This week was the last gasp for getting out my pitch to festivals so that I might have a little work this summer and maybe see a bit of the country. But wouldn't you know, everything went wrong. Alyson, who was helping to pitch me took a fall and broke her arm (her typing/pitching arm, of course)
What a week - crazy life & death computer adventures, hi stress but adrenalin flowing. Lots of slippery driving, too. That could be life and death on the country roads I used to travel. The sloped on either side so if you got too close to the edge of a slippery road you might slide right off the side. Last night I missed Robert Randolph. That is one act I wanted to see again - even though I did plan ofn earplugs. I was going to take the repaired computer to the office, reconfigure it on the network then catch the tail end of the show, but my car wouldn't budge. It was parked on glare ice pointed downhill and well wedged between two cars. I know when to "pack it in" (hey, that's the theme of the new song).
I feel good writing to you at this moment though because tonight after this intense period of no guitar playing I came up with a new tune tonight. I wrote the idea on a napkin at the greasy spoon where I had breakfast, then I came home, watched part of a movie then went downstairs and wrote a song. I wish I had the disciplin to stay down there till it was written, but I'm going to bed. Tomorrow I'll mess with it - I'm hoping I can use this tune with this new hyper-instrument I've been working on with Joel. And maybe I finally have a solo tune for the album that demonstrates my guitar style (it's all in the right hand, my producer tells me).
Monday night was Lance Anderson's CD launch at the Orbit Room. I was so broke I had to borrow a few bucks from my son to motivate me to get to Lance's event. He laughed and said "you never have to pay, dad...ha ha", but the time I'm made to pay will be the time I won't have enough $$$. As it turns out Lance was thoughtful enough to leave my name at the door (as well as a CD and a beer ticket - who could ask for more?)
It was a delight to see Lance's organ pedal work - It brought back some long-forgotten childhood memories - I remembered seeing a black organist named Gene something, I think, who played every summer at a lakeside resort on Little Lake Magog.
Later in the evening it was time for "Sisters Euclid", Kevin Breit's band and who should be in the audience but his main employer, Norah Jones. At 10:30 and we noticed the bar was staring to fill music industry scene-makers, Scott Morin, Sam Feldman, and then I heard the buzz..."Norah Jone is in the house" RF tells me Norah is sitting in the front row but I'm staring at a short gal at the bar looking more like a U of T student with thick-rim glasses and...by gawd....it's Norah! I looked at the front table again. I had been talking with CB, a gal who is close to some of the biggest stars in the business, and she ends up talking to Norah's road crew. At the same time, I hear that there is going to be an exclusive showcase at the Lula Lounge the next night and whispered it in CB's ear, and I guess after that she got invited. She even sent me a note the next day saying I could come, but I didn't really get it till too late. Anyway, that night we dropped in to see the North-Mississippi All Stars at the Horseshoe and and an ambient electronic music double-bill at C'est What. Lots of music. The ambient stuff was surprisingly interesting. The NMAS were surprisingly "normal" What happened to that youthful energy they had the first time I saw them? I think the problem is that the drummer has learned how to play and we've lost that Missisippi hill "thrashing around". Maybe it got wilder as the night went on, but by then I was listening to ambient pop. It's nice to have a change once in a while. G'night gramps.