Windsor Ontario News / Arts

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Rose Cora Perry: no apologies for personal, political songs

Rose Cora Perry describes herself as a singer, songstress, writer and role model.

A performer since she was four years old, voice-trained by the Royal Conservatory of Music and who has sung opera and jazz, as well as indie rock and now is a solo acoustic artist, this 25-year-old from London Ontario is a musical – and political – force to be reckoned with.

She performs at 4 pm Sunday Aug. 1 at the Festival Plaza during Windsor’s Emancipation celebration.

In a musical world where message music seems to have gone by the wayside Perry places politics or social issues front and centre, and makes no apologies.

“Well, I think that the last time we actually had a lot of musicians who were putting their hearts and their souls and messages into lyrics it wasn’t since the hippie era in the Sixties,” she says.

“These days everybody writes about either the generic cheesy love song or, pardon my language, shooting up some hos and stuff. And it’s extremely degrading.”

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'Iodine' is feature film directorial debut for Windsor native Mike Stasko

Windsor’s Mike Stasko premiers his new independent movie Iodine at the Capitol Theatre June 16 at 7 pm.

The movie, described as a psychological thriller, was shot on a remote island off Georgian Bay, and has a cast and crew of several Windsorites.

Stasko, a graduate of F.J. Brennan High School and the University of Windsor communication studies program, went on to study film at Toronto’s Sheridan College.

He then worked at YTV in Toronto as head writer and producer for

YTV’s Video & Arcade Top 10, the country’s longest running and most watched kids TV show.

He went on to study film at New York’s Columbia University.

Currently he lives near Ottawa and makes online learning films.

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1, 2 Free features three accomplished local jazz professionals

Jazz baby!

Or should that be “1, 2, Free,” an acoustic jazz trio?

1, 2, Free is three local musicians who may be a bit under the radar screen but have impressive musical credentials.

The trio – Tim Gibson, Bill Loop and Cam Weir - have played with a diverse range of jazz and jazz-influenced rock and blues bands, including those of bassist Stanley Clark and pop-rock group Edward Bear.

The trio’s members have also performed with local artists like Alexander Zonjic and Jody Raffoul.

Percussionist Tim Gibson studied at New York’s Drummers Collective.

He accompanied Stanley Clark in Toronto and Kenny Rogers’ Blood Line Band.

Kingsville’s Bill Loop, bassist, toured internationally with Toronto’s Edward Bear.

Remember the group’s You, Me and Mexico, and The Last Song, which went gold?

Loop continues to teach and has performed with Detroit vocalist Alberta Adams, Chicago’s blues guitarist Osee Anderson, Zonjic and Raffoul.

Cam Weir has been playing clarinet since he was 8, tenor sax at 12 and flute at 14.

He also plays alto, soprano sax and bass clarinet.

He is a composer whose discography includes Journey to the Sun, Astral Dreams and the band’s namesake 1,2 Free.

The band’s instruments feature Djembe and Bata African drums, upright bass, flute and woodwinds.

The group plays standards and original compositions.

For bookings you can get in touch with Tim at tim0627@gmail.com.

Palace's film series could use more fans

There could be a few more people in the seats at the Palace Cinemas new film series.

Theatre manager Andy Stockwell says while certain films with Oscar buzz like Young Victoria and The Last Station have seen good audiences the others “don’t do very well unfortunately.”

The Palace this year brought back repertory cinema to Windsor, many years after the often-lamented Windsor Film Theatre on Wyandotte St. W closed.

The Palace has been setting aside one of its four screening rooms for these largely independent and art films.

So far it has screened the likes of Me & Orson Welles, Precious, The Hurt Locker and Creation.

This week it has The Cove, a documentary about dolphin-killing off Japan, and Antichrist, the controversial film from Denmark’s Lars von Trier.

Next week it’s director Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, and The Prophet.

Stockwell said it’s “not necessarily” art films that are screened but others that “didn’t play in Windsor or didn’t play a lot in Windsor (or) that people have wanted to see.”

The Hurt Locker fits that category.

Admission is the same as for other movies - $6.50 adult and $4.20 seniors and at weekend matinees.

Other films this month and May include Greenberg, Cooking with Stella, and Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer.

For more on the series go the theatre’s web site at www.palacecinemas.ca