Yellow Bird Project, a Montreal-based organization, has teamed up with indie rock bands to raise money for charities. The rock bands, including big indie rockers like The National and The Shins, design their own tee-shirt and choose the charities that will benefit from the sales. What a great way to support a band you love and a worthy cause.

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If the words “canned” and “meat” scare you a little, dredging up uncomfortable associations with Spam, we totally understand. But Quebec-based ‘conserverie artisanale’ has dared to show us that the can is cool, and canned meat just as appealing.

Aptly named Gastronomie Le Naked Lunch, this line of gourmet canned lunches comes from the former Montreal bistro by the same name and offers a small but solid selection of endearingly classic, rugged Quebecois fare. The line-up includes the ultimate tribute to Montreal cuisine in the form of “smoked meat de canard,” which has got some restaurants serving it up on crispy baguettes for a gourmet quick lunch.

There is also Alsatian-style sauerkraut chock-full of smoked sausage and the flavours of beloved Montreal craft brewery’s St. Ambroise blonde. And don’t overlook the downright quintessential Pate Chinois de Gibier, the authentic Quebecois shepherd’s pie. And you can have it all straight from the can, lumberjack-style.

So if you’re craving something honest and hearty, then strip it all down to the bare essentials and have a naked lunch.

Montreal’s only free and independent quarterly magazine SNAP! delivers a quirky mix of fashion, art and youth culture in their new 10×14 inch matte paper format. Their twelfth issue hit the streets on October 1 and has a distinct nostalgic emphasis.

The theme is ‘My First’, with each submission reflecting on a memory, a rite of passage, an experience or an anecdote. The issue also features a series by four illustrators who draw from memory My First House, as well as ancinterview with Mexican mixed media artist Marion Sosa for My First Family.

I’ve been a big fan of free street magazine SNAP!, which casts a discerning eye over creative happenings in the artistic hub of Montreal, since they started. Having edited street mags in the past, I know how challenging it can be to assemble a crack team of writers and photographers and keep them enthused to improve the publication issue after issue. The team behind SNAP! have done this exceptionally well.

Each issue is more impressive than the last, and the latest one is a jaw dropper, not just because it’s physically so much bigger than previous ones (10×16 inches), but also because the content is absolutely compelling. Featuring a cover design by Calgary based mixed media artist Jared Larsen the bumper Summer issue riffs on ‘all things print, publication, and paper, from magazine culture to the decline in newsprint journalism, to discussions with six paper-based artists woking out of Montreal. Whether you’re based in Montreal or not, you’ll get something inspiring out of this wonderful independent quarterly.

Decorating the streets of his native Montreal, artist Roadsworth’s work is inbued witn an underlying message about our dependence on cars and is fulled by his desire to create a unique language around street markings and other elements of the urban landscape using a stencil based technique.

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We love free Montreal-based street magazine, SNAP!, which takes an insidery peek at the creative happenings in that lofty city. They’ve just released of Issue 9, in which contributors were invited to submit work based on one or a series of Three-Letter Words. The cover image is one of a series of photo-booth shots by Canadian photographer Robin Hart Hiltz, built around the word EAT. Inside, you have the vintage-y centerfold, featuring a scantily clad Mexican himbo holding a tequila bottle (MEX), an apocalyptic illustration by mixed media artist Alex Sebag (THE END), an eight page photo essay by American photographer Maxim Ryazansky (KID USA) and a four page review of the 2009 installment of one of Montreal’s biggest music festivals (POP MTL).

Canadian artist Stephen Ibbott’s paintings were on exhibit this summer at Scott Richards Contemporary Art in San Francisco. He is also showing at Galerie de Bellefeuille in Montreal.

Montreal-based illustrator Aimee van Drimmelen has been collecting used drumskins from local musicians and painting on them. The results are beautiful and for sale (along with her other work) through her etsy store.

Made-in-Montreal independent art magazine SNAP! brings out its eighth issue this month and gets a little bit gritty and pensive with their SURVIVAL theme. Reflections on war, prison, personal struggle and surviving life in the city are some of what you will find in the Fall issue, alongside a dark warrior aesthetic and a strong photo lineup including an on-location shoot with five of Montreal’s best graffiti artists and a series on indoor office plants. Definitely worth checking out, and featuring a sick ad for Lost At E Minor designed by Montreal mixed-media artist Jeremy Dabrowski (it’s on page 15).

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While a pastrami sandwich at Katz’s in NYC is a transcendent experience, its relatively high price, its enormous proportions, and the hassle of the lines and payment system of the establishment make it a rare treat. If only we all lived in Montreal, home of Schwartz’s, where they serve some of the best smoked meat (the Quebecois equivalent of pastrami) I’ve ever had for only $5.50 Canadian (about US$5) per sandwich or $10.95 and $11.95 for small and large plates respectively.

I used to edit a free street mag in Australia called STU, so I was impressed when I came across a similarly sized one out of Montreal called SNAP!, which expertly covers fashion, art, music and other creative pursuits with a healthy focus on spotlighting local creatives. We checked in with Hannah Byrne, who along with Shayl Prisk is one of the two founders of the publication, and asked her about the spark behind the launch of SNAP! ‘Initially the spark came when Shayl and I sat down after a long day in our kitchen jobs and decided we wanted to do something different, more creative. Over the course of several months we brainstormed over lattes and pints and talked about exactly what kind of magazine we would want to read and what kind of stories we would want to tell. It was a really exciting time, starting this thing from scratch and deciding where it was going to go’.

Have you found a place already amongst Montreal’s creative community?
‘We’ve worked with so many talented artists based here in Montreal. Many of our creative friends were willing to contribute work from the beginning but as we grow we have more and more people approaching us at our events or online asking how they can submit and get involved in what we do. We try and thank all the people that work with us by hosting regular parties and art events, and hand out free beer for our fellow starving artist friends! Our sponsor Bierbrier is great for that. We really love to have fun and to get local artists and writers published, and they seem to like that too! We are receiving more and more emails from people every day, which is really encouraging!’

How hard is it sustaining a free magazine?
‘Well, we both still work day jobs, as well as play a lot of online poker (haha). We’re slowly starting to build a strong base of advertisers but it’s hard for any new business at the moment. It takes time but for now we are also working on different projects around the magazine to explore other ways to keep it all funded.

‘Shayl and I were always adamant that our magazine would be free- yes the print world is in a crisis right now, but magazines still have that tangible appeal and when the access is free and the content is rich and local, we really believe that the product will be picked up. That’s valuable to an advertiser, our main source of revenue, so we’ll just keep fighting and hope that our hard work pays off soon’.

What’s coming up in SNAP! world?
‘We recently launched the SNAP! tee-a-thon: an ongoing t-shirt design competition through our website and the magazine. We’ve got some great prize packs up for grabs and are trying to draw in some great artists and designers. We’re happy to ship prizes and the competition is open to anyone in any country. Eternal glory awaits the winners!

‘Once our purse strings are a little looser, we’ll increase our distribution and possibly even try SNAP! in a few other cities. We’re excited about what lies ahead.’

I visited Toronto for the first time a couple of weekends back to check out the Luminato Festival and explore the city itself, which is being promoted as a more socially progressive and cultural alternative to other Canadian hotspots such as Montreal and Vancouver. And for good reason. Toronto is a fascinating place on many levels: from the architecture in the city center, which seamlessly combines the ornate majesty of pre-1940 buildings with the glistening facades of more contemporary designs; to the long, straight roads which defines movement though the city and contains an assortment of hidden gems; to the overall cleanliness of the streets and the overwhelming sense that a bustling creative community is doing all it can to foster the careers of others around them. It was an eye-opening experience. I left the city with a feeling that Toronto is very much on the rise, casting aside its wintry persona and thriving on the back of what is clearly a dynamic and exciting creative scene. Photos by Alison Zavos

Our friends over at SNAP!, Montreal’s only free and independent arts and lifestyle publication, have just put out their sixth issue — Vagabonds — which, fittingly, celebrates all things foreign, with tales from seasoned travelers as well as new arrivals now calling Montreal home. It also explores the international quartiers of the city and profiles some of the quirkier locals. Eclectic and colourful, it really is the perfect companion for afternoons spent dreaming of where we’d rather be and what we’d rather be doing.

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Red hot Montreal band Land of Talk feature Elizabeth Powell, a former punk who got her start playing her own anti-rock anthems on the local scene of Guelph, Ontario, during her mid-teens. We got the inside word from her on the tunes that inspire Land of Talk’s own high energy frock and roll. The first track she propped was, drum roll please, Bon Iver’s hauntingly evocative, Re:Stacks: ‘This song changed my course, emotionally. I can’t tell you how, but it levelled me. Everyone I’ve played it for, or who has heard it, has had the same or similar reactions. This is a song I will listen to well into my twilight years’. Read the rest of Land Of Talk’s Secret Playlist.

Canada seems to be the land of amazing ambient metal duos. Montreal has Menace Ruine, and Toronto has Nadja, a formidable couple that churns out huge-sounding, bass and electronics-driven doom that draws your gaze up towards the stars just as old cathedral ceilings humble the faithful and make them think of the Almighty.

Our friends over at SNAP!, Montreal’s only free and independent arts and lifestyle magazine have just released their fourth issue in which they look back and celebrate the faded beauty of past eras, grandmas and grandpas, Polaroids, antique finds, old wisdom and vintage style. Yeeha! They also remember the best of 2008 in Montreal arts, with a variety of writers and photographers giving their take on their favourite cultural discoveries.

Menace Ruine is a husband-wife black metal duo from Montreal. I never thought I’d get a chance to see them live, seeing as most bands of this ilk are one-off basement projects, but when I saw them on a Halloween bill with fellow French Canadians Nadja, I couldn’t skip it. They didn’t disappoint with their harsh noise and feedback, but despite not having a guitar or drumkit in sight, their intricate rhythms and keyboard lines made my head spin (and occasionally bang). The couple displays some psychedelic and avant-garde influences, but the band is indisputably metal even when its feminine half sings like Nico on a few parts.

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Montreal’s only free independent arts and lifestyle magazine — SNAP! — recently launched their third issue for September and October. Titled Bookish, the issue celebrates, among other things, the beauty of books, the charm of geeks, poetry, blogging, artists and their workspaces and a cafe guide for students trying to get their study on in any of Montreal’s stylish neighbourhoods. As you do.

We love the look of new, free Montreal-based street magazine, SNAP!, an arts and lifestyle publication which focuses on all that exciting work that is conceived, created and marketed in Montreal by artists, creative minds and young entrepreneurs. SNAP!, the pipe dream of two Australian girls, features local lifestyle interests such as eating out, boutique, gallery and store openings and events, and feature monthly street guides to provide readers with an ongoing reference to their city. It comes out every two months and the launch issue is on the streets now.

I love the work of the Montreal-based silkscreening group Seripop. Their choices of color and gritty, imperfect lines give the impression of ‘test-prints’ at first, but with further inspection reveal a definite conscious approach. [see also Lorin Brown]