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Scarborough 16th Vintage Guitar Festival

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Canada’s 16th Vintage Guitar Show is a great event to check out some nice vintage guitars. It will be held Saturday June 26th 1:00 to 8:00pm to Sunday June 27th from 11:00am to 5:00pm. This guitar festival is located at Scarborough Community Center 3600 Kingston Road (at Markham Road) Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. See Map for details. The price of admission is a reasonable $10.00 at the door.

I just came back from this year’s show, my first ever I might add, and I liked what I saw. The main vendor and it’s driving force behind the gathering of like minded individuals is Tundra Music. They were the largest both there by far. The amount of guitars on display was breath taking. My favorites were

  • 1969 Gold Top Les Paul for $20,000
  • a nice well used 1936 Martin acoustic for $25,000
  • a beautiful 1957 Fender Strat, the price for this one I didn’t get. Damn I wish I had more dollars the cents!

I went to the show just for the fun of it and to be around some vintage guitars. To be amongst other guitar enthusiasts is a great feeling. There was no special effects anywhere on the floor just straight forward rock and roll guitars.

The one smaller but very experienced vendor that I liked was Terry Gallie. He had some great guitars on display for us at the this years show. He may of had a much limited variety to view then Tundra Music but it was his intensity that was infectious. His company is called Atomic Age Vintage and you can get a hold of him at (416) 423-4617 or e-mail him directly at atomic@bell.net to see what he has in store for you.

Another merchant was K.S. Sound from Schooner Cove Nova Scotia. He had some interesting guitars for sale and was very friendly and helpful to talk to. This is just a hobby for him at this point but he plans to jump in with both feet when he retires later on this year. I’ll have to go back next year to see how he is doing with his new venture.

Then there was this other small both that was showcasing his personal collection for guitars. He is from Hamilton but I didn’t get his name due to so many wandering around him trying to inquire about his stock at the show.

In a future post I’ll put some pic’s up for all of you to see exactly what I saw at Canada’s 16th Vintage Guitar Show. So if your in Toronto this weekend, NO PROTESTER’s PLEASE, then stop on by to take in this years show. I’m more then sure there is something at the festival for everyone!

Keep on Jammin’




Playing at a talent show at work

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Well I was asked to perform at this years talent show at the old hospital. It was fun just going up there and playing a few songs with 2 separate acts! The guys in each act are great co-workers. I’ve met both of them over the years and we get together with once in a blue moon for a little relaxing jam.

The first act was with Adrian. We both played guitar and shared vocals on Hole Hearted by Extreme. We pulled it off ok. Adrian, no not the guy from Rocky, is a great bass player with audio skills that most musicians would love to have on stage with them. His place is crammed with tons of sound equipment. Mic’s, a couple of sound boards set up and functioning, a couple of computers, instruments, even a couple of disco balls all ready to be fired up!

In the second act I performed with Sean. Sean is a south paw who played guitar and the harmonica. His main forte is drums. The number we played was Neil Young’s acoustic version of Rockin’ in the Free World. Sean pulled off a great harmonica solo half way through the song and the crowd seemed to like it.

The only thing that made my blood boil was the DJ/sound guy. He is a great guy don’t get me wrong, it’s just that he was very late to show up and we only had a couple of seconds for a sound check each right before each song. The sound was distorted and unbalanced so much so that some of the audience members commented on it after the show. I guess when your a group that is using a Karaoke sound board in a live show, what can you expect, right?!

I am a perfectionist that loves to use nuances of sound and push them to it’s limits, that is what I’m known for during performances. Depth is my best friend. That day, I left depth behind, only to use the polite words of the audience as a prop.

So that’s what is new with me so far this summer. Otherwise I’ve been doing some great gardening, welcoming new neighbours next door and taking life real easy. Once in a while you just have to sit back and not only smell the roses but work on them too!

Keep on Jammin’

Treme my favorite show on HBO!

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I think that the best TV series out there today is a show called Treme that is on HBO.

The character development is fabulous, the feel to the show seems very honest but the best part of the show is hands down the music! The traditional New Orleans sound that they have there makes me want to sell the house and move on down to the promised musical land!

My wife and I were scrolling through our PVR guide a few months ago and came across a show about post Katrina New Orleans in the 7th Ward. We thought that it was going to be one of those cheesy shows with no substance or originality. When we first read the descriptions/info about the show, my first thought was that Treme was some bad documentary about the area and that it was not true to what really is going on there.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPVMxuoarbg

Even though I’ve never been there, watching Treme makes me curious about what it’s really like, this distinctive and historical American city. Has anyone out there been there before? If you watch this show and been there, are there similarities to both?

Keep on Jammin’

We just bought a Kindle 2 eBook Reader

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Wow, my wife just bought a Kindle 2 eBook Reader! She bought it on line through Amazon. It’s a 6 inch screen and comes with some really neat stuff. I never really thought that we’d pick up something like this, but we did.

kindle 2 eBook reader

It comes with dictionary, text only web browser (this is in the US only damn it!), and a wireless 3G device. Our new Kindle 2 is slim at just over 1/3 of an inch, which is as thin as most magazines. The device is light weighting in at 10.2 ounces, lighter than your average paperback.

The Kindle looks quite paper like in it’s display without the glare that you sometimes get in some devices, even in bright sunlight. I wonder if you can adjust the brightness of the screen itself. Our notebook screen is not all that bright in the sunlight which pisses me off when I’m in the backyard trying to do some work. They claim the battery life on the Kindle is very long, up to 1 week on a single charge. It carries up to 1,500 books. You can find a fair amount of free books at Amazon and other book stores online. We’ve already downloaded some onto our notebook to be uploaded to our new Kindle when it arrives.

Read-to-Me is a neat feature my wife told me about. With it’s experimental Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book’s rights holder/owner made this feature unavailable. Perfect for after more then a few light refreshing liquid beverages, ha!

She bought a electrical wall mount charger, car charger, ear phones and last, but not least the Amazon leather cover. I’m forever scratching electronic screens, I should take a pic of my phone so you can see what I mean, so this will come in very handy.

The only bad thing about buying it here in Canada is the custom and duty taxes $33 (CAN) that comes with it, but hey, no use complaining too much. We should be getting out little hands on it this Wednesday, so sometime after that expect another post about our new addition to our home!

Do you have a Kindle? How do you like it?

Keep on Kindlin’!

The Rockin’ Roll Bagpipes

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Today’s bagpipe’s are a perfect pitch for the aggressive rock scene. Think about it, they were played during war time to help charge solders into battle with their heart thumping electrifying tone. The emotional effect that the bagpipe has on most of us seems like it would work well in the aggressive music world. Have you ever heard bagpipes played live? For me, it elevates my blood pressure to the point that, it is forewarning me that something special is about to take place.

“Celtic punk and folk-tinged hardcore band from the South Side of Chicago.” Fans, Bawinkel says, are “stoked”: “As soon as the bagpiper walks out on stage, the crowd just flips out.” Tobin Bawinkel, Professional Piper

Yes, bagpipes are back, albeit somewhat changed from it’s original inception. The bagpipe renaissance came from Scotland, where acts began to spice up their sound. Lately creative new bands like the White Stripes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have incorporated them into their tunes. The modern pipers have brought us their unique interpretation of classic tunes on YouTube with a real neat spin in unexpected musical settings. For example putting them into everything from traditional carols to songs like Thunderstruck from AC/DC.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aiil6xW9Lb0The Swiss Death Metal Group Eluveitie

When exploring this latest evolution in the bagpipes, I realize that alternative piping is not a huge scene yet but one that should be investigated a little further. A band called Real McKenzie’s helps in the push for the new Celtic punk sound. They take the familiar Scottish chant and elevates the experience many notches.

Then there are acts out there that even consider the bagpipes everything from, dare I say, bluesy all the way to progressive bagpipe-jazz-aboriginal-fusion?

Now the last thing that I want to bring up is, do you know that someone has invented an electronic bagpipe? I know that this would be a fabulous addition for a favorite local band called Wilton Said to look into. What do you think Wilton?

No matter what your perception of the bagpipes, there certainly has been a bit of a resurgence in this classic instrument as of late that will eventually pass by you in some musical form in the near future. I’m not sure if this means that Lady Gaga might take a shine to this instrument but hey, never say never!

So are there any pipers out there that want to put their two cents in here? If you think that your style on piping is great then send us a link to your site to further investigate and open us up to the new world of piping to all.

Keep on Jammin’

Pie in the Sky Studios

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I ran into the owners of the Pie in the Sky Studios and I must say their good people. I told them that I drive by their studio all the time and have always wondered what it is that they do there. I wrote down the website but of coarse I lost it or never got around to going there. After seeing it, I was very amazed at what they produce there, right down the street from our home!

Pie in the Sky has two locations. Their Main Studio is Studio One that is an old converted movie theatre house at 397 Donlands Ave. at O’Connor Dr. in Toronto(East York) that they broke into two separate studios. Studio One is 50′ by 50 while Studio Two is 65′ x 30′, descent sizes I’d say. Studio Two is located at 43 Laird Dr. north of Moore Ave.

The main studio is custom built and is run by people with on-set experience. The staff are pack rats (I’ve never met a pack rat that I didn’t like!) and have lots of stuff in the basement you may need. The Studio rental rates appear reasonable and they also have some great professional gear that you can rent at what seems like decent prices. I think this would be a fantastic venue to video tape any music video.

So has anyone out there used Pie in the sky Studios? I’d love to hear about it! If you do try out this company, tell them Chris sent ya!

Keep on Jammin’

Neil Young’s younger brother Bob

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I was talking to this really nice down to earth guy who was delivering out flyers to homes in the neighborhood and we gotta talking while my little puppy Midnight was out for one of her many daily constitutions. During the conversation we brought up Neil Young’s name because I told him that he looked a lot like Mr Young.

He tells me that sometimes he goes up on stage and plays his harmonica with bands that play some Neil Young tunes. He said that tons of people come up to him after he plays and thinks that he is either Neil himself or maybe he is a brother or relative. He tells them no but says that his brother Bob Young hangs out in a bar called Captain Jack in the Beach area of Toronto at a 2 Wheeler Ave at Queen St. E.

Captain Jack’s comes with 4-stars, but a warning as well. If you can’t handle places that are on the tougher side, read no further. However, if you’re looking for one of the best dive bars in Toronto, you’d be hard-pressed to find a place that beats Captain Jack and has windows. The Beaches has its fill of posh, stylish, trendy spots. This is the unabashed opposite, gritty, warts and all. The tap list includes 50, and in the beer cooler you can find Molson Stock Ale to give a sense of the range. The only high-tech items found are the jukebox, the bowling video game, and the flat screen TV that carries most-to-all available sports. The perfect spot for the last one (and you may drink a few before finding that last one) of the night.

I’ve never heard of this bar before but you can bet the farm that when I’m in the area, I will go and experience it for myself. Wouldn’t it be neat to meet Neil Young’s brother and chat with him over a beer and get a picture with the guy? Hell ya!

keep on Jammin’

River Boat music?

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Now this a river boat (guitar) that I’d love to take for a spin around Toronto’s waterfront! I bet that this is what David Wilcox was thinking of when he made that great tune of his called River Boat Fantasy.

river boat guitar

Keep on Jammin’ (just watch out for those buoys)


Plastic Bass for my buddy Aldo

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Only at the Nashville Earth Day Festival, held in the city’s Centennial Park (complete with its own Parthenon) would we find a bass guitar made from melted and molded plastic bags. This is the best usage I have seen of plastic bags yet.

It’s actually an art project by a Metro Nashville student for the Trash Art Contest. Considering I have forgotten your birthday for many years now Aldo D., I just saw it and it screamed your name!

plastic bass guitar

Keep on Jammin’

Beautiful Custom made Electric Chrome Guitar

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I cannot find the correct words to describe this beautifully crafted custom made chrome electric guitar. Just look at the detailed work that had to go into something like this. Did the craftsman etch out the pattern on it? Did he or she make a mold then put it into a press to create this master piece?

I found this one when I was on line late one night and I was completely captivated by the intricate arrangement. I attempted to zoom into the name that is in between the pick ups but I couldn’t. The mounts that hold the pick ups are really nice. The tailpiece is so rock hard looking that it appears that it can take a beating! Then there is the distinctive bridge footings that make me think that the person who developed it paid tons of attention when forging it.

The only thing that I find odd about this beauty is that there are only two controls on it. If you make a piece of instrument art why don’t you give the musician(s) more options to tailor fit your sound. That is the only issue that I have with this guitar.

In all honesty, I think that I’d just put this baby under glass and never play on it. I’d be too afraid to scratch it, enjoy!

custom chrome etched guitar

Keep on Jammin’

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