In the studio w/Butcher

Last weekend I spent in Studio the Andrew Butcher Project!!!

Andrew 'the Rock Star' Butcher


"Don't tell Mike!!!"



Recording the whole album....(bass lines)





"So, you sang with Axel and Boston and now symphony orcherstras? Now you can help with the bass lines....ummm...I'm good with that!"




This CD is going to be mighty fine music - you'll want to check this blues/rock/prog/r&B/delta/rockablilly/bluesey stuff....

Sweet.

D

Can't You Smell It????

That's right, that's the smell that sailed a thousand...dreams. Summer is coming! A few months - what could you do with that? The mind boggles, churns, turns - so many things you want to do.
Of course, the last weeks before my holiday are the toughest of the year - write exams, mark summative projects (the biggest of the semester), accept as many late projects from the last few months as students want, without any penalty (thanks Dalton - can I turn in my taxes a couple of years late for free? Or how about my report cards - can I do them next fall? People who read this blog...can you ignore deadlines?...okay, I'll leave it for another blog. Or maybe not. A record number of my students passed the fallacious [if it sounds dangerously like felicio, that's apt] literacy test - is it an election year yet? If not, maybe next year's will be even easier to pass!) And of course the school administration is more and more political - screw the teachers, as long as the press is good for the school.
But there have been many good points: My grade 9 academic team held their own against grade 10 academic "Reach for the Top" teams. The Coffee House was an artistic triumph, despite the hurdles hurled against us from students and 'so called' adults alike. Personally, I created and introduced a novel that has never been taught in Canada before - and the kids really liked it, surprise surprise. I lead a first year teacher through a pair of courses - poor lass. I also taught Brave New World instead of the crusty oldy "Gatsby" - way more resonant in our current world of Conditioning and such...
So the summer...
I have three main goals...and I think I'd best narrow it to two. There are always things to do around the house, and that will be one main job. (Maybe a new - gulp - boiler....donations accepted for this 5 digit expense!) A little work on each room, work outside...always ways to improve it all...
Number 2 is working on the novel. I'd like to do this and I've been encouraged by those who have read the prelude (on my webpage), including students who are very enthused about the premise. Of course, if I don't hit that, short stories always await to be worked on...
Number 3 is the home studio. I need a new computer (my old PC is dying) and a bigass MAC with a protools suite (for recording music) has always been my dream. The last years I've always been in the red, but I always wanted to buy this. I can certainly do so now, so maybe I will and start recording the album I've been working on for 20 years. I'm not sure if all 40-50 60+ songs can make the first album, but it's past time I got them down for some kind of consumption...

Summer plans....well, working around the house (can't really 'rest' for more that a day or so), some quality time up at the cottage, and perhaps a trip farther afield...we'll see how that goes.

Recent stuff: I finished a stint in the winter with the legendary Charity Brown - CD to be recorded soon. Just last weekend I recorded the bass tracks for Andrew Butcher's debut CD...watch this guy! Kevin and I keep playing every other week in KW and occassionally for weddings and corperate stuff. Alysha Brooke is slowing down, but the gtr player, Luke (Settlers Creek), and I are assembling a 3 piece to take over the world.

That's all the news that's fit to print. If you want to hear the juicey details of my personal life (which is quickly growing idealic), you'll have to email me. But, to sum it all up, I feel like I'm entering one of the happiest times of my life at the tender age of....never mind.

Drop by any time, friends!

Nod