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Press Coverage National Post – July 24, 2004 By: Don Ellis Take a hyperactive neighbourhood bar, add a 4,000 square-foot patio, mix with a dash of live entertainment, sprinkle heavily with curious downtowners (but go easy, as we don’t want to ruin the taste), and then throw in virtually every thirsty neighourhood dweller you can possibly imagine - from the Parkdale arts students to that bitchy spinster on heavy prescription meds - and you’d end up with something wildly prismatic, diverse, and high-octane. You would, of course, have to name it the Cadillac Lounge. While the lounge itself may sit in plain sight - with half a Cadillac as an overhead awning - the expanded patio is psychically tucked away out back, which means a gratifying walk through the bar. In that walk, one expects to see Elvis Impersonators ensconced in one of the faux-leopard armchairs of the lounge area, or perhaps guzzling pints of Amsterdam at the long bar. Smoky windows add a bit of light to the dark room, which is flanked by a bar at one end and a large stage at the other. Once you’ve made your way through, you’ll see much change out back. When nightlife aficionado Sam Grosso (former owner of Graffiti’s Bar & Grill) opened his quirky Parkdale bar, a nicely-sized outdoor patio came with it. But it took the purchase of the building next door to bring new life (and square-footage) to the patio. “Really, I bought the building next door for its back yard,” says a beaming Grosso, gesturing over to what was previously the neighbour’s yard, now a vast addition to his patio. “I had been looking over at that unkempt brush for years, and when I heard that the building had come up for sale, I did everything in my power to get the property.” The new addition opened six weeks ago, and has tripled the patio space, quickly earning it the dubious distinction, the Caddy Paddy. Comfortable seating with cushioned backs occupies much of the new area, with a service bar and raised level on the original.
The Cadillac Lounge is still the quintessential Parkdale misfit. Adding a patio that can attract up to 180 dwellers is a bonus, providing guests with a relaxing way to unwind and creating a nighttime escape for those just wanting a light bite along with their rockin’ beats. Performers change, but usually follow the same rocker format. “It’s for real people,” demands Dawn Gardiner, a customer-turned-employee. “The Cadillac is not for the stereotypical hipster. It’s like Parkdale’s Horseshoe Tavern. We are not the Drake.”
Just think of '56 Kensington' with a Springsteen flavour instead
of a trance one and you'll have some idea of the template that's
being followed here. But Cadillac Lounge is hardly a simple copy
of anything, and Grosso’s implementation is happily different
from the louder, attention-getting bars that have proliferated of
late.
Leaving the Village -A new generation is finding places to live and play outside Toronto's old Gay Village Toronto Star - September 5, 2004 By: Murry White Dennis O'Connor, whose gallery, O'Connor, is just steps off Toronto's main gay drag along Church St., can barely contain his laughter. In fact, he doesn't even try. O'Connor, who has long traded exclusively in gay and lesbian art here, has been asked to consider the blossoming of a rival gay village in the city's west end. When he regains his composure, he does. "Well, it's always hard to be at the top - there's always someone trying to knock you off," says the volunteer chair of the Church-Wellesley Village Business Improvement Area, smiling broadly. "I mean, I think it's great. I think there should be more gay neighbourhoods. More power to them. But you have to be able to back it up. And Church St.? Well, we can back it up. It's pretty obvious, isn't it?" Indeed. Along Church St., rainbow flags, draped from almost every building, flutter in a warm, late-summer breeze. At Woody's, a local institution, buff, young, hairless men - mostly, if not entirely undressed - engage each other in various forms of affection on TVs suspended above the bar. At Zelda's, a endearingly shabby restaurant/bar with staccato house music throbbing inside, an inflatable sign featuring two sculpted men counsels passers-by to "Get Hard" with cruiseline.ca, a gay dating service. Half a block up, at Church and Wellesley, the epicentre of Toronto's Gay Village, a dark-haired, blue-eyed man gazes warmly down from a billboard for Botox. "The more you know, the better it is," it reads. For decades, the Church and Wellesley area has given Toronto's homosexuals, especially gay men, a refuge, safety and community in a society that, at the very best, merely tolerated their presence. But shifting societal perspectives have moved gay culture from the fringes into prime time - witness the success of such shows as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Queer as Folk and Will & Grace. And, for a new generation of gays, the traditional refuge is not only no longer necessary, it's outdated. Bryen Dunn has lived in Parkdale for 12 years, and he chose the neighbourhood for a reason. "It's not ghettoized," says Dunn, sipping coffee at the Easy Restaurant, a bright diner on Queen St. W. near Roncesvalles. "That's the big thing - it's not exclusively gay. Church St. can feel so limited." Dunn volunteers with Gay West, Parkdale-centred group with a mission to help build a sense of community among west-end gays. Where Church and Wellesley is devoutly, expressly - and, generally, solely - gay, Dunn sees the west-end scene as more inclusive. "When we first started talking about this, there were people at Church and Wellesley saying `Why should we go out there and give our gay dollars to a straight establishment?'" he says. "Well, why not? They're being open and accepting; why can't you do the same?" Dunn's attitude is indicative of a new generation of young Toronto gays and lesbians, for whom the old bunker mentality has fallen. "People view Church and Wellesley as the epicentre, and in a lot of respects it is," says Jon Pressick, publisher of the quarterly magazine Queer: Trade Things. "But a generation of young queer people have taken to almost boycotting Church and Wellesley. There's a stigma, and it's an odd thing; the (Church and Wellesley) Village has been so steady, but there are a lot of people that resent the idea that it has to be in only one spot, that you can only exist at Church and Wellesley." Pressick sees the traditional Village as established now, and for a different crowd. "It's very male, it's predominantly older and it's predominantly moneyed people. They've lived the life, fought the battles, and now they're established and comfortable," he says. "Everyone worked together to fight the common fight, and what was lost in that, maybe, was that there's a lot of diversity in the community. And one idea of a gay neighbourhood can't work for everyone." Pressick recently launched his latest issue at B Sweet, a bar on Queen St. west of Dufferin St., with an art auction. The bar hosts a range of events, some gay, some not, but is soon to launch On the QT on Thursday nights, which will join a cluster of semi-regular gay events in the west end: Queer Duck, a monthly night at the Drake Hotel; Big Primpin' at Stones' Place; Vazaleen at Lee's Palace; the weekly Here Kitty Kitty night at Ciao Edie; various events at the Gladstone Hotel; and the summer-long Planet Patio at Cadillac Lounge, a long-time fixture of the city's country-western scene. "It's good for business, sure," said Sam Grosso, owner of the Cadillac, regarding his new - and growing - clientele. "But we're a bar that caters to a vast range of people. I like seeing different kinds of people gelling together. I don't care what they do in their bedrooms. As long as they have a good time at my place, that's all that matters." Grosso has owned the Cadillac for five years, and he's had time to take a good look at what Parkdale offers. "You've got to be willing to accept anything if you're going to be in this neighbourhood," he says of the area, a grotty, gentrification-resistant zone with a large, visible poor population. "At Planet Patio, people come up and thank me for providing them with a safe place, and I just say that's just the way it is - that's the environment we have out here." The fact that the west end is less aggressively, overtly gay is a drawing point for some gay people, says Jeremy Laing, who started Big Primpin' a year and a half ago. "It's really mixed, actually, which is something we were going for," he says of the event, a campy dance party set against the faux-luxe tapestries and couches of the Rolling Stones-themed bar. The traditional Church and Wellesley area "tends to be pretty homogenous," he says. "For people looking for an alternative to an alternative, this is the place." It's an idea that can only make O'Connor shake his head. "Who ever would have thought that old Church St. fags can now be seen as the Establishment?" he says, laughing. "But it's true. We've been here a long time. People all over the world know that Church-Wellesley is where you go to see the boys. It will always be the start, the beginning, the historical footprint of gay culture in Toronto. And we have a duty here to preserve that, because that's what makes us unique." Cultural preservation has become an issue in the Village recently. Church St. grew as a hotbed of gay life when the mainstream refused to accept it. Now, growing acceptance is transforming the Village into an established, gentrified and expensive place. Corporate chains - the O'Grady's restaurant, Starbucks and Timothy's coffee shops - have shouldered in, pushing commercial rents up. "I'm just waiting for a Gap to appear," says Shaun Proulx, editor of Gay Guide Toronto, a popular web site for the city's gay community. "I live in the Village and I'm very loyal to it, but the corporatization of the Village is stripping it of its vibrancy. Gay's one of the coolest things on the planet right now, and these companies are just being smart. But the culture here created the community, and that's being lost." Still, Proulx finds a sense of comfort here that he hasn't found anywhere else. He lived in Leslieville for three years, surrounded by gay and lesbian neighbours - the area became a gay annex of its own - but he had to come back. "I missed it. My next-door neighbour was homophobic, and I just thought: `This is my life. Do I really want to come home to that?' I want to live in an area where I feel comfortable, surrounded by like-minded people. And if you leave the Village, as a gay man, you're rolling the dice. You have to think twice about being yourself, and that's not for me." Granted, the queer west village remains a nascent community at best. At the recent Parkdale Pride event, staged a week before the massive Toronto Pride event, which draws almost a million spectators a year, Dunn proudly says they had their best year yet - 130 people. Still, much progress has been made. Big Primpin', barely a year and a half old, began as an outpost. "When we started at Stones' Place, we were the only thing going," Laing said. "Now there's something every week." Pressick agrees. "Even a year ago, I wouldn't have said this, but gay culture is well-established in the west end now. It used to be a novelty, but not anymore. It's a community."
Runnymede Rider Toronto Metro News - October 12, 2004 By: Enza Anderson Bryen Dunn works in corporate communications as an event manager combining art, music, and live performances. His current event is a dance night at B-Sweet, 1279 Queen W. every Thursday. He lives in the Queen and Roncesvalles area and gets his Metro at Runnymede Station. "Metro allows me to keep up on upcoming local events that I can connect with." When not promoting, this avid cyclist enjoys camping.
ON DECK INTERVIEW Xtra Magazine - October 14, 2004 By: Shane Percy Name: DJ Triple - X Current Guilty Pleasures:
Upcoming Events: "I'm DJ'ing the last Thursday of the month at B Sweet as part of On the Q.T. (Queer Thursday's). I'm also promoting for this weekly series that has rotating DJ's, special guests, and live performances. This new night started up in September so we're just gathering steam!" "Then once a month I put on a special event that combines art, live performances, and DJ's. These are at various locations in the west end with the next one on October 31st featuring Stop Die Resuscitate and LAL, two Toronto electronic rap bands. There will be several themed art installations, prizes for best get up, and plenty of dark tunes. The theme is going to be "Hell House" based on the American documentary.” “Staring November 4th I’m DJ’ing every other Saturday at Lot 16, a few doors east of the Drake. It’s a laid back lounge atmosphere, although a dance floor usually appears at some point during the night.” "On November 21st I have a fundraiser for St. Francis Table, a meal and outreach service for the homeless in Parkdale. I'm hoping to have around 30 artists donate a piece of work each, which will be sold with proceeds going to St. Francis. Again, bands and DJ's, and again, held at B Sweet." B Sweet is at 1279 Queen Street West, www.b-sweet.com [ Novenber 17, 2004 sic: This event was cancelled and will now be promoted by the Fort York Food Bank, 780 Dundas St. W., in early 2005, venue to be advised. www.fyfb.com ]
Xtra Magazine - November 25, 2004 By: Dan Lavoie Tonight (the TRADE Magazine release party) will include the latest "in" promoter at the moment Bryen Dunn AKA DJ Triple-X who's been tearing up Toronto's scene with a new take on events. Dunn also promotes for the likes of Lot 16, The Gladstone and The Drake to name a few. He's definitely the boy to keep an eye out for.
24 Hours - After Six - November 25, 2004 By: Kevin Wilson Parkdale's gayest night is closing down for a little retooling but you've got one last chance to catch On The Q.T. at B Sweet Lounge (1279 Queen St. W.) and that chance is tonight. Q.T. organizer Bryen Dunn and his pals at local gay publication TRADE Magazine team up for the release of their upcoming SEX issue. Dunn's promising "the usual eclectic crowd of misfits and bohemians" at one of Parkdale's coolest little gems. In addition to all your favourite 80's, classic alternative and more from DJ Triple-X, there will also be art, screenings and much more. Tickets are $4.00 at the door, and admission gets you a copy of the new issue. Doors open at 9:00 P.M. Call (647) 831 5733 for more info.
TRADE Magazine – Why Can't I Be You...Triple X - Winter, 2004 By: Jon Pressick Name: Triple-X Age: Ice Day Job: What’s that? Hidden Talent: Purveyor of Musicology. Overt Talent: Cynical Bastard What skill would you like to possess? The ability to communicate
with individuals from the past, as well as being able to see into
the future. I think this would make me a much more informed individual,
yet slightly more confused. Today I am wearing: My two left feet. Cultural artifacts should be held in museums, regardless of how
they were historically obtained. Your toy would be Steamy, Dreamy or Clumsy? Steamy (and Creamy), please and thank you. Chopsticks or a fork? Chopsticks Admit it, the most embarrassing album you've purchased: Bay City Rollers Check out Triple-X at Knotty Knights-December 4 and 18, Lot 16,
1136 Queen St. W. 10:00 P.M. - 2:00A.M. Also check www.themarsbar.com
for future events. |
