Theset puts themselves in peril for their fans By Lindsey Rivait
Arts Editor
February 11, 2009 What started out as a joke proved fruitful for these boys from Victoria, BC.  Theset, comprised of vocalist Martin Macphail, guitarists Jory MacKay and Elliot Carter, bassist Dean Rode, and drummer Tristan Tarr, have just released their second album, Never Odd Or Even. Quite a feat for a band who never thought they’d play more than one set.
“Originally the joke was to make fun of emo music, which was becoming popular at the time, so we got tight pants and straightened our hair, wrote songs about our girlfriends that were really bad. We got up on stage and made this joke and it went over really well and it was really funny. What came out of that is we realized although it was a joke, we really enjoyed playing with each other,” recalled Macphail.
After their joke show, the band became serious about their music, recording their first album, The Philosophy of Time Travel in 2005. >> | Degenerate Art promotes intellectual freedom By Mike Laverty
Lance Writer February 11, 2009 The creation and enjoyment of art is a privilege that Canadians should cherish. “An Evening of Degenerate Art: Performances of Music and Literature Banned in Nazi Germany” is an opportunity to acknowledge our freedom of artistic expression and recognize the damage that censorship has on culture.
 This event is part of Freedom to Read Week (freedomtoread.ca), an annual celebration that encourages intellectual freedom in Canada. Banned art will be presented to the public in the hopes of inspiring discussion and thought on censorship.
Anne Beer, event organizer and owner of the Bookroom, was inspired to create this event after hearing of a successful string quartet that toured Europe playing music banned during Hitler’s reign. >>  | | Campus Kiss | | "Chimera" showcases a wide variety of media By Paul Breschuk
Lance Writer February 11, 2009 The LeBel Gallery’s latest offering, “Chimera,” is comprised of a wide variety of media and styles much like its mythological, multi-animal namesake. I was lucky enough to catch some of the artists as they were setting up the show.
 Initially, it is the large, spray-painted canvases of Jayson Meghie (also known as Salazar), that grabs one’s attention. The majority of his works begin as portraits, with Meghie cutting out stencils from a photograph projected against a papered wall. The stencils are then applied to the canvas with a dose of spray paint, layering each with a different colour. With the addition of each image, the work becomes increasingly complex.
What is most attractive about Meghie’s work are the careful balances of colour, as well as the distinct aesthetic motifs of each piece. He incorporates text, blends skyscrapers with cross-hatch, and shows action through the occasional dripping of paint.
Each work, with their fresh colours and slick design, tells of a unique story. It is this mix of visual forms and narrative content that makes Meghie’s work so appealing. >> |
