The weather relented enough for me to get out to Nik Beat’s Howl show at Q Space Sunday night. I’ve been looking forward to to checking this new space out since it opened last year. A great space for spoken-word & unplugged music. A simple kitchen set up offers various teas, coffee, juices, assorted alcohol libations; snacks – salads, sandwiches, desserts. Lots of outlets to plug in a laptop. Comfortable seating and an excellent sound system.

Nik hosted a typically eclectic line-up that opened with Tim Masterson – who read a chapter for him novel ‘Far From Kind and Pretty,’ as well as an ‘essay’ – both were filled with allusions to 70’s/80’s TV shows, pop music, clowns, bunnies as his character dealt with mother issues; ‘none of the pens work in Mom’s House.’ He was followed by Lizzie Violet, whose mother feared Lizzie would grow up to…

MARCH 4-8, 2013 is International Women’s Week, and LMG Productions celebrates by presenting Wonder Women VI: WonderFest, a weeklong series of workshops and concerts to spread empowerment through art.  This International Women’s Week edition of Wonder Women will be the largest Wonder Women event yet. With fourfree workshops and two concerts involving approximately 50 wonder women and super men of varied media, WonderFest is certain to make a positive artistic impact on the community.

At LMG Productions we truly believe that we are in this together, and we would be honoured if you would join us in our passion towards encouraging and empowering individuals through art.

Introducing our new blogsite:

www.WonderWomenWorld.tumblr.com/

 WONDERFEST SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

Monday March 4, 2013
Workshop: Business Planning for Artists; Heather Hill
7:00pm at The Central, 603 Markham Street
FREE

As promised, here’s the interview with Christian D and the Hangovers frontman Christian DeArmond. I first met Christian in the Twitterverse – then eventually in person while he and the band were playing a gig at The Cadillac Lounge. Performing with powerhouse vocals and driving guitar riffs, Christian D has a charismatic, compelling and – I won’t lie to ya – sexy stage presence. Recently, I fired over a bunch of questions over email – and here’s what he had to say:

LWMC: Hey, Christian – thanks for coming onboard to do this interview for cowbell. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to take it from the angle of folks who may not be all that familiar with you and your music.

CD: Perfect, since most people aren’t familiar with me at all…

LWMC: Your music has been described as rockabilly, cow punk and “psychobilly.” How would you…

It’s pretty obvious to me that people are now fully in the swing of the new year. Even as the weather remains unpredictable and decidedly un-typical-winter-like, the temperature has been gradually building in the spoken word and poetry slam community of the Greater Toronto Area. It all comes to a head this weekend in an explosion of poetry events rarely seen around these parts in a 72-hour period. But before that happens there are a plethora of quality performances and open mic opportunities for you to sink your teeth into this week. Here’s what’s on the radar over the upcoming seven days:

Monday

The crew at R.I.S.E. Poetry host their weekly open mic event at Tropicana Community Services (670 Progress Ave. near McCowan) from 6:30-9:30pm. All poets, singers and MCs looking for someplace to share work need look no further! Admission is $3 at the door.

Meanwhile in south…

Big fun times with amazing artists and friends at The Central on Saturday night for LMG Productions’ Super Wonderful New Year Kickoff fundraiser for the upcoming Wonder Women 2013 festival in March. Organizers and hosts Arlene Paculan and Kat Leonard (aka Musedy Tag Team) treated us to some tunes, including their new Michael Jackson mash-up, and some kick-ass raffle prizes, including CDs from participating artists and tickets to the upcoming Wonder Women concert on March 8.

This was one incredible party – and we were moved, rocked and amazed by feature acts of Wonder Women and, for the first time, Super Men – check them out:

Asleep in the Machine

Dread Eye

Matt Gerber

Linda Inthahack

Miquelon Rodriguez

Candice Sand

Supertash

Lizzie Violet

It was a reunion of sorts, and I got to see folks I hadn’t seen in a while, including some of the incredible open mic guests: Angela…

BuDa (Beautiful & Damned) kicked off 2013 with a dynamic January show, hosted by Philip Cairns, with three features who left me wanting more – sadly time restraints at Glad Day force us to wrap the show by 9:40 or all of them would have been called on for encores.

First feature Faye Guenther read Hostage Spaces – a short story told from the ‘You’ point of view. It opens  with an almost clinical description of a building’s white marble lobby: “smooth dove-coloured leather couches that never hold a body, standing in illuminated pools of white on white” The descriptions move into a more personalized sense of the space, of the You addressed, “the soreness begins to explore your face”; of the life You lives, then brings other people into that life – a lover, a coworker: “you lifted your head and recognized someone…. Her eyes were the color of trees this time of…