mark tonin

I wish I could be there but I'll be at a wedding with a couple that I do know well ::

Peace, Mark

I am so thankful to be a part of this wonderful community of amazing people. I had the absolutely, positively best birthday party imaginable on Friday night … I was as high as a kite from the people energy and the after-buzz continues. Friday night’s festivities reaffirmed my belief that I have connected with a special group of people … people that love music and artistic expression, people that love to let loose and have a blast, people that are genuine, caring, open-minded and respectful of others, people that make me feel alive and comfortable when they are around. Words cannot express how fortunate I am to have met all of you … I am a happier and healthier person because of it. Some long-time friends of mine also came to the party and they were amazed at the community of people that came together on Friday night … friendly, fun, energetic, intelligent and extremely kind were words that they used to describe the people that they met … I couldn’t agree more.

Thank you to everybody that made it out on Friday night, and thanks to those of you that couldn’t be there but that sent your best wishes with posts, emails, phone calls, cards, etc. The love and positive energy that was communicated to me was almost overwhelming at times … I felt so warm inside on Friday night and feel that way now as I think of your smiling faces and all of your kindness. Thanks as well for the gifts … I honestly did not expect people to give me gifts and I was blown away by the generosity and creative energy that went into some of the gifts and surprises on Friday night. I hope that I have thanked and will continue to thank people for all that they gave and did.

On a musical note, thanks the guys in Harvard Mouse … we’ve know each other for years, jammed for years, been friends for years … thanks for the magical musical moments and for the friendship. It was a blast playing with you on Friday night! And to Diesel Dog … WOW! … thanks for playing at my party, and not only for playing, but for letting it rip and for the musical surprises … how about the Pink Floyd Brick in the Wall jam in the middle of Chico?!?! Or the Shakedown Street > Fishin’ with the Skipper > Shakedown Street?!?! Did I imagine all of this?!?!

Once again, thanks to everyone that came out and made my birthday party one of the best days of my life and a day that I will never forget!

Peace, love and hugs to all of you,

Mark

Thanks buddy ... here's to a creative explosion and some relationship strengthening tomorrow night! :: ::

Peace, Mark

Wow ... I love you friends ... reading these posts made me smile and laugh and feel warm inside ... just what I needed tonight after a sad day ... we decided to put our cat Mavis down today ... the right decision, but still a difficult and emotional decision ... Mavis was almost 22 years old and has been our pet since she was 5 ... life is precious ...

Thank you friends for being here ...

Peace, love and hugs to all of you, and thank you everybody for the advance birthday wishes.

I look forward to seeing some of you on Friday night upstairs at the Lancaster Tavern in Kitchener ... everyone is welcome ... 2 bands (Harvard Mouse & Diesel Dog), no cover charge, bring your smiles and dancing shoes.

Peace, Mark

The musical surprise of the Come Together Music Fest for me was Stephen Franke & Noises from the Toolshed. I had never heard them before and they blew my mind! Brilliant musicianship … Stephen Franke is a fantastic guitar player, and the piano player (Chris ?) is awesome as well. Very jazzy but still groovy, and super-tight. Wow! Check them out if you can.

Peace, Mark

What a fantastic weekend!!!

The weather was absolutely perfect, the music was awesome, and the people made it oh so special. As I walked around (and danced around) all weekend it sank in just how many wonderful friends I have made and interesting people I have met at the Come Together Music Festivals. At one point I was standing near the stage with Schwa and he said something about looking into the crowd of people in front of the stage and being amazed at how many of them he knew ... the network of people keeps growing ...

Here is a feel-good story from the weekend:

A friend of mine (Dustin) who was camping near me lost his wallet on Saturday morning. It contained all his identification, cards, etc. and lots of money (around $250 I think). Needless to say, he was stressed and was having a hard time thinking of anything else other than his lost wallet. Later on that day, a woman carrying a baby was walking around the campground asking if anyone knew a Dustin from London. She ended up at Dustin’s campsite and it turns out she found Dustin’s wallet on the beach (where he had dropped it). She told us that she wanted to return the wallet to him personally rather than turn it in to the lost and found bin because it contained so much money. Dustin was so touched by the woman’s kindness that he decided to give her half of the money in his wallet. The woman did not want to take the money but after Dustin insisted she said she’d take it only if she could use it for some good, so she was going to pay for a massage treatment for a friend who needs massage treatments for health reasons but can’t afford them. To make the story even nicer, it turns out the woman (sorry I don’t know her name) is the partner of the drummer from The Wassabi Collective.

Peace, Mark

Unfortunately I think that you'll each have to pay $50 at the gate. My understanding is that they are not going to be selling 1 day passes at the gate, as it's just too hard to control the gate if people come in for just one day.

Here is the info from the web site:

Ticket prices for the Canada Day Festival are as follows:

Advanced Weekend Pass - $65

Block of 10 Advanced Weekend Passes - $600

Show up at the Gate on Thursday July 1 - $75

Show up at the Gate on Friday July 2 - $50

Show up at the Gate on Saturday July 3 - $25

All tickets allow for camping until Sunday.

Please note that 1 day passes will not be available for this festival. This means that if you show up at the gate on Thursday, you will have to pay $75, even if you just want to stay for Thursday night. Similarly, if you want to come to the festival for just Friday, you will have to pay $50.

link to come together fest web site

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Peace, Mark

Here is the schedule as it currently stands for the Canada Day Come Together Fest ... wowzie wow wow am I ever looking forward to this one!

MAIN STAGE

Thursday July 1

9 p.m. Burt Neilson Band

midnight Mark Wilson & The Way It Is

Friday July 2

4:00 - 5:30 Contact

6:00 - 7:30 Mr. Something Something

8:00 - 9:30 Stephen Franke & Noises from the Toolshed

10:00 - 11:30 Fat Cats

midnight - Raisinhill

Saturday July 3

1:00 - 2:00 Turvey/Berkley/Bastian/Lafoucade

2:30 - 3:30 The Riderless

4:00 - 5:00 Grassy Knoll & The Magic Bullit

5:30 - 7:00 Guesthouse

8:00 - 9:30 nero

10:00 - 11:30 The Zen Tricksters

midnight - The Wassabi Collective

Second Stage lineup still to be announced (solo/duo/acoustic acts)

Peace, Mark

Thanks for posting your thoughts Floyd ... it was a great show! I wish I could put down the song names and set list for both bands but sorry, my brain just doesn't work that way, at least not after having my head blown off by an awesome night of music.

I thought Diesel Dog sounded great ... so nice to see them on the big stage and hear them with the big sound.

And Little Feat ... wow ... what a great band! Some blistering guitar work at this show, awesome energy, and excellent sound. The band was tight and having a blast and I thought the sound was right on ... better than at the last show I thought.

Briguy ... keep on making it happen!

And Rose Garland ... that was a sweet acoustic set at Pepper Jack's. Couldn't stay any later but really enjoyed what I heard.

Looking forward to the Come Together Fest and to the party at the Lanc on July 9th, where I'll be able to say that I shared a stage with a band that shared a stage with Little Feat. ::

Peace, Mark

His band (along with Randy Bachman and others) are playing for free at the Erie Basin Marina as part of the Buffalo Niagara Guitar Festival. I think I'll be going to this as I'll be in the area visiting friends and I really really like Derek Trucks and his band.

Here is the link to more info about the Guitar Festival:

guitar fest link

Peace, Mark

See you all tomorrow night! Really looking forward to this ... may even be able to hit the Rose Garland afterparty for a little while!

Peace, Mark

Really enjoyed the show, thought the sound was excellent, and there was lots of room to dance which was nice. I went to the show expecting it to be really good, and left thinking it was better than that. I'd go see the Steve Kimock Band again for sure. I was especially blown away by set one - it raged! And Rodney Holmes is a fantastic drummer ... Groove Fetish has talked highly of him a bunch of times in the past and now I know why.

Nice to see so many friends, familiar faces, and people that frequent this message board at the show. Nice to meet you TonyRage ... thanks for introducing yourself.

Hopefully the Steve Kimock Band will come back again. I thought that the turnout was reasonably good given that it was the band's first trip to the Toronto area and given that Steve Kimock, while obviously a fantastic musician with a great band, is unknown by many people, including lots of people who would really enjoy what he and his band does.

Peace, Mark

Birthdays are fun!

Izzy's has a number of spring-fed lakes. My understanding is that they used to dig gravel out of the property for use in road construction, and they'd dig down until they hit a fresh-water spring. Lots of spring-fed swimming and fishing holes on the property from what I've been told, although I've only been swimming in one of them.

Canada Day weekend is going to be a big-time party I'm sensing ...

Peace, Mark

A bit more info about the Supreme Court of Canada - I think this is how it works:

Although the Governor-General "appoints" the Supreme Court of Canada judges, it is really the Prime Minister who controls who is appointed. The Governor-General simply "rubber stamps" the prime minister's selection. Quebecers, by law, must hold three of the nine positions on the Supreme Court of Canada. In practice, the remaining six positions are divided in the following manner: three from Ontario, two from the Western Provinces and one from the Atlantic Provinces.

There is talk of having parliament play a larger role in the appointment of Supreme Court judges in the future, but I think that no matter what happens the Prime Minister will still have the biggest say in who becomes a Supreme Court judge.

Given the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Supreme Court of Canada has a huge amount of "law-making" power in Canada. It has the power to decide whether or not laws unfairly violate our rights, and it has the power to strike down laws that are unreasonable violations of individual rights. It has the power to decide whether legal and police procedures are reasonable or not.

And on a different note but one related to this thread, check out this interesting (and disturbing) quote I just read from an old copy of the Globe and Mail that I had kicking around:

"Women who become pregnant through rape or incest should not qualify for government-funded abortions unless their pregnancy is life-threatening, says Labor Minister Stockwell Day" Edmonton Journal, June 9, 1995

It's scary for me to think that a party such as the new Conservative party or the Alliance party or the Reform party or whatever the heck they are called, with beliefs such as the one quoted above, actually has a chance of forming the government, creating laws, and appointing judges that will decide whether those laws are reasonable.

Wow, time to get back to my school work, which includes supervising my law exam this afternoon.

Peace, Mark

The original plan for me was to head to Hamburg, NY (just outside Buffalo) with Liana and the kids to visit friends, and then to head the festival solo (or should I say with Wi!!y and Leanne) from there. My new plan is now that I'll be hanging for the weekend in Hamburg with the family and our friends, and hopefully checking out a couple of free events that are happening in Buffalo:

Thur. evening downtown Buffalo Robert Randolph

Sat. during the day/evening at the Buffalo Niagara Guitar Festival with Derek Trucks and others

Not the same as what I expected, and certainly much mellower and more family-oriented, but perhaps I can make up for things the following weekend at the Come Together Fest ::

Peace, Mark

Well, nothing has been posted recently on the festival web site, but this is posted on Derek Trucks' web site:

**The DTB will NOT be playing at the Adirondack Music Festival on June 25. The festival has been cancelled. The new date on the 25th is listed below.

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What a drag. We had such a great time at last year's event, and the festival location is beautiful, but it's a different promoter this year and it has been a much "sketchier" affair than last year. What boggles my mind is that this same promoter is supposedly running another festival (The Secluded Forest Music Festival) at the same location in August, with SCI, Soulive, Yonder Mountain Sring Band, Keller Williams, etc. I don't know how they expect to sell tickets to it after this disaster.

If anybody knows anything more about the Adirondack Festival, please post it here. And if people bought tickets to the festival, I hope they get a full refund. I personally feel bad about this as I raved about this festival to people.

I will be emailing a few key contacts of mine to let them know about this promoter. Please feel free to do the same, and to post on other message boards about this situation.

Unfortunately, I think that there are a number of people out there that think they will get rich promoting shows and festivals, without appreciating the fact that it is a risky business. Not sure of the details of the Adirondack situation, but I know last year's promoter lost money on the event, and I'm guessing that this year's promoter was looking at a loss, which is why they pulled the plug. Having said that, a good promoter that is in it for the long haul will not pull the plug and give bands and customers the shaft if they want to be successful in the future.

Peace, Mark

Thanks Jay ... well done! See you tomorrow night! I think that we are in for a treat!

Peace, Mark

Kimock's web site says doors at 8, show at 9.

Really looking forward to this!

Peace, Mark

It will be nice to see you there SugarMegs ... it's been a while! Seems like you've been posting again lately ... you must have more time on your hands.

Peace, Mark

Jay, glad to read that you're feeling well and ready for Kimock! Check out this thread from a few days ago re: Kimock and who is going:

Kimock thread

Really looking forward to the show!

Peace, Mark

Had a blast of a night in Chatham on Friday ... thanks for getting married Blair and Mud so that we had an excuse to have a blowout of a party on Friday ... as if the Chatham crew needs an excuse to party :: ... sorry I missed the beach on Saturday but I had to be back in Kitchener ... Tigger and I made it home safely by about 10 a.m.

And thanks Blair for that chocolate cake ... man oh man did it disappear in a hurry when I got back to Kitchener.

The bell just went ... gotta go teach ... looking forward to seeing all of you again soon!

Peace, Mark

My suggestion ... hang on for a few more days to see if the big name bands are playing or not. Cancelling one band (i.e. George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic) is not going to ruin the festival, in my humble opinion, but if the other bigger names are no longer playing (i.e. Derek Trucks Band, Karl Denson, Jen Durkin & The Bomb Squad, Ekoostik Hookah) then I would ask for a full refund and see what they say.

I can't see how this company would expect to be able to successfully run another festival later this summer (i.e. the Secluded Forest Fest with String Cheese Incident) if they rip people off at this one. Interestingly enough the Secluded Forest Fest is listed on the SCI web site, and tickets are being sold through SCI Ticketing, which makes me think that the festival is happening for sure. But good luck getting people to go to the Secluded Forest Fest if people feel ripped off at the Adirondack Music Fest.

I've got my fingers crossed that the Adirondack Fest is still a go, with the big names. I had a blast at the festival last year, the location is great, and I've had it on my calendar for a while.

Peace, Mark

The Zen Tricksters, nero, and The Wassabi Collective are on the Saturday night.

Almost positive that the Fat Cats will be on the Friday night.

A schedule will follow in the near future.

Peace, Mark

I'm in for this one for sure.

Peace, Mark

I just talked with my contact regarding the festival. He's telling me it is still a go for sure, although because ticket sales are slow George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic are no longer on the bill. I asked him about the other headliners (e.g. Derek Trucks Band, Karl Denson) and he said he thought they were still a go and that they should receive their deposits and have the festival listed soon. Having said that, he didn't sound positive about which bands were still a go for sure and which ones weren't. He never said anything specifically about nero. His role from what I can tell is that of a "utility person/helper" that knows the owner and works with the owner and the promoter to get things done.

Unfortunately I've had mixed feelings about this festival this year as it's seemed sort of "sketchy" at times ... announcements, and then cancelled announcements, and then reannouncements, and then cancelled announcements, etc. I am planning on going but will make a firm call once the date gets very close. I don't want to drive that distance to find myself with no festival or a very scaled down event. Having said that, it sounds like a festival is happening for sure, but that it just might not be as big as hoped for.

It is a beautiful venue, I hope it's a go!

Peace, Mark