Guitars, tips and great music discussions
I just love this one! It has the warm summer feel to it. The band emerging from a refreshing march out of a inviting pool on a long hot summer’s day, is just what this winter ravaged Canadian needs right now.
BTW, happy spring everyone!!!
Keep on Jammin’
As you may or may not know, Steven Page, one of the founders of the Bare Naked Ladies has now left the band to pursue a solo career. The crazy boy band from Scarborough Ontario is saying good bye to one of the masterminds behind their great success for the past 20 years!
I for one, like his old band. They were lots of fun and full of unbridled enthusiasm on stage. They brought out the kid in you and that really is what makes them a stand out act in today’s copy cat music world.
Steven Page’s first solo attempt (while still with the Bare Naked Ladies) was called The Vanity Project.
I only started to listen to bits and pieces of The Vanity Project while writing this post and it’s not that bad. Hit and Run is played in an open tuning format that has a nice, full feel and sound to it. The one called These Wasted Words reminds me a Toronto band called Needy Fingers. So Young, So Wrong, So Long is the type of song that one takes on a long road trip and Here Today And Yesterday has that incredible Klautu aura about it! I think I might pick it up!
My wife and I always wanted to see BNL live, but never got the chance. I guess they’re another great Canadian act that we never get to experience. Don’t get me wrong, The band The Bare Naked Ladies will still exist without Steven Page and perhaps we’ll see them play someday, but it probably won’t quite be the same. At this time the remaining members of The Barenaked Ladies do not plan on adding a new singer – they’ll continue on as they are and in fact are in the process of getting ready to go on Tour later this year.
Steven and the boys were not there to blow you away playing speed music or had that in your face onstage persona.
Steven Page was the one guy in the band that everyone could relate to. He is the modern day resonance man, and that is what he is about to do again. His next venture will be in the theatrical arena. He is the musical composer for the Thomas Patterson Group, Bartholomew Fair at the Stratford Festival. This appears to be a natural progression for him to follow. I think that he will eventually gravitate towards the stage, not the orchestra pit.
Steven Page’s style of guitar playing is very simple and straight forward and very much to the point. Nothing fancy at all in his approach but, it does the trick. His rhythm guitar playing is his bread and butter while playing in the band, plus he has done the odd little guitar solo here and there.
While reading the Toronto Star at work the other day, I noticed an article about Steven Page. It was about his first public musical exposure to the world since leaving the Bare Naked Ladies (BNL). He will perform as a solo act in the Neil Young tribute show coming up Wednesday, June 10 at Massey Hall here in Toronto. It will be part of this years Luminato festival of arts and creativity. I wonder what he will try and pull off at this gig, it’s anybody’s guess really.
As for Stevens adventure into the world of theatre, I am not sure if it will involve him in front or behind the stage. I can envision him in serious roles, desperately attempting to shake off the type casting of his kid like antics on the musical stage with BNL. I think this will be good for him. It will be an adventure that we will all be watching closely. So best of luck to Steven Page in his future endeavors!
My question to you all is, will he reach the lofty heights in his new career as he did with the Bare Naked Ladies?
Keep on Jammin’
To my amazement, an old friend of mine from high school, Carl Wilson, was on the Colbert Report the other day. Colbert had him on his show so he could talk to Carl about his new book. His book is about his hate and then his developing interest in some of Canada’s Celine Dion’s music.
You see he started out a hater and wondered why so many were fascinated with her music … in the end he came to like or at least “be able to listen to” some of her music.
The book is called Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste.
It is so nice to see someone that you know doing so well in his/her related field and then to be interviewed on a popular talk show and have it turn out to be a fantastic hit was a bonus!
When I woke up the other day, my wife put a postie on the breakfast table for me. At first I thought, like most men do when they see something like this is, what did I do now or what do I have to do later? Upon reading the message, I was quite taken back to have read a shocking memo. Before going to bed, she had noticed a familiar name listed as a guest for that nights Colbert Report. She then recorded it on our PVR (TIVO) machine so I could view it later to see if I knew the interviewee. Thank God she did because it was Carl Wilson from my old high school in Brantford, Ontario!
After seeing it for myself that evening when I returned from work, I had to check out Facebook to see if anyone else saw it. As it turned out, a few people did! Then I checked out one of his web sites called Zoilus and found a real neat video of a actor named James Franco being interviewed while on the Red carpet at the Oscars about what some of his guilty pleasures are. He then brought up Carl’s latest book. It seems like the little guy from Brantford does good, way to go Carl!!!
L-R Me, Yuergen Beck, Carl Wilson and Mike McGraw
Keep on Jammin’ Carl