Late Nights on AirBy Elizabeth Hay

Late Nights on Air is an absolutely absorbing and captivating novel - and a very Canadian book. Anyone who has lived in the North will feel they are there once again - and those of us who haven't will want to. It is also a book that will be enjoyed by anyone who is a CBC Radio listener - especially if you miss Peter Gzowski's radio programs as much as I do. For me, his was the voice that connected me to friends and relatives across the country - knowing we were all listening to him and his guests. It was also a connection

of Canadians with Canadians - our writers and our thinkers, talking to the rest of us. Peter Gzowski knew what we wanted to hear, and who we wanted to listen to.

This novel, set in Yellowknife, in the 1970s is a work of fiction set at a time when the author, Elizabeth Hay, lived there. It is peopled with characters who work at the local CBC radio station, in the last year before the opening of a new CBC building and the introduction of local television in the North. It is also at the time of the Berger Inquiry about the future of a northern gas pipeline and its potential impact on the way of life for the people and the wildlife of the area.

Harry Boyd is the station manager in June 1975 when Dido Paris arrives to work for him. She has a voice that enthralls and Harry, a tired, somewhat defeated man, in his early forties, falls for the voice and for the girl. Having known each other only by voice, neither expected the other to look as they do - the magic of radio.

See 'Northern' page 17

BY LYNN MCGUIGAN

One of the greatest challenges for a musician is to continue to grow as an artist once you have begun to build a following. Fans often want to hear their favourite songs, and only their favourite songs, making it difficult for a musician to introduce new works in a concert, especially if the new pieces are in a different style than the ones the fans love.

Three artists who have succeeded in pursuing their artistic growth and crossing over into different musical genres are coming to the Stockey Centre next week – Colin James, Craig Northey and Mike Ford.

Colin James has released 10 albums in several different musical styles.

Originally identified as a blues musician, he has also explored R&B, rock, jazz and soul. Some of his fans have followed him through all of these styles, others select the albums that are in the style they most enjoy. But Mr. James has built an expectation in his audience that there will be songs from different styles in his concerts and

has also developed a distinct sound of his own which fuses many of these elements.

Appearing with Mr. James at the Stockey Centre next week will be Craig Northey, another musician who has successfully explored different styles. Mr. Northey got his first taste of success with the Odds, a '90s indie rock band. He has since written sound tracks for films, seen one of his

songs (co-written by Jesse Valenzuela) become the theme song for CTV’s hit sitcom Corner Gas, and has written songs in a variety of styles for and with a wide collection of artists including Roseanne Cash, Colin James, Rex Goudie, Wide Mouth Mason, and The Waltons.

Their show together, which Mr. James describes as “slightly unplugged”, will feature an eclectic mix of the styles of music these two artists have been exploring. Plus their formidable guitar playing.

Also coming to the Stockey Centre next week is Mike Ford, formerly half of the '90s pop-folk band Moxy Früvous which gained fame for its political satire as much as for its musical licks. After seven albums, Moxy Früvous finally broke up in 2002 and Mr. Ford reinvented himself as a solo folk artist.

He has released two solo albums Stars Shone on Toronto in 2004 and Satellite Hotstove in 2007, both of which continue to be coloured by his civic mindedness.

See 'Musicians' page 17

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BY JOEN HUFF

Monday bid euchre scores were low with Joen Huff taking first with 274 and Barb Coles and Roy Stoddard tied for second with 267. Helen Crawford made her 19th moonshot of the year. Stew Looby again was the winner at 500.

Friday euchre gave Don Johnson a nice high score of 85 and Bob O'Callaghan 84. Dot Johnson had seven lone hands, the most lone hands made in ten games by anyone this year. Dot now moves to the winners board, wiping out a number of others who had made six lone hands. Great playing, Dot.

Friday night bid euchre gave Linda

Guistini top count of 310 and Don Lindsay next, 298.

Last week at our general meeting we came up with a new slate of offices: president, Reg Carter; secretary, Sue Land; treasurer, Joen Huff; first vice, Allan McCourt; and second vice, Dave Frazer. Directors are: Betty Hume, Ida Rohn, Vi Whittaker, Florence Brock, Ron Jacklin and Don Lindsay.

Our Rama trip this month is Tuesday, October 30, leaving the mall at 1:30 p.m.

DATADROP IN

BY STEPHANNIE JOHNSONNorth Star Staff

McDOUGALL TWP. – Sisters Anne McCallum and Susan Tarasick were among the 26 artists featured in the 14th annual Thanksgiving Studio Art Tour last weekend.

Nobel studio

One a painter, the other a photographer, the duo spent Saturday and Sunday showing off their talent to the public who wandered out to Ms McCallum’s Nobel home.

In her studio on Sunday a f t e r n o o n , M s M c Ca l l u m was working on a piece using wet watercolour paper and permanent drawing ink, using a brilliant blue and a vibrant fuchsia.

Ms McCallum’s approach to art is simple, “I just play, I just have so much fun with it,” which allows her to combine mediums, using acrylic, watercolour, coloured

pencil, oil, and even tiny shards of glass, pebbles and fabric to get the desired effect.

“I see an evolution in the stuff that I’ve done,” said Ms McCallum who has been a painter for just the last three years. “When you look around, it

looks like more than one person did this stuff, because some of it’s so precise, but some of it isn’t.”

Ms McCallum will host another open house next month, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. November 17 and 18.

From the time she could

hold a camera, Ms Tarasick said, she has had a passion for photography.

The wife and mother said, that now that her children are older, she has decided to expand her passion and get back to what she loves.

The Thornhill native set up her work in another part of Ms McCallum’s home.

“I’ve been taking it up much more seriously over the last few years, I’ve done some studio work at Ryerson University,” she said. “It’s been a hobby for years

and years and years, but now that my children are older I wanted to do something for myself that was really what pushed it. Wanting some time to myself, wanting something that was fulfilling for me.”

Ms Tarasick was asked to be a guest artist in the tour and was honoured with the invitation.

“For me what I really like to do is children’s portraiture,” she said. “What I do is, I want to get to know the family, I want to get to know the children so that they’re natural with me and then try to capture what the parent’s really see on a day-to-day basis, as opposed to a posed studio shot.”

Ms Tarasick said she’s also interested in capturing nature close up.

“The sumac (leaves), the orchid, that sort of really close up, pull-the-detail-out-of-nature, almost abstract (the picture) to the point that the viewer sees something that they might not have seen before,” she said. “I also like very dramatic skies.”

The Thanksgiving Studio Art Tour – which features artists throughout the Parry Sound area who open their doors to visitors – continues this weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Executive and directors picked

Sisters join forces for weekend art tourThanksgiving Studio Tour continues this weekend

Anne McCallum stands in her home surrounded by her work which will be on display this weekend during the Thanksgiving Studio Art Tour.

Cody Storm Cooper/North Star

Stockey presents: three artists with diverse music

Lynn MGuigan

Adventurous CBC radio hosts in the North