At the age of 19 I was driven to write my first full-length screenplay, begin experimenting with Super 8mm film, and study Journalism & the Communicative Arts at Durham College. Upon receiving my degree, I began a long run as a Music Correspondent and critic with Toronto's eye Weekly (since rebranded into The Grid). I moved to the city and continued writing my first novel, Thought Preserve, which I completed in my 21st year. I began to regularly read poetry and prose at Toronto independent literary events, which I pursued for over six years, up until music took over my stage dues, and reached more people.
Over the course of 2002 and '03 I wrote a play called Afternoon, and two full-length screenplays (one an original called Stopgap, the other realizing a story by an aspiring producer). I also conceived my only short story, later published in Strong Words: Year One, An Anthology; and self-published a zine of poetry and art in collaboration with visual artist Sarah Nicole Phillips. It was during this time I began experimenting with drawing and collage.
In 2004 I revised and self-published Thought Preserve. Cartoonist Chester Brown graciously articulated the cover art and design of the book. The realistic and experimental novel was well-received as far as its independent run and promotion could take it, and eventually sold out its first edition in eastern North America alone. This was partially aided by the leg of The Perpetual Motion Road Show I took part in the following year, performing audience-interactive comedy as opposed to reading my literary work. The novel continues to inspire readers to this day, and is in considerable demand.
I was hired as an Assistant Editor and Contributor for Canadian music monthly Exclaim! in 2004, did some work as Music Editor for an independent satire and culture magazine called BOX, and began contributing to American music quarterly Skyscraper.
Kevin Crump and I co-founded the noise-rock group Disguises in the summer of 2005. I played bass and sometimes drums. A steadily evolving band which aggressively blurs the lines between composition and improvisation, Disguises came into its strongest fruition with the additions of guitarist Jon Shapiro later that year, and drummer Randall Gagne in early 2007. This lineup recorded and performed consistently throughout eastern Canada until summer 2010, sharing and occasionally organizing bills alongside such personal favourites as Mouthus, Hair Police, The Nihilist Spasm Band, AIDS Wolf, Paul Flaherty, Gang Gang Dance, The Magik Markers, No-Neck Blues Band, Pengo, Michael Chapman, Vodka Soap, Graveyards, Alexander Hacke, and D. Yellow Swans.
I also began the experimental solo project Kapali Carsi in 2005, and worked for Astral Media as an Underground Music Expert, sequencing and hosting online radio shows for a website based in Montreal. Toronto's The Drake Hotel invited me to curate a noise music forum. Dubbed Sister Ray, it ran monthly from 2005 to 2007, and featured among its local guests such gracious visitors as Aaron Dilloway, Jessica Rylan, and Dreamcatcher.
I launched Inyrdisk in November of 2005. An admittedly small-scale experimental microlabel focused on encouraging underground musicians and bands I know and appreciate, as well as my own music projects, Inyrdisk has since constantly released CD-R, 3", and LP editions in support of challenging artists from Canada, and beyond.
In late 2006 I co-founded the primitive psychedelic noise-rock group Cave Dudes with Bob McCully, which eventually grew to include Randall Gagne. I also wrote, directed, and co-performed a short play alongside performance artist and singer Mark Colborne, which was published soon after in the debut issue of Canadian literary magazine And. Near the end of 2006 I sacrificially parted ways with eye Weekly and Exclaim! and took on full-time labour work in order to support my growing artistic ambitions.
In 2007 I began a two-year stint playing live bass and occasional drums in an early duo incarnation of The Pink Noise, a prolific act which has since relocated to Montreal. I extended my improvisatory repertoire by playing drums for the occasional live show in Ayal Senior's various psychedelic groups, and bass alongside drummer Jack Vorvis in an occasional duo-or-more project.
In summer 2006 I helped co-organize and promote Matthew "Doc" Dunn and Wolfgang Nessel's ambitious 4-night experimental, psychedelic and noise music festival Bummer In The Summer. Named after a song by the band Love, the proceedings took on an eery air when Love frontman Arthur Lee passed away in his hometown of Memphis on the festival's opening date. I documented the proceedings with a feature-length film of the same name, which I edited from almost 35 hours of footage filmed and recorded with the kind help of many of the artists and spectators involved with making the grassroots festival happen. While capturing over 40 groups and performers and weaving a visual narrative with the images I found, I was able to exercise my twofold admiration for the direct cinema approach (pioneered by Richard Leacock, D. A. Pennebaker and The Maysles Brothers), and the fascinating medium of digital video.The soundtrack was recorded by Minesh Mandoda and Craig Dunsmuir, and mastered by Sandro Perri. Leah Buckareff of the band Nadja handcrafted the titles. The film is dedicated to Arthur Lee. I completed it in 2008 and premiered it independently in Toronto and Montreal that autumn. It was also an official selection of the 2009 New York International Independent Film + Video Festival. Sarah Liss at eye Weekly described the two-hour freak-out as "epic", "dreamy and raucous". "A non-narrative documentary that splices live performances with loads of eardrum-shattering sounds and impressionistic imagery", and the performances it captures "a bacchanalian orgy". Exclaim! responded to the festival with Michael Barclay's revealingly titled feature story Torontopia, and Cam Lindsay's write-up about the film.
2008 also saw the release of Disguises' Post-Mortem Depression LP, which was produced by Dale Morningstar and released on Wintage Records & Tapes. The album received notable praise from eye Weekly (**** out of 5), Foxy Digitalis (10/10), and respected musicians and artists John Olson (Wolf Eyes, American Tapes) and Chloe Lum (AIDS Wolf, Seripop), both of whom listed the record among their favourites of the year.
Throughout 2009 I played bass guitar in a frenzy of live shows with Magic Cheezies, a hooks-heavy punk band fronted by drummer Mark McLean (ex-The Sick Lipstick & Black Cat #13) and singer/guitarist Heather Curley (ex-DD/MM/YYYY). I also co-directed a short film, Hidden Windows, in collaboration with multi-disciplinary artist Vanessa Rieger, which has since screened as part of curated exhibitions in Toronto, Montreal and Halifax.
Likewise, my short silent film Dwight Leaves has screened in Toronto, and Alluvium in Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax. Alluvium (featuring music by Jim O'Rourke) was issued as part of the DVD element of the 2009 debut issue of palimpsest, a multi-media magazine based in Montreal. My Super 8mm films were independently available from 2006 to 2011 as the Four Short Films DVD-R, which you can rent at Queen Video in Toronto.
2010 witnessed Inyrdisk at its most prolific, issuing 13 releases including the homespun label's first LP record (Gettin' Personial by Clinton Machine) and a free compilation CD-R called Street Liquors featuring 22 Toronto and area artists and groups, as well as Damo Suzuki. This year I directed, produced and edited two music videos for Randall Gagne's synthedelic pop project Man Made Hill. I also had some new poems published in Volume One of OLD Quarterly.
2011 continued the constant run of Inyrdisk releases while I mellowed out my musical ambitions and parted ways with Disguises, who continue to play in various configurations. Likewise, Cave Dudes fell into a state of hibernation some time in 2010, but may rise again when the sun hits the right spot.
Kapali Carsi has some new releases coming out soon or recently on Beniffer Editions, Der Schoene-Hjuler-Memorial-Fond, Pleasence Records, Hissing Frames, and Wintage. To date I've deconstructed the bass guitar and/or drums on 38 art-edition releases, and have curated 46 releases for other musicians or groups with Inyrdisk.
These days I'm working full time on my new novel, and preparing a feature film adaptation. This new novel won the 2011 Canzine event's 1-2-Punch Book Pitch contest. The presiding judges were Fiona Smyth, Amy Logan Holmes, and Evan Munday. The feature film is an adaptation of the memoirs from a troubled young girl named Renee.
Kindly write kevin.hainey@gmail.com about anything at all, really.
