FFWD Weekly
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Music by Aubrey McInnis Street Sounds The all-ages scene in Calgary is composed of bands who play in front of a mostly underage audience... it just so happens to be one of the more politically aware scenes in the country. One of the key organizers of the all-ages scene is the collective JustaBunchöKids. JBK began three years ago with a mission statement declaring their dedication to keeping their all-ages shows cheap, promoting unity, diversifying the scene and encouraging political awareness. Mark Vermin, a 24-year old longtime supporter of the scene, explains that the all-ages shows are where kids can start questioning the nature of our social system, can develop progressive feminist ideas (such as One Bedroom Apartment – a feminist zine produced by young women from Calgary, Edmonton and Cincinnati) as well as listen to great bands. The kids who come to JBK all-ages shows have the opportunity to look through their traveling library. The library (stored in several milk crates) is full of classic titles such as 1984, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and literature that is deemed to be too radical in nature for the public library. The all-ages scene in Calgary (which ranges from eight to 25-year olds) has churned out intellectually aware people who completely break the stereotypical vision of teenage truants looking for trouble. The kids have made their own opportunity to be proactive and to educate themselves. Despite being discredited because of their age elsewhere, they’ve destroyed the misconception that youth are potential ne’er do wells and prove that their potential to be socially aware, intellectual sponges is vast. "I would say that kids have an amazing capacity to organize themselves, they’re just never let to," explains Mark. "So every time any kids start to organize anything or do anything that’s productive people smash it right away. "The girl who organized to try to unionize the first McDonald’s in Canada... she was only 16 when she did that. That’s an amazing undertaking for someone who’s 16. "People just assume that if you’re in high school you’re a moron, but if you look at the eastern European school system, by the time you’re in Grade 9 they expect you to make the decision of whether you want to go to University or trade school. Other cultures, you turn 14 and you’re considered an adult." The musical aspect of the scene is also one of the more diverse in North America as well. You’ll find the hip hop kids dancing alongside the punk rockers and ravers – all getting along and bonded together by a common cause in a safe haven where they’re not gonna be picked up by a drunk, greasy goober in a rusty Camero. "We’re very into diversity of the scene – the Republik and the Warehouse get to give people ’80s dance parties and all these kids love ’80s tunes so where are they gonna get it?" he asks. "JBK thought it would be a fun thing to do, we had punch and everything and we made a really fun event that was for the people who are part of the all-ages scene to go and not feel like they have to be eye candy for some bar creep, you know?"

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