I decided to create a “Blogger Profile” category in 2006 and five years later, albeit infrequently, I still love to profile some of my favourite bloggers who make the local online scene just that much more interesting. I recently sent off the staple questions to Mikala, who I met for the first time in person last summer at a backyard birthday party in Lynn Valley. By following @backstagerider on Twitter you can tag along as she goes on one musical adventure after the next and seems to have a whole lot of fun in the process.
What is your website?
www.backstagerider.com
How long has it been around?
Since January 2010, so it’s still a baby. A baby that prefers to drink filthy gin martinis.
What is your role or involvement?
I pretty much AM the BackstageRider. With the exception of the collaborations I do with photographers and my amazing designer, I do everything else myself: write, edit, photograph, upload, set up interviews and features. It kinda helps that I’m a degree-carrying journalist/editor.
What does your site do, what is it about?
BackstageRider is a music website about a life in love with music. Your life, my life, our lives. It’s a website for music nerds and people who love going to gigs, or living vicariously through those of us who do. There’s plenty of “trendy” and “cool” music news and MP3 sites out there churning out daily info, so I’ll leave them to it.
BSR is about late nights, live gigs, amazing albums, going backstage, hanging out with bands and musicians, plus diaries and memories from my 20+ years in and around musicians and the industry. BSR has cheeky, really personal features and reviews that explore the whole experience of music. It’s mostly about indie rock, alternative, post-punk, new wave and electronica – but I’ll write about whatever excites me or piques my curiosity.
What can people see, read, and do when visiting your blog?
Features and gig reviews, amazing photos and galleries by some of Vancouver’s best photographers…and a few of my own shots. We’ve also done some exclusive photo shoots (including Scissor Sisters, Diamond Rings and Yeasayer) and really cool interviews. The articles are quirky and unique and I swear too much.
Oh and you’ll also get a lot of “rockhands”. Otherwise known as “throwing the goats” or the “devil’s horns”, rockhands represent to me that feeling you get at an amazing gig, when you can’t help but throw your arms into the air or scream loud. I’ve got a gallery with nearly 200 of ‘em. Including you, Miss604!
What is the ultimate goal for your site, how would you like to see it grow?
I do backstagerider.com for the pure love and passion for music and the people who make it.
But I’d love to get better behind-the-scenes access to bigger events and gigs, so I can continue telling my stories. I’d love to see BSR syndicated regularly or as columns. My BSR stuff has so far been published in The Georgia Straight, on MoviesMusicMayhem.com and will soon be on ConsequenceofSound.com, and my photos have been in the Vancouver Sun and in various US newspapers, but I’d like to have a regular paying gig doing what I do best – blathering about music. Or a radio show. I’m good at talking. I also enjoy teaching musicians how to use social media – they kind of need the help. (Oh, and I also handle the promo/media for US indie rockers Sebadoh, which is also very cool, and am on the production team for the LA-based music documentary of Just Gimme Indie Rock. So I’d consider doing more of that.
Why do you blog?
A writer needs to be read. And my words are finally connecting with people. BackstageRider.com has allowed me to do what I’ve done since I was 12 – write about music, hang out with bands and connect with folks who are passionate about music. And between my Twitter account and Facebook page and the site itself, it’s helped me make friends and meet some pretty remarkable people. I’m kinda in love with BackstageRider. She’s cooler than I am. \m/
It’s been minutes since the new broke of the passing of one of Canada’s favourite moms, Betty Fox. Just two week ago, the Terrry Fox Foundation reported that she was seriously ill.
Statement from the Fox family: “It is with considerable sadness that we share that our wife, mother and grandmother died at 8:25am (PT) this morning. Betty/Mom passed away peacefully surrounded by love. Betty was comfortable the last few weeks and months of her life, was always full of wit and rarely alone. Our wife and mom is now with Terry and joins other dear family members that predeceased her. We have greatly appreciated the privacy granted to our family since Betty’s illness was shared and are hoping it continues at this difficult time.” [Source: Tri-City News]
As Vancouverites, our hearts have been through a lot in the past week. They broke when our dear Canucks lost the Stanley Cup, and they sunk into our stomachs when criminals began rioting in our streets. They were filled up by the kindness of strangers during the citizen-led ‘Vancouver Cleanup’ and now they’ve sunk back into our throats.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Fox family at this time. Please continue to support the Terry Fox Foundation.
Broadway Across Canada presents Mamma Mia! in Vancouver this August from the 16th to the 21st. The hit broadway musical that gets the audience dancing in the aisles is one of the best feel-good shows around.
Mamma Mia! combines ABBA’s greatest hits with an enchanting love story filled with laughter, family, and friendship.
There is a pre-sale happening today and I have a special code to offer my readers which is only valid for a limited time.
Pre-Sale Steps
1. Go to this link
2. Pick your date, number of seats etc.
3. Type in my pre-sale code: DANCE
The code is valid as-of 10:00am today and until 10:00pm Sunday June 19, 2011.
Update August 17, 2011 I attended the show last night with my mother, which seemed to be a trend in the audience. Sons, daughters, and mothers enjoyed the boisterous and cheeky tale that is Mamma Mia. My mother sent me the following commentary based on her experience:
“Mamma Mia! The songs most of us grew up jiving to really came to life last night. Spandex, glitter and platform shoes on a Greek Island! Remembering the “age of no regrets”. The show was filled with laughter, a few surprises, tears and a wedding with a twist.
During the finale, the entire audience was on their feet, clapping their hands and singing along to the old familiar tunes.
Such feel-good entertainment you wish could just go on and on. A show you don’t mind seeing over and over.
This Momma loved it, and defenitely recommends it, especially if you have a daughter to take along.”
The show is only in town until August 21st and tickets are still available online.
Despite everything that has happened in Vancouver on June 15th, we must remember that there are many wonderful things about this city, like good people producing good art. And though everyone might feel like cocooning in their homes for the next couple of days, I urge you all to get out and see some theatre this week.
Coincidently, this week I’m previewing Alan Bowne’s Forty Deuce—which exposes the dark underbelly of another city, New York City. It’s a dark and gritty drama about violence, drugs, disenfranchised youth, and the families people make when they don’t have any.
“The best way to describe this film is to draw a parallel to early New York films,” explains the production’s director, local actor Martin Sims. “It’s a New York gangster piece, in a sense.”
Sims, who most recently was seen on Bard on The Beach as Don Pedro in Much Ado about Northing and Agrippa in Antony and Cleopatra says that one of the aspects that drew him to the play was its Shakespearian qualities.
“The is such beauty, poetry, and complexity to the language ” he says. “Though it’s ‘street talk’ and technically English, like Shakespearian English, its a slightly heightened, poetic English.”
Sims believes that plays like Forty Deuce offers a lot to a city where musicals and comedies primarily dominate in the larger theatres.
“It’s all about having a balanced diet,” he says. “It’s important to also see something darker, that has some edge to it.”
Forty Deuce runs until June 24 at one my favourite off-the-beaten-track spaces, Little Mountain Gallery (195 East 26 Avenue @ Main). Sims will also be performing alongside veteran actor Donald Adams and some newer performs like Michael Antonakos, Victor Atala, Tristan Bacon, Tom Stevens, and Glenn Crossley.
Tickets are $20, and are available at the door or by calling (604) 879-1613.
This feature was written exclusively for Miss604 by actor, writer, and producer, Michelle Kim. Read all posts contributed by Michelle for Miss604.com and follow her on Twitter @miju.
I first met Jack Christie when we were on a media trip to Prince George last year and now his latest book, 52 Best Day Trips From Vancouver, has a permanent home on my desk for quick reference. Having penned the original book (of the same title) twenty years ago, local travel writer Jack issues updates every few years adding new activities and suggestions.
“The current edition is the natural evolution from that very first book that we brought out in ’89 that went right to the top of the best-seller charts that summer,” Jack said during our chat about the book. “We live in such a volatile, evolving city where there’s always new parks – and for that matter an evolving provincial park system – but there’s always new material to be brought into the book.” With each new edition a few entries are swapped out for updated listings. In the 2011 edition, you’ll find information about Colony Farm Regional Park and the new Sea to Sky Trail that runs between Squamish and Pemberton.
“We try to keep the mix nice and fresh, and of course update the information. A lot of the ‘meat and potato’ stuff is right up front. How far away is it from town, what’s a good time of year to go there, how to get there on transit if you’re living car-free, things like that,” Jack added.
I also noticed listings for off-leash areas and parks that were dog-friendly. Jack told me that they had a lot of people wanting more specific information about where they can walk their dogs (on or off a leash) as well as information about accessibly trails. “Whether you’re pushing a stroller, rolling a wheelchair or just looking for a really easy-going outing with ederly family members who maybe can’t walk great distances but really enjoy getting out.”
Jack mentioned Redwood Park in Surrey as a shining example of accessibility. From easy walking paths to a new accessible children’s playground (you can find it on page 34).
When I asked about a hidden gem, he told me about Maplewood Flats just off Dollarton Highway in North Vancouver. “It’s just this lovely quiet area that looks over the inner harbour on the East side of the Ironworkers Bridge. You get the sense of what the harbour must have been like before europeans arrived. Indian Arm is just around the corner, you’re looking out at Belcarra which is all green, which is nice, and there’s a lot of bird life there.”
It doesn’t take a lot of planning or financial resources to enjoy these day trips either. “All you really need is a desire to get out of the house,” Jack advises. “I think a lot of people, especially with kids, are kind of hard-pressed to plan ahead a lot so if you really want just a quick inspiration, that’s why people like our book. They pick it up and they can scan and find a place that’s really close to where they live and just head out.” In terms of keeping the costs down, Jack says he can’t think of anything in the book that requires an admission fee. All of the suggestions are “like sunshine, they’re free.”
Jack Christie’s 52 Best Day Trips From Vancouver is currently available online (Amazon), in stores (Chapters), and in the iTunes store.
