Tag Archives: First Times

Get to know a Static contributor: Ellyn Diamondhawk

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Static’s second issue, First Times in Toronto, came out October 20th. So to celebrate, over the month, you’ll get to know the contributors of the issue through some of their first times in Toronto.

Ellyn Diamondhawk, who illustrated Chiara, Anthony and Harley’s stories in the new issue, is a bad-ass.

First time I felt like Toronto was home was when I was depressed and rode the 501 streetcar all the way east from Lansdowne and watched the weather change and how beautiful it was. I actually had that thought “this is where I live, this city is my home”

First job was Coffee Time at Yonge & the 401!!! Hahaha!! It was so sketchy and I was 19.

First favorite book was ‘Idioglossia’ by Eleanor Bailey

First kiss was NOT IN TORONTO! (I don’t care, this story is ridiculous)
I was four years old, I was on a hill in my backyard. It was warm day and the sun was shining on the hill and it was with my little friend Ryan who was also four and he was one of those weird kids from the 90s (I know they exist in other times but they remind me of the 90s) with dark, dark eyebrows and super white bleach blonde hair. I had a BIG crush on him! AND WE KISSED AND GIGGLED!!

First time I went to the islands I was with my friend Matthew Kirkpatrick and we were milling about Toronto (I still lived with my parents in Burlington) and we were downtown and went to request a song at Edge 102.1. The dj opened the door all quickly as if she was going to ask us for a password and whispered “are you the two here for the tickets?” my ears perked up, “Tickets?” I asked. She explained that she was expecting two idiots who hadn’t come to pick up their tickets to a show on the island featuring Feist, Broken Social Scene and Modest Mouse. Since I love all of those bands I made a big fuss and was all “Oh wouldn’t it be SO GREAT to go see all those bands on the island?! I’ve NEVER even been to the island!” So the dj gave us the tickets and was very sweet in directing us how to get there and told us we had to hurry because we’d probably already had missed the first act.

When we arrived we ran to the little pedestrian bridge and as we were getting our tickets checked I heard Broken Social Scene busting out with ‘Ibi Dreams of Pavement’ and I had tears in my eyes and giant smile on my face.

First time I got lost was when I took a wrong turn left off of Dundas near Spadina and ended up in that weird housing complex area between Spadina and Denison that eventually breaks onto Cameron st. and I had a homeless fellow ask me for a smooch…which I said no to.

If I had a last day in Toronto, I would ride my bike to High Park and visit the yaks and buffalo, then bike to Trinity Bellwoods and roll down that giant ass hill (in an ideal world it’d have zero dog poop on it), then ride to Kensington Market and have an organic chai tea latte with honey in it at Moonbeam, then Courage My Love to buy a dress, Last Temptation for lunch (shrimp pad thai) then to the AGO, then the ROM then down to the Leslie Spit to watch the sun go down.

Get to know a Static contributor: Alex Topp

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Static’s second issue, First Times in Toronto, came out October 20th. So to celebrate, over the month, you’ll get to know the contributors of the issue through some of their first times in Toronto.

Alex Topp contributes artwork to Static Zine. In the summer she did half the storyboards for a feature movie called Advocate. She has a psychology BA from York and works at XocoCava and Sweet Mickeys.

First house was the semi-detached 62 Ravina Crescent at Jones n Danforth.

First concert was Archaos with my dad in 1990-ish. Where to my horror it lacked clowns, it made up for with fire, noise, and the smell of gasoline and sulphur. I do like all those things now.

First favourite book was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

First record store was Vortex at Yonge n Eglinton. I bought And Out Come the Wolves.

My first kiss was in the back of a van when I was 17.

First heartbreak was when my 20-year-old cat went into the forest permanently. My mum said “I hope you cry that much when I die.” She’s good with words.

Most vividly, the first times hearing certain songs – particularly Sun Ra’s version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I was strapped into a kids’ car seat so I must have been very young but it did change my perception of art (like Archaos changed the circus). Somewhere Over the Rainbow was in many ways a standard, from one of my favorite movies but taken way out of context. Why would he push his piano down the stairs… It sounded like a meteor shower or the northern lights, or my parents fighting. It was completely unpredictable, semi-detached like me and our house, but had a firm enough hold on reality to blow a 4-year-old’s mind. It was beautiful and classy and funny as hell. I always used to shut up when it came on, and I still do.

Get to know a Static contributor: Jessica Keefer

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Static’s second issue, First Times in Toronto, is out October 20th. So to celebrate, over the month, you’ll get to know the contributors of the issue through some of their first times in Toronto.

Jessica Keefer is a dress-wearing, jenga-playing, roller derby-skating, picture-painting, ukulele-strumming, bicycle-rider based out of Oshawa, making her debut in issue 2 in the form of an illustration. You can check out her art and musings at good morning dear. She is currently studying to become a graphic designer, and has high hopes for the creative future.

First time I felt like Toronto was home was when I laid in the grass eating strawberries with a good friend while I watched a game of hacky-sack and listened to some chap play Oasis tunes on his guitar.

First job was: McDonalds. I always told myself, if Daniel Johnston could work there, so could I! I also work at a chocolate café called Isabella’s.

First house was: My best friend’s apartment in Toronto. We spent the first night eating bread and kraft cheese slices on the ledge of her bathtub because we had no furniture.

First favourite neighborhood was: Kensington Avenue. There are so many great finds to be found! I am the ultimate bargain hunter.  Sometimes Toronto is the best city to be broke in.

First concert was: I saw Matt Costa at the Phoenix and his t-shirt said “I hate it here.”

First bar/club I went to was: Tattoo Rock Parlour was the venue for my 19th birthday. Benji Madden from Good Charlotte (my preteen heartthrob) was the DJ.

First outdoor concert was: I still find confetti in and around my house from time to time because of The Flaming Lips.

First record store was: Criminal Records. In my hometown it was, and still is, Star Records in downtown Oshawa.

First in-store was: Lou Barlow from Dinosaur Jr. played at Criminal Records. He forgot all the words to all his songs.

First favorite book: Does Harry Potter count? Ha!

First library: I like all the libraries. I can’t recall a first.

First celebrity sighting was: There are too many bearded celebrities in Toronto! I can never tell. I walked by John O’Regan (Diamond Rings) once. Home town lovin’.

First kiss was: The romantic pigeon-infested Bay St. Bus Terminal.

First heartbreak was: cured by the History of Rebellion at the Toronto Underground Cinema.

First New Year’s was: I always wind up working on New Years because I have the memory of a fish and forget to book the time off.

First Valentine’s Day was: I spent it listening to Celine Dion’s ‘All By Myself.’ Ladies.

First time I stayed up all night: Oh dear. Too many nights!

First time I went to the islands was: I got my worst sunburn ever in the history of bad sunburns. But I saw Beach House, Timber Timbre, Broken Social Scene, and better yet, Pavement!

First trip out of Toronto was: Montreal. The architecture there is incredible.

First time I got lost was Nuit Blanche three years ago. A handsome British man convinced me there was an exhibit just past the dumpsters in the alleyway.. I lived to tell the tale.

If I had a last day in Toronto, I would not want to have a last day in Toronto. Oh Toronto you’re perfect please don’t change a thing!

Get to know a Static contributor: Lisa Lagace

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Static’s second issue, First Times in Toronto, is out October 20th. So to celebrate, over the month, you’ll get to know the contributors of the issue through some of their first times in Toronto.

The First Times issue will be Lisa’s first time contributing to Static Zine, and she hopes her contribution will serve as a public service announcement for all girls who walk around alone in Toronto. When she isn’t writing for Zoomer Media, Shameless magazine, or her blog Turn The Record Over, she can be found at a show looking for bands worthy of writing about; hanging with her dog Mr Bojangles at Trinity Bellwoods; or in her apartment dancing to Springsteen records, tweeting a little too much and obsessively watching episodes of shows that give her anxiety (Breaking Bad, Dexter, Dateline NBC).

First time I felt like Toronto was home was when I changed all my official addresses to my Toronto address, when I moved into my own apartment without roommates. Around the same time, my parents moved out of the only house we’d ever lived in. When you visit your hometown but sleep outside the four walls you grew up in, the town turns into just another place you once lived.

First job was I think there might still be a contract out there saying I’m not allowed to name the company (kind of a shady place). Let’s just say it was online, and had to do with monitoring “dating” profiles. I did that for three years during university. It was the easiest job I’ve ever had – also, the most soul destroying. Ask me about it in person sometime.

First house was living in Vanier Res at York. If that doesn’t count, then a 3 bedroom apartment in Don Mills that was not only over an hour commute from downtown, but over an hour from my school, all the way in East North York. It was a brutal year. This is what happens when you let your friends choose the apartment without you. I immediately moved downtown after that lease was up, and haven’t looked back since. Cheap rent means nothing when you have to spend that many hours a day on different forms of TTC.

First favourite neighborhood was Little Italy for sure. When I realized it was home to Soundscapes, Sneaky Dees, The Royal and all the homemade pasta and gelato I could ever need, I made sure to move there once I escaped North York.

First concert was the Backstreet Boys at the Skydome. This was long before I lived in Toronto, but a bunch of us rented a bus to get us to the show since our parents wouldn’t drive the two hours north, paid probably $100+ each per ticket, and all we could see was five dots dancing around in the distance. Still, many tears of joy were shed.

First bar/club I went to was probably something really lame and embarrassing, like the Q107.1 club/bar, which was filled with men my dads age, and a few middle aged chain smoking women in too tight leather skirts. Despite the fun of dancing to Led Zeppelin and The Doors all night, we never went back.

First outdoor concert was SARSstock in summer 2003 at Downsview Park, right before I moved to Toronto for school. It was Sam Roberts, Kathleen Edwards, The Tea Party, The Flaming Lips, The Isley Brothers, Blue Rodeo, Justin Timberlake, The Guess Who, Rush, AC/DC, and The Rolling Stones. Highlight was the rock loving crowd throwing water bottles at Justin Timberlake, and Keith Richards coming on stage swearing at people to stop doing that. I ran over the fences like a lunatic when The Stones hit the stage, but most people thought AC/DC stole the show. It was an awesome day.

First record store: I cut out a list of the best Toronto record stores from something like NOW magazine after my first few months of living here, and spent one winter day downtown trying to visit them all. The first one was probably Sonic Boom. I got lost looking for Rotate This! that day too, gave up and sat in the Queen Street Taco Bell to warm up, not realizing how weird the numbers on Queen Street are.

First in-store was Will Oldham (Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) at Rotate This! Had to get up at something like 7am on a Saturday to get a ticket for that in-store, but it was definitely worth it.

First favorite book was The Bell Jar.

First library was York’s Library.

First celebrity sighting was TIFF 2004, Gael Garcia Bernal and Javier Bardem at The Sea Inside premiere. I was massively obsessed with Gael at the time having watched Y tu mama tambien all summer long, and I sat two rows in front of him so I could stare back at his beautiful face during the screening like a total creeper. When he stood up I realized he was the shortest man I’d ever seen.

First kiss was a very intoxicated event that turned me off the idea of making out for a long time until I kissed a guy who didn’t use the slobbery, tongue poking technique.

First heartbreak was see first in-store. I had to stop listening to Will Oldham after seeing him sing New Partner right after I had my heart ripped out.

First time I stayed up all night was probably during Frosh Week or when my first essay was due.

First time I went to the islands was for the first Broken Social Scene island concert.

First trip out of Toronto was a visit back home. Outside of that, it was Daytona Beach for spring break that first year. Yes, I did that. We all make mistakes in college. Florida is a horrible place I will never return to, but they let me into all the bars despite being obviously underage, so it was fun.

First time I got lost was when I ventured off campus to explore the city. Despite how big York is, we had good Frosh leaders to show us around so I knew where all my classes were.

If I had a last day in Toronto, I would try to visit all the places I’ve somehow never been to despite living here for so many years now.

Get to know a Static contributor: Adriana Rolston

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Static’s second issue, First Times in Toronto, is out October 20th. So to celebrate, over the month, you’ll get to know the contributors of the issue through some of their first times in Toronto.

Adriana Rolston is a first time Static writer and a returning illustrator. She is the online editor of 1234V, spending her days writing about cooches and convincing others to write about them too. She’s also trying her hand at freelancing and is a regular contributor to Shameless magazine. A long-time Toronto lover, Adriana can still be found avidly exploring the city in hopes of discovering new haunts and treasures.

First time I felt like Toronto was home was when I started shopping for groceries in Kensington Market and realized that I didn’t look nearly hipster enough. I got over it though.

First favourite neighborhood was Kensington market, back when I was a kid and my dad used to bring my sister and I to visit the big TO. It was bohemian, eclectic and covered in gorgeous graffiti. It was everything that my small, boring hometown was not. I crushed on it hard.

First house was a small basement bedroom near Sheppard and Yonge. I had a tiny window that I once sat a plant beside, but it didn’t survive. As a result I don’t take natural sunlight for granted anymore.

First concert was a free John Mayer show at Dundas square in my first year of university at Ryerson.

First bar/club I went to was called Level. We got there way too early and did some shots. It ended in the traditional way, with a 2 am Mickey D’s run.

First record store was the former Sam The Record Man beside Ryerson. I miss those glowing, flashing discs.

First favorite book was Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende. Incidentally I first began reading this book on a car ride to Toronto to visit the ROM. The museum tour was kind of boring, but the book was good.

First library was when I was still a high schooler and my dad and his partner took me to visit the U of T library. My first impression was that it looked like it was straight out of a Star Wars movie. I still feel that way every time I walk by.

First celebrity sighting was Rachel McAdams, at Nuit Blanche last year. She was wearing a hat and walking near Trinity Bellwoods Park. It was probably her.

First kiss was beside Ryerson’s faux pond, Lake Devo.

First heartbreak was in Ryerson’s faux pond, Lake Devo (not really, but it sounds dramatic, in a mad Ophelia kind of way).

First time I went to the islands was with my aunt when she worked for a company that held a summer picnic there, complete with dragon boat racing. I rode the swan boats in Centreville and was more than satisfied.

First time I got lost was probably in the PATH. I used to follow young people wearing backpacks in hopes that I would make it out alive and get back to the surface.

If I had a last day in Toronto, I would gorge on sushi in Chinatown, fly a kite along the beaches, and ride across the islands on a multi-rider bike with a companion-in-mischief, spewing streamers, bubbles and profanity in our wake.