Jams, open mics and the ever changing music biz...

During the 90’s I ran a band called Gypsy Heart. We were a country-rock quartet playing primarily top forty “new” country. It was a good time for a hard working band. The Gypsy Heart Band had two collapsed recording deals, played every area festival, bar, dance hall and had a decent fan following. After 6 years as a country rock band and 3 years of playing whatever we wanted, the group disbanded. Click here to see an old video of the band.

The Gypsy Heart Band early 90' and my son.

Many of our engagements would call for 5 consecutive shows or more plus a Saturday and Sunday “jam” at the same venue. Nothing ever stays the same including the music business. As I once heard the manager of D.O.A. say at a seminar, “you have to be like a cat and always try to land on your feet”, it also really helps if you have nine lives!

Over the years and as things evolve, the jams also started to include the “open mic” where basically you can come in and strut you stuff with or without a backup band. Nice concept and a lot of fun for those trying to get their feet wet on a professional stage. From a band’s standpoint, landing a steady jam at a venue is a sweet deal. A regular gig of any kind is always welcome for a musician. Plus it is cool to be able to socialize, mix and mingle with other musicians.

Shelly Dubois Band at a jam in 2009

Venues are really keen on the open mic / jam concept because every jammer, every open mic participant brings along several friends to listen and share their moment in the spotlight. All their friends buy drinks or meals boosting the proprietors revenues. Plus the venues have an opportunity to listen to new bands or entertainers that might be a good fit for their venue. Really a “win win” situation when handled in an honourable way.

That being said, I do take issue with venues that don’t pay or grossly underpay a host or a house band to conduct these events. Most often these are the same venues that never have other musical events, concert shows or dances. At that point one begins to suspect that the motive is to put bodies in seats without having to pay much for the entertainment. Oh sure you have the promise of a free beer for the entertainers or you didn’t have to pay the door charge because you are singing (not always the case), but the six friends you dragged along paid the cover charge and bought a beer each easily paying for yours plus a profit. Lately, I’ve seen several incidents of popular bands building a large regular attendance for “jams”, only to have the venues slash the pay rate, handing it off to those who would work for less. A race to the bottom for working musicians. Trouble is, there is always someone willing to play for less. In a world of fewer and fewer gigs you can’t blame the musicians, although I find the trend disturbing.

Myself and Glen Foster with Donny Ginter Band.

Open mics, jams, open stages, by all means lets support and attend these gatherings. Be sure to also support and attend other music events as well. Dances, coffee houses, house concerts, restaurants with live music and of course nightclub / pub dances need people to show up to keep them viable. It’s easy to confine yourself to a glowing screen and correspondence with friends through the ticky tacky of your laptop or smartphone, but that won’t let you be immersed in the great feeling and vibration of live music. Celebrate life with your friends and others by attending a local musical event. A little research on the web will quickly let you know what’s happening musically in your neighbourhood.

Until next time, 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

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

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

A new Nanaimo music venue & this Friday's show

Eric Harper

Alex Cuba

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time, Brother T

Comments can be sent to boodaboomband@gmail.com

Getting closer to complete

Rick Salt and Joel Spillette

Blaise Zhiam

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Comments can be sent to boodaboomband@gmail.com

BoodAbooM recording project progress report

Blaise Zhiam

Bill Hicks

Myself, (Theo) on harmonica

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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