Meet Clever

      It has recently come to my attention, as it surely has to the nearly 60, 000 residents of Greater Vernon, that corporate panhandling is becoming a conspicuous problem in the downtown area. Whether it's a dancing investment broker mascot or a sign-twirling pizza man, it is undeniable that something has to be done. Despite local efforts--ranging from an occasional police shooing to communal ignorance and contempt--the issue remains unchecked. This has the municipality and community workers desperate for solutions. Disgusting I paid a visit to Vernon's core to get a sense of the public's opinion regarding the matter. "They're disgusting," says Deborah Butler regarding the maple-leaf-shaped mascot dancing beside the courthouse. Deborah is a proud local, born and raised in the city. Her solution? "Round 'em all up and throw 'em in jail." As it turns out, the city of Vernon has considered this a viable option for years. However, there...

It was a blustery February night when I last visited Grim Slim in his downtown Vernon apartment. Wet snow fluttered to the damp asphalt streets as I scurried up the wood-stepped stairwell to bang on his window (I don't have a key yet). As I waited, I inhaled the moist, airborne grease that floated from the open door of the sushi restaurant which is part of the building. Then, after I heard a rustling from inside, I saw the door swing open and I was invited in.  I was immediately greeted by the scent of Nag Champa and the allergenic caress of his lovely cat, Sage. Wonderful. I love cats. We both knew we had an interview to conduct so we got right to it and rolled some jazz cabbage in a zigzag and lit it on his coil-top electric range (a real 80s style beauty, damn). He showed me some of his newest recordings and I noticed a demarcated shift from everything else he'd ever recorded. He was working with some experimental sounds and some heavy effects that clearly pulled away f...