By Lindzrox
Back in 1989, a piece of music history was made, as a then three-piece band, burst onto the local Toronto scene to form Random Order, a ska-liscious, funkadelic band that you must put on your “bucket list” to see live. Now this five-piece energetic, groovy and diverse group has been winning over crowds and converting hecklers to fans across Canada and beyond. One thing is for sure; their music will start you chair dancing and will eventually have you skanking and shuffling across the floor. We caught up with lead vocalist and guitarist Lynn Phillips and trumpet player Caleb Hamilton, the newest member of the entourage, and band manager Danielle to learn more about their musical journey and what this new decade has in store for this truly unique band.
By Lindzrox
Family Day is a fairly new holiday for us all, which means you really don’t have any traditions or customs tied to it. For some it may be a long weekend skiing or a short getaway to Niagara Falls, but if you are in the city and looking for something a little more meaningful, we have the Family Day Race for SickKids, a new signature event that takes over Toronto’s underground walkway, the PATH and promises to be a day of mind-boggling fun!
By Mikhail Saavedra
Foto DPA
Because our common humanity should motivate us all to do our small part in helping out I have compiled a list of reputable organizations looking to help out the enormous effort that will be needed to get Haiti out of this terrible tragedy. I will keep adding events as they develop as well so let me know by reaching me via email at mikhail@alternavox.net:
The smooth provider of Good Vibes!
By MC Flipside
My name is Natale Michael Pizzonia, a.k.a. MC Flipside. Some of you may be familiar with my work as an artist over the past 15 years. For those who are not, it is unimportant, as I would like you to take a glimpse into the life of an amazingly talented person/soul that we unfortunately lost this past December 2009 (he passed away at 9:15 pm, Tuesday Dec 22 at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial). His name is Patryk Aranin, otherwise known and still loved by so many as DJ Evil P.
By Peter Quincy Ng
Photo: Sarah Meadows for YACHT’s Psychic City
The year 2009 has been a year of the weird, funny and fantastic and it seems the stranger, sexier and edgier the music video goes the better it gets. Take Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance video that you’ve probably seen a million times anyway and you know why right? Half the comments on the damn youtube discuss whether or not she overexposes herself. But you didn’t think you would see anything did you? Of course not silly, it’s called video editing. Anyway this isn’t about Lady Gaga unfortunately, and after doing a little bit of research and soul searching, these are my favorite videos of 2009 in alphabetical order.
By James Ratlif
William Kamkwamba tells his story of growing up as a young boy in Malawi, Africa. The first part of the book gives plenty of background on what childhood is like in this part of the World. In a culture that still partially believes in witches and wizards, William shares some funny stories from his childhood. He is the only son among a houseful of daughters, so he gets his own room, which will eventually become a storage place for all the “junk” he will acquire to accomplish something amazing. He is obviously very proud of his family and the hard work they endure to ensure mouths are fed.
By Ola Roks
Nicotine is a powerful drug. Who knew quitting a little habit like smoking could reduce a human to a clammy, sweaty, huffy Golum-like creature, trembling in the presence of a lit cigarette “Preciousssssss…my preciousssssssssssss.”
There are nicotine patches, nicotine lollipops, nicotine gums, nicotine puff-sticks, but go cold turkey to get a good idea of how Renton felt when he saw that dead baby crawling across the ceiling in the Trainspotting movie. The dreams during nicotine withdrawal can compare to watching a David Lynch film on a lot of acid, surrounded by mobs of annoying people. Fun for like a minute until you realize that everything seems too frighteningly real.
Not that you’d miss the taste of a smoke, just the feeling of relief, the bliss of having something to do with them fidgety hands. At least you won’t spend the winter outside huddled around other smokers trying to light up in a perpetually frosty wind-tunnel, while your exposed skin cracks from the harsh dryness.
It is best to band together with other quitters to feel stronger, and reduce the urge to go outside to smoke with the smokers in social situations. Even one quitter buddy will save you from yourself by laying on a guilt trip when necessary. It is a reciprocal symbiotic relationship, if one of you cracks, the other most certainly will too. The quitter buddy will also be someone to talk to when the smokers are all gossip-smoking outside.
Think of the money you save not smoking. Think of your teeth and your taste-buds. Think of your pretty pink lungs making a comeback. If only there was some post-coital cigarette replacement, like some gum or tic tac you could toss back after a good shag. You win some you lose some, right?
By Mikhail Saavedra
Many talk about Christmas and the holidays as being a time “for giving” or a time “to remember those less fortunate than ourselves” or “a time to be kind”, sometimes it all feels a little bland no? Especially when it gets thrown around by politicians/power figures, who always by definition try to remain inoffensive to all and who sound as genuine as that email (you are lucky to get anything else nowadays) you get from your CEO at the end of the year. But should we remain cynical about the larger message?
We will probably never find the “true” meaning of Christmas or the holidays in part because we are probably too busy running around in malls to notice, but still I ask: Should we not give generously and think charitably at all times? Or to satisfy the inevitable cynics, most of the time? Think about it, how easy is it to do this in our current mad rushed lives? How charitable are we really when we are desperately running after that last gift?
Publisher-Creator Mikhail Saavedra began life down by the deepest tip of southern Latin America. He started life with a deep curiosity for all things, with music and books being at the forefront, a curious child by all accounts. As he grew and opened his eyes to the world, he developed a sense of justice and dignity in part as a reaction to growing up in a military dictatorship. Alas, this did not fill him with fear or cynicism but a more rebellious spirit, which led him to being incredibly popular at the principal’s office and the local riot police department….
Then came Canada and it was here that he was able to formulate his deep desire to learn about the world, with Toronto being the kind of multicultural soup that could engage his need to know and embrace. It started with writing, then moved on to what became Toronto’s first Latin Alternative radio show, followed by an all-English show in the same vein. It was this desire to find the true “crossover” among people, which led him to the concept of “Alternavox”
He is a lover of wine, good food, Neruda, Eduardo Galeano, rebel music, revolutionaries, dancing, family and beautiful people. Believes that kindness in this much too cynical world is revolutionary, that you are a better person when able to give a little without asking for the change and that on the same token you should laugh at yourself and the madness surrounding you as often as possible as you set out to change the world bit by bit. 