2025 Recap in our asses

Oh! I forgot to do that "2025 Recap" that I saw people do: like many people, 2025 was incredibly difficult and painful but there were some really good things (and great friendships). My anxiety is getting worse. I'm so tired of trying my best.

The Birthday Experience Friday Jan 2 plus: Ann Magnuson Luv Show, classic The Jades YouTube vid from 1992

Ann Magnuson and her impeccable band performed the 30th anniversary of The Luv Show album these past two Sundays, and it was one (two) of the greatest shows I've ever seen! Legends! Ann has (and continues to be) such an important influence on me and an inspiration. I feel very honored to have been asked to introduce Ann as the character of "some kind of swinger" with the "1995 Ann." I was sent this stealthy video of Ann granting me a wish with her magic wand -however, my wish was already true then and there! This show went through so many moods: yes, it was funny, but there were plenty of emotional goosebumps, too.

The Birthday Experience happens again this Friday, January 2nd, 2026! We know NYE is overrated and full of scary drunk pukers who are still puking New Years Day -or shopping for deals, so JANUARY 2nd is where the party is at with The Birthday Experience! This show is so much FUN!!! This particular Birthday Experience is a very puppet heavy show. Maybe accordion and PowerPoint too! This Month’s very Special Guests are Cryptid Cabaret (two puppeteers and an accordion player!) and Land Smith (comedy!) Free admission if it's your birthday week!!!*
"It's your birthday -whether it's your birthday or not!" Even if it's not yours -or anyone's birthday ever- you can come to this birthday party comedy variety show and have so much fun! The Birthday Experience features Robert Dayton as your excitable host, wonderful puppeteer Molly Fite with Puppet Molly -a very good dancer, along with bandleader and sparkling keyboardist Lance Piebenga, and George Chen as substitute clown Mike Hans! Yayyyy! A gaggle of new friends for the audience to visit each and every show! There's also FREE CAKE, balloons, prizes, and surprises! And loads more birthday style entertainment!
*with proof of photo ID
TIX:
https://www.elysiantheater.com/shows/birthdayexperience0102

I have just uploaded a 1992 VHS of The Jades playing Vancouver, BC's 50 Bourbon bar in The Hildon to my Youtube channel. Link in bio. Thanks to @tape_losangeles for digitizing: support them. The Jades played "Music You Will Remember." Keyboardist and band leader George Hillaby gave me this VHS in the 1990's. The Jades were the house band at The 50 Bourbon bar in The Hildon Hotel for some time. My oldest brother Frank and his friends lived there on a month-to-month with a hotplate in the mid-1980s before they politely asked him to move for the Expo 86 worlds' fair tourism dollars. The Jades had previously played at the nearby Metropole bar, all on Vancouver's downtown east side, an area that may be the origin of the term "skid row." Prior to The Jades playing at the 50 Bourbon, the bar was a strip club for a spell and the owners never bothered to remove the pole giving a split screen effect to the video which was set up by The Jades' drummer Jerry (no last name found), probably on a tripod. The bar still exists but has been extensively renovated. As seen by the opening moments of this video, people used to sell contraband goods like meat and cheese, probably taken from nearby stores like The Army and Navy department store next door (a unique building/s that was separated by an alley). Across the street for a time was the Cruel Elephant which booked a lot of local and touring bands like The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion who would often come delight to the sounds of The Jades. Before starting the Jades, George was an active musician in the 1940s in Alberta with his own regular 15 minute radio show. He told me that he played with such popular Canadian musicians of the day as fiddler King Ganam, along with Gaby Haas and his Barn Dance Gang. He stopped playing music for many years to focus on an accounting career before starting The Jades. Besides George and Jerry, Norm Shackle was the saxophonist alternating with David (unsure). George also played in my band July Fourth Toilet: the name given to us by Zip Code Rapists (Gregg Turkington and @fieldtone ) when I interviewed them for my zine while we were watching The Jades.
#thejades #georgehillaby #vancouverbc
I can only post a snippet here but the full video is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqE2Rogr5AE

The Gong Show Movie: The Robert Downey Sr Reader

I wrote about The Gong Show Movie (one of my favourite movies) for The Robert Downey Sr Reader edited by Kier-La Janisse and Clint Enns. And holy smokes, this book is a very comprehensive guide to the work of Robert Downey Sr with loads of essays by smart and interesting people! Get it here:
www.spectacularoptical.com

TAPE Promathon this Sunday 5 PM Nov 16! and also group art show tonight LA!

This is gonna be a blast and for a great cause!!!! I am excited to get all sweaty and Jerry Lewissy at 5 pm sunday OMG!!! I’ll be doing 5-7 then Grace Freud does 7-9 and it’s four hours of fantasticness for TAPE!!! Dig deep into your wallets!

https://studios.wearebraindead.com/movies/prom-night-t-a-p-e-gala-fundraiser/

Mark your calendars, book a limo, and join T.A.P.E. Los Angeles as they close out the year strong with one last fundraiser party — It’s a PROM-A-THON!

Hosted by: Grace Freud and Robert Dayton

Featuring video synth portraits on the patio, installations, direct animation stations, fun drinks, and a slew of special guest performances, video submissions, and call-ins!

T.A.P.E. is fundraising for greater access to personal home media! Funds will be used for building more A/V racks for digitizing magnetic tape media, equipment rental upgrades, professional financial services, and stipends for all volunteers cooperatively working together.

Tune in for the live stream if you can’t make it!

Co-hosted by: Whammy! and Telefantasy Studios

Time: 5 – 9 PM

  • $20 – Chaperone

  • $40 – BFF Forever

    1. Complimentary Beverage

  • $60 – Patron of the Arts

  • Complimentary Beverage + Food

Sliding scale tickets available at the door.


Also I am in a group art show at MutMuz Gallery:
https://www.mutmuzgallery.com/
971 Chung King Road

Los Angeles, CA

90012

The Birthday Experience Friday Nov 7th

Link:
https://www.elysiantheater.com/shows/birthdayexperience1107
Free admission if it's your birthday week!!!*

This Month’s very Special Guests include Dani Colucci, George Avaliotis and Fawn Winters (star of BabyCat -it's on Tubi)!

"Like a birthday party gone totally awry!" -anonymous influencer/bot

"It's your birthday -whether it's your birthday or not!"

Even if it's not yours -or anyone's birthday ever- you can come to this birthday party comedy variety show and have so much fun!

The Birthday Experience features Robert Dayton as your excitable host, wonderful puppeteer Molly Fite with Puppet Molly -a very good dancer, along with bandleader and sparkling keyboardist Lance Piebenga, and George Chen as substitute clown Mike Hans! Yayyyy! A gaggle of new friends for the audience to visit each and every show!

There's also FREE CAKE, balloons, prizes, and surprises! And loads more birthday style entertainment!

*with proof of photo ID

July Fourth Toilet Balls Boogie and Points Gray available from Zum!

Zum Audio is now carrying increasingly rare copies of July Fourth Toilet's second album (with rad booklet) for you to order. A special Canadian band I helped form. Purchase here:
https://www.zumonline.com/products/july-fourth-toilet-presents-balls-boogie-featuring-me-and-bobby-mcgee-plus-kentucky-whore-and-many-others-lp
And Points Gray, the acid downer folk LP with Dan Bejar (Julian Lawrence) and Julian Lawrence here:
https://www.zumonline.com/products/points-gray-offshore-lp?pr_prod_strat=pinned&pr_rec_id=d58db83a3&pr_rec_pid=8592224977063&pr_ref_pid=8597123727527&pr_seq=uniform


Julian Cope wrote, " What do I say of a reprobate eight man/one woman ensemble ...that just delivered 13 songs of extreme diversity, ranging from Death C&W to Soviet-powered Detroit Space Rock, via wonderfully excruciating mush-mouthed male-female Vow Renewals and Sober’d Up confessionals. For fans of Destroy All Monsters (all periods, kiddies), Armand Schaubroeuk Steals, the Afrika Corps."

"If people in Vancouver had any taste or intelligence they would have long-ago embraced and canonized this ambitious, outrageous bizarrely brilliant performance art rock band that surveys pop history's greatest moments and transmutes them into weird gold", then this is the new album by the legendary (italics) July Fourth Toilet. Paying homage to the finest aspects of the 1970s; the weary magic of Kristofferson's voice, hair salon culture (and its cultural brother, the arm wrestling fad), shameless drug use, and ess eee ex (italics)! When I say this record is heavy, I mean some kind of otherwordly heaviness that Jack kirby would write about in one of his doesn't-quite-make-sense, making you question his ability as a writer Fourth World pseudo-science moments! Seriously heavy!"
-Roctober Magazine, 2009
"Riding their truck through a cornucopia of styles, the oddly named July Fourth Toilet are a force to be reckoned with on their album Balls Boogie"

-Ptolemaic Terrascope
Formed 1994 with a no 2 shows the same mandate and continued for 25 years, July Fourth Toilet ritualistically combines and transcends pop songcraft, versatile musicianship, etc, named by Gregg Turkington and John Singer of Zip Code Rapists from the Turkington list.

The Birthday Experience Fri Oct 3 with Harvey Sid Fisher, Rachel Troy, and Colombina

Tix and info here:
https://www.elysiantheater.com/shows/birthdayexperience1003

"It's your birthday -whether it's your birthday or not!"

Even if it's not yours -or anyone's birthday ever- you can come to this birthday party comedy variety show and have so much fun!

The Birthday Experience features Robert Dayton as your excitable host, wonderful puppeteer Molly Fite with Puppet Molly -a very good dancer, along with bandleader and sparkling keyboardist Lance Piebenga, and substitute clown George Chen as Mike Hans! Yayyyy! A gaggle of new friends for the audience to visit each and every show!

Featuring Special Guests: Astrology Songs by Harvey Sid Fisher! Rachel Troy! Colombina!

There's also FREE CAKE, balloons, prizes, and surprises! And loads more birthday style entertainment!

*Doors open at 8:15pm, show starts at 8:30pm*

-Seating begins 15 minutes before showtime, there is NO LATE SEATING. -Seating is general admission - seats are available on a first come first serve basis, from the front of the theater to the back. If you want to sit closer, be sure to arrive earlier. -Shows start no later than 10 MINUTES after the scheduled show time. -We will have a standby line for sold out shows 30 minutes before doors open. If there are no-shows that create open seats, we will be able to sell additional tickets. -In the event of a sold out show, ticketholders who arrive 30 minutes after show start may lose their seats to the standby line. No refunds. *Lineup subject to change *No item minimum *TICKETS ARE NON-TRANSFERABLE | We do NOT honor tickets through third party sellers.

WHAMMY SOV SEPT UH OH CANADIA BEYOND THE 7TH DOOR Sept 19th

Canada bursts into Los Angeles for Uh Oh, Canadia!, a series focused on screening the more peculiar pockets of Canadian culture programmed by Robert Dayton, an actual Canadian (how exotic). You don't have to be Canadian to enjoy this, treat Canada as the weird, parallel universe that it is. Explore Canada through movies. You'll love it.
https://www.whammyanalog.com/events/sov-september-beyond-the-seventh-door-1987-pres-by-uh-oh-canadia

‍PART OF SOV SEPTEMBER, all month long at Whammy!
1987 was a great year for movie (just one) because that is the year of this movie Beyond The Seventh Door. Forget about the first sixth doors, hell, throw out the seventh because we are going BEYOND all logic centres. Star Lazar Rockwood has been compared to Tommy Wiseau but there's no one quite like Lazar, you will be completely transfixed by Lazar's unique approach to acting and line delivery -and his curiously Eastern European looks. Plus he's wearing a Canadian tuxedo, ie. double denim!
What's it about? One last heist! Who lives? Who dies? Who shits? Who eats? Will Boris (Lazar Rockwood) and Wendy (Bonnie Beck, props to her gusto) be able to escape each unique puzzle room of death? Will the sexual tension feel unnatural and forced? Was the later Canadian movie Cube taking notes? Cube was never filmed in a basement warehouse and we, the audience, get bargains in this basement. Did I say "filmed"? oops! It's SOV (September) making us feel like we are right there with them! Is this action, thriller, or horror? Find out! Do not watch alone, but you can come alone -or whatever- and watch it with all of us at Whammy. Best seen with a crowd. If Boris had a tattoo it would read "NO REGERTS."

-Robert Dayton, Uh Oh Canadia! host

Special Canadian pre-show and a musical number from your host Robert Dayton.

dir. Bozidar D. Benedikt, 1987

83 min (plus pre show)

‍Whammy, 2514 Sunset (entrance in rear off Rampart)


Canada bursts into Los Angeles for Uh Oh, Canadia!,
a series focused on screening the more peculiar pockets of Canadian
culture programmed by Robert Dayton, an actual Canadian (how exotic).
You don't have to be Canadian to enjoy this, treat Canada as the weird,
parallel universe that it is. Explore Canada through movies. You'll love
it.

‍1987 was a great year for movie (just one) because that is the year of this movie Beyond The Seventh Door.
Forget about the first sixth doors, hell, throw out the seventh because
we are going BEYOND all logic centres. Star Lazar Rockwood has been
compared to Tommy Wiseau but there's no one quite like Lazar, you will
be completely transfixed by Lazar's unique approach to acting and line
delivery -and his curiously Eastern European looks. Plus he's wearing a
Canadian tuxedo, ie. double denim!
What's it about? One last heist!
Who lives? Who dies? Who shits? Who eats? Will Boris (Lazar Rockwood)
and Wendy (Bonnie Beck, props to her gusto) be able to escape each
unique puzzle room of death? Will the sexual tension feel unnatural
and forced? Was the later Canadian movie Cube taking notes? Cube
was never filmed in a basement warehouse and we, the audience, get
bargains in this basement. Did I say "filmed"? oops! It's SOV
(September) making us feel like we are right there with them! Is this
action, thriller, or horror? Find out! Do not watch alone, but you can
come alone -or whatever- and watch it with all of us at Whammy. Best
seen with a crowd. If Boris had a tattoo it would read "NO REGERTS."

-Robert Dayton, Uh Oh Canadia! host

Special Canadian pre-show and a musical number from your host Robert Dayton.

dir. Bozidar D. Benedikt, 1987

83 min (plus pre show)

‍Whammy, 2514 Sunset (entrance in rear off Rampart)

"It's your birthday whether it's your birthday or not!"
Even if it's not yours -or anyone's birthday ever- you can come to this birthday party comedy variety show and have so much fun! There's also FREE CAKE, balloons, prizes, and surprises! And loads more birthday style entertainment!
Our special guests this month are Major Entertainer! Reshma Meister!
And it's the one year birthday of The Elysian Vault!
The Birthday Experience features Robert Dayton as your excitable host, wonderful puppeteer Molly Fite with Puppet Molly -a very good dancer, along with bandleader and sparkling keyboardist Lance Piebenga and substitute clown George Chen as Mike Hans! Yayyyy! A gaggle of new friends for the audience to visit each and every show!
Our wig sponsor is Outfitters Wig!
Please do share and tell your pals as this really is lotsa FUN!
TIX:
https://www.elysiantheater.com/shows/birthdayexperience0905

The Birthday Experience Friday, August 15th The Elysian Los Angeles!

Tix and info here:
https://www.elysiantheater.com/shows/birthdayexperience0815

"It's your birthday -whether it's your birthday or not!"

Even if it's not yours -or anyone's birthday ever- you can come to this birthday party comedy variety show and have so much fun!

The Birthday Experience features Robert Dayton as your excitable host, wonderful puppeteer Molly Fite with Puppet Molly -a very good dancer, along with bandleader and sparkling keyboardist Lance Piebenga, and substitute clown George Chen as Mike Hans! Yayyyy! A gaggle of new friends for the audience to visit each and every show!
This month's very Special Guests are: Clowns Of Color! Soiled Doilies!
They will surprise and amaze you!

There's also FREE CAKE, balloons, prizes, and surprises! And loads more birthday style entertainment!

The Birthday Experience Friday, July 18 The Elysian Los Angeles!

Tix and info here:
https://www.elysiantheater.com/shows/birthdayexperience0718
"It's your birthday -whether it's your birthday or not!"

Even if it's not yours -or anyone's birthday ever- you can come to this birthday party comedy variety show and have so much fun!

The Birthday Experience features Robert Dayton as your excitable host, wonderful puppeteer Molly Fite with Puppet Molly -a very good dancer, along with bandleader and sparkling keyboardist Lance Piebenga, and substitute clown George Chen as Mike Hans! Yayyyy! A gaggle of new friends for the audience to visit each and every show! This month's very Special Guests are: Megan Koester (comedy!) Simone Turkington (magic!)

There's also FREE CAKE, balloons, prizes, and surprises! And loads more birthday style entertainment!

Our proud wig sponsor: Outfitters Wig

Cold Glitter LA book launch! Wed July 2nd at Philosophical Research Society


Wowowowow this event will be incredible! Ever been to The Philosophical Research Society? You really should go! Incredible place!
Link here:
LA PRS Tix and info
Elbows up, USA! Canadian content alert! Come join us for the Los Angeles launch of the Feral House book "Cold Glitter: The Untold Story of Canadian Glam" at The Philosophical Research Society with author Robert Dayton in person reading (out LOUD) with a multi-media presentation — PLUS a scintillating live performance by The Canadian Romantic!

And there's sure to be some surprises! DO NOT MISS!


Books will be available for signing by the author.


COLD GLITTER: THE UNTOLD STORY OF CANADIAN GLAM

Multi-disciplinary artist Robert Dayton taps his Canadian roots to reveal mind-blowing stories of musicians fighting to be heard. Published by Feral House, Cold Glitter covers Glam Rock in Canada with style and humor and explores the universality of creating music and art far from cultural capitals. This book is a voyage of PIZZAZZAMATAZZ for anyone interested in excitement and Glam in general as well as those most curious about under-acknowledged parts of Canadian cultural history. Over 400 pages of excitement!

Countless original interviews (Sweeney Todd! Rough Trade! Fludd! Crackers! Danger! Aut’Chose!)... This book documents Glam in Canada primarily in the 1970s. Anything with a bit of pixie dust that is outrageous and kicks against Canadian cultural conservatism involving music, fashion, strong visuals, gender play, and performance.


ABOUT ROBERT DAYTON

Originally from Fort St. John, British Columbia, Robert Dayton is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer, performer, and comedian. His previous book The Empty Bed published by Impulse[b] is a pen-and-ink humor book about heartbreak. He has acted in independent movies, including one called “Male Fantasy.” He hosts the monthly Birthday Experience variety show at The Elysian Vault and the Uh Oh Canadia screening series at Whammy. His collaborative musical performance and recording projects include song-and-dance duo Canned Hamm, the 'no two shows the same' multi-piece July Fourth Toilet, acid-downer-folk group Points Gray, and Romantic Glam band Hallmark. He has been a muse to such diverse artists as Destroyer and Tonetta, who have each written songs about him with such titles as "Canadian Lover." He holds an MFA from The University of Waterloo.


www.robertdayton.com
Instagram: @therobertdayton
Bluesky: @robertdayton.bsky.social


ABOUT THE CANADIAN ROMANTIC

The Canadian Romantic is a character that Robert Dayton has been doing since 2010 to hopefully make people feel more attractive. The Canadian Romantic exists through live performance, a series of videos, an upcoming album on Unisex, a winking photo sigil, a doll, and an art book published by PITT Projects/Publication Studios Vancouver. The Canadian Romantic is a melodramatic figure of faded glamour who tries to bridge and explore the gap between Canada and romance with somewhat dubious results. The Canadian Romantic has performed across North America opening for such acts as Neil Hamburger, Ann Magnuson, Tim Heidecker, Bobby Conn, Matthew Thurber & Brian Bellott, Marker Starling, and more.


Ticket price: $10 (in person only event)

Please email events@prs.org or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions

The Birthday Experience LA April 11! Montreal book launch April 24! New York April 29!

Hi friends so much happening! First in LA, The Birthday Experience which features Robert Dayton as your excitable host, wonderful puppeteer Molly Fite with Puppet Molly -a very good dancer, along with bandleader and sparkling keyboardist Lance Piebenga, and substitute clown George Chen as Mike Hans! "It's your birthday -whether it's your birthday or not!" Even if it's not yours -or anyone's birthday ever- you can come to this birthday party comedy variety show and have so much fun! Yayyyy! A gaggle of new friends for the audience to visit each and every show! Plus this month's very Special Guests: the mysterious Guacadacadon!Planets Planets Planets, "an alt comedy troupe that uses improv, clown and sketch to unpack different astrological moments in time. The cast is composed of 10 femme and non-binary LA based comedians and artists, each personifying a planet with an absurd zodiacal world!" There's also FREE CAKE, balloons, prizes, and surprises! And loads more birthday style entertainment!
Tickets: https://www.elysiantheater.com/shows/birthdayexperience0411

Then I am doing two book events! Montreal on April 24th! The Montreal book launch of "Cold Glitter: The Untold Story Of Canadian Glam" at 7:30 PM at Northstar Machines à Piastres (3908 Blvd St Laurent) with author Robert Dayton in person and a panel of our special guest Montreal Glam Rock legends Angelo Finaldi, Pierre Bellemare (Danger), Pierre Gauthier (Aut'Chose, Eclipse), Nick Catalano (Mack), and punker Alan Lord (Pagan Gurus) too! And there's sure to be some surprises! DO NOT MISS! Free event with books for sale. Cold Glitter is a book published by Feral House that covers Glam Rock in Canada with style and humor and explores the universality of creating music and art far from cultural capitals. This book is a voyage of PIZZAZZAMATAZZ for anyone interested in excitement and Glam in general as well as those most curious about underacknowledged parts of Canadian cultural history.

New York Tuesday April 29th! 7:30 PM! Village Works (12 St Marks Place)! I’ll be reading from Cold Glitter and performing! FREE and books for sale!
I’ll be on Evan “Funk” Davies’ radio show the next day April 30th as well to talk about the book on WFMU/wfmu.org, heard Wednesdays from noon-3pm Eastern!
And then performing at the Idiots Hour at Baker Falls at 8 PM April 30.