JAIMIE VERNON – If You Don’t Know Me By Now

We hereby interrupt our regularly scheduled blog about me to talk about…me.
In my new day gig working in a train yard and shipping cars from here to — over there somewhere — I occasionally encounter cars that aren’t off a current assembly line but private cars being shipped by citizens for fun, profit and the rare felony dodge.

JAIMIE VERNON – Life’s a Canadian Rock: Book 2, Chapter 3

Read Chapter 1 here 

Read Chapter 2 here 

JAIMIE VERNON – May DISCoveries

It appears that Spring not only means a flood of rain and other iffy weather, but a watershed of new music too – including VINYL!!!

There has been much said in recent months about the resurgence of vinyl – specifically the album length 12” variety. There has been less ballyhoo about the black (and in one case, mustard yellow) 7” kind. This month I received not one, but two artists with fresh 7” PVC wax. There was also the usual plethora of CDs (which labels still insist has no discernible audience) and even one USB offering. Let’s dig in:

JAIMIE VERNON – Life’s A Canadian Rock: Book 2 (cont’d)

Read Chapter One here 

CHAPTER 2 – The Wonderful World of Moving Targetz
After struggling for two entire years to get the band Moving Targetz up and running full-time, myself (lead guitar) and Simon Bedford-James (bass) had finally found a permanent rhythm guitarist in Saverio Schembri and drummer Dave Tedd in the Fall of 1984.

JAIMIE VERNON – How Do You Sleep?

I’m tired. I’m really effin’ tired. It’s the “I’m so tired that I can’t even roll off my lover and rudely fall asleep beside her because I’ve already rudely fallen asleep on TOP of her tired.” [admit it, you’ve done this…at least ONCE.]

I started a new job in February.  And it’s sapping the fiber of my very being. I’ve had jobs that have made me tired before. But they were office gigs where the exhaustion was mostly mental – from dealing with asshat employers and bigger asshatted customers. In my current job I work alone, but for the first time in 30 years of employment I’m actually working. Up at 4.30 AM and usually home by 5 or 6PM. Eight to nine hours of driving and walking. When I finally get home I eat dinner, stare blankly at photos of cute cats, idiotic diatribes about Monsanto, Rob Ford, hockey and Chemtrail conspiracy theorists on Facebook. It’s all I can do to keep Mr. Sandman at bay. By 9PM I’m done. I haven’t accomplished much except kiss the cat and pet the family good night.

Frank Gutch Jr: Music On Film— Documentaries For The Music Fanatic, Plus Notes…..

Before I dive into this, I have to take a moment to point you towards one of the best “up” songs I have heard in some time:  No Small Children‘s Might Get Up Slow.  If radio had the impact that it did even 20 years ago, this would be blasting out of stereo and car speakers everywhere.  iThings too, if they had them (my brain is so numb, I couldn’t come close to a year those damn things took over our lives— I can hardly remember a kid without one).  The more I hear these ladies, the more I want to hear more.  Turn it up!  Like they said in the old days— Recorded loud to be played LOUD!  Listen to this!!!

Now, back to our regular programming.

JAIMIE VERNON – DEMICS & DIODES & DISHES, OH MY!

At the beginning of May I released my fourth book – ‘Life’s A Canadian (Punk) Rock – Who Wants Guns?: The Swindled Story (1973-1983)’ Check it out here.

In it I discuss my formative musical years and how an innocuous friendship with a high school punk took me on a two year roller coaster ride through the 2^nd Wave of the Toronto punk scene as alleged guitarist in hardcore act Swindled. I had previously run the chapters as blog entries in Don’t Believe A Word I Say back in 2010. The band reunited in 2011 with the ever professional Cleave Anderson on drums, we recorded our long awaited debut album (only 30 years in the making) and everyone lived happily ever after. That chapter is the epilogue in the book.

JAIMIE VERNON – WHERE HAVE ALL THE NOVELTY SONGS GONE?

This week Frank & Moon Unit Zappa’s novelty hit “Valley Girl” turned 30

. For those too young to remember, that’s the 1982 song…not the 1983 movie starring Nicolas “I’m A Coppola So Fuck YOU!” Cage.  It’s what we old geezers like to refer to as a novelty song. Novelty songs were, and should still be, tunes reflecting social trends and fads – in the guise of humourous observational commentary, parody or satire.

Frank Gutch Jr: Sweet Relief III— An Album Recorded For All the Right Reasons, A Look at Record Stores Through Others’ Eyes, and Those Goddamned Notes (Pay Attention! Quiz at Eleven!)…..

Want to know how stupid we are?  Us Americans, anyway?  Pretty damn, as far as I can see, and all it took was sitting down and taking ten minutes to map out one day.  I have had people tell me that if I really want to know what is happening, I should sit down every day and write down everything I did.  Not in detail but with enough to show me what really happened and not just what I thought happened.  When I did, I was stunned.  See, I live on a very limited budget (What?  You think we get paid for all the fun we have here at DBAWIS?) and I thought I was doing pretty well navigating through life.  One days list and I’m not so sure.

JAIMIE VERNON – April DISCoveries and musical musings

After a long month of music legend deaths (which included Pinky Dauvin of Lighthouse and Richie Havens this week) and global tragedy it’s great to finally get back to listening to the new breed of musical innovation.

“KRIS + DEE “Bloom”

I have to admit that I have a music crush on this dynamic duo. They lured me in and hooked me with last year’s debut effort ‘Still Here’ – setting the tone of their thoughtful songs of solitude and introspection. On the sophomore follow-up ‘Bloom’ they explore these themes and more and add musical dynamics with the assistance of resident bass/piano/organ mandolin player Wil McGonegal plus Colin Cripps (Crash Vegas, Junkhouse), Tim Welch (National Velvet), Ron Hawkins (Lowest of the Low) and the seriously skilled drum work of Mauro Sepe and Al Cross.