Category: Features

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Evil Survives – False Metal Slayers

By Kent Davies

Local metal marauders Evil Survives perform old school New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) at its purest commanding form. The band was born out of the uninspired revulsion following a Children of “Boredom” gig at which they sold their souls to save metal and destroy the savage purveyors of false metal evermore. Evoking the authoritative metal supremacy of Priest, Maiden and Mercyful Fate they sought conquer the metal world forever. Combining Adrian Riff and Sean Murray’s double dose of fierce frenzied guitar shredding obliteration, the pulse pounding percussion and rhythmic destruction of Derrick the Butcher and Dr. Wiseman Harrisist and Axe ’n’ Smash Warkentin’s devastating Dickenson-like cries, Evil Survives absolutely annihilates everything else. The band’s recent earth-shattering sophomore album Powerkiller is already a metal classic, featuring six ludicrously loud, larger-than-life-and-death tracks and Ed Repka’s finest cover art in years. The album is guaranteed to blow brains out of any denim ’n’ leather listener. Recently Stylus sought an audience with Evil Survives shredmaster Adrian Riff to discuss Powerkiller, cassette tapes and the new resurgence of NWOBHM.

Stylus: Powerkiller… my god. Powerkiller.
Adrian Riff: The new album was recorded in a marathon 16-day session in December. I’d like to think it’s the logical second Evil Survives album. We’re not going to alienate any fans. It’s 25 percent less Iron Maiden, 25 percent more Evil Survives. It’s little more of us finding our own sound but mostly pseudo-plagiarising or paying homage to Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Mercyful Fate.

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The Besnard Lakes – Fine Vintage

By Kevan Hannah

Between releasing their third album, The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night, embarking on a worldwide tour, and managing Breakglass Studios at home in Montreal, the Besnard Lakes’ Jace Lacek found some time to sit down with Stylus to talk about their record, vinyl superiority and inspirational fever dreams.

Stylus: Your last album received a lot of critical attention and really catapulted you out of obscurity. Did that impact the way you approached album three?
Jace Lacek: It was kind of daunting for me. With the first two records, nobody knew who we were, we weren’t expecting anybody to ever hear the record. So I kind of wanted to approach it the same way. It took about three or four days in the studio for me to actually close my mind off from that and make a record. I kept thinking, “Is this…what are we making? Is it good?” Before, I was always like, “I don’t care.” After about four days of just writing away at it, I got over that. Let’s just close ourselves off and just make the record.

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Label Profile: War on Music

By Kent Davies

War on Music isn’t just a label or a store. War on Music is a political movement. Much like Organic Planet Worker Co-Op or Mondragón Bookstore and Coffeehouse, the principles guiding the War on Music organization are that of participatory economics. Through a committee structure there are no bosses, no managerial hierarchy and no purveyors of lame-ass corporate music. All members of War on Music maintain an equal share of equity in the business. The worker co-operative is located, as member Charley Justice says, “halfway to hell”—or the basement of 93 Albert St. here in Winnipeg. As a local metal store, WoM also serves local bands, offering high-quality in-house merch for cheap and sometimes even acts as a venue for shows. Aside from row after row of quality, reasonably priced metal and punk albums, top-notch metal merchandise and vintage arcade machines, the most alluring feature of War on Music is their in-house label. War on Music the label is leading the way in Canadian metal releases on vinyl. With over a dozen releases, including re-issues of classic metal and punk albums, 7” singles of Canadian metal and hard-rock acts and the number-one-sellling metal album in the country, WoM is a force to reckoned with. Stylus talked with label rep and co-op member Charley Justice about the label, the store and the future of vinyl-driven metal. Continue reading “Label Profile: War on Music”

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Pip Skid – Fake Blood, Real Beats

By Sarah Petz

With a sound that is raw, honest and provocative, you wouldn’t expect that Pip Skid (a.k.a. Patrick Skene) grew up on the mean streets of the small prairie city of Brandon, Manitoba. Skene said growing up in Brandon was, like all small cities, challenging at times, but thinks that he and his other Brandon-raised friends DJ Hunnicutt and mcenroe ended up developing their music simply because of the lack of things to do.

“We also never had other rap groups to look up to in a close sense,” says Skene, “The only place we could see or hear rap was from rare little moments when it would get played on TV or the radio.” With only punk, jazz and metal bands around them, the group played any show they could get, even if it meant playing a 12-year-old’s birthday party.

“I do believe that coming from a place like Manitoba does effect your art. Our winters change your life which in turn influences the music,” says Skene. His latest album, Skid Row, is the first time he’s worked with DJ Kutdown on an entire project. Also collaborating with Magnum K.I., Skene is proud of the record they’ve produced. Continue reading “Pip Skid – Fake Blood, Real Beats”

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Rob Vilar’s Story Time – Beach House

By Rob Vilar

02:37 a.m. On a seaside pier, parts unknown.

With a splash of some unknown abrasive alcohol awakening me out of my stupor, I find myself bound to a straight jacket on a seaside pier. A foreign-looking Henchman and two of his goons look me over.

“You were gone there for a while,”  says the Henchman in his thick South African accent.

“Yeah tell me about it,”  I reply.

“Rob Vilar,”  he says while taking a shot of the rough stuff from his flask, “You don’t know me but I know  you. I am the man who is about to change the course of your history. Months ago we were running illegal MP3s on music blogs for advertising revenue from California Apparel. It was a great windfall for us… the money, the skanks that would sleep with us for publicity. It was a dream. We also ensured no artists got any cash for their original compositions. Anyways, it was all running perfectly, until you had to come with your Story Time reviews, and try to be funny, call our shit out and everything. Fuck you, Vilar. But you know what? Now you are alone. All your colleagues dead, except that slut partner of yours.”

“Well, knowing her, I’m pretty sure she has someth-”

“SHUT UP!” He screams as he pistol whips me across the face. “You see that house burning on the beach?  That was your home, I presume. Well, just think in the morning when there’s nothing but a smouldering ash of what was once your house, you will be laid to rest at the bottom of this ocean. Fully intact and preserved for the rest of time. Our way to honour you Vilar. But your partner, once we get ahold of her…”

“You son of a bitches!” I yell while struggling to get out my straightjacket.

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Preview: Sleep… in the Gallery

Maybe it’s because it’s raining in Winnipeg today that the idea of curling up and listening to some sonorous sounds is appealing. Of course, regardless of the weather, there’s a lot to recommend the happenings at Ace Art this Thursday, May 13. Vancouver drone-maker Empty Love and Winnipeg’s experimentalist Chris Bryan (formerly 3x3is9) will perform. Attendees will also be treated to a short film program featuring the work of Clint Enns, Kelsey Braun, Andrew Milne + Cam Johnson, Montreal’s Sabrina Ratté and former Stylus cover artist Leslie Supnet (whose illustration is pictured above right).

Doors are at 8, the films start at 8:30, followed by the live sound performances.

Organizer crys cole urges you to “bring open ears and a pillow, sleeping bag or whatever makes you cozy.” I say, take her up on it!


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Bob Wiseman–Musician, Playwright, Wiseguy

By Kevan Hannah

Musician, songwriter, director, actor, playwright—Toronto’s Bob Wiseman has built a 25 year career upon finding new roles to play, crashing and bleeding into each other to create an art that is uniquely his own. It’s transformed Wiseman’s live performances into an audio-visual spectacle, backing his music with evocative, original films written and directed by the man himself. He was kind enough to spend some time talking to Stylus about his performances, which Winnipeg audiences can experience for themselves at the Ragpickers Theatre this Saturday, May 1.

Stylus: You seem to be constantly spinning as many creative plates as you can. How are things going for you these days?
Bob Wiseman: Pretty good. I wrote a play about my experiences with lawyers and the music business. A lot of that is funny, and I’m mounting that at the Uno Festival in Victoria later in May, and then at several Fringe festivals over the summer, including Winnipeg. And I just was in Europe, over the last six weeks.

Stylus: How did you branch out into writing for theatre?
BW: I’m not sure, there’s a few stories I could tell. But I guess foremost, being from Winnipeg, originally, you move to a bigger place like Toronto and it’s thrilling that there are so many arts, there’s a critical mass of people to make a lot of independent art viable and I like attending a lot of things. So I’ve always been interested in theatre. Specifically, I wrote this play because this theatre festival in Toronto called SummerWorks, and they have a music component. They asked me if I would play a party several months before the festival was going to begin, because they thought I would be one of the music people. But they were kind of charmed with the films that I have that three of them by the end of the night were like, “You know, you should just do this as a play.”

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Sound advice: Two shows you do not want to miss

I know that Monday and Tuesday nights are generally reserved for laundry and/or recovering from weekend revelry, but please, Winnipeg, I implore you — break with tradition and go see these two early-week shows.

missemily11. MISS EMILY BROWN – MONDAY, APRIL 19 at the MONDRAGON, 9 p.m.

$7, with openers Ben Wytinck and Steve Brockley (Montreal)

Hopefully our feature on Emily Millard, a.k.a. Miss Emily Brown, sparked your interest. Her expert manipulation of her instruments — from voice to autoharp to guitar and banjo — coaxes out sounds that bring the old into a starkly modern context. Check her out on MySpace, or watch this little video to get a better picture of what to expect at tonight’s show:

Miss Emily Brown – In Technicolor from Benjamin Schuetze on Vimeo.

Baby-Dee2. BABY DEE – TUESDAY, APRIL 20 at the WEST END CULTURAL CENTRE, 8 p.m.

$12, with opener Keri Latimer

Baby Dee adds new meaning to the term “uncategorizable.” Her music takes a lot from classic cabaret, but throws in heaps of church music as well as the brutal honesty of the folk singer-songwriter tradition. Her voice, heartfelt and rich, only adds to the glorious ambiguity of it all. Learn more on her website or on MySpace.

Here’s a video of her performing my favourite track from her new record, Songs for Anne Marie.

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Miss Emily Brown – Era to Era, Coast to Coast

By Jenny Henkelman
EmilyBRown-photobyShannonPe
Flowered wallpaper, little-known Catholic observances and wartime longing—things and feelings pretty far removed from most young musicians, including Emily Millard. But Millard, who performs under the name Miss Emily Brown, explores them all on her new album, In Technicolor. It’s a gorgeous album, with warm acoustic and electronic sounds, with Millard’s effortless soprano colouring in her clever but heartful folk songs. Stylus exchanged electronic letters with Millard during her current tour, which stops in Winnipeg on April 19 at Mondragon.

Stylus: You used your grandmother’s wartime diary as inspiration for the songs on this album. What drew you to choosing an artifact and using it for inspiration in this way? Is your songwriting process different when you do it this way?
Miss Emily Brown: I first discovered my grandmother’s journal when I was about fourteen. It was on the bookshelf in a zippered leather case with my grandfather’s Second World War medals and Air Force papers. For years I had thought of researching the details of her journal and writing songs about it, mostly as a way of getting to know the grandmother I never met. Last year I was finally ready to do that. My songwriting process wasn’t so different for the songs on In Technicolor. I really like to write about other peoples’ life experiences. It helps me understand them better. I find that when I write about the lives of others, the songs last longer because I don’t out-grow them like I do with songs based on my own feelings. I love finding pieces of writing or hearing stories and then boiling them down to a few verses of song.

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Vampires – Will Give You the Clap

By Taylor Benjamin Burgess

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For the past year, Vampires have been racking up bigger and bigger live shows, including the past two Element Sircuses and the always-packed Cabaret! at the Standard. When this guitar-and-drum duo plays, they navigate some sweat-drenched territory between southern rock and Interpol, whipping the crowd into head-swinging and dancing. And if that isn’t enough, Josh Butcher and David Dobbs stop in the middle of their set, trade instruments, and keep on going. After building a local following, they’ve gotten around to recording, with the help of Jeff Patteson of Home Street Recording and some new rented gear. Stylus eventually wrangled a 15-minute phone call out of David Dobbs.

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