Death Cab for Cutie

I got to interview Death Cab for Cutie! Read the article here or in this week's WE.

The Cuties themselves (from left): Nick Harmer, Ben Gibbard, Chris Walla, and Jason McGerr.

Credit: supplied

Indie-pop’s band of brothers still going strong after 10 years

By Andrea Warner

If you know a guy who wears black plastic-framed glasses, owns a closet full of artfully decorated t-shirts, and waxes poetic about every twee moment betwixt the making and the breaking of love gone awry, it’s likely he’s a Death Cab for Cutie fan.

The quartet toiled in relative obscurity for the first five years of its existence, ruling Seattle’s indie music scene and steadily gaining a global fan base, before breaking into the mainstream with their major label debut, 2005’s Plans. Ten years on, the group’s now considered one of the forefathers of indie-pop, and their last album, 2008’s Narrow Stairs, achieved something many thought impossible: it debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts.

The band’s humble Bellingham, Washington foundations — built squarely on fiercely loyal friendships — has helped keep Death Cab from becoming another Hollywood-style train wreck. Lead singer/songwriter Ben Gibbard is now engaged to actress and musician Zooey Deschanel. Guitarist and producer Chris Walla has founded his own recording studio in his Portland home, producing other indie giants like the Decemberists and Tegan and Sara. Drummer Jason McGerr mentored teenaged indie-pop sister act, Smoosh. Bass player Nick Harmer has preferred to stay out of the spotlight, making him all the more interesting to speak with about fame, friendship, and his possible future in a Journey cover band.

WE: Did you want to be a rock star when you grew up?

Nick Harmer: One, I’m not even sure if I’ve accomplished that yet. [Laughs] I definitely wanted to be in a rock band. When I was really young, I wanted to be in, like, Motley Crew or Twisted Sister. I liked to draw pictures of myself with spiked wrist bands and pyrotechnics going off behind me. I always loved playing music, but I never once had that moment where I was like: ‘This is my career.’ I mean, I’m still not sure if this is what I want to do as a career or if it’s some extended awesome hobby. I almost feel like if I admit that I make my living playing music it’ll jinx it and everything will just disappear or something. I hope that I’m 55 years old playing in a casino someday.

That would be awesome.

Right? Just playing in, like, a Journey cover band. Or maybe I’ll be in a little jazz combo in restaurants on Thursday nights, just up in the corner.

Have you ever seen Big Elvis in Las Vegas? He’s this guy who used to weigh 800 pounds, and now he’s down to 400 pounds because he found God and stuff.

No! [Laughs] And he’s known as Big Elvis? Wow. I’m not a front man, I’m not an Elvis kind of guy. It’d be something like, Big Elvis with Big Bass Player.

In the early stages of Death Cab, did you think it was something that had legs and would last?

It’s weird to say. I mean, I knew the first practice we had, when things clicked, that there was something different about this combination of musicians and the music we were making. It was a very tangible kind of magic where you felt almost goose-bumpy, you know?

And you all still speak to each other, which is more than some bands can say after a decade together.

Yeah, and I know this might sound a little heart-on-the-sleeve, but if, at the end of everything I still have three really close friends, that’s a win. There’s so much about what we do for a living that threatens to tear us apart on all kinds of levels. I mean, we’re friends and business partners and the fact that we’ve been able to iron out the creative, financial, and social dynamics, and still maintain a true friendship amongst it all is absolutely the cherry on top. That’s the core I want to protect.

I know so many people who count Death Cab’s albums as the soundtracks to their most intimate moments.

I’m in the band, but the albums become soundtracks to intimate moments for me, too. It’s kind of a strange thing to be part of making the music and also be listening to it. I mean, I’m not walking around listening to our music on headphones all the time. Early on when we were trying to decide what to record for an album, we were listening for that real emotional connective tissue. Our audience is composed of people like us. I look out at the crowd when we’re playing and almost everyone is people I recognize in one way or another, or the kind of people I would be friends with, or going to have drinks with.

What’s next for you guys?

Ben’s been writing a little bit, then these shows in July, and downtime for the rest of the summer. This fall we’ll generate ideas and start the process of another album. I don’t think we’ll wait as long as we did between Plans and Narrow Stairs. We’re excited about releasing more music more frequently, and maybe doing shorter tour cycles. We’d like to play as many shows in a shorter amount of time, but I really think the internet is part of the marketing tool. It’s really the indispensable fifth member of the band. Utilizing that to share music and change things up just a little bit so we don’t have that hamster wheel of record, go on tour for 18 months, take time off, repeat. That can get a bit stale feeling as a formula.

Futurebirds

My article on the great new band, Futurebirds, appears in the Charleston City Paper and online.

The Futurebirds' off-kilter pop
Wingin' It

By Andrea Warner

At first listen, the music of the Futurebirds might sound like some forgotten gem from the 1970s, but halfway through the group's eponymous debut EP, it becomes clear why this Athens-based band is generating more buzz than a beehive hit with a stick.

The group infuses their sound with a thoroughly modern spin, reinventing choral alt-country with contradictions aplenty.

Most of them share vocal duties and can claim multi-instrumental skills, with Carter King on drums, guitar, and banjo; and Payton Bradford also on drums, mandolin, and guitar. Daniel Womack alternates between guitar and banjo, while Thomas Johnson takes his turn on guitar, banjo, and mandolin. Brannen Miles plays bass, and Dennis Love tackles the steel drum. Jessica Holt, vocalist, is an occasional contributor.

Further evidence that the Futurebirds are indeed of the future, and not just a rediscovered relic? Check out the requisite displays of youthfulness: ill-advised facial hair, ironic T-shirts, and plenty of good-natured sarcasm and silliness at every turn. Example: King replies with an earnest "Yes, ma'am" when asked a question, and then gleefully attributes the band's success and hype to "a good night's sleep, thorough stretch routines, and calling our mothers every day."

Taking their name from a class King took on "poultry evaluation," the Futurebirds were originally just a bunch of friends playing in other bands, drinking at the same bar night after night. And then something changed.

"Last fall, we started getting together to play for fun, and we could just tell we were all on the same wavelength," King recalls. "On one occasion, we were playing some covers, screwing around. Payton was playing an upright piano which was completely indiscernible amongst the rest of us banging out annoyingly loud electric guitars. He was gritting his teeth and profusely sweating. His face was like a fire engine as he mercilessly beat the keys. He stood up and kicked his chair across the room, and continued to play what could, to this day, be the greatest inaudible piano solo ever played. Ever."

There aren't a lot of pounding piano solos on the Futurebirds' debut, but every song sounds perfectly homespun, as if it was recorded with a giant mic in the middle of a circle, with the band singin' and bangin' and strummin', guided only by instinct, not outcome. The EP matches the Futurebirds' personality perfectly: beautifully offbeat and slightly sloppy, full of rockin' hymns that could alternately soothe a drunk or incite a cowboy.

Funemployment!

My story on Funemployment appears in this week's WE

Faces of funemployment: Graphic designer Carlos Hernandez Fisher (left) recently celebrated his last day of employment with a global telecommunications giant. Meanwhile, Astrid Elston and Brian Robinson are well on the path to entrepreneurial success thanks to the economic meltdown.

Credit: Andrea Warner and Doug Shanks

Funemployment
By Andrea Warner

For plenty of people, the twaining of work and fun is merely a fantasy; something to daydream about to help whittle away the hours between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Work has always been just that: work, a guaranteed daily negotiation between your interests, aptitude, and the economy. And then a not-so-funny thing happened about a year ago: The bottom dropped out of the stock market, and a global reckoning saw big businesses crumble, banks collapse, and previously wealthy countries, like ours, face weakened job markets.

But out of the smoldering ashes of lost jobs, a burgeoning scene of independent, arts-loving entrepreneurs are turning unemployment on its head and ushering in a new era of “funemployment.” The term became an overnight viral sensation thanks to a widely-circulated June 3 article in San Francisco’s SF Weekly, chronicling the experiences of recently laid-off people who were collecting unemployment benefits and using their newfound time to reassess their career goals, and then launch their own creative businesses.

With the proverbial pink slips piling up and EI lines wrapping around city blocks, more and more Vancouverites are facing similar challenges, leading to our very own funemployment phenomenon.

THE DESIGNER

Carlos Hernandez Fisher, fresh off his last day of work for a global telecommunications giant, is now entering his second week of funemployment. He spent three years clocking in, learning the corporate jargon, but his first love, graphic design, continued to occupy his leisure time. Like many people, he kept imagining a day when he could pursue his passion for potential profit, but he wasn’t sure how to make the dream a reality — until the layoff.

“I was given a lot of notice, so I was ready for the news, but there was still a period of shock and adjustment,” Hernandez Fisher says. “It wasn’t until a few weeks after finding out that I started making peace with the situation and started seeing it as an opportunity rather than a crisis.”

He credits close friends with encouraging him to try to create a career out of his graphic design interests. But the big push was seeing a Venn diagram on how to be happy in business, created by professional strategist, Bud Caddell.

“In it, happiness is the intersection of what we do well, what we want to do, and what we can be paid to do,” Hernandez Fisher says. “Design makes me happy and I’d like to think I do it well, so now it’s just a matter of finding a way to make it pay the bills.”

THE JEWELER

It’s a story that’s familiar to Astrid Elston, owner and designer of Fire & Ice Creations. Elston was a sales manager for a tourism trade show when she was laid off in January.

“You have that sense of, ‘Oh my god, what am I gonna do?’” Elston recalls. “It’s hard to say the layoff was a relief, but, I also had the sense that it might be a blessing in disguise.”

Elston had spent several years crafting recycled glass into jewelry and home decor pieces as a hobby while she worked in tourism, an industry that’s recently shouldered the brunt of the economic meltdown.

“I was tired of being at the whim of other people’s hiring and firing patterns so, after being laid off for the last time, I decided, ‘That’s enough’,” Elston says. “I wanted to put my entrepreneurial spirit to work, take all my business experience, and make my own money, have my own hours and work really hard to build something for myself.”

Elston signed up for Douglas College’s self-employment program to help provide a better foundation on which to build her business. Now, seven months later, her website, FireIceCreations.com, is fully functional, her jewelry is available at a variety of retailers, and she plans to set up residence at several craft and design shows by the end of the year. But Elston admits that she still occasionally doubts herself.

“You are everything in the company,” Elston explains. “I am the ad person, the sales and marketing, the accountant, the production person, and you’re the person who makes or breaks it. It’s can be extremely overwhelming. You’re the person who needs to make all those calls or no one’s going to call you.”

THE BAKER

Brian Robinson is four months into his funemployment foray. Like Hernandez Fisher and Elston, he was initially dismayed when informed of his layoff from managing an ESL school in downtown Vancouver.

“My first response was, ‘What am I gonna do now?’” Robinson says. “I was depressed. I wanted to change direction. I wanted a job that would give me a bit more of a future, more satisfaction, and better rewards, financially and everything.”

Putting his love of food, cooking, and baking front and centre has helped Robinson re-prioritize his career goals. He launched Robinson Fine Foods (RobinsonFineFood.blogspot.com), and currently has a table at the monthly Blim Art Market where he hawks gourmet foccaccia breads, Italian pies, and a variety of sweet and savoury goods.

“When I was first laid off, the potential of being on EI for all of those months was kind of scary,” Robinson says. “I joined EMBERS, a part-time self-employment program. It’s really useful. They’re making me think about what I really want to do, and they’re getting me to do market research and the feasibility of how it works. So my idea has really taken shape since those classes.”

Robinson intends to set up a bakery and delivery service catering to workplaces or areas with fewer options for interesting food choices. The layoff has helped him focus on what’s important to him in a career, but he admits that he’s still a ways off from meeting his financial goals through self-employment.

“I’m very motivated to see this happen, and I get a lot of satisfaction out of working on it and seeing the pieces in place,” Robinson says. “But at the back of my mind, I’ve still got that thing that I need to find some sort of job, get a decent income coming in, and that will provide a stable grounding to kick this off. To feed the real love and build contacts in the industry, I’m only looking in the food world now for additional work.”

THE NEW “MARKET” ECONOMY

Making a living from one’s art may still be a challenge, but thanks to a confluence of events — the recession, social networking web sites, and a huge momentum in DIY culture — Vancouver-based indie artists have more avenues than ever to launch their businesses.

Yuriko Iga is the owner of Blim, a Main Street arts-based store and studio that offers workshops in a variety of disciplines that’s a sort of ground zero for DIY enthusiasts. She’s recently launched the monthly Blim Art Market, and sees the recession as a huge opportunity for a new culture of craft.

“Depression is one of the best things that can happen,” Iga says. “It’s a shame we have to force ourselves into these situations, but if that’s what it takes to get back to grassroots styles of business. That’s what meant to be. Often in First World countries, there’s this inflated sense of mega business, and we just all think it’s normal. I think the economy being up and down is natural, and I think it’s good when it’s down because people rely less on spending and are forced to become more creative with their time and money. Sometimes having stuff taken away is a good thing.”

For his part, Hernandez Fisher agrees.

“I think the recession is an opportunity for a lot of people to step away from working just to pay bills and look at what they can do that is going to make them happier on a day-to-day basis,” he says. “I think the boom in things like [online craft market and hub] Etsy, Blim, and [online craft market] Threadless, and the removal of barriers to entry means that it’s now possible to work for yourself without having to put out a huge initial investment first. The web, blogs, and social networks can open avenues that previously didn’t exist. Before, if you left a job and really wanted to spend your time cooking, say, that had to be what you did in between earning a living. Now, there’s any number of people who have turned that kind of passion into blogs, book deals, and storefronts, like AmateurGourmet.com and ThePioneerWoman.com.”

To that end, Hernandez Fisher has already launched his own web site, CharmingNinja.com, and plans to use it as a combination portfolio/storefront for his designs. He’s also planning on making use of local markets like Blim, Portobello West, Spend on Trend, and Got Craft? as he creates more art and merchandise.

For those seeking advice on how to make the most out of craft and fashion markets like the ones mentioned above, Blim’s Market Vendor workshop this Saturday, July 11, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. might be just the answer. For a $5-$10 sliding scale fee, Iga and her friend Lisa Prentice, a veteran jewelry designer, will offer their combined 15-plus years of advice.

“We have all this information, and you see people and what they sell, and they have all this potential but they’re just not doing certain things,” Iga explains. “We’re both big fans of [celebrity chef and star of television’s Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares] Gordon Ramsay. I love how he goes in there and helps people get back their self-esteem. So we just thought we’d do a session and help people like Gordon Ramsey, but not swearing or making people cry.” She laughs. “You know, the softer approach.”

THE SECRET TO SUCCESS

Meghan Spong, publisher and founder of the Vancouver-based start-up Benjamin Brown Books, found herself at the forefront of the funemployment trend. Laid off when Raincoast Books shuttered its publishing program, Spong found herself looking for work in a small market saturated with talent. So, after crossing paths with an aspiring author of childrens books, she decided it was time to start her own publishing company. Two books later (Wenda the Wacky Wiggler, Lily and Lucy’s Shadow), and with a third on the way in the fall, Spong isn’t quite ready to be held up as the poster woman for funemployment, but she does had some advice for those braving the unknown.

“There are a lot of naysayers around all the time who are like, ‘Oh, you can’t do that, the economy’s bad’,” Spong says. “But, particularly in a recession, that’s when people are really responsive to inspiring ideas. So if you’re passionate about something, figure out a way outside of the box that you can make it work. Keep open to the possibilities. It’s not going to necessarily look like how you envisioned it, but for me, the essence is making books. I don’t care where the funding comes from, and I don’t really care if I’m rich and super profitable, but I’m getting to make books, which is my passion, so I would say stay focused on what you love to do.” 

Mat Kearney

My interview with Mat Kearney is out in the Charleston City Paper this week.

Mat Kearney is a West Coast guy on a Nashville adventure

A new sound in the city

by Andrea Warner

Mat Kearney is the kind of golden boy who makes everything seem easy. Scholarship-worthy athlete? Yep. Gifted photographer and writer? Apparently. An accidental record deal after deciding to ride along for a summer road trip to Nashville? Of course. Even his sound is a fusion of fortunes that probably shouldn't work well together, all about love and loss, the hopeless and the inspiration-drenched, sung in a voice that sounds almost exactly like Coldplay's Chris Martin. He's been so touched by an angel that eventually T-shirts will be mass-produced to read, "It's a Kearney kind of world."

Not that the 30-year-old contemporary Christian musician doesn't work his ass off for what he's got. Between his best-selling 2006 debut Nothing Left to Lose and the new follow-up, City of Black and White, Kearney estimates he played 500 shows in three years, a first-hand education that couldn't help but impact his songwriting.

"The first album was just a little bedroom project that took off," Kearney says. "Nothing Left to Lose was young idealism, and it was kinda me stepping out and saying 'Let's see what happens.' City of Black and White is like, I've landed in this community, there's heartbreak, there's some bad things that happened, but just as many rich things, too."

Kearney's debut was an earnest mash-up of influences: country, folk, pop, rock, soul, gospel, and hip-hop, peppered with spoken-word/hip-hop segments throughout.

"I found this whole voice, which lead to me grabbing my roommate's guitar, and it was just this glove that fit — songwriting," Kearney says. "I was pretty influenced by poetry and the spoken-word element, and, honestly, it was funny, because the hip-hop could be kind of considered a novelty on one level, but it caused me to stand out from the crowd."

Particularly the crowd in Nashville. He didn't expect anything to happen when he tagged along on his buddy's road trip for the summer, but when people started responding to his sound, he kissed college goodbye and made Nashville his home base. A short time later he got his big break.

"I was playing at this little tiny college show," Kearney recalls. "This record guy who'd signed John Mayer showed up, and he was like, 'Hey, I really wanna work with you,' and I looked at the label and was like, 'Okay, let's do it.' It was funny ... when he offered me a deal, all these other big-time labels came along and started throwing money and power at me, but, I don't know, I just wanted to work with him, and I've worked with him ever since."

Nothing Left to Lose became a huge success and a go-to resource for television series like Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs, both of which have a reputation for "discovering" cool indie pieces of longing or lyricism to underscore their characters' highs and lows. Well over 15 television shows have used Kearney's music over the last three years.

"It's odd and amazing and different," Kearney laughs. "There's moments where you're like, 'Really? The song was used for that?' I've been very generous with that. For some reason I don't think my song being on a show can do any damage to my song, you know? My song's my song. People use my songs in all kinds of situations, some that I think are cheesy and some that are amazing, but that's how my songs enter people's lives."

Kearney's songs have certainly brought plenty of big names to his everyday life, and he admits that sometimes he still pinches himself because he can't believe it's real.

"Kenny Chesney, of all people, called me to come down and play a song with him and the Wailers," Kearney laughs. "It was such an eclectic gathering: The Wailers, of like, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Chesney, and me playing honky-tonk in downtown Nashville. Super odd, but I loved it. There are just people everywhere. I met Patty Griffin at a clothing store a couple months ago. I walked out of a Bob Dylan show with Emmylou Harris. Keith Urban came in looking for his wife [Nicole Kidman] at the studio. There's this awesome thing happening in Nashville right now. Just a really cool rock scene, but not necessarily the typical L.A. thing. A little more grounded in tradition."

Nashville, his adopted home, seems the true recipient of the bittersweet love letter that is City of Black and White.

"It was hard for me in Nashville at first," Kearney says. "Being a West Coast kid, I thought it was an odd place, but I fell in love with it. It's a town that's humble, it values humility, it doesn't put up with fluff. It's like the song is king in the music world, so people are always chasing after great songs, and you feel like you're walking around in the shadows of these giants, you know?"

Home sweet home, Mr. Kearney.

Othello

My review of Othello, on until mid-September at Vancouver's Bard on the Beach, appears in this week's WE.

Michael Blake as Othello (left) and Brad Frazer as Iago, in Bard on the Beach’s Mainstage production of Othello.

OTHELLO
Running in repertory with The Comedy of Errors, to Sept. 26 on the Mainstage in Vanier Park, 8 p.m. Tickets $18-$34 from 604-739-0559 and BardOnTheBeach.org

By Andrea Warner
Like some other Shakespeare plays, Othello, a powerful and damning indictment of jealousy, self-doubt, and betrayal, has always dwelled in the thorny briar patch of ‘Is it racist?’ Given that, at its most stripped-down, it’s essentially the story of a black man’s life ruined by a white man’s vengeful schemes, the question is a fair one, but one this production makes no attempt to answer. Instead, director Dean Paul Gibson amps up the play’s dark humour, dulling the seething rage that should propel Othello from start to finish.

The titular character (Michael Blake) is a Moorish (Renaissance English for “black”) general in the Venetian army who is married to Desdemona (Naomi Wright), a white Senator’s daughter. When he promotes Cassio (Kevin MacDonald) over his right-hand man, Iago (Bob Frazer), the latter secretly swears revenge and sets out to sabotage Othello. Thus begins an elaborate scheme, wherein Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair, driving Othello into a jealous — and ultimately murderous — rage.

The charming Blake and Wright have great chemistry together, from their playful young love to the final, horrifyingly violent struggle. Wright, the beating heart of this production, possesses a confident elegance that anchors every scene she’s in, particularly those shared with Iago’s wife, Emilia (Jennifer Lines).

However, it is a cruel irony that a truly successful Othello hinges on a great Iago, and that’s where this production falls short. As with some of the other Bard on the Beach productions in which he has appeared, Frazer seems to be in a different play than everyone else. He bucks the melodic lilt of Shakespearean language, sounding instead like a thoroughly modern man raised on a steady diet of deadpan, sitcom-styled line delivery. His Iago rarely rises above the level of a high-school Machiavelli busily testing the sociological effects of gossip with menace so measly it dilutes Othello from black and white to a muted shade of grey.

Rachel Goodrich

My article on Rachel Goodrich appears in this week's Charleston City Paper!

Rachel Goodrich, like, plays a ukulele and sings

Miami Nice

by Andrea Warner

For most people, Miami Beach likely calls to mind images of leathery, tanned retired folks shuffling between beach chairs and 5 p.m. dinner reservations, with the occasional dotting of late-night young clubbers melting in the heat as they grind to hip-hop and electronica dance anthems. You're forgiven if, when you heard "Miami Beach," you didn't think of a burgeoning underground indie scene, home to 25-year-old Rachel Goodrich, a thoroughly modern singer-songwriter with a 1930s vocal style, who also happens to be at the forefront of the global ukulele renaissance.

Goodrich cites an amalgamation of influences that have contributed to her self-described "shake-a-billy" sound, Neil Young and Patsy Cline included, but she credits a teenage boyfriend with pointing her in the direction of her first big influence.

"He was really into Joni Mitchell, and I didn't know much about her, but I soon got into her, and that's when I realized that maybe there's a chance, you know," Goodrich says. "I was never really too familiar with successful women in the industry."

Her second big influence came just a few years ago, when Goodrich visited her father and spotted the tiny stringed instrument that would become her signature. It was love at first sight.

"This ukulele was lying on his couch, and I was like, 'Wow, that's really cute. I really wanna play it,'" she recalls. "I took it home and wrote a couple songs in a couple days. I was so excited to have a new instrument in my hands, and yeah, it really took me elsewhere. It made me create, you know. It made me want to write and inspired me. It made me want to take things a little more seriously. Is that weird?" She laughs at herself as she ponders the concept.

Somewhat weirder is Goodrich's declaration that she recorded her debut album, Tinker Toys, released this spring, by accident.

"I actually kind of just walked into it," Goodrich admits cheerfully. "I didn't mean to record a record. A friend of mine, George Martinez, was like, 'Hey, come over to my place and we'll record a song.' His entire studio is in this bedroom, and I'm pretty much recording in his closet, you know, and the first song we recorded was 'Ukulele Water.' It kind of blew my mind. I was like, wow, this can really happen? It was exciting, so I was like, 'Let's do another one tomorrow.' Then we recorded 'Black Hole,' and we kept going. I walked in with no expectations, and it was all a surprise."

Less of a surprise at this point is Goodrich's decision to focus entirely on her music, embarking on her first major tour throughout North America last week. As she winds her way across the continent, ukulele at the ready, she has no desire to shake off the sun and fun of her hometown.

"Miami kinda lifts my spirits in a way," Goodrich says. "I feel like I can talk about demons and crazy things, but if you put it over a G chord, you know, everything'll be all right."

If anything, Goodrich's songs will just continue to prove to hipster indie enclaves like Brooklyn, Seattle, and L.A., that Miami Beach has plenty of treasures hidden in the hems of its flowered muumuu.

Theater of War

One of the best documentaries I've seen this year.

THEATER OF WAR

Starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline

Directed by John Walter

4 stars (out of 5)

By Andrea Warner

Most of us have only a passing knowledge of Bertolt Brecht, the pioneering German playwright who is perhaps most famous for his masterpiece, The Threepenny Opera. In the documentary Theater of War, director John Walter takes those loose threads of familiarity and weaves a complex, stirring, and at times genuinely brilliant tapestry of Brecht as an artist and rebel born desperately ahead of his time.

The film follows the action behind the scenes during the 2006 New York remounting of Brecht’s damning condemnation of people’s complicity in conflict, Mother Courage and Her Three Children. Written in 1939 while the committed Marxist was in exile from Nazi Germany, Mother Courage is the story of a war profiteer who refuses to acknowledge the moral cost of her livelihood and its effect on her family or herself. Big names like Meryl Streep (in the titular role) and Kevin Kline (as the Cook) contribute suitable star wattage, with Streep also anchoring the film with snippets of her performance and candid interviews.

Most fascinating, though, is Walter’s decision to position Theater of War within the context of New York City in 2006, just as North America begins its populist revolt against the Iraq War. Stimulating interviews with Tony Award-winning playwright Tony Kushner (who adapted Mother Courage for the production in question) and Tufts University professor Jay Cantor grapple with one pervasive question: Why are we so tied to what ultimately destroys us?

It is while parsing this all-too-human need for self-destruction that Theater of War is most successful — an electrical jolt to the neurons of apathy, and a call for reaction in the absence of action.

Eat, Drink, and be Married

Jackie Wong and I co-authored this guide to getting married for people who' d like to branch out from the conventional trappings of tradition or expense.

From selecting the invitations to cutting the cake, nothing about your wedding has to be typical — or overpriced.

Eat, Drink, and be Married

By Jackie Wong and Andrea Warner

Modern-minded urbanites bound for wedded bliss face plenty of challenges on the road from “Will you marry me?” to “I do.” As soon as you put a ring on it, planning the party of your life becomes a claws-out battle of wits, as you and your other half plot, wheedle, and crunch to control inflated costs without sacrificing your shared sense of style. Savvy couples who want to break from convention while still fashioning a day to remember are increasingly seeking out cost-effective, innovative, and, most importantly, fun alternatives to the traditional White Wedding. Here are some options — all of them local — to help you do just that.

INVITATIONS
Escaping the exhausted — and expensive — cliché of wax-sealed, rose-scented wedding invitations is easy. Just ask Emily Carr grads Brandy Fedoruk and Rebecca Dolen, who co-founded the Regional Assembly of Text in 2005, offering a fanciful line of cards, stationery, and clothing — all of it influenced by typesetting techniques of yore, making use of the duo’s large collection of vintage typewriters and stamps, as well as a letterpress machine. (Please note that they do not sell or supply wedding invitations--they can only sell you the right stuff to do it yourself.) Look here for inspiration to make your own invitations, or seek Brandy and Rebecca’s expertise. Paper-Ya on Granville Island offers a downloadable wedding consultation form to get you started on making your own invitations, while the store itself offers one of Vancouver’s most comprehensive collections of paper from around the world, plus wooden stamps and wedding-specific stationery.

VENUES
Renting both a church and a reception hall can be costly and time-consuming, particularly the organizational efforts involved in moving the party from one venue to the next. Save time and money by considering just one location for the big day. Restaurants often offer big bang for your buck, taking care of food, the bar, servers, decorations, ambiance, and clean-up. Some of our favourites include La Terrazza, Brix, the Alibi Room, and Canvas Lounge, each of which offers unique rooms and delicious bites.

Community centres and halls can be transformed with just a few strings of lights, and stylish table and chair coverings. Cambrian Hall and Heritage Hall are just blocks away from each other, in beautiful buildings on Main Street. Roundhouse Community Centre offers the beautiful backdrop of False Creek at its back door, and Kitsilano’s St. James Hall still boasts the stained glass and pews from its days as a church, though nowadays it’s typically used as a concert venue.

CATERING
You could feed an entire village with the amount some caterers are wont to charge for a moderate-sized party. Really go the road less travelled and show off your impeccable — but unconventional — taste by bringing on board one of the city’s most beloved burger purveyors: Vera’s Burger Shack. The local mini-chain, which regularly takes the gold in WE’s Best of the City readers poll, will ply your guests with all the hamburgers and hot dogs they could want. (If any of your friends should turn their nose up at the idea of a burger at a wedding, it might be time to reassess that friendship.) Another meaty option is Memphis Blues Barbeque House, which offers its full menu selection — from brisket to ribs to chicken — and a wide array of side dishes for finger-lickin’ good fun that promises to leave everyone stuffed. And even vegetarians will find their taste buds jammin’ with jerk-infused items from The Reef, the Caribbean-themed restaurant that’s currently celebrating its 10th anniversary; they even offer a backyard-barbecue option if your party plans include the outdoors.

CAKES
Unless you decide to abide by the tradition of meticulously saving and freezing a portion of your wedding cake for consumption on your first anniversary, boring old white cake can be banned from the menu. Thanks to Vancouver’s impressive legion of independent bakers, your wedding cake can stand strong — and beautifully — as the memorable pièce de résistance to top off the ceremony. Coco Cake is the brainchild of Vancouver’s Lyndsay Sung, whose heartwarmingly twee creations might make you die of happiness, cute overload, or both. (Contact Sung through her website to custom-order cakes or cupcakes for special events.) And the ubiquitous Cupcakes stores do weddings, too. Founded by Victoria friends Heather White and Lori Joyce, Cupcakes offers a wide range of wedding cakes that you can custom-build online before placing your order. For an affordable cake made by a professional pastry chef, try Nina Hemme’s Tartlets (pictured, above left). And finally, if you’re in search of a traditional cake that won’t cost a fortune, look no further than Notte’s Bon Ton, a 76-year-old Vancouver institution where you can still find authentic black-forest amd diplomat cakes.

WHERE TO FIND IT:
Regional Assembly of Text (3934 Main, 604-877-2247 AssemblyOfText.com)
Paper-Ya (#9-1666 Johnston, 604-684-2534, Paper-Ya.com)
La Terrazza (1088 Cambie, 604-899-4449, LaTerrazza.ca)
Brix (1138 Homer, 604-915-9463, BrixVancouver.com)
The Alibi Room (157 Alexander, 604-623-3383, Alibi.ca)
Canvas Lounge (99 Powell, 604-609-9939, CanvasLounge.ca)
Cambrian Hall (215 E. 17th, 604-876-2815, WelshSociety.com)
Heritage Hall (3102 Main, 604-879-4816, HeritageHall.bc.ca)
Roundhouse Community Centre (181 Roundhouse Mews, 604-713-1800, Roundhouse.ca)
St. James Hall (3214 W. 10th, 604-739-9373, StJamesCommunitySquare.org)
Vera’s Burger Shack (various locations, VerasBurgerShack.com)
Memphis Blues Barbeque House (various locations, MemphisBluesBBQ.com)
The Reef (4172 Main St, 604-874-5375; 1018 Commercial Drive, 604-568-JERK; TheReefRestaurant.com)
Coco Cake (604-816-9922, CocoCake.com)
Cupcakes (various locations, 604-974-1300, CupcakesOnline.com)
Tartlets (121 E. 1st, North Vancouver, 604-724-7625, Tartlets.ca)
Notte’s Bon Ton (3150 W. Broadway, 604-681-3058, NottesBonTon.com)

Sarah Slean

My interview with Sarah Slean appears in WE and at WestEnder.com

Sarah Slean: “I need to be constantly evolving” — and that means working outside the major-label industry.

MUSIC: Sarah Slean revels in newfound freedom

Posted By: Andrea Warner

With her intelligent songs, swan-like neck, and ruler-perfect posture, Sarah Slean personifies the word regal. Heck, even her speech patterns are so pleasantly polite and mannered, it’s hard not to mentally curtsy at the end of our conversation. (It’s no real surprise she called her 2008 album The Baroness.) The Toronto-based singer-songwriter (and part-time painter and photographer) has spent 10 years cultivating her cabaret-style pop, defying the traditional conventions of career pursuit with a lengthy sojourn in Paris and a baby grand piano at the ready.

Having amicably ditched long-time label Warner Music a few months ago, Slean is now officially self-employed, overseeing every aspect of her career — from her website to her costumes to carbon-offsetting her current Recessionista tour. While becoming a true Renaissance woman, she’s also found time to get engaged and become a university graduate (a Bachelor of Arts in music and philosophy, natch).

WE spoke with Slean over the phone from her home.

Can you talk a little bit about your decision to leave Warner and go indie?

Slean: Sure. I have nothing but great things to say about Warner Music. The people there were incredible. They did the very best with the system and machinery that exists [there], but for an artist like me who’s never really going to be a major radio artist — and I’m constantly changing my sound and experimenting. You know, I’m not doing one thing and making five albums and hoping people catch on. I need to be constantly evolving. And [Warner] perfectly understood that. I’m really excited now to have this business where I know every arm of it is ethical. It’s important to me to do that, and when you’re with a major company like that, you’re not really sure how things are going down. So, I really want to keep a watchful eye on my business and make sure it’s great.

Are you working toward a new album right now?

The next project for me is something called the Art of Time Ensemble. I did a record with these guys, coming out in June, and it’s a handful of jazz and classical musicians and me, and I chose 12 of my favourite songs by Canadian songwriters, and then we did cover versions of them arranged by people for this ensemble. It’s really cool. We recorded on tape — basically live takes — and we’re going to tour that in the fall. Basically, the remainder of the year I’m probably going to be writing.

What’s the biggest difference for you from being in your twenties to now being in your thirties?

[Laughs] Girls love this question! Isn’t this time the best? I’m doing this show on CBC this week about what you’d write in a letter to your 16-year-old self, and I’m thinking: Forget 16! I had it all figured out then. [At] 24, however? I was a real mess then. If I was to write a letter to that person, I’d say, Just relax! Relax and trust that the universe is taking care of you — even though you can’t tell — and everything is going to be fine. I remember some dark nights of the soul from my twenties when I thought, “I cannot go on.” And I can’t fathom having that thought now.

You talked a little bit about how you’re wanting to create different sounds. What are your influences?

Everything: when I read poetry, when I’m curious about the world — which is kind of a constant state for me. I read up on quantum entanglement, and I’m fascinated by all aspects of life. It’s so insanely diverse and complex; everywhere you look, you could pursue something for a lifetime. I’m looking out my window right now and there’s a seagull flying by, and I could study thermal currents forever and never know it all. That, to me, is what’s exciting about getting up every day.