Pat Blythe – Indie Week…..Julian Taylor….podcasting……and music

I’m missing the live music, the clubs…..but most of all the people. It’s been two years now since I’ve trolled Toronto’s club scene, traveled with the ONES show and visited the many stages of the various festivals in Ontario. I loved it all….every second of it! I met some of the most incredible people, heard some fantastic music, and was honoured to a part of a scene I had been away from for so long. I made new friends (and lost a few), learned new skills, and was gifted with the opportunity to write this column…..it was a whirlwind six years. Then Covid decided to rain on our parade. The Pandemic Interviews allowed me to stay connected to many of the musicians I met during those five years.

Pat Blythe – It’s a Love Revolution Down on Main Street…..and music

I’m loving September. Warm(ish) days with cool nights are just perfect. Grape jelly made, herbs harvested, spaghetti sauce jarred (soup is next), podcast published and now it’s column time! In between all that is photo editing, cross stitching and a few telecom projects. Running around at Mariposa and Summerfolk; meeting new people and listening to new music during Canadian Music Week and Indie Week; dodging bodies, running into my friends and hearing more new music at the clubs…..I’ve missed it all. Fingers crossed we have some semblance of normal next year.

JAIMIE VERNON – THE STRANGE ANIMAL RETURNETH

Through a generous offering by not one, but two friends (thanks Stacey and Danielle!), my wife and I got to see the solo return of Canadian singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Lawrence “But You Can Call Me Larry” Gowan this past week at the Empire Theatre in Belleville to a sold out crowd.

JAIMIE VERNON – AMERICAN SINGERS, AMERICAN LEGENDS (BOP BOP BOP)

Those who’ve known me a long time – including the pre-curmudgeon me in the days before the intertoobs – can attest to my unapologetic, jingoistic rah-rah All Canadian mantra. I love my country. I love my music. But despite my seemingly anti-‘Merika crusade dating back to Ronnie’s Rocket Regalias in the early 1980s, I do love my American pop music.