personalities

A chat with a one-man Luxury Pond

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on Thursday, March 4, 2010

Courtesy of Luxury Pond

Toronto’s Dan Goldman has a great thing going these days: not one but two successful bands. Sometimes sharing the stage with partner in crime Danielle Gesundheit in Snowblink sometimes a one-man show with Luxury Pond, Goldman’s a busy man.

He’s in town tonight with Thomas Gill and Alex Lukashevsky at 8:30pm at Raw Sugar Cafe for what’s sure to be a feast for the ears. I caught up with him to discuss touring, Owen Pallet and what he’s got planned for 2010.

FL: A good friend of mine mentioned you played at his house in Halifax and that you liked playing smaller venues like art galleries, small theatres, houses and other cool listening spaces. How was the experience compared to regular bar shows? Is this something that you’d like to replicate?

DG: It can be anywhere from a peep-show-sized room to a living room, to a great big hall; so long as the intention is about listening, I’m happy.

FL: The St. Kitts String Quartet and Owen Pallett (who recently played to sold out shows at the Black sheep inn) participated in your album. How did you hook up with all these awesome folks?

DG: Owen worked on my last record. I’ve know him for a long time. When I saw a Final Fantasy featuring St. Kitts show back in 2005 at the Music Gallery, I knew I wanted to work with them for my next record, so I asked Owen after the show and he said yes.

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Meet and greet with Brian Jungen at the National Gallery of Canada!

Written

Francois

on Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Photo courtesy of murdocke23 on Flickr.

NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA
380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa
gallery.ca

Brian Jungen: Thursday, March 4 at 6 pm

Brian Jungen will discuss his artistic practice. A bilingual question period will follow.

Brian Jungen creates thought provoking sculptures through the reconfiguring of familiar objects. His work comments on a range of issues, from mass production and globalization to the consumption of Aboriginal imagery through museum practices. He first came to prominence with Prototypes for New Understanding (1998-2005), in which he reconceived Nike footwear into objects that suggest Northwest Coast Aboriginal masks. Since then his work has been exhibited extensively in Canada and internationally including at the Vancouver Art Gallery (British Columbia), Tate Modern (London), the New Museum (New York), the Biennale of Sydney (Australia), and Vienna Secession, (Austria). The National Gallery of Canada collection currently holds four works by Jungen including Peoples Flag, 2006; Vienna, 2003; Vernacular, 1998-2001; and Shapeshifter, 2000.

In the Lecture Hall. Free admission.

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Dirty Laundry: Ottawa’s Newest Sex Column

Written

apartment613

on Friday, February 26, 2010

Photo Courtesy of Jessica Ruano

A professional sexual health educator with an alarming lack of tact, Nadine Thornhill is used to airing out other people’s unmentionables. Her new sex column, Dirty Laundry, will run the last Friday of each month on Apt613 starting this week. To ask your questions, or to say hello to Nadine, contact her at dirtylaundry613@gmail.com.

For the full smorgasboard of Nadine’s musings check out her blog, Adorkable Thespian.

_________________________

Dear Dirty Laundress,

I hate sexual identity labels. Only for myself; I don’t mind what other people call themselves. I find the words “straight” and “gay” limiting. And then “bisexual” seems to suggest “right-smack-dab in the middle of the Kinsey Scale”. Nowadays everyone is expected to define themselves according to sexual preference, so I feel obligated to find a term that suits me. Is there a word that captures that sense of “I just sleep with whomever I find attractive at any given time”? Or should I continue to resist labels altogether?

Absolutely No Odd Names

If you truly feel obligated to label your sexuality, you might prefer the term “pansexual” or “omnisexual”. Pan/omni sexuality is romantic and/or sexual attraction towards people regardless of their gender or biological sex. This is different from “bisexuality” because it does not assume a rigid male/female gender binary. You might also use the word “queer”. Once a homophobic insult, the word has been re-appropriated by the GLBTTQQ community as a positive term to describe any person or expression that doesn’t conform to hetero-normative standards.

But do you really need a label? Labels can be useful. At the grocery store, for instance. Without labels we wouldn’t know if we were buying corn or trout-in-a-can. When it comes to sexual expression, however, I’m of the belief that labels can be more limiting than illuminating. Perhaps designations around orientation wouldn’t be problematic if we simply allowed people to define their sexuality on their own terms. Unfortunately, humans have a tendency to get squicky with behaviour that falls outside the box. A straight-identified man gets down with a one guy one time and we’re all “ZOMG! Is he bisexual? Gay? Repressed?” Does it really matter? If you’re comfortable without a label, ANON…fuck it! Your sexuality has only to do with you and whomever you choose to press your bits against. You’re under no obligation to define it.

Dear Dirty Laundress,

Hello! I have a partner who was raised in a small town and has a stereotypically-small town outlook on a lot of things - including sex. We get along fabulously and for the most part have a great sex life, except for one thing: she expresses squeamishness and/or harsh judgment on a lot of kinks that I, personally, think of as pretty mild (some of which I’m into). How do we bridge this gap?

Small Town State of Mind

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SEX! Now that we got your attention…

Written

apartment613

on Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Photo courtesy of Jessica Ruano on Flickr.

Friday will be a special day for Apt613… the incomparable Nadine Thornhill is joining our team of writers and will contribute a monthly sex/relationship advice column - Dirty Laundry. All those questions you had about that third nipple or how to properly introduce your pie throwing fetish to your partner, Nadine’s there to answer them!

A professional sexual health educator with an alarming lack of tact, Nadine is used to speaking openly about the wonders of masturbation - even within earshot of your conservative relatives. When she’s not making you blush, she’ll be playing one of her many other roles, including mother, lover, actor, award-winning playwright, wannabe triathlete, poet and lifelong klutz. For the full smorgasboard of Nadine’s musings check out her blog, Adorkable Thespian.

Dirty Laundry will run the last Friday of each month starting this week. To ask your questions, or to say hello to Nadine, contact her at dirtylaundry613@gmail.com.

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“Just admit it. You’re from Kanata.” Reflections on Ottawa from a hometown girl

Written

apartment613

on Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Photo courtesy of S.L.M at flickr

Post by Veronica Michelle - blogger at The View from Veronica’s Closet, well-known Ottawa writer and occasional Apt613 columnist. This is the first post in a short series on Ottawa, why she left and why there’s no place like home.

Ottawa never felt like home to me until I left.

I was born in Halifax. My family relocated to Ottawa well before I was old enough to have any memories of my home town, but I grew up knowing where I was from. I’ve never considered myself an Ottawa native, despite having a number of friends who would mock me when I claimed to be Nova Scotian, saying “Just admit it. You’re from Kanata.”

When I knew I needed to get out of Ottawa, there was no question of where to go. I, like many others who feel the need to leave Ottawa behind, left for the bright lights and cheap booze of our sister city: Montreal.

The allure of Montreal offered me something new, something bigger; a land of opportunity outside of a city that I already felt I had conquered and was bored with.

It took almost a year for me to set all of my affairs in order to leave. Being an active member in many of Ottawa’s intertwining communities meant that I had to set up arrangements to continue working in the Ottawa scene from Montreal. Some of the seats I held were easy to vacate, others required thoughtful replacement and some remained reserved, with me on call from Montreal. (There’s a reason I’m the mayor of Station Centrale D’Autobus de Montreal on Foursquare.)

I was going back almost every 2 weeks for one reason or another: To support a friend in their art show or concert, to help organize an event, to perform, or just to see the people I love. I was giving ammunition to the voices telling me to come back. It was becoming clear to others that Ottawa is where I belong, long before my stubborn self could accept it.

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Interview with the Souljazz Orchestra! Funkifying the NCR since 2002

Written

apartment613

on Tuesday, February 23, 2010

When I think epic Ottawa dance party, two names come to mind: Timekode and the Souljazz Orchestra. So you can imagine the fervor with which I’m dusting off my dancing shoes for this Friday, February 26 when both these funktacular forces hit the stage at Babylon. Souljazz has been an Ottawa staple since 2002, but their eclectic mix of soul, funk and afro-beats are gaining global recognition. The group is introducing their new album, Rising Sun, which promises to be as compelling as their past work. Francois and I (Katie) caught up with Pierre Chrétien, the group’s keyboardist, via the world wide web for a quick interview.

APT613: Rising Sun will be your first album with Strut Records, I believe. You must be pretty excited! Seems like a record company that brings in a lot of old reissues and old school artists. How did that relationship with Strut happen, and how do you see if affecting your careers?

SjO: Strut’s founder, Quinton Scott, first approached us in 2008 to do a remix for reggae veteran Horace Andy and producer Ashley Beedle. We chose to do the song “Watch We”, which we basically re-wrote, then re-recorded live as if it was one of our own, backing up Horace’s original vocals. I guess Strut was sufficiently impressed with the result that when we came out with a new album, they were interested. Needless to say, we’re very excited to have “Rising Sun” come out on the label: they have a great presence worldwide, and a phenomenal roster of artists as well.

APT613: Rising Sun will be your first acoustic album. Did this change anything in terms of the writing process? What’s different about the sound of this album compared to your past work.

SjO: Well, we’ve been thinking about doing this for a while now… It’s funny, the limitations that we set for ourselves pushed us into directions that we wouldn’t have otherwise taken. The subtlety required to play acoustically led us to try more jazz-oriented, meditative pieces along with the more heavy, dancefloor-conscious tunes. And rather than looking at different types of electric pianos, electric organs or electric guitars for colour, we looked at different orchestral instruments. We ended up with about thirty different instruments on the album: trumpet, alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax, flute, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, piano, vibraphone, marimba, harp, accordion, double bass, drums, congas, bongos, cuica, shekere, gankogui, claves, guiro, tambourine, bells, flexatone, basket rattle, goat-hoof rattle, bamboo chime, glass bottles, and vocals.

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Live at the Library! This week: Gluten-free living

Written

apartment613

on Saturday, February 20, 2010

Photo courtesy of elana's pantry on Flickr.

Did you know that loads of public events happen at the library? Most of them for free! If you are looking for an after work activity that is stimulating for your brain rather then detrimental to your liver, attending a talk or a lecture at the library is the way to go (you can always get to the liver later). Our new correspondent, Stephen Johnson, has worked at the Ottawa Public Library for the past nine years. His periodic column will showcase the upcoming events, courses and seminars that will be taking place at the Main Library. Stay tuned for more of Live at the Library in upcoming weeks.

Who knew visiting the Ottawa Public Library could be so good for your health? Toronto-based author Victoria Yeh will be discussing her new book, Where Do I Start? Your Essential Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Sugar-Free Food Allergy Cookbook on Wednesday, February 24 at 7:00 pm. The event will be taking place at the Main Library Auditorium (120 Metcalfe Street) and admission is free.

For some, the traditional Western diet is full of hidden dangers. The proteins found in gluten and milk products can wreak havoc on the digestive tract, while the refined sugar sneakily added to nearly everything can play a role in obesity, diabetes and hyperactive children. As a result, many health conscious people are taking steps to remove these substances from their diet, whether they’ve been diagnosed with allergies or not.

Victoria Yeh writes from personal experience about making this transition. Eight years ago, on the advice of her doctor, Yeh eliminated gluten, dairy and sugar from her diet. Yeh’s book talks about the results of these changes including practical recipes and food substitutions.

True to the title, Where do I Start also provides people thinking about eliminating wheat, milk and sugar from their diet with some useful advice. “To be successful with a new diet, you first have to be absolutely committed to making the change in your lifestyle,” says Yeh. “People think that it’s hard to stick to these diets, but it’s not. It’s just a matter of learning a few rules of thumb so that you can adapt to your needs and still enjoy the foods you love.” For example, some of the tips she recommends include:

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Choose Love: An interview with photographer Mariana Lafrance

Written

Francois

on Saturday, February 13, 2010

Photo by Mariana Lafrance

Sudbury transplant and photographer extraordinaire, Mariana Lafrance is exhibiting for the first time in Ottawa. I caught up with her a week before her vernissage, set to take place February 16, at Raw Sugar Café (7pm).

FL: Congrats on your first show! It’s your first photo exhibit in Ottawa?

ML: Yes, first in Ottawa. I’ve done a few in Sudbury in the past.

FL: You’ve published a beautiful photo book , La ville invisible/Site unseen, can you tell us a bit about it?

ML: I’ve been doing photography for a long time. I probably got my first camera when I was 13 or so. I was part of the Carleton University Photo Club but I’m pretty much a self-taught photographer. After finishing school, I was able to find a greater focus in what I wanted to do, the process to my work.

I started a photoblog where I posted photos of Sudbury, once a day and over time, it started to get some buzz. About a year and a half after that Sudbury was celebrating its 125th anniversary. My ward’s councillor knew about my photos and thought it would be a cool idea for the anniversary to create a book, and match my photos with artists poems, short stories from folks part of Sudbury’s literary scene. The book’s basically a love letter to Sudbury.

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Cube Salon presents Sterling Lynch

Written

saxby

on Thursday, February 11, 2010

Ottawa local Sterling Lynch will bring his award-winning play Home in Time to this weekend’s Cube Salon. Sterling works with both Eddie May Murder Mysteries and Sanitas Playback Theatre.

You probably should have planned to go to see Sterling perform a staged reading of his play Home in Time when Cube first booked him several weeks ago, but that was even before his efforts garnered him first prize in the Canadian One-Act Playwriting Competition. So now… you really have no choice.

Photo by @justinvl

On what this national award means for Home in Time…
Sterling: National awards are the stuff publicity dreams are made of. Putting bums in seats for Home In Time is going to be much easier now. Also, Peter Hinton, the NAC’s English Theatre Artistic Director, is going to workshop the play in April. Working with him is a fantastic opportunity.

On what to expect at the event on Saturday…
Sterling: Staged readings are simple stripped back affairs that give theatre lovers a chance to involve themselves in the story of a script at an early stage. The actors will have the script in hand and very few theatrical elements will be employed. Ultimately, my goal is to intrigue the audience and leave them wanting more. Because I’ve got top-notch local talent involved — Brianne Tucker, Colleen Sutton, and Wayne Current — I’m confident people will walk away feeling like they are a part of something special.

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Amanda Lunan (aka Aunty Loo) dishes out creative treats

Written

apartment613

on Thursday, February 4, 2010

Photo Courtesy of Alyssa Iswolsky

Post by Dominic Maggiolo, Ottawa food philosopher and blogger on vegetarian food and culture. Check out some of his other writings on his blog, Le Jeune Gourmand.

Disclosure: Aunty Loo’s Bakery will be participating in a fundraiser for Apartment613 this Valentine’s Day.

No eggs, no milk, no butter or cream: Amanda Lunan of Aunty Loo’s Bakery creates wonderfully crafted baked goods for a small yet discerning niche of individuals with dietary restrictions or ethical concerns. Though this is not an easy task, especially considering the competitive nature of small businesses, Mandi proves with that with much passion, love and good ole’ fashion cookery, you can tackle any challenge.

Greeting every customer with warm grace and a bright smile, just as her grandmother would, she’ll customize a treat to be dairy, gluten or egg free to meet any and all of your dietary needs. I think it goes without saying that Mandi is passionate about her craft, but if there was any doubt, her refreshingly charismatic air and passion for baking shines through in Aunty Loo’s tasty cinnamon buns and scones.

I sat down with Mandi to talk about food, her struggles and what really motivated her to start living her dream.

When did you first become interested in baking?

I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t. I’m fortunate enough to be from a very large, young family. When I was a kid, my mom stayed home with me and we baked all the time. Ditto for when I hung out with my Nana. A lot of the recipes I use at the bakery actually belong to them. (With the necessary vegan alterations, of course!) All of my Aunts and Great Grandmothers baked around me all the time too; it’s a huge part of my family.

What is your food philosophy?

Kick it old school. There’s a reason that recipe has been in your family for years. If you’re going to tamper with it, keep it as simple as possible.

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