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The Old Gasworks was a Toronto institution for music lovers and bands

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The Gasworks was an iconic Toronto bar that helped launch the careers of many a band. The name of the bar was also in the movie Wayne’s World!

Just a side note here folks, the trivia of Wayne’s World is something that everyone will find quite funny and familiar to all of us who grew up in the area!

gasworkswallart
Credit Dan McLaughlin

The bar was at 585 Yonge St. and man that bar rocked! Back in it’s hey day, it was considered Toronto’s entertainment district, man has that changed!

The thing that I remember the most was the beer bottles that they served there, they were HUGE! They were called Quarts if memory serves me correctly?

Information about this Toronto institution on line is quite limited. I did find a neat blog post that talks about this person’s wildest time at the Gasworks! It talks about the ambiance of the place right down to the red and white vinyl table cloths.

kwikstore
Credit Burlap Jacket

Has anyone out there been inside the hallowed halls of the Gasworks in it’s heyday? We’d love to hear some wild stories!

Keep on Jammin’ at the Gasworks!




Great balls of fire

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talk about one hell of a hot keyboardist! This is something that you would be exposed to when you witness my old keyboardist friends Tony F or Rick M while sitting on the side of the stage!

greatballsoffireband.jpg

The bass player reminds me of those crazy bassists that I’ve had the honour of playing with, Chris Noto or Jon Penrose! No sense no feeling boys?! Ah, just kiddin’ ya!

Keep on Jammin’

Portishead are back in the studio

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Portishead is one of those bands that just floored me when I heard them for the first time. This is one of the many bands that my wife and I, happy 20 years together baby and many more to come, love to listen to together.

Some people love it, some people are ok with it and others say “what are you high”? Some refer to their style as Trip Hop and that one sounds good enough for me! Others tag this genre as electronic, electro, acid jazz, ambient, hypnotic or chillout.

They’ve said that the name of their style, that the media critics have pigeon toed them into, is something that they find odd to say the least. They really don’t see themselves as that kind of band. They say much of their inspiration for their slightly other worldly sounding style comes from the very boring and commonplace everyday irritations that they’ve experienced in life.

The bands catalyst that nudges them into their own unique style of music starts off by the band being pissed off or grumpy at whatever is happening to them at that point in time. This is what really steers them into their musical direction.

The band’s sound is haunting, to say the least. I find my consciously drifting off when Protishead’s music comes floating out of my home stereo speakers. Their music puts you into some sort of trance that leaves you powerless to resist the new age musical orientation. It’s hard to argue that they in fact created their own distinct musical genre.

They are one of a few bands that forces me to be cognizant of their lyrical input, even though I not a great lover/follower of words (I know it shows in my lack of writing skills, I sure ain’t no literary Laureate!). My regular readers will realize this, my lack writing abilities, as a reoccurring theme that is constantly splashed all over this blog! Portishead is just a great band to listen to in my eyes! Ah the sounds of the 90’s!

The two CD’s we have in our collection are Dummy (1995) won them the Mercury Prize and their 1997 self titled album Portishead that went directly to the top 10 in Britain. Then after that … nothing. This silence has lasted up until now!

Portishead has just released a new album titled Third. Not much is known about it now but if it is anything like some of the bands earlier collaborations then we’re all in for a treat! I hope to find out later a little bit more about this album and expose you all to the bands magical spell that it holds over me!

The band consists of Beth Gibbons, Adrian Utley, Geoff Barrow and the odd time they throw in Dave McDonald into the mix, he’s a producer and engineer on their albums.

So has anyone else out there heard of these guys?

Keep on Jammin’ Portishead

Here are some interesting links to check out that is related to this post!

TV’s Glee is coming out with an album?

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Fox’s top rated show called Glee is about a group of modern day kids struggling to find their way through high school.

The school’s Glee club is in constant conflict with the other school groups but it’s the music that they perform together that helps them navigate the conflicts in those crazy years of self discovery! Now it seems that the kids are going to release solo albums in the near future! Their release will be entitled Glee: The Music volume 1 & 2. It will be followed up with a 2010 tour.

Maybe the creatures of Glee are trying to capture the magic that came from the classic TV show of the 70’s called The Partridge Family?! Remember the bus!!!

Musically, I like the way in how these kidz interpret some classic tunes. The tunes they perform are essentially the same as the original versions but with subtle variations. I watched this episode other day that featured a song one of the football players played on his guitar.It was from Neil Diamond called Sweet Caroline. I must admit that I learned a neat chord progression that he played on this one that I can use for other tunes!

Apparently songs that have already been released from the show are a hit, with a reported 1.8 million digital downloads. The “Glee” version of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin” sold 522,000 downloads and has peaked at # 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in it’s first week. Go, “Glee.”

The songs on the future 2 albums will consist of ones that they have play on the show. Someone thought that if around 1.8 million digital downloads of their songs can make a few bucks then what would a few albums pull in? Follow that up with a tour of some sort and merchandising … $$$! Well good luck to them!

I’m all for finding different versions in which to play a tune or watch someone reinvent a classic tune no matter what type of format it takes place in. What are your thoughts about this? Yay or Neigh

Keep on Jammin’

Morrissey’s health scare onstage

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Steven Patrick Morrissey, the 50 year old ex-lead singer from the Smiths, was rushed to a British hospital around 9pm last night in the middle of performing a show at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon.

The 1000 audience members were taking in the Smith’s 1983 classic tune This Charming Man when his medical episode took place. He reportedly fell onto the stage, unconscious and was gingerly carried off by the stage crew.

Some at the show said he was looking strained and wincing while performing. Morrissey, who just happens to be doing a world tour, has already canceled a number of events this year due to an “unspecified illness”.

He was taken off to the nearby Great Western Hospital and there is still no word yet on his condition.

God speed in his recovery.

Keep on Jammin’


Backup Singing, Be A Shadow and Shine

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If you want to be center stage and lead act of the show, you cannot sing backup. The meaning of singing backup is to sing behind someone, not compete with them. If you can control your need to be the center of attention, you can learn backup singing.

Backup singing is more difficult than you might imagine. Similar to an instrumental accompanist, this method of singing requires that you listen very intently and be responsive . Listening and reacting to the main singers phrasing, you must begin and end as they do. It may well be good to think of yourself as the singers shadow, never noticed but always present.

Hopefully you have some input or control over where you sit or stand on stage. See to it that you can see the singer at all times. If you cannot see the face of the singer your job will be difficult indeed. Watch the singer to learn where they are going. If you are watching the singer you can see when they make a mistake or intentionally take another repeat etc. Your eyes must be glued to the singer. Often a singer may use a gesture such as a nod of the head to indicate where they are going. Learn their motions and watch out.

You must blend your line to the singers phrase. If you want to blend in the proper way, start your line just after the singer starts theirs. If you are not sure of how loud they are going to be, start your melody quietly and raise your level as the phrase develops. Another tip is to be easy on the consonants at the start of a line. Two consonants sung slightly after each other will sound disagreeable and is largely avoidable.

The same technique is to be applied to the ending of all melodies as well. As the singer approaches the end of a melody, gradually decrease your volume so you can avoid the embarrassment of ending after they do. If you follow these singing tips, watch, listen and blend in; you can be a professional backup singer in very short order.

Beginners Guide to Percussion Instruments

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Ask almost anyone what exactly is percussion and I bet you they can’t name more than one instrument, if that.

Some instruments in the percussion family are not often thought of as being a percussion instrument. Cymbals and timpani are often thought of as the main focus of percussion and drums in general. The drums in a band one could not do without and are thought of as being the beat or foundation of the sound and rightly so. Drums are not the only percussion as we will see. You will greatly expand your knowledge of music as a whole if you learn one or more of the instruments in the percussion category.

Percussion can be defined as striking one body against another; especially such as gives a sound or report. When you learn piano you are seldom made privy to the manner of its sound production and the fact that it is a percussion instrument. The piano straddles two groups, chordophones and percussion; being a stringed instrument but having the sound produced by hammers striking the strings. Open the piano and see how the hammers strike the strings to grasp the effects of percussion. The sounds of music are produced in many and various ways.

Percussion is divided into other classifications as well. Percussion instruments are either idiophones or membranophones and are defined as instruments that produce sounds through the vibration of their entire body when struck or instruments that have a stretched membrane that vibrates. Some examples of idiophones are the triangle, cymbals and the vibraphone. Membranophone examples are congas, bongos and the tom tom. Whether a definite pitch is produced or not is a further division of percussion instruments.

As many instruments in this area can produce defined pitches, players are often required to learn to read music as it is essential to playing.

Percussion can be much more than what you might think. Percussion instruments can play not only rhythm, but harmony and melody as well. The beat of the music is found in marching band music as well as the modern jazz quartet. Percussion is the soul of music.

What music can do for you

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This is just a little something that I read about the other day in a magazine called CHILL. It makes a good observation about music and what it does for you. Enjoy!

Music: It does more than just get your feet tapping. Music has also been proven to stimulate the brain and improve focus and concentration. Plus, hearing uplifting music when we wake up in the morning can keep us in good spirits throughout the day. At night, soothing tunes can aid in getting a deeper, more restful sleep!
CHILL Magazine

Keep on Jammin’

Pope John Paul II made a music CD?

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Last night I was watching the old idiot box(TV) with my wife and we came across an neat bit of holy trivia. We found out that the late Pope John Paul II had recorded a CD at Abbey Roads studio. Well, he never went there it seems, it was just the technical crew who did some work there. It’s called Appa Pater (Polish) “All yours” the Pope used to say.

I realize that this must be old news to some, but it was released March 23, 1999. In some on-line reviews, most people had this idea that it was going to be some form the New Age rip off that was going on during that time period. Some called it World beat, as a way to describe some of the style on this CD.

Now fast forward a few years after the Pope had pasted, some heard it again in a different head space. Most came to the conclusion that this is a great piece of music.

A independent review from Amazon
I am not Roman Catholic. I have never studied the Catholic faith. I never attended Catholic schools. I have strong and irreconcilable disagreements with the Roman Catholic church’s policies in many areas.

That said….

I have this CD of John Paul II’s voice, with accompanying music, saying prayers. I am writing this Amazon review to say that I truly find it uplifting and comforting.

After taking in some turns during that TV show last light, I just had to check out what else was on the CD. A few tunes stood out. I was a little disappointed that there was no Gregorian Chant interpretations on it, I’m a huge lover of this genre!
Vieni Santo Spirito, Padre Della Luce and Madre Di Tutte Le Genti stood out.

The lyrics are in multiple languages, so to add to it’s appeal I guess? They were based on John Paul II’s prayers, statements from homilies, etc. and integrated with an eclectic orchestration along with some nice drum beat and at times had an techno feel to it. At some points I thought they might brake into some electric House music, really! The way they weaved in and out of some Latin chants, Polish prayers, and African rhythms was outstanding!

It was even #1 on the European charts upon it’s release. Is it just me, or was I on some other planet when this happened?! Along with this mystery, I still can’t find out if this CD was done with or without the blessings of the Pope or the Vatican. Another puzzling thing about this thing. The church is great at doing things like this, now aren’t they.

Has anyone else heard of this CD or bought it in past?

Keep on Jammin’

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