Before I left, I was very active in the “all-ages” scene mid-to-late 90′s. For anyone who remembers and can relate, I was the bassist for the bands PeeL, The YOT, Ashphalt Death, and most notably Loghan (with J Williamez and Guy Abraham who went on to form The Velvet Pill, The Mission Light, and the Civil Disobedients).

Lately, I’ve been spending time recording tracks on my own and working on some independent projects. I’m hoping to find some dedicated, talented musicians to collaborate with and write some kick-ass new songs, as well as bring some of my already-completes ones to the stage. In my mind I see it being something in the vain of Faith No More and Peeping Tom with a little NIN and Incubus thrown in for flavour, but don’t want to put constraints on creativity, and want to watch how things evolve.

Other areas in the realm of rock that interest me – hard rock (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Big Wreck, Danko Jones), blues-rock (Big Sugar, SRV, Wide Mouth Mason, ZZ Top), or metal/prog with melodic vocals (Tool, Metallica, Monster Magnet, Alice in Chains).

And just for an idea of music that I like, and has probably influenced me to some extent (in no particular order):

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Now, I’m not a big fan of the the current Conservative Government, and especially not a fan of Stephen Harper, but Clement is a grounded guy that I could support if he was in charge.

These taxes that they’ve been putting on CDs for way too long now are a hindrance to business in Canada, and really don’t do much good for many artists. Speaking as a member of SOCAN myself, I do not want to see a tax on my iPod or mobile phone. I have never illegally downloaded music, and have spent tens of thousands on music over the years, but yet whenever I buy blank media, I pay a tax equivalent to 75% or the price of the CDs (that I only use for data by the way) that supposedly goes to help the artists.

However, the distribution model is seriously flawed, and realistically the money end up going into the pockets of the artists with the most radio airplay. So in fact that extra money you pay ends up going into Chad Kroeger’s pocket so that he can hire more of those high-priced hookers he sings about or so that Celine Dion can get another swimming pool. Personally, I don’t think they need or deserve it, and I’m pretty sure that they’re not the ones who are missing out from illegal downloads anyhow, their album sales are pretty high.

If artists want to make money, why not do it the Grateful Dead way – by touring. I don’t condone illegal music downloads in any way, shape, or form, but it’s become a reality this day in age, so work with it. If people are going to do it, then use it to your advantage. It is serving to get your music out there. So capitalize on it, and tour. The more people are exposed to your music, the more that come to the show. So instead, my philosophy would be one like Trent Reznor’s, give away the music and get people to the shows. Sell them shirts, and hats, and whatever other junk they’ll consume. Play their game. Don’t try to recoup the money by punishing people who are legally listening to music.

Anyhow, that’s just my 2 cents.

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Now, I love Soundgarden and have been fans of theirs for the last 20 years. I’m uber-excited that they’ve reunited, and I’m hoping that I can catch a show if they tour, which I certainly hope they do. I’ve followed the individual careers of each band member after they broke up, and I’ve collected all their music.

And that is why I’m very disappointed with Telephantasm.

Over the years, purchasing singles and soundtracks, and finding rare tracks, I know the depth of their music catalog, and I find it underwhelming that that album only had one new track for those of us who had all their commercially released albums.

Black Rain was a good track, but hardly worth buying Telephantasm for. So for those of you who are curious, here’s a list of what I have collected. I’ve actually put them into compilations myself, so they’re ordered as such. A couple are solely Cornell tracks, but I thought I’d throw them in anyhow.

B-Sides

Birth Ritual 6:08
Kyle Petty, Son Of Richard 4:06
She Likes Surprises (International LP Version) 3:18
Show Me 2:49
Karaoke 6:00
Cold Bitch 5:01
Blind Dogs 4:40
Heretic 3:49
Seasons 5:48
Sunshower 5:54
Fresh Deadly Roses 4:52
She’s a Politician 1:48
Sub-Pop Rock City 3:16
Bleed Together 3:52
Toy Box 5:40

Covers

Girl U Want (Devo) 3:30
Into The Void (Sealth) 6:37
Hey Baby [Land Of The New Rising Sun] (Jimi Hendrix) 5:31
Come Together (The Beatles) 5:54
Communications Breakdown (Led Zepplin) 2:53
Ave Maria (Traditional) 6:16
Big Bottom (Spinal Tap) 4:54
Can You See Me (Jimi Hendrix) 2:43
Cop Killer (Body Count) 4:20
Earache My Eye (Cheech and Chong) 5:50
Homicidal Suicidal (Budgie) 4:42
I Don’t Care About You (Fear) 1:56
Stray Cat Blues (Rolling Stones) 4:40
Touch Me (Fancy) 2:51
I Can’t Give You Anything (The Ramones)

Demos & Instrumentals

Fell on Black Days (Demo) – Early version 4:02
Heartfist 8:08
Angel on Fire 7:02
Black Cat 5:18
Missing 5:32
Stolen Prayers 6:41
Waiting for the Sun 4:47
Nowhere But You 5:12
Unholy War 5:22
Jerry Garcia’s Finger 3:27
Motorcycle Loop 1:33
A Splice Of Space Jam 4:04

Live & Alternate Versions

Fell On Black Days (Video Version) 5:28
Like Suicide (Acoustic Version) 6:17
HIV Baby 4:59
Black Hole Sun (Acoustic) 3:13
Exit Stonehenge 1:20
Search and Destroy 3:45
Mission 2000 3:47
New Damage (with Brian May) 5:22
Gun (Live ’90) 5:41
Get On The Snake (Live ’90) 3:40
Dusty (Moby Remix)
Rhinosaur (Ministry Remix)
Rusty Cage (Johnny Cash version)

If you’re a Soundgarden fan like myself, and there’s anything that I may have missed, please, let me know, because I have to get my hands on it. I obsess over these things you know!

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Check out this video of the unreleased track “Fall Sunday”

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Countless adolescent lovers bared their beings and expressed their feelings through the tapes that they created for each other, and almost as many young adventurers poured their heart and soul in to creating the perfect collection of songs for their buddies to enjoy on a road trip. It was an art to create the perfect mix tape. Today we have playlists, but outside of the song selection itself, there’s just no craftsmanship in dragging a bunch of files from iTunes into the left sidebar. How complicated is that?

There were so many things to consider when crafting a mix tape, right down to the selection of the tape (we can all remember how unforgiving and non-reuseable chrome tapes could be with their irritating ghosting and bleed-through, but if you could get it right the first time on those ones, boy did they sound good). There were a few key factors that it really came down to, and once you had these mastered, you were like a mix tape guru.

Avoiding an audible “click” from pausing the dub between tracks

This was arguably the most important aspect. No matter how good everything else on the tape might be, if you had “pause clicks” you failed! Period.

It wasn’t always easy to avoid these clicks either. Sometimes you would have to go back and re-dub a song two or three times before you could get it right, and on some decks, that could be damn difficult. While there may have been the odd with a mystical, magical recorder from the land of fairies and leprechauns where it simply wouldn’t make these noises for them at all, for most of us it meant recording a few second of silence, then rewinding back until right after the previous song, cuing up the next song, then slowly easing your finger off the pause button as the next next song was about to start. Quite a feat, and pretty tricky to master, but if you didn’t want to be laughed out of the car on a road trip, you had to figure it out.

Filling up each side of the tape to avoid silence at the end of the reel

Filling up all 45 minutes per side of a 90-minute tape took careful planning, and it was simply unacceptable to have more than 30 seconds of silence at the end of the tape. We’d sit there watching the black tape around the reel shrink and hope that we had calculated right, and that we would not run out before the last song was done, but we also didn’t want to see much left over after. If there was, we were left with some pretty crappy options: maybe you had to record over the last song on the tape with something longer, or maybe you had to take drastic measures and take the cassette apart and actually cut part of the ribbon and use scotch tape to attach it back to the reel. No matter, if you had more than the acceptable amount of dead time at the end of a side, the tape was simply good for nothing but the trash.

Making sure that no artist had more than one song per side

The general rule here that was unless it was a concept tape (Grunge Music was allowed to have more than one Nirvana song per side), or a compilation of a specific artist, it was a major faux-pas to have the same artist twice per side. Even if you were just trying to fill in the last 2:36 of a tape and your only real option was a second song by Bel Biv Devoe that just happened to be 2:3o, too bad, you should have planned better. If you had to have two songs by the same musician on the same tape, plan for it to go on the other side.

Creating the artwork and/or song list on the cassette jacket

We all had that friend (or maybe more than one) who would just make a mess of the jacket, with messy, barely legible writing, and ink smudges from touching it too soon after it was written. We didn’t want to listen to their sloppy tape, and nor did we want to be that person, so putting some effort into the insert was definitely important, because people would judge your mix by the cover.

Usually this just required being creative with some coloured pens or markers. Hell, artwork wasn’t even necessary, but what was was a neatly written song list with no scribbles or mistakes. God forbid we should write the list before recording it, only to find that the last song wouldn’t fit on the tape. Then what? That’s why I always bought tapes that came with either two inserts, or at least reversible ones.

Coming up with a name for the mix

Finally, once you had the tape all finished, it was time to come up with a name for it. Dumb Mixes, Crossphase, 100 Deep, and Trackadelic were some of the ones I made over the years. The name was by no means a deal breaker, but it was just lame to call our tapes “June 1989″.

So there it is, some of the rules to creating a great mix tape, and I’m sure most of us who lived in the era of the cassette have fond memories of creating them. If there’s some other things that I missed here, please comment and share. We’d all love to hear your stories.

Peace.

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First off, this bike is basically the evolution of the Katana, and is not meant to be compared to a GSX-R, it’s in a totally different class, and is not simply the touring version of that bike. The GSX650-F is much heavier, has a different engine, and is a hell of a lot more comfortable, especially for a big guy like me.

At the beginning of the season, I looked at and tried out a number of different bikes, including the Yamaha FZ6R and FZ1, the Aprilia Shiver, and the Suzuki Gladius and Bandit. In the end it came down to a choice between the Suzuki SV650 and the GSX650-F. It was a tough choice, but the latter won out because of the bigger size, comfort, and of course, its striking appearance.

I was a little reticent to be rid of my cruiser, but I just couldn’t put up with the slugishness or the noise of it anymore. My C2 served me great as a first bike, but it was time to move on. And even though the engine on the new bike is smaller, it still puts out almost twice as much horsepower and tourque as the Honda.

So now that I’ve spent the riding season on it, what are my thoughts? Quite simply, I love it!

This bike is exactly what I’ve been missing, and has put the excitement back in riding for me. It’s the right size, and it just enough power to be fast and fun, but without tempting me to be completely irresponsible with my speed.

As I’ve said, the bike itself is beautiful, especially in it’s limited edition 2009 Candy Orange, but that’s not all that it has going for it. The handling was excellent, especially on the twists, the acceleration is smooth, and it’s comfortable enough to spend hours on it without getting a sore ass or back.

The fuel consumption was also very reasonable, typically getting 5L/100km or 48mpg. Not super-great, but considering the size of the bike (weighing in at the same as my old cruiser – 550lbs). The economy got better on the highway, which is also where it’s weight comes in handy, as it it doesn’t let itself get pushed around very easily.

My only complaint really was the clutch, which was a little stiff and took some getting used to. However, this was much less of a problem than it seemed to be on the Yamaha’s, which made my hand sore after all of about 3 minutes.

Otherwise, this bike was perfect, and I look forward to riding it in the years to come. If you’re considering this bike at all, take my word, it’s great, and I highly recommend it. Also, if you have any questions at all, leave a comment, or send me an email, and I’d be happy to answer.

Peace.

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About a year and a half after we got our first dog, Mia, Bonnie and I made a few visits to the pet shelters in the Ottawa area. It really started out as us looking at a few dogs to see if we might find one that my Dad would like, and we never expected to be getting a second pet.

The first place we looked was the Ottawa Humane Society. They didn’t have many dogs there at the time, and no puppies. Since pet stores had started buying puppies, it really made it hard to find them at animal shelters. Who wants to pay a huge surrender fee when you can actually make money with an accidental litter. There were a few older dogs there (6+) but aside from their age, they were also too big. It really is a shame in that sense too, because they were almost all rottweilers, and you know the backstory there: irresponsible pet owners continuously buy these gentle giants as protection or whatever, then when they grow to be too big to take care of, they end up at the pound. Word of advice here, dogs aren’t some piece of furniture, the newest gadget, or a security device, they are a lifetime commitment, and deserve to given a good life and have the love that they so eagerly give returned to them.

After that we crossed the river over to Gatineau to have a look at the Hull SPCA.

I don’t believe that the place exists on it’s own anymore, and I’m glad, because it was a pretty sad scene. The Hull SPCA was a filthy, smelly place located in an industrial garage. The dogs didn’t look like they got a whole lot of sunlight, and we were pretty horrified. They had one nice-looking cocker spaniel there that we took for a walk though. Unfortunately, the dog was already almost 6, and had some pretty bad behavioural issues: it peed on EVERYTHING, including my shoe, and was obviously fixed late in life, since it had a humping issue too. We were pretty sad bringing it back to the place though, since it was such a dump, and because we didn’t hold out much hope for the poor animal to be adopted. I felt really guilty, but I knew I just couldn’t commit to the time and effort that would have been needed to properly re-train and care for this dog.

Finally, we headed over to the Aylmer SPCA, which was a wonderful place. It was a clean building out in an opened area where the staff took excellent care of the animals, walking them, bathing them, and letting them run and play and socialize in the adjoining yard.

While we were there, since we were really more-or-less looking for a puppy, we became interested in 5-month-old retriever named Devon. We played with him for a bit and were ready to take him home with us – if Dad didn’t want him, we could keep him ourselves. However, we had to make sure that Mia would get along with him before we brought him home, so we headed back to the condo, and I got Mia to take to the SPCA while Bonnie went to work.

When I introduced Mia to Devon, she was horrified! She cowered and shook and drooled at the site of the puppy. So that was the end of that idea.

When I was walking through the kennels to the front desk to take the puppy back, a beautiful, gentle, red-coated dog caught my eye. She was staring right at me and giving me a “take me home” look. So when I got Devon back to the staff, I asked if Mia could meet the dog they had named Amy. Mia loved her, and they got along right away. Wow, what a difference from her reaction to the puppy. This new dog seemed a little oblivious to things, but she was gorgeous and well-behaved. She looked like a pretty little fox. I decided to take her home.

When I first got her home, she walked around the condo, again, oblivious to everything. I was a little concerned at first that maybe we made a mistake, but that ended up not being the case at all. She was a sweet and caring dog and I couldn’t have asked for a better one. Bonnie and I renamed her Niki, after my late uncle Dominique’s dog, and made her a part of our family.

She was a very brave and protective dog, as she proved when on the second or third day that we had her and Bonnie took her out. A huge boxer in one of the other condo units busted out the window of that unit and came running at Bonnie, Mia, and Niki. Bonnie froze, but Niki, unafraid, went after the dog that was at least 4 or 5 times her size, lunging at it and scaring it off. Amazing.

We had lots of good times with her, she always wanted to be around me, and I often wondered why her previous owners did not go looking for such a beautiful animal when she ran away. She always had a sadness in her eye though, and maybe that was just her look, but she also had nightmares, so I couldn’t help but think about her life before us.

In her later years, she became increasingly deaf and incontinent. I began to forget what I loved about the old girl when she was younger, and I will forever feel guilty for that. Then, when she appeared to be having arthritis setting in, her kidneys were starting to fail her, and was starting to lose sense (she would often stare at walls for lengths of time), I made the decision that her time had come. It was something that I had never had to do before, and I really didn’t realize how hard it would be.

The last week before it happened, I tried to provide her as much love and patience as possible. I would not get upset with her accidents on the carpet, or on the bed, and I took her everywhere. I was a mess though. I would look at her, and want to pet her and hug her all the time, never letting her go. After one incident, where she pooped on the bed by accident, I will never forget how cute she was when she thought she would be in trouble and tried to hide in the closet. Her face was poking out from behind a pile of clothes, and she was stiff as a board. Poor thing, she did something she knew she shouldn’t, and she was cowering in fear when she did. That was no way to live. It made me realize what a tyrant I had been for yelling at her every time that that had happened lately, something she just couldn’t prevent anymore.

In her last 24 hours, she went to the dog park, and got to eat raw steak, she loved that. At the vet’s office, I went into the room, and she died in my arms, with her trusting eyes fixated on me. That was, and still is really tough to deal with. Although she trusted me with her life, and would die to protect mine, I allowed this to happen.

I know now how difficult it can be to make that decision for a pet. I know I will have to go through it again someday, but I hope to at least know the next time that I provided that pet with the best life and as much love as possible, and that there was absolutely no other choice. The thing with a pet is that you don’t know what they thought, or if they were in as much pain as they appeared, or if they will forgive you for breaching that faith that they have in you as their master.

I hope to see Niki again someday, and say that I’m sorry. Until then, I’ll hold on to the good memories, and pray that she knows that she was a special, beautiful, and very loved dog.

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You won’t see a lot of these around any more these days, as they are an endangered species, but if you do, consider yourself quite fortunate.

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UPDATE (2010-11-11): I’ve now marked the video as private and am only letting people by request. My intention was to use this video as an anti-crack public service message, but an increase in views and the comments on it have lead me to realize that it has become more of a joke. The girl in the video had a real problem that is best not exploited solely for comical purposes. Sorry to all those that missed out, but if you are interested, please leave a comment below, and I will send you access to the video. Peace.

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I was there to catch Ice Cube and Our Lady Peace this time around. I was a big Cube fan back in the late 80s and early 90s, and my band opened for OLP in Winnipeg back in ’95, so I was pretty excited to see the show.

I got there a bit early, so I took in a bit of the Mishka performance. They were not bad, but reggae is not so much my thing, so I’m not the best person to have an opinion on them.

Anyhow, after a bit, I went over to stake out my spot next to the Main Stage. Like last year with Snoop Dogg, it was still pretty bright outside when Ice Cube arrived.

Just as I suspected it would be, the crowd was made up of probably 97 percent white suburbanites, at least half of which are predated by Amirikkka’s Most Wanted, nevermind his NWA material.

He came out letting us know that he started this gangsta shit, which he certainly did, and lit it up with awesome renditions of Natural Born Killaz and Hello.

After that, he got interactive with the crowd. Apparently 2009 marks his 25th anniversary in the rap game. It certainly showed, because he was a seasoned pro up there. Didn’t miss a beat, and it was much more impressive than the other hip-hop performances I’ve seen in the past by 2 Live Crew, Young MC, and Snoop Dogg.

As much as I was digging the new stuff, when he pulled out the Straight Outta’ Compton album sleeve, I was floored. Although the crowd was going crazy, I was laughing because I’m sure that most of them had any clue what NWA was really about, but it’s cool, because it makes me feel less old.

Cube started running off the names of the group members, and the crowd gave it up for Eazy-E. There was also good applause for Dre, and a little less for Ren and Yella. I couldn’t help but wonder at that point how many people were aware that Yella now makes porn movies with big-bootied ghetto chicks. Check it out.

There was a little excitement when some douche jumped on the stage and got pulled off. What are these people thinking?

The show ended great with Cube doing Bop Gun and promising to be back. I hope he does come back. That was fun, and the crowd dug it. Good job Bluesfest people!

So then I made my way over to the second stage to watch Xavier Rudd. It was pretty decent, and I’d like to hear more on iTunes. The Didgeridoo is a pretty cool instrument.

While I was waiting for Our Lady Peace to hit the stage, I noticed how well-run this whole event is. It was packed, and it just grows year after year. I remember going to Sunfest back in Manitoba, it was never like this. Winnipeg, take note, the guy who made a tonne of money, despite bankrupting several companies, by screwing bands out of money, is now your mayor. Food for thought in your next municipal election.

Anyhow, from the diversity of music, to the diversity of food, to the diversity of the crowd, it really is an accomplishment to pull off such a superb production.

So I made my way back to the main stage and watched the big screen for a while as it advertised the Superdogs coming to Scotiabank Place on October 3rd. I also thought about how comfortable my new Dayton boots were compared to my crappy old Joe Rockets before I got talking to some people in their early 20s. One guy thought I was an idiot for wanting to see Les Claypool (who he had no idea who he was) instead of Styx. He was impressed though, that I opened for OLP in ’95, but asked how old I was because apparently he was only 7 at the time.

I’ve seen Our Lady Peace a few times. Obviously, when we opened for them, then again at the University of Manitoba, Molson Centre in ’99, then I believe at Summersault in 2000. They’ve always done a great show, but I’ve never seen them without Mike Turner, who I really liked, both as a person and as a guitarist.

When we played with OLP 14 years ago, I got to hang and talk with Jeremy and Mike. Both were stand-up guys, and it was cool, because our drummer, Jean-Francois (who is now a radio DJ in Gatineau) ran into Jeremy years later and the guys remembered the show. Maybe it was the power going out, the stage barrier breaking, the fact that over 1000 people were packed into a 600-capacity room, or maybe that one of the band members found a syringe in a pillow in their hotel room that night, but it was a memorable show for them.

They hit the stage with a great version of One Man Army, getting the packed crowd into the show right from the get-go, and never let up at any point. The audience was so receptive, and the rapport between them and the band was beautiful to see. By Maida’s reaction, it seemed that they were even blown away by the whole thing. I don’t think that they imagined that they would be permorming for so many people that were so into the music and the experience.

The music itself was great. They played a lot of older material, as well as a few songs from their upcoming album “Burn Burn”. The new guitarist, although a bit nerdy, was a top-notch perfomer, solid and entertaining. Taggart’s drums had superb sound. His snare was was crisp and cutting, and the bass drum was clear and booming.

The show ended with Maida jumping into the crowd during the crowd favourite Starseed. It was awesome to see this kind of turnout for a home-grown talent, and it was clear that these guys had attained veritable rockstar status. They obviously fed off the love in the audience, and quite frankly, to me, that’s what rock shows are all about. When I look around, I like to see people singing along, and lost in the music, and there was no shortage of that there.

Unfortunately, my stupid BlackBerry reset itself for no reason during the show, so I lost the set lists I had put together for both performances. Bummer, but I guess that’s technology – I shouldn’t put too much faith in it.

Anyhow, I had a great time again, and now I look forward to Thursday night where I’ll be seeing Busta Rhymes, Live, and Les Claypool.

Peace.

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Within that group of artists, I have multiple levels of appreciation. Starting out at the lowest level are bands that I follow casually. These are musicians that have put out some solid songs, so I will give their follow up albums a listen, and buy them if they’re good.

One level up from that is the groups that I will typically like enough to buy any following music without having to test drive it first. I give them the benefit of a doubt, and just pick up their music if I see it in the stores.

Better yet are the bands that I rush out and buy their albums the day they come out. I visit their sites regularly, watching for future release dates, and then plan to get to the music store on those dates.

Finally, at the top of the list are the artists that not only to I buy their albums on the release dates, but I actively seek out rarities and b-sides by them. These bands are the few, but the elite for me – NIN, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Monster Magnet and a few others.

Anyhow, to get to the point, the Stone Temple Pilots fall into my second-highest level of band appreciation, so when I had the chance to check them out at the Ottawa Bluesfest, I had to seize the opportunity.

I had seen them once before – a long time ago at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, opening for Megadeth. Unfortunately, that show sucked because the crowd of mullet-headed bangers there to see Mustaine and Co. were not very open-minded to groups that didn’t have re-animated skeletons on their album covers.

Now, a while back, I had heard a live performance by STP on the radio, and they were pretty solid. It may have been during one of singer Scott Weiland’s sober periods, but it was tight, and so I expected a lot from last night’s concert.

The show opened up brilliantly with the band coming casually on stage, Weiland looking dapper in a white suit and purple hat, and exploding into a rendition of Silvergun Superman. Eric Kretz and the DeLeo brothers were very tight, although I’m not sure if they’ve changed their look at all in the last 17 years or so. I noted that Dean is very much the prototypical rock guitarist in the vein of Jimmy Page, Steve Perry, or Keith Richards.

A couple of songs in, however, the band started to show signs of rust from not playing together in a while. After they played Vaseline, which Weiland pre-empted with an anecdote about the publicly-help misconceptions about the petroleum-jelly product, and only using it for its intended purposes, the band started to look and sound like some high school kids that weren’t really ready for taking their act public.

It continued that way through a version of Army Ants where Weiland was off-key and then into an awful rendition of Sour Girl where things seemed to have fallen apart completely.

But then, out came the megaphone, and into Crackerman, where all the loose ends were all of a sudden no pulled together. Maybe it was the second-hand smoke getting to me, but the show did a complete 180, and the crowd was right back into it. What almost seemed like a write-off was turning out to be a pretty sweet gig. They followed up with the crowd favourite Plush, and continued right through the next six songs to the end with an absolutely rock-hard performance.

While the band left the stage for the encore break, I couldn’t help but notice that there were some kids there that had to be 15 or 16. I thought to myself that STP’s first album, Core, was out before these people were probably born. It’s always nice to see a new generation coming out to appreciate my music.

Although I expected them to come back out and play Big Bang Baby, they did not. When they hit the stage again they did Dead and Bloated, which was exceptional, then finished off with Trippin’ (on a Hole in a Paper Heart).

Before the last song, Weiland told the crowd that they were working on a new album, so I’m excited. As I mentioned above, STP are a level 2 band for me, so I will be buying it on its release date.

All and all, a great show! I’m not sure which was goofier, Dean’s silly walk, or Scott’s dancing, but honestly, they were both entertaining, so no complaints from me. They basically stuck to their first 2 albums in terms of music, and never played anything from Shangri-la-di-da, but that’s cool with me because they stuck to what the crowd wanted.

I’m glad I went, and I’m looking forward to heading down to Ice Cube and Our Lady Peace tonight at Bluesfest.

Peace.

Set List:

Silvergun Superman
Wicked Garden
Vaseline
Big Empty
Lounge Fly
Army Ants
Sour Girl
Creep
Crackerman
Plush
Interstate love song
Seven caged tigers
Down
Sex type thing
Sin
Unglued
–
Dead and Bloated
Trippin’

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On the plus side, the show starred one of my favourite underrated Canadian actors as serial killer John Wakefield, who turned out one of the better performances of the series. The actor in question is Callum Keith Rennie. For those of you not familiar with him, he played Billy Talent in the movie “Hard Core Logo” (for whom the band is named after), as well as Det. Stanley Raymond Kowalski alongside Paul Gross on the series “Due South” in the late-nineties, Craig Zwiller in Last Night, and Dodd in Memento. The character on Harper’s Island was reminiscent of the one he did in an excellent movie in which he co-starred with Molly Parker – Suspicious River, where he also played a scary, evil psychopath.

Noticing other Canadian talents on the show, such as Gina Holden (Shae Allen) and Brandon Jay McLaren (Danny Brooks), and Ben Cotton (Shane Pierce) got me thinking about some of my favourite Canadian actors who are extremely talented, but are criminally underused and underrated. Aside from the above-mentioned Callum Keith Rennie, here are a few more names that you may or may not recognize:

1. Roy Dupuis (imdb)
   This actor, who got most of his recognition playing Michael Samuelle on “Nikita: Femme Fatale“, is as great to watch in English as he is in French. Some of his stand-out roles were as Maurice Richard in “The Rocket”, as Ross Desbiens in “The Last Chapter”, and who can forget his brilliant performance as General Roméo Dallaire in “Shake Hands with the Devil”.
2. Lothaire Bluteau (imdb)
   Another bilingual Canadian talent, he was the star of “Jesus of Montreal”. Other notable appearances have been in the movie “Conquest” and the TV mini-series “Race to Mars”. He also had a small recurring role on the series “24″ and a bit part on the critically-acclaimed series “Oz”.
3. Michael Ironside (imdb)
   Perhaps more recognizable amongst young people today for his voice-acting work as Sam Fisher in the “Splinter Cell” series of video games, Ironside is one of the most solid and prolific actors out there, having appeared in nearly 200 games, movies, and television series. He was absolutely flawless in “The Last Chapter” as Bob Durelle, and has most recently appeared in the blockbuster “Terminator: Salvation”.
4. Molly Parker (imdb)
   Parker takes on some of the toughest and most daring roles I’ve seen to date. Her depiction of necrophiliac Sandra Larson in the movie “Kissed” cannot be taken too lightly, and when contrasted with other roles such as Amy Foley in “Men with Brooms”, it’s clear to see that she is a very diverse actress.
5. Elias Koteas (imdb)
   Outside of his role as “Casey Jones” in the movie “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, Koteas was one of my favourite actors through the 90s, especially with the performances he turned out in “Crash” (the David Cronengerg version) and “Exotica”.

Other notables include:

• Mia Kirshner (Exotica, The Crow: City of Angels)
• Colm Feore (Trudeau, Bon Cop Bad Cop)
• Hugh Dillon (Former signer of the Headstones, Hard Core Logo, Durham County)
• Sarah Polley (Dawn of the Dead, The Sweet Hereafter)
• Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek [2009], Thirteen Days)

So if you have a chance, check out some of the above movies, and pay attention to what a great stable of actors we have here in Canada. They’re a very talented bunch, so let’s support them.

Peace.

(Oh, and in case you’re interested, here’s my own IMDB entry.)

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Roller skates were a huge craze that really blew up in the ’70s and contributed to a whole sub-culture that gave us such iconic things as the roller derby, roller rinks, and the European songstress Roller Girl. Although they’ve faded considerably from the limelight in the years following their glory days, roller skates have managed to stick around and evolve, as well as spin off into other products such as the inline skate.

The story of roller skates dates back more that 250 years to their first recorded use in a London stage performance in 1743. Officially, however, their existence as a noted invention didn’t come about until 1760, when a Belgian by the name of John Joseph Merlin demonstrated a rough version of a skate with wheels.

A more modern skate, resembling what exists today, but without the ability to control them very easily (resulting in multiple tree collisions) was finally patented nearly 60 years later in 1819.

The design was continually improved upon, until in 1863, an American inventor named James Leonard Plimpton created what he called the quad skate. It was a huge step forward, as it allowed a skater to turn a lot more easily due to a rubber cushion that allowed the person to lean on the skate to move it in a given direction.

The popularity of the quad skate was so huge in fact, that merely 3 years after its invention, the world’s first roller rink was opened to the public in Newport, Rhode Island.

By the end of the 19th century, the roller skate had also changed its wheel to the modern ball bearing type that can be found in today’s inline skates and skateboards, added a rubber stopper, and was mass produced in the US. Essentially, modern roller skates are not all that different from what could have been found 110 years ago.

It wasn’t until the 1970s though, that the roller skate really had its day in the sun. As people were branching out latching on to any crazy new ways to assert their individuality, roller skating became the latest fad as the roller rink reinvented itself as a funky parallel to the disco bars of the day.

As patrons of roller rinks would strut their stuff under disco balls to Sly and the Family Stone and the Bee-gees, the popularity of roller skates spread itself out into other pop culture elements such as pornography and sports, and stemmed its own sub-culture.

One facet that became a piece of pop culture in and of itself was the roller derby, a form of sports entertainment in the vain of professional wrestling which was created in the US and is based on a number of competitors skating around an oval track.

Although the sport of roller skating around a track, and the term roller derby itself, came about in the 1920s, its modern incarnation as a contact sport and the birth of such televised leagues as RollerJam and RollerGames came about with the disco-era popularity of the roller skate.

Roller derby continues to exist and go on strong today as a grassroots, do-it-yourself, type of sport amongst groups of mostly female competitors. The women athletes are typically punk girls, or Riot Grrrls, participating in league play and has a campy element about the it.

The popularity of the rollerskating subculture also inspired the 1975 sci-fi action classic, and its 2002 remake, Rollerball. This movie, directed by Canadian director extraordinaire, Norman Jewison, and starring James Caan, has a cult following and actually got some talking about starting an actual real-life Rollerball league, which horrified Jewison.

Although there are still a few roller rinks in operation today, such as Wheelies in Winnipeg, for the most part, the bulk of them closed down in the late 1990s. Other than for nostalgia, the roller skate and the sub-culture surrounding them fell out of style and had a steady decline after the promotion of a new type of 4-wheeled inline skate in 1979.

The inline skate, or “Rollerblade” as it is often called, named for the original trademark created and popularized by American brothers Scott and Brennan Olson, were originally brought to market and sold as a type of summer hockey skate. However, they became so popular that only 13 years after their introduction to the public, inline skate hockey appeared as a sport in the 1992 Olympics.

Inline skates became the new norm, and synonymous with roller skates, but they were significantly different in not only in use but also in the culture surrounding them. Whereas the old style roller skate had developed its own sub-culture, and was more often associated with discos than fitness, the inline skate represented a shift to sport, athleticism, and well-being.

Today, although the inline skate is the prevalent choice and for the most part the sole option available at most sporting goods stores, it’s still possible to find a good pair of roller skates simply by looking online. Because of the difference in use and sub-culture, there are still those who cling to the old style be it for use at a roller rink, participating in a roller derby or simply for nostalgic purposes. As a matter of fact, the old quad seems to be making a bit of a comeback, especially with society’s preoccupation with times gone by and the individual’s quest for self-definition through originality and style the way they did in the 70s. It’s hard to tell what may happen down the line, but it’s probably a safe bet that there will always be a market and place for both. If not, maybe it should come down to a Rollerball Death Match.

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Last night, when I heard the news, I was absolutely floored. I actually couldn’t believe it. I was actually saddened. Events like this always cause me to reflect, and this time is no different. So I just thought I would share how I feel about it.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to listen to Ottawa Sun columnist and founder of the The Elvis Spotting Society, Earl McRae, give a two-hour lecture on the importance of Elvis Presley as a pop-culture icon. It was a very interesting dialogue, but there was one thing that he said that I took away with me, permanently changed my perspective on Elvis, and helped me understand in a way that I had never before. As a precursor to his speech, Earl told us how he remembered the King, not by what he became before he died, but as the man the world loved – as a young, dynamic, trend-setter who changed the music world forever.

Amazing! In that short sentence I got it. All these years, I had completely failed to understand why my parents loved Elvis so much. To me, he had just been an fat, sweaty, Vegas act who wore gawdy jumpsuits and did inferior covers of black musician’s songs. What I didn’t see, in my ignorance, was the brilliant showman who would wear ultra-stylish suits with a popped collar, and who brought an under-appreciated form of music, black music, to the masses. His influence was undeniable, but I only got what I saw, which was not how it actually was.

And so it also goes for Michael Jackson. Fifty is a young age to pass, but it almost seems like a shame that he didn’t go earlier, when people would have remembered him for the wonderful music that he brought us, the good that he did around the world, or the love that he had for his fans, rather than the garbage the tabloid media and gossip rags fed us in the end, profitting off a lost soul with some odd, but albeit major, eccentricities.

If Kurt Cobain were still alive, would he be a legend, and would we even care about him at all any more? How about Jim Morrison? Or Janis Joplin? Would Jimi Hendrix still be a creative force, or would he have also become an eccentric media icon?

Michael Jackson was a living legend, more than can’t be said for at least three of the above mentioned musicians. However, he survived long enough to get skewered by the hateful media no different than Elvis did. We are a society that eat our own.

Like in our personal relationships, we have to remember the reasons that brought us close to our friends, and why fell in love with our partners. We have to see through the diffrences that we don’t understand, and through to the things that we appreciate. It can be hard sometimes, but if we don’t, all we have left is disgust, intolerence, and hate, and that’s no way to live and love.

So, for myself, I’m going to remember the man that helped to create “We are the World”, who helped children all over the planet, who made some of the most brilliant pop music I’ve ever heard, who innovated the Moonwalk, who obviously loved his kids, Paris and Prince, and who I idolized as a 6-year-old.

C’ya Mikey, and may you finally be at peace.

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Normally, even if I fail to appreciate a band or an album myself, I can understand its relevance and/or cultural significance. For example, I don’t like the Beach Boys, and I hate the album Pet Sounds, but I understand its importance. Same thing with the Clash and London Calling. However, not so with OK Computer. I reiterate, it’s completely lost on me.

So if someone can give me an explanation, please do so. Or, if you are like me and think that the record is simply an audiological case of the Emperor’s new clothes, please let me know. I’d love to hear from you on this.

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There’s nothing else out there in the sports world that’s even comparable. It combines the best of just about every major sport in existence, with none of the negatives. There’s the fast pace of basketball, the cunning defense and strategy of hockey, the physical endurance of soccer, and the hard-hitting action of football. All with none of the sissies or long, boring stretches of nothingness found in baseball.

One of the greatest things about lacrosse is the fact that the players are still playing for the love of the game. These guys get decent money, but it’s nowhere near an NHL or NBA salary. They still have heart, and show determination in what they do. There’s still genuine excitement in the game. They’re not a bunch of millionaires out there whining about their contracts and crying every time they get a little bump in the head. You won’t see a lacrosse player bawling like a sissy little girl at a press conference about concussions.

I constantly hear people complaining about the price of professional sports tickets, but when there is a great alternative that comes along, people don’t show up. It’s the case in many cities across Canada and the United States. Everyone makes a big fuss that hockey, or baseball, or basketball players make too much, but yet they still go to the games and pad their already-fat-enough pockets even more. Quit going! Go see an NLL game instead. Hell, even go to an arena football, or a CFL game instead. There are plenty of options. I just happen to think that lacrosse is the best one.

I have no doubt that this is the sport of the 21st century, and that people are one day going to realize what an awesome game it is and come in hordes. Just look at the Toronto Rock, or the Philadelphia Wings. They attract huge crowds, and there’s a reason for it.

So why not find out for yourself what us hard-core lax fans have known all along. Visit NLL.com, to see who the nearest team to you is, and get yourselves some tickets. Believe me, you’ll have a blast!

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The book is actually a collection of years of columns that appeared in Canadian Geographic that were written by the author. It explores the different ways that places were named, as well as ethnic origins of those names and any standards used to come used to create them.

At times, the essays contained within the book can seem a little academic for the average reader, which can render it a little boring. But the remarkable research put into the content of the book more than makes up for it. Overall, anyone who want to find out about why anyone would name a province Saskatchewan, or which native tribes were most responsible for the names that scatter the Canadian landscape, this is a very fascinating book, and well worth the read.

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Most times I did not want to put this book down. There was much attention paid to detail, and a lot of research put into it. Every comic cell is a masterpiece of it’s own. The book basically follows around the main character, Joe, on his explorations through Palestine and it seems to be a very authentic account of the way people live there from day-to-day. Most of the comics are visual accounts of stories being told by people as Joe sits down with different groups and families throughout Palestine.

The lack of one specific storyline or goal, and the way the author jumps from place to place and from story to story works with great success, making the reader feel almost as though it was he that was living amongst these people and meeting with them.

Unfortunately, because of the very real accounts of the plight of the Palestinians, and the idiotic personal politics of certain people with the power to censor what we read, it can be difficult to find this work of genius, so you may have to look hard to find it at your local bookstore. Fortunately, however, it is available through Amazon.ca and most likely can be ordered through an independent bookseller.

This is a strongly recommended read to try and gain some sort of understanding about what is happening around the world, and to get another point of view from the one that is constantly served to us by the media.

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