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You are here: Home / Archives for Entertainment

The second coming of Jon

August 6, 2008 by Chris

Just got off the old blower, that’s what we use to call the phone, with my old buddy Jon and he says that he needs a fix of Toronto back into his blood! We’re looking forward to seeing his old mug around the homestead here. hopefully it won’t be as expensive as the last time he was here.

The first time he here at our newish home, it was a long weekend. We had a few beverages and started to get a little hungry. So off we went to the grocery store and we happened to come across this store that sold fire works, what a bad mistake on our wallets this venture was going to be! By the time we left the store, we were about $220.00 richer in fire works. Oh well, we had fun and no one lost an eye.

So here’s to more action packed adventure with big Jon(Johnnie), aka Pinhead, and this time let’s really get a guitar lesson in ok buddy? Stay tuned for more updates.

Keep on Jammin’




Filed Under: General, Health and Fitness, Home and Lifestyle, Humor, Recreation Tagged With: fireworks at dieppe park toronto, fireworks in toronto, Jon, Jon from Brantford, Pinhead, Pinhead from Brantford, Pinhead is god, Toronto

Our new neighbours

August 4, 2008 by Chris

Long gone are the ones who use to play passable karaoke and we now joyfully enter the era of The von Drats. We finally have really cool neighbors!

We ran into them the other day and they seem to be a great fit for the neighborhood. He plays lead guitar, a huge bonus for me, and they are into renovating their new home! They are around our age and she is into sprucing up her garden!

Looking forward to getting to know them better and the best of luck to them in the future!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Canadian, Culture, Entertainment, Home and Lifestyle, Musicians Tagged With: new neighbors, surf music, the von Drats, Toronto

Amos Lee live rocks

August 2, 2008 by Chris

First of all, Amos Lee is a guy who is a bit of an acquired taste, but when you get him, you really get him!

Second, I know I must apologize to my regular readers for not writing on this blog for ages, but it’s the summer time here folks!

The tickets we got for free and the added bonus were the seats. They were 1st balcony, 1st row center right above the sound board. It has been a while since we’ve both been out together and it couldn’t of been better.

His sound was that of many influences. Folk, Jazz, Dixie Land and Jazz were right there front from the start. The band that was with him complimented him perfectly. They seemed like they all were high school buddies, that just happened to stumble upon this thing called playing in a band and was enjoying every minute of it.

The drummer was simple but yet very tight. He also caught my wife’s musical eyes in that he plays the drums the other way from what she normally sees in other bands. The bass player reminded me of Billy Wyman in his stage presence. Great bassist, but seemed very, very relaxed on stage.

Now the keyboardist with Amos Lee was another story. He was the most colorful on stage. His sound was big and bouncy! His stage demeanor had the essence of Levon Helm, the drummer for The Band. He was just a grooving to everything and he knew when to fade in and out perfectly! Now for the man of the hour, Amos!

amos-lee.jpg

The style he plays is quite simple, most of the time, but he shows how to pull out all the stops at the drop of a hat. His voice took some time getting use to, but in the end he made quite the impression on all of us! The song that stood out in my eyes was Sweet Pea. When I was first deciding which free show to go to, it was this song that drew me towards seeing him. The way he plays this one live is just plain and simply amazing! To see what I mean, I highly recommend going out and seeing this guy live … I know you’ll won’t be disappointed.

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Concerts, Entertainment, Music, Musicians, Playing Styles, Recreation, Songs to play Tagged With: amos lee, Amos Lee Sweet Pea, Billy Wyman, Danforth Music Hall, folk, keyboard, keyboardist, Levon Helm, Live, Music, play, stage presence, The Band, ticket, Toronto

Just won tickets for Amos Lee

June 29, 2008 by Chris

I just won tickets for Amos Lee at the Danforth Music Hall on July 9th! A day after my birthday, thanx for the B.D. present! I know that signing up for e-news letters can certainly be a royal pan in the ass, but this time it was a great idea!

My wife opened the e-mail announcement the other day and thought it was just one of those weekly e-flyers with nothing really of any substance. Then after reading a few lines, she realized they were announcing winners for their weekly or monthly draw and my name was listed. It said that we could check out ANY of their summer shows on-line and then pick one!

amoslee1.jpgThey say that he has this minimalist approach to his song writing. His bio on the site sounds neat. It says that his shows are like going back in time when you use to listen to your older brothers record collection! The Music Hall also states that Amos’ influences are those of Neil Young, Stevie Wonder and John Prine all rolled up into one. I think that this guy is someone of future interest.

BTW, if you check out his MySpace site, check out ” Sweet Pea” it’s right back to the roots of guitar. It has a real nice Donovan or Leon Redbone feel to it … if your into that sort of music, I am big time!

 

amoslee2.jpg

So I’ll have to give my impressions on this guy on July 10th. I hope that you’ll all come back for my assessment of this guy and maybe you can put your 2 cents worth into it as well.

Here’s what other bloggers are saying about Amos Lee:

Amos Lee announces Last Days tour dates – When we first brought you news of Amos Lee’s third studio album Last Days at the Lodge, we also promised you tour dates. And we just learned the Philadelphian, who put down his elementary-school teacher chalk to be a full-time musician, …

Amos Lee-Last Days at the Lodge – It’s hard to argue with the success of a young artist like Amos Lee. His first two albums have sold nearly half a million copies and he has opened entire tours for such legends as Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. Upon the release of the his …

Amos Lee – Street Corner Preacher – Shoutouts for the soft rock flavor of Jails & Bombs, the country taste of Ease Back, the jazzy smiles of Baby I Want You, and the deep soulful seasonings of Won’t Let Me Go. Thanks for the variety of eartastes! Amos Lee …

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Concerts, Entertainment, Great Bands, Guitars, Home and Lifestyle, Music, Musicians, Playing Styles, Recreation Tagged With: album, Amos, amos lee, Amos Lee - Street, Amos Lee-Last, approach, Artist, assessment, bob dylan, collection, Danforth, Donovan, guitar, john prine, Leon Redbone, Music, musician, Myspace, neil young, news, Philadelphian, record, release, studio, success, teacher, tour, Van Morrison, writing

Cindy Blackman a modern women drummer

June 18, 2008 by Chris

Cindy Blackman is truly a modern day women drummer who should be admired for the many styles she plays.

Best known as the drummer for arena rocker Lenny Kravitz for 11 years, she seems to float effortlessly from one genre to another. Don’t let this fact make you think that he stifled her creative side for all those years!

She is originally from Ohio and possesses some rock solid jazz chops! Her imaginative drumming technique’s and writing ability are the reason why her album Music for the New Millennium is so well received by many lovers of music.

cindyblackman1.jpg While playing with some of the best in R & R (Mick Jagger, James Brown, Iggy Pop and Prince just to name a few) she sure seems to love it! I know would, wouldn’t you? Being a women and excelling very nicely on an instrument that traditionally is reserved for men, she holds her own!

Cindy Blackman has quite a few heavy hitters that she uses for guidance. Art Blakey (nice chops on that guy), Elvin Jones and everyone’s favorite John Bonham! with inspiration from these guys, it’s no wonder she solo’s like no other women we know.

She’s a lover of horns and singers. Her love of Charlie “Bird” Parker and Miles Davis is apparent on her new album. She has a liking for Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane (man that guy had a God given talent) and Wayne Shorter.

cindyblackman2.jpgThe singers she likes is Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald with a sprinkling of Johnny Hartman for good measure. The best in delivery is Billie holiday hands down! I couldn’t agree with her any more. Billie holiday was big part of her musical education and mine too!

As you know I’m a huge lover of John Mayer on guitar, but Billie Holiday is the women who just can’t be beat for emotion. Her phrasing is just like getting hit by a bus, and you wanna know what, I honestly got hit by one as a kid and boy can that change your outlook on life a bit. I picked up a cheap Billie Holiday CD somewhere and it all started to snowball from there. Besides, if I had 2 acts to see live (that I never got the chance to) Max Webster is 1st and she is 2nd!

So if you are in your favorite record store go and treat yourself to her new album! Heaven knows, I just might be onto something here folks!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Entertainment, Music, Musicians, Recreation Tagged With: album, art blakey, Billie, billie holiday, Bird, bit, CD, Charlie, charlie bird, cindy blackman, creative side, Davis, Dizzy, dizzy gillespie, Don, drummer, Ella Fitzgerald, Elvin, everyones favorite, folk, genre, God, heavy hitters, holiday cd, Iggy Pop, inspiration, instrument, jazz, jazz chops, john bonham, john coltrane, John Mayer, johnny hartman, Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Live, Max Webster, mick jagger, Millennium, Music, new millennium, Ohio, Parker, playing, rock, sarah vaughan, singer, solid jazz, style, technique

Free Air Guitar for those who need it

June 15, 2008 by Chris

If you need to know where this stand is, please contact me through this post, really!

freeairguitar.jpg

Keep on Jammin’, if you dare!

Filed Under: Entertainment, Guitar Equipment, Guitars, Humor, Playing Styles, Recreation Tagged With: air guitar, free guitar, guitar, jammin, post, stand

Woofstock

June 9, 2008 by Chris

Woofstock is North America’s Largest festival for dogs. It’s held in Toronto on June 7th – 8th in the downtown core. “The summer of canine Love” is a good way to describe it! 140,000 people can’t be wrong!

My wife, Midnight our black lab and myself just came back from this crazy event and what a blast it was! They blocked off a fairly large area of streets in Toronto and it was informative and tons of fun!

There were so many people and their dogs all over the place.

The vendors had great freebees and the products were top shelf stuff! There was even this company called Happy Tails that have a Pet Resort & Pet Camp in the very popular Muskoka area.

Our guests have the freedom to come and go as they please between open pet-sized bedrooms or cabins, fireplace lounge and one of many large dog parks segregated by size and temperament. They can run and play all day, chasing chipmunk and dragonflies, hunting frogs, swimming, and umpteen other things dogs being dogs like to do.

There is also a human equivalent called the Deerhurst Resort not too far away as well. There is no connection between the two but it’s nice to have the best of both worlds right next to each other. If we had more dollars then sense, then I think we’d be there!

The best thing I we took out of this event was the ability to bring our dog right inside a very respectable pub for a couple of Guinesses! Cheers, a little hair of the dog won’t kill ya! Hope to see you there next year, drop me a line and we’ll buy the first round, really!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Canadian, Culture, Entertainment, Health and Fitness, Home and Lifestyle, Humor, My experiences, Recreation, Video Tagged With: best of both worlds, blast, Camp, cheers, chipmunk, crazy event, deerhurst resort, downtown, dragonflies, fair, festival, fireplace lounge, freedom, frogs, fun, Guinesses, hair of the dog, Happy, happy tails, Hope, hunting, Largest, Midnight, Moskoka, muskoka area, North America, people, pet camp, pet resort, play, pub, streets in toronto, stuff, summer, swimming, Tails, temperament, tons of fun, Toronto, tree, woofstock

On this day in Rock and Roll History

May 31, 2008 by Chris

Just thought that you should know that this day in Rock and Roll history the following events happened.

Births on this day are …

1948 John Bonham (Led Zeppelin)
1938 Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul and Mary)
1939 Charles Miller (War)
1944 Mick Ralphs (Mott the Hoople)

Miscellaneous things that happened on this date are …

1957 “That’ll Be the Day” by Buddy Holly and the Crickets is released.
1962 The Isley Brothers’ “Twist and Shout” is released on Wand Records. It will rise to #17 on the US Pop chart and will be covered two years later by the Beatles, whose version rose to #2. (I did not know that one!)
1966 “The Monkees” series debut on NBC-TV.
1969 John and Yoko record Give Peace a Chance at Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal
1976 The Who perform loudest concert ever , using 76,000-watt PA system
1977 The biggest and most expensive rock tour in history begins as Emerson, Lake and Palmer embark on a worldwide tour, with a 125 people begin in toe, including a 70-piece orchestra.
2005 The Salvation Army close Strawberry Field, a Liverpool children’s home which inspired the Beatles’ song, “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Entertainment, Great Bands, History, Music, Musicians Tagged With: Beatles, beatles song, buddy holly, buddy holly and the crickets, Chance, emerson lake and palmer, John, john bonham, Liverpool, liverpool children, Monkees, Mott, NBC-TV, Peace, queen elizabeth hotel, queen elizabeth hotel in montreal, rock and roll history, Strawberry, strawberry field, Twist, twist and shout, watt pa system, zeppelin

Is Disco really Back

May 27, 2008 by Chris

Well maybe it’s time to pull out the old sequined hot pants, 12-inch records, mirror balls and platform shoes from where ever you saw them last? Is Disco really back or is it just a pipe dream?

The record labels and the so-called people in the know and says it is back! Should we listen and be very afraid OR should we embrace this as a long lost, more then mis-understood cousin? I have mixed feelings.

satnitefever1.jpg

Ever since disco started up, I kept listening for some crazy guitarist to jump in and blow me away. but I was just left hanging … for quite a while! Being as nieve back then as I was, I sorta was looking for a different style to come out of no where to bring to my arsenal of techniques to use when I was playing with different bands. The Rolling Stones started to jump on this bandwagon with their disco version of “Miss You”, but they fell far too short of my expectations.

I realize that the point of music is to sooth the savage beast in all of us. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, or so they say. But the most important thing that we have to recognize and acknowledge about any genre of music that it has the proper end result, is someone actually enjoying it?

Way back in the day, (back when I got hit by a school bus, true story here kidz) I had a buddy of mine whose parents had more dollars then sense and they gave their kids basically anything they wanted. Now this is where it gets scary, disco was all the rage and my buddy asked his parents to get a dance floor like Saturday Night Fever and guess what … they did! This thing was 1/4 the size of the dance floor of the above mentioned movie with the lights under the floor, attached to this light organ thingy with 1000 watt speakers to boot! It was really impressive and yes, I did the line thing at least once or twice … I think?

discoball.jpg

The matriarchs of disco and both crowned “Queen of Disco”, Donna Summers and Gloria Gaynor are both coming out with new disco music for June and I guess that will help get the ball, or should I say disco ball rolling!

So tell us if you are FOR or AGAINST the return of DISCO into our lives. Was once enough or is it something old is something new?

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Culture, Entertainment, Health and Fitness, History, Home and Lifestyle, Music, My experiences, The early Years Tagged With: AGAINST, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, boot, cousin, dance, disco ball, disco music, donna summers, dream, eyes of the beholder, Fever, floor, gloria gaynor, hot pants, inch, jammin, light organ, matriarchs, mirror balls, Miss You, mixed feelings, new disco, platform, point of music, Queen, rage, rolling, rolling stones disco, saturday night fever, savage beast, school, time

Gordon Lightfoot

May 21, 2008 by Chris

On The Hour, with George Stroumboulopoulos, he does a great interview with Canada’s greatest singer/song writer ever and does it only the way that he can do it!

He was born in Orillia, Ontario. As a young boy he grew up singing in church choirs. Later on in life the man moved to L.A. in the late 1950’s to seriously study music. It wasn’t until he came back to Canada that his career finally took off! In 1966 he released his first album titled “Lightfoot”.

His commercial success came into the forefront when he started to break into the US market in the 70’s. This was a great thing. Eventually, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and even Elvis started doing re-makes of his songs!

Lightfoot’s got a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, he was one of the first inductees into Canada’s Singer/Songwriters Hall of Fame and has won 15 Junos to boot. Not bad from some guy from Orillia.

As for me, I have a little story to tell you here kidz, so gather around the campfire and let’ go!

Circa: early 1990. Place: Toronto, Ontario Canada

I was working for a delivery company called Mr. Case and I had a drop off in Toronto’s affluent Rosedale area. I had my supplies in my van and I pulled up to the clients driveway and got out. Damn, wrong driveway! So I went back to the van and everyone’s worse nightmare comes to life, I LOCK THE KEYS IN THE VEHICLE!

I don’t want to bother the people in the house, so I look for a coat hanger to break in. Can’t find any. What do I do next! I now notice a car pulling up the driveway in the adjacent house. A man, a women and child exit the vehicle. The women notices me and asks whats wrong and I begin to tell her my story. The man in the background with the child listens and says that he’d be back in a minute. Beautiful! The women stays behind and we spark up a nice conversation. Remember, I’m in a area that the average house is about 2 million dollars.

No the man comes back out of the house with a coat hanger and he is walking down his driveway and heads towards me on his neighbor’s side. As he is doing this, he has pliers in hand is starting to bend the end to the familiar hook. As he reaches me and my van, he automatically goes to the drivers to.

I’m now thinking to myself, what in the hell am I doing letting a millionaire attempt to break into my van! I said thank you for the hanger and I tried to take it from him before he tries to open the truck. He then says “ok, but I’m kinda good at this type of thing”.

As I stumble around trying desperately to open the van and have a conversation with this rich guy, he taps me on the shoulder and says “Can give it a try?”. I then agreed and handed over the tool. After 10 seconds I see the door pin is open and this guy turns to me and says “I told ya I was good at this” and then I realized it was …

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Canadian, Concerts, Culture, Entertainment, Guitars, Musicians, My experiences, Playing Styles, Recreation, Video Tagged With: bob dylan, Canada, career, Circa, commercial success, delivery company, elvis, George Stroumboulopoulos, hanger, Hour, johnny cash, junos, L.A, lightfoot, million dollars, mr case, nightmare, orillia ontario, s singer, singer song writer, songwriters hall of fame, star, US, VEHICLE, walk of fame

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