#ayden-elworthy — Public Fediverse posts

DE-PLATFORMING MUSIC CONSUMPTION

Streaming music sucks, but it’s also so convenient and ubiquitous. Having access to music streaming means that any song I want from any era is constantly available.   

What that really means, though, is that choice paralysis freezes me from making any new choices—I effectively spin the same 10 records most of the time.   

A lot of my friends have tried to get off streaming […]

ROCK THIS TOWN RETURNS WITH A NEW ERA OF MUSIC HISTORY

Rock This Town: A New Wave premiered Friday, Feb. 26, 2026, to a sold-out crowd at The Princess Original Cinemas in Uptown Waterloo. The documentary is a follow-up of sorts to 2022’s Rock This Town which told the story of the music scene in Kitchener Waterloo during the 1960s and ’70s.   

A New Wave recaps the music of the 80s and goes through the venues, promoters and stories that made […]

RIBFEST RETURNS TO THE REGION

Friday, July 18 marked the beginning of Kitchener-Waterloo’s Ribfest and Craft Beer Show by Nedlaw Roofs (henceforth known as ‘Ribfest’). The event was hosted in Willow River Park and spanned three days. Stands touting anything from fountain drinks to beer, to live music were all dwarfed by the main attraction: the ribs.  

Churning out 100 racks per hour, rib experts flanked the field, each blaring music, cranking grills, ringing bells, shouting orders, and slinging sides of pork so surprisingly unique, that we took it upon ourselves to write an entire article about the experience of sampling each one.  

That’s right—we subjected ourselves to ribs from all six stands at Ribfest. It was a symphony of taste and an assault to the arteries. Here are our thoughts:  

Zack’s winning pick was unequivocally Fat Boys BBQ. Zack’s all about nuanced flavour, and Fat Boys delivered: Hickory smoke, chili, balanced acidity and sweetness. With just the right amount of delicious sauce and tender, shred-able meat, Fat Boys Barbecue can’t be beatbeaten! Fat Boys was Ayden’s second pick – close but no cigar.   

Second up for Zack was Dinosaur BBQ. Dino’s used a smokey sauce with notes of apple (actually!). The real drawdraw, however, was the char. These ribs were flame-kissed. Never mind carcinogens! That bitter bite had us drooling. This was Ayden’s pick for the best rack of ribs. He loves burnt food.   

Zack’s third place was Uncle Sam’s BBQ. Ignoring the blatant American patriotism, Uncle Sam provided the quintessential rib. Ol’ Faithful. Some could accuse them of playing it safe, but we say, “Why re-invent the wheel?” For these very reasons, Ayden had Uncle Sam in fourth place. Good, not great.   

Fourth up for Zack was Silver Bullet BBQ. We don’t know what these suppliers were feeding their hogs, but Silver Bullet hit a bull’s-eye when it came to size. Where S.B really missed the mark was in sauciness. These bones were bone dry! For Ayden, Silver Bullet came in third place. Sometimes a dry rub and porky taste hits the spot.   

While a crowd favourite, Boss Hogs ultimately didn’t measure up. Zack and Ayden agree these ribs were too sweet, and not that saucy. The cook wasn’t closing any deals, and the ribs were a bit skinny too. Unfortunately, Boss Hogs didn’t leave us squealing with delight.  

Zack and Ayden’s last place pick was Camp 31. Simply underwhelming. Not enough sauce, no char, and an overly oily texture could have been forgivable. As soon as Ayden noticed some broken bones in his portion, all bets were off. He tapped out and gave his leftovers to Zack (“Hey, a rib’s a rib!”)  

Celebrating the summer by eating as much barbequed meat as possible is a time-honoured tradition. It’s tough to say whether this experience will negatively impact our health, but the sun burns, barbeque sauce and good friends will stay with us forever. In the end, this was an amazing article to…research. 

#AydenElworthy #beer #bossHogs #craftBeerShow #dinosaurBbq #fatBoysBbq #fountainDrinks #grills #JessiWood #nedlawRoofs #ribfest #silverBulletBbq #uncleSamsBbq #ZackMason

DIY SPACES ARE THE BACKBONE OF THE LOCAL MUSIC SCENE

As the summer continues and live music is back in full force on patios and in bars and concert halls, a quieter, smaller revolution takes place in the homes of a couple of dedicated community members across Waterloo Region.  

Traditional venue spaces have become harder to come by—as the cost of living rises, so too does the cost of operating and renting out venues for live cultural events.  

The Golden Apple is an unassuming house venue on the east end of Kitchener. Erica Rippon, Nate Fernandez, Kyle White and Jordan Forte spoke about how opening a house venue came naturally to them.  

“I think it was mostly us being in bands and having a space already where we practice and for the most part it all set up with a PA,” Forte said. 

Carving a venue out from under their home became a natural next step. They had the equipment, and it was a logical decision for them.  

“We all go to lots of shows, so we learn really quickly what we like and don’t like about other venues,” Rippon said.  

The team revealed that transforming their house into a venue has become an overwhelmingly positive experience. Of the over 40 shows that they put on in 2024, only two of them proved to be less than savory experiences. They remarked that most shows ended up being a net positive. 

“[Our friend’s] birthday party here [was a favourite],” Forte said.  

“He’s not in a band, so on the poster, it just said his name as ‘Spencer,’[…]and when he got up on stage and people saw who he was, everyone just started chanting for him.” 

As they have refined their process, they have also had to cut back on the frequency of programming.  

“Trying to do it the way we want it done is running it at a loss. We’re pretty much always at a net zero,” Forte said. “Any sort of money [we make] goes back into the venue immediately. But we just do it for fun, so we don’t expect to make anything off the shows.” 

Dave Lacalamita is one of the owners and operators of The Screaming Fox, another unassuming house venue in Kitchener. 

“I feel like house shows emerged as a necessity in a way. If I didn’t have to put on a house show, I’d put on fewer house shows. The fact that there aren’t that many venues in town makes it feel necessary,” he said. 

Lacalamita also noted the largely monetary reason for opening his house for shows. It’s the only way in this economy to put on small-scale shows without support from grants or city funding.  

“They’re always a little stressful because we don’t charge. We’re not trying to make money[…]People are generous if you ask them to be, and you are also generous,” he said.  

“Like, if only the artists are making money and everyone can see that, it kind of releases everyone from feeling obligated or coerced into paying, but people still pay,” Lacalamita said. 

Like the folks from The Golden Apple, he also has noted that his experience running a venue as a house has in the vast majority been positive.  

“I mean, it’s a lot of work. It isn’t nothing to displace people and clean the place up and have people in your space. I don’t know there’s not a lot of negatives, to be honest. It’s one of those things that you dread doing in a sense,” he said. 

On the other end of the spectrum, house shows cannot always be accessible for all involved. They are sometimes difficult to find, and because of the venue’s function as a house and not an open business, they can sometimes not be accessible.  

“I think most house venue people are doing it out of necessity, and maybe we’d like to do it less often,” he said. 

“You have to know where the place is, and how to find out about them, and it’s better, in my opinion, for them to be just open[…]it’d be nice for there to be a venue that’s just a venue,” Lacalamita said.  

These houses-turned-venues are a valuable function in any music scene. They encourage community and miraculously work out to make the most fiscal sense for all involved.   

#AydenElworthy #community #daveLacalamita #displace #goldenApple #houseShow #Houses #JoElDeek #kitchener #LiveMusic #venues #waterloo #waterlooRegion