This is Mark Rathwell
Where did you grow up?
From before I can remember to 14 I was at Finch and Leslie up in North York . High school was Hinsdale, Illinois a suburb of Chicago. Since then I've been back and forth between downtown Toronto and Chicago a few times, spending a year or two in each place before rebounding to the other.
How long have you been in TO?
This time, I've been in Toronto for about a year.
What keeps you busy?
The hustle, man. Work, seeing friends, writing, scheming, tinkering with computers all have their place.
What is your specific role at work?
Right now I'm winding up a Database project where I designed it, coded it, did the data entry and wrote the interface. I work for my family's consulting firm as a programmer, along with whatever else needs to be done. On a given day I may be reviewing contracts, writing a report comparing software packages or painting the garage in Houston.
What is your passion?
My passion is my writing. Too much time spent with technology and in engineering school has left me rusty, but I hope these pieces for Gadzooks! will sharpen me right up.
What do you do to give back to the No Fly Zone?
What do I give back? If I am drunk enough I will agree to fix your computer for free. In short then, buy me the beer and you can increase the likelihood that I will get that drunk. That and I make mix tapes and pass them to whoever will sit still for long enough for me to do so.
How do you feel about the NFZ?
I love Toronto. Some parts less than others, but Canadians are so open, well educated and willing to engage strangers that I feel OK talking to random people on the streets. My old 'hood, Dundas & Ossington, was really good, but gentrification marches on... Give my new location in the Junction five years and it will be jumping too.
Are you an Artist? Discuss.
I write, but other than that I have no artistic talents whatsoever. Can't paint, can't play an instrument, no fashion sense. Will break out half together backpacker rhymes with people I know well.
How has Art influenced your life?
Art is life, and vice versa. Found art, street life as guerilla theatre... what is the difference between emotional response to actual life and the reaction to music, a painting, a movie. The planned nature of what art evokes? What if I feel something the artist didn't plan? Is the difference the authenticity of reality? Ok, no more pretension and question marks. On the daily I can't function without music of all kinds. Miles Davis, meet Ministry. Autechre, meet Alice in Chains.
How do you feel about Art in the NFZ?
In the NFZ, the human need to create is bursting through the seams. People work one job to support themselves, then take classes at night and are in an experimental theatre troop, band or sculpting collective. More than other cities I have visited, most people are on the hustle; not for corporate advancement, but artistic fulfillment. And there are so many talented people. You may find that your bartender had a gold record in the '90s or that the HR manager by day is a tactile painter.