Thanks to all who came out to Sad Mag Issue 9 Release + Hip Hop Karaoke last night! It was an amaz­ing time and we’re thank­ful to all of you for join­ing us to cel­e­brate the newest addi­tion to the Sad Mag family!

If you missed out, you’ll be able to find Sad Mag Issue 9 at a retailer near you soon. If you’re sub­scribed, you already have an issue com­ing your way!

We thought we’d share the out­pour­ing of hap­pi­ness and love with this song from geneva.b, Issue 9 cover girl and brief West Coast trans­plant. It’s rare to have con­sec­u­tive sunny days in a row in Van­cou­ver, so seize the moment while it lasts and enjoy this new track!

love, Sad Mag

I think I really started to like liv­ing here when I got into play­ing ball at Kits Beach in the spring of 2009. Play­ing ball and read­ing on the beach is basi­cally my dream vaca­tion except I don’t have to go any­where so it’s perfect.

I also really like my neigh­bour­hood. I live just off of Com­mer­cial Drive—among artists, grad­u­ate stu­dents, and other unde­sir­ables. I don’t know how to cook, so the crazy restau­rant den­sity nearby is help­ful. It also appears to be the only neigh­bor­hood with other black peo­ple. Most of all though, I appre­ci­ate that I’ve stum­bled on a great crew of friends on my block—an out­go­ing, thought­ful, spir­i­tual com­mu­nity that embrace me despite my transience.

- Shad, Issue 9 (the TRANSPLANT issue)

RSVP to our launch party on May 14th at Hip Hop Karaoke!

Photo by Leigh Righton

Comics by Monique Jeanne Wells! Check out out Monique’s web­site!

Tara Mahoney is one half of the Gen Why Media Project dream team, a “com­mu­nity build­ing project that uses pub­lic art, par­tic­i­pa­tory media, events and inter­gen­er­a­tional dia­logues to engage soci­ety in new forms of civic par­tic­i­pa­tion.” Given their com­mit­ment to com­mu­nity engage­ment, it makes per­fect sense they would be part of the force behind this Monday’s Reimag­ine CBC Cel­e­bra­tion. We talked to Tara about the event and why you should get involved in your pub­lic media.

Sad Mag: Hi Tara! Who are you and what do you do?

Tara Mahoney: I’m the co-founder and cre­ative direc­tor of the Gen Why Media Project. The GWMP is a com­mu­nity build­ing project that uses media, pub­lic art, events and inter­gen­er­a­tional dia­logue to engage soci­ety in new forms of pub­lic participation.

SM: Why did you get involved in the Reimag­ine CBC Cel­e­bra­tion?

TM: We strongly believe in pub­lic media. We need a non-commercial provider to conenct us with the rest of our coun­try, pro­mote democ­racy and explore knowl­edge about our­selves and our cul­ture, even if it’s not prof­itable. Com­mer­cial broad­caster can­not do that to the same extend as pub­lic media can. So that’s why when Open Media approached us about host­ing Reimag­ine CBC event, we were totally on board. It’s an honor to be a part of a move­ment that encour­ages peo­ple to come together in a cre­ative and gen­er­a­tive way around such a deeply Cana­dian institution.

SM: How did  Open­Media and Leadnow.ca get involved? How do your orga­ni­za­tions fit together?

TM: OM and LN both exist to pro­mote civic engage­ment (in one way or another) and so do we. We have dif­fer­ent approaches and focuses but ulti­mately we are try­ing to accom­plish the same the goal, so it makes sense for us to join forces. Plus they are won­der­ful peo­ple and good friends.

SM: The CBC has such longevity as a Cana­dian insti­tu­tion. What makes it so beloved? How do they stay relevant?

TM: The CBC does many things very well and it has done a good job of inno­vat­ing with tech­nol­ogy — espe­cially with their radio offer­ings. I think the one thing that keeps them rel­e­vant is that they reflect our Cana­dian iden­tity back to us. They feel like a fam­ily mem­ber — a reli­able and trusted source of knowl­edge. That is a pro­found and strong foun­da­tion to build on.

SM: What are you most excited about with the Reimag­ine CBC Celebration?

TM: Hm, that’s a hard one. I’m really excited about every­thing, we have an amaz­ing group of par­tic­i­pants. It will be great to see Wade Davis speak and hear a story from Ivan, and Steve Pratt always daz­zles with his visions for inno­va­tion and the music will be great, it’s all exciting!

SM: What is your hope for the dia­logues gen­er­ated dur­ing the event?

TM: My hope for the dia­logues is that peo­ple walk away feel­ing good and pos­i­tive about how we can shape our pub­lic media together. I want peo­ple to feel like they have a stake in the CBC and respon­si­bil­ity to pro­tect it, while also imag­in­ing the pos­si­bil­i­ties for the future.

SM: Do you have a vision for the future of the CBC?

TM: I think I’d be cool to see it be more open and inte­grated into com­mu­ni­ties so as to pro­mote more cul­tural pro­duc­tion. There is so much tal­ent in this coun­try, it’d be great to see the CBC as a plat­form that encour­ages and pro­motes crowd-sourced cul­tural innovation.

Get all the details on the Reimag­ine CBC Cel­e­bra­tion here!

Poster by Pamela Rounis

RSVP here!

Sarah Swin­wood has been per­form­ing at Hip Hop Karaoke since May 2011! And she gen­er­ously lent us some of her remain­ing time in No Fun City before she moves to NYC!

Read on to learn about this fab lady of the For­tune Sound Club stage!

Sad Mag: Where are you from and where are you headed?

Sarah Swin­wood: I am from Ottawa, Mon­treal, Ire­land. Peru, and I am headed to New York City.

SM: How did you first hear about Hip Hop Karaoke?

SS: I saw it on a flyer when I came to stay in Van­cou­ver for awhile  May 2011. I rap and write songs, so of course every­one said, “You gotta do this, you have to sign up!”

SM: What was your favorite song that you performed?

SS: Fla­vor of the Month by Black Sheep

SM: How often do you prac­tice a song before going on stage?

SS: Usu­ally not very much, I choose songs that I know by heart, inside out and upside down. I want to do jus­tice to my favorite jams so I usu­ally lis­ten and read over the lyrics to brush up a few hours before.

SM: What do you love about per­form­ing at Hip Hop Karaoke?

SS: For­tune has the best sound sys­tem. The stage set up is per­fect, and it’s always a packed, hyped audi­ence. Flip-Out and Seko hold it down on the stage, and Chadil­lac, Paul Gt, Chris Dzaka and all the For­tune staff make it such a wel­com­ing, com­fort­able expe­ri­ence. Over­all I would say the sound sys­tem and audi­ence enthu­si­asm knock it out of the park.

SM: Do you do any other live performing?

SS: I am also and MC/ Sarah Tone In, so I do my own shows, and also stand up com­edy at other places around the city and now New York.

SM: What are your thoughts about Vancity as you head East?

SS: Van­cou­ver can be a tough nut to crack. It’s a younger city, and there is not a very big Jamaican com­mu­nity, which makes it dif­fi­cult to trust at times. I like a city with strong mul­ti­cul­tur­al­ism and fla­vor. I am happy to be head­ing back east for these rea­son. My very favorite part about Van­cou­ver was per­form­ing at this event, and of course, the moun­tains and the ocean.

SM: Where can we find you/listen to your stuff?

SS: I am in pro­duc­tion now so I do not have much out yet — it is com­ing and it will be a sweet sur­prise! Just keep your ears open for Sarah Tone In the MC and Sarah Swin­wood the Come­dian. You will see me on David Let­ter­man and the cover of iD mag­a­zine. Swoon! Lots of love, and take care.

Issue 9 Launch at Hip Hop Karaoke
May 14 2012
For­tune Sound Club  (147 E Pen­der)
$3 before 10:30PM, includes a new issue!
RSVP on Face­book

The best way for the CBC to thrive is to build a com­mu­nity of sup­port­ers who have a true sense of own­er­ship over the orga­ni­za­tion. To this end, as part of a national cam­paign led by media advo­cacy groups Open Media and Lead Now, Gen Why Media is bring­ing together sea­soned pro­fes­sion­als, up-and-coming CBC tal­ent, out­side experts, media inno­va­tors, and cit­i­zens in a cel­e­bra­tory event that will add new energy to the CBC and help artic­u­late a fresh vision for pub­lic media.

Open­ing Per­for­mance: Inter­cul­tural per­for­mance that show­cases Canada’s diverse tal­ent, cul­tural inno­va­tion, and artis­tic excellence.

Sto­ry­telling: Three cul­tural cre­ators tell sto­ries about their lives as Cana­di­ans, and how the CBC has been piv­otal to their goals, careers and under­stand­ing of their country. Stories from:

• Chris­tine McAvoy (local music blog­ger and photographer)
• Ivan Coy­ote (writer, sto­ry­teller, performer)
• Wade Davis (author, anthro­pol­o­gist, National Geo­graphic Explorer-in-Residence)

Dia­logue: On-stage “liv­ing room con­ver­sa­tions” where par­tic­i­pants reflect on the CBC and pro­gres­sive media plat­forms, ask­ing ques­tions such as — How do we imag­ine the future of Cana­dian media? How will the CBC grow over the next 75 years? What areas for growth, change, trans­for­ma­tion, and inno­va­tion could it pur­sue? What ideas or mod­els could inspire its next gen­er­a­tion of work? Participants:

• Jar­rett Mar­tineau (inde­pen­dent cul­tural producer)
• Kath­leen Cross (Pro­fes­sor at SFU School of Communications)
• Sean Devlin (of Shit Harper Did)
• Steve Pratt (Direc­tor of CBC Radio 3)
• Net­tie Wild (acclaimed doc­u­men­tary filmmaker)

Clos­ing Per­for­mance: Local super group of indie musi­cians. Per­for­mances by: Dan Man­gan, Aidan Knight, Han­nah Epper­son, Zachary Gray (of the Zolas).

May 7th, 2012
The Vogue The­atre (918 Granville)
Doors at 6PM, Event at 7pm (sharp)
$15
Buy tick­ets here
RSVP on Facebook

Learn more about the cam­paign.
Learn more about Gen Why Media.

My first for­ays into Van­cou­ver nightlife were really con­fus­ing. I was accus­tomed to packed venues and seri­ous nights out among crowds of lit­er­ally thou­sands in some cases. This felt very, very dif­fer­ent. The vibe out at the club was a lot more reserved; peo­ple weren’t as friendly or out­go­ing as in Toronto and they just didn’t seem as cool or inter­est­ing to me the major­ity of the time.…

What makes one place so live and another so low key that it bor­ders on cul­tur­ally void? It’s some­thing I have spent a lot of time try­ing to fig­ure out. The weed is not an excuse. Peo­ple smoke just as much in the East. I would hear peo­ple say, “Oh, I never go out,” like it’s cool or some­thing. I would think, “That’s why your scene is wack! You don’t sup­port any­thing or any­one.” When you don’t nur­ture some­thing, it shrinks and even­tu­ally dies.

- geneva.b, Issue 9 (the TRANSPLANT issue)

Get your issue at our launch party on May 14th (save the date, details com­ing soon!), or sub­scribe now! And check out geneva.b on Sound­Cloud!

Styl­ists: Jerisse de Juan, Shu Cheng; Makeup by Jerisse du Juan.

At Sad Mag HQ we take an inter­est in all art forms, or at least we try; per­son­ally, I can’t sit through a musi­cal unless it was penned by Joss Whe­don. But when we heard about a vel­vet art show, we were curi­ous: vel­vet art? What is that, any­way? We inquired with Peter Short, one of hte cura­tors of The ILL’N Vel­vet Show, about this rare and beau­ti­ful (one might say unicorn-esque) art form.

Sad Mag: Why vel­vet?

Peter Short: Vel­vet is so soft and smooth. It feels good against your mus­tache. It’s sexy yet sophis­ti­cated. Many peo­ple who hang vel­vet paint­ings also climb moun­tains and drink only the finest scotch. These are just a few reasons.

SM: What made you decide to do a whole show with vel­vet art?

PS: I think its safe for us all to admit just how bomb vel­vet paint­ings are. It’s true that the fac­tory pro­duc­tion of vel­vet paint­ings that existed in the 1970s was a bit of a bum­mer. Every­one was left with a cheesy impres­sion of what vel­vet paint­ings could be but its just an unfor­tu­nate mis­con­cep­tion. It was only a brief moment in the long his­tory of pain­ing on vel­vet. The medium has end­less pos­si­bil­i­ties. We wanted to offer art lovers a dif­fer­ent kind of gallery expe­ri­ence. The show is a cel­e­bra­tion of the ILL’N Club’s sec­ond suc­cess­ful year in oper­a­tion so we wanted to do some­thing fun and unexpected.

SM: Is vel­vet art mak­ing a comeback?

PS: There has always been a desire and inter­est in vel­vet paint­ings. It never really went away. The prob­lem is that the aver­age art lover has to depend on the thrift or antique mar­ket for their sup­ply of works on vel­vet. Qual­ity paint­ings are only get­ting more scarce and desir­able. Even ‘bad’ vel­vet paint­ings can have an out­sider qual­ity to them which is very sought after for some col­lec­tors. It’s sus­tained pop­u­lar­ity has even neces­si­tated a vel­vet museum called Vel­vete­ria which is now relo­cat­ing to LA from Port­land due to its grow­ing pop­u­lar­ity. They are seri­ously car­ry­ing the flame as well as the col­lec­tors of this great art form. Col­lec­tors whom we can only assume are mostly spies and secret agents. They like to come home after a hard day and puff on their pipes while get­ting the evening news from Ron Bur­gundy and the Chan­nel 4 News Team.

SM: When was it in style, anyway?

PS: We’re not even sure, really. Arche­ol­ogy can only tell us so much but we know that it popped up soon after vel­vet was invented in Kash­mir. It was once treated quite seri­ously and the paint­ings mostly dealt with reli­gious iconog­ra­phy. Sacred images painted on what was then a seri­ously lux­u­ri­ous mate­r­ial. There are vel­vet paint­ings that are hang­ing in the Vat­i­can to this day. Who knows. Maybe all the popes smoked the dope.

The ILL’N Vel­vet Show: Clos­ing Party

7:00PM, April 21st, 2012

Chapel Arts (304 Dunlevy)

$5 at the door

Free mous­taches to the first 100 guests.

RSVP on Facebook

(If you can’t wait til April 21st to see the show, you can arrange a pri­vate preview. )

Check out Monique’s new web­site!