Where Are They Now? - 2021 Bronx Edition
Originally posted on Facebook in the private group - “the Bronx, Edmonton was a time….”
Shared with permission from the author.
Written by Oliver Friedmann
August 28th, 2021
Where Are They Now? - 2021 Bronx Edition
Some of you soon-to-be senior citizens who were there back at the very beginning of Bronx may remember the guy in the photo below - Ian MacLachlan; friend, bartender, sound engineer, electrician, occasional janitor, and in the case of this photo - journeyman furniture re upholsterer. Also, longtime president of SPAAM (Society for Promotion of Alternative Arts and Music- remember those pesky memberships?) and therefore dealer with of all things A.L.C.B. Did I mention scientist and full-time biochemistry grad student at the University of Alberta?
Ian and I used to do a radio show together with the Cabaret Voltaire inspired moniker Sensoria Syndikate on the University of Calgary’s CJSW student radio station back in the mid 80’s. Ian later ended up moving to Edmonton for grad school and I went on to open a club in Calgary called Republik, financed largely through scammed err… repurposed student loans and with the help of a lot of amazing friends.
When the decision was made to try and replicate in Edmonton what had been such a smashing success in Calgary, Ian was pretty much the only person I knew that lived up here. As with anything Ian does he jumped in with both feet, becoming a critical ally and integral part of helping me to open the club as well as its operation over the first two or three years; all while juggling full time grad studies. I recall most nights after a 3:00 am finish to a bartending or soundman shift at the club, Ian was headed back to the lab at U of A for a couple of hours to check on some experiment or other in need of attention.
Unfortunately, school won out over pouring Old Stock pitchers and 3 for 1 Wednesday night hiballs and Ian left Edmonton to do his PhD in Austria and thereafter post-doctoral work in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Actually, that win for higher education almost 30 years ago turns out to have been a really good thing for…. I shit you not…. all of humanity. And that, in my meandering way, is what this post is all about.
Read on. That is, after you’ve dusted yourself off and recovered from the shock of finding a Forbes Magazine linked post in this group (hey if El Chapo can get the front cover of Forbes). It’s a wild ride from (sadly unmentioned in Forbes) bartender, regular sound guy for many of Edmonton’s local bands playing the club and some of its gnarliest and epic punk rock shows of that era. Turns out Ian has actually continued mixing cocktails the entire time since those crazy club days, just ones involving bits or DNA, RNA, and lipid delivery systems that might just end up being partially responsible for saving a few tens of millions of lives. Give or take.
Passionate schemer, dreamer, and one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever known, I’ve always been proud to call this guy one of my oldest friends but never more so than today.
One last thing: For any of you out there still vaccine-hesitant, something to keep in mind is that the mRNA vaccines did not appear out of nowhere. They were in development for decades, some of the fundamental technology developed right here in Canada by people you might have bought a drink from… back in the day.
DAILY COVER | Aug 17, 2021 ,06:30am EDT
Nathan Vard | Forbes Staff
ARTICLE: “Covid’s Forgotten Hero: The Untold Story Of The Scientist Whose Breakthrough Made The Vaccines”