Farewell to "2010 the Taker"

Newspapers and blogs are replete with year end lists this week, but as last page turns on the calendar, politics and pop culture are low on the list of things I remember about 2010. Today my thoughts belong to the people we've lost- artists, political activists, friends, and community members who will be missed. Closest to my own heart are Will Munro, and my family member, Margaret Cross, both of whom left this world too soon, and gave of themselves endlessly when they were living.

Yesterday, as I returned to Toronto after holiday visits with family, I learned that David Noble had died suddenly. I didn't believe it at first; the man was overflowing with vital force. David was my teacher at York, and I spent a year participating in his weekly left winger group therapy sessions, also known as the "Technology and Western Culture" seminar, in a tiny basement room around the corner from the rodent experimentation labs. He often asked, "And how does that make you feel?" when discussing the course readings- a question rarely asked of students by their professors.

What I admire most about David Noble is that despite the nearly impossible battles he chose to fight, he never grew tired and lost his will to fight for social justice. There were many who were skeptical of his accusations, his claims, and his chosen struggles, but no matter what your position on Israel, capitalism, and the relationship between technology and labor, David's perseverance, dedication, and sense of humor call for admiration. He seemed angry at the microphone, and he was, but as soon as he'd sit down after a good shouting session, he would be smiling again and enjoying the company of his students, his friends, his peers. Rest in peace, David Noble.

And rest in peace, 2010. May 2011 be a giver.

xo
MM

Marietta's Sweet Melissa Records

Marietta, Georgia is a small town twenty minutes from Atlanta. If you've been to Atlanta you're probably familiar with the Little Five Points neighbourhood, with Criminal Records and a great used record shop around the corner from each other. You wouldn't suspect to find yet another amazing record store twenty minutes from the city, in the back of an antique shop, but that's exactly what happened to me on a recent southern sojourn.

Sweet Melissa's antique shop is full of model planes, post cards, furniture, and military memorabilia. Finding a few gems in a dollar bin at such a shop would not be such a shocker, but Melissa carries a wide selection of vinyl used and new and the quality of her collection is on par with standard bearers such as Toronto's Rotate This. Considering the size of Marietta (population 58, 748), and the difficult times many record shops are having, finding Sweet Melissa's record shop was a little surreal.

The highlight of the visit was finding a copy of The Kinks "Arthur" with the Queen Victoria paper doll inside, I also picked up Leonard Cohen's "Songs From a Room," The Cramps "Songs The Lord Might Have Taught Us," and from the dollar bin, Hank Williams' "I Saw The Light," Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman," and Sweet Melissa threw in Prince's "Dirty Mind" for free. I almost bought a Sonny Boy Williamson record, but I wasn't sure which Sonny Boy it was- the guitarist or the harmonica player- so I didn't bite. There were lots of blues records, new indie/pop records, and collectors items aplenty.

When I left Sweet Melissa Records to join my parents for lunch across the street, a man at the next table spotted the square bag under my arm and asked what records I'd found. He was in town for a business lunch with a colleague, so he didn't know about Sweet Melissa's shop. When he saw the Cramps record, he asked me, "Do you know who produced this? Alex Chilton. Have you ever heard of Big Star?" As it turns out, the friendly fellow- A.J.- hosts a community radio show on WWOZ in New Orleans. You never know who you're going to meet in America.

You can visit Sweet Melissa Records online at: www.sweetmelissarecords.com

Happy Listening,
MM

Fifty River Concerts Q and A with Betty Burke

Our dear friend and collaborator Holly Andruchuk is doing great things with Fifty River Concerts. If you are looking for a great place to play in the Toronto area, get in touch with Holly and her pal Tim McKay to set up a show at the Imperial Pub as part of their Thursday Night Music series.

On the eve of our gig with Fifty River, Holly and Tim sent me a set of well-researched, thought provoking questions. If you want to know a little bit more about what's behind the songs we perform, have a look at the Fifty River site. On the same page you'll find a Phonemes Q and A, and a Kathleen Phillips piece.

In other news, the Keith Richards biography is finally here. I am getting my copy tomorrow. BB keyboardist and vocalist Sheila Sampath sent me a link to Liz Phair's review of the book, here, at the New York Times site.

It's just about that time now- time to pull on some slippers, and crack open a Kurt Wallander mystery. Before I go, let me leave you with a little music to sweeten your night, wherever you are. From Keith's friend Gram Parsons, and Emmylou Harris, here is "Love Hurts."


Good night and sleep tight.
MM

This Thursday! Special show, special guests

THE PHONEMES - Sunday Morning, Sacred Heart from Mitch Fillion (southernsouls.ca) on Vimeo.

Please join Betty Burke, The Phonemes, and Kathleen Phillips for a very special show at the Imperial Pub this Thursday. Presented by our sister Holly Andruchuk's 50 River Concerts and the Imperial, this will be a memorable evening.

Kathleen will do comedy, and BB and The Phonemes will sing and tap things (guitars, tables, keys.) You can see the Phonemes in the above video, performing the song "Sacred Heart." The video was done by Mitch Fillion as part of his Southern Souls project.

In addition to a surprise guest, BB's special guest performers include Sarianna Mileski and Stephanie Markowitz. Sarianna will be singing a new number called "The Prince," which is dedicated to all the mysteriously single Torontonians. You know what I mean- people who can't get a date in this town despite all kinds of amazingness.

Kathleen will kick things off at 9pm, followed by The Phonemes- our dear friends Magali, Stephanie Markowitz, and John Tielli- and then BB. It's an early one, friends, so don't delay in making your way over.

See you there!
xoxo
MM

Blocks Recording Club Thursday Confidential - see you there!

BB is getting ready to play Blocks Recording Club's Thursday Confidential with Tomboyfriend at the Gladstone this week. The whole event gets going at 9pm. The whole event is FREE, which is fantastic, and it is co-presented by the amazing Blocks Recording Club and The Gladstone Hotel.

Blocks is a workers' co-operative based here in Toronto. Visit this link to read more about this important local institution.

For this show, Sheila, Jo and I will be joined again by the ghost of a drum machine. This might be a permanent haunting.

We hope you will join us for this special evening.

xo
BB

Of All the Things We've Made

A little while ago my friend Chris Korte sent me a link to the great History of Electropop series that some dear soul added to youtube. I made the mistake of watching the OMD profile before 'going to sleep' - but after seeing the clip, sleep was not possible!!

For those of you who aren't already superfans, OMD, or Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (a name they later regretted choosing, for its pretentious flare) released a series of innovative, dark, and unprecedented works between 1979 and 1983. Inspired by Kraftwerk, they were contemporaries of Joy Division, sharing with them a dark, bass guitar driven sound and a love of The Velvet Underground that placed OMD out of step with other UK synth bands of the era. Their period of greatest inspiration and experimentation culminated in the album 'Dazzle Ships,' recorded before the cookie cutter smushed down on the raw dough of synthpop. While some songs follow pop standards of verse and chorus, many of the tracks are tape collages of radio announcers voices and ship horns. It's the White Album of synthpop- with better cover art.

When I was living the musical life of the Littlest Hobo, touring with The Hidden Cameras, I fell asleep to Dazzle Ships every night. It's always taken me a long time to cool my thoughts before sleeping, but the combination of a nightliner bunk, a "sleep toque" pulled over my eyes, and "Romance of the Telescope" in my ears was even better than a bedtime Gravol. To the tune of the ship horns that open side two, I closed my eyes and imagined what the lights of the Wirral Peninsula might look like to the members of OMD. Soon the twinkling industrial scene darkened in the calm black shadow of sleep.

The procession of successive artists feeding on and reinterpreting a work of art is a testament to its greatness. A few years ago in Toronto, Owen Pallett covered side A of Dazzle Ships, imitating all the synths and samples with wood and string. It was the best possible tribute the the genius of Dazzle Ships, honoring the album and at the same time creating something higher than a cover- like a great director mounting a stylized version of Beckett's Endgame . While it's not the highest quality video, the youtube clip taken from a different staging of the piece will give you a taste of the experience.

By taking the sounds of ship horns and time signals out of context and building them up into a thing of beauty, OMD have punctured one of the illusions of the present. A time signal could be a melody, an accidental echo could be a call to a person in a far off land. The order of things is fragile and temporary, and the everyday could easily be quite different.

BB is playing the Beaver on Thursday for the 1234 V launch

Hello! This is just a quick note to let you know we are playing at the Beaver on Thursday for the 1234 V Zine launch. What is 1234 V? Have a 'look and learn' session by clicking on this link, but maybe not while you are at the office. All of the stories are true, and none are anonymous. Jo Snyder and Sarah Michaelson, the publishers of 1234 V, will be on hand to discuss the project and solicit submissions for the next issue. Jo will also be playing guitar with BB, and Sarah will DJ (Mama Cutsworth.)

In addition to my chums Sheila and Jo, BB will feature two super guest stars singing their hearts out: the now familiar Lief Mossbaugh AKA Panther Pants, and Stephanie Markowitz (pictured). Stephanie, best known for her film and theatre work, is a regular performer with The Phonemes, and appeared on keys with BB at the Tranzac last year. On Thursday you will have a chance to open your ears and receive the glorious sound of her voice. You can also wish her a happy birthday, if you are feeling bold (it's the night before the show.) Lief, who joined us for a tune at the last show, will be joining us to perform a brand new song I wrote with his powerful pipes in mind. It's called "It gotta man."

Please join us for this special night.

How to predict a tornado

One of our favourite comedians is Toronto's Kathleen Phillips, best known for her stand-up routine and for the hilarious short films she posts online. Recently, Kathleen created this educational video about a weather predicting dog:

I first met Kathleen in 2005 when Stephanie Markowitz and I were casting for the first run of our musical The Rat King. A natural beauty, petite Kathleen reminded me of Badlands era Sissy Spacek- until she stood up on a chair and howled like a ghost with indigestion. We enjoyed the audition, though I knew she had the part before we asked her to howl. Kathleen played the role of Carson Cannon in all three stagings of our musical.

Apart from the role of Carson, towards which I am naturally biased, my favourite Kathleen piece is probably Aqua Landlord. Imagine coming home to your apartment, only to find your landlord in the tub. Naked. Actually, you don't have to imagine it, Kathleen has done that for you already.

For more Kathleen, visit her youtube channel, her blog, or show her a little love on facebook. Be careful though- some of her videos will make you laugh quite loud, so if you are hiding in a cubicle pretending to work, cover your mouth with your hands, or maybe bite down on a bundle of socks so you won't get caught amusing yourself.

We put a tune up on myspace

For a little preview of the EP we've been working on with James Bunton, visit our newly revamped myspace page and have a little listen. The tune is called "New Job."

Happy Saturday, my friends.
xoxo
MM

When you hear the alarm bell ringing you better come runnin'

A big thank you to everyone who came to the show at The Beaver last night. We had a great time and it was wonderful to see so many familiar faces in the room.

Toronto has such an amazing art & music community, and Will made The Beaver a place where this community could convene, as well as a place where strangers to the scene wouldn't feel so strange walking in to enjoy an evening out, or even just an afternoon coffee. Now that Will has left this world, it feels extra special to play a show at the space he built, with that massive piece of art by General Idea hanging in the background (you can see it behind Light Fires in the above photo.)

Backstage at the Beaver, Sheila Sampath and I had quite a time trying to get into our elaborate fireman & engineer costumes, so we ended up not wearing them, but I thought I would include this shot so you could have a peek at the elaborate show-stopping looks we tried to rock for the evening.

Free show tonight at The Beaver

Tonight we will be playing a free show at the Beaver with the new band Light Fires. Who is/are Light Fires? Gentleman Reg and James Bunton. You might know James as the drummer from Ohbijou, or as producer/engineer to any number of your friends' recordings (if you live in Toronto, West of Bathurst Street, the odds are pretty high that someone you know is working with him right now.) We have been working on an EP with James as well, and he's pretty great. As for Gentleman Reg, he is a familiar face to readers of this blog. Light Fires is a departure from Reggie's usual material- more Hot Nuts* than Horseshoe Tavern- and it will be their last show for the summer, since James is touring with Ohbijou until the temperature drops and the leaves turn yellow.

Reggie will also be performing his special song "The Man in The Middle" with Betty Burke- and he's not the only special guest. We are proud to present, on vocals, for a soulful number from another (imaginary) era- Mr. Lief Mossbaugh (pictured above). Lief plays with The Hidden Cameras, and can often be heard singing falsetto harmonies on their tunes. He's also an esteemed Oboist, joining Regina's orchestra for the 2010-2011 season, after a successful run with the Saskatoon symphony. Lief will be singing a tune called "You Can't Stay Young." He may even bring along another special guest, but we'll keep that under wraps for now...

The show starts at 11 pm and it is 100% FREE. The Beaver serves dinner until 11, in case you want to come early to see our muscley arms pull the amps in. I'm sure a few of us will be tankin.'

Hope to see you tonight.
xoxo
MM


*Hot Nuts is a monthly drag party at the Beaver.
*Tankin' - wearing a tank top. Not me, but probably Reggie.

Wear your Granny Boots with us on June 30th

Tomboyfriend, the band with one of the best names of all, has invited us to play Granny Boots with them on Wednesday, June 30th at The Gladstone Hotel. It's Pride Week, so we're going for a festive vibe, and trying something unusual.

Shaun will be off at Glastonbury with Dan Mangan, so in lieu of trumpet, the festive feeling will be created by Dr. Rhythm 880, a wee little drum machine imbued with soul. Special guests Jo Snyder, AKA Jo Snyder music, formerly of the Winnipeg punk bands Anthem Red, and Sixty Stories, will be playing guitar, and Sheila Sampath of The Airfields and Shameless Magazine will appear on keys. How is that for festive and unusual? And there's more.

Gentleman Reg,* one of my favourite people to share a stage with, will be singing with us as well. This spring, I spent a few months in the writing cave, and one of the projects I chipped away at was a set of songs written for friends to sing with Betty Burke. Reggie's song is called "The Man in the Middle," and this will be the first time we play it.

We hope to see you at the show on the 30th. In the meantime, click on Tomboyfriend's name to see their fantastic video "Dance Dance Revolutions Co." We're looking forward to seeing them live!

Thanks for visiting, and come back soon!
xo
MM

*The photo of Reg above is from the February 14th Wavelength 10 year anniversary & closing party at The Garrison. At the end of the show almost all of the current & former members of The Hidden Cameras got on stage together for a surprise set. It was the first time some of us had played together in seven years. Great night.

Resurrection

The last time I wrote a blog entry, it was February, and BB had just done some dates with Woodpigeon in Ontario and Quebec. There was snow on the ground, and the trees were grey and bare. Now the sun is everywhere, and Toronto's famous humidity is back to bake us all inside out.

A lot's been going on since those last few ultra-positive posts, written in the dull light of winter. On May 21st, our community lost someone irreplaceable. Will Munro was a friend, a brother, a son, an artist and a culture maker who built spaces to welcome people who'd been shut out before.

Here is a link to the memorial piece printed by Eye Magazine in Toronto.

There is a lot to be said about Will, life, death, and community, but I will allow the piece--composed of submissions by Will's friends, myself included-- to speak for itself.

Spring, the season of resurrection and renewal, was a taker and a giver. Now, the short, hot, Canadian summer is nearly here. The radio silence of the last few months will be replaced by regular posts as Betty Burke resumes the project of telling stories three chords at a time. On the agenda for the summer are a few shows, an EP (recorded with James Bunton at Angles Up) to master and release, and the coming release of "You Can't Wear Suede In The Rain," the short film we made with Joe Clement. Posts about these activities will be interspersed with the usual mini-essays about good things, strange things, and things that are hard to classify.

Thanks for visiting the site. Come back soon!

Love
Maggie

Love it #4: The Mortal Poetry of "Pressure Drop"

The compliment "immortal poetry" seems like a towering honour, but what higher compliment can be given to verse than to call it mortal poetry, the poetry of mortality itself.

Progressives have a habit of highlighting difference, and it is true that oppressions come down asymmetrically, with violence raining in unequal measure according to categories of race, class, gender, sexuality, physical 'ability and other divisions. Justice is not equally available to all, though it should be. While it is important to examine inequality in order to fight it, it's solidarity that gives people the power to change unjust circumstances.

While philosophers and activists examine our differences, mortal poetry points to our similarities, similarities that can act as the foundation of solidarity.

In the photo above, a mist hangs over the Cape Breton cliffs that overlook the meeting point of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence River. Powerful currents and deadly waves mingle together under the cold clouds, in a scene that unfolds thousands of miles north of the Jamaican shores that inspired the song "Pressure Drop."

Pressure Drop, first recorded by The Maytals in 1969 with legendary producer Leslie Kong. Featured on "The Harder They Come" film soundtrack, it has since been covered by many artists, including The Specials and The Clash.

While the song itself is a wonder to behold, the lyrics transcend social and geographical difference by making reference to a sensation that threatens every living mammal on the planet. Immediately before a storm- whether it is an Atlantic hurricane bearing down on Jamaica or Nova Scotia, a tornado touching down in Texas, or a pacific squall, the air pressure suddenly drops, causing the hairs on the back of the neck to stand up, and signaling the need to seek sound shelter. That is the poetry of mortality.

Mortality, the threat of death, the precarious nature of life itself, the need for food and water to stave off the inevitable end, this is the tie that unites, and for all the very real differences that put justice beyond or within reach, there is a thread running through every life in common.

MM

Love it #3: Dana Snell

Dana is one of my favourite drummers. Currently playing with Gentleman Reg, and Sheezer, she also spent ten years with The Bicycles. When she's behind the kit, Dana's in complete control, but she's also clearly enjoying herself, and it's infectious.

Before running into each other at various gigs, Dana and I met in a writing seminar at the University of Toronto, led by Griffin Prize winner (and gifted/gifting educator) A.F. Moritz. While anyone who saw her on tour with the Bicycles or Reg knows what a great percussionist she is, Dana has another gift the world has yet to discover.

In Al Moritz's seminar, now eight years ago, Dana shared a work of fiction she'd been working on that had me laughing out loud with its deft social satire and surreal storyline. It's been eight years since I read the draft she shared with us in the course, but I am still waiting to see her name printed on the spine of a book- I know it's going to happen.

You can see Dana playing with Gentleman Reg every Wednesday night in February at the Drake Hotel in Toronto. The Regidency will feature different musical guests each week.

The above photo is from Dana's tour with Gentleman Reg, opening for The Hidden Cameras in the fall of 2009. The one in the wig is Reg, Dana is on the right.

Love it #2: Bojana Stancic

If you live in Toronto, and you stroll down Ossington or Queen West on occasion, you may have glimpsed this glamorous creature. A millennial soul with a voice as smoky and mysterious as Nico, Bojana is an artist and set designer who frequently collaborates with playwright/director Alex Wolfson.

You can see her set design work in Wolfson's play "And so, the Animal Looked Back" at the Art Gallery of York University (AGYU), an installation running until March 12th, concluding with live performances on March 11th and 12th, each at 7:30 pm. For tickets and information call 416-736-5169.

Love it #1: Waffles

After a century of political disasters- mass movements that lead to murder and war at worst, or disappointment and disillusionment at least, the utopian impulse that lingers in the hearts of dreamers is lacking in the social fuel that turns spark to flame.

Lately, activists and academics seemed stalled in a phase of critique and deconstruction, rather than proposing and constructing, building and bettering. (There are valid reasons for this- but it's a topic for another time.)

In hopes of moving beyond the 'negative turn,' the BB blog is going to take some baby steps towards dreaming big again, by occasionally making post-it notes of pure positivity.

The first 'Love it' note, is this photo of an amazing breakfast. Yes, I confess, there are paper cups, cartons of questionable recycle-ability, but look beyond the clutter, and there is evidence of a big breakfast being shared. "Who will help me bake this bread?" Several people who passed through the kitchen in this photo would be happy to help you bake your bread. Those are veggie sausages, by the way, just in case your eyebrows were wiggling.

Don't Smash Your Teeth on the Punk Rock. We're Touring with Woodpigeon!

Woodpigeon, Mark Hamilton's prolific pop ensemble from Calgary, Alberta, have invited Betty Burke along as openers on their upcoming tour in Ontario and Quebec. Native speakers of Frenglish, we are focussing on improving our French, and polishing off new songs for the adventure.

Just add snow and trees to the photo above, and you will have a sense of what awaits us on the 401 Hwy, as we weave our way from Hamilton to Wakefield to deliver our ballads to your door. In case you are wondering about the dot in the right hand corner of the image, it's a beautiful green tractor. Oh glorious tractor, perhaps a ballad will be composed in your honour.

On February 14th, en lieu of a Betty/Woodpigeon show, I will be playing a gig with my old band The Barcelona Pavilion at the Wavelength 500 festival. This will be our first time playing together in many years, and I am pretty excited.

I broke two of my front teeth with The Barcelona Pavilion in 2003, jumping of a table with a microphone in my mouth. Don't ever do that. Smashing a guitar is a waste of money, but breaking your teeth might cost even more if you consider the price of periodic repairs over the course of your lifetime. That's not jamming econo!

The dates for the Woodpigeon and Betty Burke shows are as follows:

February 11th: Toronto, Drake Hotel
February 15th: Hamilton, The Casbah
February 16th: Sudbury, The Townhouse
February 17th: Toronto, Buddies in Bad Times (Betty only -see below)*
February 18th: Montreal, La Sala Rosa
February 19th: Quebec, Le Cercle
February 21st: Wakefield, Black Sheep Inn (near Ottawa, ON)

On the 17th Woodpigeon will be playing The Mansion in Kingston while Betty plays the opening of The Rhubarb Festival in Toronto. Woodpigeon has a few more Ontario dates lined up that Betty won't be at, but you should go see them if they hit your town.

Darger on the Battery, or "Radio Waves are Alive!"

The little girl daydreaming in this photo sits on a rock on 'The Rock,' Newfoundland. She spends her bleached days under a bakeapple tree in the Battery, overlooking The Narrows between the natural Harbour of St. John's, and the open Atlantic. Not far from her perch, Marconi received the first wireless Transatlantic signal, a repeating beep representing the letter 'S.' Marconi was told many times that it would be impossible, yet, on December 12th 1901, the signal sent from Poldhu, Cornwall in the UK reached Marconi's receiver on Signal Hill.

What strikes me about this little dreamer from the Battery is that she looks exactly like one of Henry Darger's gender defying Vivian Girls, the warrior innocents that populated his Realms of the Unreal, fighting dragons, insects, and adults in the paintings and novel found in Darger's Chicago apartment after he died. The little Vivian Girl from the Battery has left her fictional realm to guard The Narrows where the open, unknown, and undefined realm of the impossible meets the Harbour of what is known, accepted, safe, and predictable.

What we live with today is not all we will ever be stuck with. As my friend Chris Korte often says, quoting the late Zoe Lund, "That which is not yet, but which ought to be, is more real than that which merely is." Or as Herbert Marcuse put it in One Dimensional Man, "...the artistic universe is one of illusion, semblance, Schein. However, this semblance is resemblance to a reality which exists as the threat and promise of the established one." Like this Vivian Girl, and the radio signal that reached the hill behind her in 1901, the impossible things the dreamer sees eventually come to life, interrupting the course of the world we know.