I was interviewing an older singer named Charles Bradley the other day, and halfway through our chat he told me to follow my dreams. Honestly, I was kind of taken aback. It’s such a well-worn idiom that I don’t really register it most times. I’ve filed it away in my brain as just another catchphrase, like “got milk?” or Tony the Tiger’s “They’re Grrrrreat!” However, after the soul singer had just gotten through telling me about his years of hardship, bouncing around from one lousy job to another and singing in dive clubs, only to be discovered in his mid-50s, it reminded me that you should never give up. Dude just put out his debut disc, No Time For Dreaming, at the age of 62. It’s dynamite, by the way.
Just as this issue launches, the UBC campus will be flooded with new students, each one of them gearing up for classes and programs that’ll hopefully put them on the path to their life’s goal. That’s both really heavy and exciting. Whether you’re enrolled in sciences, languages, arts or sports, I wish you the best. If, by chance, your dream is to be a scribe for a local arts and music magazine, why not give us a shout? We may be busting out the seams with contributors these days—you may have noticed this month’s issue is a little thicker than normal—but we’re always looking for new talent.
As well as stories highlighting some killer local music, from Joyce Collingwood’s high-energy hardcore blitzes to Drawn Ship’s Canadian history-indebted indie slow jams, this month sees the debut of a brand new column, the “Overeducated Grumbler.” If you’re looking for something a little more ascerbic than my monthly love-ins, give Terris a try. In this issue alone, she’s blackening the eyes of phony Yoga instructors, Art Garfunkel and that blonde guy from Dawson’s Creek. Remember him?
On the topic of following your dreams, it comes with mixed emotions that we’re announcing the departure of a couple long-time Discordians. Farewell to both Production Manager Debby Reis and Web Editor Reilly Wood, both of whom are moving on to bigger things. Good luck to you both.
Discorderly yours,
Gregory Adams
p.s. I should probably remind you guys that Charles Bradley is playing the Biltmore September 2.