In addition to crafting haunted/haunting folk rock as King Dude TJ Cowgill is responsible for the fashion label Actual Pain the occult-leaning streetwear brand that brought Baphomet heads and pentagrams to stylish youths the world over. That sense of darkness permeates his music as well which you can check out when King Dude performs at Broken City on Thursday January 8 with Chieftain and Witchstone.
Perhaps instead of King Dude you’d like to watch a dude pretend he’s the king. You can do so on Thursday night as Toronto-based Elvis impersonator Gino Monopoli is set to perform at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino for a dinner show and a later show on January 10. And yes I included this show strictly so that I could make that wonderful King Dude/”dude” “King” transition. I’m a sad weak man.
Could there possibly be a more alt-rock friendly band name than Royal Tusk? Factor in the album name Mountain and that’s a golden ticket to near-mainstream fame baby. The Edmonton quintet will surely draw a particularly “alternative” crowd when they perform at The Gateway on Friday January 9.
While workshops used to be the bread and butter for techie guitar fanatics and drummers for whom the phrase “Terry Bozzio splash cymbal” carried strong emotional feelings the idea of artists teaching artists has taken over the electronic scene adding a communal feel to the world of club music. Habitat Living Sound is one of many hubs for these teach-ins and they’ll return with an Ableton Live workshop courtesy of Noah Pred on Friday January 9. The Berlin-based producer will lead a teaching workshop and will later offer a full club performance joined by Isis Graham and Rusty Meeks.
Of course it wouldn’t be a week in Calgary without some rip-roarin’ sludge metal and The Palomino will host just that on Saturday January 10. Seattle riff lords Sandrider which includes members of the now-defunct Akimbo will return to the venue performing alongside local bong wizards Chron Goblin and Temple.
For some local punk the Ship and Anchor is the place to be on Wednesday January 14. The pub will host three of the city’s most exciting (and diverse) bands with party punks Racket post-apocalyptic synth gods PMMA and power-pop poster boys The Mandates.
Finally the monthly 10 at 10 hip-hop showcase will return to Commonwealth on Wednesday night. As its title suggests the event offers a 10-minute spotlight for 10 up-and-coming rap acts and has proven to be an effective breeding ground for local talent.
