Oasis Commodore Ballroom Vancouver 1995

Nardwuar vs. DJ Kool Herc

Re-post: Kent's Kitchen Last Day

RIP David "Ziggy" Sigmund

Beef Rice Noodle Stir Fry 干炒牛河 (Better Than Chinese Restaurant Cooking) Beef Chow Foon Noodles (Re-post)

Crafternoon

Vancouver · Crafternoon

Thinking of Goldstone today...

2019 46th Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival

NARDWUAR VS. SIPREANO (2019)

*VANCOUVER PEACE OUT EPISODE... PEACE (OUT VANCOUVER)

The Highest Order in Vancouver (TONIGHT!!!)

May 10, 2018

HON'S on Keefer Street (Vancouver Chinatown)

As immature brats fresh out of high school, my pal John and I had nicknamed our server Pringle. Each and every Thursday night, our cylindrically shaped saviour would deliver two bowls of wonton noodle soup, two plates of twelve pan fried chicken potstickers, and two dishes of gai lan w/ oyster sauce from the hot and steamy kitchen at Hon's on Keefer Street in Vancouver's Chinatown for us to scarf down. Cokes were served on the side in glasses halfway filled with crushed ice, but back to the man. Standing tall, straight, and slender, "Pringle" appeared to be in his mid-to-late-sixties w/ a full head of jet black hair parted to the side and a reserved demeanor. Even after years of patronage, our relationship remained strictly business. We were hungry and he was working. Occasionally, I’d see him out of the restaurant, walking around downtown. I always wondered about his life outside of work, his family, hobbies, and interests. My father had turned me on to Hon’s in the early 1990s at their New Westminster location and it quickly became a favourite. I'd bring friends when possible and spread the word at each and every opportunity. As the years progressed so did my ordering style, from the aforementioned soup to a serving of Szechuan pork juliennes on egg noodles. By the new millennium, I must have eaten this dish over a hundred times, the slightly spicy sweet sauce and dry noodles mixed together with a bowl of simple broth with thinly sliced green onions for flavour and texture. Chopsticks were always used even when forks were offered. The frequent trips to the Chinatown Hon’s became almost religious in nature, a final stop before heading back to Coquitlam on the 151 bus. Prior to our meal, John and I would spend time perusing the bins and racks of the many record shops that lined Seymour Street between Pender and Dunsmuir. There was Sam the Record Man, A&B Sound, Track Records, Odyssey Imports, and Collectors RPM. After spending most of what little money we had, we'd walk down Pender past the massive vacant lot where the International Village Mall (previously known as Tinseltown) now stands. The road was dark and edgy at night, a different bag than our suburban scenes. But it was the food that made us venture into Chinatown at night, an area that I’d been visiting w/ my family since the early 1980s. Hon’s was a revelation and always a fun place to hang. People of all backgrounds would eat there, enjoying good company and the restaurant’s famous Cantonese creations. When I moved back to Toronto in 2007 after not having lived there since 1991, Hon’s was one of the places that I missed the most. On return visits to the west coast, a family meal, often at the Robson street branch, was mandatory. The hot tea was always free and flowing. Fortune cookies rounded out the meal and often provided an insight or a cheap laugh. Dad liked to order the spicy squid w/ rock salt and their Shanghai noodles w/ XO sauce would be devoured within minutes of its arrival. Upon returning to live in Vancouver in 2010, Hon’s once again became a part of the restaurant rotation. By then, they had expanded to Coquitlam and I would often stop there while visiting friends or hitting up the local thrift and record stores. One day, I ordered my classic Szechuan pork juliennes on egg noodles, settled up at the cashier, and proceeded to get my first ever migraine. I had never felt such pressure and discomfort before and barely made it to my dad’s apartment only a few blocks away before curling up into the fetal position until the pain subsided. Was it something that I had eaten? A reaction to MSG? A sodium overdose? I wasn’t keen for an encore. Still, the lure of my favourite dish eventually brought me back followed by another monumental brain buster. What the heck was going on? Had they changed their ingredients? Were they cutting corners? Either thick or not wanting to take the hint, it took one more crippling Hon's headache to stop going altogether. I'm glad to report that I haven’t had a migraine since. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to walk up and down the streets of Chinatown, to catch the vibe in the midst of heavy development and a shifting dynamic. Despite being closed for the evening, I walked up to the large Hon’s window and paused for a minute to reflect on the many hours that I'd spent inside in my younger days. The restaurant was vacant and dimly lit by the adjoining mini mall. I thought of the man we called Pringle and the dozens upon dozens of meals eaten there, the jokes as well as the love shared. I took a few quick snaps on my iPhone and proceeded to walk up Main Street up to Mount Pleasant. Early last week, I caught wind that the Keefer Street Hon’s location had closed. Though I wouldn't have returned for one final nostalgic meal, it did make me sad to think of yet another casualty in the neighbourhood and the temporality of once dear friendships. Thanks for the memories... PEACE

JAPAN CAN LIDO JAM

Looking back through the rain and fog, Kamandi and I first met Ichiro Goto at a dark and dank second story warehouse space in Gastown after Blur’s The Great Escape tour stop at the Commodore Ballroom in the winter of 1996. Bodies seemed to be floating in-and-around each other without a care that evening, drinks, firmly in hand, and feet, footloose and fancy free. “Hey, cool t-shirt,” may have initiated our conversation, but those three simple words sparked a now 21-year and counting friendship between Ichi, Kamo, Sir Derek Neville, and myself. In hindsight, there was something more than late night small talk stirring, the beginning of a cross-cultural exchange that opened the doors to another reality for a group of young music lovers. JAPAN CAN LIDO JAM represents the street level strengthening of the Pacific gateway and an opening of consciousness in defiance of the darker side of Japanese and North American settler relations, ripples still felt around the world long after the atomic (and other assorted) atrocities of WW II. While acknowledging the severity and significance of the past (which wasn’t as far away from the present as we were taught by the black and white images in school), we started to shout: "F%ck racism! Eradicate ignorance! Goodbye distrust! Eliminate hatred! Come together!” We simply wanted to learn from and share with one another in an open and meaningful way outside of the governing powers that be. Bonding over food, UK import records, vintage clothing stores, travel, and the many details of modern coastal living, it was a thrill for us to realize our similarities and respectfully approach any differences as global citizens. Together, we helped to make the earth a smaller place and made efforts to build bridges (instead of walls) as we walked down city streets, into a restaurant, concert venue, arcade, movie theatre or bar. There was no fear, only music, art, film, dance, architecture, culture, family, nature, peace, love, understanding, and leading by example. We are happy to report that after almost thirteen years away from the traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples, Ichiro will be visiting his adopted hometown of Vancouver all the way from his native Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu. It will be amazing to see the changes to this city through his eyes after so much time has passed. Please join us at the Lido (518 E. Broadway) on May 10th (9 pm-1 am) to celebrate a very special friendship that spans decades, geography, technology, fashion, but also what’s often left out of the equation, heart and soul! We warmly welcome friends old and new for this most social of gatherings. Together we will raise a humble toast to unity and progress during this era of digital distress while continuing to discuss the future. As always, a suitable soundtrack will be offered with precision. KANPAI!

The Zombies Odessey & Oracle 50th Anniversary Finale Tour

Looking back, my first exposure to The Zombies was digging through my parents' record collection as a kid in the 1970s. Immediately infectious songs like "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No" sounded sugary sweet coming through the family stereo speakers alongside The Moody Blues and The Beatles and stayed close to me as I grew older. In my late teens/early 20s, I dug even deeper into the group's music and discovered their 1968 swan song, Odessey & Oracle. The album became a staple while working at the Coquitlam Centre HMV during the mid-to-late 1990s and we were always stoked to sell an import copy right out of the store's CD player. "Another point for the good side!" Oracle's "This Will Be Our Year" became a special song, mantra, and tear jerker for a (still) sensitive young man while "Time Of The Season" shut down many a dance floor jam. "Hung Up On A Dream" was the tune that could lift my mind to another dimension and yet there was even more to explore... What we call an "end-to-end burner," it's amazing to think that Odessey & Oracle is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Needless to say, there is no place that I'd rather be tonight than at the world-famous Commodore Ballroom for The Zombies: Odessey & Oracle 50th Anniversary Finale Tour.
PEACE

Sipreano with Decaf and The Stunt Man - "Steal" (1777rex, 2007)

December 16, 2006:

Sipreano with Decaf and The Stunt Man represents the culmination of a 17-year Vancouver experience. Although I lived in British Columbia for a spell in the eighties it was this second lengthier go round that opened my ears and mind to different frequencies, let me explore the night, and share countless experiences with so many good folks.

It’s when I first played out records with James Bell (aka Lockjaw, R.I.P.), hosted nuff events, shebeens, and multi-media one-offs with the one and only Kamandi, met the creatively inspiring Decaf, and spent a great deal of energy digging deep and deeper for long forgotten sounds. I also developed a fundamental passion for Canadian music via another deceased pal, For The Record's Ty Scammel, the only vinyl dealer that I’ve met with golden ears and an influence that I truly miss.

When I was lucky, Ty would have me over to his house and we'd just groove on his mind blowing record collection filled to the brim with the heaviest psychedelic records from around the world, long before the Internet opened the floodgates. We'd drink whiskey, smoke weed, and he'd tell me of his late-blooming Vancouver hippie days. For “Edwards/Blake” and “Cousineau,” I thank you.

Another key impact was a 6-year stint at a large UK-chain CD store. It was here where I bonded with "Lunatics" co-conspirator Paul Anderson. This was our musical playground, elementary, high, and post-secondary schools all rolled into one. Andie Maddalozzo also entered my sphere during this period and continues to be a dear friend. It was an honour to have her contribute to “Steal” in a unique way that only she can pull off.

In Vancouver, there is such a dynamic between the street and nature. Over time, I've become immersed in city life, the hustle and bustle, enjoying cheap eateries, bars, and working to get by. It wasn't until recently that I started to appreciate the other aspect–the mountains, lakes, woods, and ocean. The summer of 2006 will go down as a return to these solitudes where the sand and surf of Third Beach washed over my existence. I spent a great many moments like this with 1777rex's Steven Balogh, the one-time bass to my drums in short-lived mid-nineties combo, The Afterglow, as well as with the ever patient Stunt Man on two Powell River (Without End) getaways. Brothers. 

Canada also played its part in the creation of this album. In both 2005 and in 2006 (accompanied by Decaf), I hit the road in my trusty Corolla, heading east like CN Rail and on the prowl for vanishing Canadian sound heritage. Apart from finding records that I would have never found in coastal bins, I got to experience the larger than life Rockies, rolling prairie ghosts, and endless big sky. Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and points in between gave me a new perspective on our country and my place in it.

Consequently, it’s been with serious consideration that Heather and I have relocated to the big league of Toronto to pursue both collective and separate goals. Another transition to say the least. My archival work has led me to the source and it feels like my Vancouver love affair will have to wait for a future space. Still, before I left, and with the help of these close friends, I was able to complete a letter to my adopted home. It celebrates all that I cherish.

Please take a toke, lay back, and walk with us...

February 13, 2017:

It’s crazy to think, but 10 years have passed since Vancouver-based 1777rex released Sipreano with Decaf and The Stunt Man. Like the label’s other releases (Anemones, Points Gray, Ice Palace, and Ex-Dead Teenager), each CD-R and cardboard sleeve were personally put together with stitching, stencil/spray paint, cut and pasted photos, as well as hand numbered text by 1777rex mastermind Steven Balogh. Inserts and cover images were cut with scissors and assembled with care. Each title was limited to 100 copies: 50 were distributed to local stores and sold to customers worldwide and 50 were given to the artists, a solid model for a labour of love such as this.

The 1777 in 1777rex was a nod to 1777 Frances, an east Vancouver apartment building that Balogh and I lived in during the middle part of the first decade of the 2000s. We had initially met around ten years prior, as a short-lived rhythm section in a Mod/UK-inspired rock band. Reconnecting with Balogh around a different crew of musicians and friends, I was excited to be asked to contribute to his new imprint. Initially, ODB, as he was sometimes called, wanted a DJ mix as my 1777rex release. I had been active as a selector since the late 1990s, but felt that I wanted to create something more original than simply stringing a few old tunes together. Since 2004, I had been collaborating with Seattle-based Light in the Attic Records and producing the Jamaica-Toronto reissue series, an extension of my record collection and personal history with Jamaican and Canadian music. I had also recently put together a streaming loop-based music project for Tokyo’s Sandinista/2Step clothing brand called Voluntary In Nature, which I performed as a live PA at local art space Blim in the old B.C. Electric Building on Pender Street.

To execute an expanded vision, I immediately asked for help from two good friends: producer/artist/photographer Kelly Claude Nairn (then known as Decaf, now wzrdryAV) as well as The Stunt Man (Suite Sound Labs owner/audio engineer, Greg Mindorff). Two more old pals (Paul “The Driver” Anderson and Andie Maddalozzo) were brought on as guest vocalists. Records, voice, keyboards, and drums were hashed together along with Decaf’s trademark sound processing and the editing, mixing, and mastering touch of The Stunt Man. Two cover songs were attempted, the first, a short edit of a Red Rider song (“Crack The Sky (Breakaway)”) along with re-sung vocals from Tom Cochrane’s Can Con classic “Big League,” the second, a straight recreation of “The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum” by the Fun Boy Three. Additional inspiration was taken from my record collection and reflected my explorations into regional Canadian and global psychedelic sounds as inspired by the late, great, Ty Scammell. Drum tracks were recorded at a rehearsal space on Hastings where my kit was set up for jamming. The CD-R’s cover image was taken by Kelly at the edge of Victoria Park on Salisbury Drive and the album was promoted prior to its release in an interview given to CiTR’s Discorder Magazine in the fall of 2006 as well as on a 1777rex Myspace page (which hosted the song "CN Rail").

Of all of the fourteen tracks, “Steal,” which features vocal from Gangbang’s Andie Maddalozzo, still resonates with me deeply. In fact, it pointed towards today’s current state of unrest (has anything changed?). The musical backing is meant to reflect and recreate a late afternoon Third Beach session with the sun beginning to set and the surf slowly crashing against the shore in varied repetition. An edit of Decaf’s empathetic sample treatment, it has made me cry on more than one occasion and continues to fill me with emotion, over ten years later. For those who haven’t heard it yet, I hope that you enjoy.

PEACE,

Sipreano