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Montreal’s proposed pit bull ban is an unjust solution

By
EIC
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18

If you’re a dog lover or a pit bull in Montreal, you might be out of luck. In response to Montreal resident Christiane Vadnais’ death after a dog mauled her, the city recently started trying to establish a law which would ban the entire pit bull breed — a proposal that has many owners in despair.

Any pit bull currently residing in a shelter would be euthanized, but the law is so vague on which canines qualify. Even dogs who only look like pit bulls — such as having “large heads” — can be a part of the ban. All humans currently owning such dogs as pets would be required to gain permits. Essentially, Montreal is Nazi Germany for pit bulls: you just have to look a certain way to be in danger.

This breedist thinking is simply nonsensical. The only pit bulls I’ve ever met have been sweet dogs with boundless love to give.

That being said, I know that vicious pit bulls exist — just like vicious dogs of any breed do. But pit bulls are not inherently bad, just like collies or labs aren’t. It’s the owners of these creatures who shape their personalities and behaviour.

Any animal that is abused or otherwise raised improperly is likely to behave aggressively, and we already know that large dogs can pose risks to others. Why are we acting surprised? Dogs that are kept on chains for two-thirds of their lives, hit, or neglected are bound to develop aggressions, and we should acknowledge this with empathy instead of fear.

Instead of banning an entire breed, it would be much more effective to create stricter standards and rules for people raising dogs, as well as to keep closer tabs on animal abusers, puppy mills, and dogfighting.

If we put more effort into making the tools and education necessary to raise an animal available, and cracked down on people who overstep the bounds of responsible dog ownership, we would see much more success in reducing dog-related injuries than we would by simply outlawing the breeds that seem more dangerous on the surface.

When approached with love, the pit bull breed is not inherently scary, mean, or dangerous. The ban in Montreal was merely a fear-based reaction to the tragic death of a woman via dog attack. This dog may have been a pit bull, but the same thing could have happened with any breed.

Animals shelters everywhere house hundreds of pit bull breeds and crosses, and Montreal is no exception. To murder each one of these creatures for something they can’t control is cruel and unusual.

Fortunately, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other interest groups are rallying against the new law in the interest of protecting the dogs. In fact, Quebec lobbyist groups have made some progress in eradicating the law. A judge in Quebec has temporarily suspended the breed ban, suggesting that Montreal “overstepped their bounds,” according to The Globe and Mail. It is my hope that these lobbyists will succeed, and animal lovers worldwide can rejoice.

Playboy’s making positive strides by including a hijab-wearing woman

By
EIC
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0

Playboy is infamous for making waves. The most current incident that comes to mind is the magazine’s decision to remove nude photos. But now, Playboy is once again receiving attention for featuring a model wearing a hijab.

Noor Tagouri, a Muslim American journalist, will be featured in the magazine’s October issue. Tagouri is the first hijab-wearing woman to appear in Playboy, something many have been quick to express their views on, both positive and negative.

Aside from a host of Islamophobic comments, Tagouri has received criticism from her own religious community.

For instance, The Washington Post recently published a collaborative article, penned by Inas Younis, freelance writer, and Asma T. Uddin, founder and editor-in-chief of AltMuslimah, in response to the feature. They addressed the apparent contradiction of a “hijab-wearing-woman in a magazine known for [. . .] objectifying women,” and speculated that this was Playboy’s intention.

While I understand why some may feel that this is inappropriate, I think Tagouri’s appearance in Playboy is encouraging. Her feature marks another successful change that Playboy has made to the magazine, and promises a remarkable future.

For a moment, let’s focus on the magazine’s reasons for featuring Tagouri. The publication’s October issue is about “Renegades,” featuring eight women and men who “aren’t afraid to break the rules.”

Playboy has always been about this kind of commitment to nonconformity, but its approach here is different from what we’ve seen in the past. This new journalistic angle demonstrates how Playboy is working to remain a relevant and revolutionary part of print media.

While the magazine hasn’t totally abandoned sex as a theme (the October issue will also feature porn star Stoya), Tagouri’s feature proves that Playboy is capable of being diverse in its representation. Playboy’s shift in focus is, in fact, a more modern way of showcasing the rebelliousness and difference that it’s always been known for.

Playboy is no longer about what you are or are not wearing. Instead, it’s a magazine that’s attempting to showcase people who are different from those we commonly see represented in media. It’s using their unique perspectives to challenge and shape the world that their readers live in.

In other words, it’s offering us a more intimate look into what it looks like to deviate from the norms of society and media representation. It shows that “provocative” can mean things besides being naked on a centrefold.

Playboy has chosen to feature a woman based solely on her brilliance and hard work. Unlike what would occur in many other magazines, she is not being used as fetish porn or as a token of diversity, but instead is being recognized for her merit.

Playboy’s shift away from its traditional nudity has, ironically, allowed them to return to its roots. It’s once again able to be recognized as a magazine that is about challenging our society, and encouraging others to do the same.

Ultimately, I think Tagouri’s appearance in the magazine is incredibly positive, both for her and for Playboy. For Tagouri, it is an opportunity to showcase herself as a successful Muslim American, hijab-wearing woman. For Playboy, it is an opportunity to prove to us once again that it is not the clothes the magazine cares for, but the person in them.

If you ask me, I think we could all learn a thing or two from that approach.

Vaping doesn’t have to mean giving up your identity

By
EIC
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3

Vaping is getting more and more popular in Canada. People think of vaping as a way for smokers to wean themselves off of nicotine. This works well — a little too well, in fact. A troubling number of people who use vapes use them recreationally, to the point where there’s now a “vape” subculture.

As happens regularly in our world, we’ve taken something that a small group of people genuinely enjoy, blown it out of proportion, made a million memes about it, and created a subculture rife with snobbery, entitlement, and exclusivity. It happened to Penny boards, it happened with weed, and it’s now happened with vaporizers.

Advertisers evoke our natural pack mentality with scenes like “boy meets girl after sharing a Coke,” or “a man and his family play with their dog while he sports fashionable Ray-Bans.” This is where the vaping subculture comes into play.

You might go to the store and buy one after hearing of the benefits, or seeing your friends with one, or maybe just wanting to try one out as an impulse-buy. You’ll enjoy it, get excited about it, and want to share your newfound interest with friends. Some people will still blow it off as a silly and ridiculous hobby, though.

So you turn to the Internet in search of a community that supports your interests.  You find it and start to feel more confident; however, the members of that community begin to saturate your views with their own. When you’re constantly surrounded by others who think and feel the same way, physically or not, you begin to fall into an echo chamber of ideals, where no one has a different opinion.

You share memes, ask questions about different kinds of vapes, start dressing and talking like each other, and soon enough you feel like your opinions are the only opinions that anyone has.

We develop pack mentality, and that assures us that it’s acceptable to vape indoors, in line at a bus stop, at parties and clubs, or around others who might be sensitive to its smell.

But this isn’t nefarious. It’s just people being inconsiderate and ignorant to the fact that the brand, object, or hobby they’ve chosen to identify with isn’t necessarily one that others appreciate — and in fact, it may be one that becomes a source of irritation.

There’s nothing wrong with vaping in itself. You aren’t a bad person for inhaling vaporized fumes — but that’s not the sole component of who you are.

This loss of identity will continue if we allow ourselves to be defined by the things we purchase. Companies and brands count on us to overindulge in products and oversaturate our senses.

But you are not the product that you’ve bought, and there is no reason to act like it. We’re individuals separate from the stereotypes associated with the objects we purchase. Let’s live like we own our possessions, not as though our possessions own us.

The Patronus you need

By
EIC
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0

Someone doing the Pottermore Patronus quiz got a rat. That’s like making out with Hermione, but halfway through the lip-locking session the Polyjuice Potion wears off and it’s actually Cornelius Fudge you’re frenching. A tad bit disappointing. So for those of you who got the Fudge end of the stick, grab a quill (sold separately) and discover your true Patronus.

 

1) Who would you least like to go to the Yule Ball with?

A) A mandrake
B) Death Eater #7
C) Rogue Bludger (robbed of an Oscar for its resolute performance in The Chamber of Secrets)
D) Percy Weasley

2) What is the book you’re currently reading?

A) Perhaps There Could Be Post on Sundays – A philosophical dissection of the drilling industry by Vernon Dursley
B) Squibs Are People Too – A human rights piece by Argus Filch
C) Constant Vigilance – A very uninformative guide to self-defence by Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody
D) Norris, You Saucy Minx – A Harlequin Romance by Daily Prophet #1 best-seller Argus Filch

3) Which of these would you use to spice things up in the bedroom?

A) Wingardium Leviosa
B) Gillyweed
C) The grease Snape uses for his hair
D) Crabbe & Goyle

4) You’re found most often using . . .

A) Felix Felicis, because weed’s getting pricey, know what I’m sayin’?
B) Avada Kedavra on your social life because you’ve got 48 readings to do. (Fucking Umbridges, all of them.)
C) Obliviate on yourself to forget that guy you hooked up with last night (it was Flitwick)
D) Veritaserum on your housemates to find out who used up all your milk

5) What is your favourite band?

A) The Seven Horcruxes (moody electronic indie rock)
B) Thestrals (all-female heavy metal)
C) Tonkin’ My Lupin (jazz/soul)
D) Lil’ Diggory (hip-hop/R&B)

6) What is your ideal Potter spin-off?

A) Luna Lovegood in the hard-hitting journalistic drama that exposed the Ministry’s cover-up of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, Not So Loony After All
B) Rubeus Hagrid in the animated comedy, How to Train a Bloodthirsty Hungarian Horntail
C) Cho Chang and Colin Creevey in the tear-jerker, Why Are You Crying in All of Our Photos?
D) The origins story of Professor McGonagall, Step Up: The Gryffindor Common Room

7) What line best describes your sex life?

A) The platform at King’s Cross isn’t the only thing that’s 9 and ¾
B) Don’t worry, I’ll bring defence for my dark parts
C) TROLL IN THE DUNGEON
D) And at that moment, she realized that the Gryffindor Keeper didn’t get his name for his Quidditch abilities

 

 

Mostly A’s: The sock that freed Dobby

You’re bit of a legend. If your Patronus can save the greatest house elf from the vitamin D-deficient Malfoys, it’s going to serve you well against Dementors.

 

Mostly B’s: Neville’s Boggart (a.k.a. Snape in Granny Longbottom’s clothes)

Using humour to confuse a Dementor just might work. (It probably won’t.)

 

Mostly C’s: A signed version of Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart

You’re beyond saving. And you deserve a useless Patronus to convey this. The only thing more pointless to have would be Lockhart himself — he’d try a Memory Charm on a Dementor, which would probably only release a swarm of Cornish Pixies.

 

Mostly D’s: Moaning Myrtle

Jesus Christ, you’re a miserable motherfucker, aren’t you? Myrtle’s your gal. Never has a sadder string of words been strung in the English language. But hey, at least Dementors are gonna leave you alone. They couldn’t suck the life out of you more than Whiny McGhostface.

 

 

Five pumpkin-y products you absolutely need right now

By
EIC
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0

The beginning of autumn can mean only one thing: the emergence of pumpkin spice. Starbucks rolled out its pumpkin spice latte on September 1, even before we could sober up from our summer mojitos and margaritas. But don’t be basic and succumb to the over-commercialized, mainstream pumpkin spice products! Here are five pumpkin-y things that will get all the basic girls asking, “Where can I buy that?!”

 

Pumpkin patch socks

pumpkin-socks-irene-lo

OK, confession time: you have something funky going on with your feet and you are uber self-conscious about it. Not to worry! These cute pumpkin socks (patterned with your choice of happy or scary jack-o’-lanterns) thrive on foot sweat. The more sweat, the more pumpkin smell you get. Soon, you’ll have people asking if you stepped in pumpkin pie!

 

Pumpkin-lined mugs

pumpkin-mug-irene-lo

Why should your drink get all the fun? This mug is lined with layers and layers of pumpkin-infused chemicals. Fill your mug and let the chemicals mix with your coffee or hot water! Also available in pumpkin-lined solo cups, for all of your frat party needs.

 

Pumpkin spice toothpaste

pumpkin-toothpaste-irene-lo

Because nothing says gum disease-fighting, cavity-reducing super toothpaste like pumpkin spice toothpaste. Fight sugar with more sugar! That cinnamon toothpaste shit is nasty anyway.

 

Cutie pumpkin pie scented lingerie

lingere

Victoria’s Secret ain’t got nothing on this sexy new lingerie line. Slip into something that makes you feel like the badass warden of the pumpkin patch that you truly are on the inside, while smelling exactly like a freshly baked pumpkin pie from grandma’s oven. Give him that sugar and spice and everything naughty!

 

Pumpkin pumpkins (a.k.a. pumpkin Trump-kins)

trumpkin
This is the ultimate pumpkin experience for all you pumpkin enthusiasts out there! Pumpkins of today are not at the calibre of pumpkin-ness that our ancestors used to eat hundreds of years ago. These pumpkins have two times more seeds, two times more inner gunk to scoop out, two times more pumpkin potent, and five times more orange. Trump gives his seal of approval on this one, and now you know what he bases his spray tan off of!

How to be an adult

By
EIC
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0

So you’re about to enter the real world and you’re looking for some guidance. You’re not on BuzzFeed for this sage advice, so that’s a victory in itself. This is going to be addressed in the same vein as the criminally underrated film, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and this leads us nicely to tip numero uno.

 

  1. Make incredibly outdated references

When in doubt, always go for a Kate Hudson rom-com. Katherine Heigl is an equally viable alternative. This will be a godsend when you’re trying to be topical at dinner parties. Of which there are approximately 213 a year when you’re an adult. The only thing in greater abundance than intellectual conversations is cheese. Why is there always so much fucking cheese?

 

  1. Pay your bills when you feel like it

A blasé attitude is highly recommended here. Better yet, wait until the eviction notice arrives before making rent. It’ll give you a rush of excitement that your soul-crushing job and cynical partner can’t. Hello darkness, my old friend.

 

  1. Believe that your youthful fitness will never fade

You took a biology class in the eighth grade, so you’ve got a pretty airtight knowledge of the human body. You played (insert sport here — hockey, netball, competitive darts) in high school so you’re going to be a prime specimen until the grave. Except you’ll never die because you’re just that healthy.

 

  1. Rely on John Oliver as your only source of news

This one’s just stating the obvious.

 

  1. Keep playing the Tinder game

Settle down with a family that loves you and gives you a sense of achievement not quantifiable in words? Thanks, but no thanks. Instead, insist on alternating between multiple dating apps simultaneously — we’re talking four, minimum. Why relish the thought of leaving your imprint on the world with a child when you can instead spend your adult life wondering if that 22-year-old political science major from Ohio is going to look favourably on your “super like”? (You’re 35 in this scenario, and you also still listen to Nickelback. Bathe in that sadness for a second.)

 

  1. Learn what a mortgage is

It’s kind of like wearing sandals and trying to be sexually active: pretty fucking pointless.

 

  1. Pimp your wardrobe

Gone are the days of experimenting; no more burgundy blazer and felt trousers. Pick a look and aggressively adhere to it. Buy five shirts in slightly different shades of blue — to the point where people are convinced that you only have one shirt that you wear every day. How else are they going to remember who you are?

 

  1. And, finally, invest in some chalk.

Take said chalk and every night before bed, inscribe a line on your bedroom wall. That’s another day done of being an adult. At least in prison you’re working out.

Now go, put on your big (gender neutral) pants, and embrace the sweet, sweet nectar of adulthood.

 

COMIC: Peers—Money, Money

By
EIC
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0

Fall TV Reviews

By
EIC
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0
Fox's latest fall TV offerings feature Pitch which is the story of the first female Major League Baseball player Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury, pictured left).

How to Get Away with Murder

If you thought the third season of How to Get Away with Murder would come with fewer twists, time jumps, and murders, then you are in for disappointment.

The show found its niche and formula in season one, and the premiere used all its signature moves. We have no idea who the dead body is, how it happened, or who on the team did it. My guess is the new character they’ve added: insufferable, know-it-all Drake, who has an answer for everything.

Frank is MIA, Annalise and Nate are together, and Wes has a new girlfriend (she seems nice, but his history says we should stay vigilant and suspicious). We’ll get the usual smattering of episodic cases with the larger plotline of the nameless murder victim. This season is certainly shaping up to deliver the same twisted, what-the-fuck goodness we love.

Lethal Weapon

A TV show reincarnation of the popular movie series, Lethal Weapon isn’t as terrible as I thought it might be. It’s a cop dramedy that sees the two leads as a stereotypical bickering married couple, who get their adrenaline fixes in the line of duty.

It opens with heartbreak and tragedy that really shapes Detective Riggs’ character and behaviour — he’s the kamikaze. Detective Murtaugh, after a near-death experience, is the cop who plays it a little too safely, always monitoring his heart rate.

The dialogue is witty, and the plot — though a little predictable if you’ve watched enough cop procedurals in your life — is decent. The writing is better than average, and despite a focus on the comedy, the show does discuss more sombre themes like depression and suicide. However, it’s the relationship of snappy comebacks and camaraderie masked as animosity between Murtaugh and Riggs that’ll keep you coming back.

Lucifer

The second season of Lucifer opened strongly, hitting all the classic notes one would expect following the success of its first season. The soundtrack was on point, and the first episode was enjoyable even though it lacked the added oomph one might expect from a season premiere.

The one-liners were hilarious, Detective Decker was suspicious, and Lucifer was his usual devilishly attractive yet self-absorbed self. Decker’s husband Dan, who at the end of last season was arrested, was released and let back on the force, much to the detective’s surprise.

Maze went AWOL for a while to find herself and her place in this human world, but she’s back to kicking ass and taking names with a demon’s flair.

And that cliffhanger we got at the end of last season? Well, it looks like we may not have to wait all season to figure out who “Mom” is.

MacGyver

For those of us not around in the late-‘80s, the reboot of MacGyver brings the scientific creativity of Angus MacGyver to a new generation. Mac is a covert operative for the US who uses his extensive scientific knowledge and improvisational skills to “MacGyver” his way out of sticky situations. Yes, this is where that term comes from.

In this show, voice-overs are regularly used. They explain the science behind wrapping a coil around a cylinder of metal to make an electromagnet, and Mac’s thought processes as he makes and uses his gadgets.

It’s an intriguing show, and they’ve already set up for their season-long story arc, thanks to a betrayal and some custody-escaping. But other than the MacGyver quality, it could be just about any other secret agent spy show. In that respect, it’s not bad. It’s just not doing anything new.

Modern Family

The eighth season of Modern Family started off with a solid premiere. The Dunphy clan started out in New York, where we left them at the tail end of last season. With typical Dunphy antics, they hung out in the big city until Father’s Day. Phil and Claire bailed on a closet convention for an NYC weekend away, and the trio of kids faked going home to spend more time in the Big Apple. Guess how long those secrets held up.

Mitchell and Cam had a very different holiday away, with Cam’s grandmother on her deathbed and Mitchell being the person she hates more than anything. Add to this comedic jumble Manny developing Stockholm syndrome feelings for his aunt, and it’s easy to say this episode was funny and highly entertaining.

The great thing about Modern Family is, because it’s almost three different sitcoms in one, they rarely have a bum episode. Luckily, this was not one of them.

Notorious

Notorious is set to become one of my new favourites. It tells the story of Julia, the producer of a much-watched news outlet that’s funny, flirtatious, and dramatic. The show has received generally unfavourable reviews by critics, but I’m going against them because, while it’s full of flash and fluff, it’s not implausible.

The show follows the relationship between Julia and Jake, an attorney who trades favours with Julia in order to control the media’s narrative of his cases and the public perception of his clients. It shows the “dark side” of how one woman (Julia) gets to quite literally produce the news. She decides what people will watch, and consequently what they will learn and care about.

It’s got a decent dose of mystery, with its undertones of a crime procedural. If you’ve seen Scandal, it’s a little like that, in that Julia and Jake manipulate the situation to suit their own interests.

Pitch

Pitch follows the life of Ginny Baker, the first woman to ever start an MLB game. As a pitcher, she’s mastered the screwball from a young age, and has used that special pitch to make the big leagues. She comes complete with a troubled backstory: a father who pushed her too hard into something she wasn’t even sure she wanted to do, to fulfill his dream of playing in the majors.

So it deals with some daddy issues, but it also deals with sexism — a particularly troublesome part of the sporting world — and it does so in an intelligent way. Ginny navigates her dismissive teammates like a pro, and deals with the skeletons in her closet as she does.

You don’t really need to like sports to enjoy Pitch, since the show is about more than just baseball. It’s about women doing what men do — and doing it just as well, if not better.

Speechless

Speechless is everything you didn’t know you wanted in a comedy show. Centred on the DiMeo family, composed of Maya and Jimmy, the parents, and Ray, J.J., and Dylan, their three kids. The DiMeo’s patchwork dynamic contributes to the comedy, but the core of the comedy surrounds people with disabilities.

I don’t mean that in a they-make-fun-of-people-with-disabilities way. J.J. has cerebral palsy and, as a result, can’t speak. Instead, he uses a laser pointer and a board of words and letters to communicate. Through J.J., and the actions and behaviour of the people in his life, the show manages to provide lighthearted insight and awareness of how people with disabilities are treated by the general public.

It’s an incredibly well-written sitcom. It’s respectful yet funny, drawing attention to the flaws in how people are treated, and showing by example how those people should be treated instead. I highly recommend it.

The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory opened its 10th season (good lord, has it really been that long) with a wedding episode. After eloping last season, Penny and Leonard are finally having the ceremony that all their friends and family can attend — and it makes for a pretty hilarious start.

There are a few sappy moments when the vows are being read, and others pitch in to show their love, but overall it was a steady cruise from joke to one-liner and back again throughout the episode. Immigration, marriage, and parents having sex are all fair game in this episode.

With Penny’s and Leonard’s families meeting for the first time, there is plenty of in-law comedic relief, and Sheldon’s always dependable for a socially awkward laugh or two. All in all, if the rest of the season follows suit, this could be a good run for the comedy.

Van Helsing

Remakes are very popular this TV season, and with that wave of inspiration comes the remake of Van Helsing. Centred on Vanessa “Van” Helsing, the daughter of the original Abraham Van Helsing, the show immediately thrusts you into the middle of the vampire apocalypse.

Van is somehow immune to vampire bites and has an insane healing ability, but the first part of the episode has her mostly lying on a table uselessly under heat lamps.

If you’re looking for sparkly, lovesick vamps, this is not your speed. Van Helsing’s vampires most closely resemble zombies in their single-minded quest for fresh blood. So, aside from the vampiric twist, it doesn’t seem to be doing much differently than the zombie apocalypse shows we’ve been taking in for years now.

There is a good amount of potential, with the woman lead, and a bunch of people cooped up together. That always spells drama. And blood. So if you’re squeamish, pass.

The Strumbellas bring vibrant indie rock to Commodore

By
EIC
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0
Ontario based band the Strumbellas is coming back to Vancouver hot off of the international success of their single "Sprits."

When vocalist and keyboardist David Ritter answered my call, the Strumbellas had just left the stage at the Austin City Limits Festival, and the band would soon be heading to an autograph signing. Such is the life of a band whose latest album, Hope, has seen huge success this past year.

They’ve been touring for the better part of the year, both in North America and abroad, and they will soon be coming to Vancouver for two shows at the Commodore Ballroom on October 16 and 17, with the Zolas as openers.

Ritter isn’t complaining about the band’s touring schedule, though. “It’s good to be busy,” he said. While they don’t get home to Ontario as much as they’d like, they are looking forward to returning home to Canada to continue their tour. Ritter said he’s quite familiar with Vancouver: his sister used to live here, and he had some friends who attended SFU.

With the success of Hope’s first single, “Spirits,” the band has been pleasantly surprised. “We certainly had no idea that it was going to take off the way it did,” said Ritter. They were happy to find out people in Belgium and South Africa were connecting with the song.

“You always hope for this, but it’s hard to tell with your own work,” he said. “Sometimes you think it’s amazing, and sometimes you think it’s terrible.”

In an interview with iHeartRadio, lead singer Simon Ward mentioned that his favourite part of “Spirits” is the bridge, and talked about its creation:

“One cool thing about ‘Spirits’ is the bridge. I wrote that right after I was watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and I was trying to write a song in the vein of that end scene when Indiana picks the right cup and when he pours it on his dad. So I went to the computer and was trying to write an inspirational movie theme-esque song, and it was a violin piece, and then eventually we were like, ‘Oh crap, we don’t have a bridge for Spirits.’ I found that and plopped it in there.”

Audiences can expect the band to interact with them a lot during their concerts, and Ritter said their favourite thing to do is to get the crowd to sing along; not just to “Spirits” but, especially in Canada, to some of their earlier songs that fans will also know.

While their Canadian audience has been built up slowly — touring to small venues like the Railway Club, and gaining a following along the way — their recent success has changed things. “Now we roll into a place we’ve never played and there are hundreds of people who know our songs,” he said.

When the band arrives in a new city, the one thing they always try to do is find some good food. “We don’t get a lot of time to enjoy the sights, but we try to sneak away for an hour and have one good meal.” In Austin, he’s hoping they can find some good tacos or BBQ. When they’ve been to Vancouver in the past, they’ve usually eaten at Japanese restaurants suggested by Ritter’s sister.

Not only can fans relate to the band’s music, but also their love of finding good food in a new city.

COMIC: The Joke Train

By
EIC
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0
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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