Pat Blythe – Christmas past, NYC, John Harris, N’we Jinan…and Music!

My house looks like Santa barfed up an entire Christmas store. Lights, decorations, bibs and bobs scattered about, the decorating a work in progress and I haven’t even purchased the tree yet! Chris use to chide me on the amount of Christmas paraphernalia I had accumulated over the years so I decided one year to use the minimalist approach. A week before Christmas day Chris asked me when I was going to decorate? Ya can’t win…. So, five containers, an extensive Santa Claus collection and a couple of supplementary boxes heaved up from the basement, I am now sussing and sorting, banging nails, climbing ladders, walking on the counter to get to the top of the cabinets….letting no space go “unChristmased”. Even my musical Charlie Brown Christmas Tree is back in its place of honour.

Pat Blythe – Extremes: Rival Sons, Eagles of Death Metal and…Robbie Lane

It’s been busy the past few weeks. What with fighting that ghastly, intrusive flu/cold (whatever the hell it was) while still cruising the concert halls and clubs, celebrating a special day with my sons and generally trying to keep in or out of trouble….. depending on your point of view. I’ve also been rooting around in the basement searching for more of Chris’s work and I discovered not only his collection of slides but a brand new, unopened box containing a Kodak (remember them) slide projector complete with three carousels and a carousel stack loader. Never used. I cracked it open, plugged it in and everything worked like a charm. Now, if I can just remember how to put the slides in…..I keep getting them backwards or upside down. So I continue to catalogue, digitize and view slides. My drum stool just got delivered (thank you Kid Carson) so now, instead of sliding across the floor every time I use the kick drum, I’ll stay put.