Moving Along
I’ve been busking over the past week, meeting some really nice people, getting some good rehearsal time in, and spreading some Christmas cheer. Making a few bucks doesn’t hurt either. I had to busk at the skytrain station on Thursday so I could make enough money to get to my show at the casino, I didn’t make much, but enough to get there and back again, which is probably a good thing because those card and roulette tables looked very enticing.
I should probably fess up that I haven’t been keeping up on my reading, and the 25 in 2010 thing will end up as a failed grade on my report card. Blah blah blah excuses, but I’ll try to squeeze one more in before the new year.
As for my songwriting… well, ‘No Matter What You Say’ is still the last song I’ve written, I’d like to finish a few over the next month. There’s some ideas that I want to suss out, and it’s always fun to try and get the last song finished before the new year starts.
Had my second band practice with Drew and Kyle, the bass player and drummer formerly of Scenery In Stereo. It’s great hearing songs like ‘All Or Nothing’, ‘Down’, and ‘Silver Ocean’ taking shape with a fuller sound. I’m looking forward to getting a full set prepared so we can start rocking out in some west coast venues. It’ll take a bit of work, but in a couple of months we should be rolling.
Things have been pretty crazy, but they’re settling down just in time for the holidays. It’s strange being back on the west coast, I’m happy for it, but I’ll admit I am missing Toronto and the people in it. Glad to be back though, and looking forward to getting some gigs booked for the new year, somewhere I can play inside where it’s nice and warm.
First Show Back
Had a really good time at my first show back in BC. It was nice to see all my friends and family to kickstart Thanksgiving weekend. It was also nice to to show everyone the songs I’ve been working on and get some cd’s out.
Just listening to the bootleg right now, it’s sounding pretty good, and it’s up in my music section.
Even though it seemed ill-timed with everything else that’s going on (we got up super early to get all our stuff off the moving truck this morning), it was well worth it. Very thankful to everyone who came down to offer their support.
Next show I’m reappearing at McBurney’s Coffee & Tea House on November 3. That’s the place where I really started fleshing out songs when I first started playing live. I played a lot of open mics there, I wish I kept track of cuz a lot of my songs got their first plays at that venue. I especially remember bringing out Telalo for the first time. The open mic was set up outside in the courtyard. I had just written it, and I was really excited to play it so I tried. Unfortunately, I crashed and burned. I didn’t even make it past the first verse. I wasn’t good enough to play my own song. I was probably a little embarrassed at the time too. Must have been the summer of ’01, or ’02.
Anyway, I’m really excited to get back and play there again.
BC
Starting to get settled in here in BC. We’re in Aldergrove right now at my mom’s place. Yes, staying with mom for a month or two until we find a place in Vancouver. Not so bad, did some gardening for her yesterday in between rehearsals. I’ve also been able to dig through some old boxes and find some old set lists from before I moved out east. I’ve added them into my song history section. There’s still some more in my notebooks, but I need to do a little more research and figure out which set belongs to which date, etc, it’ll take a little more time. I feel like a historian trying to piece together my past.
Got my first show tomorrow at the Water Shed Arts Cafe, more of a family affair. Should be interesting, I’m excited to play and show them what I’ve been up to. After that I think I’ll be hitting up open mics around the valley, start meeting people, and finding some regular gigs, and eventually I’d like to start a band. I’d like to hear what my songs sound like with a fuller sound.
I’ll let you know how the first show goes, and I’ll get the set list up with the bootleg so you can hear it.
Until then…
Alice In Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
This was a fun read. I can’t remember too much of the cartoon film I watched when I was younger, and I didn’t bother to check out the Tim Burton rendition in theatres, which I heard was more focused on Through The Looking Glass anyway.
But a few things that took place I had no idea, while the other classic characters like Mad Hatter, and Cheshire-Cat were really neat to finally read about in their original setting.
Definitely something I’d like to read to my future kids, along with The Hobbit or Treasure Island. It took no time at all to get through, which was nice after something that takes more of a commitment like Pride And Prejudice.
All in all it was a good weekend for finishing books.
Not sure what I’ll start next, but I’m leaning towards Kate Chopin’s, The Awakening.
Pride And Prejudice – Jane Austen
This was a welcome change to my last novel. It was brought to my attention that on my booklist this year, I had only one female author out of 25, so I added a few more women into the mix. To be honest, I can’t remember the last book I read by a girl, and I was a little upset with myself to be that guy who reads work only by ‘dead white dudes’.
Pride And Prejudice was well worth the addition. I really liked Jane Austen’s clear style of writing. The high society and manners was something that clearly took place long before my time on this earth. I can’t imagine anybody speaking the way they spoke to eachother in this book.
Nonetheless, I really enjoyed following the story, wondering what would become of the two main character’s, Elizabeth, and Mr. Darcy, as well as the rest of the Bennet sister’s and their suitors. It wasn’t too predictable and there was a lot of interesting sub-plots that kept me gossiping to my muse about the goings on. She reminded me a few times of how dreamy Mr. Darcy is, which I’ve duly noted.
It’s possible we’ll watch the six hour series with Colin Firth one of these days, and I’m not totally against it. I wonder if they do the zombie version?
The Crying Of Lot 49 – Thomas Pynchon
This book was a complete waste of my time. I’m sorry I added it to my list. The writing was trash, and I found myself not caring whatsoever about a single thing that occurred in the story.
Maybe it was a good thing for me to finish something that I absolutely detested. If this book wasn’t on my list, I would have tossed it in the recycling bin long before the 49th page.
25 In 2010: Revised List
Alice In Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
x Another Country – James Baldwin
x Cannery Row – John Steinbeck
Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
x Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut
x Crime And Punishment – Fyodor Dostoevsky
Heart Of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
In The Skin Of A Lion – Michael Ondaatje
Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison
x Kidnapped – R.L. Stevenson
x Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha – Roddy Doyle
Pride And Prejudice – Jane Austen
x Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe
The Awakening – Kate Chopin
The Crying Of Lot 49 – Thomas Pynchon
The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
x The Odyssey – Homer
The Road – Cormac McCarthy
The Wars – Timothy Findlay
x Volkswagen Blues – Jacques Poulin
Who Has Seen The Wind – W.O. Mitchell
Women In Love – D.H. Lawrence
Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
25 In 2010: Book Update
Realizing that our book choices were slightly ambitious to read 25 in 2010 with everything else going on, my brother and I decided we can scale things down a little. I’ve knocked out some of my heavier reads which I’m going to take on in 2011 for a more reasonable 12 books in ’11, and replaced them with some more accessible reading where I actually have a shot at finishing them in 2 weeks. Ha! It’s the 8th month of the year and I’ve only read 9, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, we’ll see if I can do it with this revised list.
Here’s the books I’ve removed from the list.
1. Barney’s Version – Mordecai Richler
2. Naked Lunch – William S. Burroughs
3. Of Human Bondage – W. Somerset Maugham
4. Tropic Of Cancer – Henry Miller
5. Ulysses – James Joyce
6. The Hunchback Of Notre-Dame – Victor Hugo
7. The Rainbow – D.H. Lawrence
These are the ones I’ve replaced them with.
1. Alice In Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
2. Heart Of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
3. Mrs. Dalloway – Virginia Woolf
4. Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha – Roddy Doyle
5. The Awakening – Kate Chopin
6. The Crying Of Lot 49 – Thomas Pynchon
7. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
I feel a bit lighter already!
Another Country – James Baldwin
My 9th book this year, recommended to me by my muse. It took me about half way to get fully into it. The events in the book might seem a little like a soap opera if you just state everything that happened, but it’s hard to deny the emotional intensity.
The story is about a group of friends living in Greenwich Village, Harlem, and France. Musicians, writers, and actors dealing with love, hatred, race, sex, and taboos of the time (late 1950′s) such as bisexuality, interracial couples, and extramarital affairs.
There was one theme in this book that I found myself often relating to, being professional jealousy. One of the writers, Vivaldo, being jealous of his friend Richard for having a book published, and yet Richard being jealous too because he sees Vivaldo’s lack of commercial success as a sign of artistic integrity. Vivaldo is also seeing a girl, Ida (Rufus’ sister), who is becoming a well known jazz singer, and holds a resentment towards her success.
I’m trying to think how to delve deeper into describing the other characters and actions, but I swear this would end up reading like a gossip column. The book certainly made me think, and have feelings. I really like how Baldwin was able to bring you into the conversation, and make you feel present in the room.
I would certainly suggest this book for those who want an interesting read that’s not too heavy. Especially if you feel sort of lost in the worlds of art, and love. It’s a good book for the bohemian.
The Tambourine Is Pip
I’ve finally got a demo of Silver Ocean up! Let me know what you think of it. I’m pretty stoked, makes me want to hear a larger production of it, though, hopefully in time. Not sure what I’m going to work on next, but I’ll figure something out. Could be an old song, could be a new song, I’ll be working on it, whatever it is, guess I’ll let my muse decide.
Hope all is well for you, take care.
RC
