ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Vince Mo Photo Jamie Inman Photo

MOUNT RUSHKA

Did you know that our little town Fernie has an impressive rock ‘n roll legacy? The guitarist from Rush, Alex Lifeson (considered to be one of greatest guitarists of all time), was born right here in Fernie in 1953. Let me introduce you to us, we are called Mount Rushka and we are committed to continuing the legacy of a serious rock n’ roll group also born in Fernie.

With another ‘hat tip’ to Mount Rushmore, Mount Rushka celebrates the forefathers of Rock that came before us. Rock ‘n Roll was originally created from a blend of Blues and Country. Now in 2022, we have decades of the Rock era to draw inspiration from. So, like the original forefathers, our sound gets a solid dose of Blues and Country.

With all of us growing up in the 90’s, we were fortunate to have front row tickets to the Grunge and Alternative Rock movement. Our parents lived through the glory days of 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s Stadium Rock and Pop and incorporated it into our upbringing. The artists of those eras are the Mount Rushka forefathers. They inspire our music and allow us the ability to keep every song sounding fresh.

The Kootenay roots of Mount Rushka are deeply ingrained in both the name and members. Adam Laurin, vocals and rhythm, is a community fixture. Sometimes referred to as the “Voice of Fernie.” Well known for his snowboard/skateboard shop, Commit, and Fernie’s “number 2 band” The Runs.

Will Ripley, our guitarist, has been playing music in Fernie between stints in Los Angeles, Vancouver and Calgary, touring with established, billboard charting groups, and reaching millions of people with his online guitar lessons.

Alanna Laurin, on bass and vocals is coowner of the popular salon, Society Jane, and was a member of Fernie bands The Runs and Country Smokes (who toured with Shred Kelly).

Aaron Wrench, our powerhouse drummer, has our valley’s coal in his blood as he’s a mechanic at Teck. He’s also a music school graduate with a major in Drum Performance. This is where he crossed paths with Will back in 2004 at the Berklee affiliated music college in Nelson, BC.

Mount Rushka started with a jam session with our vocalist Adam and our guitarist Will in 2020 - These two hit it off musically from the get-go and have poured out 14 original songs that have now shook several Fernie stages (notably Wapiti Music Fest ‘22).

So, can a new Rock band survive and thrive from within the walls of the Elk Valley? So far, we’ve been able to book shows completely based on event organizers’ trust. The support here in Fernie has been amazing. It is however humbling to see the long road ahead of us to get our music beyond our small valley and to reach its worldwide potential. October 22 marks a significant day for Mount Rushka. We’re releasing our first single called “Moonlight” to all the music streaming platforms. In addition, The Northern Bar & Stage is set to host our “Single Release Party” that Saturday night (Oct. 22), starting at 10pm. Tickets will be $10 at the door. We expect this to be a sold-out show, so we encourage everyone to head to Commit and buy tickets before the event to make sure you don’t miss one heck of a rock show!

For more information check out mountrushka.band. Jamie Inman Photo

Vince Mo Photo

Grandma’s Queso

by CLAIRE SMALLWOOD

Queso might be directly translated as “cheese” in Spanish but it is so much more. Short for “Chile con Queso,” in our family, it was known as “Grandma’s queso” and it was sacred.

Comfort food hits the pleasure centres of our brain, often flooding us with memories that are cued by the sense of taste, smell, and texture. Comfort food can be vague, or it can be specific. It could be any Mac and Cheese, or it could be the specific Mac and Cheese from your favourite restaurant or family member. For me, comfort food is specific and that’s because everything my Grandma did was specific. She read specific books, watched specific shows, and she liked the specific shampoo (“You only need a dime-sized amount!”) and she liked the specific brand of potato chips and the specific bread. She would accept no imitations, and I loved this about her.

For this reason, it took her years to adjust the chile con queso ingredients in her recipe to achieve the ultimate specific balance between the smoky bacon flavour, cheese, and spice — all with the specific texture that unfortunately can only be achieved by invoking the naughtiest of ingredients: Velveeta.

When Grandma passed away in August, I was reflecting on the subtle ways she influenced my love of food. A lot of people say their grandmothers are the best cooks, and of course, I’d like to think mine was exceptional.

This recipe is simple. You’ll not only enjoy making it but sharing it with others is part of the joy.

You start with bacon and onion, then you add the secret ingredient probably not in your pantry: Velveeta. Then there is the added combination of spice (green chile) and a couple of specific types of cheeses. For my recipe, I prefer a combo of sharp/ extra aged white cheddar and Monterrey Jack. Spice is also key - I used green chile I get from Costco in Kalispell but you can absolutely substitute canned green chile from local stores in Fernie. The cheese will mute the spice, so if you are keen for something with a kick, I’d recommend adding (seeds-removed) diced jalapeños (because the canned, local green chiles don’t have a huge kick). You can adjust the heat as you go, so keep some extra on the side in case you desire more.

Submitted Photo

Chile Con Queso Recipe

Yields enough for a hearty appetizer to feed about 8-10 people.

6 strips, raw, thick-cut bacon, chopped finely

1 yellow onion

3 small cans of green chile (Ortega brand is available in Fernie)

2-3 seeded, diced Jalapeños (optional for additional heat)

8 oz. Velveeta, cubed

500 grams shredded extra aged cheddar (I prefer white cheddar)

300 grams shredded or cubed Monterey Jack cheese

1+ cup of 2% milk Start with the diced bacon in a thickbottomed saucepan/pot on medium heat. Let the bacon slowly cook and pour off the grease as it renders. When it’s crispy remove the bacon. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove additional grease. Without cleaning the pot, add the diced onion and let it cook on medium-high heat until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the green chiles and/or jalapeños and the cooked bacon back to the pot. Let it cook for an additional 2-4 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the Velveeta. You’ll be surprised by how perfect and fast it melts. (Is that why it says ‘liquid gold’ on the container?) Now you can add the other cheeses. As the cheese slowly incorporates, add half of the milk and stir constantly. Make sure to slowly fold all the cheese and ingredients together. In order to get an amazing consistency, you will likely need to add at least half cup more of milk, but sometimes it might be more. The milk helps to keep the queso from being too firm, which will break tortilla chips in half and could impede the queso consumption, which is sub-optimal.

Ahh! Now you get to taste your creation and decide what it needs more of… More heat? More bacon? More liquid? Taste and adjust as needed.

“Comfort food hits the pleasure centres of our brain, often flooding us with memories that are cued by the sense of taste, smell, and texture. ”

Check out my Instagram channel @ clairesmallwood_ to see a video of me making Grandma’s Queso while camping.

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Tidings of Discomfort and Joy

by MICHAEL HEPHER

If you’re the kind of person who rides Swine Flu twice in a row—for fun—then this column may not be for you. While the rest of us are going to great lengths to avoid discomfort, you crazy ‘type-two-fun’ people might just have it all figured out.

The average person in our culture is obsessed with being comfortable. We wear comfortable clothes, sit in comfortable chairs in comfortable homes, and eat comfort food. We go out of our way to make sure all of our guests are comfortable, and we wouldn’t want the conversation to get uncomfortable, so we tiptoe around issues. Comfort is certainly something we work hard to find. And why not? It’s good to be comfortable. Always. Mostly. Right?

My friend Craig has played the banjo for 42 years. As one of Canada’s top banjo players, he has toured and performed professionally for most of his life. Four years ago, in the middle of an epic recording session and a battle with a pinched shoulder nerve, his subconscious mind took over and said: “That’s enough— you’re done.” His body refused to let him play the banjo anymore. Doctors eventually diagnosed him with Focal Dystonia, a littleknown condition that affects professional artists of all kinds. The brain’s motion map of a specific motion overlaps another one and the desired action becomes impossible. In Craig’s case, his brain involuntarily curled up the fingers on his picking hand, making it impossible to play. The causes are nebulous and understudied, but overtraining plays a factor, as well as mental health, and even childhood trauma. The healing process can be slow or impossible. Craig had to quit playing his beloved banjo, then guitar. As you can imagine, some hard years followed that loss. I am grateful to have friends like Craig who inspire me to grow. I ran into Craig this summer at a music festival and he told me that he has come to be grateful to Focal Dystonia. His diligent work on his mind, his heart, and his hands has brought him through a lot of discomfort to a place where he has been forced to look at childhood hurts he’d been pushing aside his whole life. As we were chatting at the festival I could see a lightness and joy in Craig that I’d never seen before.

Nobody wants to go through hard times. We don’t will discomfort on others and we certainly don’t wish it on ourselves, but it’s rare to find good art that doesn’t grow out of the fertile ground of discomfort. One of the things that can make an artist great is our willingness to wade around in the emotional turmoil of life—groping for flashes of silver in the murky waters

Submitted Photo

“ I don’t think we seek the hard places on purpose, but walking through them often feels like an important part of our journey. “

of pain. It’s not fun, but what we find often pushes us to new discoveries about ourselves and the world around us. If we are lucky, we can grasp a bit of those ideas and drag them to the surface to present to the rest of the world. If we are really lucky those ideas can help us understand ourselves enough to have a bit of a reprieve in the comfortable place before diving back in for more growth.

The stereotype of the tortured artist has grown out of our propensity to live in the wild, dark places. Sometimes we get lost in there, or stop believing that the bright, joyful spots still exist. I don’t think we seek the hard places on purpose, but walking through them often feels like an important part of our journey. To make art that is authentic, and true to ourselves or true to humanity, we have to face these hard things and tease those lessons into the light.

My friend Craig did not choose his trials. We shouldn’t run headlong into hardship, but neither should we cling desperately to comfort. If we do, we won’t be able to face the things that will eventually become our stepping stones. Discomfort pushes us to move, to grow—as artists, as humans. For me, my best ideas, my best art, and the most satisfying projects all come from digging deep, from letting the fear and anxiety and self-doubt wash over me and stepping forward regardless.

For Craig, he’s reinvented himself into an upright bass player and is having a blast. The day I was talking to him someone handed him a guitar and he laid down a blazing solo; his guitar playing is starting to come back, too. Hopefully the banjo playing is next.

Disclaimer: Everyone needs connections and community to make sure they don’t get lost in the dark places. If you’re struggling and need help, please reach out to a friend or to a mental health hotline. You are not alone. Call the free BC Mental Health support line: 310-6789. For open communication and progressive development vote Lee-Anne Walker, RDEK Area A Director

VoteLAWalker.com

Authorized by Isabel Craig, financial agent, (250) 430-7047

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Through the Lens of Loss

by Sadie Rosgen

Come back. Even as a shadow, even as a dream.

~ Euripides

As I prepare to honour my father in memoriam, as I find the words to speak of this loss, as I write this now, I struggle to know that he is gone. As the minutes age into hours, and hours into days, I long for one last conversation, one big laugh, one silent eternal moment. Knowing that I will never have that time again feels impossible. My comfort now lies in our shared experience, our memories, ourselves. I follow him He knows the way Protected by his wisdom

I thrive

Imbibing on life because I am protected

Confident and bold Told to move through life embracing passion No rations with my energy Let the light come in and shine

I know him I am him Imperfect parts of one another Moving up and down the mountain A conduit of trust between child and parent

“Nature teaches us everything we need to know. How to grow, how to let go. It’s a convoluted process,” he says.

The complexity of life stands still without him

Get Informed. Vote.

Learn about the candidates in our area.

• Fernie All-Candidates Municipal

Election Forum will be held on

Tuesday, October 4, 2022, 6:30pm start (seating is limited) at the Fernie

Community Centre. The event will also be streamed live on facebook.

• Online at: fernie.ca/EN/main/city/2022- general-local-election.html

• This issue of the Fernie Fix

• The Fernie Free Press

• RDEK information: For additional information or to request a Mail Ballot

Form, visit rdek.bc.ca/elections.

FOR THE FERNIE MUNICIPAL ELECTION

FOR THE RDEK – AREA A ELECTION

Advance Voting Days: October 5 and October 12 at the Fernie Senior Citizens Drop-in Centre, from 8am to 8pm Fernie General Voting Day: October 15, 2022 at the Fernie Senior Citizens Drop-in Centre, 8am to 8pm

If you have any questions, email the Chief Election Officer at electionsofficer@fernie.ca.

If you have any questions, email the RDEK Chief Election Officer at elections@rdek.bc.ca

Advance Voting Days: October 5 and October 13, 8am to 8pm at the Hosmer Community Hall. RDEK General Voting Day: October 15, 8am to 8pm at the Best Western in Fernie, Causeway Bay Hotel in Sparwood, and at the Hosmer Community Hall. For additional information or to request a Mail Ballot Form, visit rdek.bc.ca/elections.

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