? It’s a big continent. It could mean Caribbean or American, descendents of American slaves. And what about black people […]