TheGoodRev

There was already a thread about this and I defended the woman who was trying to bar Fitty from getting a tax credit for shooting the movie in Toronto. I didn't really follow up because I had so many conflicting opions on the topic that I couldn't begin to get my thoughts straight and come to a conclusion, but I think I may have something now.

Free speech is important of course, and I think it was MarcO who raised a really good point in the other thread that if the gov't steps in and dictates which movies get the tax credit and which get shown, that allows them to arbitrarily control all kinds of other stuff, including but not limited to all things revolving around marijuana.

The problem is, I have no faith in people. I have faith in many individuals that they will do the right thing in most situations. But let's face it: on the whole, we're a species of selfish and greedy fuckers who will tread on anybody and anything in order to facilitate a better and/or easier life.

With that in mind, if our attitude is "Hands off of everything!", then the world goes to shite (faster than it is at the moment, anyway). Like pheasant plucker said, gangsta rap isn't the sole cause of the way the kids act, but it's like a big grinning Burger King staring into the window every morning, reminding them at home, at school, in the mall, EVERYWHERE, that a culture in which violence and disregard for other people is something they should strive to be a part of.

Anyway, I think our regulations basically have to catch up to the degree to which messages are swiftly and effectively transmitted through the media. The government would never allow a former drug dealer and gang member to stand up in front of a classroom of sixth graders to talk about how awesome gang violence is, or how awesome they are because they engaged in it. A movie like this conveys that message even quicker and more effectively, because they'll get this message from every OTHER conceivable outlet besides inside the classroom. If we can tune up the regulations in this manner, I think other subject matter like marijuana would be relatively safe. I think the consensus in our culture is that killing is bad, but there is certainly no consensus with regard to the benefits or detriment of marijuana.

So that was long and rambling. Hope I made some semblance of sense.

Looks like kookycanooky, actually. He's a piano player with a shit-eating grin, too.

Seriously though, that guy could be Adam's brother.

I have also seen this fine act and concur that they are great. I'm gonna try and be out this Saturday, unless crippling cold and/or laziness keeps me inside.

How well does it sync up with "The Wizard Of Oz"?

Aloha,

Brad

This is crazy, but even when I posted the last message, I totally forgot that I actually have the album in my bag as we speak. I lent it to a friend in Toronto months ago and just got it back this past weekend. There is a line in the liner notes about synching with WoO, and I can now give it to you word-for-word:

To view with The Wizard of Oz, pause this CD at 0:00, start The Wizard of Oz on your DVD or VCR, and unpause as the MGM Lion roars for the third time. Check easystar.com for a listing of the synchronistic moments we've discovered and let us know of any others you find.

Yeah man, I've been loving it for a couple years now too. I think I read that Easy-Star is a Reggae label in NYC, and the people appearing on the album are all kinds of folks on their roster, hence the moniker. I think it's a great dub record and more than a party trick, but if I had been producing I would have done a few of the tracks a little differently, particularly the beginning of Brain Damage. I love the patois toast in place of the Money guitar solo, there a lot of other cool dubwise on the album.

Indeed, and Mark is a fine songwriter who is now calling Hamilton his home. A fantastic singer and a real nice guy, to boot. I'll be out for this.

Best of luck, cowpoke

Link Wray dead at 76

Guitarist Link Wray, considered one of the the pioneers of US Rock n Roll in the 1950's, and a cult figure, passed away at 76 years of age, in Copenhagen, where he had lived the past two decades, according to todays newspaper "Politiken."

His powerful guitar riffs earned him the nickname "Godfather of the Power Cord" and the respect of several generations of musicians who followed his legacy, though he never recieved the level of recognition of contemporaries like Gene Vincent or Elvis Presley. . . .

Ticketmaster says doors at 9. I got excited about 6pm doors, thought I might be able to make it too.

The last express bus back to Hamtown from Union is at 12:30am. There's a GO Train at 1:30am that'll take you to Burlington, and you can transfer onto a bus there to get back to Hamilton, scheduled to arrive at 3am. I want to hear about it if you go, Esau!

Allmans = southern rock done proper...

"The panic" = bastardized southern rock...

As much as it's against my better judgement to challenge the infamous Del...

First of all, arguing about genre doesn't make any sense. You can narrow down genres as minutely as you think possible and the next day somebody will still release a record that is beyond categorization. I love the Allmans but I don't see them as pure southern rock. I will say unabashedly that southern rock, to me, is personified solely by Lynyrd Skynyrd. While the Allmans came earlier, they were more of a gritty, amped-up Chicago blues band with heavy jazz and improvisational tendencies - not to mention the tendancy to write the occasional pop song, even when Duane was alive. But that doesn't matter because you see southern rock differently.

As for Panic, I have liked most of what I've heard, but have yet to become a rabid fan. I need to get my hands on their Barton Hall equivalent and put them to the real test. I came across a live record in the CFMU library, and while it was good, I couldn't get past the ridiculously horrible album art. That, and the singer looks like a weiner to me. I'm sorry, I don't mean to judge the guy by his looks here, I mean he just looks like a bit of a pushover. When I dig a band, I don't care if it's 4 retarded, inbred midget cousins, but they have to look like they fuckin mean it.

kookycanooky and were in gear to go, but the ridiculous weather kept us at home. Glad to hear they were good, I liked them at CTMF.

I would love to go, but my Queen's Players gig continues tomorrow night.

I've only been to one CAL gig, the Dead night with Mike Daley that gave birth to Box of Rain. I understand he plays for a lot of these gigs, and he's awesome, so you can't lose. Don't know if he'll be at this one, but I think he did Harvest.

and we all know promoters have much of the blame when it comes to ticket prices...

I might agree with that if this was a rare occurence, but according to old ticket stubs, the Oct 24 2004 show at Palais Royale was $40 even; Oct 18 2003 at Danforth Music Hall was $41.50; Feb 12 2003 at Opera House was $31.50. I figure it's a combination of Mule being one of the more expensive large club/hall bands in the scene, and promoters gauging the market and understanding that people will pay 40 bucks to see them. Costs us more and it's shitty, but that's business.

I figure I'm in for this show too, once I figure out where the 40 bucks is going to come from...

Bumpity-bump-bump

We had a weekend of three phenominal shows, two of which were oversold and packed to the rafters. What an ego trip to be rocking to a sold-out crowd of ravenous drunks. It was awesome to have phunkyb and Large Marge in attendance on Friday, nice to see you ladies, and glad you had a good time. This Friday's show is sold out, so if anybody is planning to come out this weekend, you should grab Saturday tickets in a hurry (almost sold out), or Thursday (not sold out yet, but will probably be good and full). The cast is hilarious, the band is top-notch (imho ) and it's generally a drunken good time! Hope to see some of you there.

My first guitar book, at 8 years old, was The Standard Guitar Method. I remember learning a bunch of scales and the folk song "Tom Dooley", among others. Here's the only pic I could find, but I only ever used the first two volumes:

From there, I started learning the chords and melody lines to various oldies; "When I'm 64" and Elvis' "Good Luck Charm" were among the first. Johnny B. Goode, Peggy Sue and Surfin Safari were also in there. After that, I vividly remember learning the 12-bar blues structure, learning about tonic and dominant 7th, etc. That was a huge thing to learn, and it still helps me today. I only took lessons until I was 12, and after that it was all self-teaching.

Seriously though, if you're looking to do it without a book, start with the Beatles. Hopefully anybody with even a mild interest in playing the guitar has an appreciation for the Beatles. I'd recommend getting your students to buy little dictation books though, and bringing a box of golf pencils to each class, so they can remember stuff. Because we all know that the secret to good guitar playing is practice. I was always the kid showing up for lessons not having practiced, and the teacher always knows. Half the time he'd make me sit there and do my practicing in the lesson, because you can't progress if you haven't practiced.

Could be Peter Elkas.

The wrist brace! I forgot to look for it. Well I'll do my best to get to Soulive, but after the first show last night I have a feeling I'm going to be DESTROYED by the time we're done on Saturday. Queen's Players Toronto was founded upon onstage drinking; the audience just keeps passing drinks onto the stage.

As for the new record: it's a return to the roots sound-wise, but I find the songwriting extremely lacking. That new tune is on it. I find the record generally disappointing on the whole, though in a different way from Polaris.

I walked in a little after 11 (they were doing a tune from the new record, followed by the washboard solo). It was a good show; I'd see them again, but it didn't measure up to the first few times I saw them. They're still a great band, I just need to hear a fuller sound. Now that they're a trio again, I feel like Chew has to be about twice as agressive in his bass playing. He's a great musician, just needs to hammer down that low end.

I saw Shainhouse and Jaydawg, but didn't get to meet any of the esteemed out-of-towners, most specifically StnMtn! I was looking around for you dude, but couldn't see you. I hung around a bit afterwards but to no avail. Another time, perhaps...my arm might be twisted into see Soulive at the Elmo after my show Saturday night. We'll see.

"confirmed, the bruce hampton show with herring was fuÇking awesome"

"It was fucking unbelievable."

Absolutely one of the most enjoyable shows that I have ever been to.

Peace, Mark

I agree. Far and away the best show I've seen at the PJ, and definately in the top 10 of my young musical life. Well worth the dough. Top 5 maybe? Could be...

Dude, I'm playing in Toronto that night, would love to make it otherwise.

I'm going to side with Deeps and the (apparent) minority here. Yes, people who are activists for a living can sometimes be dangerous and/or unbalanced, but sometimes not; sometimes their personality breeds the activism (i.e. their wish to be opposed to everything they see as popular, out of bitterness or whatever), but sometimes vice-versa.

This isn't a music issue, nor a free speech issue. 50 Cent promotes a lifestyle of violence and vehement degradation of women. He wasn't the pioneer, but he is certainly one of the greatest contemporary purveyors. This bullshit is awash in popular rap music, and hence has become contemporary hip-hop culture. I'm not talking about a conspiracy theory here; it's more a matter of each new artist, record, or song pushing the boundaries a little further and everybody else looking at each other and saying, "Well, I guess that's the new standard." I can't agree with an argument that, for example, insists that violent video games promote youth violence, but a live-action movie featuring a real-life teen idol engaged in all kinds of violent activity cannot be of benefit to us in any way.

This woman won't win because she has no concrete grounds, but the fact that she's out there talking about it is good, IMHO.

Thanks Alexis.

Just a bump to say the rehearsals have been going incredibly well. The cast is fantastic, the show is funny, they have great voices and are pulling off ridiculous multi-part harmonies. So come one, come all, it's gonna be a good, drunken time.

10:15?? Shit. Last time they were in town they were on at midnight.

Well I'm playing at the Tranzac tomorrow night with the Queen's Players show, show starts at 7, hope to be out of there by 11 (it's just a press preview, but we're running through the whole show). The Tranzac is a block from Lee's, so I'll shoot over there soon as I'm done. I'll look out for you, StnMtn.

i can understand wienerly tunes, but jeebus, the backstreet boys??

Hahaha

I cringed when I saw that too. The music director, though, has opted to avoid the synth altogether, and we're doing it straight with the two guitars, bass and drums. It's more like a hard-riffing radio rock tune now; better than synth-pop, anyway.

Sweet Dreams will start as the Eurythmics version but progress toward the Marilyn Manson version, as well.