Haven't been on for a bit, so here's the update.
Friday's gig at the Duke was good. Light crowd at the end. Like the last Molly's gig. Like my gig at Sherkston on Tuesday. Maybe I should start wearing deoderant.
Played with a new drummer on Tuesday. Great guy. Funny. Like Bam-Bam, Jethro and the "Where's my Car" guys all rolled into one. Cool young guy, to be sure. He looks like a surfer - plays in shorts and bare feet - except for the John Deer hat.
School is DONE! Not much else needs to be said...
Golfed yesterday - I was great on the 1st 9. Better than some of the "althetes" in the group. Fell out of the cart on the back 9 though. Don't ask. Played gtr for some Irish folks until the wee hours that night. Too fun.
Sandra and I head to the cottage next week to relax, work on Dave's deck, and generally escape. Yahoo!
My summer course started on Monday. Lots of work. Lots of keener 1st or 3rd year teachers. Too many assignments.
To my knowledge, Kevin, Kevin's mom and Sandra are the only people who have read the BLOG. If you have, let me know!
Happy Birthday, Canada, ya big lug.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Midweek Madness, Music, Mayhem
Well, it's crazy time. People always laugh and say "almost done - must be nice" to teachers in June, but any teacher worth their salt is going slightly insane at this time of year. The system is set up "end of semester heavy" so the biggest mark load/work load/stress load is the last weeks of a semester, so June doesn't make teachers smile - July does. For example, I have the two largest academic classes in the school, English (which is the most marking-intensive subject, time-wise). For "summative evaluation" that means I have 75 creative projects to mark - if they only take 10 minutes, that's over 12 hours marking. I have 75 speeches - but they're in class. And, I have 75 x 5 x 2pages of journals to read and mark (that's 750 pages x 250 words which is...oh I can't do math.) Then I get to mark exams that I have just finished making. That doesn't cover my third class of "challenging" students. Enough whining. (Though it is therapeutic...)
Kevin and I played Thursday and Friday night and all went smoothly. We were our regular well oiled machine, though the Friday at the university pub was lightly attended - students gone home. Saturday at the Edelweiss with Elvis was the usual - been doing it almost 10 years now. Video shoot was cancelled Sunday - needed the rest anyway.
Just marking and marking this week - rehearsed with a new drummer with Alysha last night. He was young and funny - should be fun to perform with. This weekend is no playing (rare!) and a few dinner/family parties...and of course marking.
Wednesday was bad drivers day. I've never seen more speeding, unsignaling lane weavers. I'm talking full on 3 lane horizontal diving without a blink. It wasn't a full moon or anything...I guess some days are just like that. A few times I was sure someone was going to buy it. (see traffic rant below for more on this topic)
Keep the greasy side down!
nod
Kevin and I played Thursday and Friday night and all went smoothly. We were our regular well oiled machine, though the Friday at the university pub was lightly attended - students gone home. Saturday at the Edelweiss with Elvis was the usual - been doing it almost 10 years now. Video shoot was cancelled Sunday - needed the rest anyway.
Just marking and marking this week - rehearsed with a new drummer with Alysha last night. He was young and funny - should be fun to perform with. This weekend is no playing (rare!) and a few dinner/family parties...and of course marking.
Wednesday was bad drivers day. I've never seen more speeding, unsignaling lane weavers. I'm talking full on 3 lane horizontal diving without a blink. It wasn't a full moon or anything...I guess some days are just like that. A few times I was sure someone was going to buy it. (see traffic rant below for more on this topic)
Keep the greasy side down!
nod
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
More Musical Mayhem
Only played Saturday - which was good as I got to spend some time at home. Sandra and I did some things around the house and went over to the "Pride" picnic to hear some caterwalling and eat some mystery meat.
Saturday was a bit of an adventure. Alysha played at Hot Rods in Milton. No one there seemed to know a band had been hired. There was no soundman and the PA was not set up. We had to improvise and managed, though the sound was still rough. There were a ton of line dancers from 25 to 75 years of age. They lined danced in the first set and a half, but obviously just wanted us to finish our last sets so they could hear the blaring, badly balanced canned tunes. Country meets techno - is that what people want? No accounting for taste, I guess. After I went to the Ivy to see if Ray was there - it was still early. 3MDM was playing - I used to sub in for them on occasion a few years back. It was the bass player's birthday (he's really a gtr player) and he was having a pint or a few, so I sat in for the last set. It was a fun jam, too be sure. The talented, but slightly infamous, lead singer let the bass player sing a tune. While the lead singer was out, there was an altercation with a rude/intoxicated audience member and the lead singer fled before the police arrived. 3MDM finished the night with me on bass and the bassist/gtr player singing. Adventure!
3 gigs and a video shoot from Thursday to Sunday this weekend - should be more adventurous times!
Saturday was a bit of an adventure. Alysha played at Hot Rods in Milton. No one there seemed to know a band had been hired. There was no soundman and the PA was not set up. We had to improvise and managed, though the sound was still rough. There were a ton of line dancers from 25 to 75 years of age. They lined danced in the first set and a half, but obviously just wanted us to finish our last sets so they could hear the blaring, badly balanced canned tunes. Country meets techno - is that what people want? No accounting for taste, I guess. After I went to the Ivy to see if Ray was there - it was still early. 3MDM was playing - I used to sub in for them on occasion a few years back. It was the bass player's birthday (he's really a gtr player) and he was having a pint or a few, so I sat in for the last set. It was a fun jam, too be sure. The talented, but slightly infamous, lead singer let the bass player sing a tune. While the lead singer was out, there was an altercation with a rude/intoxicated audience member and the lead singer fled before the police arrived. 3MDM finished the night with me on bass and the bassist/gtr player singing. Adventure!
3 gigs and a video shoot from Thursday to Sunday this weekend - should be more adventurous times!
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Owen Sound and Crazy Sounds
The week thus far....
On the weekend I played for the first time in Owen Sound at the Roxy Theatre. It was pretty much sold out. The crowd was a little quiet (for a Saturday), but they got into it by the end. It was really fun to hang out with my relatives after the show - I don't get to see them as much as I'd like with my schedule. As they say, 'a good time was had by all'.
Sandra came home from visiting her sister in Ottawa on Monday. Played as host bassist for the Jam at the Boathouse with Kris Myles on Tuesday - man the heat was crazy. No air there. Some fine musicians sat in, though. Last night rehearsed with Alysha before Saturday's big show in Milton - if you're going, the show will be crowded into the main bar/dance floor area as the big room has a leaky ceiling. After the rehearsal went to the Boathouse to check out the spoken word night. There were some mind blowing performers there and it was a blast even though I was tired. Tonight is the Coffee House at my school - too bad the air is broken. Heat wave number one of 2006, I guess. Drop me a note if you read this!
On the weekend I played for the first time in Owen Sound at the Roxy Theatre. It was pretty much sold out. The crowd was a little quiet (for a Saturday), but they got into it by the end. It was really fun to hang out with my relatives after the show - I don't get to see them as much as I'd like with my schedule. As they say, 'a good time was had by all'.
Sandra came home from visiting her sister in Ottawa on Monday. Played as host bassist for the Jam at the Boathouse with Kris Myles on Tuesday - man the heat was crazy. No air there. Some fine musicians sat in, though. Last night rehearsed with Alysha before Saturday's big show in Milton - if you're going, the show will be crowded into the main bar/dance floor area as the big room has a leaky ceiling. After the rehearsal went to the Boathouse to check out the spoken word night. There were some mind blowing performers there and it was a blast even though I was tired. Tonight is the Coffee House at my school - too bad the air is broken. Heat wave number one of 2006, I guess. Drop me a note if you read this!
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