By Will McGuirk
Feed the Need in Durham collects and distributes food and other essentional items to over 60 emerency food providers across the Durham Region, including food banks, shelters, meal and snack programs and other social service agencies. They provide over 1.5 million meals to Durham residents annually.
Featuring Cale Crowe, Dipo D Voice, The Doozies, Tania Joy, New Moon Junction, Alicia Robicheau, Kent Sheridan, and Kalista Wilson. Tickets here.
By Will McGuirk
Julie Title at the Dakota Tavern Thursday Dec 8 2022. Tickets here.
Julie Title at Kops Oshawa, photo by Mikki Simeunovich
By Will McGuirk
54:40 at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern Thursday Dec 8, Friday Dec 9, Saturday Dec 10 2022. Tickets here.
By Will McGuirk
Andy Kim Christmas at Massey Hall Wednesday Dec 7 2022. Tickets here.
with Metric, Broken Social Scene, Ron Sexsmith, the Sadies, and more.
Piqsiq
By Will McGuirk
“We are soothed with messages of exalting an impossible version of womanhood through the Virgin Mary but the real life experience of women in the church is steeped in misogyny.” - Piqsiq
“Social media doesn’t tell the whole story. That a pretty picture doesn’t always reflect the whole truth, and that living a rich and beautiful life is about embracing the messy chaos of it all- the raw, authentic, and real moments, rather than just the highlight reel.” - Jill Barber
“Just Before The Morning came from a burst of creativity after we finally reconnected in the studio. The song explores the cyclical nature of life and the many ways in which we begin again.” - Local Natives
“There is no container big enough for all the different selves we hold.” - Mourning Coffee
By Will McGuirk
By Will McGuirk
Punk Rock Friday at Little Beast Brewery Friday Dec 2, 2022. Details here.
By Will McGuirk
Alex Mason and the Great Lakes at the Dakota Tavern. Tickets here.
By Will McGuirk
Lowest of the Low at Lee’s Palace Friday Dec 2, Saturday Dec 3 2022. Tickets here.
By Will McGuirk
The Strumbellas at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, Thursday Dec 1, Friday Dec 2, Saturday Dec 3. Tickets here.
Sarah Burton, photo by Jen Squires
Marcus Paquin, photo by Andy John
By Will McGuirk
“As we weave our way through this complicated thing called life, we can oscillate between an illuminated state of awareness in which the senses are fully engaged and a state of darkness where it is difficult to decipher even what is right in front of us.“ - Marcus Paquin
“Human to human and all the inner biological electricity involved, human to technology to human and the electricity involved there. Also about everything else in between that we cannot perceive that’s at work, like when you think about someone out of nowhere so deeply and intensely while driving, and get a text from them, or see them walking down the street.” - Sam Sarty, Living Hour
“It’s about all the funny and frustrating things I’ve been told to do and be in order to be successful. Be an undiscovered gem with the talent of a veteran, be a starving artist but release tons of music, know everyone, but be mysterious, create tons of online content while you feed your creativity, and perhaps most insidious, be self-made and stay young!” - Zoe Sky Jordan
Skye Wallace, photo by Mikki Simeunovich
By Will McGuirk
Whitby rock ‘n roller Skye Wallace rolls into Oshawa’s Biltmore Theatre Friday Nov. 25 2022 on the eve of the close of her cross-Canada tour. Wallace is on the road promoting her latest long player, ‘Terribly Good’ available via Six Shooter Records. Its an apt title for the record, in the Old Blighty sense of the phrase. The album follows her self-titled which won the 2020 OMAs for Album of the Year. Wallace is, as they say a star on the rise; Grant Lawrence over on the CBC says "Everything this woman does is with raw passion and musical power.".
We have to agree, ‘Terribly Good’ kicks off with a kick full of that passion and power so we reached out over email and Skye responded, terribly kind of her.
Slowcity.ca: Straight off the bat such a strong song, Who or what were you fighting tooth and nail, and where does that determination to continue come from?
Skye Wallace: “The song is definitely a reminder of how far you've come and everything you had to fight for to be standing where you are today. That can mean the doubters, the people that wanted to take you down a peg along the way, and even your own mind - sometimes the biggest obstacles to overcome are within. What the song has become for me is a reminder to look at your current life through the eyes of your younger self - it's easy to get too close to it and lose sight of the long path you've walked, but there's a power in recognizing what you want and how you've fought to achieve it.”
SC: There is a sense of celebration, of joy to the album, is it a celebration of self, of survival or. . . ?
SW: “Kind of all of those things. There's definitely an introspection to this record that made me dig deep and look at all the little messy pieces of being alive. I think you have to celebrate your Self in order to keep going and growing, or to just keep surviving. And you definitely have to celebrate the little things, which can be fun and exciting, but can even be just getting out of bed in the morning when you're going through a tough time. I think it's a celebration of all of those pieces of life that shine brilliantly when you look at them altogether.”
SC: Tell me about the recording of the album, done during the restrictions, what was that like?
SK: “Technology has come a long way and allowed for so much work to be done remotely - it felt great to keep the momentum going on the record during that time. But another thing that I felt I was afforded during the album's fruition was time, space to be introspective, to try new things, to really dig deep and think about it all. So often when things are busy, I can't even think straight. I can't access my real emotions. Too busy to look inward. That kind of existence was stripped away and left a very raw and vulnerable space to move through the creation of this project and I'm pretty grateful to have had that time and space. I think, too, that being mindful of that oversaturation and burnout is something that we all need to focus on now that we're becoming active and busy again. It's something I'm trying to stay on top of as things ramp up.”
SC: How has it been back out on stage, some people built up habits during lockdown that might be hard to break, and some took a second look at their lives and said nah!
SW: “That is very fair! It's not an easy life and it's certainly not for everyone. For me, taking a step back and asking myself whether I wanted to continue and being met with an inner resounding "yes" made it all very clear. Touring is a wild west world out there right now, but this tour has really filled my cup with full rooms and full hearts. Connecting with people over all these new songs and rocking out in person has felt immensely special.”
SC: It could be just me, but there are parts of the album, 'Keeper,' in particular that have a very sweet Lowest of the Low vibe, is it there? What have you learned from being around those guys?
SW: “We have been very lucky to have shared the stage with lots of awesome acts like The Lowest of the Low, Matt Mays, Crown Lands, and Sam Roberts, and all have been so incredibly welcoming and supportive - I don't take that lightly, it's a privilege to be friends with all these folks and to get to continue to learn so much from them. The Low have always been a big influence for me and that tour formed a very bonded friendship between all of us that felt rare and intimate. My band and I still hang out with them all and work with them in many capacities. I think it's been an amazing growing opportunity to learn from the Low, who have had such a prolific and well-respected career - they've been so influential in the Canadian rock scene and I love how political they've been with their platform. I think you're right in your observation about their influence around Keeper and the dynamic of the album, because I think that's another thing that LOTL does so well is that dynamic in their music. They can rock out while accessing real conversations and topics, and they can also strip it down and sing the most beautiful tender song and have it completely make sense in their set. I think that's something I strive toward and really look up to them in their ability to create these spaces and emotional dynamics in their musical landscape.”