Very Grimm Fairy Tales

Very Grimm Fairy Tales is a collection of twenty twisted tales that explores the world in all its unforgiving ways: from the difficulty of fitting in, in “Eugene the Sensative Troll,: to the perils of being happy when others are not in “The Little Girl Who Wouldn’t Stop Smiling,” to the burdens of a terrible secret in “The Flatulent Prince.”

Once upon a time Fairy Tales were wild and thrilling. Then, the Great Appropriator, riding his steed of blandness, tore them from their dark, mysterious homes and transplanted them to his bright, sterile studio where he bathed them in Technicolor, painted big eyes on their faces, and made them sing sappy songs. No longer did Cinderella’s sisters have their eyes plucked out; no longer was Snow White’s stepmother forced to dance in heated iron until she died. No, everything was rainbows. Fairy tales were banished to the land of kiddie entertainment forever. Or were they? Very Grimm Fairy Tales rescues this maligned genre from its saccharin prison. A collection of twenty twisted tales, it explores the world in all its unforgiving ways: from the difficulty of fitting in, in “Eugene the Sensative Troll,: to the perils of being happy when others are not in “The Little Girl Who Wouldn’t Stop Smiling,” to the burdens of a terrible secret in “The Flatulent Prince.”

Trevor Strong’s name may not raise a chuckle, but mention The Arrogant Worms, and you can’t help but smile. In the early 1990s, while a student at Queen’s University, Trevor and his band mates formed The Arrogant Worms to play for campus radio. Thirteen CDs later, the music-comedy group continues to tour and entertain fans across the country. The band has sold more than 150,000 copies of their recordings and has toured on three continents. In 2003, The Arrogant Worms were recognized as the Touring Act of the year by the Canadian Arts Presenters Association. In 2005, Trevor published Get Stupid! a self-help book that teaches the “Ignorance IS Bliss method” of achieving happiness through a simple seven-step process of absolute stupidity. Recently, Trevor reworked the kindly stories from his childhood to produce Very Grimm Fairy Tales, a collection of twenty twisted fables that explore the world in all its unforgiving ways, from “Eugene the Sensitive Troll,” about the difficulty of fitting in, to the burden of a terrible secret in “The Flatulent Prince.” Trevor fronts the Kingston band, Trevor Strong and the Line of Credit, which will release its first album this summer. He also writes songs for hire, and has a Masters of Education degree from Queen's University where he researched the role of humour in education. He often conducts comedy and song-writing workshops. Trevor likes to pretend that he’s always lived in Kingston, although he grew up in Belleville, Ontario. He also has a novel, Edgar Gets Going, about a fairly decent bass player.