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1,800 Guitarists Set World Record Playing ‘Smoke on the Water’

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Now that would be a sight or should I say sound to hear! I hope that they were all in tune. I wonder how far they got in the song?

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Anyway, those crazy (and I mean that in a nice way) Germans just seem to love their hard rock and where the mullet seems to never have gone out of style.

They had 1802 guitarists, ranging from 6 to 80 years of age, play this tune simultaneously.

It happened on Saturday, June 25 2007, in the village of Leinfelden-Echterdingen in the German state of Baden-Württembergwonder. Makes one wonder what the previous record is. Well if you really want to know it was in June in Kansas City in the US, where 1,683 guitarists got down and riffed together.

The Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan was trying to take part in a live link-up from England, but was prevented from singing along by technical problems. Now that would have been cool to be there if they did get the glitch to work right.

If the record is not exceeded by September, the record will go into the Guinness Book of Records.

Keep on Jammin’




The Grand Old Danforth Music Hall

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The Danforth Music Hall is quite the fixture in my neighbourhood. It’s been around since the 1919 and originally called “Allen’s Danforth theatre”.

It had it’s hey day back when Vaudeville acts where all the rage! It changed it’s concept and purpose a number of times and eventually was called the “Century” but kept it’s distinctive beauty intact.

They’ve just renovated this gem on “The Danforth“, known by the locals, and is fully up and running. They have underwent extensive renovations from top to bottom that reflects it original Grandeur. New state of the art sound/lighting system, new seats that are wider (now that’s worth it weight in gold in itself), updated lobby/washrooms and bar area!

This is the kind of jewel that you pass everyday and say to yourself, ” I gotta get in there some day!”. Well, hopefully I will not have to wait that long.

I just went to their site and found a treasure trove of musical talent that is just screaming out to me to go see! Besides, there is tons of parking and seconds away from the subway.

These are a few of my choices that have caught my eye!

Rick Wakeman, the man is a musical genius and machine when it comes to the keyboard (Tony, you gotta see this guy to believe him)

Stephan Stills, now this is a guy you want to go camping with, imagine the sing songs around the fire! (Stevie my favorite brother-in-law, keep this date open)

Rickie Lee Jones, she would be a nice addition to one of my backyard parties. (Jon, will we see you there?)

Just to name a few! My eyes are on Rick Wakeman.

Their site is easy to navigate plus there are some video’s of the artists in their “Events” section, just in case you want to refresh your memory of who they are.

So if your in my neck of the woods, check out this Grand Old Lady and hope to see you there on Aug. 17th/07 when Mr. Wakeman is playing.

Keep on Jammin’

Well …

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Ok good readership, it’s time for part II of Chris’s excellent adventure!

The day started off with great excitement! I was going to put plan II into effect.

I had brought my guitar to work to do a little practicing at lunch 1/2 hour before I went off to play in front of Mr. Max himself, Kim Mitchell, at the street level Q-107 booth in downtown Toronto. I was on the hunt for a little quiet jam room to hone my trade.

1st, the theatre (that’s how us Canucks spell it) room, damn it’s locked! Then off to the large conference room on the 4th floor, ah, somebodies in there! With broken heart, Larivee guitar and lunch in hand, I headed off to the old smoking area outside.

PERFECT, nobody there and it was nice and sheltered from the mid afternoon sun, with a little breeze to help unwind. I unlock the unbridled enthusiasm, and guitar out of my case and start jamming! This went on for awhile until I had to return back to work. At this point I said to myself, “bring it on!”.

My great boss Liz in the recovery room (oh lets not forget Jennifer), whom I am sure is reading this now, let me go a bit early that day for my inaugural stumble, I mean graceful leap onto the national radio scene!

I got home, put my tools of battle (or as Arlo Guthrie put it “instruments of destruction” from Alice’s Restaurant) in the car and off I went ready to conquer the world!

Parked the car, took my tools out of the trunk and headed off to the promised land! Got in front of the street level booth with heart and adrenalin just a racing and then … he swiveled around… slowly!

The look on his face was truly as sight to see. With raised eyebrows, he mouthed the words ” I don’t have any tickets left”.

Keep on Jammin’ (or in this case crying!!!)

Calling all Hosers, Take off, eh!

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Note: please play the bottom youtube thingy then start reading the letters, I mean words eh, you hosers.

Oh my God they’re back again! Bob & Doug are having a Two-Four Anniversary coming up this May two-four(when else eh?) on CBC and this is to be the final one, once and for all!

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Check out the SCTV site and the Maclean’s article about these guys! PLEASE read the whole Maclean’s one, it is the best of them all!

These guys were HUGE in the 80’s. I remember when they came back to Toronto one time and the cops had to close down the Don Valley Parkway(DVP) for a while! The reason, thousands of well-liquored fans staged an impromptu parade up and down it! Only in Canada, eh?

The song, that I whistled at the Hospital while moving patients around the Surgical floor’s, was one that brings back fabulous memories from my childhood. You know, some of the patients that were on Morphine sang along doing the “koo, oo, oo,oo, koo, oo, oo,oo!” part and it was a BLAST! I even recall figuring out the piano parts and attempting the song live at High School, damn that Geddy Lee and his 10 octave voice!

Does anyone have a close encounter of the hoser kind out there that would love to share with us? If so, you nappy-headed hosers, get those fingers moving right now, eh?

Keep on Jammin’

BTW the wife has a post about Canadian culture and a bit about Bob and Doug too. Check it out.

Hilarious House of Frightenstein

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This was another show that I watched as a kid growing up in Brantford. The characters were just out of this world, the Count and Igor just to name a few.

The best part of the show was when Igor and the Wolf Man played albums and started to dance with a groovy psychedelic film going on in the background!

They played with guitars and basses during this part of the show. While quite naive back then, I thought that they were actual musicians. This is a link to the scene in the show that I am talking about. Back then I thought that the bat wing guitar that the wolfman used was real and I really wanted one!

If you want to see some more footage, go to YouTube for little morsels of the show.

Keep on Jammin’

The girl in the picture

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The girl in the picture is named Kim Phuc. This picture is the one that has haunted my childhood memories.

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The first time I saw it on TV, I was with my parents and I was stopped dead in my tracks. I recall asking them what these kids were running from and they told me that during the Vietnam war the V.N.A.F. (Vietnamese National Air Force) accidentally bombed a village called “Trang Bang” which was 25 miles west of the capital city of Saigon, with Napalm.

I couldn’t get it out of my mind then, and it still conjures up those same emotions even when viewing it after all these years.

I have just found out that she lived literally down the street that we live on, about 3 blocks away. She even gave birth to her 2 children at the hospital that we both work at. I never in my wildest dreams, thought that I would one day have even the smallest connection with this person.

Kim Phuc also has a great non-profit Foundation for children who are victims of war. She has a great Canadian connection and now identity that makes me proud to be Canadian.

This event, that unfolded right in front of our eyes, is one that I can remember where I was when I first was first exposed to it, how about you?

Keep on Jammin’

This is a Video of what happened to her on that horrific day.

HitFlip UK – Swap media products with others

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I just visited a great site called Hitflip Uk where residents of the UK can swap media related products with other members of the HitFlip site.

Want to exchange games, music CDs, DVDs, books and audiobooks that you don’t use anymore for similar items that you can use? Just sign up for a Hitflip account and start listing the items you’d like to swap.

Of course if I set up an account on HitFlip I’d be busy looking for great music cds and music related DVDs. We have a great collection already, but hey, we could always use more.

Check out the HitFlip UK Blog to learn a bit more about this company that recently changed it’s name from Swopex. There’s also a great demo of how the site works and plenty of FAQ’s to get you started and answer any questions you might have on the main site.

BlackScene.com – Black dating site

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A new dating site has recently opened up. It’s called Blackscene.com and it was created specifically for those interested in the Black Dating scene.

Memberships is free, and there’s even a new forum where you can talk with other site members. As I look through the site it appears that it’s mainly for people in North America as the sign up form asks for a zip or postal code. I’m presuming that’s so that members can be matched up with those in their general area.

The site appears to be very easy to use, and the design and layout of the site are appealing. You can search for someone interesting right from the front page of the site if you’d like, or sign in and get a little more specific.

The site is unique I believe in that it’s designed specifically for black people. I like that when you reload the main page you can see fresh new people that have just put their profile on the site. It keeps things interesting.

Apparently there are a few 100 new members each day. So if you’re looking for a date, or perhaps even the love of your life sign up. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The Canadian Guitar Festival

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The Canadian Guitar Festival is something that I have wanted to go to for a while now. Below are some musicians who have been there in the past and hopefully they might nudge you into going this year if you can. I realize that having these many videos in a row looks odd but I am just trying to showcase a great show.

Keep on Jammin’

If you are really interested in going, this is an excerpt form an e-mail that was sent to me this morning about the camping arrangement. It really sounds like it is going to be a blast! Hope to see you there.

“The festival takes place on a 24 acre spread known as the Odessa Fairgrounds and the camping is on site. The camping is considered ‘dry’ with no running water or AC but is on the grass as it were..
We have showers on site, indoor washrooms and portable toilets placed in closer proximity to folks throughout the property.

A camping spot is guaranteed if you want one (given the space we have) but your site is what you choose when you choose it. There really are no bad spots. So when the tickets go on sale, all you need do is purchase a camping pass ticket for yourself and any other in your party over the age of twelve and you’re set for the weekend.

Del Vezeau

Vezco Productions Inc.
163 Main St
Odessa Ontario
Canada K0H 2H0
613-386-8878
1-888-506-1418
613-386-8879 fax
vezco@cogeco.ca
www.vezco.com
www.canadianguitarfestival.com

The early St. Pius X Elementary School

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If memory serves me correctly I started off playing in grade 5 at St. Pius X elementary school in Brantford.

My teacher was believe it or not, Mrs. Lord, yes that is correct! What a name for a Catholic school teacher. She was a guitar player who, played it for us in our music class. She played and we sang. She was playing some type of classical guitar and at the time I thought she was GREAT!

She played and we sang songs from the radio, which was in the early 70’s, and they sounded perfect. Songs like ” Seasons in the Sun”, ” Starry starry nights”, ” Alone again, Naturally” (which is a song that I still play today and is a long time favorite of mine) and I think she also played ” Natures way” as well.

We all started off learning the basics like, how to hold the guitar and the pick. This I found odd because she didn’t use one. She said that she felt more comfortable playing the guitar like that. She then taught us about the strings that we would be playing.

Then we progressed to chords! They were very basic ones. Anyway, I then remember her telling us that in our next music class she was going to show us how to play songs! I thought that would be a blast.

I guess everyone was excited with this new part of the curriculum, I know I was. I had a bit more of a leg up on everyone on this part of schooling. Imagine that mom and dad, I was at the head of the class for once!

Keep on Jammin’, I did

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