ION Magazine Issue 59. Featuring Lissy Trullie by ION Magazine

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Volume 7 Number 6 Issue 59 8 10 14 47 48

Editor’s Letter Skinny genes. ION the Street Put a lid on it. Of The Month More fashion than you can shake a stick at! Wait, why would someone shake a stick at fashion? That’s just ridiculous. Horoscopes MacLeod, like all Highlanders, predicts in his horoscopes that there can be only one! Cartoons

CULTURE 18 20

Jeff Hamada Just remember, it’s boooooom with seven o’s. Raif Adelberg Here for a good time. Not a long time.

FASHION 22 30

Up and Away This issue’s fashion editorial. Photography by Norman Wong and styling by Toyo Tsuchiya. East//West A showcase of some of Canada’s hottest homegrown lines.

MOVIES 36

Eli Roth Just as good at killing Nazis as he his at killing backpackers.

MUSIC 38 42 44 46

Love & Electrik The magazine’s two greatest loves: shitty arcade games and adorable synth pop bands are finally together in the same article. Sally Shapiro My Guilty Pleasure is the most perfect name ever for an Italo disco album. Album Reviews Poster Art: Garret Egles Hey Garret, how do you describe your style? “Overall I would say it’s generally bloody as hell with some kind of gnarly cartoon gore.”

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This year ION is introducing a fun new mobile component that will help enhance your experience with the magazine. Keep your eyes peeled for the ION Mobile Flag on pages where there is further mobile content available. For music-related mobile content, simply text IONMUSIC to 82442. You’ll immediately receive a text with a link to a mobile website. If your phone is compatible with iTunes, you’ll be able to preview and purchase all the music featured in the current issue of ION. In future issues, we’ll start recommending a few choice tracks you should consider purchasing. For fashion related mobile content, text IONFASHION to 82442. You’ll be directed to a website that lists where you can purchase all the clothing featured in the current issue. To make it easy for you, there will be Google Map links for all the stores. This is still all really new for us so expect a lot of exciting new mobile features to be added in the future. And apologies in advance, we don’t plan on accommodating people who still only own a pager.

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We thought this whole internet thing was a quick passing fad. Turns out we were wrong. So we went and made ourselves a pretty new website. As awesome as a physical magaze is, there are certain constraints to it. On the new ION website, not only is all the magazine’s content on there, you’ll also find lots of web exclusive content and contests. Be sure to check out www.ionmagazine.ca

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CONTENTS

ION MAGAZINE

Publisher/Fashion Director

Vanessa Leigh vanessa@ionmagazine.ca

Editor in Chief Creative Director Art Director Music Editor Fashion Editor Designer Copy Editors Editorial Intern Design Intern

Michael Mann editor@ionmagazine.ca Danny Fazio danny@ionmagazine.ca Tyler Quarles tyler@ionmagazine.ca Trevor Risk trevor@ionmagazine.ca Toyo Tsuchiya toyo@ionmagazine.ca Leslie Ma leslie@ionmagazine.ca Steven Evans Joni McKervey Sara Prestley

Office Manager Office Intern Advertising

Natasha Neale natasha@ionmagazine.ca Daniel John Hardy Jenny Goodman jenny@ionmagazine.ca

Writers

Nojan Aminosharei, Bix Brecht, Dr. Ian Super, Hayz Fisher, Stefana Fratila, Shalllom Johnson, Cameron MacLeod, Jules Moore, Kellen Powell, Natalie Vermeer

Photographers and Artists

Toby Marie Bannister, Meg Bourne, Dee Daly, Hubert Kang, Shawna Lee, Javier Lovera, Yasmin Morshedian, André Pinces, Nadia Pizzimenti, Aurielle St Cyr, Edwin Tse, Norman Wong

ABOUT OUR COVER lissy Trullie SHOT EXCLUSIVELY FOR ION MAGAZINE

There are a lot of reasons not to like Lissy Trullie. She’s from New York. She’s an extremely pretty model who oozes cool from every pore of her flawless skin. And, on the surface, it may seem like there’s more hype than substance to her band, given that they only have an EP under their belt and it includes a Hot Chip cover, our Music Editor’s most hated band. To make matters worse, she’s also incredibly funny and friendly (she even had the gall to say “hello” to a random passerby as we sat down for a quick interview). We caught up with her when she stopped in town for a show with The Virgins, who are also made up of models. In New York, Lissy explains, street casting is commonplace. “You kinda get picked up for that pretty easily. There’s mad scouts on the street. You gotta watch out!” Her band, Lissy Trullie, play Stokes-style New York indie rock and put on an engaging and energetic live performance. Despite being an opener, they’ve been drawing big crowds and continue to build their buzz. Surprised by how candid and friendly she is, we flat out say that, with so much going for her, we’re astonished she’s not more stuck up. Lissy laughs and responds, “That’s the word on the street. People think it’s a New York thing.” The she adds, “You know our shit is stinky too.” Okay Lissy, you’ve charmed the hell out of us and won us over. Consider us believers now.

ION is printed 10 times a year by the ION Publishing Group. No parts of ION Magazine may be reproduced in any form by any means without prior written consent from the publisher. ION welcomes submissions but accepts no responsibility for the return of unsolicited materials. All content © Copyright ION Magazine 2009 Hey PR people, publicists, brand managers and label friends, send us stuff. High-resolution jpegs are nifty and all, but they’re no substitute for the real thing. Clothing, liquor, PS3s, CDs, vinyl, DVDs, video games, and an iPhone can be sent to the address below. #303, 505 Hamilton Street. Vancouver, BC, Canada. V6B 2R1 Office 604.696.9466 Fax: 604.696.9411 feedback@ionmagazine.ca www.ionmagazine.ca | www.twitter.com/ionmagazine www.facebook.com/ionmagazine | www.youtube.com/user/ionmagazine

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Lissy Trullie’s EP Self-Taught Learner is out now. Her band has begun recording their debut full length which should be out next year. Cover Photography: André Pinces Styling: Leila Bani for THEYrep.com Styling assistant: Leah Gudmundson Hair and Makeup: Jon Hennessy for TRESemmé Hair Care Clothing [cover]: Cardigan by RVCA | Tank top by Helmut Lang from Holt Renfrew | Paper Plane necklaces, from a selection by Broken English | Pants by Maison Martin Margiela | Bracelets by Harriet Grey | Hat from Edie’s hats | Lizzy’s own bra [group shot]: Josh: Obakki Cardigan | Vintage tshirt from Deluxe Junk Co. | RVCA jeans His own watch, and jewelry. Lizzy: Vince leather jacket from Holt Renfrew | Eryn Brinie top| Vintage cap and striped pants from Deluxe Junk Co. Ian: Covet shirt | His own belt and jeans.

www.firetrap.com For store info: 1.866.240.2808

CONTRIBUTORS Photographer [André Pinces]

Writer [Kellen Powell]

Design Intern [Sara Prestley]

PHOTOGRAPHER [EDWIN TSE]

André Pinces shot Lissy Trullie for our cover. His work reveals an elegant style spanning fashion, portraiture and contemporary art. After studying printmaking at the University of Alberta, Pinces cut his teeth in New York City’s fashion scene, being recruited to work with Warhol photographer and former Man Ray disciple Christopher Makos. André has maintained a relationship with the City, working with Interview Magazine cover artist Richard Bernstein and the Henry Geldzhaler anointed Iké Udé. Pinces has exhibited at Galleries in New York, Montreal and Vancouver and he continues to shoot fashion, portrait and commercial work as well as fine art editions. He is based in Vancouver and can also be found at various truck stops between Venice, California and Venice, Italy.

Kellen Powell interviewed Love & Electrik for us. He has a film degree from Simon Fraser University where he worked as the humour editor at the newspaper for two years. He mostly took the job because he thought it would be an easy way to get a hundred dollars a week and further his on-campus celebrity. He graduated last year and he still hasn’t done anything with his film degree, so he falls back on his experience from the paper to make himself feel as if he’s actually doing something with his life. He is a visual artist and DJ doing a weekly indie rock night and live visuals in Vancouver for dance parties and sometimes big indie/dance shows like Glass Candy and Thunderheist. He loves going to the movies, club music, dance parties and BBQs. He also really likes swimming, doing push ups, DMX, tank tops, his bike and jokes. His mom is very proud of him.

Sara loves Buttons, Larabars and Yorkies. Vancouver is where Sara calls home, most of the time. After traveling abroad she decided to get back into school and is currently studying design at Capilano University. When she is not drowning in school work or the heavy rainfall Vancouver has to offer, she enjoys biking the seawall, hunting for treasures at vintage shops and getting in on the skin at Wreck Beach. Upon finishing school, Sara plans to continue working in the design and fashion community and perhaps disappear to some foreign place for a while. She would also love to conquer her frustration with sewing and perhaps finish decorating her apartment.

Edwin Tse shot the Toronto part of our East// West fashion showcase. He specializes in shooting fashion, portraits, musicians/ entertainers, and landscape subjects. A fan of all things nostalgic from his fond memories of his childhood, is strongly reflected in his work. Originally hailing from Toronto he has lived in London, England and currently resides in New York City. Edwin’s other talents include an uncanny knack for picking out cool sneakers and the ability to exercise his encyclopedic knowledge of cartoons from the Eighties. He also likes to think he plays a pretty styling bowling game (stylish not necessarily meaning good).

[www.pincesphoto.com]

[www.twitter.com/kellenw]

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[www.edwintse.com]

w w w . f o xD E L U x E . c A

EDITOR’S LETTER

“Black Hair” by Toby Marie Bannister

Michael Mann I’m trying to get fatter. I’m not emaciated or anorexic or anything; I’m actually pretty normal sized. I just want to get fat so I can have a distinguished gut. To accomplish this I’ve started exclusively drinking Bakon, the bacon-infused vodka, and invented a new meal between brunch and lunch. I’ve also stopped lying about how much I exercise. I never exercised at all, but all the lying I was doing required a lot of effort, which burned precious calories. While getting fatter isn’t easy, I’m enjoying doing it. I’ve just got one problem: my goddamn skinny genes... err jeans. Whenever I try to put on weight it first starts to show in my thighs and ankles. My thighs are thunderous and my calves are cows! Sadly, my gut doesn’t start to get Buddha-esque till much, much later. This is a nightmare if you wear skinny jeans. While they’re fine around

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my waist, the legs are literally exploding at the seams every time I go out for a second dinner. Think it’s embarrassing when you can’t do up the button on your jeans? How do you think I feel when I can’t pull a new-ish pair of jeans up past my knees? Oh sure smarty pants, you’re probably thinking “Why don’t you just start wearing non-skinny jeans.” That would be a great idea, except for one thing. Once you have worn skinny jeans you cannot ever go back. Don’t believe me? Wear skinny jeans for a few months then try switching back and you’ll see what I mean. I dare you! Normal fit jeans may look fine to those around you. The nice lady who is trying to sell them to you may even tell you how great they look and won’t be lying. You may even buy a pair and take them home. But shortly after you come home and put them

on again you will come to the conclusion that something is not right. Doesn’t matter if it’s a relaxed, a loose fit or boot cut. It will seem like you are wearing bellbottoms or phat pants and you will feel like a jackass. It’s not like people will be heckling you on the streets—you’ll look quite normal to those around you. But the inner monologue in your head will gradually cripple your self-esteem and you’ll eventually end up hucking them in one of those Salvation Army dumpsters. I don’t normally care about such things. The holes in all my clothes should be a testament to that. I’m not trying to be fashionable with all the rips in my shirts and jeans. I’m cheap and I just don’t really care what people think about my clothes (or so I thought). But trying to get off skinny jeans has become a tremendous source of stress in my life.

It’s not like I one day made up my mind that skinny jeans are the direction I want to go for the rest of my life. The people who sell them really should issue a warning that once indoctrinated there is no regressing.. It doesn’t have to be a big one like they have on packs of cigarettes. Just a tiny removable tag next to where the brand label is would suffice. I was merely trying on a few pairs of jeans and it just so happened that the ones that looked best on me were skinny. It was a momentary lapse in judgement. I mean really, they’re not even comfortable. So I bought them and now I’m shackled to them for the rest of my life. I’ll probably be wearing skinny sweatpants when I get old and move down to Florida. I guess in the meantime I could always get some lipo done on my fat calves.

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Photography: Javier Lovera. Stylist: Toyo Tsuchiya. Hair + Makeup: Dee Daly TRESemmé Hair Care, judyinc.com Models: Alana and Caleb

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PUT A LID ON IT! Fall is here, so what better time to add a stylish hat to your wardrobe. It seems that brands are going back in time with Fedoras, Felted hats and Greek Fisherman hats. So pair the old with the new and don’t worry about your bed head anymore. [1] Wise Man Hat - Obey [2] Fiddler - Brixton [3] The London Bloke Fedora - LRG [4] Coca - Still Life [5] RCVA - Fallen

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ION THE PRIZE ORB This month’s prize comes from the eco-friendly company Orb, which gives us fashionable comfy clothing. Orb thrives on making you feel free, active and stylish. This autumn, put on an outfit courtesy of Orb and make all the leaves stop changing colour and pause mid-fall to declare, “Hey, get a load of that girl’s cool clothes.” [www.orbclothing.ca]

Photographer: Kyla Hemmelgarn Stylist: Toyo Tsuchiya Hair & Makeup Jenny Kanarvarnos Model: Stacey at Rad Kids

To enter text IONTHEPRIZE to 82442 or visit www.ionmagazine.ca

ION MOBILE TEXT “IONTHEPRIZE” TO 82442 [IT’S FREE]

OF THE MONTH YouTube, Twitter, Facebook [Single] aNYway by Duck Sauce [Show] Vanity Fair Portraits 1913-2008 [Fashion] Metalicus [2]

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[1] YouTube, Twitter, Facebook By now you know probably know about our Twitter and Facebook accounts. But did you know we now have a YouTube channel? Yes, it’s ridiculous. We are masters of all social media. Check out our YouTube channel to get a behind-the-scenes look of our cover shoot with Lissy Trullie. Was it just us, or was she flirting with the photographer’s assistant? [www.twitter.com/ionmagazine] [www.facebook.com/ionmagazine] [www.youtube.com/user/ionmagazine] [2] Single—aNYway by Duck Sauce Sticking with the idea of naming your club music project something unbelievably silly (Crazy Penis anybody?), Duck Sauce has blessed us with their first single “aNYway.” It’s so recognizable that if any DJ were to hear it for the first time, he/she would probably think, “Good tune. Sounds kinda like if A-Trak and Armand Van Helden were to work together... Wait! Who took the sticker off my flat-brimmed hat??” And he/she would be bang on (not about the hat thing. C’mon white DJs it’s time to let that go.) Duck Sauce sounds like disco hooks with a very large house beat behind them, which probably isn’t a new idea but it hasn’t been done with this kind of panache before. And as a bonus, it comes with a fab cartoon duck!

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[3] Show—Vanity Fair Portraits 1913-2008 Hey Toronto, what are you up to between September 26 and January 3. We realize that is a rather large window but you know how time flies by. The ROM will be hosting a splendid show of portraits from Vanity Fair, a little known magazine that our freelance staff consistently turn down jobs from so they can work for us. Go a few times, Annie Leibovitz is over $20 million in debt and could use your help. [www.rom.on.ca] [4] Fashion—Metalicus Have you ever wondered what it would be like to wear nothing but layers and layers of nylon stocking? Well my cousin Chris used to when he was a little boy but that is a whole different story. Enter Metalicus. This line from Australia consists of “one size fits all” clothing made of two-way stretch material. Their constantly changing styles and seasonal colour palettes allow for numerous options for you to play around with. This company creates cool basics and you create the look. [www.metalicus.com]

OF THE MONTH [Blog] Tavi [Movie] The September Issue [DVD] Valentino [Show] The Video Word Made Flesh [5]

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[5] Blog—Tavi How can you not love a girl who describes herself as a “tiny 13-year-old dork that sits inside all day wearing awkward jackets and pretty hats. Scatters black petals on Rei Kawakubo’s doorsteps and serenades her in rap. Rather cynical and cute as a drained rat. In a sewer. Farting. And spitting out guts.” Have I mentioned that she has one of the hottest and most entertaining fashion blogs out there? Not only is her blog honest and funny, it is also scattered with the ramblings of a young fashionista coming of age, along with some great pictures of her wearing her favourite outfits and information on her charity. [www.tavi-thenewgirlintown.blogspot.com] [6] Movie—The September Issue “September is the January in Fashion” could possibly be the next iconic fashion quote after the release of The September Issue, a documentary about the legendary editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour. Since this is our September fashion issue, what better time than to talk about Anna Wintour. She may be the queen in some eyes and the devil in others but she has definitely inspired, challenged and influenced high fashion designers with their previous, current and future collections. She has set the bar for what is in fashion in American magazine culture. Also check out in Of The Month the “Anna Wintour in training” Tavi, the 12-year-old rookie style blogger…because Anna can’t always be the most feared woman in fashion.

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[7] DVD—Valentino: The Last Emperor What better way to celebrate the death of couture fashion than watching a doc about one of couture’s biggest spray-tanned freaks. Director Matt Tyrnauer, a correspondent for Vanity Fair, was given unprecedented access into the bizarre and opulent world of Valentino Garavani. Step into his many homes and his private jet to meet the man, his pugs and Giancarlo Giammetti, his partner in business and life for the past 50 years. Really, is there anything more entertaining than watching two catty gay men bicker? [8] Show—The Video Word Made Flesh Get ready for Bio-ports, bugs, exploding heads, deviant sex, mutant gynecological tools, and James Woods growing a vagina on his stomach! To coincide with the 34th Toronto International Film Festival, 107 Shaw Gallery presents The Video Word Made Flesh: A Tribute to David Cronenberg. On display will be a number of emerging Canadian artists who have produced a series of drawings, prints and paintings inspired by the work of Canada’s best filmmaker. This fusion of different media is sure to be a retina scarring experience for cinemaphiles before, between and after screenings during The Toronto International Film Festival. [www.1zero7.com]

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CULTURE

Jeff Hamada

Dot Com Booooooom Words: Shallom Johnson

Those familiar with the social media world know that the most successful bloggers are those who can encourage active participation from their followers. The founder of Booooooom. com, Jeff Hamada, noticed that this was lacking from many of the graphic design blogs he frequented—and in the year since its founding, his website has helped change that. “A lot of sites I would visit, there was no encouragement for comments or feedback. I wanted to get to know my readers and encourage people to work together to create something interesting.” A graphic designer with strong ties to the streetwear market, Jeff’s artwork has appeared on everything from Endeavor snowboards to Converse shoes to 3Sixteen, a New York clothing company that he re-branded just after finishing his fine arts diploma at Langara and bachelors in media arts at Emily Carr. With years as a freelance designer under his belt, the success that he has found with Booooooom.com has allowed Jeff to be more selective about the design work he picks up. As a result, his body of work has become more cohesive as clients are beginning to ask for work that is reflective of his personal style. Jeff never dreamed that his site would grow into what it is today. Originally a place to share found images and talk about his personal travels, in a little over a year it has blossomed into a vibrant network of artists, photographers and creative people from all over the world. “I like collecting things,” Jeff says, “I

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find it similar to digging for records, or people who are really into music—I like collecting visual work.” His impulse to collect and to share has informed the evolution of the site in a number of ways. This collection crosses the boundary between highbrow and lowbrow—visit Booooooom.com on any given day and you’ll find everything from lomo photography to quirky illustration, from photorealism to caricature and abstraction. “There is definitely a gap between people who run art sites and craft sites” he says, “I wanted to make a website that didn’t really have that boundary, and was just stuff that I like.” Balancing a well-curated visual collection with communitybuilding activities is often a challenging task. Jeff has found this balance by providing ways for people to interact—the main venue being regular collaborative art projects, compiled into online galleries. In the time since his first community project went online, he has noticed a significant jump in the number of participants, and has increased the complexity of the projects as more and more people get involved. He began with a simple task—take a photograph of a sunset—a project that had approximately 40 participants. His latest project, a series of reader-submitted postcards entitled Free Encouragement, had over 400 participants. “Hopefully it just keeps growing and growing,” Jeff says, “That’s the part that is most exciting for me. I like seeing the artwork that is submitted

to the projects, reading the comments, meeting people around Vancouver who have submitted something, and right away having something to talk about.” Looking forward, Jeff has been collecting numerous ideas for projects, all inspired by his goal to help like-minded people connect with each other. In addition to expanding the community section of his site, he hopes to add a curated online commercial gallery where visitors can buy original artwork from the artist. Jeff wants to also bring this sense of collaboration into the offline world, working with a local gallery or art school to produce a show that encourages inclusivity and includes a mix of established, emerging and student artists. Other plans in the works include a film festival, a children’s book and a capsule collection of t-shirts that is still under wraps. “I’m an idea person more than a production person,” he says, “so anything that I do will take a team of collaborators to pull it off. It’s definitely been cool in the past five or six months to be meeting all of these people within Vancouver that are all doing really creative things, and think about the ways that we could work together.” His enthusiasm for the future is contagious, leaving many excited to get involved with Jeff’s next great idea. [www.booooooom.com]

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CULTURE Raif Adelberg

Here for a good time not a long time Words: Michael Mann

Raif Adelberg’s body is covered in tattoos but the cutest is of a peanut on his palm. It’s there as a reminder to never to let things slip through his hands. Darker by comparison, he has the Charles Manson quote “I can never be in love. Because I am love,” tattooed on the inside of his arm. It’s there because he finds Charlie very interesting. This is just one of many amusing contradictions surrounding this Vancouver artist/ fashion designer. Raif’s an internationally renowned fashion designer responsible for Richard Kidd, Naked and Deadboys Clubhouse. Yet he calls Vancouver his home and good luck finding a store in Canada that carries his lines (“I love Canada. It’s just people never approach me. I’m not hiding.”) He’s Jewish but his art incorporates SS skulls and swastikas (“Look beyond what the fucking Nazis did with this stuff. It’s very attractive. It’s very appealing. For a skull and crossbones, who’s gonna say that looks horrible?”) And aside from fashion designer and artist, he’s worn many others hats over the past decade in this city: store owner, gallerist, restaurateur and magazine publisher. However, in every photo he shows me of himself during this time, he’s always wearing the same cheap Thrasher skateboard magazine hat. We’re sitting down and drinking cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon at his studio in the Downtown Eastside. Breaking the ice, I ask what a typical day is like in the gorgeous and sprawling workspace. “There isn’t one. It’s kinda like the Nutty Professor around here,” he half-jokes, but is quick to add, “It doesn’t seem like work if you enjoy doing it. At the end of the day, all this stuff is smoke and mirrors,” he says, motioning to his surroundings.

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“It’s more about creating something and having a good time.” Our discussion shifts to art and I tell him that I recently bought a painting by Michel Gondry for $20 and collect art prints. He tells me that he recently bought a Picasso and collects original Vivienne Westwood seditionary shirts. Punk fashion queen Westwood serves as a nice transition as we’re here to talk about his punk-themed art and fashion. Recently, Raif did a one night only art show in Vancouver called Deadboys Clubhouse. “It was an idea as kind of an environmental space that would pop up around the world and create this incestuous gang,” he explains. “It may show up in Paris. It may show up in New York, Vancouver, Calgary, Prince Albert. It doesn’t really matter. It’s just about creating this little circus, but on a punk tip.” For the show, the normally sleek Red Bull Lounge was transformed into a punk rock flophouse with show flyers stapled everywhere. On the walls hung dirty hand-painted canvasses and glow-in-the-dark screenprint mashups of punk posters, tattoos, skinheads, musicians, artists, creepy clowns, Tijuana bible vixens, Disney characters, SS skulls and American flags. Also on display were the punk-as-fuck Deadboys Clubhouse shirts and leather jackets, all handmade and hand-ripped oneoffs by Raif. The hardcore tunes blared loudly and the booze was free flowing, showing that this night was more about bringing people together than the filthy lucre. Sure, Raif is covered head-to-toe in tattoos, he’s a fan of punk music and, yeah, he has a bit of a punk rock attitude (“I don’t care if Karl Lagerfeld is sucking my dick. Big fucking deal.”), but that’s not the story behind the show, the art and

the Deadboys line. The real story behind his inspiration is this: there isn’t one. “Everything that I do is an extension of my personality. The passion and the inspiration comes from within me. The inspiration has to start within my head before anything happens. When people ask me ‘What’s the story behind this collection?’—honestly there is no story. It’s just kind of like someone handed me some plasticine and I just started making it. The biggest truth about the stuff I create comes from knowing me and my personality.” Raif has personality to spare and some of it will end up rubbing off on you if you spend any time around the man. Yet with all he has going for him, he somehow manages to stay humble and keeps a low profile around town; work and self-promotion take a back seat to enjoying life with friends and family. This is probably why a lot of people assume that he’s a recluse. He says that’s not the case. “I love talking to people. I love seeing the inspiration of people coming up who are trying to do things. I don’t like seeing people who don’t think outside the box.” Long after I’ve turned my recorder off, Raif turns to me and confesses, “I’d really like to be a motivational speaker.” Given the tattoos of the peanut and the quote by Charles Manson (who had no problems motivating people) somehow that’s not hard to imagine. He dispenses advice easily and offers up this: “Take a chance. Don’t worry if you’re gonna offend people. Do what’s in your heart. Do what’s in your head. Do what’s pure to you. When you close your eyes, what do you see? Well, create that.”

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PHOTOGRAPHY David Ellingsen/THEYrep.com

STYLING Toyo Tsuchiya

UP UP AND AWAY Makeup + Hair: Jon Hennessey for TRESemme Hair Care/Nobasura | Model: Jenna at Lizbell Agency | Production: Vanessa Leigh

FASHION

EAST // WEST

WORDS + STYLING Toyo Tsuchiya PHOTOGRAPHY Edwin Tse [Toronto] Hubert Kang [Vancouver]

ADHESIF D A C E LIFETIME COLLECTIVE PINK MARTINI JUMA

For our fashion issue we have decided to go eastbound to toronto then westbound to vancouver. Since both of these cities are brimming with young and innovative fashion designers we have brought you our favourites from each city.

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Hair + Make-Up [Toronto] Shawna Lee TRESemmé Hair Care, judyinc.com, [Vancouver] Yasmin Morshedian TRESemmé Hair Care, judyinc.com Models [Toronto] Brett O and Rachel at Elmer Olsen [Vancouver] Katie G and Darya K at LizBell Agency and Andrew Y at Richard’s. Footwear [Vancouver] H&M, Footwear [Toronto] John Fluevog

FASHION DACE d a c e is one of Vancouverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s staple fashion design labels. The great thing about d a c e is that with every collection we can count on them to take us on mini-vacations from our lives. Whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spending a hot summer day at the cabin with their Spring 09 collection to entering a sophisticated equestrian event with their current Fall 09 collection, d a c e makes us feel like a traveler in our own closets. [www.dace.ca]

Vancouver

Photography by Hubert Kang

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FASHION ADHESIF Adhesif is a fashion label that thrives by using sustainable materials in its designs. Each collection takes us on a vintage journey, from the multiprint silk blouses of Spring 09 to their current Fall 09 collection of plaid blocked, fitted blazers with matching pillbox hats. Adhesif is perfect for the person who admires a vintage look that comes in modern designs. [www.adhesifclothing.com]

Vancouver

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Photography by Hubert Kang

FASHION LIFETIME COLLECTIVE Lifetime Collective are a fashion movement, from their beginning in 2002 producing graphic tees to today, with a full fashion collection for men and women. Their line has all the aspects a good streetwear line should have: artist series t-shirts, a design detailed clothing collection, gallery shows and finally books. Lifetime Collective give us something to wear, something to look at and something to read, which we always need more of. [www.lifetimecollective.com]

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FASHION Toronto

Photography by Edwin Tse

PINK MARTINI Pink Martini encompasses what a fashionable girl should wear. With fun, chunky sweaters, iconic t-shirts, embroidered boho dresses and draped knit dresses, they give us the sense that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s okay to be feminine and adventurous. Pink Martini is consistently coming out with new lines every season that give us choices on what to wear, even if the weather isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. [www.pinkmartinicollection.com]

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FASHION JUMA

Juma, a brother/sister team gives us a high-fashion take on ready-to-wear clothing for women and men. This line has intriguing design details that make us want more every time their new collection comes out. From their popular dropped crotch pants to untraditional blazers with tails. This line knows what is in store for fashion. So if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a person that has to be the first wearing the trend, you have found a new friend with Juma. [www.juma.ca]

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MOVIES Eli Roth

SWINGTIME FOR HITLER Words: Michael Mann

Screw objectivity. Eli Roth is awesome. He’s almost singlehandedly responsible for reinvigorating the horror genre back in 2002 with Cabin Fever. Yes, his directorial debut was an entertaining, lowbudget, gore and boobiefest. More importantly though, Cabin Fever was wickedly successful and let Hollywood studios know it was okay to make R-rated horror films again. Not one to fall victim to a sophomore slump, his follow-up was one of the most memorable and controversial films of our time: Hostel. Love it or hate it, Hostel is extremely slick and driven by a brilliant concept. Brutal and uncompromising, it’s a film you can’t forget, even though a lot of people wish they could. Taking an unpredictable next step in his career, Eli can be seen trying his hand at acting, starring alongside Brad Pitt in the new Quentin Tarantino WWII epic Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino (who produced Hostel and encouraged Eli to write it) brought him on as both an actor and as an unofficial “technical adviser” for all things Jewish in the script. He plays the part of Donny “The Bear Jew” Donowitz, a baseball bat-wielding member of an elite Allied Jewish squad who operate behind enemy lines on a mission to kill as many Nazis as possible. I sat down with Eli to talk about killing Nazis, acting, horror movies and, most importantly, his personal sense of style. Did you find beating Nazis with a baseball bat to be a satisfying experience? Watching it now it’s an extremely satisfying experience. But shooting it was really tough. I put on 40 pounds of muscle and bulked up.

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I believe it. I’ve seen you on the cover of Men’s Fitness magazine. Now I’ll be on the cover of Bear Monthly. I knew what was going to make the character connect with people was that look in his eye. You had to see this guy that was tormented and see that rage and know that he’s going to beat every Nazi to death that he comes across. To stir that up was really hard. It’s reliving the most painful moments of my life and bringing it all to the surface. At the end of the day, you just want to crawl in a hole and die. What’s more enjoyable: torturing backpackers or beating Nazis with a baseball bat? Torturing backpackers. No question. As you’re chopping up body parts, I just get happier and happier. You see it coming together and go, “Oh, the eye goo went perfect” and you can hear the audience screaming and throwing up. Is it a spoiler to tell people that you shoot Hitler in the face with a machine gun? Depends on what your definition of spoiler is. You can say that history is slightly altered in this fantastical version of what actually happened. But yeah, I give Hitler a bullet facial. You went RoboCop on him! I told Quentin, I wouldn’t just shoot Hitler. I would shoot him and then would stand over his face with a machine gun and unload bullets till I watched his head explode. That’s the only way I could be 100% certain that the motherfucker isn’t coming back. You star alongside Brad Pitt. Has he seen Hostel? Yes he has. He loved it.

Before the movie? No. His makeup artist Jean was a big horror movie fan and knew who I was. Quentin and Jean were saying to Brad, “You need to see Eli’s movies.” He knew I was a director but he’d never seen them. He came in one day and said “Roth, you bastard. Goddamnit you sick motherfucker. I was alone last night. Angie left and the kids were gone and I was alone in this house. I put on Hostel and it freaked the shit out of me. It was really disturbing.” Would it be fair to say you’ve never had lofty acting ambitions? Yes. It’s also fair to say that I do love and enjoy acting. But I don’t like it more than directing. Directing is my passion. My life’s dream is to direct. I’ve always wanted to dive into a part the way Peter Sellers does or the way Robert De Niro does but I never had a reason to. I was never interested in writing parts for myself. Quentin gave me a reason to. I knew how to act and I knew how to direct actors…I’ve done plenty of acting. Talking to the studio heads and pretending you’re interested in their ideas. That’s acting. The director has to be the best actor on set a lot of the time… acting like you don’t want to kill people. For real, not on camera. How do you pick your projects? In a strange way your projects choose you. The ideas that I write are the ideas that don’t let you sleep at night. Cabin Fever. I didn’t go to sleep because I was going so crazy that I hadn’t made it yet. It was going “Don’t forget about me. Don’t forget about me.” Same thing with Hostel. You have an idea you’re in love with and it doesn’t

let you sleep. Now that I’m in a position, financially, that I can do whatever I want I do a lot of things for the fun of it. Like writing the liner notes for [the obscure Italian horror movie] Cat in the Brain. Or doing a cameo at the wet t-shirt contest in Piranha 3-D. Even Inglourious Basterds. You’re not doing it for money, you’re doing it for the incredible experience. Vampires seem to have overtaken torture movies as the popular horror genre. Thoughts? Things go in cycles. I remember when Interview with the Vampire was the big movie. That took over and vampires were brooding and emotional. I remember angels took over for a while. City of Angels.

Werewolves took over for a while. Powertools was a big one. Everything goes in cycles. I think the thing that’s important is to continually create and reinvent genres that keep audiences excited and going to the movies. Right now you have a whole wave of teenage girls that are so excited for Twilight and they’re gonna go see all three of these movies. But then, someone’s gonna come along with a violent and much darker vampire movie. Those girls are going to be 18/19/20 and they’re gonna want to see that. I think it’s great that it keeps the horror genre alive. It’s good for all of us. Finally, this is for our fall fashion issue. I was hoping you could

talk about your personal style a bit and maybe give a few tips? Yes. Try to keep it simple. I like to look stylish because now I can afford nice clothes. I think people expect me to show up looking kind of like Marilyn Manson. They’re almost oddly confused and disappointed when I show up in Hugo Boss, Prada and Burberry. Hugo Boss, Prada and Burberry: Are those your go-to lines? Yeah, definitely. Prada’s a little slim. Calvin Klein looks good on me. There’s certain designers that work really well for me that use simple black colours. I’ve tried introducing blue. That’s been my new colour.

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MUSIC

ELECTRIK FEEL Words: Kellen Powell

Photography: Meg Bourne

Love and Electrik

I meet up with Love & Electrik on a Friday afternoon on Granville Street, the main strip of Vancouver’s nightlife industry. Our destination is one of the last vestiges of a seedier, less-commercial Downtown Vancouver, a filthy arcade sandwiched in between a pizza-by-the-slice place and the Vogue Theatre. I have a bottle of whiskey and five dollars in quarters. They arrive with their entourage, managers Jeff Herrara and Aidan Wright from The Hastings Set, ready to go. We are so punk. Roxy Aiston, the band’s vocalist, immediately zeroes in on a Playboy pinball machine and I spy a Street Fighter II Turbo arcade. We are going to be taking photos and drinking whiskey in this arcade. I am hopeful that we will cause enough of a ruckus to get kicked out. When I ask Kevin Mah, the duo’s keyboardist and producer, if he plays Street Fighter, he says, “Of course. Street Fighter, man, I’m Asian. I used to wander around causing trouble and hanging out in 7/11s playing arcades.” He loses in the first round to a character I don’t remember being in the original game. He points out that this is shameful and I agree. We decide to play another version of Street Fighter, which includes Marvel Comics characters and I tell him I am going to destroy him. I don’t. Instead I get my ass handed to me and figure that it’s time for me to try and get these folks drunk. The duo is in high spirits. They recently had their single “Sex Video” signed to Tremendous Records, a new strictly digital label announced by Chris Taylor of Last Gang Records that is to be handled by DJ GrandTheft (of the Team Canada DJ duo). And just yesterday they found out they are about to embark on a Red Bull sponsored tour across Canada with 18 dates… their first shows outside of Vancouver. “It’s still kind of sinking in, we’re just absorbing it. It’s a dream come true! We’ll probably get a little nervous in the weeks coming up to it but we’ll still be working our asses off to get ready,” Kevin tells me. “It’s funny because we’ve had so much support from people in Vancouver. All the DJs and style setters are speaking so highly of us and coming to all our shows and there’s so much support that we almost feel like a sports team that has to represent Vancouver. People want to see us do well and that’s part of what pushes us.”

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“There’s this thing we know about called singularity. ”

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Their manager has warned me in advance that they’re lightweights and also warns me against encouraging them to drink dark liquors. There is a certain glee in his voice when he tells me this, which I interpret as encouragement. We play more arcades and drink whiskey and work on causing trouble, but as it turns out it’s really hard to get kicked out of a sleazy old arcade on Granville street. Roxy beats Kevin at Virtua Cop, a shooting game from the early Nineties. They also ride doubles on a motorbike game with a sign that specifically says ‘one rider only.’ They figure it’ll look “awesome” and it totally does. Once it becomes clear none of us is brazen enough to get kicked out, we go outside to where my editor and the band’s managers are hanging out. On the way to a nearby park, they mention that they really want to talk about The Hastings Set and this guy Chin Injeti. “It’s a collective,” Kevin says. “It revolves around music, but there’s a lot more than that. There’s artists involved, there’s photographers involved and a lot of dancers. It started out as a party scene because of Chin’s involvement but it’s also a recording studio and has grown into becoming this artist management thing with lots of ambitions for the future.” Although they have been making music together for almost seven years the band seems to credit Chin with their ‘discovery.’ Chin—who is not present at the interview—seems to be an almost mythic creature. The band and their Hastings Set colleagues speak of him with affection and reverence. They insist that he be mentioned in the article. The Toronto native and current Vancouver/L.A transplant was a founding member of the Juno award winning group Bass is Base, has won multiple Canadian music awards and currently works producing tracks for big name American acts like Dr. Dre, Nas and Busta Rhymes as well as Canadian home town heroes like Hot Hot Heat and Bedouin Soundclash. He is attributed with “spearheading” The Hastings Set and seems to be a central figure in everyone’s hopes. Roxy explains meeting him: “I became friends with Chin on Facebook and we put out this mixtape and our friend Nina Mendoza blogged about it and next thing we knew we got this message from him and he said that he was a big fan of ours and he loved our stuff and he invited us to play at a party. We had no idea what The Hastings Set was at that time but eventually the ball got rolling, we played the party and that was the night that we got accepted in.” “It was our first Love & Electrik show,” Kevin adds. “We had changed our name and it was the first time we went on stage with our brand new

concept, our new look and new style and we were honestly surprised by the response we got. It was the first time we had that feeling that we were on to something.” Jeff Herrera remembers that party well; “I was working by the elevator—it was an underground party in, like, the basement of an office building and I was busy making sure it didn’t get shut down and I remember hearing them and being like, ‘Woah, what is this?’ I think we all were… Then Chin invited them to the studio.” At this point we drink a little more whiskey because I’m committed to the idea of being a crazy, out there, gonzo rock journalist and they are committed to being rockstars. When police officers walk by we get a little nervous and I move my bag in front of the bottle. We are dorks. We cannot even get kicked out of an arcade. “We’re big science fiction geeks,” Kevin tells me. “There’s this thing we know about called singularity. A lot of people think that’s where we’re going as human beings in the future. We see technology surpassing us already but the idea is that we shouldn’t be afraid of the machine taking over us, because we’re going to grow with it and its going to help us live longer and become a part of us.” Kevin calls this Tech Shui and it’s an idea that Love & Electrik try to bring to their music. Even their name Love & Electrik implies this principle. Roxy eleaborates: “Love being the organic side, and Electrik being obviously the more technology driven side and kind of fusing the two together. Kevin’s such a mastermind with technology and I’m kind of this girly girl that has a big beautiful heart.” At this point I feel it’s pertinent to remind them that Roxy is better at Virtua Cop. Kevin ignores this comment. “I’m a producer first and keyboard player second. Her thing is very organic with a sexy voice and this persona that she brings. Just kind of fusing those two.” It’s around this time that Kevin takes off to work. He asks my advice on modes of transport because he has eight minutes to get to the other side of downtown. I tell him to run because a cab will go slower in downtown traffic. He hugs Roxy and shakes my hand, asks her for money for smokes and takes off running. Sitting for a while longer with Jeff, Roxy, Aidan and my editor, I decide that I like The Hastings Set and Love and Electrik and that I want them all to do well. They probably will. [loveandelectrik.wordpress.com]

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MUSIC Sally Shapiro

A LIFE LESS ORDINARY Words: Nojan Aminosharei

She answers the phone with a chirp and a lie. “This is Sally!” she says, in that cheery Swedish accent that suddenly makes the air brisk and the daylight blonde. But Sally isn’t her name. Not right now, at least. Sally Shapiro is the moniker she uses when she becomes the Italo disco princess that released 2006’s Disco Romance, an album of equal parts dreamy and dancey Eighties-inspired pop tunes. On the phone, she is but a humble office worker in the Swedish town of Lund (she’s never divulged her real name). For the last year, Sally (for lack of a better name) has been furtively working on her second album, My Guilty Pleasure, and slowly narrowing the gap between the woman she is on the album and the woman she is now on the phone. Sally Shapiro began as a calculated throwback to Europe’s disco scene in the early Eighties, when “Valerie Dole” rose to fame, a fabricated identity with the eccentric style of Italian model Monica Stucchi and the voice Dora Carofiglio. (she reappeared in the mid-Eighties entirely under Stucchi’s voice and image.) But the homage didn’t end with alias. Even Disco Romance’s cover art was purposefully (and painfully) Eighties, with stark colours, cartoon stars and Sally Shapiro’s name stamped in a stripped down Circus Circus font. From top to bottom, Sally Shapiro was an Italo disco revival act. In on the joke, but serious about the material, she was lauded for mining deeply into an old, underground genre. But the question remained of whether she could strike gold again with My Guilty Pleasure.

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Illustration: Tyler Quarles

“I really like this album! When we made the first album, we wanted everything to be in the Eighties. Now we’re free to take from other styles,” Sally says from the apartment of her friend and producer Johan Agebjörn. Agebjörn normally produces ambient electronic tracks, while Sally’s tastes skew towards bubbly indie pop. Both sounds—along with a little house, maybe a touch of R&B—pervade throughout the otherwise longing and spacey Italo disco trademark to become something both nostalgic and new. “The album is a mix of our tastes,” says Sally. In fact, Agebjörn and his ingénue are two colliding circles of a Venn diagram, and from where they meet sprang Sally Shapiro. The two met in 2001 doing administrative work in an “ordinary office.” (“Ordinary” is a word that Sally uses a lot. She has an ordinary job, in an ordinary office. Nothing like the extraordinary, otherworldly dreamscape of her albums.) For years they had a quiet, if not professional, rapport until they began exchanging mix tapes, spurred by some long-forgotten debate. “I know I started it,” says Sally, “but I don’t really know why!” Agebjörn was surprised to find Italo disco tracks in the mix, but it was something Shapiro had grown up listening to. “It was the thing they always played on the radio and I listened lots to the radio,” she says, “I sat down and taped everything on those listens.” It was Christmastime when Agebjörn first heard Sally’s singing voice. Together with a few friends and neighbours, the group sang Christmas

carols around a piano. (“Because it’s fun!” says Sally. “Because it’s Christmas!”) Agebjörn noticed that Sally had the soft and sentimental voice of Italo disco stars Dore and Katy Gray, something she had developed singing in childhood choirs. “But he didn’t tell me,” says Sally. “Later, when he had written ‘I’ll Be By Your Side,’ he asked me to sing on it.” The two had no intention of releasing the song, which eventually became Disco Romance’s opening track, until Agebjörn posted it online and found an overwhelmingly positive response. “The first album was so unexpected,” says Sally, “since we wrote one track, and people liked it. Then we wrote some others and it became an album.” If the story sounds reductive, or “ordinary,” perhaps it’s because of Sally’s pressure-shy modesty. Though the project began as a group sing-along, neither Agebjörn nor any of Sally’s fans have seen her sing the songs from her repertoire. “It’s okay singing Christmas carols just for fun,” she says. “It doesn’t have to sound so good.” Agebjörn has never even seen her record their tracks, which she does in his apartment studio—after kicking him out. “He just leaves the apartment,” she says with a lilting laugh, “It’s better than just in the other room.” (The only time Agebjörn ever broke Sally’s proviso ended with a tongue-lashing that the two still laugh about. “It’s a pretty nice recording. I still have it,” says Shapiro between peppered chuckles, “I sound so hurt! I stopped singing and yelled, “You shouldn’t be here! Why are you in here?!’”)

Though Sally has never sung live, she and Agebjörn performed a series of DJ sets earlier this year—something she is not keen to repeat. “I don’t really like that lifestyle of touring around,” she says, “I want to have a home and to be there.” Still, the sets gave her the first opportunity to meet some of her fans, and come to some revelations. “It was nice to meet the fans and to realize that they are just normal, nice people—and not scary!” She laughs. “It was a surprise. It shouldn’t be, but it was.” That Sally Shapiro exists in the Italo disco tradition of dual identities is at its very least, fortuitous. With two full-lengths (and two more remix albums in between) full of lovelorn pop songs and post-party wistfulness, it’s easier for the listener to follow the mythical woman and her many loves without expecting Sally herself to be a Dancing Queen. But with the second album and growing fame, more people in Sally’s first life have uncovered her second. “I haven’t told them, ‘You can’t say Sally is me,’” she says, “Everybody just thinks it’s funny, so they don’t say anything. But maybe it will come out eventually.” [My Guilty Pleasure is out now on Paper Bag]

MUSIC

REVIEWS

The Almighty Defenders [S/T] Girls [Album] The Hidden Cameras [Origin:Orphan] The Raveonettes [In And Out Of Control]

[1] The Almighty Defenders S/T Vice Look deep into my cobra. Now here, take this crushed velvet sack of broken instruments and opium bagels, go into the garage and make Mama Vice some magic. And so it went for two of said record label’s finest. The Black Lips have joined forces with tickle-trunk twosome The King Kahn & BBQ Show (aka Mark Sultan and Blacksnake) for The Almighty Defenders. Written, recorded and mixed in one week, the result is a new indie superalbum of the same name, a stew of the best ingredients from both parties. With jams like “All My Loving” that light a stick of boogie and shove it straight up your bungus, to softer melodies like “Bow Down and Die” that drool out a desperate plead, “does he hold you like I hold you?” Together the six wizards are channeling the restless ghosts of Jerry Lee, Little Richard and The Falcons in this great bigamous marriage of Fifties doo-wop, punk and Seventies genitalia psychedelia. What is that exactly? This album. Four out of five tambourines. —Jules Moore [2] Girls Album True Panther If Phil Spector had his way with Elvis Costello he would take away all of his shoes but tell him he could leave if he wanted to. Elvis would have no choice but to stay. He would be sad. He would write slow songs about getting away to a better place. Phil would care in his own way, he would make sure that Elvis had very nice things and he would never pull a gun. But Elvis would never be happy. He would sit alone on the cold floor in Phil’s

cavernous mansion and write songs to the echoes in the hallway. His own voice would be his audience. Phil would come home from a long day at the studio and pause standing at the front door, just listening. He would later record those songs and it would come to be known as “Elvis’ Sound.” The Beach Boys and the Beatles would want “Elvis’ Sound” and they would try, but they would never really truly get it. They just weren’t sad enough. —Hayz Fisher [3] The Hidden Cameras Origin:Orphan Arts & Crafts I found the perfect soundtrack for sitting at the Incheon Airport, waiting to fly home. Origin: Orphan starts with a long, ominous hum which builds into pounding drums and strings and Joel Gibb’s dramatic vocals messing around a bit and then fading away. The song feeds my teary nostalgia for events that have happened even just this past summer. But before I take out the barf bag to get deathly homesick for gay men and blissed out 2 a.m. bike rides, “In the Na” pipes in and I’m okay. “Colour of a Man” could definitely be made into a Korean traditional flute anthem. The beautiful “do do do’s” in the choruses? I could very well be on the KTX going through the lush, green mountainside right now. “Do I Belong?” gives me a spring for my step as I walk to the gate and it’s perfect for remembering why I can’t wait for home: “waking up with you beside me, how can I go wrong?” The “wa-ooh-wa-ooh-wa-ooh’s” in “Underage” and the low little bits of (ha!) “The Little Bit”, and the rollicking

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lullaby of “Silence Can be a Headline” end this lovely record so well. I’m again feeling wistful, but happy. —Natalie Vermeer [4] The Raveonettes In And Out Of Control Vice The Raveonettes have always made records that were easily the best records put out by anybody that year, but an eyelash away from being a perfect ten. If a listener were to criticize their previous efforts, the one thing, the ONLY thing that could be said on the unhappy side of them was that maybe the albums sounded like they were one big movement, rather than treating each song individually. This isn’t always the worst possible idea, but particular fans may grow tired of the concept. Well, congratulations are in order for the Danish duo. They finally did it. They made their forever record. They’ve grabbed the music world by both ears, and made the best rock record possible. When Sharin Foo says “Fuckers” right before the chorus of “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)” try not to punch something with excitement and anger. The song “D.R.U.G.S.” marks the only time in contemporary music where the listener will actually put THE VERSE on repeat. Choke back tears during the album’s finale “Wine” and curse out loud that “Bang” wasn’t released in the summer, because in a summer devoid of the elusive “summer hit,” we all could have used that particular number. Thank you Sune and Sharin. You’ve pitched a perfect game. —Trevor Risk

Taken By Trees [East of Eden] TV Heart Attack [Lost In The Sway] Various Artists [The National Parks - A Film By Ken Burns OST] Yo La Tengo [Popular Songs]

[5] Taken By Trees East of Eden Rough Trade Victoria Bergsman, the woman we know as the girl in Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks,” has put out a kind of ‘Indian’ themed album under her solo project, Taken By Trees. Although her voice is definitely beautiful on every track, the record is mostly kind of lame. Listening to East of Eden makes you ask questions—questions like: “Is this supposed to be good?” or “Why am I listening to children repeatedly chanting something I don’t understand?” While the combination of sounds and instruments of an unfamiliar nature creates a setting of maybe… Pakistan (where the album was recorded), it also sometimes sounds really distant. Like the unreachable tabla! Perhaps the only familiar aspect of the record is her cover of Animal Collective’s “My Girls” (turned into “My Boys”) which is kind of cute. Aside from that, this album will only satisfy those who frequent trendy, nouveau-Indian restaurants and those who want to be satisfied. —Stefana Fratila [6] TV Heart Attack Lost In The Sway Thorny Bleeder My immediate reaction to Lost in the Sway is one of nostalgia, which is weird because I’ve never heard TV Heart Attack before. I imagine an alternate and timeless reality where I do my grade six math homework while listening to CHEZ 106 in Ottawa. They’re playing a superset with Terrence Trent D’arby, Midnight Oil and a U2 track off War but my pencil stops being for learning and starts being for air drums when “A O” comes on … then it’s back to fractions. Meanwhile back in this reality “The

Ghost Inside” spends four minutes in that perfect straight swing beat pioneered by Bonham (think bridge from “Dazed and Confused”) and shined up and sold to the masses by Three Doors Down’s “Kryptonite”. TV Heart Attack would have been a fantastic radio band when radio was relevant and if they’re not right now it’s radio’s fault (and loss). Six songs in 20 minutes is smart, there is no room for filler, there is no time to become unfocused; this record is what it is from start to finish. I also really like “Wolves” but don’t have room to say anything witty about it. —Bix Brecht [7] Various Artists The National Parks - A Film By Ken Burns OST National Parks Film Project Ken Burns is prolific. His documentaries captivate and educate, and in his productions he uses some of the best in the business. These are true musicians, dedicated to their craft, producing wonderful music and some of the cleanest mandolin tremolo I’ve ever heard. Unfortunately, folk music gets slept on, maybe that’s because it’s so honest. You feel the humanity in the music, you catch yourself making profound statements about the good ‘ole days when, “a man could stand tall, knowing that his sweat and tears were feeding the ground on which he walked.” See it was a simpler time then, a nation newly formed struggling to find its identity, while becoming a place of refuge for dreamers. If there is such a thing as strength, America (‘Murica’?) made its own. And the locals? Well, “we gave ‘em

about as much choice as a fiddle in a fire. A man had three things to eat: beef, beans, and his own soul. On the bright side this is God’s country, our country, our God, our hopes, our dreams, our ‘Murica.” —Dr. Ian Super [8] Yo La Tengo Popular Songs Matador If birds of a feather fly together, then the Hoboken-based trio of Yo La Tengo has stuck around for 20 years and over 12 albums by their willingness to ruffle their own feathers and see what comes out. Returning from their migration as soundtrack scorists, their new Popular Songs reminds us why we’ve always loved these genre-hoppers: the LP is neither scattershot nor measured; it’s simply a jam of what the group can and wants to play. The ambient “Here to Fall” becomes the indie-rock sucker punch “Nothing to Hide,” the Motown wink “If It’s True” becomes the 11-minute lulling of “The Fireside,” before the dissonant shredding of 16-minute closer “And the Glitter is Gone.” It’s sweet, raucous, and fun, and it’s always pitch perfect, no matter which way the wind blows. —Nojan Aminosharei

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POSTER ART Garret Egles Twenty-five-year-old Garret Egles’ posters are disgusting. Not Cannibal Corpse-disgusting, but pretty gross. This style may be considered pretty off-putting when it’s shoved in your face by a crackhead while in the undesirable quadrant of your city, but when it’s used to promote handsup, wild parties, it proves effective. “Overall I would say it’s generally bloody as hell with some kind of gnarly cartoon gore,” Garret states about his style, “but with posters I try to do something a little different than what I normally like to draw while still keeping some sort of style continuity to them. I definitely take a lot of influence from old Eighties trash metal artwork, comic books and cartoons/movies I grew up watching.” His “bloody as hell” artwork can be enjoyed at: [www.garretegles.blogspot.com]

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HOROSCOPES THIS MONTH: Cameron MacLeod is Human, man. He is one of the Comedy Curators for Olio Festival, host of The HERO show at the Biltmore Cabaret on the first Tuesday of every month and a cornerstone of the sketch group ManHussy. He is also a fortune teller. [www.manhussy.com] [www.sleepequipment.blogspot.com]

Aquarius: You are like a floating Esso gas station located on a lake. Boats use you to refill their tanks before heading back out for more non-stop water sports action. You’re charming. People without boats look at you from the shore and daydream about what it would be like to be onboard, but they can’t help thinking how awesome it would look if you were to explode. Pisces: Many challenges lie ahead. First, a grueling six-course, gourmet meal, made by the professionals at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Served with a Texas mickey of sambuca, you will be expected to take a shot after every bite of chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad or coleslaw. The bottle must be finished. If you survive and refrain from vomiting, you will win a free meal at the fabulous Applebee’s. Aries: The following is a list of things that could prove to be harmful or fatal to you this month if you should come in contact with them. A knife. A zombie. A spandex leotard. A towering inferno. A tank. A pair of Oakley sunglasses. Or a zombie with a knife in its teeth, who is driving a tank out of a towering inferno, while wearing Oakley sunglasses and a spandex leotard.

Taurus: Hey! You feelin’ a little down this month? Feelin’ like your socks are always wet, you have a saggy ass and your face looks like a half eaten Big Mac? Do yourself a favour. Go rent the movie Lars and the Real Girl, watch it and then go beat the shit out of a mannequin at Sears. Gemini: “Although we’ve come to the end of the road, still I can’t let you go. It’s unnatural. You belong to me. I belong to you...You love me again like you loved me before. This time I want you to love me much more. This time instead, just come to my bed, and baby just don’t let me down.” - Boyz II Men. SERIOUSLY! DON’T LET ME DOWN! Cancer: “How can I prepare?” you must ask yourself. Should I jump off the tallest building in the world? Should I lay on the lawn and let them run over me with lawnmowers? Should I go to Africa and let them trample me with raging elephants? Aaaaaaaah! You can feel it! Load the spaceship with rocket fuel! Load the spaceship with warriors! Leo: This month treat yourself. Buy an overpriced cowboy hat and a brand new, bright yellow, Ford F-350 pickup truck, with Dually wheels. Smoke as many cigars as you can and find yourself a hot wife

who likes to hang out in your dress shirts while she drinks bottles of champagne on your marble staircase at home. Enjoy country music. Virgo: I know you’ve been thinking about getting involved in some burglaries around town. I also know you love classic style burglar masks. But if you choose to burgle, just remember one thing: while burgling is fun, it is dangerous. The fact that you can’t eat a hamburger without spilling on your shirt probably won’t help either. Libra: September finds you focusing on numbers. Digits if you will. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, long division, Sudoku, calculators, telephone key pads, speed limits and people’s height. Don’t trust the tall man. He only wants you for your face. Keep your jowls tight and the midget army at bay.

Sagittarius: Well, well, well. Look who’s come crawling back. I didn’t think I’d see you around the rink after you stole my bike ramp and pawned it to buy that wicker furniture for your aunt’s gazebo. Did she love that crap furniture as much as I loved jumping my bike off of that homemade ramp? Probably not. PS. I heard your aunt’s a bitch. Capricorn: A stranger is going to do something nice for you, but you must allow them to do it. It may seem like they are trying to scam you at first. They might seem untrustworthy. It might be because of their dreadlocks or the fact that they refuse to wear shoes. But when they go in to openmouth kiss you, just go with it.

Scorpio: Go have some sex. Now! I don’t care if you just had sex, rolled over, picked up this magazine and turned to this page; go have some sex. Be late for work and be honest about it. Say, “Sorry I’m late, but I was just having sex on the hood of an IROC...in the rain.” Chances are, you’ll get the rest of the day off.

ION 47

COMICS

DINOSAUR COMICS BY RYAN NORTH

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