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By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

ver the last two years, the

New West SkyTrain station
has been transformed into an
outdoor mall-of-sorts, offering
several restaurants, a movie
theatre, and niche stores to New
West inhabitants. However,
despite the major progress,
the area can often be quiet—
construction aside. With that, the
launch of Uptown Unplugged
will be occurring this month,
a musical event that Hyack
Festival’s executive director
Douglas Smith enlightens us on.

“Uptown Unplugged
is kind of... an extension of
Uptown Live,” Smith starts,
“which was the successful street
festival that we launched two
years ago around the Hyack
International Parade. Originally

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we were looking to capitalize on
the crowds that came out of the
Hyack International Parade each
May, and we wanted to be able
to keep the crowd around after
the parade was over and give
them something really exciting
that would resonate with them.
So we introduced Uptown

Live, which is very similar to
the Khatsalano! Music & Arts
Festival, and my company was
originally involved in launching
that event. So I knew the format,
and basically Uptown Live is
just using that template...and
it’s been a tremendous success,
very popular showcasing of
indie bands.”

With Uptown Unplugged,
Smith went on to explain that
Unplugged is more of a busker
series, focusing on even more
unique artists, which will occur
each Saturday and Sunday

throughout the month around
the New West SkyTrain area.
Each busker performer plays

a limited set before switching
off, with the goal of fitting in
as many performances into one
day as possible.

One such group is local
band High Society, lead by
multi-instrumentalist Ashton
Sweet, who also took some
time to talk about his band and
their upcoming Unplugged
performance.

“We're a four-piece band
and we've been around for
about three and a half years
now,” Sweet starts. “We’ve
got a saxophone for our bass,
three lead singers, guitar and
keyboard, our drummer can
switch to upright bass, sax
player can switch off too clarinet
or trumpet, keyboard player can
switch off to accordion... and

  

Uptown Unplugged brings buskers to New Westminster

that’s how we go to the streets.
“For a few years before
the Olympics, myself and our
drummer, we were busking,
and we would make rent and
bills just going out two nights
a week. We had a third guy, a
sax player, we had our band
called Baby Faced Brass, and we
had everything covered from
two days a week of busking.
Leading into the Olympics...
we'd make $800 each an hour.
[Our singer] Chelsea [Johnson],
she’s gotten a lot of her start
[from] busking just up and
down the Drive. She gets a lot of
fans that way too; just the tone
of her voice just draws people
into her. Our fourth guy, we
had to convince him for a while
about busking... he started on a
grand piano, which is not really
a versatile instrument, so we
finally got him an accordion...

 

he’s finally been convinced that
busking works, but he doesn’t
really come from a busking
background like the three of us.”

Wrapping up the interview,
Sweet came prepared with the
nearest possible genre that he
felt somewhat fit the sound of
High Society, and this is what he
came to:

“Someone once called us
punk rock Motown, which kind
of works... we've got a very
gospel female black singer... but
the four of us all together, we're
like four powerhouses.”

Be sure to check out
Uptown Unplugged any
weekend this month, and be
prepared for some very unique
and talented performances
headed your way.

 

Picks from Netflix

Select gems you might
have overlooked

 

By Aidan Mouellic, Staff Writer

Archer: Season Three

The first two seasons of Archer
were great, but season three is
by far the best on Netflix. If you
need politically incorrect laughs
on tap, watch a few episodes of
Archer.

The Heineken Kidnapping

This is a Dutch film about a
handful of men who decide

to kidnap the wealthy Mr.
Heineken (once owner of the
brewing company by the same
name) and hold him for ransom.
The film is exciting and also

based on a true story, which
makes an already-good film
even better.

The Queen of Versailles

A documentary about the
Siegel family, who tries to
build the largest house in the
United States—until the stock
market crash of 2008. The film
documents the rise and fall of
one of America’s wealthiest
families, while remaining
insightful and interesting.

The Comedy

A bunch of hipsters make a
beautiful film in Williamsburg
that turns out to be really good,
though only funny at times.

To get the full film-viewing
experience, consume two cans
of Pabst Blue Ribbon while
watching this film.