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