Posts tagged with “food bank”

The Bassment is a weekly article bringing you coverage of the best in Hip Hop and Electronic music from around Vancouver. Weekly interviews, event coverage, album and concert reviews that show how awesome our city’s electronic and hip hop scene really is. If you think there is someone or something that needs coverage in this city in regards to the Hip Hop / Electronic community then get in touch with us.

Vancouver’s own Jeff Spec will be performing in North Vancouver at Narrow’s on December 5th and at The Media Club in Vancouver on December 8th as VIA (not vancouver is awesome) Rail presents ‘The Train of Thought Tour’. The tour, which lasts a month and will see Jeff and his fellow artists from east to west, is sponsored by VIA Rail, a sponsor of the Juno awards. Canadian artists alongside Jeff Spec (from 2nd left to right) are Hip-Hop veteran Timbuktu, SOCAN award-winner Muneshine, and Juno nominee Ghettosocks. I got a chance to do a Q and A with Jeff about the tour and his new album Specnology.

Photo: Courtesy of Artist

How did you group up with your fellow travelers?

I met all of the guys at various times but earlier this year I was in the studio with Muneshine, and we started talking about what it would take to make a full Canadian tour come together for a hip hop artist, and were on the same page that having a group of artists with networks in the different regions was key.  Between the two of us, Ghettosocks and Timbuktu, we span the bulk of the country so working together on this has been really effective.

How did you come by getting such an awesome tour sponsor as VIA rail?

VIA Rail actually has a long history of involvement with Canadian music, and is a major sponsor of the Junos. The VIA Rail sponsorship was arranged by Ghettosocks. He was nominated for a Juno for his album “Treat Of The Day” this year. He performed at the Juno Chairman’s reception and had the opportunity to make a connection with VIA Rail, and the rest is history…

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Vancouver is arguably the most beautiful and expensive city in the world to live in. For most, the goal is simply to live IN it. We all have to work, and work hard to keep up with Our Lady of VanCity, but there are a select few who know the score. Why not live in the world’s most liveable city and hold down one of the raddest jobs she has to offer? We all know somebody who goes to work smiling. What are these jobs and how do people get them? More importantly, are they as awesome as they sound… VOL.3 HIGHLIGHTS: Guerrilla knitting, Regretsy and the perfect gift

photo: Kelsey Klassen

The bright blue sign of the RIZE Pop-up space stands out starkly against the grey Vancouver sky – POPPING UP THIS MONTH: KOVE West Coast Knitwear. Having seen pop-up’s in cities around the world, I’m excited to see what my old friend from high school has chosen to do with hers. Nearing close, Kyla Leslie is chatting with a customer when I walk in, about whether kove knitwear could be unisex. Eyeing the piece the woman is holding (a thickly ribbed cowl made out of a light grey wool and acrylic yarn) I decide a man would look dead sexy wearing one of those.

Leslie has been busy since I last saw her. A self professed “corporate school drop-out, having a mid-life renaissance,” she has taken an age-old tradition passed down by the women in her family and blended it with a keen eye for west coast style to create the stunningly beautiful, and successful accessory line, kove. Since being listed as a featured seller on etsy, Christmas Giftlisted by the Vancouver Sun and featured by our own DIYVR to name a few, she has seen demand for her patterns soar.

photos: Kelsey Klassen

What’s the difference between crochet and knitting?

The tools. Materials you can use whatever, it’s just a different technique. With knitting, you always have your stitches on two hooks, crochet there’s one hook and you’re dealing with one stitch at a time. Crochet is easier than knitting to keep your tension. And it’s a bit more forgiving too. If you make a mistake you can go back to that spot.

All my stuff is crochet. I’m faster with it and like it better.

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Welcome to The Playground, a place for Vancouver families. Every Wednesday I post a roundup of upcoming family-friendly events and activities. I’m always on the lookout for fun stuff to do, so if there’s something happening that you think I should know about, contact me.

In The Playground for the week of December 8-14: Spot Santa on Seymour, A Holiday Celebration with Bobs & Lolo, Fred Penner and Norman Foote and, well, not much else.

Starting Saturday and continuing for the next two weekends, Mount Seymour is hosting Spot Santa on Seymour. Santa will be up on the moutain and kids will have an opportunity to have their photo taken with Santa (with a donation to the Food Bank).

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If you’re on Twitter you know that at the end of each week people put together “Follow Friday” lists of their favourite people they’re following and share them with everybody. I’m flipping the script a little bit on this with this new feature on the blog where every Friday I’ll feature somebody who includes our main Twitter account, @VIAwesome, in their #FF, in order to shine a little light back on them. It might be a little tricky given the timeline (somebody #FF’s us and I scramble to find something of theirs to post), but I’ll do my best.

Yesterday, @Asifa604 let me know about CBC Vancouver’s Open House that’s happening next week, then today she gave us a #FF shoutout!

Last year the CBC held a similar open house to show off their newly renovated building and while there were some parts you weren’t allowed access to they pretty much opened up the entire place. They encouraged everybody to come down and see how things work, enjoy some music, maybe shake hands with Ian Hanomansing, Stephen Quinn or Anne Luu and make a donation to their Food Bank fund. HERE is Christine’s full report on it. It was a lot of fun.

Ann Luu shows Christine how the green screen weather machine works

Check it out December 3rd from 8AM until 7PM. There’s tons going on and it’s all support of the BC food banks. Learn more HERE.