It's hard not to love Owen Pallett.

It's the music that gets you first. There is a fiercely compelling quality to the songs penned by the Toronto violinist. And once drawn in, small tastes of Pallett's personality — during live performances or radio broadcasts — has most listeners hooked. Deeply personable and amusingly self-effacing, the young musician is quite willing to spill his guts on all the biggies — whether music, sex, religion, cooking, pop culture and social theories.

Pallett's solo project Final Fantasy (a tribute to the Japanese videogame series of which he is a fan) eases in and out of melodramatic baroque pop. Amidst the swells of evocative strings, the lyrics are intimate, sometimes confessional and always part of a bigger concept.

Still, to dissect Pallett's music is hardly to do it justice. What it comes down to is this — somehow, despite the melodrama of the songs and Pallett's quavering voice, the music is touchingly beautiful.

[...]

Pallett believes that, like it or not, he is defined by his sexuality. The Final Fantasy sound, which is his appeal, has everything to do with being gay.

"I do have a theory," he says. "I think that the gayness of the artist is reflected in the art, whether or not it's political or sexy or has anything to do with gay sex. There will always be that whiff of anti-traditionalism."

Still, as many have said, being gay is not enough. But virtuostic ability plus the creativity of an untraditional life — is the key to Pallett's music.

Pallett's own music is the farthest thing from traditional and he likes it that way. And having toured internationally, Pallett is grateful that he lives in a country where his offbeat art really stands out.

"Canada is very privileged in the gay culture scheme of things. We're both accepting of homos and yet still pretty conservative, which, for gays and lesbians, is the perfect mix. I have this theory that one of the main goals of homosexuals is to be in constant opposition to the mainstream — to always remain counter-cultural. Right? So, Canada has it good for gays. We're accepted here and can marry. But at the same time, the culture is pretty conservative, with our try-hard-to-be-cutting-edge architecture and our pedestrian film scene."

[...]

Incredibly, the 2006 album, which took the eight schools of magic in Dungeons & Dragons and translated them into lyrical day to day phenomena, managed to win the 2006 Polaris prize. Many were not surprised. Pallet apparently was.

Chosen by music journalists the Polaris Music Prize is an award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. Pallett is still not reconciled to his win. "I don't think I really deserved to win and so I harbour strange, bipolar feelings about the experience. I'm not being self-effacing. I just can't believe that a roomful of people thought He Poos Clouds was better than Destroyer's Rubies."

Toronto.
(appearing with Do Make Say Think)
Harbourfront Centre.
Sun, Jul 1.
www.harbourfrontcentre.com.

Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Folk Festival.
Sat, Jul 7.
Sun, Jul 8.
www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca.

Ottawa.
Bluesfest — Black Sheep Stage.
Mon, Jul 9, 9:15pm.
www.ottawabluesfest.ca.

Calgary.
Folk Festival — Prince's Island Park.
Fri, Jul 27.
Sat, Jul 28.
Sun, Jul 29.
www.calgaryfolkfest.com.

Pallett believes that, like it or not, he is defined by his sexuality. The Final Fantasy sound, which is his appeal, has everything to do with being gay.

"I do have a theory," he says. "I think that the gayness of the artist is reflected in the art, whether or not it's political or sexy or has anything to do with gay sex.

In 2005, at age 27, Bédard encountered the driving force behind his music — and his move to BC. "I fell in love with a boy and I moved to Vancouver for him," he gushes. "It was life-changing, that's for sure.

"The whole record was inspired by my relationship with my boyfriend," he continues. "The cheerfulness and the playfulness of the record come from this amazing relationship."

"Best Boy Electric," a boy-on-boy duet, narrates Bédard's romance. "It was a refreshing experience to sing along with another guy!" he says. The pop track's theatrical arrangements, redolent of musicals he admires, capture his childlike joy and refusal to take things too seriously.

"It was the first time ever that I allowed myself to be silly," he says. "I like laughing, and I didn't want to fake it by being intimate and tortured and serious."

[...]

For Bédard, to compose songs with an air of joy to them was a deliberate choice. "Real happiness is never represented anywhere. It's taboo to be happy... you're supposed to be miserable. There are serious things happening, I understand. But if you want your life to be happy, there's nothing stopping you."

"This record is about allowing yourself to be happy," he continues. "People keep things inside too [often]."

Bédard's writing comes from a more trusting, benevolent perspective. "I think people can find a lot of warmth and comfort in it, because that's how I felt when I was recording it."

[...]

Going Places.
Montag.
www.montag.ca.
www.myspace.com/montagmontag

The front man of Toronto rock band the Cliks bares a turbulent tapestry on his arm: a dragon leaping through flames and waves, two guns bearing wide wings, and the word “Survivor.”

“This is all to commemorate what I went through,” says Silveira, who is transgender. “Fifty percent of trans people commit suicide. I went to that place, and I know where that comes from. I felt so lucky that I got through it that this was to commemorate the entire ordeal.”

Silveira is the first out transgender artist to be signed to a high profile label, Tommy Boy’s gay-friendly imprint Silver Label. These days he is trying to build a career as he rebuilds his life as a biological female who identifies as male.

The Cliks were featured on the recent gay-oriented True Colors Tour, playing alongside Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, and Debbie Harry. This spring they released Snakehouse, an emotional, guitar-driven album. Their single “Oh Yeah” spent several weeks atop a musical countdown on Logo, the gay-themed cable network.

Performers who defy the status quo face a challenge: how to live up to the hype on an artistic level that their identities generate. Sometimes these acts rely on novelty alone for sales and popularity. Conversely, Silveira hopes his artistry will eventually outshine a gender identity considered edgy in the pop mainstream.

At first glance the singer, who declines to give his age, looks like a petite tomboy with stylish, cropped locks and thick, lush eyelashes. While shopping for sneakers in downtown Manhattan (”I love shoes, man,” he gushes), salesmen offer him women’s sizes even though he asks for men’s. Silveira knows he looks more female than male; on his records he sounds like it too. He sacrificed the male attributes hormones offer to maintain his singing voice. Instead, he underwent a double mastectomy to feel more comfortable in his skin.

“People are like, ‘How opportunistic of you. Is this a gimmick? Do you think it’s stylish to be this way?”’ he says of skeptics. “And I am like, ‘Yeah, I am really, really into having a double mastectomy for fashion.”’

"... the Cliks music kinda sounds like what might happen if Chrissie Hynde and the Murmurs Leisha Hailey fell in love, got Bowie to help out with insemination and gave birth to an indie rock love child. It's all kinda raw but sweetly melodic, with a ballsy cabaret swagger." -SARAH LISS, NOW Magazine

Singer Ivri Lider is a household name in his native Israel, having sold over 160,000 albums and being named Male Singer of the Year in 2005 by Israeli radio stations. Ivri recently contributed to the soundtrack for (and appeared in) the 2006 film, "The Bubble"; he performs a song entitled, “The Man I Love.” Somewhat surprisingly, considering his mainstream popularity, Ivri is also openly gay. He famously came out in 2002 and has stayed at the top since then.

Avoid Thursdays...they play rap music and dancehall on that day.

Outmusic is a network of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered musicians and supporters. Performers, composers, lyricists, producers, recording artists, activists, promoters, press/media and even non-musicians who believe in LGBT music have joined Outmusic over the years.

Outmusic was founded in 1990 when a group of musicians met at Dan Martin and Michael Biello's East Village apartment to share music and experiences. This became the open mics, which are still held monthly in New York.

Since its founding, Outmusic has participated in the community in many ways. Some years the organization sponsored festivals, other years there have been compilation CDs or special events. Of course, through it all there have always been the open mics, where new and seasoned musicians still come together with goals not unlike the original sessions: to share music and experiences in a safe and welcoming space.