News: Shooting Outside the Libra Room

A 20 year old man was shot in the back walking with friends early in the morning. Police believe it is a targeted shooting. More on the story here: http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/03/28/targeted-shootings-in-surrey-and-in-mission-wednesday-night/

Music: KC Kelly & Joni Miller @ the Libra Room

The Blues are alive and well on the Drive at the notorious Libra Room. I hear KC Kelly plays a mean slide guitar.

Click anywhere on the poster for a larger version.

For more info: www.libraroom.com

Live Music: Holly Burke @ The Libra Room

Fabulous flutist Holly Burke returns to Commercial Drive with an all-star back-up band tonight, including Bill Runge and Dino DiNicolo. Here's her playing at Falconetti's earlier this year: Catch her playing between 9pm and midnight.

Live Music: Jacqui Brown & John Burton @ The Libra Room

The ever soulful  Jacqui Brown performs with John Burton (of Doug & The Slugs.) Jacqui & John are in the process of recording their first album together.

Thursday, August 18 · 6:30pm - 9:00pm
Location	The Libra Room 1608 Commercial Drive Vancouver, BC

Special Event: Life's Basics - Fundraiser 2009

Commercial Drive & Friends Care

WHAT?
“Life’s Basics”- a fundraiser bringing awareness to essential basic needs of all people. Our focus is mainly surrounding water, and the need for clean, pure drinking water for everyone, but especially those living in under-developed nations.

WHY?

Everyone has a right to basic needs of water, food and shelter/protection. Unfortunately, there are so many people on this planet who do not have access to these rights. Queen Victoria Annex Elementary has been raising money to fund water-well building in Africa. Currently, they have almost raised enough to build a well in Tanzania. This well will allow children to attend schools, instead of spending their days collecting unclean and unhealthy drinking water for their families. Water collecting is usually a female job, therefore causing girls to miss or be late for school. A well will give everyone access to a basic right that they have been unable to have in the past.

Life’s Basics will help raise enough money to fund the completion and maintenance of this well in Tanzania. It will also help raise awareness for other issues such as everyone’s right to naturally grown foods free of GMOs and other harmful chemicals, as well as fairly-traded goods, shelter and protection and issues regarding sustainability.

WHO?

Anyone can be involved. Our goal is to unite businesses and members of the community from The Drive, Greater Vancouver as well as globally to come together and support this important cause. Not only will this be a successful fundraiser, but also an opportunity for businesses and people in the community to connect.

WHEN?

February 8, 2009. This is purposely scheduled close to Valentine’s Day to bring awareness to the harm that the holiday does to the planet. Flowers are covered in pesticides and soils for food are depleted with the fertilizers. Non fair-trade chocolates support cash crops, which are a large contributor to the feast and famine crisis that this planet has endured. Trees for bleached cards that are then covered with ink. We want to encourage ethical consumerism that is fair to all involved.

WHERE?

On Commercial Drive at 4 venues – the Grandview Legion, A Small World, WaaZuBee, and The Libra Room

However, all the businesses on the drive are invited and can participate as much as they like through promotion of fair trade & sustainable products and a percentage of the sales that day on that product, donated to the water well project. Another suggestion would be a silent auction item donation that is taking place at the 4 main venues participating. A great idea for a business as well, is sponsoring a part of the event and utilizing the exposure as well as tax-deduction advantages.

Venue Information - February 8th 2009

Tickets available for all venues (Pan African Forum is free)

1. Grandview Legion: Noon-3:30 pm (2205 Commercial Dr.) $15 Family/$5 Child/$6 Adult

• Kid’s Dance & Masquerade

• Poetry Slam (feat. Scruffmouth, Sonya Littlejohn, Relevant & Taslyim Li)
• Drumming & Live Music feat. Warless & Chelsea Johnson
• Raffle
• Recycled Costumes/Masks encouraged!
  

2. A Small World: 3pm-6pm (2120 Commercial Drive) Free

• 2^nd Annual Pan African Forum hosted by Black Dot Roots & Culture Collective
• Silent Auction
• Raffle

3. WaaZuBee: 7pm-Midnight (1622 Commercial Drive) $8

• Sustainable Fashion Show
• DJ
• Silent Auction
• Raffle

4. The Libra Room: 7pm-1am (1608 Commercial Drive) $15

• Live Music feat. Chelsea Johnson, Ghost Brothers, & Pacifika
• Sustainable Fashion Show
• Silent Auction
• Raffle

If you would like to become a sponsor or donor for this event, or to purchase tickets, please contact Jem or Katie at 604-630-2337 or

778-892-4044. Tickets are also available at Vancity

(East 1^st Ave. @ Commercial Drive)

Editorial:

Sorry for the rather stagnant nature of the blog this week. It has been very busy for me as I prep for the 2nd Annual Fearless Fest, coming up on August 24th.
Also, the last month-and-a-half have been trying for me physically, to say the least. Had a great trip to Winnipeg and back (and all parts in-between) with Theatre in the Raw on it's tour of one-acts, but you may not realize that i had a bit of a fall while I was in "the Peg". I tripped while walking along one of that city's notorious ramshackle sidewalks (comparable only to Spain's El Camino del Rey), and landed on my left arm, pushing my elbow in and up under my rib.

This "lifted" rib was painful the first couple of weeks, but i only had two incidents where i really suffered. The pain for me was much like holding an electric fence - like the kind used for cattle, etc. - through a few jolts, pain that lasted a good three hours. Thank god for the troupe's chanteuse, Michelle A. Richard, and her Ibuprofen!
Aside from a little back pain now and then while bending (the ribs are connected to the spine and a lot of muscle tissue back there), THAT INJURY is mostly forgotten.
My newest escapade, however makes my original fall a pale concern in comparison:
Friday morning i was hurrying to catch a bus and taking out the trash to the curb, when, par for the course, i tripped over a crack in the sidewalk out front of my house and plunged headlong into the path of a street-cleaner trundling along against the curb.
Truthfully I can't remember what actually happened at that point. As i landed, I barely recall looking over and seeing the metal brushes spinning and spitting debris at me.
The next thing i know I'm lying on my side in an oily, smelly, filthy box, disoriented and feeling extremely nauseous. The noise was deafening and the wash of filth sloshed back and forth and ran continually over me. The only light in the box came from the drain that let the water out the back of the sweeper.
I found a woman's shoe and tried banging to get the driver's attention but he couldn't hear me. It wasn't until he stopped for coffee at Blenz on Broadway that he cut the engine and heard me banging.
I'm not sure how long I rode along to tell the truth. The gas fumes were making me sick and dizzy.
The driver and another man who had been waiting for a bus pulled me out and stayed with me until the firemen and cops finally came.
I got a ride to VGH, was checked over and let go. I'm still recouping, but am doing much better. I have to say, I was pretty shaken up. Amazingly, i came out of the whole ordeal with only a scratch on my shin that i probably got from the initial fall. Aside from that, my glasses were scratched a bit.
Thanks to everyone who saw me on the newsclip via the link on the Commercial Drive blog and who sent me their good wishes and concern. I watch it and still can't believe it happened. No wonder I don't like to take out the garbage.

But I'm back in the saddle and spent yesterday at Summer Dream Literary Festival. My co-host on Wax Poetic, Diane Laloge and I did a mock radio interview with long-time friend and fantastic poet Susan Cormier.

I'm in the process of throwing up some pics and maybe some video of the event on our Wax Poetic blog.

I was very fortunate last Thursday to have an incredible night out on the town starting out at Timbre with Michelle A. Richard's first CD launch. She did an amazing job recreating much of the CD's feel and sound. Her players, Lawrie Koyle on electric and acoustic guitars, drummer and percussionist Richard Brown and acoustic bassist, Russell Sholberg, were right with her and gave the whole performance great depth. My favorite moment had to be Richard's rendition of "River", by Joni Mitchell. I was close to tears. Michelle puts so much heart and feeling into her music, that it is hard not to get choked up sometimes. She is such a powerhouse.

After closing down Timbre, next stop was the Libra Room, one of my favorite haunts on the Drive. We were just in time to see Monica Lee do her last set with new drummer Michael Simpson, a familiar Drive face. The trio sizzled as always, serving up a great mixture of covers like Tom Petty and originals like her awesome, "Down on the Drive". Smokin'!

Notable too was Jesse Waldman, an amazing talent on the guitar.

Blog Update:

I'm happy to report that by the end of this month Commercial Drive - Live! will have had 25,000 visitors. That means over 1000 visitors a month are checking out the blog to see what's happening on the Drive, and about a quarter of you are repeat readers. As a matter of fact, CBC Radio even called me the other day, asking me if I had any info about a story they were considering (that was before my street-cleaner episode). This tells me that people are starting to take notice of the Drive. Are you?

By the way, I'll be live on the Drive on Sunday, at the first Artful Sunday of the season. There is always great music and interesting things to see! More details here. >>>

Thanks again to Charlie Kiers for his generous support which helps keep the blog running and you entertained and informed!

Music: Nelson's Flora Ware Hits The Libra Stage!

This just in from Monica Lee:


Hello summer lovers!

This Thursday ... July 10th ... at the Libra we are hosting a special performance!
Flora Ware is in town from Nelson BC to release her new album "Insight." She is ... so far... a "little-known vocal treasure" and perhaps "one of the rising jazz talents" in BC! What a voice! Flora and I studied Contemporary jazz Vocals together at VCC btw 2000- 2002.
She wowed us then and now with years of gigging in the interior under her belt she is something to be heard!

Working with co-producers Rick Kilburn and Peter Berring, "Insight" will appeal to a wide audience with its groovy mix of standards and original music influenced by Latin jazz, and Soul/R&B. She is joined by the talented Jeff Younger on guitar. http://www.floramusic.com

They will be playing from 8-9pm. Come for dinner and enjoy this new talent!


The Monica Lee Band will take the stage at 9:30 doing two sets of our smokin’ repertoire for your pleasure.
If you haven't been down in the last month, come and check out our new drummer in action. Michael Simpson ... one of Vancouver’s best drummers, is now playing with us regularly! We are having a blast together and man, you should hear his drum solos!!! Shake it baby shake it!

With this fantastic weather, I think it will be a great night to get down...down on de drive!

See you at the Libra!

Monica




email: monica@monicaleemusic.com
website: http://monicaleemusic.com
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/monicaleeband
epk: http://sonicbids.com/monicalee

Visual Art: Nudes & Moods

Paintings by Rod Frew

Opening Reception

Thursday, May 1, 2008

w/Music by the ever-talented Monica Lee

The Libra Room 5pm - 8pm

Live on the Drive: Amanda Tosoff @ the Libra Room

The lovely and talented Amanda Tosoff is a regular at the Libra Room on Wednesday nights. In this particular video she is accompanied by to guest players Paul Ruska on stand-up bass and Dave Robbins on drums. Check her out tomorrow night!

Live on The Drive

It was a busy day on the Drive yesterday. The sun was shining again and people were too. Here are a few moments captured for your perusal.

Wendy Holm was in front of Vancity talking to members about the credit union's upcoming election for it's board of directors. Find out more about Wendy at www.votewendyholm.com.


Singer Monica Lee was making the postering rounds in support of her show with Pawnshop Diamond happening at Lime next Saturday (see below). With her is the Libra Room's Joee Brassard-Dejardins and Carly Tennant.


When you gotta eat... You gotta eat. Snapped these candid photos outside Tony's Deli yesterday afternoon.



I rounded the day off at the Libra Room last night.
Here are my new friends, Genevieve Garon, and Derek Michaud.

Live on the Drive: Goby Catt @ the Libra Room

I took in the Libra Room again last night and caught the cool stylings of Goby Catt and his Catt Pack. Originally from Australia, Goby and his pack have been playing around town for about 5 years now. You can catch them every Monday night at the Libra Room.

Check out the video below.



For more videos shot on Commercial Drive, check out our YouTube playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=478EF0B433DBB8C3

Music: Monica Lee CD Release Party Feb. 21

"Live @ the Libra Room"

I'm very excited by the arrival of this CD. I've been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Monica on occasion over the last few years when I booked a couple of corporate events.
Her voice, style and range of music is delightful.
This is the consummate Commercial Drive CD! Recorded at the epicenter of the Drive, the Libra Room, where the Monica Lee Band has been playing for 2 years on Thursdays.

Backed by Jesse Waldman (who is currently artist-in-residence at Lime this month), and Mark L'esparance, Lee is definately a musical force to be reckoned with, and her Caribbean- influenced Drive anthem, "Down on the Drive" will forever be a favorite of mine.
Don't miss this fun night, and if you do, at least buy her CD!!



John Korsrud will be sitting in on Trumpet (oh ya!) and some other special guests as well!

CD RELEASE

‘live at the libra room’ – the monica lee band

‘because the whole damn thing was recorded at the club!’
Thursday Feb 21, 2008
CD’s will be available for 15$
10 live trax plus three ipod ready quicktime movies!

Can you see Jesse’s hand in my chin? This is a layered shot, my eye shadow is actually his shirt pocket!
More layered art shots throughout the CD design done by none other than the great Chris Bizzocchi!

Call ahead for reservations
Cover by donation

The Libra Room Restaurant
1608 Commercial Drive
(604) 255-3787

Visit our website for more info or to order a copy today. www.monicaleemusic.com
--


email: monica@monicaleemusic.com
website: http://monicaleemusic.com
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/monicaleeband
Electronic Press Kit: http://sonicbids.com/MonicaLee

Live On The Drive: Gather & Give'r Party

Here are some highlights of a great party for a great cause I went to on Friday at the Libra Room.
Part birthday party for Commercial Drive's Riot clothing store owner, Brenda Mcguire, and part fundraiser for Gather & Give, a registered non-profit organization providing a variety of support services to organizations working with those in need: the homeless, those in transition, refugees, immigrants and individuals and families in crisis.
It was a night of great food, entertainment and people!


Elizabeth Mazzoni with DJ Michael Louw.


The Libra Room's Carly Tennant and Joee Brassard-Dejardins.



Wine girl, Elizabeth Mazzoni, tells me to talk to the hand.

Such a brilliant evening, I needed shades, so I borrow a pair.


Jennifer Lee, Executive Director of Gather & Give seemed very happy with this night's take.

Guitarist/producer Stephen Nikleva with mortgage broker Becky Burnham and songstress Monica Lee.

How cute can you get? Becky Burnham poses with ESL school Director Michelle Ronback.

The always charming Carly Tennant was one of the evening's MC's.

Riot birthday girl Brenda Mcguire gives a lucky, unidentified party'er a little sugar.

Fashion and colour consultant Corinne Ellingson.

Beautiful burlesque girl Corinne Lea gives us a taste of what's in store for later.

Musician Bruno Hubert looking very dapper.

Kameyo Melina from Riot's Main St. sister store, Hotbox Accessories.


Party goers Avery Cochrane & Dexter Fergie.

Live on the Drive: The Libra Room

Thursday night is always a great night at the Libra Room with the Monica Lee Band. Stay tuned to www.thedriveisalive.blogspot.com for word on their release of live music recorded at the Libra Room.





The ever-versatile Monica Lee on viola.

Here's some video of the band performing "Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be MC's":


See more Commercial Drive videos by tuning into our YouTube playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=478EF0B433DBB8C3


Libra Room promoter Joée Brassard-Desjardins with Monica Lee and Christina Cottell of IFG Creative Marketing



The vibrant Judy Lea tries on my fedora.


My hat got more action than I did! Elizabeth Mazzoni in the foreground and musician Bruno Hubert in the back.


Libra Room hostess Carly Tennant gives the camera a sly look!

Music: Brasstronaut Fills In For Monica Lee @ The Libra Room

Just recieved this note from Monica Lee:

I am away this week so the Libra will be hosting my good friend Bryan Davies' new band Brasstronaut.

http://www.last.fm/music/brasstronaut

Check it out. I really like the tunes. All original music alt rock/jazzy with a male singer playing piano, Bryan Davies on trumpet, a drummer and Johnny Wah (plays with Queso Blanco sometimes) on bass.
They will be joining us on Jan 29 for their CD Release Party at the Libra. I will be joining them on Viola for a few tunes. I am really looking forward to it.

Just in:

Our "Live at The Libra Room" CD Release Party is set!!
Feb 21, 2007
That's a Thursday.
More on that when I return!

Have a great week,
Take good care of each other,
See you on Thursday 17 of Jan Down on de Drive!

Brasstronaut was formed by Vancouver based musicians Bryan Davies (trumpet) and Edo Van Breemen (piano, vocals) in late 2005. Originally a duo, Brasstronaut has expanded in the past year with the addition of Brennan Saul (and Benji Bohannon) on drums and John Walsh on double bass. The music has been described by listeners as soulful, cinematic and catchy, with remarkable improvisational flare. Stylistically, it bridges jazz, rock, and classical genres and is influenced by artists such as Dave Douglas, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, as well as more contemporary groups like Radiohead, and Daft Punk. Classical greats like Chopin and Mahler may also be cited as noteworthy influences. The EP was spruced up with the addition of Brad Muirhead on trombone and tuba, Doug Gorkof on cello, Eric Hyrb on Viola and Violin and Dan Moxon on vocals. Brasstronaut may be booked to play by emailing edovan@gmail.com We welcome contact by any interested labels or promotional organizations. Thanks for listening.

Denizen of the Day

Name: Carly
Occupation: Hostess at the Libra Room
The "always friendly" face at the door, enjoying herself on a rare night off.

Live on the Drive: Queso Blanco at the Libra Room

Queso Blanco
A band that must be seen to be heard! This Vancouver quartet of Noah Walker, guitar; Michael Paterson, double bass; Tyson Naylor, Hammond B3; and Michael Simpson, drums and percussion, bring aspects of their many eclectic influences and a wild stage performance to combine into a wholly new and fresh sound. Strains of surf rock, jazz, Cuban tumbao, reggae, 60’s space age, and Hawaiian music all come together in the band’s strange stew of energetic compositions and arrangements.
Hear them every Saturday night at the Libra Room.

www.libraroom.com

Live on the Drive: Libra Room

A girls night out with Jenny, Andrea Crouch and CD-L travel writer Ruth Kozak.

Live on the Drive: Libra Room Grand Opening Party

A great time was had by all last night as the Libra Room had its grand Renovation & Expansion party. The night was also a celebration of the restaurant's new menu, and website! www.thelibraroom.com.

Musician and teacher Judy Lea!



Libra Room owner Rico Bondi giving thanks where thanks is due.






As Monica Lee sings: "Momma, don't let your babies grow up to be MC's"


John Korsrud and the gang.


The ever-smooth Goby Catt, front man for the Catt Pack.


The remarkably talented Bruno Herbert. Taking a break to enjoy the night.



Dan Lunn, from Swarm and CR Avery & the Boomchasers with Jesse Waldman of the Monica Lee Band


Just one of many of the night's lovely hostesses.


Where do bartenders hang out on their days off? Other bars, of course!
Bruce, barkeep at Falconetti's with Miriam Reid, who helped create the new decor!



Libra Room promoter, Joée Brassard-Desjardins.

Video of the Day: Monica Lee Band