blogTO | Posts by Robin

blogTO | Posts by Robin http://www.blogto.com/ Toronto blog Copyright 2008 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:52:13 PST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Indie band 'The Bicycles' double ride at Lee's Palace
November 4th was a busy day for me. Barack Obama won the presidency, I had a 10-hour shift at work, and it was garbage day on my street.

'Oh No It's Love', a new album by local pop sensations 'The Bicycles', was also released. I didn't make it to Sonic Boom that day, but I did show up at their C.D. release show on Saturday.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/11/indie_band_the_bicycles_double_ride_at_lees_palace http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/11/indie_band_the_bicycles_double_ride_at_lees_palace Music Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:39:16 PST Music Robin Sharp 2008-11-12T18:39:16 The Toronto Portraits - Jen Polk
Jen Polk, "just" 29 years old ("My birthday was a couple weeks ago...") Queen's Park.

Jen Polk is one of the unsung heroes of the Toronto music scene. No, she doesn't play a mean bass guitar. She doesn't manage 'Spiral Beach'. Jen is a PHD student by day and an indie music blogger by night.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/11/the_toronto_portraits_jen_polk http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/11/the_toronto_portraits_jen_polk Music Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:09:28 PST Music Robin Sharp 2008-11-07T20:09:28 The Toronto Portraits - Ben Kamino
Ben Kamino, 22 years old. The Distillery District.

Professional dance in Toronto is a study of contrasts. The people on stage are young, nubile, and poor; the audience members are usually old, docile and wealthy.

It's a challenge to get younger generations out to see the work. They'll see dance & theatre, dance & live music...just not dance on it's own.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/10/the_toronto_portraits_ben_kamino http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/10/the_toronto_portraits_ben_kamino Arts Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:05:00 PDT Arts Robin Sharp 2008-10-24T10:05:00 The Toronto Portraits - Tim Oakley
Tim Oakley, 28 years old. Sonic Boom (Bathurst and Bloor).

Music retail stores are not long for this world. If they aren't downsizing or going out of business they're paddling violently against the acrid current of iPod culture.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/10/the_toronto_portraits_tim_oakley http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/10/the_toronto_portraits_tim_oakley Music Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:31:59 PDT Music Robin Sharp 2008-10-12T19:31:59 Giant 3D Puppets @ POP Montreal 2008
This week we're following a handful of Torontonians as they navigate the bilingual lotus land of Pop Montreal.

A hundred pairs of red and blue eyes were aimed at the stage. A band was playing, a smoke machine was coughing and a gang of terrifying, woodland puppets towered over the crowd.

It all went down at 'Le Saints' bar for the closing weekend of Pop Montreal.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/10/giant_3d_puppets_pop_montreal_2008 http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/10/giant_3d_puppets_pop_montreal_2008 Arts Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:05:00 PDT Arts Robin Sharp 2008-10-08T19:05:00 Gay porn & Owen Pallett @ POP Montreal 2008 This week we're following a handful of Toronto musicians as they navigate the bilingual lotus land of Pop Montreal.

It's so rare nowadays you get a chance to see 1970's gay porn on the silver screen. There's something magical about the jerky camera zooms, the appalling dialogue about "cornholing" and of course the winsome 19-year-olds having bareback sex.

The only thing that could heighten the experience is a live orchestra of some of the top musicians in Canada, including Owen Pallett of 'Final Fantasy'.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/10/gay_porn_owen_pallett_pop_montreal_2008 http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/10/gay_porn_owen_pallett_pop_montreal_2008 Music Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:56:27 PDT Music Robin Sharp 2008-10-05T03:56:27 The Bicycles @ POP Montreal 08
This week we're going to follow a handful of Toronto musicians as they navigate the bilingual lotusland of Pop Montreal.

Thursday night, 11:30 PM. A Rivoli-esque bar called 'O Patro Vys'.

When I was a kid I was obsessed with Archie Comics. I had 300 of them.

On a fateful trip to New York City, when I was about eleven, I decided to try to find a C.D. by 'The Archies'. They were featured regularly in the comics but their real life music was difficult to find in pre-Napster Toronto.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/10/the_bicycles_pop_montreal_08 http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/10/the_bicycles_pop_montreal_08 Music Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:16:13 PDT Music Robin Sharp 2008-10-03T20:16:13 Woodhands @ POP Montreal 08
This week we're going to follow a handful of Toronto musicians as they navigate the bilingual lotusland of Pop Montreal.

Thursday morning, 1:30 AM. Montreal's Portuguese Association.

The crowd wobbled like a large, amorphous junkie. It was begging the empty stage for a hit of filthy electro pop.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/10/woodhands_pop_montreal_08 http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/10/woodhands_pop_montreal_08 Music Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:16:23 PDT Music Robin Sharp 2008-10-02T21:16:23 The Toronto Portraits - Harvey Lalonde
Harvey Lalonde, 46 years old. The South Annex.

Nuit Blanche, Summerworks, HotDocs, TIFF, Reel Asian, Toronto After Dark...what do all of these major Toronto festivals have in common?

Harvey Lalonde, volunteer God.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/film/2008/09/the_toronto_portraits_harvey_lalonde http://www.blogto.com/film/2008/09/the_toronto_portraits_harvey_lalonde Film Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:57:32 PDT Film Robin Sharp 2008-09-29T19:57:32 The Toronto Portraits - Carmen Elle
Carmen Elle, 19 years old. Bathurst and Queen's Quay.

Carmen Elle is the wisest teenager I've ever met.

She started playing live music at bars when she was fourteen, she dropped out of high school at sixteen...but I don't think that has anything to do with it. I think it's a credit to how she was brought up.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/09/the_toronto_portraits_carmen_elle http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/09/the_toronto_portraits_carmen_elle Music Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:41:51 PDT Music Robin Sharp 2008-09-19T16:41:51 The Toronto Portraits - Jeff Garcia Jeff Garcia, 25 years old. Spadina and Richmond.

Is 'art school' an oxymoron?

They're not all bad, of course. You can learn the nuts-and-bolts of a discipline at school, and you can meet and collaborate with like-minded people. If you're lucky, you can find a mentor figure in one of your teachers.

The problems arise with the politics of 'schooling' students; timetables, marks, and academic standards don't always mesh with the creative process.

Jeff Garcia is a screenprint artist, illustrator...and art teacher. He was born and bred in one of our vast Toronto suburbs.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/09/the_toronto_portraits_jeff_garcia http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/09/the_toronto_portraits_jeff_garcia Arts Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:15:00 PDT Arts Robin Sharp 2008-09-12T10:15:00 The Toronto Portraits - Daryl Vocat
Daryl Vocat. Queen St. East.

What makes a rebel?

I went to a liberal, arts focused High School...you'd think there'd be a lot wild sex and drugs at an establishment like that. Not so much. None of the girls got pregnant, none of the boys got into car crashes...the Catholic high school next store had a lot more action than we ever did.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/09/the_toronto_portraits_daryl_vocat http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/09/the_toronto_portraits_daryl_vocat Arts Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:20:27 PDT Arts Robin Sharp 2008-09-06T20:20:27 The Popcorn Trilogy
If you made it out to a film at the Bloor Cinema last summer, there's a good chance you caught an episode of the 'Popcorn Trilogy'.

A throwback to the pre-show serials of the 1940's, these short films follow the sex lives of Nigel, Peter and Joey; employees at a second-run cinema. Russ Meyer-esque in spirit, they're rife with beautiful women, double entendres and dirty miracles.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/film/2008/08/the_popcorn_trilogy http://www.blogto.com/film/2008/08/the_popcorn_trilogy Film Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:05:54 PDT Film Robin Sharp 2008-08-28T15:05:54 The Toronto Portraits - Luke Correia-Damude Luke Correia-Damude, 24 years old. Chinatown.

If you're talented, driven, well connected, lucky...it's no guarantee you'll have a notable career in the arts. The people finding success in the scene right now are artists who make their own opportunities.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/08/the_toronto_portraits_luke_correiadamude http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/08/the_toronto_portraits_luke_correiadamude Arts Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:04:19 PDT Arts Robin Sharp 2008-08-10T18:04:19 The Toronto Portraits - Dylan Hayward Dylan Hayward, 25 years old. Leslieville.

There was a time when studying art in University was seen as a ridiculous pursuit. It's somehow become the status quo of my generation; film majors, dance majors, music majors lining the halls of our top institutions.

There won't be much work for these people once they're finished studying. New media outlets are hacking away at the earnings potential of artists all the time. Are these schools giving a generation of Canadians false hope about making a living in the arts?

]]> http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/08/the_toronto_portraits_dylan_hayward http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/08/the_toronto_portraits_dylan_hayward Arts Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:50:40 PDT Arts Robin Sharp 2008-08-01T22:50:40