PILSNER BEER AND HOW GREAT IT IS, PART ONE.

Everyone thinks I’m from Saskatchewan, but I’m not. I am a huge fan of Saskatchewan, but I was born right here in Alberta.

Another thing that always gets mistaken for being born in Saskatchewan is Pilsner.
But I don’t think it was - I’m pretty sure it was born in Lethbridge?

Either way, I’m sure glad it was invented, because Pilsner beer is honestly one of my favourite things in life. I’m not exaggerating, either. Ask anyone.

I grew up with Pilnser, it was a total Yacyshyn family household staple, and to this day, Pilsner is my always my beer of choice. Tall cans? Oh man! Nothing better.

I had a look through my photo albums from the past couple of years, and in so many of the good times we’ve had, Pilsner has been a big part of our nights. And days. And in some cases, mornings….sigh.

Here are a few, I pulled out about 30, but this blog will only let me upload 10 at a time. So in a few days, look for some more!

Thank god for pictures, because some of these memories I probably wouldn’t remember. Which I’ll blame on the Pilsner.

xo Twyla

(Oh yeah - Molson/Pilsner are sponsoring Sled Island again this year! Best news ever!)

(the song that i posted up above truly does have a connection to this story/sled island, but you should probably skip the first 6 or so paragraphs and just read the last one if you want to get right to the point!)

Good morning, although it is 1:20pm, but I feel guilty saying “Good Afternoon” when I am still lying in my bed.

I have a story to tell you.

Yesterday we had our first full Sled Island Team Meeting of the year. All 8 of us. A few new faces, a few um, old faces (hi!), one or two kinda confused faces, but best of all, an entire crew of awesome faces. We’re a good team this year, and I think we’re going to have lots of fun.

That being said, it looks like this year is going to be my busiest yet for illustration, because Zak & Colin have been working hard getting us millions of magazine ads, full-page daily Calgary Sun ads,(which are starting to run on Monday! keep an eye out!) and so much print stuff! Most exciting to me is of course our Molson sponsorship - PILSNER BEER PROMO ITEMS! Dear diary, what’s my favourite thing in the world? PILSNER BEER! So working with Molson is pretty much the highlight of my life! (stay tuned for more on Pilsner in an upcoming post - I am going to put together a photo blog of how important Pilsner is to me.)

Zak also surprised me last night with news that we get to do bus advertisements this year, which is great because not only will we get to see hot pink and yellow giant bunny heads everywhere (CUUUUTE!) but we’ll be able to get the Sled Island word out to people that might not normally even know the festival exists, you know? And hey - remember that episode of Sex & The City, where Carrie and her douchy friends are all standing around on the corner waiting for Carrie’s bus ad to drive past, and when it finally did, someone had Sharpie markered a huge dink onto her face? haha. oh man! Hopefully nobody draws any genitalia on any of our bunnies, but if i did see something like that, I would first cry a bit, but then have a good laugh over it. (but please don’t!)

So yeah. Busy time for us all starting now, but I’m not sweating nothing because I have a secret trick to help keep me focused and working hard. (well, a few secret tricks, actually - one of them being Adderrall, but that’s ALSO a whole different blog…)

Every year before I start working on Sled, I pick a TV series to watch, and then I buy all the box sets. I go to my day job and work all day, (today is a bit of an exception. it’s snowing! my bed is warm! i am computing!) and then I come home, eat dinner, and put on the box sets, and just draw and draw and watch TV! Last year my series of choice was Melrose Place (the original ones!) and man that was awesome, but this year I am watching SONS OF ANARCHY! SO CRAZY!

Holy smokes. Have you ever watched this show? It’s amazing. Its about this Motorcycle Club, they’re called the Sons of Anarchy, (fancy that!) and they’re this super endearing bunch of tough motorcycle guys - there’s a couple of “Old Ladies” of course because a Motorcycle Club cannot exist without one or two awesome biker chicks to take care of the men, and these guys are just super nice dudes, like, they’ve got each others backs, and they love their little town which is called Charming, they have kids, they do good stuff for the community, they sort of work stuff out with the town cops…they’re just nice normal men, unless you do something to mess with them or someone important to them, in which case they will turn around and brutally destroy you. It’s so awesome!
 
This is where this entire long drawn out story starts to relate to Sled Island in a bigger way than just ‘Oh I like to watch TV while I draw bunnies and stuff!”

Other than being an amazing television program, Sons Of Anarchy also boasts pretty much the raddest TV show episode soundtracks to ever exist. (other than The OC, but there really is no competing against that chick Alexandra Patsavas who does all the music for so many awesome shows and she’s pretty much got my dream job, but again, i digress.)

ANYWAYS! Last night while I was drawing bunnies and mountains, I watched I think 3 or 4 episodes of S.O.A, and twice I had to stop drawing, pause the show, and google the episode to find out what song was playing. AND HERE IS THE NEAT PART!

BOTH SONGS WERE BY THE DONKEYS!
and
THE DONKEYS ARE PLAYING SLED ISLAND THIS YEAR!

so. there you go. The Donkeys. Sled Island 2010. Maybe the Sons of Anarchy will be there and I can somehow weasel my way into their club and fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming some bikers awesome old lady. sigh.

(Here’s their website - http://www.donkeysongs.com/ - turns out they’re from San Diego which is awesome, and it makes this story tie itself together even more, because remember that episode of The OC where the gang went to Tijuana? Well - you can take a bus from San Diego right to Tijuana, so you see - this blog really came full circle, you know?)

What a great thing to find out when I woke up this morning!
Priestess has been added to the already rad lineup!

yes!

xo Twyla

So this year for Sled Island i got to pick a few bands, and MY GOLD MASK was on top of my list! And guess what! They’re coming!

The girl is Gretta, and the boy is Jack, and you know how every year at Sled, there’s that band you hear about the next day like, “Holy crap! did you catch so-and-so last night?! it was craaaaazy! so good!” ? you know? And then you’re bummed that you didn’t get to see that band because you were somewhere else having a different awesome time? Well, i’m pretty sure this year THAT band is going to be My Gold Mask. And i will be there. And you should be too! Remember how right I was about whatsherface that first year of Sled, and dude - people are STILLLL talking about how rad that show was. I can’t remember her name though. oopsie. But my point is, i’m usually pretty right about good times and where to find them!

And also - check them out doing Bette Davis Eyes! Gretta standing up playing drums in the greatest outfit in the world! Jack with his grey jeans and little knees!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD_Ky1pd6oY

I can’t wait!
xo Twyla.

Soooo - we made the initial Sled Island line-up announcement a week ago, and the positive responses that I’m hearing are making me feel crazy!  People are losing their minds this year! It is so nice to hear so much good stuff, and just makes me want to hug Zak and Adam and the rest of the band-pickers (tech term!) for being so rad and great and smart!

My Top 4 out of that giant list of 100 or so. My Top 4 could easily be My Top 44, but I’m already 20 minutes late for work, so I should just make this quick!

WHOMADEWHO - (that’s the video up there that you’re seeing, the song is called something about being safe on a plane…i forget. but wow!) HOLY SHIT! So, the Sled Island “Team” went down to Austin, TX for SXSW a few weeks ago, and what! thehell! is up! with that festival!! So rad! it was so rad! I can’t talk about it, but it was awesome! Zak is an experienced SXSW’er, and it was my first time, so one night he was just dragging me around to so many different awesome venues, like, we had no real solid plans, we were just having the greatest night discovering new bands and meeting up with pals and just doing what we do, you know? So we met up with our pal Gravy who is in Shout Out Out Out, (he was hanging out with Nardwuar who is loved by Sled Island - it was so nice to see him again!) and Gravy was like, “You have to come see this band!” and so we went with him, and what I witnessed was pretty much the raddest part of that evening! Seriously - I don’t care what else is going on when these guys play Sled, like, even if Mariachi El Bronx is like, “hey Twyla, can we come play some little acoustic show in your living room?” I’ll be like, “Well…sure, but I won’t be there because Whomadewho is playing and they are fuckin’ raaaaaaaad!”
Seriously. The weird thing is, it’s not really the sort of music that I’m “IN TO” but the show and the vibe and those guys and oh man! You know? I know you know!

Cheeseburger - I am real excited to see Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger is from Brooklyn, and watch that video. Probably you think I only like this because it’s a dude in a tiger suit, (which truthfully is the only reason I chose that video to watch!) but man. I don’t know which night these guys are playing, or where, or with who, but make sure you book the next day off, because I think shit might go all night long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMUEfdo5Wac

My Gold Mask - Zak told me that I could pick some bands this year to book, and My Gold Mask was my first choice. Lie. Second, but still. They’re soooo effin’ rad. They come from Chicago. I got a little tipsy a few nights ago, and Zak was on Tweeter Twitter, and I made him Tweet to My Gold Mask that they could stay at my apartment! Haha. I guess it ain’t Sled Island unless my living room is full of random awesome people! That’s what we’re all about! Check these guys out for sure - absolutely dreamy.
http://www.myspace.com/mygoldmask

Mariachi El Bronx - So, as if the Bronx aren’t awesome enough, this year we also get to see Mariachi El Bronx…the Bronx making rad Mariachi music, which, in my opinion, is pretty much THE BEST THING EVER!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1uihI8UOM4

alright. 50 minutes late for work, but at least I know my priorities.

xo T.

So….the Sled Island Membership cards are almost ready!

I had them ready last week, but we had a little meeting the other night and after much testing  and touching and trying, we came to the conclusion that they just weren’t good enough for you.

Main problem - they didn’t fit very good in the wallets - the size was a bit goofy…my fault, sorry! So it was back to the drawing board, and I’ve got a nice new one done up, and we’ll let you know as soon as they’re printed and ready to go! I hope you will be pleased with how easily these ones slide right into your wallet, for optimal easy access whenever you need to pull it out.

If you haven’t signed up to buy your membership yet, you should - $15 gets you the card, and it also gets you $15 off of your festival pass, so right there you’re an instant winner. Members will also recieve deals on stuff that I don’t know about, and they’ll get secret emails I bet, and a bunch of other stuff that we’ll make up along the way.

So.

There you go!
Xo twyla.

Am i allowed to keep having so many “NEW FAVOURITE BANDS”!? oh well - i can’t help it.

The Main Drag. So good. Such a good show! Watch that video, it’s amazing!

I would like to discuss this further, but actually I should sleep.

Festival success. I am so super happy. Thanks to everyone that came out. You’re awesome!

xo Twyla.

Hi! Today was such nice day, and it’s not even over yet!
Local 510 hosted a wonderful Hangover Breakfast, and it was awesome!
The Paperbacks, Hot Panda, Someone Else (sorry!) and Githead played!
A) i am not going to talk about the Paperbacks anymore because I’m creeping even myself out (they were so good and great and perfect! they’ll be back in august!)

B) GITHEAD! WHAT! I am amazed, and I have a new favourite band! So good - such a great show!

C) Hot Panda has their own hot sauce! How do I go about getting my own hot sauce?! I think i could probably make a pretty good one. It would be pretty hot, but also sort of sweet. Next year, mark my words, there will be a Sled Island Hot Sauce. I am going to make it happen.

D) what are you doing tonight? Here is what I think you should do. Mix and Match to make your own Festival Adventure!

*OBITS at Broken City!

*The MAIN DRAG at the Lord Nelson! (have you been there yet? I stopped in last night and felt amazed! It was so weird and rad in there. I think i will go there tonight for sure!)(Plus, the Main Drag is awesome!)(!!)

*GITHEAD at the Warehouse! YOU MUST SEE THEM!

*TRICKY WOO at Verns!

*SPECIAL GUESTS at the Legion. One rhymes with ….uh. Nothing rhymes with Quintron. But that’s who one of the special guests is. Am I going to get in trouble for saying that?

Have fun tonight, keep your crowd surfing to a minimum - or be prepared for the wrath of Craig Evans!
xo Twyla.

Yesterday ruled. A point form break down, because I just tried to write normal sentences and it wasn’t working for me this morning.

*bought a deck of Magic cards. What.

*ate lunch in the sun on the Broken City patio, and we all had our Sleduals (Sled Island Schedules, but all made into one word, get it?)(i made that one up, good one, i know) with us, planning and replanning our days

*went to the mall in a car and learned about Michael Jackson. Sad. Had a singalong while driving and blasting “man in the mirror”.

*met up with random internet strangers back on the Broken City patio, lots of out of towners who i’ve never actually hung out with, had a few drinks there, then walked to the Bamboo to see Swords. Did not end up watching Swords, because I was sidetracked by beer, but they sure sounded good from the other room!

*regarding the Out of Towners, my heart filled with Calgary Pride to see these people texting and calling people back home wherever they were from to say how much fun Calgary is and how great the festival is and how much fun they’re having! Seriously! I was just like, beaming! I’m in love with you, Calgary! Good work so far this weekend, you are doing great!

*quickly zoomed over to Dickens Pub to see the Paperbacks, who crowned themselves Kings Of Sled Island, because they’ve played all 3 years! They are my favourite band in the world. Best vibes ever, and that voice! Oh my!

*After the Paperbacks I was somehow transported to the Legion, where Andrew WK pretty much destroyed everybody in that place in the best way. Torn apart by awesomness. He is…I don’t even know. I feel speechless. The show was amazing, and Andrew is an amazing performer. I am so glad I was up front for it, even though the sweat and beer and clear whiskey  (!!?) made my hair curly and mascara run, and i got whammed by crazy fans so hard that today I have a giant bruise and sore ribs, it was so worth it!

*met Narduar and fell in love. I’m not even joking - he has an amazing thing going on! This is where things become blurry, either out of the fullness of my heart, or because I had way too many Pilsners, but my night ended dreamily, with a 3am walk home with great pals, bumping in to people on the way, bumping into more people and getting hotdogs, great laughs, secret confessions, the best weather, and perfect perfectness.

Today I’m excited to be alive! The Olympic Plaza show will be amazing! I am going to spend lots of my day there, with a quick duck out around 5pm to get over to Tubby Dog to see Monotonix (Try to picture it please. Monotonix. Tubby Dog. Monotonix. Tubby Dog. MONOTONIX! TUBBY DOG!!!!) and then I am just going with the flow.

Life is good. This City and this Festival and this Whole Thing. Love it.
Xo Twyla.

So, The first “official” Sled Island day was pretty  much the funnest day I’ve had all year. (i take that back, i’ve had one other day that was a little bit funner, but still!)

In the daytime, I stopped in at the Uptown meet up with Zak, and holy - the Factory Party People were working so hard, and the place looked amazing! I felt a little bit sad that I wasn’t going to be attending the Factory Party, but then I remembered how much other awesome stuff I would be seeing.

Zak & Jenny & I took Andrew WK to a little patio for some drinks, and then I came home and got ready for a Keg Party at Ben’s which was so fun. They had hotdogs, poutine, and jellybeans! And beer!

After the Keg Party, we came back downtown and everyone went to the Factory Party, but I went to Vern’s to see the Superfantastics. Holy! Crap! They were so cute and good! And the vibe in Vern’s is just perfect. All these little guys running around!

After that we walked over to the Bamboo to see what was going on, but I forget what happened there. I was sidetracked.

Then we walked to the Ship for SNFU, and it was so packed and loud and fun! I was feeling quite exhausted, so I only stayed for a bit and then took off!

Today is Thursday, and My Favourite Band In The World is playing tonight at Dickens! The Paperbacks! Seriously so good! With Ladyhawk & Hot Little Rocket, I am so excited for this.

And then we all (that includes you!) must run over to the Legion around 11:30pm, because our minds will be blown. Trust me.

xo Twyla.