Ah, dang it. Like death and taxes, unwanted summer electoral politics are inescapable. Rumour has it that our PM Justin Trudeau is determined to call a snap election, reportedly to be held on September 20th. Why? Because he believes that doing so at this time will ensure his party can win a majority government, allowing him to avoid what he has been calling “opposition obstruction.”
Continue readingArchive for Ray Charles
Roxanne Tellier – The Run Down and the Wrap Up
Posted in Canadian Music, COVID 19, Family, Health, life, music, Opinion, politics, Review with tags Afghanistan, Brookings Institute, climate change, Conservatives, DBAWIS, Election, Florida, googa mooga, Justin Trudeau, Mackettes, NDP, politics, Ray Charles, Roxanne Tellier, segarini, September 20th, the heymacs, The New Yorker, YouTube on August 15, 2021 by segariniChef Tom – Sweet potatoes. One of my very favorite vegetables.
Posted in Food, life, music, Opinion, Recipe, Review with tags Bob Segarini, Booker T, Chef Tom, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Ray Charles, San Francisco. Sweet Potatoes on December 5, 2020 by segarini
Did you know…
- it’s not a tuber, but a root
- it’s part of the morning glory family
- it’s a wholly different plant genus than a yam
- the potato itself is technically a flower
- despite its name and its sweet nature, it’s quite low on the glycemic index
- it’s considered one of the Super Foods
- it’s relatively cheap, so by being creative with toppings (see below), you can eat well for very little
Segarini: 13 Albums You Should Have But Probably Don’t Redux
Posted in music, Opinion, Review with tags Asylum Choir, ‘Spider’John Koerner and Willy Murphy, Bobby Brown, Brothers Johnson, Cherry Cola's, Dave Brubeck, DBAWIS, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Fourplay, Indie Music, James Brown, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Ray Charles, Records, Rita Coolidge, segarini, The Turtles on May 1, 2020 by segariniIf I didn’t know any better, I would say I am the victim of a Gypsy Curse.
Lately it seems that just walking down the hall has become an obstacle-laden course of Rube Goldberg slapstick and Orwellian conspiracy. Getting from Point A to Point B without slipping on a banana peel, having a piano fall on me, or tripping over my own two feet and landing in an Acme Wood Chipper has become totally impossible.
…and I’m not even chasing a road-runner.
Roxanne Tellier – Sports, Armageddon, and Quincy Jones Oh My!
Posted in Opinion, politics, Review with tags ' Quincy Jones - EGOTs (Emmy, Armageddon, Australia. Antarctic, Bob Segarini, Chicago, Count Basie, DBAWIS, Dinah Washington, Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Sinatra. Las Vegas, Grammy, Great Depression, Greta Thunberg, Les Miserables, Lionel Hampton, lunk, Mercury Records, Michael Jackson, Miles Davis, Minnesota. Davos, Netflix . documentary about 'Q, North Korea. Middle East, Oscar, QUINCY, Ray Charles, Roxanne Tellier, Russia, Rutger Bregman, Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History & Culture, Sports, Superbowl, Tony, White House. INF on February 3, 2019 by segariniIt’s Superbowl Sunday! that day when two teams of very large men in very padded outfits will try to kill each other for funzies and a huge, gawdy ring.
I don’t watch sports – it’s just not my thing – but I do enjoy the half time shows, and the award winning advertisements that sponsors save up for this special day.
What’s a ‘lunk’?
Pat Blythe – The Women of Blues Revisited – Part IV – Maggie & Janis
Posted in Opinion, Review with tags A Girl With A Camera "The Picture Taker", Albert Collins, Alex Harvey, Archie Hind, Aretha Franklin, Atlantic Records, Austin, Big Brother and the Holding Compan, Bob Segarini, Chris Helms, Colin Allen, Courtaney, David Kelly, DBAWIS, Dennistoun Palais Band, Dick Cavett, Dionne Warwick, Discovering the Vulnerable Woman Behind Janis Joplin’s Legend, Dusty Springfield, Fillmore West, Frankie Vaughan, Freedom Road, Graeme Noble, Greg Simpson, Hold Me, It Ain't Easy, James Dewar, Janis Joplin, Jerry Wexler, Joe Cocker, John McGinnis, Kinning Park Ramblers, La Cave, Led Zeppelin, Leslie Harvey, Lightning Hopkins, Live At Montreaux, Locarno Ballroom, Long John Baldry, Mad Dogs & Englishmen, Maggie Bell, Mark London, Maryhill Estate, Mecca Band, Melody Maker, Mike Moran, Miles Davis, Monterey Pop Festival, New Musical Express, Nina Simone, No Mean City, NYC, Oh My! My!, Pat Blythe, Patsy Cline, Pearl, Peter Grant, Polydor, Port Arthur, Queen of the Night Midnight Flyers, Ray Charles, Ringo Starr, Ron Leahy, San Francisco, Sheila Weller, Shirley Bassey, Southern Comfort, Steve Thompson, Stone the Crows, Suicide Sal, Swan Song, Taggart, Taj Mahal, Teenage Licks, Texas, The Alex Harvey Soul Band, The British Blues Quintet, The Dear Green Place, The Easterhouse Project, The Full Tilt Boogie Band, The Kozmic Blues, The Power, The Power of Music, The Queen of Psychedelic Soul, The Who, University of Texas, Vancouver Island Musicfest, Vanity Fair, Woodstock, Yardbirds, Young Rascals, Zoot Money on August 17, 2017 by segariniI have “moved” Janis Joplin from my Women in Rock series to this one. When I started the “Women of ……” series, I felt she had a foot in both camps. However, the more I listen to Joplin the more I realize her feet were far more firmly planted in the blues as her voice alone attests. There have been comparisons over the years between Maggie Bell and Janis Joplin. They are reminiscent of each other and that starts with the hair. Scotland is steeped in the blues (just listen to the pipes and some of the Celtic music) but the seeds were planted, and the roots run to the core of the earth, in the U.S.’s “deep south”. Keep in mind, much of the southern U.S. became home to the Scots fleeing the oppressive English in the late 1700’s. Combine that with the African “slave” songs….mix with oppressive heat and stir….so, sometimes I wonder, who exactly influenced whom?
Pat Blythe – Women of Blues Revisited – Part II
Posted in Opinion, Review with tags A Girl With A Camera "The Picture Taker", Alberta Hunter, Assassinators of the Blues, Bessie, Bessie Smith, Big Momma Thornton, Black Bottom, Black Pearls, Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame, Bo-Weavil Blues, Bob Dylan, Bob Segarini, Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, Daphne Harrison, DBAWIS, Dinah, Dinah Washington, Don't Believe a Word I Say, doo-wop, Elvis Presley, Eric Burdon, Fat Chappelle, Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett, Grammy, Lead Belly, Lightnin' Hopkins, Louis Armstrong., Ma Rainey, minstrel, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, Mo'nique, Moonshine Blues, Mother of the Blues, Pa Rainey, Pat Blythe, Peggy Lee, Prove It On Me, Queen Latifah, Rabbit Foot Minstrels, Ray Charles, Roxanne Tellier, Sandra Lieb, See See Rider, Soon This Morning, tent shows, The Airdome, The Kingsmen, The Lyric, The Orioles, The Wild Cats Jazz Band, Thomas Dorsey, Tolliver's Circus and Musical Extravaganza, Tombstone Blues, Tommy Dorsey, vaudeville, Victoria Spivey Mayo Williams on August 2, 2017 by segariniThis piece first ran in DBAWIS just over two years ago. It all started with the a series called Women in Song, based on a collection of CDs (made in Canada dontcha know) I had rediscovered when cleaning out “stuff”. One thing leads to another, a name is mentioned, I start to poke around, one person leads to another and the next thing you know I’m down, waaaay down the rabbit hole. There are an incalculable number of stories and in one fashion or another, they are all linked. If one had to create a “family tree” of music…..well…..it would be “yuge” and nigh on impossible to follow. Just in our little music community here in Toronto, everybody is “related” somehow. I’m about to embark on another project and meet with an individual who has been around the business so long he is full of stories…..I’m sensing another rabbit hole….
Gary Pig Gold finds BUDDY HOLLY at 80
Posted in Opinion, Review with tags Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Gary Pig Gold, music, Phil Everly, Ray Charles, Records, segarini, The Beatles on September 5, 2016 by segariniYessir, that last tour was sure a sumbitch, wasn’t it? “Winter Dance Party” my lone starred ass! More like a near month hauling all across those snow-crusted heartlands in the back of a school bus, sleeping with our guitars and our bottles of Jack and our rolling crap games. And precious little else, believe you me! But I suppose if they’d paid us what they were supposed to, we may have started flying between gigs instead …and that might’ve been even worse.
Pat Blythe: The Women of Blues Part Four – Maggie Bell
Posted in Opinion with tags AC/DC, Albert Collins. I Was I Chains, Alex Harvey, Archie Hind, Aretha Franklin, Atlantic Records, Bob Segarini, Colin Allen, Courtaney, David Kelly, Davie Bowie, DBAWIS, Dennistoun Palais Band, Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield, Earth, Every Picture Tells a Story, Felix Caveliere, Felix Pappalardi, Fillmore West, Frankie Vaughan, Freedom Road, Graeme Noble, Greg Simpson, Hold Me, Humble Pie, It Ain't Easy, James Dewar, Jerry Wexler, Jimi Page, Joe Cocker, John Mayall Ode to John Law, John McGinnis, Kinning Park Ramblers, La Cave, Led Zeppelin, Leslie Harvey, Lightning Hopkins, Live At Montreaux, Locarno Ballroom, Long John Baldry, Luther Vandross, Mad Dogs & Englishmen, Maggie Bell, Marc Bolan, Mark London, Maryhill Estate, Mecca Band, Melody Maker, Mike Moran, Miles Davis, New Musical Express, Nina Simone, No Mean City, NYC, Oh My! My!, Ontinuious Performance, Pat Blythe, Patsy Cline, Peter Grant, Peter Kurtz, Polydor, Queen of the Night Midnight Flyers, Ray Charles, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Ron Leahy, Roxy Music, Sad Mary, Shirley Bassey, Steve Howe, Steve Thompson, Stone the Crows, Suicide Sal, Swan Song, Taggart, Taj Mahal, Teenage Licks, The Alex Harvey Soul Band, The British Blues Quintet, The Dear Green Place, The Easterhouse Project, The Power, The Power of Music, The Who, Vancouver Island Musicfest, Weeley Festival, Wind and Fire, Yardbirds, Yes, Young Rascals, Zoot Money on July 22, 2015 by segariniPat Blythe continues her series The Women of Blues with this fourth installment on a Legendary Scottish singer….
Pat Blythe: Women of Blues 2 – Ma Rainey – Mother of the Blues
Posted in Opinion with tags Alberta Hunter, Assassinators of the Blues, Bessie, Bessie Smith, Big Momma Thornton, Black Bottom, Black Pearls, Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame, Bo-Weavil Blues, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, Daphne Harrison, DBAWIS, Dinah, Dinah Washington, Don't Believe a Word I Say, doo-wop, Elvis Presley, Eric Burdon, Fat Chappelle, Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett, Grammy, Lead Belly, Lightnin' Hopkins, Louis Armstrong., Ma Rainey, minstrel, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, Mo'nique, Moonshine Blues, Mother of the Blues, Pa Rainey, Pat Blythe, Peggy Lee, Prove It On Me, Queen Latifah, Rabbit Foot Minstrels, Ray Charles, Roxanne Tellier, Sandra Lieb, See See Rider, segarini, Soon This Morning, tent shows, The Airdome, The Kingsmen, The Lyric, The Orioles, The Wild Cats Jazz Band, Thomas Dorsey, Tolliver's Circus and Musical Extravaganza, Tombstone Blues, Tommy Dorsey, vaudeville, Victoria Spivey Mayo Williams on June 3, 2015 by segariniI just finished watching the movie Bessie starring Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith and Mo’nique as Ma Rainey. Suggested watching by Roxanne, my friend and fellow writer, and an excellent recommendation it was. Thank you Rox…. the timing couldn’t be more perfect. A great segue for this column and also for the series. Ma and Bessie were two completely different women singing their own style of the blues together, and apart, one learning from the other and taking the blues to a whole new audience. I’ll start with the groundbreaker.