Observed and written by Amanda Leigh
Drummers and roommates, Eugene Parkomenko (Black Wizard) and Joel Loewen (Tobeatic) take a break to digest after breakfast on a chance day off together. They sit in their living room — one corner dedicated to their combined VHS collections and TV/VCR while various show posters and Joel’s paintings hang throughout the apartment that the boys share just off Commercial Drive in Vancouver. This early Tuesday afternoon they’re listening to records on Joel’s case player, smokin’ darts and touching base before the busy day of errands and an even busier summer ahead of them.
Joel: If you were a chick, who would you let do it to ya?
Eug: Who would you?
Joel: (thinks for a while) Mark Lanegan.
Eug: Decent choice.
Joel: He’d sweet talk me with that voice. You?
Eug: Marky Mark? Fuck I dunno I thought you said who would I get to do, whatever…
Joel answers a knock on their door. It’s his good buds from U.B.T. (Uncle Bad Touch from Montreal, ex members of Priestess) and Mapee (ex S.T.R.E.E.T.S & Pride Tiger).
Mapee: It’s Paul McCartney’s birthday!
Joel: Is it? I almost forgot.
Mikey of U.B.T.: Where should we eat?
Joel: Well, we just ate at Skylight around the corner if you guys just want cheap breakfast.
Eug: It’s good for what it is.
Mapee: It’s a greasy spoon.
Mikey: Sounds good to me. Alright, well we’ll see you guys later!
The boys resume their positions on the couch.
Joel: Alright, alright, alright.
Eug: So, you just went on tour bud.
Joel: Yep.
Eug: What bands were you stoked on?
Joel: U.B.T., The Highkicks, Napalmpalm, Temple. So rad. Hey, don’t you have a record comin’ out next week?
Eug: Next Friday is Black Wizard’s CD release at The Rickshaw. It’s also Nothing Is Heavy’s one year anniversary, so it’s gonna be nuts.
Joel: Are you guys doing a vinyl?
Eug: War on Music is putting the vinyl out sometime near the end of August. When’s the Tobeatic vinyl comin’ out, bud?
Joel: I have no fuckin’ idea.
Eug: (laughs) Where do you wanna go this summer, what are you gonna do?
Joel: Tobeatic is playing with The Wiz next week at the release and I’m recording with Percheron that whole weekend. It’s gonna be crazy.
Eug: Next weekend is insane. After the Black Wizard release, a bunch of the boys are going camping for our guitarist Kenny’s stag that weekend. We’re gonna get fucked! What are we listening to Joel?
Joel: Kendrick Lamar.
The boys start shakin’ their shoulders to Backseat Freestyle. Eug hears a lyric and proceeds to look up the new ZZ Top who’ve used a similar line, tryin’ to figure out who influenced who here. The boys reference ZZ Top on Eug’s phone, Joel can’t believe how good they look.
Joel (lights a dart): Man, I wish I had a car, could just get all my errands done at once today.
Eug: We need beers.
Joel: Yeah, I gotta get stuff done…(stands up)…Oh fuck!
Eug: What’s wrong?
Joel: My back. Threw my back out smokin’ a dart!
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