NOMA || Say Hello to You

Posted on May 21, 2014May 21, 2014 Posted in ModellingTagged actor, actress, app, ashley mauerhofer, cody turner, julia stead, noma, ocad, ocadu, thesis, Toronto, trinity-bellwoodsLeave a comment

When my good friend Ashley Mauerhofer told me she was filming a promotional video for her OCADU thesis project, I jumped at the opportunity to be in front of the camera. Her app, NOMA, helps you navigate through your city to discover new places and spaces. It allows you to keep an interactive journal of your experiences, which eventually gets mailed to you in a hard copy. How cool is that!? The video ended up looking like a pretty typical day in my life! The park, coffee, friends… it’s all real folks. The one day shoot was my first little taste of acting, and I loved every second!

The video also features my pal Cody Turner, who just launched his new website – and it’s stellar.

Cheers to cool friends doing cool things!

BORN READY LAUNCH PARTY

Posted on April 19, 2014April 19, 2014 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Born Ready, BornReadyTO, event, gay, lesbian, lgbt, party, queer, queer party, tattoo, TorontoLeave a comment

That’s right, I throw parties now. Not just regular old parties either. Born Ready is a fun flirtatious playground for queers and all their friends to dance, drink, and get sweaty on the dance floor. Our first event went down at the start of April here in Toronto at Tattoo Queen West. It was a smashing success, with amazing DJs Madam D, Essence Brown, and fuckin’ Regina the Gentlelady (go LIGHT FIRES), plus projectors, photographers, and even a goddamn kissing booth! Too much fun. Some photos from the “Reality Bites” event are posted below. If you are a queer looking to party in the GTA, make sure you keep up with us on the Born Ready Facebook page! More to come my homomies!

Kissing Fort by artist Paddy Leung – Photo by Paddy Leung

Photo by Christina Maclean

Photo by lesbianlooks.ca

Photo by Christina Maclean

Maki Maki Vintage Photo Shoot

Posted on April 2, 2014April 2, 2014 Posted in ModellingTagged designer, fashion, julia stead, maki maki, model, modelling, redhead, vintage1 Comment

You probably didn’t realize that I was six feet tall. This photo shoot I did for Maki Maki Vintage really accentuates my height. Or maybe just my ability to balance in monstrous heels. Either way, enjoy this latest modelling shoot featuring yours truly draped in the most fabulous of rare designer vintage!

beau releases music on CBC

Posted on March 26, 2014March 26, 2014 Posted in MusicTagged band, beau, cbc, demos, music, recordings, releaseLeave a comment

My band beau has covered a lot of ground in the last year or so. First of all, in light of our new sound and band direction, we changed our name from Ruby Randall to beau. We also played a bunch of big shows! We’ve now got NXNE, Toronto Pride Festival, and a Hillside Inside Showcase under our collective belt! So it’s about time we have actual music on the internet for people to listen to!

We have released three demo tracks on our CBC band page. We did it in style too – as part of our entry in the CBC Searchlight Competition! Take a listen, groove to your heart’s content, and maybe give a little clickity-click vote to help us make our way into the second round of the Searchlight Competition!

HelloSidney Photo Shoot

Posted on March 26, 2014April 2, 2014 Posted in ModellingTagged fashion, hellosidney, model, modelling, redhead, Toronto, vintageLeave a comment

I sort of figured once I turned twenty-five that the modelling gigs would dry up. I’m over the hill! My youthful good looks are fading! But that’s merely an over-dramatization for comedic effect. Lucky for me, the folks behind HelloSidney, the cute Etsy shop full of stylish vintage things, swooped in to restore my full-blown vanity. Take a look at me swishing around in skirts, jutting out my hips in skin-tight dresses, and slyly bearing some midriff in the photos below!

Check out their online shop for all the looks (there’s a lot of them) !

She Does the City

Posted on October 11, 2013October 11, 2013 Posted in WritingTagged culture, feminism, julia stead, music, she does the city, women, writingLeave a comment

More exciting news!
I am now part of the ultra-hip community of young females at She Does the City!

She Does the City is an “imperfect life guide for women” covering the latest in fashion, lifestyle, news and culture. Content is geared towards young females navigating their way through the coolest happenings the city has to offer.

I’m taking care of weekly music posts, bringing you events, playlists, spotlights and more.
This website is a great fit for me, giving me the chance to emphasize the importance of strong women in music. Down with the overload of misogyny and sexism – and power to talented women doing their thing in a male-dominated industry!

Read my first article here.

Check back to She Does the City regularly, follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

Update

Posted on September 13, 2013September 13, 2013 Posted in WritingTagged autostraddle, music, writingLeave a comment

After spending the last year building my way up as a music writer, I’m very excited to announce my newest positions:

BlogTO: Intern
Over the next four months I’ll be undergoing a crash course in what it takes to run Toronto’s number one cultural website. If I disappear until January, now you’ll know why.

Autostraddle: Canadian Music Correspondent
That’s right! The hip young website for lesbians, with an astronomical international reach. I’ll be writing all sorts of music articles, especially Almost Famous Canadians. Feel free to email me if you or someone you know is making a buzz in the music scene and would make for a great Almost Famous candidate.

fART Opening Party

Posted on September 13, 2013September 13, 2013 Posted in UncategorizedTagged art, corey moranis, fart, food, inez genereux, ocad, ocadu, openingLeave a comment

My friends Corey and Inez created fART: a show about food + art. I asked if I could help them out with the show in any way, and I landed myself a gig behind the milk bar/cookie decorating table. I couldn’t have been happier! Flirting over cookies with the loveliest crowd of artists and art lovers. It felt like being inside the birthday party of an 8-year-olds wildest dreams. Cake, candy, cookies, and so much colour. Here are a few photos of the event! You can check out fART at OCADU Student Gallery until September 28th.

Milkin’ it

Thanksgiving dinner, candy style.

The curators Inez and Corey!

Cody & Julia Dance

Posted on August 18, 2013 Posted in UncategorizedTagged baby I'm yours, breakbot, Cayda, CM Studio, cody turner, dance, dancing, freestyle, julia stead, videoLeave a comment

Cody Turner and I are gettin’ into shenanigans! One warm summer night at CM studio, Cody and I were doin’ our usual thing… dancing. This time we had the camera running, and Cody used his awesome editing skills to put together this little video. It features “Baby I’m Yours” by Breakbot.

PRIDE 2013 With Ruby Randall

Posted on July 5, 2013July 6, 2013 Posted in Music, Ruby RandallTagged concert, drums, festival, julia stead, lgbt, music, pride, pride 2013, queer, Ruby Randall, TorontoLeave a comment

Pride weekend: sweaty, scandalous, and sexy. Just as it should be. The highlight of my Pride this year was most definitely playing the Bud Light South Stage with Ruby Randall on Saturday’s Dyke Day Afternoon. Playing music I love, with friends I love, at a place that celebrates who I love. It was an absolute dream come true!