Glenn Campbell has just performed his first concert since announcing that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer (the degenerative brain disease that slowly rob people of their memories and abilities). I cannot imagine what thoughts must have been running around his mind when he first took to the stage.
Glen Campbell leaned over his blue electric guitar, plucked a few strings and made a sour face.
“Dadgum it,” he said.
Campbell fiddled a few seconds longer while standing backstage at the IP Casino and finally found a perfect D chord.
“There it is,” he said, before turning on his heel and marching into the spotlight. He launched into “Gentle on my Mind” and — without so much as clearing his throat — nailed it.
“That first one is a doozey, ain’t it?” Campbell asked the crowd. AP
Now that would have been quite the emotional show for all who were in attendance that night in Biloxi, Miss.
I’ve read that he may have missed that odd word here or there but his teleprompter was his saving grace that show. Heck, I’ve been known to have done that from time to time accompanied with that one word I follow it with “Damn it!” Good for Glenn, I hope that he can enjoy his God given talent as long as he can.
For a guitarist/musician/singer-songwriter like Glenn Campbell, this disease must feel like someone coming up to you and hitting you in the heart with a sledgehammer. While I’m not getting any younger, I find myself once in a while walking in a room and forgetting what I went in there for and I’m sure you can find examples in your own life. I can only speculate at what he is going through.
Alzheimer, it seems to me, is a disease that appears to be coming at us as a society from all directions. It has affected a direct family member, a very dear friend’s own loving father and countless patients that I have had direct dealings with over the years.
I have seen it tear away and disregard peoples memories at will with no fear of the consequences! It not only has devastating affects on the patient themselves but their loved ones as well. If you know someone who has a loved one with this unimaginable disease, give them a hug … because they need it too!
If you feel like giving a simple donation to the Alzheimer of Canada society, check out their secure site and give a simple donation to the cause, one day you might need their help too.
I love that traditional Big Band sound, the feel, the excitement I get that flows through my veins after listening to a great track. The voluminous of bands like Bassie, Goodman, and Canada’s own Arthur Miller are just some of the bands that I remember listening to as a kid. Along with some RUSH, KISS, Steely Dan, YES, Zeppelin … I really had quite the eclectic musical tastes back when I was a kid. Now a days when I come across something new in the Big Band genre, it always stirs my curiosity.
While reading my biweekly Macleans, I read about this new band conducted by Darcy James Argue called Secret Society. To some out there they might not sound like the classically acknowledged Big Band groove that we have been exposed to from the past but it’s there sitting in the background, right in front of you. The way they put in some techno here and there is quite refreshing.
I hope that at least you will bring your own eclectic musical tastes with you when and if you give the below video a listen to. I like Secret Society here in this particular video but the best way to experience a group like this, in my eyes, are in a venue WITH OUT microphones! If ever had in the past then you know what I mean.
In one of my previous posts I told you all about our adventures to The Toronto Ribfest in Centennial Park in Etobicoke and the great food there but I forgot to tell you about this great band that we stumbled upon while waiting in line for some of Bob’s Bloomin’ onions.
The band was called the Mason Dixon band and they were the perfect band to showcase at a venue like this. The singer also said that this was their 8th straight year playing this venue and I’ll soon show you why.
So while waiting in line we heard a band warming up on stage doing a sound check. The guitars sounded great, the drum kit sounded small, (but a talented guy like Domenic or Julian Pavine, on a small kit can make people’s head turn) was ok, then came the sound of a keyboard in Hammond B3 mode. To me one of the greatest sounds that you can hear while a band is warming up is the sound of this thing, it makes the hair on my arms stand up! Then the band started playing.
First tune they performed that afternoon was Kansas Carry On My Wayward Son. The vocals were great, the band was tight, the smell of charcoal ribs, a light breeze blowing through my hair, a perfect sky and with these guys wailing away in the background, priceless!
They then performed a great version of Foreplay/Long Time by Boston, Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac), School (Supertramp) Thinkin’ Of You (Harlequin). The highlight for some people was trying to figure out that this annenna thing was that the lead guitar player/backup singer was playing. This instrument is called the
Then as we were exiting the park we where showered with Raise A Little Hell from Trooper, while watching people walking in, lip singing to the song, what a great way to leave this years event! Wish you we there.
I’ve written this blog to share my enjoyment of music, the guitar and other instruments and I hope that I can offer information that might be useful to others who are interested in playing the guitar.
