March 2020 | Issue 56 | The Sound by thesoundstc

MARCH 2020, ISSUE 56 • WHAT'S WRONG IS EVERYWHERE SINCE JUNE 2015 • FREE!!!

ThE SOUND T Enti he Alm rely o Ima st gine Bon d J Mus ovi ical

LUMEN: LOST PASSAGES x WEVE GOT EACH OTHER THE ALMOST ENTIRELY IMAGINED MUSICAL City of St. Catharines

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THIS MONTH'S CONTRIBUTORS Thank you, we love you!

Jenny Arndt Patrick Crummey Karissa Fast Bart Gazzola Matt Harley Lindsay Hatch Chris Illich Marinko Jareb Melissa Morlacchetti Kate Notwell Sheldon Rooney Tim Stacey Arih Struger-Kalkman David Suzuki James Takeo Bob Vandervalk Adam White Joan Wiley Cover Image: A mashup of the video game Lumen: Lost Passages with We've Got Each Other: An Almost Entirely Imagined Musical

Most major cities in Canada and around the world have an alternative paper that covers the culture of their city or region, but few have the thriving arts scene, vibrant entrepeneurs and paper-worthy stories that our region has to offer. In addition to our monthly paper, thesound.rocks posts fresh and exclusive content on our website. If you like what you see on these pages, write to us, write for us, join the conversation online, tell your friends, tell your parents, tell your boss, tell anyone. C’mon. The Sound STC a locally owned city magazine. It was was founded in April 2015 by Chris Illich. The Sound is published monthly and 4,500 copies are distributed free of charge through more than 200 locations in the Niagara region. The contents in The Sound STC are those of the writer, and do not reflect the views of The Sound STC.

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IS IT TIME FOR CANADA 2.0? SHIT OR GET OFF THE PUMP BY PATRICK CRUMMEY

For as long as I can remember, there have been jokes about the issue of Canadian identity. From Canadian Bacon with Jon Candy, to Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas slinging back stubbies in Strange Brew, we've become comfortable in our cliches. To some extent, there's nothing wrong with having a good laugh at oneself. The issue is that we've rarely taken the conversation beyond jokes, and a superficial grasp of what Canada is, or could be. Over the course of the last month, our identity as a country has been brought into sharp focus. At issue, the relationship between energy development and climate change, and Canada's ongoing struggle toward reconciliation with indigenous communities. On January 5, Wet'suwet'en chiefs issued an eviction order to the RCMP and Coastal Gas Link to get off Wet'suwet'en territory. Many Canadians were left scratching their heads – didn't the communities agree to the project? Well, yes and no. The Wet'suwet'en band councils agreed, the hereditary chiefs did not. What's the difference? The band councils are elected and represent the reserves, the chiefs are unelected and represent the larger picture of Wet'suwet'en territory and authority. The process of consultation did not allow for this difference. Herein lies an element of Canada long shoved to the back burner – the role of indigenous communities. People looking to the situation with the Wet'suwet'en may quickly come to the conclusion that much of the current protest is more to do with internal band politics than Canada writ-large. To some extent, there is some truth to this.

It will be for the Wet'suwet'en to determine their own governance, and whose voice yields how much authority. However, Canada is a country that has developed it's institutional structures largely absent any indigenous voice. What is happening across Canada, the rail blockades, is simply that voice beginning to insert itself into the conversation. The sad part, is that if Canadians opposed to the rail blockades were to hold a conference on the matter, ten bucks says they start it off with a land acknowledgement – cause that's about as much reconciliation as most people can handle. In addition to a lack of understanding of indigenous communities, is a failure to understand the issues at play when it comes to further energy development and climate change. The conversation around energy development has been framed, especially in Alberta, as oil production being absolutely necessary for long term economic viability. The truth is far different. Those arguing against further investment in Canada's oil production are not all left-wing, Bernie-loving, granola-eating radicals. Some of them have names like JP Morgan, and Canada's former bank governor (now head of the Bank of England) Mark Carney. As Scott Gilmore pointed out his recent MacClean's piece, it's not that investors are shy of investing in Canadian oil, they're shy of investing in oil – period. Increasing concerns over climate change, and oil prices not predicted to return to north of $80/ barrel means major investors are looking for the exits when it comes to fossil fuels.

Cabinet MPs in Ottawa breathed a collective sigh of relief when Teck Resources pulled the plug on their proposed development in Northern Alberta, and saved politicians in Ottawa from having to make a decision. Teck's CEO, Don Lindsay, cited a lack of coherent climate policy as creating an environment that made the project impossible. He's right. He may have also run the numbers. Teck's initial proposal was based on oil at $95/barrel. At $50/barrel, the Frontier mine project fails the basic profit litmus test for development. Although Donny left out the bit about economic viability, he was spot-on when it came to Canada getting it's shit together on the climate file. At the moment, conservative parties at both the federal and provincial levels are fighting tooth-and-nail against any proposed carbon price. While Alberta's Jason Kenny recently celebrated an Alberta court ruling that stated a federally imposed carbon price would be a breach of provincial sovereignty, even executives like Don Lindsay are saying it would be the best way to reel in emissions. The issue at the core of the partisan politics is a lack of leadership – at all levels of government. Last fall's election, 'a miss on an empty net', made clear the Conservative party is off-track, and things aren't looking like they are about to clear up. The conservative leadership race is turning into a coronation for Peter McKay. Without a fulsome internal debate, conservatives are robbing themselves of the opportunity to discuss, in depth, issues like energy, climate, and yes, reconciliation. Instead, it seems the party leaders are willing to play the role of climate deniers in the hopes enough of their base hold fast. In the meantime, such short-sighted partisan strategy will only continue to polarize the discussion on all issues central to the future of this country. What's needed is leadership. Ottawa needs to lay out a comprehensive plan to overhaul Alberta's (and the rest of Canada's) dependence on fossil fuels. Carbon pricing is a key tool that can and should be used, but it can not be the only element in the equation. At the moment, carbon pricing is all many Albertans are hearing about. What they need to hear is how they will still have jobs, be able to get training for a new economy, and be able to pay their bills. We also need institutional reform. In addition to electoral reform, we need a serious discussion on a Nation-to-Nation relationship with Canada's indigenous communities. Ottawa and provincial governments need to stop playing zero-sum politics with First Nations and other indigenous groups. It's time for those who were here first to have a real stake in this thing called Canada – even if that means this thing called Canada has to change. In the end, cake is an either/or deal. You can't eat it AND have it. Canada can no longer rely on an oil driven energy sector to produce good paying jobs and long term stability – especially as concerns around climate change continue to grow. Leaders can no longer maintain the pretence that climate change targets can be met while oil production and emissions increase. Importantly, our current governance structures, and decision making frameworks, need to be brought into line with articulated goals for indigenous reconciliation. The current ad-hoc consultation process is not enough. It's tearing indigenous communities apart, and causing disagreement from coast to coast to coast. To put it simply, it's time for Canada 2.0.

WHAT DO WE DO WHEN OUR HOME IS ON FIRE? BY DAVID SUZUKI Successive Australian governments have denied or downplayed the existence and risks of humancaused climate disruption. There, coal is king. In our outdated economic systems, short-term jobs and financial indicators mean more to politicians than keeping the planet habitable for human life! The worst bushfires in Australia’s history have consumed more than 11 million hectares, killing dozens of people and more than a billion animals, displacing many more, and destroying thousands of homes. While the fires rage on, smoke chokes the air and coral reefs bleach and die, Australia’s leaders are touting development of yet another huge coal mine, the Adani Carmichael mega-mine in Queensland, designed to produce 2.3 billion tonnes over 60 years of mostly low-quality, high-ash coal. Australia’s fires cover an area 15 times larger than those in the Amazon, which are also bad. More than 30 years ago, my wife Tara and I, along with others, worked with the Kayapo in Brazil to help protect their traditional territory in the rainforest from development. Together, we convinced the World Bank to pull funding for a massive dam system, which put the project on hold. As Brazil’s economy improved and World Bank money was no longer needed, the project went ahead under a new name. Flooding is just one threat to this precious forest. Clearing and burning to make way for

agriculture and industrial development are also fuelling rapid destruction. Some call the Amazon the “lungs of the world,” because the rainforest breathes in carbon and exhales oxygen. Canada is home to what some call the “northern lungs” – the boreal forest stretching from Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador, covering 55 per cent of Canada’s land mass. The amount of oxygen forests produce is difficult to calculate and often exaggerated, but there’s no doubt forests are important for human survival. The boreal is also under threat from rapid development and global heating. As with recent massive wildfires elsewhere, climate change is increasing the boreal fire season and fuelling intense burning over larger areas than ever – regardless of whether fires are set by lightning, arsonists or sparks from machinery or a train wheel. Warmer winters have also facilitated the spread of tree-destroying insects like mountain pine beetles that cold winters once kept in check. Intact forests produce oxygen and provide many other services beneficial to humans.

They sequester carbon, which helps regulate global temperatures. They prevent runoff, slides and flooding. They maintain and filter water. They provide food and other necessities for people, and habitat for plants and animals. In the midst of its fires, Australia has been hit by extreme weather events, including terrifying massive dust storms, battering hail and flood-producing torrential rains. Smoke from the fires is also a potent greenhouse gas. So, as a heating planet causes more forests to burn, the fires release even more carbon into the atmosphere, creating feedback loops that accelerate warming. What will it take for politicians and others to listen? As Greta Thunberg warns, our home is on fire. It will get worse if we fail to change our ways, quickly. But politicians and industry keep expanding fossil fuel development, trying to cash in before markets fall in the face of better alternatives and climate chaos. Our economic systems still run on endless growth and consumerism, creating unconscionable waste and devastation. We judge how well the economy is performing in part by how quickly we are tearing up the world.

It makes no sense. Why is Australia going ahead with a massive coal mine? Why is Canada considering approving a 24,000-hectare open-pit oilsands mine, the Teck Frontier project in Northern Alberta? Why is the U.S. reversing environmental protections and facilitating fossil fuel expansion? Haven’t they heard we’re facing a global crisis the likes of which we’ve never experienced? Or do they just not care? Are money and power really more important to them than the health and wellbeing of citizens and the future of our children and grandchildren? We’re not being held back by a lack of solutions – there are plenty existing and more being developed. We’re hostage to a lack of political will and imagination. Wake up humanity! All that money and power won’t mean anything if we destroy our only home. David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Editor and Writer Ian Hanington.

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HISTORY REPEATING: We Were Taught Differently BY BART GAZZOLA

“If I were appointed by the Dominion Government for the express purpose of spreading tuberculosis, there is nothing finer in existence than the average Indian residential school.” (The Indian Affairs Superintendent, 1948) It is synchronicity, if you will, that We Were Taught Differently: The Indian Residential School Experience is on display at the Welland Museum right now, until the middle of April 2020. As I write this, that wonderfully incisive and accurate image of a Canadian Flag, upside down, with the black (in tone and tenor) text 'Reconciliation Is Dead' is appropriately proliferate, in media both print and social. The latest confrontation regarding Canada's history — and present — of Indigenous and non – Indigenous relations is flaring up, and for those of my age whom remember Oka, it seems that nothing has changed, even the rhetoric. I mean this both in the hollow platitudes from one group, and the bald calls for violence from another. On that sometimes informative, sometimes vile, space of Twitter, one person commented that some #ReformCon politician describing the violent interaction between 'yellow vests' and Wet'suwet'en supporters as 'just removing garbage' was not a new phrase for Indigenous to hear in Canada, as they — as evidenced repeatedly in the residential school system — were / are / sadly, will be, I fear, considered 'detritus' or 'garbage' to be 'removed.' The last federal election, where the 'debate' about 'Indigenous' issues was all about pipelines and resource extraction, was a low point of the

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whole affair (even worse than Scheer's cowardice re: comparing many Canadians to dogs, but then again, his call for violence re: the Wet'suwet'en is unsurprising for someone who's dogmatic religious cult is the one, in We Were Taught Differently, that isn't listed as having apologized for their role in cultural genocide. If you consider that when Charlie Angus called for a proper apology from the 'Pope', Scheer assembled a passell of Catholic 'leaders' — several of whom are under indictment or investigation for aiding and abetting serial child rape — to say that wasn't 'necessary.' So, his 'rule of law' hypocrisy is unsurprising... and not new). Let me return to the display at Welland Museum, but via this testimonial, to touch back to Scheer and his ilk: “Those who suffered sexual abuse are the ones still drinking, if they haven't already fallen through the cracks. The anger is varied. Everyone has their own approach to dealing with this horrible legacy.” Those are the words of Garnet Angeconeb, emblazoned on one of the many large material panels that are spread through the space. There are the words of survivors here, and there's also a video, off to the side, that's necessary to listen to, and experience. It's as hopeful as it is horrifying. One of the people speaking is Jeff Thomas, a significant artist who's practice has been one that's very much about legacy and cultural identity. He's a Governor General award winning artist, but I remember speaking with him years ago about his work, and how his son was intrinsic to the process, and how he wasn't just looking backwards but also considering the now, and the future, of the

legacy of colonization in Canada. His curatorial project Where are the children? Healing the Legacy of Residential Schools is touched upon, while he speaks in the video, and you can find out more about that — and his other works about colonial history in Canada — online. We Were Taught Differently is a quiet, solemn display: the 'panels' are divided up, and the didactic nature of the show isn't off putting, but makes for clear and concise encapsulation of horror that might otherwise overwhelm. Timelines are offered, and specific residential schools are highlighted. It's best to go alone, or go with someone that will also be amenable to the contemplative space. There's a large amount of information that is likely unknown to many Canadians (and ignored, by many, it seems, still, in the public discourses around reconciliation). The literal 'darkness' of the didactics (grey and red and white on black, often, with grainy historic images — both photographic and sometimes of documents, as with the 'panel' intimidatingly labelled 'discipline — is very much a 'dark' chronicle of a 'dark' chapter) serves, in an almost funerary manner. Installed in a way that allows you to move in and among the displays, and to read first person accounts, official accounts and other testimonials, you can become immersed in the environment. It's a simple and direct installation, depending upon the power of the facts and the individual stories, more so than any artistic artifice: the presentation serves the concept, straightforward and lucidly. It's almost odd, or feels a bit disrespectful, to speak of this as 'art', as its more important than that. The descriptor for the travelling show (originating from The Muse – The Lake of the Woods Museum) is as follows: This exhibit examines the Indian residential school experience, most particularly in the two schools that were located in Kenora, Ontario – Cecilia Jeffrey and St. Mary’s. It

also includes mention of all six schools in Treaty #3, as many local residents were sent to schools outside the immediate Kenora area. The exhibit is reflective of the residential school experience across Canada, nation-wide. Powerful images, text, video, archival material and personal recollections combine to tell the story of the residential school experience. Visitors will learn why residential schools were established, what life in the schools was like, the legacy of the schools, the recent settlement agreement, and Government and church apologies. The primary objectives of this exhibit are to acknowledge this part of our history; to promote awareness about the residential schools and the longterm effect they had on the First Nations people; and to honour those whose lives have been touched by the schools. It is an exhibit for everyone. Again, the reverberation of the echos of the 'past' are present in words in the show, and words we're hearing now. Peter McKay's praise of Oka is a repetition of the words from the segment on 'discipline', in a letter to the Indian Agent from a school principal in 1924: “...we will punish them whenever we think it necessary or useful to do so, the false reports spread broad cast against us of late will not prevent us from punishing any pupil that deserves punishment.” The wilfully ignored fact of the lack of clean drinking water on many reserves, today, is a reiteration of how “many of the schools were considered poorly built and maintained, and lacked proper heating, ventilation and drainage. There were staff shortages, overcrowding and poor sanitation. As a result there were often outbreaks... whooping cough, colds, influenza, grippe and eye infections. Measles, mumps and chicken pox were common. More serious diseases also occurred – typhoid fever, scarlet fever and tuberculosis.” We Were Taught Differently: The Indian Residential School Experience is a haunting, harsh — yet perhaps hopeful, as a testament to survival — encapsulation of the history (and perhaps present) of Canada ignored in contemporary relations. I could end this with that pithy quote re: those unfamiliar with the past will repeat it, but a more dour one is necessary. If you dwell on the past, you lose an eye, Solzhenitsyn warned us, but forget the past, and you lose both. But perhaps its more appropriate to cite 'Canadian' references: listen to A Tribe Called Red's Burn Your Village To The Ground ('my people will have pain and degradation') or Buffy Sainte-Marie's song, from decades earlier, "Uranium War". "And me I watched it grow / Corporate greed and a lust for gold / And coal and oil and hey now uranium Keep the Indians under your thumb / Pray like hell when your bad times come / Hey rip 'em up Strip 'em up / Get 'em with a gun" Go see this show, and keep this all in mind as politicians label the Wet'suwet'en and their supporters 'criminals', and advocate 'order'. This exhibition is on display until the middle of April, 2020, and should be required viewing for all Canadians. The Welland Historical Museum is located at 140 King Street, in Welland, and their hours are Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 AM to 4 PM.

Along the Way (2018), Matt Bahen. Image courtesy of the gallery.

PAINTING PHYSICALLY: Evolving Legacies BY BART GAZZOLA

Evolving Legacies, the latest exhibition at the Gallery at 13th Street Winery, is a significantly less dense show than the previous one, and this serves all three artists (Matt Bahen, Cynthia Chapman and Kyle Clements) very well. I remember seeing specific works by Chapman and Clements in the Modern Masters show, but here there is more space for the works to breathe and be less crowded. Details and textures and subtleties emerge: especially in Chapman's paintings, where the marks become flowing yet choppy waves of colour, balanced by nearly 'raw' scrapings of paint to expose what's beneath. Her work, with the installation that has works by the artists not intermixed, but presenting as a succinct visual statement, allows for this focus. Clements has equal space to Chapman, and his works are also presented so that you might stand in the centre and be surrounded: Bahen is off, somewhat, but this doesn't diminish his artwork. In some ways, the arrangement brings relationships between the colour palettes and usage by Chapman and Clements into dialogue, whereas Bahen is not so intense in his palette (perhaps not as overtly). However, his use of oil — thick, almost sculpting landscapes out of the paste, in a manner that is more subtle and specific in colour, perhaps being more about the shape of his brushwork — is not dissimilar to Chapman. Before I come to works like All I Can Do Is Paint (Chapman) or Waving Flag (Behan), I offer the exhibition statement: “Modernism has much uncharted territory. The artists featured in this exhibition strike out new paths for themselves. Their work speaks effectively of the art of today with its devotion to the nature of creative expression.” I'll offer a response to that, or a rejoinder, or a completion, of an idea, if you will: “Modernism is a continuing phenomenon, not to be conveniently ticketed and laid on the reference shelf. There are still problems unsolved (some of them, perhaps, insoluble).” (That's from Howard

Putzel, as cited in Mark Rothko: Toward the Light in the Chapel by Annie Cohan-Solal, and Rothko was one of the most significant abstract painters of the mid to late 20th century). And before I truly begin to dig into the painterly works — and I'll be honest, Chapman dominated for me, though Behan was strong, and Clements had several very interesting aspects — I'll offer one other point. The term 'modernism' has been employed regarding this show, and with the previous one at 13th Street as well: but it's a contested term. Professor Derek Knight and I had a very enjoyable conversation at the opening reception re: that term and its historical weight, baggage and usage. I'll speak in collage again about 'modernism', using the words of Catherine Lampert from her excellent book on the painter Frank Auerbach: “[T]hese art historical distinctions can be too crude.” All three of the artists on display are much younger, for example, than Derek and I, and so how their paintings — a very specific place to 'stand' re: modernism, instead of photography or sculpture — are very different, in their execution and implications. A curator I worked with often spoke of modernism as being in a 'fallow' state, for some time, and that, using a gardening analogy, might be best left alone to form in a different way. That is an idea to consider here, in Evolving Legacies, and most definitely not in a pejorative sense. Chapman's paintings are lessons in colour: the aforementioned All I Can Do Is Paint has subtle wine undertones in its 'base', with lighter blues that migrate across the canvas. Wildflowers, a diptych that is suggestive of some of Riopelle's St. Lawrence River works, is more muted in tone, and from further back, suggests a more pastoral scene. First Snow, with its colour palette, does something similar to works like Let It Bleed: colour is used in a seemingly 'pure' form, in ways that would suggest that they should clash and fight, but instead achieve a harmony. This is not to say that they're the 'same': First Snow has the

softness of a winter scene, whereas Let It Bleed leaps off the wall, with the blocks of blues and yellows seeming to float on the scabby surface of a 'bloody' plane, with marks and strokes that suggest we're looking down upon a river, or flowing current, of 'blood.' It's both rich and a bit revulsive (in an enticing way, for me, at least). This richness of the paint is present in Matt Behan's work, though he presents more narrative scenes. Along The Way is a lonely, disconcerting vignette, with the fence and barbed wire, with scraps of clothe 'blowing' in the wind. A more restrained use of colour is broken here and there with bright elements, and this is a recurring formal aspect of his works here. Waving Flag might be from the same locale as Way, suggesting an in-between space, a no man's land that is vaguely threatening, where the 'flag' is more about abandonment and loss, what's left behind in traversing these threatening spaces, than any more 'positive' notion of 'flag.' But the paint is thick, and Behan seems to almost sculpt out the landscape, then incise into it, and the goopy, thick, excessively physical nature of his oils offers the same presence as Chapman's works. You can stand slightly to the side, and see how far out from the surface both artists 'build' their work, or get closer and see that they construct layers and then also scrape or slash into them, making the oil paint in both cases a tactile, textured skin: a blanket or coating that is uneven, and in both cases forms a composition that is as sculptural as it is 'superficial', in colour. In this respect, Kyle Clements's images are not as 'thick', but an interesting nature of his works that converses with Chapman and Behan is that many of his urban, neon (perhaps mostly night) scenes reveal the bare, stark white, almost naked — considering what else is on display — picture plane. Large expanses of 'negative', almost blinding white space, or flat geometric forms of deep flat black, or pale, almost translucent blue, come together to 'form' city scenes. He sometimes dots and dabs and leaves 'trails' of colour, smaller and seemingly 'random' (up close) that become part of a larger whole (from further away). This returns us to how the more 'spaced' installation allows for the individual elements of the three artists' works to be contemplated and considered with more focus (the almost sexy, visceral globs and gluts and chunks of paint seemed to invite me to move in close, to smell them, and I did keep my hands in my pockets, to stifle the urge to touch the inviting strokes and swathes). Evolving Legacies offers three very different 'evolutions' of what modernism may have been, may be, or perhaps (never) was, in a context of Canadian art history (or beyond). This vagueness is its strength, as one way in which it does validate the 'modernist legacy' is that these are, for the majority, well made and engaging objects. Go see it. Evolving Legacies, at the Gallery at 13th Street Winery, runs until Saturday, March 28, 2020, which is at 1776 Fourth Avenue, in St. Catharines. If you visit on a sunny and pleasant day, spend some time with the outdoor artworks as well: Floyd Elzinga, who has been nominated in the Established Artist Category for the 2020 St. Catharines Arts Awards, has a sculptural installation titled Hey Baal outside of the gallery, far to the left of the building.

IN GALLERIES NOW WELLAND: TIMES PRESENT TIMES PAST Sandy Fairbairn has been taking

photographs of Niagara for over forty years, focusing on the people and places around him. His images of Niagara stretch back to the 1970s, and some of the scenes presented in Welland: Time Present Time Past will be shown in the Rose City for the very first time. • ART IS HELL STUDIOS (March 1-15)

CRISSCROSS Our hybrid assemblages celebrate incongruity and unfettered associations. Whether abstract or figurative, paintings or texts, they are intended to trigger reactions, prompt comparisons, and challenge the usual. Beyond the immediate effect of surprise, they provoke, their apparent disparateness nevertheless generates, on closer view, a semblance of overall coherence. An exhibition by students from the Studies in Arts and Culture and Visual Arts programs. Opening reception will be on Wednesday, March 11 from 5-8pm.

• VISA GALLERY AT MARILYN I. WALKER SCHOOL OF FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS (March 5-28)

WORLD WAR WOMEN The First and Second World Wars brought enormous changes to Canadian women’s lives. They adapted to the conditions of total war in practical terms – working, volunteering and serving in uniform. In the wake of war’s inevitable tragedies, they also faced other challenges. The contributions made by women to the Canadian war efforts were crucial, and their experiences forged a new understanding of women’s capabilities both within themselves and within society. Through artifacts, images, audiovisual material, oral history and text, World War Women delves into the personal stories of the women associated with these materials. It is organized in stand-alone thematic zones, each devoted to an element of the wars that particularly involved and affected women. • NIAGARA FALLS HISTORY MUSEUM

(March 1 - April 19)

CLARA HARRIS: BETWEEN CITY AND COUNTRY This little-known Toronto-based

artist was a prolific painter of landscapes. Although not an innovator in the tradition of modern art, her work nonetheless points to an essential reality of the 20th century – of landscape as a space of leisure against an encroaching suburbia. • RIVERBRINK ART MUSEUM (March 1 - Sept. 5)

FLOWER CARPETS / TAPETES FLORIDOS Danny Custodio uses photography

to explore his familial histories and cultural traditions, reinterpreting them from his position as a second-generation Portuguese-Canadian. For this new body of work, Custodio made and photographed flower carpets like those found on the cobblestone streets of his parents’ birthplace. • RODMAN HALL ART CENTRE (Mar. 1-22)

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WELLAND'S PAST & PRESENT

SHOWS THE CITY'S CHANGING FACES BY JAMES TAKEO

When I arrived at Sandy Fairbarn's Welland: Times Present Times Past opening at Art is Hell, I noticed how evocative and emotionally stirring an exhibition of photography that captured the ever-changing face of downtown urban life in Welland and beyond, really could be. On February 15, Art is Hell — a spacious and cozy gallery in the heart of downtown Welland — hosted many from not only Welland — searching for the familiar images of their own memory — but also many from outside of the Rose City, who were appreciative, as well as emotionally evoked, by the various images of the times past and present. Both artistic and historical, the images presented had never been shown in the Rose City beforehand. For over fourty years, Sandy Fairbairn has been taking photographs of Welland and Niagara, focusing on what is around him. Overhearing a passing conversation at the reception, I caught the

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artist remarking, in his own words, that though he had had some experiences elsewhere, “I belong here.” His intimate and personal images of Niagara stretch back to the 70s, recalling the industrial history of the region, and capturing the growth, downturn, and changes in Welland's scenery. This is a very personal exhibition: not only is it a window into the life and times of the artist through his own eyes, but also the life and times of neighbourhoods through the portrayal of the various commercial buildings' changing faces. For those that are familiar with these surroundings, each photograph contains a personal memory. For those unfamiliar with these scenes, the sense of change is shown, although most photographs seem timeless; most are devoid of the visual clues that specify the date. In some cases, the rare flash of a person in these store-front portraits is an uncommon treasure, furthering the timelessness of

the scene, adding to the feeling of contrast between emptiness and life. Fairbairn portrays this familiar awareness through his playful eye. Singular scenes and vibrant colour often meet in his visual histories, but his black and white photographs also contain as much of a visual contrast and the same warmth that his colour pieces do. Rather than the usual scenes of the Rose City we have seen photographed historically and artistically, such as Bridge 13 or other public places of celebration and community, we are given more intimate images to trigger our nostalgia and emotion. One wall, entirely comprised of enlarged stereoscopic black and white images from the 70s, creates a repeating pattern of vintage memories of days and places gone by, reinforcing the local history of Welland and the surrounding area from a not-so-typical view. Many of his more modern photographs utilize hinted saturation: colours pop brightly, working off the deep brick and slate tones of his subjects. Even as static structures, the life is there amid the perceived emptiness. This is no mere showing of snapshots of the past and present: this is a personal journey for both the artist / photographer and the viewer, the common theme being the immediate world around them. In one of the more notable walls at this exhibit, two long landscape photographs portraying a block of Hellems Ave. in downtown Welland is shown in Spring and Summer of the same year: The bottom photograph showcases the block in full colour, popping with life from blooms and greenery. There's a sense of moving from fullness to emptiness, and from left to right as each individual address of the block decreases in activity. The rare treat of two pedestrians going in different directions, one male and one female with a stroller, is also highlighted in the foreground of the scene, further adding to the comparison and contrast in this one photograph. In the bright blue sky tones a the top of the piece, a hint of Bridge 13 does peek out at us, above the rooftops and beyond the block, reminding us where we are. This contrast / comparison continues as we move to the photographic landscape immediately above it, showing the same scene of the same block, but a few months later. The black and white photograph of this scene is now absent of activity and people, awash in bright tones and devoid of colour, giving one the feeling of a bright, sunny day in the extreme heat, and with all people in the neighbourhood now in solace from the extreme daytime temperatures. Even now, the scene remains timeless both in photography and in reality, as one may happen upon the same block of buildings now in the real world and see how much has remained the same, yet as time passes alongside slight, constant and eventual change, it is there. Prominently placed on display from the rest of the photography collection are two works: Crowland

Relief Workers' Strike 1935, Frank Meets the Police on Beatrice Street, Mitch Legislates And We Forget and The Replacement for Jack Bickell as the Object of Mitch Hepburn's Affection are both reminders of the Crowland Relief Workers' Strike of 1935. An interesting chapter in history, in an area with a largely industrial background, this artwork heralds to the memory of a local Depression-era strike in which many immigrant workers from different European backgrounds “remarkably” collaborated to gain fair compensation for their labour. An interesting history in itself (which I urge you all to read up on) is illustrated in the use of photography, and relief sculpture, creating evocative and interesting images of a tumultuous yet unifying point in our local history: hard-working people, passionate together, to fight for each common man's interest. As the decades progressed, we can now witness in the rest of the photography exhibition the fruits of that labour, and what remains after those fruits had been harvested. Even now, flowing beneath the cultural subconscious of Welland's community, there is still a fierce pride and hard determination of effort to face adversity that ensures our continued survival and existence. It is not so much the individual pieces that stand out in this art exhibit, though for each viewer, there is definitely a piece that one would find personal significance in, so much as the entirety of the exhibition as a collection. The constant play between light and shadow, colour and black and white, saturation and pastel tones, empty and full, and repetition of image or pattern unify the pieces, while each one plays off and contrasts each other, as well as within in each piece. Much credit for this arrangement must be given to Bart Gazzola for stepping into the shoes of curator for this show, as both he and Fairbairn have put together a collection of fascinating and intimate portraits of urban life, industrial and social history, and an overall sense not of upward nor downward trending fortunes for Welland, but of the ever-constant change and transition that happens, and what still remains familiar. It is not only a story of how we got here or where we came from, but also of where we are, and, possibly, a signpost directing us to where we are going. It was an art show that emotionally triggered the locals of Welland with nostalgia, and astonished those from out of the city to find this secret and intimate pocket of creative cultural community discovered in the environment and landscape of Rose City. Sandy Fairbarn's exhibition Welland: Times Present Times Past, is on display at Art is Hell until March 15, 2020. Art is Hell is located at 179 East Main St, in Welland, and their hours are Friday to Sunday, from 12-5pm, or by appointment (contact bart. gazzola@gmail.com).

Niagara Street (top left) & Hellems Ave (above) courtesy of Sandy Fairbarn

A THANKSGIVING STORY IN MARCH: The Humans BY CHRIS ILLICH

On March 28-29, the Silver Spire United Church in St. Catharines will play host to the Niagara premiere of The Humans, a Tony Award winning and Pulitzer Prize nominated one-act play by Stephen Karam. The play, which was recently adapted into a major motion film starring Amy Schumer and directed by Karam himself, is centered around the Blake family meeting up for Thanksgiving, in an apartment in Chinatown, Manhattan.

“It’s a really beautiful play about how we all need to find ways to cope with fear in dark times. It’s a very urban script about how people in three generations deal with fear and anxiety, yet are still able to keep their family together,” director John Sweeney explained. “It has a sharp, satirical edge to it, and the ending is quite spectacular. There’s things that families don’t talk about, and when they do, and it finally all reaches it’s boiling point, it really

creates a much bigger impact outside of just that one family.” This particular production of The Humans will be an 'animated' and rehearsed reading of the play, featuring Colin Bruce Anthes, Genevieve Jones, Kirk Mitchell, Kristin Ojaperv, Karen Thacker and Sybil Wilson. Director Sweeney, was the Head of Theatre at Ridley College in St. Catharines for 12 years, and this will be his third production post-retirement. When deciding to do a rehearsed reading rather than a full production, Sweeney cited their need and want for local artists ie. ‘good people’, to be mixed with several from the congregation. “We just knew that good people would be busy, and we couldn’t pay them by the hour to rehearse this play. Luckily, the thing about good people is

ON THE STAGE KASHEDANCE: FACING HOME A contemporary dance work that investigates the global impact of Bob Marley’s music – its expression of humanity’s struggle and inspiration toward love, redemption and hope. Set to renditions of Marley's music, as well as popular dancehall music, the work faces a West Indian paradox, which allows for the liberation found in Marley’s music while the lyrics in dancehall simultaneously suppress the abilities and oppress members of LGBTQ communities.

• FIRSTONTARIO PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE (Mar. 5-6)

DANNY CUSTODIO FLOWER CARPETS/TAPETES FLORIDOS Curated by Marcie Bronson

November 2, 2019 to March 22, 2020 109 St. Paul Crescent, St. Catharines, ON brocku.ca/rodmanhall Danny Custodio, Purple Maple, Blue Spruce, Rocket Cedar, 2019, archival pigment print, from the series Flower Carpets/Tapetes Floridos.

FOOTLOOSE Brock University students come together to perform a musical classic about Love, Freedom and Tradition. Larger than life dance numbers and big rockin' music from a live band and cast hit the stage! With dynamic new songs augmenting the powerhouse hits from its bestselling Oscarnominated score, Footloose celebrates the exhilaration of youth, the wisdom of listening to one another, and the power of forgiveness."

• FIRSTONTARIO PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE (Mar. 18-20) PORT COLBOURNE OPERATIC SOCIETY PRESENTS: MAMMA MIA Travel

with us to an island paradise in Greece for the smash hit musical that made ABBA’s songs famous again. This spirited show invites us to reflect on how the most unexpected events can bring out the

that they don’t need as much time. We wanted to have enough time that the reading would be well done,” said Sweeney. “We wanted to pay them, but couldn’t afford to pay for hours upon hours of rehearsal. But, it is more of a play than just a reading, it’s just that we’re only rehearsing it six or seven times.” One of the reasons Sweeney chose The Humans, is for it’s all encompassing relations to people from all generations. Within the play, there’s broke students living downtown. There’s the struggle between faith vs. science. The play also deals with careers, pensions, aging and health care. “These issues are big everywhere. The church is really trying to communicate with people here, trying to bring everyone together with a show that reflects downtown issues and that has some of the ideas and ethics of this church,” said Sweeney. “It’s a hard thing to get people to come and see a show that is too dark. No one’s laughing these days, because people are afraid to say the wrong thing. While The Humans has its dark moments, it's funny and entertaining as well. People need comedy these days. At the end of the day, we just want to give people the chance to laugh and reflect.” The rehearsed reading of The Humans will take place at the Silver Spire United Church, located at 366 St. Paul St. in St. Catharines, on March 28-29. Tickets can be reserved for Sat. March 28th at 7:30 either by phoning 905 6828328, Monday to Friday from 9-1pm, or by emailing: office@silverspire.ca.The 2pm Sunday, March 29th matinee is a general seating Pay What You Can performance. best in us and in our relationships. It is a celebration of love, family and friendship which features tunes that will bring back many memories. Be sure to join us – you’ll probably be dancing in the aisles before the final curtain!

• LAKESHORE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL (Mar. 1-8)

SISTER ACT When disco diva, Deloris Van Cartier, witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in the one place the cops are sure she won’t be a found: a convent! Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with both the rigid lifestyle and uptight Mother Superior. Using her unique disco moves and singing talent to inspire the choir, Deloris breathes new life into the church and community but, in doing so, blows her cover. Soon, the gang is giving chase, only to find them up against Deloris and the power of her newly found sisterhood. • MANDEVILLE THEATRE AT RIDLEY COLLEGE (Mar. 20 - Apr. 5)

ALL NIGHT LONG - HITZ OF THE 80s It's time to rock your funkiest fluorescents, because the 80s are totally back! Don't miss this high-energy, jam-packed party of a musical as we invite you to the 80s prom of your dreams! Come dressed in your 80s best ready to celebrate the decade's gnarliest songs, artists and fashion trends. Each night the students of “Richmond High” will battle for the title of prom king and queen. So, "put on your red shoes", be "simply irresistible", and let’s have "the time of our lives!" • OH CANADA EH THEATRE (Mar. 1 Apr. 11) theSOUND.rocks | 9

LUMEN LIGHTS UP THE WAY BY CHRIS ILLICH After nearly two and a half years of drawing, mapping and creating, local video game designers have made their work public for the first time with the LUMEN: Lost Passages feedback demo. The feedback demo for LUMEN was released on February 29 and is currently only available for PC. The stylistic Metroidvania game, follows the character Lumen, an apostle of the Greek God, Hades, as he relights the Passages and finds his way home to the dark underworld he inhabited for thousands and thousands of years.

“Lumen is the Soul Warden – the glowing character with a lattern that greets everyone when they die. Now he is just exploring these worlds for the first time. He doesn’t have any clue about what’s about to happen in the game, because he’s just learning it too,” explained lead game designer Craig Robinson. Released by Buttery Games, Robinson’s indie game development studio in St. Catharines, LUMEN went through ‘three major refactors (meaning they made the game from the ground up three times), two major art updates, dozens of Player

Controllers and tonnes of blood sweat and tears’ over the two and a half years it took them to create the game. “When we first started out, none of us knew how to do anything,” said Robinson. “It was a lot of teaching ourselves, and a lot of trial and error. In two and a half years, we should have completed a full game. But, we had to learn how to do everything from the ground up, and we just keep on learning as we go,” said Robinson. LUMEN’s game mechanics are smooth, the level design and overall game play are both challenging and rewarding, and the backgrounds are detailed and beautiful. The frame-by-frame movements lends an artistic and sophisticated design element to the game. After completing the demo, I was left wanting more, excited for the different weapons, spells and enchantments that could be found or purchased at merchants that will help guide Lumen across his quest. Robinson, along with game designer Andrew Beach, lead programmer Dylan Butson and concept and lead artists respectively, Dylan Zdrobov and Spencer Donoghue, have created a game that parallels with other modern Metroidvania platformers, in both size and scope, with many noting a similarity to Hollow Knight. “It was just a coincidence that our first level was a cave with bugs,” laughed Robinson. “We have a bunch of bright outdoor areas that will distinguish us from that game.” After they have finished their testing period, the full demo for LUMEN will be released on Steam, hopefully garnering enough attention to create a crowdfunding campaign to develop the rest of the game, although Robinson stated that they would finish this game regardless – their first calling card. “We’re this far in,” he said. “The demo will at least show everyone proof of concept. That we can do this." You can follow Buttery Games at @butterygames. Receive access to the LUMEN: Lost Passages feedback demo by joining their discord (discord.gg/KWwbHD2) or by subscribing at butterygames.com

goodness, how have I never thought of that". I made an edit to the text after she said that, and found a new punch line out of it... the next day it got the hugest laugh of the entire show. I keep making little edits until it is as close to perfect as I possibly can make it... knowing that I will never fully succeed.

I saw that you have roughly 180 lighting cues, and from watching the available videos, it seems like rehearsing this would be a lot of work, and quite intense. How did you go about rehearsals for this production? Yes, the technical rehearsals are

WE'VE GOT EACH OTHER

Promises a Bon Jovial night together BY CHRIS ILLICH

Nearly two and a half years ago, Paul O'Donnell debuted We've Got Each Other, a one man all-singing, all-dancing Bon Jovi musical specatular. Without a lavish set, costumes, or dancers, O'Donnell has been creating this musical using nothing but the power of your imagination. He has toured the show across Europe, and is bringing the show to Ontario this March, with a stop at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines on Thursday, March 12. So it’s been two and a half years since We’ve Got Each Other debuted, but I assume it’s safe to understand that this musical goes so much further back than that. How did you develop the concept for the show? Was it always intention to turn the genre on its head intentional from the beginning? It started as a show called Beautiful.

The concept of that show was me attempting to create a show that could be described as beautiful without having anything to actually look at. Somewhere in the journey of exploring that, I found an instrumental trombone version of "Livin' On A Prayer" which, as soon as I listened to it, I knew would make a perfect musical overture. As I listened, I began to dream up what would be happening on stage as this music played, then thought "how do I get an audience to imagine this with me...". Everything spiralled from there really. It's allowed me to create a loving parody of the extravagance of the musical theatre genre (which I love) on little more than 'a prayer'. I didn't know I was making this show at the beginning, but I'm really proud of what it has transformed into.

From what I’ve read, it’s the show’s excellent writing that really makes it succeed. When did you first start writing and workshopping it and what was that

process like? I think there's a lot of things that come together to make this show succeed. Part of it hopefully is the writing and performance, but there's also a bit of a technical light display which helps tell the story, as well as the music, the comedy, and of course... the audience. I've toured the show quite a lot across the UK and beyond, and every single time the audience brings a different energy which gives the show its ever changing drive and helps the show to succeed. Can't do it without ya. I started creating the show around August 2017, and it actually felt quite straight forward and easy to make – the musical theatre genre has very specific formula's to make them work. As soon as I got under the skin of what those were and the tropes of the genre, I then just had to work out how to create those effects on a budget of next to nothing and with a cast of only one. It was quite simple to build the fully formed show... but, I'm still to this day editing it. I don't think it will ever be 'finished'. Did everything turn out the way you expected when you first started working on it? I'm not sure at the beginning of a process

I have any real expectation, I like the journey of working it out as it is created. Discovering what the show is about and does through playing with a concept is what excites me. I don't think I could possibly have expected to make the show as it is now at the start, but believe it still remains true to the initial concept.

With that in mind, how have you seen the production change since you started performing it? It is always being edited and

changed... the punch lines refined. It's certainly gotten a lot sharper. I went through the whole of an Edinburgh run, doing the show for 26 days in a row every night... on the 24th day a friend came to see the show and said "I thought this was where you were going with that punch-line" and I thought... "Oh my

usually a little intense. On stage I'll be very calm cool and collected, but know that just about 30 minutes before we start, one light will have done something irritating like not come on when it was supposed to, and I'll have been stressing across the stage going aggggghhhh... then it will get resolved and we will carry on and all will be fine. The lights are a really important part of telling the story, it shows you where imaginary people are standing on stage as well as creating the sense of the full spectacle, making it easier on your imagination. I like to be really particular with the lighting effects we create because I know how embedded in the text they are. It made it a little tricky when creating the show, as I was still refining the text and story, which meant it was difficult to fully plan lighting cues. But now that the show is pretty set in stone I have a really clear idea as to what the lights need to do, and when.

Prior to We’ve Got Each Other, you created the Beautiful: Not the Carole King Musical. Aside from the obvious 26 members to one, how did that show differ and what elements were the same? Are there things that you took from that production into We’ve Got Each Other?

Both were created around the same time, this being back when We've Got Each Other was called Beautiful. Both Beautiful and Beautiful: Not the Carole King Musical fed each other in their developments. Beautiful: Not the Carole King Musical started when somebody from Arcola Theatre in London saw a very early work in progress version of We've Got Each Other and commissioned me to create that Bon Jovi musical, but with their Over 50's Community Group as the cast. So, instead of having a cast of none, this time I had a full cast of 26 people – only they were not quite the Broadway Star studded cast you might expect. Instead, they were a group of 26 gloriously hilarious 50-90-year-olds tap dancing, singing, acting out Gina working in the diner etc. It was my favourite process to date, and they were all a joy to work with. The show gave this community group a chance to be stupid and silly and ridiculous and pretend for a week at least that they were on Broadway. In many ways the two shows are the same, I guess the ask of the audience and the way we told this story across the two performances is where it is very different. They are both equally joyful and heartwarming shows, just in very different ways.

From watching the trailer and a few clips I could find, I noticed that the

musical is mostly based on the audiences participation. Have you ever experienced a moment when the audience didn’t ‘buy in’ and help move the show along? It's

'audience participation' in a loose sense, don't worry I don't get you up on stage etc. But it is a show that is very dependent on an audience buying in. To date I haven't had an audience who hasn't. There are of course levels, and an energy from an audience really pushes the show along. So, if you happen to join us, all I'd encourage you to do is throw yourself into the make-believe of it all. Gasp, whoop, cheer, cry, call out even when I haven't asked you to do any of that. You have permission in the show to be live and spontaneous as an audience, and as long as you're thrusting yourself into believing it all, I can promise that we will have a BonJovial night together at the theatre.

Are you personally a fan of Bon Jovi and is this your ode to him? Are you a fan of the jukebox musical or are you parodying the form because you distaste them? I am

a fan of Bon Jovi, I am also a musical fan. This show is a little bit of an ode to both of them as well as a little ode to us. It's a loving parody. If you love jukebox musicals, like I do, you can come and enjoy all of the humour coming out of the genre and some references to that school show you did back in 1998 or that musical you saw with niche references. And if you absolutely hate musicals you will still enjoy this show because it finds a lot of fun in just how ridiculous the genre is. It's complex to describe, but both lovers and haters of jukebox musicals can equally enjoy this show for different reasons. Either way you come out of the theatre with what I describe as "the musical theatre glow" feeling a little bit more loved, a little bit more positive... and as if you want to burst into unrehearsed song.

Will this be the first time for you in Canada? Or the first time touring something outside of Europe? Is there anything you’re particularly excited for? I have been to Canada

only once before... for 20 minutes. I was seeing Niagara Falls on the USA side and with a couple of friends we decided to dash across the bridge to say 'we made it to Canada' before our coach was setting off again. We only had 20 minutes, and we just had to because I thought I might never make it back to Canada again. So, I'm very excited about returning to Canada, this time for much longer than 20 minutes. The tour of this show is great because it has some space between the dates where I can be a real tourist and I plan to make as much of a holiday out of it as I possibly can. I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing Niagara by night this time the day before the show. As for the show, it has toured to Philadelphia before, and across Europe, but yes this is its first visit to Canada. I look forward to introducing We've Got Each Other to the people of Ontario and exploring the province in the time in between. For more information about O'Donnell and We've Got Each Other visit podonnell2.co.uk. For ticket information visit firstontariopac.ca

Curiosity, Body positivity, Consent, Loss and Rebellion to find out what happens when she does it." We had the opportunity to talk with Zuma. For the full interview please go to thesound.rocks. So to start on Don’t Do It… How did the concept / or motivation for the show come into fruition? I believe I read an article that featured you that said you were planning on doing it with four women, am I correct on this? Or, was it simply, ‘I want to write a one-person show, and this is how I’m going to do it’? In all actuality, this show came about as a response

AN INTERVIEW WITH ZUMA PUMA BY CHRIS ILLICH

St. Catharines' raised Zuma Puma aka Nelly Scott (clownlife. org), the Gaulier & Patchenko trained clown, returns home to perform a series of workshops and performances this March. Her show, Don't Do It... "explores what it is to be pushed off the straight and narrow into the frontiers of womanhood. Embark on a ridiculous journey of Self Empowerment,

Photo by Paje Honor | @ pajehonor, @honor_beauty

THE CLANDESTINE CABARET CHRONICLES More Than Just a Dare BY CHRIS ILLICH

They always say write what you know, but we’re always confronted with the reminder that things aren’t always that simple. Anxieties stemming from our sense of self aren’t that easy to ignore as we get older. Luckily, for Catherine Skinner, writing what she knew was — and has always been — simple, because she started out at a young age, when her imagination was able to run rampant and escape.

to a couple different life events. For one, I had just finished the Clown Through mask training with Sue Morrison in Toronto and after all of my Gaulier European style training, this way of working with Clown was completely different to anything I had ever trained or experienced with Clown in the past. After the course I asked Sue: “How does one go about creating a show from the Pochinko masks?” Her response was: “Ultimately there is no one way, just make a show and find out.” As a theatre/comic creator whose made a number of shows largely influenced by my studies and aesthetics of European Clown, theatre and comedy, I felt I was at a total loss. I understood the work of Pochinko (Sue Morrison’s Training), but to create a show in this way, was — for me — embarking on the total unknown. In conclusion, I’m not sure the show could classify as a Pochinko show but it certainly gave me some form to jump off of at the very beginning.

From what I’ve read it’s a multidisciplinary performance, and you, as a versatile actress moves between characters and genres seamlessly. After coming up with the concept, what steps did you take to go about creating and writing the show?

worst, until we had a show that worked. This show is less of a written show, as in: the script is literally 10 pages, if that. It’s a show that is largely influenced by its audience and I guess I would describe it more as an unravelling, which is certainly a reflection of how its come about. As the show developed, I’d get inspired and want to try this or that, delving in to my performance studies and skill sets. After about six months of working on the show and performing it a couple times, I felt it needed a dramaturg. Someone whose good with story and feminist theory. So we asked Gyllian Raby (Prof at Brock University) and who is funnily enough also my mother, to come and work with us on the show. She was doing research into Luce Irigaray at the time and so it couldn’t have been better timing in relation to her research. Fortunately for us, we were able to work with her and develop the show into a closer version of what it is today. It’s thanks to her that the show takes the audience into the world of a kind of mythic odyssey.

What has been your favourite part about working on and performing this production? My favourite part about working

on this production is that I love performing it, I love every scene, I can’t wait for the next. I feel as though I’m a child with a million magic tricks in my pocket and the audience has no idea what they’re in for and are surprised every time. I love that I get to be funny and playful but also honest, raw and show some extremely vulnerable parts of myself too. I love that this show feels like a ritual every time I perform it. I feel as though I’m healing my own trauma and coming closer to genuinely loving my sexuality, body and life... It’s a liberating show to perform and I love that it has that kind of effect on it’s audience. I feel it’s the perfect expression of what I facilitate in my workshops, my own pedagogy and research is in constant development and study with the development and performance of this show.

I think my concept was quite minimal really to begin with. I improvised with my director and every week took whatever I found in the rehearsal room and tested it in front of live audiences on the London Comedy and Theatre Circuit. We kept the best and continued to develop the

Don't Do It, Don't Do It, Do It is presnted by Essential Collective Theatre at the Oddfellows Hall, located at 36 James St. in St. Catharines, from March 26-29. Tickets can be purchased at brownpapertickets.com

A writer as a child, Skinner found herself once again writing when she started a blog after a bad breakup about 15 years ago. She went to Paris, France, by herself, to get some space from the situation. It was there that she started the Cat Skinner Club, mainly for the sole purpose of letting her mother know that she was doing ok abroad. “Somehow people started reading and following along with my story. My blog has always kind of been like my online journal, the story of my life and my reflections on parenting, womanhood, motherhood and all those things,” she said. Prior to moving to Niagara six years ago, Skinner lived in Toronto and was the Artistic Director for Les Coquettes Cabaret Burlesque for 11 years. The company retired roughly around the same time that her family decided to move from Toronto to Niagara. “When I moved back here, I decided I really wanted to get back into writing and explore what’s possible there. We had found this published book on Amazon that was supposed to be written by a woman for heteromen about how to be a good lover, but it was clearly not written in a female voice. So my partner dared me to see if I could write something similar,” Skinner said. Her first book, Keeping It Up: A Guy’s Guide to Great Relationship Sex was self-published in 2016 through Amazon. For her, the exercise of writing the book and learning the structures and research involved, were what made her take the project a lot more seriously than just a dare. For her second, Bump and Grind, Skinner had to confront her fears of exploring the fiction genre. “For some reason, writing fiction always felt way more personal than Keeping It Up or a blog ever did, which doesn’t make a lot of sense, because its all made up stuff,” she said. She took elements and experiences from her days in burlesque and from the superhero genre (“I’m a big Marvel fan.”) and blended

them together to create an empowering experience of womanhood and sisterhood. The story follows Karen Parker, a 30-something actress who is struggling in her career as a library assistant, who gets a second chance at getting up on stage again. What she doesn’t know, is that she gets cast in a show run by a team of superhero mercenaries who have come to enlist her into their cause. Bump and Grind is ridiculous, campy and tongue in cheek, and has some borrowed experiences from Skinner's days in burlesque. “It started as an exercise in creative writing and play, and I ended up seeing this novel through it’s first draft. I then did an Indie GoGo campaign and raised enough money to be able to go to Stratford to spend a week getting away from life and finishing the book up,” she said. “I got the book up to snuff, and then my life fell apart. I was heading towards publishing and then I went through another devastating breakup that restructured my whole family and the book just sat there for a while. It seemed frivolous to think about writing when I was basically trying to put the pieces of my life back together.” For 2020, Skinner set a goal to release the novel. She intended to self-publish it, but, as she began a new venture in a relationship advice podcast with local comedian Joel Van Vliet, titled I Do and I Don’t, she decided that she wanted to release Bump and Grind also as a podcast. “I always had this idea of being an audio book narrator, combining theatre and storytelling. So I asked Joel if he would record my novel and I would release it as a podcast before it was published physically,” said Skinner. “We’ve been releasing it weekly and hopefully it will garner some interest and reach a broader audience than I could otherwise.” Catherine Skinner’s Bump and Grind is part of her Clandestine Cabaret Chronicles and is available on all streaming platforms. You can read the chapters from the book at catskinner.club.

MARIKNO'S MONTHLY MIX:

THE DIGGER

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ANSFOR TR M

ART O

See Cat and the Queen (with The Royals) performing live at Camp Cataract on March ANSFO RM 20, 2020. Doors at 8pm, $10/PWYC. Also TR featuring: Phillip Vonesh, Thunderclap!, Pablo Paddy, Laurel & Hulley.

ON ATI

“I’ve had a lot of songs bumming around for a while,” said Montgomery, “and I was really getting into Logic and beats and nerding out in that way, that’s what inspired the first side.” She then teamed up with Alex Gamble (Rheostatics, Alvvays) who mixed and mastered the album. "Troubling Eyes" is a particularly interesting track with a whistling intro and lyrics that play on the daily frustrations in the life of a server weaved together with not caring anymore. “I started off trying to write a love song and I just went sideway after 30 seconds into this other kind of song,” explained Montgomery. “I’m not doing it for the reasons that maybe used to fuel me before. They’re just tired. I feel like in my late 20’s I was much more preoccupied with what age everybody was, you know, that meant I had to be some place at a certain time, and now I feel I’ve passed that line.”

ON ATI

Cat and the Queen is the living, breathing, and totally theatrical musical project of Torontobased artist, Cat Montgomery. Her latest album, Heart for a Ride, comes in two parts. The first is a wonderful journey into an ever expanding world of reverb, soaring vocals, and dropping beats. There’s also something reminiscent of 80’s and 90’s era Bowie, Madonna, and maybe even the Eurythmics. The second half of the album is more rock and roll and Montgomery is accompanied by her band, The Royals. Recorded live-off-the-floor with minimal overdubs, the vastly different style of the latter tracks somehow lends to the concept of the album, suggesting that experiences are adventures and even if they don’t always work out, the tangent might be good so take your heart for a ride. For Montgomery, the process from songwriting to recording is often a long and twisting road with lots of experimentation.

Lately, I have been spending my days surrounded by around 30,000 vinyl records in every single genre and style imaginable. For the last month or so, I've been digging for records professionally at SRC Vinyl and when it was time for me to record my monthly mix, time flew by even though I was at it for three hours. I'm not sure who made the rule that a DJ set should be about an hour, and so many of them are, but I think I like the new long format, especially now that I'm trapped in a space with so much music. This month, we're partnering with Niagara Community Radio, started by Dermott McGrath in 2016 after he relocated to Niagara from London, England. You can find "Niagara Community Radio" via Google and listen to archived sets on Mixcloud. To hear this month's three hour excursion, check out dubplate.fm/marinko and if you want to book me, google me, "DJ Marinko" or check out my website popcommedia.com

ARTS THERAPY

BY ARIH STRUGER-KALKMAN

There is definitely a certain freedom in getting a little older. There are also a lot of things to learn. According to Montgomery, “one thing that I’m not proud of is that there have been times in my life that I’ve been jealous of musicians and their success and where they are and that has kept me from exposing myself to their music because I feel ‘less than’. It’s so unfortunate, so I’m working on that.” After some years of playing in the Toronto scene and playing alongside top Canadian acts, Montgomery has realized “there’s enough to go around. Everyone’s different, everyone’s got a different voice and it’s good to own that you sit at the table with every other musician. It’s what you bring.” Montgomery definitely brings it all to her live performances, enthusiastically punctuating each beat with a dance move of some kind. In between and sometimes during songs, she wields a sarcastic and ironic humour that keeps you glued to her every word.

ON ATI

ART O

TAKE YOUR HEART FOR A RIDE Cat and the Queen

WITH ANGELA

ARTS THERAPY WITH ANGELA

THE FILM HOUSE MARCH 2020 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

Regular admission: $9.50 +HST Members + 13 and under: $7 +HST

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

1 MAR

2 MAR

3 MAR

4 MAR

5 MAR

6 MAR

6:30p

7 MAR

8 MAR

4p NR

9 MAR

10 MAR

11 MAR

12 MAR

13 MAR

6:30p

14 MAR

15 MAR

16 MAR

17 MAR

18 MAR

7p NR 19 MAR

20 MAR

9:30p

21 MAR

6:30p

3:30p

6:30p

9:30p

4p NR

DYKES IN THE STREETS 22 MAR

29 MAR

3:30p

4p NR

23 MAR

24 MAR

30 MAR

31 MAR

JOIN A COMMUNITY OF FILM LOVERS Film House Memberships are only $30 +HST and are valid for one year from date of purchase. Perks of membership include: A A A A A A A

$7 entry to all films (2 tickets limit per membership) 2 for 1 tickets to the premiere screening of select feature film 15% discount off concession products, excluding alcohol Invitations to post-screening Q+As and panel discussions Exchange tickets, as needed Bi-weekly e-newsletter Direct-to-home mailing of your Film+Dining Guide

THE FILM HOUSE FIRSTONTARIOPAC.CA Box Office: 905-688-0722 250 St. Paul St. / St. Catharines

25 MAR

26 MAR

27 MAR

6:30p

Sat 21 Mar 4PM

9p NR

28 MAR

4p NR

6:30p NR

Sat 28 Mar 6:30PM

DYKES IN THE STREETS

#FEMALE PLEASURE

FARAH

Barbara Miller’s feature documentary #FEMALE PLEASURE portrays five courageous, smart, and self-determined women, fighting for sexual liberation and autonomy for women and breaking the silence imposed by their archaic-patriarch societies and religious communities. But their victory comes at a high price: they all have experienced public defamation, threats, and prosecutions, have been excommunicated by the society they grew up in and even received death threats by religious leaders and fanatics.

Canada, 2019. Directed by Almerinda Travassos. 38 min. NR This project chronicles the expansion of the Toronto Lesbian and LGBTQ communities over the past 35 years through the voices of some of the original 300 participants/ organizers. Canada, 2019. Directed by Jesi Jordan. 10 min. NR Farah is considered to be the mother of the transgender community in Havana, Cuba. Having lived a tremendous life full of adventure and heartbreak, and losing all of her teeth after being thrown off a 4th story building, she carries on in her 50s as the most popular and well loved woman in the neighbourhood. Presented by OPIRG Brock, Brock Student Justice Centre, and Niagara Artists Centre.

USA, 2019. Directed by Barbara Miller. 101 min. NR

In solidarity with International Women’s Day, our community partners at Positive Living Niagara will host further discussion following the film. #EachforEqual #IWD2020

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

DISAPPEARANCE AT CLIFTON HILL

France, 2019. Directed by Céline Sciamma. 119 min. 14A Presented in French, Italian with English subtitles.

Canada, 2019. Directed by Albert Shin. 100 min. 14A After several years away, Abby returns to her hometown of Niagara Falls when her mother passes away, leaving Abby and her younger sister, Laure the family business.

France, 1770. Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride to be, and Marianne must paint her without her knowing. She observes her by day, to paint her secretly.

Tue 3 Mar 7PM / Thu 5 Mar 7PM / Fri 6 Mar 6:30PM / Sat 7 Mar 6:30PM

“Portrait of a Lady on Fire is primarily a romance. But it’s also a film about the deeply personal process of creativity—the pain and joy of making one’s emotions and memories into a work of art.” - David Sims, The Atlantic

Abby has a memory of a day their family spent on the river, when she saw an injured boy being kidnapped. Because Abby has a habit of making up tales, no one believes her when she tries to report the kidnapping many years later. As she begins to delve into the mystery, she uncovers evidence that may convince the skeptics that a crime actually was committed.

Fri 13 Mar 9PM / Sat 14 Mar 9PM Sun 15 Mar 7PM

EXTRA ORDINARY

CHAAKAPESH

Rose, a mostly sweet and mostly lonely Irish small-town driving instructor, must use her supernatural talents to save the daughter of Martin (also mostly sweet and lonely) from a washed-up rock star who is using her in a Satanic pact to reignite his fame.

Original version in French, English, Inuktitut, Cree and Innu, subtitled in English.

Canada, 2019. Directed by Roger Frappier & Justin Kingsley. 126 min. PG

Ireland, Belgium, 2019. Directed by Mike Ahern, Enda Loughman. 94 min. R

L’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and its famous conductor Kent Nagano tour Northern Quebec to visit Cree, Innu and Inuit communities, and share with them an Aboriginal chamber opera whose mission is to teach the white men how to laugh again and, by therefore love others more. Chaakapesh the Trickster- written by Tomson Highway, composed by Matthew Ricketts and performed by the OSM – is the most evocative and modern example of intercultural collaboration.

“Extra Ordinary is a kind of tea-cosy Ghostbusters that’s consistently funny in a pleasingly off-kilter way.” - Dennis Harvey, Variety “A cracking debut feature from Irish writer-directors Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman.” - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Celebration of Nations featured programming. Tue 17 Mar 7PM / Fri 20 Mar 9:30PM Sat 21 Mar 9:30PM / Sun 22 Mar 7PM

Wed 25 Mar 7PM + Fri 27 Mar 6:30PM

FLEABAG

A HIDDEN LIFE

UK, 2019. Directed by Tony Grech-Smith, Vicky Jones. 80 min. NR

Germany, USA, 2019. Directed by Terrence Malick. 174 min. PG Presented in English, German and Italian with English subtitles.

See the hilarious, award-winning, onewoman show that inspired the BBC’s hit TV series Fleabag. Written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve) and directed by Vicky Jones, Fleabag is a rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life. Fleabag may seem oversexed, emotionally unfiltered, and self-obsessed, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea pig café struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose.

Based on real events, from visionary writerdirector Terrence Malick, A Hidden Life is the story of an unsung hero, Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. When the Austrian peasant farmer is faced with the threat of execution for treason, it is his unwavering faith and his love for his wife Fani and children that keeps his spirit alive.

Thu 19 Mar 7PM / Fri 20 Mar 6PM / Sat 21 Mar 6PM / Sun 22 Mar 3:30PM / Tue 24 Mar 7PM

“Clifton Hill becomes just as thrilling and disturbing as its titular strip of haunted houses and fading-fast motels.” - Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail

“A Hidden Life is less a story than an experience, a spiritual journey made accessible through light and sound. Malick doesn’t transcend cinema. He sanctifies it.” - Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic

ONE SCREENING ONLY! Fri 27 Mar 9PM

“Fleabag stage version shows off fabulous Phoebe Waller-Bridge. She’s a fabulous actor and a true stage animal, with a wonderfully expressive voice. ” - Michael Phillips, The Chicago Tribune

THE BREAKFAST SANDWICH: A MOST CONVENIENT INDULGENCE ALL WORDS & PICTURES BY TIM STACEY | @timws They say there’s no free lunch, but I’d argue that breakfast commands a higher price. After all, of the three primary meals, it’s the only one during which you’re least likely to be conscious. No, I don’t mean ethically or ecologically conscious of your diet – I mean literally conscious, as opposed to dead asleep between alarm clock snoozes. This is why breakfast has the greatest hurdle to overcome; if you’re going to eat it, you have to really want to. There’s plenty of evidence to support why you should be eating breakfast, and plenty to suggest that you may not need to. The science is neither here nor there; I believe that the real value of breakfast is psychological. Investing a portion of your woefully limited pre-work time in a good meal is a not-so-small pleasure; doing so should be celebrated. Unfortunately, making or even finding a good meal in those scant minutes isn’t necessarily easy. The economy of morning hours has made convenience the greatest factor of consideration in choosing a breakfast, which has inflicted a veritable death by a thousand cuts on the morning meal. Convenience made strudel into toaster strudel, and toaster strudel into Pop-Tarts. Your morning rush is what tears a perfectly good piece of toast with cold, unyielding knobs of butter. The need for speed turned a small coffee-anddoughnuts joint into the sprawling leviathan of reheated horror that is Tim Hortons. Though much is taken, much abides. There is still one bastion of breakfast food, combining both satisfaction and convenience, in which you can believe: the breakfast sandwich. Although comparing all breakfast foods is a bit too "apples and oranges" to be worthwhile, I believe the breakfast sandwich is a banner under which we can all unite. Yes, you may be hungry enough for a full English, but with its many components comes the need for a plate, a table, and time. And while you may need something fast, surely you can (and surely you should) do better than a hastily peeled banana. The breakfast sandwich surrenders to your schedule, boldly going where you need it to. Just as the Apollo astronauts would’ve surely liked to bring a few more terrestrial comforts with them, the laws of physics kept them humble. So it is with your daily launch from home; you can’t take a whole hash with you, but the dependable breakfast sandwich is well within your thrust-to-weight ratio. By all educated guesses, convenience was the impetus for this handheld wonder’s origin more than a century ago. Either by cowboys eating in the saddle or by Chinese railroad workers evoking a beloved dish from home, someone created the breakfast sandwich because they wanted their eggs, meat, and toast, but they didn't want to be late. If you’re going to be late in the morning, it should be because of your breakfast. Despite its fame as “the most important meal of the day”, only 60% of Canadians bother with breakfast. Nearly half the country would rather sleep a little later, shower a little longer, or forgo the meal altogether in the name of intermittent fasting. I’m guilty of this myself, often opting for an espresso and little else until lunch. The eponymous sandwich is breakfast’s greatest compromise in the name of serving us better. A fast-food staple that prompted all-day breakfast hours nationwide, the breakfast sandwich is a microcosm of the plated meal. I adore breakfast sandwiches for their convenience, but chasing that end too enthusiastically has diminishing returns. If speed and accessibility were the primary factors in favouring one sandwich over another, McDonald's Egg McMuffin would win hand over foot. In fact, similar to the idea of the breakfast sandwich in general, the McMuffin’s origin was in service of convenience. Adman Herb Peterson developed the Egg McMuffin in 1971 as a way to make eggs benedict without hollandaise, as including the temperamental sauce wasn’t a realistic goal for fast food. And although

16 | March 2020

Peterson seemed to have determined that the best way around hollandaise was to just omit it, the end result was undeniably delicious. However, as great as the Egg McMuffin is, if you sacrifice a bit of that convenience, you can get a few options in the area that are considerably more appetizing. The most direct next step is a McMuffin counterpart, served up at Caffe Gatti; it’s a conventional combo of a toasted English muffin, a fried egg, and cheese. In addition, however, both the breakfast sandwich and the “beneditto” (adding Canadian bacon and hollandaise) come with hot peppers. This is a welcome, if intense, twist on the breakfast standard. The peppers come close to overwhelming the entire sandwich, but when combined with the beneditto’s rich hollandaise, the peppers pleasantly cut through the profile with an acerbic heat. If you’re not a breakfast sandwich purist and can forgive a substituted English muffin or an added vegetable, your horizons only widen further throughout St. Catharines’ downtown. As expected, Incoho’s take on the breakfast sandwich is in line with their overall ethos – it’s fresh and simple, and all the better for it. Rich egg, unctuous cheese and bacon (standard or peameal), with the much-appreciated addition of tomato and lettuce, all served on an in-house baked traditional Filipino pandesal roll. Lastly, I’d like to recognize what is a breakfast sandwich in little more than name only, but my favourite, nevertheless. T.J. Meat’s take on the mobile meal, served from their booth at the St. Catharines Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, is as delicious as it is inconvenient. I work Saturday mornings, and so, to enjoy this breakfast sandwich, I start my morning routine about a half-hour earlier than I would otherwise, all in the hope that T.J. Meats' will be ready to assemble the eclectic range of toppings the order calls for – egg, peameal bacon, pesto, eggplant, roasted red peppers, fresh green peppers, sautéed onions, tomato, lettuce, and cheddar cheese, on your choice of a regular or tomato bun, and grilled on a panini press. Obviously, when it comes to a breakfast sandwich, none of this is strictly necessary – but it’s all so worth it. The cornucopia of vegetables. The extra-early visit to the Farmers Market. The pesto. Neither I nor the sandwich needs it, but I love it all the same. This sandwich is literally the reason I get up when I do on Saturday mornings. Whether you, like me, rarely eat a proper breakfast, or at most, opt for something sad like cereal (don’t @ me), I’d urge you to indulge wherever and whenever possible. The best way to do so is with a breakfast sandwich. Take an extra ten minutes at the farmers market to get a veggie-laden egg sandwich on a fresh tomato bun. Leave a little early to catch your bus and pick up a sammy to go from Incoho right next door to the terminal. If nothing else, take a detour through that McDonald's drive-thru on your morning commute and wolf down a McMuffin while you’re stuck in traffic. With a little perspective, eating a breakfast sandwich is the culinary equivalent to stopping and smelling the roses. That is, if you get to eat the roses. And if the roses taste like fat and salt and carbs. You should feel a certain sense of accomplishment when you do so, because you didn’t have to do so. In spirit, and in the smallest possible way, you’ve pushed back against the heat death of the universe. Enjoy your little victory over the morning, and over your unconscious self who’s still asleep in a lesser timeline. You can sleep when you’re dead. Enjoying a breakfast sandwich, on the other hand, is a luxury reserved for the living. Photos top to bottom: Caffe Gatti’s “beneditto”, a classic breakfast sandwich with a spicy flare thanks to its hot peppers; Incoho's simple and delicious breakfast sandwich, adding tomato and lettuce for a bright crunch, and served on a traditional Filipino pandesal roll; Halfway through T.J. Meats' veggie-heavy breakfast sandwich at the St. Catharines Farmers Market.

THE JUST RIPE: WTF IS ORANGE WINE

BY LINDSAY HATCH @thejustripe They kind of like a white and sometimes a rosé but have more characteristics of a red. Often referred to as orange wines... which really is just a colour; are wines that are made from white grapes in the same wine making technique as reds. They are the white wine grape varieties that experience a maceration(which is where juice and skins spend time together AKA colour... and flavour) when being made. Orange wines are different to rosé’s, which are red wine grapes made like white wines with very little to zero skin contact. Wine has been made on this planet for a very long time... dating back to 7000 BC in Georgia (the country!), which is one of the countries where orange wine was once exclusive too... along with Italy and Slovenia. With its growing popularity, winemakers all over the world are starting to dabble with these skin contact beauties. Not always orange, these bad boys can range in colour from strawlike-yellow to Jurassic Park amber to insanely vibrant orange and pink hues. As strong as their range in colour is their range in flavours, all the way from fruity and fresh with a small splash of tannins, to savory with a strong sort of oversteeped oolong tea flavour. If you are new to this style, I would recommend starting off on the fruity side before diving into the super meaty examples... which you can work your way too – the longer the skin contact, the stronger the wine. Big Head Winery (full disclosure... I work there) just released a skin contact Pinot Gris and are calling it the Pinot Gris Select. Once harvested, the grapes spend 10 days on skins in a stainless steel tank under a blanket of CO2, which is also called carbonic maceration. The CO2 protects the fruit from oxygen, but also encourages the production of fun and fresh aromatics in the wine. The liquid is then pressed from the skins and put into an old 1000L oak barrel. The barrel won’t add oak flavour to the wine, but allows for oxygen to slowly get into the wine (which creates a bit of a silkier mouth feel). I don’t recommend drinking this very cold, just with a small chill. If it’s too cold, you won’t get to experience all it has to offer. It has the freshest aroma of orange and grapefruit peels with a strong shadow of a white flower perfume... but not the synthetic bullshit – REAL oils. The palate tastes like sitting on a salty beach eating tangerines that have the tart sour finish of a kumquat on a sunny day. The finish has soft silky tannins that give off the impression of cloves, but spicy and gentle, not in the spicy, painful way. This wine glows in the sun like my Himalayan salt rock and tastes how I wish it would, if I licked it. Wine: 2018 Pinot Gris Select Cost: $25.00 Winery: Big Head Winery Address: 304 Hunter Rd. NOTL Side Note: The term orange wine is something I tend not to use

often...I prefer defining these wines as “skin-contact white wines” since they come in such a variety of shapes and sizes.

Part 2: The Pen Salesmen. Read the past excerpt at thesound.rocks

The seminar was held in a room in the local union hall opposite the college and I was only one of five people to show up. We sat in a horseshoe of foldout tables as we waited around in a room painted a long forgotten yellow until a man walked in wheeling a cart with a television on top of it. “Welcome!” the man said in a loud, professional, nasally cocksure voice. “My name is Will Warbutton and I own The Magic Writer Pen Company!” His offhanded confidence added a gawking mystery to the room. Light brown hair shaped like a Canadian hockey helmet, penetrating eyes the color of green ice, square jaw, snoutish nose, thick, stubby fingers adorned with big, garish rings, stalky build, squat legs he looked worldly, ready for action, and at peace with his decisions. After asking us our current job situations — three out of five at one fast food joint or another — he

scratched his head like an educated gorilla and clapped his hands together. “Does everyone know what a pen is?” he asked, looking seriously around the room. A couple of us laughed. Will Warbutton smirked as if to say: “You think you know!” He continued by asking us if we hated door-todoor salesman. None of us said anything. "Well, what I do, is like the arena rock of door-todoor selling!” Without further ado, Will put a tape in the VCR and pressed play. No intro narrative, no build of any kind, just a home recording of Will Warbutton standing on a podium in some Zellers selling his pens! Ruthlessly! Hilariously! Charmingly! Menacingly! Dictatorially! Hellishly! What sort of devil had spawned him? When the spiel was over, the crowd, because there was a crowd, all had twenty dollar bills raised in the air! A description of the pen: when flipped upside down The Magic Writer Pen would automatically hide the ink nub, and when flipped back to writing mode it appeared again and the writing could commence without any clicking or turning necessary. Two of these came in a gold-sprayed cardboard box reaching a total of nineteen ninety-five. He said with a twinkle in his eye and slight smirk across his lips that for an extra five cents, he’d throw in a third “dialer” pen to make it a neat twenty. He pitched this last pen like it was a woman’s saving grace: “Now ladies, when you are out on one of those nights when only you are allowed in for free and the drinks are half price, there sits your husbands at home either climbing the walls or watching the hockey game, or both, wouldn’t it be nice to at least give them a call! Laughter, sighs, hearty chuckling from the men. Will

heard it all! It was a two-cent pen with a flat top! I had found an idol! When Will stopped the tape I rubbed my eyes in disbelief I looked over at the others in the room. Personally I was sold and ready to follow Will to the ends of the earth but as for the others who were squinting and all seemingly dumbfounded I wasn’t sure. Will proceeded to give an outline of his business. He told us there were twenty-five give-or-take-afew people in his employ and that most of them were under thirty and if they had been with him more than fours years could quite possibly pack it all in and retire. They travelled the country in his private jet… “Private jet?!”chortled one of the French fry minions. Will shot him a look with narrowed eyes and the smirk was back. He pulled out his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans, which looked like he needed pliers to put on. He didn’t dress rich. A plain white t-shirt complete with pocket tucked in. Nothing like questionable fashion sense to pull off the eccentric rich guy look. He removed what seemed like a business card, walked up to the kid who had spoke and careleesly dropped it in front of him. When it got to me I almost choked. There it was. The Magic Writer Pen jet! Magic Writer Pen written in blue right on the side of it. Seeing that everyone was satisfied and much more attentive, and confused for that matter, Will Warbutton continued to speak: “Like I was saying, I have a couple dozen employees criss-crossing the country from department store to department store, usually groups of five per town, we stay in all the best hotels, we eat in all the best restaurants and we enjoy life! If anyone is interested and thinks they have what it takes, I’m looking to hire

two or three more people. I’m having a meeting with one of my crews right here, same time tomorrow, we will see what you’re made of then. The pay is commission with bonuses. We wear suits to every job. Our objective is to provide the public with a gift idea and to make it fun! There are presentations and then there are performances. When customers are gathered together the salesman really gets to play the actor. As you have seen from the tape. Right? With me you will learn the power of captivation. You must have an inborn love of public speaking. Shrinking violets need not apply! There also needs to be an ambition to create your own style. No two pitches are the same. I’ve been running this business for ten years now and I could retire three times over. Any questions? Questions?? I had about a hundred. I looked over at the others: a small herd of deer caught in the headlights. I decided to keep quiet until the meeting was over. As it happened I met Will Warbutton in the parking lot. I wont relay the conversation verbatim, it included some stumbling enthusiasum that’s for sure, but I will say my first tete-a-tete with the boss man sealed my fate indefinetly. I was honest about my situation. About how I was giving up at school and how it was starting to wear me down. I told him with hurried excitement how he’d made an extraordinary impression on me, that his “performance” was exactly what I was looking for. After a couple anxious and awestruck comments, Will put his hand on my shoulder and said: “We’re gonna take care of you kid, I got a good feeling about you. Let’s get to work!” Just like that! My immediate thought being I obviously couldn’t have been the first one to hear these words but like I said, my fate was sealed. Will Warbutton was taking me under his wing and I had to quit schoool.

Continued next month in The Sound

TWEET CUTE & THE BEAR: 4 NEW NOVELS TO CHECK OUT BY KARISSA FAST

Spend a day working at a library or a bookstore and you’ll spend a day surrounded by readers. People will line up with piles of books all day. Many of those people will be back within a week to borrow another stack. All day, you’ll be sending good books on their way with eager readers. In spite of all this you might often hear the phrase, “People just don’t read like they used to.” I’m here to tell you – that’s true! We don’t read like we used to. We read more. A study by The Toronto Star revealed that 80% of Ontarian adults are readers, and over half prefer to physical books to digital ones. Whether you prefer ebooks, audiobooks, or the good old hard copy, here are 4 new novels to check out:

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord – Young Adult Romantic Comedy

Delightfully "cheesy," with a pinch of teenage snark. Pepper and Jack are children of rival fast food establishments: one a huge burger chain with a Wendy'sesque twitter presence, and the other a mom-and-pop deli with killer grilled cheese. They go to

the same preppy NYC private school. They’re involved in an over-the-top Tweet War. And they're falling in love on an anonymous chat app, without realizing who the other is. Secrets, twists, and dramatic reveals make this YA RomCom

compulsively readable. The writing is straightforward and fast-paced, and the characters each have a distinct voice. It’s a really fun reading experience with a You’ve Got Mail feel.

My Life as a Diamond by Jenny Manzer – Middle Grade Fiction

The nostalgia of Sandlot meets a young LGBTQ+ perspective. This wonderful, feel good baseball story is about a trans boy who gets a fresh start in a new city. The vast majority of the story takes place on the baseball diamond, which will appeal to any reader who loves the game. It was

wise of the author to tackle the topic of a trans boy through the narrowed lens of an underdog baseball team. There are so many aspects of young life to consider, but by focusing on baseball the book stayed light, simple, and will appeal to many young readers. Even reluctant ones.

Who doesn’t LOVE a baseball story where the immoral, nasty team eventually loses to the underdogs? I highly recommend this book to children in grades 4-6, and any adult who wants a light read that will expand their perspective.

Dual Citizens by Alix Ohlin – Literary Fiction

I have never been so hooked by a realistic, familycentred literary novel. We start with an unsettling scene involving the two sisters in a forest, one pregnant. A wolf, who they inexplicably know as Catherine, appears. She charges past them, and the pregnant sister goes into labour. We don't find out the context of that scene until the very end of the book.

Lark and Robin have a complicated upbringing – emotional abuse and neglect are present, and yet they both manage to become remarkable. Lark is the top of her class in high school and earns a full scholarship, while Robin shows her talent as a piano prodigy. We follow their lives in detail in university and early career.

The Bear by Andrew Krivak – Literary Fiction

A lyrical fable for fans of soft apocalypse. The world as we know it ended long ago, and there are only two people left: a young girl and her father. They live a peaceful life together in a forest cabin, telling stories, hunting for food, and crafting tools. The man leads the girl on a long journey by foot to the ocean when he is bitten by a poisonous animal. After he succumbs to the poison, a bear appears and speaks to the girl. Can the last human on Earth survive without a father? Lovers of language take note: the act of reading this book is truly an experience. The slow pace of the plot forces you to savour every word, and you’ll find yourself wanting to read sentences aloud for the full affect.

It is a literary masterpiece, with subtle themes and devices poking up throughout. But it is not at all pretentious. This is a book that will impress students of literature, and at the same time draw in fans of general fiction.

Karissa Fast is a librarian at St. Catharines Public Library. Visit us online or at your closest branch to place a hold on any of the reviewed books.

Upcoming Events At

TUE, MAR 24 Corrie Corrigan BOOK LAUNCH

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DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS BY KATE NOTWELL CNP | @holistikate I am not one to pay attention to fear-mongering media propaganda, probably specifically because if I did, my anxiety would take me over. So, I tend to steer clear, especially when it comes to trying to make you afraid of getting sick, aka the latest sickness plaguing the globe, the novel Coronavirus. To be honest, I never really gave much thought to SARS, The Avian Flu, H1N1, etc. etc. etc., and until recently I never thought about why. And the why is that I never really had to worry about them. Most of these viruses mainly affected young children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems, and since I am lucky enough to be in good health and do not have children or grandparents, I was kind of immune to all of the hype. Then I booked a trip to Italy... one day before the virus blew up in 11 small towns in the Italian north. And as I began to research, I began to wonder about everyone who is fearful of the virus not just because

it might interrupt travel plans (#firstworldproblems), but because they are afraid that they or a loved one may become incredibly sick and even deathly ill. Those who have small children, those who are grandparents, those who may have an autoimmune disease and the inability to fight off a virus or develop the antibodies to do so. The fear-mongering media is creating in these people a monster of anxiety, panic, and desperation to protect their lives and the lives of others. I began to understand how fears and feelings about these illnesses could spiral out of control, because there is a legitimate reality that one could become sick, especially in our world of globalization and world travel. I began putting together a list of herbal and natural protective remedies that could potentially help you stave off illness. My education in herbal medicine began to come back to me, and I was drawn back into the magical power that is our earth, and what it can provide for us. I will preface

this list by saying that I am not a medical doctor, nor is the following medical advice in any way. There is always a time and a place for medications, vaccines and antibiotics; however, I do believe we are over-drugged and overmedicated. So perhaps before you reach for that bottle, or before you feel sick enough to need those pills, try something from the list below to help prevent what may be coming your way. Now you might have thought that your grandmother or mother was / is crazy with all of her homemade concoctions and her hippy remedies, but in one way or another, each little weirdo recipe made you feel better to some degree. So, when Grams fed you chicken noodle soup when you were sick with cold or flu, there was some method to her madness. Enter bone broth: perhaps the most healing food on the planet, bone broth heals the gut, which gives you a better fighting chance against sickness from the get-go. It contains amino acid glycine, which can help you sleep, and sleep is imperative for your immune system to work correctly. Bone broth, in its various forms, has been shown to boost the immune system by grandmothers in cultures worldwide…and although there are no studies or irrefutable scientific research showcasing graphs and charts and double-blind placebos, bone broth always helps me stay healthy and heals me from sickness quickly when I get there. Plus, the comfort of a hot steaming mug of liquid gold can bring a feel-good moment to an otherwise sniffly day. A hippie remedy that I learned in herbal medicine is the seemingly infinite power of the elderberry. Hippocrates, also known as “the father of medicine”, is first attributed with the discovery of the elderberries’ magic. Still, some records show that its use can be traced as far back as Ancient Egypt or even prehistoric man. Whomever the credit goes to, thank our lucky stars that we have this potent plant to help prevent and get us through our sickest times. Elderberries have been used to help with colds, flu, fever, inflammation, allergies, digestive health, and even urinary tract infections. What is most relevant about these berries now, considering our pending pandemic, are their antiviral properties, meaning they can deactivate viral enzymes and prevent them from multiplying. Get your elderberry tea on daily during cold, flu, and coronavirus season to help protect yourself. Another berry that can help kick-ass against harmful germs and sickness is the juniper berry. While most famous for giving the distinct

flavour to gin, juniper berries can help to flush out and detox the kidneys, and can also help aid in digestion. Most importantly, juniper berries are antiseptic, meaning they can prevent the growth of disease-causing organisms. My herbal medicine prof used to chew these dried berries on every flight to prevent from getting sick. Drinking gin would be the next best thing, but the berries are definitely the by far better option. It is important to note that if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or diabetic, you should consult your doctor before using juniper berries. Ever have a friend or relative give you some Gatorade when you've been sick or had food poisoning (or a hangover)? What these kind-hearted souls are trying to do (perhaps unwittingly) is to replace your electrolytes, aka minerals, which replenish the cells after a loss of fluids (sweat, tears, vomit, etc.). That's where good quality sea salt comes into play. Think about it; when you have the sweats from the flu, your sweat is salty, which means you are losing salt, aka sodium, aka minerals. These minerals need to be replaced, and while Gatorade attempts to do this with sugar and dyes and yes, some crappy quality salt, none of that is necessary. Just find some good quality Himalayan sea salt — derived from dried salt beds in the Himalayas — and add a tsp-tbsp to a glass of filtered water and drink up. Do this a couple of times a day prior to being sick to avoid dips in minerals that can weaken your immune system, or when you are sick to help you get back on your feet faster. Quercetin, found in juniper berries, capers, red onions and kale, has been shown in research to help alleviate illness from some pretty scary viruses. Early research from a study out of Quebec is even looking at Quercetin as a solution to the Coronavirus pandemic, and Canadian doctors are currently beginning clinical trials in China. While most commonly supplemented for allergy relief, perhaps now is the time to supplement proactively to help prevent the spread of what we can only hope is another virus that our media has blown entirely out of proportion. In addition, other immune-boosting and healing foods we know and love, such as turmeric, ginger, garlic, honey, and even pickle juice should maintain in your rotation, because no one wants to get sick and every little bit helps. When it comes to viruses, prevention is a great idea, and though nothing is foolproof, and you may still get sick, why not try a natural option to better your odds?

OUT AND abOUT: DIVERSITY TAKES CENTRE STAGE AT 2020 EVENTS BY JOAN WILEY

Most of us are ready to break free of our winter cocoon and look forward to the events, days and months that honour and celebrate the sexual- and gender-diverse community. Like the variety of flowers that soon will be pushing up through the soil in spring, there’s no shortage of diversity. One annual event that recently passed — Pink Shirt Day on Feb. 26 — encouraged people to wear pink shirts, which signify anti-bullying initiatives. The day, held on the last Wednesday of February each year, began in 2007 in Berwick, N.S., when students David Shepherd and Travis Price bought and distributed 50 pink shirts after a male Grade 9 student was bullied on his first day in high school because he wore a pink shirt. The grassroots resistance movement quickly spread nationally, to the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, and beyond. The following is a partial list of events that will be occurring in 2020. Many of these days or months will be recognized in Niagara, so periodically check the Community Calendar on the website of OUTniagara, a registered non-profit umbrella organization that supports Niagara’s sexual- and gender-diverse community, at outniagara.ca. Find out if there’s anything happening near you. And if there’s not, organize something!

•February: Black History Month •March 31: Transgender Day of Visibility—a free, all-ages event will take place at Third Space Café in Niagara Falls, 4-8pm •April 26: Lesbian Visibility Day •May 17: International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia •June: Pride Month •July 14: International Non-Binary People’s day •June 21: National Aboriginal Day •Sept. 23: International Celebrate Bisexuality Day •October: LGBT History Month •October: AIDS Awareness Month •Oct. 11: National Coming Out Day •Oct. 25-31: Asexuality Week •Oct. 26: International Intersex Awareness Day •Nov. 20: Transgender Day of Remembrance A free event that is quickly approaching is an evening with Ivan Coyote, an internationally recognized storyteller and author. Their presentation, “Neither, Nor: How to Circumnavigate the Gender Binary in Seven Thousand Easy Steps” will take place Friday, March 13, 7pm, at the Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines.

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Associate Professor Natalee Caple, Department of English Language and Literature at Brock University, has organized the event. Both OUTniagara and PFLAG Niagara, a peer-support group for parents, family and friends of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, have supported the event with sizable donations. Brian Scriver, chair of the board of OUTniagara, said he’s delighted that OUTniagara is able to financially assist with bringing a high-calibre performer like Ivan Coyote to Niagara. “This is exactly why OUTniagara’s Community Fund was formed – to support and enrich the lives of Niagara’s sexualand gender-diverse community. We thank the organizer for inviting us to participate in this exciting event.” To learn about OUTniagara’s

Community Fund, go to outniagara.ca. To discover more about this event and the partners who are making it happen, go to https://bit.ly/2Hq92lZ Looking ahead to June, the District School Board of Niagara recently reassured Niagara residents that it will continue to raise the rainbow flag during Pride Month, along with its new diversity flag. Many thanks to Trustee Kate Baggott who read OUTniagara’s letter that supported the ongoing raising of the rainbow flag. On deck in 2020 are the installations of rainbow crosswalks that have been approved for both St. Catharines and Niagara Falls. We’ll keep you posted about details as we learn them. It’s going to be a busy year. We hope to see you at the many events.

So what are you going to do about it? First, figure out what it is that you need to feel safe and good and then move from there. Create boundaries that make sense for you, and they only have to make sense for you. You need to withdraw and that is just fine. Give yourself permission to take the space you require. But be aware of the danger of taking too much space, because that is a very real possibility with you. Connection and intimacy is just as important. It is your work to find that balance.

Aries. You are awakening to your worth in a whole new way. Finding new ways to access your talents and gifts. Part of it is a remembrance, accessing parts of yourself that you have forgotten about. And another part is discovering new things that you didn’t know existed. They have always been there, hiding under the surface. It is time to pull them up. It would be wise to take a lot of time for reflection. The energy is more internal than external. Fill yourself up from the inside. You are here for a reason, if you don’t know why yet take time to figure it out. Find your mission, write it down, make it your mantra for the rest of the year. If you do this you will begin to create some magical opportunities for yourself. Taurus. Turn in to turn on. Can you direct your attention completely towards yourself? If you are feeling undervalued it is because you have not found that for yourself. The way to this is through feeling good. It’s that simple. But it can feel tricky because often we think things feel good because other people have told us they do. This is about finding your authentic sense of self and then seeing what you are magnetized to from that place. Are you investing time into the things that you love, the people that you love? Or are you leaking your energy into places that don’t actually have value for you. You get to choose. A Lot of this has to do with learning to listen to your intuition. It knows. Gemini. You are restless, kind of. It’s a new flavour of unease. You are used to being restless, it’s part of who you are. You need movement and stimulation and challenge. But this feeling is different. You are yearning for something new. A sense of rootedness, a sense of home, a sense of connection. You are done with people that don’t do it for you. You know what I mean, I know you do. You are ready to up-level your entire life, which means you need to raise the bar on who you allow close to you. It makes a difference. Not everyone gets to see your inner world, only those that are kind and wise enough to know that it is a sacred space. It is time to go below the surface and start to satisfy your soul’s needs. That is what you need to feed. Cancer. You are still figuring out how to relate to the rest of the world. To people. Others. No man (or woman) is an island. This is the truth. 22 | March 2020

Leo. There is a really big shift available to you right now but it will require you taking some risks. They are not risks on the material plane, but more risks of the heart. A call to become more vulnerable, more humble, and more open is here for you. The more you share of your true self, the things that are in there, the raw stuff... the more you draw to yourself opportunities and people that are right for you. Not to sound cliche, but it would be wise to follow your heart right now. It is speaking to you. If you can’t hear it, find new ways to listen. Get quiet. Spend time alone. It has important things to say. Virgo. Are you being useful? That is the question these days. Because the thing is, it is really important to. You truly need to feel as though you are contributing, making a difference, effecting change. These things matter. What is required of you right now is openness. It might be a challenge because you have to become more vulnerable than you may be comfortable with. Make yourself more available, but your true self. It will make connections with others more accessible. Because we all feel insecure. If you march through life arrogant and puffed up, you miss out on real relationships. Jump out of your comfort zone and see what you get. Libra. You are trying to get to the bottom of something right now. It has to do with restructuring your life. You have grown and evolved so much over the past few years that your old ways of doing things are outdated. Your operating system needs an upgrade. For this detective work you are going to need more quiet space and time with yourself. It is temporary but super important right now. Create new ways of listening. Reflection. Contemplation. Lean heavily into your meditation practice and if you don’t have one, it is time to get on it. If you can create structure around your creativity and how you utilize your time you will find yourself in completely new territory. And this territory is all yours. Scorpio. Your needs are changing. Can you feel

it? It is time to change things up a bit. You are stuck and you don’t have to be. It just requires finding new outlets for your energy. Where does your energy want to go right now? Do some digging. Figure out what is missing. Do the Nancy Drew thing and get all detective about your life and your world. The places to look are the places that hold your pleasure and vitality, and the places that don’t. If you can recalibrate and find a new center of focus you will begin to feel enthusiastic about your life again. Things are getting a bit too heavy but that is just because the lightness is missing. Have fun, find fun people and it will change everything.

Sagittarius. It is all new. Everything is new. It’s time to start over completely, but still somehow manage to carry the wisdom from the past forward with you. It is a fine line, but if anyone can do it it’s you. Make FOCUS your word this month. Simplify. Choose a few really important things and completely focus on them. Ground that scattered energy because you are not going to accomplish anything if you continue to try to do one million things. Allow yourself a fresh start and it all starts with changing how you use your mind. Work it like a muscle. But not in the way you normally work it. Build your focus. Train it into being. It is time to create something real and tangible. In order to make this happen you need to completely restructure your habits. And rewire that beautiful brain of yours. Capricorn. Something is ending. For real. It is

big big. A complete shift happens. Wherever you have been spending your time and energy for the past three years is going to change dramatically, and in a positive way. The things that were difficult won’t feel so difficult anymore. You will have new challenges and new lessons to learn but you are ready for it. This change can make you feel a bit restless but go with it. The restlessness is good for you because you can often get heavy-footed. Be lighter and embrace movement, whatever that looks like for you. You might want to take this opportunity to breathe new life into all of the spaces in your life, and that includes the physical ones. Clean out. Clear out. Make room for something new.

Aquarius. You may be procrastinating on something of great importance to you. It comes from a place of perfectionism and lack of confidence in your abilities. But you are so capable. And you are so ready. Figure out what it is that you are not doing that you need to do and then just do it. That is the energy that is required right now. Find ways to create more clarity so that it is easy to come to the tasks that require your attention. You want to tend to these things because they will bring you towards what you want. Prioritize getting through the difficult stuff and you will find that it isn’t that difficult at all. You have what you need to tend to them because they are for you to tend to. Believe in yourself and get to work. Pisces. There is something that wants to pull you out of yourself. In a good way. New things. There is alot of innovative energy surrounding you rightn now, alot of creativity. You tend to move inward but the pull is out. Out into the world, out of your regular routines and habits. At the same time the soul part of you, your internal world, needs tending to as well. Especially as you put yourself out there. You need to stay tethered to your own center so that you do not lose yourself in this movement. But it is important to follow this new feeling because it has everything to do with your mission and your reason for being here. Your life wants to live itself through your right now, fully. Let it.

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STYLIST Natalia

March 2020 CLIENT Melissa

BEFORE

ER T AF

SUNDAY 1

· Fances Yip - Avalon Ballroom · Mel Monaco - Club 55 · O'Deadlys *Matinee 2pm*- The Irish Harp · Old Plank Road *4pm* - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Twilight Jazz Series feat. Alistair Robertson - Mahtay Cafe · This Time Around - Monty's Gastropub · Josh Coulter - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · Sinner w/Trauma Model - Warehouse

MONDAY 2

· Fances Yip - Avalon Ballroom · Sound Sound - Mahtay Cafe · Kareoke w/Christie Hails - Taps Brewhouse · Perpetual Jam Night - Third Space Cafe

TUESDAY 3

· Open Mic - Borderline Bar & Grill · Brock University presents: Music @ Noon feat. Walker String Quartet - Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

WEDNESDAY 4

· Rascal Flatts - Avalon Ballroom · Jazz & Blues Jam - Cat's Kitchen · Open Mic w/Amanda Lyn Parker - Club 55 · Open Mic w/Djino LaFrancois - Donnelly's Pub · Sarah Slean & Hawksley Workman Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Open Mic w/Abe Bergsma- Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · Bonds of Mara w/Calling All Gods & Stellar Ash - Willie John's Big Easy

THURSDAY 5

· Rascal Flatts - Avalon Ballroom · Daylight Burners - Club 55 · LMT Connection - Doc Magilligan's · Tanya Tucker - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Ashlee Standish - local. · Open Mic - Mahtay Cafe · BJ Frid - Mr. Mike's Steakhouse · Paige Kopp - Taps Brewhouse · 2nd Anniversary Extravaganza & Charity Event feat. 13 Musicians - Vegan Hippie Chick

FRIDAY 6

Melissa said it was time for a change! Melissa has never felt more like herself than with her new cut and colour!

STYLIST Angela

CLIENT Rosanne BEFORE

RR E E TT AAFF

Rosanne is a hard working mother always putting her children first. Rosanne was so appreciative to take a little ‘me’ time.

· Neon Rain - Big Texas · Clockwork - Club 55 · XPrime - Doc Magilligan's · Adam & Steve - Forty Public House · Danny Boys - The Irish Harp · The Procrastinators - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Patsy & the Muscle - Kilt & Clover · Poetry Slam - Mahtay Cafe · Nicole Cerminara - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Tonight's Office - Monty's Gastropub · Tin Roof - Niagara Oast House Brewers · The Old Winos w/Straight South - The Old Winery · Madhatters - Olde Angel Inn · Rock of 80's - Olee's Ale House · Jasmine T - Peter Piper's Pubhouse · The Distraction - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Winter Beater - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · BeePax & Theatre Crisp - Taps Brewhouse · Lunn Variety Show - Vegan Hippie Chick · Royal Tusk w/BRKN Love & Ready The Prince - Warehouse · Disco Dance Party feat. Hausquake White Oaks

SATURDAY 7

· Gianni Russo - Avalon Ballroom · The Handsome Devils - Camp Cataract · Beyond the Grave - Chip N' Charlies · Gravely James - Club 55 · By Design - Doc Magilligan's · Brant Parker Blues Band w/Joel Johnson *Matinee 2:30pm* - Donnelly's Pub · Chorus Niagara presents: Touch the Earth Lightly - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Nick Arseneau Sextet - Grimsby Public Art Gallery · Pub Jugs - The Irish Harp · Vertigo - Jeffro's BBQ · The Mighty Duck Blues Band w/The Burgess Brothers *Matinee 2:30pm* - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Feverish Lemons - Kilt & Clover · JIN - Merchant Ale House · Over Easy - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Blues Etc w/Chuck Jackson *Matinee 3:30pm* - Monty's Gastropub · The Perfect Host w/Maybe Kinda Sorta, Among Legends & Fallen Heights - Moose & Goose · Niagara Rhythm Section w/Michael Schatte - The Old Winery · Hard Rock Hooligans - Olde Angel Inn · Riley Michaels - Olee's Ale House · George T Jazz Duo *Matinee 2pm* - Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Ryan Thomas - Puddy's Bar & Grill · XPrime - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · Steve Strongman - Station 1 Coffeehouse · Alfred Atley - Taps Brewhouse · The Lucky Ones w/Gag Order & The Topshots - Warehouse

SUNDAY 8

· 8th Annual Evening for Women's Place with Dealerz Choice Duo & Friendz - Club 55 · The Gallery Players of Niagara present: Songs of Life - Year 2 - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Fiddlin' Around *Matinee 2pm*- The Irish Harp · LMT Connection *4pm* - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Josh Coulter - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · WomEnchange Chorus & Drummers Trinity United Church · Donovan Woods - Warehouse

MONDAY 9

· Kareoke w/Christie Hails - Taps Brewhouse · Perpetual Jam Night - Third Space Cafe

TUESDAY 10

· Open Mic - Borderline Bar & Grill · Brock University presents: Music @ Noon feat. Piano Students - Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

WEDNESDAY 11

· Jazz & Blues Jam - Cat's Kitchen · Nicole Cerminara - Club 55 · Open Mic w/Kevin Katkings - Donnelly's Pub · Kim Mitchell - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Open Mic w/Abe Bergsma- Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · Begonia - Silversmith Brewing Company

theSOUND.rocks | 23

THURSDAY 12

· Lunn Variety Show - Camp Cataract · Niagara Lindy Hop w/Maureen Brown Swing Band - Club 55 · Serena Pryne & Nick Riot - local. · Open Mic - Mahtay Cafe · Chris & Nicole Shoen - Mr. Mike's Steakhouse · Sophia DeLuca & Don Cyr - Taps Brewhouse · Chase Stevens & Ron Whitman - Vegan Hippie Chick

FRIDAY 13

· Hometown Rebound - Big Texas · Brooke Georgeneau Band - Club 55 · Celtic Cross w/The Postmen - Doc Magilligan's · Ivan Coyote - Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Feverish Lemons - Forty Public House · Fiddlestix - The Irish Harp · Motherload - Jeffro's BBQ · Groove Revue - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Moonlight Co. - Kilt & Clover · Pub Jugs & Figure Four - Merriton Lions Club · The Siri Storey - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Static Black - Monty's Gastropub · Marty Allen - Niagara Oast House Brewers · Steve Goldberger & the Gentle Spirits - The Old Winery · Simple Gesture - Olde Angel Inn · Step Back Jimi - Olee's Ale House · Jimmy's Juke Joint - Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Uncle Jesses - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Emm Gryner - Redstone Winery · JIN - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · Chris Saylor - Taps Brewhouse

SATURDAY 14

· Set Downstream w/Buddhas Don't Box Camp Cataract · The Breakfast Club - Club 55 · Daryl Gray w/Quell The Swell & The Postmen - Doc Magilligan's · Brant Parker Blues Band w/JJ White *Matinee 2:30pm* - Donnelly's Pub · Carli's Angels - Forty Public House · On Tap - Jeffro's BBQ · The Mighty Duck Blues Band w/Dan McKinnon *Matinee 2:30pm* - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Feverish Lemons - Kilt & Clover · Serena Pryne & Nick Riot - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Blues Etc w/Dwayne LaForme & Blaine Bomberry *Matinee 3:30pm* - Monty's Gastropub · LMT Connectino & Scotty Shennan Niagara Oast House Brewers · Niagara Rhythm Section w/Maureen Brown w/Jim Gay & David Johannesson The Old Winery · Riley Michaels - Olde Angel Inn · Tonight's Office - Olee's Ale House · Barley Brae - Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Black Hat - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Johnny Chimpo - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · Traveling Milburys - Seneca Queen Theatre · Matt Keighan - Taps Brewhouse · Road Waves w/JIN - Warehouse · Mel Monaco - White Oaks

24 | March 2020

SUNDAY 15

· Djno LeFrancois & The Big Dave Trio - Club 55 · Niagara Symphony Orchestra presents: Masterworks 5 - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · JP Shalala *Matinee 2pm*- The Irish Harp · Old Plank Road *4pm* - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Avenue Inn Duo - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Josh Coulter - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · Milos Karadaglic - St. Mark's Church

MONDAY 16

· Les McKeown's Bay City Rollers - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Kareoke w/Christie Hails - Taps Brewhouse · Perpetual Jam Night - Third Space Cafe

TUESDAY 17

· Open Mic - Borderline Bar & Grill · Slider - Cat's Caboose · Celtic & Croon w/The Postmen & Claddagh - Doc Magilligan's · Brock University presents: Music @ Noon feat. Instrumental Students - Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · The Uncle Jesses - Forty Public House · Fiddlin' Around w/Ceol Cara & Pub Jugs - The Irish Harp · 2 Man Group - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Irish Spring - Olde Angel Inn · Rob Repovs w/Max Ingaro - Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Michael Wainwright w/Rich Moore & Lauren & Dave Leprich - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern

WEDNESDAY 18

· Rodney Atkins - Avalon Ballroom · Jazz & Blues Jam - Cat's Kitchen · Jessica Wilson - Club 55 · XPrime - Olde Angel Inn · Open Mic w/Abe Bergsma- Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern

THURSDAY 19

· Styx - Avalon Ballroom · Katey Gatta - Club 55 · LMT Connection - Doc Magilligan's · Aaron MacGregor - local. · Open Mic - Mahtay Cafe · Rosevelt - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · JIN - Mr. Mike's Steakhouse · Ashlee Standish & Mississippi Bends w/ Andrew Aldridge & Mary Simon - Vegan Hippie Chick · James Blonde w/Courage My Love Warehouse

FRIDAY 20

· Evermile - Big Texas · Philip Vonesh w/Thunderclap!, Pablo Paddy, Cat and the Queen & Laurel & Hulley - Camp Cataract · Marty Allen Band - Club 55 · JIN - Doc Magilligan's · Brock University Dept of Music presents: Rondeau Brass Quintet - Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Classic Albums Live: The Rolling Stones Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

FRIDAY 20 (cont'd)

· Abe Bergsma & Dave Grodesky - Forty Public House · Old Man Flanagan - The Irish Harp · Big Dave Trio - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · The Uncle Jesses - Kilt & Clover · Sam Patch & The Bear - Mahtay Cafe · LMT Connection - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Rock of 80s - Monty's Gastropub · Snare Fest feat. Revive the Rose w/Amber Reigns, The Jailbirds & Drop Top Alibi Moose & Goose · Katey Gatta - Niagara Oast House Brewers · The Old Winos w/Mike Lynch & Riley Himmrich - The Old Winery · The Arythmics - Olde Angel Inn · Brooke Lyn - Olee's Ale House · Turntable Rock - Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Fireball - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Patsy & the Muscle - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · Crystal Journey: Spring Equinox - The Sanctuary · Martin Murray - Taps Brewhouse · Jon & Roy w/Jesse Roper - Warehouse

SATURDAY 21

· High Court County - Big Texas · Back to the 80s - Club 55 · Soul Jam - Doc Magilligan's · Brant Parker Blues Band w/Tyler Yarema *Matinee 2:30pm* - Donnelly's Pub · Pub Jugs - The Irish Harp · Triple Crowns - Jeffro's BBQ · The Mighty Duck Blues Band w/Special Guests *Matinee 2:30pm* - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Uno Duo - Kilt & Clover · Skyloco - Mahtay Cafe · Mike Lynch - Merchant Ale House · 2 Man Group - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Blues Etc w/Riley Michaels *Matinee 3:30pm* - Monty's Gastropub · Niagara Rhythm Section w/Conor Gains The Old Winery · Vinyl Flux - Olde Angel Inn · The Uncle Jesses - Olee's Ale House · The Mimics - Peter Piper's Pubhouse · The Good Kids - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Figure Four - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · Bowie Lives: The Bowie Experience - Seneca Queen Theatre · Dr. P - Taps Brewhouse · Strictly Hip - Warehouse

SUNDAY 22

· Groove Revue - Club 55 · Hear! Here! Niagara Music Series feat. Jack DeKeyzer & Jim Gay *4pm* - Robertson Theatre, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · The Next Generation Leahy - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Fiddlin' Around *Matinee 2pm*- The Irish Harp · LMT Connection *4pm* - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Josh Coulter - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern

MONDAY 23

· Tony Orlando - Avalon Ballroom · Kareoke w/Christie Hails - Taps Brewhouse · Perpetual Jam Night - Third Space Cafe

TUESDAY 24

· Tony Orlando - Avalon Ballroom · Songwriter's Event & Open Mic - Borderline Bar & Grill

WEDNESDAY 25

· Sebastian Maniscalco - Avalon Ballroom · Jazz & Blues Jam - Cat's Kitchen · Paige Armstrong - Club 55 · Matt Andersen - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Open Mic w/Abe Bergsma- Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern

THURSDAY 26

· Mel Monaco - Community Crew Gala @ Americana Conference Resort · Sebastian Maniscalco - Avalon Ballroom · Roger Habel - Club 55 · LMT Connection - Doc Magilligan's · The Kaputniks - local. · Open Mic - Mahtay Cafe · The Glorious Sons w/Black Pistol Fire Meridian Centre · Greg Sykes - Mr. Mike's Steakhouse · Aarys w/Jesse Lamothe, Sophia Deluca & Jake Williams - Vegan Hippie Chick

FRIDAY 27

· Chris Young - Avalon Ballroom · Greg Rider - Big Texas · The Daylight Burners - Club 55 · The Uncle Jesses - Cool Hand Lukes · Triple Crowns - Doc Magilligan's

DAILY FEATURES HAPPY HOUR

Everyday 2pm-5:30pm Domestic pints (20oz) $5.00 Red or White house wine (6oz) $5.00 Well Drinks (1oz) $4.00

SUNDAY

Caesars $5.50

DATE NIGHT (after 3pm) CHOICE OF ONE: Bottle of Red or White House wine Or Pitcher of Domestic beer

CHOICE OF TWO ENTREES: Black and Blue chicken Salad Upper Deck Burger Chicken Supreme One piece fish and chips Fettuccine Primavera Asian Stir-fry - Chicken or shrimp

SHARE A DESSERT

$50.00 / COUPLE

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY

Any Pint & a shot (Well Brands) $10.00

FRIDAY & SATURDAY

Sangria Pitchers $18.95 Buy one appetizer, get the 2nd half off (equal or lesser Value) from 8-10pm

210 Martindale Rd., St. Catharines 905-682-3325

NON-MUSIC EVENTS SUNDAY 1

· North Bay Battalion at Niagara Ice Dogs Meridian Centre · Sports Trivia - Taps Brewhouse

MONDAY 2

· Niagara's Name that Tune - The Irish Harp · Choir Nation - Mahtay Cafe · 80s/90s Trivia with Darryl - Olde Angel Inn

TUESDAY 3

· Moving in a Kollective Kommunity - RBC Innocation Studio, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre - The Irish Harp · LGBTQ+ Women's Group - Mahtay Cafe ·Music Trivia - Silversmith Brewing Company · Taps, Apps & Laughs Comedy Night w/ Levi Mann - Taps Brewhouse

WEDNESDAY 4

FRIDAY 6

· Chili Cook Off for Community Care *112pm* - St. Catharines Market Square · Scott Faulconbridge w/Jay Brown & Howard Glassman - Yuk Yuk's

SATURDAY 7

· Brock Musical Theatre - Mahtay Cafe · Erie Otters at Niagara Ice Dogs - Meridian Centre · Drew Behm w/Chris Jarvie & Silvi Santoso - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Scott Faulconbridge w/Jay Brown & Howard Glassman - Yuk Yuk's

SUNDAY 8

· Girls Nite Out - Robertson Theatre, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Phone Photography 101 - Mahtay Cafe · Peterborough Petes at Niagara Ice Dogs Meridian Centre · 90s Music Trivia - Taps Brewhouse

MONDAY 9

· Comedy at Kaz's w/Bonez Poley & Joelle · Niagara's Name that Tune - The Irish Harp Bolton-South feat. Patrick Alexander - Kaz's Pub · Choir Nation - Mahtay Cafe · Gay Men's Meetup - Mahtay Cafe

TUESDAY 10

THURSDAY 5

· Community Yoga Series - Niagara Falls History Museum · Niagara's Top Comic 2020 - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Scott Faulconbridge w/Jay Brown & Howard Glassman - Yuk Yuk's

· Trivia Tuesday - Jack Astor's Bar & Grill · 5x2 Image Maker Discussions - Mahtay Cafe · Monthly Collage Meet Up - Niagara Artists Centre · Taps, Apps & Laughs Comedy Night w/ Levi Mann - Taps Brewhouse

WEDNESDAY 11

· ComedyNight w/Joel Van Vliet - Camp Cataract · Opening Reception: Crisscross - Gallery at the · Bootlegged Film Festival - Seneca Queen Theatre Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts · Drew Behm w/Chris Jarvie & Silvi Santoso · Niagara's Name that Tune - Olde Angel Inn - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment

‘Dave McMahon: The Dog Man’ Video - thesound.rocks

Log #7: 3|20

Robot Puppet Angel

FRIDAY 6

Hi Yeti, It’s March and Planet Earth’s ground is beginning to thaw. I have never experienced snow until winter officially arrived this past month. Humans were both delighted and bothered by the unpredictable weather. However, one thing was for certain, all the canines walking about the neighbourhood were overjoyed. No snow, no problem. Dearest Yeti, doggos are so lovely! I decided to travel to Niagara Falls to meet Dave McMahon: The Dog Man. What an incredible experience. Dave has a very busy Dog Training Academy. While there, I learned much about the importance of seriously training your family friend. Dave also showed us his dog training suit when working with police dogs... and of course I got to meet Miley...the most wonderful dog... Miley smooched me. *eek* I remember you telling me stories of how some dogs use to chase you into the dumpster, but I write to you with good news. With training strategies…dogs can become your best friend! As a puppet I was sure that I would be nothing more than a play toy for them, I was mistaken... These furry four-legged buddies are indeed my friend. One just needs to learn how to better interact with dogs, and all owners need to learn how to better instruct their animal. Dogs are intelligent and deserve respect! Dave shows one how to effectively communicate with their dog. Helping owner and pet become better listeners of each other, ultimately, raising the most loving and loyal addition to any family. Maybe I’ll get a dog! *eek* So much to learn! So many doggos! Earth is great. I miss you chap. Visit Dave’s site davemcmahon.ca And watch the whole RPA episode at thesound.rocks As for next month- who knows what’s in store! Stay warm, Yeti. Love and Noise -------R.P.A.

THURSDAY 12

SATURDAY 21

· Public Lecture - Landon Mackenzie: The Moon is the Message - FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Winter Film Series: Notorious (1946) - Niagara Falls History Museum · Niagara's Top Comic 2020 - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Rob Pue w/Dylan Gott & Rob Bebenek Yuk Yuk's

· Improv Niagara - Camp Cataract · Paul & Luke Don't Even Know How: An Improv Show - Mahtay Cafe · Mark Bennett w/Chris Jarvie & Silvi Santoso - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Tim Steeves w/Keith Pedro & Jarrett Campbell - Yuk Yuk's

· Sudbury Wolves at Niagara Ice Dogs Meridian Centre · Artist Workshop: The Lydia Ruth Truth and Reconcilation Project - RiverBrink Art Museum · Dan Mahoney w/Dave Sakolowski & Mike Mitchell - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Rob Pue w/Dylan Gott & Rob Bebenek Yuk Yuk's

WEDNESDAY 25

FRIDAY 13

SUNDAY 22

· Shop Small Market Crawl - Downtown St. · Walking Dream Reading Series - Mahtay Cafe Catharines · The Warehouse Flea: Vintage Clothing · NAC Trivia Night - Niagara Artists Centre · Kanyen'keha (Mohawk Language) Classes - Market - Warehouse Niagara Falls Library MONDAY 23 · Dan Mahoney w/Dave Sakolowski & Mike · Choir Nation - Mahtay Cafe Mitchell - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Famous & Infamous: The Medicis (pt.1) · Kenny vs. Spenny Live 2.0 - Warehouse Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum · Rob Pue w/Dylan Gott & Rob Bebenek TUESDAY 24 Yuk Yuk's · Trivia Tuesday - Jack Astor's Bar & Grill SATURDAY 14 · Sarah's Soaps Workshop *2-5pm* - Mahtay Cafe · LGBTQ+ Women's Group - Mahtay Cafe · Cult Canada Screening: Road to Revenge Aka · Murder Massacre: A Murder Mystery - The Sanctuary Geteven (1993) - Mahtay Cafe · Keep OPIRG Brock Alive Market - Marilyn I. · Taps, Apps & Laughs Comedy Night w/ Levi Mann - Taps Brewhouse Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts

SUNDAY 15

· Drag Brunch *10-2pm* - Mahtay Cafe · Oshawa Generals at Niagara Ice Dogs Meridian Centre · Pop Culture Trivia - Taps Brewhouse

MONDAY 16

· Choir Nation - Mahtay Cafe

TUESDAY 17

· LGBTQ+ Women's Group - Mahtay Cafe · Taps, Apps & Laughs Comedy Night w/ Levi Mann - Taps Brewhouse

WEDNESDAY 18

· Comedy at Kaz's w/Bonez Poley & Joelle Bolton-South feat. Mike Mitchell - Kaz's Pub · Gay Men's Meetup - Mahtay Cafe

THURSDAY 19

· Trivia Night Fundraiser for CFBU 103.7 - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Mississauga Steelheads at Niagara Ice Dogs - Meridian Centre · Community Yoga Series - Niagara Falls History Museum · Lecture Series: Peter Mulcaster, A Railway History - Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum · Niagara's Top Comic 2020 - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Tim Steeves w/Keith Pedro & Jarrett Campbell - Yuk Yuk's

FRIDAY 20

· Kanyen'keha (Mohawk Language) Classes Niagara Falls Library · Crystal Journey: Spring Equinox - The Sanctuary · Mark Bennett w/Chris Jarvie & Silvi Santoso - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Tim Steeves w/Keith Pedro & Jarrett Campbell - Yuk Yuk's

· ComedyNight w/Joel Van Vliet - Camp Cataract · Gay Men's Meetup - Mahtay Cafe · Niagara's Name that Tune - Olde Angel Inn · BurgerFest - St. Catharines Market Square

THURSDAY 26

· Winter Film Series: The Imitation Game (2014) Niagara Falls History Museum · Zuma Puma's Don't Do It, Don't Do It, Do It - Oddfellows Temple · Niagara's Top Comic 2020 - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Peter Anthony w/Ron Josol & Patrick Haye - Yuk Yuk's

FRIDAY 27

· Comedians at Camp Critiquing Collages Camp Cataract · Improv Niagara presents Improv Fallout Mahtay Cafe · Zuma Puma's Don't Do It, Don't Do It, Do It - Oddfellows Temple · Tommy Lama w/Matt Scarfone - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Peter Anthony w/Ron Josol & Patrick Haye - Yuk Yuk's

SATURDAY 28

· Zuma Puma's Don't Do It, Don't Do It, Do It Oddfellows Temple · Tommy Lama w/Matt Scarfone - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Peter Anthony w/Ron Josol & Patrick Haye - Yuk Yuk's

SUNDAY 29

· Work the Hope - Mahtay Cafe · Zuma Puma's Don't Do It, Don't Do It, Do It Oddfellows Temple

MONDAY 30

· Choir Nation - Mahtay Cafe

TUESDAY 31

· LGBTQ+ Women's Group - Mahtay Cafe · Grey's Anatomy Trivia Night - Olde Angel Inn · Taps, Apps & Laughs Comedy Night w/ Levi Mann - Taps Brewhouse

FRIDAY 27 (cont'd)

· Brock University Dept of Music presents: University Jazz Ensemble - Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Chris Saylor - Forty Public House · Patsy & the Muscle - The Irish Harp · JIN - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Feverish Lemons - Kilt & Clover · Over Easy - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · The Drips - Monty's Gastropub · The Old Winos w/Chris Staig & Shelley Coopersmith - The Old Winery · Ear Candy - Olde Angel Inn · Josh Coulter - Olee's Ale House · Jimmy's Juke Joint - Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Rock of 80s - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Rhythmhounds - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · Andrew Martin presents Amore - Seneca Queen Theatre · Blake Halladay - Taps Brewhouse

SATURDAY 28

· Elyse Saunders - Big Texas · Decew - Camp Cataract · Big Shiny Tunes - Cat's Caboose · Arythmics - Club 55 · Vinyl Flux - Doc Magilligan's · Brant Parker Blues Band w/Donnie Meeker *Matinee 2:30pm* - Donnelly's Pub · O'Phelan Boys - The Irish Harp · The Mighty Duck Blues Band w/Special Guests *Matinee 2:30pm* - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · BJ Frid - Kilt & Clover · The Deadline Artists - Mahtay Cafe · Charles J Hunk & the Trainwreck Merchant Ale House · Tin Roof - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Blues Etc w/Suzie Vinnick *Matinee 3:30pm* - Monty's Gastropub · Niagara Rhythm Section w/Donnie Meeker & Bill Evans - The Old Winery · Cottage Brew - Olde Angel Inn · JIN - Olee's Ale House · The Middle of Nowhere - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Vinyl Flux - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · Chicago Transit: An Evening of Chicago Seneca Queen Theatre · Katey Gatta - Taps Brewhouse · Forgotten Rebels - Warehouse

SUNDAY 29

· Texas Wayne w/The Handsome Devils & Katey Gatta - Camp Cataract · XPrime - Club 55 · Lunn Variety Show - Forty Public House · Barley Brae *Matinee 2pm*- The Irish Harp · LMT Connection *4pm* - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Josh Coulter - Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern

MONDAY 30

· Kareoke w/Christie Hails - Taps Brewhouse · Perpetual Jam Night - Third Space Cafe

TUESDAY 31

· Alice Cooper - Avalon Ballroom · Songwriter's Event & Open Mic - Borderline Bar & Grill · Brock University Dept of Music presents: The University Wind Ensemble - Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

Send your listings in to thesoundstc@gmail.com. We'll print 'em!

Keeping tabs on the latest in independent Canadian rock’n’roll, curated by Adam White. Hamilton's David O'Connor, better known as Sweet Dave, recently shared the first single from his upcoming sophomore LP Pink Dreams. You can watch a video featuring the buzzing goth-pop tune "The Long Ride" on YouTube now. Nathan Belgrave shot and edited the clip. Pink Dreams follows O'Connor's first solo effort, 2017's psych-heavy Mental Jails. Dave credited that record to his then-touring gothic cabaret ensemble Sweet Dave and The Shallow Graves. The latter seems to be absent from this outing, at least in the title. London's Yeah Right Records will issue the 8-song set on vinyl on March 13. You may recognize O'Connor as the frontman of the garage-punk group TV Freaks. The band's been working on their follow-up to 2015's Derangedreleased Bad Luck Charms, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it this year. Over the past few years, O'Connor, who works as a tattoo artist at Trophy Tattoo, contributed album art to bands like PRIORS and performed with Freaks-adjacent musical projects like Pneumatic Tube and Uncontrollable Urge. Hamilton, Ontario's Zoon is a psych and shoegaze inspired project from Ojibwe musician Daniel Monkman. Paper Bag Records will issue the band's first full-length this summer, titled Bleached Wavves. The first single from the 10-song set is "Vibrant Colours," a song that arrived alongside a video directed by Christopher Mills (FRIGS, Tallies, Mimico). The new recor, described by Monkman as "moccasin-gaze," arrives June 19. Zoon will play several festivals in the spring, including New York's New Colossus Festival and Guelph's final Kazoo! fest. New Brunswick singer/songwriter Julie Doiron recently wrapped up work on a new full-length. While there's been no official press release, the personnel involved have all been sharing clips and photos from the studio, revealing some familiar collaborators. Julie's working this time out with Daniel Romano, Ian Romano, and Dany Placard. Doiron's link to the Romano brothers goes back to the Attack In Black days when the two acts were often tourmates. Danny, Doiron and Shotgun & Jaybird's Fred Squire also collaborated on the laid back folk record Daniel, Fred & Julie. Chicoutimi singer-songwriter Dany Placard recently released the Simone Records full-length J'connais rien à l'astronomie, on which Doiron provides backing vocals. Doiron and Placard will tour France and Belgium together this April. Ottawa post-rock/shoegaze/drone trio Southpacific has returned after nearly two decades off the grid. The group released a new instrumental single titled "Depths" recently while hinting that further new music was on deck for 2020. Southpacific last released Constance, their only full-length, back in 2000 on the now-defunct New York City label Turnbuckle Records. They ceased activity that same year.

Got news from a Niagara band? E-mail adam@someparty.ca or visit someparty.ca.

theSOUND.rocks | 27

Matt Andersen with Australia's Shaun Kirk

SPRING HOT TICKETS

A POWERHOUSE PERFORMER WITH A GIANT, SOUL-FILLED VOICE & COMMANDING STAGE PRESENCE.

WEDNES

DAY

25 MARC H 7:30PM

WE’VE GOT EACH OTHER PAUL O’DONNELL’S IMAGINARY

BON JOVI MUSICAL

THURS 12 MAR

LES MCKEOWN’S

BAY CITY ROLLERS

MON 16 MAR

NEXT GENERATION LEAHY

SUN 22 MAR

HEAR! HERE! NIAGARA MUSIC SERIES

THE MARK LALAMA TRIO

WITH JACK DEKEYZER + JIM GAY SUN 22 MAR WITH SUZIE MCNEIL, ANDREW MACTAGGART + PAUL GIGLIOTTI SUN 19 APR JESSIE LLOYD’S

MISSION SONGS PROJECT

FRI 3 APR

TANYA TAGAQ