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When I first heard about the group of volunteers who climbed to base camp Everest for Make-A-Wish®, I was speechless. These people had so much courage and had taken on such a big project. I was even more surprised when I realized that I knew one of the volunteers through some common friends. Saro Chichmanian will be presenting pictures from his adventure and sharing his experience with us.

Alongside Saro, Kim Tremblay, a wish coordinator from the Make-A-Wish foundation will be present to tell us about this wonderful team of angels who have made it their mission to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Finally, Chahe Tanachian, director of Armenological studies will also be there to explain the mental and spiritual aspects of pilgrimages (what pushes someone to do it?).

If that wasn’t enough to catch your attention until now, hold on tight! There will be live performances from Roads (yes!! this is another chance to see them live)! 

Last but not least, and thanks to our sponsors, you will have the chance to win many prizes.

All proceeds collected at this event will benefit the Make-A-Wish® foundation. It really is for a great cause and we ask all your encouragement in helping us make this night successful and being part of the granting of wishes…

Tickets are 15$ pre-sale and 20$ at the door. Places are limited so hurry!

Call Tamar at (514)892-0363

 If you can not attend and still want to contribute, please visit http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=611561&LangPref=en-CA. You will be able to donate directly on Saro Chichmanian’s page.

Thank you all so much!

Look for the event on facebook!

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Indie Montreal presents Howard Jennings from New York (debuting his new live material) and Montreal’s own… Roads.

On Friday November 27th 2009, they will all be performing at the Jupiter Room on St-Laurent. This is your chance to meet Garen, Iris, Alfred and Adam. You won’t regret to hear the beautiful sounds and to watch Iris work those drums.

Tickets are already on sale on http://www.indiemontreal.ca. Hurry! They’ve been on sale since November 12th. Special price of 7$ or 4 for 19$, if you get them in advance, and 10$ if you get them at the door.

Friday, November 27th 2009 at 8:30 pm at the Jupiter Room

3874 St-Laurent

See you all there!

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Après la présentation de leur premier vidéo clip qu’ils jouaient pour la première fois au public, les rideaux se sont levés pour faire éclater les sons des guitares et des percussions.
Familles, amis et collègues ne pouvaient espérer mieux pour ce lancement qui les propulsera loin. Justement, la gang originaire de Cartierville à Montréal assurera les premières parties de Dumas cet hiver.

myspace.com/bonisuba

photos sur flickr (ou en diaporama)

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I was at a rock concert with some friends, anxiously waiting for the show to start. Finally, the opening band came on. As they started to sing, my friends and I were looking at each other, wondering if we were at the right event. The music we were hearing was too soft to be rock. My entourage started joking around calling them the “silent rock band”, but by the end of the first song, everyone’s opinions had changed. The jokes became positive comments about the music: how beautiful the girl’s voice was, how nice the mix of male and female vocals sounded, how enjoyable the music was and how AWESOME that the drummer was a girl! Before we knew it, we were liking what we were hearing and we were captivated by the melodies and the voices.

The band was called Roads and I just HAD to introduce them to the rest of the world… so let me pave the way to ROADS.

A few weeks after the concert, I contacted Garen, the male vocalist from the band, and he accepted to make time in his busy schedule for an interview. The members of the band are Garen (vocals and acoustic), Alfred (guitar), Iris (vocals and drums), and Adam (guitar).

We met at a coffee shop downtown and did not feel the time fly by. Garen spoke about the band members, how it all began, the challenges, and the good times of Roads.

Why the name “Roads”?

We started with the subject of the band’s name. As Garen said, coming up with the band’s name was very difficult. They each had different ideas and suggestions and could not agree on something they all liked. When they finally came up with Roads, they found that it best described “the path of coincidental events” that had brought them all together. “Roads reflects that one line connects to many roads to get to where you got to be, and at the end, you always end up at the right destination”, he added. Some of the coincidences he is referring to are how they all met, how the band came together, how people developed an interest for their songs, and how the plans they had dreamt about were suddenly becoming a reality.

How did it all start?

When asked about how he met the other members, Garen started laughing as he remembered how he met Alfred. The two first met at a birthday party in a Ronald McDonald trailer. “We were all sitting down when this kid shows up with his Michael Jackson zipper jacket and white gloves [and I don’t remember what song it was] and he starts doing his show. I was six or seven years old and I remember saying I hate this kid.” They went to the same school until they were twelve. They met again in a club after more than ten years and Alfred mentioned that he was looking for a bassist for his band. Garen wasn’t interested at the time because he was playing guitar. In a span of three months, they coincidentally met a few times and Alfred finally told Garen that he would teach him bass so they could play together. Garen says they’ve been playing together ever since: “he’s my best friend, he’s the brother I never had…” As far as Alfred’s background goes, he has been playing guitar since he was very young.

Five years ago at the time of this interview, Garen was the singer of a French punk band and he realized how much he missed playing bass. When he started his search on the Montreal Music Scene website for a change of bands, he found a group looking for a bassist. He auditioned and then got to work on some material with the band. Even though it didn’t work out with the band, the consequences played in his favor as he met Iris, who was a current member of the group. The two started working closely together: “we would write songs together and she would harmonize. She has a beautiful voice.” They started looking for members to start a band and Alfred was the first to try out, even though he was hesitant to join, thinking it would not be his type of music. “We auditioned Alfred, giving him a recording to work with, the contents being me singing in a two dollar microphone and Iris playing percussion on the back of the guitar. We went to McDonalds and came back to hear what Alfred had composed. When he played the solo, Iris and I were speechless. That moment was Flicker, we knew he was the guy and that’s how flicker started”. Flicker was their former band name.

After a few moments of reminiscing, he introduced Adam. Although he was a classically trained guitarist, Adam first joined the band as a conga player and keyboardist; “he’s THAT talented”, commented Garen. It wasn’t long after the album was finished, that the band realized the necessity of having three guitars on stage. From there, the decision was quite obvious: it was time to let Adam’s guitar playing skills shine through. Garen then added, “we were fools for not having put to use his greatest gift for so long; he is the most talented member as far as musical and technical knowledge goes”.  Almost like the last piece of a puzzle, Adam has recently come to complete the Roads family.

As for Garen: “I found unhappiness trying to conform to what society thinks you should be. One day I just decided to go for it”. He has been an industrial technician, an electrician, robotics expert, customer service representative for some large corporations… “It just wasn’t my thing, it wasn’t creative”. Then he co-founded www.montrealmusicscene.com, started planning music shows, wrote reviews for bands, wrote for a men’s magazine and all the while singing in a French punk band. He finally quit everything, built a home studio, wrote songs, recorded and took all the chances he got because at that point he had nothing to lose.

“Those are some of the coincidences that were so eerie. If you were an atheist, you would start believing in the powers of the universe and destiny, and that many roads lead to where we are supposed to be”.

Even though he considers himself to be quite the opposite, Garen has a strong sense of optimism. I had forgotten that people like him still existed. “When you start believing in something, the universe starts working in your favor… so many great people are coming our way. The universe is sending them to us, by our demand.”

 How do you categorize your music?

He described their music as lyrically honest.  “We don’t try to be something we are not; our lyrics are straight forward”. It is very important for them to have songs that send out a message; “I like to attack topics that piss me off and that piss people off”, he states.

As I was writing this article, I asked around to see what people thought about the music. Here are some of the comments I received: easy to listen to, catchy, simple, comes from the heart, soothing voices…

What are your musical influences?

The ultimate lyricist for him is Bob Marley. In his opinion, Bob Marley’s songs were written in a very clear and polished format. “Music should be a medium and Bob Marley could give out the messages and keep the truth in the music”.

As for other influences, “we have too many to simply mention a couple”, he said. Each person is distinctively influenced by music, events and life experiences. If we take a closer look, Adam’s love for music started with punk and then turned towards jazz. Iris enjoys all great music; anything from Aerosmith to Queen and the Beatles. Alfred is devoted to rock. “And me… I just listen to the universe and appreciate whatever it may bring to my attention.” 

Who writes the songs?

 Garen writes the foundation of the songs (lyrics and melody) and then final touches are added by the band.

What are the band’s immediate goals?

 If you play keyboards this might be your calling! The band is looking for a keyboardist.

Another one of their immediate goals is to work on their live performances: booking more shows and gaining experience. They are working on the marketing and networking, trying to get their name recognized and their songs heard, as well as expanding their fan base. Last but not least (and the most exciting) they are finalizing their record for release.

What are the band’s long-term goals?

“Being able to drop everything else and just concentrate on music, evolve musically, promote the band as much as possible and inspire as many people as possible.“ 

What is the biggest challenge for a band?

“That’s a loooong answer!” Garen said. “Everyday is a challenge”. The music business requires a lot of time and money and usually takes a while before it picks up. “Writing music that you love, the others members of the band will love, the fans will love, and you will continue to love after you’re done writing it, motivating your band members”. “You have to be ready to eat a lot of dirt and criticism” from your friends and family who think that you should do something else”. I totally sympathized with what he was saying. As soon as my mom heard that I was seriously thinking of pursuing my singing, she told me “how many people do you know who have graduated from a music program and are actually making money?”

Then he jokingly says finding musicians who play the keyboard. 

A Lot of Bands Break Up…

A lot of bands break up after coming face to face with the challenges of a musical career. Is that something you worry about with your band members? Garen answered this question with great ease. He said: “There is a big difference between a band and Roads… we are not a band. Iris is my sister and Alfred is my brother. Together, we’ve all been through troubles that the closest of friends don’t go through. We have found a way to work out beyond remaining friends and loving each other even after breaking up. The love that we have together, that bond, as dysfunctional as we are, we are family and you can’t break up a family”.

I thought that was the nicest answer anyone could have come up with.

Any Advice?

The advice Garen had for individuals who are thinking about starting a band or pursuing a career in music was “always do what you love. Do what you really are inside, be as real as possible. You can’t try to be someone else.” He then continued by saying that the only way to really connect with the fans and getting your message across is by being honest.

 How to Keep Track of Roads?

To keep track of Roads and listen to a sample of their music, go to www.roadsband.com, visit their myspace page (www.myspace.com/roadsofficial), or give them a tweet (www.twitter.com/roadsband).

By the end of the interview, the conversation had turned towards me and he was giving tips and advice about going after my dreams and not giving up. If you ever get the chance to attend one of their shows, make sure to stop and give them a little shout. Though I only got the chance to meet Garen, they are all very talented and interesting individuals who have a lot to share.

My message to all you readers:  just continue to dream and believe… they didn’t give up and they are receiving everything they asked for. Did you start following your dreams yet?

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• Toot Café: My first downtown shisha experience with friends. It’s a cozy place (last I visited) and might need to be renovated here and there, but still an okay establishment.
• Sherazade: Right now, this is my favourite place downtown. The service and the quality of the shisha is great. They’re not cheap on the coals either.
• Orienthé: My second pick when it comes to smoking downtown. I don’t like the seating system that much and the fact that you have to take your shoes off inside (but I’ll let it slide for now). The outside terrace is much better, especially during the summer time. Sometimes, it’s way too hot inside and uncomfortable after extended seating periods. What’s better than the shisha here is the Moroccan mint tea. This stuff is gold.
• Café Al-Dar: Shisha is… ehh, okay. The tea is quite good. Plenty of seating for all your friends. The crowd can be quite sketchy sometimes.
• Kafein: Turn down the music already! I want to enjoy shisha with my friends, not by myself listening to loud music. The shisha bowls are either underpacked or not properly prepared (too many holes in the foil, too dry, etc). Right now at the bottom of my place. Only time you’ll catch me in there is if I’m somehow banned from everywhere else.

There’s also the following places, but I have yet to try them out.

• Café Gitana
• Chez Zaza: I haven’t smoked there yet, but when I asked to buy Al Fakher tobacco, I was promptly told they can’t sell it to me. Instead, they gave me dried up Nakleh tobacco and charged me 20$ for a small box. Only reason I bought it was because of an emergency (smoking at my friends’ engagement party). Serious. I ended up throwing the box in the trash since there was virtually no moisture in the packaging.

Am I missing any places here? We need to create a master list of shisha places in Montreal or something.

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It is often a surprise to Montrealers when they discover that the CCA (Canadian Center for Architecture) is located in their own city. If you’re not an architecture buff and have no idea what I’m talking about, the CCA is “those three big stone buildings” on Boul-Rene-Levesque right across the entrance to the highway 720… and that weird floating chair.

The dying art of Architecture is an innovative, forward-thinking one that is best understood when analyzing it’s historical evolution. Exactly 20 years ago this year, the CCA was founded to promote the knowledge of architecture’s role in society in order to encourage design creativity and scholarly research.

The establishment makes this learning possible with one of the largest international research collections of models, plans, conceptual studies, and many, many other documents dating from the Renaissance.

The CCA has put into place Study centers, guided tours, exhibitions and an extensive library in order to create debate and a dynamic engagement with contemporary issues for people of all ages and levels of knowledge on this subject.

Along with the building (designed by Peter Rose with consulting architect Phyllis Lambert and associate architect Erol Argun in 1989), a large garden exhibiting landscape art is located across the blvd Rene-Levesque whose unique location allows its integration to the hustle and bustle of the city, while clearly defining a separation with a large open space. This helps create an ambiance of serenity and escape, while ironically having a location adjacent to a large highway.

Designed by Montréal artist-architect Melvin Charney, the CCA Garden is said to “restore the urban fabric of an area deeply scarred by mid-20th-century highway engineering.” – CCA

With all this information free and open to the public, I can only say one thing to those who have yet to visit and explore the CCA — Go culture yourself!!

Photos: Youssef

www.mysteryoussef.com

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Your mouth will be watering just by reading the menu. The names of their dishes, healthy French crepes and cocktails are those of the most beautiful islands and beaches of the world: Mykonos, Cayo Blanco, Aruba, and so on. Their menu includes salads, salty and sweet crepes, cocktails, delicious fruit plates, gelatos, hot drinks, cold drinks and alcoholic drinks. The prices are affordable too.

The decor is very modern with a hint of the Carribean: orange colored walls giving the illusion of a sunset, bamboo covered sections, palm trees, and comfortable sofas with flat screens in the lounge areas.

In the summer, take advantage of the heat on their terrace under Hawaiian tiki umbrellas and enjoy your shisha. Did I mention they have shisha? (Only available on the terrace).

There’s more! Music playing all day long: lounge music during the day and house music at night. Plus, it’s 18 and over! We don’t have to drive to the W downtown to enjoy a lounge anymore.  

 Events

• To continue with the Caribbean fever, every first Thursday of every month, you can enjoy the Cuban sounds of Ritmo Caribeño (yes! a live band) and dance the night away. Also enjoy the two for one special on all mixes and beers from 5 pm to 8pm.
• HOCKEY night just got better! Watch the game on their 200” big sreen tv. Three for two special on mixes and beer during the whole game (make sure you go early!)

   Flaws

Ya, so I’ve heard it too that the service tends to be a little slow, but EVERYTHING is made fresh the moment you order it. Can you blame them?

Whether you want to take a date, impress co-workers, or just hang out with friends, for a light healthy lunch, mouthwatering desserts, or just to grab a drink, Tango is the place to go.

If all this did not convince you, check out their website www.tangococktails.com and TRY IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!You can also look for Tango cocktails on facebook.

205 chemin Promenade Centropolis, Laval, Qc H7T 0B3

(450) 688-6588

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The small entrance and cavernous main room downstairs gives the impression that you have found a niche, away from passing eyes on the street, in which to party and let loose. This particular venue is great in the way that it provides three fairly popular activities all in one area, at a fair price. For the group of friends that can’t come to an agreement, the person who can’t have just one or the attention deficit, this is your haven.

The kitchen is open until 11 and snacks are offered all evening. This isn’t your place for fine dining after the kitchen closes, but more for late night drinking snacks.

The pool and snooker tables are in decent shape and are hardly ever all taken. Except for the odd busy day, it’s quite empty. They are charged by an hourly rate so for the pro’s that’s good news and those of us who take an hour to finally scratch on the 8… well, we’d better go more.

The bowling area with its black lights and bar close at hand makes for a real party environment. The bowling itself is as would be expected except for the, some times, reoccurring technical issues with the scoring screens.
Don’t want to be around all the hustle and bustle on their busy nights? Two private bowling lanes are also available off to the side but for the extra price you aren’t offered much more service or any seclusion except for a single pane of glass between you and other players, somewhat putting you in the spotlight.

The lounge with its overview of the surrounding pool tables provides a decent area for socialization and leisure. The low height, leather sofas and chairs are fairly comfortable albeit somewhat tricky to manoeuvre into an upright position with. For those of us who’d rather sit at an angle greater than 30 degrees, the lounge bar is right there and stocked predominantly with what seems to be  barmaids of  mid-east origin who, depending on the day, may or may not speak your language of preference.

Furthermore there is a VIP lounge with room for 50 people. This room comes with its own bar, pool table and couches and looks rather snazzy.

Service can be lacking in the pool and bowling section on quiet nights as they tend to under staff but in general it’s fair priced and well served venue.

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What is it? = HOME RENOVATION TAX CREDIT

The Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) is a non-refundable tax credit on eligible expenses for improvements to your house, condo or cottage. It can be claimed on your 2009 income tax return and it`s for eligible purchases made after January 27, 2009, and before February 1, 2010.  A maximum amount of eligible expenditures you can claim is  $10,000 per family.

What does non-refundable tax credit mean?

A non-refundable tax credit, like the HRTC, reduces your federal income tax. If the total of all your non-refundable tax credits is more than your federal income tax, a refund will not be given for the difference.

What`s an eligible purchase?

Eligible purchases are those incurred for renovations/alterations to an eligible dwelling (which is usually your principal residence or land of principal residence) and are permanent in nature.

As a general rule, if an expense for the house will not be a permanent part of your home or property, it’s not eligible.

Obviously, there are some small exceptions  to this rule which we’ll talk about below.

And as a strict rule, if the expenses are not in writing (invoice or contract) you can forget about it`s eligibility. The CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) is pretty severe on this point.

Examples of eligible expenses

• Renovating a kitchen, bathroom, or basement
• Windows and doors
• New carpet or hardwood floors
• New furnace, woodstove, fireplace, water softener, water heater, or oil tank
• Permanent Home ventilation systems
• Central air conditioner
• Septic systems
• Electrical wiring in the home
• Home Security System (monthly fees do not qualify)
• Painting the interior or exterior of a house
• Building an addition, garage, deck, garden/storage shed, or fence
• Re-shingling a roof
• A new driveway or resurfacing a driveway
• Permanent swimming pools (in ground and above ground), hot tub and installation costs/ Pool liners
• Solar heaters and heat pumps for pools (does not include solar blankets)
• Landscaping: new sod, perennial shrubs and flowers, trees…
• Associated costs such as installation, permits, professional services, equipment rentals, and incidental expenses
• Fixtures – blinds, shades, shutters, lights, ceiling fans, etc.

Examples of ineligible expenses… SORRRYYY!

• Furniture, appliances, and audio and visual electronics, tools
• Carpet/house/pool cleaning
• Maintenance contracts (i.e. furnace cleaning/snow removal/lawn care)
• Financing costs

Other useful info about the eligible expenses:

• Work performed by electricians, plumbers, carpenters, architects qualifies as long as it`s in writing (invoice or contract)
• If a family member is hired for renovations the expense can ONLY be eligible if that person is registered GST/PST.

How to calculate your HRTC?

Basically you can only claim the HRTC if your eligible expenses are more than $1 000, but there`s a cap of $10 000. So that maximum you could possibly get in HRTC is as follows ….don`t worry it`s not that complicated:

=($10 000 − $1 000) × 15% = 1 350$ maximum HRTC (I MEAN IT`S SOMETHING !)

Here`s a cool comprehensive simulation:

Joe & Annie just got married and bought a condo. They plan to renovate it this  summer. They expect these expenses for the reno which will take place from September to November 2009:

• New windows: $3,000
• Labour – installation of windows (no invoice) :$1,500
• Carpet cleaning: $200
• Buying tools: $500
• New roof: $3,500
• Interior painting: $500
• New toilet and tub: $600
• New deck: $1,000

To save money, they will do most of the home renovations themselves. Joe’s friend Rob will install the windows for them for $1,500 cash, BUT he won`t give an invoice (duhhhh).

The $200 expense for carpet cleaning and the $500 expense for tools are NOT eligible for the HRTC. And the $1 500 in window installation is NOT eligible either because it`s not in writing.

Basically, this is how they would calculate their HRTC:

Either Joe or Annie can claim the total home renovation expenses of $7,600 or they can split these expenses between them as long as the total amount claimed is not greater than $7,600. Their maximum HRTC is $1,140 ($7,600 x 15%).

Why is this suddenly only available this year?

Well the CRA wants to get the economy rolling by encouraging investments in Canada’s housing, giving employment to trades people and increasing sales of building products. And because claiming an HRTC implies getting things in writing, the CRA is also cracking on the renovation black-market by creating a disincentive to chose the “Cheaper for cash” option.

So if you were thinking about renovating… TRY TO DO IT NOW! This tax credit is only temporary (i.e. only for 2009 so far) so help stir up our economy.

Reference: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/hrtc

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