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.
We here at “Don’t Believe A Word I Say ” are taking a few weeks off (August 10th thru September 10th). This column will therefore be very much abbreviated.
In the future, I will continue to write about important issues such as gay rights, the right of everyone to have a decent living, access to education, universal health care and the right to have a dignified retirement after slaving their lives away selling their soul “to the man”.
Today…..today is a very special day. Well, not the day (Monday) but the date (November 4). Today my mom celebrates her 90th birth date. If you ask her, she doesn’t feel any older than yesterday. In fact, she doesn’t feel any older than when she was 16 or 20 or 30. Inside all of us, the years just blend together. The highlights, the lowlights, the surprises and disappointments, past loves, special trips, a glance, a look, a smile, a comment, the colour of your first car…..they are the pictures inside our minds, our “living” stories….they flash before our eyes in a heartbeat….and somehow, we’re not 16 or 20 or 30 anymore.
The business of business cards….little pieces of history….a nostalgic trail of change of memories. Each one has its own story….of the owner, the business, the year, even the decade. Headed to the basement to check the dehumidifier and stood gaping in overwhelming awe at what still has to be done with much of Chris’s “stuff” over five years after his death. Okay…..deep breath…..one box at a time. My eyes landed on the “box o’ cards” so upstairs it came. It resulted in a magical wander back in time for an entire afternoon. I do not exaggerate when I say the man kept EVERYTHING. I was stunned to find my very first business card from Associated Creative Talent (ACT). Ahhhh, was the summer of ‘79. I had only been in Toronto three months. What a life-changing year that turned out to be.
The last two months have been very rough for Lois and I as we deal with her hospitalization and her illness . We are handling it as a couple, and many, many, thanks to our legion of friends. Bless you all!
Then I got a most welcome email. Canadian Music Week was upon us again, and I had media credentials to collect. Great news, great news indeed. So off I went, picked up my credentials and not one, but two programs. Was I looking forward to this!
Music is omnipresent in our world, and sadly, it is far too tempting to judge the current level of musical proficiency by what gets rammed down our throats on a regular basis. Mainstream radio, the media, even commercials, these all purport to “spread the gospel” of contemporary music to the uninitiated, or at least, to those who want others to do their thinking for them and to dictate their taste.
I run/operate/host (whatever you want to call it) an AirBnB in my home. A cozy, private room with a very comfortable bed and yes, I even serve breakfast in the morning. That’s what the two Bs signify….Bed AND Breakfast. One of my first guests was a young man whose wife had gifted him with a three-day weekend getaway to attend a concert on one of the Toronto Islands. Up from North Carolina, he was excited to tour around the city so I made a few recommendations and off he went.
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!
I’m leaving my personal thoughts and musings to the end time……I’m still catching up with the summer and all the wonderful music I heard, the people I met and all those little moments in between.
So….starting with London Bluesfest….my inner teenager was agog, amazed and humbled by the lineup this year. Performers I never had a chance to see and performers that brought back some wonderful memories. I arrived in London on the Friday, just in time to pick up my badge, connect with friend Elaine Sawyer (whose company Wich is Wich was catering the event) and catch Savoy Brown and Foghat.
Bullseye Records of Canada
