Marcu 8, 2005

ARTS & ENTERTAIN

The Bride Stripped Bare Anonymous (Nikki Gemmel)

Stacey Murray Reporter

The Bride Stripped Bare, a novel written anonymously, is a truthful narrative about just what goes on in a women’s head and the trials women face to be free.

Written in secret from her family, the Bride tries to come to terms with her love for her husband versus her need for freedom. Each chapter is titled with a lesson a how to be a good wife, such as “duty first, pleasure next,” but the chapters themselves reveal she is the opposite of a model wife. A quiet woman, the Bride appears to be innocent and incapable of deceit, but after she realizes her husband is having an affair with her best friend, she decides to live selfishly for the first time in her life.

The Bride Stripped Bare will keep readers guessing. Just when readers believe they see the whole story, the author throws in one more twist that changes the whole meaning of the novel and the way the Bride is seen.

The novel has two strange features, which are unconventional in literature. Written in second person, the first line of the novel is “Your husband doesn’t know you're writing this.” The language draws the reader in, and offers a more personal connection with the Bride. The book also omits quotation marks in conversations. Although these features made it difficult to start the book, they

became as important as the characters in telling the story of the Bride. The novel made news in

literature circles when its author was revealed to be Nikki Gemmel. An award winning Australian author, Gemmel admitted that the novel was a work of fiction, but wanted to write it anonymously so she wasn’t censoring any of her thoughts.

Even knowing that the novel is really a work of fiction, it’s still one of- the most honest books on bookshelves. It puts women’s most secret and shocking thoughts on the table, and women will surely relate to it

INT

THE CADRE e 8

ECMA -— Star Struck at the Delta

Amy McKie Contributor

The East Coast Music Awards 2006 took place . in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island over the weekend of February 234 to February 27". While most of. the official shows were at the’: Delta. ‘Priace Edward, almost every place in town had a show on — including Myron’s, The Arts Guild, Baba’s Lounge, Piece of Cake Restaurant, Hunter’s Ale House, Rum Runners, Mavor’s Bistro and Bar, The Cellar, our own The Wave, and even Smooth Cycle, among many others. I stayed mostly around the Delta and got in as many shows as possible.

For those of you who missed it, you really missed a lot! At the Delta every day there were showcases including the Roots Rooms, Beyond Borders, and Sneak Peak Rising Star Showcases. In addition to these large concerts, every night there was six or seven conference rooms set up in the upstairs part with concerts going until at least 3am put on by different groups. For example Music Nova Scotia had an amazing line-up for the weekend including such acts as Jill Barber, In- Flight Safety, Joel Plaskett, and so many others. : ;

Being with RadioUPEI and a volunteer with Radio ECMA I got the chance to interview some of these amazing artists and I have to admit, I was tongue-tied by times! Among those I got the chance to interview were

Pic — Matt Mays and Jarreau Hayward of The Chronicles at Baba’s Lounge Monday night.

Spesh K (Kevin Kinch), Jarreau Hayward and Nhuri Bashir of The Chronicles, Rose Cousins, Jenn Grant, and Daniel Ledwell of In-Flight Safety. The main consensus among them was that the _ ECMAs were a great place to meet other artists and gain recognition. I also got to listen to a few jams up in the member’s only

lounge.

There was a fairly constant crowd around the Delta at all times, and everyone seemed to be taking in as much as they could. I saw everyone

- from three year olds to one hundred

and three year olds. Or close to it, at least. Whether supporting friends or family, or just there to check out some local talent, these folks were definitely enjoying the experience that was ECMA 2006 in Charlottetown. If you missed it, you can find a lot of content at radio.upei.ca! I encourage you to check it out, and make sure you get out to ECMA 2007 next year in Halifax, Nova Scotia!

Overall it was definitely one of the best weekends of my life. I met a lot of great people, made many new friends, and found some new musical obsessions! Highlight was definitely Matt Mays’ private after party at Baba’s Lounge. He was spinning Reggae disks with others taking turns singing / rapping over them. What’s better than a good reggae party?

Amy McKie Contributor

Leading up to the ECMAs I started gathering songs by local acts and nominated groups, and was really surprised at the amount of talent. Since the ECMAs I haven’t listened to anything else. The weekend was full of amazing bands and songwriters that really aren’t getting the credit they deserve. We hear all the time how displeased students in particular are with Magic 93 and the crap they play

Local Talent Needed on Local Radio

radio @upei

over and over and over every day. I think we need to get them playing more local talent — because a lot of our artists are a hell of a lot more talented than say... Ashlee Simpson.

If any of you caught these bands I’m sure you’d agree. The Campus Music Explosion that is going on right now at the Wave is a great example of the talent right here on campus that our Prince Edward

Island radio stations could be using rather than the mainstream, overplayed, regular stuff we hear every day. What if they switched it up and played the mainstream a little bit less, and Charlottetown and Atlantic Canadian bands a little bit more.

My solution: let’s take over Magic 93. Ok, so that might not work, but just make sure you call in and request your favorite local bands! If

you are new or don’t think they have your stuff, send some to them! Same goes for radio@UPEL. If we have your songs we'll add you to the stream for sure! Its all about exposure and having more people hear the amazing talent that we have right here around home. I hope everyone continues with the spirit of the ECMAs and keeps listening to and promoting our Atlantic Canadian stars.