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Archives for May 2009

Buffalo Auditorium’s last stand

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The Buffalo Auditorium was just a beautiful building. They are demolishing it and making it into a parking lot! As in Joni Mitchel’s song, They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. The pictures says it all.

Some many unforgettable events were held there. I know you just have to ask Chris Noto about it and he’ll have tons of stories for you! Sorry about your loss there buddy!

Many sports teams called it their home.

Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League, the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League, the Buffalo Braves of the National Basketball Association, the Buffalo Stallions of the Major Soccer League, the Buffalo Bandits of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League, the Buffalo Blizzard of the second National Professional Soccer League, and the Buffalo Stampede of Roller Hockey International. It also held a number an NCAA basketball games, as well as numerous entertainment events, such as concerts, the Ringling Brothers circus, Disney on Ice, and other things of that nature.

It held some fabulous other shows as well. The Aud. held shows by major acts such as The Grateful Dead. Some say the grand old lady helped produce the bands greatest shows ever! The Who, The Stones, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Neil Young and David Bowie are just a few of the greatest bands to play within it’s walls.

So here is a final salute to the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium “The Aud” and let us keep her in out hearts!

Has anyone here been lucky enough to have graced her hallowed walls? If so, what did you see there and do you have some stories about her?!

Keep on Jammin’




China Girl from Anna Ternheim

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I was watching Without a Trace the other night with my wife and during the show a great version of China Girl from David Bowie came on.

It was a interpretation that we both had never heard of before. Wanting to now more about this adaptation of the original song, my wife found out that it was perfectly executed by a Swedish singer named Anna Ternheim.

It was of an unplugged nature. The song was soft, slow and very dream like. Anna Ternheim used only this haunting bass, beat box in the backdrop of her rendition of this great work. Her voice is very airy and to some her voice comes across as sounding like either Alanis Morissette. We both came to this conclusion, a couple of seconds into the piece.

I know nothing of this artist except for a insightful interview into who and what she is all about musically. Her band’s site and Myspace account does not dive to much into what makes her tick but, I’m sure I’ll find out more about her in the future.

Has anyone else out there heard of this women before? What is your take on her exclusive style of performing?

Keep on Jammin’

A cardboard grand piano

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A Swedish packaging company, SCA Packaging, has created a grand piano that is made of cardboard. I guess it’s for people who find the real thing a little bit too heavy to lug around for gigs! Anyone one up to tickling the old cardboard?

The cardboard piano uses integrated circuits that are pressed onto paper instead of silicon chips or circuit boards. It’s based on technology developed to make paper products that change colour or include radio-frequency tags for inventory control. Ulf Carlsson, SCA’s head of development and research, said the cardboard piano features all 88 keys. Press one, and the circuit beneath it sends a signal to an external loudspeaker, which plays the appropriate sound.
Source: www.usatoday.com 3 June 2004 Copyright Associated Press

For now, the company has only generated a few of the futuristic keyboards. They have not developed a plan to send them to market as of yet. SCA is probably using this as a gimmick to create a buzz for the company. They also admit that this may be used as a vehicle to introduce the next generation highlighting the development of printing techniques. I’d still love to hear one!

Keep on Jammin’

A prrr-fectly good guitar

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This little kitty seems prrr-fectly content in performing in front of the camera! I just wonder how it would react to a hall full of musical dogs?

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I wonder if he/she uses finger picks, hummm?!

Keep on Jammin’


Half Past four

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Now Half Past Four, that played last at the Nuance show, is unlike any band that I have heard or seen in a long time. Crafting original, fresh soundscapes from their headquarters in Toronto, Canada, Half Past Four offers exquisite musical novelty and experimentation to true musical connoisseurs and rock-party goers alike is how they define themselves and I must agree.

They are very difficult to pin their unique style, done to just one genre of music. It’s not that I’m trying to, but for my readers this may just help them out a bit.

Crafting original, fresh soundscapes from their headquarters in Toronto, Canada, Half Past Four offers exquisite musical novelty and experimentation to true musical connoisseurs and rock-party goers alike.
Half Past Four

The music is progressive in natural, but the stage presence is pure art rock. During their performances, the band has videos playing behind them all the time. If you get the opportunity to see them live, PLEASE pay attention to what’s going on in the background, it’s worth it!

The lead singer is hypnotizing and infectious to watch! Together, they elevate their audiences musical adventure to a whole new, very entertaining musical experience.

Everything about this witnessing this band live is new and refreshing to me. This is one of those bands that you route for to make it big! If you are in the GTA area, you must check out when and where they are playing … once again it’s worth the drive.

Keep on Jammin’

Keith Emerson cancels remaining tour dates

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It just came to my attention that the Keith Emerson Band has had to cancel their remaining tour, due to the physical deterioration of Keith Emerson’s right hand.

My good friend Chris Noto, bassist with CounterPoint, put this notice up on his facebook account. This really is a tragic musical loss to all the dedicated Progressive rock lovers out there. This may have been the last time to see them.

The real kicker here, is that Keith’s other band, Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP) was to have a possible late year reunion tour that was going to dovetail his recent tour! NOW that SUCKS!!!

Dear Friends,

It is with much regret that I have to announce that due to past right hand injuries the resulting nerve damage and dystonic factor has made it unable for me to play the keyboards to the high standard I have always set myself and have to cancel my forthcoming Keith Emerson Band featuring Marc Bonilla USA and European tours.

I am also going to have to cancel the proposed Emerson, Lake and Palmer tour which we were going to do at the end of this year.

I will of course continue with my physical/chiropractic/acupuncture therapy etc. in the hope that this will eventually get me back on form.

This is absolutely devastating to me as music will always be my main key to communicating with a world-wide audience. I know how much my fans and fellow band members were looking forward to these shows and it saddens me greatly to have to come to this decision and make this announcement.

Thank you for your understanding.

Keith Emerson

I recall playing in an band a fabulous tune called Benny the Bouncer. It was one of my earliest exposure to this great band. Hey, maybe the boys in CounterPoint will play this one next time they play, maybe?!

It, as well as countless ELP classic tunes, made me look forward to practicing their complex style of this new genre called Prog. (Progressive) Rock. Now, due to Keith and his band aborting their remaining shows, the general public will be sadly stripped of it’s chance to see one of the last great Prog. rockers of all time!

Our prayers will be with Keith so that he will nurse his ailing right hand back to good health, thus giving some people a glimpse into a musical world, almost forgotten! To add insult to injury, his mother had just passed away as well.

Keep on Jammin’ ELP

Checking out concerts live in your living room

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Imagine checking out a fabulous concert of your favorite act! The vibe during the show is just infectious. Just lining up at the gate to get in can get your heart a pumping! Finally after getting in, your bumping into people racing to grab a light refreshing liquid beverage(or in my case many!), listening to other music lovers talking about previous shows or the band in general.

That’s what I love about the concert experience! Now imagine being at a great gig, only that it’s at home and on your TV/computer screen?!

Well that’s what this classical company is introducing to us. I’m not sure, but I’d give it a go, just for the hell of it.

The company, called Berliner Philharmoniker, is providing LIVE CONCERTS, via live audio-video streams through the internet. Mind you, they also provide the avid classical lover past shows as well.

Would you subscribe to something like this? I’d love to find out what you all think about this new experience.

Keep on Jammin’

NUANCE Progressive/Art Rock Festival and Showcases

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This years Nuance event at the Black Swan was … well another showcase of Toronto’s best kept musical secrets live on stage! The bands at this years celebration was none other then CounterPoint (my personal favorite), Half past 4 and Wilton Said.

Once again, a lot of praise has to be given to the man Wilton Said. The quality of acts at the show, is an indication of how much love Wilton has for his love of this genre of music. The energy that he has to bring together high caliber performers under one umbrella to present a well rounded evening is not only rewarding to him but the audience members as well.

The crowd was enthusiastic and respectful to each of the bands on stage that night. There wasn’t a single obnoxious drunk, ruining the evening in sight! The only thing that brought us all together was the love of music, a happening if you will.

Each group brought to the experience a unique art form. They contributed to the listener, sides of Prog/Art Rock that most people in general cannot appreciate. Collectively, they were fine ambassadors to the cause.

The price was right for these troubled financial times, three bucks! A buck a band, where else in the world can you find a deal like this? I told you not to miss it! To the ones that showed up, you know who you are, It was great to met some of the readers on this blog plus for your the support of this great event and hopefully you enjoyed it as much as I did!

So next time I write about this event, I hope to see more of you out there because it’s more then worth the drive to Toronto.

Keep on Jammin’ (at Nuance!)

Some origins of the electric keyboard

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I love anything keyboard related. I love the history or origins of all things musical. The history of the keyboard is something that I know very little about, so this next article is really for me … oh and for you guys too.

In the beer store the other day, I was in line and noticed the latest CHILL magazine. After picking it up and leafing through some of the pages, there was an article titled Voltage-Controlled Synthesizer.

The first thing that caught my eye was a picture of this vintage MOOG synth. It was made popular by the likes of Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson. Way back in day, this thing looked like you could run a space ship with it!

The article was about a man named Hugh Le Caine, from Port Arthur. He was a physicist for the Canadian National Research Council in WW1. He then went off to Chalk River to work in the Nuclear reactor that was just starting up. It was the first one in Canada at the time.

So during the War he was working on this futuristic, weird thing called the Electronic Sackbut. Where he got the name for this thing initially only God knows. Where in the world do scientists come up with these names?! Anyways, his invention is now recognized to have been the very first voltage-controlled synthesizer.

In 1945, when the first Sackbut was built inside a desk, Le Caine visualized an instrument in which the operator would control three aspects of sound through operations on the keyboard in three co-ordinates of space: vertical pressure was to correspond to volume; lateral pressure to pitch change; and pressure away from the performer to timbre.

Being a man who was known to have tickled the old ivories more then once in a while, you can see where this new thingy-mabober was going!

Keep on Jammin’

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