mark tonin

Great news, Kyla!!! Congrats! I would love to see a pic ...

Peace, Mark

I actually wrote a letter to Phish a few years ago, just before the hiatus was announced, suggesting that Copps would be a great place for them to play. I even got a post card reply saying something basic like "Thanks for the suggestion" ... I was impressed that I even got a reply!!!

I've been a fan of Copps ever since the Dead played that stellar March 22, 1990 show at Copps ... the only one of the four Dead shows in Hamilton that I managed to get to, but man was it sweet!!!

Peace, Mark

I'm glad that some people, including LJFH and Mango, enjoyed Lake Trout. It is also nice to see people expressing a difference of opinion in a fairly civilized fashion

Peace, Mark

I'm not sure what the official count was ... I'm guessing from 120 to 150 people ... maybe more ... it was a solid turnout ...

Disappointing ... at least I was, and so were the 3 people that I went with.

As I said in my post "Nice Bus Ride, Lousy Trout Dinner" I made the trip with 3 friends to the Grand Theft Bus/Laketrout show at the Comfort Zone in Toronto. It was my third Bus ride, and I look forward to the next one. But I won't have the Trout for dinner again ... as much as I wanted it to taste good, it didn't.

I had only heard one Lake Trout song before, and to be truthful, I didn't really know what to expect, which was part of the appeal for me. I had heard from a few friends that they have changed their sound over the course of their career, so I was prepared for something different. Having said that, I was hoping that the something different would mean that I would be pleasantly surprised, or better yet, blown away.

The Bus opened and by the end of their set I saw a lot of smiling faces and dancing bodies, and the vibe in the room was nice.

Laketrout was different ... definitely not a jam/groove band ... which is ok ... I do listen to a pretty wide range of music. They just didn't do it for me. It was too loud, very dark and abrasive at times, and I could not make out any of the lyrics being sung (or yelled). It reminded of of a loud alternative rock band at times, and a few times their songs sounded like muddy U2 songs. There were a couple of songs that did impress me, but for the most part, the band did not do it for me. I wouldn't go and see them again, that's for sure.

But it was cool to meet bsherman

What did other people think of the show?

Peace, Mark

I made the trip with 3 friends to the Grand Theft Bus/Laketrout show at the Comfort Zone in Toronto.

It was my third Bus ride, and I look forward to the next one.

But I won't have the Trout for dinner again ... as much as I wanted it to taste good, it didn't.

Peace, Mark

I'm heading to the show with 3 other people from Kitchener ... it is going to be a sweet show!

I picked up a copy of the new GTB cd on Wednesday ... I haven't had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet but what I've heard so far sounds absolutely fantastic ... get a copy of the cd!!!

Peace, Mark

So glad I got on the bus ... wish I had more sleep in me ... the show last night at Pepper Jack's in Hamilton was great!!!

Peace, Mark

I'll see you in Hamilton!

Peace, Mark

Once again, the Comfort Zone is bringing us a cool "bigger" show ... this time a double bill with Laketrout from the U.S. (Baltimore) and Grand Theft Bus. Let's show up for this one and show the Comfort Zone that we like it when they roll the dice on a bigger show.

Here is the recent email that I got from the Comfort Zone about the show:

Hey fellow music lovers,

Just wanted to let you know about an upcoming concert you may want to be

aware of at The Comfort Zone, 480 Spadina Avenue, Toronto -

*************************************

LAKE TROUT w/Grand Theft Bus - 10 pm

Friday, October 25, 2002 - tix $10

*************************************

LAKE TROUT'S LONG-AWAITED TORONTO APPEARANCE

(TORONTO) - Up from Baltimore, SNS recording artists LAKE TROUT will perform a show on Friday, October 25th at THE COMFORT ZONE (480 Spadina Avenue). Tickets are $10 day of show and doors open at 9PM. For more

information, call (416) 975-0909.

Although originally lumped together with many of the so-called jam bands, Lake Trout's sound, mixing elements of myriad contemporary styles, developed around a harder-edged progressive indie rock attack. Formed while band members were attending music school in Baltimore in the mid-'90s, the

quintet featured Woody Ranere on vocals and guitar, Ed Harris on guitar, Mike Lowry on drums, James Griffith on electric bass, and Matt Pierce on keyboards, flute, and vocals.

Their early sound - which combined jazz with hip-hop, drawing on the work of A Tribe Called Quest, Beck, Pat Martino, and Al Green - was documented on a self-titled record, released by SNS Records. Soon after the album's

release, the band was introduced to drum'n'bass and electronic music in

general. The sound began to creep its way into the band's approach. This resulted in their second album for SNS, Volume for the Rest of It.

The band soon found like-minded spirits in the jam band scene, with groups like the Disco Biscuits, Sound Tribe Sector 9, and the New Deal all experimenting with the integration of electronic elements into their respective aesthetics. Lake Trout briefly signed with a jam band-based label, Phoenix Rising, on which they released Alone At Last, a live album

recorded in December 1999 in Virginia, capturing a set performed with DJ

Who, who appeared frequently with the band.

What separated the band from other jam bands was their commitment to

repetitive minimalism, a trait drawn more from Philip Glass and Steve Reich than Phish and the Grateful Dead. Lake Trout was able to build pieces of music slowly and thoughtfully. This was thanks to a strange combination of

the fast-and-propulsive breakbeat drumming of Lowry and the patient pattern

playing of Harris.

By early 2001, the group was beginning to integrate more traditionally rock & roll influences (as were many of their contemporaries). While not abandoning the live electronic elements, Lake Trout befriended bands like the Cancer Conspiracy and Dismemberment Plan. By mid-2002, they had

produced Another One Lost - a record of dark, Radiohead-like mood explorations - which they released independently.

Lake Trout will be making their first Toronto appearance at The Comfort Zone in Toronto on October 25th. Riding the high of being showcased on Much Music's "Going Coastal" program in August, Fredericton natives Grand

Theft Bus will be releasing their debut album "Birth of Confusion" at The

Comfort Zone on the same night. GTB will open the night at 10PM, followed

well into the night by Lake Trout. Doors @ 9PM, Tickets $10 @ Door.

For information, call 416-763-9139 or visit www.laketrout.com,

www.grandtheftbus.com or www.comfortzoneto.com

American Nomad,

I know that nero played in the U.S. earlier this year, and they will be playing some more shows in the U.S. in December.

According to Jimmy T.'s web site they will be in Buffalo at Heenan's on Dec. 4 and in Rochester at Milestones with the Juggernauts on Dec. 5. I'm guessing that they have other dates for the U.S. scheduled for December ... all in the Northeast states, I think.

Peace, Mark

Not sure if anyone has posted about this, but this sounds like a cool idea:

Van Gogh's Ear presents:

The Tuesday Night Music Club with "Passenger" and guests

-An "open forum" for singer/songwriters, interpreters of song and musicians

of all kinds and genres

-Here's an opportunity be "playin' in the band"

-All guest performers will be accompanied by local band "Passenger"

Passenger is:

Jason Raso (bass)

Sam Cino (drums and vox)

Jim Slansky (guitar and vox)

The rhythm section has been provided and is there in order to respond to the

musical needs of the each new performer.

-As a guest performer you will need to provide the band with some sort of "road map" or guide to the piece you want to perform. A good example of a "road map" or guide would be a chord pattern written legibly on a piece of

paper or a simple prompt like "12 bar Blues in E". Even a sung melody that the band can respond to would be sufficient. Each performance will be all about the guest performer but it will be up to that person to supply the starting point to each piece.

-a guitar amplifier will be set up and sufficient microphones and monitors will be available for vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, horns

etc...Keyboardists will be able to plug into the mixing board or use the guitar amp.

-First of this weekly series will happen Tuesday October 15th on the first

floor of Van Gogh's Ear on the southwest corner of Wyndham and MacDonnell

streets in downtown Guelph, Ontario starting at around 9:30pm

Have a blast ... wish I could be there!!!

Peace, Mark

Wi!!Y ... nice to read that you are into a great string of shows and partying in Vancouver! Wish I was there with you. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures, and to hooking up with you in Ontario and to partying with you in Auburn Hills at the end of November.

Peace, Mark

Thanks for checking in Jeff, and for the "snapshot" into your current life.

There are a lot of people I am sure that would love to hear you bust out some great music when you return to Canada. I'm certainly one of them.

By the way, that Disco Set looks like it has some funky tunes in it that you could potentially have some fun with, but I'm guessing that you don't have an opportunity to jam it out at all. The same songs, played the same way, every day ... it could be worse, but it could be better I'm sure.

Hopefully you'll come back with a renewed sense of energy, a need to really let loose musically, and a fat bank account.

Peace, Mark

Sorry I missed the nero show on Friday in London, but I had to catch up on some sleep. It sounds like it was a great show, and that Backbacon really let it rip!

I've got to make it to one of those shows at the Bacchus Lounge (Back-Ass Lounge ) at some point soon. FYI, I think that it is JSB this Saturday and GTB next Saturday.

Peace, Mark

Mary,

Thanks for the great review of the live music that you checked out over the past week. And it was nice to see you at the Smokestack show. Enjoy this upcoming week of live music ... especially that Stones show! !

Hope to see you on a dance floor in the near future ...

Peace, Mark

So glad I made the drive to Toronto for the show ... Smokestack is a very impressive band with 4 extremely talented musicians. I was most impressed with their wide range of musical styles ... bluegrass, jazz, jam rock, pop, boogie woogie ... they mixed it up nicely.

It was really nice to be able to surprise Mike and Sharon, to meet LJFH, and to party with a number of other Sanctuarians and cool music fans.

Can't wait to do it again.

Peace, Mark

I'm there for sure with 3 friends ... well, as long as our mail order comes through. I also know of 6 other people from Kitchener-Waterloo who are also going if they get tickets via mail-order.

As of earlier today there were still tickets left through Ticketmaster so I am confident that we'll get our mail order tickets.

Peace, Mark

It was nice to meet you meggo, and to see your smiling face every time I looked around the room. I'm glad you had a great time ... I also had a blast!

Peace, Mark

I had a very cool experience on Friday at my high school, as nero came to our school and played a 50 minute set in the music room at lunch time to approximately 50 students (and a few teachers).

I was really curious to see what the reaction would be from students who checked out the band, as what nero plays is a lot different than what most high school students listen to and play.

All in all, I'd say it was a really successful event and positive experience for everyone involved. The band played well and the room sounded good (I'm so glad we didn't do it in the cafeteria), and the student musicians that I talked to had their eyes and ears opened and their minds expanded. "How do they nail all of those changes?" and "That was radical!" and "Tonin, you've got to sneak me into one of their bar shows" were my favourite 3 comments. I also remember at one point looking at a student guitar player and watching him shake his head in amazement as the band progressed through a cool transition.

It was also interesting to watch the students watch the band, because that's what they did ... watch. As Velvet pointed out after the show, almost nobody (except the teachers in the audience) moved to the music. All of the students sat and watched intently, but nobody grooved, or bobbed their head, or tapped their feet. It doesn't mean they didn't enjoy the band, because I know that a bunch of them did.

It was really nice to have some teachers out to the show, and those that were there certainly liked what they heard. Our head custodian was also there to check it out ... he used to drum with the band Helix and now plays in a blues band called Shades of Blooze.

I'm glad that nero agreed to do this show ... it was sweet!!!

Here is the setlist:

Centragnome >

Lemondust

Mikomard

Condor

Peace, Mark

I'll see you all in about 3 hours!

Peace, Mark

Below is an email I received re: Dr. Didg. Have any Sanctuarians seen Dr. Didg? I'd love to know what you think of the band.

Here is the email that I received:

Hey there Mark, my name is Jamz Maher. I am writing this e-mail in the hopeful event that you may be able to help me. There is a band coming up this way and could use a hand with some promo.

This group is called "Dr. Didg". In the beginning the band started out as the acoustic world rhythm group "Outback" featuring the Didgeriedoo. That was ten years ago. Since then the group Dr. Didg has traveled through markets in the U.K., Australia, Mexico and the U.S. and have three major releases that are distributed to record stores all over North and Central America. These records vary from trance to funk to the newest release "DUST DEVILS" which is more live techno dance!

I have been working with Graham Wiggins, who fronts the group, helping him put together the possible summertime tour for 2003 (it all depends an the agent). On top of other promotional ideas I felt the group could maybe get some pre tour promo on Jambands.ca. I have mentioned this site to him as a possible means of promo. The disappointing thing is that this group has been creating theses hypnotic rhythms for almost ten years and no one North of the boarder has ever heard of them. It truly is a shame.

I think you'll be impressed with Grahams accomplishments. For example; he has played and recorded with Mickey Hart from The Grateful Dead on two of the Mickey Hart albums. Studied the Physics of the Didgeridoo and holds a doctorate in Physics, hence Dr. Didg. On top of having various television spots in England, has had a few write-up's in RELIX and has also been to Australia to further his education on the Ancient and Traditional Aboriginal uses of the instrument.

I have been doing some free promotional work for the band over the last few weeks and spoken with some people at Much Music as well as some record stores in Toronto. I have also spoken with "The Beat Goes On", and they have offered to take Dr. Didg albums on consignment along with a promotional special offered by their distribution company and give them some play in the stores as well as a listening station. You see the thing is, that all of these huge record stores have all the Dr. Didg albums in their databases, however no one carries them. The ones that do keep them buried in the World Rhythm section, a hugely overlooked department in all record stores.

I'm hoping that over the next six to eight months we can all come together and create some awareness, or hype, so that these guys will have a great tour and come back again. This will be the bands first time in Canada (with the exception of a brief trip to British Columbia), and they are taking a huge gamble coming into a market where no one knows them, and the currency is between 35% to 40% less that what they would make back home.

If you get a chance, check out the web site at www.drdidg.com and tell me what you think.

If you are interested, the group is playing a show in Buffalo, NY. on Friday November 1st, the day before the Halloween party @ Frontier Ghosttown. I have about twenty people going from Branford alone. It will be a great show! You will not be disappointed!

Thank you for your consideration.

You're very welcome! It was nice to be able to help you guys out, and my 5-year-old son got to be a nero roadie, which was great.

One of the many highlights of my weekend was him talking about how he was going to help the band bring in their gear ... he got such a thrill doing it and talked about it a bunch of times after ... sweet

Last night he and I are in the car and I put on a tape ... my son says to me "Is that the band, Dad?" I reply "The band?" and he says "Yeah, the band that was at our house." I told him that it wasn't the band ... it was Deep Banana Blackout.

So later on that night I'm in my basement cranking up the nero show from the Comfort Zone Phil Lesh afterparty, and he comes down and asks "Is that the band, dad?" I turn down the music and say to him "Yes, that's the band nero that was at our house." He says "Turn it up, I like that band." My son rocks!!! A five-year-old nero fan.

Peace, Mark

I should be at the Kitchener show - it's too close to my house to miss.

Peace, Mark