Dave Bidini first made his name as a member of the seminal Canadian band Rheostatics, but since then has carved out an impressive career as an author–he bears witness to all things music, hockey and politics, infusing his observations with reflections on how regular Joes and Janes fit in the grand scheme of this crazy world.

Starting this week, Dave will be sharing his thoughts with the readers of This twice a month in his new column, The People’s Republic of Dave. The first piece, a musing on how the big box phenomenon can be linked to former prime minister Brian Mulroney, can be found here. Keep watching thismagazine.ca for future installments. Welcome aboard, Dave!