Caledonia

What music are you listening to / art are you checking out these days?

I am really enjoying Acres and Acres’ new recording. It should be out this spring. There is lots of love on that record and it was recorded totally live in a church. Also I am loving Heron King Blues by Califone and I’ve had Side B of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on the record player for about a month. One speaker isn’t working and I’m too lazy to fix it or change the side. I may never change it. Every time I listen, I hear something new. Crazy record.

In terms of art, this guy Jimmy Farrell who did the art for our record put on a show a few weeks ago and blew my mind. I had this perspective of him as an artist after I saw the art for our record and it was truly an education to see his other work. I think that his view of the world is important and he is someone to watch for sure.

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

I think that people should vote because protesting in this country doesn’t seem to work. Complaining after the fact is useless here. Your only chance to have real impact is to put the right people in charge and for better or worse…trust them. I have come and gone with just how apathetic I can be. I had been involved in some protest campaigns in the past and I felt betrayed at the lack of impact. For better or worse, this is our system and it will work if you work it. (To steal a line from NA.)

What music are you listening to / art are you checking out these days?

I am really enjoying Acres and Acres’ new recording. It should be out this spring. There is lots of love on that record and it was recorded totally live in a church. Also I am loving Heron King Blues by Califone and I’ve had Side B of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on the record player for about a month. One speaker isn’t working and I’m too lazy to fix it or change the side. I may never change it. Every time I listen, I hear something new. Crazy record.

In terms of art, this guy Jimmy Farrell who did the art for our record put on a show a few weeks ago and blew my mind. I had this perspective of him as an artist after I saw the art for our record and it was truly an education to see his other work. I think that his view of the world is important and he is someone to watch for sure.

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

I think that people should vote because protesting in this country doesn’t seem to work. Complaining after the fact is useless here. Your only chance to have real impact is to put the right people in charge and for better or worse…trust them. I have come and gone with just how apathetic I can be. I had been involved in some protest campaigns in the past and I felt betrayed at the lack of impact. For better or worse, this is our system and it will work if you work it. (To steal a line from NA.)

What music are you listening to / art are you checking out these days?

I am really enjoying Acres and Acres’ new recording. It should be out this spring. There is lots of love on that record and it was recorded totally live in a church. Also I am loving Heron King Blues by Califone and I’ve had Side B of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on the record player for about a month. One speaker isn’t working and I’m too lazy to fix it or change the side. I may never change it. Every time I listen, I hear something new. Crazy record.

In terms of art, this guy Jimmy Farrell who did the art for our record put on a show a few weeks ago and blew my mind. I had this perspective of him as an artist after I saw the art for our record and it was truly an education to see his other work. I think that his view of the world is important and he is someone to watch for sure.

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

I think that people should vote because protesting in this country doesn’t seem to work. Complaining after the fact is useless here. Your only chance to have real impact is to put the right people in charge and for better or worse…trust them. I have come and gone with just how apathetic I can be. I had been involved in some protest campaigns in the past and I felt betrayed at the lack of impact. For better or worse, this is our system and it will work if you work it. (To steal a line from NA.)

For you, is there a connection between art and democracy? What is it?

I think there is a connection between the two. I mean, politics totally impact what kind of art gets made because political climates dig into peoples lives – their secret spaces. It forces itself upon us and then someone writes a song and everyone gets a bit of relief because they are like, “ Hey, that is how I feel too.” Art can have a seed planting effect on people too. It can change your heart about things and it can do in the background of the electorate’s hearts what rules could never do. I don’t think that important art can affect democracy in the short term, but so what? It is important to express yourself for other people’s sake. Make it, let it sink in and maybe it will bloom into something that the statisticians can measure.

Why do you care about community, when it is so easy not to?

These past two years have been a big realization to me about how important community is, especially if you are making a living (or partial living) from the arts. I think that if you are broke, it is impossible to ignore your surrounding community. If you don’t have the resources you need on your own, then you need to find someone with those resources.

For instance, we really couldn’t afford to do this record but once we committed to it, the right people and opportunities seemed to become accessible to us. So many folks were helping us by adding their voices or instruments, equipment, or skill with recording - especially in the overdubbing phase. It was really heartwarming to have so much cooperation at our fingertips. It reinforced and created many friendships and I feel a bit wiser for having gone through that. It would have been great to have the money to do it by ourselves, but the way it went down was so much richer and I think it sounds better in the end.

Not having money slowed things down and forced us to sit on things and bounce ideas off our loved ones and friends. I think “community” can do that nurturing thing with lots of life areas. It is the original safety net. Luckily, I only need to use my local community (most of my neighbours seem to be involved in the arts somehow) for emotional support at having similar struggles with times on the road, vans breaking down, records taking forever, funding getting cut, etc. But I know that if I needed help, there are countless folks I could depend on.

What do you look for in a politician? What do you expect from your MP?

I expect a lot from a politician. I have a hard time accepting anything but above average behaviour from them. I went to watch a sitting of Nova Scotia’s legislature once and they were treating each other terribly. It was embarrassing. There were a few politicians in the room though that were impressive. They weren’t getting caught up in the name-calling and schoolyard antics. I liked that.

I am looking for a politician who recognizes that they are working in an old system that needs updating. I also need to know that they aren’t going to sell people out just because something can help a few folks in their riding.

In terms of MP attributes I like? I don’t know. I feel like they need to be vocal and not afraid of the heat. Parliament is a big show and you can’t be mousy or else you are just going to get walked on. They also need to be super experienced, talented and disciplined.

I mean when you elect an MP, that person could end up a cabinet minister. If they are crooked in some way, they are going to make a huge mess. I also feel like nationally, I vote for the party, because if you have a good local candidate and they don’t agree with the party, then you are helping to prop up an agenda you don’t believe in.

I think MPs should be more accountable in that way too. If you don’t agree with your party, switch parties. In the same way, it just kills me if I love the national party plan, but the local MP is a waste. That’s one reason I like living in Halifax - my party has good candidates here.