October 12, 2006

I have decided to post all my blogs over at "myspace". You can get there through here BLOG

September 16, 2006

You’re not controlling…

Too funny. Then again, the whole evening was a great time. But at first arrival, it didn’t seem like it was going to be so. The first thing was, “how are we gonna fit in this little corner, where is my amp gonna go, where is Steve gonna put his amp, where are my extra guitars gonna go, which way do I face the drums and are they really going to have the bar there?” Various people of course, said this.

Then the production crew had to face the problem of blowing fuses. Because of “lack of power” they could only have a couple of lights on the band. So this means most of my fans probably couldn’t see me in the dark. Well they could hear me. We did some searching around and found enough power to feed the sound system. That was the most important thing, besides the drums. Then again, I was told that the drummer is just someone you have to put up with to hear the rest of the band. We’ll have to add that to the rest of the drummer jokes. Ha, ha, very funny. Then someone asked, “Do you really need all this gear?” And then someone else wanted to know if we were going to be loud. Oh hell yes, at least if we can help it.

So this gig was a surprise birthday party and the lady with the birthday had no idea. It was a riot. This is why this gig was not on our list of gigs. Apparently she is a fan and may have seen it. She thought her friends were doing a mini pub-crawl to celebrate her birthday and wanted to go to the French club. She did not want to go. She did a speech and told a very funny story. We had a great time.
Happy Birthday!

September 2, 2006

Summer, it turns you upside down.

Did you know that there are approximately ten million bricks in the Empire State Building? I guess so. I'm not sure if there was any bricks used to build smooth hermans. Maybe.

I'm all recharged after my little trip to NB and the water park. What a great spot. I love the wave pool and some of the slower water slides. The big hot tub in the middle was great as well. When you got a chill from the wind, you just had to sit in there and it was like getting in the bath. I think it can hold about 25 people. It's really big. Someday, I'm gonna have one. I figure an eight seater is big enough for me though.

I was hoping to have video of this gig but the staff wouldn't let my friend bring in his camera. Boohoo. We'll try another time. We got some stuff of me and tony setting up, but that's only interesting to some people, like me. Anyway, I dedided to play a little lighter than usual and same my energy. I find I start off playing too hard and then wear our as the night goes. It made a big difference on my arms and my sticks.

Picking up new songs is great. We jammed to one at the sound check and now its on the set list. Hey if it works then lets do it.
Once again the place filled up like crazy.
These people know how to party.

August 19, 2006

One, two, skip a few...

Well I'm not sure, but there was a lot of laughs. If I didn't know any better, I would think we were all on drugs. We laughed and laughed and then laughed some more. What a silly night.
Not really sure what else is happening.

August 12, 2006

Bottom of the barrel.

I didn’t want to do this gig from the start and would have backed out any time. We have another gig after this one. I would have rather done one or the other.

To me this gig is prime for anyone that has their own material. We play one original song at this point, but I don’t feel it’s enough. We are stuck in against a wall right now because time is a precious thing. With the four of us working day jobs, playing on the weekend, it’s hard to fit in writing and recording. Eventually it will come. “Patience Luke.”

Some people don’t know this, but you fit a drum set like you fit a suit. Everything has to be right or you find something doesn’t work. Great jacket but the shoes are too tight. The drum provided, were fit to George Canyon’s drummer. I wonder is that his real name. Well this drum set didn’t fit me at all, but we were only playing 10 songs and I felt I would be alright. Most people don’t know this but I am only a small person so I fit my drums close to me. I know I must look like a freaking monster when I’m sitting behind the drums, but it’s really an illusion. The drum set it big, I just sit in the middle.

I don’t think we made any new fans at this gig. That is my opinion of course. I’m guessing two hundred people at our set, but they were not there to see us.

Highlights of the gig.
I got to see Terry Kelly do his sound check. I was impressed on how much he sounded like his recordings.

Not bad for two guys on stage.

August 5, 2006

Why not have a Buzz Party!

I did this same gig about ten years ago with a band called IMI. It seems that the locals remembered this fact and said never to get these guys back again. Hey come on, it was a long time ago, I’m sure those people don’t remember what happened. Good memories are hard to find. So this tells me that saying “Rob Barrie and The Buzz is Rob Barrie and former members of IMI,” is not longer a selling point for the band. I think it’s just best to say, “hey, we have this band that sounds good” and then take it from there.

I’m not sure why, but everyone there treated this show like a bar gig. Show up late and then harass the band to play later. Sorry folks, doesn’t work that way. Let me say this however, when it filled up, it really filled up. We even had some friends of ours join the party. I don’t know the number but by Steve’s count, he estimates ten thousand, although he figures he may have counted a few twice. That’s ok, those are great numbers.

It’s seemed to be a younger crowd. I notice that some of them had no idea of the songs we were playing. I could see a couple of young ladies looking at each other and shrug their shoulders. It’s was kind of funny. I always assume that people have heard of a song at least once, on the radio, older brother or sister or from their parents.

Other than a real noisy building, the gig was great. Back at our motel, “the same motel as ten years ago,” we kept the noise down and nobody came knocking this time and no fights with the owner. Nothing got broken and we didn’t almost get kicked out. We had a few drinks to settle down because morning would come fast and then the long drive home.

Happy Chestico Days.

July 29, 2006

Just pay for your drink and get out!

Listen folks, here is a little story for you. Not too many people know this, but you are only with the band if the band says you are with the band. You don’t approach the band and say, “tell that one I’m with you” because it don’t work that way. Apparently there are some people who will argue that fact with the band. I guess you are all wondering what I’m talking about, or at least the people reading this. Here goes.

The club is to be opened an hour later. Ok, got it.
I decide to go there about 7:30 and get set up.
Sound crew is not there at this time so I put my equipment on the dance floor and hang out.
Sound crew arrives and starts to load in.
A few women arrive and head to the patio and order drinks.
Sound crew still loading in and one lady starts to have a chat with sound crew. “offers to help”
At this point laugher starts.
Looks like lady didn’t pay for drink ordered and wants another drink.
Has little tiff with bartender and tells sound crew that he was an asshole.
More laughter.
I tell sound crew not to warm up to this one, as I avoid her each time she comes around.
More attack of bar staff.
Finally ready to start setting up.
Putting together my drum riser, I hear in the background, “ are you ready to go?”
Lady approaches me and says, “do you see that lay there, tell her I’m with you.”
My answer, “NOOOOOOOOOO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The reply, “why not?”
“Because you are not with me!” I say a little louder.
She comes back with “Yes I am”
I stand up and say, “no you’re not.”
At this point the bar staff is standing around.
So I guess if you make an ass of yourself, you are definitely not with the band. Another great reason for me to get two very big body guards, not that I have a big body.
Also this has no impact on the rest of my evening. All of the above mentioned events happened before ten o’clock.

It was a fun gig.

July 28, 2006

Later that night...we'll have to put grease on the side of the van.

“Just park your van by the gate, that’ll keep them from sneaking in.” Ok, so I did that, and oh boy that sure made a difference.
So be it! It’s BarTown days. Not sure of the impact it will have on our gig.
I decided to bring my equipment over before we did the Hog fest. Once I arrived I just had to set up.

What a hot night. I couldn’t get the right angle on my fan. Every time I set it where I wanted, it would move due to the pounding on my drums. So sweat I did. I would rather sweat than be cold. The thought of winter coming gives me chills now.

Apparently Bartown and a live band on the waterfront had no effect on our gig. It was a full house. It was nice to get outside after the gig and cool off. It was a nice drive home.

July 28, 2006

Hey HOG guys, please don’t steal our women.

It was a funny place to have a stage, but who am I to judge. We were told the only place you could not have alcohol was on the stage. Huh? It was a licenced event, but they forgot the stage. And yes we were offered free beer, but you can’t drink it on stage. Well… I still have another gig after this one, so I’m only gonna drink water so, can we take it home? HAHA. Well anyway, that was that.

The rain held off as long as it could. Then once we started playing, it started raining. It lasted for a few songs and then it was gone. I sweated like a pig for this one, so I guess that explains why the ground was dry when I came of the stage.

There was set of drums provide for me, but only 2 cymbals. One more would have been great but I managed to make do with what I had. The cymbals felt like they were made of cement. They were sure loud. After this we are off to Rollies.

Not sure how it’s gonna turn out.

July 21, 2006

It’s been a long time...

I had to look back for this one. The last time we played the Main Event was September 05.
We were told they got their own sound system, so we didn’t know what to expect.
Friday nights are usually slower at this place, but we had a pub crawl working with us.
The sound seemed to be good out front, but the little stage is one big bass trap. Rumble, rumble is what we heard all night. It drives you crazy after a while because it makes you think that’s what everyone hears and that would suck. They still have to work out some bugs.

Boy was it hot in this club. Being the first time we used this system, they didn’t know our stage plot. Most drummers don’t need power for anything, but I have lots of electronic stuff I use. So I managed to get outlets for all my stuff except for my fan. This was the most I sweated in a long time. I was soaked. Finally on second break I had to have my fan. I rearranged some stuff and was able to free a socket. Third set was a little better, but I still sweated my ass off. I even found it hard to breath in the mens room. It was very sticky I guess you could say.

So after ten months of being away, I feel the crowd was happy to have us back and we were glad to be there. They just have to do something with that stage sound.

See ya in October.

July 15, 2006

One day at a time.

What a day. The days sure have been hot. Back to NW. Still beaming about the Trooper thing. Couldn’t wait to get with the boys and talk tales. While chatting with everyone, I couldn’t help but notice the songs the DJ was playing. I figured he must have found one of our set lists from last time and was using it. He was playing all of our covers.
What can you do.

Once again I was expecting a good crowd. Saturday is silly night of course. It’s always good on Saturday. I ran into a few people that were at the Trooper show and they told me how they enjoyed our set. I was glad to hear it. I figured that the buzz from that night was still going and we were gonna have a rocking show.

I was trying some new drum sticks, same brand as usual but a smaller size. The new sticks are a bit lighter than what I’m used to but I really enjoyed the less weight. My arms didn’t get soggy as fast. I figured a thinner stick would break faster and I put them to the test. They past with flying colors. I didn’t break any, not like the other pieces of shit I was using the gig before. You know the saying “you get what you pay for”, well when you get 12 pair of sticks for twenty bucks, then you know that you are not getting much. Just a lot of sticks that I turn into fire wood very fast. I have about three of them left and they are for give away now.

I find the summer heat is a little hard to take while playing. My little fan works overtime just to keep me comfortable. It was a good crowd and the band put on a great show.
Here’s to summer.

July 13, 2006

“Sometimes they live”- Tone

I think the last time Trooper was in town was last year. I’m not exactly sure but I do know that I missed the show. When Rob told us that we were gonna open this show, I was very excited. I’ve always loved Trooper and this would not be the first time I have got to do the opening act.
It was years ago in a different band, and that is another story.
I couldn’t wait to get off work and head over. I tried to get there early just so I wouldn’t forget anything. When I got to the Savoy, they were still doing some last minute sounds checks for the Trooper set. Then it was our turn to set up around the gear that was already there.
My big thing was not having my kick drum slip away from me on the smooth stage. I managed to find some heavy weights and dropped them right in front of the drum and that seemed to do the trick. Other than having some stage volume problems, for me anyway, I thought we had a great set. The audience really cheered us on. It was great to hear the roar of the crowd.

We started our set at 8 pm and played for about forty minutes. Then in what seemed like five minutes, cleared our gear off the stage. Of course this is all due to the great crew we had lined up for this gig. I like to send a big thanks out to (in no specific order) George, Johnny, Mike and Baden. Back stage we packed everything in the cases and got ready to party.

So now comes the time for what we are really all here for. TROOPER! I think it was about ten past 9 o’clock and they came on stage and kicked in with “Here for a good time”. The whole place exploded and I was in my usually “this fucking rocks, lets party!” mode and within a minute of the song, everything went black. First thing I thought is that they over loaded some breakers for the stage power. The more I looked around, I realized that the whole building was out of power. Well this sucks! If they don’t get power soon, the concert will be cancelled. So I sat in the dark for a bit, and then I decide to find out where the rest of my band went. I went backstage and out to the loading door and there was our band talking to most of Trooper outside behind the Savoy. Oh this gets better. So there, we find out it’s gonna be 90 minutes before the power is restored and everyone was trying to figure out what the hell to do.
I thought for sure it was over. Oh boy, this is far from over...

If you are reading this, you may want to take a break now, get a cup of tea or another beer, and get comfortable. The more I’m thinking of this, I’m realizing just how much I have to talk about...

So like I said, 90 minutes. So as we are talking back and forth, Ra McGuire wonders what they can do until the power comes on. I suggested that he has his acoustic guitar and Rob still has his guitar, that they could do something acoustic. He said “yes, but how do we fill 90 minutes?” Then he said he’d rather go downstairs and jam in the green room. WHAT? REALLY? “Rob, grab your friggin guitar!” True story. So down we went, lead by flashlight. Tony says to Ra, “I don’t care what we do, but you have to sing, Thin White Line for us”.

So there we are. Ra leads us in song. “Once upon a time...”
This is blowing my mind. Ra is one of my favorite singers and there we are doing an acoustic version of a song he wrote. I was wanting a pic of our band and Trooper for our website. I didn’t get exactly that, but what we did get was ten times better.
Back the story. So we are all belting our the chorus and about half way through the song, the lights came on. Ra seemed a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to finish the song. I of course was more disappointed. So Ra decided that we are going on stage with Trooper and were gonna finish what we started. He told the rest of his band that they were gonna start with this song and then go back to the set list. How freaking cool is that. What you don’t believe me? It’s true. There we were, Rob Barrie and the Buzz on stage with Ra McGuire and Trooper. I told everyone that was with us to take lots of pictures.

This is one of those moments that you talk about years later. I was very happy. After our five minutes of fame, we took our seats with the rest of the fans and I screamed like everyone else.
The night was coming to a close. We had to wait until after the show to load the van, but when that was done, I went back inside to see if I could catch up with Ra again. I guess by now he was gonna start to think I was a stalker. I still wanted that band pic, and I still didn’t get it.
They were all up in the main hall of the Savoy doing the autograph thing and Rob was getting a copy of Ra’s book. Robs wife was getting a picture of the two of them and I tried to sneak in and was told “now get the fuck out of the pic” joking of course and I replied with, “you said we would get a picture. So this is what I ended up with.

So to everyone reading this, I hope you enjoyed the short version. Yes that’s right. The more I thought about it, the more I remembered. It was a blast and I figure I would condense it to the parts that I will talk about the most in years to come.

July 1, 2006

Oh Canada, Part Deux!

I think this is a record set up for me. We had just finished playing at the board walk on the Sydney from 7-9 and packed up and headed here. At one point I checked the time and is was 9:20 and I had all my gear in the club. After pounding my drums for 2 hours, I was feeling a little drug out, so I decided to pop the free can of Red Bull I was given at the board walk. I never tried this stuff before and I figured it would be the kick I would need for the rest of the night. So I drank it while I set up and waited, and waited and waited and waited... and you get the picture. Come on, so where are the wings. Where is that burst of energy I so needed. I’m told that I am hyper to begin with, so I figured, “Oh yea baby, I gonna be going 150mph!” Let’s just say I’m still waiting.
Once again another one of those crowds, that you turn your back and the place fills up. Everyone gets freaking crazy. Was there a full moon?

Unfortunately, the whole night was not as smooth as some may think. We had a bit of a problem with someone that may have had a bit too much to drink. Maybe too much Canada Day action.
Regardless, nobody got hurt and the show didn’t suffer. This stuff happened in the band room and nobody was that wiser. It is a great reason though to have more security to limit access to the band room. I think this is the only way to avoid situations that can get out of control.

By the time 3:30 am rolled around I was wide awake and could not stop vibrating and I was talking out of control, no just kidding. I bet you thought the Bull kicked in. No, that ship had sailed and I was the complete opposite. I could hardly hit my kick peddle anymore and my arms were tired. I couldn’t wait to get to bed.
On the way out I had a talk with the DJ and I mentioned the Red bull thing. He said they do it all the time, but usually it takes at least two. So if only I knew this 5 hours before.

Do you see? We are always learning.

July 1, 2006

Oh Canada!

I think this is the first time I have played on this stage. I’m glad that there was a tent, because we would have been baked in the sun. Don’t get me wrong, it was still freaking hot.
This is a different gig for us. First of all, no alcohol and no drunk fools dancing around. It’s very easy to entertain people under the influence. This crowd is sober and full of children that watch your every move. Please don’t misunderstand, I totally loved it. So much so that I bashed the shit out of my drums. I still don’t know why I was playing so hard. I guess I was having a great time and really got into it. During one song, I was flipping my sticks in the air on every break in the song. It was really funny. I find the children really enjoy live music. I’m not sure what goes through there little minds, but you can almost see it in there eyes that they truly enjoy watching us do our think. I think they think we are some big rock band. I even heard someone else say that.
After this show we have to rip down as fast as we can and head over to Hermans. Even knowing of the k-os we were going to go through after this 2 hours, it was the farthest thing from my mind. We blasted trough the songs, sweated like pigs and drank a ton of water.

It was great!

9 year old Matthew Hilliard of Sydney is a great kid.
The son of Mike and Tracey, two of Rob's best friends and biggest fans.

June 24, 2006

What key is this song in?

Too funny! It’s all good. I’m not getting into it, it’s an inside joke.
Everyone graduates this weekend. Grad parties, oh how I remember those.
Some were thinking that this may be a slow night, because of the grad parties.
I, being my optimistic self, figured that most would get to the point that they had enough of the grad party and want to move on. I was right. It’s always fun to play in your home town. So many familiar faces. Some I haven’t seen in years and some I see when I do the gig.
I find now that I’ve been doing that gig thing for I guess 16 years, I have seen the crowd turn over. When I first started, the people in the clubs were my age and up. As the years went by, my age group started to disappear and the younger generation was moving in. Now I see, what seems like 2 age groups. The younger group, 19 to 25. Then there is a bit of a gap. Then its seems like 30 and up. And I’m probably off a bit on the first group. Regardless, I’m starting to see the group that disappeared again. Lets call it full circle.

Yes I like that.

June 17, 2006

Summer is here, I hope.

Let me go back one day. We haven't learned songs in a while, so we picked up some songs on Friday night at Rob's house. Of course Friday night practice sucks, but we have to do, what we have to do.
So now we have a couple of new tunes to play at the Mist and everywhere else of course. We are all under the weather in some form or another, and Rob suffered the most. I think practice did him in, but he managed to use what ever vocal chords he had left. The last song was for sure, the last song. He could hardly talk after that. I know that feeling.
I decided that since it was a beautiful hot day, I would wear shorts. I was worried though about air conditioning, because it's hard to play in the cold. Needless to say, it was hot, we were sweating and the air was stuffy. It was great. Big turn out and all had fun.
JUNE 2, 2006

I think we are catching on!

Another Friday. I was not expecting much of a crowd. I was wrong. I was getting the feeling that people wait and go out on Saturday. We had a great turn out.
I'm trying out these new drumsticks, and I hate them. I do like that they are not heavy, but I'm ripping them apart on the ride cymbal. My normal type of stick I use, has a nylon tip, these ones have wood and I don't like the wood. I got them for a great price (12 pair for 20 bucks), but now I'm paying the price for buying them. Lesson learned. I will use them until they are all broke, which shouldn't take long.
You do get what you pay for!

May 26, 2006

Always bittersweet.

Another fund raiser. I love playing gigs, but these ones are always at the expense of someones health and that part is a bummer. The good part is that everyone always steps up to help their fellow human being. That's a great feeling. I wish that more people had shown up. I was expecting a huge crowd because of the type of show. Maybe it was a big crowd, but it looked small in the hall. I'm not good at judging the size of a crowd. I never was. I'm not going to complain about the poor acoustics of the building this time, cause this type of gig is not about us. I just hope the money raised will help.

May 19, 2006

It's Friday!

It's seems the after work party thing is catching on. The only problem, most go home around 9pm. That makes for a slow crowd for us. Friday nights at the Rack are just not busy. Well, we had fun and we get to practice our tunes. Hey if they don't show up, it's not our fault.

May 13, 2006

No one records party songs anymore!

Saturday night. It will be crazy. Did you know that contrary to common belief, elephants are not afraid of mice.
Go to any zoo and chances are that the mice are living in the same quarters as the elephants.
The mice eat the grain and nest in the hay that is so common to elephant habitats.
Trevor always does an incredible job mixing the band. The man has a set of ears. He also always has an interesting story for us.
It’s kinda cool the way the crows comes in. We don’t notice the slow fill up, we see it in big chunks. Because our breaks are long, it seems like the crowd it doubled every time we go back on stage.
This is for sure my favorite gig. The first reason is the big stage. And then of course, the big crowd.

I’m glad this place didn’t shut down.

May 6, 2006

I think it's the guy from Pl...

This is crazy. I got there before the sound system.
It was a weird feeling because I was beginning to wonder if the gig was still on. I thought to myself, “I didn’t hear from Rob so I guess all is well, I guess I’m early”. So that was no big deal.
I have since added some electronic gear to my drum kit. It’s a sampling drum pad by Roland, so now I can have any sound I want. It is so easy to get carried away.
For example, if I wanted to have my cat meowing in the middle of a song, I now have the technology. I just have to get a recording of my stupid cat. He never meows when I want him to. Regardless, you get the point. I’m still working out some of the bugs, like trying to remember what pad has what sound. I know, boring you.
The crowd warmed up to our set list very well. There was some kind of pub crawl going on, and that sort of thing always makes the crowd look bigger.
It was a good night. I had a blast.
There was this one thing though. It’s not a big deal, but it was irritating to me. The first time was OK, I just laughed it off. But then it happened again. Ok, I’ll tell you. Some lady tried to take my hat! There, I said it. Not once, but twice. I mean ripped it right off my head. I had to tear it from her hands. What kind of a world do we live in when the drummer can’t even keep his hat on. I mean really! If I didn’t want my hat on my head, I would not wear it. So there you go. DON’T TOUCH THE HAT! Do you see what this has turned me into? I’m a raving lunatic. I can’t even spell lunatic. I couldn’t spell technology either so I guess it doesn’t matter. So for future reference, you have to ask before you touch the hat.
And one last thing, how many eggs does it take to make scrambled eggs?

April 28 and 29, 2006

Rudy?

Let me tell you about the weekend I had.

Let’s start with Friday.
Every year at this time for the last six years, there has been the Cape Breton International Drum Festival, which I’m happy to say, that I am involved with.
I have been working for the festival for five years now.
So Friday morning I was up at 7am and was at the Savoy in Glace Bay for 8:30.
I stayed there until about 7pm. Left there, went home to get my gig bag and head to Rollies.
We had a great show, as usual, and then the night was over.
So I did my thing, put all my equipment back in the van and headed home.
Got to bed at 4:30am and was up again at 7am Saturday morning.
Got myself out of bed, and was back at the Savoy at 8:30.
The festival was incredible. Stayed there until almost 7pm.
Drove home and picked up my gig bag. “Do you see a pattern here?”
Headed out to NewWaterford, and had a great gig at The Rack.
I felt that we put on a wicked show. I had a blast, although I was getting tired pretty quick.
The night went on and came to an end and once again loaded my drums back on the van.
Started the drive home and was in bed at 4am.
Awoke from my coma at 7am Sunday morning and was back at the Savoy at 8:30.
Sunday’s show at the drum fest was another incredible time.
About mid afternoon the lack of sleep was start to take it’s toll.
When I would visit the green room and have a sit down, I could feel my body begging for sleep.
When I closed my eyes, I could just stay there and pass out.
So I would get back on my feet and grab another coffee to keep me awake.
By the time the show was over, and we finished packing up, I was back home by about 10pm.
Sound good doesn’t it. Just go to bed and get a good sleep. Wrong answer.
There is always a party after the fest at the Delta.
So somewhere along the way I decided that it was a good idea to go there instead of to bed.
Well I’ll just go for an hour, be home by maybe 11:30 and still get a pretty good sleep, at least better that the 3 hours like the two nights before.
Well, an hour and one half goes by really fast and before you know it, it was 2am.
I must have rocks in my head.
I wanted to talk to a few people before they went back to where they were from, so I got to do that, it just took a long time.
By the time I got to bed, it was after 2am, and I was up at 7am Monday morning to go back to my reality as I know it at this point.
So after all that, in the three days, I think I only got 12 hours of sleep.
It took me two days to recover from that one.
By the end of the weekend, my body and brain really were not communicating any more.
I was awake, but my brain was telling my body that I should be asleep and I could feel things not wanting to do what they were told.
Every year I take home tons of knowledge from the drum fest.
The biggest lesson I learn is that I have so much more to learn.
The second thing I learned is that I required X amount of sleep to function properly.
Would I do it again...?

In a heartbeat!

April 15, 2006

I think it was 146...

It’s funny the weird things I notice. Then it’s funny about the things I don’t notice. In my funny little mind, I absorb the things that are usually useless to most people, including myself and sometime forget the important things. Go figure.

146 is the number of people that this club can allow in the door. If I have the number correct. It’s close if I’m not right. After a week of not thinking about it, the number is a bit fuzzy in my head. You know I’m not as razor sharp as I was way back when. Duh!
So now if you take that number, subtract the band and production, that leaves 140.
So now subtract the staff, I think it was 3 bartenders and 2 doormen. If my math still serves me, that’s 5.
So now we have 130*. Now subtract the 200 people that was there and we are left with...wait now...we are left with -70.
That’s minus 70. How do I figure this into the equation.
Let me see, 130-70 equals 60. So 200 plus the 60 is, 260. But we are way over the limit now.
So if the number they are allowed to have is 146, then subtract that from 260 and we are left with...4, carry the 1, and minus the 2, equals 114.

114?

Well, it was a good crowd even if the place wasn’t full.
*Notice anything?

April 7, 2006

(YOUR TITLE HERE)

Yes I know, I’m slipping. I had one, by I forgot the darn thing. Maybe as I’m writing this, I will think of it.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but this was an intense show. There was a good crowd and even if they didn’t dance, I could feel the energy from the band.

During our last 2 shows, I have been a little under the weather, so my vocals were down as well. Two weeks ago, my voice was gone after the first set so that was end of singing for that night.
The next week, I wasn’t up to par and I couldn’t finish my songs that night. So this Friday, I still didn’t feel 100%, maybe about 85%, and I was able to sing my stuff, but I could tell that my voice wasn’t where it should be. I hope after this week, I can do my regular screaming.

Still don’t have a title yet. I don’t think it’s gonna come to me. I guess it doesn’t matter, I really only do it to entertain myself. Let’s try a few.

Friday night I crashed your party...

Where’s my thing...?

Why did they have to park there...?

Hey, look at the room I have...

Flying drumsticks...

You know something, I got nuthin! Although, my van does fit nicely on the sidewalk in front of the bar. Two ladies had to walk on the street cause I completely blocked the sidewalk. I have to get a smaller rig. Where am I going with this you ask? Well I really don’t know. I’m just telling the story.
Do you know that I had a glass of cold ginger ale while I setup. It’s true. The bartender gave it to me when I asked for it. You know what they say, “ask and you shall receive”.
Exactly who are “they” anyway? I mean really. When ever I hear someone say something, it’s a specific person, not “they”.
If the crowd says, “play Roadhouse Blues” then it’s “they”. See what I mean? So now we have to change the saying to “you know what that person says”.
That should shake up the literary world.

It’s funny, after all the thought that went into that blob of non-sense, I still have no title.
So there you go.

Welcome to the end!

March 31, 2006

Welcome to the late show, with special guests...

It was odd not leaving for a gig until 10pm. I could have stayed home and fell asleep. I was just kind of lazing around relaxing. Once I got up and motoring, I was better. There were 3 bands playing this show. The whole thing started at 5:30pm. That would make for a long day for some. I was there early to set up my drums and then I went home for a while. I’m used to setting up and then usually starting to play within the hour. Our show didn’t start until about 1am, so there was much time between setup and start time. It was nice, but I’m just not used to it. Some day I would just like to walk in and my gear would be setup for me. Everybody thinks it’s the fame and fortune. No, we would just like someone else to move our equipment for a change. You can be as famous as you want, but if you gotta still setup and put away your own stuff, then that sucks.
But hey, it’s all part of the job.

March 25, 2006

We are playing until what time?

Boy was this crazy. All the clubs were allowed to stay open an hour later. So that means 4:30 for Smooth Hermans. What a long night. They could have done without it. We didn’t play any longer, we just took longer breaks. That’s crazy. We would just get warmed up and then have to do it all over again. I must say though, it was a great crowd. There was a ton of people. Good show. You’ll never guess what time I got to bed...

I’m waiting...

Well...

Ok, I’ll tell you. It was 6am in the morning. The sun was coming up and I was going to bed.
Now that makes for a long day.

March 11, 2006

What a difference a day makes.

Last night was hell, but I was back to normal for Saturday. Thank goodness. It was a bit of a slow start but the place filled by the last set. I was thinking that if we could have had a full night like this, it would have be freaking crazy.
The set was nuts and the crowd was full into it.

I think we are spoiled now. We know what kind of show that the crowd wants from us, but I don’t think that the crowd knows what we expect from them. Does that make sense? I guess what I mean is, we are so used to getting big crowds that are totally into it, that we expect that every time. I guess we are getting greedy, but hey, we put in a lot of work to be there so I think everyone should be a part of the work. Make sense yet?
Anyway, the point is, if you weren’t at the show, get to the next one cause we will be expecting you.

March 10, 2006

The longest night ever!

Well I don’t have much to report on this one cause this time it was me that was ill. I didn’t know if I wanted to eat or throw up. My stomach was shot and it was a tough gig. I was very tired and just sat there and moved only what I had to move and tried not to use up too much energy too soon.
Needless to say, I was able to do the job, but it was a tough one.
Being sick really sucks!

Feb. 24, 2006

Say Cheese!

They say that a picture speaks a thousand words.

What more could I say?

Feb. 18, 2006

Are you gonna stand there and look cute?

This is really a small club. It still amazes me that people will still cram themselves into such small buildings just to be around a group of people. I used to do it to. This bar reminds me of the Caviler Tavern that use to be in NW. The layout is almost the same. I think the Mist is a little bigger. The situation though, reminds me of when we used to go to bar in NW called Reflections.
Does that bring back memories or what?
When I was 19 a couple of years ago, the bars were still 9to1and only sold beer and draft. This one club “Reflections” was open till 2am and sold beer and hard liquor. It was the first in NW to do so I do believe. So like a bunch of zombies, at 1am we would all rush to the last hour of Reflections. It was crazy. It wasn’t big enough to be a club, more like a house party with 100 people jammed to the rafters and complaining “I can’t move, I can’t get a drink”. I remember sometime thinking, “what the hell are we doing here and who is stepping on my foot?” Talk about desperate times. The funny part was waiting outside the door to get in and then getting upset if you missed last call. Well, to only be that fancy free again. Someone made a lot of money off us poor losers with nowhere else to go at 1am except home, but why go home when there is still people partying down the road, right?

So it still goes on today. Don’t get me wrong, I love the big crowds, I just don’t think I could be part of it other than being in the band. I could handle going to a big club to see a band, or an outside concert with thousands of people, but if I was just going out to have a few drinks, I think I would pick one of the quiet clubs with not too many people and still enjoy myself. I think that’s why I don’t move around much on my breaks, I don’t like getting banged around much, I guess no one does.
That’s why it’s important to get there early and get a table so you can sit and be comfortable.

And so that concludes the emptying of my brain for another week, and we’ll see you at Rollies.

This has been brought to you by the letter 4 and the number Q.

Feb. 11, 2006

RATS?

See if you can figure it out.
So, are we a Valentine dance or are we just a regular gig. I don’t think anyone really knew. It was not our intention to be a Valentine dance. Some of the people that showed up were really dressed up, so I think they thought is was a couple’s thing. Hey, we’ll take anybody. I do suppose that if you are part of a couple, then everything you do then is a couple’s thing. Sounds good to me.

We were stuffed in the corner and I thought we were going to set up to one side of the hall, but we fit fine on the stage. It was a bit bigger than it looked. There was lots of room. We had a good set.
Rob is still fighting his cold. That always sucks. Bring on the warm weather!

Steven, while on one of his cross country adventures, ends up with his flight from Halifax cancelled. That almost put a damper on things. But as I have said before, he is superman, because he rented a car and flew home. The man is dedicated. I don’t think people know how much of a treasure we have with him in the band. He’s like that with everything he touches. He always puts others before himself and does it at 150%. Steve deserves a big thank you from us all. A lesser man would have quit the band.
THANK YOU!

I can’t wait to play our new song. It just needs the bass line recorded and it’s ready for mix. I think it’s ready for playing really. I’m sure it will do well. It’s a great song. It really evolved in the studio. It will be interesting to say the least.

Feb. 3, 2006

Plan B!

Haven’t been here in a while. It’s a nice change, but we still don’t like the BBQ pit. We do manage to squeeze ourselves in. I was sure we would have a good night. Even the bartender said he liked when we played there cause they always got a different crowd. That was a nice thing to say.

Setting up and sound check seemed to go ok. Rob was a bit under the weather starting off. He was pretty sure he would be alright, but as the night unfolded, he felt worse. Nobody likes being sick at anytime, but ask a musician what it’s like to play sick and everyone will have a story of when they had to play ill and it was hell. At least when you are home, you can lay around and relax. Once you start the gig, it’s kinda hard to just stop and say “Sorry folks, I feel like shit and I’m going home”. Although that would have been the best thing for Rob. Needless to say he pulled it off and I’m sure he’s paying for it now. It’s ok though, he be a’ight dawg.

Talk about racking your brains. What can we do to give Rob a bit of a break. Everyone’s gears are turning and we pulled some rabbits out of the hat. We played some stuff we don’t even do, but the crowd enjoyed what we had. That’s the spirit people. Everyone grab a shovel and pitch in!

The night had finally came to a close and it was time to go. I took my time packing up. I was tired and was in no mood to do the work. Some day I’m gonna get me one of those transporter thingys and just press a button and beam my drums into the van. Ya, that’s my plan. Instead of a hot tub, I’m gonna save for a transporter.

Beam me up Mr. Scott!

Jan. 28, 2006

For Donnie Burns.

Well it sure didn’t take us long to get back into this building. We had just played here for New Years Eve. This place is so boomy, if that’s a word. Maybe its “booming” I should be saying.

The Florence Hall is a beautiful building, and they did a great job building it, but they overlooked the whole “sound” end of it. It’s like being in a big gym. If you scream, you can run down to the back and hear your voice coming. I know I’m exaggerating, but it’s terrible.,br> Our whole first set was us fighting with our stage monitors, just so we could hear what was going on. We really needed a lot of bodies in there to soak up the sound. We did get them.
I will give you an example of the sound.

Here is a clip of Not In Love.
This is what it would sound like down the back of the hall.

I’m afraid that this building will get known as a shitty sounding place. I know if anyone asks me, I’m gonna say the sound sucks but it looks great.

But in the end, we were not there for us, we were there to help raise funds in aid of Mr Donnie Burns. So all my little things I complained about really mean nothing compared to what he must be going through. We all take so much for granted. Every day that we wake in the morning, we should count our blessings and live life as full as possible because someday, tomorrow will never come.

Complaining is easy...life is hard.

God bless.

Jan. 27, 2006

I have nothing to say! Sorry.

We had a good crowd. The band had a great time. I wasn’t too happy with the cold outside, but we adapt. It makes it hard to set up stuff when the equipment is freezing cold. I hate having to wear my gloves inside of a building.
The wind on the water front sucks as well. While standing behind my van, a gust of wind blew into one of my doors and it hit me from behind. I was not impressed. That was a shitty way to start a night. I was hoping to get some video of sound check, but that was running late.

Maybe next time.

Jan. 21, 2006

Well...

I think we had a tough crowd. I guess they liked it. There wasn’t as many people as I thought there was going to be. Regardless I had a blast. After last weeks disaster, I feel a lot better.

The crowd was kinda thin all night until the last hour. It had filled up, but I just don’t know what was up. Regardless, I had a blast. I was bopping back and forth and grooving to the music and just enjoying myself. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.

It was still hard to get a hold on the crowd and move them. It’s like they were glued in their seats. Regardless, I had a blast. I broke a brand new drumstick and it didn’t bother me. I didn’t even get a whole song out of it. I guess it was a dud.

I think that because our last few gigs have been so big, “excluding the smoke bomb thing” that we feel let down by this one. Regardless I had a blast. I was in the pocket and rolling with the best of them.

Maybe we have set our standards too high and that was the reason we feel that this was a poor gig. There were a lot of people at the end, but there was just something holding them back. Regardless I had a blast. The sets were flying by and I couldn’t believe how fast the night went.

In the third set, Rob decide to abandon the set list and start firing out songs, just to shake thinks up. Nothing really shook though. It was just the same handful that would dance. What was it gonna take? We are only here until 2:00am folks. Regardless I had a blast. I noticed some new faces and that some of the regulars weren’t there.

It almost seemed like, maybe there was a wedding in town and that most of NW went to it. We don’t play wedding music by no means. We are a straight up rock band. Regardless I had a blast.

I wonder?... How much would fat Elvis weigh on the moon?

It’s too bad that the whole club didn’t have the fun that we had. Don’t get me wrong. There were a lot of people into it, but we didn’t have the roar of the crowd we usually have. Maybe they were shy or too polite. Did I happen to mention that, regardless I still had a blast. I don’t like to repeat myself so I will just say this once.

You get the picture.

Jan. 14, 2006

No Thanks , I don’t Smoke!!!

A new year, I can’t believe it. It seems as if I had just started last years blog and here I am starting a brand new year.
We had a good two weeks off after new years eve. I totally enjoyed my time off. It gave me the opportunity to set up my drums at home and make some changes. We also started recording again, so I’m happy about that as well. After 2 weeks off I feel rearranged, rebuilt, recast, recounted, reformatted, rejuvenated and a bunch of other “re” words I don’t have time to look up, but you get the picture.
I couldn’t wait to get to this gig and get set up and tune up my new drum heads and try out some new stuff. I was happy and looking forward to playing for a big crowd.
It was Saturday night and everything was alright, la, la, la! We played our first set for about 20 people. That’s to be expected. We took our break. We started our next set for a big crowd and played 2 songs...and then...I’m still having nightmares...it happened.

Where do I start? I know what you are thinking and no the power didn’t go out.
No, I didn’t break any drums.
No, I didn’t hurt myself.
No, no one else in the band broke or hurt anything.
No, the sound system didn’t break down.
No, my grandmother wasn’t there.
No, the place didn’t catch fire...or wait...did it?

That was my first thought. I could smell something bad at first and then could see the smoke coming and I wondered if the place was burning. I kinda went blank for a minute and then Robert turned to us, said “stop” and then told everyone in the building that it was a smoke bomb and to evacuate the building.

A SMOKE BOMB!!!...Who in their right mind sets one of these things off inside a room full of people. The place was packed by this time. I really can’t write here what I want cause I think I would be breaking some kind of law. I’m not sure how far the freedom of speech would let me go on this one. Lets just say I was pretty pissed off and upset, to put it mildly.

A SMOKE BOMB, they use in the military, from what I was told. Are these people fucking nuts.

A SMOKE BOMB that could have killed some people. I’m still dismayed by this whole episode.

My night was ruined after that. We didn’t go back to the stage until about 2:30am and played our last set. The smoke was gone, but the stink was still there, smelled like burnt tires. I couldn’t get into it at all by this point. Some of the crowd went home, I don’t blame them.

For me, I will never forget this one. I can joke now, but I’m still amazed how far people will go with sick jokes or revenge or whatever the hell it was done for. I guess we’ll never know and at this point I don’t care, but it better not happen again.

So now I don’t consider this to be our first gig of 2006 anymore. I will try again Saturday in NewWaterford to start the year with a bang and by “bang” I mean party not gun fire!!!