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The end of May is turning out to be a cluster bomb of great things.

It all began last fall when I found out that not only is one of my oldest friends getting married to an amazing woman, but also that he wanted me to be the best man! I don’t think I’m putting myself out there too much by saying that I, like all of us, have my share of insecurities. So for me to be named the best man really gives me the boost of confidence I need right now. And to add to the excitement, the wedding happens to be in one of the most fun cities in North America: Montreal!

Fast forward from last fall to February of this year: I’m somewhere in Europe on tour when I find out that I have been asked to perform at Montreal’s 2nd annual One Man Band Festival, on the weekend after my friend’s wedding, Saturday May 25th. I’m not big on astrology, I gotta say, but the stars sure lined up perfectly on that one. I’ll go to a wedding, party it up a little bit with some old friends, spend a week relaxing, eating smoked meat and poutine then I’ll attend an amazing festival as a performer and as a spectator. What could be better?

Then sometime around when February turned to March, I got an email from my good friend Tom aka Speed Dial 7 over there at the Marathon of Dope label. He tells me that he wants to go ahead and put out the record that Birdapres and I made, and he wants to do it sooner than later; May 28th to be exact. At first I was a little skeptical about dropping it so soon, since the direction that my solo music has taken recently has been more towards singing than rapping. And this record I did with Birdapres is a straight-up rap record. “What if people get confused!?” I worried to myself. But then I thought “don’t under-estimate the audience, you idiot!” and we dropped the first single. And so far people have seemed to like it, so hurray for us. (Thank you to everybody who has shared it, listened to it or even simply took notice. Birdapres and I both really appreciate it. We’re currently working on a video!)

By the time April decided to show up, we here in Winnipeg were all getting pretty sick of the unnecessarily long winter. But at least I had escaping to Montreal at the end of May to look forward to. Then I get an email from Jaimz of Ghost Twin. He asked me if I’d be interested in playing a show back in Winnipeg on May 31st, with his band, A Lion in Your Lap, DJ Beekeeni and DJ Damien Ferland at the historic Albert Arms venue. I said “listen Jaimz, not only am I interested, I’ve been waiting to be asked to play a show like this in my hometown for a long time. Count me in!” This will be a veritable blitzkreig of synth based music at a notorious punk bar. It’ll be just like 1979 all over again.

Finally, just when I thought May couldn’t get any better, I find out that the Thursday before my friend’s wedding, the 16th of May, I’ll be playing another show in Montreal with the one and only Cadence (fucking) Weapon! And just think: I was standing on a bridge ready to throw myself off not all that long ago. My how things change.

Here’s a recap of all the events going down in May:

May 16th: Rob Crooks, Cadence Weapon and Hua Li at Kathy & Kimy in Montreal

May 18th: Rob Crooks is the best man

May 25th: One Man Band Festival presents Rob Crooks, Jesse Dangeroulsy, Matt Dorgan Project, Igor vs. Rogi and Clara Venice at the Playhouse Cabaret in Montreal

May 28th: Birdapres and Rob Crooks drop Argyle, available for free download at marathonofdope.com

May 31st: Rob Crooks, Ghost Twin, A Lion in Your Lap, DJ Beekeeni, DJ Damian Ferland

        Birdapres and I are different than most rappers you may meet in Winnipeg. We’re both poor men’s intellectuals, with a long reading list of paper backs resting on our bedside tables. Although we are fundamentally influenced by the movement that came out of the Bronx in the 1970s, our musical influences reach far beyond hip-hop in space and time. All this is not to say that we are special in some way, but only to point out where our collaboration began.

We made an album together by meeting on Sunday afternoons, drinking tea and listening to beats through a pair of headphones that were jacked up as loud as they would go. We would talk about the things that had struck us as interesting throughout the course of the week, and the directions we wanted our music to take. We wanted to create a concept album. S0 we did. Here is the first single from our eight track EP Argyle. It’s called “Pump Up the Volume.”

        Argyle will be available for pay-what-you-can/want download on May 28th, from Marathon of Dope. Here’s a little a write up about the upcoming album that you can read if you can read:

“For the first time ever Birdapres has teamed up with Rob Crooks to bring you Argyle. Named for both an alternative high school in Winnipeg and the pattern that adorns school uniforms, this eight track EP harkens back to the days of low-hanging backpacks, mind-numbing classes and juvenile delinquency. Although Bird and Crooks are well beyond their teenage years, they artfully use the theme of high school to express the feelings of alienation and ennui that followed them well into adulthood.

The poetic insight that laid the theme for Argyle came from Birdapres’ observation that most people had a friend or classmate tragically pass away during the months or days surrounding graduation. From that dark inspiration came the pensive “Bus Stop Blues,” a song that developed the overarching concept for this brand new EP. Other songs cover topics such as adolescent drug-use (“High School High”), skipping class to smoke “Cigarettes” (feat. Pip Skid) and the dreaded “Summer School.”

Sonically, Argyle is contrastingly upbeat and fun. Rob Crooks, playing the role of producer in addition to emcee, took records supplied by the walking-vinyl-encyclopedia Birdapres and fed them through his sampler to create beats influenced by Krautrock to Miami Bass. Samples from classic 80s and 90s high-school movies are sprinkled throughout the EP adding a narrative that takes the listener from the first day of school to graduation and beyond.

The final result is a hip-hop album unlike any other, relating the experiences of angst-ridden high-school students to the existential problems facing us as grown-ups today.”

A few years ago, my old friend Sam Thompson and I started a website called Witchpolice. Named after a song by our band Dynamo, the impetus for creating Witchpolice was originally a very simple and practical one: We needed a place to host our new album. Once the website was launched however, it almost immediately became something larger, serving simultaneously as a digital archive for all the music we and our friends had recorded over the years.

This was really nothing novel for us at the time. Sam and I have been friends since junior high, when we started our first band and even produced a (very) short run of a zine together. Since we both share music as our first love, most of our activities since meeting have centred around that passion. We’ve been creating music and music-themed things together and apart since we’ve met, making videos and even participating in one or two websites along the way.

As time went on, Witchpolice.com began to grow into something much larger than either of us had imagined. It has since transformed from a place where only we and our friends contributed content to a place that hosts music, prints interviews and showcases videos by musicians and artists from all over Winnipeg, North America and even the world. Today the website boasts a huge collection of exclusive content available for free download, in addition to the ever growing archive of lost demos, basement recordings and other such cultural waste waiting to be sifted through.

However, these days it’s not quite the joint venture that it was originally meant to be. As we grow older, our priorities switch from hanging out with our friends to focusing on our careers and families. More recently I’ve devoted more and more time to my music while Sam has been devoting more and more time to his family, running Witchpolice from his basement between the hours of putting his kid to bed and going to bed himself.

When we sort-of off the cuff decided to make a Witchpolice podcast, more than anything else it was an excuse for Sam and I, along with our other old friend Jon (the Mouth-Boat, Shoshaku Jushaku) to sit around, play music for each other and just generally hang out. Since then Witchpolice Radio has grown into something we’re all much more proud of and devoted to.

After the first couple of episodes we decided that for the sake of structure it would make more sense to pick a theme every week, rather than playing songs willy-nilly. We decided a random word generator, like anyone that can be found from a quick google search, would be a good way to pick a theme. Past themes have included drugs, trauma and Chicago.

Another way we try to make the show more interesting to potential listeners is by having guests as often as possible. Sam, Jon and I have known each other for almost twenty years, and it’s quite easy for us to slip back into our old inside jokes, which are neither interesting nor funny to most people. So by adding a guest each week it keeps both the conversation and the music choices fresh. Some past guests have included, Nestor Wynrush, Greg Arcade, JD Ormand of Ultra Mega, Birdapres and former editor of Uptown Magazine John Kendle.

Our twentieth episode was made available for download last week and the listenership is steadily growing. Our show has also been picked up by the University of Manitoba’s radio station, CJUM 101.5 for air every Monday night at 11pm. But the best part of it is that Sam, Jon and I have an excuse to make time to hang out each and every week and talk about the things that made us friends in the first place: music.

For more information or to find out about new episodes follow Witchpolice Radio on Twitter, like Witchpolice on Facebook or keep up-to-date straight from the website.

This Saturday I’ll be playing my first show back home from tour with From Giants, the JD Edwards Band and one of my personal favorites, Ultra Mega. I’ve been trying to hook up a show with Ultra Mega for a while now, so I’m really excited about this chance to share a bill with them. Throw in the great talents of From Giants and the JD Edwards Band and you have a jam packed line-up.

Admittedly, it may be difficult to see where I fit in amongst these other three groups. It could be said that in Winnipeg there are two kinds of bands: bands who can play at the Times Change(d) and those who would be booed off stage, and possibly bottled. The other three bands on Saturday night’s bill would be, and I’m sure have been, welcomed with open arms at the Times; I, on the other hand, happen to fit into the latter category.

There is a very old-school mentality amongst some music lovers in Winnipeg, as in other places, I’m sure. Some of these people don’t think that samplers or drum machines are instruments. And they certainly don’t think that hip-hop is music. I’m ok with that. I get it. But I also don’t care. I make music the way I make it because it’s how I’ve always done it. If I was stuck on a deserted island with nothing but an acoustic guitar I would make music with an acoustic guitar. If that guitar’s strings broke, I would still find a way to play music on it. If there was no guitar at all I would use twigs to hit different sized rocks and come up with some sort of melody or rhythm. But I’m not on a deserted island so I use samplers, drum machines and synthesizers.

Anyways, this show is not at the Times Change(d), it’s at the Windsor. So it’s a moot point. But either way, please don’t get me wrong; I love the Times Change(d) and their clientele, even if only in theory more than practice. I still think it’s important that there is such an institution in Winnipeg’s music scene, and the rumours that it’s not long for this world are heart-breaking to me. But regardless, the fact remains: some bands play there and some don’t. Keeping in mind that I’ll most-likely never play at the Times, I’m very happy that Manitoba Music had the insight to see where I fit in amongst these other three bands who I’m sure have been celebrated by audiences at the infamous alt-country/blues bar. After all, we all just make music.*

*Although I do sometimes consider what I do to be “anti-music.” But we can discuss that another time.

22nd of february: Gazteizko Gaztetxea, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

17th of february 2013: The Black Sheep, Montpellier, France
19th of february 2013: L’UBU, Perpignan, France
20th of february 2013: La Dynamo, Toulouse, France

14th of february 2013: Rôssli Bar, Bern, Switzerland
15th of february 2013: Helsinki, Zurich, Switzerland
16th of february 2013: SAS-Club, Delémont, Switzerland (with Mike Ladd)

8th of february 2013: Reflex, Kortrijk, Belgium
9th of february 2013: Landbouwbelang, Maastricht, Netherlands
10th of february 2013: Madame Moustache, Brussels, Belgium
11th of february 2013: Le Bateau Ivre, Mons, Belgium

5th of february 2013: Cross Club, Prague, Czech Republic
6th of february 2013: Pi Club, Pisek, Czech Republic

2nd of february 2013: Madame Claude, Berlin, Germany
3rd of february 2013: Batterie, Kassel, Germany