What's in Your Fridge: Kelly Haigh

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      What’s in Your Fridge is where the Straight asks interesting Vancouverites about their life-changing concerts, favourite albums, and, most importantly, what’s sitting beside the Heinz Ketchup in their custom-made Big Chill Retropolitan 20.6-cubic-foot refrigerators.

      On the grill

      Kelly Haigh

      Who are you

      I grew up on the Prairies, listening to old country records, working on art from the time I could walk, and cutting hair from the time I was 10. I would sing at the top of my lungs, and my family would beg me to stop. When I practised my art on the walls of every room in the house, I was scolded, and my Crayons were taken away. I once trimmed a girl's hair in Grade 7, just before picture day. She wasn't a very satisfied customer, to say the least. I feared for my physical safety, and had to walk the long way home from school for weeks. Ironically, I now get paid to do all these things. Perseverance has paid off, and I'm getting away with some serious shit, because how can life be this much fun?

      First concert

      When I was a kid, the movie Grease was huge for me. I played the soundtrack nonstop, and when the movie played at the drive-in, (just beyond the Assiniboia Downs racetrack in Winnipeg), my best friend and I would climb onto her roof, where we could see that big screen. We took Premium Plus crackers smothered in Cheez Whiz, and green Kool-Aid up to the roof with us, and we watched the movie every chance we got. I couldn't wait to make it to high school, where I could wear those 1950s dresses and meet a guy with great sideburns, too. On August 6, 1979 (I was nine), Sha Na Na came to play at the Assiniboia Downs racetrack, and my mother took me to see them. It was as if they'd magically flown off the big screen, and landed right across the highway from where we lived. My "field of dreams". I was one step closer to all my dreams coming true...  (However, no one in high school wore pretty 1950s dresses—just high-top sneakers and skin-tight jeans... And I had to wait until now to find that handsome fella with those cool sideburns.)

      Life-changing concert

      This might not sound exactly cool, but alas, I shall come clean about a concert I would describe as “life-changing”. It was 1989, and my best friend got tickets for us to see Debbie Gibson on her Electric Youth tour. (Debbie Gibson was the same age I was—19—and although I had a guitar and played it every day in the privacy of my own bedroom, I had that kind of crippling shyness and fear that wouldn't allow me to pursue playing music in front of anyone but my dog. But Debbie was fearless, and was out there doing it, and that inspired me). At the concert, there were explosions of smoke and light, and the words “electric youth” echoed through the stadium, when Debbie Gibson suddenly appeared in the middle of the stage. I gasped, and my eyes welled with tears of excitement. My best friend mocks me to this day, but I hoped that one day I'd get brave enough to play music, too. (I didn't know it would take me two more decades, but better late than never.) More recently—last October—I saw Loretta Lynn at the Red Robinson Theatre. Seeing her still singing and cracking jokes, after all these years, was an incredibly inspiring thing. She had to keep clearing her throat, and even forgot some words, which completely squashed my worry of those things happening to me at my own little shows. If those things can even happen to my hero, Miss Loretta, it somehow makes it completely cool. 

      Top three records 

      Gene Watson Love in the Hot Afternoon  I can put that on and be back on any family road trip from the time I was six onward. We all knew every word by heart and never hesitated to sing along at full volume. Gene Watson was my first crush. His voice is like velvet, and he had great sideburns. My friend and bandmate Jimmy Roy told me that Gene Watson was inspired by Little Jimmy Dickens, another one of my favourites. 

      Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton The Essential Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton  Sometimes clients sit in my shop, and as I cut their hair, they talk about their lives and uncertainty about their relationships. I always tell ’em to put this album on and they'll know right away where they're at. Sing along to “Holding on to Nothing”. Then try crooning along to “Together Always” and see which one feels more right. Porter and Dolly have all the answers! This album is like free therapy, if you pay attention to which songs you wanna holler along to. Plus, they're just great songs.

      Buck Owens and the Buckaroos The Buck Owens Song Book  Because two words: Don Rich. 

      All-time favourite video

      Guns N’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle”  It will forever remind me of moving to Vancouver from Winnipeg. My brothers and I would get apple turnovers from the corner store and come home to watch MuchMusic, and this one was on often. The part of the music video where Axl Rose does a little scream kind of thing—his teeth looked quite yellow. And to this day, if you come around my mom with bad breath, she'll say, “Go brush yer teeth, Axl.”     

      What’s in your fridge

      Dill pickles.  I heard about an old homicide detective who kept dill pickles in his car. It was said he had some regular informants who would trade information for one of these salty, tangy treats. A girl never knows when she'll need valuable information, perhaps to have to prove her own innocence, or someone else's guilt... Seems a smart thing to have on hand, at any rate. Plus, they balance out the sweet-salty ratio if you've overindulged in too many cookies or Timbits. 

      Empty containers of things.  Because I'm too lazy to take a trip out to the recycling bin, and I don't want these things gathering on the counter. (It's an out-of-sight, out-of-mind type thing.) 

      Actual groceries, like meat and fresh vegetables.  I used to think as long as I had Fresh Is Best nacho chips and salsa on hand, I could wait another day to get a real meal elsewhere. But my new sweetheart seems to require a constant stream of healthy dinners. He takes me by the hand to the grocery store, and we stock up on all kinds of healthy things, so those emergency calls for takeout can now be avoided. (Thank you, Don Clark, for this, and for having such good sideburns.)

      Kelly Haigh’s latest release, Post Apocalyptic Valentines, is both a record and a packed-with-original-art book. It might just be the coolest thing that's going to come out of this city this year.

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