Archive for June, 2009

Let me just preface this entire post by saying the Music Director here at CJSW has been playing KNOTS’ album The Blistering Sun, The Pale Moon, Hahahaha for weeks on repeat – in particular what he calls the ‘best song of the year’ – “Woodsmoke.” Granted it truly is a lovely album filled with lyric-heavy gems and “Woodsmoke” is catchy, whiste-able and all the other magical things I love about music.

But I’m not here to review albums.

You must see KNOTS (aka Neal Moignard) live before he leaves on tour with BRAIDS in August. He seems nervous and shaky but, luckily, it’s absolutely charming. So charming, in fact, I wouldn’t mind being able to fit him in my pocket and pull him out whenever I feel down and he can sing my blues away.

Calgary truly is becoming the home to some extremely talented musicians and, although he plans to stay in Montreal after the tour, I will be proud to say KNOTS is from my town.

That is why KNOTS, and Calgary, is so awesome!

See KNOTS on July 11th at the Grace Presbyterian Church (1009 15 Avenue SW)

I’ve been sitting at the computer for the past twelve hours  trying to think of the most appropriate way to introduce Aaron and Leni, and can’t seem to find the words to describe one of the most talented couples I have ever heard.

Aaron is a man of many stories, with an old soul in a well travelled body. With his musical talents dipping their roots into the hardcore scenes of Calgary, Aaron has brought his voice into a new genre, where his experiences speak of love and sorrow.  I was fortunate enough to meet Aaron after only knowing his brother Reuben for a short time. Aaron and I got along instantly, and I easily became a fan of his company and his music.

It wasn’t much longer afterwards that I was privileged enough to meet his musical partner and other half, Leni Navarro-Whyte. With a glowing personality, and a timeless voice, Leni is a woman that I will never forget. Her child like innocence transcends into her performances, and is so inspiring to listen to.

I am so happy to have been able to meet Aaron and Leni, and am not looking forward to their upcoming move out east, but I know it will only lead them into new aspirations.

This week’s episode is a two parter, thanks to the inspiring locations we stumbled upon during our visit to the rural jam space Aaron and Leni took us out to.

A very special thank you goes to Ben Bullock for sharing this treasure of a location. You’re an amazing man, my friend.

part two:

Thanks again to Aaron and Leni.

Thank you so much for watching. Stay tuned for a new episode next week.

Everybody has their summer spots around town. Seebe is a short distance out of Calgary and trek into the wilderness.

Seebe Cliff

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Photo by Andree Lau of are you gonna eat that?

Calgary’s biggest party is fast approaching, which can mean a lot of different things for different people. The rodeo, the Grandstand Show, free concerts, cowboy hats, mini donuts, getting drunk at 10 AM, rides, temporary employment, the Westside Express… the list just goes on and on. But for some, the most exciting part of Stampede is the prospect of scoring FREE BREAKFAST FOR 10 DAYS. To make this easier for all the pancake and sausage lovers out there, local design company Karo has come up with the Flapjack Finder (http://www.flapjackfinder.com) for all your flapjack finding needs.

If you’re a planner, you can search ahead by date or by location – punch in the postal code of your home or workplace, then click on whether you want something that’s a stumbling distance (up to 1 km) or up to a quest (10 km or more) away.

If you are someone who flies by the seat of their pants, just click “Today’s Flapjacks” and see if there’s a pancake breakfast near you. If not, the Flapjack Finder also comes equipped with recipes in case you’re stuck celebrating at home.

Hope to see you out there!

Chow Down in Cowtown is an (almost) weekly account of Calgary’s most awesome eats from Ceci n’est pas un food blog.

Apologies for being completely MIA last week – a girl has to keep her figure (and wallet, more importantly) in check sometimes… that’s what the “almost” in the description is for!

Continuing on with our Asian/Chinese food theme from two weeks ago, did you know that Calgary is home to a mini-Asian food empire? The restaurants Calgary Court, Pebble Street, Forbidden City, Misai, (and if I’m not mistaken) T.Pot, and Café HK all belong to the same owner.

Yesterday my mom wanted to go pick up a few groceries from T&T at Pacific Place in Marlborough, so we stopped by Pebble Street for a late lunch. Though the cuisine is HK-style café (which is basically a little bit of everything, really, with a bit of an Asian twist), the dark decor and wooden accents make it a far cry from the cramped, noisy, fluorescent-lighted cha chaan tengs of Hong Kong.

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Today I met up with a pretty rad girl, Kara Chomistek, the event organizer of PARKSALE.  PARKSALE is an event and a network organized by a group of young Calgarian artists to promote and support fellow young artists in the community.

This is an annual event, happening this Sunday from 12-6pm at the University of Calgary, with so many amazing artists!

For more info check out their Facebook event page:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=92205916363&ref=nf

Or join their group at:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=9024529948

Jessica, Chapeau, and I are hitting the open road for a few weeks, visiting friends and family all over Canada. We will do our best to post while we are on the road, and our fellow CIA members will keep everyone up to date with what’s Awesome in Calgary.

We’ve got interviews in the coming weeks with Twyla Dawn and Devin Morrison, so keep an eye on CIA for those and lots of other good stuff.

Attending some shows at Sled Island this year? Try to get your hands on one of these while they are available. A free sample CD, featuring 20 tracks from local and semi-local bands and artists. As always with Sled Island, it is artistically packaged by Twyla, who you can expect to see a Good Peeps from in the coming weeks.

Sean Nicolas Savage
Royal Canadian Legion #1 (Upstairs)
11:00 PM

WE’RE HAVING A PARTY AND YOU’RE ALL INVITED.  

SATURDAY JULY 4TH

DEADBEAT SUMMER

EMMEDIA 203-351 11AVE SW

BBQ @ 8

DANCING ALL NIGHT