Pat Blythe – SING! Toronto, Jeff Jones Trio and …Music!

I am still in awe of what happens every time I step out the door whether it’s for a walk, head to a club, meet a friend for a meal, hop in the vehicle and drive….somewhere, photograph a festival, have a random conversation with someone you just met…..something totally unexpected invariably transpires, something I was totally unprepared for. Whether I’m learning it or experiencing it at least it’s consistent. Standing back and studying the broader picture I find there are a hundred million large and teeny tiny connections, that, as the universe unfolds and does its thing, links us all together. Whether it’s a person, a concert, a band, a type of music, an experience, a friend of a friend, we are all our own “six degrees of separation”. I find it all rather fascinating……and I’m still in awe.

Pat Blythe – A Quick Mix …Ones, Reuben Cherry, Jeans ‘n Classics …and Music!

I have a rather detailed telecom project to keep me occupied for the next few weeks and a lot of my time will be focused on just that. Suffice to say the columns will be infinitely shorter than usual. My evenings however, don’t seem to have a dearth of things to do or people to see. I’m not exactly sure where the time goes but the hours just melt into each other and before I know it “early to bed” becomes 3am once again!

Pat Blythe – Sisters, More Indie Week, a Finale……and Music!

Question: How many sisters does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Answer: Apparently two…..and that took over an hour!

Allow me to elaborate. I have a faux fireplace that, when switched on, displays (you guessed it) a faux fire, tricking my brain into thinking it’s warm and toasty on the main floor when in fact it can be, on some days, a tad on the coolish side. So, after a rather late night clubbing followed by a slow rising morning, my sister Chrissie (who is visiting for a couple of days) and I lounge around upstairs until we decide it’s coffee time. Off we trundle into a rather chilly downstairs. Chrissie decides to “light the fire”. She flicks the switch to ‘on’. Nothing. Tries the other switch, then the dial. Nothing. So after much switching back and forth and checking the plug, we determine a light bulb replacement is necessary. How difficult can that be? We were about to find out!

Segarini: The BobChart – Week 15

I find myself immersed in the fascinating and informative Ken Burns opus The Roosevelts, an intimate study of Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt, that proves, among other things, that not much has changed in the last 100 years. The good fights we fight now, are the same ones we were fighting then. The names change, the sides switch, and the issues grow and evolve, but basically, we continue to learn nothing from the past, and are doomed to repeat our mistakes again and again. That said, we are also blessed with repeating a lot of good things too…we just forget that some things shouldn’t change. We abandon the good with the bad, the baby with the bathwater, and the positive lessons learned are as quickly and easily forgotten as the mistakes we make. Nowhere is that more evident than in music, and the entertainment business in general. The good news is, eventually, the pendulum swings back, and the ideas and mindset that have always held true are re-embraced.

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