Poet Laureate

A community that understands itself improves.

The reflexive community establishes goals. It looks into itself, the heart of its obstacles, assess and confronts them. This reflexivity clarifies for it the roles held within it; the roles of government and the judiciary; the roles of citizens; the roles of artists. In a sense that is not clinically anthropological, the reflexive community is a community. It is a unified being.

One of the best senses of this comes from the the institutions created to promote self-identification with cultural and community values. The institution of the Poet Laureate, a public figure appointed by government who in investiture agrees to provide literature for public ceremonies and promote cultural dialogue within communities, enables a defense against the erosion of culture as fundamental value in communities, demographics, provinces and states.

It is no surprise, then, that New Brunswick lacks a Poet Laureate.

The necessity of cultural institutions is linked to the necessity of identity; for too long this relationship has been overlooked by stewards of our province.

Beginning next month, naked east will begin to lobby the government of New Brunswick to establish a provincial Poet Laureate to sustain the cultural literacy and identity of our province.
We will advise that the term be no less than ten years. We will submit, among other such things, suggestions.

Send your nominees for the Poet Laureate of New Brunswick to naked.east.the@gmail.com or submit a comment below.

Interruption

Patrick and I are going to have to take a step back for a little while. I got news of a death in the family. To say it's a shock is a gross understatement, and there's little more to be said about it at this point.

Hopefully we'll be back tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Thursday, February 7

Here are some dudes watching Stereo Airing.

So we went to the Marquee last night. Kind of a surprise; Jack's Pizza, which is owned and operated by the same people behind the Marquee, is a tiny little pizza stand, with four stools to eat pizza on. The Marquee is a big place. More photos:

This is Maggie, flaunting her ECMA media pass before CBC Saint John radio reporter Sarah Trainor.

This is Chuck Teed, of BBQ Records. Such a cutie.

This is our friend Zach, loving life.

Them, The Ragtag!

And at The Capital:

Rebekah Higgs has a face. We promise.

***

So, we didn't get on Q. Hardly a disappointment, though, because we got to sit in the exact center of the front row, and right beside Glenn Murray, author of Walter the Farting Dog. He was one of several members of the Fredericton arts community on standby to speak to Q host Jian Ghomeshi between bands. We saw Joel Plaskett, Wintersleep, and Carmen Townsend and the Shakey Deals. We learned Carmen and her band, all from Cape Breton, are currently working with Violent Femmes singer/guitarist/songwriter and now producer Gordan Gano. They're playing tonight at the Capital (free cover, remember?), along with Gary Beals, Share, Mike Trask and Mudhill, Slowcoaster and Grand Theft Bus.

And speaking of tonight, we're most excited about two downtown events:

- We're hitting up the no-case being held at reNeu Boutique at 6:15 p.m. The Divorcees, Adam Puddington and the Proof, Ruth Minnikin and The Reels are playing the ECMA No-Case Hay Sale Hootennany, among racks of vintage and Fredericton-produced clothing and accessories.

Also a priority for us is the Music Nova Scotia showcase being held at the Back Nine Bar, attached to Mexicali Rosa's. Ghost Bees, Ryan Cook, Jon McKiel, Great Plains, Dog Day, Wintersleep, and the Tom Fun Orchestra are there starting at 9 p.m.

And now, naptime.

Good morning Saint John

Good morning, everybody, I guess. I'm at CBC Fredericton, comandeering the P.C. of intrepid radio reporter Angela Chang. If Kyle Cunjak is Fredericton's busiest promotor/photographer/musician, Angela is likely the busiest journalist. Somehow, she made it to the metal stage at the Elk's Club last night, in her capacity as reporter, and also made it to work for 4 a.m. this morning, as usual.

And speaking of that sort of thing, I'd just like to take this small bit of space to praise Patrick's gentle wakeup abilities. At 6 a.m. this morning, my cell phone made its alarm noise because I had to make my early-morning hit for CBC Radio Saint John. I responded by promptly rolling over.

My mom would have stood at the foot of my bed yelling and bouncing the mattress with one foot and flickering the light. Patrick rubbed my back in a circular motion and said, 'Sweetheart, sweetheart don't lose yourself this morning.'

That said, he didn't have the presence of mind to remember how a cell phone works when I asked him to call me a cab.

That's because we were out at all hours last night. ALL. HOURS. Carousing at the Marquee (above Jack's Pizza in the Tannery) with (speaking of Saint John) Chuck Teed of BBQ Records fame. I interviewed Chuck last year around the release of the third installment of his label's signature compilation franchise, Saint John's Finest. Saint John 3: The Revenge showcased the Port City's long list of indie bands.

Chuck was manning the door at the BBQ Records and Music N.B.-sponsored no-case, the highlight of which, for me, was a draw between the performance by Shotgun Jimmie, of Shotgun and Jaybird fame, and the spontaneous interpretive dance routine thrown together at the last minute by... some drunk guy. I really wish I could have gotten pictures of either of those things, but Patrick, bless his heart, was over at the Capital Bar at that time, soaking up all the no-cover goodness and capturing images of Halifax's Rebekah Higgs.

On our walk home last night/this morning, we saw Julie Doiron walking towards the Tannery area. Big fans! We were halfway down the street before we remembered that we are bloggers with a camera. Oh well. Next time.

As for right now, I have to go get ready for hits with Fredericton and Moncton. Those will run simultanously around 8:15 in both cities. Photos of last night later, the next time I'm anywhere near my camera.

photo finish

Fredericton's (now defunct) On Vinyl. Photo by Kyle Cunjak.

In the end, the launch of local photographer Kyle Cunjak’s city hall exhibition of music photography closed too early for us to partake in. Kyle, who performs in several bands on his Forward Music label, is playing tonight (and twelve times in the next three days), and had to take off for preparations. That the opening closed 45 minutes ahead of schedule may have had something to do with turn-out, but we wouldn’t know.

Not to be thwarted, we caught up with a cheerful Mr. Cunjak at the Capital bar complex after a short, perplexed visit to the steps of city hall. His exhibition comes on the eve of a potential ECMA for best photographer, his first such nomination for his colourful, technically precise and often humorous compositions. Several bands featured in the photos had attended the opening, including juggernauts Wintersleep.

Kyle, it could be said, exemplifies how an artist can build on his reputation and network to promote it elsewhere when a event like the ECMA’s lands in his hometown.

“I’ve been meeting with international booking agents and festival organizers and labels so we can start exporting [Forward Music Group’s] artists internationally. And I’m having a good time so far; there’s a lot to see,” Kyle said.

Photographer/Musician Kyle Cunjak. Cheese!

Now we are at home. Maggie is preparing notes for her appearance on CBC morning radio while I play spider solitaire and contemplate our next move. I’ve found it difficult to strike any sort of itinerary for the weekend, other than the pursuit of what’s free and what’s under-the-radar. It’s been difficult, to a point, to remind myself that these hectic days are my last in this city I have lived in so long. I wonder in moments like this if going out with a bang is a sincere way to leave a place; to speed through a series of crazy events without stopping to contemplate what this place was to me, and obscure, or try to, the pain of letting go.

THIS JUST IN.

Swoon.

Guess who's going to be on Q tomorrow at noon? Three guesses. And the first two don't count. And the answer is actually two people so whatthehellwhydon'tIjusttellyouit's

PATRICK AND ME.

Maybe. They invited us and we get reserved seating, and if they have time Jian might just have a little 90-second visit with us. Either way, we'll be in the audience.

... J-J-J-J-ian!

Screaming girls at Soundwaves

"Posted" from Miramichi Valley, Soundwaves 2008

Maybe it’s to be expected that, with a musical line-up featuring, in part, three boys-only highschool rock quartets, there will be, in tow, a gaggle of screaming girls championing the cause of each one.

But after the din that followed each of these acts, it was not entirely surprising that the Soundwaves competition’s top-prize was awarded to a group composed of five girls and one boy, five fiddles and one keyboard, and whose set featured a step-dancing interlude. The strength of the group -- Vegetarian Haggis, of Fredericton -- may have been the variety it offered the five-act showcase of New Brunswick youth talent. And that wicked name.

Soundwaves 2008 winners Vegetarian Haggis

When Maggie shoved her mic, on loan from CBC (did anyone hear her this morning?), into the semi-circle of Haggitarians that formed around her when she jumped on stage, she got a breathless explanation of what the name 'Vegetarian Haggis' meant. Something to do with someone's trip to Scotland and thoughts on 'their future.' O.K., cool.

The other bands that played (there were five, not four like we thought yesterday), included Hilary Ball, a young songstress and pianist also of Fredericton who has had an album produced by Vetch's Cora Woolsey and Matte Robinson, Posted, a male quartet from Miramichi Valley, Fifth Member, also from Fredericton, and In the A.M., from Saint John.

Mastoid Process of Woodstock, sadly, did not make it into the final five.

Hmmm. Impressions, impressions...

Well, not to criticize some very talented and visibly stage-comfortable highschoolers, but we were struck by how normal all the performers looked. Back in our day, 'musicians' grew their hair long and pierced things on their faces. These people were mostly dressed the same, and you could tell it wasn't because they were terribly organized. And the three male rock bands tended to sound quite similar. We guess what we're saying is, it's interesting to get a look at artists before they completely come into their own, creatively.

As judges deliberated, Blues-guy Ross Neilson played a three-song set. That was cool. And, incidentally, Ross will be playing another set at the no-case being held Saturday night at Boom! Nightclub. You know, we like it there, but being the grammar nazis that we are, we have a hard time typing a proper noun that requires an exclamation point in the middle of a sentence. Just saying.

As for the Musiplex, there were many people there who, like us, hadn't heard much about the venue or don't manage to leave the Southside all that often. It's a nice size; it's not a cavernous Aitken Centre arena, which we sometimes have trouble filling enough to justify a big name show in the city, and it's not one of the three bars at the Capital Complex, which can get cramped and sweaty when there's the right amount of interest in an event. The tunnel-like route from the coat-check to the auditorium, however, was kind of disorienting. We felt like tired, impressed, but coatless hamsters by the end of the night.

***

So in the early evening, we're going to see Kyle Cunjak's photography show at City Hall (freewinefreewinefreewine), and later we're likely to check out the BBQ Records/Music New Brunswick N.B. no-case at the Marquee, above Jack's Pizza in the Tannery. We've... never been to that venue, either.

Fredericton's the Slate Pacific, Stereo Airing, Them, The Ragtag, and All Of Green are playing that one, as well as Saint John's Hospital Grade and Born Under Satellites, and Sackville's Shotgun Jimmie, formerly of Shotgun and Jaybird, one of Julie Doiron's bands.

We are, however, MORE than likely to take in the free stuff at the Capital Bar Complex tonight.

At the Capital:
8:00pm - The Fussy Part (Fredericton)
9:00pm - Great Plains (Halifax)
10:00pm - Chillin' Room (Fredericton)
11:00pm - Rebekah Higgs (Halifax)
12:00am - Wheeler (Halifax)
1:00am - The Tom Fun Orchestra (Cape Breton)

At Wilser's Room:
8:00pm - Sleepy Driver (Fredericton)
9:00pm - Jeanne Doucet Currie (Annapolis Valley... we think... help us out?)
10:00pm - Chrissy Crowley (Cape Breton)
11:00pm - Ruth Minnikin (Halifax)
12:00am - Nadira (Halifax)
1:00am - Ryan LeBlanc (St. Andrews)

And, Maggie will be on CBC Radio again tomorrow morning, at 6:50 a.m. in Southern New Brunswick, at 8:15 a.m. in Moncton and Miramichi (hi Maggie's Mom), and in Fredericton.

Again, write us at ecma2008@gmail.com