Blainletter 141 | Happy Halloween Blaincast on FaceBook Live at 4pm TODAY |

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November 2021 View this email in your browser Happy Halloween! My street has been a designated Halloween destination for the last few years.  The decorations (and the parade of costumed little-ones diminished considerably last year and the street was desolation row, but they still closed it off and some hard-core Halloweenists still got out the decorations and this year they're back so we'll see if the kiddies show up. I'll be putting out a few (musical) goodies at 4PM on my Facebook - if we're FB friends, you know how to find me.  If you're not on Facebook you can watch on my Facebook Musician page: www.facebook.com/brianblain.musician, or later it will be replayed on my YouTube page and archived on my blog. Not much to report for November so this will be the shortest Blainletter you ever got but thanks for sticking with me and if you're able to tune in to the Blaincast, pray for me that it doesn't blow up.  I've been pre-recording the last few because it was just way too stressful trying to remember the words to songs I haven't sung in a year or two while I make sure that the sound is not distorting (or in some cases not getting through at all) I'm keeping it simple, no synthesizers thank-you.  Even with a hot-rod iMac, I have been overpowering  the CPU with my demands on the new Ableton software and I finally bit the bullet and ordered a new Macbook.  The next time you hear from me I will be finally settled into the new "metaverse"  (and that will probably bring along a slew of new problems...er, challenges)   Rare archival footage of "The Ghost of Clinton's Tavern" Here's a video I made 7 years ago with my son the DJ playing my Halloween favourite, "The Ghost of Clinton's Tavern" from New Folk Blues 2.0.  It includes a little tour of the actual Clinton's Tavern (I wonder if it has survived...) See you out there (eventually) Enjoy the Blaincast. Like, follow, subscribe or tip if you dig what I'm doing. 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 Upcoming Shows Sunday, October 31, 4pm - that's TODAY! Halloween Blaincast on FaceBook Live For this album, I wanted to bring attention to the water crisis that is affecting 3 billion people on the planet. "Water Song" is a pretty dark "ear movie" with a global vibe provided by Sadio Sissokho (kora) and Harry Manx (mohan veena). The haunting vocals are provided by Ruth Mathiang. "I'm Not Fifty Anymore" kicks off the album with a little tongue-in-cheek  humour and some fine harp playing from Steve Marriner.  “The Not Worried Blues (An American Dream)” and “You Are Also His Son” were recorded with Julian Fauth and Gary Kendall, Mike Fitzpatrick and Pat Carey from Downchild.  “Blues Des Cantons (Goodbye Sherbrooke)” is a leaving-home barrelhouse boogie “en francais” with David Vest pounding the 88s. Patrick Merner added some bass & synth, and Clayton Doley overdubbed some organ from his studio in Melbourne, Australia. Ken Whiteley played some lap steel on "You Are Also His Son", Jesse O'Brien added some piano and organ to "The Mother I Never Knew" and drummer Michelle Josef provides a solid backbeat throughout.  Some songs end with extended jams (because I loves to jam) and the last track is a ten-minute acoustic soundscape with Michael Jerome Browne from the last day of recording my “Overqualified For The Blues” album years ago in Montreal. I call it “Tai Chi Ten,” …because it’s just the right pace and length for my Tai Chi set, but it makes for a fine meditation even if you aren’t moving.     Track Listing     1. I’m Not Fifty Anymore  3:07   feat. Steve Marriner 2. You Are Also His Son  4:52   feat. Ken Whiteley 3. Blues des Cantons (Goodbye Sherbrooke)  4:22  feat. David Vest & Clayton Doley 4. The Mother I Never Knew  3:55  feat. Jesse O’Brien 5. Not Worried Blues (An American Dream)  3:37  feat. Julian Fauth & Gary Kendall, Mike Fitzpatrick and Pat Carey from Downchild 6. Water Song  5:26  feat. Harry Manx & Sadio Sissokho 7. Tai Chi Ten  (A Meditation)  9:54  feat. Michael Jerome Browne mixed by Margaret Stowe at Ozworld Toronto mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering, Montreal art direction Linda Turu photography Margaret Mulligan design Keijo Tapanainen   Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|* Share Tweet Forward