Celebrating my (almost) first year of blogging & Tribute to Shannon Hoon & Blind Melon!

Keep on dreaming boy, cause when you stop dreamin’ it’s time to die. 
Shannon Hoon 

I knew it was getting close, but I wasn`t entirely sure when the big blog birthday was. Apparently I have 8 days to go but I just couldn`t wait any longer!

Here`s where it all started after a drive in town chasing a double rainbow last year after work on an awesome autumn night.  My intro blog! Full of introductory idiosy, and nothin`s changed as far as my disregard for grammar`s chains and the dictionaries. I just finished reading  http://wishiwerethere7.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/hello-world/ and felt good about it. It was a proud moment for a person who until that point had only used the internet for email, research, & of course killing time. Nowadays, I`d kill to have more time so I`m gonna keep this post quick…

Thanks for all the comments and an awesome year!!!

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 The Soul One Cover

September 26th would’ve been the 44^th birthday of Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon. I wanted to commemorate it as best I could with song. As I thought of which one might be appropriate, I relived some good times that his music definitely helped elevate.

When I first heard the name Blind Melon it reminded me of my old Cheech & Chong tape where a washed up blues singer named Blind Melon Chitlin was in the studio trying to put together some gold for an ambitious producer. A lot of people have probably heard the song “No Rain” which got a ton of airplay in the nineties. It was a great song for a band who was described as psychedelic southern rock. I spent many hours listening to the 90’s albums and enjoyed every minute.

After Shannon overdosed, they released an album called Nico which featured a song called “Soul One”. I really took that one to heart, being one of the few love songs written by the five-piece group from Indiana. It’s lyrics were full of the pain that a guy who spent so much time on the road might feel and soul was definitely there.

Monday night I tried to harness some of that energy when I set up my recording gear out under the stars in my front yard. It was an experience I’ll always remember and hope I can do again before this Indian summer comes to a close and the elements won’t allow for such foolishness.

 

Diverse City

Review from onrpei.ca

Hey everybody, it’s been awhile but I’m still writing! I’m just on another site mostly, I write about local events on PEI, but there are probably some things on there that you might like and I miss your great comments. Please subscribe if you like my writing, there are also some other writers from my corner of the world on there too. On to the review…

Diverse City 2011, what an event! I read about this on The Guild’s website the other day and I knew that this would be something I wouldn’t want to miss. Charlottetown’s Victoria Row showcased the cultures of recent newcomers to PEI—with great music, dancing, new displays and activities, Global Jam with drum circle and new intercultural combinations, visual arts display, martial art demos, kids’ crafts, and delicious international food. The finale featured dancing from 8:30–10:00pm to the Count and the Cuban Cocktail and their great Caribbean sound!

When I first arrived at 7:45pm the Mi’kmaq/jazz fusion was on the stage with a unique blend of native drumming and chanting with some cool jazzy sounds. I was also able to witness some fire dancing for the first time of my life, it was amazing!

Next up it was my turn to shine on the bongos (yes, this is an autobiographical review) with the Drum Circle in which everyone was invited to participate. There were about 10 of us from all sorts of cultures upfront before some great dancers & the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of, I’m guessing there were at least a hundred or two at that point. I was told earlier by one of the event co-ordinators (Yvette Doucette) that during the high point of mid afternoon, the Victoria Row and Confederation Centre outdoor area was completely packed.

And the main event of the night was the Count and the Cuban Cocktail featuring Jonathon Holmes who played the drums for Fugato and his little drummer-in-training. I totally enjoyed the festive jazz, latin, and samba grooves by this awesome group of artists. All and all it was a multi-cultural event beyond compare. I felt so lucky to be a part of it & wish we could dosomethinglike this on a weekly basis. 

 

Birthday Wishes

All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much.
George Harrison

Today’s my birthday and I don’t have much time to write, but I just want to take all the birthday wishes I’ve gotten sent to me from the calls I’ve gotten to the FaceBook messages to heart, it feels great to be appreciated, BTW.

I had a great day with my family and if I could make 3 wishes I’d wish for:

1. I hope that people in Slave Lake bounce back from the fires. I was born in Alberta and it could just as easily been me in those shoes, so my wishes go out to the people, things can only go up.
2. I hope the people will make it through in Joplin, MS. I met a couple of bikers from Alabama earlier today and they had their homes lost to Mother Nature, but they took some of the insurance money and bought some Harley’s. I think they’ve bounced back pretty good.
3. And on the World scale, Japan was hit pretty hard earlier this year and I admire how they’ve made steps to get back on their feet, I’ve never had to endure anything of that magnitude or any other of the disasters mentioned, for that matter, so all I can do is just hope the best.

Wipe That Smile Off Your Face!

“All the factors say go, but my heart says “no”.    Mike Huckabee

I watched a news report yesterday about a study that concluded that guys who are smiling are not attractive.  I also read a tweet earlier in the day from a local radio station with a joke about it, saying something like: “Study says happy guys are unattractive, I say go #$@* yourself“.

Personally I’m not really too surprised, I guess if I ever found myself single again I might have to change my avatar since I look pretty happy on it. But, seriously it doesn’t really bother me too much because I used to be completely inspired by Hollywood’s heroes like Jean-Claude Van Damme with their cold-blooded movie cover poses, too. Today I can step back and observe without feeling compelled to imitate whoever is starring in the latest action blockbuster.

That’s right, back in the days when I’d be going to clubs I would walk around with a stupid looking snarl on my face as if I were looking to avenge my keyed Mustang (I never actually owned one). When I heard the report I came to the conclusion that if a guy was actually in a state of  bliss he isn’t going to be disheartened by this study, whereas if the winner of the study, the proud, serious-looking “Bad Boy” lost he would probably be seriously considering filing a lawsuit for defamation of character.

I guess it probably goes both ways, though because in my younger days commercials or ads with unhappy-looking women definitely seemed more alluring. Nowadays if I see smiling faces in advertising, it seems to be more heart-warming and therefore if the product they’re selling seems relevant to my needs, I might be more inclined to buy it as opposed to an ad that seems negative.

So What’s In It For The Players?

On the news report I saw some young women explaining why they’d be more inclined to seek a relationship with the guy with the jutting chin, chest out, and grave look in their eyes. They said things like he’d be more manly, mysterious or dangerous and I think it’s probably a primitive thing. The father is someone who’ll be able to protect and provide for their young. So what would be the point in pursuing a relationship with a guy who doesn’t appear to have that killer instinct and seems content to just let things be?

I believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion but I’m sure a lot of relationships with so-called “Bad Boys” usually end with a lot of sadness and shame. It really seems like a game that is doomed to failure, but maybe it’s always been this way on a certain level and nowadays we’re just more hung up about breakups. I’m sure that in ancient times with the alpha male having hundreds of kids with hundreds of mothers there was no qualms about him being a “Deadbeat Dad”, the mothers were just glad to have a healthy baby. Nowadays people like ODB (god rest his soul) from the Wu Tang Clan get a really bad rap, and with the conditions of society today it’s understandable.

I feel kinda foolish to admit this but when I was younger and saying a lot of bad words, wearing my game face, not caring about other people’s feelings, drinking too much, and doing stuff that was totally self-centered it was only my way of saying “I don’t want to be alone”. A lot has changed for me since I realized how important it is to be happy and I’m proud to say that I don’t get depressed half as often. Since there’s less guilt about being someone I’m not because of feeling like the odds are against me I thankfully no longer feel the need to wipe that smile off my face.