Singer/songwriter Amai Kuda launches her debut CD Sand From The Sea with a special concert
October 7 at The Tranzac, 292 Brunswick Ave in Toronto. Doors open at 9pm. Showtime is at 10pm

Sand from the Sea is the work of a young music artist determined to match her creative instincts with her strong feelings about the world she lives in.

Infectious, dynamic, and highly original, Amami Kuda effortlessly blends the diasporic music traditions of blues, gospel and continental African music with hip hop and electronica flavours. Blessed with a powerful, soulful voice and a love of different song forms, Sand from the Sea is an album that defies easy categorization.

From the more poetic lyrics of ‘Down in the Delta’ to the super direct political starements in ‘So Confused’ , Amai Kuda’s songs refect the life and times of an activist and songwriter who is learning to trust the power of the poetry in her songs.

Popular within progressive political circles and the diverse womens cultural scene in Toronto, Amai Kuda is the daughter of the internationally awarded writer, Nourbese Philip, who has used her work to speak out about all kinds of injustice.
The name Amai Kuda means “mother to the will of the creator” in the southern African language Shona.
Aside from her work as a musician and songwriter, Amai Kuda co-founded and co-coordinates three organizations, Moyo Wa Africa, Seven Directions and R3, dedicated to the decolonization of African peoples and to indigenous solidarity respectively.

Website: www.amaikuda.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/amaikuda
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Amai-Kuda/
Videos:
Dance Chaka www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLm63fd7uz0
All My Fine Shoes www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-NyqsHbU8I

For publicity information, please contact Billy Bryans Productions 416 887 8439

Sand from The Sea will be released on February 7, and will be availabe through iTunes and Amazon

R3: (Roots Rhythms Resistance) is an artists’ collective recovering indigenous roots and resisting colonial oppression through music, dance, visual art and theatre for and by marginalized peoples, with a particular focus on Queer Indigenous and Queer communities of colour.

Sponsors
Toronto Arts Council , Toronto Women’s Bookstore, No One Is Illegal Toronto, Rabble.ca

The Lorne Brown StorySave CD Release
Sunday, September 11
7:30pm
Main Hall

Lorne Brown can usually be found in some chimney corner, picking his 5-string banjo and singing an old ballad. When he can be pried from his corner you might find him performing with the Ballad Project or Four in Hand; acting as artist director for the Legless Stocking, an exciting new company combing various art forms with storytelling; or simply on his own.

Lorne is one of the co-founders of The Storytellers School of Toronto. For twelve years he was the editor of Appleseed Quarterly, the Canadian Journal of Storytelling. He also used to edit The Canadian Folk Music Bulletin. He has performed in every Canadian province, and in the United States and Britain. He has appeared in major storytelling and folk festivals our country, as well as on radio and television.

Lorne has appeared in two film documentaries: “Sketches of Our Town” with Harvey Kirck, and Bonnie Landry’s “We Were Here”, the story of the Chantry Island lighthouse.

In his free time, he contemplates such questions as why his wild oats have turned into shredded wheat.
With a special – some would say passionate – interest in Canadiana, Lorne has developed programs featuring traditional Canadian folksongs, Canadian folktales, and historical stories.

Script Scrap
Friday, September 9
Doors: 7pm
Show: 8pm
Cover: PWYC (min $2)
Main Hall

The Steady State Theatre Project presents SCRIPT SCRAP, featuring new plays by Glyn Bowerman, Erin Fleck, David Levine, Liam Morris, Maya Rabinovitch, Daniel Sadavoy and Ben Strouse. With musical guests Steve Gleason, Jadea Kelly and Charles Tilden of Parks & Rec.

Return of the Nerds
Nerd Nite Toronto VII
Thursday, September 8, 8pm
Main Hall

Nerd Nite, “like the Discovery Channel with beer”, is how nerd-niters describe their event. Last month’s talk by Sarah Reeves Aljas on speech was wonderful.

This month’s presentations include:
Mini Presentation: A look at more of your favourite Heritage Minutes: “A Lot of $#!? Went Down in Manitoba.” by Virve Aljas

Presentation 1: Fuel Hacking (Return of the Loblaws Homebrewer)
Homemade booze is fun and easy to make. You can brew it in your kitchen with basic groceries. However bathtub hooch has more applications than just getting drunk — with a few extra steps it can be processed into fuel that will run in your car. “Fuel Hacking” demonstrates a lo-fi process for homemade biofuel, and examines the pros and cons of ethanol as an industrial alternative to petrol.

Mark Coatsworth is a computer engineer, tech entrepreneur, electronics hacker and aspiring alchemist. He has been subjecting his family, friends (and himself!) to various DIY science experiments since 2002.

Presentation 2: That Drug Does What?
The lighter side of drug side effects? Well only if they’re not happening to you. Michael Plastina, chemist and pharmaceutical veteran, walks you through the fine print of drug labels.

Warning: May cause nausea, vomiting, lower back pain, receding hairline, liver spots, blood clots, uneven tire wear, pyorrhoea, gonorrhoea, diarrhoea, halitosis, scoliosis, loss of bladder control, athlete’s foot, head lice, split ends, haemorrhoids, dry heaving, sexual dysfunction, and the condition known as ‘hot dog fingers.’