by RAF KATIGBAK

In the broadcasting world, the term "Canadian content" hasn't always been synonymous with "quality programming." On television, for every Kids in the Hall you get about 10 Wind at My Backs. On commercial radio, the situation is worse: Avril Lavigne, Nickelback and Celine Dion all day, every day (it's like, hellooo, would it kill you to play a little Kim Mitchell now and then?!). But sometimes, out of the blue, comes a Canadian artist that does us all proud. In the field of techno there are already a few who have risen to international superstardom (you've got your Akufens and your Hawtins). One such shooting star is Vancouver DJ/producer Tyler "T-Bone" Stadius. In the late '80s Stadius hosted a fair share of successful warehouse parties in his hometown Toronto, after which he promptly moved to Vancouver and introduced the word "house" to the West Coast nightlife vocabulary. Over the years Stadius's mix tapes and CDs have gotten über-props from such high-profile music journos as Muzik, DJ, Mixer, URB and XLR8R. Last year was especially hot for Stadius as he took his funky, bassy sound around North America and to the rest of the globe, places like the U.K. (where he rocks a residency at the legendary Fabric), France, Turkey and Croatia. This Friday, March 28, Stadius will be gracing the tables at Stereobar's new Friday-night "twisted techy West Coast house" monthly called Promo, with residents D'Kai and Mehmet. Cover is $10 (which gets you $10 off the Stereo afterhours cover with DJ Omid16B), so you might as well go for a soda and see what all the fuss is about.

Tonight, Thursday, March 27, join DJ Sarcastic's Level 4 Productions crew as they join forces with Neil Wernik's Clonk Productions to form a techno coalition the likes of which this city has never seen. Bleep is a one-off event featuring DJ sets by local techno whizzes Sarcastic, Tobias and Kilobyte, and a live set by naw. It all goes down for a measly $4 at Club Amnesia (1421 Bishop) so be there!

Like it or not, after seven solid years, Sona - Montreal's legendary afterhours club - will be shutting its doors after one final weekend bash (featuring Joubin, Miche & Sultan, Laflèche and Luc Raymond). I still remember the mythic feeling when it first opened and the many late nights, that quickly turned to early mornings, spent dancing like a madman. Although times have changed considerably at the club and throughout the scene in general, I'll always remember the great times I've had there (Dimitri From Paris, DMX Krew, Green Velvet, Felix Da Housecat, Afrika Bambaataa, the list goes on…). So let me join in with all Sona fans past, present and future (the new Sona opens up this spring) as we bid a fond farewell to this local dance institution.

Those patio lanterns… Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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