by RAF KATIGBAK

April has always been a special month for me. Besides the fact that it's a beautiful time of year when flora and fauna get all horny 'n' shit, and that this was the month yours truly was squirted out into this wonderful world (April 25 - mark it!), April rules because it kicks off with the best thing ever - April Fool's Day! Growing up, I was never a sadistic kid by any means. In fact, while most of my friends were pulling wings off flies and sticking firecrackers up frogs' butts, I was busy wreaking harmless havoc on inanimate objects (mostly melting GI Joes and Barbies together to form mutant hybrid supermodel warriors). Maybe it's the chance to shake up people's realities, or that I've always admired the righteous poetic elegance and precise execution of epic Revenge of the Nerds-style '80s movie pranks, but a day that encourages mayhem and misrule really floats my boat.

This Friday, you too can unleash the fury of the fool, as the Cavalcade of Fools threatens to take over la Sala Rossa. This "festival of one-man and one-ma'am bands" will feature a cornucopia of crazies including the World Provider, Suck Machine (aka Alexis O'Hara), Gambletron, Brad Holy and Julie La Rousse. Stick around for musical rump-bumper Ghislain Poirier on the decks, promising bacchanalian spring dance fever for everyone. Seven dollars at the door, April Fool's jokes are mandatory.

Musical mayhem will no doubt befall the crowd on Friday as local DJ duo Chouchounes (Louis-Dominic Parizeau and Louis-Philippe Béliveau) launch their fifth mix CD Ride With Us with a shit-hot shindig at the SAT. Advance copies of the disc promise a solid mix of electro, techno and '90s dance classics that is sure to please dancefloors city-wide. On hand to drop some madness will be Berlin's DJ Clemens, the Autist and Vincent Lemieux and Sean Kosa delivering a special tag-team set. Ten bones at the door - the first 100 guests get a free copy of the CD, so get there early!

Finally, congrats go out to Mr. Lucas, Nathan Murray and Dave Barber for being quick on the e-mail trigger with last week's Amon Tobin CD giveaway. The answer, of course, was Tom Clancy (a fourth bonus CD goes out to Oge Bozyigit for answering "Michael Crichton's scrotum" and making root beer shoot out of my nose).

EXCUSE ME, YOU DROPPED YOUR POCKET... Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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