Corin Raymond and the Sundowners

I have a friend who makes regular trips to Nepal. The problem is, because she looks local, as she wends her way past various customs desks in various airports she’s accosted with something more obviously western travellers are not: demands for bribes. Her solution? She stuffs her pockets with Canadian Tire money. By the time the agent is wrinkling his brows at the eccentric political figure on the bills and realizing that all he can purchase with them is a bike pump some 11,000 kilometers distant, her flight is long gone.

Canadian Tire money is possibly a more potent national symbol than our newly plasticized currency, as much as it still tickles me to peer through the transparent film of a new $20 bill. But you may not know that you can purchase art, and specifically great music, with it. No, don’t go to your local store looking for CDs beside the air guns. Whereas classical musicians like Bach or Mozart relied on the gold coins of noble patrons, popular country/folk/roots musician Corin Raymond (who will be at the eBar this Thursday) turned to crowdfunding and financed his latest album, Paper Nickels, entirely with Canadian Tire money donated by fans—over 60 pounds of Sandy McTire’s printed face, worth just over $6000. Corin's innovative approach to music production has earned him wide coverage, including articles in the Globe, Star, and the Wall Street Journal.

But while Corin's methods may be getting the press, it's his product that should get the praise. The result of Corin's efforts is “the world’s first coffee table CD,” which includes not only a generous heaping of fine, warm music, but a 144-age booklet that outlines the stories behind both the songs and the “caper” that allowed him to pull them off.

Corin's CD is coming to our music section soon, and you can come to hear this wonderful musician/storyteller this Thursday at the eBar at 10:00 p.m. (Doors open at 9:30. $18 advance tickets available at Magnolia Café or $20 at the door; $12 students). It should be a evening to remember.

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