An old clearcut north of the city.
Cruising down toward the mill.
The creek behind Safeway.
Tearing down the old water treatment plant.
This is probably considered the most dangerous place in the city -- the angsty graffiti-filled footbridge over the CP Rail tracks.
Bryan is my Kenora music dealer -- passing along old Chronicbreaker, Quietophobics, the Chemical Agents, When We Get There and the like.
This was the first mill to shut down.
Popular tunes, as displayed in this high school art piece, is often towards the heavy end of the musical spectrum.
On the left you're looking at a common sight in the area -- mind boggling amounts of wood sitting in piles around the industries.
Just before the beginning of May the city was hit by a foot and a half of snow in one go that shut down all the highways. I couldn't have hitchhiked out even if I had wanted to.
Sexy.
This is how you hear about the upcoming community centre punk/hardcore/indie shows. When they happen anyways. Props to Jordan McDonald for keeping the scene alive.
Spinning out on corners like this one is a bucket of fun.
There's been snow sticking around here even late into May.
Northern Ontario suburbia.
I'm told the writings on this mosaic for the new skatepark say "some pretty deep shit".
The Kenora skatepark, made a reality by the local telecom company, now attracts skaters from out of town, who want to check out the state of the art facility.Bored as hell, chilling outside of Tim Horton's.
Boston Pizza is one of the most popular eat-out joints.So I stopped off in my old stomping ground of Kenora, Ontario, for a bit, before heading continuing my journey west towards work and the waves. It was cool to see all the places I had kind of forgotten, and to remember all the crazy things we used to get ourselves into just to amuse ourselves. It was really weird seeing how some of my old best friends have changed, for good, bad, and otherwise. And I had a rad time hanging out with a lot of different people -- mostly at Tim Horton's. I was still peeling from the massive sunburn I got sweating buckets just days earlier, wearing only a bathing suit, and yet outside it looked like the Arctic or something. The whole experience could somehow be summed up by The Forbidden Kingdom Jackie Chan/Jet Lee movie about a funky monkey king, a skinny white boy, and an old man that likes to drink, if only I could find some crafty metaphor. I dunno, something about wanting to go to all these mythical places but kind of getting bogged down in the problems of your own locale, but using kung-fu to break through all the bullshit. Work with me. Anyways, I thought I'd prepare a little "backgrounder" for the city. Just in case you get stuck there and wonder how to make the most of the creative time-warp.
Things to understand about Kenora to really "get" it:
-The first thing you need to know about Kenora is Tim Horton's. If you don't go anywhere else, go here. Not only is it the lowest common denominator -- this could be anywhere, there's nothing unique about it -- but it's the only place to hang out after 10 p.m. really. There's a bar or two you can go to, but pick the wrong one on the wrong night and you just might be the only one there. Yes, this happened to me. But everyone goes to Timmy's, so it's cool. Like a good portion of the population, I went there at least once a day, every day. In the words of a friend: "Well, generally, around here, if you want to find out what's going on in town you just go to Tim Horton's. Stay around long enough and you'll eventually run into at least SOMEONE you know."
-The historic Kenricia building that's not really up to fire code caught fire several weeks back, and no one was surprised.
-For the most part the people who succeed are those whose families have lived there for several generations. It helps if you play hockey too.
-Stoners, and everyone else for that matter, love their metal -- we're talking Iron Maiden, Anthrax, Metallica, Black Sabbath, and more. Maybe hit the garage shop to work on vehicles with your dad and the listening process just might become a family affair.
-Travel the world and visit some place like China son? Maybe teach English. See a foreign land. But we expect one day you'll probably be returning home. Or at least settling down.
-People go fishing and hunting here not clubbing. Just get me a good job and let me fish on the weekends. Maybe set up a shack on the ice, cut a hole right by your folding chair. Hop on the Ski-Doo and have a rad time.
-Kids here have a big thing for extreme sports. And extreme sport endorsement and sponsorship is considered the ultimate success. Boys with packs on twirl into snowbanks on BMXs or hop up and down on mountain bikes while waiting at the streetcorner for the light to change to "walk". It's cool to go to the local ski hill "Mount" Evergreen for rad snowboarding action. And one of the biggest developments for youth culture recently has been the state-of-the-art skatepark that was built next to the recreation centre. It's situated on a hill behind the rink, overlooking the lake, and kids seem to think the flow between sections is pretty chill.
-Oh ya, I'd be doing you a huge disservice if I failed to mention this one: The landscape is one of segregation -- whites coming out on top with a majority of the best jobs, natives struggling in large part, just to get by. Reserves act as isolated suburbs, teenagers coming into "town" or "the city" -- as it's described -- to buy CDs, alcohol or hit the bars. The ghetto areas (the low-income housing at Minto for example -- "the Apartments") are populated, by and large, with poorer Aboriginal families. Businesses instruct clerks not to sell Listerine to at-risk natives. The same sorts are seen rummaging through the trash in the city centre. This leads to embarrassment for Aboriginals, and frustration for business-minded whites. It's a central aspect of Kenora's genetic makeup, and although to deny is to promote ignorance, it's a feature the Chamber of Commerce likes to keep out of their brochures -- for obvious reasons. But ironically, two of the city's biggest industries, forestry-based mills, shut down recently, and so residential school government payouts are likely to bring a large chunk of needed revenue to this commerce's own businesses.
-Sometimes I wonder if Kenora itself is becoming more isolated, or losing its identity or something. I mean, back in the day I'm told suburban Torontonians would load up the ole' station wagon and pack in the kids, to come on up to see the wonders of this small northern town -- to bask in frozen stare of Husky the Muskie, our giant lakeside statue. Those days are long gone. Now the tourism market has totally transformed. RVs park outside the new Wal-Mart that rolled into town in the last couple years. Family cabins can't compete with the force of large tourism conglomerates. And the whole mindset has seemingly shifted south -- like much of Canada, falling in line with the desires of the United States, catering to corporate mid-management America.
Anyways, at some point I realized that I was just spinning my wheels, driving around and around the same bush dirt roads, buying the same Tim Horton's coffee, making the same damn arguments, and I was getting nowhere fast. I was glad I passed through, and learned a lot from a lot of people. But at some point you just have to leave. So I got a ride with a family leaving a funeral, and headed on up towards Winnipeg.
Things to understand about Kenora to really "get" it:
-The first thing you need to know about Kenora is Tim Horton's. If you don't go anywhere else, go here. Not only is it the lowest common denominator -- this could be anywhere, there's nothing unique about it -- but it's the only place to hang out after 10 p.m. really. There's a bar or two you can go to, but pick the wrong one on the wrong night and you just might be the only one there. Yes, this happened to me. But everyone goes to Timmy's, so it's cool. Like a good portion of the population, I went there at least once a day, every day. In the words of a friend: "Well, generally, around here, if you want to find out what's going on in town you just go to Tim Horton's. Stay around long enough and you'll eventually run into at least SOMEONE you know."
-The historic Kenricia building that's not really up to fire code caught fire several weeks back, and no one was surprised.
-For the most part the people who succeed are those whose families have lived there for several generations. It helps if you play hockey too.
-Stoners, and everyone else for that matter, love their metal -- we're talking Iron Maiden, Anthrax, Metallica, Black Sabbath, and more. Maybe hit the garage shop to work on vehicles with your dad and the listening process just might become a family affair.
-Travel the world and visit some place like China son? Maybe teach English. See a foreign land. But we expect one day you'll probably be returning home. Or at least settling down.
-People go fishing and hunting here not clubbing. Just get me a good job and let me fish on the weekends. Maybe set up a shack on the ice, cut a hole right by your folding chair. Hop on the Ski-Doo and have a rad time.
-Kids here have a big thing for extreme sports. And extreme sport endorsement and sponsorship is considered the ultimate success. Boys with packs on twirl into snowbanks on BMXs or hop up and down on mountain bikes while waiting at the streetcorner for the light to change to "walk". It's cool to go to the local ski hill "Mount" Evergreen for rad snowboarding action. And one of the biggest developments for youth culture recently has been the state-of-the-art skatepark that was built next to the recreation centre. It's situated on a hill behind the rink, overlooking the lake, and kids seem to think the flow between sections is pretty chill.
-Oh ya, I'd be doing you a huge disservice if I failed to mention this one: The landscape is one of segregation -- whites coming out on top with a majority of the best jobs, natives struggling in large part, just to get by. Reserves act as isolated suburbs, teenagers coming into "town" or "the city" -- as it's described -- to buy CDs, alcohol or hit the bars. The ghetto areas (the low-income housing at Minto for example -- "the Apartments") are populated, by and large, with poorer Aboriginal families. Businesses instruct clerks not to sell Listerine to at-risk natives. The same sorts are seen rummaging through the trash in the city centre. This leads to embarrassment for Aboriginals, and frustration for business-minded whites. It's a central aspect of Kenora's genetic makeup, and although to deny is to promote ignorance, it's a feature the Chamber of Commerce likes to keep out of their brochures -- for obvious reasons. But ironically, two of the city's biggest industries, forestry-based mills, shut down recently, and so residential school government payouts are likely to bring a large chunk of needed revenue to this commerce's own businesses.
-Sometimes I wonder if Kenora itself is becoming more isolated, or losing its identity or something. I mean, back in the day I'm told suburban Torontonians would load up the ole' station wagon and pack in the kids, to come on up to see the wonders of this small northern town -- to bask in frozen stare of Husky the Muskie, our giant lakeside statue. Those days are long gone. Now the tourism market has totally transformed. RVs park outside the new Wal-Mart that rolled into town in the last couple years. Family cabins can't compete with the force of large tourism conglomerates. And the whole mindset has seemingly shifted south -- like much of Canada, falling in line with the desires of the United States, catering to corporate mid-management America.
Anyways, at some point I realized that I was just spinning my wheels, driving around and around the same bush dirt roads, buying the same Tim Horton's coffee, making the same damn arguments, and I was getting nowhere fast. I was glad I passed through, and learned a lot from a lot of people. But at some point you just have to leave. So I got a ride with a family leaving a funeral, and headed on up towards Winnipeg.
Songs: - Less Than Jake "Welcome to the New South"
-Iron Maiden "The Trooper"
-Penneywise "Bro Hymn"
-Voodoo Glow Skulls "Fat Randy"
-The Postal Service "Natural Anthem"
Just Some Local Shit:
-Derty Thought "Cradle to the Coffin"
www.myspace.com/dertythought
-Matt Chapeskie
www.myspace.com/mattchapeskie
-Jordan McDonald
www.myspace.com/jordanmcdonald
-Chronicbreaker "The Late Night"
radio3.cbc.ca/bands/chronicbreaker
-The Chemical Agents
www.myspace.com/chemicalagentskenora
-Bryan King
www.myspace.com/bryankingmusic
-Mickey D
www.myspace.com/dieslowrecords
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