Crop Circles

When I was going to high school in Red Deer, crop circles appeared in fields across Central Alberta. It made the papers, and local radio was abuzz with talk of UFOs, possible alien abductions, and maybe even Steven Spielberg making a sequel to E.T set in Red Deer.

Being a sci-fi nerd, I was into it. Like not Tom Delonge into it, but it was fun to imagine aliens wanting to see Nickelback play before they got big, or a truck burning more fuel to drive across town than a flying saucer needs to get through the solar system.

My favourite part, though, was that the truth was out there, and I knew it: aliens didn’t make the crop circles. It was a group of my smart and talented friends, who used their powers for good, complicated pranks.

Today, I feel like participating in the Edmonton music community is similar. Not the pranks, but that I get to be in on a big secret with talented people. And if aliens do exist, I have no doubt they’re moshing among us at local shows. Cause where else would they hang out? Area 51? In Edmonton’s music community, unlike my prankster friends, what they do isn’t secret. We all get to be in on it. And that’s why I was pumped when Jeremy Witten gave me the new Baby Jey record to write this review. My first review, funny enough, since the release of Baby Jey’s Someday Cowboy in 2018.

Baby Jey in the field. Jeremy Witten (left) and Dean Kheroufi (right). Photo by Salty.

I won’t ruin the surprise, but Crop Circles isn’t just sonically dynamic, but it draws you in visually with support from Zanzibar G. Abonado Jr., Travis Salty, and Brandi Strauss. I expected that my familiarity with Baby Jey, and Jeremy and Dean Kheroufi’s songwriting, listening to Crop Circles would feel like phoning home. Instead, it was like visiting a real extraterrestrial landscape…and not just one of those sets from Star Trek: The Original Series. Baby Jey explicitly situates the album in one of my favourite genres, heartbreak on the prairies, but in a unique new way: with old radio interludes. And synth!

The dichotomy in this record reminds me of Scully telling Mulder, “the truth is out there, but so are lies”. Everyone can get caught up in that mix. Pretending, or performing, based on others’ expectations or direction. We might not even realize we’re doing it. And when we do look a little deeper, everything can get blurry. But by the time you spin through Crop Circles, it will be clear: if you’re going to be a prankster, do it in a farmer’s field, not someone’s heart.

Tonight, Friday October 27, is your chance to hear, see, and feel Baby Jey’s new record! Crop Circles’ vinyl release party is at The Aviary. Joining Jeremy and Dean will be Cameron O’Neill on drums, Maria Martire on synth, bass, and vocals, and Phil Holtby on guitar. It’ll be Baby Jey, plus Zephyr Twins and Caity Fisher. Costumes are encouraged, so maybe dress up like your favourite alien, or Edmonton musician!

Show poster on the wall at CJSR. Poster by Salty.

Baby Jey Rides Onward

When I wrote my MA thesis in Music History, I focused on why musicians left regional music communities for established industry centres like New York City. Of all the reasons musicians left for greener pastures, enrolling in an MA program in Music History was NOT on the list. The closest, maybe, was Penelope Houston, who moved from Seattle to San Francisco to attend a private art school and then started The Avengers.

My thesis may need to be rewritten, because this fall Jeremy Witten moves from Edmonton to New York City to begin an MA in Music History. Before Jeremy heads off to school, he’s releasing a new record with his friend Dean Kheroufi, who together make up Baby Jey. And yes, Dean is departing for New York City too.

Baby Jey’s new release is called Someday Cowboy, and was produced by Montreal’s Mitch Holtby (who once upon a time resided in Edmonton). Baby Jey recorded the entire album in two days in the house Jeremy grew up, and used the piano Jeremy first learned to play. Someday Cowboy is a fusion of where Baby Jey has been and where it’s going. Dean and Jeremy draw off a range of influences from the USA – from Johnny Lee, Keith Whitley, Tanya Tucker, Carole King and America, to Prince – and channel this foundation through their own vast creativity and expertise with the lap steel guitar, mandolin, and synths.

The result is an album that pinpoints transition, woven through layers of nostalgia and imaginative landscapes.

When Baby Jey arrives in New York City, Jeremy will be a Fulbright Scholar, Dean will be working full-time, and plans are already in the works to record new music before 2018 is over. Someday Cowboy has already been welcomed by the band’s new home, and will be released by Brooklyn’s Maintenance Records on 14 September.

Before Baby Jey hits the dusty road, there’s a goodbye party in Edmonton, TONIGHT! It’s at the Kasbar, down the stairs in Yannis Taverna (10444 82 Avenue) at 9PM. Baby Jey is playing with Sam Wolfe and Spells. Spells also has members leaving town, it’s a double barrel adios!

And remember, partner, that riding on doesn’t mean leaving forever, it’s just driving work already begun further on down the trail.

Edmonton’s Contribution to the 2018 Homelessness Marathon

Every year, stations in communities across Canada share local homelessness stories for the rest of the country to hear. CJSR 88.5FM broadcast the entire marathon on February 22rd 2018, with an hour focused on issues in Edmonton.

Edmonton’s hour included three interviews. First, Alex McKie and Rylan Kafara discussed ongoing ethnographic research conducted in downtown Edmonton. The research is centred upon the effects of gentrification caused by the opening of the new publicly-funded sports arena and entertainment district. The second interview, with Cynthia Puddu and Vicki-Lynn Moses, was on the Voices from the Streets photography project. The project features photos taken by Edmonton youth experiencing homelessness. The final interview was with facilitators and participants in Underground City Edmonton, who are together creating a compilation album featuring music focused on issues related to homelessness and urban poverty. The interviewees in the third piece are Brennen Steinhauer, Deejay Cardinal, Dakoda Sawan, Mike Siek, and Taro Hashimoto.

Thanks to all the CJSR volunteers who worked on Edmonton’s contribution to the 16th NCRA Homelessness Marathon, including Joe Hartfeil, Qasim Hirani, Alexander McKie, and Rylan Kafara. And a special thanks to everyone who make the Homelessness Marathon possible for a 16th year.

The Heart of Punk City!

Heart of the City Music and Arts Festival is a free event held in Central Edmonton every June. 2017 is the 14th year of the festival, happening June 3rd and 4th in Giovanni Caboto Park (95 street and 109A avenue in McCauley).

Ahead of the event celebrating grassroots creativity in Edmonton’s urban core, two acts at this year’s festival joined us on the show. Ben Freeland Writes is a historian and punk poet, and Quasar is a punk band formed in high school that’s participated in Edmonton’s punk scene ever since. This edition of The History of Punk covers punk culture far and wide, and why a grassroots festival in Edmonton is so important in a time of downtown gentrification.

Here’s the playlist!
Alien Boys (Vancouver) – “Gentrification”
Galaxy Express (Seoul) – “Jungle the Black”
Superman Is Dead 日本語 (Bali) – “Poppies Dog Anthem”
Quasar (Edmonton) – “Everybody”
Switches Band (Edmonton) – “Sauerkraut”
Propagandhi (Portage La Prairie) – “…And we thought that Nation States were a bad idea”
Quasar (Edmonton) – “Kydd”

Find out more about Heart of the City Music Festival:
www.heartcityfest.com

Ben Freeland:
www.benfreeland.ca

Quasar:
www.innerquasar.bandcamp.com

And here’s the show!

Everyone’s a Stupid Dickbag: Now in Technicolour!

Edmonton’s favourite socialist workers collective, Latcho Drom, released a video for the song “Everyone’s a Stupid Dickbag”.

And the good news keeps coming! Rumor has it Latcho Drom will have a full length LP out before the end of the year!

The History of Punk Show 92: moreCORE

We continued our exploration of punk “cores” on show 92! A little bit about what Steve Albini thinks about hardcore, some thrash, and even a pinch of positive hardcore too!

Here’s the playlist:

1. Big Black (Evanston) – “Steelworker”
2. Slates (Edmonton) – “(I Got A) Catholic Block”
3. Golden Years (Edmonton) – “Amp”
4. These Estates (Regina) – “I Can’t Wait”
5. Void (Columbia) – “Dehumanized”
6. Subhumans (Vancouver) – “Refugee”
7. Gang Green (Braintree) – “Kill a Commie”
8. Bad Brains (DC) – “Big Take Over”
9. Dead Kennedys (San Francisco) – “Buzzbomb”
10. Misfits (Lodi) – “Mommy can I go out and Kill Tonight?”
11. Slayer (Huntington Park) – “Raining Blood”
12. Suicidal Tendencies (Venice) – “Institutionalized”
13. Short Lease (East Michigan) – “Life is Suffering”
14. Youth of Today (Connecticut) – “Positive Outlook”
15. Unity (Orange County) – “You are One”

And here’s the show!

The History of Punk Show 91: You’re not Hardcore unless you live Hardcore!

The History of Punk Show 91 traced the history of hardcore punk, looking at its origins, characteristics, and ongoing legacy.

The show aired on CJSR 88.5FM in Edmonton on 15 August 2016.

Here’s the playlist!

1. Slapshot (Boston) – “Ole Tyme Hardcore”
2. Minor Threat (DC) – “Guilty of Being White”
3. Jodie Foster’s Army (Phoenix) – “Jodie Foster’s Army”
4. Cro-Mags (NYC) – “Hard Times”
5. Circle Jerks (Hermosa Beach) – “Question Authority”
6. Hüsker Dü  (Saint Paul) – “The Girl who Lives on Heaven Hill”
7. Sham 69 (Hersham) – “Who Gives a Damn”
8. The Germs (LA) – “American Leather”
9. The Middle Class (Santa Ana) – “Out of Vogue”
10. The Fartz (Seattle) – “You Got a Brain (Use it)”
11. Bad Brains (DC) – “Sailin’ On”
12. DOA (Vancouver) – “Slumlord”
13. Black Flag (Hermosa Beach) – “Damaged”
14. TSOL (Long Beach) – “Abolish Government/Silent Majority”
15. MDC (Austin) – “I Remember”
16. Vibes (Edmonton) – “Unafraid to Believe”
17. I Hate Sex (Edmonton) – “Sleep Paralysis”

And here’s the show!

The History of Punk Show 90: Audio Caffeine from A New Rhetoric!

On Monday 8 August 2016, Josh from A New Rhetoric joined the show to talk about the band, engaging with colonialism in contemporary Canada, and to play a song live in studio!

PLUS, we debuted the Toronto band SAGO, and made an exciting announcement about Counterfeit Jeans!

Here’s the playlist from show 90!

1. SAGO (Toronto) – “In Harm’s Way”
2. The Secretaries (Edmonton) – “Hey Girl”
3. A New Rhetoric (Edmonton) – “Four Corners”
4. Bad Religion (LA) – “Them and Us”
5. A New Rhetoric (Edmonton) – “The Origin Spirit and Intent”
6. Chixdiggit (Calgary) – “Shadowy Bangers from a Shadowy Duplex”
7. SNFU (Edmonton) – “She’s not on the Menu”
8. Strung Out (Simi Valley) – “Better Days”
9. Counterfeit Jeans (Edmonton) – “Black Light”
10. A New Rhetoric (Josh) – “Decolonize Now” (Live on CJSR)

And here’s the show!

The History of Punk Fanzine #3

The History of Punk Fanzine #3 was released at Clean Up Your Act Productions‘ Edmonton Zine Fair #5. Not going to lie, this zine has it all: Miro‘s script from his recent guest host stint on the radio show. Corey‘s review of the Friday the 13th show at 9910 with Counterfeit Jeans, Ball & Chain, The Brewtals, and The Mants. David‘s interview with Andy from A New Rhetoric. Blake‘s article “The Casualties Shitshow: One Year Later.” The linear notes to Paroxysm‘s cassette demo. Be Line on participating in the Edmonton punk scene. An interesting fact about Raymond Pettibon. Awesome insight from Shakira and Saara about Not Enough Fest Edmonton, Sled Island, Hillary Clinton, and other stuff too. And even though that’s more than enough, it also has the incredible and peerless artwork of Spyder Yardley-Jones!!!!

 Thanks for the poster, Spyder!

Here’s the full zine: History Of Punk Fanzine 3

And thanks to everyone for contributing!

HEART OF THE CITY 2016!!!!!