Happy New Year, Wifey's Done Good

Happy upcoming New Year everyone. There has not been much going on for me lately but my wife has styled another successful video shoot. It premiered on MuchMusic.com yesterday. The artist is Shiloh and the song is Can't Hold On. Hopefully it does well.

Holding down the Kaiso

Last Thursday I laid down some takes for the Fyahhorns again. The great thing is that there were three tunes they are doing, and I got to use all three of my basses. I got to use the upright on a kaiso tune, my fender jazz for the latin tune, and my G&L for the calypso tune.

There was also a photographer on hand who got this shot. I think she was just trying some of this out between takes. One of the band members was kind enough to get it to me. Me and Esty are sitting between the horns.

From L-R: Nick, Esty, Dwayne, myself, and Kurt.

DUCA Christmas Dinner Volume 2.

November was rather uneventful but tomorrow I play with LJ and Otis for the DUCA Christmas dinner. To see last years posts click here.

Taking Care of Yours

Tomorrow I play at the wedding of one of my good friends from high school. I was asked personally by the bride to get the band that played nuit blanche at the Hollander-York Art Gallery in Yorkville. She happened to be in from out of town when she was living in Alberta and came across us playing in Toronto.

Just a point to make for future brides, everyone should be like her. I'm now going to use words that usually don't get associated with brides and such: calm, trusting, professional, in control (not to be confused with controlling), and on point. She left the music to the musicians so tomorrow it's all grooves and whatever the room will dictate.

I'm looking forward to a great day tomorrow with the guys and am very thankful that my lovely bride friend hooked them up gave me another opportunity to play with them.

Feeling Proud

There are always those times in your life you see an unexpected surprise. I was just minding my business until I came across a video of my favorite guitar student of all time starting to record songs and put them out there for the whole wide world to see.

I'll be honest, I've felt more proud about other instances in my life, but this one is up there, seeing her doing her thing, playing those Cadd9 formations like nobody's business. Way to go sweetie, you rock!!

A Video My Wife Styled

Here is a video from Delhi 2 Dublin called "Tommy." My wife styled it. It's a bit of a chore putting the clothes together but I really like it when she does music videos because I can see the results of her work in the format I understand best.

Saidah Baba Talibah - The Album Pre-order

So there's only a couple days left to pre-order Saidah's record. From what I have heard, it's going to be incredible so I pre-ordered mine yesterday. I'm only slightly biased as we work with some of the same people. But is it bias if she's awesome anyway?

Here is the video for "A Place Called Grace."



Just a little more information on it. It seems that she has released the video with the music being from her "Phone Demos" release, which is fine and it sounds great. But be warned, the version on her debut album (S)Cream will knock you into next week. Don't say I didn't warn you.

A Kick of Mango

While my wife and I were driving home from her parents, she got a call from a friend of hers asking about our friend Chantel being in a McDonald's commercial. We had no idea what she was talking about until we saw the commercial ourselves.

Here it is:

Chantel is the singer on our left side.

Art Gallery of Hamilton

I haven't been to Hamilton in a while, but I was there Saturday to play the cocktail hour of a wedding. The venue was the Art Gallery of Hamilton. The nice thing about playing the cocktail hour is that you do not have people's undivided attention. It's all about atmosphere as friends and relatives have months of catching up to do in the hour or so before dinner. It's also never a bad scene as every wedding I've played has been a joyous occasion. I can't speak for everyone but I'm assuming that's how it's supposed to go. Thanks to Craig and LJ for making it out for this one.

amfAR Cinema Against AIDS Toronto 2010

Sunday I was at the Carlu playing for the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS Toronto 2010 fundraiser. It is put on by Dignitas International out of New York City.

There were stars abound but I didn't recognize ninety percent of them. Because I'm there as a musician and we had to stay in the green room for the evening I didn't get to speak to many "celebrities."

But because I know I'm going to be asked, I'm going to just list my "encounters" if you can even call them that.

In our soundcheck I met Cheyenne Jackson. He plays Danny on the show "30 Rock" and is also now on the show "Glee." He was also performing that night so we discussed where we were all going to be.

Also at our soundcheck, which honestly was more like a line check, I met the keyboard player for Ace of Base. I honestly didn't know they were still around. Again, just more professional talk as we were all making sure the backline people didn't misplace our stuff. I also helped the singer decide how to wear her top. She was having trouble with the belt pack so she allowed me to assist.

Team VAWK. Though Canadian and generally unknown internationally, Sunny Fong made a splash on the second season of Project Runway Canada. Because my wife is on the team that puts together his runway shows every fashion week, I knew he was going to be attending. He was easy to find and it was great to finally meet him.

Kelly Rowland made an impromptu appearance so she needed our green room to get ready. That was cool. Everyone is going to ask, but honestly it was kind of scary because one minute you're watching TV and the next minute a Destiny's Child is standing right behind you. No matter how beautiful she looks on TV, she's extremely beautiful one foot away in real life. So knowing all that, here's how I remember it going down:

Randall to Ms. Kelly: Oh I'm sorry, can you see the TV okay?
Ms. Kelly to Randall: Yeah thanks.
Randall to Ms. Kelly: I'll get up anyway.

Then we stood there and watched the VMA's for five minutes and I was wondering if Craig would have the balls to switch the TV back to the Cowboys/Redskins game. He didn't.

There were other celebrities but I don't really recognize them because they never look the same as how I remember them.

Slakah's B-Boy Beef

Well that was fast. There's news.

Slakah the Beatchild, who I think is probably one of Toronto's greatest young artists, released his video for the single B-Boy Beef yesterday.

My wife and I love the song. Here's the video.

Last Day of August

Announcing some changes at Inside Randall's Pocket.

I can no longer post something everyday. For me personally, that is a good thing because it means I am getting steady work. I also do not want to be one of those people that's all about their blog and everything else is secondary.

Though it is a very nice feeling that people read it, I don't want to be known as that guy with the blog.

This does not mean it's finished. It just means that it will be more quality news than quantity. I'm very busy over the next few months and so are my friends on the scene here. I get so much joy out of broadcasting their good fortune as much as mine.

So I would like to thank everyone that checks in on the regular and encourage you to continue doing so.

Thanks everyone so much for the support.

Randall.

Emmy Awards Highlight (The One)

In my opinion, the Emmy's SUCKED last night.

It started off with a Jimmy Fallon glee spin off. The only problem is, he already did one on his late night talk show, which was better.

The next thing to happen was Neil Patrick Harris got ROBBED of his best supporting actor Emmy. Nothing against the Modern Family guy, but he wasn't really supporting anything on the show. The Barney Stinson character pretty much saved How I Met Your Mother this year.

Then they gave awards out to a whole bunch of made-for-tv movies and miniseries. That's the stuff I tune in to watch for. Wow. Gripping.

But somewhere amidst all of that, Jimmy Fallon paid tribute to some show that had their final seasons this year. It was good, though I thought he stretched a little too far on the Boyz II Men bit.

Here it is, the only thing I liked in the whole show:

Flu Fridays

No post today due to illness.

More Charity with Thompson

Playing last night with Thompson was amazing. It's nice to know that when you play with someone for a while, it doesn't get lost. What I appreciate most about Thompson is that he can call pretty much anyone he wants, but like myself, believes in continuity. I know that's what makes our chemistry great when we play. Unfortunately, it's a philosophy that is not employed by many musicians anymore. Fortunately I know enough great players that can count on me.

In other news, the producers of "Listen to This," the movie that we recorded some songs for, liked some of them so much they decided to include more of them into the TV version of the movie.

And finally, I will be playing an event during the Toronto International Film Festival. It is Cinema Against Aids Toronto 2010. Read up on it. More to come later.

Thompson's Back. TIFF News

Tonight I'm playing with Thompson for the first time since January. I wonder how my upright chops are. I'm going to give a test run this afternoon and then push forward with it.

In other news, Thompson said we may have something big in the works for TIFF. We'll see how that shakes out.

Slakah's Documentary

Let's recap. I love Slakah's Soul Movement Volume One CD. It's a great album that I had on the ipod at work with regularity. Then I got to play with Slakah in Detroit which was awesome. That's when he played the Slakadeliqs project for me and I really loved that. Then I told him I wanted to play for the Slakadeliqs and he almost made it happen last May. I had a really important wedding to attend and could not miss it. Such is life.

He also has a blog he updates once in a while. Check out this incredible documentary about the man they call Slakah.

Also, request his song "What's This Feeling" on Flow 93.5 because if you're listening to that station, you might as well be listening to good music.

Working with Ade Again

My wife had an opportunity I couldn't pass up. It is to put the music together for a video look book. A video look book is kind of like a short film that involves a model showing off the designers goods. In this case it would be Dean Davidson and his jewellery.

There is only one person I would call for this. Ade.

For those who don't know, Adrian is my genius producer friend. The way he sees things in a musical sense is really quite incredible.

So after some back and forth, he put together something after I sent him some files to go from. It's amazing and the project would be crazy to reject it.

Life gets in the way of a lot of crap. I'm glad we're still able to work together. It's the most fun, and the best work.

Too Many Birthdays

Happy birthday to my sister who celebrates her birthday on Sunday. There are way too many birthdays for me to celebrate in August. Maybe that's why it's such a fun month.

So You Want To Be A Musician

Thompson posted this on his Facebook and I thought it should be shared. I would like to note that Thompson is not like this dude, he really does take care of his guys.

GREEN DAY TONIGHT!!

The greatest trio of all time is RUSH. All arguments will not be listened to. However, if one wants to put in a bid for Green Day to be second best all time, I will listen.

I remember going to see them at the Coliseum, which I believe is now called the Ricoh Center for their Dookie Tour in 1994.

My brother has seen them twice. My cousins have seen them. And tonight two of my best friends are going to see them for the first time. I'm so happy for them.

I remember going and hearing this song for the first time, thinking about how much more ass it kicked then the stuff on Dookie, and promptly went out to buy the disc, or tape it off my brother. Once again it was so long ago that CD burning wasn't even that big then, forget about mp3s.

Enjoy.

Champions

Last night my hockey team won the championship. Though I am the worst player on the team, (all of the players are B or C level, I'm a D or E level) I managed to put in a couple key goals.

For my first goal I was in front of the net creating traffic when one of our B level players decided to use his NHL calibre slap shot. It caught me in the stomach, and deflected in a high arc over the helpless goalie into the net. It hurt.

Here's the welt left on my stomach from that shot:

The second goal involved this same player who led me with a pass. I caused the defenceman to over persue me and I used his body as a screen when I unleashed my own rocket of a shot and beat the goalie five hole.

Here's the box score from my best ever game as a player.

I would like to thank my team because though they are way better than me, they brought me along and I'm sure I'm going to be a lot better when I go back to my winter team.

Monday the 16th

I had a great time rehearsing with the Fyahorns yesterday. It's more about the quality time afterwards, usually involving beer, and food. This time we had Chinese, and no beer. It was getting late and we had work in the morning.

I am looking forward to the session on Saturday.

Friday the 13th

This weekend I have a session with the Fyahorns. I love hanging with them but most importantly I'm unveiling the new bass. Andrew Stewart did some work on it for me and I can't wait to hear how it sounds with a whole band going. I'll let you know how it goes next week.

This Family Robinson

Lots of people know Marsha. When it comes to worship at the church I used to attend regularly, she was royalty. No one did it better. She'll be the first to tell you that she is not the most talented, and she is correct in that assessment. She'll also tell you that she doesn't care about skills because she's not thinking about that when she's praising God. She is also correct in that assessment. There was something special whenever she got up there. Playing behind her was easy, and it was an honour to do so.

Her husband Ryan is special to me as well. He always brought the energy and the fire to every service. I had no excuse not to give my best effort because it would show. And he could sing too. It wasn't featured as much but he could get it done. Then one day he was gone. I don't really know what happened, they tend to keep things really hush hush at church. If you ask "Where's Ryan?" you get a generic answer like "He's gone." Well duh. Some of the ministers haven't even realized yet that I don't play there anymore.

Which brings me to this project I was mentioning yesterday. I cannot wait to hear Ryan do his thing again. He came over and dropped some bed tracks for me once and they were incredible. But most importantly, he's a class guy and deserved more credit for his skills and hard work he gave for all those years.

I'm going to post the Christmas video again because many people liked it. Marsha is in the first tune, and Ryan is in the last tune. Oh the memories.....

This Riddim Tim Guy

Last Sunday I went to Jazzy's birthday party. It was an honour to attend as she is on the shortlist of best friends I have.

I was talking to her husband Tim, also a bassist, about a project he was working on. I don't even know if it has a name, but for people that read my blog and know him, Ryan Robinson is most likely going to be a part this project (more on that tomorrow). I really really hope that comes to fruition.

People will probably ask me, why are you throwing names out there. What if it is all hype and the project fizzles. I have three answers for you.

1. It is not hype. This is a real project and it is HOT!!!
2. The project will sizzle, not fizzle.
3. God, gospel, and Toronto need this project.

So if you see Tim or Ryan, fire them up a little because though they don't necessarily need convincing, support is always appreciated. Drop Tim a line on Facebook or on his MySpace.

The Role of Hockey

Last night I found myself in an unfamiliar position while I was playing hockey. I had to be the agitator/enforcer. I have never gotten a single penalty since I started playing. But we're one game away from the championship and the other team started to get chippy. Actually they got really chippy a week prior.

The last game one of their players took me out hard with a slash followed by a charge because we were kicking their ass on the scoreboard. This play really damaged my thumb and I found it really hard to grasp a guitar the next day.

So this week I even looked back at two of my team mates on the ice and said that as soon as one of their guys sticks me I'm going to retaliate and make something of it. I couldn't risk one of our good players being kicked out for the championship final. It was a risk I was going to have to take.

As soon as one of their players sticked me I retaliated and it was on. I had no intention of fighting or anything but I guess the referees didn't know that. Once the perpetrator and myself started tussling I dropped my stick so I wouldn't hurt him. Apparently that's not a wise thing to do and I was warned that if I dropped my gloves there were repercussions.

But it worked.

The other team was focused on swearing at me the whole game. The refs were focused their attention on penalties, and when I explained to the official why I did it, they were cool.

And nobody got hurt.

Despicable Me

Saturday I decided to go to see Despicable Me with my wife and a friend of ours. All I kept hearing about was "IT'S SO FLUFFY!!"

I was surprised by how good the movie was. Pharrell did some of the score and it was fabulous. The storyline was both unexpected and cliche.

I'm a big fan of the supervillainry and the co-inciding plot lines that were introduced in this film. It was for this reason I enjoyed it more than Toy Story 3, though that was special too.

Here's the part everyone's talking about.

Happy Birthday Jazzy.

It's time for another birthday shout out!! Like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, my friend's name is Jazz. Anyway, she is responsible for me playing hockey, and keeping my head on straight. All while having her own kids and doing her own thing. That's what makes a good friend. Anyway, welcome to your fourth decade Jazzy and here's to it being better than the first three.

My Dad's Birthday

Today is my dad's birthday. This is a day I usually go over and make a big deal out of it but this year feels real different. I don't even know where he is at the moment. All I know is that he is on vacation with my mom somewhere, hopefully having a great day. I don't even remember how old he is turning. I guess I'll have to ask him when he gets home. Since I have a couple weeks, I have time to decide what to get him.

This is definitely feeling strange.

Caribana

I love the idea of Caribana. I don't like everything that goes on, but I love the fact that these little island countries have a lot of pride. I always thought Guyana was in South America but I guess Rand McNally hasn't been to Caribana.

It was brought to my attention that a couple of my cousins were going to be dancing in the Caribana parade. I really wanted to go see them but I had to work. They were gracious enough to lend me some pictures for my blog.

I believe the first one here are my cousins right before they went to Glow. Glow is a big Caribana tradition in Toronto where all the attendees wear white. As you can see, the ladies are decked out in their home whites. They would not be let in if they were not wearing them. It is always a big event with many unannounced soca stars blazing up the stage. I'm thankful there were a shot from the shoulders up because these ladies looked a little too good for Inside Randall's Pocket.

This is one of my favourite parts of Caribana. The costumes. A lot of preparation goes into them and they look fabulous. Here are exhibits A and B. I really should have asked them how long it took them to get ready. I really did want to see them in the parade. I tried watching online at CityPulse24.com while I was at work, but I didn't know what colour their team (for lack of a better word) was.

Here are some final thoughts about Caribana. I don't think I'll ever find my way back down to the parade ever again. It's just too crowded and I'm not up for paying $20 for a slice of watermelon. Maybe one day I'll share the story of how I saved my niece from a stampede at the Caribana parade one year and we became really close after that. Also, where was Machel Montano this year. I didn't really hear anything about him. Is he finished?

Catching Up

Because of weeks dedicated to Rush and Steve Nash, there are some things to catch up on. The job with SoJay went really well. It turned out to be a birthday party. That meant delicious food, free drinks, and the highlight of course: getting the birthday boy up to sing a rendition of Nina Simone's "Feeling Good."

By the way, everyone should own that track. So go buy it. Nina Simone - "Feeling Good." You can thank me afterwards.

Flu Fridays

No blog post today due to illness.

Civic Holiday

Due to the Civic holiday in Ontario, Canada, Inside Randall's Pocket will be at his in-laws eating for three hours straight, and then playing in the hockey playoffs later that night.

Thank you.

Steve Nash: Not Going to California, Staying in Phoenix

My brother and I were driving on a family trip, probably around two years ago, when a song came on the radio. We both looked at each other and said, "You know this was the best received Steve Nash song by faaaaar." My sister and sister-in-law were in the back seat and we had to explain to them what we were referring to.

As mentioned yesterday, the band was taking a couple risks with our set selection. I forget whose idea it was to do the song but I know it wasn't me. Nonetheless, I was the one figuring out the guitar parts for them.

I don't know why we did this song. I think it was because there were many girls in attendance recently so we thought we give this tune a shot. For them.

As soon as Drew sang the opening line, they all started cheering and sang along. I had NO IDEA this tune was that so popular at the time we played it. I later found out that due to CANCON regulations, it was the most played Canadian song on radio that year.

Here it is, on a lonely day:

Steve Nash: Helping Those In Need

As we got into more weeks of playing at the London Pub, our confidence grew and we decided to place ourselves into more challenging situations. This one was the most legendary. Jordan had to help a couple underage kids that were coming out weekly. Due to a law in Ontario that was being put into effect, the kids would be no longer able to attend after this week. For their last jam they really wanted to play "Enter Sandman" by Metallica but no one at the bar could sing it.

Jordan gets up from our table and tells us he'll be right back. As he loves kids, Jordan went to the car, popped in the cd, wrote out the lyrics to Enter Sandman. He comes back in with the lyrics, strips down to his wife-beater, puts on his sunglasses, and proceeds to the stage. Drew, Jason, and I are all sitting there going "Oh crap, this is going to be brilliant."

And it was.

The whole pub was rockin out. My brother's voice cracked about five times because he can't sing like James Hetfield. No one cared. The kids loved it. There were high-fives and hand-shakes.

It was exactly how a jam night was supposed to go. So for a little nostalgia, here's a little ol' school ditty by Metallica.

Steve Nash: Push

I forget how we ever chose this song for covering as an acoustic number but it worked out well, though I wonder if some of the patrons thought we were covering this as a joke.

Here's the video:



And as a bonus, here's the episode clip from Beavis and Butthead regarding the same video:

Steve Nash: Love the Song, Can't Stand the Band

For some reason we decided to go with Coldplay for one of our weekly sets. I never minded the tune but I personally always thought the band was "not cool, totally lame." People really appreciated this one. I guess they liked our arrangement of it as it was more acoustical. It got to the point where Doug the drummer would let us play an extra song if it was "Yellow," and courtesy of Parlophone.

The Name's Nash, Steve Nash

Late last week this girl I know posted some of the lyrics to "Hanging by a Moment" by the band Lifehouse as her Facebook status. Why do people do that anyway? Write lyrics as a status.

It got me talking about a band I was in around the turn of the century called Steve Nash. My brother Jordan was on vocals and guitar, my friend Drew was also on vocals and guitars. I was on upright bass. My friend Jason was the support. The house drummer for the London Pub jam night was Doug.

We went every Tuesday for months. People knew who we were and called for the songs they loved hearing us do.

So to kick off Steve Nash week on the blog, here's a video I'm throwing out to lady Lindsey and her Facebook statuses. One of the Steve Nash classics, courtesy of Geffen Records.

SoJay at Tryst

Tomorrow I'm playing with SoJay. Her website is currently undergoing renovations so I'll get at it later. We are playing at Tryst on Peter Street by King.

I'll let you know how it goes next week.

What I think about on the altar during a sermon.

Due to the amount of "Rush-ness" that has overtaken my blog, it's time to get back to what's been going on.

Last Saturday I had the extreme pleasure of playing with Steve Henry. He is one of the best piano/organ guys I've ever played with. His chord movements and structures are really creative. More importantly, he's a good guy and I love hanging with him. His wife too. Great people.

The message was long and I had worked a whole day, so my mind started to wander up there. So here's what I was thinking. I don't know why, but I was.

Steve Henry vs. Chuck Norris. Let's go.

1) If I was captured by terrorists and forced to watch the Twilight Trilogy, who would I rather watch it with. Steve 1, Chuck 0.

2) Who would I rather have a drink with? Steve 2.5, Chuck 0. Steve gets an extra bonus .5 just in case his wife decides to come too.

3) When I'm getting my ass kicked, who could I turn to. Steve 4, Chuck 1. Chuck would clean house for sure, but Steve would get one point for praying for me, and an extra bonus .5 for laying hands over my beaten self.

4) Really, how am I gonna get a good laugh from Chuck? Steve 5, Chuck 1.

It's already over. Steve wins 5-1 over the one-dimensional Chuck Norris.

Oh wait, it's time to play "Glorify Thy Name" and wrap it up. See you next time.

RUSH: I LOVE YOU MAN (THE SEQUEL)

At the end of the show last week (I can't believe that was 8 days ago already) a video was being played as fans were walking out of the venue. It is basically a continuation of "I Love You Man," the movie where Paul Rudd and Jason Segel play die hard Rush fans.


Enjoy.

RUSH on Hollywood Walk of Fame!!

Rush. They don't suck. People may not like them for some reason and say they suck, but they don't. You don't get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by sucking.

Congratulations to the band and on a personal note:

Alex Lifeson and his family have been really good to me. Whenever I needed a request, they have went beyond accommodating me whenever they could, on many occasions. It is so nice to see such a great person be recognized in this way. Not many people can claim to have both the highest civilian honour in their country, as well as a star on the most celebrated sidewalk in the world. Enough said.

RUSH: THE ENCORE

Rush is too good to only have one week dedicated to them, so I'm going a little overtime.

Here is a clip from the Snakes and Arrows tour of Lil' Rush doing the Tom Sawyer intro.

Enjoy.

RUSH WEEK: THE CONCLUSION

Here is a clip of Alex Lifeson talking about his Hughes & Kettner cabinets he is using on the Time Machine Tour. Very interesting stuff. Video is courtesy of Hughes & Kettner.

RUSH: A PICTORIAL

Photographer Sara Collaton took some great high quality shots of the show and they appear on her site.

Check it out.

RUSH: THE REVIEW

Last night was Rush and they were awesome. When you watch the stage you forget they are 60. They could be collection a pension but they choose to rock harder and better than most of these younger bands.

The show easily went over three hours and it was all about their music. No openers, no presentations for World Vision (ie. Fred Hammond), no thirty minute rant by Geddy telling me how to live my life only to go and do the opposite (ie. Tye Tribbett), and most importantly, they didn't mail it in like so many artists do.

About the song selection. When a band like Rush is going 35 years strong on making great tunes, you can't put all the favorites into three hours. So subtract approximately 40 minutes to play moving pictures and you've got approximately 32-33 years of music to play in 2 hours and 20 minutes. But I have to say they pretty much nailed it. I didn't prefer every song but they show isn't the "Rush plays whatever Randall wants to hear" tour. Let's break it down.

SET ONE (11/11, a perfect score)

1. Spirit of Radio - Been there and done that, however, with the new video intro that was very entertaining it worked. I was very pleased with the opening.

2. Time Stand Still - I love this song so I was excited to see them do it.

3. Presto - I didn't really know why this song made it in the set but I remembered how they used to play "Bravado" a lot and was just thankful I didn't have to hear that one.

4. Stick it Out & 5. Working Them Angels - These songs rock out hard.

6. Leave That Thing Alone is my favorite instrumental that they do.

7. Faithless - I have to be honest. I don't really remember this one.

8. BU2B - A great new song from their upcoming album.

9. Free Will - This was up there with one of my top performances of the night.

10. Marathon - This is one of my favorite Rush songs of all time. I really liked how they came out of the guitar solo near the end. I was thinking to myself it would be really cool if they did that, and then they did. I always appreciate it when that happens.

11. Subdivisions - A lot of people love this song. I'm only lukewarm to it. My friend went and used the facilities during this song as the intermission was imminent. A great call by him.

SET TWO (9/11)

1. Moving Pictures Album - Loved everything except Camera Eye and Vital Signs. Rush has never played Camera Eye before this tour. I'm thinking there's a reason for that. I would rather hear tunes like Xanadu, or Jacob's Ladder before Camera Eye. Vital Signs I'm not big on either.

2. Caravan - I believe this is the first single from their upcoming album. I really like this tune.

3. Love 4 Sale/Closer to the Heart - There was a time when I would dread this part of the concert. Rush used to play Closer to the Heart EVERY time. After a while I would like to hear something else. They retired it for a number of years and brought it back, and it was nice to hear it again.

4. 2112/Temples of Syrinx - Fantastic. I'm glad they put this in there.

5. Far Cry - This is my favourite song from the last album so I'm glad I got to see it live.

ENCORE (2/2) Another perfect score.

1. La Villa Strangiato and 2. Working Man are classics that were well executed.

OVERALL

The albums Fly By Night, Caress of Steel, Grace Under Pressure, Test For Echo, and Vapour Trails were not represented in set this tour.

RUSH TONIGHT!!

Tonight I go to the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto to see the greatest band ever, our hometown heroes, RUSH!! I would like to thank my friend the2scoops for the ticket hookup.

As with any Rush show, the set list is of utmost importance. So you can find it here.

I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.

RUSH WEEK IS HERE!!!

To celebrate the two shows being played this week by the greatest band alive, Inside Randall's Pocket is going Rush for the next five days. All Rush, all the time.

Today I'm going to start off with the first ever Rush song I learned how to play.

I was in grade nine and had started playing the bass the year before. I had already gotten used to playing with U2's "The Joshua Tree," and INXS' "Kick," until a drummer named Andrew Little who was in grade twelve, told me to buy a Rush record. He said I would not regret it, and I haven't.

I had no concept of time changes or anything difficult at this point in my life so I just went ahead and learned the first song that was on the first record that I bought, "The Big Money" from the live double LP "A Show of Hands."

Here's the clip from the video release that coincided with it. It is now available on DVD as "A Show of Hands."

Go Netherlands!!

Sunday is the World Cup final. My mom was born in the Netherlands. I do not know much about the Netherlands outside of the general stereotypes and World War II history. But if Holland were to prevail, I made a promise to myself that I would go over to Uithoorn as that's where my mom lived. My wife is adament that I go over at some point so I figure that a world cup victory would be as good a reason as any, family history aside.

I remember watching the Netherlands teams when I was younger but I remember most the era of Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, and Edwin VanDerSar.

If the current team of Van Persie, Van Bronkhorst, Sneijder, and Robben can get it done, I see myself kicking around a soccer ball there on a local field and putting one in top corner. We'll see what happens.

Go Netherlands.

Public Service Announcement

With all this humidity going on this week. I'm asking that everyone be patient with each other. There is nothing I cannot stand more than someone losing it for no reason. Actually, losing it for the stupidest reason is probably worse so we'll go with that.

Too many times when the weather gets like this people get impatient.

So can we all just take a deep breath and realize that we do have that extra five minutes to get done what we need too.

If you don't have that five minutes, you shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Zeus's Music Video: How Does It Feel

My wife had the opportunity to be the stylist for the band Zeus when they shot their video for their tune "How Does It Feel." All I remember about the experience is spending a Sunday looking for white jackets, and pants, and shirts.

I think she managed to secure a ninja costume somehow.

Anyway, the result is here, courtesy of Arts and Crafts (that would be their label):

Tye Tribbett Sighting

I remember Tye Tribbett. He had this great album called Victory that encompassed a variety of musical styles and blended them together like no one before, or since.

Then I decided to go to a show of his. He spewed off some crap out of his mouth saying that he could smell the moral stench of Toronto from the airplane when he was flying in. Whatever dude.


I guess he knows what that smells like, being the epitome of morality himself. You can check some of the rumours here. I call them rumours because when he could have addressed them, he just punked out like a little bee-otch instead of manning up.

Before he was "allegedly" caught, he put out a very bland follow up album compared to the genius Victory album.

Back to the punking out part; he disappeared. Generally I would have no problem with this but if you're man enough to run your mouth about how other people should run their lives, you should address yours.

But I found him.

On fathers day my brother and I were sitting in church and he asked me if Tye Tribbett was that cool choir guy that I liked. Totally stunned he would remember, I said yeah. He told me Tye was performing at the Ottawa Blues Festival.

I was happy to hear it. I was reading on the web that Tye disbanded his choir and was trying to re-invent himself. If you go to his website you'll see the evidence. That is good because after that crappy attempt at rock music that was all over the last G.A. album, I could use a re-invention.

The Ottawa Bluesfest link is here.

Let's raise our glasses for this toast:

To Tye Tribbett, may less crap come out of his mouth and more good music go in it.

Detroit: The People

I would like to thank the great people of Detroit for always being so nice. Your town takes a lot of crap from everyone but yet you still treat everyone with such class. I know this probably isn't true of everyone but I've bumped into my fair share of citizens and I've never had one complaint.

So thanks. And you will see me again soon. Hopefully with some money to support the economy.

It's a long drive

Tomorrow I drive to Detroit, and then back on Sunday. Finding the best driving directions is essential, but even more important is the tunes for the drive.

I decided to go with Green Day to start off. I'm only going with tunes from the first four records. I'm following that up with a Morcheeba/Skye mix. There are some nice grooves for the open road once Green Day is finished.

On the way home I made a huge King's X mix. I aim to make it all the way home with that mix. We'll see how far we get. I put 51 King's X songs on one tape, and I love all of them.

OH CANADA

Due to the birthday of the greatest country in the world, there will be no Inside Randall's pocket today.

35

Today is my birthday. Tonight I go to the Keg with my wife for my annual birthday steak.

Detroit, Round 2

I am going again to Detroit. This time it is to play at a conference. It was kind of a last minute thing so we'll see what it entails. Now I have to go learn songs.

Played the Jazz Festival Three Years Running

Friday turned out amazing. We ended up driving to Finch and then taking the subway to the show. As per usual, Craig and I were the first ones there so we went to our trailer that was waiting for us.

Before our sound check we went to a bar, which promptly told us it was last call at 5:45pm due to the heavy accumulation of protesters on University Avenue.

So we went back, did our sound check, put on our duds, and rocked the house. This is the first show I ever did in sunglasses and I really liked it. My Kool-Moe-Dee's allowed me to see the crowd, instead of glare from stage lighting.

The crowd was very into the show. That's the good thing about general admission shows. We played to a great crowd because they all wanted good seats for Maceo Parker.

Maceo was fantastic. I'm not one of those kind of people that go around telling everyone that funk legend Maceo Parker talked to me, but he did. All that goes on in those kind of conversations is an exchanging of hellos, and then you go on with your life. We rocked, he rocked. Life goes on.

We stayed for the whole thing, ate our street meat, and then went home the same way we came.

Then I went to work the next morning.

Busy Day Today

Today I'm not going to say much as there is a lot to do:

1) Drive my wife to work.
2) Clean out the car.
3) Wash the dishes.
4) Assemble my suit bag of stage attire
5) Assemble my bass
6) Get Lunch
7) Go to work

I'll let you know how it turned out on Monday.

Maceo Parker

Tomorrow Lori opens for Maceo Parker. This is going to be great. Maceo was a part of the JB's so just to be in the same room as him is going to be a thrill. I love horns. Wow, I'm so excited. Here is a clip of one of my favourite Maceo joints.

Drake. Love him or not, he's Canadian.

I find myself pulling for Drake. I'll be honest, I wasn't too thrilled with his appearance at the Grammy's. That was my first real chance I got to see who he was.

Before that, the only thing I had heard of him was that he was rumoured to be with Rhianna. I really hope it was true for the brief time that was news.

Then came the Sprite commercial where he wasn't feeling it. And neither was I. Established icons like Grant Hill or LeBron James get Sprite commercials, not unproven rappers that don't even have records out.

But then it changed. Adrian (Bent) started playing drums for him. Drake then started giving props to Slakah (the Beatchild). I've met Adrian, and have many friends who know him. And if you read my blog you know what I think of Slakah.

Then I realized that the better Drake does, so does everyone else. So bring it home big fella, if you're feeling it or not.

My First Tuesday Night at home in a while

There have been some complications with the gig at Alter Ego. Most of my fears from my previous post have come to fruition. So right now they are suspending all of the Tuesday gigs and trying to find a spot where we fit into their weekly schedule. In layman's terms, they are trying to find a night where they can make enough money to pay us, but is not too busy where they wouldn't need us anyway.

It seems like they are trying to use live music to make immediate money on it. That is the first mistake. Everyone knows, correction, almost everyone knows you don't make money off of live music until you have established yourself as a venue for live music. You can't just throw a band up there and expect all their friends to show up.

For example, I'm not in high school or college for that matter. At my age, people have jobs and responsibilities so to depend on their attendance on a weekly basis because their friend is in a band is ridiculously naive. Also, most of their money is allocated even before they make it (ie. mortgages, cars, etc.) so even if they show up, they're not spending a lot. And rightfully so.

Anyway, I will let you know when we're back on.

Father's Day

This post goes out to my pops. One of the greatest things about my dad is that he always wants me to release my inner rock-star, even to this day. As part of that we have been to many shows together. To show his awesomeness I am going to list some artists we have seen together. These are the ones that immediately come to mind, there are more:


Bad Company
The Choir
Earth Wind and Fire
Buddy Guy
The Jeff Healey Band
Colin James
B.B. King
King's X (four or five times)
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant
Joe Satriani
Screaming Trees
Soul Asylum
The Spin Doctors
Stevie Ray Vaughan

New Addition to the Family

Earlier this week some co-workers of mine set up a seven string guitar to a really kickin' Mesa Boogie amplifier because we were joking around and they wanted me, as a bass player, to release my inner-metal-angst. It was a lot of fun and I think I did pretty good because the seven string guitar has a low B on the bottom, just like a five string bass does. This made it easy to play those heavy riffs I love so much.

I had to have this kind of guitar so I set one aside for me to pick up. Because I am not the next John Petrucci, I decided to go a little smaller and pick up an Ibanez AX7221 (see below). It plays really good and all the guys at work were really excited for me.

It's also nice to pick up because I've been quietly working on some projects over the last few years that are starting to come to fruition. It all starts with opportunity.

Gettin Ready

Tonight is another rehearsal with Lori and family. We're getting ready to play the jazz festival on the 25th in support of Maceo Parker. Here is the first ever tune I played with her at the Canadian Musician 30th Anniversary Bash. This footage was recorded by Wavstudios.

2010: The Shows

This year I plan to go to a bunch of shows, thanks to my best friend winning a seasons tickets to the Molson Amphitheatre this summer. Two big dates really stand out for me.

July 13 - RUSH One of the greatest bands ever returns home for a visit. I'll be there.

September 18 - Alice in Chains One of the top Seattle bands ever. Definitely my favourite but I will listen to arguments for Heart and Pearl Jam. If there's enough time, I will listen to an occasional argument for Soundgarden.

2010: The Gear So Far

This year has been exciting not only for the jobs, and the new music that's come out; but also for the gear that I've picked up.

If you read my previous post on gear you'll see the bass and the pedal I've picked up. I have not picked up the Genz Benz head yet. I have some things to add to that list.

First, I have put the DR Marcus Miller strings on my Fender.

Second, I am picking up a Peterson Sonuus B2M. It is a bass signal to MIDI converter. I have some ideas I want to try with it so we'll see.

2010: The music so far ....

To continue from Friday, 2010 has been a great year for music. Well, for me at least.

The CD's I have picked up have all been incredible.

I found out that Alice in Chains had a new album. It's very good.
I was introduced to a band named Transatlantic, and their album "The Whirlwind" is incredible.
Monica came out with a very nice album that I like.
I was introduced to a young lady named Janelle Monae. She has two records out now and she's the first singer to really knock me on my ass since Lauryn Hill's miseducation album.
Morcheeba got wise and brought Skye back on board. Their album is pretty good.
Massive Attack has a new release which is a very nice listen. It was nice to hear the singer from TV on the Radio, a band I really like, on their first track.

That's all nice and everything but there's more.

I have pre-ordered the latest release from The Choir. I can't wait until that comes in the mail.
I just got my hands on the new Fyahhorns and de Brigade disc. It's pretty good.
Damon Alexander and the Ten Cent Rentals are coming out with a new disc I'm getting shortly.
Ayah is coming out with her project with DJ Jazzy Jeff. This album is going to be incredible.
The Slakadeliqs record is currently being mastered as we speak. I can't wait to get my hands on that.

That's all I can think of for now. There's more. It's been a great year, and there's still half of it left.

2010: The Year of Musical Rebirth

Whenever you go to certain churches, their ministers always decree something. It would sound something like this. 2008, the year of Harvested Abundance. You get the drift. Everyone around church will then go "Boy in 2008 I'm really going to get me some Harvested Abundance."

For me, it seems to be going like this: 2010, the year of musical rebirth.

I should have known, the very first seconds of 2010 I was on stage with some of the people I love most. Then I played on a musical soundtrack for a hit movie at Hot Docs. Then I kind of joined a soca band that just finished their first CD. Now I'm getting ready to play for the girl that's opening for Maceo Parker at the Jazz Festival here in Toronto.

That's just for starters.

I'll get into all the great Cd's I've got this year already on Monday.

I'll Always Find Out.

Today I found out my wife was hiding something from me.

It started back last week when I was recording some original r&b/hiphop lines for a friend of mine. It was brought to my attention that my style of bass playing fits very well into the "Atlanta" style of this new R&B stuff such as Andre 3000, and B.o.B. B.o.B. is the dude that sings "Created A Monster" on the video game Madden 10. I LOVE that song.

Upon further discussion another name was also mentioned, Janelle Monae. I had to research her this week for a job I have coming up at the end of June. I wish it was playing for her but I can only dream. I've been hearing some rumblings about her recently so I was looking forward to checking her out.

I decided to look up one of her first videos called "Many Moons."

For those who don't know me let me tell you what I am a sucker for:

1. black hair creativity - I love black hairstyles, the creativity is fascinating.
2. pant-suits - I love a woman in a pantsuit, that is kryptonite for me.
3. slick dance moves - I'm not into these dance reality shows. Real dancers don't need to take their feet off the ground.
4. creative vocal harmonies - I love vocal layering and arranging.

We'll leave it at that.

While I'm watching this video, I ask my wife, "Have you heard of a girl named Janelle Monae?" She replied that she's heard of her from a long time. I asked why she kept her from me. Oh the hurt, oh the hurt.

Roll the clip (courtesy of http://www.jmonae.com/).

Monica sings National Anthem at NBA Finals

I wonder who's idea it was to have background singers accompany Monica to sing The Star Spangled Banner last night. I don't know whether Monica is more beautiful or talented, but I do know is that those background singers made her sound "not cool, totally lame."

I just wished that they would have let her have some class and go out there and sing it by herself. I hope it wasn't her idea. That would suck.

I'm not even going to put it up. It's on YouTube if you want a chuckle.

NEW MORCHEEBA with SKYE ON VOCALS!!!

Today is a special day for all people that are fans of the original Morcheeba lineup. They release their first album with Skye Edwards as the lead vocalist for the first time since 2002. Eight years is a long time. A lot has happened to me in eight years. Ironically my life is coming around full circle so it is fitting to me personally that Skye should be back singing with Morcheeba.

You can see one of my other posts containing the video of World Looking In. To celebrate, I'm putting up their new video Even Though, courtesy of PIAS Recordings. Enjoy.

Andrew Stewart's 30th Birthday Jam Bash

I was invited by Andrew to go to his birthday bash at Chalker's Pub and Billiards on Friday night. It essentially was a celebration of his first 30 years and of the people that got him there. I am not one of those people though I wouldn't mind being one of the guys who gets him to 50 and beyond.

I will say, after going to this event, I know him a lot better now than I did on Thursday. It turns out that we know a lot of the same people. I spent the evening chatting the majority of the time, and listening to some great music provided by Andrew and his all-star calibre cast of friends.

I really should go to more of these things. Hopefully he has a 31st bash.

Procrastination

I moved in October and haven't still set up my office yet. I don't know if that's a bad thing or a good thing, but if I had to guess I'd say it's a bad thing.

So my goal this weekend is to do some serious cleanup and get some things done.

See you Monday.

New RUSH!!

If you go to your preferred digital download store of choice, you can download the two new Rush tracks that will be coming on their upcoming album. Also, these tunes will be played on their Time Machine tour this summer.

Stay tuned for RUSH week on Inside Randall's Pocket sometime in July

Alter Ego, The Update

I am still doing Tuesday nights playing for Lily Ostos at Alter Ego in Streetsville. Last night was no exception. Actually there was one exception: our sax player was destroying everything he was playing. That is not only a good thing, but a great thing.

Last week it was the keys guy destroying simple standards and turning them into musical gold.

Who will it be next week?

Come and find out at Alter Ego between 9 and 11pm on Tuesdays.

A Family Channel Moment

I am one of the worst hockey players in our league. I said "one of" because I am not the worst. For years I played on a team which continually got our asses kicked. Ask my wife, she came until she couldn't take it any more. This summer I am on a new team. I still play badly but the team is better so last night presented me with an awkward situation.

We played a team that I feel is worse than the team I played on. I didn't know how to feel about it. We beat them 41-5. I thought I had my first ever hat trick with a supposed four goal game. I will admit it was a little uncomfortable scoring 41 goals on someone. One of the goalies on the team I previously played on committed suicide so those feelings were creeping in the back of my head.

As I skated around I remembered going to the funeral, and then playing a gig at the Supermarket right after. It was odd. Then the game ended and my new team got its first win of the season.

The league removed the last 17 goals we scored in the third period from their records. I guess it was punishment for running up the score. So I ended up with two goals. No hat trick.

But we won.

A Simple Question

Why do people send their loved one's personal messages on a public forum? First of all, if I'm your friend, I will already know most of the drivel that is being spewed.

Yes I know Wifey A loves spending her life with Hubby A because YOU WOULDN'T HAVE MARRIED HIM IF YOU DIDN'T!!!

I know when Hubby B's birthday is because 1) I'm his friend and should know the approximate day it falls on, and 2) Facebook will tell me anyway. So why does Wifey B need to send a Facebook message to wish him a happy birthday.

Is she so insecure in her relationship that she feels she has to do it? She doesn't know how to leave a nice message that is hand written on the kitchen table? Is she to lazy to roll over and say "Good Morning, Happy Birthday honey?"

Wifey C gets a message from Hubby C saying that she's the best. Why. Shouldn't she already know that vital piece of information?

So from now on, anyone who posts a personal message is going to be deleted from all my public forum accounts. Boy I can't wait to lose some weight.

Slakah, Ebrahim, and Tingsek tonight at Lula Lounge

Tonight there's a show I really want to be at but most likely won't be able to make it. It's at the Lula Lounge and it's featuring Slakah the Beatchild, Ebrahim, and Tingsek. I have to say it's going to be a great show. I played with Slakah in Detroit and had a lot of fun. He sent me the tunes to do these shows but I couldn't make it due to being in one of my best friends' wedding this same weekend. What are the odds? Really .....

I really thing everyone should check out this show. I've heard the tunes they're going to do and they're great. As soon as I put on Tingsek's "Good Way of Life" my wife asked who it was because she really liked it.

I'm telling you, go to this show. It's only ten bucks at the door. I've spent countless dollars on shows that charge more than twice as much for less than half the talent that will be on the stage that night.

So people: Slakah, Ebrahim, Tingsek, Lula Lounge, 15 bucks. Be there.

NHL Conference Final Roundup/Stanley Cup Prediction

Well the Conference Finals have ended, and so has the question of who could get more picks right. I went 1 and 1. Meaning A. Rambles cannot catch me. But to finish it off, I will say that the Philadelphia Flyers will be Stanley Cup Champions this year.

Finally Saw It.

Through the generosity of director Juan Baquero, I was finally able to see the movie "Listen to This" on Sunday. I am very proud to associated with Thompson regardless but when I saw this movie about how the foundation he created helped those little girls sing their own songs, my wife and I were blown away.

It is a little strange watching the film because I knew about a lot of the things that were going on for the program because I play with Thompson a lot during the summer while this is actually going on. I guess it gives the film a more personal perspective than the average viewer, but it really made the movie interesting.

We were both filled with pride. We are proud of the girls. We are proud of the Thompson T. Egbo Egbo Arts Foundation.

It was such an honour that I got to be included on this. You can hear my bassin' on the song that plays during the opening and closing credits. The movie will be on TV Ontario later this year.

The Weekend Update

Here are the results from my long weekend.

In Little Big Planet we have beat some kind of wedding level and moved on to a Mexican level of some sort.

In Rock Band 2, we ordered for songs for download. They were Hier Kommt Alex by Die Toten Hosen, Smooth Criminal by AFI, This is a Call by Foo Fighters, and We Die Young by Alice in Chains. We are also getting to the point where we have to play the harder levels that won't let us play on easy. She doesn't like that so much.

On Sunday we went to church. The music was fine I guess. The choir was fantastic. But she didn't like the vibe so unfortunately I don't think we'll be going back, and the search continues.

The football game went great. I had a couple injuries but even so, I was asserting my dominance on the defence. It was nice to know I can outrun younger athletic players with a swollen knee and a pulled quadricep. And yes, I caught a few balls.

But the weekend also contained a nice treat that I wasn't expecting. More on that tomorrow.

Happy Victoria Day.

To celebrate the Queen's Birthday, Inside Randall's Pocket is taking the day off, because I'm lazy.

Long Weekend

This long weekend I plan to do a lot of PS3 playing with the wife. I have two games that she loves playing. One is Rock Band. Actually Rock Band 2, and the other is Little Big Planet.

On a side note, guess who bought little big planet right before the price dropped and lost $25. I hate when that happens.

Every time we play Rock Band 2 we order new songs to try out. So we'll see what's out there and rock away.

Also this weekend I have to attend a church where the music director is somewhat interested in my services. I have to say, ever since people found out I wasn't playing regularly on a Sunday any more, there has been a lot of interest in what I've been doing lately. It's definitely flattering but strange.

But I won't attend or regularly play at a church that my wife isn't comfortable being a part of so that's why we have to go. I can go anywhere that pays me but with Church it's a little different.

And finally this weekend, on the Monday, it's the long weekend football game I was invited to be a part of. The last two times I went I didn't get the ball thrown to me and I left. The last time I left it was a little legendary. Lots of cussing and Randy Moss antics, just like the jersey I wear when I play (Raiders, #18, Moss).

So there will be a lot of drama this weekend. Will work make me to tired to do all this stuff? How will church go? Will we pass a level in LBP? Which songs will be purchased as DLC for RB2? Will I catch a pass, or better yet, will they throw me the ball? Stay tuned for the answers.

Zeus

Tuesday my wife styled a video shoot for the band Zeus. The song was "How does it feel." You can check the song out here.

I don't know if Zeus is even aware of this, but their message board has spam on it with a rap mix tape that is embedded in the message so you have to go down and turn it off. It's so annoying. No wonder nobody likes MySpace anymore.

The Best Songs of All Time

Everyone is different, but we all have songs we call "the best of all time." These make our top tier. There are hundreds of good to great songs on every one's list, but not on the best of all time list.

I have thought long and hard about how to determine what should be on my list. I have standards that I have set for albums, and people would be very surprised at what rises to the top once all the "data is calculated" so to speak. But I think I have finally figured out how to determine what songs make the cut.

Ipods have enabled everyone to put their entire musical life on a device the size of a mini calculator. This means the songs range from "best of all time" to "crap I should never have put on here." Sometimes these songs could be on the very same album. Having everything in one place really helps determine what should be on top.

Essentially the list comes down to whether I would skip over this song to get to the next one when the ipod is on shuffle mode. There could be a number of reasons for this. The song could be too long. I could not be in the mood for a specific song so I skip it. But there are songs I listen to every time, EVERY time, because I love them so much. These would be the greatest.

So next time you've got the ipod on shuffle, try and think about whether you would ever skip over the tune you are currently listening to.

Comment from last Friday.

Here's a comment that was left:

the2scoops said...

I've been looking to try Buca for a few months. I may have to schedule a return trip for you & Tricia. Great that you got to meet Juan - there was an article in the Star on Saturday. It's in Corey Mintz's column FED, which is basically listening in on a dinner party he throws. It was Juan and a couple of teachers having dinner and talking about, well, the same things you talked about. http://www.thestar.com/living/food/article/808939--mintz-for-teachers-it-s-music-that-feeds-the-soul.

It's a good article so check it out.

NHL Round 2 Round Up/Conference Finals

The cross-border battle between me and Rambles is almost over, mostly because I went 4-0 in the last round, and he went 1-3. He is not mathematically eliminated. We can still tie, and there is a chance that can happen as we are picking the opposites again this round.

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Montreal Canadiens
Aaron says Montreal.
I say Philly (though I will be cheering for Montreal).

San Jose Sharks vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Aaron says Chicago.
I say San Jose.

Let the battles commence.
See you next round.

Great Times at Buca

Thursday is "date night." Yes, Steve Carell and Tina Fey are not the only married couple that try to go out once a week. This involves my wife and I catching a movie, or doing something together.

Thursday was action packed. We decided to go see Iron Man 2 in IMAX before heading downtown to dine a Buca, this new Italian restaurant. We decided to go there because Tricia wanted to see Thompson while he was in town. Meeting with him is great, but we got a surprise guest as well.

Juan Baquero is the director of the movie "Listen to This," the one about Thompson's music program. My wife and I were completely fascinated talking to him about the filming process, and listening to him reveal how he had to choose footage from specific scenes he shot to tell the story properly. I cannot wait to see this movie.

The food was fantastic and the price point was very favourable to us. I would recommend going there. That would be Buca.

Cover

There are many meanings to the word cover. The one that comes to mind for me, for example, would be "The Saints won and covered the -7.5 point spread." The other one that comes to mind is paying cover at the door of an establishment.

Unfortunately that's what happened to a friend and I when we decided to check out the Project Sound jam night at Alleycatz yesterday evening.

I got there first so I decided to go in and wait. I was stopped at the door and I saw a till. I'm thinking "There no bleeping way Alleycatz is charging a cover on a Wednesday night." It says right on their door the days they charge a cover, and Wednesday was not on there.

So I asked the lady at the door, "Is there really a cover for a jam night?" She politely replied that it was five bucks. I asked "Why?" as it was a dead Wednesday so the lady asked me if I was one of Karen's friends and if I was on the list. I explained that I don't know Karen and I have to make a phone call.

I called my friend and laughed that we had to pay a cover for this event. Then I paid and went inside.

I walked into what seemed a lifeless chasm. The Project Sound house band was fantastic but the place was less than half full. I'd say it was more like a third, of a section of the place. I guess that's what happens when you charge cover for your jam night.

Not many people were drinking and I got to thinking that most of the people there were probably on the list. This made me realize that we were probably funding this event with our drink orders and cover.

Maybe I've forgotten how this works, but I thought I was supposed to be entertained if I pay a cover. I didn't even last a full set before I realized it was better to get home.

Darkman

Last Saturday I went to a co-worker's 30th birthday party. It was a hero costume themed party so I decided to go as Darkman.

The great thing about working where I do now, is that almost all the people in my department are younger than me. This is a far cry from my previous employment where I was one of the youngest by a fair margin.

The downside to this young staff is that only one of them knew who Darkman was, the birthday boy. So for all those under 30, here's the bare-bones synopsis of Darkman:


















Darkman was a movie from Universal Pictures that came out in 1990. Click the link for all the info about it.

I remember it being a big deal when it came out. It was heavily promoted and I went to go see it on June 30th, which is a big release day for movies, and also my birthday.

There are Darkman action figures, pins, t-shirts, comics, cd soundtracks, collectible cards, and nintendo games all floating around somewhere in the world of online auctions.

The party was a lot of fun and as I am a newer employee to the company, I was grateful to receive the invitation. I hope I pulled my weight as Darkman.

Listen to This

Now that the movie has been successfully screened at Hot Docs, I've decided to put up one of the takes that Thompson and I recorded in January.

It can be found at my MySpace page. I called it Take 7 on my jukebox player thingy.

We recorded this live off the floor in one take. He was a couple rooms over but I could see his head. I'm used to following him so it was just a matter of decrypting the napkin that was on my music stand at the time. He had actually just wrote down some ideas on a napkin and we were trying them all out.

I don't know if this actually made the movie, but it was my personal favorite take from the sessions.

Toronto Jazz Festival 2010

Thursday I mentioned that I will be playing as part of the TD Toronto Jazz Festival for the third year in a row. This year is going to be awesome because I am playing for Lori again. It is on June 25th and I think we're on at 7pm. She is opening in support of Maceo Parker. It features most of the usual suspects so I hope to see you there.

Mother's Day

To all the good moms that read my blog, and the ones that don't (like my mom), I would like to thank you for the excellent job you have done.

To all the kids that think you have a terrible mom when you really don't, shut up and show some respect at least one day of the year, on Sunday.

Toronto Jazz Festival, Again

It has been confirmed that I will be playing as part of the TD Toronto Jazz Festival.

Two years ago I played on the Danforth with Thompson at Lolita's Lust.

Last year I played on Roncesvalles with Starry Nights at Gate 403.

This year it happens again, but I'll fill you in next week.

Sonar 8 Producer

A couple of weeks ago I attended an all day session with Roland Canada. One of the coolest things I learned was that Cakewalk was still around. Back when I was in high school, Cakewalk was a MIDI sequencing program much like Cubase or Logic. It is now called Sonar and after I was telling one of the folks at Roland how I used Cakewalk in the early 90s, and was blown away by how far this technology has come, he hooked me up with my very own copy.

I will be installing it next week and I'm sure I will be addressing all the cool things I will be trying out on it, but until then, I'd like to thank Roland Canada for getting me a copy.

Listen to This

A couple months ago I mentioned that I did some soundtrack recordings that were for a movie called "Listen to This." It is about Thompson and his foundation, the "Thompson T. Egbo-Egbo Arts Foundation." Go to this link, click on "our story" and watch the video, it's pretty cool.

The movie was based on this 9 minute clip.

Unfortunately I can't go see it so I hope to get my hands on a copy so I can see it.

Hockey Playoffs, Round Two

Happy May everyone!! I'm loving the hockey playoffs and the tight race with my good friend A. Rambles. The score is currently tied at four heading into round two.

So now let's take a look at round two, shall we:

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens
Aaron says Pittsburgh
I say Montreal

Boston Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Aaron says Boston
I say Philadelphia

San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings
Aaron says Detroit
I say San Jose

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vancouver Canucks
Aaron says Chicago
I agree

So we are different on three of the four series. This is going to be good.

Hockey Playoffs, Round One Review

Time to put round one to bed and start on round two.

Let's recap. I'm in a friendly rivalry with my good friend A. Rambles to see who can get more playoff series predictions correct. Let's review round one.

Montreal defeated Washington
Randall 1. Aaron 0.

Philadelphia defeated New Jersey
Randall 1. Aaron 0.

Boston defeated Buffalo.
Randall 2. Aaron 0.

Pittsburgh defeated Ottawa
Randall 2. Aaron 1.

San Jose defeated Colorado
Randall 3. Aaron 2.

Chicago defeated Nashville
Randall 4. Aaron 3.

Vancouver defeated Los Angeles
Randall 4. Aaron 4.

Detroit defeated Phoenix
we didn't play this one.

This is turning out to be pretty exciting. I have my picks made and will post them on Monday. Stay tuned as this race is just as tight as the phenomenal hockey we have been watching this playoffs.

Letters in the Pocket #1 - Slackness

Hi Right Said,

The last point I'm going to touch on is slackness. I cannot stand it either but it shows up at almost every Christian show I go to nowadays. I'm going to use an example of a show I went to, and the show you went to. People listen up and pay attention.

The prince of slackness himself, Tye Tribbett thinks he's something. Where is he now? If it looks like I'm calling him out, then yeah, I am. I went to his show once. His VICTORY album and DVD are awesome, but I thought his live show, and everything since, has sucked the big one.

Fred Hammond is a legendary gospel artist. He's been around the block multiple times and back again. I've never seen him in concert but one day I might take the chance and go.

The reason is that slackness is brought on by arrogance. I don't know Tye Tribbett personally, he's probably a nice guy, but to me he came off like an arrogant jackass at the show I attended. I don't know Fred Hammond either but from what you have described in your letter, there seems to be a subconscious arrogance to his behaviour.

The main part of the whole arrogance thing is this underlying myth that if you have a hit record, you're qualified to preach. Tye Tribbett did that and currently he's off my radar. Where is he anyway? Fred did it and now he's off your radar.

This arrogance and slack attitude prevents them from realizing the most important thing: Respecting the fact that PEOPLE PAID MONEY THEY COULD HAVE SPENT ON SOMETHING ELSE TO COME AND SEE YOU SING. NOT FOR YOU TO SIT DOWN AND PREACH AT THEM. THAT'S WHAT PASTORS AND MINISTERS ARE FOR!!

So Right Said, thank you for your letter. I must say it definitely touched a nerve and I appreciate your faithful readership.

Randall.

Letters in the Pocket #1 - Concert Presentations

Hey Right Said,

I have never understood why Christian concerts have presentations between sets. I understand that there are sponsors and charities but they don't need to be thrown in your face when you need that break between acts to recharge. I'm going to use an example from a non-Christian concert to illustrate how maybe these Christian promoters (or whoever they are) can make your concert experience better.

My very first Rush concert was when I was in grade 12. I did remember bringing non-perishable food items and it was also widely advertised leading up to the event that a portion of every ticket went to the United Way. When I got inside Maple Leaf Gardens, there were kiosks set up by the United Way and the Food Banks were taking the food. This was in the lobby the whole night.

The Tragically Hip opened and rocked the house. Gord Downie thanks everyone for coming and reminds us that we're helping the United Way just by being here. The crowd goes nuts. Now on to intermission.

Just imagine if someone from the United Way or the Daily Bread food bank had gotten up at intermission and cried about the plight of the battered, homeless, and hungry. It is an important issue but like every season, it has its time and place.

The issue has a simple solution. The Christian promoters should eliminate the half-time presentations and prominently advertise the causes they are supporting ahead of time. Lord knows I get enough of those little paper advertisements stuck in my windshield at every church I park in so why can't they put the causes on there. And if they're already there, make it more prominent. Charities like World Vision could use the help and plastering their name on thousands of cards being place all over the city is a good way to start.

I'll have more tomorrow.

Letters in the Pocket #1 - Response

Dear Right Said,

Thank you for always speaking the truth. Some people won't like it and will be ignorant to it but just keep living. I have to admit that I was thinking about going to this concert but thanks to your review, you made me realize that going to see "Death at a Funeral" with my best friend was the better choice.

I am going to address points in your letter over the next couple days.

From reading your letter you seem quite truthful and honest in your perspective of these events. You seemed not to mind the show until the World Vision presentation so that's where I'll jump in.

Tomorrow....

Letters in the Pocket - #1

Since I started this blog many people have been sending me feedback to what I've written. I'm very appreciative for the opinions because that means people are reading it. And yes, I do get negative responses. One person has told me she has boycotted my blog, and I have heard that another thinks that I didn't appreciate the church I went to as much as I should have. Oh well, it's always been four out of five dentists .... never all five.

But today is special. I received my first "letter." Kind of like letters to the editor. It's awesome. I gather it was written because this very intelligent letter writer knew I felt the same way so I could maybe shed some light on this topic. Here it is, my first received letter:

Dear Inside Randall's Pocket:

I've always spoken the truth, shared the truth, and dressed it up nicely. Why do people reject this. If "the truth shall set you free," why do people keep living in lies?

Last night I decided to go to the Fred Hammond concert. I went because the last concert I went to (Israel Houghton) was an amazing experience I was thinking this would be half decent.

It started off good with the praise team from Rhema Christian Ministries setting the atmosphere for the evening. Then there was some rambling as the stage was being prepared for Hezekiah Walker. He was strong but I didn't know many of the songs. I didn't have a problem with that as people were really into his set but his last tune dragged on far too long and forshadowed what was to come for the rest of the evening. This started with the World Vision presentation. It was a half hour of begging people to spend $40 a month to sponsor a child. Making people feel guilty into helping when they have paid for a concert leads to a lot of first month cancellations. That's not fair to anyone.

This was followed by some kind of award presentation. I thought this was a concert but I must have not read the fine print. There were four awards given out and I don't even know what they were for. After what was an eternity of wasted time between Hezekiah Walker's set and Fred Hammond's, the host got the crowd into a frenzy for Fred Hammond and was introducing him when a stagehand comes out and whispers to him that they're not ready yet. So to waste even more time they kept plugging World Vision until Fred Hammond was ready to come out. I was all ready to go home by the time he came out, at 10:25 pm.

He played mostly new material the majority of the people didn't know and when the "die hards" that stormed the front of the stage begged for some hits, he pulled out a chair, sat down, and turned this concert into "conversations with Fred." I did not come to hear what his mom taught him when he was young, I came for a concert, with songs. So after two life lessons, and a mailed in medley of hits, I couldn't take it anymore and left right in the middle of it thinking "what a waste of my time." That was four hours of my life I'm never getting back.

Randall, I will not stand for slackness, I will not excuse it or sugar coat it.

Signed,

Right Said Fred

Look for my response tomorrow.

Is this what would be termed. "BMW FAIL?"

Last week I was at an event when I discovered this atrocity parked in the lot of the next building over. I just had to take a picture.

It nauseates me even as I am typing this to see this picture on my screen. I am not up with the new hip terms and lingo, but this is what I would deem a serious fail. To desecrate one of the most beautiful cars in the world (yes, I realize it's only a 300 series, but still...) with a graphic and advertisements. You could spend half the money on a decent car and desecrate it all to hell but on a beamer, oh man. It hurts to see. It hurts to see.