ECMA Day Four – Awards as a measuring stick
There I sat, surrounded by cameras, microphones, and reporters. No, I wasn’t being interviewed about my role in the ECMA weekend. I was actually sitting in the basement of the Metro Centre, stuck in the Media Room as the ECMA Awards Gala raged on outside. If you’re ever a journalist and you want to feel…
Letters to the Editor
last week’s “love the way we bitch” column featured a university graduate snubbing his nose at the current students struggling with their finances. I felt offended when I read it, not by the author (there is no limit to the amount of mean-spirited garbage people will write when they can hide behind the anonymity that…
ECMA Day 3 – The Halifax mob descends on the Awards showcases
After a night that went better than any East Coast Music Awards party-goer could have expected, I had to reason that I was in for a bit of a letdown. Although there were a few hitches, Saturday night saw the most crowds, with almost every bar packed to the brim with music fans out to…
ECMA Day 2: Here, there, everywhere
After what was a low-key night for the ECMAs, I set out on Friday in an attempt to see as much as I could. I was not disappointed. Simply put, when you’re sipping a gin and tonic in the Scotia Square mall at 5:30 a.m., you know you’ve had a good time. The night started…
Letters to the Editor
DFO is claiming “safety” as the reason it is contemplating increasing the distance observers must stay from sealers during the commercial seal hunt. If DFO is truly concerned with safety, a 10-metre restriction should also be placed upon sealers to prevent them from approaching observers. In past years, the only violence committed against people on…
As seen on TV
I just read the article “As Seen on TV” as it was mentioned on an INXS fan forum. I enjoyed this article very much as it is well written and full of new information. We’d probably like to hear more of what JD is up to because it sounds interesting! Thanks. By Sandi
Letters to the Editor
I just read your music writers’ predictions about the ECMA in this week’s Coast. I cringed to read the apparent bitterness some of them expressed about the fact that Joel Plaskett allowed one of his songs to be used in a Zeller’s commercial. Sure, Zeller’s is an evil Big Corporation. But they could just as…
ECMA Day 1 – Controlled Chaos
Here we go. It’s the start of the 2007 ECMA Weekend and the city is abuzz with musicians, media, and industry folk, gearing up for another edition of the best sounds the Maritimes have to offer. My day starts with a visit to the ECMA media centre. Personally, I think the organizers of the weekend…
Near, far…well, near, actually
Though we’re more against Titanic-related things than the rightful soul under the J.Dawson grave marker over at Fairview Lawn, a few years ago we saw a production of Scotland Road close out the most ambitious, awesome season Shakespeare by the Sea has ever had. That’s why we’re in full support of Theatre Arts Guild’s version…
Redrum
Forget about April—February is by far the cruellest month. Just ask the Khyber Club. In February of 2006, the Khyber Club (the famous “red room” at 1588 Barrington) was unexpectedly shut down by the city. The Khyber Arts Society, which rents the building, had been operating the space as a licensed multi-purpose performance venue for…
How sweet it is
Haligonians looking to try some authentic Jamaican cuisine can now check out Sweet Spice, which opened on February 1 at 2725 Agricola. The restaurant’s co-owner and main chef Lajuane Bruce hails from Jamaica, where he learned to cook from his mother and grandmother. After working a string of odd jobs since 1992, Bruce met Dean…
Day 1 The Start of a Long Weekend
Here we go. It’s the start of the East Coast Music Awards Weekend, in which the city will be beset by musician and general industry folk, all milling about
Norbit
Declaring Norbit horrible isn’t unfounded, just too easy. Eddie Murphy’s comedy treads dangerous ground for anyone who hates the “it’s only a movie” defence. The first joke involves baby Norbit’s parents throwing him out a car window onto the front step of an orphanage. Before five minutes are up, Murphy has handed opponents their ammo.…
Where the sun don’t shine
Let’s say that the twin towers of climate change are global warming and global dimming. By now, everyone’s heard of global warming, twin tower number one. Experts have been warning for decades that unless we kick our addiction to burning fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases, rising temperatures will generate more intense hurricanes, tornadoes, ice…
Lulu’s last show
Lulu LaRude’s final post on www.lulularude.com came on January 30. The tone, as usual, was optimistic. But the news was not good. “HI everyone. Alot has happened in the last few days that i find is now important to those that surround me, especially amongst my friends and family. I was informed a few days…
Safety dance
by Mark Black, Johnston Farrow, Chris McCluskey, Tara Thorne and Shannon Webb-Campbell ALTERNATIVE RECORDING OF THE YEAR Jon Epworth and the Improvements, Wet on Wet In-Flight Safety, The Coast is ClearMars Hill, Fate Chance Luck DanceOn Vinyl, Strode DodgerTwo Hours Traffic, Isolator MB: I’m not really sure how any of these albums can be considered…
Like a Skyhawk
“The kids flipped out, I didn’t realize how big the ECMAs were,” says Glenn Taylor, describing the general reaction on receiving an ECMA nomination for Best Children’s Recording for Skyhawk: The Musical. “The parents are excited—Spryfield is on the map. We’re not going to go any farther I’m sure…but the point is, the dream came…
Bollywood/Halifax
Mihir Busa, a mechanical engineer originally from Bombay, has had a little trouble adjusting to life in Atlantic Canada. “We all are used to not eating meat,” he says. “Over here it’s hard to find Indian food in the Superstore. There are a few Indian stores, but the prices are…whoof.” He says that for young…
Rose’s garden
Listen to “Good enough” by Rose Cousins If there is one artist who epitomizes the spirit of the East Coast Music Awards, it’s Rose Cousins. With humble beginnings in Prince Edward Island, then creative blossoming in Halifax, the 29-year-old singer-songwriter is a working artist who has chosen music as a career. She’s by no means…
As seen on TV
Glasgow doesn’t reveal itself immediately. Pulling off the 104 at Westville Road, you have to drive about five minutes until you meet Stellarton Road, then it’s another left, keep driving past the strip malls and the obligatory Tim Horton’s until you meet George Street. And then you see it. The little bridge that crosses the…
Bands on film
Make a Little Noise Joel Plaskett takes pride in the fact he’s a rocker. That’s obvious in the simple fact that he uses duct tape to connect his strap to his guitar. The whole singer-songwriter label chafes a little, despite the rousing reception his more acoustic record, La De Da, received on its release in…
Myles above
Listen to “Love Again” by David Myles David Myles demonstrates well the principle of rapid immersion—the brilliant experience of diving in fast and deep and coming up with golden, artistic expression. Growing up in Fredericton, he studied trumpet intensely, loving jazz in particular. A few years ago this musical mind was studying political science, with…
Show time
This ain’t a scene, it’s a goddamned awards show and conference! And an alternative festival! And a bunch of in-stores, church gigs and casino shows! And 72 hours of jamming! And more drinking than those 3,200 pub-crawling lame-os could hope to accomplish in their Guinness-regulated time. Observe: Music Nova Scotia Stage The goal of this…
Sink or swim
Nova Scotia is sinking, and, thanks to global warming, the oceans are rising. We here in Halifax, sitting on the edge of both Nova Scotia and the ocean, have a geologist’s word that Nova Scotia sank between 21 and 47 centimetres over the last century, a continuation of a process that’s been going on for…
Southern hospitality
Everything is bigger in Texas, they say. And the first thing we note on the Lone Star’s menu is the 72oz Challenge—that’s four-and- a-half pounds of sirloin steak with all the trimmings and if you can eat it in one hour, it’s free. I guess they take that bigger thing pretty seriously. Interestingly, “Canada’s Only…
Neighbourhood diner
The dining room at Saege Bistro is crowded, voices rising above the sound of an indoor waterfall. Early-afternoon sun highlights a basket of artisanal bread, a plate of cheese, an arrangement of dried herbs. People are tasting food, trading business cards, listening intently. But this isn’t an ordinary lunch at Saege. In fact, it’s not…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Host your own grand reopening, Virgo.
SAVAGE LOVE
Dan Savage puts the “happy” back in “ending.”
Savage lova wextra
From the time I was a teen, I knew I had this “thing” for diapers, most likely stemming from a father who berated me for not being manly enough and a mother who threatened to put me back in diapers. (I was an occasional bed wetter until age 14.) Somehow those insults and threats worked…
Punch it up
You might walk by it every day: IT’S that building on Gottingen Street—a relic left over from its days of yore as a movie theatre—that for years has displayed the same, puzzling message, “Pioneer Frontier. Explode my heart.” For a long time, this building—spanning 2110-2112 Gottingen Street—has been crying out for someone to make good…
