mark tonin

Happy birthday to you, Scott!

Thanks for the photos that you've taken and the posts that you've made over the years ... your contribution to this community is very much appreciated.

Peace, Mark

I haven't seen or listened to many slide guitar players, but the thought of seeing Derek Trucks play with ABB in Toronto this summer certainly brings a huge smile to my face. I've seen him a few times with his band and a few time with ABB, and he always impresses me with his humble stage presence, awesome guitar tone, and originality.

I had my head blown wide open by Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey at the Come Together Fest. I'm not sure how they've influenced me yet, but they certainly have me looking at music and musicianship in a different way.

Peace, Mark

You did the right thing Sharon by not confronting them. You can't win any battle when you are out-numbered.

I agree ... a group of 10 to 12 year old boys can be trouble ... I wouldn't do things to escalate a situation like this, that's for sure ... group mentality with any group, especially a group of boys this age, can be extremely irrational and volatile.

Big hugs to you Sharon, and hopefully you won't encounter this group of kids or a similar one in the future.

Peace, Mark

As much as I'd love to, I can't make it to this party. I'll be there in spirit though. Thanks to Ryan and Diesel Dog for making this happen. It's great when the community responds in such a positive way, and hopefully Keri will end up with some funds in his pocket and lots of warmth in his heart.

Peace, Mark

Hi Bacci!

Great to party with you at the Come Together Fest. Thanks for being a part of the singing, playing and laughing madness that occured around the campfire as the sun came up on Sunday morning.

Time for me to try and get some sleep!

Peace, Mark

I bought my ticket from Rusty at the Come Together Fest. Now I just have to figure out how I can make arrangements so that I can be there.

Fat Cats, BNB, a party for Dave Hill and Leigh ... this will be a huge blast!

Peace, Mark

Booche ... it was great to see you this past weekend. Somehow I missed this thread and didn't realize it was your birthday, so happy belated birthday. Your love of music, kindness, and great sense of humour shine through in a big way both on this board and in person.

I look forward to the next time we connect.

Peace, Mark

Burt was on fire at the Come Together Fest!

Get ready Ottawa ... you're in for a funkin' rockin' great time!

Peace, Mark

My understanding is that it will be a late night set, after Vorcza, so we may be dancing as the sun comes up on Monday morning.

I'm in a sweet sunny daze, can't wait to get to Izzy's, time to turn this computer off and get all the remaining work for the day done as quickly as possible so I can head to the fest asap.

Wow, it's almost time!!!

Peace, Mark

Works either way, meggo ... see you soon!

OK, now I've really X2 got to finish packing!

Peace, Mark

There's lots of room at Izzy's, so I can't imagine it will sell out. But wow, the buzz this year is more intense than it's been since May 2003, and the weather forecast is looking sweet, so I'm thinking it's going to be a raging party!

OK, now it's really time to finish packing!

Peace, Mark

Dr. Evil ... the feeling is mutual, my friend.

Mark specifically asked me to make him one at one point but I need someone who can make an .avi into an animated .gif. Anyone?

Now we're talking ... you're at Izzy's by now Wi!!y, but maybe this can happen next week, or the week after, as we all might be a little slow next week. And happy birthday in 7 minutes, my friend!!!

See you all soon ... time to finish packing!

Peace, Mark

I'll be there Friday, hopefully before the music starts ... so stoked ... I need to calm down so that I can sleep before Friday ...

Peace, Mark

Awesome news Cjamson ... yet another reason to be excited about this weekend ... can't wait!!!

Peace, Mark

Wishing you a speedy recovery Brad ... you will be missed.

Peace, Mark

hey .... ho !

Here's a photo from 2003 !

Awesome Mike ... that's a great pic! We've got to get a group shot of the skanks for 2005. Have we decided where and when yet? I remember a discussion about taking a group photo, but I don't remember if a final decision was made about where and when. Maybe Sunday afternoon at around 4 p.m., as most people should be at the festival at that time?

Peace, Mark

Wishing you the happiest of birthdays, Mud! I look forward to the next time we connect in person, as it is always a treat to see you.

Peace, love and hugs to you and Blair,

Mark

the way i see it, we get a good one, and a bad one...balance in everything right?

2002 - snow

2003 - sunny and warm

2004 - pissed rain all weekend

2005 - <<>>

I was thinking the same thing, Alexis ... May 2001 was a beautiful weekend so the logic definitely works for me.

Peace, Mark

Front of the Line is one of those "join a club and you'll have access to great seats" situations. I used to belong via my American Express card, but I never used the service, as the few times I went to use it I found that I could get seats that were just as good without using it. I know some people have got good seats via Front of the Line though.

Peace, Mark

... it's been a while since I've seen people move their bodies so freely.

What; no mirrors in your house Mark?

Thanks for the giggle, my friend. See you next weekend ... can't wait! There may be a little body movement going on next weekend ...

Peace, Mark

I'm really looking forward to hearing Mr. Something Something at the Come Together Fest ... it is impossible for me to sit down when I hear this band play!

Peace, Mark

Yesterday evening the students in my Grade 11 Entrepreneurship class ran an event for the class ... a freestyle competition called Freestyle Mayhem. I just finished posting a message to my school's discussion forum and I thought some of you might enjoy reading it so I'm posting (most of) it here as well.

Here it is:

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mayhem (n.) - confusion and willful violence

Well, given the dictionary definition of mayhem, perhaps the name "Freestyle Mayhem" was appropriate for Friday night's freestyle competition.

There was no willful violence that I was aware of (other than the comments made by the competitors to each other during the competition), but confusion certainly marked the event.

I'm not exactly sure what happened. From what I could tell the event started reasonably well, and the battles at the start of the night seemed to be going fairly well. The sound wasn't perfect, but I could certainly hear most of what was being said, and some of it was actually pretty good I thought. My favourite line from the night went something like:

"When I'm done with you and the judge's tally

They're going to boo you like Bush at a peace rally"

Then, for some reason, things just started to melt down at the intermission. There wasn't supposed to be an intermission, but rather a half-time show, but a better name for it would have been a "dazed and confused nobody knows what's going on let's blame everything on the techies break."

We finally got some dancing happening (and the break dancers were awesome I thought), and a few more battles, and then the competitor from Cameron put on a bit of a show, but by then most everyone was going "wow, this is so disorganized!"

It's going to be an interesting class on Monday, that's for sure ... I'm sure the students in the class who organized the event learned a lot, and will most definitely realize just how much planning and organization goes into big stage productions and events. I'm going to focus on seeing the glass as half-full instead of half-empty and pull out the postives to the best of my ability. There were certainly lots of positives, including good attendance (approximately 300 paying customers), but I know some of the key organizers are going to have their heads hanging pretty low on Monday. And I certainly realize that in my quest to find the proper balance between teacher-directed learning and student-directed learning, I needed to give them more direction with the organization of this event. Live and learn ...

-----

Although the event ended up as a bit of a disaster, I still enjoyed parts of it and was glad I could help to provide a forum for young people who are into this sort of thing. I really know very little about freestyle rapping and was pretty impressed with the talent of some of the performers. And wow, the break dancers blew my mind ... it's been a while since I've seen people move their bodies so freely.

Peace, Mark

After a little more surfing, here's another free gem of a concert in Buffalo:

Medeski, Martin & Wood

Lafayette Suqare / Artvoice Street Festival

Buffalo, NY

Sunday June 26, 2005

Also, I'm not sure if it's free, but:

Derek Trucks Band

Canal Concert Series

North Tonawanda (Buffalo)

Sat. June 25

Hmmm, I may be making a trip or two across the river this summer after all.

Peace, Mark

Thanks for the kind words, Kaidy Mae ... I think that May 2003 and May 2001 probably rank as my favourite Come Together Fest weekends ... I've had a great time at all of them, but those two weekends were magical ... I think great weather on the May long weekend helps to take it over-the-top ... let's keep our fingers and toes crossed for awesome weather this May long weekend.

Looking forward to an exchange of inspiration next weekend with many wonderful people!!!

Peace, Mark

I didn't make it to the moe. show at the Pier last year, but I did make it to the free Robert Randolph show in downtown Buffalo at Trafalgar Square. Yes it was crowded, but I had a blast. I managed to find a sweet spot off to the side of the stage.

Buffalo amazes me with how much they embace the arts and tasty live music ... I also saw a free show last summer along the water (not at the Pier) with Derek Trucks Band. Buffalo often brings images of a run-down manufacturing city and arsons in Towanwanda and Cheektowaga to mind, but their arts community rocks!

Peace, Mark