The Secret Stash

That's a shot of my friend Brian and I, on location at our friend Anthony's house. We were shooting a session for our new video series called "The Secret Stash." Right now, we've completed 3 separate episodes, but we're still in the process of setting up a proper site. I thought since I've had some tough luck in the past week or so, it'd be cool to come here and spread some positive vibes and get you all to check it out. The focus of the series is to highlight local musicians and give them the proper attention they deserve. We have a long list of peformers that we will feature in upcoming episodes, but for now, you can watch the first few and let us know what you think. Being a local DJ, it's tough for me to endorse or spin music from local artists on the airwaves, but by doing these sessions, I can promote the videos here, and show you all what wonderful and creative friends I have. Please take some time and check it out!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

R.I.P Charlie...

With a heavy heart, I'm sad to announce the passing of our beloved Charlie, better known as "Char Char." Last night I got a frantic phone call from Karlie saying someone hit her with their car, and kept going. We rushed her to the Animal Hospital where were initially told she had a good chance, but after looking at her x-rays, it was time to say goodbye. She was such a beautiful spirit, and always woke me up by brushing her little face against mine to remind me it's time to get up. I'll never forget you Char. Thank you for the short, but precious time we had together.

xo

NYC part 2...

So after waking up with quite the hangover from Sunday night's show, we decided we should hit the town and take in some culture. This started with a cab ride to the Guggenheim. Upon arrival, it was a rainy, windy day, and we were forced to wait in line for about 20 mins. We made the best of it by buying umbrellas from a vendor, and laughed the whole time. Inside the museum, we were given headsets complete with a audio tour guide for most pieces at the exhibit. I was three feet from a Picasso, and seeing the actual brush strokes on that canvas truly is an inspiring feeling. Karlie and I agreed we should look into making our own art, and getting more involved with our artistic side. Like I said, we really were inspired.

After that adventure, we made our way to a really great vegan restaurant called The Organic Grill.
It was a tiny little spot very reminiscent of The Velvet Elvis (RIP) I tried some organic beer, and had an awesome sandwich with home fries. No big deal, but great to eat healthy and see how other vegetarians stick together to create a unique dining experience. After we ate, we made our way back to the condo, as Tash and Alan had tickets for Letterman, and I needed a nap. Poor baby. After the nap, it was time to get another case of beer and hang out in the condo. Apparently Letterman was awesome, and everyone seemed to be in great spirits. We had the Ipod blasting Wu Tang Clan, and Alan and I decided we knew every song word for word, so we drunkenly rapped and hung out on the fire escape, soaking in the city. By the time 11:00 pm hit, we thought we'd better go eat something, so we found a pub up the street, ordered appetizers and a glass of red. We laughed and talked about the trip, football, and other random drunken ramblings before heading back out to time square for an impromptu photo shoot. The city was of course buzzing, and walking around and looking at the action was such a great and overwhelming feeling. I really love it there, but I'm pretty damn sure I couldn't afford to live there mentally, or financially.

The day we left, we spent some significant time in Central Park. We started out by visiting The Dakota which is of course where John Lennon was killed. It was very surreal and eerie to stand next to the gate. I talked to the doorman there, and he pointed out to me where everything happened. For some reason it kind of choked me up. We continued across the street where John's memorial is in Central Park. It's called Strawberry Fields and although it's very simple in design, it speaks to me in such a way that I can only describe as peaceful. For someone who only wanted love and peace, it really saddens me to think of him not being here anymore. New York City truly is John Lennon. We left there, and got coffee and soaked in the sights. Mind you, it's tough to see all of an 800 acre park, but we hit some significant spots including this.

Overall, this trip was just awesome. The flight back home was simple, and I highly recommend flying Jetblue. Cozy, spacious, and sitcoms galore.

Back to my so-called normal life for now. I love New York.

Just Imagine.

Just imagine. Seeing my favourite band in my favourite city in the world. What a whirlwind this past week has been. I only get a limited amount of time off each year, so when I had the chance to see Guided By Voices in New York City, I just had to make it happen. Our trip started by driving to Hamilton to pick up our other travellers, Natasha and Alan. After trying to sleep, we awoke for 7am and made the trek to Buffalo, where we flew to JFK Airport. We arranged to rent a condo in the heart of Manhatten, instead of renting a hotel for twice the cost. It really was within blocks of Times Square and at the heart of the entertainment district. The day we arrived, we checked into our condo, only to find the cleaning lady still there around 3pm. We shrugged it off, and headed out to get pizza, and see the surrounding area. Within minutes we found ourselves looking at the larger than life billboards in the centre of Times Square. I had been here ten years earlier, but it was still pretty amazing to look up and see Puff Daddy looking down at you from the side of a building. After walking for a while, we came across what was certain to be our saviour for the day, if not the entire trip. Let me introduce you to 2 Bros. Pizza. This tiny spot is home to the $1.00 slice of pizza, and truly was the tastiest and cheapest slice I've ever had. I ordered 3 at a time on the Tuesday before we left, but upon first finding it, I had only spent a couple of bucks before finding myself full, and happy to have eaten a real NY tradition. These guys must be millionaires. Each time we walked by, there was a minimum of 30 people in line. Alan said that one morning when he went out to get breakfast, there were people lined up at 9am.

After eating, and seeing some sights, we decided to get beer, and head back to the condo for the pre-game ritual. Now let me explain something here. Natasha and Alan weren't coming to the concert, but my beautiful wife Karlie is the first person to accept and understand my passion for not just music and concerts, but this particular music, and this particular concert. Guided By Voices have easily been my favourite band for more than a decade. There has always been a small window of time before a GBV show that I consider one of the best feelings I've ever felt. Ice cold cheap beer, and lots of it, and a playlist on my Ipod of my favourite songs from the band I'm about to see. This ritual usually happens in a hotel room, and consists of Karlie getting ready, and me dancing around getting drunk enough to save money at the show, but sing my heart out throughout. After this show, I've seen them 15 times, and counting. What's cool about this lineup is that it's the original lineup from way back in the day.... well kind of. I won't go into detail, but let's say that this band has come in many different forms, with the exception of front man Robert Pollard. Now though I've seen them so many times, this one was special because the band was focused on the songs that made them popular so long ago. The setlist was comprised of the classic songs from the classic albums, and it was a beautiful feeling to have thousands of people around you singing note for note to the songs we all love so much. Chris Murphy of Sloan was there too. Hell, my friend from Toronto, Craig Laskey even made the trip to this show! By the way, you can thank Craig for bringing GBV to the Horseshoe for a double header back in July of 2002. Yes, I was at both shows. Anyhow, the band sounded amazing, and the crowd sang along note for note. The setlist was amazing, and the night flew by in a flash of rock n' roll perfection. In retrospect it makes me feel so lucky to have been at this show. There's been talk of more dates next year, but this was hands down the best of the tour and a show I'll never forget.

I have lots of other cool stuff to talk about, and more pictures that I'll get to in the next few days. In the meantime, please head over here to read more about the show. There's some video and some great pictures of the gig thanks to Brooklyn Vegan, an amazing NYC based rock blog.

Here's the setlist:

Guided by Voices Concert at Terminal 5, New York, NY, USA
Setlist on November 7, 201
Tractor Rape Chain
Game of Pricks
I Am A Scientist
Shocker in Gloomtown
The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory
Gold Star for Robot Boy
My Valuable Hunting Knife
Motor Away
A Good Flying Bird
Cut-Out Witch
Matter Eater Lad
Watch Me Jumpstart
Striped White Jets
My Impression Now
Awful Bliss
14 Cheerleader Coldfront
Lethargy
Break Even
Buzzards and Dreadful Crows
Exit Flagger
Hot Freaks
Closer You Are
Gleemer (The Deeds of Fertile Jim)
Quality of Armor
Queen of Cans and Jars
Echos Myron
Unleashed! The Large-Hearted Boy
A Salty Salute
Smothered in Hugs

Encore:
Postal Blowfish
Hey Aardvark
Pimple Zoo
Bright Paper Werewolves
Some Drilling Implied

Encore 2:
Dodging Invisible Rays
My Son Cool
Don't Stop Now

Encore 3:
Johnny Appleseed
Weed King

NYC, GBV... Here we come!

It's been a few days since my last rambling. I just wanted to pop by to say that as of tomorrow, I'm gone for a week. My wife and I plus her sister and bf are heading to New York City on Sunday for a few days. It's easily my fav city to visit, and we're seeing my fav band of all time, Guided By Voices. This is their last show on this tour, and they're playing with the "classic lineup" from back in the day. Expect tons of pictures and a review of the show in a week or so. I haven't seen them since 04', so this truly is rock'n'roll heaven for me.

See you soon!

No More Women?

Let's hope this isn't the end of of a fantastic band...

http://exclaim.ca/News/women_implode_onstage_in_bc_allegedly_break_up