The record, 19 août 2005, Supplément 1

Weekly Guide to Arts & Entertainment in the Eastern Townships r ** A INSIDE A great summer dish see Page 2 INSIDE A 40-year-old virgin?see Page 9 ________J THE RECORD, August 19 - August 25, 2005 By Thomas Ledwell Record Correspondent As Townshippers descend on Brome for its annual fair, sounds from one of Canada’s hottest country bands will be floating above the fairgrounds.The core group for Desert Heat — four boys from the Townships — is taking Canada’s country music scene by storm.“What you’ll see at the Big Brome Fair is a pretty explosive show — high energy,” said Desert Heat guitarist and composer Jarrod Tetreault.The band is on a high, and for good reason.Desert Heat is just off the release of its first album, Forever Road, and it’s already launching them to country music stardom.Recently the band picked up a copy of the Country Music News, a newspaper charting country music in Canada.“On the second to last page with the charts, it said New Canadian Content Material,” Tetreault said.“We looked for our name, and we were happy to see it there.Then (lead vocalist) Trev (Brunton) said: ‘You know, one day we’re going to be up on the charts.’ Then he goes: ‘Hey wait a minute.We’re at 76!’ It was pretty exciting.” Desert Heat’s single, ‘Gone (but not forgotten)’, debuted on the Canadian country music charts.This fast success caught the members of the band by surprise.“It’s unheard of for a band to rise that quickly,” Tetreault said.“People are relating to what we’re writing about though.” Forever Road is a fitting title, considering how far the members of Desert Heat have travelled.The four members met when they were attending Massey-Vanier High School in Cowansville 17 years ago.The faces in the band are the same: Tetreault, 34, and Trev Brunton, 35, write most of the music.Brun-ton’s brother Tim, 33, plays lead guitar.Robin Wilkinson, 32, is behind the bass.COURTESY DESERT HEAT Desert Heat are Guitarist Jarrod Tetreault, Trev Brunton, Tim Brunton and Robin Wilkinson.The band performs at the Brome County Agricultural Society Fairgrounds Sunday, Sept.4 at 8 p.m.“We were a rock band back in high school,” said do country.” Tetreault.“We did a lot of covers and we did some trib- The band that was born at the Brunton’s house in ute material, but we always had a little country in our Mansonville has gone through several manifestations, background.It wasn’t really a stretch for us to want to See Country, Page 5 Desert Heat to warm crowd at Big Brome Fair Tourist Trap • Edward II • Terror • The Trews • Wacousta • Lisa Brokop L.° A Townships Stage at The Piggery (North Hatley, Qc) Tourist Trap Tel: (819) 565-4957 or 1-866-565-4957 a comedy in seven phone calls written by comedian Lome Elliott directed by Andreas Apergis August 24 - September 4 Wed.-Sat.8 p.m.Matinees: Wed.2 p.m.• Sun.4 p.m. page 2 August 19^ - Axj-gust.25,RECORD —~TALK Tabouleh tastes best when made at home I love to eat tabouleh, but for some reason assumed that it was hard to make - that funny-looking wheat has always seemed foreign to me.But then I got a great recipe from a friend in Sào Paulo, Brazil (my hometown actually has a large and thrivipg Lebanese community), and realized that there’s really no secret to this healthy, summery dish.I found the wheat quite easily at the grocery store, and the other ingredients are the simplest possible.All this recipe involves is soaking the wheat the night before, and a fair amount of chopping - piece of cake! Ingredients: (for six to eight people) 1 cup fine light bulgur wheat juice of 2 limes 4 tbsp.olive oil 3 cups cherry or grape tomatoes (you can use regular tomatoes, but they release more water and the tabouleh will become soggy sooner) 1 English cucumber 1 bunch mint 1 bunch parsley 1 medium onion 1 tbsp.salt freshly-ground pepper Directions: Soak the wheat in a cup of cold water overnight.Strain using a fine sieve, pushing down on the wheat to get all the excess water out, and reserve.Wash the tomatoes, herbs and cucumber and pat dry.Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise and finely dice the cucumber and onion.Discard the parsley and mint stems, and finely chop the leaves (it goes a lot faster in the food processor).Toss all ingredients together and refrigerate.It will keep for up to four days.Alex’s Pantry .* Wm / COURTESY ALEX FORBES Acclaimed chefs put the fat to the fire By Grania Li twin Most people don’t think about roast pork on sizzling-hot summer days, but two chefs from southern Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley can think of little else.Why relegate this delicious meat to winter, they ask.The two got crackling recently, and decided to concoct a singular summer menu featuring all kinds of different pork dishes.“It’s a celebration of local products,” says chef Bill Jones, 46, an award-win-niirg cookbook author and food consultant.The seven-course sampler will be created during a four-hour class that he will teach alongside chef James Barber, 84, host of the syndicated television show The Urban Peasant and author of a cookbook series of the same name.“James and I are both very interested in pork because it is a pretty amazing local product,” says Jones.“And there are a lot of small producers around here rearing different, unusual breeds, so it’s a little bit of a trend to explore them.“The pork we have chosen is an English Tamworth breed (also known as the Irish grazer) that is not widely available here and has amazing flavour.It comes from a farm right next to us, is not medicated and is raised in natural pasture to about 150 pounds." He notes students who attend the class will not only learn how to prepare and cook the dishes, but also will find out where to pick up all manner of suc-culent and rare products in the Cowichan Valley.The menu will include a confit of pork, a dish that is slowly poached in oil and is “meltingly tender.It just falls apart.” This and other appetizer samplings will include kidneys cooked in a spicy Spanish style; a dried leg of lamb that is salt-cured in the Italian style and cut thin like prosciutto, then wrapped around figs; ribs with beans and double-smoked bacon; a Vietnamese soup with pork dumplings; and a salad of mixed fresh greens.Portions will be small so people can sample “a world of pork flavouring,” promised Jones, who has written nine cookbooks and last year won a World Cookbook Award in Barcelona for his ode to fresh food, Chefs Salad.For the main event, it will be a pork roast leg, rubbed with sea salt and herbs such as rosemary and sage, to give it a crisp crackling.The meal will conclude with two tarts: mincemeat made with pork fat and dried fruit, served with wild blackberry served with lavender ice cream, organic coffee, tea and chocolate truffles.All the food will be paired with Merridale Cider Works artisan drinks, fresh local produce and breads.There will also be plenty of pork lore, offered by Barber, who is best known for his internationally televised show, which demystifies and simplifies cook- ing.He is also a firm believer in locally produced and seasonal food, teaches on his own farm in the Cowichan Valley, writes for national newspapers and magazines, and has 14 books in print.Use a pork steak that is marbled with a little fat for the best results with this recipe from Bill Jones (The Savoury Mushroom, Raincoast Books 2000).The sweet and spicy glaze will burn if left unattended for too long.Keep an eye on the rolls and baste periodically with the glaze to build up a nice finish and leave the pork with a crispy and slightly charred exterior.Roast Vietnamese Pork Roll with Spinach and Mushrooms Serves 4 1/2 cup (125 mL)mint jelly 1 tablespoon (15 mL) hot sauce 1 tablespoon (15 mL)chili sauce 1 tablespoon (15 mL)minced garlic 1 tablespoon (15 mL) minced ginger 2 limes, zest and juice 1 tablespoon (15 mLjminced basil 4 boneless pork shoulder or butt steaks (about 2 pounds or 1 kg) 1/2 cup (125 mL)dry white wine 1 tablespoon (15 mL) garlic, minced Salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon (15 mL)olive oil 1/2 pound (250 g) button mushrooms, sliced 1 package baby spinach, washed and trimmed Directions: Preheat oven to 375 F (180 C).In a small saucepan, combine mint jelly, hot sauce, chili sauce, garlic, ginger, lime zest, juice and basil.Warm over medium heat, stirring constantly until jelly is dissolved.Set aside until needed.On a cutting board, lay the pork on a sheet of plastic wrap.Cover with a second sheet and flatten the meat with a tenderizer (or flat, blunt instrument).Repeat with remaining pork and transfer to a casserole dish.Add wine and garlic and turn to coat.Set aside to marinate for at least 20 minutes.In a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, add oil and heat for 45 seconds.Add mushrooms and season well with salt and pepper.Saute until mushrooms appear dry, about 5 minutes.Add spinach and toss until wilted.Allow to cool and set aside.On a cutting board, place the drained pork.Brush the surface with the mint sauce and mound 1/4 of the mushroom mixture in the centre.Roll into a cylinder and tie with butcher twine into a compact roll.Repeat with remaining rolls.In an oven-proof skillet over medium high heat, add oil and heat for 1 minute.Add the pork rolls and brown on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.Place in oven and baste repeatedly with glaze until the rolls are cooked through and slightly charred, about 10 minutes.Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting the string and carving into slices.Serve with a drizzle of the remaining glaze.—CanWestNews Service iTHEi RECORD August 19 - August 25, 2005 page 3 Theatre Townships Stage set to present Lome Elliott’s Tourist Trap By Leah Fitzgerald With just two weeks rehearsal time, first time director Andreas Apergis is living the the atrical life.Apergis, a veteran of the Montreal theatre scene (he was in Mambo Italiano at Centaur, among other productions), is directing the Quebec premiere of Tourist Trap by Lome Elliott.After letting Townships Stage’s production manager Christina Hidalgo know that he was interested in directing, Apergis got word from artistic director Sunil Mahtani, and down to the Townships he came.The play is about a man, about 30, trying to rent a cabin on Prince Edward Island.It takes place in seven phone calls, and features a wild set, including, Elliott says, a cabin that’s supposed to fall down.Not that it’s ever worked for him.“I’ve dabbled in construction myself, and the results are always comic rather than adequate,” he says.“Bruno (the main character) is completely useless with tools in his hands.” So the Tourist Trap is a bunch of funny ideas — a bumbling main character, trying to rent a family cabin to make money, and a good idea for a set — mixed with the idea of a meddling family member who’s only trying to help.“Ideas are like rabbits,” Elliott says.“Put a couple together and pretty soon you have more ideas.” Elliott wrote the play about five years ago, and has directed it himself, though he’s never played in it, despite offers.“Bruno’s about 30, and he’s wondering if he should make his play or not,” Elliott explains.“I’m a little old for that part.It’s a good showcase piece for the main character.There’s a rant in the third act that can be really effective if well-acted.” Elliott can judge for himself how well-acted the third act rant is, since he’ll be on hand for the opening weekend on his way to a show in Hudson.Elliott’s been in PEI this summer, working on a one-woman show he wrote, and reading Prospéra in The Tempest for a fundraiser.If the CBC labour dispute is resolved in time, he’ll be on tour again this fall for his show Madly Off in All Directions, in its 10th year.“I write my little head off," Elliott says.“When the ideas are popping, they will not stop.And having a deadline, knowing there’s going to be an audience to play for in a week, does wonders for the writer’s block.It gives you a boot in the arse.” Having an audience to play for is definitely spurring along Apergis, who has but two weeks and a couple of days of rehearsals before the previews, and just four previews to get the play in top shape for opening night on Aug.27.“It’s a challenge,” Apergis says.“I understand acting, and the perspective of an actor.After all those years of doing a craft, maybe I have something to offer as director.” Apergis has been immersing himself in the “wacky world of Lome Elliott,” while approaching the play as he would any other: Making the characters believable, working out a set and the movements on stage, and rehearsing to get all the elements in the play to work.“I’m looking forward to the audience reaction,” Apergis says.“Though I’ll probably be hiding somewhere on opening night.You still get the same nerves as an actor, but you don’t get to stand up and yell stop if things aren’t working.” Apergis hasn’t done much summer theatre, though he was in Theatre Lac Brome’s first production 20 years ago, before the theatre had its own home.The Dawson College grad has been working non-stop, doing two or three plays a year.He’s also a veteran of Canadian TV, with roles on F/X and The City.******* Townships Stage’s Quebec premier of Tourist Trap by Lorne Elliott plays from Aug.24 through Sept.4 at The Piggery Theatre in North Hatley.Tickets ARE $25.30 FOR ADULTS, $20.70 FOR SENIORS AND $5.75 FOR STUDENTS.FOR TICKETS, CALL 819-565-4957 OR 1-800-5654957.COURTESY LORNE ELLIOTT Tourist Trap by Lorne Elliott plays from Aug.24 through Sept.4 at The Piggery Theatre in North Hatley.Tickets are $25.30 for adults, $20.70 for seniors and $5.75 for students.U NIVERSITÉ MfgTjh BISHOP’S UNIVERSITY Back to Work Promotion THÉÂTRE CENTENNIAL THEATRE Buy two shows among the following ond get a 3rd show for free 1-MAZA MEZÉ (world music): October 5th From Toronto, a group of wonderful musicians interprets the music of Greece and the Middle East.2-CANTABILE (concert music): October 22nd.The best kept secret from England a capella quartet.3-VIRGINIA RODRIGUES (world music): October 27th “The new voice of Brazilian music” New York Times.4-PAVLO (Mediterranean pop music): November 12th With his passionate guitar and fellow musicians, a charming artist who will bewitch you.5-THE MATT HERSKOWITZ TRIO (jazz): November 19th A sensational trio who shows virtuosity and strong musicality.6-THREE CITIES IN THE LIFE OF DR.NORMAN BETHUNE (opera): November 26th With Baritone Michael Donovan and 8 musicians.A 50-minute opera on the famous doctor, preceded by a selection of chamber music by Bradyworks.Get your brochure at the Centennial Theatre Box Office or call (819) 822-9692 iTIIE, page 4 August 19 - August 25, 2005 RECORD .TALK Snelgrove shines as doomed monarch in Edward II Theatre CANWEST NEWS From left to right: Michelle Giroux as Queen Isabella, David Snelgrove as King Edward II and Jamie Robinson as Piers Gaveston in Edward II at The Stratford Festival of Canada.By Jamie Portman Stratford, Ont.Theatre Review Even before the production begins, the Stratford Festival is serving notice that it won’t be coy in its approach to Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II.A glance at the cover of the house program tells it all with its photograph of David Snelgrove’s Edward moving in for a clincher with Jamie Robinson’s Piers Gaveston, the beloved favourite whose sexual and emotional power over the throne will eventually lead to the king’s downfall and death.And then, when the lights in the Studio Theatre dim and the bleak, bare stage assumes life, our first glimpse is of the leather-clad Gaveston posing like a poster boy as he anticipates his coming encounter with Edward.And moments after that, we see the two locked in passionate embrace.Already, Richard Monette’s production is asserting a dramatic momentum which compels one’s attention, and the dramatic stakes are soon raised with a terrific scene which sees the stubborn, besotted Edward in confrontation with those outraged nobles who are demanding Gaveston’s banishment.Christopher Marlowe may not have possessed the genius of his great contemporary, Shakespeare, but he had his own brilliance and — as this Stratford revival demonstrates — he was capable of rousingly effective theatre.Indeed, it seems astonishing that this season marks the first time in Stratford’s history that a Marlowe play has been programmed in an actual season.But don’t assume that the festival is treating this gay playwright’s 1592 tragedy as mere homosexual polemic — which is the approach sometimes taken in today’s climate.At Stratford, despite those frequent undisguised moments of homosexual intimacy — it’s clear, for example, that Edward and Gaveston can’t keep their hands off each other — Monette’s production takes a larger view of the crisis which will ultimately destroy Edward.It’s all too easy to become fixated on the play’s sexuality in the year 2005.But 16th Century audiences would have been far more matter of fact about this aspect of the play.Their concern — like the concern shown by the nobles and the church in the play — would not be the actual homosexual relationship between the king and Gaveston but rather the effect it was having on Edward’s judgment and the welfare of England.Edward was offending against the natural order, not so much because of his sexual behaviour but because of the favouritism and preferment — including the title of Earl of Cornwall — that he had bestowed on an upstart whom the outraged English nobles considered came from an inferior social class.Edward was a weak, indecisive king, a man who lacked an understanding of leadership or kingship.David Snelgrove’s performance communicates these defects — also Edward’s childishness and petulance, his pursuit of mindless pleasures, his inability to concentrate on larger affairs of state.He is obstinate and stubborn — but it is the kind of stubbornness which is indicative of weakness.And above all there is the fact that he is in thrall to Gaveston who, in Jamie Robinson’s performance, emerges as a swaggering example of Tudor rough trade, a sexual and political opportunist with an eye always on the main chance.This production reflects Monette's customary concern for ensuring clarity and narrative drive, and with the help of designer Michael Gian-francesco and lighting designer Kevin Fraser, he provides an almost cinematic quality.Few directors of classical theatre are as adept at ensuring seamless scene changes and a consistent flow.But in the process, he doesn’t gloss over the play’s more gruesome compo- When Gaveston meets his inevitable fate, his severed head, contained in a blood-soaked sack, makes a quick appearance on stage and then just as abruptly is kicked out of sight like a football.And at the end, of course, there’s that terrible scene when Edward is dispatched by a red-hot poker — a sequence which, incidentally is preceded by a few moments of genuine pathos and dignity from Snelgrove’s doomed and deposed monarch.Scott Wentworth is splendid as Roger Mortimer, the king’s nemesis, bringing a quality of grizzled obsessiveness to his character.Michelle Giroux is perhaps too bland at the beginning as Edward’s Queen; it’s only later when she becomes Mortimer’s lover and plots revenge on her husband that she begins showing why history dubbed this formidable lady “the she-wolf of France.” Nicolas Van Burek is compelling as Spencer, the new court favourite taken up by the king after the death of Galveston, and an unrecognizable James Blendick is memorably creepy and chilling as Edward’s assassin, muttering rapturously about the varied methods he employs to dispose of his fellow humans.All contribute to a theatrically riveting evening.Edward II continues until Sept.24.Further information is available at 1-800-567-1600.—Can West News Service Get Your Garage Sale Kit -Ü1 And Make Your Event a Success! j* (MSM ** *** *>>$.1 .1 1 J ilnriFS * • u&Xexhyeewa.- .V - '•••! Sorry.- includes 1 day ndvertising • k i# # # # W » „ .„ ’’’A * * * - * * * ‘ !*• Parkh v.Vr * & " Work* Creorl Woks Gran Pay Hare RECORD Each Kit Includes: • 4 Bright 11” x 14” All-weather Signs • Over 275 Pre-Priced Labels • “No Hassle” Package including: • Successful Tips for a "No Hassle” Sale • Pre-Sale Checklist • Sales Record Form • Oversized Price Labels • "No Parking” Sign • “Sorry No Restrooms Available” Signs • “Pay Here" Sign Come to our office at 1195 Galt St.East, Sherbrooke or 88 Lakeside, Knowlton to pick up your kit and place your ad Info: (819) 569-9525 / (450) 242-1188 Kits must be picked up at the office (no mailing) RECORD August 19 - August 25, 2005 page TALK ==—— Terror takes a different shape By Paul Gessell The ghostly image encased in wax is strangely familiar.It is a man, arms at his side, one knee raised, suspended in time and space.When last we saw this very same man, he was a mere speck in a photograph, plummeting to earth, head down, like a bullet.He had just jumped from the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept.11, 2001.The photograph was taken by Richard Drew of The Associated Press at 9:41 a.m.that day.Despite having a certain iconic status, the photo is controversial for several reasons and has largely disappeared from public view.First of all, it has been deemed too horrifying as well as an unforgivable invasion of a man’s privacy at his time of death.Newspapers were criticized by their readers for publishing the photograph on Sept.12, 2001, and, in many cases, banished it thereafter from their pages.There was an intense, at times acrimonious, discussion over just who the man was.He was once identified as Nor-berto Hernandez, a pastry chef at Win- dows on the World, a restaurant on the 107th floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center.Some of Hernandez’s relatives angrily claimed Norberto never would have jumped.Later, other possible names surfaced.Today, we can see this man in a frightening, somewhat ghoulish, work of art at the annual Instructors Exhibit at the Ottawa School of Art.The work is simply called Terror.It’s part of a body of terrorism-themed artwork being created by Bryna Cohen, an Ottawa artist and mixed-media art instructor perhaps best known in Ottawa for her past shows at St.Laurent-Hill Gallery of pastoral landscapes and elegant bouquets of flowers.Ironically, flowers helped inspire the body of work that includes Terror.These were the flowers placed by average Canadians against the fence of the U.S.Embassy in Ottawa after the Sept.11 terrorist attacks.Cohen tried painting pictures of these flowers.She was not satisfied with her work.As she continued her artistic investigation into the terrorist attacks, Cohen came across a Web site with photographs of people jumping from the World Trade Center.She decided to paint these people.Along with the paintings, she also, as in the case of Terror, transferred some of these images to an encaustic base.The paintings and mixed-media works are meant to be a tribute to all the ordinary people who, Cohen said in an interview this week, get up every morning, go to work and suddenly find themselves caught in a monstrous event.They are the people who died in New York and, more recently, in the subway bombings in London, says Cohen.In Terror, the man is upright, unlike the famous photograph that shows him hurtling earthward with his head down.Cohen decided to turn the image upside down, with the head pointing up, to “soften” it.Turning the man 180 degrees also distances him from the original image, allowing him to become any man experiencing terror anywhere, not just in New York on Sept.11.Cohen is hoping to have a solo exhibit of her terrorism works but she fears they may be too controversial.There are paintings of people ready to leap out of a building.There are also images that relate the World Trade Center to the ruins of the Roman Coliseum.Terror certainly stands out in the Ottawa School of Art exhibition.It is one of the smallest, least visible works in the show.It is easy to miss, being only about the size of a book cover.Most of the three dozen other works are more eye-catching in a superficial sort of way.But these other paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures also tend to be far more conventional and far less challenging.Cohen realizes the same kinds of people who criticized newspapers for publishing photos of the plummeting man could accuse her of exploiting this man’s tragedy.“I’ll take that chance,” she says.“I know who fain and where the compassion and empathy are coming from and if it hurts to tell the truth, I’ll accept criticism of that." The exhibit at the Ottawa School of Art continues until Sept.3.—Can West News Service Country: Cont’d from Page 1 While Forever Road is their first country release, the same members put out a rock album in the early ‘90s under the name Hasty Rattle.They also dabbled in alternative music with the Minds of Mice Project.“We had to find our own sound,” Tetreault said.“We had to find what we wanted to do.Writing this stuff we went back to our original Desert Heat name.” Times have changed.The members have become family men and they have given up their dream of becoming rock stars.They continued coming up with new material, but the plan was to see if they could pitch the songs to other artists.Instead, Desert Heat was invited to record its own material in Nashville.“People heard it and said: ‘What you’re doing is really unique, there’s no one else doing it the way you’re doing it.So let’s try and record an album and see what we can do.” The band was a little intimidated about recording in the heartland of country music, Tetreault admitted.“We didn’t really know how they would be with some Canadian boys coming in and trying to do country.But we loved the people down there.” “They really respected what we were trying to do.” Tetreault said the band’s many faces through the years helped flesh out its sound.Brunton’s experience singing rock music means his vocals don’t have that traditional country music twang.“He sounds a lot like John Cougar as opposed to George Strait.” Desert Heat is being praised for putting Quebec back on Canada’s country music map.As far as the band is concerned, that will be a feat.“In the Townships we’ve always been able to find work,” said Tetreault.“I think there’s always going to be a market for us here as well as other anglophone communities in Quebec.I think French communities don’t have much of a country business for us.” Desert Heat is already starting to make play lists of country radio stations in Western Canada.Tetreault said they are riding the wave for now, but they’re not yet sure if they’ll be following it up by hitting the road.“It,s a double-edged sword.The better we do the more we have to do to maintain it.We’re not in any position yet to just leave our day jobs and go touring in a minivan across Canada.Nor do we want to.We all have families, so we want to stay home.” Regardless, the success of the album has sparked a new flame for Desert Heat, and renewed interest in the band.“When we see our name in print in a magazine like The Record and we get to read the story and see how other people are interested in what we’re doing, it’s exciting.It’s amazing after 17 years together and I still get goose bumps when I see the name Desert Heat in print.” The band will take the stage at the Brome County Agricultural Society Fairgrounds Sunday, Sept.4 at 8 p.m.Desert Heat’s album is available in and around Knowlton, including the Red Barn and the Thirsty Boot.It’s also available at Dépanneur 13 in Mansonville.As if dying in your 30’s isn’t Û hard enough to swallow.What if you needed a fistful of 0^ Pills just to digest your food?^ Now that you know more about rstio fibrosis, won’t you please help^ 1-800-363-7711 www.aqfk.qc.ca The Q.C.F.A.is a provincial association of the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.YOUTH TALENT SHOW AYER’S CLIFF FAIR Thursday, August 25 at 6 p.m.Age limit: 13 to 21 For info: (819) 620-4230 .Afl A«t ,*!¦¦¦—., 1 |l,fl.¦¦Ill , , ¦ !!,- Il I page 6 August 19 - August 25, 2005 * y * yr RECORD Duncan not taking anything for granted Movies CANWEST NEWS Michael Clarke Duncan is on view this summer in The Island as one of the cloned victims.By Jamie Portman How long does a Hollywood acting career last?In the case of a Paul Newman or a Katherine Hepburn, it could be half a century.And even some current stars like Tom Cruise and John Travolta have been it for more than 20 years.Michael Clarke Duncan knows all about these people.But the massive actor, who scored his Hollywood breakthrough with an Oscar-nominated performance as a Death Row prisoner in The Green Mile, says he has to be realistic about his own prospects.He has seen too many people come and go.“Our time is maybe three to five years tops.” he says flatly.“Some of us last longer.Some of us are on top for 15 to 20 years.On the other hand, there are some people in Hollywood I’ve met who have been waiting tables for 15 years and have never received a break.“I am very fortunate and very lucky to be sitting here talking to you, and that’s the way I look at it.” But Duncan, on view this summer in The Island as one of the cloned victims of a diabolical experiment, doesn’t seem to have anything to worry about so far.He works steadily both as an actor (Sin City, Armageddon, The Whole Nine Yards) and his rumbling vocal cadences is also put him in constant demand for voice-over work in animation.But he’s taking no chances.It’s six years since The Green Mile catapulted him to fame, and he figures he’s now living on borrowed time.So ever since he started earning real money, he has been planning for his long-term financial security.“I always have.All the time.I always pretend like - what if my business manager ran off with all my money?Well, you will have money elsewhere.“You never know.You can be the hot guy this month and next month it’s somebody 18 years old, fresh out of college, looks a lot like you., but he’s just a little bit better physically, or he can go into splits and do handstands.You have to be ready for that.And you have to be ready if Hollywood says: ‘You know what?This is all we’re going to pay you this time.’” So it’s been Duncan’s strategy from the beginning to prepare for any eventuality.And right now, he knows that whatever happens — even if his career tanks completely — he will still be financially comfortable for the rest of his life.He’s happy in what he does, but he believes that much of that happiness stems from the fact that he remembers how it once was and from his determination not to let success go to his head.“I always think of where I came from.I think of that 1967 Buick that I had with four bags of clothes in it when I didn’t have anything but two dollars in my pocket.And I remember praying to the Lord: if you let me get up there, I promise I’ll be the same person.I will not change.I will not ‘get’ Hollywood.I will not get drunk and high and act stu- pid.I’ll try to maintain my same personality.” Furthermore, he’s guided by one firm belief: “I think you get along treating people nicely.” Meanwhile, while safeguarding his financial future, Duncan is also attempting to ensure greater longevity for his career by changing his image and losing a lot of weight.“I want to do everything,” he says.“I want to do a romantic comedy.” But guys who are built like the side of a mountain aren’t normally considered romantic comedy material.“That’s why I slimmed down,” he grins.“But don’t worry.I’m not going to get real thin.I’m at 270 right now and it stops right there.But it is a fact that when you’re big you only get cast as the big guy — the big heavy or something.Which is cool, if that’s what you want your career to be — this big guy all the time.I’m not saying anything’s wrong with that, but if you want to play other things, a doctor or a lawyer or a college professor, you have to look more like a college professor.So I just decided to drop 80 or 90 pounds and get in shape.” The slimmed-down Michael Clarke Duncan went to audition for The Longest Yard, and the producers stared at him in disbelief.Then they asked him if he’d mind putting the weight back on.“And I said: ‘Well, I’ll be the first guy to see your movie.Thank you very much.’ And I walked out.Because they wanted the old me - the big guy.” When he was growing up, Duncan revered black performers like Harry Be-lafonte and Sidney Poitier.He knows, that as a result of his success in recent years, he has become a role model for many young aspiring actors.And if they ever should ask him for advice, he knows what he would say: “I’d tell them the first thing to do is get an education.I'd tell them don’t drink, don’t do drugs, don’t hit women.These were the things my mother made me promise her when I was little — be respectful.I would tell them to go to college and if they choose not to go to college, I would tell them always to have a back-up plan.” An acting career, he reiterates, is shaky.“It’s like Chinese rice paper, we can fall right through.So have something to fall back on.Don’t depend on this being your main source of income, because one day, it’s not going to be like that.What if you’re in an accident?Anything can happen to you.“I would tell them to make intelligent choices about the movies they want to do, and don't get starry eyed when you come to Hollywood, thinking you’re going to be an actor because it may not happen that way.I lucked out because I was big and could speak well.That’s thanks to my mother.” One final piece of advice: “Know about everything in life, and don’t settle for anything less.” —CanWest News Service THE f>Q S vv-** S?f THERE + Canadian Red Cross Québec Division www.redcross.ca 18oo JYCR0IX (l 8oo $92-7649) GIFT OF BEING 24 hours a day - 7 days a week - 365 days a year The Quebec Division responds to nearly 700 emergency situations every year, coming to the assistance of thousands ofvictims.Help the Red Cross help others. i Til E| / Best Selling Singles 1.Don’t Cha, Pussy Cat Dolls (3) 2.Inside Your Heaven, C.Underwood (2) 3.Inside Your Heaven, Bo Bice (4) 4.On My Own, Hedley (1) 5.Awake In A Dream, Kalan Porter (18) 6.When You Tell Me., American Idol (6) 7.City of Blinding Lights, U2 (5) 8.Speed of Sound, Coldplay (7) 9.All Because Of You, U2 (10) 10.Sometimes You Can’t Make It, U2 1 —Nielson Soundscan DESERT HEAT Forever Road (B-Ventuvous Records) Desert Heat has been praised for putting Quebec back on Canada’s country music map.The foursome from the Eastern Townships has been together since they first struck the band in high school 17 years ago.Forever Road is their debut album.It’s been a long journey for the band, but the album, released last month, is always paying dividends.The band;s first radio single, ‘Gone (but not forgotten)’, debuted on Canada’s country music charts.The album is a blend of country and rock, drawing on the band’s roots playing rock music.The sound is marked by well-crafted guitar solos, banjo, and three-part harmonies.The band recorded in a Nashville studio on Warner’s B-Venturous Records.The band is talcing its quick success in stride.Guitarist and composer Jarrod Tetreault says they’re not about to give up their day jobs and take their show on the road.-T.L.THE TREWS Den of Thieves Sony-BMG It’s been two years since The Trews took their debut album, House of 111 Fame, on the road.Their first effort went on to grab nominations for East Coast Music Awards, Juno Awards, and they’ve topped the Canadian radio charts with their brand of raunchy alternative rock.The Trews became best known as a band with an unhealthy tour schedule — 400 shows in two years as they brag on their Web site — but a band that far from disappoints on stage.They tried to harness that live sound as they shuffled back to the Tragically Hip’s studio in Bath, Ont., to record Den of Thieves.Most of the songs were written at sound checks and in hotel rooms as they toured their first album.The live sound has been reigned in by the prized producer Jack Douglas — who has worked with John Lennon and Aerosmith.They’re heading back on the road if fans would rather hear the uncanned version of the live sound.-T.L.RECORD August 19 - August 25, 2005 page 7 TALK .Best Selling Albums A 1.Monkey Business, Black Eyed Peas (1) 2.X8iY, Coldplay (3) 3.American Idiot, Green Day (4) 4.Hot Fuss, Killers (5) 5.In Between Dreams, Jack Johnson (6) 6.Fireflies, Faith Hill (2) 7.Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson (8) 8.Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey (9) 9.Love.Angel.Music.Baby, G.Stefani (7) 10.D Divo, II Divo (13) —Nielson Soundscan DR.CHARLES G.HAYES AND THE WARRIORS The Remix (1CEE Records) The Remix opens with a few words from Father Charles Hayes himself, spoken from the pulpit: “I have been one of the most outspoken critics of other music, other than traditional gospel, but time brings on a change.” This album offers a healthy dose of traditional gospel.But it’s the rich voices of the gospel choir are mixed with electric guitars, keyboard, and a full horn section.That seems to be what Hayes is apologizing for.The preacher founded his gospel choir — The Warriors — 40 years ago.Judging by how fast The Remix has climbed the gospel charts south of the border; he need not apologize for changing pace.In spite of the sometimes jazzy, sometimes bluesy background music, listening to this album is unmistakably traditional gospel.People will be dancing in their pews come Sunday.-T.L.SIZZLA Soul Deep (Greensleeves/Fusion III) Jamaican reggae star Sizzla strays further from strict dancehall styles on his latest.Backed by producer Donovan “Vendetta” Bennett, he explores an international, hip-hop-inflected esthetic.As hinted in the album title, soul plays a major role — see the Morgan Heritage-assisted 'All I Want’.Sizzla still sizzles, but as he sings in a fluttery falsetto on ‘Nothing Bothers Me’, he is “free as the birds, just like the bees.” Even his fiery, politicized attacks on ‘Mount Zion’ are offset by a low-key groove and a rootsy chorus.The production lacks edge, but it has its moments — and it’s hard to complain in the context of such a pleasant, positive album.—Can West News MOKA ONLY The Desired Effect (Nettwerk) The first song on Moka Only’s solo siZILii TlWTJl Review debut is perilously poppy.Thankfully, the Vancouver MC has several styles up his sleeve, and many friends to help him out — Mad Child, k-os, the mighty MF Doom, Montreal’s Sixtoo, and Slum Village’s Jay Dee, among others.But Moka Only is more than the sum of his guests.He endears with his light-yet-fill-ing musical flair and witti-ful lyrical delivery.Most surprising is his soulful singing voice, exhibited on the D’Ange-lo-esque ‘Beautiful’, the swinging ‘Hold Me Close’ and the disco sendup ‘Everybody Wants to Dance’.By branching out, Moka Only places himself in admirable alliance with those bringing inspiration and originality to Canadian hip-hop.—Can West News ALICE COOPER Dirty Diamonds (New West) This is Alice Cooper’s highest-charting album in 11 years, which is odd on the face of it.Alice charted in the ‘90s?He did, and is undead-proof that a franchise can survive long after its buzz factor dies on the credibility guillotine.Nothing against Alice, mind — he’s entitled to make a buck, and novelty/huckster was one of his roles all along.Every track here slaps the greasepaint of an Alice role onto arena-garage chunka-rock riffs.Forever young is one thing, but can you suspend disbelief long enough to buy him in ‘Steal That Car’?More pitiable is ‘Woman of Mass Distraction’, whose gynophobia might have worked better with jokes above the Grade 8-Jethro level.—Can West News NATASHA BEDINGFIELD Unwritten (Sony/BMG) No less an authority than Brendan Kelly has anointed ‘These Words ( I Love You, I Love You)’ one of the songs of the summer of ‘05.Bright as a new penny and as hooky as all get out, the lead single on Bedingfield’s debut album is a nearly perfect mix of hip-hop beats, slick production and vocal confidence.It’s as good an argument for the 99-cent download as any, though in this era of oversexed teen queens, there are worse messages than Unwritten’s overall message of bubbly positivity: “Drench yourself in words unspoken! Live your life with arms wide open! Today is where your book begins!” —Can West News I InwfiUinn IBÊ8 SONMcXEIM DVD of the week By Katherine Monk Childstar (out Aug.23): Don McKellar’s subversive look at the differences between Canadians and Americans hits the small screen, where its subtle little twists and tongue-in-cheek asides may be easier to decipher.McKellar stars opposite Mark Ren-dall and Jennifer Jason Lee as an amateur filmmaker who is hired to drive a child actor around during his stay in Toronto for a movie shoot.Mixing comedy, shock value and a dark note of tragedy, Childstar is a rather sad story because most of it rings true — but McKellar still negotiates a few laughs from the material through cerebral juxtaposition, and pointing out the hypocrisy of each character.Combined with some memorable visuals, the movie feels like a French New Wave film that got lost in Hollywood — which isn’t too bad.Rating: three stars out of five.—Can West News Service ‘ »e fcmcv/*c* fltecrt ' / rn-k» «%rt.-y tit ««vs