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They asked, Winnipeggers answered — and on Feb. 5, part of the ongoing story of our city’s youth and live music scene, as told through the contributions of 35 local photographers, artists, writers, lyricists and fans, will be unveiled.
   
Call/Response: Present, Past and Beyond - Volume One is the end result of a collaborative book project that began this past summer. Co-organized by Sidelined Productions’ owner/operator Nathan Terin (who’s also a partner in local philanthropic promotional group Be:Cause Industries), Mike Sanders from Absurd Machine Studios and John Toone from Alchemical Press, the plan was to create a book that would help raise money for Kids Help Phone — a toll-free, 24-hour, anonymous phone counselling, referral and Internet service for Canadian youth.
   
In August, a call for contributions went out to anyone who’s ever been a part of Winnipeg’s eclectic music scene, whether as a player or a listener, an amateur or a pro.
   
"What we really wanted to capture was that interaction between youth and live music, whether that be band-on-band, the audience and the band (or) audience-on-audience," Terin says.
   
Mission accomplished. In addition to an assortment of written submissions, the Call /Response team received over 1,500 photographs — primarily from people involved in Winnipeg’s punk community.
   
"It was that scene that came forth, so when it came time to lay out the book, that’s basically the way the puzzle was completed," Terin says.
   
The  finished product is a hardcover, 12-by-12 inch book — a size intentionally chosen to mimic that of vinyl LPs — that contains 64 pages of musical memories: everything from previously unpublished Dead Kennedys gig photos to vintage poster art by Steve Hallick to Top 10 gig lists from local luminaries such as Propagandhi’s Chris Hannah and singer/songwriter Greg MacPherson to the hilarious musings of Royal Albert Arms artistic director Sam Smith (who recounts "three great shows, worst show, best show").
   
Flipping through the pages is like playing a Winnipeg version of Where’s Waldo; look closely at all those sweaty crowd shots and eventually you’ll spot someone you recognize. (Case in point: Uptown editor John Kendle’s head can be seen in a picture from a 1984 D.O.A. show at Le Rendez-Vous. Was that a perm?)
   
There’s even a picture of the Albert’s famous, sticker-covered pole.
   
Fittingly, the official launch of Call/ Response will be accompanied by a full day of music. Kicking things off at noon is a free show at Into the Music (where copies of the book will be sold exclusively throughout February) featuring acoustic performances by Ivan Reimer, Greg Rekus and High Class Low Lifes. Two evening gigs are also planned: the first, an all-ages show at the West End Cultural Centre featuring The Rock Band, The Undecided and The Bonaduces — three bands that are reuniting for the night — as well as headliners The Rippers; the second, a sure-to-be-wild party at the Albert featuring Comeback Kid, a reunited Rogue Nation, Still Fighting and Cro-Mags Tribute band Bro-Mags.
   
Books will be sold for $40 at all three shows. More information on times and ticket prices is available at www.callresponsebook.com, where you can also order copies of the book.
   
A minimum of $10 from the sale of each copy will be donated to Kids Help Phone. Terin says the goal is to raise at least $10,000 for the organization — and that’s not the only goal.
   
With Volume One now completed, the Call/Response team hopes to produce three more books over the next 10 years, with the second instalment to be published in 2013.
   
"We know we’ve just scratched the surface," Terin says. "I think that when people now see the book, they’ll maybe have a better idea of that kind of interactive process that we’re looking for.
   
"It’s just a matter of people opening up their minds and writing or digging through pictures," he adds, reiterating that submissions from all genres of music will be considered, so long as they reflect youthful energy.
   
"If it happens to be at a folk show with a bunch of hippies dancing, then so be it."