Mr. Musicface

Mmmm, I'm about two hours away from the patio at Fez Batik... sweeet sweeeeeeet beeeeeeeeeeeer.

- M.

Sweet merciful crap!

Happy birthday you crazy bastard! Hope to see you really soon.

Love,

- J.

Yeh, Irene from Circus Room emailed me about that as well. I thought that was amazing of them to do that.

I'll be talking to some of the folks who will be working on the Trust fund within the next week or so, we really need to think seriously about exactly what is going to be done with the money, but there have been some great ideas floated so far.

- M.

Its not really a collectable item in which you can profit from it in the future like these whino's you speak of.

True, although most of the wine-heads I know are drinkers, not investors. But there is indeed that aspect of wine that potentially makes it a different thing, you're right.

- M.

Do they have a stage?

Saddly no, way too small - maybe a single acoustic performer but even that would be a squeeze. Picture a small to medium sized coffee shop, or if you know Toronto pubs, picture a little bigger than Smokeless Joes (with the addition of a 5 or 6 table patio out back.) C'est What is still your best bet in TO for the microbrew/live music experience.

- M.

I found that line rather funny, considering the kind of thread this is.

Yeh it seems a little odd, but think about this - people spend literally years and thousands on wine cellars, collecting wine from all over the place, stuff like that. Is beer really that different? I think there's a bias that beer is more "lowbrow" than wine, but I think it's got a lot of similarities, and to my mind it's also a more social drink. I love wine too, but there's nothing like enjoying a good pint with your buddies in a great tavern.

Speaking of great taverns, I just discovered a fairly new place last night in mid-town TO. It's called Blue Meanies, it's on Yonge just south of Eglinton (south of Canada Square Theatres and the TVO building, across from the Art Shoppe, just north of St. Louis Bar & Grill). It's a great little pub with tonne of Canadian micros on tap and it bottles: Unibroue, Big Rock, Mill Street, Steam Whistle, etc. AND best part for me - they have the best beer ever, Denison's on tap! Ah sweet Denison's, how I love ye... and I can finally get it within a long walk/short bike ride from my house! ::

- M.

Kung, very interesting thread!

I'm not effected by much by beer marketing at this stage of my life because I consider myself an "educated" beer drinker. I try lots of beers, I read about beer, talk to knowledgeable people about beer, make my own beer, etc. So for me, I know what I like and I make the effort to seek it out. But it's like anything else, you need to make an effort to educate yourself. I equate it to music, something most people here can relate to. In the same way most people don't realize the mass-marketed beer they're drinking is swill, most people don't realize the mass-marketed music they're listening to is equally swill. But if you don't care enough to educate yourself, you'd continue buying J.Lo records or whatever the hell is on the radio 'cus you hear that and that's music, and you want to buy some music so you buy that. Same thing, if you're going to a party, and you want to bring some beer, and you go to the beer store and buy Molson or Labatt 'cus, hey, it's cheap and what else would you buy anyway?

I still remember the first time I tried an Ontario microbrewery beer back in the early 90s. A drummer I used to play with brought a case of Creemore to a rehearsal 'cus his dad knew someone who worked for them or something. It was a revelation! Having been pretty much exclusively a Molson Dry drinker, I didn't know beer could actually have FLAVOR like that. I still have a fondness for Creemore just 'cus of that moment.

Anyway, I guess the point is that you can either educate yourself and be willing to spend a little more money and time on the things that matter to you in life, or if you don't want to you can consume what is mass marketed. I'm not saying this necessarily as an indictment of anyone who drinks Molson or Labatt 'cus they don't know better, 'cus frankly it probably doesn't matter that much to them. For me, there are lots of things that I'll get 'cus it's cheaper and it might be something that is mass marketed but I don't care about it that much. Clothes are a good example, I'd never get like designer or tailored clothes 'cus I just don't care enough. I've got 5 pairs of jeans I bought at Zellers for 25 bucks each and that's fine for me. I also don't go to a lot of movies, but when I do it's more likely to be some Hollywood silliness like The Punisher than the latest hip indie film 'cus I'm probably looking for a cheap escape for a couple of hours with lots of explosions. Some people might look down on me for that, but I can look down on them 'cus they drink Blue and listen to Brittany. It's really a matter of priorities.

Peace,

Mr. M.

Hey everyone. Thanks again for the kind wishes, it's been a rough few days for those of us close to Matt but it's also been amazing to see how many people he touched, and to hear and read many fantastic stories about him that I never knew.

I've been updating Matt's website with information on a Trust Fund set up in his honour, and with memories of Matt:

http://www.musicface.com/matt/

If you have any memories you'd like to contribute, please drop me a line.

Also, we're trying to collect any recordings of Matt. If by any chance anyone here has or knows of recordings that exist, please drop a line to Arun Pal at palstudios@rogers.com or by phone at (519) 744-6148.

Finally, it's looking like there will be a number of shows happening in the fairly near future to benefit the Trust. The details are scant at this point, but at a minimum it looks like there will be at least one show happening in Toronto and one in the KW area. I'll drop a message on here when I have more details, we'd certainly appreciate some help in promoting etc.

Thanks,

- M.

Awww, that totally sucks dude! I can't believe they'd pull that shit on a guy with a family to support. Pricks! ::

I'm positive everything will work out better in the end, but if there's anything at all I can ever do to help out in the meantime, drop me a line.

Peace bro,

- M.

Thanks again everyone for your wishes. I've been getting emails and calls from all over the place about Matt, not surprisingly he was much-loved across Ontario and the country.

Scottie, if there's any WLU folks that you think might not have otherwise heard about this that would have known Matt, could you please pass along the info? He still lived in KW and we've been in touch with many of his university friends, but if there's anyone that might not of heard we'd appreciate you helping spread the word.

Thanks everyone for your kind words. I've posted the visitation and funeral details on the website at www.musicface.com/matt

Mark, I was just thinking about that Circus Room show and that's a great example of how Matt was. We didn't have a regular bass player in the band at that time, and we were doing that show in KW, and Matt said "sure, I'll do it no problem". He even drove into Toronto one day for a rehersal, and he did stuff like that for us other times too, live and studio stuff on his own time. Matt would play with anybody, come in and do a great job, and not bitch about getting paid a minimum or anything even though he was a professional musician. We knew he made his living doing that so we'd always cut him in for a decent share when there was money, but you know how it is, a lot of those gigs you play and you make 20 bucks or something and there isn't a lot to go around. The rest of us go back to our day jobs and don't worry too much about making the rent. I know Matt struggled to make ends meet sometimes, but I never heard him bitch about it or get uptight about not getting paid enough or whatever. He loved to play, he loved to help out his friends, and those came first for him. And he just never acted like it was a big deal. The fact that he was one of the most talented guys I knew on top of all that just made him that much cooler in my books!

It's looking like there will be a couple of musical events in memory of Matt, but I don't want to speculate too much about how those will look until we've talked to the family. Stay tuned here and on the website, I'll post more details as they become available.

Peace,

- M.

Hi all.

Mark, thanks for posting this. I've been a bit distracted since I heard the news on Friday night but it's starting to sink in. As many of you know, Matt was a very great friend to my band Uncle Seth and a close friend to me personally. I'd known Matt for over 10 years, and he was not only an extraordinarily talented musician and songwriter but also simply a terrific person. Although he made his living solely as a musician in the last few years, he would still never hesitate to give generously of his time to play at jams or guest spots that paid little or nothing, or of his advice or encouragement for fellow performers. I always considered him an inspiration and a role model as well as a friend. A number of his friends in Toronto gathered last night at Free Times to share memories of Matt, and I can say that a lot of my feelings were shared among the group assembled.

I host Matt's website on my server at www.musicface.com/matt. I'll be updating the site with information regarding visitation and funeral arrangements, and with memories of Matt. I also hope to add additional songs and images to the site in the days ahead.

Mark, last night we had also spoke about putting together a night in Matt's honour. In fact, it might be appropriate and fitting to do a night in the KW area as well as a night in Toronto. I'll be in touch with Matt's girlfriend and the members of a couple of his bands in the next little while, drop me a line and we'll go from there.

Take care my friends,

Jay Moonah

a.k.a. Mr. Musicface

1985-ish: GOWAN at the Kingston Memorial Center.

Hah, me too bouche, although it was the Ontario Place Forum show! I even know the exact date, May 31, 1985 'cus it was the same night of the Barrie Tornado. The weather was really horrific in Toronto as well, but we were lucky enough to have come down really early and got the covered seats. I remember the encore was "Imagine", and on the way out the sky finally cleared and everyone filing out of the venue stared singing "Imagine" again spontaneously. Very cool!

Actually, the VERY first concert I ever went to was probably a Donny & Marie show my parents took me too at the Forum in the really early 80s. But Gowan was the first one I went to without adult supervision.

Oh, and the first concert that I actually bought a ticket for thou (the Ontario Place shows were free with admission in those days) was (as some folks might have guessed) [color:"red"]RUSH, March 1986 at Maple Leaf Gardens on the Power Windows tour. Openers were FM.

Peace,

Mr. M.

Hockey still rules and hell, at least there's still 3 Canadian teams alive and the promise of a Montreal/Toronto conference final? That'd be pretty awesome.

Heh, yeh but I don't know if the Habs can pull off two serious upsets like that. TB's gonna be hard to beat, I'm glad the Leafs drew Philly that's for sure! But man, Toronto beating Philly, then Montreal, then Calgary in 7 games would be the dream if you ask me. ::

Cheers Phishy, I'll have a brew in your honour and in honour of the Canucks in the next round.

Peace,

Mr. M.

On the issue of Kegging, it may also have to do with the fact that the beer is bottle fermented, which may be something hard to translate to a keg form.

Maybe, except Blanche de Chambly as the most common kegged U beer is bottle fermented as well I believe.

Enjoy those beers Blane, nice to know there's a taste of home for you over there!

- M.

Nice! I think my fave is this one:

Hey, make sure Hux sees that, I'm sure it'll totally freak him out.

Peace,

Mr. M.

He certainly could of had it, I agree he shouldn't have reached across, but the second one through the five-hole should have been a gimme. The first (of Nieuwendyk's) was either a mental lapse, or else he thinking the puck was coming in a different angle which is at least understandable to misjudge at a distance, thus the reach-across with the glove. He didn't come up with the blocker or with his chest (I think) 'cus he was thinking about taking away the lower part of the net with his pads and stick, and got caught when he realized the puck was coming in much higher than he thought. The second though, that was softie in my books 'cus there's no forgiving a five-hole goal from that far out by a butterfly goalie - if he had played it the same as he played the first one, he would have had it no problem. I think Joe spooked him with the first goal.

Anyway whatever, what's done is done and it's on to Philly. Go Leafs Go!

- M.

No way. A goal going in high from, what was Joe, like 45 feet out? That's a low percentage play. Lalime took the bottom of the net away completely, just like any good Quebec-trained goalie since St. Patrick stole the cup in '86. If it was Belfour, he'd probably have read the play better and made a catch or block, but that's not the kind of goalie Lalime is. Goalies like Belfour let more goals in along the ice, percentage-wise. Eddie's just a really good goalie, so he doesn't let many in, period. But for the kind of goalie Lalime is, he made a decent play on the second goal, he just got screwed by a nice/somewhat-lucky shot.

- M.

Nope, he's real.

http://www.robertgoulet.com/

- M.

You can't be too hard on Lalime.

• The first goal was totally legit, 9 out of 10 goalies are gonna have a hard time with that.
  
• The second, he's deep in the butterfly and Nieuwendyk goes a bit high on him - well if you're a butterfly goalie, it's a game of percentages and most goals go in on the ice so that's the play you make especially when the shooter is way out like that. That's just a tough break.
  
• On the other hand, I think Joe got in his head 'cus the third goal went through the five-hole, and Lalime was standing up for that one. He should have gone back to his training and got into the butterfly, it never would have got by him. But that's the only one of the three I'd call a really soft goal.
  

Before last night he'd not given up more than 2 goals in a game. What more is your goalie supposed to do? The real problem was that the top offence during the season couldn't score when they had to, period.

Go Leafs Go! Philly's gonna be a good time, let's get 'em back for last year.

Peace,

Mr. M.

Oooof, eating meat hurts:

CATEGORY GLOBAL HECTARES

FOOD 3.3

MOBILITY 0.8

SHELTER 1.7

GOODS/SERVICES 1.9

TOTAL FOOTPRINT 7.7

IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 8.8 GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.

WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 1.8 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.

IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 4.3 PLANETS.

I think I had a Big Rock beer on tap once that was 8%.

The strongest Big Rock I know of is McNally's Irish Style Ale which is 7% - could that have been it?

See, I'd love to be able to get Terrible here regularly - I think I've only had it at the Beer Fest. I've never tried Fringante, and I'm not a fan of cherry so Quelque Chose doesn't do much for me.

I think right now I've got some Big Rock Warthog Pale and perhaps a Cameron's Auburn or two in the fridge. Perhaps I'll grab a Maudite (if I can find it!) on the way home to round out the selection... ::

- M.

Wow, 5 years! Impressive.

I think you're probably right Brad. BTW, interestingly beers like Guinness in a can use a "widget" to release nitrogen to release some of the CO2 disolved in the beer the same way it would when it comes out of a keg so you get the same quality of head. http://www.howstuffworks.com/question446.htm

Ah I love being a beer geek!

- M.

I think it's the staleness. When you go to a u-brew, the beer you brew there without perseratives is best consumed within 3-4 weeks, after that it starts to go skunky. That's the main reason I don't do it more often myself, although I might crack out my old "Frontier Golden Lager" that we had at May 2-4 last year again this summer, that turned out pretty nice.