Sunday, February 26, 2006

thought for the day...

sometimes it's nice to greet people with a standing ovation.

Even Rats

just click and listen.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

rise and shine sleepyhead

rise and shine sleepyhead
up and at 'em
outta bed
the day is new
love's been lookin' for you
rub your eyes
ya got somethin' to do
you're a miracle, boy


i've been sleeping.
but i've been listening. constantly. to these:

surprise me, mr. davis - 11.23.05
ryan adams bedhead 5 live compilation

nathan moore and ryan adams do wonders for my soul.



(above lyrics by nathan moore)

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

the flu.

well, it finally caught up to me - months of resistance are now proving futile, and it's making me pay dearly.

sweating buckets while shivering.
enormous coughs that dont do anything to move the cue-ball sized ball of phlegm in my chest cavity, which oddly enough feels absolutely hollow with each cage rattling hack.
diarrhea.
sinus' pounding.
energy low.
and aching bones and muscles that make it nearly impossible to stay in any one position for a prolonged period of time.

put a fork in me.

at least i've got Lord Lionel to watch over me.


Sunday, February 12, 2006

gospel. voodoo. bunk.

said thorgnor.

the constantines are a damn good rock n roll band. heavy in the tradition of fugazi - fuzzy, raspy, loud, political, intelligent - and homegrown. i believe they call guelph home, though i'm pretty sure a couple of the guys are from right here in sunny london, ontario.

they played call the office on friday night, sold the place out, and put on another great rock show in that bar - man, i love their energy. although i've been a fan for quite a long time, i never got a chance to see them until last august, the last time they played the orfice - that show was mostly a showcase for the new record, as most of the tunes from that night appeared on the album when it came out... friday was no different, lots of new stuff, but no Draw Us Lines, the lead track on the new album - which i really wanted hear - however, i did get to hear Justice, a favourite of mine from their first album, that they didnt play last time. see, i guess all things balance out.. haha..

i wish i remembered more, but we had a bit of a rager back here afterwards, plus it was 2 days ago - im toast. Team London had a full roster for the night, queen mary of toronto made an appearance, a bunch of folks from the bar that i dont know and might never see again, and a couple guys from the cons. a long night indeed. i dont even wanna get into the debauchery, but i think it was some kinda gospel voodoo bunk shit.





(9:30am, saturday morning - the results.)

Monday, February 06, 2006

the bus stops here

yesterday, tough yardage running back extraordinaire jerome bettis, one of the games greatest and most respected, fulfilled every kid's dream who ever played a sport: to win your sports world championship in your hometown in your final game ever. wow. i was a baseball player when i was growing up, and at one time in my life i tricked myself ino thinking i might be able to take it somewhere (kids....), and believe me, that was my dream. so i can only imagine how that man must be feeling. on top of the frickin' world!

congrats to the bus and his
pittsburgh steelers!

scottie threw the superbowl party so we watched the biggest sporting extravaganza* in
north america over at his place (*i'll come back to this). 2 screens, i brought my projector and we had that on one wall, and then the tv in the living room as well... and the little guy in the kitchen so you wouldnt miss anything when you went to get a beer. played some tiger, played some madden, watched the game, ate and drank a shitload, and had a great time! woke up this morning and paid for it dearly. crazy heartburn to wake me up, and my morning shit was marred by all the cheese bunging me up long enough for the chili to sear my colon. jesus hubert christ. the chicken wing dip won the prize for sure. however, there were no chicken wings involved.

so im gonna go back to the "biggest sporting extravaganza", and i wanna type about something i was thinking about yesterday when al michaels went on about the sheer size of the thing and basically what it is to america - it is quite a celebration. the biggest. and really, of all the major's (nfl, nhl, nba, mlb), the superbowl is the newest of all the major titles. so i made some comparisons and drew up some parallels that kinda got my noodle goin'. i thought if this game is
america's new past time, let's look at it against america's old past time, baseball. football vs. baseball, nfl vs. mlb, world series vs. super bowl, whatever. and let's look at western culture and social values, or rather, how the culture might be perceived, then and now.

im a baseball man. i love the game, i played it growing up, i wish i still could, and in fact i just might again. as a kid i was always fascinated with the lore.. the history of the game is incredible. i loved reading books about old-time baseball, or reading my total baseball encyclopedia pushing stats through my head for fucking fun. watching ball talk videos, you name it. baseball held a certain respect that got my attention at a young age. baseball had a feeling. and it was looked upon as a gentlemans game, tough and competitive, but with a certain civility. and that aspect, i think, was part of the celebration of that game at that time - it was a certain pride, a standard the game was to be upheld to. it was the game - respect it. now, the baseball timeline im using for this analogy is old time baseball, say, loosely, up to the halfway point of the 20th century. (in real baseball historical timelines i'd say that extends a couple era's beyond old time baseball, but thats not really the point here...)

all that said, i love me a good football game as well. i also played organized football as a kid, and grew up with a certain fascination for that game. my dad was a
green bay packers fan. i can tell you that, but i couldnt tell you what his favourite baseball team was. vince lombardi was his man. so naturally, my fascination had more to do with the history of the super bowl than the game itself. but, really, the super bowl is the game. the super bowl has become the most celebrated sporting event on this continent. america goes apeshit for it. hell, so does canada! moreso than our own grey cup event! 4 hour pre-game shows, star studded events, the half-time show, all of it - the whole deal is incredible - and we all eat it up. but its really the sport that is being celebrated... and the sport itself is mean as hell. in the last 40 years the sport has risen to unprecedented heights. it's tough, it's rough, and its our favourite. the trash talking, the cockiness, the badass gangster attitude of the sport is where the love now lies. the special segment from last nights superbowl was about the a guy who was arguably the meanest, hardest hitter the game has ever known. and as this sports popularity has increased and become dominant, baseball has gone the other route.

it's quite a contrast.

then i started thinking about our culture, my own perceptions, history classes, history books (though, who's to say what our future history books will look like - depends on who's in charge, i suppose), various topical studies, culture studies, social/political, etc etc. and when i go back in time, to my old time baseball era, i see a culture that had heroes. real heroes. people to be proud of. class. some of them were in uniform, many of them were overseas, some of them even wore suits. i see a culture
that, in some ways, could have been seen as a hero itself. i feel like the people held themselves to a higher standard, a better respect. there's something about that time in our history that lines up very nicely with baseball at that time.
i thought of us now and football now, and the progression through time, the evolution of a species socially, (un)ethically, and the changes that have occurred, the people in charge, and the eras that have come in between to get us from there to here. and here feels kinda filthy. it doesnt smell so good. there is nothing sacred. and man, there is a ton of smut. corruption, greed, and people with little respect for anything runnin’ the show. then we look back at the nfl - the players that get the most airtime, the ones setting the example, are the ones who are the most disrespectful, the greediest, the most arrogant. you have the
minnesota vikings throwing sex parties on boats, and panthers cheerleaders gettin' it on in bar washrooms, and hey, fine and dandy, that's cool and all, you do what you like, but man, there is a ton of smut! who's thinking of the children? you've got hold out players, juice monkey's, showboats, etc etc... there's an attitude that surrounds the game and it’s not so different than the attitude today's western culture is perceived to have, the world over. and the future doesnt look too bright.

so with all this on my mind, i watched the bus pull into detroit, put it in park, and turn off the lights. and with that, the game lost one of its greatest role models. and it couldnt have come at a worse time.

the kids need heroes.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

campbell's martini party

my buddy mark and his roommates threw a martini party the other night at their place, and wow, big party! 2 in a week like that, and man, i wasnt sure if i could do it! im gettin' old! i only knew, literally, a few people there, and it was definitely a university party, and though im not so far removed from that and certainly no stranger to the party, at times it was still a little strange for me in a bit of a nostalgic kinda way, remembering back to my good ole college days partyin' it up with all my good people... it's an interesting perspective being an outsider... and kinda weird not really having an answer when someone asks what im doing in school. hahah... but yeah, good times, in ways made me miss a lot of people, in others, made me feel real good about where life is now and where it's headed... a good reminder that although the faces and places may change, good times and good people are just that.. nostalgia aside, plough on - the good times dont end if you dont let 'em.

[spoon] all i need is a crew...

l - r: mark, box, myself, erin

erin and some dudes...



one that can stay on cue...



one that can act as if..



uh-huh, alright... [/spoon]


(pictures courtesy of the lovely lady in the hat)

Monday, January 30, 2006

Operation: Full Throttle.

11.28.06 - Jambands.ca Fundraiser - Lancaster Tavern, Kitchener Ontario.

the mission: to have a grand ole time turning ourselves into little balls of human goobly goo with a couple hundred of our closest friends, rock the fuck out, party the night away, shake hands with the sun, and meat ourselves into submission.

i was also on photo duty, however, i failed miserably. i hope the photograph i donated made up for it and they were able to raise some coin from it.

the team: ian, lesley, scottie and myself - sometimes known as team scott.

we caught a ride to k/w with lesley and ian - lesley is our saviour whenever we go to k/w - and started the night at uncle schwampy's, where he presented me with a kotke and gordon show for winning his caption contest! score! we partook in the regular pre-gaming festivities and then headed down to the lanc for the show.

2 floors of SoOn Jam: harvard mouse, high plains drifter, what the thunder said, diesel dog, fat cats, and superfly.

harvard mouse got it kicked off with a nice little warm-up groove session, and high plains drifter followed to set everyone up for the rest of the night. what the thunder said opened the stage upstairs with a high energy set that really caught my attention, very groovin', totally rockin', and interactive as well - great stage presence those dudes have. diesel dog headlined downstairs and ploughed through a set of heavy hittin grooverock that got everyone movin' and shakin' and smilin' and primed up for what was set to go on upstairs: the fat cats closed the night and ripped the living hell out of 2 sets showing why they're among canada's finest when it comes to rocking, rolling, and jamming like monsters. somewhere along the lines i lost track of time - i was shocked when it ended - i thought for sure that was only 1st set!!

parking lot gathering was perfect at the end to get the bearings, chill out, enjoy some company - we chilled with the st. catherines crew while trying to make plans - so awesome to hang out with dup, deany d, anz, and mike - the chicken wing and garlic bread was killer! after holding lesley up we opted out of a ride back to schwa's, instead going for the manglefest over at mangle mansion - good times - but crowded as hell - cleary showed up with a pizza and that was golden! we bolted shortly after the cops showed up, but had no idea where we were, and only an address of where we needed to get to, without a sense of direction. we took to walking and waiting on a miracle when a car flyin' by grinds to a halt and calls us over - dave and deb! they offer a ride, but also have no clue where the address is, MISSION ABORTED, a cab is coming down, better option, he'd know, we jump outta the car, yell and flag the cab, he goes flying by, dave and deb take off thinking we're saved, and we're back to square one at the corner of weber and bridgeport, laughing like idiots.



we did make it back to schwa's eventually, and the party there was still going - awesome! we kept it going, drinkin', laughin', jokin', listenin' to tunes, well into the morning. another successful mission for Team Scott.


think i might have caught a 45 minute half in/half out nap before i was fully awoken by the most horrific generic boring shitass hippie dippie jambullshit i had ever heard. i was enjoying some great fucking silence and this girl who was leaving decided to put something on (as an exit??) no one else was awake.. i loathed it. i got up to shut it off and decided whatever it was that came out of that tray would be damned in my head forever more and i would go out of my way to not seek it out. the label on the disc said: S.K.B. fuckin' kimock... what the hell was that? i've seen you. you're better than that. not much, but you are. while i was up i had to take a picture of team chatham - granted it was 11am, these boys can party, hell, keri threw the party, but still.. i love it - swifty sitting up, keri hunched over, rankin face down, and in the background, you can see chandler's foot sticking out - he's sleeping on a fucking toolbox! awesome.



early afternoon we hit the huether (is that right?) for some breaky with schwa, craig and sari, while ian and lesley visited with some family.
coffee. keep it comin. big ass water. 5 or so chicken wings as an appetizer. medium. steak and eggs, hashbrowns, rye bread, and extra pemeal. steak medium, eggs over easy. dont want too much blood mixin with the yolk - that's sick. wrap steak in pemeal, dip in liquid chicken. yummy! wish i had a picture...

shortly after that, with full bellies, deep breaths, and paralyzed muscles, we teleported back to london with lesley at the wheel, and voila: reality!

all in all a great night in k-dub. great people, great music, great energy, great parties, great hosts, great everything. we accomplished all our missions, and i really hope mark and keri accomplished their mission and raised some money for the website.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

harper it is, bitches.

well, just about 2/3's of all us canadians voted yesterday, and just over 1/3 of that 2/3's decided that stephen harper is the man to lead our country. into where? who knows. but we've got a front row seat now. and it comes as no real surprise, really. i feel like the liberals lost this election more than the conservatives won it.. more like the people of canada just gave 'em a little slap and said "nope! cant do that... this is what happens." - hopefully they'll learn. i must say, though, im very happy with the ndp pick-up.

so, now what? well. i dont know. but im not as pissed as i thought i was going to be. i needed a day to really think this over. i think there's a strong enough opposition to keep 'em in check this time around. socially, im not so worried about new legislation really fucking us over, rather im more concerned about taking steps backwards - canada's come a long way recently, something im very proud of as a canadian, something that i feel is looked upon with high regard around the world. we were on the road to some other great things as well, and now these things arent even in sight, and if they are, it's for all the wrong reasons.

but we better not be going to war. then i'll be pissed.

and the GST cut is the fucking bullshit. gee, thanks. blow me, harper. but hey, the sexy headline worked. fucker. ok, that got me pissed. IT'S NOTHING UNLESS YOU HAVE A LOT OF MONEY TO SPEND!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's like reverse robin hood: rob the poor (of their services that depend on taxes) and give to the rich (by way of not paying). and i dont believe that nothing will get cut.

but it's over. and the ndp have a stronger voice, which is all i was really hoping for, so all in all i cant be anything but happy - we all knew harper wasnt gonna lose this time around, so we had time to brace ourselves.

i watched the Your Turn program when harper was on and i remember one question, which i believe came from a woman from London, Ontario, if im not mistaken, and she asked about the party slogans and why they were different in french and english canada. the meaning behind that. i kinda thought to myself, you get on national tv, you get the chance to ask the next prime minister a question, and that's what you come up with? the slogans? who gives a shit? we all know slogans are bullshit. who cares what they mean in any language. no one really loves mcdonalds. we all know tim hortons is not
always fresh. i thought everyone knew to take slogans with a grain of salt, no? which got me thinking more... if i was running for office, what could i use as a slogan? if people really care about this, if this on their minds, if it actually does mean something, well, i had better give it some thought, right? so, here's what i got...

A Different Kind of Country - A Different Kind of Guigsy.
The Guigsy Goes Straight to your Head.
Moving At The Speed of Guigsy.
Stop. Go. Guigsy.
Let The Guigsy Begin.
Think Guigsy.
Just One Guigsy - Give It To Me!
Shhh.. You Know Guigsy.
The Guigsy For All Ages.
Get More From Guigsy.
Grab Life by the Guigsy.
So Easy, No Wonder Guigsy Is #1.
Guigsy, Take Me Away.
The Guigsy That Eats Like A Meal.
Nobody Does It Like Guigsy.
Don't Get Mad, Get Guigsy.

get your own slogan here.

Monday, January 23, 2006

this week in review

well, another week come and gone... this was a long one. the beginning of the week was filled with work, the end filled with fun, there was no middle, and now it's done. i received good news, i received bad news, i had good times, i had bad times, i got to see many friends, but missed many more, i heard some no's, i heard some yes', i questioned some, laughed at others, and in the end it was just one of those weeks. everything goes. the best of all worlds.

the weekend, however, was a good celebration of that very notion: everything goes and the best of all worlds. timeline:

Friday, Jan. 20
shortly after 8pm - arrive in toronto
get our buzz on
10:30ish - keller williams at lee's palace - fun show, i had trouble with the sound, but i got it. highlights of the show were the high time > man smart woman smarter and the encore, what i got - the energy for that, throughout the crowd, was incredible - just a big sublime love-in. beautiful.
Saturday Jan. 21
1:30am - onward to the elmocambo to catch slammin' jack's aftershow - been a long while since i've seen them, and wow, they've gotten so much better! definitely a great way to close the night.
3:30am - up to the danforth for the afterparty (cheers to margaret & carrie) - madness ensues.
8am - i think i passed out around here
11am - think i woke up around here. had a couple cups of tea.
1pm - back to homebase (cheers to rob) to spend the afternoon gettin' 'er back together
8pm - maybe the best steak i've ever eaten? (cheers to scottie)
9:15pm - arrive at the Koolhaus for Broken Social Scene !!!
10ish - bss take the stage - madness ensues. opened with All The Gods, then slid into Shoreline and brought Feist out and from then on for the rest of the night that little ball of fire owned me. but it was kevin drew's show. the man was in command the entire evening. my favourite moments of the night were the Ibi Dreams of Pavement to close, man i love how huge that song gets, and then the Lover's Spit to start up the encore, with an honourable mention to drew's stage banter/antics during the encore break. but back to that Lover's Spit - such a beautiful song, and such a grand version on this night. how many people on stage? 13? 16? incredible. makin' it work, takes a little longer, makin' it work, takes a little time! but that encore coulda been 7 songs long - they played forever! almost 3 hours when all was said and done... a slow superconnected, an EPIC It's All Gonna Break to end it all, throw in a couple major label debut's for good measure (slow, then the faster reprise later on), send us to the hotel, give us the shampoo suicide, cause=time, a beautiful Anthems For A 15 Year Old Girl, the list goes on and on, and somewhere in there they managed to throw in a Hockey Night in Canada tease. some other observations: the soundman must be a fucking genius to be able to balance all those instruments at once and make it sound that good. there were as many as 16 people on stage at any given time. upwards of 5 guitars, bass, double drums, various other percussions, keys, how many voices? trombones, trumpets, sax, man alive. they just about killed me.
Sunday Jan. 22
1am - hotdog cart saves the night. my back is killing me.
1:30ish - back to homebase for a nice chill nightcap and finally some fucking sleep.
noon - headin' 'er outta town
12:30pm - arrive at the Swedish Embassy and spend the next 2 and a half hours in a home furnishing amusement park. my berries are not as red as they used to be. but my speakers now have shelves. 2 hotdogs and a pop for a buck 75? yes please.
3pm - on the road again....
4:45pm - arrive back in london
5pm - pick up digital projector and spend the rest of the night re-arranging, re-wiring, cursing and swearing.
2am - finish lame ass story and go to bed - we've got a big day tomorrow...

tomorrow (today), the country could get a face lift.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

... and we begin again.

so, i went to sign up to be a "blogger", and my user name was taken. so i guessed a password for myself and, sure enough, i've been a blogger since late december 2004! a late night resolution gone wrong, i suspect. or, perhaps just a late night resolution arrived late. but what an odd resolution... to blog? hmm....