Velvet

Sam the Record Man, the iconic Toronto store where generations of music lovers bought their first records, sells off its contents Wednesday. Hundreds of pieces of rock 'n' roll memorabilia, including three four-metre neon discs, vintage furniture and other fittings, is being auctioned off by Bonaco Sales Ltd. Sam the Record Man's original Toronto flagship store is shown in 2001. The Toronto landmark closes June 30. The one-day sale will include more than 100 autographed posters, framed gold and platinum records, and pictures of Elvis, Patsy Cline and other artists. Auctioneers will also sell off a slab of the store's wall featuring autographs by Tina Turner, Steven Tyler, Ray Charles, Burton Cummings, Gordon Lightfoot, Blue Rodeo and David Bowie. But the landmark 15-metre spinning neon discs that graced Sam's when it opened at its Yonge Street location in 1960 will remain, along with the Sam's sign. The City of Toronto has given the Sam's store and its signs a heritage designation, which protect the signs from being sold and could preserve the exterior of the building. The city pledged to negotiate with future owners of the property to work out a deal to maintain the two discs and the Sam signs on the rooftop "as part of the ongoing history of Yonge Street," according to councillor Kyle Rae. The Sniderman family originally operated a shop selling appliances and car radios, but Sam Sniderman decided to break away and get into the record business in 1937 — in order to impress a girl who was interested in music. Jason and Bobby Sniderman, sons of founder Sam Sniderman, announced in May that they would shut the store on June 30. The store has many antique pieces, such as a five-seat English shoeshine stand, a Wurlitzer jukebox, an oak soda pop bar, three pinball machines and art deco light fixtures, which will go up for auction. Viewing of the fixtures started Tuesday and the auction is set for 10.30 a.m. Wednesday.

I'm a morning person who sleeps in.

The Bills are great. Go see 'em.

I think it was sunstroke. Buy a hat and wear it for the rest of your vacation!

Ironically, song titles aren't protected.

Sunday looks good: High 20 POP 0%

And wouldn't "Iraqi insurgent" be a bit worse than "U.S. soldier, active duty in Iraq"?

I wonder if the lineups will be less than the previous day, given that most people probobly think they'll be closed Sunday?

246. Songs about good weather. 1. Irving Berlin - Blue Skies 2. Allman Brothers Band - Blue Sky 3. The Beatles - Good Day Sunshine 4. The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon 5. Toots Theilmans (I think) - The Theme To Sesame Street 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Note that the list includes "Mississippi prison inmate/forced laborer," but mentions no other state's prison inmates.

When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me.

That list seems to imply that being a sewing machine operator is worse than being a Texas prison inmate/forced laborer, which I find doubtful.

Well, get on it.

I don't think they've recorded that one Brad.

I did roofing once and swore I never would again, though I'd do it until retirement vs. twenty years on a Mississippi prison work gang.

Once again, shows what wiki knows. Try looking it up on The Onion.

Yup. He actually got into cartooning 'cuz he went to NYC for a gig that fell through and he had to make some money to get back home.

Possibly the best Bill Frisell show I've seen (though my bias may have made me enjoy Frisell/Breit from '01 better). The three of them were so on all night. They were locked in one of those psychic nights imoprov guys reach once in a while. They were obviously having a ball. It was a very 'Gone Like A Train" kind of show, with a few covers (You Are My Sunshine, Masters Of War) thrown in. I was on the fence about this show and very glad I went. I spoke with Bill afterwards and he remembers the Breit show warmly. As an afterthought I asked him if Gary Larsen was a good guitarist (they are good friends and Larsen retired from Far Side to focus on jazz guitar full-time). He said Gary is a good player but that he lacks motivation to get anything done. I guess that killer day job he used to have might have something to do with it.

A ticket has been secured for phorbesie. Thank-you, one and all.

That was one of the best John Henrys shows I've seen, and I've seen most of them. They were a bundle of energy and they played their asses off. Dave Brubeck earlier in the evening was great too.

So far: Texas Outlaws: Pork sandwich - okay, Ribs - great Gators: Ribs - not so good, Pork sandwich, potatoes and beans - great

private messages?

The running gag around here involves listening to either of TJH's cd's and hearing phorbesie say, "I love this song" at the start of every single track. Can't wait for the show tonight.

The show is at 6pm. We can catch an hour at least. Missed you at Bill Evans. It was incredible.

Our own new skank rwe333 is playing a free show this weekend. If you like great musicians, go see this set. To sum up the following press release: Wayne Eagles is a fab fusion-y guitar player along the lines of John McLaughlin Bruce Wittet is an extremely trained drummer who writes for Modern Drummer magazine Dave Schroeder is currently doing his masters degree in Bass Performance in Miami. What the hell can they teach you in a masters program for Bass Performance? And it's free. Here's the real press release: The Ottawa International Jazz Festival presents: WAYNE EAGLES / BRUCE WITTET - guitar & drums w/ guest Dave Schroeder (bass - 2nd set) Sunday, June 24, 2007 at 6:00-8:00 PM Courtyard of the Metropolitain Brasserie 700 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1K4 (corner of Rideau & Sussex) Cost : Free Long-time collaborators, guitarist Wayne Eagles and drummer Bruce Wittet are pleased to introduce their new duo project. Blending ambient, avant-garde textures with more melodic contemporary jazz structures, the Ottawa area musicians weave a unique musical tapestry. Subtly incorporating real-time looping technology, the duo emphasizes interaction, interplay and improvisation in the context of original compositions and unique arrangements. A guitarist for over 30 years, Wayne Eagles has been a Guitar Performance Instructor at Carleton University's School for Studies in Art and Culture: Music since September 1992. His resume includes recording and/or performance work with Adam Nussbaum, Mike Milligan, Billy Kilson, and the Bitches Brew Tribute Band, while his discography includes the well-received jazz-rock CDs How's Now? (2000) and Milligan-Eagles Project (2005). An Endorsing Artist for a wide-variety of musical instrument companies, Wayne has been inspired by the likes of John Abercrombie, Allan Holdsworth, Jan Akkerman, Terje Rypdal, Ollie Halsall and David Torn. Bruce Wittet has accompanied most established Ottawa area musicians, logging thousands of hours in the recording studio. In fact, as a youth his first major session featured the Brecker Brothers on horns and was cited in Billboard. Among Bruce’s influences are Art Blakey, Bill Stewart, Eddie Marshall, Billy Higgins, Dave Mattacks, Jon Christensen, and Jim Keltner. A journalist by day, Bruce edits the bilingual Canadian publication Muzik Etc and is a staff writer for the American magazine Modern Drummer. He has written recently for Down Beat and the German magazine Drums & Percussion, as well as for a variety of music industry clients. Link: http://www.ottawajazzfestival.com/en/2007/artist_details.asp?artistID=691