Caroline Azar
Encyclopedia
Caroline Azar is a Canadian director, actor, and playwright of Lebanese Sephardic origin. She was the lead singer, keyboardist and co-lyricist/composer of the band Fifth Column.
This experimental
all-women
punk
band began in the mid 1980s in Toronto, Ontario. The band released three albums, several cassettes, a number of appearances on various compilations, and three singles, the best known being "All Women Are Bitches, Repeat!
", released on the independent record label
K Records
. Despite the controversy surrounding the song, it was reviewed by Everett True
and named 'Single of the Week' in the UK
music magazine Melody Maker
.
The song was also included on the bands' last full-length recording, 36-C
. Their previous albums were To Sir With Hate and All-Time Queen Of The World, put out by the band themselves. Their most recent release was the song "Imbecile", which appeared on the Fields and Streams compilation in 2002 on the Kill Rock Stars
label.
Caroline Azar has also recorded with several other bands including Kickstand from New York
, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
, Greek Buck
, and The Hidden Cameras
from Toronto.
Along with G.B. Jones, Jena von Brucker, Johnny Noxzema, Rex, and others, Caroline Azar was one of the editors of Double Bill, a zine
that was sometimes referred to as an "anti-zine" and provoked much commentary, including articles in The Village Voice
, from its inception in 1991 until 2001, when it ceased publication. The editors of Double Bill also contributed collectively to the seminal Riot Grrrl
fanzine
, Girl Germs
.
Caroline Azar has appeared in a number of films, as well as on television. She stars in the lead role in the films The Troublemakers and The Yo-Yo Gang
by G.B. Jones, and appeared in films, videos and performances on television by Fifth Column. She has also played characters in films for noted directors such as Jeremy Podeswa
, Midi Onodera
and Bruce LaBruce
. She has done extensive voiceover work for many productions, including the narration for the feature documentary on the Orange Revolution
in the Ukraine
, Colour Me Free. As well, she has acted in a number of stage productions, such as the performance of Cut by Kevin Killian
, The Molly Murders by Anthony Furey, for which she was selected "Outstanding Performer" by Now Magazine, and Phae by Julian Doucet.
Caroline Azar is also a director. She directed the music videos for Sylvia Tyson's Quartette and for Bob Wiseman
's song "Airplane On The Highway", which had been originally released in 1989, then re-released on the compilation In Of By in 1994 when the video was made, and then again in 2009. She has directed over 20 plays; most recently, the 2010 production of The Getaway by Bruce Hunter, at the Toronto Fringe Festival
.
As well as being a director, directorial assistant for the Judith Thompson
productions of Perfect Pie
, , Habitat, Capture Me and Body and Soul, story editor, and dramaturg for other writers, Azar has also written several plays, including Satan's Mistress, The Surreal Detective vs John Nothing and Man-O-Rexic. Man-O-Rexic featured songs written in collaboration with Fifth Column alumni G. B. Jones and Beverly Breckenridge
along with Joel Gibb
of The Hidden Cameras. Azar is responsible for designing classes that delivers a proactive method for actors and theatre/ film writers called the ARCHIVAL TECHNIQUE.
Awards
Awards received include:
- Canada Council of The Arts, Professional Development Award, 2000;
- Ontario Arts Council Multi Disciplinarian Award, 1998;
- Theatre Ontario Professional Development Award, 1999;
- Toronto Arts Council Award, 1998;
- Laidlaw Foundation Award, 1998;
- Buddies and Bad Times Theatre Playwrights' Reserve, 2003;
- Factor Recording Grant, CITY TV 1991;
- Factor Video Grant, CITY TV 1993;
Raves and recognitions
- New York Times 1993;
- Rolling Stone Magazine 1993,
- New Musical Express 1993,
- Melody Maker 1993,
- The Toronto Sun 1992,
- C Magazine,
- LA Weekly,
- LA Times,
- Maximum Rock n Roll,
- Impact Magazine,
- Melody Maker,
- Spin Magazine,
- Now Magazine,
- Toronto Life,
- Globe and Mail,
- The Eye,
- Trouser Press,
- The Chart,
- Spin Magazine.
This experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
all-women
All-women band
An all-female band is a musical group composed of female musicians exclusively. A distinction is made here with a girl group, in which the members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universally followed.-1920s-1940s:In the Jazz Age and during the 1930s, "all-girl" bands such as...
punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band began in the mid 1980s in Toronto, Ontario. The band released three albums, several cassettes, a number of appearances on various compilations, and three singles, the best known being "All Women Are Bitches, Repeat!
All Women Are Bitches
All Women Are Bitches is a song by the Toronto band Fifth Column.The lyrics were written by Caroline Azar and G.B. Jones and the music was composed by Fifth Column. The single was produced by Walter Sobczak at Wellesley Sound Studios in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.The cover featured photos from the G.B...
", released on the independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
K Records
K Records
K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and presently in the bands Dub Narcotic Sound System and The Hive Dwellers...
. Despite the controversy surrounding the song, it was reviewed by Everett True
Everett True
For the cartoon character, see The Outbursts of Everett True.Everett True is a British music journalist, who grew up in Chelmsford, Essex...
and named 'Single of the Week' in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music magazine Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
.
The song was also included on the bands' last full-length recording, 36-C
36-C
- Personnel :*Caroline Azar – vocals, keyboards*Beverly Breckenridge – bass, background vocals*Michelle Breslin – guitar, background vocals*Jena von Brücker – photography, background vocal*Torry Colichio – drums...
. Their previous albums were To Sir With Hate and All-Time Queen Of The World, put out by the band themselves. Their most recent release was the song "Imbecile", which appeared on the Fields and Streams compilation in 2002 on the Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...
label.
Caroline Azar has also recorded with several other bands including Kickstand from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet were a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best-known for the track "Having an Average Weekend," which was used as the theme to the Canadian sketch comedy TV show The Kids in the Hall...
, Greek Buck
Greek Buck
Greek Buck were a Canadian musical duo, consisting of Don Pyle and Andrew Zealley. They are best known for "Spunk", the theme song to the American television series Queer as Folk...
, and The Hidden Cameras
The Hidden Cameras
The Hidden Cameras are a Canadian indie pop band. Fronted by singer-songwriter Joel Gibb, the band consists of a varying roster of musicians who play what Gibb once described as "gay church folk music"...
from Toronto.
Along with G.B. Jones, Jena von Brucker, Johnny Noxzema, Rex, and others, Caroline Azar was one of the editors of Double Bill, a zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
that was sometimes referred to as an "anti-zine" and provoked much commentary, including articles in The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, from its inception in 1991 until 2001, when it ceased publication. The editors of Double Bill also contributed collectively to the seminal Riot Grrrl
Riot grrrl
Riot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement based in Washington, DC, Olympia, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and the greater Pacific Northwest which existed in the early to mid-1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism...
fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
, Girl Germs
Girl Germs
Girl Germs was a zine created by University of Oregon students Allison Wolfe and Molly Neuman, both members of the band Bratmobile.Feminism was influential in the Pacific Northwest in the early nineties: Girl Germs heralded an explosion of zines that accompanied the rebirth of feminism...
.
Caroline Azar has appeared in a number of films, as well as on television. She stars in the lead role in the films The Troublemakers and The Yo-Yo Gang
The Yo-Yo Gang
The Yo-Yo Gang is a thirty minute 'exploitation movie' about girl gangs released in 1992 that has become a cult film.Directed by G.B. Jones, this 'no budget film' follows the exploits of two girl gangs, the "Yo-Yo Gang" and the "Skateboard Bitches", as a gangwar erupts between them...
by G.B. Jones, and appeared in films, videos and performances on television by Fifth Column. She has also played characters in films for noted directors such as Jeremy Podeswa
Jeremy Podeswa
Jeremy Podeswa is a Canadian/American film and television director. He is best known for directing the films The Five Senses and Fugitive Pieces . He has also worked as Director on the television shows Six Feet Under, Nip/Tuck, The Tudors, Queer as Folk, and the HBO World War II miniseries The...
, Midi Onodera
Midi Onodera
Midi Onodera is an award-winning Japanese-Canadian filmmaker. Her work is short and feature-length films and videos, and is exhibited internationally....
and Bruce LaBruce
Bruce LaBruce
Bruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:...
. She has done extensive voiceover work for many productions, including the narration for the feature documentary on the Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
in the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Colour Me Free. As well, she has acted in a number of stage productions, such as the performance of Cut by Kevin Killian
Kevin Killian
Kevin Killian is an American poet, author, and playwright of primarily LGBT literature. He is also a highly regarded editor. My Vocabulary Did This to Me: The Collected Poetry of Jack Spicer, which he co-edited with Peter Gizzi, won the American Book Award for poetry in 2009...
, The Molly Murders by Anthony Furey, for which she was selected "Outstanding Performer" by Now Magazine, and Phae by Julian Doucet.
Caroline Azar is also a director. She directed the music videos for Sylvia Tyson's Quartette and for Bob Wiseman
Bob Wiseman
Bob Wiseman is a Juno winning Canadian musician, filmmaker, singer-songwriter, and actor. Wiseman was an original member of Blue Rodeo.-Career:Wiseman was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He studied piano at York University...
's song "Airplane On The Highway", which had been originally released in 1989, then re-released on the compilation In Of By in 1994 when the video was made, and then again in 2009. She has directed over 20 plays; most recently, the 2010 production of The Getaway by Bruce Hunter, at the Toronto Fringe Festival
Toronto Fringe Festival
The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival, featuring uncensored plays by unknown or well-known artists, taking place in the theatres of Toronto. Several productions originally mounted at the Fringe have later been remounted for larger audiences, including the Tony Award-winning...
.
As well as being a director, directorial assistant for the Judith Thompson
Judith Thompson
Judith Clare Thompson, OC is a Canadian playwright who lives in Toronto, Ontario. Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail once declared that "...in this country, a playwright as good as Judith Thompson is a miracle." She has twice been awarded the Governor General's Award for drama, and is the...
productions of Perfect Pie
Perfect Pie
Perfect Pie is a play written by Judith Thompson, and first staged at Toronto's Tarragon Theatre in 2000, with Judith Thompson also directing....
, , Habitat, Capture Me and Body and Soul, story editor, and dramaturg for other writers, Azar has also written several plays, including Satan's Mistress, The Surreal Detective vs John Nothing and Man-O-Rexic. Man-O-Rexic featured songs written in collaboration with Fifth Column alumni G. B. Jones and Beverly Breckenridge
Beverly Breckenridge
Beverly Breckenridge is a musician, composer, and actress from Toronto, Ontario. She played bass for the bands Fifth Column and Phono-Comb.In 1986, Beverly Breckenridge joined the post-punk experimental band Fifth Column...
along with Joel Gibb
Joel Gibb
Joel Gibb is a Berlin-based Canadian artist and singer-songwriter who leads the "gay church folk" group The Hidden Cameras. He was born in Kincardine, Ontario.-Career:...
of The Hidden Cameras. Azar is responsible for designing classes that delivers a proactive method for actors and theatre/ film writers called the ARCHIVAL TECHNIQUE.
Films
- Colour Me Free directed by Areta Lloyd (2007)
- Touch directed by Jeremy PodeswaJeremy PodeswaJeremy Podeswa is a Canadian/American film and television director. He is best known for directing the films The Five Senses and Fugitive Pieces . He has also worked as Director on the television shows Six Feet Under, Nip/Tuck, The Tudors, Queer as Folk, and the HBO World War II miniseries The...
(2001) - She's Real directed by Lucy ThaneLucy ThaneLucy Thane is a documentary filmmaker.One of her most notable works is It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill In The UK in which she followed the 1990s riot grrrl band Bikini Kill while they were on tour in the UK with Huggy Bear....
(1997) - Evelyn Be My Valentine directed by Virginia Rankin (1995)
- Airplane On The Highway video for Bob WisemanBob WisemanBob Wiseman is a Juno winning Canadian musician, filmmaker, singer-songwriter, and actor. Wiseman was an original member of Blue Rodeo.-Career:Wiseman was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He studied piano at York University...
, directed by Caroline Azar (1994) - The Yo-Yo GangThe Yo-Yo GangThe Yo-Yo Gang is a thirty minute 'exploitation movie' about girl gangs released in 1992 that has become a cult film.Directed by G.B. Jones, this 'no budget film' follows the exploits of two girl gangs, the "Yo-Yo Gang" and the "Skateboard Bitches", as a gangwar erupts between them...
directed by G.B. Jones (1992) - No Skin Off My AssNo Skin off My AssNo Skin Off My Ass is a 1993 comedy-drama film by Bruce LaBruce.Filmed in black and white, this is LaBruce's debut feature film, in which he plays the role of a punk hairdresser with Klaus von Brücker as the skinhead with whom he is obsessed. G.B...
directed by Bruce LaBruceBruce LaBruceBruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:...
(1991) - Like This video for Fifth Column, directed by Bruce LaBruceBruce LaBruceBruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:...
and Fifth Column (1990) - The Troublemakers directed by G.B. Jones (1990)
- One If By Land, Two If By Sea, directed by Midi OnoderaMidi OnoderaMidi Onodera is an award-winning Japanese-Canadian filmmaker. Her work is short and feature-length films and videos, and is exhibited internationally....
(1984) - Fifth Column at the Funnel directed by John Porter (1983)
- The Bird That Chirped On Bathurst, directed by Midi OnoderaMidi OnoderaMidi Onodera is an award-winning Japanese-Canadian filmmaker. Her work is short and feature-length films and videos, and is exhibited internationally....
(1981)
Discography
(For Fifth Column recordings, see Fifth Column)- Mississauga GoddamMississauga GoddamMississauga Goddam is a 2004 album by The Hidden Cameras.The title is an allusion to Nina Simone's civil rights anthem "Mississippi Goddam" , suggesting suburbia as the real battleground for LGBT equality.The album was released on Rough Trade Records in the United Kingdom and EvilEvil in...
, The Hidden CamerasThe Hidden CamerasThe Hidden Cameras are a Canadian indie pop band. Fronted by singer-songwriter Joel Gibb, the band consists of a varying roster of musicians who play what Gibb once described as "gay church folk music"...
(2004) - Bucquiem, Greek BuckGreek BuckGreek Buck were a Canadian musical duo, consisting of Don Pyle and Andrew Zealley. They are best known for "Spunk", the theme song to the American television series Queer as Folk...
(2003) - Messing With Greek Buck, Greek Buck (1998)
- Kickstand, Kickstand (Queenie) (1994)
- It's A Wonderful Record!, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy PlanetShadowy Men on a Shadowy PlanetShadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet were a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best-known for the track "Having an Average Weekend," which was used as the theme to the Canadian sketch comedy TV show The Kids in the Hall...
(1994)
Awards
Awards received include:
- Canada Council of The Arts, Professional Development Award, 2000;
- Ontario Arts Council Multi Disciplinarian Award, 1998;
- Theatre Ontario Professional Development Award, 1999;
- Toronto Arts Council Award, 1998;
- Laidlaw Foundation Award, 1998;
- Buddies and Bad Times Theatre Playwrights' Reserve, 2003;
- Factor Recording Grant, CITY TV 1991;
- Factor Video Grant, CITY TV 1993;
Raves and recognitions
- New York Times 1993;
- Rolling Stone Magazine 1993,
- New Musical Express 1993,
- Melody Maker 1993,
- The Toronto Sun 1992,
- C Magazine,
- LA Weekly,
- LA Times,
- Maximum Rock n Roll,
- Impact Magazine,
- Melody Maker,
- Spin Magazine,
- Now Magazine,
- Toronto Life,
- Globe and Mail,
- The Eye,
- Trouser Press,
- The Chart,
- Spin Magazine.
External links
- Caroline Azar at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Caroline Azar at ZineWikiZineWikiZineWiki is an open-source online wiki devoted to zines, fanzines, small press publications, chapbooks, and independent media. It covers the history, production, distribution and culture of the small press.-History:...
- Reviews of Man-O-Rexic and The Molly Murders(scroll down)
- Review of The Getaway
- Caroline Azar talks about the play The Surreal Detective
- Music video for Bob Wiseman's song, "Airplane On The Highway", directed by Caroline Azar
- Fifth Column video for Like This