Results tagged “gentlemanreg”

WORDS: As part of Freedom to Read Week, This Is Not A Reading Series is proudly presenting the Canadian launch of Michael Muhammad Knight's The Taqwacores, a controversial novel about the Muslim punk-rock movement. Knight will appear this evening in conversation with Montreal filmmaker Omar Majeed, whose still-in-progress documentary Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam will feature the real-life punk bands whose stories inspired Knight to write his novel. Advanced footage from the film will be shown at the event, and Knight will partake in an extended Q&A session with the audience. Gladstone Hotel Melody Bar (1214 Queen Street West), 7 p.m., $5 (free if you buy the book).

MUSIC: Tonight at the Beaver, Gentleman Reg is throwing an advance listening party for his upcoming LP, Jet Black. The free event will also feature a screening of two music videos (shot from songs off Jet Black). If you can't make it, you can hear Reg play the songs live when he performs at Soundscapes on Tuesday, February 24, the album's release date. The Beaver (1192 Queen Street West), 11 p.m., FREE.

For years, SummerWorks has been kid sister to the Fringe. Smaller, shier, not quite as well-known (if often more reliable thanks to its policy of juried play selection as opposed to Fringe's random lottery). But there comes a summer in every kid sister's life when she starts going through some "special changes" and suddenly all her older sibling's friends turn their heads when she walks by the pool in her tankini. We already started to discuss the direction in which new Artistic Producer Michael Rubenfeld has started to take the festival, which has now been re-branded as "Toronto's Indie Theatre and Arts Festival."

The Drake is gearing up for an ambitious week of post-holiday, end of year music celebration. They are calling the short run What's in the Box: 5 nights, 5 bands, 5 bucks—a clever ploy to attract the empty-pocketed portion of the city (that's if you go for the music, not the booze). Despite being known for attracting enemies to the neighbourhood in the past (err...every Saturday night), the 5 nights (5 bands, 5 bucks) of solidly booked bills might win over the locals, even if it's just for those 5 nights (5 bands, 5 bucks).

Tonight is the debut of a new super-secret short film directed by Toronto indie-filmaker Sara St. Onge (who, by the way, has the absolute best URL -- "awesomology.com").

The members of Henri Faberge and the Adorables have affectionately called their much touted lakeside CD release party "Afternoon Delights on a Hot Summer Night." Sadly they're only half-right with the last weekend of the summer being cooler than some of the scorching hot days we had back in July and August.

We've all been to record release parties and book launches, but a party to celebrate the latest music video? Local indiepop crooner Gentleman Reg asks, "why not?" by hosting an event this Friday at the Drake Underground.

The Scream Literary Festival is back and we decided to highlight a few of the lit's festival choice events for your perusal:

It's a well known joke among indie rock fans that there are tons and tons of "wolf" bands. Everyone from Wolf Parade to Aids Wolf to Guitar Wolf. There's something about the lupine animal that just attracts musicians trying to come up with a band name. With the success of wolf bands the backlash is going to be inevitable.

Actually there's really good music too and the Images that we're talking about is actually the dozens of films shown every year at the Images Festival. Last year's fest had groundbreaking film from the Arab world and from a little closer to home Clive Holden's Trains of Winnipeg.

Barrett, a pianist who took up the Kalimba in the last year and a recent Linguistics and English U of T grad, has an artfully-packaged EP out called Earth Sciences. It includes a song called Stop giving your children standardized tests, part one. You can catch the sweet science nerd later this month at The Bagel, details of which the self-correcting power of the blogosphere will soon post in the comments.

retrospective offers some insight into how a small group of friends, musicians and artists opened up doors for great local music to be heard and appreciated all over the world.

If there was ever any confusion, NOW Magazine clears it up in this week's issue: Gentleman Reg is a local homo heartthrob. That's right. A bona-fide heartthrob of the homo variety. So when someone asks, "Who's this Gentleman Reg character?" You need only respond with three words: 'Local,' 'homo,' and 'heartthrob' (in that order). This question-answer scenerio may even come up this weekend, as G-Reg plays Alexander Parkette on Sunday at 6 pm. The heartthrob, along with other Pride acts, can be seen for free.

This weekend you've got two big to-do's vying for your attention - on the mainland, Pride Toronto wraps up a week of festivities with party after party and loads of live music. The full list of performers is too expansive to get into, but it includes David Usher, Carole Pope and Rough Trade, Lesbians On Ecstasy and Gentleman Reg. More detailed schedules of performances and locations available here.

Some links. Some news. Some not. Here are a few things to think about till you're done work today.

With the last Barenaked Ladies album, the city of Toronto has forever etched its name in annals music history. But besides BNL, this is a place that once saw Rick James and Neil Young bump out soul songs in Yorkville; that welcomed John Lennon's first solo concert; that was setting for more than one Mya video. Toronto is a city so steeped in music history that it would be outright irresponsible for the Torontoist to ignore this musical heritage. As such, each mercredi, or Wednesday, the Torontoist will offer some links to (legal) downloads or just info on our Toronto-centric music picks. Jam!