Evolution of Gospel Music

Tonight I have an awesome opportunity presented to me by a friend of mine. He accidentally double booked himself tonight. It was an honest mistake, he has a gig with the Taurean Clarke Quartet tonight at the Pero Lounge so two weeks ago he asked me to fill in for him at the Evolution of Gospel Music rehearsal that was also tonight. He took the "Evolution" gig not knowing one of the rehearsals would conflict with the Taurean Clarke gig. Like I said, an honest mistake I am glad to remedy.

I love me my gospel music so it was really a no brainer. I've always wanted to play with a choir since I had the good fortune of jamming with one back when I first discovered "clap hand" some years ago. The tunes I remember playing back in that jam were "I'll Never Stop Praising the Lord" by Shirley Caesar, "I Tried Him and I Know Him" by Milton Brunson, "He Touched Me" by O'Landa Draper.

Tonight I get to rediscover that love. I'll be playing renditions of gospel classics tonight in this rehearsal with an amazing choir and musicians. To see Corey Butler and Karen Burke again and to actually play with them at this level is such a thrill for me. I won't say the songs because if you want to know what tunes they're doing, buy a ticket and support this great event. Click the Evolution of Gospel link in the above paragraph to get the info.

The whole "Twitter" thing

Yes, I'm on twitter. My ID, for lack of a better word, is @RandallsPocket. I don't completely understand the purpose of Twitter and it's lingo.

For example, I "tweeted" that I was at the Horseshoe Tavern watching a band, and my friend saw the "tweet" on his phone. He texted me right away because he was covering an event at the Mod Club and wanted to know if I could swing by and pick him up on the way home. Of course I did, it made for a much more enjoyable drive home.

I ask some people why they use Twitter and they say that they want to follow celebrities. I get it but I find this very "chatroom-y." You don't know if it's really them, and if it is them, you are forming a conversational relationship based on what?

As much as I don't feel the need to follow celebrities (my life is exciting enough as it is) I have finally decided that I will follow my first one, but only after she confirms with me that it really is her. I've dealt with her before, and she has good things to say. But I'll wait until she lets me know, because I'm not into following some guy living vicariously in his grandma's basement.

Opinions.

Music is one of those things that everyone has an opinion on, which would obviously include me, so let's begin.

We'll start with what I listen to. I'm not going to say that I'll listen to anything because I won't. If I ever did say that, my loving sister would immediately call "bull-shenanigans" and then promptly ask me what I thought of the new Heidi Montag joint. Like I'd ever listen to Heidi Montag. Exactly.

I will say that I do listen to a very wide range of music for a variety of different reasons. My favorite band is Rush. Lots of people have opinions about Rush. I think they're awesome but when people hear that I get a lot of agreement, or "I can't stand Geddy Lee's voice." Opinions. I won't change mine, and I can't change theirs. But for the record, because someone can't stand Geddy Lee's voice doesn't make him less awesome. He only has a voice that someone can't stand.

But the biggest opinion moment for me was six years ago when my niece heard my rock music. We were in the car and my Alice in Chains compilation was in the deck. This was the day she came out of the closet as a fan of rock music. Her Jamaican mother was a little uncomfortable at first, but was fine after I sarcastically reassured her that rock music sings about the same drugs, and objectifies the same amount of women as dancehall, r&b, and hiphop.

Unfortunately, this came at a price. Because I was the one that got my niece into rock music, I was the one bombarded with opinions and facts about Good Charlotte, My Chemical Romance, Fallout Boy, and Panic at the Disco that she garnered from J-14 magazine. Opinions.

She was also so in love with Gerard Way, lead singer of My Chemical Romance. I had to continually tell her that he doesn't love her and not get her hopes up, because I didn't want my little sweetie turning into one of those crazy girls on Rock of Love, or Rock of Love 2.

Though the price was steep, and all the parents dealing with Hannah Montana right now know what I'm talking about, it was well worth it. I got to see my niece form her own taste and opinions, whether I agreed with them or not. And I know she'll always remember her first rock concert when I took her to go see Good Charlotte at the Molson Ampitheatre July 23, 2005.

So will I.

A Good Message For Everyone

Yesterday morning I finally got around to watching the final TV episode featuring a certain red-headed comedian. I'm not referring to Carrot-top.

In his final speech this individual promised that if one works hard and is nice to people, good things are guaranteed to happen. He even stated that they may not be exactly how one might want things to happen, but good things will still happen. I couldn't agree more with this.

Very recently, I reconnected with a very good friend of mine who taught me these same values. He was in OAC when I was in grade 9 so he was able to provide me with many opportunities for me to learn what it takes to be a professional. Because he was older than me, I was able to see how hard you have to work and how to treat people. I am extremely thankful for all of that. One can make anything a learning experience if he or she chooses. Many people are not blessed to have friends like I do so I hope they were watching at approximately 12:20 am on Saturday morning and saw this final speech by a certain red-headed comedian (not Carrot-top).

After the commercial break, we saw this advice immediately paying off as our hero got to jam with some of the legends of the game. How many people can say they jammed with the following people, all on this song.......

The Avatar Experience

Friday my wife and I went to go see Avatar in 3D. The line-up was huge and the theater was jammed. I didn't know what to expect as I have heard so many different takes on this movie. However, I had another objective for going.

I love musical scores. I am not going to sit around listening to them all day but a long time ago the Humber College music program offered a one semester course on film score appreciation. This class really opened my eyes to some great music I would have never known existed.

Last week I was a little surprised when I heard that UP won the golden globe for best original score. It was going against Avatar so hence my objective.

First I want to say I thought the movie was fine. From what I saw, the movie itself did what it set out to do. Make a movie in 3-D that is so good that one doesn't notice it's in 3-D while you're watching it. For me, objective completed.

Also, I feel the makers of Avatar wanted to blur the line between reality and fiction. Though at some points I was getting some heavy "Return of the Jedi" vibes, I did catch myself thinking the blue guy with the tail was more real than the paraplegic war veteran. For me, objective met.

But the score was lacking. It did deserve to lose to UP. There were some very emotional moments in Avatar where the music could have finished me off but I didn't even get misty eyed. For me, James Horner did not meet the objective. UP had me watching its movie in bleary-eyed-3D-vision less about 5 minutes into the movie, and at least one more time near the big finish.

Avatar will go down in history as a game-changer. This movie has probably set the standard for 3-D animation by which all others will be judged. I'm glad I saw it.

Freedom Fridays - Update

This year as most of my loyal readers know, I decided to clear my Friday schedule so I may do more things. To keep everyone up to date I have decided to keep an ongoing log to let everyone know how much more of life Friday's is giving me now.

Friday #1 - Drive home from a successful Haliburton New Year's job

Friday #2 - Play in church for a slammin' and jammin' special service

Friday #3 - Sushi with the niece, bar with the best friend, took a call about an audition, dropped off something at my wife's work

Friday #4 - Tonight I plan to see Avatar. Monday I will let you know how it goes.

A BIG Thank You

I just want to take time today to say thanks to my readers. I have gotten more emails than I can handle this week offering compliments and support for Inside Randall's Pocket.

Many of the emails were regarding leaving comments on the blog, and how they are not able to. I would say, just do what you already do, read it and let me know about it. If you want me to post a comment on your behalf, I will do that as well.

If there are any musical points of interest that you would like me to cover, please email me and if I can, I will post something about it.

Musicians/artists, if there is an event that you would like some press for, email me and I will get it out there.

Once again, thanks for making Inside Randall's Pocket work as it's not a blog if nobody reads it.

My Love For Hockey - The Ultimate Distraction

In 2007 I was down in the dumps a little bit and wanted to talk to one of my best friends about it. She suggested we go to "stick-and-puck" to work off the building frustration overtaking my life at that point. "Stick-and-puck" is a afternoon drop in program offered by CANLAN Ice-Sports hockey rinks where hockey players can fine-tune their skills. Yeah, she plays hockey, because she's cool. This turn of events found me in my parents' basement looking for late 80s Bauer Chargers, and my Wayne Gretzky Titan hockey stick I had when I was much younger.

Well, after repeatedly catching my blade in the ice, almost falling numerous times, and taking slap shots that slid like curling rocks, I decided that, THIS IS AWESOME!!!!

I felt so good afterwards, even though I sucked the bag.

In 2008 I was asked to join the work hockey team, though I had never really played on an organized team before, because they needed players. I had some prior hockey experience for a year in high school but nothing "organized." I decided to accept because I remembered how awesome it was to skate at stick-and-puck. Below is my first ever organized hockey team.

I had 0 goals and 2 assists that year. But most importantly I found something I really love; and for that one hour a week, my mind becomes clear and everything else seems distant, no worries about rehearsals and jobs, as I focus on the enjoyment of playing a game.

Nurse, I need 10cc's of James Cleveland

The last week has been interesting to say the least. Many things are going on in my world here and abroad that are taking the jump out of my step. There are many ways to get the jump back, however most of them are illegal so there's not many options. I am also fasting jelly and sugar candies for a whole year because my wife challenged me to make a sacrifice. That only leaves one thing left. Clap hand.

The thing I love about clap hand is that the happiness is infectious. Whether I am watching it, or even playing it a rare time at church, the good feeling is addictive. I remember my first ever clap hand in Muskegon Michigan some 20 years ago. I had to have more of it so I asked them to mail me a taped choir concert. I received two.

That was the start of my clap hand addiction. Yeah, I'm a junkie for clap hand. I need my fix. So if you're ever losing you're jump, watch the clip and I hope you get your fix too.

My Man Joseph - The Haitian Creation

This blog is about my man Joseph. For those who don't know, Joseph is my friend, my partner in crime, a ladies man, a percussionist, an iphone spokesperson, but most importantly, a classy distinguished gentleman who pretty much gives everything of himself to serve God and the church I attend.

Oh, he's also a Haitian.

As long as I have been attending my church, this man has been selflessly serving others.

Unless you're in a coma, you have heard about the tragedy that has struck his homeland. For as often as this man serves his church, I was looking forward to the possible heartfelt prayers I would be hearing yesterday. I was looking forward to the possible laying of hands on the Haitian people to pray over them and bless their families. I was looking forward to the possibility of witnessing hundreds of people running to the front with their donations for the cause.

But I received none of that. Instead, Joseph and the Haitian people that attend my church got the equivilant of a small mention in the middle of the newspaper, not the front page headlines where it should have been.

Instead, I had to listen to a girl sing who was so terrible it was a thing of beauty. I guess she had to do it yesterday as it couldn't wait.

Instead, I had to watch kids stomping and crumping it up in a youth presentation which was obviously so important it couldn't wait.

Instead, I had to listen to our pastor talk about how our church sent some crates down to Haiti a couple years ago. Congratulations, I'm sure if you send three more crates it will make a huge difference.

Then to top it off, our pastor took a special offering which the congregation were given the option of either donating to the church's youth program, or for Haiti. So essentially I had a choice to give my money to a bunch of stompers and crumpers or... three million (3,000,000) people that need immediate aid. Wow teacher, that's a tough one.

I thought that was as embarrasing as it would get, but no.

I'm at home watching the 11 o'clock news with my wife and we're seeing the lead reports of all the churches in Toronto and Buffalo having special services and concerts. My church did nothing. That was the dagger.

I'm not God and I don't want to put words in His mouth but I'm quite certain He doesn't care about how many books one writes, how many Fortune 500 club members one rolls with, and how many conferences one speaks at if you can't even take care of a good and faithful servant like my man Joseph, and recognize the immediate importance of the three million (3,000,000) people in desparate need.

And one last thing: Joseph is so classy he would probably disapprove of this article.

That's why I love him.

For those that would like to help please read "How Canadians Can Help" for a list of aid agencies that are government recommended.

Taking Back Fridays

Today is an important day in my life. It is the first time in almost two and a half years I am not playing my bass somewhere on a Friday evening.

There are many reasons for this, but the most important one is that I wanted to experience more of what life has to offer right now.

Here is a list of the things I have missed for the past four plus years because I was fighting the good fight:

1. Countless events with my best friends, and even if I could make it I was always showing up when they are winding down.
2. Hanging with my brother and his wife out in Belleville.
3. Boatloads of networking opportunities with some of the people I play with.
4. The ability to just sit at home and watch a movie with a loved one on a Friday night.
   

So if you are reading this list correctly, I sacrificed the most importants things:

1. Friends
2. Family
3. Career
4. Me

Everyone at some point in their life comes face to face with reality. For me it was when I took this picture.

For years I played this service hoping to assist in its growth and outreach but sometimes the picture really does tell the story. This I recently took this picture at approximately 7:20 on a Friday evening. The service starts at 7:30. That one person in the middle there is my niece, who came with me. It was this exact moment when I took this picture that I realized some priorities in my life had to change.

When I first played Friday services four years ago, it wasn't the best but we worked at it and made it into something really special. Click on this link to read my other post and watch the video. That's what it was really like in this same room as the above picture.

I would like to give a special thanks to everyone in the band who really made it good for a while there. I would also like to thank singers Marsha and Ryan Robinson, and Junior Phillip for impacting my life and inspiring me to play hard. But on a personal level, I would really especially like to thank drummer Otis Williams for really making Fridays special to me while I was there. Together we helped to build it up just to watch it go down the crapper.

To close, I wish the people who serve on Friday all the best in their endeavors. I'm sure I'll be available to play on a Friday from time to time, but tonight I'll be out with my niece eating sushi, in a room that has people in it.

Haiti - How Canadians Can Help

Please read this article "How Canadians Can Help"courtesy of the Canadian International Development Association.
Thanks.

My Wife's First Cover

No, I'm not referring to her first weak rendition of an overplayed pop classic, nor am I referring to her first assignment for an international super-spy agency. I'm referring to the front page of the 30th Anniversary issue of Today's Bride.

She was in charge of styling this particular shoot and I find it awesome that the people at Today's Bride would pick that cover to display at Canada's Bridal Show 2010. What I find ironically humorous about this is that she had no idea this over sized hanging poster of her work was even going to be there. She was only there to assist Christopher Paunil, the co-creator of her wedding dress, at his booth on the Friday and Saturday.

If you feel inclined, feel free to check out the my wife's blog where she documents how they made the dress here. If you are feeling ever more inclined, the entire Today's Bride shoot can be found here.

Because she has done many covers since, (two are in the works as we speak) I thought it was nice for her to get a picture of her first one.

Soulfingaz Memorial at Joe Mama's

Two days ago I had the opportunity to play somewhere I've always wanted to play: Joe Mama's. Unfortuantely the opportunity came up due to the tragic passing of David "Soulfingaz" Williams. I have never met him but his passing devastated so many people I care about in this community. Lori Nuic asked me and Craig to back her on the tune "Something's Gotta Give." This song is awesome and Soulfingaz had a lot to do with that. His piano playing on the CD version is "just right."

Here are some of the many great people I bumped into: Saidah Baba Talibah (who opened the night being her usual awesome self), Juwayon Clarke, Lori, Kibwe Thomas, Larnell Lewis and Calvin Beale.

These pictures are courtesy of David Grosfield.

Soulfingaz memorial site can be found here.

New Year's Eve - Showtime

For New Year's I decided to forego the usual same old and play up in Haliburton with the band "Fever." The decision was an easy one because my wife would be there, as well as some of my friends I don't see as often. What was really special about this event was that it was the only one I have played in recent memory where everyone's significant others were present. It was really wonderful to see the ladies looking fine off to the side, having their own little party in the green room just off stage.

The picture on the upper left is of Thompson and I right before we started and the picture on the upper right is a very "Clapton-esque" Anthony blessing the patrons of McKecks with his guitar abilities.

The next couple pictures are of the patrons. I have mentioned before about how nice it is to serve an energetic audience of congregants. One thing I really enjoy about playing outside of Toronto is that the patrons are much more loose. They go to have a good time and don't seem to care what anyone else thinks. The floor was packed by the second or third tune, and stayed that way for three hours.

And finally, the video clip. It's more of a tribute to the band if anything. Anthony rocking out, and the rest of us vibing along. To a great 2010.

New Year's Eve - Who's The Boss?

A while back I mentioned how I took a playing opportunity without knowing what I was in for. The same thing happened on New Year's Eve.

Firstly, the venue was McKeck's. When I heard that I was wondering where I had heard that name before. After a couple minutes of self-deliberation, it started coming back. The man who opened and operated this establishment was NHLer Walter McKechnie. He has a daughter who really liked a friend of mine, he didn't feel the same way, hearts were broken, yeah yeah yeah.....

So I was interested to play in the environment where this could have all went down.

Second, Walter McKechnie sold McKeck's in 2009 to a dutchman named Maarten Steinkamp. I didn't think anything of this when I first arrived. This is because Maarten is a very appreciative man. But over the course of the evening, people tend to drink more and the stories start coming out.

Everyone in the bar starts name-dropping this cat. So I start asking questions and because alcohol enables people to boast about things that don't even apply to them, I was getting answers. The three most important answers I got were that Maarten is the nicest gentleman one could meet, he owns his own brand of vodka, and he was the former president/CEO of Continental Europe for Sony BMG. That last one's kind of a big deal.

So here is a picture and some articles about an unassuming, humble, hardworking, toilet-scrubbing, enthusiastic restaurant owner from Haliburton. And yeah, that's Tommy Hilfiger.....

1. Steinkamp Leaves Sony BMG

2. Venice Festival of Media

3. Steinkamp Takes BMG Asia Post

4. Steinkamp President of BMG International

This is why I always try to be a professional at every event I play. See you Monday.

New Year's Eve - The Locations

Well I finally have some footage available from the New Year's Eve job I did up in Haliburton. Today I will be talking about the places I went to while I was there.

The venue was McKeck's - The Blue Line

McKeck's recently underwent an ownership change and as a result, was overhauled. Now the only thing left under construction is their web site. For a traditional sports bar, it is the best I've been in. Step it up Toronto. I wish I had pictures of this gorgeous venue but I can't even find any online.

Second, we were put up at the Pinestone Resort & Conference Center.

This place is gorgeous but we didn't see enough of it. Every time we mentioned that we were being put up here, the response was an ooooh, or an aaaaah. We didn't understand because we checked in when it was dark.

But we understood when we woke up the next morning and opened the curtains. This picture is what greeted us. I cannot recall waking up to a view this gorgeous, well, ever.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more....

Adventures with Ayah 7 - Video Evidence

Shortly after we finished A Peace For Gaza, I received a message from Facebook saying I was tagged in Ayah's video "Believe." So I watched the video and I remembered playing that first job with her at the revival as the footage showed the green room before the show. That was a great time. As I continued watching however, I noticed that Slakah the Beatchild, who was the director for this video, put me in at 2:10 for about half a second. That half a second was my video debut. I am also in various shots as a silohuette in the background near the end when they are showing live shots to wrap up the video from 2:15 to the end.

Check it out. Here's Ayah with "Believe."

Soundtrack Recording

This afternoon I am going over to Number 9 Studios to lay some upright tracks down with Thompson for a documentary that is going to be submitted for the Hot Docs festival later this year. I am very excited about this so I will be blogging about the experience later.

The 2 Scoops

Yesterday was my friend "2 Scoops" birthday. Knowing that yesterday he was busy with some personal birthday appointments, I fired off a text and will try and meet him later today. So to celebrate, my wife and I watched 12 out of the 13 episodes in first season of Chuck.

Also, it reminded me that today I'm going to shout out his Flikr page and remind all my readers that know him to check it out. He's got some great stuff at http://www.flikr.com/the2scoops.

Happy birthday Scoops!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

To my loyal readership, HAPPY NEW YEAR and many blessings in 2010. I'm going to share some of the events to start the year that are already on my schedule:

JANUARY
one of my best friends always has a nice birthday gathering to bring in the new year

FEBRUARY
watching the Superbowl and Olympic hockey tournament

MARCH
playing a conference in Niagara Falls, which means hanging with my uncle while I'm there

APRIL
my cousin is getting married and it's very exciting

MAY
my wife's first birthday as a wife and I also have the honour of serving in one of my best friends weddings

JUNE
my birthday

I have the feeling these are just the beginning of one of the most interesting years of my life so check in to Inside Randall's Pocket and find out what's going on.