Trying to Fit on the Stage

Two of Four

There were alot of great musicians out on Sunday night to celebrate Tim’s 50th birthday and new love!  We were fundraising to get him overseas to meet her parents and ask for her hand in marriage. Very romantic.

We got invited to open the night and with the size of the stage managed to fit two of us on, two of us off - and way too much equipment, as usual.

But it makes for a very cozy intimate setting.  Norm Cristofoli hosted and performed poetry as well as Valentino, Peter Verity played, Nick Beat and Tim to close doing a great crowd participating rendition of Hallelujah to end the night.

We’re all very excited for Tim, I haven’t seen him this happy ever - and he deserves it.

We had the pleasure of playing the Cabbagetown Festival this past Saturday and it was a blast.  It was our first time so we didn’t know quite what to expect but were pleasantly surprised with the great and enthusiastic crowds as well as the many talented musicians playing on the street around us.  But it was bloody hot - and it only took ten minutes into the first set to regret my bluejean attire  - but finally in our last set we got some shade - on our feet.

We added some spice to the band lineup with my sister, Cathy on vocals, her son, Andrew on the bongos and her son luke making a guest appearance on lead guitar.  And of course the regulars were there sweating it up as well, Trevor on guitar, Gord on bass and our newest addition, Johnnie on drums. 

We’ll be playing yet again down in cabbagetown next weekend at the cabbagetown house tour - or rather mansion tour - And if the gazebo we’re playing under will be anywhere near as impressive as the 8000 sq foot home attached to it is, we’ll be doing just fine.

Thanks to the organizers for giving us the opportunity to play - we were honoured.

Surrounded by his greatest passion

I was in the Catskill mountains this past weekend at the daughter’s wedding of a great friend.  Bryan passed away April 6th, 2009 after a long battle with liver disease and I’ve managed to avoid writing this post because I didn’t really want to cement it in.  But after seeing his daughter come across the field towards the alter like an angel I figured I’d better get my act together and write a proper tribute to a remarkable soul.

Bryan really wanted to make that wedding - to be by his daughter’s side but I think he was anyway, because she said she felt him walk beside her crossing the field. And we felt him to.

We lost not only a great drummer, but a great friend - who taught me some valuable lessons  - or tried to teach me as I’m still working on them.  Anybody that knew Bryan was touched by him.  He always saw the positive in people and situations, never dwelt on negativity and moved in a quiet & gentle way - except for drum solos - those he ate with abandon.

I considered him a fellow music rat - sometimes when we’d be playing together, and we’d be down in the pocket of the music, when you’re just letting the music flow thru you, and nothing else matters, and you’re having the most fun you can ever have, we’d look over at each and grin. We shared the music secret.

He lived in constant pain for months before he died but never complained, still kept up his wry sense of humour and both optimistically & fiercely held on as long as he  could to this existence. He was and still is an inspiration to me.  So when I get moody or frustrated when things go awry, I think what would Bryan do - and that keeps me honest. I was mad at him for leaving this plane but it was time.  He’d learned what he needed to learn.

I dreamed of him a few months past, we were having a phone conversation and he was telling me that things were going well and that he was quite busy - I asked him what it was like - and he said, it was an interesting format. I’m not sure if Buddhists get different realms than we do but it sounds like he’s slid in just fine. : )

So farewell to a one of a kind & fellow music rat - someone who definitely learned to beat to his own drum.

Songwriter

I’ve not participated in Winterfolk before so I had no idea what to expect but when we arrived at the Black Swan on Sunday Afternoon I was immediately impressed with how well organized the event was. Kudos to Brian Gladstone and all the volunteers that helped put on a great show.

We were lucky enough to be included in the Songwriter Unite group organized by Russell Leon, always a gracious host and I got to share the stage with some amazing talent. There were 9 songwriters playing in sets of 3 with some bringing great accompaniment, myself included sneaking in both Trevor on guitar and Byran on Djembi.

We played in the last set with Scott B Sympathy and Lindsay Ferguson and it was a blast. Scott brought up a friend who played dobro and he sat in on our last number, a devil tune, and the instrument was a perfect match.

Now I have to figure out some way to beg my way in to next year’s event with the full band. Definitely a Toronto festival to be proud of.

List of talented musicians at our event:

Scott B Sympathy
Rob Szabo
Lindsay Ferguson
Frank Prather
Collette Savard with John Zytaruk
Laura Bird
Trish Kerr
Sam Turton
Peter J Slack with Jen Gillmor

We’ll be playing out last big gig before Christmas at the Moonshine Cafe in Oakville. It’s a Saturday night so it should be a wild one. The show starts around 9:00pm and we plan to go until midnight. Family and friends are coming down and a few birthdays will be getting celebrated.

John Marlatt is a great supporter of indie talent and the best host any band could ask for so if you’re in the Oakville area and looking for cheap thrills (we do deliver) come out and join us!

We’d never played at the Melody Bar before and once again, I was concerned we wouldn’t fit on the stage with our hoggish pile of instruments (mostly mine). But we managed to jam ourselves on to the half semi-circle stage, if only barely.

The sound man was excellent and the acoustics in the room took it up a notch and the crowd seemed to really enjoy themselves.

We were on a tight deadline due to the ‘award winning’ (I’m still not sure what that means exactly) karaoke that comes on at 10:00pm sharp. We tore thru 2 sets in record time (including my first ever on stage wardrobe change that caused a minor stir in the front rows).

I highly recommend playing the Gladstone, the staff were great, the crowd was appreciative, and the space is a real treat to play.

Mugs with Frames. Portrait of a City
Nora Camps, a local Toronto artist and founder of Duo Strategy and Design, listened to us perform live at the Gladstone as she was showcasing her art project in the adjoining room. She enjoying the music so much she wanted to incorporate it into her current project.

Mugs with Frames – Portrait of a City is a playful look at relationships between strangers on the streets of Toronto and a game that encourages smiling and friendliness.

The debut CD is now available to purchase. You can sample the tracks at CDBABY now.

I’m in the middle of uploading a wordpress site. So forgive all and any evils if things look off until I get this sucker going properly.