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The rebirth of Rock and Roll Heaven

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If you lived in Toronto during the 80’s you would remember a great bar called Rock and Roll Heaven at Bloor and Young. Ohhh the memories of seeing bands and meeting people in this place! My old band Pylis even played there.

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I can recall one night going there and watching Robin Trower playing with his band and met a very old friend who played in a fellow 80’s band in Brantford called Vigilants.

Robin Trower’s sound was the sound of Rocking Roll heaven during that time so check out this video to get a little taste of what it was like.

Recently Rocking Roll Heaven has had it’s rebirth in Toronto at it’s new location. I love the venue that they took over from and the outside patio is quite nice as well.

On their site they have a good schedule of who is playing and they also have a acoustic jam sessions on Sundays from 2-6 PM, I hope to do a few sets there some weekend soon!

I hope that they rekindle the feel of the old place and I wish them well.

Keep on Jammin’




Ball Media Productions

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This is a company that is owned and run by an old guitarist buddy that I use to play with way back in the day. His name is John Ball and what a success story his is.

John and I always played together but not in the same band. We hung around the same circle of friends and musicians and to make a long story short, we had different playing styles that never really over lapped. He gravitated to the harder speed metal sort of arrangements while I was under a more Progressive Rock, Jazz and to a lesser extent Pop genre.

My sister and John were closer in age and they both were in the same grade at St. John’s College. Boy did both of them get themselves into a little bit of trouble as kids during those years! Then again, I was no angel either.

His company is called Ball Media Productions and he had his humble beginnings in our home town of Brantford, Ontario. He at first started his empire with a recording studio in the basement of a well known Brantford music studio called Music and Sound. Over the years he has branched of into different area’s as he sees fit.

Now his company has a jaw dropping amount of specialized services that can now compete with the big guys!

Ball Media includes Printing/Bindery, Packaging, Branding/Indentity, CD / DVD Replication, Graphic Design and Web/Multimedia plus video area’s of expertise. Take a look for yourself and if you do need his services for anything no matter how small, just tell him “Stickman” sent you!

I wish him well with all of his company’s future endeavors but I know that he doesn’t need it!

Keep on Jammin’ Johnnie!

It’s Rocket Robin Hood

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I decided to wake up this Saturday morning very early and the TV was on. What I saw on the old idiot box, that’s what my dad called it, was Rocket Robin Hood of the 30th century.

As a kid growing up, the Saturday morning cartoons were part of the weekend routine and good old Robin, Little John and Friar Tuck were right there in the middle! The sound of the intro called In Troubled Times or the Countdown brought chills up and down my spine.

I was watching The Incredible Gem of Cosmo Khan. Seeing the name Cosmo brought to mind a inter-galactic Kramer with rag tag army of bad guys, if only he did the voice over it would have been my favorite episode!

Kramer, I mean Cosmo Khan was shrunk the tiny planet of Thor, on the outskirts of the galaxy, and held it for ransom until the U.S.S. (United Solar Systems) make Khan the Supreme War Lord of the universe! So now the U.S.S. had to ask Robin to join in their fight for the little planet. One thing though, Robin is a outlaw himself. Ok, they grant him amnesty and all is forgiven.

So the U.S.S. give the boys a ship and they take off immediately to Kramer’s, for some reason I can’t get him out of my head, Khan’s asteroid planet of Xanador to try and stop him. The ship is a bird and while descending to the planet some red neck hunters shot them down, wait there’s more!

After using their gravity boots to land safely, they finally reach Khans castle. They enter by digging under the wall using their disintegrating rays. Ok, their in.

They now must swim in the moot and get into the castle proper. Now inside, Khan is having lunch while admiring the shrunken planet of Thor on his galactic side table that has a magnetic field around it but for some reason it doesn’t work covering the top.

Now Khan is a little sleepy after his umpteenth home made solar chardonnay and finally passes out! Robin notices this flaw in the protective shield and jumps up on a ceiling beam with little John and they do some fishing, well that’s what they said. They got it, until Little John screamed out We got it and woke up Khan and he called his thugs.

Ah, it’s a two parter, can you believe it! Now I have to wake up next Saturday morning to see the Escape from Xanador episode!

Well I hope that I brought you all back to your Saturday morning cartoon memories, I know Robin did.

Keep on Jammin’ Rocket Robin Hood

Late in the Evening drumming

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This is a song that I just love playing! It has everything a player, with heavy rythum guitar influences would want.

The rhythm is very catchy. It’s Simon and Garfunkel so everyone has at least heard the song one. The chord can be played in such a way that they all open with really big fat sounds to them!

stevegadd.jpg The biggest thing about this tune is the drummer is and drumming itself. I can play the drums at a decent level but I would love to play this song the way that only Steve Gadd can.

I have never seen a drummer play with 2 sticks in his hand but this guy certainly does and he does it well!

If your a drummer looking at this post here is a challenge for you! Go get on your kit and try this one out. Wait until you reach 0:48 on the video counter at the bottom left of the screen. Try it out and get back to us! If your not a drummer, go and get the old pots and pans out or if your not that ambitious then do it air drumming style!

Enjoy.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDU9691Q-Uw&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Keep on Jammin’

The Dream Theatre Rock experience

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I first heard of this band by my buddy Tony when we were standing next to the speakers at the Saga concert that I was at recently.

He had told me that his son that has his own band, loves this type of Rock. He quickly described it as a hybrid of RUSH, Saga, Yes and Heavy thrashing metal. These guys I had to check out!

I first headed off to what in the world is that obscure site called … oh ya, youtube and listened to a few of Dream Theater’s tunes.

This is the one song that really caught my eye. It was everything that Tony had told me about all wrapped up into one song.

The keyboardist sounded like a young Rick Wakeman near the beginning and the bass player sounded a bit like Chris Squire. The guitarist had that Alex Lifeson sound that he had on A Farewell to Kings album one minute then a hint of Permanent Waves the next! The vocalist at first sounded a bit like Jethro Tall then Michael Sadler from Saga.

Todays music in my mind, sometimes lack the feel of musical diversity. There is so much influence out there that bands just don’t tap into. Remember, there is no such thing as a completely new style that has never been heard of before. We may use multiple approaches/styles to create these new sounds but we all use outside influences to create our own individual stamp of music.

I now think that it’s time to let Rick be exposed to this style and see if he can incorporate some of this into his unique approach!

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Keep on Jammin’

The Guitarist

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Mark Goffeney is definitely in the running for my vote for the most unique guitarists to have come around in quite some time.

I saw this somewhere and when I saw it I knew that I had to post about it.

I mean have you ever tried this feat, no pun intended!

It is hard but this guy makes it look just plain old easy? Check out his site and enjoy the show!

Mark also has a great myspace account.

Keep on Jammin’ indeed!

Saga, 30th Anniversary Tour

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I was made aware of the Saga concert on the morning of the show.

Tony, God bless that guy, called me on Saturday morning and asked if we were going to see them that night. I had told him that I knew nothing of the show and hung up to get some tickets on-line.

My wife was not feeling up to going to the show so I naturally decided to contact my keyboardist friend Rick to drag him along.

The tickets were $20.00 Can. the seating was in general admission. We were one the first one’s there so we decided to stand beside the stage. We waited for a long time until Tony,the old keyboardist from Pylis and his beautiful wife Laurie to meet us there.

Last time we saw Saga live was around 2 years ago at the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Toronto. That night we stood on the right side of the stage were Ian Crichton the guitarist traditionally played. Tony wanted us to be on Ian’s side of the stage so I could be amazed by his wizardry. At this point I was recovering from a heart problem and I thought that it was really nice of my old buddy to be thinking in this way!

This time I thought we should be on the keyboardist Jim Gilmour’s side because of Tony’s nice gesture the last time we saw the boys in the band.

We were around 15 feet, yes 15 feet away from him and it was wonderful vantage point to see the band from. Tony couldn’t have been happier.

Here is the set that they played that night!

Trust
That’s as far as I’ll go
Wind him up
Your not alone
The one
The Perfectionist
Conversations
Scratching the surface He did this solo and it was dedicated to a married couple that he knew.
The Flyer
The Perfectionist
The Runaway
See them smile
Compromise
Careful where you step
Don’t be late

Don’t be late is my favorite Saga of all time! It really was the best song that I have ever played then and now!!!

Encore
Humble stance
On the Loose

The end of a Rocking Roll/Progressive Rock era ladies and gentlemen.

Keep on Rockin’ Saga!

Toto – the early stuff I mean

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As you are more then well aware I am a huge lover of Prog Rock or you could even say challenging music to play!

Prog Rock is better known as Progressive Rock. Examples of this is YES (the four-part “Close to the Edge” or “The Gates of Delirium” from the Relayer Album), RUSH six-part “Hemispheres”, Klattu, early Genesis, Jethro Tull or Saga. If you think that just listening to this style is enjoyable then you you should try playing it live!

Of coarse there are always bands that I strongly feel that should have placed in there but have not for some reason or another. The one band that comes to mind is Toto, SOME of their earlier stuff that is.

albumcovers-toto1978.jpgTheir first album Toto, is the greatest one that they have put out and the only vinyl one of theirs that I have ever bought. As a matter of fact, I just bought CD version on-line a couple of minutes ago. This album really brings back memories of the my early years of playing rock guitar/music.

I had just been let go by Phylis and I was a little bit bummed out to say the least. I had just found out only last year by the keyboardist Tony, still a great friend to this day, that my parents were quite worried about my playing with them on the road in bars. I think they believed that I might be influenced by the rock & roll life style that accompanied being on the road at such a tender age of 15.

Anyways, during this period I was desperately trying to get out of my funk and at the time was desperately looking for another musical genre to put under my belt. This band had it all.

They were challenging to play live, a bit jazzy and a little bit of pop to round it out. Yes I did say pop. My great wife Tricia has always thought of me as a player who was a rocker at heart but for some reason loved pop music. She always has that look on her face when I play some great rock tunes only to be followed by some popish sounding stuff.

I fell in love with Child’s Anthem as well as Girl Goodbye because they have that Prog Rock like progressions to them.

I found I’ll Supply The Love, Georgy Porgy and You Are The Flower to have this Earth Wind and Fire feel to it. “Taking it back” has influences of Gino Vannelli’s Brother to Brother album, I also happen to know the brother of the drummer on this particular album.

So I hope that this post helps you better understand my childhood influences that I had growing up and the styles that has helped my playing of today.

Keep on Jammin’

Canada’s own John ‘JD’ Roberts

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Now I grew up watching this guy when he was one of the first Video jockeys in Canada. He talked about and interviewed many of the days greatest bands of our time. He was always soft spoken and very intellectual in my eyes.

Now a days, he is a anchor person at CNN. When I see him in his new refined roll for the American cable company CNN, I still get a chuckle and wonder what reaction people would get if they saw one of his blasts from the past interviews? Well, here goes!

This next flick is of JD, as we know him, with a member of the Canadian 80’s band FM. The member of the band is the always entertaining mandolin player, Nash the Slash!

If you recognize John Roberts and watch him on CNN, I honestly want to know what your initial response is to this video. I realize that it may make you do a double take but I hope it makes you think!

Keep on Jammin’

Rick Wakeman’s band is terribly talented

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Oh my GOD!!! The show left me literally in a state of incomunicato.

Not just because of R. Jackson’s generous gift of buying a ticket for me (which I WILL remember for the rest of my life!), but due to the pure talent of Rick Wakeman and his band mates.

The tour is called Rick Wakeman’s Grumpy Old Picture Show.

The caped keyboard crusader was at his all time best!

When they started to play the first song I thought that these guys were just a rinkie dinkie band of whoever that he put together at the last minute. A funny thing happened later on though, they started to morph into this MEGA BAND right before my very eyes!

The band consisted of Rick Wakeman and the English Rock Ensemble.

I only wish that you all were there to enjoy it as much as we did. Thanx again R. Jackson for the memories!

Keep on Jammin’

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