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SFU professor receives Influential Women in Business Award

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By Munatsi Mavhima
Photos by Mark Burnham

Dr. Blaize Horner Reich, a Simon Fraser University professor, has won the Influential Women in Business Award for 2013 presented by Business in Vancouver. According to Business in Vancouver’s website, honourees are chosen based on their influence in the business community at large, as well as on their dedication “to mentor other women in business and contribute their expertise on corporate and not for profit boards.”
“It’s an honour. The other winners are well-respected leaders in the corporate world, with companies and organizations,” Dr. Reich told The Peak. “It’s nice to get recognition for my work in different in different capacities, all coming together in this award.”
Her passion lies in Information Technology (IT), as evidenced by the various positions she holds, including the RBC professor of technology and innovation, associate dean of the Segal Graduate School of Business, and as a board member of the CIO Association of Canada, and the Information and Communications Technology Sector Council.
Additionally, Dr. Reich is a mentor to students and professionals, overseeing the Executive MBA program, the Management and Technology MBA program, and undergraduate courses. “I was an IT professional before coming to SFU. I spent seven years at BC Hydro as a Data Administrator and also ran a consultancy firm, so I’ve worked with businesses and IT for years,” Dr. Reich explained.
According to her colleagues, Dr. Reich has become an integral part of the Beedie Business School. Dr. Daniel Shapiro, professor at the Dean and Lohn Foundation, said, “At SFU, she has been an important part of our evolution into a modern and successful business school.”
Dr. Reich commented on the challenges of being a woman in the business world, stating, “I’ve been the only woman in the room for a long time, and it can be difficult because you approach things slightly differently. But, fortunately I work in an industry where your work is clearly and easily evaluated, so if it’s up to standard, you do get the merit you deserve.”
At SFU, Dr. Reich works to mentor female students and entrepreneurs entering the business field. When asked to provide any advice for students, she said, “I’d say do what you’re passionate about. Follow your passion, not because it’s easy, but because if your heart is in it you’ll be willing to put in the hours of hard work it takes to succeed.”
Good things do come with hard work, and according to Dr. Reich you must “be proactive about your education. These days employers are looking at more than just your performance in the classroom. Plus, you are paying so much for your education; you might as well make the best of every opportunity.”
Dr. Reich joined the SFU community in 1991 following the completion of her PhD at the University of British Columbia. “I chose SFU because it’s innovative and I saw the chance to build a new program,” Dr. Reich explained.

SFU loses a heartbreaker

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Clan men’s hockey team loses to first-place Selkirk in a shootout

By Andrew Jow

On Saturday evening, the first-placed Selkirk College made the trip to Bill Copeland Arena to face off against second-place Simon Fraser University. With only two games left before the playoffs, the Clan looked to turn their fortunes around and make a statement against the best team in the BCIHL.

The shorthanded Clan got a big boost with the return of the team’s leading scorer Ben Van Lare, as well as key defensemen Taylor Swaffield and Bruin Mcdonald.

Despite being the top two scoring teams in the league, goals were surprisingly hard to come by through the first two periods. Goaltenders Stephen Wolf for Selkrik and Graham Gordon for SFU were solid, but neither team had any spectacular scoring chances.

SFU had its opportunities to take the lead on the power play throughout the two periods, but were unable to capitalize.

The Clan set up with four forwards and one defenseman, with the defenseman taking a high position in the middle of the blue line, and the forwards rotating down low, from the top of the circle to below the goal line.

The lack of net presence hurt the Clan power play, as they went 0–5 in the contest, making the special team 0 for 11 in the past two games.

Selkirk’s Justin Sotkowy broke the deadlock 14 minutes into the third off a lucky bounce. Sotkowy’s point shot hit SFU defenseman Mike Ball’s stick and ricocheted into the top corner. After the goal, the back and forth game continued.

Both teams continued to skate up and down the ice, trading rushes as well as scoring chances. SFU relied too much on their speed, as they constantly skated the puck out wide and settled for low percentage shots.

As it turned out, SFU’s tying goal was a result of a good forecheck by Tony Oak, who rustled the puck out of the corner and found Trevor Milner in the slot who slid it passed Selkirk’s Wolf.

With 11 seconds to go, controversy arose when the Clan’s Joey Pavone thought he muscled the puck home, but referee Duncan Brow disagreed. The result was both teams entering overtime tied 1–1.

The extra frame solved nothing, as Gordon was stout in net, turning away Selkirk’s Connor McLaughlin in close twice for the best chance of overtime. For the third consecutive week, the Clan had to go to a shootout to end the stalemate.

Selkirk’s good fortunes carried over into the skills contest because Thomas Hardy’s winner barely squeaked through Gordon’s five-hole. Selkirk walked away from Bill Copeland with the 2–1 victory and a sweep of the season series.

For the third straight game, SFU lost a tough one. With the playoffs fast approaching, this is the worst possible time to be in a slump. But with one more game remaining, SFU has an opportunity to turn this skid around and gain momentum for a long playoff run.

Can I get a side of gentrifries with that?

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Restaurants aren’t the cause of gentrification, they’re a symptom

By Rachel Braeuer
Photos by Jonathan Dry

Gentrification talk is hard. On one side, the people getting put down are more often than not small business owners. It’s hard for me to want to tell them to take a hike when a Cara-owned big box could just as easily have gone up where their restaurant now resides. It’s not my intention to argue that DTES residents should let their communities go gentle into that good night; I think they should rage against the dying of the light. But protesting small businesses is hardly the way to go about this.

Gentrification is not limited to the DTES. When looking for an apartment in the Mount Pleasant area two years ago, one of the ads on Craigslist explicitly said “NEWLY GENTRIFIED MAIN STREET AREA. CLOSE TO AMENITIES!” It wasn’t that long ago that a person could find a relatively affordable place to live in the Mount Pleasant area and enjoy the sense of community there, too. Luckily for the area, there seem to have been enough people with enough pull (aka people with BFAs) to maintain some of that, but the Tim Hortons at the corner of Main and Broadway serve as a kind of flagship to the area’s eventual gentrification.

But what about Surrey? Yes, I know, Surrey is gross. Surrey is poor. Surrey is full of people wearing Affliction shirts and pyjama bottoms in public (if Walmart can be considered public). Does that absolve everyone from caring about the gentrification going on there?

The coldness (and I contend this goes beyond apathy) shown towards the homeless and poor in Surrey is appalling. A woman was found beaten beyond recognition in December. Two weeks ago she succumbed to the injuries she sustained in her attack. This happened just three blocks away from SFU’s Surrey campus. Where were the protests and candlelight vigils for Janice Shore?

Admittedly, Shore lived a “high risk lifestyle” which apparently excuses her life ending like a scene from a Tarantino movie. Regardless, she was still a member of the community in which SFU decided to locate one of its satellite campuses, turning notorious “Whalley Ring Road” into “University Drive” which soon became populated with condos that investors scooped up on the cheap and are now renting out at $800 — more than their mortgage payments — for a cut-and-paste bachelor. There have been, however, no swank new restaurants opening up.

SFU can fairly escape blame for Surrey Central’s gentrification, despite knowingly moving into the heart of Whalley’s ghetto. Mayor Dianne Watts’ gentrification-centred political platform is slowly becoming reality. The people of Surrey have elected Watts by a landslide twice now, and she has been transparent about her intentions (albeit phrased as “revitalization,” but tomayto tomahto).

However, in the DTES there is really no justification. Keeping a W on top of a building that houses space for the arts doesn’t make up for altering the fabric of a community, thereby bringing in the kind of people who would pay $20.00+ per plate at the insensitively named Pidgin, located walking distance from their new faux-loft condo built behind the heritage-building facade that covers the first three floors.

Couture restaurants don’t just pop up in the poorest postal code in Canada for shits and giggles; they follow the sound of jangling change in yuppies’ chinos. While endeavours like Save-On-Meats’s meal token program are at best patronizing kindness and at worst an offensive affront to harm reduction, they’re still an attempt by small businesses to give back to the community they reside in, however misguided they may be. This is more than can be said for the big names that seem to have moved into the DTES without a visit from the GTFO wagon that smaller names have experienced.

The who and the why are interconnected when it comes to questions of gentrification, and while many elements are at play, unless activists are addressing the key backers instead of the peons on the front lines, not much is going to change.

New wedding dress visually reveals bride’s emotions

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By Leah Bjornson
Photo by Leah Bjornson

SFU SIAT students Emily Ip and Wynnie Chung are pushing the limits of wearable technology with their innovative wedding dress design, which uses LED lights and pulsating fabric flowers to reveal a bride’s emotions.
The project is called Wo.Defy, and was originally an honours research project developed between Jan. and Aug. 2012, although the dress took just one month to create. Ip and Chung, who are both interested in combining wearables with technology, wanted to create a piece that portrayed the wearer’s emotional presence through poetic visuals.
“There is no way to hide anything,” Chung said. “While you can attempt to manipulate your breath for a time, in the end you have no control. What is displayed on the dress must be natural.”
The garment works in two ways. First, when a bride inhales deeply, her ribcage expands against a sensor on the inside of the dress. This sensor is connected to numerous LED lights, which are placed throughout the gown. The lights flicker and light up progressively, depending on the amplitude of the inhalation. This pattern represents the respiratory and cardiovascular systems in the body. The second way the dress works is through a series of silk flowers that contract and dilate depending on the intensity of motion through the dress as the bride moves.
The name Wo.Defy is derived from “wo,” the Chinese word for “I,” to be expressed as I Defy. This name represents the inspiration for the gown, which comes from a group of 20th century Chinese women known as the Self-Combing Sisters. In a culture where women had little independence, the Self-Combing Sisters were a suffragette movement that rejected the traditional practice of arranged marriages. Instead, these women became self-sufficient by working in silk factories.
As an alternative to marriage, the sisters would go through a self-combing ceremony, which can be likened to becoming a nun. During the ceremony, the women would comb their hair into a long braid, wear a silk gown, and effectively wed themselves. Because silk was both expensive and rare, such a ceremony proved that these women were self-sufficient.
This inspiration is represented in the Wo.Defy design by the interwoven braids as well as the choice of the colour white. In Chinese culture, brides are supposed to wear red on their wedding day. “Emily and I are both Chinese-Canadians, and we are challenged to find a balance between those cultures,” said Chung. “By creating the dress in white, we are defying certain traditional standards ourselves.”
The technology also challenges others to question how we can take traditional garments and artifacts and look at them in new perspective. Ip and Chung hope that their technology, in addition to promoting ideas of sustainability, might be used in the future to facilitate communication. This project has the potential to help children with autism and other communication problems, who often struggle to connect with others.
“We hope that this technology might be used to allow them to display their emotional state,” says Ip. “Spoken communication does not need to be the only option. There are things you can’t really experience through words, but with this technology you can convey ‘that feeling’ to other people.”
When asked their plans for the future, Chung replied, “We are both very passionate about wearables, and are going to work towards graduate degrees in that sector. By working together, we have become more sophisticated in our work, and I definitely see us collaborating again.”
Ip and Chung recently returned from the TEI’13, the Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction Conference in Barcelona, Spain, where they presented as one of several selected projects. The two will continue to share the Wo.Defy project and hope to further explore the relationship between human emotion, historical customs, gender and storytelling through the use of technology.

Clan prepares for NCAA Nationals in three sports

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WEB-wrestling-Mark Burnham

SFU aims for success on the mat, in the pool, and on the track

By Jade Richardson
Photos by Mark Burnham

In December of 2012 the Clan men’s soccer team made history as the first International school to compete for a National Collegiate Athletic Association title. They would make the final four, ultimately falling short of the championship game, but solidifying themselves as a powerhouse within the association.

Now, SFU is preparing to send their next round of national contenders to Birmingham, Alabama, where men’s wrestling, women’s swimming and women’s indoor track and field athletes compete simultaneously in an NCAA championships weekend.

This will be another historic weekend for Simon Fraser as the five runners and six swimmers will represent the first women from an International institution to compete in an NCAA championship, much like the soccer team before them.

All of the Clan teams have an excellent chance of performing well in Alabama, as SFU boasts some top seeds for each sport.

In the pool, swimmers Carmen Nam, Jordyn Konrad, Mariya Chekanovych, Kristine Lawson, Alexandria Schofield and Nicole Cossey will be representing the Clan in 15 individual events and two relays.

Freshman standout Chekonovych boasts the top ranking in both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke events, while Nam is ranked eighth in the 400-yard I’m and ninth in the 200-yard butterfly.

As a team the Clan also hold the second fastest time in the 400-yard medley relay heading into the championships, and as of Feb. 18, the team is ranked 10th nationally.

The women’s track and field team is expected to succeed at their championships as well, as the five-woman team of Helen Crofts, Michaela Kane, Sarah Sawatzky, Lindsey Butterworth and Chantel Desch prepares to make the trek to Alabama to represent Canada and Simon Fraser.

Crofts has posted the fastest seed time in the 800-metres, and has led the field since her very first race of the season, while teammates Butterworth, Kane, and Sawatzky are ranked ninth, 10th, and 11th in that same event. Crofts is a two-time NAIA champion in the 800-metres from 2010 and 2011, and will be looking for her first national title in the NCAA.

“I have been looking forward to racing in an NCAA championship ever since the transition process first began,” explained Crofts. “Now we are here, and although it won’t be easy, I feel like it is absolutely possible for our team to come out with a win in the 800-metres and the distance medley relay.”
The Clan hold the second-fastest time in the aforementioned DMR, trailing only the University of Mary as they head into the competition, and the women are hoping to make a race of it as they take on the national leaders head-to-head.

Men’s wrestling will be sending their smallest and largest two athletes to their championships as 125-pound Skylor Davis and 285-pound Sunny Dhinsa prepare for their first NCAA wrestling competition.

Dhinsa placed second at the West regional qualifiers, while Davis placed fourth, punching their tickets to Birmingham. His defeat in the finals marked Dhinsa’s only loss in his 20-match season, so he will be looking for redemption against his first competitor in the national tournament. Davis boasts an impressive 20–4 record this season.

A win in any event would mark the first NCAA victory by an athlete from an international institution, a fact not lost on the 13 SFU athletes heading to Alabama.

“Coming into any event ranked first puts pressure on you knowing that everyone is out to beat you,” continued Crofts. “But the possibility of having an opportunity to give SFU their first NCAA national champion just adds to the excitement!”
The three championships run from March 6–9, and results will be available at athletics.sfu.ca at the end of each day.

Reducing salt could save lives: study

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By Christina Charania
Photo by Vaikunthe Banerjee

A study organized by researchers at Simon Fraser University, Harvard Medical School, and the University of California San Francisco quantifies the benefit of a reduced sodium diet. The research found that America-wide sodium cuts could prevent a significant portion of the population from dying prematurely.
“We had been invited by the US Center for Disease Control to examine one model that they could use to draft policies related to sodium intake and the risks of cardiovascular diseases,” said SFU health sciences professor and co-author Michel Joffres. “Reducing this diet component that is not major or difficult to change could have a monumental effect on our healthcare systems.”
Published in Hypertension in February 2013, the group’s research looked at two approaches to implementing a lower sodium lifestyle — the first method suddenly reduced the average American’s sodium consumption of 3,600 mg/day to the 1,500 mg/day necessary for bodily function. The second lowered total ingestion by four or five per cent each year for a decade to reach an eventual 2,200 mg/day.
The researchers used three models to evaluate these reductions: one assessed the direct impact of decreased sodium on the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, while the other two — including Joffres’ model — examined the effect of reduced sodium on blood pressure.
“We know that when we decrease blood pressure, we’re going to decrease cardiovascular disease,” explained Joffres. “The number one risk factor for mortality in the world is hypertension, and reducing sodium is a very easy way [to lessen this risk].”
Each model was analyzed at a different university and put a value on the number of American lives that can be saved — or, as Joffres explains, “postponed” through sodium reduction — and each reached the same conclusion. With a gradual reduction in the United States, the models show that 280,000 to 500,000 deaths can be prevented after 10 years, or nearly a million years of life saved. An immediate sodium cut would save an even larger amount of lives: nearly 1.2 million in the same time span.
When Joffres applied these models to the Canadians, he discovered that 26,000 lives could be saved through the same sodium diminishment in the U.S. study.
“26,000 isn’t a small number, and people don’t talk about it because [sodium-related] deaths aren’t immediate,” said Joffres. “If you put 26,000 people in a plane and they’re killed, or a bomb hits a village and it’s gone, those things would make people worry. Sodium is slow and kills slowly, but surely.”
The most feasible way to achieve these reductions is removing processed foods from the diet, as these products contain roughly 80 per cent of consumed sodium. Decreasing fast foods, frozen products, breads, and canned commodities by half would produce the cut that Joffres’ study simulates in small, annual reductions.
“Of course, people need to adjust their sodium consumption alongside weight loss and diets with higher potassium, vegetables, and fruits [for an optimal effect on lifespan],” he noted.
This is easier said than done: once individuals have adjusted to salty diet, foods taste bad when sodium is removed from their meals. Noticeable change in health demographics will require a concerted effort from North American citizens, the government, and food manufacturers. Currently, the government does not hold manufacturers accountable and opts to provide them with non-mandatory guides on reducing sodium in the foods they make.
“These diets need to change in younger people,” Joffres concludes. “If younger people become used to lower sodium intake, their blood pressure will remain lower and blood pressure won’t increase with age. They won’t have the accumulation of damage to their arteries since young adulthood. People don’t realize that, and that’s a dilemma.”

Check your privilege

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Actions done and words spoken with good intentions can still perpetuate discrimination

By Joseph Leivdal

This is a response to the column published Feb. 25 titled “Godwin’s law, meet Onderwater’s law”. Eric Onderwater, from one white guy to another: you need to check your privilege. I’m going to try to walk you through this real slow.

I’d like to introduce you to a concept called “intention” and the difference between intention and practice. The facts are, Eric, that Aboriginal peoples in Canada have been subjected to systemic discrimination and violence at the hands of our colonial government, and this by no means ended with the shutting down of residential schools. We can see this systemic violence in action today with the Highway of Tears, the Missing Women Commission and the undermining of Aboriginal rights by the Harper government in its greedy grab for resources, to state only a few of many examples.

If I say that the government has no responsibility to Aboriginal communities, while my so called “intentions” may not be explicitly racist, these colonial ideologies put into practice are racist. The government, and we as citizens, have a responsibility to root out and combat this systemic discrimination, and taking away Aboriginal “hand-outs” as you call them would be a form of colonialism and violence against Aboriginal peoples — so yes Eric, that would be racist, and while the people acting out this violence and discrimination may truly be appalled at being called racist, their lack of awareness of how their words and actions affect others becomes a subtle form of racism.

Also, “Idle No More” is about Aboriginal rights and autonomy, and to oppose “Idle No More” is to oppose a fight against the ongoing colonization and violence perpetrated against Aboriginal peoples. I’m not saying that people need to attend every rally to somehow avoid being racist, but just because I’m not throwing around racist slurs does not mean my “intent,” put into practice, is not, ultimately, racist. Do you get that now?

By comparing someone who is calling out racism to someone who inappropriately compares an issue with the rise of Hitler, you are in fact using the very same “cheap rhetorical” tool that you claim to critique. Please do your homework before making a rhetorical analysis.

You and I are both white males living in a Western patriarchy, and because of that we have a responsibility to try to understand the world from different perspectives, which is what the author of the article published on Feb. 17 has done an exceptionally good job of doing. I am not saying that I am a perfect ally; that is something that I have to work on constantly. But I am inviting you, and all others who were fortunate enough to be born into a position of privilege, to take a closer look at your position in society and to take a closer look at the positions of others as well.

COLUMN: A man walks into a bar; three beers are on special . . .

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No joke, just a quick rundown of brew diversity in Vancouver

By Adam Dewji

So you walk into the pub, and ask your server what the specials are. They have a pale ale, a stout and a lager. But what does that actually mean?

There are two main categories that beer can be put in. Beer can be either a type of ale, or a type of lager. There are many sub-types of beer. The econo-beers that you normally buy, such as a Molson or Budweiser, are generally North American-ized lagers. They are designed to be served ice cold, and go down smooth.

Ales are generally served a bit warmer, around five degrees celsius. Some are even served warmer, but it depends on the brew. Ales generally have the most flavour, and aren’t made for chugging. Now let’s go over the most common types of beer you’ll find on menus around town.

We’ll start with types of ales. IPA or an India pale ale is a type of ale that is brewed strong with lots of hops. This type of beer will be generally more bitter and flavourful compared to your standard lager. If you see IPA on a menu, it will probably be stronger than normal. A good beginner IPA for those afraid of hopsing in with both feet is the Fat Tug from Driftwood Brewing.

Pale ales are probably the most common type of ale that you’ll get at a bar. These ales are served a bit warmer than ice cold, and generally have more flavour than a lager. They are a good stepping stone to an IPA. If you want a pale ale that will go down smooth and taste good, try the Blue Buck from Philips Brewing.

Hefeweizens, or wheat ales, are thick ales that taste very bread-y because, as their translated name indicates, they’re made with more wheat than your average ale. They are quite dense, and very flavourful. Some macro-breweries have flavoured their brews with citrus peel, like a Rickard’s White (flavoured with orange). The Granville Island Hefeweizen is a good starter.

Stouts (or stout ales) are my particular favourite. Stouts are similar to (and often called) porters. The difference between stouts and porters is still unconfirmed by beer enthusiasts today — but you can Google it.

They are bold, dark, and rich. They look scary, but they actually aren’t too bitter, but are thicker in texture than most other beers. They are generally brewed with roasted cocoa malts, and have a bit of a coffee or dark chocolate aftertaste. Everyone has heard of Guinness, so if you can, give that a try. If you want a flavoured stout or porter, go with the Longboat Chocolate Porter from Philips Brewing.

If you’re really inclined, try a St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout (best oatmeal stout ever).

Winter ales were covered in a previous column, but for posterity’s sake: they are generally special versions of pale ales in North America; they are flavoured with Christmas spices. Try the Lion’s Winter Ale by Granville Island.

As for lagers, you’ll find general North American lagers around town. The most common are Okanagan Springs 1516, Molson Canadian, and Budweiser. If you want to step out of the mainstream, try a lager from Steamworks, Red Racer, or Mt. Begbie. You won’t go back to the regular stuff. These are the main strands of lagers you’ll find on menus around town.

Now when your server lists off specials, you can choose not just by price, but by taste.

Rainier Provisions provides

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By Hannah Bellamy
Image courtesy of Scout Magazine

When I paid my first visit to Rainier Provisions, located at the corner of Cordova and Carrall, it had only been open a week and a half. For now the restaurant exclusively serves lunch, but a notice from management on the entrance says it will soon extend its hours from breakfast to dinner. The new waitresses seem at once thrilled and unsure of procedure. The owner, Sean Heather, looks on and buses tables dutifully.

Heather has several other restaurants in the Downtown Eastside, including Irish Heather Gastropub, Salty Tongue, Judas Goat Taberna, Salt Tasting Room, Shebeen Whisk(e)y House, Everything Cafe, and Bitter. Anticipation for his most recent location in the former Rainier Hotel has teased the area for over a year: the de facto opening was almost 13 months behind its proposed January 2012 date.

It finally opened, evidently to the satisfaction of self-professed foodies from all around Vancouver, as the afternoon I went was a busy one.

Its high-ceilinged, open space has been outfitted with a retail delicatessen, a take-out cafe, and 100-plus eggshell blue seats in the restaurant proper. The walls are white open-face brick, with the exception of a partial wall inserted between the kitchen and the rest of the space, which is wallpapered with vegetable sketches. Clearly, the overall look of the establishment is meant to combine a sense of rural nostalgia and urban decorum.

The retail shelves in the delicatessen are supplied with a variety of quality foods, and the refrigerated display cases are stocked with a selection of cheeses, several types of cured meat from Moccia & Urbani on East Hastings, D-Original sausages, eggs from Rabbit River Farms, and other assorted deli items. Adjacent to the deli cases is the cafe counter, which serves local Stumptown Coffee.

Without overlooking the popularity of the imported Spanish, Italian, French, and UK cheeses available, most of the products are locally sourced. Affirming this are big, embossed letters above the counter: “eat local,” a running theme with most of Heather’s establishments.

The menu varies from roast of the day — sausage stuffed roast suckling pig with Okanogan applesauce, potato Lyonnais, and orange roasted carrots — to kale Caesar salad, to fresh handmade bratwurst, to vegetarian pasta. I ordered the daily salad — chickpea and roasted cauliflower complete with artichoke, cilantro, mint, and lemon, which, like everything on the menu, was reasonably under 10 dollars. The variety of greens and added delicacies made the salad fresh and satisfying.

Of the sweets on the back of the menu, many of which involve Earnest ice cream from Commercial Drive in some form or another, I went for the Picker Shack cherry ice cream sandwich. Every one of Ernest’s concoctions is a winner, the flavours ranging from whiskey walnut to pumpkin pie, but this one is prima facie summer.

Or temporary summer, at least, as I reluctantly leave it all in due time for the wintry afternoon. Rainier is certainly a place to warm up though, in terms of food and atmosphere: the local focus and pared down interior make it uniquely Vancouver, and it seems that so far, Vancouverites agree.

Serena Ryder “Stompas” off the beaten path with Harmony

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By Rachel Braeuer
Image courtesy of Mary Rozzi

I do not envy Canadian musicians. Well, no, I do.
It’s just hard to imagine having actual talent and working as hard as they do only to achieve a small modicum of success while we, their countrywomen and men lose our shit because Ke$ha is coming to town.

This is definitely true for Serena Ryder, whose latest album, Harmony, is by far her best. Thankfully, she’s receiving more of the props she deserves for this one. While writing this, “Stompa” is sitting at #15 on iTunes top singles list, and the album itself is highlighted on the “trending now” page. If you’re interested in taking a listen, skip the overpriced latte twice and use the $9.99 you saved to just buy Harmony. You won’t be disappointed, and if you are I will literally buy you a latte, provided you can find The Peak office and personally show me a receipt.

In 2011, Ryder toured with Melissa Etheridge, and there is decidedly more Etheridge-like rasp on Harmony, maintaining a folksy undercurrent Ryder has become synonymous with. But in an un-folksy move, Harmony is an eclectic selection, ranging from bluegrass vocal harmony on “Nobody But You” to the sultry jazz ballad “For You”, and the pop-rock “Circle of the Sun.”
Ryder has a unique voice, somewhere between Janis Joplin’s rawness, Stevie Nicks’s presence and timbre, and Aretha Franklin’s range and power. The stylistic choices on this latest album are a mark of an artist who has found her sweet spot and who is demonstrating her arsenal of musical skills. Ryder is fantastic and maintains a coherent voice no matter which genre she’s singing.

If angst was the driving theme of Ryder’s earlier albums, joy certainly pervades Harmony. The songstress admits that this was “the first time that [she’d] written [while] in love.” Those hoping for the accusatory and frankness of Is It OK?’s “Little Bit of Red” might be disappointed. There’s a balance in thematic material with the lament “Please, Baby Please” and the piano ballad “Heavy Love”, but again, on previous albums these sentiments would have been set to folk-rock guitar riffs.

The variety in both genre and content makes Harmony much more personal than Ryder’s previous albums, something that more than makes up for the move away from folk-rock. Instead of trying to sing songs about love set to an edgy guitar, the freedom to sing and write the way she wanted really comes across. They were written in Ryder’s studio, a cozy space above her garage in Toronto that apparently has cedar shavings on the floor, intended to make it reminiscent of a sauna.

I don’t know if it was the pseudo-steamy change in writing location, Ryder and Harmony are hot. The honesty and emotion is palpable in an appealing way, and it’s nice to see a Canadian songstress flex her musical muscles and step away from the folk-fest stage for once.

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024