PEI met Australia at the Slice, Nov. 2 with Sydney, Australia’s the Jezebels along with Two Hours Traffic.
The Jezebels were up first with keyboard powered pop rock which had some Pretenders’ influence.

 The singer had an impressive, wavering, distinct voice and the keyboardist laid down some catchy piano.

November 11 is Armistace Day or Remembrance Day, which is the day the people in the western world set aside to count our blessings, give thanks for our freedoms and remember the veterans who gave their lives so we could have all of the above, particularly the veterans of  the First and Second World War as well as the Korean War.

 But there are still Canadian soldiers fighting and dying overseas.

Mike Turner, guitarist of popular alternative rock band Crash Karma, including members of Our Lady Peace, I Mother Earth and the Tea Party,  said the band’s Thanksgiving visit to Kandahar to perform for some of them, was an eye-opening experience.

“It was crazy, man,” said Turner, whose band comes to Lethbridge to play Lethbridge at Essies, Nov. 22.

 The band spent a week in Afghanistan visiting and performing for the troops and returned home around Oct. 16.

“  I pride myself on generally being pretty eloquent, but words kind of fail. It’s just a huge experience,”  related Turner, who used to play guitar with Our Lady Peace, adding the band spent a week over there during Thanksgiving, visiting with the soliders, touring the base and helping improve morale.

“We do some of our sort of heritage material, I guess you could call it. And we’re playing the (I Mother Earth)  song “Alive,” during our show and I look up during the second chorus and see outbound missiles. About 12 small cruise missiles during that song. And that’ll really change your perspective on a song like that,” Turner recalled.

“ And well, you think, ‘well, not for long for somebody.’ You know, one of the bad guys is about to have a very bad night or several bad guys, I guess. But yeah it was weird to go through the initial reaction of  ‘are they fireworks,’ because you know, I’m thinking. You don’t …  I don’t have the experience of being around a military operation, so having that and realizing, no, no, no, they don’t do fireworks here. Everything here is very purposeful. It’s not done for show. Okay, so they’re just launching lethal force wow,” he continued.

“And then wow, somebody actually, somebody on our side had to be the one who decided on the target and basically pulled the trigger on it. And they are going to have to carry that around with them for the rest of their life. So you know, it is pretty good to be alive because we’ve got people who are prepared to do that, frankly pretty shitty, job on our behalf. So it was a big shift in view during that period,” he said adding Canadian troops are well taken care of overseas with Internet access and phones to ensure they can keep contact with their friends and family at home, inlcuding checking out the debut Crash Karma CD.

Because when you’re in Afghanistan, even for a week,  it is easy to lose touch with your own comfortable reality.

It’s a good week to support good causes through live music.
Several local artists are on the bill for the Shuffle Up and Deal final celebrations, Nov. 10 at Owl Acoustic Lounge.

Shuffle Up And Deal had 53 local artists design individual playing cards which will be sold to raise money for the Adult Special Needs program at the Bowman Arts Centre. The decks are done and for sale for $15 each, but this event will feature the final auction of the original pieces of art which appear on the cards.

There are also door prizes and live music from local musicians including Steven Foord, Daryll Düus, Matt Robinson and Brenna Lowrie who will be performing at the event. It is a free event but for $25 you can reserve a seat as well as take home one of the decks of cards plus get raffle tickets for some pretty cool prizes.

 Vancouver rock/ metal band No Other Way were so inspired by one of Southern Alberta’s most  distinctive landmarks, that they saw it as a metaphor for touring and named their new CD after Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump.

“SNFU  has a song called  Head Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump, but we don’t. I’m glad you asked that,” said guitarist Sam Welland of the new CD, which was recorded last year and was just released, Oct. 21. They will be back to play a headlining show at the Slice on Wednesday, Nov. 10.

“Last time we were out here with White Cowbell Oklahoma, we saw the sign and I said, ‘We have to go there.’ I always wanted to get there so I did some historical research on the place,” he said adding he was surprised by the number of buffalo killed there.

“It just seemed like, with always being on the road, that we were like the buffalo,” he said.
“Life on the  road can be long and frustrating but it also can be very rewarding. It always is a blast,” said Welland, along with his brother Luke on lead vocals and guitars, bassist Pete Dimov and drummer Sean Laframboise, make up No Other Way.

Their new music combines the vocal stylings of Roger Daltrey with the harmonized guitar riffs and solos of Iron Maiden, a touch of Zakk Wylde and the punk energy of Sum 41.