A trip up to Fort McMurray...

This past weekend I visited for the first time Fort McMurray, the epicenter of the oil sands project in Alberta and the region that most people probably think about when they hear Alberta. I was really going up there for the Alberta Provincial Swimming Championships (weird location - I know) but I did take a quick drive north of the city to see one of Syncrude's tailing ponds. (         )

It was pretty disgusting to see what these developments actually look like in real life, not just on the TV or in the newspaper. It was also really cool to know that I have now been to the places that they talk about so often on the radio. So now when I hear "Fort McMurray" on the radio I'll think of these photos, as I will forever have these images engraved in my memory.

Awesome Belts by Ryaton Leatherworks!

I have added a new belt buckle to my growing collection today, this time one made by my friend Greg Morgan, who is Ryaton Leatherworks. Greg makes amazing belt buckles, belts and has recently started working on making shoes - all out of leather. A few weeks ago I had asked him to make me a belt as a sort of memento of Edmonton before I leave for Winnipeg this summer. I sent him some ideas and pictures (I had in mind a compass-like design for the belt buckle) and also asked if he could inscribe the words "Edmonton 2001-2011" along a belt that I could purchase as well. In just a couple of short weeks Greg had everything that I had asked for ready and I went this morning to pick up the belt and buckle from his shop.



To learn more about Greg and Ryaton Leatherworks you can visit his website at www.ryaton.com.

The Edmonton Journal also wrote an article about Greg a few weeks ago that you can read at http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Handtooling+leather+labour+love/4846373/story.html.

I won't be wearing a suit to my grade 9 "grad" this Tuesday as some of my friends are - but instead now I'll have something even cooler to wear!

Gay Pride Edmonton 2011!

Oh boy, I'm really embarrassed now... I haven't posted on my blog in over 2 months!!! This summer though it is my goal to try and revive my blog and try my hand at some more photojournalism. To kick this new era of my blog off here are some photos from this year's Edmonton Pride Parade which took place yesterday.

Our city councilor Ben Henderson has pride!
A reminder of Israeli apartheid...
Pretty darn awesome.
LGBT community of Fort MacMurray... that would be pretty hard...
Also pretty darn awesome.

As the school year draws to a close and summer begins I will be trying to post on the blog more often, so don't forget about me just yet!

YouTube Channel

Hey everyone!

I know that this is my first post in a very long time, but I just wanted to let you know that I now have a YouTube channel. You can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/user/IsaacSTWMusic. I'll be posting mostly videos of me performing, such as a performance that I did of a Sigur Ros song at a benefit concert in January.

I will be trying to post more soon, but I just have been very busy with swimming, music and life in general. I'm sure that I'll have lots of stuff to write about though as the election gets closer. For example...

Here's an article about how Harper has a five question limit per day: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Stephen+Harper+refuses+explain+limits+media+queries/4536394/story.html

I mean, who does he think he is?! The prime minister of Canada or something? The good thing though is that as Canadians see more of Harper they seem to like him less and as Canadians see more of Ignatieff they seem to like him more.

One thing that will be interesting to see is how Linda Duncan will do in this election (after she won by only 1% against Rahim Jaffir in 2008, becoming the only NDP MP in Alberta). There is of course a new Conservative candidate in Edmonton-Strathcona for this election... and from what I've heard of him so far, he doesn't seem like a majour improvement from Jaffir.

Anyway, as the election comes closer I'll try and post some more stuff on here. Also, I have a few performances coming up (a school talent show thingy and another benefit concert) that I might post videos of on my YouTube channel, so check it out!

My Top Albums of 2010

To tell you the truth, I didn't really listen to that much new music in 2010. I was more preoccupied with discovering and re-discovering older music rather than going out and buying new albums. For instance, (for those who know me this will be no surprise) this year after my inspiring trip to Iceland I discovered the quirky Icelandic musician Bjrk and I soon developed quite the obsession with Iceland's most well known person. At another point in the year I "re-discovered" Canadian power-pop icon Sloan. I may have possibly set some kind of record for listening to their song "Snowsuit Sound" over 20 times in one day. Later on in 2010 I discovered the band which may have changed my entire life. My obsession with this band has continued on into this year and I sit here right now typing this obsessively listening to all their albums on repeat. For those who know me, you will of course know that I am talking about Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. I'm not sure what happened during my trip to Iceland in August, but I somehow developed an odd attraction to anything Icelandic.

I did however listen to some new albums that came out in 2010. Here is a list of some of my favourites (in no particular order) with a link to my favourite song from that album:

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs; favourite song: "We Used to Wait" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLjrQ3cwzJ4&ob=av2nm

Vampire Weekend - Contra; favourite song: "Holiday" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vraoiVCDdaM

Stars - The Five Ghosts; favourite song: "Dead Hearts" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfYK8wvvU90

Jónsi (lead singer of Sigur Rós!) - Go; favourite song: "Go Do" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYb2Q3DvLNE

The National - High Violet; favourite song: "Bloodbuzz Ohio" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfySK7CLEEg

Now I've gotta go back to listening to some more Sigur Rós (I hear that they might have a new album coming out this year)!

The Concert of a Lifetime : Weakerthans @ Burton Cummings

A few weeks ago the Weakerthans played a series of four concerts in their hometown, one for each of their albums. Their last concert was at the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg was without a doubt a once in a lifetime experience. The band played all four of their albums in a row to a hometown crowd, from their most recent album Reunion Tour to their first album Fallow.

I have been a Weakerthans fan since 2005 when I saw them perform at the Edmonton folk fest. For some reason or another, my nine year old self really liked their music and I have been a huge fan ever since! Perhaps this was because of their interesting lyrics or their Canadianess, but whatever the reason, they remain to this day to be my favourite band. I saw the band again when they came to Edmonton but I have always wanted to see them perform in their hometown, so for me that Saturday night really was the concert of a lifetime.

It was great to hear the Weakerthans play in Winnipeg, especially in such an historic theatre as the Burton Cummings. I’ve always wanted to hear John K Samson perform his song “One Great City” and hear him sing the lines the Guess Who sucked and I hate Winnipeg in this theatre along with hundreds of other Winnipeggers. I had been looking forward to that song in that theatre for the weeks leading up to the concert, and when the moment finally came it definitely didn’t disappoint.

For some bands, where you see them perform doesn’t matter, but for a band like the Weakerthans it’s different. The fact that I was seeing them perform in Winnipeg was what made the concert so great. I think that this is because Winnipeg is featured in so many of the Weakerthans’ songs. Not only that, but what is also special is that this band seems to share a very strong connection with their hometown audience because they can relate about so many of the same feelings.

For instance, in their song that I had previously mentioned “One Great City” at first glance seems like a song talking about how the band hates Winnipeg. However if you know Winnipeg then it is obvious that John K is singing about the unique love-hate relationship that Winnipeggers have with their city. The stereotypes often associated with Winnipeg may be true; cold winter and lots of mosquitoes in the summer, but many people living in Winnipeg would never dare leave because of their strong attachment and deep feelings for the town.

This concert definitely required a lot of stamina, both for the performers and the audience. Imaginary Cities (also from Winnipeg) opened for the Weakerthans and after their one hour performance the main act played for another four hours! Nearing the end of the night, John K. Samson stated that they would never do this again, so all those people at that concert really made Weakerthans history! However from my perspective, even though the concert was a bit lengthy, it was definitely worth it.

Ecuadorian Feast #1

I held my first fundraising dinner for my trip to Ecuador on Wednesday with much success! We only invited about 8 people but everyone was very generous and I raised $250 after one evening! I am now well on my way to raising the $3500 that is needed to pay for the trip. I just want to thank everyone who came to my dinner once again for your generous donations!
I served a three coarse meal, all of which turned out very well. The meal started off with a plantain soup and corn bread, plantains are a very popular food to cook with in Ecuador. Next I served black beans with rice, which is a very common dish throughout Latin America. To finish off I served an Ecuadorian-style lemon curd with vanilla ice cream (I'm not so sure if the ice cream is all that Ecuadorian but the lemon curd sure is!)

I was asked numerous times for the recipes to these dishes, particularly for the plantain soup and the lemon curd. So for all those people who asked, here you go!

Plantain Soup (Serves 4) -

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery rib, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 -4 1/2 cups stock/broth
• 2 green plantains, peeled, quartered lengthwise & thinly sliced
• 1 bunch cilantro, stemmed and finely chopped
• 1/2-1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• salt & pepper

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.

Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic.

Cook, uncovered for 3-4 minutes until onions are soft but not brown.

Add stock/broth and bring to boil over high heat.

Add plantains, cilantro, cumin and bay leaf.

Season with salt a pepper.

Return to boil.

Reduce to medium-low and simmer, uncovered for 40-50 minutes or until plantains are very tender.

Remove and discard bay leaf.

Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth.

Return pureed mixture to pan.

If soup is too thick add more stock/broth.

Season with more salt/cumin if desired.

Lemon Curd (Serves 8) -

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 lemon, zest of
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Mix the cornstarch in the water.

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour from the blender and into a saucepan and cook over a low heat until it thickens.

I will be holding one (possibly two more dinners) to fundraise for my trip in the new year.

Good luck with the recipes!

127 Hours... What Would You Do?

Last night at the Garneau Theatre I saw what is definitely one of the best movies that I've seen this year. 127 Hours starring James Franco tells the true story of Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who was trapped for 127 hours while hiking in Utah. In the end Ralston had to cut off his arm in order to escape the boulder that was trapping him in the canyon. The move was extremely realistic (I noticed this after watching a few interviews with Aron Ralston himself) and quite terrifying at some parts.

Directed by Danny Boyle, the same guy who directed the multiple award winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours is bound to be a success. Also similar to Slumdog Millionaire, this film's score was composed by A.R. Rahman and was also pretty amazing.

What was so interesting about this movie was that the whole audience knew going into it that he would eventually cut off his arm. However, when the time for that came, the audience still let out an audible gasp. In an interview about the movie, Aron Ralston said that he didn't want the film to be a horror story and to give people nightmares, but for it to be more of an inspiring movie. Well I think 127 Hours did just that, with many thanks to the acting of James Franco.

Also similar to Slumdog Millionaire, this movie is currently only playing at the Garneau here in Edmonton (Slumdog also started out only at the Garneau). But I predict that, just like Danny Boyle's previous film, 127 Hours will become an enormous hit and will soon be playing at theatres around Edmonton! Though it was very nice to see this film at the beautiful Garneau Theatre...

This movie was definitely a 5 out of 5 for me, and probably one of the best movies that I've ever seen. However the thing that I kept thinking throughout the movie and even after it was over, was what would I do in that situation?

I'm Eating a Cookie!

Alberta Health Services President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Duckett made Alberta proud on Friday. After an important meeting to discuss the state of Alberta health care was asked questions by the media but repeatedly responded with "I'm eating a cookie!" You really have to watch the video to see how crazy it is...



Stephen Duckett was brought here to work with Alberta Health Services all the way from Australia and is being paid big bucks too! But for what... so that he can talk about his cookie? There is something seriously wrong with that picture...

Live Review: Dan Mangan at Myer Horowitz Theatre

Vancouver folk rocker Dan Mangan was in Edmonton on Tuesday night playing a sold-out show at the Myer Horowitz Theatre. He was performing on his “Peculiar Travel Suggestion Tour” during which he will be performing in the four western provinces. I was introduced to Dan Mangan’s music relatively recently, but I am already a huge fan and he definitely didn’t disappoint when I first saw him live!

Opening for Dan were two bands; The Crackling and The Burning Hell. The Crackling is a new project created by three people who also play in Dan Mangan’s band. The lead singer plays the drums in Mangan’s band so during The Crackling’s concert he switched it around and brought out Dan Mangan to play drums for him. And from my seat, he sounded pretty good!

The Burning Hell was quite different musically, and was in fact very comedic. During the show lead singer Mathias Kom said that they had once been compared to Moxy Fruvous. I would agree but would also say that they were similar to Geoff Berner but with a ukulele instead of an accordion.

Going into Dan Mangan’s performance my friend had said that she wanted to hear three songs of his; "Sold," "Basket" and "Robots". Well, Dan Mangan must have read our minds as he played all three of those songs and many more excellent tunes. He played an inspiring live show that included some great trumpet playing and an awesome acoustic performance of "So Much for Everyone" at the end of his show.


What I liked about this concert was that each of the three musical acts got everybody in the audience participating. Each one of them had the spectators singing along in at least one song, whether it was just a few words or a whole chorus. For me the best part was when Dan Mangan played his song "Robots" and had a whole bunch of people from the audience come up on stage to play, sing and dance with him. Then of course the whole audience also sang along to the chorus of “robots need love too.”

Another thing that I noticed was that each band talked about how welcoming Edmonton is for performers and musicians. Dan Mangan spoke fondly of his last time performing in Edmonton at the Haven Social Club while he was sick with the flu. However he said that even though he had the flu, he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else! I know that all bands probably feel obliged to compliment the city that they are performing in, but these three bands seemed like they really meant it!

What really struck me while watching Dan Mangan on stage was that he really does seem nice, nice, very nice. So I think that he is definitely very deserving of all the popularity that he is getting. Last time he performed in Edmonton he played at the Haven Social Club, this time he played a sold out show at the Myer Horowitz, so where will he be performing next? Well, I’ll tell you one thing, I couldn’t think of a nicer guy to be playing a full house at the Winspear.

That article was also posted on SEE Magazine's GigBytes blog. Here are some links to songs that I talked about in the article: Sold, Basket, Robots and So Much for Everyone.