Bird.

5XQuestions with Redrick Sultan

By Cody Klyne, Arts Editor

his is it, the debut and premier of my first
column as the new Arts Editor of The

Other Press. So let’s cut to the chase,
to the math of what’s about to happen. I asked
one local band five random questions—ranging
from their successes and the obstacles they’ ve
encountered to what they eat before a show—in
the hopes of revealing what makes them tick.
Often off the cuff, always bizarre, hopefully
entertaining, this is: 5 Questions.
I recently sat down with the local prog-rockers
of Redrick Sultan. Hailing from Port Coquitlam,
this eccentric bunch isn’t in the business of
wasting time. Coming off of their first cross
Canada tour last spring, they’re only days away
from their second go’round through Alberta and
BC. Baiting them with a pot of Earl Grey and a
platter of honeydew, here’s what they had to say:

Cody: We just met and I have no idea what
Redrick Sultan is. Would you lie to me? What
would you tell me?

A: We’re a band, we play music *laughter*.
We’re a progressive rock band that’s mixed with
funk and jazz. We’re experimental. That’s the
most accurate way to say it. It’s hard to express
in words. But that’s what we usually say when
we have to say something like this.

Cody: Rich, famous, and disconnected from
your fans or modest, well-liked, and connected?
A: Money *they laugh*. It’s really just
about being true to our own musical desires. We

do what we want to do. We think it’s great if
people like it, but the biggest thing is, at the end
of the day if we can say “this song is the best it
can be” and it is.

 

Cody: What are the most extreme
circumstances you’ ve played a show under?

A: The funniest experiences have been in
the few sports bars we’ve played in. People just
seemed confused. Sometimes they don’t even
clap *laughter*. It’s really weird when that
happens.

Cody: What do you eat before a show? Do you
have any pre or post show rituals?

A: We pretty much all eat a lot before
and after *laughter*. Our drummer didn’t eat
anything one day on our last tour. We were
driving to a house party at 4 A.M. and he just
started crying and freaking out. He was stuck
next to some old pothead. He said he was a
doctor of math. I’m not sure how related this is
to the question anymore though.

Cody: If you were asked to be the house
band for a late-night talk show, ala The Roots
and Jimmy Falon, who would you want to be
the host, what cover songs would you play, and
would you consider wearing matching sequined
jumpsuits?

A: That would be awesome. Bootsy Collins
would be the host and he’d also play bass with
us. He’d already have his bass and he’d be like
“Welcome to my show” and then look at us in
our sequined jumpers and say “kick it!” and
start playing with us and we’d just jam. I don’t
think I’d actually like that show though. I think
it would just be great to jam with him. I don’t
think it would last that long. If not Bootsy,
maybe our friend Mackenzie could do it. Yeah.

In a band? Know a band? Contact arts@
theotherpress.ca to participate in a future 5
Questions.

 

Penny Arcade Expo-losion
PAX 2010 destined to raise the bar

By Simon Staszkiewicz

gaming festival in the world, occurring every

year on Labour Day weekend in Seattle and the
last weekend of March in Boston. What began six years
ago as an annual event for the small but rapidly growing
Penny Arcade (penny-arcade.com) community with only
3,300 attendees has exploded into a bi-annual three-day
event sponsored by some of the largest companies in the
world, attracting over 100,000 people to each event.

The Penny Arcade comic was started by Mike
Krahulik and Jerry Holkins in 1998 as a side project
while they both worked their full time jobs. Their
passion for gaming was the deciding factor in the content
of the comic, and their humor and wit attracted an
audience that are now responsible for over two million
page views every day. This event is for the fantastic
community that formed around the comic, as well as for
gamers in general, and for that we thank them.

PAX Prime in Seattle encompasses the entire
Washington State Convention Center, 307,000 square
feet of meeting space, to house the enormous exhibition
halls where sponsors including Sony, Microsoft, EA and
other big names are eager to show off their new games.
Various game rooms provide a space where thousands of
like-minded individuals can find people who share their
niche gaming interests. On top of this, large conference
rooms where panels are held throughout the course of
the Expo give attendees a chance to thank their favourite
panellist or pick their brains on issues, such as the state
of the gaming industry and its future, or ask for career
tips and employment opportunities.

At PAX, if you arrive a night early, you can
participate in the Tri-Wizard drinking tournament,
where members of the community dress up as wizards
from the Harry Potter series and challenge wizards
from opposing houses to drinking duels by buying each
other a drink. You can also expect to spend an entire
day in the exhibition hall, previewing new games from
popular developers, trying games from the top ten indie
developers or collecting free swag from the “booth
babes”. Should you get tired from walking around the
huge Convention Center, whip out your Nintendo DS
and chill out on a few thousand square feet of bean bag
chairs, but know that gamer discretion is advised when
joining a Pictochat channel. The Main Hall also hosts
several concerts during the three days of PAX, including
MC Frontalot, Anamanaguchi, and more, or you can line
up and have your own mini concert with your friends
for a small audience at the Rock Band stage. Of course,
if youLre not into crowds you can visit one of the free
play areas where you can find the most popular console,
PC and table top games, in fair balance, as was the hope
of the creators of the event: all games for all gamers. So
if you missed your chance to head down to Seattle this
year, consider this your official notification: PAX could
well be the expo you’ ve been waiting for.

‘T= Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) is the largest