Hanging out with Nick Gilder and Sweeney Todd, Upcoming summer shows

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a blog and I thought it was about time to put fingers to work on the keyboard. In this case, the computer keyboard instead of a synthesizer. A lot of my past few months have been consumed by domestic circumstances. Of course I have still been playing music, but haven’t pushing the BoodAbooM band much as I should. I am still stumbling through the process of changing distributors which doesn’t help. The gigging in the past couple of months has been mostly working with a dance / cover band adding harmonica, guitar, harmony vocals, as well as singing a dozen or so rock cover tunes. It’s been fun and profitable, but I really need to concentrate on other things, like my own music.

Nick Gilder and I before the show.

 I have also been playing a few solo shows lately including opening for Nick Gilder and Sweeney Todd at a pair of concerts here on Vancouver Island. Opening up a rock show armed with only my guitar and my voice was a little unnerving at first thought.  I called the promoter back to be sure he realized who and what he was bringing to the stage. I had been recommended to Brandon of Nightlife Entertainment, so he was glad to have me on board for the shows. It was super cool to throw myself out there in “Billy Bragg” style. The first show at the Tidemark Theatre was huge fun! After introductions from Nanaimo Hip-Hop Artist “SirReal”, I opened with the song “The Answer” from my BoodAbooM album and dove straight into “The Light Within” off the “Choices” album. I kicked out my best, had a great time with the audience, a lot of laughs and a few tears on the sadder songs. I leaned heavily into my up tempo folk-rock / alternative songs from previous releases and a couple of new songs.

Tidemark Theatre

The audience rewarded me with warmth, many applause and cheers. If you’d like to see half an hour or so of the concert click here. If you’d like to see a quick clip from that show, click here to watch “Canada `52” being performed. It was also awesome to hang around with a master entertainer like Nick Gilder for a couple of days. He and the boys put on a fantastic genuine rock show. Nick draws the audience in, shares his music and by the time the night is over folks are dancing in front of the stage like it’s party time plus! At the Saturday show I watched him wander through the crowd of dancers, remote mic in hand singing his heart out. All the while trying to accommodate those trying to get “selfies”.

Before the show in Parksville

Nick’s band was nothing short of amazing. They were energetic and played with razor sharp precision. Longtime stage mate Mark Kenny on bass, former Trooper alumni Lance Chalmers on drums, another longtime stage mate Mike Russell on guitars and keyboards, along with the amazing guitarist Joe Wowk. That band absolutely floored me with their musical prowess. Mike Russell has cloned the Jon Lorde organ sounds and plays like a maestro.  At this point I have to say that Joe Wowk left me slack jawed with his guitar work. I’m pretty sure I heard him do things with a guitar that I’ve never heard before. By the way, groove master Mark Kenny took the picture of me and Nick, that’s no selfie.

I’m doing some solo shows this summer starting with one of my faves, the Lantzville Farmers Market. The farmers market shows are cool because not only are you paid to perform, but it’s friendly and laidback. ( Welcome to the west coast folks ) There is no clock or particular set times to complete. Stop when folks want to chat, sell your merchandise, take requests and gratuities if you can do the song, notes for next time if you can’t. I love these kind of shows and the bonus is you get to go home with some great local grown produce and products in your goodie bag. June 21st I will be starting at 1:30 in Lantzville. Check the BoodAbooM website to find out where and when I’m playing after that. Ok, I admit it. Sometimes I’m a little laxed in getting the postings up. For current information it’s best to follow my “Theo’s Trio” facebook page. I will also be performing as part of the “Donny Boyd and Fine Company” at the Vancouver Island Exhibition held in Nanaimo this August and a few other select concerts.

Before I “write off into the sunset” for this blog, let me toss out a little bit of reality check. We’ve all heard the joke about musicians, “$5000 worth of gear into a $500 vehicle willing to drive 500 miles to a gig for $50”. It’s not a joke, for the right gig it’s true. Having been on both sides of the fence I will assure you that to hire a high profile musical act is not cheap. Here is a link to what some of today’s big stars are asking for when they perform. Here’s what the performers got paid to appear at the famous Woodstock Festival. Santana did the gig for $750. And another income story of interest is the grammy award winning music writer who revealed his royalty statement and talks about the low compensation for online music streaming. Morale of the story is, if you’re going to choose music as your livelihood do it as a labour of love. Don’t take up music thinking you’re going to get rich. If that happens, nice. Just don’t make that your motivating factor, rather submit to the muse and let the music take you to where you need to go.

All that withstanding, I have posted a link on my BoodAbooM website for you to stream and listen to the songs from my two most recent albums free of charge. The link will take you to my CBC based website.

Remember as you wind your way through the path of life that we are all connected, everything changes and you have to pay attention. Wake up, be aware folks, accept the reality of your situation and do what needs to be done. Treat each other with love, kindness, respect and truth. Things will get better that way.

Namaste, Brother T

A few thoughts and observations from a life long musician

Nothing good in this life comes easy and if it did for you, be damn thankful. I have, during the past several months, been running a variety of shows which included featuring other musical artist. It’s a great way to keep things interesting for the audience that come out to my shows locally and a great way to expose the amazing talent that resides here in the central Vancouver Island region. One of the things that has amazed me is the number of performers that are not very astute when it comes to self promotion. In today’s entertainment business you have to constantly strive to keep up with technology and trends. Learn your craft. That means more than just wood-shedding guitar chops or honing the craft of songwriting. It means learning about all of the aspects of your endeavour. How to maximize on social media, press releases, networking, socialize at jams and open mics, find out what’s going on in your area. I have been amazed that many musicians don’t even know the ropes of facebook!

John T the Drifter AKA John Massop

My two oldest brothers helped me along in the early part of my musicianship, my apprenticeship if you will. Brother John showed me the street level skills required to find gigs, work a stage and an audience. He showed me a lot of things our parents wished he wouldn’t have being 18 years senior to me and being quite the “rounder”. Brother Gerry, my eldest brother, started to give my musical endeavors a guiding hand when I was about 24. I had over 10 years of performing under my belt at that point and showing no signs of slowing down. Gerry saw that and taught me about the “pro” side of music. He was a well respected musical journalist who had lots of savvy and always drove home how important understanding the business side of music was. “When you look at the words ‘music business’ you’ll notice that the word business is nearly twice as big as the word music. Treat your career the same way, you need more than just talent to survive” he would say.

JR and brother Gerry jamming with Chico

Gerry also told me often to think globally and act locally which has proven to be valuable advice over the years. International radio airplay and sales wouldn’t have happened for me without thinking globally.

These days the music industry is changing more rapidly than ever. It can make your head spin trying to keep up with emerging technologies and trends. As a modern musician you have to constantly be searching out not only new venues to perform at, but also keeping your ear to the ground in an effort to understand trends and what’s coming. Yes, maintaining web sites, facebook, twitter, blogs and all may cut into a little practise time. Still, you have to find a way to balance all these elements in today’s music world in order to survive and thrive. The music is the muse and sharing the music is why we all get into this. It is easy to get hooked on that stage time adrenalin, so you have to have a good musical foundation. Without that element, you’ve got nothing. In reality it’s not all that you need. Raw talent on it’s own does nothing to help you through the maze of today’s industry. Everywhere you turn companies stand with their hand out offering to help you for a fee. It seems to be a trend many are using for survival, so be cautious. Talk to others who have used these services before signing up to anything that puts it’s hand in your wallet. Some companies are reputable and will deliver as expected, others are less scrupulous and once they have your money can be difficult to deal with. While no one is an army by themselves and your career will be helped along with the right people assisting you, choose carefully and wisely who you tie yourself up with. Un-doing those ties can be costly and difficult. As my life long friend and ex-bandmate Dennis Olsen use to say, “love many, trust few and always paddle your own canoe”.

Until next time, happy gig hunting and trail blazing through the mind boggling maze of the music biz. Brother T.

Busy times and crazy days

Sad to see the warmth of summer coming to an end. The heavy rains are beginning to come here on Vancouver Island and they are wet indeed. Mother nature’s way of reminding us human beings that we live in a rain forest here on the island and we are no match for her power. 

Welcome to the "wet" coast.

It’s all cycles though, so I really don’t mind too much. I’m simply not as charmed with winter as I am with the easy feeling of west coast summers.

So I’ve been one busy little guitar strummer lately and that always makes me happy. Happy to be have been blessed with the gift of music in my life and the ability to share that joy with others. The Songwriter Showcase dinner shows at the Corner Bistro have been great fun. Our first show was with outstanding local musician Glen Foster. I manage to capture a little of Glen’s performance on video and you can check that out at this link.  In week two, Jeffrey Randle and his bassist Nathan took the stage after my opening set. Again a great show, but this time I didn’t have my video camera, so no video folks. I had my camera with me for Brian Hazelbower’s show the following week, but pretty much every clip had someone speaking to me so there isn’t much that we’ll be able to post. Brian brought along his musical friend and co-writing partner Dave Studer, so the two of them gave us a fine performance. Fortunately for me I get to close out the evening for the audience after the feature has finished. A big house with a warmed up audience, what more could a musical madman like me ask for? So it’s been an absolute blast for me. Beside that I get a dinner to go at the end of the night and yum, yum.

Next week I am thrilled to have Ira Pelltier as my featured songwriter. Ira has a real bluegrass feel to his excellent tunesmith skills. A superb guitarist and mandolin player, he’s sure to give us a spellbinding performance. 

Ira Pelletier

The continuing Songwriter Showcase series is going to be bringing in some of our amazing local talent with the likes of Eliza Gardiner, Dave Kilbank, Henry Locke, Bobbi Schram, Birgit Kuit, Mark Crissinger and more. Every Wednesday evening I start the night off a little after 6 and bring on our featured songwriter for a hour long performance around 7PM.  No cover charge for these dinner shows and the food is outstanding. I hope you can take in some these presentations. The Corner Bistro is located at #1-75 Front St. in Nanaimo.

On the BoodAbooM front, I have been exploring the possibility of engaging a management firm. I feel that it is in the best interest of all to be speaking to only one firm at a time. This does tend to slow the process, which in my case was further impeded by our trusty snail mail. One of my critical promo packages never made it to the destination and took 8 weeks to come back to me. Oh well, at least I was able to figure out the delay in getting a response from the entertainment firm I am dealing with. The next package went out with a tracking number so I know what’s going on.

I have recently added a playlist to my YouTube channel called “Raw and organic”. These are videos that have little or no editing and the soundtracks are absolutely live untouched recordings. Check out the live recording of the song “Be Still”. This was taken during the summer of 2012 at an outdoor event. 

As well you can now listen to a few of the songs from "The Answer" by BoodAbooM on Soundcloud. If you wish to download either "The Answer" or my previous album "Choices" they are available through links from my website or at iTunes. (links on the album titles above) Links to on line purchasing of CD's are on my web page as well.

Amongst the other shows I am playing, I have also been booked for some private performances and will be returning to play at the Lantzville Farmer’s Market October 13th. I love the farmer’s market shows because they are so relaxed with a great bunch of people and it ends up more like hanging out in someone’s kitchen than a concert performance. It’s cool to be able to stop and chat with folks one on one. Last time I play the Lantzville Farmer’s Market, they sent me home with a bunch of yummy food and locally made products. Much appreciated.

Hygrade - Party Rock

The Hygrade band rocked the Ladysmith “Sporty” pub last month as well as kicking it out further north up the island at the Northgate pub. Both shows were well attended and huge fun for me as I get to play harmonica to songs that don’t normally have harp in them. Challenging for me as a harmonica player and I am glad to have a chance to exercise my harp skills.  The Northgate has booked us back for October 26th and November 23rd with the promise of more to come. Hygrade will also be returning to the Sportsman Hotel in Ladysmith and I will be posting the date upon confirmation. Here’s a video of one of the first jam sessions I attended with this line up. “New Orleans is Sinking” from the Tragically Hip done with a harmonica twist!

My friends from the Nederlands jazz band Kogging are returning to Canada for a fall tour and if you are a jazz fan do your best to attend one of their shows. A video sample of their last visit to Vancouver Island can be seen at this link.

So, what’s been crawling under my skin? This month I will shine this little light of mine on the invasion of private lives by internet snoopers and far too many prying eyes. In 2009 I took a job working for a company that contracted to a major cell phone provider. Yes, I have had to do more than just music from time to time in my life. A word to all young musicians, don’t be afraid of taking a job to make ends meet or find a way to pay for the next recording session. At that time I was astonished to learn during the course of my training that all cell phone calls made in the USA boundaries were being recorded and stored in a massive database. I didn’t think it could ever happen in Canada, but 4 years later the same scenario is big news on an international scale. Obama said, “if you want security, you don’t get privacy”. That somehow seems imbalanced to me. Between facial recognition software, massive unwarranted surveillance, facebook and gmail, the normal person doesn’t stand a chance should the powers of the day decide to make you look evil. Here is a link to an interesting article on the subject from a Canadian viewpoint. Also if you’d like to sign a petition against this kind of invasion, click here.

On a lighter note I would like to say thanks to my international readers. According to my ‘stats’ program this blog has been read in 27 different countries. Pretty cool I’d say!  Stay in touch with my musical endeavours by checking the BoodAbooM web site and for the party rock cover band Hygrade you can also check the Hygrade web site.

Remember that we all do well to try and be loving, kind and forgiving with each other. It’s one approach that can bring healing and change.

Brother T

The BoodAbooM album, video, tee shirts, Juno Awards, change and the erosion of free speech

As May begins and the spring brings new growth, things are still bubbling along on the BoodAbooM front. Distribution and who to go with for manufacturing has been a process to be reckoned with. There are a lot of considerations and while “Choices” will remain with CD Baby for distribution at least for now, “The Answer” by BoodAbooM will be handled by Indiepool. One of the big reasons is because Indiepool is a Canadian company offering the same services as what are otherwise American firms. So as this blog is being written, the wheels are in motion to have CD’s available in about three weeks.

The BoodAbooM tee shirts have been manufactured and look great! It was a push to get them in time for the show in Port Alberni April 19th and I was happy to find an accommodating company to do the deed. Marisha Devion joined me for this performance playing her upright acoustic bass. It was a real treat for me as Marisha has a great ability to fill out the sound of a duo with sweet harmonies and a nice percussive approach when needed with her massive upright bass. I hope to do more shows with Marisha in the future. 

If anyone is interested in buying a BoodAbooM tee shirt, send me an email and I will personally contact you to work out the details. For that matter you can also send me any comments regarding this blog or whatever at boodaboomband@gmail.com

The first video from “The Answer” has been posted on my Youtube site. The song “Another Sunny Day”, our inaugural visual offering, reflects on the cycles of life and this world. A funny little side note is that “Another Sunny Day” was actually written on a rainy summer day knowing that the sunshine was right around the corner. The road of life, the cycle of seasons, the day, the night and that ever forward driving motion of striving for a better tomorrow. Check out the video and let me know what you think.

As much as I regard award shows in the entertainment business with some disdain, I found this year’s Juno Awards quite entertaining. The old joke is they are called the Juno Awards because people watching the show say, “who’s that? Juno who that is? I dunno?”. Not quite that way anymore with the likes of Carly Rae Jepsen on the younger side and KD Lang on the established side represented at the awards show. Artist like those along with Justin Bieber, Diana Krall, Rush and The Tragically Hip to mention a few have certainly heightened the profile of Canadian artist internationally. Michael Buble was a fine host with some funny antics and of course his golden voice. Serena Ryder was pretty good with her anticipated “Stompa” and I thought it was cool when Serena accompanied Billy Talent for a tune. I enjoyed watching KD Lang get her “hall of famer” status and again, the presentation from Anne Murray was excellent. I expected the absence of Stompin’ Tom references as he was not a supporter of the Juno awards, the academy in general or how the music industry conducts itself. He was truly a rebel and a Canadian icon that will be missed. My eldest brother Gerry was a music journalist who interviewed Stompin’ Tom and considered that amongst his most treasured moments in the journalistic field. One thing that did surprise me was that there wasn’t a greater tribute to our other great loss in Canadian music, Rita MacNeil. I believe there was a mention, but I expected more given the stature of this amazing talent. Rita was another who typified Canadiana. Rita and Tom will both leave a great void in the Canadian musical landscape.

Not a part of the Canadian music scene, but a great loss to the world of music is the passing of Richie Havens. At the cusp of my adolescent years, I remember being blown away by his spirited performance of “Motherless Child” in the Woodstock movie. Imitating his style, I would wail away like a wounded puppy in my mother’s basement pounding the poop out of my brother’s acoustic guitar. Richie showed me how to just let it flow. Brother Bert taught me that pick marks on his Gibson was not cool.

Beyond the music there have been a lot of things in this world rattling the chains of my being. The tightening control on the last vestige of free speech and dissemination of truthful information without the risk of that information being filtered by the powers in control. What does that mean? The Internet is constantly under attack, either directly or indirectly. Freedom of speech is being eroded. The recent attacks at the Boston Marathon have come under suspicion in true 9-11 fashion while the mainstream internet feeds and the evening news spin and entirely different picture. Our controlling political party, Stephen Harper and his Torie buddies miss placing 3.1 billion dollars and having a hard time figuring out where it went. I had heard yesterday that Stevie baby has said it’s all a misunderstanding. So much for transparent politics and honest government.

I have often alluded to how radical change has less of a chance becoming the standard than does incremental change. One thing is blatantly obvious and that is that the world needs change. Feed the rich and forget the poor is not working folks. Change is inevitable and sooner would be better than later because things appear to be falling apart. I’ve started reading a book about and called “Peace Pilgrim, her life and work in her own words”. Her message was simple, if we wish to achieve world peace we have to start with finding inner peace. A good place to start the change I’d say.  So I leave behind the thoughts of bungling bozos in politics, eroding freedoms, and flying falsehoods, having shined the light of blogging on the issues. Now I will return to seeking inner peace and striving for the ability to approach the world from a standpoint of loving kindness.

Nudging my way to a better day.

Brother T

Party at the pub, the next concert, big banks and bully politics

Dean Doyle and I had big fun playing the Landlubber pub on March 30th. We have worked together in various line ups in the past including performing as a duo, but this was the first time we took it to the pub for a party night of favourites and cover tunes. As anyone who’s ever been to my performances would know, I always play some of my own tunes so the night was “mostly” cover songs. We even threw in a Black Keys cover and witnessed one of the patrons doing the “lonely boy” dance. Playing the pub was very different from the duo gigs we’ve done in the past. It was really cool for me because in the musical sense it is pretty raw and naked. A circumstance like this dictates that the musicians be extremely in tune with each other in terms of syncopation and groove. Listening to your partner becomes critical and mistakes become glaring so there is very little wiggle room. I couldn’t help but recall my previous guitar / drums duo with Peter Scheibel, my spiritual brother and fellow musician. We played a bunch of gigs under the monicker of the “Tea Pad Revue”, including “Bathtub Weekend” in Nanaimo during the 80’s when the bathtub race was quite the big deal.  Admittingly the room was on the shadier side of town, but we really loved it down there and the nights were rocking. I’m usually not one to reminisce, although I will admit that Peter who also sang harmony on the “Choices” album passed in 2007 and rarely does a day go by where he doesn’t cross my mind. Again, the only thing constant is change. Permanence is the grand illusion. The pub night was a huge success and you never know, we may even do it again sometime.

Dean  and I at the Landlubber Pub Photo by Paul Jay

April 19th will see myself and Marisha Devoin performing under the BoodAbooM banner for the first official concert featuring all 12 of the songs from “The Answer”, my recently completed album. As of the writing of this blog I am still frantically trying to get Cd’s and tee shirts manufactured in time for the performance. It looks good to get them in time right now, although I don’t want to count chickens until the eggs have hatched. Still ironing out details surrounding distribution and available services for the promotion of BoodAbooM’s first album, “The Answer” which is my personal third collection of songs to be released as an album. Char’s landing where we will be performing is a really sweet venue up in Port Alberni. The building is a converted church that is now an arts centre for the community. From painters to poets, dance to touring musical acts, Char’s is proving to be a cultural gold mine for Port Alberni. This will be Marisha’s inaugural BoodAbooM performance and hopefully the first of many to come. Marisha is an internationally travelled musician who is one of the finest bassist in our area. Here is a video link to her jamming with the great Victor Wooten at a recent Gabriola Island performance. She and I started working together a few years back under the “Theo Massop Trio” moniker, but Marisha left to tour with “Kings Without”. Her incredible talents have taken her through a myriad of styles and stages, cruise ships and concerts. I am so pleased to be sharing the stage with her for the upcoming show.

Checking things out at Char's Landing

I had convinced myself that this new blog would be void of political rantings and raving about things that seem misguided to me. Things that make me want to say, “that’s just not right!”. It’s hard not to do that and I now understand why my eldest brother Gerry took to writing as an advocate for the challenged in his later years of journalism. Sometimes things crawl under your skin and you simply have to raise your voice in hopes of being heard.

I hate to keep hammering on the Harper hijinx, but Stevie baby seems to continually be crapping on Canadians. Under the leadership (if you can call it that) of this Prime Minister, the international respect Canada once held is being completely eroded. We are looking bad on global environmental efforts and Mr. Harper is being accused of making a mockery of democracy. It’s no wonder Stephen Harper is being criticized when you look at his treatment of his own people, yes we the Canadians. He signs off on giving away Canadians jobs, as in the RBC case, to foreign workers while sending our own qualified people to the unemployment lines. This in the name of greater profitability. The big banks are already making billions annually, but it’s not enough. They want more.  I quite liked the article I read referring to the RBC case as “a new meaning to the words ‘piggy bank’.” Since Stephen Harper can create laws and put them into effect at will, he’s decided to put in Cyprus style banking laws allowing the banks to confiscate your money if they get into trouble. All this while the Canadian people are either slumbering or being silenced by his regime. Imbalanced mandatory imprisonment laws, long term murky trade deals with China, deregulation of thousands of protected waterways, when is enough going to be enough? I just caught myself letting out a great sigh of frustration, so it’s time to switch subjects. I’m sure Harper thinks he’s doing the right things for the country, but most Canadians no longer agree.  

Back to the music before I cross my 1200 word limit.

I was recently asked by Marius TV Lohmann to write and record a short theme song for a video project he has been working on. Project Paintball is a potential series currently available on YouTube surrounding, you guessed it, the sport of paintball. He came to me with specific ideas of the type of song and sound he was looking for. Marius was pleased with what I had conjured in my own tea pad studio, Theo’s temple of tunes, and decided to use my offering. Regardless of my super cheesy theme song, Marius proves himself to be an awesome videographer, editor and production manager. The show is excellent quality and even if you’ve never paint balled, quite riveting! Check it out at this link and subscribe, there seems to be more to come. Very entertaining. Be sure and tell any of your paintball friends to check it out as well. Incidentally “TV” is Marius’s actual middle initials.

For this blog I would like to leave you with a thought, a quote from the late great John Lennon, “It doesn’t matter who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love, how you love, it only matters that you love.” Yes my friends, I think John was right. Love is “The Answer”.

Let’s strive to be as loving and kind to each other as we possibly can. Love, kindness, forgiveness, ahhhh... the words just feel good don’t they?

Until later, Brother T

New shows, cool shows and crazy politics

So I’m kind of a crazy busy guy. I’ve had this urge to blog often over the past few weeks. Either it was some move on the part of Stephen Harper, our own Nanaimo City council, cool shows I’ve gone to see or cool stuff to talk about, the urge to write has been large!! Unfortunately in trying to keep balance in my life, everything seems to take a little longer than I expected including getting back to the blog.  Let’s start with some music before I rant on about local, provincial  and federal politics. Something I said I would avoid in the new blog, but sometimes you just have to raise your voice in case someone is listening or at least get it off your chest.

As to the music, I have been quite occupied with several projects at once! One of the projects has been to expand my rehearsal space from a modest 150 square feet to about the 260 / 270 square feet. That included fresh flooring, carpet and laminate, as well as a double, double window and a door to the shop / storage area. I have been rehearsing a with a few different line ups including a four piece rock cover band where my main duty is to play harmonica. Big fun for me as I don’t get to do much of that in the BoodAbooM band. The way things were, I had to either take out the back wall or blow out the front window with sound pressure. A little engineering to supply bearing supports and we got it done. Smacked my Canadian salute fingertip with a hammer which made practising tough for a while. It was also hard to show anyone my injury without looking like I was flipping them the bird.

Expanded music room, note the modern hillbilly motif.

Progress on the BoodAbooM album / project is moving along. The protective digital fingerprint is in place, the distribution selection is narrowing down and a release is not far off. Work on the art, images and layout for the CD are now in progress. The first official BoodAbooM performance will take place in Port Alberni on April 19th at Char’s Landing, a super cool all ages venue where the first show is an acoustic duo. Marisha Devion is back on Canadian soil and as much as she is a sought after bassist, Marisha will be joining me for this and coming BoodAbooM performances. Since returning to Canada after performing internationally, she has been adding her talents to the theatre performance “Patsy Cline’s a closer walk”, as well as several other well known acts and recording engagements. I’m looking forward to sharing music with folks from my old hometown and the opportunity to perform with Marisha.

Before that happens, March 30th will see myself and Dean Doyle banging out a night of party tunes and covers at the Landlubber Pub in Nanaimo. Dean and I have performed at a variety of shows together from the theatre performance “A luncheon of Leonard” which was a Leonard Cohen tribute performance, to concerts, private functions and various fundraisers. This will be our first “pub” performance as a duo. In this case the duo consists of myself and Dean on drums, kind of like the Black Keys or White Stripes. I will play a few of the original tunes for those who are fans of my music, but the focus will be on a rockier selection of favourite covers. We will be playing tunes from Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty, Bob Marley to current stuff like yes, The Black Keys. No cover charge and great deals on meals, so be sure to mark your calendar for a fun night and join us.

Managed to take in a couple of cool musical shows, “Diggin’ Roots”. I went to “Diggin’ Roots” show with my buddy the mountain man, Paul Jay. “Diggin’ Roots” is a Juno Award winning musical act centered around Raven Kanantakta and his wife Shoshona Kish. The couple hail from northern Quebec and lay down a funky mix of styles on a blues rock foundation. Very entertaining indeed. My friend Paul had to leave his camera at home for this one, so no images. On the subject of Paul Jay, A.K.A. “The Mountain Man”, he is responsible for most of the images captured and displayed on my web sites. I also attended a show my friend Fiona Stuart did where she was joined by bassist / instrumentalist Kenny Brault (Sgt. Helmet Fender), Jeffery Randle on percussion and Maxime Alarie on didgeridoo. I always enjoy Fiona’s performances. She has interesting renditions of covers like the classic “Killing Me Softly”, great original songs and also performs traditional Yiddish songs. Very cool and an entertaining show. This beautiful young jewish woman knows how to command a stage and engage her audience.

I was please to see that the little island I call home yielded 9 Juno nominations for 2013, Diana Krall, Helen Austin, Carly Rae Jepsen, Alex Cuba, Hey Ocean, Nelly Furtado, The Tenors, Japandroids and Ian McDougal all have Vancouver Island connections and roots. Not bad for an island of fewer than 900,000 people.

Ok, what’s been crawling under my skin? Well, let’s start local and work our way up to the federal. The Nanaimo Port Authority has decided to hand over our boat basin to Pacific Northwest Marina Group, an American firm with a questionable reputation. The crazy part of this deal is that the NPA is willing to hand over the taxpayer owned working harbour, on a 30 year lease with only 5 year projections / commitments in return. Furthermore the American company plans to change the boat basin from a working harbour where private and commercial vessels share the facility into a high end yacht only marine destination. This is not what the people of Nanaimo and area want. Most enjoy the boat basin work what it is. Sure there is room for improvements, but we all love buying fresh fish directly from the fishing boats. Sitting with a hot espresso and a good friend along the existing venues watching the boats is a wonderful experience. You can watch this short video to understand and see it for yourself. The folks living on Protection Island which is part of our inner harbour would see their access to downtown Nanaimo cut off which will affect their property values and life stlye. Nanaimo city councilman Fred Pattje asked the city to stand by it’s citizens with this issue, but mayor John Ruttan said there was little he could do. Former mayor Gary Korpan disagrees and publicly criticized mayor Ruttan’s position.

Provincially, Christy Clark and her crew crawled under my skin with a story about the Liberal party spending 64 million dollars on an advertising campaign that more or less says, “look how well we manage your money”. Ah, I find that rather paradoxical.

On the Federal level we have Stephen Harper. Some of these links are to stories about how he is muzzling scientist who are bringing forth information that he doesn’t want made public. I once heard a group of political analyst on CBC call Harper “an affront to democracy”. These links add testimony to their view. If I got into all the details, I’d be here a long time before the blog would be posted. Beside that, when it comes to the matter of how Stephen is running Canada, I could write a book.

Well I’m jumping over my 1200 word limit, so there is no time to talk about the 105 year old Zen teacher who likes boobies, facebook’s evil plan for world domination or the whole Tesla vs Edison thingy. If you’re interested, check out the links above.

Until next time, remember that it serves us well to be kind and loving to other. Do your best to be aware and mindful.

Brother T

Upcoming show, the BoodAbooM project, songs, about words and permanence

My first blog of 2013! Let me start by wishing all of you readers peace and blessings in this coming year. The Christmas season was great with family and friends sharing a meal at our home. I was a little worried as we did have snow on the 25th and although many are delighted with a white Christmas, I am not a fan of snow. So I cleared the stairs and did the best I could with the driveway. As it turned out the snow, while annoying, didn’t stop anyone from coming over and sharing a great evening.

On the BoodAbooM project since my last blog entry, Tina Jones of the Kerplunks and Wunderbread came in and added her voice to the upcoming album. She did a fantastic job and I am thrilled to include her energy to this collection of songs. I am anxious to have these recordings heard and exposed for all to hear. The hardest part of recording a new collection of songs is to wait until the process is complete. After all the musical nuances have been mused over and the last guitar strum has been recorded, the task of mixing and mastering is next. As of tomorrow I believe the last thing to be recorded will be done. Plans are to add a harmonica part in the song “I’m Worried”. I wrote the song after a trip to L.A. in 2001 which was one of the more bizarre journeys I’ve made. I came home with a feeling that everything we encounter that comes from Hollywood has to be put into question, including the influence it has on our society. If all goes really well and there are no stumbling blocks the songs should be ready for the next step by mid month.

Photo by Jan Stephens

When I started this blog I told myself not to get too controversial or political. There are so many stories to be shared and things going on in this country, the continent, this world! It’s hard to know where to start or what to focus on. So please, excuse me while I side step music for a moment.

I read an incredibly good blog on what happened with the “Occupy Movement”. It hasn’t died, but it has seen much change. This article gives an interesting insight. Click here to read. Next was finding a video from “Anonymous” warning Canadians about the Harper regime that boiled the blood while sending chills up the spine. No wonder they are trying to warn us, between Bill C-45 gutting our environmental laws and more, the Canada / China trade deal the Harper cooked up, Mr Harper’s smear campaign against those who would oppose him, accusations of big oil companies guiding Harper’s decisions, the words “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty” take on a sense of urgency. One can quickly understand why the “Idle No More” movement has sprung into action and why it is important to all of us Canadians. I don’t want to form your opinions for you, read the article links and decide for yourself a course of action.

I try to be careful with words because while that is what we have to communicate with, words are incredibly powerful and at the same time horribly ineffective. You must chose your words wisely as is pointed out in the third step of the noble eight fold path and the third of the five precepts that the Buddha taught. I think we are well advised to learn to listen before jumping to conclusions as well. That allows for a clearer perspective without preconceived notions or judgement. Not always easy to do, but it does seem like the most advantageous choice. It is good to strive for these things, even if we find ourselves falling short of the mark. After all, we are all just humans trying to find our way through the maze of life.

Back to the world of music, I was invited to perform a song live on air and be interviewed on CHLY’s “Songwriters Circle” show Dec. 30th. Nice way to end the year! Host Dave Kilbank and co-host Pam Edgar chatted with me about the upcoming BoodAbooM album. The interview was captured on video for those who may be interested. Click here to see the interview. I love doing “live on air” radio because it heightens the sense of being “in the moment” and it is always a lot of fun going down to the station. I will be there for February 3rd for another chat around 11 AM to talk about the upcoming album and my next Nanaimo performance. Tune in or listen on line at CHLY.

February 8th is going to be my first performance for 2013, being the featured act for the Red Willow Coffee House. I played this coffee house gathering a couple of years back and had a wonderful night. The acoustics are superb, the hosts gracious and of course this is also a night to pitch in for the local “Loaves and Fishes” food bank. Everyone is asked to bring a nonperishable food donation to help out those who need. I am looking forward to presenting songs from the BoodAbooM album in an up close and personal form, voice and guitar. The lyrics and stories stand out beyond any audio dressings to be offered and examined by all in attendance. If you the reader are in the mid Vancouver Island area, please come and share some music with me. Admission by donation, open mic performers are free.

I also recently posted the song “The Light Within” from my “Choices” CD on my Reverbnation site for anyone to listen to. Eventually songs from the “BoodAbooM” will also be posted for listening purposes. Links to where the songs will be able to be downloaded will be posted as soon as things are ready.

The next Nanaimo show will be announced with the next blog, until then the venue and date will stay undisclosed. The one of the dates has been booked, but a lot of details still need to be worked out. There are irons in the fire for more live performing now that the BoodAbooM album is nearing completion and my focus is changing, so check back and see what’s up at the BoodAbooM web site or check back here at the blog.

I will leave you with these thoughts. Permanence is the grand illusion, nothing stays the same. Everything that comes into being eventually changes or goes away. Every choice you make alters the path of your life and obscures the path of the other choice. Enjoy life for what it is and as it unfolds itself before you. This journey of this life is the gift we need to pay attention to. Please have a listen to the title song from my previous album “Choices” at this link, then go hug someone that you love. Love is the answer.

Until later, Brother T

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