Windsor Rock Wall March 7 to 10, 2012 At Phog Lounge

Windsor Rock Wall
March 7 - 10th, 2012
Opening Night: Saturday March 10th, 7pm
(4 days only!)

"Can every Windsor musician and band fit on one sheet of paper? Many of them already have, but the sheet of paper is gargantuan."

Starting as a visual art experiment, Tom Lucier began asking his customers at Phog Lounge to add musicians and bands to a series of ever-growing sheets of paper located in the front entrance of the bar. The core concept was to take the final product and make it into a silkscreen poster. But it quickly expanded into a giant archive of local music history, recent and not-so-recent. The centre point, labeled "Windsor Music Tangle" was not supposed to be the spot where all bands and musicians stemmed. Bands were supposed to find a common band member from the bands already on the wall, and then branch out from there. It has now been termed the Windsor Rock Wall. The result is an overwhelming visual knot of snaking black lines connecting bands (written in red) and musicians (written in black). Bands only connect to musicians, and vice-versa. Bands don't connect to bands, and musicians don't connect to musicians.

The Windsor Rock Wall contains any bands that have played live shows...even if it was just one time, in front of a crowd. All genres of music are accepted, including cover bands, from any era. So far, rock has dominated, but pop, metal, screamo, electronic, folk, country, jazz, blues and more all have found their way onto the Wall. As long as the root of the band had/has members in Windsor/Essex, it's fair game. Solo musicians can also make it, but Lucier believes that they've played with a band for at least one show, and he'd rather tie them into the design that way, rather than a direct line from the centre.

"The collection of bands has been mistaken for a roadmap of some kind, and has been compared to a Windsor brain, with all of it's musical synapses. It's like a physical version of Facebook, for musicians...if it were visualized." states Lucier.

The Windsor Rock Wall has outgrown it's initial home, and will be transitioning to SB Contemporary Art gallery @1017 Church Street, where it can have dedicated attention and space to allow for musicians to add new content. Spending almost six months in the busy front entrance of Phog Lounge, it has been vandalized and tagged by people just looking to make their mark, although many of them aren't musicians.

"It's time to protect this thing," Lucier said. Sarah Beveridge, the owner of SB Contemporary Art agreed, "it was time to give this large work of art some breathing room in order to let it grow." It will stand in SB Contemporary Art gallery for four evenings. The first three nights (March 7-9 from the hours of 7pm to10pm) will be dedicated to welcoming anyone wanting to come in and add music information, and the Saturday night will host a night for everyone to just reminisce, have a drink, and enjoy the spectacle. Lucier will be on-hand with red and black markers and two dedicated ledgers (filled with all of the bands and musicians currently on the Rock Wall) each night. "It got so big, people stopped wanting to add to it because they don't have enough time to assess whether or not their band, or bandmate is already on it."

With the contents mapped out using a grid system like a map, it's going to be easy for people wanting to add information by simply looking in the alphabetized books and then charting from there. "I'd like it to be as inclusive and expansive as possible," Lucier said, "and who knows where we go after these four days go by when it's chock full of info." Lucier knows the next step is to plot the info online using archiving software of some kind, and possibly publishing a book, and hosting a website that can house the band info, their connections, and any media that the bands are willing to upload such as photos, videos, and songs. "We'd likely need funding to research if all of these are legit, if everyone's names are spelled correctly, and to untangle this unbelievable mass of criss-crossing lines if we want it to be done right," Lucier said.

Lucier is willing to take submissions via email, phoglounge@gmail.com, where he requests that musicians send the band name, and the names of each band member. "I'll add everyone to this wall as long as I receive the info before March 7th."

For more information: Tom Lucier can be reached at phoglounge@gmail.com and Sarah Beveridge can be reached via...

SB Contemporary Art

1017 Church Street

Windsor, ON  N9A 4V3

(519) 819-0536

sbeveridgeart@gmail.com

by Richard Rosenthal

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Help Little Noah Bondy Feb. 20 to 27, 2012

Mike Coffin and Amy Coffin-Bondy are Sales Professionals with Royal Lepage Binder Real Estate and are sponsoring a blood drive the week of February 20th to the 27th.

Mike Coffin's grandson Noah was diagnosed at 7 months with the rarest blood clotting disorder there is called Factor X deficiency. With about 22 diagnosed in Canada there is not a lot known about it. Noah's levels are low and he is considered severe.

Noah's parents, Mike and Amy Coffin-Bondy will be learning how to give him injections for his treatments once a week for the rest of his life to try and minimize the risk of internal bleeding. Please take the time to donate, so many people will be helped! Call 1 888 2 DONATE to book your appointment and mention Noah.

 **Many are asking if this will go directly to Noah and no it won't but there is a great need for blood donations and so many will benefit. Noah's treatment is made from blood donations from many people and they extract the actual factor he needs.

Contact Amy Coffin-Bondy at amybondy@yahoo.ca if you need further information.


by Richard Rosenthal

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Rotary Club of Windsor-St. Clair Open House Feb. 23, 2012

The Rotary Club of Windsor-St. Clair will host an open house to meet with the community and generate new project ideas.

“Since 1975, we have contributed more than $1 million to our local and worldwide communities,” said President Paul Charbonneau. “But we’re not done yet!  We want to meet with organizations and individuals who might have great community service project ideas and are looking for partners to help turn them into reality.”

Since its inception, the Rotary Club of Windsor-St. Clair has undertaken many service projects aimed at making the world a better place.  In addition to the partnership that created the Ganatchio Trail, the club has contributed significant amounts of money to developing the park at Shanfield Shores, and has built a beautiful gazebo at that location. They continue to conduct at least one cleanup at the trail each year.  As well, the club raised $100,000 for the Windsor-Essex Cancer Centre Foundation, presenting the final installment of their commitment in 2002.  In 2004, the Rotary Centennial Playground was built at LaCasse Park, providing a boundary free experience for all children, regardless of their level of physical or sensory ability.   Internationally, the club has contributed to fresh water projects and shipped thousands of eyeglasses to the Philippines. In partnership with the Town of Tecumseh, they refurbished a firetruck and shipped it to Namibia, Africa.  In Kenya and Ghana, the club has undertaken a major role in building and refurbishing schools and health clinics through their RELAY (Rotarians Enhancing Learning for African Youth) initiative. 

The open house will take place on Thursday, February 23 from 5pm – 6:30pm at the Windsor Yacht Club, 9000 Riverside Drive East.  Those interested in submitting a project proposal form at the open house should visit the club’s website at www.rotarywindsorstclair.com to fill out the simple application.

“We hope that many ideas will come forward.  We also hope that individuals who wish to learn more about  who we are and what we do will join us,” Charbonneau concludes.  “There are endless opportunities to contribute to improving the community we all share.”

Rotary is the world’s largest service organization with 1.2 million members. The Rotary Club of Windsor St. Clair is comprised of about 40 members from around the Essex Region dedicated to improving our local and worldwide communities by undertaking projects to address hunger, health, literacy, promote physical activity, and provide support to the financially disadvantaged in our community. 


by Richard Rosenthal

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CITY OF WINDSOR HOURS FOR FAMILY DAY FEB 20., 2012

City of Windsor offices will be closed on Monday, February 20, 2012 for the Family Day holiday.  The next City Council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21 in Council Chambers at City Hall.

 311 Call Centre:  The 311 Call Centre will be closed on Monday, February 20.  Regular hours resume on Tuesday, February 21 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

211 WINDSOR-ESSEX:  The 211 Call Centre will be open 24 hours on Monday to serve residents throughout Windsor and Essex County.

GARBAGE & RECYCLING COLLECTIONS:  There will be no residential collection services on Monday, February 20.  All residential garbage and recycling collection services will be delayed by one (1) day.  Please refer to your 2011-12 Waste Collection Calendar.  Night commercial, front end loader and weekly recycling collections are not delayed.  Look for your 2012-13 Waste Collection Calendar in the mail the weeks of March 19 and 26, 2012.  Call 311 for more information or visit www.citywindsor.ca. 

PUBLIC DROP-OFF & HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL WASTE DEPOTS located at the northeast corner of Central Avenue and E.C. Row will be closed on Monday, February 20.  The depots will reopen on Tuesday.  Winter hours of operation are Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.  The depot is available for the self-disposal of garbage, renovation material, furniture, recyclables, appliances, tires, shingles and yard waste. Some disposal fees may apply. 

PARKS AND RECREATION:  All arenas remain open for regular rentals and programs, plus South Windsor Recreation Complex offers free public skating from 2 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.  Adie Knox Herman Recreation Complex offers a public swim from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. – regular fees apply.   All other community centres are closed except for scheduled rentals.  Free public skating continues at Charles J. Clark Square and Lanspeary Outdoor Rink, weather permitting.   All rentals in Parks and Recreation facilities continue as scheduled.

PARKING ENFORCEMENT: There will be no parking enforcement on the Monday, February 20 holiday.

WINDSOR PUBLIC LIBRARY:  All locations of the Windsor Public Library will be closed on Monday, February 20.  Regular hours resume on Tuesday, February 21.

WINDSOR’S COMMUNITY MUSEUM is normally closed on Mondays.  There will be no special closures for this holiday. 

TRANSIT WINDSOR:  City buses will run on the Sunday/Holiday schedule on Monday, February 20.  The Tunnel Bus will operate on a weekday schedule.  Schedules and route maps are available online at www.citywindsor.ca/transitwindsor.  This information is also available at any Windsor area Shoppers Drug Mart, Windsor Public Library branches, community centres, arenas, Windsor International Transit Terminal, and on any Transit Windsor bus.  Customer Service office at 300 Chatham Street West is open regular hours on Monday from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. The sales office at 3700 North Service Road is closed.

For more information, call 311 or visit www.citywindsor.ca.




by Richard Rosenthal

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Kudos to our Mayor and Council

I am always at a loss to understand the people who seem to always have something negative to say about our Mayor or his management style. We elected him because of his business acumen as a very young man who had demonstrated his success in the private sector. This acumen has reaped significant rewards for our community over the years, not the least of which is the recent Art Gallery/Library deal. Our taxes have been stable for years while communities all around us have increased and services to our community have not been severely down graded. We enjoy a wonderful waterfront and modernized sewage retention system, underpasses where trains no longer hold up traffic and a large arena complex on the East side of the city that is well used. Deals have been made with our college and university to move activity downtown and new industry has been sought after and located in our community providing jobs. Even housing prices are going up for the first time in many years.
If one of these things happened we could attribute it to coincidence or luck but it is clear that Mayor Francis and our City Council deserve the credit for steering Windsor so well.
by Richard Rosenthal

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Gasoline Prices

A lot has been written about the high cost of gasoline at the pumps in Canada and I want to add my two cents worth to the mix.
About 30% of the price here (compared to about 10% in the US) is made up of taxes and it is fair to charge taxes in order to cover the cost of roads and other infrastructure related to driving vehicles. However, part of the tax is not a fixed tax but rather an percentage of the price. I strongly believe that this type of tax is not in the best interests of the public and is very unfair since the government is basically experiencing a windfall every time gasoline prices rise. This tax should be capped so that when gasoline prices exceed a base amount, for example - .75/litre including the fixed taxes, the government does not make things worse by gouging us for excess taxes. The only way we will get this to change is to write our MPPs and keep pushing for a reasonable solution.
The other suggestion I would like to make is that since Canada is a net exporter of gasoline and we are looking for ways to create jobs in Canada and improve our economy the price of gas in Canada should not be based on world prices for gas but rather be a "Canadian" price set lower than the US prices in order to help attract business and jobs here. I know we will be told that because of NAFTA or some other international agreements we are not allowed to do this but it is time to make changes in those agreements if they, in fact, hinder us from taking advantage of our own resources to improve our economy. Other gas exporting countries like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela have very low domestic gasoline prices of well under $1 per US gallon compared to over $4/US gallon in Ontario.
The oil companies have been making record profits and the government has been raking in millions of surplus dollars in taxes at our expense. Just think how many more jobs could be created in Canada with lower gas prices.

by Richard Rosenthal

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Windsor Elvis Fest - a tribute to volunteers

I am just winding down from our 6th annual Windsor Elvis Fest. My voice is hoarse and my legs tired from spending the weekend as part of a dedicated group of volunteers who put on another great event. But - its a "good" tired. My role as Entertainment Coordinator is always rewarding and I am so proud to be a member of a team that made this weekend so perfect. Their hard work over a year of planning and a final week of intense preparation followed by three days of execution should not be underestimated. Many team members were staff from the Centres For Seniors who volunteered countless hours to ensure we achieved a fantastic result.
Two dozen excellent Elvis Tribute Artists from as far away as Florida and the premier Elvis Band in the world, The EAS Band from Chicago, put on an exciting series of performances starting with a street party Friday night coordinated by Norm Ackland and continuing Saturday with an outstanding car show produced every year by Karen And John Pluck. On Saturday the fans enjoyed the preliminary competition during the day and a fantastic Hawaii themed showcase Saturday night starring James Gibb and Darrin Hagel, two of North Americas leading Tribute artists.. Sunday morning started off with the wonderful strains of gospel music from our very own Elvis Gospel Choir led by James Gibb. In the afternoon the finals of the competition produced dazzling performances by 16 tribute artists including several world champions who graced the stage of the Capitol Theatre.
Everyone was a winner. Tim Hendry from London, Ontario was our Grand Champion in the professional division. Windsor's own Kevin Bezaire was the winner in the non professional concert years. The non professional early years winner was Matt Dowsett from Belleville, Ontario. Jake Slater from Bellaire, Michigan will represent Windsor at the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Competition in Memphis this summer.
For more details visit www.windsorelvisfest.com.
Our team leader, Ellen Hope, worked almost full-time as a volunteer managing a complex event that a paid employee would have been challenged to match (and I must say looked great in her poodle skirt when we finally got her on stage to present the awards.)
I hope that our community appreciates the efforts of volunteers who work so hard and bring economic value in the way of visitors to our area and so much fun for our own residents.
Hats off to The Centres For Seniors for producing Windsor Elvis Fest.

by Richard Rosenthal

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