TYPERAG.CA | ISSUE 2 WINTER 2016
3 MADCHILD on Drake, e-juice and that West Coast rap beef MARKS THE SPOT 6 XCampus radio plays alternative role on airwaves IT’S A MATCH! 9 TINDER: THE GAME CHANGER
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TYPE • ISSUE 2 WINTER 2016 • 1
Hey, it’s pretty cool of you to pick up our second edition of Type. It started as a side project of ours and we’re really stoked it made its way into your hands. We hope to build our fledgling street rag into a community — a place where people can share ideas, art, speak their minds and put ink to paper for all of Kamloops to see — and we’d love for you to take part. If you’re interested in submitting to Type, give us a shout at info@typerag.ca and creep us on social media. We want to hear your thoughts. Type will publish every winter, spring, summer and fall. Nothing is off limits. fb.com/typerag
Jessica Klymchuk Editor jessica@typerag.ca
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Jackson Vander Wal Art & Design jackson@typerag.ca
To submit a letter, email us at info@typerag.ca
3
MADCHILD ON DRAKE, EJUICE AND THAT WEST COAST RAP BEEF
5
AJAX WHAT DO THE KIDS THINK?
6
X MARKS THE SPOT CAMPUS RADIO PLAYS ALTERNATIVE ROLE ON AIRWAVES
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IT’S A MATCH! TINDER: THE GAME CHANGER
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2 • ISSUE 2 WINTER 2016 • TYPE GOT AN EVENT? GIVE US A TIP!
EVENTS@TYPERAG.CA
FRIDAY, JAN. 29
TUESDAY, FEB. 2
THURSDAY, FEB. 11
THURSDAY, FEB. 18
Music: Bluesfoot, 9 p.m., Match Eatery and Public House, 1555 Versatile Dr. Music: Ben Parker, 9 p.m., Cascades Casino, 1555 Versatile Dr.
Community: Conversation In Health, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Caffe Motivo, 229 Victoria St. Discussion on body image and self love. Free.
Music: George Canyon, CJ’s Night Club, 130 Fifth Ave. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets: kamtix.ca.
Music: Devon Coyote, 8 p.m., The Blue Grotto, 319 Victoria St. $5 cover. 21plus event.
WEDNESDAY, FEB 3
Film: Kamloops Winter Film Series presents Rams. 7 p.m., Paramount Theatre, 503 Victoria St. Tickets can be purchased at the door, in advance at Movie Mart, 444 St. Paul St., or online at kamloopsfilmseries.ca. $2 membership card is reward to enter screening.
Music: Paisley Groove, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Chances Casino, 1250 Halston Ave. Community: Front and Centre: Western Canada Theatre at 40 exhibit of costumes, props, videos and other elements, Kamloops Museum and Archives, 207 Seymour St. Display continues to March 26. Community: Kamloops Makerspace free open house, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., 348 Tranquille Rd. Includes demonstrations of wood and metal shops, milling machine and 3-D printing. More info: kamloopsinnovation.ca/event/kamloopsmakerspace-open-house. Art: Chromesthesia, 8 p.m., Barnacle Records, 290 Third Ave., an hour to listen to records, make prints, drawings and zines. All material provided; no experience required. Every Friday.
SATURDAY, JAN. 30 Music: Paisley Groove, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Chances Casino, 1250 Halston Ave. Music: Bluesfoot, 9 p.m., Match Eatery and Public House, 1555 Versatile Dr. Music: Ben Parker, 9 p.m., Cascades Casino, 1555 Versatile Dr. Music: Devon Coyote, 8 p.m., The Blue Grotto, 319 Victoria St. $5 cover. 21plus event. Music: The Dandles, 7 p.m., The Art We Are, 246 Victoria St. $5 cover. Music: CFBX presents Beach Party 4 at Zack’s Coffee, 377 Victoria St. Fundraiser featuring Fuss, Day Dreamers and DJ Beach Barnacle. Music at 8 p.m. Admission $5. Music: The Winter Blues, 8 p.m. On The Rocks Pub, 1265 Rogers Way. Fundraiser for Kamloops chapter for Crohn’s and Colitis. Tickets: kamtix.ca. $40. Art: Low River Camera Obscura workshop with Donald Lawrence, 11 a.m., to 3 p.m. Riverside Park, all ages, free. Community: Four Winds Tap Takeover, Red Beard Cafe, 449 Tranquille Rd. Four Winds Brewery will be pouring some of their award-winning brews. No entry cost. 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Community: Graphic Novel Club, Kamloops Art Gallery, 465 Victoria St. Read, talk about and create graphic novels. Every Wednesday to March 16, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Ages 12 to 24. Free. No experience necessary. Supplies provided. Music: Johnny Reid with Aaron Goodvin, JJ Shiplet, Natalie McMaster, 7 p.m., Sandman Centre, 300 Lorne St. Tickets: ticketmaster.ca. Starting at $41.75 plus applicable service charges.
THURSDAY, FEB. 4 Music: Nighttiming weekly club night at CJ’s Night Club. Every Thursday. Delivering the freshest DJs/producers. Every second Thursday is Kegger Night, $2 beers. Every odd Thursday: $3.50 shots, beers, highballs. Film: Kamloops Winter Film Series presents Theeb. 7 p.m., Paramount Theatre, 503 Victoria St. Tickets can be purchased at the door, in advance at Movie Mart, 444 St. Paul St., or online at kamloopsfilmseries.ca. $2 membership card is reward to enter screening.
SATURDAY, FEB. 6 Music: Free fiddle workshop with Kamloops Interior School of Music and Kamloops Old Time Fiddlers. Open to those eight and older, 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Heritage House, 100 Lorne St. Register online at kissm.ca, by email to info@kissm.ca or by calling 250-5745437. Music: Chipko Jones, 7 p.m., 246 Victoria St. The Art We Are. $7 cover.
SUNDAY, FEB. 7 Community: Mardis Gras, 6 p.m., The Brownstone, 18 Victoria St. Dinner theatre with a twist presented by BC Living Arts. Tickets: $80, available by calling 250-851-9939. More info: bclivingarts.ca.
Film: Kamloops Winter Film Series presents 45 Years, 7 p.m., Paramount Theatre, 503 Victoria St. Tickets can be purchased at the door, in advance at Movie Mart, 444 St. Paul St., or online at kamloopsfilmseries.ca. $2 membership card is reward to enter screening. Theatre: Kamloops Players present the 2016 One Act Festival. Two hours, five one-act plays, four different directors and 15 actors. An evening of comedy and drama. 8 p.m., Stage House Theatre, 422 Tranquille Rd. Tickets: kamloopslive.ca. $20 for adults, $18 for students.
FRIDAY, FEB. 12 Theatre: Kamloops Players present the 2016 One Act Festival. Two hours, five one-act plays, four different directors and 15 actors. An evening of comedy and drama. 8 p.m., Stage House Theatre, 422 Tranquille Rd. Tickets: kamloopslive. ca $20 for adults, $18 for students.
SATURDAY, FEB. 13 Theatre: Kamloops Players present the 2016 One Act Festival. Two hours, five one-act plays, four different directors and 15 actors. An evening of comedy and drama. 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Stage House Theatre, 422 Tranquille Rd. Tickets: kamloopslive.ca $20 for adults, $18 for students. Community: Valentine’s Hair Massacure, 8 p.m., Pogue Mahone Irish Alehouse, 843 Desmond St. Fundraiser in support of Locks of Love Foundation with celebrity impersonator Bonnie Kilroe. Tickets: kamloopslive.ca. $20.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17 Music: The Sheepdogs at CJ’s Night Club. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets: ticketweb. ca. Community: Front and Centre: Western Canada Theatre at 40 exhibit of costumes, props, videos and other elements, Kamloops Museum and Archives, 207 Seymour St. Display continues to March 26, 2016.
SATURDAY, FEB. 20 Music: Hip Hop for Hunger with Madchild, CJ’s Night Club, 130 Fifth Ave. Doors open 6 p.m. Donations of nonperishable items will be donated to the Salvation Army. Tickets: ticketzone.com. Tickets will also be available at Keep6 Apparel and food donations accepted. Store owner will match any donations dropped off at this location.
FRIDAY, FEB. 26 Music: Monster Truck and special guest The Temperance Movement, CJ’s Night Club, 130 Fifth Ave. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets: ticketweb.ca.
THURSDAY, MARCH 3 Film: Kamloops Film Fest, March 3 to March 12. More info coming at kamloopsfilmfest.ca.
ONGOING UNTIL MARCH 19 Art: Out of Sight, Midnight Sun Camera Obscura, Live Stream: Optical Rendering and isn’t that Punny!, Kamloops Art Gallery, 465 Victoria St. Gallery open Mondays to Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission free to gallery members, children under six, $5 for adults, $10 for families, $3 for students seven and older with student ID and groups of 20 or more.
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Madchild
on Drake, e-juice and that West Coast rap beef
M
adchild is barely halfway through his most recent Canadian tour and — true to his name — apparently mad enough to hit the road in the dead of winter. How long has he been touring, exactly? “Seventeen years,” he said with a laugh before briefly pausing to remove his grillz. It’s understandably easier to talk without them. Type caught up with him mid road trip between Brandon and Saskatoon, where he played a sold-out show the night before. He recorded his latest album, Silver Tongue Devil, in three weeks following a 60-show stretch and he’s now on an 80-show spree that will take him to the U.S., Europe and Australia. The Canadian rapper lands in Kamloops on Feb. 20, one of the last Canadian dates promoting his third solo album. When he first branched out from the platinum-selling group Swollen Members in 2011, he kicked off his tour in the River City — recently sober, but banned from entering the U.S. after publicized connections to Hells Angels. Much has changed since then — he’s living and working in L.A. and focused on business ventures he said weren’t possible on the tail end of a four-year drug addiction. Even now, on Silver Tongue Devil, Mad recalls the dedication it takes to rebuild the brand he’s spent 17 years growing. “I put myself through a lot,” he said. “I lost $4 million to an oxycontin addiction. You don’t just heal from that overnight. “As far as the man upstairs, I’m redeeming myself. I’ll scrape my knee off the wagon once in a blue moon, but I jump back on. It’s all about self-improvement.” Never without controversy, he made headlines last fall when Noisey dubbed his beef with Vancouver’s Snak The Ripper as “threatening to tear apart Western Canada.” From the public’s view, it started with a heated tweet Madchild quickly deleted and apologized for. Behind the scenes, he claims Snak was waiting for an opportunity and capitalized on a slip they had both made many times before. Snak the Ripper released the diss Assisted Suicide and launched a five-track war. He admits he thought the media attention, the attacks from various Vancouver rappers and the charade of 14-year-old keyboard warriors might have an effect. “I thought something was happening, but it really did absolutely nothing. The shows are bigger than ever,” he said. “Those guys have been sitting around for a year and a half waiting for an opportunity, trying to take my torch. No one is getting the torch until I pass it. It’s as simple as that.” Snak and company’s allegations included accusations of bad business deals and drug use, but Mad — who was mid-tour when the feud blew up — insists the whole thing was nothing more than a publicity stunt. “Battling is a part of hip hop, but the tactics they took and the low levels they stooped to, I was so disheartened by the human race in general that people could even come up with stuff like that,” he said. “I was so disappointed. But the truth is coming out.” Madchild released two diss tracks in retaliation to Snak and said he offered to battle him on King of the Dots seven times, with proceeds going to charity. The invitation was always declined. “I asked him to come meet me in the park if wants . . . whatever you wanna do,” he said.
JESSICA KLYMCHUK TYPE WRITER jessica@typerag.ca
“Let’s settle this man-to-man. And, he won’t do any of that. He said, ‘I’m going to find you and I don’t care if I get you charged.’ “Oh, really? You don’t care if you can’t go to Australia or Europe or America anymore? Because I do. “I walked away from a certain lifestyle almost five years ago and I am not going to take a step backwards for him or anybody else. I want to exert light.” Both sides made it clear the beef was personal and was never meant to divide the Battle Axe Warriors and Stompdown Killas — Mad and Snak’s followings, respectively. Their mutual appreciation for hip hop unites them and the camaraderie of such crews is exactly what Madchild wants to see more of in Vancouver, beefs aside. He left the city 15 months ago and headed for L.A., feeling like he had done everything he could in Canada. Silver Tongue Devil debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart. He’s racked up four Juno awards with Swollen Members and was nominated for rap recording of the year for his solo debut Dope Sick in 2013. When he says he holds the torch for underground rappers, he believes it — with respect to Canada’s golden boy. “Drake is an anomaly and he is the greatest songmaker in this country and I’m so proud of him,” he said. “I just think it’s incredible how he holds it all together and how he gives back to the community. “But, what I’m the king of, as far as being the underground rapper of Canada, I’m not giving that up until I’m ready to give it up.” On the heels of his third album, the Surrey-born rapper invested in B.C.’s Straight Up Vapours, a collection of e-juices, now with eight Madchild-branded flavours. He’s been holding meet and greets at vape shops across the country alongside his tour and said the business is lucrative — part of the reason he was attracted to it; the other being its ability to improve lives. As Madchild stabilized over the past few years, he wanted to take on a business venture outside of music. He’s always had those interests, but when he regained his artistic reach, it was all he had energy to do. Now he has the time and ability to do both. “Why is it the perfect business for me? Because I want do to something, like with my music, that helps people,” he said. “I want to do more than just rap. I’m ready to be the best creative person I can be, but I’m also ready to be the best business person I can be.” His top flavour choice is his namesake — a triple thick rooter milkshake. He’s a fan of Wake Up, a blend of canned peaches and mangos wrapped in a crepe and topped with whipping cream, and Devil’s Reject, roasted pineapple with a cinnamon. His Chihuahua Lola inspired a traditional Shirley Temple flavour — one of the top-selling juices, but Mad’s least favourite. When he lands in Kamloops next month, with Lola in tow, he’ll hit the stage at CJ’s Night Club for Hip Hop for Hunger. It’s an early headlining show and he’s not happy about performing at 9 p.m. But, he said, returning to B.C. is always a highlight. To purchase tickets, go online to ticketzone.com
4 • ISSUE 2 WINTER 2016 • TYPE
MAKER UPDATE
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ast year was a roller coaster ride for the people behind Kamloops Makerspace. Early in 2015 we were meeting every week at Red Beard to revise our plan and review potential ways we could create a makerspace in Kamloops. We were trying to build something out of nothing and we had a chicken and egg problem. What united us was a vision for a space where the maker community in Kamloops could come together to collaborate, share tools and knowledge and build awesome things. However, without the community we could not afford a building — and without a building it was incredibly difficult to sell our vision and grow a community. Along the way we met many people who told us what we wanted to achieve was not possible without backing from government or powerful and rich investors. We strongly believed all we needed to create a self-sufficient, strong makerspace was dedicated community members. As a result, we focused our efforts on running workshops and events that would bring people together. Every chance we had, we tried to spread our vision for makerspace and convince others to join us. Our online community started growing larger every week and we started to receive attention. After about one year of persistent efforts, we finally met a building owner that shared our vision and in June 2015 we finally had a space. Little did we know, finding a physical space was only half of the battle. Shortly after moving to the new space in downtown Kamloops, we started receiving donations from local businesses and community members, which quickly turned into an overwhelming mountain of hackable parts. Sorting and fixing donations and organizing the space proved to be very labour intensive. Luckily, we have many dedicated volunteers to help us sort through donations. We are very proud of the fact that our building is maintained by our skilled volunteer members.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
Generation-to-generation ARAS BALALI MOGHADDAM MAKERSPACE CO-FOUNDER www.kamloopsmakerspace.com
One of the important qualities we look for in potential new members is self motivation and the ability to tackle problems without supervision. Kamloops Makerspace is entirely driven by financial support from members. However, being a paying member is not the only way to be involved in our community. For people looking for unique and fun activities to participate in, we have many volunteer opportunities. Past volunteer activities have included acting as an evil doctor in a haunted house, helping with an interactive art installation downtown, repairing CNC machines and 3-D printers and helping to run our booth at various events. We also host a regular open house every Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Everyone is welcome to join us for the open house — feel free to bring a project to work on or just bring your enthusiasm and pick up a new skill. Here are some of the events that makerspace has planned: • Thursday Feb. 4: Microbe farming with Brad Allan • Monday Feb. 8: Makerspace will be at the family day event at TCC • Thursday, Feb. 11: Introduction to arduino lighting with Aras Balali and Ron Thompson • Saturday, Feb. 20: Our second annual general meeting Join our community forum at community.kamloopsmakerspace.com to stay in touch about these and other interesting events for this year.
inspiration
GenNext KAMLOOPS looks to forge opportunities for young professionals and teens
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enNext has just finished its third year of fundraisJESSICA KLYMCHUK ing and — as it selects this year’s youth grant TYPE WRITER recipients — looks to continue growing the group jessica@typerag.ca of young professionals hungry for opportunity. The organization aims to inspire 20- to 30-year-old professionals to get involved in the community and, in turn, support grassroots initiatives organized by the next up-and-coming generation. When the United Way first launched the program — inspired by similar initiatives in Kelowna and Ottawa — it was a way for millennials to get involved with the non-profit. As it grew, GenNext established a focus of its own — raising funds for community initiatives led by teens through youth initiative grants. The applications are open to teens from Merritt to Williams Lake. “The goal of the youth grants is just to get that youth populace involved in their community and giving back,” said chair Brendan Shaw. It gives out about $10,000 each year and has funded the launch of the gay pride event in 100 Mile House, youth community gardens, teen-run sports camps, graffiti cleanups, collecting supplies for homeless youth, movie nights and more. Applications must be written by a group or individual under age 25 and support youth engagement in the community. “We’ve started to get a good momentum for what we want to do and what our focus is,” Caitlyn McKinlay said. “The youth grants initiative, we’ve kind of taken that on and spearheaded it because we’re young professionals and it’s closer to our demographic.” While highlighting social issues is the main goal of the program, it’s also united young professionals in Kamloops who are searching for networking and fundraising opportunities. There’s no generation more aware of the importance of real-world experience. The organization has a roster of 250 volunteers, a group that is outgrowing the demands of the program. It gained momentum more or less via word-of-mouth, McKinlay said. “At this point, we have a lot of people who are interested but we don’t have enough going on to give them all something to do,” she said. “For us, we don’t have a massive budget each year through our work or businesses. Some people are entrepreneurs, some people are just starting off their careers and they want to somehow be a part of the community in an impactful way. They’re just not capable yet of being a top sponsor.” GenNext holds two major events each year, a pop-up picnic and either a golf tournament or foot-golf tournament — this year they’re planning a hybrid — along with smaller speaker series, socials and dinner fundraisers and Pit Stop dinners at the Kamloops United Church. In 2015, the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce held its own young professionals networking event, a positive spin-off from the momentum GenNext has created. “With an organization like this, you need that sort of draw. A lot of people on our committee, being young professionals, there’s always that need to work a lot harder at the beginning of their careers,” Shaw said. “We have a boardroom of people who are there each and every event but then there’s others who might only be able to attend one. It’s been bit of a work in progress.” Since the main events have proven popular each year, McKinlay said they plan to continue focusing on only two major fundraising events, while diversifying the smaller ones and giving volunteers more chances to get involved. Anyone interested in volunteering with GenNext can learn more at gennextkamloops.com.
TYPE • ISSUE 2 WINTER 2016 • 5
KAMLOOPS’ KTW FILE PHOTO
AJAX:
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KLYMCHUK WHAT DO THE JESSICA TYPE WRITER jessica@typerag.ca KIDS THINK?
he time has come. On Jan. 18, KGHM filed its collection of studies on the mine’s environmental effects — something many people have been waiting for in order to form an opinion on the proposed copper and gold mine south of Aberdeen. The filing kicked off a 75-day public-comment period. Both pro-Ajax and anti-Ajax camps have garnered support in the city, but anyone wishing to formally submit their concerns or support have until April 11 to do so. Check out eao.gov.bc.ca for more information. Plain-language summaries and fact sheets are posted online at ajaxmine.ca for the majority of people who don’t have the time or expertise to comb through the complex 18,000-page application. Anyone interested in learning more can attend information sessions, where representatives from the provincial and federal governments and from KGHM Ajax will be available to answer questions. Those sessions are being held at the Coast Kamloops Hotel & Conference Centre on Feb. 16, Feb. 17, March 15 and March 16. Type visited TRU in January to talk to students about whether they have formed any opinions on the mine: Name: Quinn Tangas Program: First year, automotive mechanics Stance: Anti Ajax “It’s not good for our health or the environment and, you know, I like Kamloops. I’d like to stay here and not move away because of a mine. I like my lungs and being able to breathe. “Plus, it’s probably not going to be Kamloops residents getting a job. They say it’s going to be Kamloops residents, but it’s usually people who don’t live in Kamloops. Most of them are probably going to be from somewhere else.” Name: Dylan Barron Program: First year, business Stance: Pro Ajax “Highland Valley Copper, the mine we already have now, it was really strong for our economy in Kamloops and a lot of the people who already work at the mine, from what I’ve heard, it’s very exciting for all those people because they’re not used to more opportunities and it would create enough jobs that it will make a big enough impact and probably help a lot of markets. “I’m interested in it because it’s a whole new opportunity.”
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Name: Cole Jones Program: Second year, business Stance: Undecided “It’s tough because I’m not from here, so it won’t affect me after the next two years. I do think it’s a little close to the city. From an economic standpoint, I’m totally for it.” Name: Robin Moran Program: First year, heavy mechanical Stance: Undecided “When you look at the mine, it’s something that can be seen as damaging to the environment. “Honestly, before this, I hadn’t had much background in trades with trades-type people but, here, you kind of see the necessity for the jobs that it will create and who needs it and why they need it. “I’m kind of both ways. I can see the need for the jobs and it will build the economy and stuff like that, so I can see it from that standpoint. But, at the same time, I see these signs where it’s like, ‘Ajax is three kilometres from here.’ It’s definitely not a small environmental impact.” Name: Matthew Bartle Program: First year, science Stance: Undecided “I haven’t really thought about it. Is it even going ahead? “As it [the decision] comes closer, I’m sure I will find out more about it because it’s so close to home.” Name: Kevin Emsland Program: First year, science Stance: Pro Ajax “A lot of people are concerned about the environmental aspects of it but, with technology nowadays, they know what they’re doing. And for the people who live in Aberdeen, where the mine is going to be located, I’ve flown in a helicopter around it. It’s quite a ways away.”
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6 • ISSUE 2 WINTER 2016 • TYPE
X marks the spot
PHOTO: DAVE EAGLES/KTW PHOTOGRAPHER
JESSICA KLYMCHUK TYPE WRITER jessica@typerag.ca
Campus radio plays alternative role on airwaves
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itting in the heart of TRU’s campus is a tiny house with a loud voice. In fact, it has many voices. They come in many languages, ages and temperaments. They rotate and adapt, mature and perfect. For almost 20 years, the voices coming from House 8 have defined what alternative radio means to Kamloops and 92.5 FM has offered the flip-side to mainstream. The X doesn’t just call itself alternative — it’s mandated to be alternative. “I think it’s a bit of a feather in the cap,” said station manager Brant Zwicker. “It contributes to the other side of things.” While commercial radio does one thing, campus community stations are required to do the opposite — no hits, few advertisements, lots of Canadian music and locally produced shows. It’s licensed to play 10 per cent hits, but the station policy is zero. No Justin Bieber. No Maroon Five. None of The Weeknd. “It’s ultimately a creative thing, what we’re doing here,” said program director Steve Marlow. “You never end up doing anything creative if you stick with what you know.” Both he and Zwicker have been with The X since the early days. It was 1997 when the student union held a referendum to add an ancillary fee to fund a campus radio station. Zwicker recalls it passing with 88 per cent in favour and getting a call soon after. “I had been in radio at that point for probably 15 years,” he said. “It’s quite different from what we think of as conventional radio.” It took six months to secure House 8 and, with used equipment from Medicine Hat and Calgary, they were broadcasting on campus through a closed circuit by 2000. A society was created to hold the broadcast license and The X was on the air on April 2, 2001, with the first campus developmental licence in Canada — a new concept. It was a three-year licence with next to no regulation, but very low power. They upgraded to a full campus licence in 2004 and increased their power to 250 watts of output in 2008. The station is required to have 15 per cent locally produced spoken-word programming, 35 per cent Canadian content and some specialty music: Jazz, blues, classical, folk and world music — “Stuff the other guys won’t play,” Zwicker said. “The commission wants diversity, so you have commercial, you have campus community and you have CBC and everybody does something different.” The content is ultimately up the DJs and the station relies on about 70 volunteers — community members and students — to produce shows. There’s an application process, but Zwicker can’t recall ever turning someone down. The beauty of campus community radio is its tendency to be unpolished, he said. “The main idea is to expose people to things they wouldn’t normally hear on other types of radio,” Marlow said. “We’re not allowed to compete with any of the radio stations in town, so duplicating a program you can hear on commercial radio actually gets us into trouble.” Marlow emphasizes variety and every hour of programming is different — it runs the gamut.
The shows are classical, metal, punk, folk, blues, celtic, electronic, hip-hop and eclectic. There are talk-oriented shows on arts and music, sports and news. There have been successful LGBTQ shows, self-helps shows and literature productions. “The best shows on the air are those that actively take a choice to explore in very different directions, doing something brand new, doing something unique every week” Marlow said. The X is always looking for hosts for foreign-language programs and has produced several over its lifetime — Chinese, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, Korean. Marlow sees it as an important aspect of community outreach to offer international alternatives. “A lot of people, especially here at TRU, come from their home countries and it’s a completely alienating experience for them,” he said. “So, here’s an opportunity for them to have an hour of their own culture on the air and teach people, here’s what our country is like, here’s news from our country, here’s music from our country.” Everything they know about their listeners is anecdotal because ratings surveys are expensive, but Zwicker insists more people are listening than most people think. In the basement at House 8 are 35,000 CDs and 1,000 pieces of vinyl. Much of it comes from small Canadian labels. At peak times, the station might get 70 albums in a week and new music goes on a playlist, from which every host has to pull something to keep things fresh. Otherwise, they choose from the station’s 400,000-song collection. Eventually, it will go digital, but not without resentment. Most campus stations still have a physical library, but theirs is outgrowing the space. “It’s kind of bittersweet,” Marlow said. “I like to have a CD in my hand. Seeing it digital doesn’t do anything for me. It feels like I’m disconnected from that piece of music.” They also have plans to start broadcasting the signal from Dufferin rather than from campus so it will be more widely heard. The rule with FM is typically line of sight, Zwicker said, so their current signal often gets distorted in some parts of the city. “I think that would be a huge step forward for us,” he said. “It’s going to take a lot of money, a lot of fundraising, unless we find a friendly millionaire. He estimates the cost will be about $25,000, but they have already started negotiating the logistics. “I think maybe there is no end to improvements,” he said. “The university is growing, so I don’t see why the station wouldn’t grow as well.”
“ It’s quite different from what we think of as conventional radio.”
TYPE • ISSUE 2 WINTER 2016 • 7
SAVAGE LOVE
SOUND MIND AND BODY D own to business: Christmas came and went and every present I bought for my extraordinary husband could be opened in front of our children. He deserves better and I have a particular gift in mind for Valentine’s Day. My husband has expressed an interest in sounding, something we’ve attempted only with my little finger. He seemed to enjoy it! But the last thing I want to do is damage his big beautiful dick. So is sounding a fun thing? Is sounding a safe thing? Recommendations for a beginner’s sounding kit? Or should I scrap the idea and just get him another butt plug? — Safety Of Sounding P.S. Here is a picture of the big beautiful dick I don’t want to damage.
S
ounding, for those of you who didn’t go to the same Sunday school I did, involves the insertion of smooth metal or plastic rods into the urethra. Sounding is sometimes done for legitimate medical purposes (to open up a constricted urethra, to locate a blockage), and it’s sometimes done for legitimate erotic purposes (some find the sensation pleasurable and others are turned on by the transgression, particularly when a man is being sounded, i.e., the penetrator’s penetrator penetrated). So, yeah, some people definitely think sounding is a fun thing, SOS. “But, whether or not something is a safe thing depends on knowledge of the risks/pitfalls and an observance of proper technique,” said Dr. Keith D. Newman, a urologist and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. “The urethral lining has the consistency of wet paper towels and can be damaged easily, producing scarring. And the male urethra takes a bend just before the prostate. Negotiating that bend takes talent, and that’s where most sounding injuries occur.” Recreational cock sounders — particularly newbies — shouldn’t attempt to push past that bend. But how do you know when you’ve arrived at that bend? “SOS’s partner should do the inserting initially,” said Dr. Newman, “as the bend in the urethra is easily recognized by the soundee. Once he is clear on his cues — once he understands the sensations, what works, and when the danger areas are reached — SOS can participate safely with insertion.” And cleanliness matters, SOS, whether you’re sounding the husband or serving burritos to the public. “Infection is always an issue,” said Dr. Newman. “Clean is good, but the closer to sterile the better. And be careful about fingers. They can
be more dangerous than sounds because of the nails and difficulty in sterilizing.” So for the record, SOS: Your previous attempts at sounding—those times you jammed your little finger into your husband’s piss slit—were more dangerous than the sounding you’ll be doing with the lovely set of stainless-steel sounding rods you’ll be giving your hubby on Valentine’s Day. Moving on… “Spit is not lube,” said Dr. Newman. “Water- or silicone-based lubes are good; oil-based is not so good with metal instruments.” (You can also go online and order little single-serving packets of sterile lubricant. Don’t ask me how I know this.) Using “glass or other breakable instruments” as sounds is a Very Bad Idea. Dr. Newman was pretty emphatic on this point—and while it sounds like a fairly obvious point, anyone who’s worked in an ER can tell you horror stories about all the Very Bad Ideas they’ve retrieved from people’s urethras, vaginas, and rectums. Now let’s go shopping! “Choosing the best ‘starter kit’ is not hard: Pratt Dilators are not hard to find online, they’re not that expensive, and they will last a lifetime,” said Dr. Newman. (I found a set of Pratt Dilators on Amazon for less than $30.) And when your set arrives, SOS, don’t make the common mistake of starting with the smallest/skinniest sound in the pack. “Inserting something too small allows wiggle room on the way in and for a potential to stab the urethral wall,” said Dr. Newman. The doc’s next safety tip will make sense after you’ve seen a set of Pratt Dilators: “Always keep the inserted curve facing one’s face, meaning the visible, external curve facing away toward one’s back.” You can gently stroke your husband’s cock once the sound is in place, SOS; you can even blow him. Vaginal intercourse is off the table, obviously, and you might not wanna fuck his big beau-
tiful dick with a sound until you’re both feeling like sounding experts. And when that time comes: Don’t stab away at his cock with a sound in order to sound-fuck him. A quality sound has some weight and heft—hold his erection upright, slowly pull the well-lubricated, non-glass sound until it’s almost all the way out, and then let go. It will sink back without any help from you. Your husband’s butt should be plug-free during your sounding sessions, SOS, as a plug could compress a section his urethra. If you’re skilled enough to work around the bend—or if you’re foolish enough to push past it—the sound could puncture his compressed urethra. And a punctured urethra is every bit as unpleasant as it sounds. (Sorry.) Finally, SOS, what about coming? Will your husband’s balls explode if he blows a load while a metal rod is stuffed in his urethra? “Coming with the sound in place is a matter of personal preference,” said Dr. Newman. “There is no particular danger involved.” P.S. Thank you for the picture.
DAN SAVAGE SEX COLUMNIST mail@savagelove.net
My wife and I have an amazing relationship. Our sex life is as hot as it can be given a child and two careers. A couple of years ago, I bought her one of those partial-body sex dolls (it has a cock and part of the stomach). We took videos and pictures while using it. Very hot for both of us. We later got a black version of the same toy. (We are white.) Even hotter videos. I have kept the videos in a secure app on my iPad. Over the past year, I have created Photoshop porn of my wife with black men using screenshots from commercial porn. I haven’t shared this with my wife. We never discussed what to do with the videos and pics we made. I assumed she trusted me not to share these images with anyone. (I haven’t and won’t!) Is it OK that I have a porn stash that features my wife? Is it OK that I have a stash of Photoshop porn of my wife fucking black men? Should I share this info—and my fantasies—with her? I’ve always fantasized about her being with a black man, but I’m not sure either of us would truly want that to happen. — Secretly Keeping Encrypted Porn That Isn’t Clearly Allowed Lately
You need to speak to your wife about those pics and videos, about the way you’ve manipulated them, and about your fantasies—but that’s a lot to lay on her at once, SKEPTICAL, so take it in stages. Find a time to ask her about those old pics and videos and whether she wants them discarded or if you can continue to hang on to them. At a different time, bring up your racially charged fantasies and let her know what those partial-body sex dolls were doing for you. And finally, SKEPTICAL, if she reacts positively to your having held on to the photos and to your fantasies, ask her how she feels about you creating a few images using Photoshop of her hooking up with a black man for fantasy purposes only. It’s a little dishonest — you’re asking for permission to do what you’ve already done — but you’ll know what you need to do if her answer to the Photoshop question is “No, absolutely not!” (To be clear: You’ll need to delete those Photoshopped pics.) All that said, SKEPTICAL, if the images you’re holding on to—the originals and/or the manipulated ones—could destroy your marriage and/or your wife’s life and/or your wife’s career if they got out (computers can be hacked or stolen, clouds may not be as secure as advertised), don’t wait: Delete all of the images now.
On the Lovecast: porn star Bailey Jay on the perils and pleasures of letting your dirty photos out. Listen at savagelovecast.com
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8 • ISSUE 2 WINTER 2016 • TYPE
CRAFT BEER
REVIEW CIDER BEFORE BEER, NEVER FEAR; BEER BEFORE CIDER, MAKES A BAD RIDER
F
or being a time of year typically awash in alcohol, the holiday season was a toughie for me as a reviewer of beers. For one, I spent December at the mercy of an increasingly alcoholic beer advent calendar (no regrets — add a Phillips/ Central City holiday pack to next winter’s Christmas shopping list now). For two, there was a lot of wine floating around my house for some reason, and someone had to drink it. So, in place of my usual recommendations on what to drink now, here are a few 2016 resolutions for a better beerdrinking year ahead. FIGURE OUT THIS CELLARING THING: Last winter I picked up a pack of Delerium Tremens, an 8.5 ABV monster from Belgium, drank one bottle and promptly forgot the rest in the back of a cupboard for a year. Cracking a bottle open over the holidays, I discovered that what I’d thought to be a too-boozy beast had matured into a smooth, balanced delight. Now, to do that intentionally. Laying beer away is hardly new, but I’m curious to learn what benefits most from a nice long rest.
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ANDREA KLASSEN BEER COLUMNIST www.badrider.reviews
FIND YOUR BARBECUE BEER: I’ve proclaimed a few beers perfect for those long, lazy summer afternoons when you want to slowly put away a six pack while working on your sunburn — but, so far, most of my favourite (Tofino’s Tuff Session Ale springs to mind) come in 650mL bottles. This year, I’m hoping my taste and laziness can come together on a more perfect craft brewed six pack. GO AGAINST YOUR BETTER JUDGEMENT: When Mount Pleasant Brewing in East Vancouver sent me a press release about a sour stout beer they were cooking up a while back, I immediately assumed it would be disgusting, even to a sour nerd like me. It is, in fact, a pretty great marriage of sour smack and classic black beer. And if there were ever a sign I should give up some preconceived notions, it’s that I, an avowed IPA-denier, order precious little else these days at one of our two local breweries. DRINK MORE (WATER): Look, I’m going to be 30 this year, and whatever natural resistance I once had to hangovers is gone. I can’t sugarcoat this. Craft beer is great, but it’s often strong and sugary — the kind of morning after that hurts. While I’m sure all of you are smarter than me and killing it on this front, this is the one resolution yours truly really needs to follow.
TYPECAST
Experimenter
An absorbing, cognent look into a psychologist’s work by Josef Braun, Vue Weekly
This film about the American social psychologist Stanley Milgram can, objectively speaking, be classified as a biopic (a genre I generally dislike). Writer-director Michael Almereyda begins Experimenter with Milgram in the midst of his famous, controversial, career-defining obedience experiments conducted at Yale in 1961; he has Milgram fill in some of the details about his origins, most notably the fact that his parents were Jewish immigrants who, purely by chance, left Eastern Europe for the US just in time to avoid the Holocaust; and thereafter traces Milgram’s professional progress and rise to prominence in tandem with select developments in his personal life. But what makes Experimenter so absorbing and cogent is how Almereyda uses biopic tropes to explore Milgram’s legacy in a formally and narratively meaningful way. Besides being a busy, if not especially well-known, filmmaker (his most notable credit remains his 2000 adaptation of Hamlet, starring Ethan Hawke), Almereyda is also a highly regarded theatre-maker, and his overt use of theatrical artifice, from Milgram’s direct address narration of his own life (and death!) to the simple graphics that help illustrate Milgram’s experiments, let us feel that we’re participants, or if you prefer, accomplices, in Milgram’s groundbreaking and, in a sense, ongoing work. Milgram’s conclusions about our seemingly hardwired tendency to conform to authority are timely and troubling, but because of its sly delivery and intellectual playfulness, Experimenter is itself exhilarating. Those 1961 experiments invited volunteers to conduct tests in which they were to administer electric shocks to a fellow volunteer (in actuality a confederate of Milgram and his colleagues) every time this fellow volunteer gave the wrong answer
to a question in a memory exercise. Most subjects continued to administer the shocks even after the man receiving the shocks cried out in pain and asked to exit the experiment. Though most of them were upset and conflicted about their role as quasi-torturers, the volunteers seemed to continue with the experiment because they were told to by an authority figure (in this case, the supervising scientist). These results speak to all manner of ethically dubious instances of people “just following orders,” from such catastrophic events as the Holocaust or Abu Ghraib to more everyday infractions against sense and morals (such as the absurd, Kafkaesque treatment I recently received at the hands of some US Immigration officers). The more famous Milgram’s experiments became (especially after he published his book Obedience to Authority in 1974), the more people were outraged, with some accusing Milgram of cruelty for not informing his volunteers of the fact that no one was actually getting hurt (a factor that would have completely negated the purpose of the experiment). Experimenter takes pains to inform us that Milgram’s career went far beyond those early experiments, even though everything he did afterwards was done in their shadow. Almereyda’s chief collaborator in telling Milgram’s story is actor Peter Sarsgaard, who plays Milgram with a somewhat melancholy, unflappable air and fluidly guides us through his work in layman’s terms. Thus, everyone who watches Experimenter will have no trouble understanding the terms or conclusions of Milgram’s experiments. Which means that everyone who watches Experimenter will have to confront themselves with the inevitable and, unfortunately, unanswerable question, Would I have acted any differently?
THE REVENANT
In Alejandro González Iñárritu’s hands, The Revenant plays out as a cluttered campfire story by Josef Braun, Vue Weekly
Based on Michael Punke’s eponymous 2002 novel, The Revenant extrapolates on the incredible true story of Hugh Glass, the American frontiersman, fur trader and explorer who, in 1823, survived a savage attack by a mammoth mama grizzly, was left for dead by his colleagues in the wilds of South Dakota, and crawled, crept and staggered some 200 miles to inform said colleagues of their poor judgment. Glass is portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film and the tale of his violent near-death is fleshed out with numerous bloody melees with angry Arikara, a backstory involving Glass’ adoption of an orphaned Pawnee boy and a villain named Fitzgerald played by Tom Hardy. Fitzgerald is a Southern scumbag and former solider with a big beard and a peculiar balding pattern due to his having once been scalped. He is loathsome, occasionally amusing and adds a little colour to a film that largely goes out of its way to drain colour from every wintry setting— unless, of course, that colour is red, the red of viscera, which gets whipped around plenty in painstaking sequence shots choreographed by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. Whittled down to its essence, The Revenant is a hell of a campfire story. In theory, it could also prove conducive to some intensely vivid cinema. One can imagine a lean, mean, muscular rendition of this story being made by, say, Anthony Mann or Don Siegel, or maybe even Jeff Nichols or Kelly Reichardt, if you favour living examples. Unfortunately, The Revenant was helmed and co-scripted by Alejandro González Iñárritu, director of 21 Grams, Babel, Biutiful and, more recently,
Birdman; González Iñárritu is not one to take the lean, mean route when there’s a perfectly good trail over there lending itself to protracted mysticism and displays of self-importance. I am not altogether unsympathetic to González Iñárritu’s project—and I still admire his debut, Amores Perros—but it seems to me that The Revenant’s ungainly refrains of flashbacks and visions and floating ladies are not only far less poignant than its depiction of raw physicality, they detract from that physicality by cluttering the visual landscape and overall sense of momentum. González Iñárritu’s alliance with the fearsomely talented Lubezki is a shrewd one, but also a bad sign: Lubezki’s other most frequent collaborator is Terrence Malick, a director I revere but whose precarious penchant for invoking the spiritual should probably not be encouraged in others. (Or even in Malick, for that matter, though it must be said that with Badlands, Malick proved he can produce a crisp, brilliant genre film while staying true to his own gnomic inclinations.) There are sequences in The Revenant—such as the one that opens the film— that read very much as faux-Malick, and you get the impression that they are the most important scenes in the movie for González Iñárritu. Perhaps he regards Glass’ story as having value primarily as a metaphor or an allegory. I just wish he would leave the subtext to the audience to the audience to work out.
TYPE • ISSUE 2 WINTER 2016 • 9 “to some questions there are no answers”
How one app has revolutionized relationships
O
nly a millennial knows the weight of the phrase “swiping right” and the thrill of the matching game that has changed the dating experience. We all know Tinderella’s fate — the modern fairytale as coined by collegehumor.com. Trade the gown for a little black dress, the ball for a dimly lit club and the prince for a fuckboy and there you have it — courtship in 2016. But, what some have merely written off as the hook-up app of the century has some perks. With more than nine-billion matches — 26 million per day — Tinder brands itself as a legitimate dating tool, though its “andeverything-in-between” tagline reminds us not to take it too seriously. The Canadian Press reports 36 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 use online dating — according to a 2011 Leger Marketing survey — and 60 per cent of online daters in the U.S. use only mobile devices — according to ComScore. Tinder, launched in 2012, is exclusively for mobile. It has grown to be the third-most popular app in the U.S., with 53 per cent of its audience between 18 and 24 — a generation for which using smartphones is second nature. Tinder caters to its audience. It even releases an annual tally of the most swipedright schools in the U.S., where you can see which campuses have the most matches. Whether it’s Tinder’s flirtatious branding, user-friendly interface or face-value pairing technique, something has made it a staple in the modern era of dating — or, should we say, hooking up. It brought first impressions to your fingertips and didn’t ask you to think too hard about it. Vanity Fair published an article in its September 2015 issue highlighting the misogynistic nature of hook-up culture and Tinder as the weapon of choice for men seeking instant gratification, even comparing it to online shopping, a “handheld singles club, where they might find a sex partner as easily as they’d find a cheap flight to Florida.” The company — or, at least, someone at the company — disagreed. The Guardian reported 31 tweets were sent from Tinder’s verified account in response, claiming the “Tinder Generation” was not what it was portrayed to be. “Little known fact: sex was invented in 2012 when Tinder was launched,” was reportedly tweeted directly to Vanity Fair. The official response from the company, according to the Guardian, noted it was disappointed the article didn’t include any positive stories from
JESSICA KLYMCHUK TYPE WRITER jessica@typerag.ca
users. Katie, a 24-year-old TRU student, is at least one person whose swipe — out of Tinder’s 1.4 billion per day — led to a relationship. She’s been with her boyfriend, affectionately nicknamed Tinder Dave, for a year. “Any time anyone talks about it, I’m always 100 per cent in. It’s great,” she said of the app. “Again, I’m one-for-one, so it’s hard not to be up for it. I’m at 100 per, cent so I think I’m winning.” Kate, like 25-year-old Mackenzie, was using Tinder casually. Neither was looking for a relationship — Katie logged on with friends at a party to see what all the fuss was about and Mackenzie was looking to see if someone she knew was active on the dating tool. “It becomes more of a game for girls than anything,” Katie said. Though Mackenzie’s Kamloops experience was in stark contrast to the stereotypical Tinder hookup — her boyfriend Mitch was the only person she ever swiped right for and they’ve been together for 10 months — she did feel the app’s reputation affected her. “I was almost embarrassed at first. It’s a hook-up app. I would tell people, ‘Oh... I just met him at the gym,’” she said, though her opinion of it has improved since having a lasting relationship with Mitch. “It has changed my mind. I think it’s a good little app.” Katie makes no apologies when it comes to using Tinder, even embracing its superficial nature. “Times are changing. For us, we are so used to everything being just a touch away,” she said. “It’s just an easy, quick — it’s based on appearances, it’s shallow, which most of us are. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you accept that and know.” Unlike other dating websites, Tinder doesn’t measure its success in relationships or marriages and it’s common for matches to never lead to a conversation. However, it does use success stories as a marketing tool to reinforce the meaningful connections its facilitating — connections it says don’t necessarily have to be sexual. Whether Tinder will ever be able to shed its reputation as a booty-call directory is ultimately up to its users and their experiences are as varied as they are — all 50 million of them. — With files from the Canadian Press
The Love of the
Nightingale by Timberlake Wertenbaker directed by Wesley Eccleston
February 25-27 & March 3-5 | TRU, Old Main, Student Street Curtain Nightly @ 7:30pm, Tickets $14 Tickets available @ Kamloops Live! Box Office or Reservation @ 250.377.6100
Actors Workshop Theatre
For more information: tru.ca/arts/vpa/theatre | actorsworkshoptheatre.ca
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Tinder: The game changer
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