Wax Mannequin

Wax Mannequin, originally uploaded by nfotxn.

Ok. Start at the beginning. I've been a busy boy.

Last weekend the Hamilton Artists Inc. did their annual "Artopia" fund raiser in which local artists took paint cans ("buckets") and made art pieces that were auctioned off. The event raised more than $10,000 for the Inc. AND everyone got righteously trashed on good beer. Jelly hosted with Dan Zen and it was a swell time.

This is Wax Mannequin fiercing the one-man-band having just hauled ass from Waterdown at a previous gig to close up Artopia.

Check out his music on myspace. I suggest "Animals Jump". More pics of him on Flickr. by the talented Steph Bell.

Liptonians

Liptonians, originally uploaded by nfotxn.

These guys were on their way to Peterborough from Toronto and stopped by the Casbah lounge where I was DJ'ing with The Longer. They're called the Liptonians. They're from Winnipeg and they're really fucking great at playing folk music.

Their myspace.

Jelly's Organ

( WOOF, that's a BIG organ! )

Booth Party

Booth Party, originally uploaded by nfotxn.

I finally got a DJ gig helping Mike Long fill the gaps at the Casbah lounge. Amy Millan (Stars, Broken Social Scene) was in the club doing her solo gig. I wanted to see her bad but was having too much fun mixing the hot beats and whatnot.

6hr Site

Hey gays, remember the lipsync meme of yesteryear? Well local vegan queer friendly dancing heterosexualist Mike Long ("The Longer") saw my video and those of others. Subsequently he has been fiercing the streets of the Hammer and Greater Toronto Area with little else but a DV camera and some serious panache. He's trying to do a world tour, well see how that goes.

Until then I helped him stick up a little WordPress site we hacked together between songs DJ'ing at the 'Bah. Friend him and like favourite his shit on YouTube or whatever. He has the funk. And we gays gotta get back on that and fierce ourselves back onto the RSS feeds and whatnot.

thelonger.com

Work to Party, Party to Work

What's neat about Spring in Ontario is that everyone's SAD wears off and suddenly your social calendar explodes into a big ol' mess. Not that I'm complaining. I can't wait for the next art crawl on James North with real legit double digit temperatures and fresh work. There's so much going on from the launch of H Magazine in the new format to the Inc.'s Artopia event. A new recording studio opened at the ICCA with some of the guys from Catherine St. N. These are the same guys who've worked with the likes of Leslie Feist and Broken Social Scene on their first records. The space is incredible.

But it's more than that. More and more faces are becoming familiar. Real world non-website social networks are materializing in my head like.. well like once before. It's like being in a big city. Reminds me of being in Toronto... but I'm at home in Hamilton. Like suddenly either a huge entire cultural industry has appeared or I've just sorta opened my eyes to it. Things are definitely on some sort of extreme trajectory here and it's just a blast to be part of what goes on. To do you part. Little things like making the podcast RSS feed for a local magazine work properly. And then tell their editor Dave in person about what's done.

This weekend is Doors Open Hamilton. Which I will be in Toronto for Chunk! at the Beaver Café, amongst other fun things. But at work at the library the lead-up, working with the same people I know from various arts and music things, has been monumental. We have a lot of old buildings that are being adapted for new uses. And Doors Open helps to make that heritage known to common citizens. It's pretty important and a great idea implemented elsewhere, including here, in many previous years.

Life is pretty exciting right now. A tad spastic and restless but exciting and promising none-the-less.