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I think I've managed to get this out just under the wire - It's still July, isn't it?
Not a lot to talk about this month. There is some optimism in the air about the return of live music and I don't want to be the throwing a wet blanket on the cheerleaders (you know who you are).
Suffice to say, I (still) don't have any gigs to announce but I can say here that I'm going to have some kind of music event for friends and fans to celebrate my 75th in September. Watch this space for an update.
For fans and friends who enjoyed my Campfire Jams at the Old Mill I'm sad to say that they don't seem to have any plans for live music anywhere in the near future.
But for you, my beloved Blainreaders, I felt like I need to at least show my face once a month so that you know I haven't drifted off to Rock & Roll Heaven...
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Speaking of "drifting off"...I had the strangest omen the other day - though I don't pay much attention to omens, but this was a good one. For some reason I had removed the strap from my Strat and I went looking for something and pulled out the oldest strap I own - the strap that came with my first guitar. It was quite threadbare but I flipped it on and as I was playing, It tore apart. It's a good thing I wasn't standing because the guitar would have crashed to the floor. Anyway I caught her and the show must go on.
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Welcome to the Backyard Blaincast
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I did a couple of livestreams from the back yard last summer but my neighbour's air conditioner was so loud (and never shut off) that It was disrupting the sound.
But quess what? They got a new air conditioner and it is nice and quiet back there. I had a few friends hanging out on the patio so I pulled out the guitar and gave them a little serenade (all requests honoured).
Thanks to Ann, Barbara and Laila for being the first audience I got to play for in a year. And what a supportive audience (and no complaints from the neighbours). Maybe I'll do this again! I hadn't played those songs in quite a while and forgot a few words but I don't care! And nobody cared because It's just so refreshing to hear some real live music. Click on the link and see if it doesn't put a smile on your face.
Here's the July Blaincast:
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Click in for a few acoustic tunes from the backyard, an ambient electronica jam with my son the DJ (aka Peter the Puppet) and some experimentation with the new release version of Ableton Live 11
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The night before, I was jamming with my boy Joel and he got into a new character with a little hand-puppet and we had a lot of fun. Check it out! It was great getting the Ableton software going and jamming with him - I have not been messing around with the electronica lately because my computer just doesn't have the horsepower to do what I want to do. You can hear the CPU overloading in a few spots as I'm jamming with Joel I need the proverbial upgrade. I'm the (intermittent) IT guy who is always telling people that if their computer is more than 5 years old, they need a new one. Meanwhile, I'm typing this on a 2012 Macbook...so there.
But my music computer, a souped-up iMac, should have been up to the task but it's crapping out the minute I start doing some interesting things. So I'm saving up to get an M1 Mac. Soon!
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The good news is that the creative juices are still flowing and I've got a whole new batch of songs in the works - one with an open tuning which is something I've never used in my 50+ years of guitar playing. It's called the Toleration Blues, so you would be right if you guessed it's a little political. And I just came upon a half-written song that I was trying desperately to find last winter. It's called "Surrounded By Snow" and I wanted to work on it while I was (literally) "surrounded by snow". Oh well, now I'll be trying to write a last verse in the sweltering heat :-)
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An old tune gets a new video
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A tune I wrote in the 70s just got a new lease on life with a video from Daniel Racine, who wrote the French lyrics. The song is an ode to the Eastern Townships and wait till you see the beautiful photography. If we're Facebook friends you can find it on my profile, www.facebook.com.brianblain.home or on my page, www.facebook.com/brianblain.musician Otherwise, it will be on YouTube in no time.
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“Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There is not some trick involved with it. It is pure and it is real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things” - Tom Petty
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That's enough of my musings. Thanks for reading this far. I see that the Blainletter gets opened by hundreds of people but not sure how many read through it. But I always seem to hear from someone or other that they enjoyed it and that's what keeps me going. Feel free to forward this to any friend you think might enjoy my occasional ramblings (and maybe my music, too). These bits and more are always available on my blog, www.torontobluesdiary.com.
See you out there, eventually...
BrianB, aka Butch, Nappy, Shaker, Two-Lane Blain, Colorblind Brian, Stringbuster, Buddha of the Blues
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