Tuesday, May 3, 2011
"...this wheel's on fire, rollin' down the road, best notify my next of kin, this wheel shall explode..."
The wheel of life spins crazily around in Varanasi. It is hot in Varanasi ~ 38/39 degrees ~ and the city is punctuated by tranquility and bedlam. I am staying at Asi Ghat, at the southern end of the stretch of ghats that hug the Ganges...hear Tulsi Ghat (recently highlighted in an episode of "The Amazing Race"). It is a short walk to the burning ghats where 100-150 bodies are cremated each day in a timeless ritual. The bodies are wrapped, the waters of the sacred Ganges are sprinkled on the body, the priest performs a series of rituals and then flame from the temple is used to ignite the fire which will burn for 2-3 hours before the remains are finally released into the Ganges. Not all bodies are cremated, however, as we witnessed a wrapped body being towed into the middle of the river by a boat and then released into the flowing waters. This is all performed in a practical, matter-of-fact manner ~ no weepin' and wailin' at the burning ghats ~ amidst the hubub of boatmen selling a trip on the river, kids playing cricket on the ghats, people and pilgrims bathing in the Ganges, laundry being washed and dried at the river's edge and all of this amidst the blaze of colour and the heat of the day. The alleyways leading off the ghats are narrow and filled with shops of all kinds ~ Varanasi is reknowned as a silk production centre and the Muslims are particularly active in this business. The alleyways stretch this way and that for several kilometers and are especially confined around the area of the Golden Temple where there is a heavy security presence ~ communal violence flares up from time to time so there is a heavy military detail with lots of guns about! Sanitation continues to be a problem in the old city...open sewers and the stench of piss walls and latrines is overwhelming from time to time. But Varanasi continues to be a compelling and, at times, a surprisingly peaceful place. Maybe it is the spiritualism that is evident in day-to-day life, maybe it is the magic of the Ganges. There is great good to be had here...delicious apple pie a la mode at Pizza Vaatika, a vegetarian buffet at the Hotel Ganges View (slightly interrupted one evening by a sudden and freak wind/sand storm). But mostly one just walks back and forth along the ghats...watching the puja festivals at the main ghat in the evening, watching the bedlam settle into tranquility in the evening, taking a moment to smoke a bedie overlooking the Ganges. And then it is on to Delhi...a wild 16km trip by tuk tuk through the chaos of Varanasi streets to the train station at Mugalshari...and a 2AC overnight train to Delhi...2AC (an air conditioned "compartment" shared by four people, two upper births, two lower births...sheets, pillow and blanket are provided and there are curtains which one pulls to close off the "compartment from the aisle). This if the fourth overnight train trip...happy journey! And the wheels of the train go round and round...
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
what a night!
Saturday night...January 30th, our CD release show for Stereo Bang Bang. What a night. It was a dream EQ'd in 16 channel stereo.
But I want to tell you about the day first.
2PM.
It felt a bit like the morning before a wedding. We rolled into the hall for the scheduled "load-in" at 2pm. Everything seems pretty low key, the guys were relaxed and feeling pretty good, and every once in a while you could see that glance on Mike or Wayne's or Andrew's face, the one that saw the evening ahead, anticipated, rehearsed, and rolled over each chord, lyric, beat again and again.
Man there is a crap load of little stuff to get done before a concert! The CEO in Rob was rising to the surface just below the skin, his organisational skills, acquired in a former life, were being called up to get the wheels rolling. The rest of us do our share of the schlepping but then skip out for coffee. Being well intentioned, we busy ourselves paving the road to hell as we let Rob enlist various people to get various things done by various times.
3PM.
We are done most of the schlepping that we can do, the green room is occupied by really cool people talking in really hip ways, ways that remind me that I have never been nor will ever be as cool as them, (sigh) but I am too old to really give a rat's ass at this point. We share the room with them and they work till four while we try to hang out and look halfways productive. Everyone is doing their own thing now just killing time and staying calm.
Is it really only 3:47? Five hours to go...
4PM
Bernie, head of the whole shebang gives us the go-ahead to start sound check. Simon, our fantastic sound guy, starts to work his magic. Sara's band goes first, Sarah starts her first song and everything stops moving. Its as though any sound right now would be an affront to the soul, she sang like she was just freed. Man this is going to be good.
5PM
Some of the volunteer flight attendants arrive. They are decked out in highly complementary fashion for flight attendants, I am obviously flying the wrong airlines. They are so bright and quick, they are a welcome diversion as we wait...
6PM
Its starting to get close, there's a lot more chatter and buzz in the hallways, people milling around, old friends of Rob and Big Mike show up. I am meeting a lot of new people, Meagan, our head flight attendant, Joanne Roberts from CBC Vancouver, our first officer. Joanne will be introducing both bands in full air force flight uniform, (yes there is something hot about a woman in a uniform.)We chatted them up. We were their tackle dummies for line rehearsals, really anything to make the time go faster... really its only 6:14PM?
7PM The house manager is in place, some of the early birds are starting to mill outside. Doors open at 7:30.
We head to the craft table to stuff our faces with tabouli and chicken. Careful not to overeat, boys, we will be singing shortly. ( is this like swimming, never eat 30 minutes before going on stage?) We can hear people starting to roll in to the theatre at 7:30 ish. Butterflies for dessert anyone?
8:10PM
Curtain goes up, Joanne intorduces Sara Merrieros trio. Sara blows away the audience with an eclectic program of fado, jazz, blues and a little country. The audience loves her. She sells out all of her CDs at the break.
9:15PM
Go time. We take the stage and I can hear my heart beat in my ears. The applause is enthusaistic and generous. This audience wants to have fun! Time to give them something to clap about.
The songs flow easily, the crowd is warm, they are enjoying themselves. Time for me to join them, settle down, settle in, let the groove of the music cut its way through the air and spill out over the stage edge. Sometimes I find myself getting lost in it all, it seems unreal...watch the pace boys, keep it on the rails.
Before I know it, we are on the last song. That was it? Holy crap that went by quickly. We wanted it to slow down, we had this thing going with the audience and we didn't even get their number...ok take a bow and get off. Well, ok one or two more, thank god you asked, we worked on the encore songs quite a bit, hoping you would.
OK, we are done, and the night is over. What a joy, relief, panic, killer good time. Every one was so awesome who helped. It was like throwing a really great house party and all your friends showed up to pitch in.
So a big thanks again to them...
But I want to tell you about the day first.
2PM.
It felt a bit like the morning before a wedding. We rolled into the hall for the scheduled "load-in" at 2pm. Everything seems pretty low key, the guys were relaxed and feeling pretty good, and every once in a while you could see that glance on Mike or Wayne's or Andrew's face, the one that saw the evening ahead, anticipated, rehearsed, and rolled over each chord, lyric, beat again and again.
Man there is a crap load of little stuff to get done before a concert! The CEO in Rob was rising to the surface just below the skin, his organisational skills, acquired in a former life, were being called up to get the wheels rolling. The rest of us do our share of the schlepping but then skip out for coffee. Being well intentioned, we busy ourselves paving the road to hell as we let Rob enlist various people to get various things done by various times.
3PM.
We are done most of the schlepping that we can do, the green room is occupied by really cool people talking in really hip ways, ways that remind me that I have never been nor will ever be as cool as them, (sigh) but I am too old to really give a rat's ass at this point. We share the room with them and they work till four while we try to hang out and look halfways productive. Everyone is doing their own thing now just killing time and staying calm.
Is it really only 3:47? Five hours to go...
4PM
Bernie, head of the whole shebang gives us the go-ahead to start sound check. Simon, our fantastic sound guy, starts to work his magic. Sara's band goes first, Sarah starts her first song and everything stops moving. Its as though any sound right now would be an affront to the soul, she sang like she was just freed. Man this is going to be good.
5PM
Some of the volunteer flight attendants arrive. They are decked out in highly complementary fashion for flight attendants, I am obviously flying the wrong airlines. They are so bright and quick, they are a welcome diversion as we wait...
6PM
Its starting to get close, there's a lot more chatter and buzz in the hallways, people milling around, old friends of Rob and Big Mike show up. I am meeting a lot of new people, Meagan, our head flight attendant, Joanne Roberts from CBC Vancouver, our first officer. Joanne will be introducing both bands in full air force flight uniform, (yes there is something hot about a woman in a uniform.)We chatted them up. We were their tackle dummies for line rehearsals, really anything to make the time go faster... really its only 6:14PM?
7PM The house manager is in place, some of the early birds are starting to mill outside. Doors open at 7:30.
We head to the craft table to stuff our faces with tabouli and chicken. Careful not to overeat, boys, we will be singing shortly. ( is this like swimming, never eat 30 minutes before going on stage?) We can hear people starting to roll in to the theatre at 7:30 ish. Butterflies for dessert anyone?
8:10PM
Curtain goes up, Joanne intorduces Sara Merrieros trio. Sara blows away the audience with an eclectic program of fado, jazz, blues and a little country. The audience loves her. She sells out all of her CDs at the break.
9:15PM
Go time. We take the stage and I can hear my heart beat in my ears. The applause is enthusaistic and generous. This audience wants to have fun! Time to give them something to clap about.
The songs flow easily, the crowd is warm, they are enjoying themselves. Time for me to join them, settle down, settle in, let the groove of the music cut its way through the air and spill out over the stage edge. Sometimes I find myself getting lost in it all, it seems unreal...watch the pace boys, keep it on the rails.
Before I know it, we are on the last song. That was it? Holy crap that went by quickly. We wanted it to slow down, we had this thing going with the audience and we didn't even get their number...ok take a bow and get off. Well, ok one or two more, thank god you asked, we worked on the encore songs quite a bit, hoping you would.
OK, we are done, and the night is over. What a joy, relief, panic, killer good time. Every one was so awesome who helped. It was like throwing a really great house party and all your friends showed up to pitch in.
So a big thanks again to them...
CFUV 101.9FM, Monday Magazine, The Spiral Cafe, Westshore Hearing Solutions, The Victoria Cool Aid Society, the ticket outlets: Ditch Records, Lyle's Place, Performance Bicycles. Special Thanks to: Megan Branson Jo-Ann Roberts - Host of CBC Radio's All Points West in Victoria Spencer Rieu Wendy Wall, COC Publicist And our ground crew including Sue and Arielle Regimbal, Ursula, Julia and Wayne's friend, Margaret,... Alice Hawes, Faro and Armand for the Green Room, Devour and Patisserie Danielle for Green Room food...and to each and every person who came out to see us. You are why we do this. Thank you.
Ok, it's now official... STEREO BANG BANG CAN BE PURCHASED AT CDBABY.COM, DITCH RECORDS @ 635 JOHNSON STREET AND LYLE'S PLACE AT 770 YATES STREET IN VICTORIA, BC.
(end of commercial, back to the regular programming of your life.)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
five more sleeps...
Had a great practice with the guys tonight. All the technical grinding is pretty much done, now its all about unleashing the hounds. The Saturday night CD release concert is on everybody's mind, we will have a lot of friends and fans; everyone of the guys wants to make sure we give them everything they want and more.We plan to leave it all on the stage, wrung dry and go home completely spent. The songs jumped out of our guitars tonight, there were great moments, just electric, still a few things here and there to fix but that's minor.
Our band is like distressed furniture, our imperfections are just part of who we are, part of our definition. As we lit into the first song tonight, it was clear we had made the jump to hyperdrive, into the stop thinking and start feeling, let'er rip, over the boards, drop the gloves, spill your guts time.
The concert has a few tricks of its own up its proverbial sleeve, its going to be, shall we say...interactive. Leave your inhibitions with the babysitter.
Doing lots of promo work this week as well. Catch our interview on Chek TV Island 30 on Friday January 22, 2010. www.chtv.com/ch/cheknews/features/Island%2030/index.html. Its 4 minutes 30 seconds form the end of the cast. Today Mike Raymer and Rob Egan were on with Joanne Roberts on CBC radio. Tomorrow we are taping an interview with A Channel at the spiral at 11:45 am. Wednesday Is the videotaping and interview at Shaw Cable. Saturday we will be featured on CBC`s North By Northwest Radio show. Hopefully all this promo work will bring a few more to the gig on Saturday.
Am I excited, a little nervous, you bet. Five more sleeps...
Our band is like distressed furniture, our imperfections are just part of who we are, part of our definition. As we lit into the first song tonight, it was clear we had made the jump to hyperdrive, into the stop thinking and start feeling, let'er rip, over the boards, drop the gloves, spill your guts time.
The concert has a few tricks of its own up its proverbial sleeve, its going to be, shall we say...interactive. Leave your inhibitions with the babysitter.
Doing lots of promo work this week as well. Catch our interview on Chek TV Island 30 on Friday January 22, 2010. www.chtv.com/ch/cheknews/features/Island%2030/index.html. Its 4 minutes 30 seconds form the end of the cast. Today Mike Raymer and Rob Egan were on with Joanne Roberts on CBC radio. Tomorrow we are taping an interview with A Channel at the spiral at 11:45 am. Wednesday Is the videotaping and interview at Shaw Cable. Saturday we will be featured on CBC`s North By Northwest Radio show. Hopefully all this promo work will bring a few more to the gig on Saturday.
Am I excited, a little nervous, you bet. Five more sleeps...
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Where can I buy tickets???
Where can I buy tickets to the Children of Celebrities CD Release Concert at Alix Goolden Hall on January 30?????
1. Ditch Records at 635 Johnson ~ this is a great little record and CD store, lots of great music...go in and check it out!
2. Lyle's Place at 770 Yates ~ right next to the Odeon, a Victoria institution!
3. The Spiral Cafe at 418 Craigflower Road ~ a good cup of coffee and a great spot to hang out!
4. Performance Bicycles at 3949D, Quadra Street ~ need a bike to get to the gig?
5. Westshore Hearing Solutions at #143 @ Westshore Shopping Centre - need ear plugs?
6. From any of the Children or from Sara Marreiros.
Children of Celebrities "Stereo Bang Bang" CD release concert
with special guests, The Sara Marreiros Trio
Saturday, January 30 at the Alix Goolden Hall
907 Pandora Avenue
Doors 7:30pm / Show 8pm
Tickets: $20 (includes a copy of the new CD)
To benefit the Victoria Cool-Aid Society, please bring a pair of socks to donate to the Sock Box!
Advance tickets available at: Lyle's Place, Ditch Records and The Spiral Cafe
Call (250) 386-5004 or (250) 388-3132 for more information
Sponsored by Monday Magazine, CFUV 101.9fm and Westshore Hearing Solutions, The Spiral Cafe
www.sonicbids.com/childrenofcelebrities ~ sample some of the new tunes
Friday, December 25, 2009
'Tis the season
For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I wish you a happy one. For those of you who celebrate other faiths' rituals, I wish you a happy one. For those of you who celebrate life, I wish you a happy one.
Its a small world, lets share.
Peace
Its a small world, lets share.
Peace
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Stereo Bang Bang...In Production
Duly noted that on the 25th of November 2009, Stereo Bang Bang is officially in production. Today the final approval was given to the artwork - following two minor corrections to the design - and the Master Disk is in the hands of DMA in Vancouver. It's all over now but the cryin'...delivery of the Cds is scheduled for the week of December 14. It has been a long and winding road...and, on the good news front, the Sara Merreiros Trio will be our special guests at our Cd Release Concert on Saturday, January 30 at Alix Goolden Hall in Victoria. We are so pleased that Sara can join us...along with her guitar player, Too Tall Ken Hall and Dan Weisenberger on mandolin. And the band played on...
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Woodshedding
Gettin' our groove on...Andrew has come up with a couple of great melodious new tunes. One of them Mike Reg has developed a lyrical approach to - tentatively titled "Suicide Wings" - and it is sounding great. The other one is also a terrific groove and we are playing with some lyrics that Rob wrote for a song titled "Mi Casa es su Casa" to massage the lyric and cadence to align with Andrew's musical vision...it is all in motion, works in progress...the woodshedding. We have this little woodshed in Reg's basement studio where songs and musical ideas are introduced and tested, where the tires are kicked, where the need for practise is identified, where improvements to technique are supported and encouraged...it is a pretty cool woodshed. The digital artwork files for Stereo Bang Bang are coming from DMA later today; we will proof, approve and then DMA will provide a hard copy for proofing by our mad design genius, Andrew, before going to print. We are expecting the Master Disk from Spencer imminently and, following a listening preview, it will go to DMA for pressing. And our merch order is well in hand with Brian McShane at Polar Promotions in Yellowknife - T-shirts and hats with the new Children of Celebrities logo, courtesy of our mad design genius. And if y'all want to check out something really cool...www.sonicbids.com/childrenofcelebrities ...is definitely worth a looksee!
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