Read and Produced by Gareth Sloan.
Stories by Chris Hanna, Emily Brass, Jose Espinoza and Sarah Deshaies.
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Hawksley Workman @ La Tulipe
April 22 2010 //
Running late as usual, I ran into la Tulipe last Friday night right at the end of Hawksley Workman’s second song of the night. I must admit it was my virgin experience with this multi-talented performer and I was not prepared for the banter.
Hawksley Workman loves to talk. On my entrance to what I thought would be a musical journey, in which I was excited to hear some old songs, mixed in with the new songs from his recent MeatMilk and albums, I was not prepared to hear story after story. It almost felt like I was watching a TV special.
Something else you notice right away is that he changes guitars almost after every song. When I entered the venue, he was playing a Les Paul standard. He then went to what looked like from my viewpoint as a standard telecaster, only showcasing his collection of these fine instruments.
“Amsterdam is where love goes to die,” Hawksley said, explaining his time living there. However this was to the chagrin of some audience members, who booed at this statement. This did not seem to faze him at all as he led into his sad “Piano Blink” song from the 2008 album Los Manlicious.
When he did sing, I was captivated by his voice. He had explained that he was feeling under the weather at the beginning of the concert, but you would never have known it. His vocal range is impressive at best. It ranks up there with some of the most talented rock voices out there. I even compared it to my beloved Freddy Mercury. That could be going to far for some that will read this, but all the same this musician is talented and quite the showman. His comfort on the stage is quite evident. The way he plays his guitars, and moves around, often flailing his arm around in the air, makes you feel like he was born up there.
Around mid set, the whole band all came off stage except the violinist, Jesse Zubot, who dazzled the audience with a stellar solo.
When the band finally returned to the stage it was an amusing scene. It is a normal occurrence to see the lead singer change his wardrobe, but the whole band? Hawksley Workman came back with what looked like a “car-mechanic-gone-country-rock” outfit which was a chocolate brown studded coverall, while the rest of the band either changed their shirts, and/or their pants. Pianist Todd Lumley for some reason, also threw on a baseball cap.
With time a wasting, Workman told the audience that they had to get it rolling as La Tulipe likes to turn into a dance club. So it was at this point that the banter completely stopped and we got to see this musician do his finest. He led right into “Robot Heart” from his recently-released Milk album and continued with two more songs from this album, “We Dance to Yesterday” and “Who do They Kiss.”
Workman ended the night with “Dirty and True” from his 2001 album Last Night We Were. The Delicious Wolves and played a three song encore set that included “Devastating” from Milk and “We’ll Make Time (Even If There Ain’t No Time)” from Meat.
Although, I was thrilled to hear him finally just belt out the tunes, I found I missed the crazy story telling he did at the beginning of his show, only proving that Hawksley Workman can balance the music, with the banter.
CJLO Punk Night Presents: INTERRACIAL LOVE TRIANGLE (MTL) & Girlfriends (Ottawa)
April 20 2010 //
Come out to Katacombes Thursday, May 6th for the first of (hopefully) many CJLO punk night SHOWS!
Featuring local insane asylum escapees turned egalitarian relationship gurus INTERRACIAL LOVE TRIANGLE and Ottawa's finest male babysitters turned garage punk shit disturbers THE GIRLFRIENDS plus some of your (soon to be) favourite CJLO deejays spinning traxxx like a whirling Dervish.
CHEAP BEER! COOL PEEPS WITH SWEET SHOES! FREEDOM AND THE ETERNAL SPIRIT OF YOUTH! et puis MORE MORE MORE!
$6 cover it all goes down at COOP KATACOMBES - 1635 St Laurent corner Ontario.
Be there or be square!
With Gay Abandon Endorses.... Sister Spit!
April 19 2010 //
Do you ever lie awake, dreaming of the early '90s, while listening to the likes of Sleater-Kinney, Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy or Bikini Kill? Do you reminisce back to your Doc Marten days when Doc Martens made their first fashion resurgence? Do you ever wonder what life would be like if the Riot Grrrl scene didn't disintegrate (albeit, many rad things have been birthed by this action – like Ladyfest, and Girls Rock Camp...)? Do you ever think about what happened to the feminist queer riot grrrl writers inspired by such an amazing time in our recent history? What? Not really? Well, let me tell you why you should think such things...
1) First off, I really shouldn't need to convince you about the radness known as the Riot Grrrl movement... If we do need to go back to square one for this, I recommend getting yourself hooked up with a mix-tape of Sleater-Kinney, Huggy Bear, Team Dresch and Bikini Kill, for starters...
2) Doc Martens always were, and still are, the best invest-ment for a good pair of boot-stomping-good-times boots. Money well spent, in my opinion.
3) The demise of the Riot Grrrl scene? Well, to make a long story short – amazing DIY feminist movement showcasing kick-ass women in the male-dominated music world, got eaten alive by the corporate take-over of it, and the birth of Spice Girls-style “Girl Power.” The spirit of the Riot Grrrl movement lives on in many DIY bands, festivals and co-operative skill-sharing, like Ladyfest, a DIY feminist fest that occurs internationally, and Girls Rock Camp, which inspires young girls to experience the power of musical expression, also occurring in many cities everywhere (including right here in Montreal!!).
4) Feminist queer riot grrrl writers? Besides being a movement that inspired girls to rock out and voice their politics through music, the Riot Grrrl movement birthed modern 'zine' culture as we know it, inspiring many people to express themselves through words, without having to be “validated” by patriarchal institutions like school. And yes, like the music, these writers still do amazing work, and still express themselves through alternative media sources and small presses, as well as readings...
Why am I telling you this? Because I don't want you to daydream away your chance to see one of the best things to come to Montreal in a while! Sister Spit – the next generation! Sister Spit, a spoken word and performance collective, was originally founded in 1994, at the height of the Riot Grrrl movement, and featured young writers and performers that toured the globe. They released spoken word albums on the feminist lesbian label Mr. Lady Records, from San Francisco, which was also home to bands like The Butchies and Le Tigre. After a few years on hiatus, Sister Spit is back, a reunion spearheaded by one of its founders, Michelle Tea.
Michelle Tea is an author known for her autobiographical works that explore feminism, race, queer culture, class and sex work. Her award-winning books and anthologies, like Valencia, Rent Girl and Rose of No Man's Land, have inspired many people, much in the same way that riot grrrl music has, to express themselves in their own DIY manner. Let Sister Spit – the next generation inspire you at 8pm, on Tuesday April 27th 2010, at Il Motore, 179 Jean Talon O.!
In the van will be the “legendary, raucous, rowdy performance gang of queertastic brilliance! This multimedia explosion of zinesters, fashion plates, slam poets, novelists, performance artists, poets and fancy scribblers - featuring queer luminary Michelle Tea, legendary trans film director and screenwriter Silas Howard, queer graphic novelist and anti-racist activist Elisha Lim, lesbian slam-poet/performance artist Lenelle Moise, trans psychic memoirist Len Plass, queer zinester/portraitist/graphic novelist Nicole J. Georges, and Power Point loving shape-shifter translady Annie Danger!! ALSO featuring Montreal's own poetic virtuoso, Trish Salah!!!” More info can be found here!
2010 Diego Award Winners
April 18 2010 //
Thanks to everyone who came out for a great night at Les 3 Minots! Here are your winners (For the full list of nominees click here:
The Welcome to the Jungle Award for Best New Show
* Runny Noise
The CBC Award for On Air Professionalism
* Charts & Crafts - Rebecca Munroe
The Ol' Gil Award (Most Underrated Show)
* Dirty Work
The MAPL Award for Canadian Content (Canadian Only Shows & Talk Excluded)
* Pop Concordia
CJLOL Award (Funniest Show)
* Countdown to Armageddon
Defender of Rock
* The Almighty Riff
The Radio 3 Award (New Music Supporter)
* Blog Nation
The Phil Donahue Award (Best Talk Show)
* New Media & Politics
The Yank Crime Award (Best Rock Show)
* The Go Go Radio Magic Show
The Niche Award (Best Specialty Show)
* Beats from the East
The Kool Herc Award (Best Hip Hop Show)
* Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em
The Pete Tong Award (Best RPM Show)
* Haze World
The Smelt Your Face Award (Best Metal Show)
* Turn Down the Suck
The Lucky Dube Award (Best World Show)
* More Fyah
The Oscar Peterson Award (Best Jazz Show)
* J Spot
The Fox News Award for Excellence in Journalism
* Gareth Sloan
The Riggs and Murtaugh Award for Best Team
* Sasparilla & Sassafrass (Andrij Radio & Stefen Opryshko - Pan African Hour)
The Airwave Domination Award for Excellence in Guest Hosting
* Andrew Grade A Explosives W on Countdown to Armageddon & Hooked On Sonics
The Robert Vairo Award for Broadcast Excellence
* More Fyah
CJLO Lifetime Achievement Award
* Marko Jakopanec
The Bored and Wanting to Get Out of the House Award (for excellence in volunteer commitment)
* Patrick Meloche
* Kim Pringle
* Alex Menjivar
* Gareth Sloan
* Kayleigh Jordan-McGregor
* Eric Feliciano
* Sebastian Perry
Keener Award for Most Helpful DJ
* Johnny Suck
* Lachlan Fletcher
* Chris Seward
* Julie Matson
* Jessica MacDonald
* Kelly Kay
* Cecil
* Mike Vo
* Paul Brown
* Nassim Tabri
* Andrij Radio
* Emily Brass
* Andrew Weiler
* Danielle Jakubiak
People's Choice:
Best Show Promo
* Countdown to explosive Thursdays
Best Show or DJ Blog
* Phantastiq Cypha
Best Dressed Female
* Cordelia Black
Best Dressed Male
* Lachlan & Stephen
Favorite Show
* Beat The World
* Grade A Explosives
Best Show Name
* Runny Noise
* Go Funk Yourself
* Eat My Country
News April 16th 2010
April 16 2010 //
News read by Bradley Pascoe
Produced by Drew Pasoce
Stories written by Emily Brass, Alina Gotcherian, and Bradley Pascoe
The Soft Pack @ Green Room
April 16 2010 //
Two weekends ago…
Saturday: Sleep in. Maybe too much. Work. Climb mountain at midnight, drink beer, call toll-free sex lines with friends from payphones and try to fake credit card numbers, but fail miserably. Get scared in a graveyard, go home. Sleep at 4:00 am.
Sunday: Work 11:30. Family dinner in Hudson. After hearing great reviews after its South by Southwest screening, boyfriend invites me to see Hot Tub Time Machine, and I’m all like “I totally want to see that, John Cusack is, like, the man of my dreams, oh my God, High Fidelity is the best LOL!”
Monday: Nothing, then work. Make $80 in tips. I am a pimp.
Tuesday: Call boyfriend. “Dude, can’t go see Hot Tub Time Machine tonight. I have to review the Soft Pack at La Tulipe.” “Who’s that?” he asks. “Fuck if I know”. Go to show, and this follows:
Ok, so I volunteered to review this show at La Tulipe. While yammering away about the genius of Mark Sultan’s new album on my show, Cut Your Hair and Get a Job (which I can’t believe I’ve never overtly pimped out before in an article), I receive a phone call from CJLO magazine editor and occasional painkiller abuser Brian, who tells me the show has been moved to the Green Room, slightly north of my humble ‘aboveapizzaria’ Plateau dwelling. Sweet. Doors are at 8, and the more I fully investigate this Tuesday evening line-up (the Beaters followed by former Vivian Girls openers Male Bonding, and finally the Soft Pack) the more I become “super jacked” about this show. I use my cat’s MySpace account to check out the bands online, and praise the day our lord and saviour invented cats, the internet, and the MTV generation’s penchant for self involvement.
I arrive at the Green Room at precisely 9:05 pm. I think I expect to see a ton of people smokin’ and jokin’ outside the venue, waiting for the first opener The Beaters to begin momentarily. Well kids, in this assumption I was wrong on more levels than I can count without using my fingers, and that number is precisely three. Potentially the number that comes after three. Here they are:
1) Literally no one was outside the Green Room. I found this suspicious… maybe this was an elaborately organized surprise birthday party. If this were the case, I would cut off ties with all my friends for being such inconsiderate dumbasses and not even coming close to knowing my date of birth.
2) The Beaters got stuck at the boarder and couldn’t make the show. That was too bad.
3) The show actually started just after 8, and I missed Male Bonding. WAIT – I MISSED MALE BONDING! Seriously, since when do shows actually start at 8? Really, the show was over by around 10. What are we, sixth graders?! Dude, THE FAMILY CHANNEL RUNS LATER THAN THAT!
Whatever, I don’t even care.
So, this band the Soft Pack… yeah, I dunno about these guys. Maybe I’m a bit of a snob but I was initially off put by their “Abercrombie and Fitch carefree beach frat boy” thing; this brings me to a short tale for those interested. If not, skip this paragraph. So, once upon a time, not but two years ago I was a first-year Concordia student with the naïveté of a girl, but the rack of a grown woman. I’m mostly kidding. Anyway, I attended McGill’s Nuit Blanche with my roommate Jordana and our friend Nina, and somehow Nina and I got invited to a nearby party by 2 girls. We told them we were in first year, so they made this huge deal about how this was a ‘fourth year party’, and how we should feel honoured we were invited. So we went, and the whole thing was basically just drunk dudes playing fooseball and girls talking about their hair wraps they got while vacationing together in “fuckin’ CANCUUUUUN!”. We left. Yes, the dudes of the Soft Pack bring me back to that fateful night.
There’s no doubt these dudes are technically proficient, but about 75% of the time that makes them boring unless they’ve got something else going for them… and since this wasn’t no Yngwie Malmsteen shit, I was not incredibly entertained by their overwhelming lack of stage presence. The band seemed incredibly unsure of themselves and out of place, this applies doubly to the lead singer, who looked bored in a non-shoegaze kind of way. In my notes, I said I would not like to have them as friends, as they seem dull. I think this is a little harsh in retrospect, but I do still think that I’d prefer to hang out with Dave Matthews: he may seem dull, but I hear he smokes maaaaad doobage (note: I do not condone these behaviours necessarily, this is transcribed directly from my stream of consciousness notes. Please do not blacklist me from doing these reviews).
Okay, let’s get down to the music. The singer, I figured out by the end of the show, sounds a bit like the Killers’ Brandon Flowers, only more monotone. “More or Less” was a little R.E.M. tinged with vocals that should have been much louder, cause no one really cares about instrumental tunes. “Pullout” was big with the jock contingent of the audience, maybe because it implied ineffective birth control methods that resulted (and continues to result) in thousands of unintentional pregnancies, an issue this demographic seems to identify with. It seemed like by rockin’ out they let out a unified and triumphant “DUDE, THAT WAS SO CLOSE” just after breaking it off with their girlfriend. Kind of sounds like Interpol and I’m also briefly interested, but the song falls flat pretty quickly with a formulaic chorus. About 5 or 6 songs in, when the band plays “Parasites”, I decide I had may as well be doing an album review given the lack of interest in performing live the band seems to have. And I thought I was a snob. “All My Time” was like a Chevrolet, a tried, tested and true formulaic catchy rock song that drove the crowd ‘aging French Canadian hipster wild’. They totally bobbed their heads like NUTS!
The show was a short one, and I was glad for that fact. I would say don’t bother seeing this band live, their recorded stuff sounds way better. Like, waaaay better. No big deal, I guess, maybe they’ll get more comfortable playing in front of audiences and spark my interest in the future. I just figured that a band comprised completely of white dudes that used to call themselves ‘The Muslims’ would leave a more lasting impression. However, I would like to thank the band profusely for announcing the names of their songs before playing them, as I am an incredibly irresponsible journalist and wouldn’t have known what I was talking about without their help. So thanks dudes. I owe you a brewski.
News April 14th 2010
April 14 2010 //
Read and produced by Gareth Sloan.
Stories by David Adleman, Sophia Loffreda and Matthew Phelps.
CJLO 2010 Diego Awards
April 13 2010 //
It's that time of year again. School's out for the summer, the birds are chirping, the snow has melted, and it's time to honor the best of the best that CJLO has to offer. That's right, it's Diego Award time!
The Diego Awards Ceremony is CJLO's annual best of, and demonstrates the amazing talent that we have here at the station. Nominations range from best in each genre category to broadcasting excellence. We also give nods to our amazing volunteers who work tirelessly to keep this place going!
Awards will be given out this Saturday at Les 3 Minots so keep your fingers crossed for your favorite CJLO show!
Here are the nominations:
The Welcome to the Jungle Award for Best New Show
* Runny Noise
* Eat My Country
* With Gay Abandon
* Blog Nation
* Break It Down
The CBC Award for On Air Professionalism
* New Media & Politics - Karl Knox
* The Go Go Radio Magic Show - Uncle Ian & Prince Palu
* Almighty Riff - Brennan Richer
* Purple Carrot - Anna Chigo
* Charts & Crafts - Rebecca Munroe
The Ol' Gil Award (Most Underrated Show)
* The J Spot
* Dirty Work
* Liberty In Exile
* Cut Your Hair and Get a Job
* Marvelous Darkness
The MAPL Award for Canadian Content (Canadian Only Shows & Talk Excluded)
* Pop Concordia
* Morning Mayhem
* Break It Down
* Cut Your Hair and Get a Job
* Eat My Country
CJLOL Award (Funniest Show)
* Countdown to Armageddon
* Grade A Explosives
* Pan African Hour
* Caribbean Callaloo
* The Reaktor
Defender of Rock
* Beyond That Graveyard III
* BVST
* Go Go Radio Magic Show
* The Almighty Riff
* Dirty Work
The Radio 3 Award (New Music Supporter)
* Don't Mess With Dallas
* Blog Nation
* Countdown to Armageddon
* Break It Down
* Purple Carrot
The Phil Donahue Award (Best Talk Show)
* Liberty In Exile
* New Media & Politics
* The Onomatopoeia Show
* The Sports Grind
* The Main Event
The Yank Crime Award (Best Rock Show)
* Acetate Gratified (AKA The Subplot)
* Dirty Work
* The Reaktor
* The Go Go Radio Magic Show
* Radio Fun
The Niche Award (Best Specialty Show)
* Beats from the East
* Twee Time
* Marvelous Darkness
* Beautiful Music For Ugly Children
* Grrls Groove
The Kool Herc Award (Best Hip Hop Show)
* Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em
* Blog Nation
* The Limelight
* Beats From the East
The Pete Tong Award (Best RPM Show)
* Go funk Yourself
* Haze World
* The Consortium
The Smelt Your Face Award (Best Metal Show)
* Countdown to Armageddon
* Turn Down the Suck
* Almighty Riff
* Burnt Offerings
The Lucky Dube Award (Best World Show)
* Caribbean Callaloo
* More Fyah
* Pan African Hour
The Oscar Peterson Award (Best Jazz Show)
* Right Place Wrong Time
* J Spot
* New Media & Politics
The Fox News Award for Excellence in Journalism
* Gareth Sloan
* Yael Ossowski
* Drew Pascoe
* Emily Brass
* Erica Fisher
The Riggs and Murtaugh Award for Best Team
* Ryan Rider & Steve Rockamaniac (The Main Event)
* Sasparilla & Sassafrass (Andrij Radio & Stefen Opryshko - Pan African Hour)
* Adam Avrashi & Kim Lamontagne (Sunnyside Up With Adam & Kim)
* Jay Nice & Lady Oracle (The Limelight)
* Raphael McKenzie, Gordon Weekes, and Pete Douglas (Caribbean Callaloo)
The Airwave Domination Award for Excellence in Guest Hosting
* The K-Man on New Media & Politics
* Andrew Grade A Explosives W on Countdown to Armageddon & Hooked On Sonics
* Brian Countdown to Armageddon H on Grade A Explosives
* Johnny Suck on BVST
* Simon Howell on Hooked on Sonics
The Bored and Wanting to Get Out of the House Award (for excellence in volunteer commitment)
* Patrick Meloche
* Kim Pringle
* Alex Menjivar
* Gareth Sloan
* Kayleigh Jordan-McGregor
* Eric Feliciano
* Sebastian Perry
Keener Award for Most Helpful DJ
* Johnny Suck
* Lachlan Fletcher
* Chris Seward
* Julie Matson
* Jessica MacDonald
* Kelly Kay
* Cecil
* Mike Vo
* Paul Brown
* Nassim Tabri
There will also be People's Choice awards for Best Show Promo, Best Show or DJ Blog, Best Dressed, Best Impromptu Haiku, Favorite Show, and Best Show Name.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ La Tulipe
April 13 2010 //
What a day April 2nd was: it went up to 27 degrees. So needless to say, I did not at all feel like being inside on any level.
When I managed to come out of my summer-like tizzy… I remembered that I had the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club concert to go to and off to La Tulipe I went. I so did not feel like being inside, but I do love listening to this band, so I made the ultimate sacrifice of leaving the most amazing weather ever for that time of year and was I ever thankful that I did.
I showed up a bit late, however the first thing that got me was the light show. I have seen a lot of bands in my time, but not many that impressed me with such an impressive display of lights like that.
It almost made me forget that they were playing a song, but when I shook myself out of the dazzling spectacle before my eyes, I realized that it was “Red Eyes, No Tears” they were playing and alas they hooked me.
They then led into one of their older tunes, “Ain’t No Easy Way" from their 2005 album Howl. It was at this moment that drummer Leah Shapiro caught my attention. I had never got a chance to see her when she played for the Raveonettes, and I wondered what she would be like taking over from Nick Jago. However she shocked and surprised me by proving to be just as good, if not better as any male drummer I have ever seen.
The stage had an air of sophistication in the sense that they did seem like a more seasoned band. I attributed this to the light show that continued to flabbergast me. It rendered me to wonder how this band was able to not get lost with all the flashing lights behind them.
However just when I had this wonder, lead singer Peter Hayes began to play his cover of “Visions of Johanna.” Midway through, he had to change his guitar. It took him some time to get it together, but when he finally did the audience showed their loyalty and forgave him. Was it because of it being Good Friday, only God knows.
The house was packed to capacity. Regardless of how hot it was outside, which in turn created major heat inside the venue, but this did not stop the crowd from completely loosing it when they then played “Spread Your Love” from their 2001 album B.R.M.C.
They then ended their set with “American X” from their 2007 album Baby 81, but it did not take much effort for the audience to get them back on stage for the 4 song encore, which included "666 Conducer" from Baby 81 and "Shadows Keeper" from their newly-released Beat the Devil’s Tattoo album.
Heat or no heat, this band blew my mind away. The light show was up there with some of the biggest bands I have seen. Although it was definitely terrace weather, I am so glad that did not sway me from seeing this awesome band.
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