I’ve been sick since the Job’s show at Call The Office on Friday night.
I’ve been nursing myself back to health by cuddling with Maako and watching old episodes of Connections and the Age of Uncertainty.
Hopefully I’ll be better by tomorrow.
Check out Danny Miles playing drums. The guys a MONSTER!
Check out Jason Holinaty’s solo music project Middlesex Wresting Team. If you’re not from Ontario, Middlesex is the County that London, ON is located in.
I got an old TM Juke 12″ ep in the mail from ebay yesterday, featuring Nyles Miszczyk’s old rap duo with Shad, called Bread & Water. Nyles does his best James Brown impression on the chorus.
Nyles came over in the afternoon to record some vocals for the new 10″ record The Job are releasing.
I traded him an old Mac G5 tower I had but wasn’t using for this pair of Fostex reference monitors. They sound much better than my old computer speakers.
While we were packing up, Kate Boothman called me with a last minute invite to be her guest at the Blue Rodeo show at Massey Hall that evening, which was the last of 3 sold out nights in a row for them. Cuff the Duke opened.
Greg Keelor was strolling around the dressing rooms for a half hour before Blue Rodeo went on, warming up singing and playing guitar. I was one of the only people backstage who’s not “officially” associated with either Blue Rodeo or Cuff the Duke, so even though everyone was very gracious and friendly (as always), I felt like a bit like a voyeur walking around snapping pictures. Kate and I demolished one of the vegetable trays.
Don’t forget, the Job are playing with Kate’s band Sunbear and Christian Aldo’s ragtime-dandy-piano-rock act, the Roncey Boys, on Sunday February 21st at Cloak and Dagger.
Julie Fader gets nervous in front of the camera. She and I are going to make a music video for one of her songs next month.
Julie’s been the featured single of the week on iTunes Canada this week! She’s one of the hardest working musicians in showbiz today.
Great times, great music, fun night, but I regret not bringing my 70-200mm telephoto lens. It cost me an arm and leg and I never use it. Last night would’ve been the perfect setting. I could have had beautiful crisp close-up shots of each member of Blue Rodeo even from the distance I was at in the picture below. Oh, lost opportunities…
I had to leave just before Blue Rodeo finished so I could go to band practice with The Job. It’s just like a real job, you can’t skip work just because you’re at a good party. We are playing at Call the Office in London ON tonight. Hooray!!
It’s Jon and Darryl’s birthday on Wednesday, and since Jon flew out to San Diego this morning for the next 3 days, I had a birthday dinner for them at 159 Manning last night.
It was quite a night of conversation!
Jon gave me the new Telephone Explosion record last week. It’s a Roy Orbison Tribute album! Steve Sidoli designed the sleeve.
It sounds like this…
I spent Saturday afternoon at an estate auction with Jon and Melissa.
Christian Aldo and Colin Edgley threw a party at their new apartment on Saturday night. It was a rager!
ArtStars TV and the National Film Board of Canada were there to interview Christian! I shot some stuff too.
Christian and Colin’s new piano rock duo, the Roncey Boys, will be making their live debut on Sunday February 21st @ Cloak and Dagger, opening for Sunbear and the Job. I’m excited!
Tuesday night I went to a free panel discussion about Audio Mastering at Ryerson presented by the Toronto Section of the Audio Engineering Society.
Noah Mintz was the moderator, and the panelists were Nick Blagona (Metalworks), Joao Carvalho (Joao Carvalho Mastering), Peter Cook (CBC), Phil Demitro (Lacquer Channel), Andy Krehm (Silverbirch Productions), and Peter J. Moore (E Room Mastering).
All of them have years of experience, and have headed up many major projects, so it was great food for thought.
I recorded another demo song for Christian Aldo yesterday here in my studio. I’m continually impressed by the quality of Christian’s song-writing. I also love that he has the balls to just blow through the demos, playing through mistakes, focusing on the energy that’s being captured. It’s a positive and productive way to work. I think this song from yesterday might be my favorite we’ve done so far.
Christian Aldo – Love Song Of The Dead
Really, tell me you don’t end up humming the melody in your head again sometime in the next 24 hours?
I posted the songs we recorded 2 weeks ago here.
Here’s a picture of Christian Aldo and I at the opening for Happy Accidents at the Red Bull 318 Projects gallery last Wednesday evening. (photo by Jeremy Jansen)
I got this book Be Here Now in the mail yesterday. I first read it in 1997 when I was 19 years old, but Get In the Van, Rollins’ tour diaries of his 6 years on the road with Black Flag was more relevant instruction for me at that point in time. The message I read in Get In the Van was; Do it today, NOW, the best you can, and then do it again tomorrow, but better. Repeat.
About mid-April 1997, 2 months before graduating from highschool, I had a frightening vision of where my life was at, and where I was heading into the future. I saw limited meaningful interaction with other people, few choices, few varied experiences, and menial jobs instead of a career. Not to mention the anger, depression, frustration and emptiness I felt for having no control over my own life and circumstances. I needed radical change, not inner acceptance.
I’m not about to transition into the yogic lifestyle (which is what the book BE HERE NOW is about), but at 31 I like a lot of what I’ve got in my life, and I’m proud of what I’ve put myself through to get here. I’m ready to BE HERE NOW and live in the moment as opposed to re-examining the past or stressing about the future.
I chose to scan these pages from the book because considering Saul of Tarsus, who later became Paul the Apostle and wrote half the New Testament of the Bible was a big thing for me. It was the beginning of me rejecting my identity as a Born Again Christian in my early 20’s. I realized Paul was an asshole, and had no authority to say anything about anything. Why would I take the shit he said as the Word of God? Pfft!
The Job are playing at Call The Office in London ON with My Shaky Jane next Friday! If you live in London you should come see us. We are super good.
Even City TV said so. Click here to read the article from June 4th, 2009.
I went with Nick Bechard, Matt Bourassa, Nyles and Jay Holinaty to see Dinosaur Jr last Thursday at Sonic Boom! I was right in front of J. Mascis and got some amazing footage of him playing. Graeme Phillips is currently editing my footage in with other footage taken from around the store that day. Can’t wait to see it.
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I played my 2nd show with the Job at Graffitis on Friday night. The place was packed and people were really into it! Benjamin Oakley, the artist who painted the backdrop for the Dinosaur Jr in-store at Sonic Boom told me we were his new favorite Toronto band! I asked him if he’d paint a back-drop for us.
I’ve posted the entire show in 2 parts on youtube. You can view part 2 by clicking here.
We had a little afterparty at 159 later. There had been a Red Mass show at the Silver Dollar so there was a small crowd from there hanging out too.
I think this picture is where Roy was casting a spell on me. Because LOOK:
This is the picture Jay drew and was saying he wanted to use as a tape cover or something, and it’s the exact same pose that Roy was making in the picture.
About 5 minutes after the picture was drawn I started texting Danny…
Jay and I talked on Sunday and we still love each other but I think there’s some strange synchronicity happening. Roy! Enough fights, next time throw some happiness, money and power spells my way!
Let it be known that 159 Manning is a house of peace, love, harmony, and success towards all who enter our doors.
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Saturday I got up late and went up to the Timothy Eaton Memorial Church on St Claire Ave for the 4th Annual Budd Cup Charity Dodgeball Tournament. This was our team, the Lil’ Dodgers.
That night I went to Jon Schouten’s dinner party where we created the “Paint the Ceiling…Life Preserver” dance.
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Sunday I gave Adrienne this Lady Gaga t-shirt. Sha-BOING!! AAA-ooooooooGAH! Humina-humina-humina!!!
In case you’d forgotten or didn’t know, Adrienne has a great blog called Vanity Farm.
We went to see Nick Flanagan record his comedy album at the Rivoli. The place was packed!! Actually everyone that night was funny. I highly recommend checking out Laugh Sabbath, every Sunday evening at the Rivoli for the best stand up comedy in Toronto!!
I don’t know what it is, but something’s going to happen. Something wonderful…
Nyles Miszczyk (pronounced “Miz-chick”), one of the singer/guitar players in the Job and his girlfriend Emily have a monthly night at Graffitis in Kensington Market. It’s the 3rd Friday of every month for all of 2010, starting this Friday!
Elk, and Invasions were scheduled to play this Friday but Nyles got a call last night informing him that Invasions had “broken up”. Apparently they are too broken up to play the rest of their previously scheduled shows, so the Job are going to play! Fuck you, everybodyyyyy!!!
Graffiti’s Bar & Grill 170 Baldwin Street Toronto ON, Canada M5T 1L8
Elk – 10:45
the Job – 11:30
midnight -> Nyles, Emily and I will be playing records
The Job – “Keep Calm, Carry On” (iphone recorder demo version – Jan 19th, 2010)
Jay Holinaty, the OTHER singer/guitar player (+keyboards) in the Job has a rock and roll dance party (vinyl ONLY) every other Saturday upstairs at Tequila Bookworm.
Cheap drinks, no cover, dimmed lights. It’s a night for starving artists in their mid-20’s to get slutty. Adrienne and I went 2 weeks ago and it was packed!
I know I shouldn’t brag, but I do own copies of these magazines.
They’re insured for $15,000 each and I keep them in a safe.
