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Dearest Blainreaders, here we go again.
It's the last day of November so I better get typing the November Blainletter (if I keep pushing it to the end of the month like this I should start calling it the BlainReport!). And if I don't get out my Christmas newsletter until it's all over, consider yourself greeted.
And I did not forget (American) Thanksgiving. I raised a glass to all my American friends and especially my friend and fan Alice Brock because that song that was written about her, "Alice's Restaurant," is a Thanksgiving staple on every folk radio show in the States.
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I was delighted to see that Alice made her way to the Berkshires to have Thanksgiving dinner with Arlo and Rick Robbins (who was Arlo's accomplice in that Thanksgiving adventure so long ago – Rick was also accompanying Rambling Jack Elliot the last time he played Hugh's Room).
If I'd had a gig, I would have pulled out the tune I wrote for Alice, called "Another Song About Alice." I played it on my Thanksgiving Blaincast last year and you can hear it here
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And going way back, here's my interview with Alice from a long time ago (I think that was my first attempt at a livestream)
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So what's to report from November 2022…after 2 years and 9 months of the Great Confinement (yes, I still feel kinda confined). Let me check my Google Calendar…hmmm, two zoom meetings, one birthday party, a couple of musical outings (see Out and About) and as for gigs…zilch!
But it is encouraging to see that the "go-getters" in our blues crowd are getting out gigging, even touring, and the shows I saw were well attended so audiences are coming out too. I hope you're getting out to support live music – it's more important than ever. And know that if you pick up a CD or a T-Shirt, that is probably all the profit that the band leader will be taking home because they're not getting shit from Spotify.
I remember in the early editions of this blog, I peppered my chronicles with "tips and tricks" for musicians (before I heard the phrase "career development") - not that I've ever taken any of my own advice! I used to highlight the tips in red – that's before websites had graphics. It was just text and links…and colours!
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I continue to get the old guitar out (almost)every day so I'll be ready when I do get that call! Maybe some promoter would want to put on a Campfire Jam with a bunch of Old-Timers ("young man, I remember when a multitrack recorder had only three tracks!")
Meanwhile, I'm still amusing myself with all my electronica gadgetry and live-steaming on the Stringbuster Facebook page where I might find an audience for my ambient electronica adventures. It's still pretty rudimentary - even with my new Mac, I only have enough horsepower to play in one key at one tempo – it's a primitive form of Artificial Intelligence/Machine learning that spits back loops that are a little more interesting than just repeating what you just played. Kinda like jamming with a 5-year old.
Things have been pretty quiet up here on Woodfield Road. There's snow on the ground and a chill in the air. Here comes winter and maybe I should have another crack at finishing my song, "Surrounded by Snow" (I feel winter closing in).
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And of course, watching lots of TV and stuff on YouTube. Just yesterday I heard a long, fascinating interview with Neil Young. He's got a lot to say. Surprising for an artist who did not do very many interviews in the "old days." I even found myself listening to a second interview with him and now I just saw he was on Howard Stern, too. He's got a new record just out and he's anxious to talk about it (and other stuff). Check it out (that's producer Rick Rubin with him - Rick is a man of few words)
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And here's another interesting link from blogger Ted Gioia. This guy has been laying down some serious commentary, mostly about jazz but this one will be fascinating to blues enthusiasts because it delves into the Great Mystery of Robert Johnson, with "My Quest to Preserve the Secret Blues Archive of Mack McCormick". Check it out here
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There seems to be a flurry of movie activity this month. For one, we've started editing the footage from my big B-Day at the Redwood Theatre and hope to put something together for the New Year. Regular Blainreader Son Roberts is helping out with that. We got great footage from Keith Holding, fine sound from Guillermo Subauste, and stellar performances from Reddick, Marriner, Raoul and many more, this will be a fine memento of my "I'm Not 75 Anymore" party.
Then a couple of weeks ago some fellow wanted to interview me for a film about Mel Brown. I had to tell him that I did not have much to do with the scene in Kitchener (though I did get a chance to jam with Mel at Pop the Gator once). Earlier I was sent a rough-cut of an upcoming film called The Juke Joint in Acton which was very well done and has a lot of familiar faces. Gary Kendall advises me that he and John Finley are in the process of editing the footage from the Celebration of the Life of Michael Fonfara.
I just watched a preview screener of a film called REVIVAL 69: The Concert That Rocked the World, with never-seen footage and behind-the-scenes stories about that one-day music festival in 1969 at Varsity Stadium (I was there!) where John Lennon performed for the first time without the Beatles, doing an impromptu concert with the Plastic Ono Band, featuring Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Alan White and Klaus Voormann. Lennon agreed to the last minute pleading of John Brower (then changed his mind a couple of times) because a bunch of his heroes were also on the bill: Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Gene Vincent as well as Alice Cooper and The Doors. It's playing at Hot Docs Cinema Dec. 17 (w/Q+A with director Ron Chapman & special guests), Dec. 18-22 / 27-29 and at the Fox Theatre Dec. 20 (Q+A with Director), Dec.19-22, coming soon to a theatre near you. Here's the trailer.
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And yes, there will be a film documentary on the life of our beloved "Professor Piano," Scott Cushnie. Here's the trailer + Indiegogo fundraising page. His career goes way back to the early days of Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, where he did a couple of shifts in the piano chair and later was the manager of Hawkins' publishing company. He was also responsible for getting Robbie Robertson into that band. I wrote about it in a song I wrote to play at Scott's "celebration of life" and although I had some lyrics written, I couldn't come up with the music and ended up using the chords from Scott's song, "Bourbon Street," and now I see Andrea Reid, the producer of this documentary has posted a clip of Scott singing that song. Scott's version is recorded in a noisy restaurant and mine is a quickie iPhone recording I made to show Ric Levenston the chords before we played it at the memorial. Here's links to both versions for your listening pleasure:
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Scott Cushnie performing "Bourbon Street"
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Brian Blain "Me and Prof on Bourbon Street"
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…Back to this documentary, this is going to be an amazing story. Scott's death and disappearance has the makings of a real mystery adventure and broadcaster Andrea Reid is determined to make a film worthy of his stature as a pioneer in the Canadian Music scene. To find out more and contribute to the Indiegogo fundraising, go to https://www.professorpiano.ca or check out the Facebook page
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So, like I said, I got out to exactly two shows in November (no, make that 3 – I caught a set of Corin Raymond at the Cameron. I asked him if he was playing there regularly and he said he's been doing every Thursday at the Cameron for 17 years! OK. I knew that.)
Then my friend Peter got me out to hear The Orange Devils, a big band that plays the original charts of Duke Ellington and other jazz giants of that era. Here's a clip of "Mood Indigo" but definitely not the Duke's chart on this one. My caption was "When was the last time you saw a power bar on a stage with nothing plugged into it?" It's a great feeling to sit in front of a big band totally acoustic (actually Jack McFadden on bass had a little help). The dynamics were amazing! Check it out here
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And then it was time for the (35th) Women's Blues Revue at the newly renovated Massey Hall. The new seats were comfortable (but can be tucked under the stage for stand-up shows) the downstairs lounge and washrooms were all fixed up, the stained glass windows restored and the best part of the new Massey Hall was you didn't get busted by an usher the minute you tried to capture something on your iPhone. Here's the finale – and listen to those voices!
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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.
If you are not subscribed to the Blainletter, go to my website, brianblain.com and click in the top right corner. 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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