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

Introspective views, self definition and understanding, the song “You’re So Afraid”

We are the composite of our own personal experiences, circumstance, situations and background. Nothing in the universe is static, so what we are will evolve into what will become. Many people define themselves as being this or that. I for example, when asked about myself will usually reply, “I’m a musician”. But of course we are all more than just one thing or the other. A father, a brother, a friend, a husband, and a multitude of other attributes, functions and skills. In the stream of life as we flow along, the achievements, interactions, possessions, accumulate to form our history, but underneath this we are humans and all basically the same. As such we should strive to treat each other with benevolence and respect, loving kindness, forgiveness and due regard for the sanctity of life. Each and everyone of us is trying to be happy. We are all acting and reacting in a manner that we think is best, at that moment, in any given situation. This can be hard to remember when faced with someone who is angry, not willing to listen to reason and no longer is seeking the reality or truth, but rather some form of vindication. If you can remember that we are all the same, you may be able to remember frustrations in your own life and relate in a more forgiving humane manner. Again seeking what is best.

The point of the song “You’re So Afraid” is to remember to not box yourself in. As life progresses, the repertoire of what composes who you are changes. Also, to remember that everything is connected and we are all basically the same. We each want love, comfort, food and shelter. We are bound together with all that is through water, air and this planet earth. We are bound together with the plants and every other living creature.

Tesla said that we are energy and frequency. Einstein concurred saying this was a matter of physics, not philosophy. As a musician I understand that frequency vibrates, it resonates and emulates. This relates to the inner self as your feelings emulate an energy wave. This is how animals discern how to react to you. How it is that you can “feel” if someone else is angry, sad or exuberant, when they walk into a room in a heightened state of emotion. The feelings, the frequency, the energy, the life force within you is the mortar that binds us to the mind, our consciousness, our perception of life and our biomass, our animal nature. Not any of these elements on their own, but rather a balance or blend of these characteristics.

Lets strive to treat each other with truth, love and respect. We can change the world one step at a time.

Until next time, 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

M.I.A.? Nope, just gone video crazy!!

Crazy days of summer are winding down as we can feel the autumn coming on. Maple trees are beginning to turn colour and the air is far more humid than it has been for the past three months. Speaking of which it’s been nearly three months since I sat down to blog.  I have actually started a blog several times throughout the summer, but got swept away in the tides of life.

Normally I tend to spout off about what I find disturbing in the world with links to things that the mainstream media doesn’t want you to know about. For this blog I will dispense with the rantings and stick to the music. I do try to bring into the light only that which is founded in truth. That is why I always try to back up things with links to the source. It’s not that Steve’s antics or his cousin puppet Obama haven’t stirred my ire, but so much has gone on in my musical world and that’s ‘mostly’ what this blog is focused on.

So here’s my best attempt at a recap of the last three months. A lot of attention was paid to getting things ironed out with my new distributor. Thanks to the people at Indie Pool, the BoodAbooM album “The Answer” is available through a secure purchasing portal and of course where would we be without iTunes. There are still some things that are being worked out over at Indie Pool and it would have likely been easier to stick with CD Baby as I did for the “Choices” album. Both companies have their advantages and disadvantages, the problem is disadvantages are not usually discovered until after the deal is done.

There has been a whole lot of video getting done since my last blog entry. The video for the song “Run” was done back in June. Shot in the backwoods of Vancouver Island we choose a remote location since there was to be shot guns fired off, flash bombs and a lot of zombie characters running around. For most of the videos I’ve done there is usually only a handful of people. In this case we had a lot of bodies running around and doing things. Jeffrey Randle joined me in the shooting of the “Run” video for the musical portion and director Marius Von Lohmann did the headless chicken routine directing the actors, setting up scenes and zipping around with the camera. Also, this is the first time I've let anyone else take control of the script for my videos. Check it out and tell me what you think. We felt a little tongue in cheek approach offset the more serious subject matter of the song.

Shooting Zombie video for "Run"

I went a little video crazy after that and produced another video on my own.  I had been pondering on how to present the song “Not For Me” in it’s video form when a little experimenting lead me to featuring “Pepper the feathered philosopher”, along with some video taken in the studio during the recording of the BoodAbooM album. Again a bit of a humourous tact and a lot of fun. I must admit that lip sync is much harder with someone who has no lips!

The video madness didn’t stop there as I rediscovered some clips from previous concerts and shows I’ve performed at and began a series on my YouTube channel called “Raw and Organic”. I’ve posted a video clip on myself and Marisha Devoin playing the song “Living Peacefully” from my BoodAbooM album “The Answer”. Just the upright bass, guitar and voices in this stripped down version. No editing, no digital wizardry, just straight from the heart raw and organic performances. Check back on my YouTube channel as there are more of these “live” videos coming soon. To hear the studio version of “Living Peacefully”, check the sample tracks on my iTunes site.

During the summer of 1988 I was fortunate enough to have one of my songs reach the #1 position for Canadians on the RPM Weekly Adult Contemporary charts. “The Voyager” was the title song from my album which had already seen action with the songs “Lot On My Mind” and “Mephisto Waltz” from that collection. At the same time as “The Voyager” was playing in every major market in Canada, my distributor of the time lost every piece of inventory they had at the warehouse. So while the title track was receiving great reviews and radio support, I had nothing on the shelves to sell. A year later my vinyl and cassettes were discovered during an inventory. They had the wrong numbers on the outside of the boxes and hence were continually overlooked. A year after the album had run it’s course, the inventory represented far less value.

Still I am grateful for the radio exposure and the chart numbers. Digging through the archives I decided to compile a  video for this song as well. So check out this very “late 80’s” sounding rendition of “The Voyager”, my A/C hit from 1988.

Beyond the world of video, I have been performing throughout the summer at various gigs and open mic nites. I like the open mics because not only is it an “audience building” experience, but the social aspect of hanging with your musical peers and meeting music enthusiasts is fantastic. The people you meet and the sharing of ideas is amazing. Jeffrey Randle joined me for a few shows including a private hall “pub night” and the “Nanoose Art in the Garden” festival which was also a fundraiser for the local food bank. Just prior to the “Arts Festival” show, Jeffrey also joined me in support for an interview / performance video segment we did with Shaw Cable TV.  Kait Burgan conducted the interview which can be seen here at this link.  

Jeffrey Randle

I’ve done a couple of shows at the Corner Bistro which is a new establishment in a renovated familiar location. Phil from the Corner Lounge has taken on 75 Front Street in Nanaimo and turned it into a top rate Bistro with incredible cuisine, roomy surroundings, great service and a focus on live entertainment. Being a bistro also means that minors are welcome, as long as they don’t indulge in alcohol libations available from the full service bar. It has been mostly music shows so far, although I know that Phil is planning to host a comedy night as well. Who couldn't use a good laugh every now and then!

As for me, plans are to be hosting a series of “Singer / Songwriter Showcase” nights starting on September 11th at the Corner Bistro. Starting a little after 6, I will open an evening of music after which I will bring on an invited guest for an hour concert of songs and stories from their respective albums. All of the invited guests are recording artists with CD releases starting with Glen Foster on the 11th, Jeffrey Randle on the 18th, Brian Hazelbower on the 25th and Ira Pelletier on October 2nd. After their concert I will close the night out. It should prove to be a great dining and musical experience for the patrons and audience in attendance. September 20th I will be taking the stage with a party rock cover band that I joined called Hygrade. We are working on getting our ‘web presence’ in order, but these things do take time. The Hygrade band is a four piece ensemble, but we are all busy campers managing other careers and endeavours.

Me and the boys in the band

The show takes place at the Sportsman Hotel in Ladysmith. The twist with this band is that I sing only a few songs while drummer Dean Doyle ( part of the BoodAbooM family ) takes the lion’s share of the lead vocals. We play all the party time rock favourites with a twist, tons of harmonica on songs that don’t usually have harp on them. Here’s a “raw and organic” video of an early jam we had on the Tragically Hip tune “New Orleans is Sinking” to give you an idea. Come on out and see what else we have in store for you. I am belting out a few songs a night which is fun for me as I don’t always include songs from “The Black Keys” in my solo / duo shows.

Ok, I’m over shooting my word count so let me leave you with these links to ponder. Sad to hear that J.J. Cale passed, Greta (my sweetie) and I saw him perform many years ago in Victoria. A treasured memory.

A statistic most aren’t aware of, in 2009 over 50% of Canadians were living on or below the “low income cut off”. That’s the more semantically soft version of “the poverty line”.

Not sure if Canadians realize that the Snowden / NSA fiasco is not just a USA modus operandi. In Canada we have our own snoopers at the CESA.

A 2 minute brilliant discourse from author Robert Anton Wilson on belief systems, even your own. Check what he says about everyone’s B.S.

And finally, I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard a better social commentary than this on “Why everything sucks”. Craig Ferguson is a very funny man, but in this 3 minute clip he delivers a very brilliant observation on today’s world in his own hilarious way.

Let me end as always with a reminder to be mindful of others. Do your best and strive to approach every situation from the standpoint of loving kindness and forgiveness. Conquer hate with love, evil with good, falsehood with truth. Let’s bring the humane back into the human being.

Until next time, 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

Mid month blog, Performances and BoodAbooM progress....

Fiona Stuart

Jeffery Randle

Giving it at the Red Willow Coffee House

I spent a bit of time at CHLY this month promoting the coffee house show with Dave Kilbank of the Songwriters Circle show February 3rd. We spent nearly an hour chatting about the process of recording for broadcast and played a half dozen songs from the new album. I sang “Choices” from my previous album live and encouraged people to come out to the Red Willow Coffee House.  February 5th I went back and spent the afternoon doing pretty much the same thing with Pam Edgar who was filling in for Big “G” on a show he calls “The big G spot”. It was great fun to hang out, chat about songwriting  and spin a few more tunes from the soon to be released BoodAbooM album. Pam and I discussed how the BoodAbooM project was a concept project featuring music I’ve written that reflects the rudimentary teaching of the Buddha against life in modern times.

We had a great night with a full house and a long open mic at the Red Willow Coffee House February 8th. The performers are far too many to list here, but some of the real standouts for me were Brian Hazelbower, Paul Bezooyan and Dave Kilbank (Nanaimo’s Simon and Garfunkel), and the lovely Fiona Stuart who performed with bass wizard Kenny Brault and Jeffery Randle on Cajon. Jeffery also put in a performance of his own on guitar with a couple of his tunes. Consequently I didn’t take the stage until much later than expected, but fortunately most stuck around after break time and took in my presentation.

I felt truly blessed with a warm and loving audience. The musical focus for the night was songs from the upcoming BoodAbooM album and a bit of conversation about the concept behind the project. I opened with a tune called “The Answer” that basically points out that “love” is the answer. Try to approach everything from a standpoint of loving kindness, it seems to work well. After a few songs from the BoodAbooM album, I wanted to pay tribute to three song writers that I have great respect for and I feel have influenced my own song writing. I sang Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem”, got everyone to sing along in the last chorus of “I shot the Sheriff” and rounded out my trinity of songs with Steve Earle’s “I ain’t ever satisfied”. Great fun to be sure. After that I performed a couple of songs from my previous album “Choices” and then finished the evening off with more songs from the BoodAbooM project.

The BoodAbooM album project is pretty much completed with all of the recordings being in place. As of the writing of this blog I am in the process of finalizing the mixes with producer / engineer Rick Salt of Lois Lane Studios. After that, the mastering and we are off to the next step. Physical CD’s to sell will be a little ways off and once that has been completed, I do hope to be able to assemble the band for a full album release party. The details of that will be announced once we get closer to that becoming a reality. There will be a period of taking the project to a variety of music professionals for a variety of reasons, mostly to get feed back. What happens next is really quite unpredictable in the ever changing vortex we know as the world of music.

My next performance in the Nanaimo area will be “party time” at the Landlubber Pub on March 30th with my friend Dean Doyle from the Hygrade band on drums and harmonies. We are going to be playing a lot of old favourites as this gig is just about having HUGE fun. New owners Andrew and Jenny have been unwavering in their dedication to bring and keep music in the pub. The kitchen is turning out great food and the atmosphere is awesome. They have brought a wonderful friendly vibe, so Dean and I are looking forward to a night of “given’ er” and playing a bunch of our favourite songs. Music from the Tom Petty to Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen to Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen to The Violent Femmes. It’s going to be a fun night!! Come on out, enjoy a great deal on steaks (for you carnivore types) or any of their menu selections, as well as an evening of sing along and jump around dancing.

As mentioned earlier there will be more BoodAbooM shows coming up, but details will be released closer to the show dates. Check back here or go to the BoodAbooM web site for continuing updates.

I would suspect somewhere into early March is when the next blog can be expect. It's good to check back though because if the desire or a reason hits to blog, I will blog. Between now and then be good to each other. Remember to try and approach everything from a standpoint of loving kindness. It really helps make the world an easier place to live.

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