Garth, tears of rage and the Great Hall

The last two weekends have been quite memorable. On Friday the 7th we played a CMW showcase at the Elmo. We did our usual high energy rock show and we were very well received. The highlight though was playing two songs with Garth Hudson of the Band and then our new friends Peter Katz and the curious joined us onstage with Garth to do a version of the weight. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time. Garth is truly a world class player and a class act to boot. Easily one of the highlights of my musical career.

After that high I was brought right down to earth by home renovations. My gf and I are currently trying to re-tile the bathroom with mixed results. It will be great in the end but at this point my patience has been stretched thin.

So, what better way to release the tension than to play a huge show at one of the coolest spots in town right? We played at the Great Hall last night at an edge presents show with our friends USS. I had never heard of the Great Hall before but I was super impressed. Picture the love child of the Opera House and the Mod Club. The sound and lights were top notch and the crowd was right with us the whole way. I would rank the show as one of our best, if not the best.

Looking forward to heading back out to Goderich soon to hear the final mix of the album. It feels like now is our time; that once we have the record done and out, big things will start coming our way.

All for now,

Pb

Studio

We've been holed up on the shores of Lake Huron for almost two weeks now and the album is really coming to life. All the drums, bass and guitars are done. A handful of tunes have vocals done as well as piano and organ bits. It's great having such a big role to play on this album. As much as I'm primarily a drummer, and it's my first love, I get a huge kick out co-arranging songs and creating and playing keyboard bits. Singing backups is a blast as well. I've been thinking that I'd like to take voice lessons someday.

Anywhoo, this album will be great. No doubt in my mind. This last phase is the trickiest though as there are so many directions and sounds we could pursue. Sometimes the hardest part is walking away; saying it's done when you're never ever going to be sure that it's exactly the way you want it. But the journey is it's own reward. Especially when you know that you'll always be striving to improve and create better and different music. If I'm ever totally satisfied with my own music I'll know that it's time for me to pack it in. Can't see that happening :)

easy to please

i had today off after working for ten days straight. so, of course i did the only thing a sane person could do and i got half loaded last night and slept till three today. now, some might call that a wasted day (no pun intended) but i couldn't be happier right now- i'm pretty sure that slothing around all day has had a heavy hand in my contentment. things are quite good overall these days. my gf and i are moving in to a great condo down by the lake next month. her folks decided to invest in some real estate and as a result, my fortunate ass gets to live for very cheap. looking very much forward to living with the one i love. we're playing at the elmo tomorrow night (the 19th) with shortwave (who i'm listening to right now and am quite impressed with) and the giant baby. also, we've been writing new tunes like it's our job (i guess it's more like a volunteer position at this point) and we cant wait to head into the studio next month to record album # 2. pretty excited with what well produce; should be a good mix of material.

so in the words of joe walsh "i can't complain, but sometimes i still do. life's been good to me so far."

cheers, it's time for a cold one,

pb

i saw sunlight for the first time in awhile today. i've beeen down with a wicked flu/stomach bug thing that had me immobilized for several days. i think i'm in the home stretch now. leaving the house was good; seeing other humans, conversing. i was starting to worry about my sanity. all that aside i can't wait to get back to jamming with the boys and hitting the studio in feb (finally confirmed) to record a full length album. hope everyone had a great break and i wish everyone a great 2008!

roadies....that'd be great

just watched 'everyone stares' which is a movie compiled from stewart copeland's (drummer from the police) old home videos of the band as they rose to be the biggest band in the world. growing up i always thought i wanted to be a rock star. maybe i still do but it's not for the same reasons. i really would be happy just to have roadies. at one point in the movie stewart talks about how big their crew has become as the amount of gear the 'need' continues to grow; "my drum kit gets bigger all the time. and why not? it's not like i have to set it up". seriously, to not have to lug gear after a show would be amazing. well , to be fully honest, to make a living playing music i love, would be more than enough for me. for now though i look forward to a wicked show this friday at the elmo with our friends big ideas and vacuity. a bunch of my friends from back in the day will be out too so bring out the gong...it's show time!

pb

o-town

you know how there are some places where everything just seems to fall into place? where you always have a great time? ottawa is one of those places for me. everytime i've been there (5 or 6 times over the last 8 or so years), i've had a blast. i guess it doesn't hurt that my oldest friend lives there and one of my other old buddies tends to show up as well. but there seems to be something in the air there that makes me feel at home. we played a great show there on friday and then partied with some good folks afterwards. it was a nice mix of old and new friends. the boys in the band were in great spirits and we had a million laughs.

looking forward to another ottawa show soon,

pb

monday

back to work after a great weekend which makes it easier and harder to get back to work. it's great to have a break but sometimes you want more break less work right? we played a great show with fiction plane on saturday night at the elmo. met some great folks and talked about music and life and drank until very early/late depending on whether your a morning or night person.

i can't wait to record again. we did some demos out in goderich recently with a lovely human being named sigmond maier. waiting to get schedules etc sorted before we go back and start the album in earnest.