A City of the Violet Crown

Something about the quality of the sunlight in the spring always takes me back to Austin. In 1894, O. Henry, a poet and an Austinite, referenced what some have said was this quality of light, calling his home ‘the city of the violet crown.’ Most people think he was referring to the summer sunlight’s bright, almost violet glow; but some have speculated that he called it that as a satirization, a reference to the fact that Austinites of that day, in their desire to be a center of culture, described their budding city as the ‘Athens of the South’. Athens, Greece, as you may you may know, has long been considered the center and the origin of world culture, even the birthplace of civilization. It is also said to have a violet crown for the incredibly mundane reason of the presence of a great deal of mauve tinted marble on the Acropolis hill. But I swear, whether or not it was just hubris, honest desire, or even just willful stubbornness (...a decidedly Texan trait, I might add...) but when I think of Austin, I do think of Athens, of culture, and for whatever reason, I do recall, with startling clarity, an almost mystical purple glow hovering above it exactly like a violet crown.

Austin is a beautiful city, situated on the Balcones fault line; it has three lakes within the city limits as well as the sprawling grandeur of the Texas hill country that starts at about Lamar Avenue and rolls westward like the waves of a sandy limestone ocean all the way out to the west Texas desert. It is a green city, in both the literal and more recent definitions of the term, forethought and planning have kept it so. Laws were passed to protect trees in the old neighbourhoods, meaning that parking lots are often gerrymandered through thickets of post oak; huge tracts of land were protected and made into the broad green belt that encircles and holds up the downtown as well as forming the numerous and pleasant parks that connect throughout the city to create a second, silent Austin for pedestrians and cyclists who almost never have to fight city traffic for a bike lane. It is a city full of youth: a major University fills a large, central bit of downtown real estate, in addition to a number of smaller colleges, and, thanks in part to this, the businesses have developed a quirky, fun and creative subculture all their own, catering to that vibrant spirit. Austin’s official motto is ‘The Live Music Capital of the World’ and its unofficial one is ‘Keep Austin Weird’, a nod to that well defined culture that distinguishes the downtown core. It is also a wealthy city; the state capital is seated here, always a good source of cash flow for those lucky enough to be so geographically and politically inclined; and its youth culture and reputation for fun and quirky cool has also attracted a big, cheesy slice of the high tech business pizza pie. Though it is not perfect, (traffic congestion has always been a challenge) it is still one of the most livable cities in the world, attracting a broad spectrum of talented, creative people who come from everywhere to help keep its unique spirit alive.

I probably first saw Austin as a kid with my folks on a road trip to visit my aunt and uncle. I seem to remember the Capitol building and its unobstructed views and the exit for the LBJ library. I also remember the way that the upper and lower levels of the I-35 interstate highway split into four separate roads that run in parallels; two over and two under, through much of downtown. Driving on the lower levels is a bit like driving through a scene from a 70s sci-fi film, especially at night, where, in the eerie glow of the streetlights you feel like you’re shooting forward into some kind of giant yellow columned and starlit covered corridor. We didn’t have any highways like that back in Bryan.

The first time I really saw Austin was in high school, when a friend and I pulled the classic ‘I’ll say I’m staying at your house, you say you’re staying at mine’ ruse and, unlike in the movies, actually got away with it (...‘til now, I guess, sorry Mom...) We drove, ecstatic and slightly intoxicated by our courage, through the cool fall night to attend a Halloween party at the home of a friend who graduated the year before and had moved to Austin to live—as if someone could actually do that! I’ll never forget that night in Austin, the first of many and varied trips over the next few years to visit friends and to experience culture in that beautiful city that was just an hour and half drive east from where I lived. It seemed like so far to drive at that age, and so, so much closer now in my memory. Austin, to us, was where you went if you were a kid like me; you know, ‘different.’ I didn’t play sports, I played music. I didn’t wear boots and I didn’t rope steers, instead, I grew my hair long and, you know, got accused of being queer. I wrote poems; I liked books, not trucks. I ate vegetables; I did not ‘fit in.’ For us, for the weird kids, Austin was our light at the end of the long miserable tunnel that was the life of an oddball teenage Texan. It was our prize. The Austin of my youth felt like an entire city that was built for me, for my people; I felt that even just walking down the street I could and probably would have random encounters with strangers that would feel more meaningful than all of the polite, but ultimately frustrating, high school conversations that I’d ever had. I know it’s just nostalgia, but...

I didn’t move to Austin right away; several of my friends did, it took me a bit longer. I had a few things I had to work through first, and that’s another story. It took me a couple of years, but then one day a friend, a former bandmate, came over from Austin to visit me in Bryan. I was living alone, recently divorced (you know, the other story,) very sad and feeling very isolated. I’ll never forget the way he asked me ‘Why the f*$# are you still here? Why don’t you move to Austin? That’s where the rest of us are!’ It all came back, all the visits, the road-trips, that Halloween party, the sunny afternoons in Zilker park, the original Whole Foods market, Mother’s Café (an actual vegetarian restaurant!) Suddenly, for the first time in my, at that time, short adult life I felt like I might, just possibly, have a home...or at least a chance at one.

I spent much of the next four years in Austin, cooking by day, trying my best to survive in the competitive, glorious, and joyfully noisy music scene at night. When my car broke down, I was amazed to discover what people who grow up in cities know by instinct, that a bus pass and a bike are as good as a car for almost any need, even in the car culture ground zero of Texas. After a couple of jobs trying to build on my experience in Italian cuisine, I realized that I didn’t have to—I could cook what I actually ate (vegetarian at the time...) and even make a living at it. I lived on the flight path (...you would have had to be there...), played in a band, and even found and lost love a few more times, as youth will have us do. Like many who live in Austin, I saw so much great live music that I became stony in the face of quality that would send shivers up my spine today. I ate well in a wonderful food city: tacos and BBQ, Vietnamese and Thai, my first tastes of sushi, of Pho, of habañero chilies, of good coffee, of homebrewed and of craft beer, of finer wines, even of anything organic, were all tasted there. I became a film buff: I discovered, with the expert tutelage of the good folks at a shop fittingly called ‘I Love Video’, how to mine the depths of a director’s or an actor’s career. I became a music nerd in earnest, with the help of the folks at Sound Exchange and Waterloo Records. I learned how to dress myself, carving out a fashion sense aided and abetted by the thrift stores, secondhand shops, and the excellent examples of my many well dressed friends. In short, I became myself; I became the Bruce we all know today.

I moved away from Austin in the mid-nineties and spent a few years in San Francisco. I even travelled to Europe and, of course, Canada... Over time I found a great deal of what I started looking for all those years ago in Austin, and then, I got a chance to do something very interesting. I got a chance to move back. Nicole and I landed in Austin for a year and a half before we finally settled back here in Canada. It was and still is weird, wonderful and welcoming. It is still a place where art and culture create a magnet that pulls on the hearts of a thousand small town misfits. It is still, for me, a place that I will always feel at least a little bit at home. I got a chance to go back, and when I did, I think part of me hoped to recapture some bit of that magic, that sunshine, that taste of youth that had so sweetly seasoned my memories of Austin. But instead, I had a job. A life, you know, a bunch of things to do....

You see, for all of my spit-shine and polish on those early years in Austin, they were not the best days of my life. To be fair, the fact that they were not my best days was never Austin’s fault. Austin is a wonderful city, a beautiful city. But living for days on end in a state of hangover followed by drunk followed by hangover, with the metallic taste of bourbon, cheap cigarettes and Lone Star beer lingering like acid reflux in my sinuses; living in hovels or sleeping on couches, occasionally having to pick up extra shifts at work just for a chance at a staff meal; finding love, sure, but losing it again and again and wanting it so badly, aching for it for so long...I feel like those days, when I’m honest with myself, that even while I was being shaped and molded, that even while I tried so hard to live a full and storied life, I was almost always discontent, searching, hoping and looking for something...They were heady days, sure, ‘days of wine and roses,’ they were good days, fun days, but there were plenty of bad days too and no, when I’m honest, knowing what I know now, they were not the best days of my life.

The best days started with Nicole, the eloquent answer to that deep and anxious question posed so starkly by my heart, ‘will I ever find true love?’ The best days continued when I met Abigail, our daughter and, strangely enough, the same answer to the same question. Those Austin days were exciting, fun at times and certainly full, but these Kemptville days are surely the best.

But that is my story, not Austin’s. There was and still is something there, something important. Something tangible, something so sweet, and not just what was baked into that nostalgic batter; there is something to be found in what lies beyond and through that giant yellow columned and starlight covered corridor. As I have grown older, I’ve come to realize that the Austin that I go to on these bright spring days is no longer to be found on a map at the junction of Interstate 35 and Highway 290; it is, instead, a place in my heart, a place in my mind, a place in my spirit. It is the place where my dreams came alive and where my hopes took flight; a place where that misfit kid, where that young and lonely divorcee could go...a place to hope for, a place to belong. When the sun shines in the spring and for whatever reason, I see in its light that violet crown I feel, even if just for a fleeting moment, that sense of hope, of belonging, of peace, and that, that’s my Austin.

I’ve also been lucky enough to discover that my Austin fits in my suitcase. Austin did not become the place that it is by accident. Lots of people over lots of time built the culture that has become the magnet. People who needed a place to go, to be together, to feel included, all moved closer and closer together until something happened, something clicked, and then, after it did, they fought like hell to keep it. I guess, in a way, that is the story of any town, but it is not the story of every culture—just the good ones, just the ones worth keeping. I’ve taken a little bit of Austin with me everywhere I’ve ever gone. I’ve even, I hope, brought some of it with me here. In a way, the branch is my Austin now: smoky barbecue, enchiladas, live music—even a chance to sit outside in the sun, in the spring, on the patio. We’ve brought, I hope, a little bit of that Balcones beauty to our little town in other ways, helping with arts and culture wherever we can, be it by helping to start the Farmers’ Market, by hosting arts shows, historical society meetings, movies, charity events, or even, at times, by sitting on committees or in meetings with other folks, like-minded and otherwise, and by trying to remind them that there is more to a gathering of people in a municipality than just a momentum of years; that there is an important lesson in the hard work of creating the kind of place, the kind of culture that makes people want to not only come here, but to stay; that makes them want to come back year after year, that makes them want to call it home. Kemptville is on the precipice of a lot of growth, a lot of change, and we all have a great opportunity, and maybe it’s not as simple for us as saying: ‘Keep Kemptville Weird’ (...although, there is something to be said for that idea...). But maybe, as we grow, like those folks back in Austin who had the foresight and audacity to call their city a new Athens, maybe it’s time for us to seriously consider the kind of culture we want to create, the kind of community we want to have. We can have another Barrhaven if we want to—and we may if we aren’t careful: no downtown to stroll through, giant houses on small lots, chain restaurants and stores... Or, if we are bold, we can build on the kind of community that is already growing, that is already here; the small quirky businesses, the green space, the trails, the wealth of arts, of local foods...we can choose to support each other and we can work together and build the kind of oasis, the kind of magnet that will make us sustainable, strong, interesting and the kind of place that I think most us would like to call not just a bedroom community, but a living room and maybe even a kitchen community as well. We can, if we want, make Kemptville into our Athens, our Austin; not the physical one, but more like the one in my suitcase. Our sunshine daydream. A place to hope for. A home.

When I think of that mystical glow, that violet crown that hangs above the Austin of my memory, of my heart, I can’t help but think that the reason it exists is not just a simple flaw in my recollection or even some weird spectral phenomenon explained by a trick of the light. It is there because of people like you and me, people who needed it. It is there because we crowned her, because we decided that it should be. That crown exists, that violet crown. It is real over Austin, and it is real outside my window over Kemptville today. And it is there because we put it there.

newsletter spring 2011

Yes, yes, I know it has been quite a while since I’ve managed to send out one of these branchy newslettery things...technical issues are a big part of it, anxiety, time...the one thing has not been a lack of desire or effort. In fact I actually finished a newsletter (sans story) last month but was unable to send it! But here, I hope, is finally the news you’ve all been patiently waiting for... As a side note, you may have noticed some changes...or even that you are receiving this for the first time in a while...or, possibly, are receiving it and did not expect it as you had unsubscribed or something in times past--Well, that's probably because I am, for the first time, using a new program. Please bear with us--if you do not wish to receive this, please, just politely unsubscribe, this new program will make sure that the unsubscribe will be permanent (one of the reasons I switched)--and it will make all of our lives easier than if you mark it as spam...Well, let's all hope this works and I'd just like to say...it sure is good to be back!

I usually start these things off with a recap...but the fact is that at this point I don’t even remember all of the amazing things that have happened since last we spoke back in, I don’t know, February? Gosh, we’ve had George Harrison’s birthday tribute, Valentine’s day, Ariana Gillis, TWO Frank and Birdie shows...the list goes on...Why don’t we just agree, this one time, to let bygones be bye-gones and move on to the news? I mean, I didn’t even mention Simon Beach...or the BluegrassOpen Stage...or our new Spring and Summer Hours....

...Speaking of our new Spring and Summer Hours (did you see how I did that?) That’s right, we are bringing back the 6 evening a week hours that we had before it got all cold and stuff outside! Those new, old hours are, (for those who didn’t bother to memorize them last time around,) as follows:

Tuesday-Saturday Lunch: 11:30am-2pm
Tuesday-Wednesday Dinner: 5-8pm
Thursday-Saturday Dinner: 5-9:30pm
Sunday, Rubber Boots Buffet: 2-8pm (Open Stage 3-6pm)
Closed Mondays (and for Easter and some other stuff like that...)

So there you have it. Many more chances to let us do the cooking! (and, of course, the washing up...we know why you really dine out...)

Art!

I do feel awful that I never got to tell you about last month’s art show in this forum; The North Grenville Photography Club have shown with us before and will, I’m sure, be back again. It was a wonderful show and I do hope that many of you got a chance to see it, even if I never did pass it along in an actual newsletter...

This month, we are featuring the Merrickville Artists’ Guild, another returning favourite, who have provided the following information:

The Merrickville Artists’ Guild artists' work will be on exhibition at the restaurant from April 4 until May 1. the branch is located at 15 Clothier St. East in Kemptville.

The Merrickville Artist’s Guild (MAG) is well known to the area producing fine art and craft for over 25 years. Their popular annual studio tour attracts hundreds of people to Merrickville and the surrounding area each fall. MAG is very excited to come together under one roof at the beautiful branch restaurant and celebrate the love for art that thrives in this area.

The artists of the guild provide a diverse array of unique art. The MAG talents include painters, mixed media artists, potters, glass blowers, glass artisans, a gourd artiste, jewelers, a textile creator, wood turners and an artist who works with iron at Canada’s oldest foundry.

For more information on the Merrickville Artist’s Guild please visit our website where you can view some of the artwork: http://www.merrickvilleartists.com/studiotour.htm

Music!

Let’s start with this weekend: the recipe for a JD Edwards from Winnipeg is apparently one part Blind Melon funk and one part Black Crowes’ blues, stir in a little Van Morrison add a dash of Ben Harper and serve...You get the idea...Tom Savage from Kingston is joining him and bringing his brand of good ol’ rock 'n' roll with a bit of a country twist, he’s got a pile of well-crafted songs inspired by dudes like Neil Young and Townes Van Zandt...you know what? It all sounds pretty darn good to me! (April 23rd, 9pm, $5) We’re closed this Sunday for the egg thing, but we’ll make up for it next Wednesday with a rousing evening featuring several of our Open Stage regulars; specifically Dr. Shawn, Katie Nolan and Mr. Doug Hendry, esq. (April 27th, 7pm, no cover) I’ll be returning to the stage as well that Saturday along with newcomer Rick Ventrella in support of local master songwriter, Andy McGaw—he’s our very own local version of John Prine or Gordon Lightfoot, his songs are valuable, timeless and important...and, of course, I’ll play some stuff, too. Show starts at 8 with emerging local talent, Rick Ventrella (April 30, 8pm, no cover). That Sunday, May 1st, is an open stage hosted by me (Chef Bruce) from 3-6pm, but the real May fun starts that Thursday with the girls from the prairies, Oh, My Darling! Their website offers up a great description: ‘prairie roots mixed with bluegrass, Appalachian old time, southern twang, and Franco-folk, makes their style a melting pot of musical languages,’ you may remember them from last time, you will certainly remember them from this time. I once had the privilege of seeing the Dixie Chicks in a bar about the size of our restaurant right before they got very, very big—it was not a show I regret seeing. Just sayin’. (May 5, 9pm, $10) That Friday will be the first ‘First Friday’ showcase of the regularly scheduled ‘First Thursday’ event (catch all that?) ‘the Frank and Birdie show’ featuring Frank Western and Birdie Whyte, two locals that you know so well that you don’t even know that you know them. (May 6, 7pm, no cover) That Saturday, May 7th, will be our first show with the luminous songstress, Ms. Tara Porter...Tara has found us through members of our vibrant local Yoga community and we look forward to seeing her poses and hearing her mantras...or her tasteful and well-crafted original songs...either way, I’m sure it will be a delightful and rewarding evening among friends. (May 7, 9pm, $5)

May 8th, Sunday, is our annual Mothers’ Day Brunch at the Municipal Centre in support of the Salvation Army Food Bank. This year’s event will again feature lots of local, organic and handmade mom day goodies that she is not required to either cook or clean up after...It will also include a taste of the Farmers’ Market, Bluegrass and Gospel music (with Kim Wallace and the fellows from County Road 44) and a bunch of good people coming together for a worthy cause. That’s Sunday, May 8 from 10am to 2pm at the Municipal Centre, ALL proceeds go to benefit the local Sally Ann...Do it for mom, she’s worth it! Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, kids pay their age, volunteers welcome, and kids: one hour of volunteering buys a brunch for mom...Even you can afford that!

Wednesday May 11th brings us the dulcet, jazz influenced tones of Larra Skye, a Newmarket, Ontario native who has since travelled far on the success of her 2006 Jazz outing ‘the World Disappears’, for this tour, she will be playing and singing a new batch of acoustic, original pop inflected folk. (May 11, 7pm, no cover) That Saturday brings us Meg O’Malley Iredale all the way from Victoria, BC. I’ve been enjoying this songwriter quite a bit—follow the link below to get a taste of her indie/ethereal/thoughtful original tunes that hearken back to a an old-time folksy wonderland. (May 14th, 9pm,, $5) The following Tuesday brings back the one and only Ryan Cook for a listening room show, reserve now. ‘Nuff said. (Tuesday, May 17th, 8pm, $8) Join Ray Harris and his Bastard Sons’ of Bitches that Saturday for an evening of original as well as some well chosen country and country-rock covers! (May 21, 9pm, $5).

With yet another Tuesday night show, we will be bringing together a crew of local artists on May 24th to celebrate the birthday and the continuing story of one of the world’s all time greatest songwriters, Robert ‘Bob Dylan’ Zimmerman, the cipher, the poet, the priest...a man about who we can all agree to disagree. Show starts at 7pm, LOTS of people are performing.

CAB are back that Thursday at 8pm, no cover—this crazy two-piece old time rootsy blues band from Montreal tore up the room when they played here earlier this year as part of a 2 band show—now, on their own, we look forward to a whole evening of their magnificent Waits-y psych-blues swagger. Join the rest of K-ville for our premier event ‘The Dandelion Festival’ that weekend and see numerous bands on the main stage right outside our own front door.

I can’t tell you about everything that is coming up (yet...), but I should point out that yes, that is actually Lynn Miles (as in ‘THE Lynn Miles') playing on Saturday June 4th. We’ve already sold about half of the available seats, so if you’d like to come, the time to move is NOW!

Anyway, lots of good stuff coming up, we look forward to seeing you all!

Here’s that calendar again...

April:
Saturday 23 ~ Tom Savage from Kingston and JD Edwardsfrom Winnipeg ...9pm, $5 cover
Sunday 24 ~ closed for Egg Hunting Season
Wednesday 27 ~ Shawn Yakimovich, Katie Nolan and Doug Hendry; harmony, folk songs & lots of incredible strings ...7pm
Saturday 30 ~ Andy McGawand Chef Bruce with Rick Ventrella
May Calendar:
Sun May 1: ~ Open Stage 3-6pm
Thursday 5 ~ Oh, My Darling!Pickin' and singin with the ladies! Prairie roots mixed with bluegrass, Appalachian old time, southern twang, and Franco-folk, makes their style a melting pot of musical languages, 9pm, $10
Friday 8 ~ The Frank and Birdie Show featuring Frank Westernand Birdie Whyte... details TBA
Saturday 7 ~ Tara Porter...9pm, $5 Listening Room Show
Sunday 8 ~ Mother’s Day Brunch Salvation Army Fundraiser 10am-2pm at the Municipal Centre
Wednesday 11 ~ Larra Skye: sweet-voiced folk/pop songwriter from Toronto, singing songs from her second forthcoming album, "Wishing Tree" and unique renditions of popular tunes......7pm, no cover
Saturday 14 ~ Meg O’Mally Iredale 9pm, $5 cover
Sunday 15 ~ Open Stage 3-6pm
Tuesday 17 ~ Ryan Cook! Listening Room Show, $8, 8pm
Saturday 21 ~ Ray Harris and the Bastard Sons of Bitches, $5, 9pm
Sunday 22 ~ Closed for TWO-FOUR
Tuesday 24 ~ Bob Dylan Birthday Tribute, contact chef Bruce to sign up...8pm, free!
Thursday 26 ~ CAB, Montreal old time blues...8pm, no cover
Friday, Saturday, Sunday May 27, 28, 29: Dandelion Festival!
June Calendar:
Saturday 4 ~ Lynn Miles, Holy Smokes!...9pm, $20 cover
Friday 10 ~ Petunia!
Saturday 11 ~ Greg Kelly and the Broken Window Philharmonic...9pm, $5 cover Saturday 18 ~ John Allaireand Bill Toms...9pm, cover TBA
Sunday 19 ~ Dave Martel... (not confirmed, cross your fingers!)
Saturday 25 ~ Lynne Hanson, ...9pm, $8
Thursday 30 ~ Ariana Gillis
July Calendar:
Saturday 2 ~ Brock Zeman
Tuesday 5 ~ Bruce and Ringo's Birthday Jam featuring songs of the Beatles--sign up with your friendly neighbourhood chef if you want to play!
Saturday 9 ~ Huntley Slim
Saturday 16 ~ Brandon Agnew