HIGH ALERT

I just found out from my bud Marisa of amazing Sherbrooke-based vegan cupcake providers The Cat & The Cupcake, that Sherbrooke is celebrating its first Gay Pride! Put on as a collaboration between three Sherbrooke-based LGBT organizations, the event will be held on Saturday August 24th and will feature live music, a BBQ and various other outdoor activities. My recollection of the times I spent in the Eastern Townships as a Bishop's University were in no-way-in-ever associated with either vegan cupcakes or open celebrations of sexual diversity. Back then, the predominent cultures of beer-and-football seemed mightily hard to buck, so this is all kinds of awesome to see. From the event press release:

Si le projet est d’abord une initiative du REMDUS, il est le résultat de la collaboration de plusieurs groupes et organismes proches de la cause : IRIS Estrie, l’Association des gais, lesbiennes, bisexuel-le-s et allié-e-s de l’UdeS (AGLEBUS) et le Comité identités et orientation sexuelles et amoureuses libres du Cégep de Sherbrooke (CIOSAL). .For the deets.

So last year I won a prize after I pledged to the CKUT funding drive. I got a Music Lover's package which entitled me to gift certificates to three record stores in Montreal. It made me realize that ever since I stopped running the record label about five years ago, my interest in new music has sorta wanned. So, cruising on the excitement of the win, I decided to get into it again and figured I'd commit to purchasing an album a week. The rules I set for myself were that I needed to first make my way through the certificates I got after which I had to prioritze getting albums at local stores. Albums need to be on vinyl and in as much as possible need to be purchased used and/or by independent artists. Of course, I'm allowing myself to break the rules whenever I feel like it as long as I have a rationale for it. My first purchase was Mudhoney's 1989 self titled album.

It's a satisfyingly crunchy record that took me back to yesteryear and got me thinking about the aspects that I loved, and loved-somewhat-less about Seatle grunge. It's been twenty odd years for me since this would have been a current release and I'm glad I've made my way to it, via Mudhoney precursors such as Blue Cheer, the Stooges and the Dead Boys.