I’ve been finding it difficult to focus on my column this week. Last Friday we received news that a much loved friend and musician had passed away. Chris Reed didn’t even achieve the revered status of joining “The 50 Club”. We’ve all been blindsided….totally stunned and still trying to absorb the news. I had to read his brother’s official FB announcement three times before it sunk in who he was really writing about. I thought for sure I was mistaken….but no, and then I burst into tears.
It’s a glorious fall day today (Tuesday), and my walk in the sunshine was equally wonderful. I needed it, not just to clear my head, but to rid myself of the crushing guilt of thoroughly enjoying a piece each of apple and pumpkin pie this morning. Open the fridge and there they are, staring me in the face, gently calling (nope screaming) my name. So coffee and pie it is for breakfast! C’est la vie as they say.
This is supposed to be a music column. I should be regaling you with all the Indie bands I’ve seen, the venues and clubs I’ve sashayed through, the festival stages I’ve covered, the photographs I’ve taken and cities I’ve traveled to (not to mention the food). The unfortunate thing is, for the past seven months I’ve done none of that (except for the food) and it’s starting to get damn frustrating!
Last week music. This week a new topic. No…..not COVID. There’s enough written about that already and it’s a subject I’m starting to grow weary of. We’re in the middle of a worldwide “situation” that requires diligence, clean hands, keeping a distance of 6.5 feet (when did two metres becomes six feet…..that’s a fail in math class?!) and a disguise when showing your face (or 1/3 of it) in public.
“Heeeeere’s Fall”…..my favourite time of year! Yes, I’m an autumn baby (and so are my kids) so maybe a yearly “rebirth” is what I’m feeling. The season of autumn, to me, is the sensation of new beginnings. The air is lighter, fresher and crisper. We can sweat off a rather thick and muggy, “I can’t even think I’m so hot” summer. The lounge lizard days are behind us. We’re back to work. A new school year begins. The lush vegetation is offering us the fruit of its summer labours, ripe for the picking and ready for us to savour. The trees slowly paint a riot of colour against striking blue skies, something Tom Thompson captured so perfectly in so many paintings. Drives through the country are invigorating and somehow more liberating.
Tuesday, July 21…..the column writing begins. I sit here staring at four walls desperately missing the music, the people, the clubs and the noise. At least four nights a week I was out prowling the various music venues in the GTA, Hamilton, even London until the wee hours of the morning. The music was always happening somewhere. Now it’s eerily quiet. Yes, there are a few outdoor shows scattered about. Suzi Kory produced and presented her first hugely successful drive-in country music festival called “Love Revolution” in Cavan, Ontario. Country artists Joe McCaughley, Colin Amey, The Housecall, Bree Taylor, Nicole Rayy, Alessia Cohle, Brian John Harwood, MacKenzie Leigh Myer and of course Kory herself all performed. Where was I? In Hamilton and St. Catharines on other business. Damn!!!
Love Revolution also happens to be the name of Kory’s latest release, and a timely one it is. Give it a listen below in the “music section”.
Hot, hazy and humid…..well maybe not hazy…..maybe more like stifling and soggy? How about moist and muggy, or maybe sultry and sweaty? Scorching, sizzling, oppressive, sweltering…..an endless number of adjectives to describe the current heatwave. July 3-15 would have been a perfect Mariposa weekend running around covering 10 stages and sweating off these extra “COVID pounds”. Somehow I don’t associate “sultry” with weather that has the infinite ability to make one a squelchy, sodden, cranky mess. One short stroll out and I’m firmly planted in front of the air conditioner drying out.
I am currently spending some time with my mom…..trolling the local dollar stores for stuff neither of us needs, but enjoying the time out. The promised rain never appeared, which was probably a good thing as the air was already thick enough. We sat out on the front porch with a cup of tea and watched the fireflies the other night. It’s rather lazy days when I come to visit, although this week is a little busier with scheduled interviews for the series I’m working on. I’m also catching up with a few mutual friends of Greg Simpson’s and mine.
The goal for today (Tuesday); get up early and dedicate a couple of hours to what I laughingly refer to as the back garden. So here I am having a war of weeds with Mother Nature. She’s insistent they need to have a place to grow and I vehemently disagree. Unfortunately, I think she’s winning this one.
I’ve written three columns over the past 36 hours. None of which I’m happy with. The air outside is rife with frustration, sadness and depression…..but mostly frustration. No clubs, no bars, no live music…..sorry folks, streaming doesn’t count…..and restaurants opening cubicle style with wait staff wearing PPE. Not my idea of a fun evening dining out.
So…..a little amusement and lightheartedness. Something to make you laugh (or at least smile). Let’s start with movies since our noses seem to be permanently pressed up against our computer (or TV) screens these days.
Bullseye Records of Canada
