Dr. J

Was talking to James yesterday.

On Saturday, he and the band (Spades) were returning from a series of shows in Quebec when they got pulled over by the cops about 10 mins. from the Ontario border. The reason given was that the sticker on their licence plate was 2 days out of date. They explained that they had been working in Quebec, but would have it taken care of as soon as they got home.

No deal. They were given a $430.00 fine.

Just doesn't seem right to me. Is that reasonable grounds for being pulled over in Quebec? Is that a reasonable fine for such an infraction? Any suggestions about what they should do?

yeah earth shakin' news indeed.....

but something's going on tho

I've seen more suspension notices slapped on the front doors of establishments in my area (Kingston/Westport/Smiths Falls) in the past couple of months than I've seen in years. Either the law has changed or the enforcement level has been cranked way up and no one told the managers...or they did and they ignored it.

Having said what I did I also wanted to say that my thoughts and concern are with CJ and all the kids and teachers who are going through this. No question, it's a most difficult thing. Hope it's behind you soon.

Part of the problem is when we respond the same whether we think it's a hoax or we think it's for real.

Having been in the position as a school principal, I agree with bradm that the first sign it's probably a hoax is the fact that there is a phone call at all and I also agreed with velvet that the less attention given the phone call the less likely it is to be repeated.

The problem was that Parent Councils and Teachers' Unions made it clearly known that they did not want administrators making the call - hoax or real - they wanted a response in ALL instances.

What we did at the time (grant it we were dealing with bomb scares rather gun scares) was to develop with the local police two repsonses - one to be used in a case of a perceived real danger and a much less intrusive one to be used in case of a suspected hoax. We explained both procedures to our teachers and parents who were, for the most part, fine with them.

Generating a relatively low level response (at least from the students' perspective) with little or no subsequent media coverge of course led to fewer and fewer and eventually no calls.

I thought we were supposed to be getting a Heritage Day?

This is welcome news ndeed!

Having done a number of shows in Ontario, Rebekah Higgs and The Spades will hook up for some on the East Coast.

Announced to date:

Nov. 13 Charlottetown P.E.I. Baba's

Nov. 14 St. John N.B. Elwood's

Nov. 15 Moncton N.B. The Paramount

Nov. 16 Halifax N.S. Marquee Club

Nov. 17 Fredericton N.B. Capital Lounge

Hope some fine down East folk will be able to make it out.

www.myspace.com/rebekahhiggs

www.thespades.ca

I quite agree that a good sound person (why are there no sound women?) can work miracles and the great ones can do it within the first 10 minutes of the show.

That doesn't account for two people being at the same show and one describing the sound as muddy and the other describing it as clear (I'm not specifically referring to Ad and bouche, although that's one example) and I'm not sure simply being in different parts of the venue totally explains the difference, although it might.

Hamilton raises the point that the determination of "good sound" might in part be psychological which is interesting.

Be forewarned ....I don’t know where I’m going with this and the answer may be obvious or irrelevant but....

I’ve been reading with much interest the reviews of the Ryan Adams shows. Great reviews (thanks folks!) for a great artist (glad to hear he seems to have his shit together these days).

One of the things that intrigues me is the discussion of the sound. I’ve commented before on how I’ve gone to shows to hear the same band in the same venue on the same equipment with the same sound person and one time the sound would be great and another it would be awful.

I’ve also been at shows where I’ve thought the bass and drums were absolutely pulverizing everything else and I would be standing beside the sound board and wonder…..don't they realize the sound is a sea of mud? Why wasn’t this picked up during sound check?

I’ve also experienced what Ad and Bouche experienced.

Bouche said:

AD made me wonder if I was deaf. Muddy sound was not something these ears experienced so either I'm deaf or there was a difference in sound from one side to the other. We were stage right.

Like them, I put it down to where I was situated in the room in relation to the other person. But I don’t know that that’s the answer.

I’ve been at shows that have gone from being muddy to clear and nothing (to my knowledge) has changed in terms of tone and volume (and I’ve done nothing to alter my own physical state hehehe that I'm aware of) but something has changed. Is there something in our mood/mental state/chemical balance that keeps us at certain times from distinguishing certain sounds (like a pedal steel) or being able to handle certain other sounds (like bass and drums)?

In other words is “good sound†totally dependent on external factors (acoustics, levels etc) or is there something internal (in our physical make-up) that at times can adjust and filter etc and at other times cannot????

Just curious. Maybe I should stop cursing the sound people.

Thanks for the heads-up on Dawson City.

Guelph - TONIGHT! - Free show

Saw Joel this summer.

Great fun!

Highly recommend this for anyone who can make it.

London - TONIGHT!

And that's where he will stay

Got 'em!

I'm not sure Phorbesie.

I know Rebekah and the Spades are headed to the east coast, but I don't know when. Too bad it hadn't been when you guys were there. Boy that would have surprised them.

BTW you and Velvet have done a fantastic job with the log - both the writing and the photos. Very enjoyable. Well done. Hope whatever glitches have arisen re: the photos can be overcome. They added so much.

Sept. 7 Hamilton Casbah w/Marble Index/2 Hrs Traffic

Sept.12 Toronto Supermarket w/Marble Index/Rebekah Higgs

Sept.13 Sault Lop Lop w/Rebekah Higgs

Sept.14 Sudbury Towne House w/Rebekah Higgs

Sept.15 Collingwood Blue Mtn Inn w/2 Hrs Traffic

Sept.18 London Call the Office w/Rebekah Higgs

Sept.19 Kingston Ale House w/Rebekah Higgs

Sept.20 Guelph Jimmy Jazz w/Rebekah Higgs

Sept.22 Bayfield Black Dog w/Rebekah Higgs

Sept.28 Windsor Avalon Front w/The Golden Dogs

Today’s London Free Press says that Rebekah Higgs will “definitely impress those who swear by Julie Doiron and Feist, whom Higgs counts as influences.â€

www.thespades.ca

www.rebekahhiggs.com

Thanks for sharing guys.

269 Songs about Displaced Persons

1. The Band - Acadian Driftwood

2. Calexico - Across the wire

3. Ry Cooder - How Can you Keep On Moving (Unless you Migrate too)

4. Sting - Englishman In New York

5. Bob Marley - Buffalo Soldier

6. Forgotten Rebels - Bomb the Boats

7. John Cougar Mellencamp - Rain On The Scarecrow

8. Stan Rogers - The Idiot

9. Elvis Costello - Stranger in the House

10. Woody Guthrie - Dustbowl Refugee

11. Leonard Cohen - The Partisan

12.

Thanks for the heads-up, Kev.

Last time these two bands hooked up Sam joined The Spades on stage for a pretty cool version of Neil's Powderfinger. Good times.

I think you'd enjoy it StnMtn. Either way, it's good to see you back on the board.

Holy shit! my day just took a fuckin' big turn for the better!

I want a thousand guitars.

I want pounding drums.

I want a million different voices speaking in tongues.

This is radio nowhere.

Is there anybody alive out there?

Today is a good day for justice and fairness in Canada.

It is indeed.

256. Songs that mention your name..

1. Dylan - Sara

2. Monty Python - Brian Song

3. The Who - Cousin Kevin (i'm nothing like him!)

4. Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode

5. Beck - Debra (though he did misspell it )

6. The Beatles - Doctor Robert

7. Jane Siberry - Marco Polo

8. Bruce McCulloch - Daves I Know

9. Springsteen - John Henry

10.

11.

12.

I love The Spades for their honest tunes and how their sound reflects influences from the very roots of rock and roll. There's something pure and strong about their sound in that way.

If there were 2 lines I wish I had written about this band, I think it would be these.

Thanks, Kev.

Nice to have you back in the country.

Too many late nights/early mornings in the old red van.... Police Cruiser

Spades will be doing a set at the Peterborough Folk Festival this coming Sunday @ 3:00 for anyone who's around.

It's free.

All the best, Caroline!