We’ve Got Our Eyes On…Bad Habits

Who they are:
Amanda Jackson – vocals
Dale McKie – harmonica, guitar
Jason Condon – guitar
Matt Wilson – bass
Liam Kearney – drums, percussions

Home base:
“We’re kind of stretched out,” says Bad Habits drummer, Liam Kearney, who, along with Dale and Jason, is based out of Charlottetown. Matt Wilson hails from Kensington and Amanda lives close to Montague.

On the scene since:
Spring 2010. During a Colin James concert at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in February of that same year, Dale decided he wanted to put together a blues band. “On March 17, he posted on his blog that he was going to do this,” recalls Kearney,” and everything quickly fell into place after that.” Bad Habits held their first practice on April 12, 2010.

What you’ll hear them play:
The five-piece describes their sound as Blues Rock. During their dynamic three-hour sets, Bad Habits mixes things up with blues covers and original material. No two shows are ever the same as they are consistently adding new original songs every week. “Some songs veer more towards the blues end of the spectrum and some more towards rock,” says Kearney, “but they all have their heart firmly rooted in the blues in some fashion.”

Musical influences:
Colin James, SRV (Stevie Ray Vaughn), Albert King, Big Sugar

How Bad Habits got their name:
The band adopted the Bad Habits moniker from a blues song covered by Colin James called “Bad Habits”. “It kind of goes back to that blues band tradition of naming yourself after a song you really admire,” reveals Kearney. “The song type also shows our philosophy as a band when it comes to covers. That song was not written by Colin James, but if you listen to it, he owns every second of it. You walk away thinking the song belongs only to him.” The band usually plays the song as a part of their set at every gig.

On the rise:
As their second anniversary nears, Bad Habits have a lot to celebrate. Their over-the-top live shows have packed local venues, festivals, and charitable events and have earned them the title as one of the hardest working blues bands on PEI. In addition to their entertaining and interactive performances, Bad Habits are making their online presence felt in a big way, sharing photos, special moments, and upcoming gigs with their fans. It’s not hard to tell this is a band who truly loves what they do.

Some of their most memorable moments include the first show with Amanda, who joined Bad Habits in September, at the sold out Beef n’ Blues concert in Summerside during Fall Flavours. The band also performs an annual Toys for Tots Christmas Bash, which is one of their favourite gigs because “it’s always such a fun time for such a great cause.” Bad Habits capped off a busy, yet exciting 2011 with a sold out New Year’s Eve show at Globe World Flavours, kicking off 2012 in high style.

Most recently, Bad Habits took the stage during the Music PEI Awards Gala, performing to their biggest crowd yet, both as nominees for Entertainer of the Year and Bell Aliant Weekend Warrior. The band took home the Weekend Warrior award that night, as voted by their ever-growing fan base.

On winning the Fan’s Choice Bell Aliant Weekend Warrior of the Year award:
“It (the WWA) was huge for us because it’s the only fan voted award for Music PEI,” says Kearney. “We are so lucky to have a growing and dedicated fan base that actually snuck in tambourines and made lots of noise during our performance. Members of the band ran out into the audience and played guitar in the aisles as the fans shook their tambourines and made lots of noise.” The band later posted photos of Music PEI Awards Gala host Jonathan Torrens, Lennie Gallant, and Catherine MacLellan shaking the Bad Habits “tambos” on their Facebook Fan Page.

On what it takes to be a success:
“We’re still working hard to find that out,” they reveal, “we actually treat it like a business, but it’s a business we love. We rehearse a minimum of four hours every week, we arrive to gigs early, play long sets, and we stay sober during every show. We believe in showing the venues respect. Plus, our fans deserve that.

“We actually discuss how to make our shows more entertaining for the fans. April Condon, our visual design guru, has worked very hard on our image. Her and Jason were nominated for Music PEI’s Visual Artist of the Year. There is a whole behind the scenes team working as hard as we do. Everyone is working hard to make us look good!”

Looking ahead:
Bad Habits are currently working on their first album and hope to have it released in time for the next round of ECMA, Music PEI Awards, Maple Blues Awards, and upcoming festivals. They just launched their campaign on Indiegogo (www.indiegogo.com/afewbadhabits) so their fans can help make this album the first of many more to come. “It’s going to be a big year for Bad Habits,” says Kearney. Indeed it will.

Check them out:
www.afewbadhabits.com
Facebook Fan Page: Bad Habits – Blues Band
Email: bookings@afewbadhabits.com

Who they are: Amanda Jackson – vocals Dale McKie – harmonica, guitar Jason Condon – guitar Matt Wilson – bass Liam Kearney – drums, percussions Home base: “We’re kind of stretched out,” says Bad Habits drummer, Liam Kearney, who, along with Dale and Jason, is based out of Charlottetown. Matt Wilson hails from Kensington and [...]

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G! Gets Zesty: When Sweet Met Salty

The best of both worlds come together with these sweet and salty movie night treats

Text by Cory Gallant (aka Zestycook)

It’s movie night and you’re curled up in your favourite chair all tucked into a warm, fuzzy blanket – what will you be munching on when the opening credits start to roll? If you’re anything like me, it’s all about the sweet and salty combination. I’ve got three satisfying and super delicious recipes for you to try that will have you wishing every night of the week was movie night.

Sweet and Salty – The Cookie Version

 

These fellas were delicious (I had to taste test just to ensure quality). Packed with pretzels, M&Ms, Smarties, and potato chips, I could easily eat these all day.

 

 

 

1 cup of unsalted butter
3/4 cup of granulated white sugar
3/4 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of chopped candy coated pieces (M&Ms or Smarties, or both!)
1 cup of crushed savoury snacks (pretzels and/or potato chips)

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat butter and both sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, and beat in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir into the butter-sugar mixture. Next, stir in the candy pieces and crushed savoury snacks. Drop spoonful size balls onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Makes about 30 cookies. Enjoy!

 

Reese’s Peanut Butter Popcorn

Peanut butter popcorn drizzled with chocolate and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Minis. This sweet snack is perfect for movie or games night.

 

 

 

 

8 cups of prepared plain popcorn (we used air-popped popcorn)
Fine salt
1/2 cup of honey
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of natural peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips, melted
1 1/2 cups of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Minis

In a large bowl, mix together the popped popcorn and salt to taste. Set aside. Mix honey and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and add the peanut butter. Stir vigorously until all of the peanut butter is melted, then add the vanilla extract. Immediately pour the peanut butter caramel mixture over the popcorn and gently stir with a long handled wooden spoon until the popcorn is completely coated. Spread the popcorn on a large baking sheet. Drizzle popcorn with the melted chocolate chips and let it sit until the chocolate hardens. Finish by stirring in the peanut butter cups.

Zesty tip: We used air-popped popcorn, but you can use microwave or stovetop popcorn if you prefer. No luck finding Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Minis? Chop up a couple of regular peanut butter cups for the same results.

Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas

 

 

I love that this recipe only has five ingredients. I bet you have everything in your pantry to make them right now. The chickpeas are crunchy, sweet, and highly addictive. Make a double or triple batch if you plan on sharing.

 

 

 

 

1 – 15 ounce can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2 teaspoons of canola oil
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of honey

Preheat oven to 375°F. Drain chickpeas and rinse them under cold water to remove the starch. Place on a paper towel to dry; at this point, feel free to peel off the skins.
In a small bowl, whisk together the canola oil, cinnamon, and sugar. Add in the chickpeas and stir until evenly coated. Spread out the chickpeas on a large baking sheet and bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until they are crunchy and no longer soft in the middle. Transfer the hot, roasted chickpeas in a small bowl and evenly coat with honey. Spread the chickpeas out on the baking sheet and let them dry. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

What are your favourite movie snacks? Send me a tweet or visit the Zestycook Facebook Page and tell me all about it.

For recipes, tips, and techniques to try, visit www.zestycook.com.

Take care,

Zesty

Find Cory Gallant aka Zestycook each month in G! for ideas on what to put on your plate and in your belly.

The best of both worlds come together with these sweet and salty movie night treats Text by Cory Gallant (aka Zestycook) It’s movie night and you’re curled up in your favourite chair all tucked into a warm, fuzzy blanket – what will you be munching on when the opening credits start to roll? If you’re [...]

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Island Briefly: Special Effect

Fox Henderson turned me into a demon. And I liked it.

Text by Meredith Morrison
Photography by Fox Henderson and Ancelene MacKinnon

Think all demons are evil, destructive creatures that like to suck out brains? Well, you’d be wrong.

Trust me, I know. I was one.

Thanks to filmmaker and special effects make-up artist Fox Henderson, I transformed from mild-mannered writer and editor of G! into, well, a mild-mannered demon. I didn’t develop a taste for brains, or feel the need to terrorize humanity. Instead, I posed in various locations around Charlottetown while Henderson shot photos for his upcoming book, The Secret Lives of Demons.

I have to say, I was a pretty tame. I felt more like a Sears catalogue model than I did an evil minion. But that’s kind of the point.

The Secret Lives of Demons, a book project Henderson has been working on for close to two years, is essentially photographs of demons taken from the perspective demon Karl Wenham. The photos, says Henderson, are taken of demons Wenham knows to prove to humanity that their misconceptions are completely wrong. “The idea is to create what normally would be a boring, mundane photo of a person doing nothing terribly special, just going about some normal routine and make it a little more fantastic by imagining a world where demons are as commonplace as humans,” Henderson describes on this Facebook Page.

There’s a demon playing a piano. There are demons laughing over martinis.  There are demons at work. There are even wrestling demons. Me? I was a contemplative demon taking a stroll through the city. These are just a few of the things demons do.

The project has been a huge undertaking for Henderson, but he loves it. Since starting his own special effects business four years ago, The Monkey Rodeo, he’s been honing his movie prosthetic-making skills, creating numerous demonic characters for short films he writes, directs, and produces. The idea to create his own prosthetics and props came from working on a feature called The Monkey Rodeo: Malice.

“I decided I wanted to do more than just two guys in a room talking so I went online, searched a bunch of prosthetic make-up, and bought I don’t know how much we spent on it, probably about $20,000 in the end,” he says. “We had probably 40 demonic characters throughout the movie and it’s still not done. It was fun but it was really expensive so we thought, let’s just do some short films and I’ll learn how to do this on my own; make my own prosthetics and stuff. And literally, that’s what it was.”

“It’s really expensive to make a one-off prop, but if you make it so you can resell it, it’s still expensive but you can recoup all your costs,” says Henderson, whose clientele range from wholesalers and theatre groups, to convention goers and even live action role players. Funny enough, one of his biggest clients is the company he originally bought the make-up from for The Monkey Rodeo: Malice.

When Henderson approached me to be a part of the Demons project, I jumped at the chance. After all, how often does the opportunity to wear a movie prosthetic come along? My inner demon was chomping at the bit, so without hesitation I agreed to do it.

He tells me the whole process should take roughly four hours from beginning to end. This encompasses application, the photo shoot, and make-up removal. That’s normally how long it takes though for larger pieces, application can take up to two and a half hours. “If you paint and detail them beforehand, that takes a lot of time off of it,” says Henderson. “It’s hard to do detailing on someone’s face, but I have a little face form…it makes it much, much easier because you can move it around with the right angles then you can when it’s stuck on someone’s face.”

Getting started, he applies glue to the back of the face piece and to my face. This isn’t any old glue – this is medical grade, it’s-not-coming-off-anytime-soon adhesive. I gulp, but he assures me it will come off. Eventually. I trust him, not only because he knows what he’s doing but because I have glue on my face and we’re past the point of stopping now.

The prosthetics are made with latex foam, so for lack of a better term, they’re squishy. He lets me touch the ears before applying them onto my own; they remind me of the stuff stress balls are made of. “It’ll probably stretch more than human skin will, which is good because it needs to be,” he says. “It’ll also fold and crinkle which will give you almost a more realistic, flesh-like texture which is great.” The ears, an example of a thicker piece, don’t have much movement to them, but when they’re on, they’re on. “They’ll keep your real ears warm,” he laughs. He wasn’t kidding – the February chill was no match for these bad boys.

After some make-up blending, a few more horns here and there, and some blue paint airbrushed along my hairline, I was ready for my close up. We walked the walked the streets, stopping every once in awhile when Henderson saw an opportunity to snap a photo. By the government buildings, on the rooftop of the Pownal Street Parkade, by the waterfront, on the street – inspiration was everywhere.

Passersby couldn’t help but stare. How often do you see a demon casually walking down the street with purse in tow? No one stopped to ask what we were doing, but Henderson says that’s normal. “It really ranges. Sometimes you get those people who you know they’ve seen you but they try to ignore it as quickly as possible because they just don’t know how to react to it,” he says. “They don’t want to react to it because it’s some sort of practical joke and they don’t want to be a part of it. The reactions have been fairly good overall.

“We’re so casual about it that I can appreciate it might freak somebody out, but to be respectful, we’re not really trying to annoy people or get in their way or anything so we try to keep quiet and just do our thing and move on. We’re not trying to get attention because if you do that, you really just make things difficult for yourself.”

Henderson has enough photos, so we head back to start the process of removing the prosthetics. He applies an adhesive remover to the edges so they start to lift. I ask what’s in it and ammonia is one of the ingredients. You’re going to want to keep your eyes closed, he warns. Um, you think?

Slowly but surely, it starts to peel away from the skin. He cuts off pieces and peels off others. He wasn’t kidding about the adhesive – the entire removal process takes about 45 minutes. The rest of the make-up comes off easily with cold cream. I’m treated to a hot cup of tea from Henderson’s girlfriend, Kim, to cap off the experience.

Yes, demons like to drink tea. At least the ones from PEI do, anyway.

Henderson is currently making new movie prosthetics and props that will be showcased at the Canadian Haunted Attractions Conference in Hamilton, ON, April 13 – 15. The Secret Lives of Demons will be available for sale this spring through The Monkey Rodeo website (www.themonkeyrodeo.com).

Fox Henderson turned me into a demon. And I liked it. Text by Meredith Morrison Photography by Fox Henderson and Ancelene MacKinnon Think all demons are evil, destructive creatures that like to suck out brains? Well, you’d be wrong. Trust me, I know. I was one. Thanks to filmmaker and special effects make-up artist Fox [...]

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