Quantcast
Channel: blogTO
Viewing all 47899 articles
Browse latest View live

This is Toronto like you've never seen it before

0
0

TorontoToronto-based photographer Justin Maincontinues to take what we know and love about our city and transform it into the truly unimaginable. No cityscape, landmark or sports team is off limits to his breathtaking photo edits that take upwards of 10 hours. All his work can be found on his Instagram in a series of epic posts.

Here's a peek at some of my favourite photos he has posted to his account recently.

Toronto

Toronto

Toronto

Toronto

Toronto

Toronto

Toronto

Toronto

Toronto

Toronto

Toronto

Toronto

Toronto

Toronto

Photos by Justin Main.


Fireball meteor shower to light up Toronto area skies

0
0

fireball meteorRemember that fireball that streaked across Toronto skies a couple of weeks ago? It was an early arrival from the Orionid meteor shower, which reaches its peak this Friday. These meteors stem from the cosmic debris kicked up by Halley's Comet, which is visible from Earth every 75-76 years.

While the Orionids is typically a modest meteor shower in terms of the number of visible shooting stars (dark sky viewers can expect roughly 20 an hour in good conditions), it's known for packing a punch when it comes to intensity. There are usually a few good fireballs that shoot across the sky during this celestial event.

"A fireball is another term for a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4, which is about the same magnitude of the planet Venus as seen in the morning or evening sky," explains the American Meteor Society.

I was lucky enough to catch one of these fireballs while driving home from cottage country last Sunday evening in the southwestern sky, and there have been other reports of enormous ones in the days leading up to the peak of the shower.

There is some bad news, though. Aside from the fact that you can't predict precisely when or how many Orionids meteors will be fireballs, the moon will be a pesky deterrent. When the shower reaches its peak in the pre-dawn hours tomorrow morning, the moon will still be at 62 per cent illumination, which will block out all but the brightest meteors.

Your best bet for viewing is to head to an area with no light pollution on the evening of October 24, when the radiant point of the shower will rise before the moon. The window between 11:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. will offer the best chance to see numerous meteors, many of which are predicted to feature longer tails and brighter bursts than we typically see.

Even if you don't get a chance to do some dedicated viewing on the 24th, any stargazing over the weekend could be rewarded with the sight of a dazzling fireball.

Photo by Jeffrey Sullivan.

Vote for your favourite photo of Nuit Blanche 2016

0
0

Nuit Blanche 2016Nuit Blanche is now just a distant memory. During this year's all-night art party, we once again partnered with the City of Toronto on the official event photo challenge. Hundreds emailed or tagged their photos with the #blogTOnbTO hashtag. From Director X's project "Death of the Sun" to the Fallen Water Niagara Escarpment at Brookfield Place the entries we received were awe-inspiring.

These are the 10 finalists selected as part of this year's photo challenge.

1. Lead photo Death of the Sun by @benroffelsen.

Literature vs Traffic2. Literature vs. Traffic by @nnvv_.

Nuit Blanche 20163. PNEUMA by @jackmanchiu.

Nuit Blanche 20164. Stax of Wax by @souschef_jeff.

Urban Syncopation5. Urban Syncopation by @rentimestwo.

Fallen Water Niagara Escarpment6. Fallen Water Niagara Escarpment by @zzoomed.

death of the sun7. Death of the Sun by @bijouxbizou.

Nuit Blanche 20168.Korsi by @neil.v.

nuit Blanche 20169. Broken Watches by @ange_kan.

Nuit Blanche 201610. Drake by @byteable.

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE PHOTO


PRIZES

Prizes for the top three photos include:

  • 1st place: $300 gift certificate from Henry's Camera
  • 2nd place: $150 gift certificate from Henry's Camera
  • 3rd place: $50 gift certificate from Henry's Camera

Voting in the poll ends at 11:59 p.m. on October 23, 2016. Good luck to all finalists!

Weekend events in Toronto October 21-23 2016

0
0

Cask Days TorontoWeekend events in Toronto are a sudden reminder that Halloween is on the way! There are a bunch of parties that might be a good testing ground for your costume. Otherwise, there are loads of non-spooky events, like the Everything To Do With Sex Show and a live Chippendales-style show for guys and gals. One of the city's best beer events also goes down at the Brick Works.

Here are my picks for weekend events in Toronto.

FOOD AND DRINK

Cask Days (Oct. 21-23, Evergreen Brickworks)
From October 21-23, make your way down to the Evergreen Brick Works for the 12th annual Cask Days festival. Cask ale is unpasteurized, unfiltered and naturally carbonated beer that is served direct from a barrel. There will be 400 varieties to try over the three days. Tickets starts at $25.

World Edible Insect Day (Oct. 22, Cookie Martinez)
Celebrate world edible insect day with the queen of cooking bugs, Cookie Martinez, at her food container at Dundas and Bathurst. Cricket brittle ($5), cricket and mealworm empanadas ($3.50) and spicy cricket Thai spoons ($3) are all on the menu.

Vegan Oktoberfest (Oct. 22, Nest)
Make sure you're hungry when you head to this fundraiser in support of the Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank at Nest. DJ Gudrun will spin the dance party with endless seasonal vegan food options.

EVENTS

Festival of Authors (until Oct. 30, Harbourfront Centre)
This festival features 11 days of readings, interviews, artist talks, roundtable discussions and public book signings. This year, it welcomes 200 Canadian and international participants. The website has the full lineup.

Zombie Wrestling (Oct. 21, The Great Hall Basement)
Witness the rot n' rumble where zombies vs. humans vs. Mexican luchadores battle to the ultimate death! Expect lots of blood, moaning, flying body parts and cheering at this deadly wrestling match in the dark cavernous basement of the renovated Great Hall.

Everything to do with Sex Show (October 21-23, Enercare Centre)
The 17th Everything to do with Sex Show features panels, classes, vendors and entertainment at the Direct Energy Centre. It's a $20 day or $25 for a weekend pass.

MAC store opening with MILK (October 21-22, Queen Street Mac Store)
MAC is opening a new store at 368 Queen Street West and to help celebrate, Milk from Rupaul's Drag Race and DJ Guillaume Viau will be in store giving tips and performing throughout both days. The weekend opening celebrates the art of the lip and there are gifts to gag over once you spend $50 or something.

One Giant Night (Oct. 22, 55 Unwin)
This is a big party in a huge abandoned lot. It's in collaboration with party people Undisposable and money raised is going to support victims of Hurricane Matthew. Artist-designed shipping containers, drinks and DJs will entertain until the week hours.

MORE EVENTS

FILM

Eatable presents: Coffee and Cigarettes (Oct. 22, The Royal Cinema)
A $39 ticket gets you food, drinks, and a screening one a very cool movie. Sam James, Blackbird Baking Co. and Chocolates X Brandon Olsen are all involved. This is all brought to you by Eatable, the city's first food film festival.

MORE FILMS

MUSIC

3rd Annual Dream Serenade (Oct. 22, Massey Hall)
The third edition of this great big Toronto music love-in features performances from Broken Social Scene, in addition to sets from Amy Millan, Barenaked Ladies, Dan Mangan, Hayden, Lou Canon,and the legendary Brooklyn-based a cappella group The Persuasions.

MORE MUSIC

DANCING

Yes Yes Y'all with MikeQ (Oct. 21, Nest)
Yes Yes Y'all gets transformed into a Vogue Ball with a very special performance from New Jersey's MikeQ. Get ready to pounce the runway and give good face, participation is encouraged and dancing is pretty much mandatory.

MORE DANCE PARTIES

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events section and have a great weekend!

UFCThanks to the UFC for sponsoring this post

Photo of Cask Days by Andrew Williamson.

Toronto Food Events: Cask Days, Eatable Film Fest, Pigstock, Anthony Bourdain, All Ladies Beer Festival

0
0

toronto food eventsToronto Food Events rounds up the most delicious festivals, pop-ups, winemaker dinners, supper clubs and other food related happenings in Toronto this week and next. You can find us here every Friday morning.

THIS WEEK

UPCOMING

Where to eat a huge Portuguese meal in Toronto

0
0

Churrasqueira Martins TorontoEnjoy surf and turf in a huge dining room of a gigantic Portuguese grill house in the middle of a desolate parking lot. Sounds kinda questionable, but they have crazy good imported Portuguese fish and a surprisingly killer shrimp risotto. Oh, and did I mention there's an entire wall of wine?

Read my profile of Churrasqueira Martins in the restaurants section.

Toronto restaurant home to authentic Nicaraguan eats

0
0

Bella Managua TorontoNicaraguan food isn't widely represented in this city, so when you have a craving for authentic tamales, grilled chicken, plantains and gallo pinto, this is the place to go.

Read my profile of La Bella Managua in the restaurants section.

Gardiner Expressway will be shut down this weekend

0
0

Gardiner Expressway ClosedThe Gardiner Expressway will be closed this weekend for fall maintenance, which will make downtown driving a bit an adventure from 11 p.m. tonight until 5 a.m. on Monday morning. The scheduled shutdown stretches between Carlaw Ave. and Highway 427.

Maintenance-oriented closures typically happen twice a year, once in spring and once in fall. Of the various work on the docket is resurfacing, bridge inspection, guardrail repair, and a host of other boring things that keep the highway in a good state of repair (though that's a relative statement when it comes to the Gardiner).

According a City of Toronto press release, there will be "changes to traffic-signal timing to enhance traffic flow on nearby routes, mitigating traffic congestion associated with the expressway's closure." That sounds fancy, but one would do best to leave ample time if travelling along the bottom of the city this weekend.

In other closure news, the a portion of the subway is also closed for maintenance. The TTC will be doing track repair between Lawrence and Finch stations on both the 22nd and 23rd. Regular service will resume at the outset of the day on Monday. Until then, shuttle buses will cover that portion of the route.


How MuchMusic changed Toronto television forever

0
0

MuchMusic historyWhatever happened to MuchMusic? At a time when Toronto once again finds itself at the axis of the music universe, with internationally recognized artists, sprawling iconic venues, and world-wide appetite for information on our city and its cultural conduits, "The Nation's Music Station" is AWOL and missed more than ever before.

MuchMusic historyMuchMusic debuted at the sweaty end of summer '84, after gnomic Citytv visionary Moses Znaimer pursued a 24-hour music station while CRTC indifference kept it at bay for years. In the meanwhile, Znaimer and some extraordinarily talented people in Toronto began producing smart music television - first with The New Music, then Toronto Rocks, then finally the seminal City Limits in 1983.

By the time a broadcast license was granted the creative maelstrom at Citytv's 99 Queen Street East location ensured MuchMusic was unmissable, depth charge television from day one.

Down south, MTV had been trolling TV buzz since its launch in 1981, but outside of the endless stream of music videos it lacked self-awareness, and came across as somewhat dull (to most satellite viewers watching illegally in Canada, anyways).

Citytv's The New Music not only pre-dated MTV, but also presaged the age of the VJ, real "characters" to help guide the audience through all this groovy new stuff.

Even more prophetic was City Limits. Hosted by the irresistible Christopher Ward (fresh out of Second City), City Limits capitalized on a single tiny cheap set, surreal skits and primal video art, along with b-movie clips (ala The All-Night Show) peppered with re-occurring characters (ala SCTV) and cross-overs with Citytv's mostly serious news division CityPulse.

MuchMusic historyCity Limits remains possibly the most subversive Toronto TV show of all-time, and certainly an incubator for much of Much: Ward of course went on to be one of the first VJs, and behind the scenes folks included later-era VJs Simon Evans and Tony Young (aka Master T), plus brass like David Kines, who ended up running the station in the 2000s.

Curiosity and nostalgia for the early days of MuchMusic was once upon a time fostered by the station itself. In 1994, it dedicated a whole weekend to clips from its first 10 years ("Sleep is for wimps" marathon); In 2004, a 60-minute clip show was run.

By 2009, for its 25th anniversary, SVP and general manager Brad Schwartz announced "You will never know that Much turned 25, because for us it's not a story. We are in the looking-forward business, we are in the looking-at-today business, we are in the young-person business. We are not in the looking-back business."

Thankfully, it would seem that the long frozen winter of not being in the looking-back business is beginning to thaw. Next week, Random House is releasing Is This Live? Inside the Wild Early Years of MuchMusic The Nation's Music Station by former VJ Christopher Ward.

The book is an oral history collected by Ward, featuring insights from all of the early creative players, VJs, and bands both Canadian and international who acknowledge MuchMusic's crucial role in their careers.

MuchMusic historyThe book is chock full of glossy photos guaranteed to get the synapses of any enthusiasts from back in the day fired up, and it includes a mixture of fairly serious revelations and comedic stories from the likes of Moses Znaimer, Erica Ehm, Michael Williams, Steve Anthony, J.D Roberts, Laurie Brown and The Spoons, Corey Hart, and Bryan Adams.

Is This Live? Is an essential chronicle of not only '80s and '90s Toronto, but the scenes that bumped into it and helped mold it into the dynamic music destination it is now.

MuchMusic historyOne obvious example: Much shows like Soul in the City and RapCity helped break hip-hop into the mainstream, and those early Maestro Fresh Wes videos for "Let Your Backbone Slide" and "Drop the Needle"(recently named one of the 150 Essential Works In Canadian Cinema History!) blew the doors open for the next wave of local rap and hip-hop stars to do their thing.

And we all know where that led...

Ward's own memories and funny asides are interspersed with the comments of others, and the tome is presented roughly chronologically finishing up around the late 90s before things began to really change.

Ward avoids drawing any conclusions about how the powerhouse station went from defining a generation to airing sloppy seconds of The Simpsons and Degrassi, but for the benefit of the reader he chooses to focus on the heady early Rock'N'Roll days when both the creators and the viewers had the most fun with self-described "$1.98 television"

MuchMusic historyMuchMusic themselves are aiding the release of the book by launching a video hub featuring classic interview clips curated by Ward himself, and featuring David Bowie, Madonna, The Tragically Hip, Kurt Cobain, Run DMC, The Ramones, Duran Duran and many more.

On November 4th, Christopher Ward will be appearing at the Royal Theatre to launch Is This Live? with a special screening of rare material (a Retro mix-tape curated by Retrontario). Hosted by 80s VJ J. Gold (aka Joel Goldberg), the evening also promises appearances from other popular VJs, a Q&A and book signing. Tickets are available here.

MuchMusic historySo, good times await fans of the early, wild days of our local national Music station. We can only hope that shining a light on the past may further illuminate some of that sweet vitality missing from today's blander incarnation.

Ed Conroy's Retrontario plumbs the seedy depths of Toronto flea markets, flooded basements, thrift shops and garage sales, mining old VHS and Betamax tapes that less than often contain incredible moments of history that were accidentally recorded but somehow survived the ravages of time. You can find more amazing discoveries at www.retrontario.com.

Toronto is getting a doughnut cone shop

0
0

doughnut cones torontoNothing stirs up excitement quite like the phrase doughnut cones. These sweet treats (they're actually ice cream-filled kürtöskalács, or chimney cakes) from the Eva's Original Chimneys food truck were all the rage this summer, and rightfully so.

Now, Eva's has plans to open up a bricks and mortar shop at 454 Bloor St. W., right in the heart of the Annex.

Eva's storefront doesn't have an opening date yet, but it should be up and running by late November. It'll serve all of its food truck favourites - like the Dream Cone with Nutella, butter toffee bits, salted caramel brownie chunks and chocolate sauce - as well as new flavours.

In the meantime, you can enter Eva's free ice cream for life contest online. All you have to do is design your dream doughnut cone - sounds easy enough.

Photo by Jesse Milns.

Live Nation admits to major problems with concert ticket sales in Toronto

0
0

tragically hip tickets torontoThe Tragically Hips' Man Machine Poem tour was notoriously hard to get tickets to. The cross-country tour seemed to sell out almost instantly, with tickets popping up on re-sale sites for hundreds, and even thousands, of dollars. But who was really buying all of these tickets?

As CBC reports, it was probably bots (and brokers). "Probably a third of the tickets went to bots, another third went to brokers who were just like fans, pounding away at the keyboard, but better trained, more aggressive at it, and maybe a third of them went to fans," said Joe Berchtold, chief operating officer of Live Nation to CBC.

While fans were eventually able to get tickets, they usually had to pay much more than face value to attend one of the concerts, including the three in Toronto.

CBC notes that the province will likely introduce legislation next spring in order to ban bots and avoid these unfortunate situations.

Photo by Stephen Gardiner via the blogTO Flickr pool.

Contest: Win movie tickets and escape room experience

The Best Spinning Classes in Toronto

0
0

spinning torontoSpinning in Toronto is seeing a resurgence in popularity as the fitness movement continues its cult-like devotion. With diverse studios all around the city, there's no shortage of places to climb the hills and get those RPMs high. Whether you're into the new age spin class of choreographed playlists and soul on a bike, or a traditional spinner, there's a spin studio for you.
 
Here are the best spinning classes in Toronto.

5 special occasion restaurants to take your parents in Toronto

0
0

restaurants torontoSpecial occasion restaurants in Toronto are all great spots to take your parents, regardless of what you're celebrating. Whether it's your graduation, your parents' anniversary or your dog's half birthday, these restaurants will up the ante on your evening.

Here are some special occasion restaurants to take your parents in Toronto.

Edulis
This restaurant on Niagara Street features an ever-changing, seasonal menu that showcases fresh food, including lots of vegetables and seafood. Choose between a five or seven course prix fixe meal.

EVOO
Head to Avenue Road for an Italian and Mediterranean-style feast. You'll get more than just extra virgin olive oil here - expect to find a menu filled with pasta, fish and lots of meat options.

Scaramouche
This midtown destination is one of the city's most well-known restaurants. It's somewhat of an old-school fine dining establishment that'll impress your VIP (very important parents) dinner dates at any occasion.

Campagnolo
This restaurant on Dundas West serves rustic Italian fare, including made-in-house pasta, with fresh ingredients. If the food doesn't impress your parents, the cozy and well-designed room definitely will.

Buca Yorkville
This restaurant in the Four Seasons features a stunning dining room, which fits right into the Yorkville neighbourhood. Head here for delicious and inventive Italian food, like pizza, pasta and other house specialties.

baciThanks to Baci for sponsoring this post

Photo of Buca Yorkville by Jesse Milns.

118 year old Toronto mansion is now a haunted house

0
0

haunted house torontoWhat are you doing this Halloween? Along with parties, street festivals, concerts and movie screenings, there's lots to do on the spookiest night of the year. But what's more festive than visiting a haunted attraction?

And while you probably want to avoid frat row, the University of Toronto chapter of Zeta Psi is partnering with Ryerson Students for Wishes to transform their nearly 120-year-old mansion at 180 St. George St., into a haunted house.

It'll be open for one night only - on Halloween, of course - from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. Tickets are $15, or $10 for students. Best of all, all of the money raised will go towards Make-A-Wish Canada.


What kind of house does $1.75 million get you in Toronto?

0
0

million dollar house torontoIf you have $1.75 million to spend on a home in Toronto, you can look sympathetically at those who cant, because your real estate search is going to be a lot different. While the market is still wildly competitive at this price range, some modest luxury is on offer, and there's certainly enough space for those raising growing families.

Here's what a $1.75 million house looks like in Toronto.

$1,799,000 in the Beaches
This four bedroom, five bathroom Beaches residence is just lovely. The interior is nearly new, the kitchen begs for some long dinner preparation, and the upstairs deck looks like an ideal spot to relax outdoors with some privacy. The linear (gas) fireplace is a nice touch.

million dollar house toronto$1,780,000 near Mt. Pleasant and Lawrence
This sturdy brick semi-detached home in North Toronto only features three bedrooms but it's a beauty from a design standpoint. While the exterior might be termed classic, the interior is decidedly modern with a unique atrium and super slick kitchen. The kicker for me, however, is the multiple wood burning fireplaces.

million dollar house toronto$1,748,888 near Eglinton and Keele
You can get a virtually palatial property for $1.75 million if you're willing to buy far enough away from downtown Toronto. This house only features four bedrooms, but each room is far more spacious than what you'll find in a more central counterpart. The area currently isn't great for transit (despite a score of 71), but with the arrival of the Eglinton Crosstown, things are looking up.

million dollar house toronto$1,699,000 near Yonge and Eglinton
Yonge and Eglinton is quickly becoming a vertical neighbourhood, but if you love the area and want a backyard, this three bedroom semi on Edith Dr. is nice option. It features a hyper-modern interior and four washrooms (something you're not likely to see in a condo of similar price). The secondary bedrooms are on the small side, but the master is roomy enough to warrant the title.

million dollar house toronto$1,649,000 near Dundas and Gladstone
Dundas West is still surrounded by an interesting hodgepodge of homes, but also recent builds like this contemporary house on Lisgar St. This one is a bit strange because the bland interior doesn't entirely match the exterior, which seems to promise a bright and airy design. Everything feels a bit cookie cutter, but the location and size are still great.

Would you buy any of these homes if you were in the market? Let us know in the comments.

Toronto institution the Steak Pit is closing after 70 years

0
0

The Steak PitOne of Toronto's oldest restaurants and best steakhouses is closing its doors after nearly 70 years in business near Avenue Road and Lawrence. The Steak Pit had long fallen into the retro category of eateries, but the quality of the steak and ribs remained of the highest order even as the decor became more kitsch than elegant over the years.

While there's a new condo going up immediately to the north that claimed the original Bistro on Avenue, it's not development that's pushing the Steak Pit out. Post City reports that owner Tom Vigneux has decided to retire to spend more time with is family, which is as noble a reason as any to draw the curtains on a longstanding business.

The last day at the Steak Pit is Sunday, November 27.

There's still a slim chance that the restaurant will live on in some capacity, as the new owner of the property also owns the business and its name. A search is on for someone who might want to run an eatery in the space. Could we be so lucky as to see a rebirth like the one that turned the neon back on at the Skyline diner?

Avenue Rd. lacks the trend-appeal of Parkdale for a vintage business, but it's worth noting that the Steak Pit still draws a steady crowd to this day, even if it's rarely full. It's a place where you can go for a superb steak and some retro charm without emptying your bank account as you would at Barberian's.

The thing that's so great about the place, and what will be missed most when Vigneux makes his departure, is that for all the kitschiness of the old cigarette machine, patterned carpeting, and the blazing neon sign, none of it ever felt put on. It was an honest place to grab a steak that embodied the adage "if it ain't broke; don't fix it."

That was a refreshing sentiment in a Toronto restaurant scene constantly falling over itself to try out the latest thing.

The shakeout begins for Toronto food delivery startups

0
0

feast torontoHungry office workers have lots to choose from when picking a meal delivery service. From Foodora (formerly Hurrier) to UberEats, Favour and even pick-up app Ritual, there's no shortage of options. Although yesterday, one food startup announced it's shutting down its delivery arm.

Feast, which launched in December 2015, prepared and delivered meals cooked in its Corktown-area kitchen. Its healthy and seasonal meals came with no delivery fees and were usually a delicious alternative to fast food. However, in an email sent to its customers, it revealed it'd no longer be offering delivery.

"Running an on-demand food delivery service is challenging: from the technology to the food production to the customer service experience. We are committed to our mission to feed busy office workers real food, so we are going to refocus on how we can do it in a way that makes sure that Feast will be around for a very long time," reads the email signed by CEO Steve Harmer.

Instead of shutting down completely, Feast will still offer its lunchtime meals at cafes like Balzacs and Dineen.

This isn't the first delivery service to change up its strategy and it probably won't be the last in Toronto's crowded market.

Photo via @eat_feast.

Downtown Toronto gets a massive new pool hall

0
0

roxy on kingThere's a new place to play pool in Toronto and it's from a familiar name. Formerly on Charlotte Street, this bar has relocated a few blocks away into a huge subterranean space where ping pong, nachos and TVs are all now part of the package.

Read my profile of Roxy on King in the bars section.

The past and the future of the record store in Toronto

0
0

Rotate ThisWhen a restaurant or clothing store stays open in Toronto for over 20 years, it's a big deal. When a record shop stays open for over two decades in this city, it's a jaw-dropping, stop-in-your-tracks, holy-hell moment.

That's what makes the 25th anniversary of Rotate This such a big deal. The music sales business is one of the most volatile out there. It has not only survived by being honest and upfront, but also by consistently reinventing itself ever so slightly to remain a go-to spot for music lovers.

How do stores like Rotate This stay alive in this city when the big shops are calling it quits?

"It's kind of neat when a Soundgarden record comes out in 1991 and there you are in 2015/2016 repricing it. It's like wow, that's cool!" say Pierre Hallett, owner of Rotate This. "What's happening now is people are going back to those records that they've listened to for years but have not been able to buy.

"Another really interesting thing that my manager Brian Taylor pointed out is that the biggest thing that has happened in the music industry is the internet. It single handedly changed how music was consumed."

Hallett says now that music lovers have been downloading like fiends, they're craving something tangible again, something to connect with.

rotate this toronto"We spent the last nine years downloading and ripping as many gigs and terabytes as we possibly could, and we're so proud of ourselves for having 15 terabytes of music," he says. "But when are you going to actually enjoy 15 terabytes of music?

"[Now] there's all the new music that's coming out. People are attaching with that as well, it's a really interesting time for that. We are becoming connected once again."

Besides the world of vinyl in general, the store has thrived because of its content and the way its staff treats its customers - with respect and honesty. Something Lincoln Stewart of Good Music says is seriously missing in Toronto.

"There's a serious lack of ethics," says Stewart. He recently closed his Dundas West shop and sold his entire inventory to Rotate This. He says business was booming and he left for other reasons. "Some of the other shops in the city gouge people when they buy records or when they sell records.

"They don't guarantee their records, and they're curmudgeons and jerks. It's sad. One of my hesitations about leaving the store is having one less place where customers will be treated fairly."

Stewart claims the current state of vinyl shops in the city is great, if it weren't for certain stores - which he prefers remain unnamed - being slime balls.

"Things have definitely gotten worse," he says. Stewart used to manage Vortex Records for eight years before opening Good Music. "I kind of understand why. There's over 46 stores in the city and for some of them, especially the ones that don't pay fairly, it's getting difficult to get good [used] product.

"What they're resorting to is going to other stores or record conventions and buying records inches in front of a legitimate customer so they can bring them back to their store and make another $20. It's not cool."

Kops RecordsOne shop (or series of shops) that has survived on consistency alone is Kops records. The mini music empire has been open for 40 years and Andrew Koppel, son of founder Martin, thinks it's because he keeps listening to what Toronto vinyl lovers want and not rushing to put everything up online.

"We like to keep a lot of records in Toronto and not sell as many online," he says. He believes the current state of vinyl shops is a steady one, but also attributes the more recent trend to the fact that consumers want something to touch.

"We've got no illusions, it's always going to be a boutique, niche market," he says. "It's kind of hard to say 'it's mine' when it's sitting on a hard drive. It's being able to buy something you like and enjoy the ritual of playing instead of putting something into a dock and pressing play."

Photos by Hector Vasquez and Jesse Milns.

Viewing all 47899 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images