Acts of kindness, BoodAbooM and new videos

2010 at the Red Willow Coffee House

November 2012 is in it’s last days as I write this and December is closing in quickly.  The recording of the BoodAbooM collection of songs is moving along slowly, but as my brother Gerry use to say, “slow movement is better than no movement at all”. Mixing and listening, deciding what stays and what goes, what sequence of songs tells the best story, this has been the focus.  Music always evolves in the studio, a certain metamorphosis take place as the songs begin to have a life of their own.  It is interesting to observe from the songwriter standpoint, a little like watching children grow and flourish into adulthood. Just like the rest of life one never really knows what is coming around the corner and all we know for certain is that changes are coming. I, along with countless songwriters, have alluded to the feeling of being a conduit for the music that comes forth rather than the genius expressionary artist who is the creator. Although the ideas have filtered down through my experiences, my consciousness, my mind and hands playing the instrument as the songs come into being, all things are connected and have lead us to this moment. So I feel I am not alone in the creation of this music that springs from my soul.

It looks like it will be in the early part of 2013 before the BoodAbooM project will be ready for release. I have a show booked for the Red Willow Coffee house on February 8th of 2013 in Nanaimo and hopefully the CD’s, download cards and a few other items will be ready for public consumption. Still undecided as to if the show will be solo or duo. If you think the February show might be something you’ll attend, send me an email as to your preference, a solo performance or duo? Maybe I’ll go crazy and show up with a trio! Send your suggestions to boodaboomband@gmail.com

I should mention that I am absolutely thrilled with the results coming from our recording sessions. It’s been “goosebump city” with my arm hair standing on end, so am very excited about presenting this collection of songs and following up with string of performances ranging from solo to the full band. I’m hoping to do some video shoots as well so be sure to check out my YouTube channel from time to time.

Speaking of my videos, I have recently compiled, edited and posted a few new ones. “Start a Revolution” has a video that includes a little live footage of a concert performance, but mostly images of the “Occupy Movement Canada”. I got the images from Occupy Canada and permission to assemble this. I’m proud to have done this as I am a believer in the power of peaceful resistance. It is time to reevaluate the way things are done and perhaps level the playing field. Another recent add to the YouTube channel is a video set to the title song from my previous album “Choices”. In this video I used images that have been collected over the past few years (mostly) of people I have share the joy of music with and places I have been. Not all of the folks and not all of the places, it was intended to be a video not a feature length movie.

I’d like to close out with a couple of wonderful examples of "random acts of kindness” that thanks to the Internet I found out about. I love the way that some stories rise to the surface on their own in this day and age of digital image capturing and Internet. These two stories surfaced on the same day for me and I found them very inspiring. One takes place in New York where a police officer was seen giving a pair of all weather boots and socks to a barefoot homeless man in the middle of a cold spell. The officer felt compelled to reach out and help someone less fortunate and was unaware that he was being observed. Nearly the same thing happen north of the border here in Canada when a bus driver in Winnipeg stopped his bus, took off his shoes and handed them to a less fortunate young man who was in tattered clothes and walking in bare feet. Inspiring stories partly because they were on the spot decisions made to reach out to someone who is obviously having a harder time than they themselves were. My hat goes off to those of that mindset of loving kindness.

As Christmas draws near many think about the less fortunate and while I agree that it should be thought about throughout the year, if it takes a certain season to make us aware of our personal blessing, so be it. Better than not stopping to be thankful for what and where life has brought us. No matter where you are in the scheme of things there is always someone who is better off than you and always someone who is facing greater hardships than you. Be thankful for what you’ve got and give to those with less.

This will likely be the last blog for this year, how west coast of me. I will post a new blog with updates as to the BoodabooM project and any new shows that are booked in January. That is if the Mayan’s merely got tired of carving the stone calendar and said “that’s enough”. Only later thanks to the Internet did anybody say.... “It’s a sign of the end!!!!”. Exactly right! The end of the documented calendar they created. Bouncing Buddha! They had to stop somewhere.

Wishing you all peace and blessing through this season and all seasons.
Brother T

A new Nanaimo music venue & this Friday's show

Eric Harper

Alex Cuba

On October 24th I went to the opening of the Nanaimo Entertainment Centre with my good friend Paul Jay. (A.K.A. the Mountain Man) The inaugural offering was flamenco/pop guitarist Eric Harper opening for the Grammy award winning Alex Cuba.  The Nanaimo Entertainment Centre is a project undertaken by local business entrepreneur Paul Manhas with Joel Spillette as manager for the facility. A great deal of money was spent renovating the former “Caprice” movie theatre into a contemporary convention style centre complete with a catering service and a 375 to 400 seat facility and a second somewhat smaller room as well.  This of course fills a void in the Nanaimo market for a venue of this size.

The entry area was familiar from when the facility was a movie house except that a licensed bar has replaced the concession stand offering a more adult oriented selection of treats. Everything changes once you pass through the double doors into the theatre area. The twin theatres are opened up to one large room with a level floor, fresh paint and decor. Attention has been paid to the sonic quality of the room with acoustic conditioning installed to guarantee great sound. The seating was comfortable and we had no complaints.

Eric Harper did a wonderful job of warming up the audience with his flamenco style guitar playing, interesting stories and great songs. He drew the audience in with his tales of being a youth in Portugal after leaving the USA in his teens. Academic music training and discipline are evident in his performance along with his obvious talent.

The star of the night was Alex Cuba and his trio. Albeit that I found his english a little hard to understand, his music transcended any language barrier. His music was uplifting and performed impeccably on his black Gibson guitar. (looked like a ES335 from our seats) Almost immediately some of the folks had rise out of their seats and into the aisle to move their bodies to the beat.  I think it was impossible to sit still with the infectious beats emulating from the stage. He was quite funny at times including getting the entire band (drummer included while keeping beat with a shaker) laying on the floor playing the song while wiggling their feet in the air.  That after having his band, including the sound engineer do a little dance for the audience. Great entertainment. One of my favourite moments of the night was when Alex Cuba performed a cover of the Blue Rodeo song “Bad Timing” in Spanish.  It was the most moving rendition of the song I’ve ever heard. The music is a Latin influenced pop/funk/soul mixture delivered with style and grace. I was immediately struck by his unusual right hand technique as his approach is generally reserved for bass players. During the course of the show he explained that he had been a bassist who had switched to guitar, but retained his right hand technique.

This Friday the BoodAbooM acoustic duo is opening for Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart at Nanaimo’s “Headliners”. Headliners is near Mrs. Ritchie’s Restaurant in the center of Nanaimo and serves the community as both a live music venue and a performance arts school. Stacey and Mark were both part of Stacey’s brother Steve Earle’s band during the early parts of Steve’s career. After getting married Stacey and Mark left “The Dukes” and began their own musical journey. Several albums and years of international touring have solidified this Nashville couple as an Americana/roots/folk music act not to be missed. Blaise and I are looking forward to opening the show for Stacey and Mark. Tickets are $20 advance and $25 at the door. We hope to see you there.

Remember as you face life’s challenges and rewards, love is the answer. Trying to approach everything from a standpoint of love, patience and kindness go a long way cultivating a life of much less stress.

Until next time, Brother T

Comments can be sent to boodaboomband@gmail.com

Getting closer to complete

Rick Salt and Joel Spillette

Blaise Zhiam

The upcoming BoodAbooM album is still in production down at Lois Lane Studio. The bulk of the recording has been done, bed tracks, the majority of the guitar tracks, keyboards and lead vocals have been laid down. We are still adding the harmony vocals and a few other odds and sods before sitting back in “digesting mode”. That’s when it’s time for critical listening, as well as deciding any final judgement calls on the mix. We were moving along quite well and should be finished within the next couple of months. A few schedule set backs happened as we allowed for other acts to bump in when needed, but that was taken into consideration some time ago.

The songs are feeling great with wonderful performances from the same crew that put together the “Choices” album. Blaise is of course on bass as an integral element in the BoodAbooM sound, joined by Billy Hicks on drums, Joel Spillette on keyboards, myself on the majority of guitars with Rick Salt lending his magic guitar licks to a few of the songs as well. The songs are ranging from lay back ballads to full out rockers, toe tappers, foot stompers and a reggae tune in the middle to round things out. Twelve songs strung together around a theme of mindful awareness, appreciation and consideration for all things.

A couple of gigs have come and gone since my last entry, a rare BoodAbooM duo show in a local pub and a fund raiser for the local food bank. Pub gigs are fun, but many of our fans who had hoped to enjoy the usual engaged performance were faced with a packed pub which is considerably noisier than our concert / coffee house shows. The place was hopping and stayed that way all night. The opportunity did give Blaise and myself a chance to lean into the party time tunes which is always a blast. Tunes from “Toots and the Maytals” to “Ben Harper” mixed in with “Leonard Cohen” and “Bruce Springsteen” were served up ala BoodAbooM style. The food bank fund raiser was a concert environment held at Headliners in Nanaimo. The talent was quite amazing and included Jayden Holman, Mikaila Tombe, and young guitar prodigy Ian Perry. Terrazetto also deserves an honourable mention for their great performance. Ken and Len put on one helluva show.

Recently I compiled and posted a video for the song “Hummingbird” from my “Choices” album on YouTube. I love those little birds and was happy to realize they are in abundance around our new home. Our previous home was also a haven for hummingbirds which was the inspiration for the song. Please have a look and share a link with your friends who might enjoy.

The next show for BoodAbooM will be November 2nd when Blaise and I will be opening the show for Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart who are performing at Headliners in downtown Nanaimo. Stacey and her husband Mark are song writers who have toured internationally with their Americana Roots music style. Stacey is Steve Earle’s sister and both she as well as husband Mark toured with “The Dukes” in the early stages of Steve’s career before branching out on their own. I’m sure it will be a great show. Tickets are available by contacting Headliners, Arbutus Music or at Fascinating Rhythms in Nanaimo.

Beyond all of this I have had some correspondence with the folks on the Occupy Canada facebook page. With their permission, I will be compiling images taken during last year’s Occupy movement efforts and posting them in video form with the song “Start A Revolution” from my Choices album. It seems fitting, since I am a supporter of passive resistance as a means to edge toward change. Everyone knows, the world needs change. “Choices” which includes both of the mentioned songs is available for download from iTunes and at CD Baby.

Stay tuned to this blog for news about upcoming shows, videos, progress of the BoodAbooM album, as well as where and when we are having our CD release parties. Yes, there is likely going to be more than one!

Fall is arriving out here on the west coast and it’s been a beautiful transition from one season to the next. Although it’s been dry gentle weather out here, soon it will be colder yet. As with all things, that too will pass.  Everything changes, nothing stays the same, before you know it, summer comes around again.

Remember, treating everyone and everything with loving kindness brings the love back to you. Be kind to each other.
Brother T

Comments can be sent to boodaboomband@gmail.com

BoodAbooM recording project progress report

Blaise Zhiam

Bill Hicks

Myself, (Theo) on harmonica

Progress on the first BoodAbooM album has been an exhilarating experience. The first day in the studio is always a day that vibrates with anticipation. As things have come to be it looks as if the same band that recorded the “Choices” CD is recording the BoodAbooM collection with the exception of the bass of course. We still have to confirm the keyboard player, but Billy Hicks is back on drums, Blaise is on bass (my musical brother), Rick Salt will add some of that killer slide guitar and yours truly will be playing a lot more harmonica on this collection of songs. John Forrest who was the bassist on my “Choices” album passed roughly a year ago. R.I.P. Blackey, you were one helluva bass player and a character loved by many.

There is a lot of preparation prior to the actual recording session and I was pleased to be able to help Rick with that part of the process. The first day of laying it down with Blaise on bass, Bill at the drum set, myself on guitar and singing, was huge fun for a recording maniac like me. We put in a marathon session recording 12 songs in 10 hours with little or no breaks. It was exhausting, but once we were on a roll it was going fantastic so no one yelled “uncle” till the final hurdle had been leaped over. Good friend Paul Jay was privy to the inside skinny as he hung around for the session capturing digital images of the day’s activity. Click here to see some of those images.

The following few days were spent re-recording the guitar tracks. The original tracks are never destroyed, but usually re-recorded in order to be able to focus on and capture the most pristine performances possible. Rick is a master of guitar tone and beyond being a friend for long enough to begin counting in decades, he is a musical craftsman and an articulate audioscaper. I have asked Rick to help me produce the BoodAbooM album as well as engineer the recording. His ideas and input are greatly valued.

Lois Lane Studios is a busy place so next week is fully booked with other recording artist. BoodAbooM will resume with the keyboard tracks the following week. We will be recording keyboard tracks in the main part of the studio as a band of notoriety will be rehearsing in another part of the studio. I am hoping for a guest appearance on one of the BoodAbooM tracks by a member of that band but no promises, we’ll have to wait and see.

It’s a long row to hoe before we will be close to posting anything from the new album. As it stands though, we are flying forward full steam ahead and will complete as soon as possible. Discussion about graphics and merchandise continue, as well as a lot of thought about where to solicit some industry help. In today’s world of Internet, there are a lot of companies making money off of those wishing to impact the music world. Lots of promises, each one with a corresponding fee and no guaranteed results. The sharks still swim these waters. The truth is that no one can do this music thing alone, even if you are a dedicated soloist without management you still need your friends, fans, venues, followers and those interested in what you are doing to make it all work. We create the art without expectation, without pretence and bring it to our friends, fans and the world hoping enough of you support this through buying some merchandise and coming out to the shows. Blaise and I thank you for that.

Speaking of shows, BoodAbooM will be doing a duo show at the Quarterway Pub in Nanaimo on September 8th. Mark it on your calendar and come on down if you get a chance. Subscribe to this blog to follow along with the progress of the upcoming BoodAbooM recordings.

Please send your comments to boodaboomband@gmail.com where they will be screened and posted if appropriate. 

Until next time remember, a little kindness goes a long way.
Respectfully, Brother T

Many thanks to Paul Jay for the photos. Used by permission.

The only thing constant is change

First off I would like to say a big hello and thank you to the readers from far away places. The new blog site has already been getting readers from not only Canada and the United States, but also a decent readership from Russia, South Korea, the Netherlands (gotta love Holland!), and 

Germany. I am so appreciative of being able to share some thoughts and life moments with you.

Albert Einstein said it, the Buddha said it before him, the only thing constant is change. I think the sooner one accepts that change is an inevitability, the sooner one starts to become comfortable with what you are not going to be able to stop anyway. The Buddha taught that much of our suffering comes from our constant wanting. Craving for this, wanting that, our clinging to the way things are and grasping for the way we wish things were, are all human traits that we simply need to be aware of. Awareness is the first step toward understanding the difference between what we really need and what we simply want or would like to have. It is also the first step toward happiness or balance if you will.

BoodAbooM at a recent performance.

That being said, Blaise Zhiam and I are faced with a slight change. Warren DuMailo who teamed up with us for the “BoodAbooM” project has decided to focus on a different band that he is involved with. We had a great show together on August the 4th, but distance and details are prohibiting much more involvement with Warren. We wish him well in his new endeavours and perhaps we’ll team up again somewhere down the road.

This week Blaise and I are headed to “Lois Lane Studios” to begin recording our first album under the new band name “BoodAbooM”.  Twelve songs have been selected for this collection and session drummer Billy Hicks will be joining us on the drums. Bill is one of my all time favourite drummers. He has an impressive history and is sought after for his studio chops and live performance. Bill was also the drummer for my previous album “Choices” ( click here to listen / buy ) and I am thankful he has made time for this project.

BoodAbooM will focus on danceable music that for the most part reflects the teaching of Siddharha Gautama, better known as the Buddha.  Not so much from a religious point of view, but more so from a point of methodology. I am not a Buddhist and not a participant of any form of religion. What I do find is balance and wisdom in the bare bones Buddha dharma or teachings. The music itself for BoodAbooM is an upbeat mix of rock, North American roots music, and a dash of reggae. The first offering from our band is largely penned by myself, although our live performances and the next album will include collaborations between Blaise and myself. The music we are presenting is our art form, our expression of how we see things in this moment. If you like what we are doing with the BoodAbooM band, please follow along through this web site and tell others what you find interesting here. Please share our web links with others and send me an email with your comments, enquiries or suggestions.

I’ve also come to see that nothing is certain, there are no assurances, there are no guarantees that anything will turn out as you expect. In fact if things do go as you planned, they will be slightly different than you had expected once you get there. Regardless, life itself is the gift. The experience of consciousness with all its trials, tribulations, joys and successes, that is where we need to focus and what we need to savour right here, right now.

Until next time, do your best to live and exhibit loving kindness to all and in every situation.
Brother T

A little kindness

So it looks like I’ll probably be blogging about once a month. A little easier to handle than my old blog of once a week. Believe me, it’s not that I don’t have a lot to say or that I am out of touch with what goes on in our region or around the world. The biggest reason for the fewer blogs is time. With the bigger readership I had before there was a lot of good comments and conversations that came out of the subjects I covered, but it seriously got to be a time eater. Even so, I greatly appreciated and enjoyed expressing myself, as well as the dialogue and feedback from others.  Now my focus is on the music and it’s vehicle, BoodAbooM.

Blaise and I have been busy boys both preparing for the upcoming recording sessions and taking advantage of opportunity to reach out to friends via a video webcast. Meagan Duvauld conducted the interview which included videos, live performances as well as interactive discussion with friends and fans. It was fun and we thank Allen Felker of Loud and Alive TV here on Vancouver Island.

I put in a short performance at a benefit for Cathy Davis a local musician and friend of mine. Her daughter had taken gravely ill and the burden of expense for Cathy was more than she could handle financially. Our local Nanaimo community of musicians and merchants got together and raised money by means of auctioning off goods and services. There were some terrific performances by bands such as Terrazetto amongst others. Jan Stephens, Sharon Franzen and Upright Earl deserve big kudos for their efforts at this event.  It’s good to give back and musicians have a platform to that from. As it stands Cathy’s daughter has improved of late and the help Cathy received from our community has been a huge help. To read it from Cathy’s own hand click here.

We are continuing to rehearse and get ready for studio time as well as a few upcoming shows. Sorry folks, these are private engagements. As to the studio time, we are scheduled to start in mid August.  Warren, Blaise and I are primed, charged and ready to rock!! Recording engineer and producer Rick Salt who helped me with the “Choices” CD is once again the guiding hand on this project.  We are excited about Rick's involvement as a previously Juno nominated engineer and look forward to this next step in the “BoodAbooM” project.

Until next time, remember that a little kindness goes a long way.
Brother T

 Last year my daughter purchased me a copy of one of my favourite books, “Buddhism plain and simple” by Steve Hagen. The book is available at our local library and I have read it several times. In this book Steve Hagen attempts to strip away all the man made notions surrounding the Buddha’s teachings and reveal the essence of the what Siddhartha Gautama was telling us. Forget about the different branches of Buddhism, the robes, singing bowls, or any other human contrived add ons. A little history and a very clearly written dialogue regarding the four basic truths and the noble eight fold path.

I don’t consider myself a Buddhist in the conventional sense, but do feel I have woken up in regard to the Buddha Dharma. The Buddha’s teachings have practical application in the here and now, they help you see reality.  My eldest brother tried to make me aware of the wisdom to be found in exploring ancient writings.  As a young man I took some interest in Taoism although my personal awakening really took hold when I grasped the basic Buddha Dharma. The teachings are about living this life, not so much about what happens after we die. How to create the least amount of suffering for yourself, others and this world around us. After all, we are all connected and at some level, all aware of that.

The reason I am speaking about this in my blog is because what rolls around inside a songwriters head eventually makes its way through their heart, hands, voice and into their songs. Much of the music I’ve written in the past couple of years has reflected the teachings I have come to embrace in songs about life, suffering, joy, awareness and mindfulness.  

I was looking for a way to better represent the collaborative effort that has come from a few years of stage time with bassist Blaise Zhiam utilising a name for the act rather than continuing under the “Theo Massop” moniker.  With a new album of my songs on the horizon and seeking input from my band mates we have taken the name “BoodAbooM”. Phonetically it pays homage to the Buddha’s teaching relevant in my songs and our drummer Warren duMailo likes the way it sounds like drums being played.

This isn’t to say the songs are solemn and subdued. On the contrary, the music is rootsy, rocking, grooving with some reggae and yes, a few mellower musings for the mind. It’s fun to feel that you are building something with a team, three guys with a similar point of view working together toward a unified goal. Good music.

No pretensions, we’re not trying to change the world, we’re just making good music with some meaningful lyrics that might connect with some people.  Check back occasionally to see what’s up with “BoodAbooM”, as well as my personal rants and raves.

Until next time, Brother T

Well, well, here we go again. The last go around at blogging it was a weekly affair that took many hours and grew a decent readership. I managed to gain about 5000 hits a week before change came crashing down and it was all gone.

This will be my new attempt at blogging although I can guarantee that it won't be weekly!  Too much work for a busy guy like me.

Much of what will be posted will have to do with the band "BoodAbooM" which I feel honoured to be a part of.

Let's See how she goes.

Peace and blessings,
Brother T