I’ve actually finished a book!!! A real ” hold in your hands manually turn the pages” book. Reading is deeply embedded in my DNA. I descend from a long line of voracious readers. It began at the age of four and never stopped. The comprehension/speed reading exercises they put us through in grades seven and eight have served me well. Chris and I used to read together in companionable silence, only coming up for air when there was something one of us just had to share…..or to make the tea.
I first met Fergus Hambleton in person while I was performing with my trio, Graye featuring Todd Miller and Lawrie Ingles, at a small club on Yonge Street in Toronto called Rocky Raccoons. It was a mid-week jam night and we were going to do a few songs when I looked up and Fergus was sitting in the front row taking in what can only be described as a “loose” performance of one of my original songs.
Finally, after a long, cold winter, I’m coming up for airto a bright spring promisinga musical overload. Perfect weather, indeed, for enjoying Fergus Hambleton at Hugh’s Room on Wednesday, where he showcased his sunny signature sound and new CD “Written on the Wind. “
It’s easily the real first sign of Spring.
For 30 years it took place during the snow and ice encrusted March Winds, a situation many of us whined about for…well…30 years.
Last year our dreams came true and our hopes and prayers were answered.
Canadian Music Week moved from the Icy Clutch of March, to the more civilized and warmer Embrace of May.
Not exactly Pina Colada weather, but light years better than huddling together around a make-shift fire in an oil drum to stay warm while trying to smoke a cigarette before it froze to your fingers and went out.
…now if we can just keep them lit before the rains put them out….
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George Orwell references aside, 1984 marked a substantial turning point for pop music in Canada. The most significant of those was the launch of our answer to MTV – which we lovingly, un-ironically, called Much Music.
I spent a bit of of time in downtown Toronto this week having avoided going anywhere near it since 2012 because, well, CONSTRUCTION. The annual FanExpo extravaganza began Thursday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and I took my son down on transit – not to see the actors and actresses hawking their photos and autographs (which we have enjoyed in years past), but to check out the new offerings in the video gaming world.
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
– Juliet Capulet
Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)
Now that the institutional insanity of Black Friday has passed and everyone was thankful to get a discount on a Made in China television using a year’s worth of minimum wage, might I suggest some inexpensive independent music to give to everyone else as Xmas gifts? And you don’t have to stand in line or need a shotgun to do it.
Bullseye Records of Canada
Segarini: Don't Believe a Word I Say 