« 432 HOMER SI
VANCOUVER DiScORDER
That
from CITR Radio 102
April 1988 Vol. V Issue #64
EDITOR
Bill Mullan
WRITERS
Don Chow, Esther Hadley, Michael Dezell,
Matt Richards, Janis McKenzie,
ART DIRECTOR
Matt Richards
ILLUSTRATORS
Marty George, William Thompson,
Peter Perry
PHOTOS
Mandel Ngan
COVER
Marty George
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Michael Grigg
LAYOUT
Byron Salahor, Marty George, Barb Wilson,
Don Chow, Gregory Zbltnew,
PROGRAM PAGES
Katherine Hayashl
TYPESETTING
Barbara Wilson, (etc) . . .
ACCOUNTS MANAGER
Randy Iwata
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Matt Richards
PUBLISHER
Harry Hertscheg
Discorder Magazine, c/o CITR - UBC Radio
6138 SUB Blvd., Vancouver, B.C. Canada
V6T 2A5 S(6©4) 228-3017
Discorder is That Magazine from CITR Radio
102 and is published monthly by the Student Radio
Society of the University of British Columbia, although it winds up being printed deep from within
Surrey, Canada.
Discorder Magazine prints what it wants to, but
pledges to put the CITR On The Dial program schedule and SpinList record chart in every issue. Discorder also vows to circulate 17,500 copies by the
first of each month. Subscriptions are encouraged.
Twelve issues: $12 in Canada, $12(US) in the
States, $18 elsewhere. Make money orders or
certified cheques payable to CITR Publications'.
CITR Radio 102 broadcasts a 49-watt stereo signal throughout the Vancouver area at 101.9 FM.
But for best reception, hook up to the FM cable network. CITR is at 101.9 cable FM on Rogers (Lower
Mainland) and Shaw (North Shore) cable systems,
but is still at 100.1 on Rogers (Fraser Valley).
Inquiries about CITR, Discorder or the Mobile
Sound System can be directed to station manager
Harry Hertscheg at 228-3017, between 10 am - 4
pm, Monday to Friday. If you want to talk to the
deejay, call 228-2487 or 228-CITR.
Destination: Outer Space. A man willvsoon look out
on space from cockpit of the rocket
6. THE NEW SCENE DREAM MACHINES
Music's Hi-Tech future is now
10. WHAT DO YOU THINK FUTURE HOLDS?
Answers to that most crucial of questions
14. BOB'S YOUR UNCLE
Your Basic Abuse of Country & Western
23. V-C0N 16
It's a Science Fiction Convention
IN MOST ISSUES
4. AIRHEAD
readers who write
17. LOCAL MOTION
in a city near you
17. DIS CHORD
what's the the best record of the year (so far)?
20. ON THE DIAL
everyperson's guide to CiTR
21. SPINLIST
the hipper sounds
April 1988 AIRHEAD
c/o crm
•iMSuewv*
Vancouver, B.C.
VtT2A5
Dazed and Concerned
Dear Airhead,
I've been reading the Discorder on and off
for a few years now and I've always wondered:
are the people who run/write it normal? I mean,
are they really cool or are they just like me? Do
they have hang-ups and do they worry what
people will think? Do they long for a mate? Do
they walk into a club and think everyone is looking at them? Do they walk into a club and worry
if no one is looking at them? Do they see someone
on the street who they know-but-doesn't-look-so-
cool, so pretend not to see them? Do they have
weird relatives they pray they'll never see when
their friends are around? Do they pretend to know
a song that everyond instantly recognizes when
really they've never heard of it? Do they con their
way through work/school and then tell everyone
how dilligent and hard they are working/studying? Do they go home with someone they never
met while under the inlfuence of something they
never did and wake up the next morning and wish
they never did either? Do they wish they were
really together like that person they met at some
artsy fartsy cafe? Do they go to the art gallery and
pretend to be really interested when actually they
wish they were at Burger King chowing down a
Whopper? Do they buy their clothes at The Bay
bargain basement and tell everyone they get them
at the Sally Ann just because it's cool to be poor,
but uncool to be cheap? Do they write desperate
letters to obscure magazines then hope they will
publish the letter just because if they do maybe
they will be famous for just a minute, but then no
one will believe them because they used a phoney
name just in case someone they liked read it and
thought it was stupid and swore never to talk to
that person again, and who wants them in the first
place?
PLEASE RESPOND. MY MIND CAN'T
TAKE IT.
Grlzzelda Bonaflde
Yes and no.
Conspiracy!
Dear Airhead,
How dare you! I'm disgusted! I was calmly
reading my April Discorder when I came across
Matt Richards' "Social Tourniquet". I read it and
at first thought nothing of it. It was an interesting
piece. Then I thought, "this is strange, what on
earth would possess someone to write a 1001
word run-on sentence?' Revenge on a past English teacher? Or was it perhaps just some form of
self-gratification which used the word "and"
eighty-one times in a sentence. But then it struck
me! The first word, the middle word and the last
word form another sentence: "SO LOVE TIME"!
I was shocked! I never thought Discorder would
stoop so low as to send subliminal messages to
innocent readers through seemingly innocent
reading material. Never again will you be trusted
. .. Never! I'm tempted to tell the mayor about
this! I'm sure if he knew he would cancel his
4 DISCORDER
subscription! And keep in mind as well my
fiendish friends that there is but one REAL blasphemy, and that is the mutated mind! So remember ... I am watching. I wish you a thought-
provoking, stimulating and entertaining evening.
PS. re: Drainpipe. Skateboarding is NOT a
form of deviant behaviour.
Slmone
We talked to the mayor and he said he didn't care
what we did as long as we didn't make any
gratuitous comments about his Yuppy image or
his stupid idea to get rid of Granville Street Mall
The Essential Letter
Dear Airhead,
I just finished the first half of April's
Airhead letters. Here, let me pass you a kleenex!
It's a wonder your creative juices haven't freeze
dried altogether. I'll tell you a secret: those guys
are the ones that run out first to get this mag! I
wonder how they'd do putting it together each
month and still pleasing everyone.
Creativity is an individual and personal
thing. By listening to them, you'll be losing everything we truly get off on in the Discorder. They
ought to read between the lines and appreciate the
effort and uniqueness that goes into each mag.
Judgement is pretentious as far as I can see. If they
want a regular layout and easy reading for the eye,
tell them The Enquirer has all that, and keep up the
great work. I love you, Discorder.
Bubba
Your cheque's in the mail.
No Man's Land
Dear Airhead,
Wot's up peoples Ass about Surrey? I
dislike most of the neaderthaloids out there but
some are OK! Surprisingly enuf, some of those
fuckin-A goofs read "that magazine from CITR".
I for one am not a Fuckin-A goof, but I listen to,
shudder, rockin tunes occasionally. Maybe it's
just me, but the Discorder is in a state of confusion. In some issues, y'all are anti-skater, anti-
alternative and anti-self. Why? Are you confused? Confused enough to call a rocker a skinhead with hair, or Webster an illiterate skinny
person? And to end all the criticism, good mag!
Like it!!! P.S. Do you people watch Polka Time?
Illustriously yours,
Commensurablllty
(Sean from FINAL NOTICE)
Re: Surrey. We at Discorder have nothing
against the place. Indeed the magazine is actually
printed there. Don Chow's from Surrey. Maybe
that explains it. Re: the state of confusion. Of
course we're in one. Aren't you? Isn't everybody.
Is the sky black? Re: "Polka Time". Ya, we
watch it, but we'd never go so far as to brag about
it in a magazine with a circulation of 17$00.
Whoops.
Wet Logic
Dear Airhead,
Just a thought. If humans are composed of
84% water and God created us in his own image,
wouldn't that mean God is water?
Allan
No, it means God is 84% water.
Calling All Bands
Dear Airhead,
Hi, it's me, 12 Midnite, Vancouver's best
known unknown enlisting your help. Since my
last Arts Club show I have gone into seclusion on
rainy Van Isle, immersing myself into several new
projects including finishing up work on my solo
album (far removed from my days with Young
Adults) and other things you all will be hearing
about soon soon.
But that's all beside the point. Where I need
your help is, I am currently working on a movie
proposal (script, locations etc) and would like to
use only Vancouver bands on the soundtrack.
Now I know there are bands out there that I don't
know or even know of, so if you could explain the
situation to your readers and pass on my request
that any bands/artists who play urban gritty music
and may want to have their music in an urban gritty
movie about sex, rejection, failure and overcoming odds in an uncaring subculture of art, drugs
and perversion to forward tapes and info to: 12
Midnite c/o The Grey Area/Rant'n'Rave, Vancouver, V6B-1C9.
Thankyou for any help. Tapes will be returned if a contact number is included.
Love and Kisses,
12 Midnite
Calling All Travelling Bands
Airhead,
Winnipeg has a new venue for alternative
entertainment! The Cauldron is a co-operatively
run hall, staffed by volunteers and has been open
since mid-January. We are booking acts from the
wide spectrum of the alternative arts and would
like to include performers from your area. Please
contact us if you are interested. Call us at 1-204-
957-5895 and talk to Kent or Max, or drop us a line
at The Cauldron, 72 Princess, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B-1K2.
Max Yates
(Found on a table at The Railway Club)
God.
Where Is God? Have you met the devil
this week? The devil Is God's evil twin
brother. The devil dates Morgan
Falrchlkf. Morgan Falrchlld and God do
not see eye to eye. God dates Elizabeth
Taylor. Elizabeth Taylor, much to God's
chagrin, Is a loose woman. But God likes
her anyways.
Do you like Liz?
Do you like God?
They like you. You, God and Liz all have
something In common. You do not date
Morgan Falrchlld. You are not the devil.
Malmle Van Doren More Questions
Dear Airhead,
Thanks for printing my letter. It feels good
to be in print. I realize now that there is a bit of a
non-sequitur at the end, but isn't that what life's
all about: confusion at the end. To Argh Arg
Fuckface: take a look at Safeway. It's an anagram
for 'a few say'. What, I don't know, but it's pretty
spooky all the same. Does anybody know what
happens when you send a letter to an artist by way
of their record company? Does it get there or does
it end up being giggled at by a bunch of coked up
record execs? April Discorder was good. I
laughed more than I have for a while. Purple is a
good color for the cover. What sort of photographs are printable? No wait, I mean like: color
or slides or what? And remember, the only good
stickers are free, stolen or homemade. It's good
to see more people riding skates on campus.
Drainpipe
We don't care what goes on inside major record
companies. Why do you think we hang out at
CITR? As for photos, good black & white prints
reproduce best. Color stuff is so so, depending on
the colors and the ammount of contrast. Slides
are out.
Love, Peace and Litigation
Discorder,
Re: Retinal Circus. This past summer a
local band managed by Karen Lund used this
name for a short time without my permission. I
told them that I still value the name and intend to
use it again for some nefarious purpose or other
but Karen said they want to resume its use. I
thought you might like to see the letter I sent her.
Notices have also been sent to many venues and
agents in the Lower Mainland. I hope you will join
in any protest campaign should these people try
this again.
Yours truly,
Roger Schiffer and
Retinal Music Corp
Dear Ms. Lund,
Re: Retinal Circus. You have asked me to
confirm in writing my claim to the above name
which was used by a band you manage when they
performed at The Town Pump on 12 August 1987.
In the years 1967 and 1968 I was the president and eventually the sole shareholder of Magic
Theatre Ltd which did business under the trade
name and style of "RETINAL CIRCUS". We
operated a Light Show and Dance Hall at 1024
Davie Street, Vancouver and presented concerts
by many well known U.S. and British recording
acts as well as all of Vancouver's original rock
scene, as it then was.
The name "RETINAL CIRCUS" was promoted on a saturation basis on radio, television,
newspaper and through psychedelic posters and
postcards/handbills (which I still have by the tens
of thousands). We produced Be-ins throughout
the city; housed the Free Clinic; ran benefits for
Cool-Aid, various Native organizations and even
the White Panthers. Once or twice we opened
doors and used our premises as a free crash-pad, so
that kids who'd come to town for a special event
would have somehere to spend the night. For a
while, we held regular meetings of the City Government, a YIPPEE-style organization set up to
counter Mayor Tom Campbell, and I was the
Minister of Culture.
When the place closed, I kept the name and
sponsored a few events under its "umbrella". I
have had many offers to buy it and only once did
I consider "passing it on" to someone else who
might do for your generation what we did for ours.
In 1985 there were some discussions with the
Centennial Committee about producing a special
event under that name, bringing together all us
"old-hippy" performers, crew and audience and
the generations which have followed. Now, I
think we'll leave that to some future date . ..
If you think the impact of "RETINAL
CIRCUS" was light, I suggest you look through
the clippings at the Sun or the Province, or even
the Seattle or Edmonton Papers. You could talk
to J.B. Shane, Mulligan, Burge, or Latrimo; Cliff
Jones, Feldman, Bruce or Valley; the people at
VTC/CBO; Dan McLeod, Tripper, Cramer,
Bachman or the guys in Trooper, Fairbaim or
Duris Maxwell. Or you could speak to Donald K.
Donald, Lou Reed or Bill Graham. You'll see - -
I paid my dues and that name is MINE!
Because it is and because Cliff and the
others in your band have not acted responsibly I
have decided to firmly consolidate my rights to
this name. Please be advised that I am now the
sole shareholder and president of "Retinal Circus
Music Corp." a company incorporated under the
laws of this province. Accordingly, any further
use or attempted use of the name "Retinal Circus"
or anything resembling that name will result in
legal action against you, all members of the band,
and those agents and venues involved.
In order to further protect our exclusive
right to this name in connection with music and
youth oriented activities, I am prepared to send
similar notices to all agents and venues in this
area. I would urge you, however, to write to me
immediately confirming that the band will not use
this name again. I remind you that I can already
pursue you and the band members for damages
for your unauthorized use of "RETINAL CIRCUS" to date. If I receive such a letter from you
by 30 December 1987, however, I am prepared to
release all of you from any such liability to me. I
trust you will act accordingly.
Yours truly,
Roger Schiffer
We've been hanging on to this correspondence
for a couple months now at Discorder, mainly
because we found it so bizarre. Only after several
readings and deep study have we concluded that
far from being a serious tome, it is in fact a dark
satirical poke at the corrupted values of the once
idealistic 60s generation. Mr Schiffer, in posing
as an ex-hippy-type turned lawyer, has found the
penultimate caricature through which to pursue
this end. What did happen to those free easy
values the 'hippies' once pursued so proudly?
How can an ex-Acid freak sell Life Insurance and
still live with his soul? Where is this Spiritual
Materialism taking us, and what would John
Lennon have to say about it had he not been
assassinated by a minion of satan? Is it any
wonder that kids today wear black and profess not
to care? Discorder, of course, does not have any
answers. Though we don' t deny that 1967and the
Summer of Love must have been a pretty amazing
party, we aren't sorry we missed it. Those heady
days appear to have warped an untold number of
then young minds instilling in them the delusion
that they'd hit a peak of sorts, that what was can
never be again. The hangover lingers. Those who
once had something continue to do their darnedest to grind it into nothing. We of subsequent
generations who have only the Autumn of Apathy
(1977) and The Winter of Hate (1987) to hold
dear (read: nothing to get excited about) continue to do our best to create something. By the
way, we're changing the name of the magazine to
RETINAL CIRCUS.
April 1988 5 THE
Gncnc J
mfiCHines
SCEnE
T
here are those of you that will
scoff at electronic instruments.
■ Mm Maybe you are a gutarist Maybe
you think you are a punk. Prepare yourself for old
age. Don't get me wrong- you can continue doing
what you're doing. Just like the dance bands that
were popular before electric guitars. The fact is,
synthesizers and electronic sounds are no longer
the domain of wimp-shit British new wave pop,
bands. A lot has changed in the field of electronic
music in the last five years or so. This is an
understatement. These days, any sound is game
and can be used with relative ease. The punk ethic
of D.I. Y. has been stolen by kids with samplers.
Musicians and composers have been waiting for
the sampler for at least 75 years. If the futurists of
the early 1910's who came up with The Art Of
Noise manifesto were around today, they would
shit their pants in amazement. And sample it.
What follows is something of an overview
of some of the musical technology available at the
moment. If you're interested, you will want and
need to find out more. Much has been written in
more detail. Look through some magazines, like
Electronic Musician, for example. If you're not a
musician, there's no better time to get involved.
You won't have to hide out for five years practicing scales before you can do anything. Not that it
won't help, but the rules have definitely changed.
You don't even have to join a band. How's that for
punk ethic? Anyway, read on: the clock's running
a little faster every fifteen seconds.
WHAT IS IT? WHAT DOES IT DO?
SAMPLERS are devices that record sound,
convert it to digital information (numbers), and
store it in memory where it can be recalled, or
TRIGGERED, from a keyboard or button of some
sort. This means that any sound you put into the
machine can be played back at will, as if it were a
musical instrument: car crashes, mooing cows,
fingernails across a chalkboard... anything. You
can steal sounds from other records if you want
How much you can record at once depends on
how long a sampling TIME your sampler is capable of. How good it will sound depends on how
high a sampling RATE you can use. There should
be a disk drive to store your samples on.
If you're a working musician, samplers can
save you time (money) in the studio and on the
road. For example, instead of taking the time to
record every repeat of a backup vocal, you could
record the perfect take just once, sample it from
the tape, and then trigger it from the sampler
whenever you want it Instead of spending hours
miking up your drums to get the right sound every
time you move the kit you only need to sample
each drum once and trigger it whenever. Want a
different sound? Just pop in another disk.
"If this was 1971, and I were to refer to someone as an electronic musician, we would
all have a definite concept of what that meant. And we would have an idea of what that
might sound like. But if I were to refer to someone as an electronic musician today, it's
really a whole different kind of a concept. It could mean any kind of style. It could mean
anything."
-Paul Rice (Sam Ash Music, NYC)
WHO.
I mU!
MIDI is simply a language which allows
musical instruments (and devices into which you
can plug a MIDI cable) to communicate with one
another. For example, a MIDI keyboard can hook
up to a sampler or other synthesizer and play
whatever sounds those devices are capable of
making. MIDI eliminates, or at least reduces, the
need for multiple keyboards in order to play a
variety of sounds.
MIDI CONTROLLERS are devices which
are capable of TRANSMITTING MIDI information. The most common controllers are in the form
of keyboards, but lately there have been WIND
controllers you can blow into. Controllers for
guitars and string instruments are still at a very
crude stage of development, but are available in
the form of PITCHRIDERS. They are limited in
the AMOUNT of MIDI information they are able
to transmit, which is the measure of any controller.
DISCORDER MIDI INFORMATION is not musical information any more than the scroll inside a player
piano consists of music. It consists of things like'
KEY NUMBER (which note), VELOCITY (how
hard you hit the note), AFfERtOUCH, PROGRAM CHANGES, etc., etc. All of these parameters are translated into numbers and sent from
machine to machine through MIDI cables.
"The only advantage I see of tape is the
ability to record. But in a few years time, we'll
probably have recordable CD's. In many ways,
DAT (Digital Audio Tape) is only an interim
technology. It has all the disadvantages that tape
has: it's subject to wear and tear, it h&s dropouts,
it has wow and flutter. And in the end, the machine
is going to eat it up at some point."
-Guenther Hensler (Polygram CD-Video)
SEQUENCERS are devices which record,
play and organize MIDI information on a number
of tracks. Like a multi-track tape recorder, but
much more versatile (except that it doesn't record
actual sound, just MIDI numbers). You can record
on a sequencer either in REAL-TIME or you can
take as long as you like, inputting one note at a
time. A sequencer reduces the need for physical
dexterity in playing an instrument. You can just
program the notes in and play them back at will
(boring live!). A sequencer will not make any
sound on its own, but will cause whatever device
to sound (ie. sampler or synthesizer) that you
MIDI it up to. Sequencers can be bought either as
portable, stand-alone units, or as software packages for various computers.
com. p. 8
fft^v Looking for
a Challenge?!
\^Q\&
WITH
Countdown
Basketball
AT
UBC SUB Lower
Concourse
All Aoes Welcome
[ND I SAW A DOOR IN HEAVEN AND HEARD
THE ,SAME VOICE SPEAKING THE VOICE
LIKE A TRUMPET SAYING "COME UP AND
I WILL SHOW YOU WHAT IT IS TO COME
TO THE FUTURE"
VANCOUVER 852 GRANVILLE STREET V6Z 1K3 (604) 688-2828 SEATTLE 16? J FIRST
AVENUE 98101 (206) 441-1065 BOSTON 328 NEWBURY STREET 02115 (617) 266-1079
April 1988 &l _j SJIl'H $ 1.
^BjW ji
"1 i^jj^t ^|th
5J3i|l : 1
a:•■■:im<dL .^
"When I look around at the new technologies and how, every season, the manufacturers
terrorize the consumers with new technologies
and new information protocols they must learn,
wondering what's going to become obsolete or
not, it becomes real rough. It's actually a new
challenge, and it's created a more intelligent user
than we've ever seen in the past.
"Technologies that once cost a few hundred
thousand dollars are, all of a sudden, being
shrunk down and put into consumer products that
have a lot more ease of use and flexibility. And for
the first tune, manufacturers are taking the foresight to build instruments that can be updated with
a software disk."
Jim Mothersbaugh (Roland Corp.)
DRUM MACHINES are specialized sequencers that use their own drum sounds. As
sequencers, they are limited, but can sound interesting when MIDI'ed to another sound source.
Again, using a drum machine eliminates the need
to spend years hammering on a kit in order to
develop the coordination necessary to pound out a
steady beat. In fact, the beat generated from a
drum machine is as steady as you can get, which
is why some people hate them. But, one of the
great things about drum machines is that you can
turn the volume down to whatever level you want.
So instead of being banished to the garage for
practices and having as-of-yet unconverted admirers threatening to kill you if you don't turn that
shit down, you can sit in the comfort of your little
apartment with a pair of headphones or ghetto
blaster and turn your drummer on or off as you
like.
Nowadays, you needn't settle for a drum
machine that doesn't have DIGITALLY RECORDED drum sounds built in. Also, take a look
at the NUMBER of audio OUTPUTS available on
the machine; ideally, you ought to have one for
each drum so that you can EQ them individually.
And if you have already spent years learning to be
a drummer, don't worry, go out and get a drum
machine yourself. You can't lose if you can use
both.
SIGNAL PROCESSORS, or effects, can
alter sound in a number of ways, such as with
REVERB, DELAY, PHASING, and so forth.
DIGITAL processors have recently made these
effects cheap and easy to use. You can get single
units that are capable of producing many different
effects for very little money, compared to just a
few years ago. Machines like the Alesis MID-
IVERB have a variety of effects for a few hundred
dollars, but are limited in that you can't vary the
effects PARAMETERS. The Yamaha SPX90 TL
can be bought for under a thousand dollars, and
has programmable parameters as well as a much
improved delay time over the original SPX90.
Signal processors will continue to come down
drastically in price and improved features, perhaps more so than other types of machines.
"This line of advancing technology isn't
going to slow down, it's going to accelerate, and
we're going to have the merging of all different
areas of producing music. The instruments themselves, which are evolving into workstations from
one end, and the recording facilities, which are
evolving into workstations from another point of
view, are really starting to merge. The high-end
synthesizer companies are becoming recording
studio technology companies, and a few of the
recording studio technology companies are advancing into areas of sound modification that are
touching on synthesis. I think the logical progression that we're going to see, over the next decade
or so, will be the general purposl workstation:
something that encompasses the best of all the
instruments we currently have, and MIDI recording, as well as actual sound recording, for the
capturing of sounds which don't begin as an
electronic sound by themselves. And I also think
we'll be seeing dramatic price reductions, so that
the portastudio of the future will probably include
all of these features.
"As artists, what we' ll probably see is more
and more individuals working at their own rate,
their own times, and making up their own rules,
using this expansive technology and tailoring it to
their own needs. I don't think studios will go
away, but I think they'll become an area where
specialists will be able to work in concert with
each other and help each other on projects. You'll
go there more for advice and consultation on how
to achieve your project, rather than to just get
what you've done recorded. There will probably
be some elements of needing a central place to put
the recorded material into a common format, for
distribution either by record companies or whatever the mode of mass distribution might be by
then- which is also something that could drastically change. The technology is perched where
it's ready for something different from what we' ve
been doing for nearly a hundred years, in record
distribution."
-Larry Fast (Synergy)
SO WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE US?
For the first time, it is possible to have
everything. Total control over sound. But there is
a catch- in order to have everything, first you have
to buy everything. Be careful! There are plenty of
people who will sell it to you. Many have experienced the despair of buying the latest thing and
finding it obsolete a year later. As with all new
technology, more can be bought with less as time
progresses. (Technology starts with the military
establishment and gets handed down.) The question is, how long can you wait? Even DJs are
putting records out. There comes a time when you
have to dive in.
If you know what you're looking for, try to
find it used. It is often better to get the top-of-the-
line of the last generation than the middle of the
current crop. More features are constantly being
crammed into smaller spaces, and there has to be
some compromise. Newer gear is often more
plastic fless durable) and more mass-produced.
Find out what your friends have and get stuff that
will work together.
Despite what music manufacturers and
others would have you believe, not everything
changes easily. Machines are stupid. They won't
do anything by themselves and sometimes fuck
up. Ask a lot of questions. Find out everything you
can, but be careful you don't get swallowed up
(it's easy to do). The great sampler that everyone
can afford to buy hasn't quite arrived yet, but it's
coming. If you do your homework, it'll be here by
then.
Don Chow
8
DISCORDER jmqpT&JXbys/pofif'
* SKATEBOARDS*
POWELL It /C ccsncRZ.
I {43 6%r\NV/lLE
636* qsss
InThe
Heart Of
2272 West M/TNI^A Kitsilan0
Kitsilano lA^yUxPlA^V
WEKf
The Beautifully Renovated
Romio's Greek Taverna Will
Remind You of Greece.
Superb Food And A Friendly
Staff
Recommended By
James Barber's
"BEST EATING"
"Lamb on a Spit our Specialty"
DAILYSPECIALSFOR LUNCH & DINNER
Try our unique menu, including
. Tzanziki, Melitzano, Homous
• Spanakotiropita
• Souvlakia, Mousaka, Kalamaria
• Pasta
Mon.-Sat. 11 am to 1 am
Sunday to Midnight
TAKEOUT* CATERING •WEDDINGS
ANNIVERSARIES* BIRTHDAYS
Free Delivery
Phone for Reservations: 736-2118/736-9442
ll'l1'
A.I.D.S
Vancouver
will be at the
5th. Annual
B.C. GAY & LESBIAN
CONFERENCE
May 21,22, and 23
Our work shop will include
"Lesbians and A.I.D.S.", Body
Positive", and a panel
discussion on "Gay Media
Coverage of A.I.D.S.".
Be sure to come out and take
part in all the exciting events!
AVAIL ABLE AT:
COLLECTORS RPM.
7ULU.MAIN ST RECORDS What do you think the future
In which Esther Hadley steps out onto the ugly streets of this fine town armed
only with a portable tape recorder and microphone and asks that question which
is on everyone's mind:
What do you think the future holds?
*****************
*Dear J.R. *
+ In reply to your letter*
* about AD rates in Dis- *
Reorder: Yes, we do have *
* special rates for local *
* bands, CITR presentations,*
* and non-profit organiza- ^
* tions. In fact we are a *
* non-profit organization *
* ourselves, lie also have *
* the best rates in the city*
*for our circulation of
^17,500 issues, for any AD.*
* *
* If you would like more *
* information, why not give *
*us a call. *
* 9-5 Mon.-Fri. *
* 683-7238 or *
* 228-3017 I
* Yours respectfully, *
* Matt *
* DISCORDER ADVERTISING *
* ****************
10 DISCORDER
-1 really don't know and I don't give a
damn!
- The future looks good. We got a real good
leader in the U.S.S.R. and a good one in the
U.S. and they're gctlin' real warm.
- God! I'm glad I'm on the way out!!
- Gettin' up in the momin'.
- Begging and begging...and a hard on.
- It all depends on whose side you're on.
Esther: And whose side are you on?
- God's.
Esther: What's in store for the subjects of God?
- There's only two roads: the broad and
spacious that leads to eternal destruction
and the straight and narrow that leads to
light. But the straight and narrow that goes
up the mountain is full of pitfalls and
snares...ah! Just get a Bible! The Bible's the
truth: keep away from religion and politics.
That's garbage. It's cracking now. The
economy all over the world's finished.
- More of the same.
Esther: And what's that?
- Nothin'
- Very little.
- It'll get better.
- I'm pretty positive about it
- Bleak.
- No good! No good! No good I tell ya!
- It's either A.C. Democracy or
ConfederAC/DC
-1 think the future's going to get a lot
brighter than it is now.
- People should be more aware of exactly
what's going on in the world because I don't
know about anybody else but I do know a
lot of people that know that Jesus is coming.
-1 try not to think about it too much -1 get
depressed.
- I'm trying to kill time.
- The future's going to be great.
- Whatever you put into it.
- I'm going to go skating.
-Ahh. Ijustgotup. I think I'll pass.
- From a planetary point of view? A
cleansing happening.
^>w
- Time changes.
- Plenty everything.
- Trees.
- Not too close to my mouth -1 hate some
thing close to my mouth.
Esther: Would you like to hold the microphone?
-No! I'm not that stupid. I don't get paid to
hold it. If you paid me $5000 I'd hold it. T
wouldn't do nothin' for nothin'! What do
you want to know?
Esther: What do you think the future holds?
-Ha! That's a laugh! I'll drink to that!
- It's none of my business!
-1 think everyone's going to die of AIDS.
-1 don't know I'm not into that.
-1 hope they've got money for me at the
back.
- The world's gonna end in 1999...July.
- Much of the same only more pollution,
more violence, more problems...so as an
individual you just have to have fun.
- Self-realization and all that - that's the only
answer.
- The Bible says it's comin* through and it's
coming through, eh? There's not going to be
much worrr...it*s comin' through.
- What do you think the future holds?
Esther: Disaster
- Hazard.
Complied by Esther Hadley There are more scientists alive today than in
iall previous history. Alvin Toffler, among others
tsays this means we will have more changes in th
jnext thirty years than in all previous history. W
^should therefore:
(a) Force half or more of the scientists
to become shoe clerks or grocers so
things don't change too fast;
(b) Establish a government commitee
to supervise all scientific research
thereby slowing it down even more;
(c) Learn to raise general intelligence
to cope with change.
- There's gonna be maybe two-seater flying
cars. The buildings are gonna be round.
Everybody might have equal money.
- Celibacy for the Moral Majority...and the
Immoral Majority.
THE HIDDEN AGENDA
I did some research into William Shrode
and discovered the Humana Corporation which
had financed his artificial heart. The Humana
Corporation is a two hundred million dollar a yea
medicine for profit business. What I discovered
is that about twenty days after receiving his arti
ficial heart, the material in the heart began to clot
and Shroder began to have strokes so he wa
actually reduced to a vegetable very quickly, or a
near vegetable. He couldn't move his body. Bu
the Humana Corporation who were financing th
artificial heart, who were developing it to make
profits obviously, kept using Shroder in carefully
controlled publicity stunts about how good the
artificial heart was. It's quite macabre when you
think of it Here's this guy who's still alive bu
that's the only thing he is. He's actually incredi
bly suicidal, totally depressed, and he's being
used for these horrific publicity stunts simply due
to pressures of capitalism. And it's actually quit
interesting that the Humana Corporation go
started by some people doing old age homes. So
you wonder, where has the old age home gone
when we move into artificial hearts? Well, the
artificial heart is the old age home because it'
going to keep these people alive just to suck mor
and more money out of their families and insur
ance companies and the like.
Russel Stephen)
FREE FALL
Being creative people, we have a lot to
show for our endeavours up to date
We have managed to survive our mad
careening jaunt on the brink of self
destruction and, brats that we are, show no signs
of relenting. At the moment, fanaticism, be i
religious, political or patriotic, seems to be the
widespread excuse for not getting on with wha
we want: prosperity. Fear of death and the
unknown is still predominant and is holding us
back.
Technology has served us well and wil
continue to do so in the years to come. I don'
believe that we will be run by the live machines
created in our passion for computers but I do
believe these machines will allow us the time an(
the energy to develop ourselves beyond anything
previously attempted. Today, we have spare bod;
parts, artificial or not, tomorrow, Cyborgs.
And where will music fit in our future?
What with space travel, commuting to colonie
beyond the stratosphere and state control, it can
appear to be oppressive. But there will be music
more than ever, because music is movement, heel
it might even be our fuel or our means of commu
nication with extraterrestrials. The sounds we
make come from within, within is without, it's a]
the same.
And what condition will the planet be in? A
state of recuperation most likely, yet it still har
bors life, albeit amphibian, reptilian, protozoan o
inorganic. Is there life beyond our errors?
But, right now, silicon is replacing plastic
on the adoration scale and the concepts of trans
mutation and limital energy are but fantasies in
few twisted minds. Cosmic cops haven't even
been put on the rollcall yet and the pyramids stil
stand there, waiting in free fall.
Denlse Richard
aMAZing ALBION BOOKS
Can you find it?
523 Richards St.
Vancouver • 662-3113
We buy and sell books and records.
April 1988 11 CITR FM 101.9 PRESENTS]
A YOUTH EXPLOSIONIYENT
1369KICH7
(AT PACIF
Ph.6SS-780 SlduMAURIER
INTERNATIONAL
THIRD
ANNUAL
170
Performances
350 Musicians
Canada • USA • Europe
Africa • South America
Australia
JAZZ AT THE PLAZA
July 1,2,3, 12:00-8:00 pm
FREE ADMISSION
Plaza of Nations, Discovery
Theatre, Comedy Club. 40
national and international
bands, international food fair
and festivities.
Presented By
JAZZ
BLUES
brave new jazz
traditional and
contemporary
uniquely west coast
Concert tickets and festival
passes on sale at Black
Swan Records, Highlife
Records, and all
Ticketmaster/VTC outlets.
Charge by Phone
280-4444.
Festival Passes
Jazz Pass I $140
(Entry to all 20 concerts except
Expo Theatre. Only 100 passes
on sale.)
Jazz Pass II $85
(Entry to all 9 VECC and 5 Western
Front concerts. Only 100 passes
on sale)
Jazz Pass III $60
(Entry to the 2 86 Street and 3
Commodore shows. Only 300 passes
on sale)
VANCOUVER
JUNE 24 - JULY 3 1988'
Expo Theatre
Friday June 24, 8:30 pm
Opening Night Double Bill
The Zawinul Syndicate •
Youssou NDour et les Super Etoiles
de Dakar
Vancouver
Playhouse
Sunday June 26, 8:00 pm
J.J. Johnson Quintet
Weetern Front
Sunday June 26, 5:30 pm
Horace Tapscott
Monday June 27, 5:30 pm
George Lewis
Tuesday June 28, 5:30 pm
John Oswald and Alex Varty
Wednesday June 29, 5:30 pm
Hal Russell's NRG Ensemble
Thursday June 30, 5:30 pm
Tom Cora
86 Street Music Hall
Saturday June 25, 10:00 pm
Manteca
Tuesday June 28, 10:00 pm — Double Bill
Randy Brecker Quartet • Hugh Marsh
Commodore
Ballroom
Friday July 1, 10:00 pm
Real Sounds (of Zimbabwe) plus
Themba Tana's African Heritage
Saturday July 2, 10:00 pm
Bill Bruford's Earthworks
Sunday July 3, 10:00 pm
Ornette Coleman and Prime Time plus
Lunar Adventures
Vancouver Eaet
Cultural Centre
Saturday June 25, 8:00 pm
Andrew Hill plus Unit E
VECC con'td.
Sunday June 26, 8:00 pm
String Trio of New York with Jay Clayton
plus Joe Bjornson Quartet
Monday June 27, 8:00 pm
Six Winds plus Chief Feature
Tuesday June 28, 8:00 pm
Masqualero plus Video Barbeque
Wednesday June 29, 8:00 pm
Charlie Haden's Quartet West plus
Claude Ranger Quartet
Thursday June 30, 8:00 pm
Mlcheie Rosewoman Quintet plus
Turnaround
Friday July 1, 8:00 pm
Semantics plus Rene Lussier, Jean Derome
and Tom Cora
Saturday July 2, 8:00 pm
Gary Burton Quintet plus
John Rapson Quartet
Sunday July 3, 8:00 pm
Archie Shepp and Horace Parian plus
Celso Machado
Landmark Jazz Bar, Hot Jazz Club, Isadora's, Classical Joint, Hogan s Alley. French Cultural Centre.
s daily at Granville Island Public Market, Pacific Centre TD Plaza. Oakridge Centre
THE JAZZ HOTLINE 682-0706 BOB'S YOUR UNCLE:
THE LOVING ABUSE
OF COUNTRY AND WESTERN
Some bands see themselves as being on a
mission. With Bob's Yer Uncle, it's
more like an errand. Face it, they're the
home handymen of the local arts community. Well, just what kind of band would
commit themselves to 3 1/2 years (so far) along
such a road to righteousness? They claim that
they do what they do because they "love music".
Heh heh. And they seem so guileless when they
admit it that you don't have the heart to dismiss
them just yet.
Given a chance to redeem themselves by
surrendering the dreaded "description of their
music", each member's version fits nicely with
the traditional view of his or her instrument's role
in the band. Peter, the harp player, considers the
lads to be a blues band. Bemie, the man on the
bass, hears more than a little bit o' disco in the
group. Sook-Yin, the singer, a hairball band. And
so on. James, the man from Nova Scotia, opts for
country and western, and you've gotta go with
him on that one. Think about it. Their music is
spare. They sing well, and aren't adverse to harmony. They're never overbearing. In fact,
they're often downright jaunty. They may be
exotic. They may be ethereal. They may even be
existential. But if they ain't kissing cousinsto c &
w, the sun don't set in Lynnwood. So if you too
picked country, you win. You win a Bob's Your
Uncle fact sheet, to be picked up in the paragraph
below.
For instance, what of the cross-country tour
that culminates with a local lads make good
homecoming in Halifax in late May? It's all true!!
What of the rhythm section's new obsession: auto
mechanics, resulting in a tour bus that has finally
been dubbed roadadworthy and a band that is
proud to call themselves "manichanically inclined". It's all true!! And what about the
inevitable working vacation of small town America, which they hope will begin with the usual
ugly scene at Blaine turning into a howlin' beer-
barrel polka in the nearest available public house,
as Bemie and James make no small mention of
their lengthy tour of duty in the Canadian Navy to
the boys at U.S. Border Patrol. Listen carefully.
You can hear the scar-swapping tales of adventure from here.
And there's an album. Someone proposes
that an album's worth of material is simply too
much of a good thing, an aural version of Chocolate Insanity, and definitely much too much of a
bad thing. These good sports are thrown for a loss.
They rush at the opportunity to become surly.
James dons his Gordon Gekko (Wall Street) mask
and illustrates that since an e.p. can only be sold
at one-half of an l.p.'s price, one would have to
sell twice as many to make an equal amount of
money!! Peter draws a line in the carpet and
declares that "no Johnny Winter album could ever
be considered too long.pal..." Steve poinds out
that musicians have to make at least one album in
their career, "like Buddy Rich", fr'instance, (who
probably made at least 65). They all chortle over
the scam that would see some poor consumer tear
the wrapping off their next release and find
nothing inside but a quaint pictorial history of
their youth, the ol' photographic record, enabling
14 DISCORDER
them to entitle it Bob's Your Uncle: The View-
master Days. Believe me, they've been wanting
to do that for a long time.
And if they actually have to buckle down
and come up with an authentic long playing
record album instead? Well, it will be recorded at
Profile Studios, produced by Craig Burner and
Bill Buckingham, and will be completed at their
leisure. False deadlines will be forced to take a
backseat, or fake the offbeat, one of the two. Yer
typical biodegradable sci-fi cartoon video, which
was finished in one very long day at the end of
January, will accompany it, hopefully prefaced
by a good limerick or two, as is the new policy at
MuchMusic.
There once was a sailor named Bates
Who professed to romancing on skates
He fell on his cutlass
Which rendered him nutless
And for all intense purposes useless on dates.
(The above was supplied by James as a work-in-
progress piece at the abusive insistence of the
interviewer.)
It's nice to talk with a band that is unwilling
to keep their distance. In the end, Bob's Our
Uncle are just the kind of people that like quiet
times and a good cup of tea. Oh, and watermelon
wine. If this was Esquire, you'd be determined to
find out just what is beneath that unguarded
surface. You'd turn immediately to the written
exam that follows, being sure to read all questions
carefully.
1) CITR wants to know what you're "readin' and
ridin". Name your favorite automobile and work
of literature, and if you think it's fortuitous to seat
yourself behind the wheel with a copy of Ulysses
on your lap.
James: Ridin' yellow girl's 5-speed minus back
brake. White feather on handlebars. Readin'
Flashman by G.M. Fraser. Car - ?
Bernie: Limo - My black 10-speed limo ... Kurt
Vonnegut, Discorder... No, it's not fruity, fortuitous, or flamboyant to read Ulysses, but any form
of reading material will enhance your knowledge.
Sook-Yin: Riding - Burgundy bike minus the
front brake. Fave auto - Ford Bluebird Bus, 1969
39 seater. Fave lit. - Webster's Dictionary; translations to useful Latin phrases, eg. Fiat experi-
mentum in maya corpore vili - Let experiments be
made on my worthless body. Ulysses - NO!!
Steve: Automobile- 1954 Oldsmobile convertible. Favorite book Encyclopedia of Foreskins.
Peter: I read the disco problems affecting our city
in the Discorder Airhead column, and make sure
the Montreal Canadians are in first place. I have
a bike with yuppie tires.
2) Lately there's been a spate of well-produced,
semi-popular (even) films dealing with that age
old riddle, love vs. freedom (Sammy & Rosie,
Broadcast News, The Unbearable Lightness of
Being). These people must be trying to tell us
something. Do you agree that it is finally impossible for two vibrant, vital, whatever, people to
carry on a monogamous, fulfilling, relationship
with a happy ending?
James: I'd say it's possible but I don't see it very
much; people change hourly, daily, monthly,
yearly, etc.
Bernie: Only if your eyes don't wander, or was
that waddle?
Steve: Yes.
Peter: No.
Sook-Yin: No ... Yes ... No.
3) If you were to vapourize into Corral St. after
soundcheck tonite, could you be at peace with
what you had done with your life?
James: Once I'd vapourized it probably
wouldn't matter what I thought, but if it did, I'd
say yes.
Bernie: If I vapourized into a sewer, I would say
life has been the shits. More likely, it would be
into the air, which would sum up my life: spaced
out!!
Sook-Yin: ??????????????????
Steve: Yes, but I'd be back again sometime.
Peter: Yes. I guess.
4) The cover to a recent Georgia Straight had
a picture of Robin Williams and the caption "...
and a few of the folks that live in his head." Tell
us about some of the folks that live in your head.
James: Myself in different romantic and heroic
settings.
Bernie: Musical notes that jump over fences.
Sook-Yin: Zero and Spot, the Martians; pig
people; Blut, the walking building; Chico
LaMarre, the missing nightclub singer.
Steve: Mr. Bellaak is an Old World pants
presser. Boobla the King of the Gypsies, and the
Great Punyechka.a psychic gypsy.
Peter: Pig people.
5) Have you ever attended: (Write name under
appropriate section.)
a) Vancouver Canadians baseball:
Peter
Sook-Yin: Caught the ball!!
Bernie: Isnuckin. Didn't catch a ball, but Peter
did.
b) Abbotsford International Air Show: -
c) B.C. Place Truck & Tractor Pull: -
d) Night School: (Not post-secondary, those 6
week Adult Ed sessions.)
Sook-Yin: German conversation course. Learnt
very litde, though I have a book full of caricatures
of the staunch, scary teacher.
e) Dutch Masters Exhibit at the VAG:
Peter: 1/2 (saw it elsewhere)
f) Whistler:
Steve: For a gig.
Bernie: Tried it once, sprained my thumb.
James: Yes.
Sook-Yin: Water slide!! And a visit with my
sister.
Michael Dezell The
"Ml
%tf*
And to celebrate ...
we're having a HALF PRICE Sale!
Book 5 hours in May
(at regular rates)
and well give you 5 hours more
for only $5.00!
It's our birthday
but the presents are for you!
Space is limited . .. book now.
BULLFROG
Recording Studios
734-4617
Hop on down to The Frog!
Everything
Under the Sun
from the 50's to
the 80's
ini r - i i i 1 ■*
April 1988 15 : JACK LAWN'S I SATURDAY 3-8 pm
JAMSESSIONSl SUNDAY7-12pm Z^&4>t^Tfa^i&rt^9lP-
Well, I guess I should start with the
bad news: Playdoh Republic have
broken up (just when they were in
the studio, too, and getting really good). I'm
hoping it's just temporary, or the band will somehow go on in another form, but there's no telling
right now.
The Rainwalkers are going into Profile this
month to start work on an LP to come out, they
hope, by the end of summer. The bad news here
is that it's without drummer Brian Watson - those
notorious musical differences again. (But I'm sure
Brian's gotta be in a lot of demand...)
Terminal City's just come out of the studio,
having finished recording an album, and are shopping their tape around looking for someone to
press and distribute it. Since I've finally seen
them play, I'm a converted fan, and can hardly
wait to hear it.
And things are really happening in the demo
department around here lately! New tapes include:
The Bride Stripped Bare - "Schizophrenia." Is it spring or what? I'm a Sonic Youth fan,
and generally partial to guitars, so I guess I like
this in spite of the the line in The Bride's letter
about "not using enough gel to make it on college
radio". Maybe it's because this is clearly not
another basement synth band. There are some
nice, thoughtful (dare I say, even, subtle?) touches
here.
The Merry Pranksters - "Welcome to Bill
Vander Zalm's Gardens From Hell." Well, the
title says it all, doesn't it? A band can only be so
serious with one member each from Coquitlam,
Port Coquidam, Surrey, and Victoria, but these
fellows claim to be planning a record in the fall.
Unfortunately I missed them at the big CJIV
benefit at Club Soda a while back, so I can only
imagine how they deliver lines like "Isn't that Jim
Keegstra on Grace McCarthy's face?". Only in a
Tree' country, eh? And at just under two minutes,
this song's just the right length.
The Bravados - "King's Crown." Very
slick, very expensive production. Unfortunately
it sounds pretty standard. But then this tape was
meant to impress the Spotlight people so I
shouldn't jump to any conclusions...
The Surf Hippies - "Love is a Dream Machine." Awesome cover art (it'd look good in the
stores - stuff like this is pretty well wasted on
behind-the-scenes radio types), good sludgy-ish
songs - my only complaint is that the vocals are a
bit too low in the mix. Just in time for summer.
64 Funny Cars - "Again and Again."
Sometimes I almost wish I lived in Victoria. This |
probably isn't the best song on the tape, but
they're all so good it was tough to choose just one.
These guys remind me a lot of The Young Fresh
Fellows with their type of humour and general
sense of fun, as well as overall utter lack of
pretension. A really good tape and the band
should sell it in stores. And come play here.
Catherine Wheel - "Fortune." Yup, this is
the same song they had at CITR when they were
called Retinal Circus, but my goodness, what a
great recording. In spite of the obvious REM
comparison (and this song does give me that same
feeling in the pit of my stomach that "Pretty
Persuasion" used to) I don't think it's fair to write
this band off so simply. This is a great song, with
nice subtle touches, very well recorded (on 24
tracks, at Profile), and should be pressed. Definitely single material.
Janis Trying to choose my favorite album of
1988 has been a little tricky. My family
photo album is definitely out of the picture. One option is to approach it subjectively and
choose one that has first presented itself to me this
year, never mind its actual release date. A few
albums come to mind: Negativland, Flaming
Lips, King Missile (dogfly religion), all actually
released in '87. Then there's the idea that certain
cuts on some albums are real winners: "Stop this
Car" (Woodentops), "Master Dik" (Sonic
Youth), "Ballistic Statues" (A Split Second). But
for some reason, a lot of these don't add up to my
favorite album, a word which has become very
flexible in these changing times. For example, a
lot of good rap vinyl doesn't qualify to me as
album because they invariably will have a good
(baad) rap tune simply done up four to six times
on Side A and B but given different names like
"dance mix", "radio mix", "club mix", "dub mix",
"instrumental mix". Kool Moe Dee's "How Ya
Like Me Now?" or the Boogie Boys and Ice T
exceptions true, but those drum machines and
heavy bass are so addictive that it becomes like
food for the nervous system, and favorite foods
and drugs of 1988 isn't what we're after here. Or
is it? I don't know what my favorite food is
anyway. Last week it was Captain Crunch and
spanacopitas. No, a favorite album would have to
be a compilation of material which, regardless of
single theme or concept, would have each cut
stand on its own. To top it all off, I've just been
informed that I got the question wrong. It's
favorite record of the year, not album. Oh well,
how about the fact that I haven't lost my mind yet?
That's gotta be some sort of record. One thing's
for sure: here at CTTR, we DJs try to digest as
much as possible so that we can regurgitate only
the cream of what's out there asking for your
money and time. Unfortunately, a common result
is that the input is so diverse and confusing that
more than just the records end up spinning
Kevin Williams
Being the junior member of a college radio
station is a real test of jam - nobody
respects you till you punch them out. So
I hope no-one laughs when I tell them my favourite record of 1988 was recorded 22 years ago.
I'm still playing by the rules, though, because it's
finally being officially released this spring. (I've
gotten personal with it through boodegs.) It's
"Smile" by the Beach Boys. Those who dislike
the Beach Boys because of "Help Me Rhonda",
"Barbara Anne", and Mike Love, trust me. This
record is the most unstoppably gorgeously narcotic album made, more alluring than sprinklers
on a summer lawn. Funnily enough, this pursuit of
peacefulness drove Brian Wilson completely over
the top in his attempt to complete it - he ended up
installing a sandbox and a circus tent in his living
room. Why not buy it and see what it can do for
you????
Michael Dezell
My favorite album? Well, what gets
played most on the We Be Botanists
show? Driving dance rhythms are
hard to categorize and narrow down into a single
album. (Most of my friends say it all sounds the
same anyway but they're all mindless lackeys.)
So, using a complicated mathematical formula, I
deduced that most of the albums I played were
produced by Adrian Sherwood. So instead of
favorite album, I'll say my favorite demi-god is
What's the Best
Adrian Sherwood. Check out your Tackhead
Sound System album.
Plant Master Grant
Trini Lopez's Greatest Hits
The undeniable beauty and strength of this
album makes it timeless. Trini's profound lyrics
and tremendous foresight sends me into delirium
every time I listen to this unmatched collection.
Songs like "If I had a Hammer", "Lemon Tree"
and the powerful "America" just can't be ignored.
What's that? It was released almost fifteen years
ago. You're kidding. First time I heard it was
February and it sounded so fresh. Oh well. How
about Cheap Trick's "In Colour and Black and
White"?
(But seriously, I think Big Black's seven
inch single release of Cheap Trick's "He's a
Whore" and Kraftwerk's "The Model" is fuckin
rad and narley.)
Beat master Garn (Hot Pink)
MIDNIGHT OIL "Diesel and Dust"
The experimental nature of Midnight Oil's
last two albums "Red Sails at Sunset" and
"10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1" has given way to the mastery of economical songwriting. Turning the
limitation of the pop song format to their advantage, the arrangements are sparse but effective,
the rhythms driving and propulsive, the overall
delivery more immediate and focussed than ever.
Written and produced after their "Black
fella/White fella" tour of the Aboriginal Settlements in Australia's outback, the album's principal theme centers on the whiteman's near elimination of the original native culture. Though (as
usual) The Oils have written from a specifically
Australian point of view, the messages remain
truely universal. Don't be put off by "Diesel and
Dusts" current commercial success. It's an album
that demands to be heard.
Paul Clarke
Composer: ELLIOTT SHARP
Record: TESSELATION ROW
Performer: THE SOLDIER STRING QUARTET
No sweet melodies here; this is energy.
Devil's string effects scream through strategically placed contact mikes. Primitive, dirty,
seemingly instinctive, yet with enough esoteric
mathematical formulae (fractal geometry, the
Fibonacci series) to stimulate hardcore analysts.
A truly liberating sound experience which is not
just Cage-influenced nonsense. Buy it or hear it
on "ARE YOU SERIOUS MUSIC," Sundays
8 am-noon.
Paul B.A. Steenhulsen
My fave rave of 1988 so far is Kool Moe
Dee's "How Ya Like Me Now."
Yeah, I know it was released in 1987
but I didn't hear it "til this year so shut up. Moe
Dee's rap style is aggressive and hard. His bassy
voice intimidates and stiffens even the most jaded
listener. I cranked this on my stereo and my cat,
Puffy, who just happened to be walking by the
front of the speakers, vapourized. POOF! Just
like that. Moe Dee's inventive rhythms and bofo
beats make "How Ya Like Me Now" twice as
interesting as anything released this year unless
you want to count those motivational/inspirational tapes that my girfriend has.
Mark Quail
Aretha
Aretha Franklin must be numbered among
the half dozen ot so all-time greats of Black music.
With a recoranm career which stretches back
thirty years, withjrpore hit records and Top Ten
singles than most artists, even highly successful
ones, could hope for in two lifetimes, and with
undeniable, bankable 'crossover' appeal, her credentials are impeccable. She is one of the world's
greatest singers, regardless of genre. Nowhere is
this more evident than on the tour de force double
album she herself produced in the waning months
of 1987. The record, "One Lord, One Faith, One
Baptism", recorded live at New Bethel Baptist
Church in Detroit, is a document of pure artistic
truth, and could very well be the high point of her
illustrious career, yet may go overlooked for one
simple reason: it is Gospel.
Anyone with an even rudimentary understanding of popular music in this century should
appreciate the debt owed Gospel music. Along
with the Blues, it is the original 4rock' music; this
is an unshakable fact. What Aretha Franklin has
done by assembling a cast of "Gospel giants" and
by covering in completely contemporary fashion
proven traditional standards, is to create a record
which is greater than the sum of its parts: it is no
less than a testament to the magnificence of Black
American music in the twentieth century. An
exploration of Aretha's roots, it is also an exploration of the roots of those thousands of other
singers, Black and White, who have roared,
floated aria-like, crooned, screamed, and sung
like angels or devils over the decades. This is the
real thing. For the record, accompanying Aretha
are her three sisters, Erma, Brenda, and Carolyn,
also honey-and-sandpaper-throated Mavis
Staples of Staples family fame, and a host of
visiting reverends and preachers who double as
singers, or, most electrifyingly, are both at once.
The highlights, if there can be such on an
album like this, deserve special note. First, Jesse
Jackson, shaking the rafters in a manner which, if
it were ever unleashed on a Democratic Convention, would leave a sea of limp rags - in other
words, the real Jesse, onetime right-hand man to
that master of Black oratory, Martin Luther King.
And second, the closing two cuts of the album,
"I've Been In The Storm Too Long", a duet
featuring Aretha with Joe Ligon of The Mighty
Clouds of Joy, in which the two singers escalate in
subde and beautiful vocal interplay untU the
whole thing explodes with Ligon's earth-moving
full-throated bellow; and "Packing Up, Getting
Ready To Go", fittingly the final cut, five-and-a-
half minutes of frenetic gutbucket mayhem showcasing the whole gang barely reined in. No rock
band could ever touch the honesty and passion of
this record, and something you may have guessed
by now: religion is actually secondary to great art
on One Lord. Get hip to it before the critics start
hading it as a classic; for me it is the year's "best",
if not the decades's.
Lachlan Murray
"Soul City"
18 DISCORDER Record of the Year So Far?
I've always felt a truely good record should
have to stand the classic desert island test. BE:
is it going to stand up to repeated listenings
and, more important, is it going to go along way
toward keeping me sane through long periods of
physical and psychological torture? Of course,
it's too early in 1988 to tell for sure which product could stand this test, so my recommendations
must include the necessary disclaimer: "I could
be wrong. I could end up hating these records."
Note the plural there. I have three favorite records
of the year so far. In no particular order they are:
1. NEGATPVLAND: "Is there any Escape from
Noise?" The state of the art in tape mishing,
mashing, sound effecting and editing. It is funny.
It is noisy. But is it music?
2. ENNIO MORRICONE: "Film Music 1967-
1987" Best known for his spaghetti western
themes and, more recendy, his score for "The
Mission", Morricone is nothing if not a veteran.
He's scored over two hundred films in his life so
this is necessarily a very limited collection. Still,
it is powerful, wonderful, awesome and beautiful.
If "The Man with the Harmonica" from "Once
Upon a time in the West" isn't the theme for
looking the devU in the eye and understanding
eternity, I don't know what is.
3. GARY CLAIL'S TACKHEAD SOUND SYSTEM: People gotta dance, so why not think at the
same time? Not as good as Tackhead live, but
what is? If you haven't hooked into Tackhead's
beat yet, why the hell not? Imagine Cream with
computers and a fondness for funk.
Finally, where's Prince's infamous "Black
Album" and the soundtrack from "Colors"? I
need to know.
Bill Mullan
CURRENT 93 "Christ and the Pale Queens
Mighty In Sorrow" (Maldoror, U.K.)
Record collectors all have one thing in
common. We're all innately acquisitive. There
are certain things we must have at any price. This
does not, however, prevent us from saying "At
$60 plus postage, it fucking well better be good".
And it is. If you're a collector and love Current 93,
it's worth every penny. Only 93 copies were
made. There are two discs (3 sides of music and
1 side engraved by Steven Stapleton.) Side 1
consists of an upbeat, noisy cut with smippets
from "Dawn" here and there and a beautifully
simple pair of ballad-like songs that recall some
of the work David Tibet did in "Swastikas for
Noddy". Side 2 is very special. It's one cut that
goes on and on and on. The background has some
of the most interesting sounds the Current has
provided us with in years. Strings predominate
(ranging from fiddles to string quartets). Rose
McDowell sings hypnotically in the background
in similar style to her work on "In Menstrual
Night". It's a haunting, compelling piece that
stays with you a long time. Side 3 is also one cut
- a repetitive (sic) passage of pastoral bells and
viols which is hinted at in side 2. Anyhow, it's
great. At that price it has to be my favorite or I'd
be kicking myself for buying it and masochism
isn't my thing (anymore).
Larry Thiessen
STEVE LACEY
Weird things can happen anytime. For instance, on the day of the Steve Lacey show which
was the culmination of two or three weeks eager
anticipation, WHAM! the brand new Steve Lacey
LP appears. Great, so I listen and hey, it sounds
great. Kind of arty (it says so right on the record),
but I haven't much time. I've got to get off to the
show. The Steve Lacey Sextet.
The Vancouver East Cultural Center ("The
Cultch") is a great place to see a band, and Steve
Lacey's band is pretty amazing. What a line-up.
The piano player was the best reincarnation of
Thelonious Monk I've ever heard. The bass
player was another one of those awesome European double bassists that just punch you in the
face with the power of their playing; likewise, the
saxman who did a lot of soloing, all of it hot
There was also the singer/violinist, on hand to
give things a classical twist. She gave us one of
the jazziest blues solos I've ever heard and her
vocals touched deeply into the operatic. Needless
to say, Steve Lacey himself was just as creamy as
the rest of his cream-of-the-European-crop sextet. The whole show pushed things to their limit
The album does the same with a wide variety of ideas employed in its four compositions.
Lacey is the forefront of jazz in my mind. I look
forward to being blowm away in the future.
John Frymlre
April 1988 19 On
The
Dial
MONDAYS
Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums).
May 23: A change of pace for the Jazz
Feature....vocals....by two of the very best....Ella
Fitzgerald and Louis Arm strong.... with Oscar
Perterson, Buddy Rich and others....all together
doin' it. A total delight and a timeless experience.
May 30: Alto saxophone great Jackie McLean
recorded a great many albums during his career
(some conservative and some on the outer edge of
the music) ....tonight the outer edge of Jackie with
Ornette Coleman on trumpet (Ornette's only
appearence as a sideman ever). Recorded in
1966...."New And Old Gospel" is a latter day
classic.
SOUP DE JOUR
11:00 am-1:00 pm
Chewy, Meaty, Beefy, Chunky of Buttery Badness
served up by the master chef El Khavan and his
assistant Reed Lopez. This Month's special — Hot
& Sour Soup — If you can keep it down, it might do
you some good.
FOR NO APPARENT REASON
1:00 pm — 3:00 pm
Apocalypse when? Let's just say that in a society
that believes in chicken soup and golden silence,
there should be a full mental racket that causes
severe radioation. A multi-media feast for senses
working overtime.
May 2: What our parents made us do.
May 9: For Chrissakes Mildred!
Hosts: Milo and Pete
CRAPSHOOT
5:30 pm • 6:00 pm
A slap happy, zany show of serious discussion.
Moderated by Dylan (G.Q.) Armbrust and
including panelists Donovan Kuehn (NDP),
Robbie (The Boy) Withers and Rob (Not less but)
Morehouse. Upcoming topics for April are Bill
Vander Zalm, Mila Mulroney, Free Trade and that
ever important issue... abortion. Remember, it's
a phone in show, so participate.
THE JAZZ SHOW
9:00 pm-12:30 am
Vancouver's longest-running prime time Jazz
program, featuring all the classic players, the
occasional interview and local music news.
May 2: "Milestones" by Miles Davis and his Sextet
with Cannonball Adderley (alto) and John
Coltrane (tenor) has been called many things but
drummer Tony Williams says "this is the best Jazz
album ever made". Hear it tonight!
May 9: "Focus" by tenor saxophonist Stan Getz
(with Eddie Sauter's writing) was issued in
1961 it was a unique listening experience then
and it is today. Getz himself feels that this record
is his high watermark. "Focus" in it's entirety this
evening.
May 16. "Coltrane" was the title of the tenor
saxophonist's first album by his "classic quartet",
coltrane playing both the tenor and soprano
saxophone revolutionized the way we listen to
music. "Trane" with McCoy Tyner (piano) Jimmy
TUESDAYS
BLOOD ON THE SADDLE
1:00 pm -3:00 pm
Music to scrape the cowshit off your boots too.
NEON MEATE DREAM
5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
The Show that gives you more meat. Occasionally
including Neonethnomeatmare' — an overview of
the new Asian & Middle Eastern pop.
Operator: Pete.
BUNKUM OBSCURA is no more.
9:00 pm - midnight
Swirlin' Lifelike Colours of Vinyl Spin
Before you get a chance to look around, the
picnic's over! Shell Shocked survivors of epic
sound battles norm V.R. and Dub-Master Mikey G.
Host.
WEDNESDAYS
OBJECTS CLOSER THAN
THEY APPEAR
5:20 pm — 5:50 pm
Listen and find out.
THE CLASSICAL SHOW
7:30 am -10:00 am
A variety of musical styles ranging from the early
<SfWf
ARTIST
PIXIES
WOODENTOPS
SDNEAD O'CONNER
THEPOGUES
♦NOMEANSNO
*DEATH SENTENCE
CURRENT93
JAZZ BUTCHER
SISTERS OF MERCY
SCREAMING BLUE MESSIAHS
RENEGADE SOUND WAVE
VARIOUS
♦COWBOY JUNKIES
THE DICKIES
HEAD OF DAVID
WALL OFVOODOO
SONIC YOUTH
WIRE
JERRY HARISON
NEGATTVLAND
THE SUGAR CUBES
MIDNIGHT OIL
PSYCHIC TV
ROB YN HITCHCOCK
THETRIFFIDS
TITLE
Come On Pilgrim
Wooden Foot Cops On The Highway
Lion and the Cobra
If I Should Fall from the Grace With God
The Day Everything Became Nothing
Stop Killing Me
Swastikas for Noddy
Fishcothequc
Floodland
Bikini Red
Sex Mixes
Salvation Soundtrack
The Trinity Sessions
Killer Kk>wns
Dustbowl
Ugly Americans in Australia
Master Dik On Beat
Kidney Bingos
Casual Gods
Escape From Noise
Cold Sweat
Diesel and Dust
Temporary Temple
Globe Of Frogs
Calenture
LABEL
VERTIGO/4AD
CBS/COLUMBIA
CHRYSALIS
ANTILLES/ISLAND
ALTERNATIVE TENTACLE
FRINGE
LAYLAH
POLYGRAM
WEA
WEA
RHYTHM KING/MUTE
POLYGRAM
LATENT
ENIGMA
BLAST FIRST
IRS
BLAST FIRST
MUTE
SIRE
SST
OraLTTTLE INDIAN
CBS
TEMPLE
A+M
ANTILLES/ISLAND
DEMOS
♦SURF HD?PIES
♦SONS OF FREEDOM
♦64 FUNNY CARS
♦RHYTHM MISSIQN
♦FRANK FINK 5
♦THE BRIDE STRIPPED BARE
♦The 4 ONES
♦ROOTS ROUND UP
♦LENDOOBAY
♦VELVETEENS
Love Is A Dream Machine
Fuck The System
Again and Again
King Blood
The Bridge/Tennesse Birdwalk
Schizophrenia
Telefon
Rock the Botha
White Dwarf
Forgiven
Denotes Canadian Content
20
DISCORDER CiTR 101.9 fM
7:30
8:00
9:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
1:00
2:00
3:00
4:00
5:00
6:00
7:00
8:00
9:00
10:00
11:00
12:00-
1:00-
2:00
3:00
4:00-
NEWSL STOWriS. WEATOER. GENERIC REVIEW ANDWSKHfT
Warehaus
Show
Random
Designs
Soup de Jour
The
Jennifer Chan
Show
Pest
Control
NoApparent
Reason
Radio
Vomit
Blood On
The Saddle
Quality Time
For Latchkey
Kids
The
Classical
Show
fl\
* 4*
CTTR NEWSs STQRTS AND
The
PTL
Show
The
PTL
Show
(Cont)
The
Spice
of Life
Fine
Lines
Beuer
Hohm's
&
Garlick's
In
Context
Tribes And
Shadows
The Joanna
Graystone
Show
First
Blood
Dwarfs Drunk
on Coolers
Narduwar
Absolute
Value of
Noise
NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER. CENEtUC REVIEW, rNSIGHT AND DAILY WATURE
CrapShoot
Hot
Pink
More
Dinosaurs
The
Jazz
Show
Environmental
Scatology
Neon Meat
Dream
Vinyl
Spin
Aural
Tentacles
Objects.
Kathy
Day
The
African
Show
Permanent
Culture
Shock
The
Knight
After
The
Vinyl
Frontier
Top Of
The Bops
The
Can-Con
Job
Crack
Rhythm
Louis
Louis
The
Edge on
Folk
Are you
Serious
Music
Power
Chord
We Be
Botanists
Sat Magazine
1 fi
*J3
Tunes
•R'
Us
The
Rockers
Show
Blues,
Blues,
Soul
City
Sun. Magazine
Just Like
Women/
Electronic
Smoke
Signals
Pla^oud/
This Is
Not
A Test
In The
Grip
Of
Incoherency
WEEKDAY REPORTS
3 C
SATURDAY REPORTS
SUNDAY REPORTS
MAJCR NtWSSPOKT-S
NEWSBRIEF
NEWSBREAK
MAJC* NEWSfiPOBTS
VANCOUVER NEW MUSIC
CALENDAR
NEWS
SUNDAY MAGAZINE
Medieval to the Twentieth Century. All styles will
be discussed with historical importance.
Requests taken. Hosted by Wolfgang J. Ehebald.
THE AFRICAN SHOW
8:00 pm - 9:30 pm
The latest in modern African dance music plus /
minus a few oldies but greats and extras. Your
way we come every Wednesday at 8:00 pm.
Information and news as they come at 8:30 pm.
Possible features at 9:00 pm. Your host Umerah
P. Onukwulu. Welcome.
THE KNIGHT AFTER
midnight - very late
Turn it up — Annoy your neighbours — Don't be
coy — Still Featuring the MARLIN PERKINS
EXOTIC MUSICAL HOUR: The very best in
psychotic music from all over the worlds — Guest
apppearances by Vern Lutner.
THURSDAYS
FACIST DWARFS DRUNK ON
COOLERS
3:00 pm • 5:00 pm
The ultimate in repression, oppression,
depression and idiocy. Who cares? Who Listens?
It appears no-body.
Hosts — Mike & Gavin
THE CAN CON JOB
9:00 pm - midnight
Three hours of 100% homebrew. Who is Les
Clark??? Find out May 6th with Ultramarine.
EXHIBITIONISM
midnight • 3:30 am
"So long and thanks for all the fish" Douglas
Adams.
FRIDAYS
IN CONTEXT
8:30 am •10:00 am
May 6: " MAYWORKS" A Profile
-Reviewing: JOHNSCOFIELD
Big V.A.G. Party tonight (After Dark)
An interview: KAREN JAMIESON.
May 13: Some info: Vancouver Children's Fest.
Interview: Pierre Bensvjan
(France acoustics)
Arts Umbrella: At the V.A.G. and
the Cultch
Architecture: New issues.
May 20: Preview: SUKAY: Traditional Andes
Music.
A Profile of Up & Coming Festival
Events: The Dumaurie Jazz Festival.
May 27: Previewing DANCE IN JUNE (Anna
Wyman, Lynda Raino) & much more...
CATS.
TRIBES AND SHADOWS
10:30 am-11:30 am
May 6: Back to Ritual: an exploration of more
"Pam Cultural musics. Music for Dance.
May 13: Egypt (Trnsformations: part IV) & guest
artists, contemporary music, Appolinaire's ghost
and much much more. Staye Tuned for some
potentiallly dynamic interviews with some of the
world's leading Architects, Anthropologists,
Linguists, and much more. Transformations are
here...
Note: if I could do a rewrite of these I would
appreciate it...CMON. 18/88
INTERFERENCE
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
For maximum enjoyment of this program, please
turn your radio off.
STOMP ON THAT BIG
BOPPA-TRON
9:00 pm • midnight
Was Crack Rhythm — is now as you see. Only the
name has been changed to protect the innocent.
Same cool music. Same def DJ's. Mike the "H"
mostly & first Fri. of each month Scott & Todd. Get
down to the funky beat!
SATURDAYS
THE EDGE ON FOLK
8:00 am -— noon
Every Saturday morning Steve Edge presents four
hous of the best, the latest, the most obscure, the
rarest, the sometimes irrelevant, and the always
irreverent in all types of roots music.
The show features World Music from 8 to 9, Rogue
Folk from 9 to 10, Celtic & more Rogue Folk from
10 to 11:30, the latest U.K. soccer results at 11:30,
British comedy and more music to noon.
April 1988 21 POWER CHORD
noon • 3:00 pm
Vancouver's only true metal show, featuring the
underground alternative to mainstream metal:
Local demo tapes, imports and other rarities, plus
album giveaways.
WE BE BOTANISTS
3:00 pm • 6:00 pm
Finally! The Botanist Show gains some legitimacy. Plant Master Grant has obtained 13 educational Botany tapes. Now you too can learn about
"Plants — The Pioneers of Life on Earth" while
dancing to the hottest and hippest club sounds.
May 7 — Back to the very beginning - Bacteria.
May 14 — The Wonderful World of Algae.
May 21 — Fungi - Neither plants nor animals.
May 28 — Lichens - Mutual Associations of fungi
and algae.
Learn something this summer. Boom, Boom,
Dance. Experiment with Kool-Aid and nitrogen
fertilizers. Honey, I got rhythms I haven't used yet.
NOCTURNES
9:00 pm — midnight
It is Savage and Superstitious to accept the world
as it is!
Change it...
Adapt it...
Improve it.
— anonymous
TUNES 'R' us
midnight - 4:00 am
ZIGGY MARLEY
&THE
MELODY MAKERS
86 ST. MUSIC HALL
THURSDAY MAY 5TH
Doors 7:30 pm
W/Guests SMALL AXE
Tickets: VTC/CBO & all usual outlets.
Info & Charge by Phone 280-4444
Just For The Taste Of k
The incredible music show from two uncredible
people. Join us for four hours of fun and foolishness. But mostly music!
SUNDAYS
ARE YOU SERIOUS MUSIC
8:00am — noon
Hosted By: Ian Crutchley and Paul B.A.
Steenhuisen
Exploring the worlds of "Serious" and "Non-
Serious" music, emphasizing Canadian
Contemporary music and anything that screams,
screeches and makes logic go amuck.
THE ROCKERS SHOW
noon - 3:00 pm
Reggae, Rock Steady and Ska. At 1:30, Reggae
Beat International Hour: News and interviews
about Reggae music worldwide. Host: George
Barrett.
BLUES BLUES BLUES
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
May 8: HAWK SQUAT!!!
J.B. Hutto & the Hawks
May 22: I'MAKINGBEE
Slim Harpo
SOUL CITY
5:00 pm • 6:00 pm
The best in soul music from the '50's to the '80's:
R 'n B, Southern Soul, Atlantic, Motown, Philly
International, plus the latest in Dance Floor Funk.
JUST LIKE WOMEN /
ELECTRONIC SMOKE
SIGNALS
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
May1 Just Like Women: tune in for feminist
news and analysis and women's
music. May Day! M'aidez?
May 8 JOst Like Women: it's Mother's Day, so
tune in for more feminist news and
analysisand women's music.
May 15 Just Like Women: the third week in a
row of news and analysis from a
feminist perspective and women's
music.
May 22 Electronic Smoke Signals: tune in for
a special feature preview of the
International Congress on Uranium
Mining to be held in Saskatoon, 16-21
June, 1988. Uranium is in my cranium;
give me back my geranium. Eric will
have updates from the International
Indian Treaty council and the
Indigenous Uranium Forum.
May 29 Just Like Women: it's just like, about,
by and for women. Our last show for
the month of May.
IN THE GRIP OF
INCOHERENCY
midnight - 'til plenty late
The wee hours will never be the same. Late-Night
chaos with the evil bareman and his almost
recovered sidekick: guidmeister. Tonz O Toonz
guaranteed to roust even the most hardened
narcoleptics.
I_
22 DISCORDER A SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION
MAY 27-29, 1988
Gage Residence, University of British Columbia.
Every spring after the regular classes have
finished, an odd looking crowd of humanoids
descends upon the U.B.C.campus. As the May
long weekend approaches, rooms in the Gage
Tower are booked up with members of the V-Con
Science Fiction Convention.
It was four years ago that I attended my first
"Con" and, believe me, it was pretty radical.
Strange unadvertised things happen. No, I am not
going to let the cat out of the bag. You'll just have
to go and find out for yourself. Fun and fantasy are
the main ingredients, so find yourself a costume,
hop on the galactic express (Metro Transit), and
cough up the membership fee.
The organisers of the convention brainstorm for months to come up with a new theme
every year. This year they have chosen "the
SCIENCE in science fiction", also known to some
as hard (technically correct) science fiction. Accordingly they have chosen guests of honor who
are well versed in the technical areas of science.
James P. Hogan, once an electronics engineer specializing in digital systems, has published
ten novels to date. They arc characterised by the
positive aspects of human reason and man's ability to create a better tommorrow. He will be
presiding as toastmaster.
John G. Cramer will be attending as science
guest He is a professor of physics at the University of Washington and director of their Nuclear
Physics Laboratory, where they have a new ten
million dollar superconductor linear accelerator.
You may want to ask this man a few questions
about sub atomic particles.
Hal Clement, nominated for both the Hugo
and Nebula awards in 1971 for his book "Star
Light", and recipient of the International Fantasy
Award for his book "Mission of Gravity", has
accepted the chair as Guest of Honor.
Many other authors will be in attendance
including Spider & Jeanne Robinson, Eileen
Kemaghan, and Michael G. Coney.
The event will certainly not lack humour
and to make dam sure of this, "Mr. Science" will
also be present, in some form or another, to
answer those pressing questions that you've
always wanted to ask. Why is the sky blue? Mr.
Science's answer: "The present colour of the sky
is caused by an accumulation of the traces of blue
aniline dyes produced by the burning of tobacco
in cigarettes. As the foul habit of cigarette smoking is stamped out, and photo destruction of these
insidious dyes takes place in the upper atmospere,
the sky will slowly return to its normal, beautiful
salmon pink colour." Mr. Science is a non-
smoker.
You're probably wondering what actually
happens once these eggheads gather together on a
deserted campus. Some call it "high-minded
social intercourse of genre cognocientie". Others
just say "Party", but that's not all. There will be
panel dicussions, readings by the authors themselves, art displays, slide shows, gaming rooms, a
dealers room, writers workshops, many many
movies and tv shows, a costume contest and a
dance. Fact is, there will be so many things going
on that it is impossible to see everything. Get
there early on friday evening so you can plan
ahead.
I remember the first time I attended, it was
difficult to decide whether I should check out a
showing of "Metropolis" with it's original soundtrack, the brass brassiere slide show, or a panel
discusion with Robert Block on the subject of
brutality in horror films. A tough decision to say
the least.
For the collector, this may be the place to
find that rare book or medallion that has been
missing from your collection for so long.
For artists who paint and draw fantasy and
science Fiction oriented work, this is a place to not
only display your work but make a few bucks too,
as there is an auction at the close of the of
convention.
For those who like to socialise there is a
hospitality room where one might find any number of loquatious conventioneers who are willing
to dicuss far fetched philosophies and theories
concerning our ever expanding universe.
The earlier you join, the cheaper it is. The
price for a weekend pass bought before May 16th
is a mere $20. At the door it will cost $24.
Children under twelve accompanied by an adult
are admitted for half price, under six are admitted
free. Last time I attended a convention they were
selling passes for the following year's event at the
give away price" of $ 10. So, theoretically, if you
joined before your sixth birthday.and took out a
life time membership, you might never have to
pay anything. With the ever increasing possibli-
ties of life extension it could turn out to one heck
of a saving, but don't take my word for it, they
may have changed their policy to compensate for
this.
To join, send a cheque or money order to:
V-CON 16
P.O. Box 48478, Bentall Centre
Vancouver, B.C., V7X 1A2
Matt Richards HduMAURIER
THIRD
ANNUAL
170
Performances
350 Musicians
Canada • USA • Europe
Africa • South America
Australia
JAZZ AT THE PLAZA
July 1,2,3, 12:00-8:00 pm
FREE ADMISSION
Plaza of Nations, Discovery
Theatre, Comedy Club. 40
national and international
bands, international food fair
and festivities.
Presented By
JA2Z
INTERNATIONAL
brave new jazz
traditional and
contemporary
uniquely west coast
Concert tickets and festival
passes on sale at Black
Swan Records, Highlife
Records, and all
Ticketmaster/VTC outlets.
Charge by Phone
280-4444.
Festival Passes
Jazz Pass I $140
(Entry to all 20 concerts except
Expo Theatre. Only 100 passes
on sale.)
Jazz Pass II $85
(Entry to all 9 VECC and 5 Western
Front concerts. Only 100 passes
on sale)
Jazz Pass III $60
(Entry to the 2 86 Street and 3
Commodore shows. Only 300 passes
on sale)
VANCOUVER
JUNE 24 - JULY 3 1988'
Expo Theatre
Friday June 24, 8:30 pm
Opening Night Double Bill
The Zawinul Syndicate •
Youssou NDour et les Super Etoiles
de Dakar
Vancouver
Playhouse
Sunday June 26, 8:00 pm
J.J. Johnson Quintet
Western Front
Sunday June 26, 5:30 pm
Horace Tapscott
Monday June 27, 5:30 pm
George Lewis
Tuesday June 28, 5:30 pm
John Oswald and Alex Varty
Wednesday June 29, 5:30 pm
Hal Russell's NRG Ensemble
Thursday June 30, 5:30 pm
Tom Cora
86 Street Music Hall
Saturday June 25, 10:00 pm
Manteca
Tuesday June 28, 10:00 pm - Double Bill
Randy Brecker Quartet • Hugh Marsh
Commodore
Ballroom
Friday July 1, 10:00 pm
Real Sounds (of Zimbabwe) plus
Themba Tana's African Heritage
Saturday July 2, 10:00 pm
Bill Bruford's Earthworks
Sunday July 3, 10:00 pm
Ornette Coleman and Prime Time plus
Lunar Adventures
Vancouver East
Cultural Centre
Saturday June 25, 8:00 pm
Andrew Hill plus Unit E
VECC con'td.
Sunday June 26, 8:00 pm
String Trio of New York with Jay Clayton
plus Joe Bjornson Quartet
Monday June 27, 8:00 pm
Six Winds plus Chief Feature
Tuesday June 28, 8:00 pm
Masqualero plus Video Barbeque
Wednesday June 29, 8:00 pm
Charlie Haden's Quartet West plus
Claude Ranger Quartet
Thursday June 30, 8:00 pm
Michele Rosewoman Quintet plus
Turnaround
Friday July 1, 8:00 pm
Semantics plus Rene Lussier, Jean Derome
and Tom Cora
Saturday July 2, 8:00 pm
Gary Burton Quintet plus
John Rapson Quartet
Sunday July 3, 8:00 pm
Archie Shepp and Horace Parian plus
Celso Machado
I Landmark Jazz Bar, Hot Jazz Club, Isadora's, Classical Joint. Hogan s Alley. French Cultural Centre.
s daily at Granville Island Public Market, Pacific Centre TO Plaza. Oakridge Centre
THE JAZZ HOTLINE 682-0706
Discorder
Discorder CITR-FM (Radio station : Vancouver, B.C.) May 1, 1988
Item Metadata
Download
- Media
- discorder-1.0050227.pdf
- Metadata
- JSON: discorder-1.0050227.json
- JSON-LD: discorder-1.0050227-ld.json
- RDF/XML (Pretty): discorder-1.0050227-rdf.xml
- RDF/JSON: discorder-1.0050227-rdf.json
- Turtle: discorder-1.0050227-turtle.txt
- N-Triples: discorder-1.0050227-rdf-ntriples.txt
- Original Record: discorder-1.0050227-source.json
- Full Text
- discorder-1.0050227-fulltext.txt
- Citation
- discorder-1.0050227.ris
Full Text
Cite
Citation Scheme:
Usage Statistics
Share
Embed
Customize your widget with the following options, then copy and paste the code below into the HTML
of your page to embed this item in your website.
<div id="ubcOpenCollectionsWidgetDisplay">
<script id="ubcOpenCollectionsWidget"
src="{[{embed.src}]}"
data-item="{[{embed.item}]}"
data-collection="{[{embed.collection}]}"
data-metadata="{[{embed.showMetadata}]}"
data-width="{[{embed.width}]}"
async >
</script>
</div>
Our image viewer uses the IIIF 2.0 standard.
To load this item in other compatible viewers, use this url: http://iiif.library.ubc.ca/presentation/cdm.discorder.1-0050227/manifest