David Bidini, rhythm guitarist with the Rheostatics, knows all too well what the life of a rock band in Canada involves: storied arenas one tour and bars wallpapered with photos of forgotten bands the next. Zit-speckled fans begging for a guitar pick and angry drunks chucking twenty-sixers and pint glasses. Opulent tour buses riding through apocalyptic snowstorms and cramped vans that reek of dope and beer. Brilliant performances and heart-sinking break-ups.Bidini has played all ac...

From acclaimed musician and author Dave Bidini comes a brilliantly original look at a folk-rock legend and the momentous week in 1972 that culminated in the Mariposa Folk Festival.July, 1972. As musicians across Canada prepare for the nation's biggest folk festival, held on Toronto Island, a series of events unfold that will transform the country politically, psychologically--and musically. As Bidini explores the remarkable week leading up to Mariposa, he also explores the life and...

Bidini returns to the game he loves best.In 2004, Dave Bidini laced on his skates and slid onto the ice of Toronto’s McCormick Arena to play defence with the Morningstars in the E! Cup tourney. While thrashing around the ice, swiping at the puck and his opponents, Bidini got to thinking about how others see the game. Afterward, he set off to talk to former professional players about their experiences of hockey. The result is vintage Bidini—an exuberant, evocative, highly personal, ...

One hot afternoon in 1998, Dave Bidini – who loves hockey, watches it, plays it, and breathes it – found the Stanley Cup final so tedious to watch that at one point he clicked channels to Martha Stewart – and never switched back. This made him wonder where in the world the game might exist free of the complications of professional sport. He set out to find the tropic of hockey.His quest took him to a rink on the seventh storey of a mall in Hong Kong – a rink encircled by a dragon-h...

The strengths of Bidini’s two best-loved books, On a Cold Road and Tropic of Hockey, music and travel to unlikely places, come together in this account of his search for rock ‘n’ roll.When it looks as if the Rheostatics are breaking up after more than twenty years together, Dave Bidini is left feeling adrift from his moorings and decides to go on a very long road trip, playing solo and finding out about the state of rock ’n’ roll around the world....

In the spring of 2002, Dave Bidini set off for Nettuno, Italy, with his wife, Janet, and their two small children, in search of his favourite summer game, baseball. Nettuno was his destination because this town, south of Rome, has been the baseball capital of Italy since 1944, when the game was introduced by the American GIs who liberated the region. Bidini wanted to spend time in a town where everyone is as nuts about the game as he is, and in Nettuno, they love the game so much that they...

Each of the six stories in Dave Bidini's playful, irreverent new book takes a headlong run at the hockey dressing room, and knocks the door down.In one story, a chronic minor-leaguer discovers the wonders—and the pitfalls—of the game in Europe, both on and off the ice. In another, an NHLer is tight with his teammate, the league's leading goalscorer, but dreams of getting MUCH tighter. A star on a losing streak turns to a magical salve to turn his game arou...

West End Phoenix and Kobo Originals present the latest in the CITY EDITS collaboration: THE INDIGENOUS CITY EDIT is a collection of stories reflecting on living in Toronto as an Indigenous person, backed by original music and soundscapes. Featuring work by Waubgeshig Rice, Ryan McMahon, Leanne Betasamoke Simpson, Ivy Knight, Dave Bidini, Chief Ladybird, Alex Jacobs-Blum, Liz Howard and original music and writing by Tom Wilson. Produced by Michael Philip Wojewoda. Available exclusively on K...

Winnipeg’s The Guess Who are Canada’s original international rock n’ roll superstars. But despite the band’s enduring popularity, no one has assembled a comprehensive history of their recording career… until now.In exquisite detail that serious fans will appreciate, Wheatfield Empire: The Listener’s Guide to The Guess Who goes through the band’s evolution, album by album and song by song. Nothing is left out. Wheatfield Empire covers the complete discography, singles chart action, ...

The Beatles were the greatest rock band of all time. And their influence spread far beyond music, influencing the culture and politics of the sixties in a profound way.In Long and Winding Road, editor Luis Miguel curates the very best writing about the Beatles, from the mysterious death of original Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe to the curious tale of the dentist who is trying to clone John Lennon from a tooth.This collection brings together writing from all four Beatles, includin...

On the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series, a personal and poetic journey into the heart of hockey in CanadaAs summer turned to fall in 1972, Canada was redefining itself and its place in the world. Politically, a spirited election campaign asked probing questions about the nation’s past, present, and future — the nationalist pride of recent centennial celebrations contrasted with the stressed relationship between English and French Canada post-FLQ crisis. I...

The slow-print, small run community periodical WEST END PHOENIX is reimagining news once again -- this time, in audio! The Hungry City Edit is a collection of poems, articles, and other pieces from the WEST END PHOENIX in a collision of everything food, appetite, and Toronto. Including two original poems written by Toronto-area poets never before published in the paper, THE HUNGRY CITY EDIT delivers work and performances by authors like Dave Bidini, Claudia Dey, and Michael Winter...