Thursday, 8 August 2013

News Roundup (Van Sickle, James Gray, JJ Cale, Dave Rave)


Local

Canada 

World

Blasts from the Past

Featured Videos 
 


Links: Wendy Lynn Snider, Video courtesy of Wendy's YouTube Page



Links: Monkley Cascade, Video courtesy of the band's YouTube page
 

Dave Rave: "Still Shankin'" from Dante Media Group on Vimeo.

Links: Dave Rave, More Dave Rave Stories


Previous (Patrick Lawton & Mark Vanderheyden@Rolly's) - - - Next (New Lucas Stagg CD)

And Now A Word From Our Sponsor

KGBDeals in partnership with Calico Mills is proud to announce the clothing deal of the century. Act now and get eighty percent off this season's hot new fashion trend, Droopy Sweater. It's the sweater with wings!



Droopy Sweater is a bold new innovation in fashion. After they're knitted from the finest Argentinian yarn, Droopy Sweaters are hung on wire coat hangers and left in a barn in Lancaster, PA. There we let gravity take its course. Two years later, when the yarn has loosened and the two front flaps are dangling like dead leaves in a Tuscan vineyard, they're shipped to fine retailers near you.

Crystal Young was 45 years old and had never contemplated buying new sweaters. But one day at the gym the pretty receptionist looked at her Donna Karan separates and thought, "Those are just too young and perky. It's like I'm ashamed of my droopy things."

"I'm 45," says Ileana Rodriguez, a Southern California housewife with four children. "I used to wear mini-skirts, and now I wear pants. I used to wear stilettos, and now I wear Easy Spirits. My body is changing, and it's time my sweaters changed too."

We know you'll love Droopy Sweater so much we're offering a 100% money-back guarantee. You'll smile as the loose-hanging flaps dangle between your legs. You'll chuckle when your pendulous protruberances gaily swing as you walk. You'll laugh out loud when the wind picks up and those wacky wings flutter and flash like windchimes.

You wouldn't wear a sweater that was made for men. So why wear one that was made for a girl? "I just love Droopy Sweater," says Rebecca Arlington, a 47-year-old ad executive. "People see my peach Droopy flapping out of the corner of their eyes and everybody turns to look. I smile, bold as brass. 'Yeah,' I say, 'It's Droopy. And I love it!"

Tuesday, 6 August 2013

Videos: Patrick Lawton, Mark Vanderheyden and Friends@Rolly Rockets (June 15, 2013)





Links: Mark Vanderheyden, More Mark Vanderheyden stories, More John Lee Hooker Covers/Stories





More Waylon Jennings Covers/Stories



More Greatful Dead covers/stories

Blast from the Past: Mark and Patrick@Rolly's (2010)

Links: Patrick Lawton, More Patrick Lawton Stories


Previous (Kathleen Edwards and Stan Rogers on CBC's Top Canadian Albums List) - - - Next (News Roundup w Ryan Van Sickle, James Gray, JJ Cale, Dave Rave)


I have absolutely fallen head-over-heels for a new TV series somebody's trying to crowd-fund called Jesus 2015. The plot is simple but wildly creative. A man is arrested for burglary. The police run a routine DNA check and discover that there is a "specific and positive match 99999.9" to the DNA on the shroud of Turin.

Now, I don't know about you, but I'm already hooked. There's no doubt this is Jesus: in fact, the lab has even increased the top limit on percentages because they're so positive. There's none of the wishy-washy 99.99% shit you see in paternity tests on Maury -- no, there ain't even a shadow of a doubt!

Plus, I'm entranced by the idea that the police have DNA from the shroud of Turin in their database. All too often I think they're incompetent, but it was definitely a good move to throw in Jesus. Some smart sergeant must have said, "Hey, nobody gets a free pass! Just because he's the Lamb of God doesn't mean he's never going to boost a car stereo in Santa Monica."

I bet they've even got dinosaur DNA in this database. Maybe in one episode we'll find out that Pontius Pilate has a 41937.71 chance of being a triceratops.



Maybe you noticed the odd religious figures/euphemisms in the police database. I got no explanation for that. Did they catch the Lamb of God smoking weed on Abbot Kinney Boulevard? Did the Bread of Life shoplift some earbuds from the Main Street Radio Shack?

But let's back up a little bit and merge the details offered in the trailer with this auteur's IndieGoGo beg:


A White Male Age 33 was arrested for 415, 459 (Burglary in Progress) and taken into custody by L.A.P.D on May, 13th 2013 in Venice California. The young man does not reveal his identity and is booked under the alias "Christian."

God, that's so L. A. I'll bet the dude who was arrested before him was given the alias "Flavio."


Chris Doe was booked and processed at The Pacific Station in Los Angeles, routine prints, DNA samples were collected from said individual.

I have to admit I'm a bit confused here. Forget the fact this isn't close to a sentence. Why is the phrase "from said individual" there? Because it's been fourteen words since the antecedent noun and dimmer readers might think we're talking about Kermit the Frog by this point? Did anybody suspect that sentence could end with "from Zsa Zsa Gabor!!!"?


A report from Aundergene Forensic DNA laboratories dated June,4 2013. The D.N.A. submitted from the arrest of Chris Doe Male Age 33 May 13th 2013 has specific and positive match 99999.9 to D.N.A. reserved in bank collected samples originating from The Shroud of Turin.

There's really no other explanation for this paragraph other than some police reports are automatically generated by the game of Boggle. In related news, Mike Smith Male Age 27 October 12th 2013 arrested also bank robbery hello 867-5309 fingerprints Robyn.

Now, here's where the plot runs into a fork in the road. The trailer says Chris was released from prison due to overcrowding, but the IndieGoGo summary is markedly more dramatic:


He is held at the West Pacific police station awaiting transport to the downtown courthouse. While being detained he is incarcerated with a Mexican gang known as the Disciples.

The cops always let Mexican gangs share a single cell because ay dios mio, they get lonely otherwise.


As the prisoners are being transported via the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, an accident with a tractor trailer occurs, killing several of the prisoners on the bus.

I pictured SNL's "The Californians" while reading this. They were being transported on the 405? That's important to know, because that kind of thing would never happen on the 101.

I think it's smart the writer decided Jesus wasn't released due to prison overcrowding. Because then all the religious conservatives would be saying, "Damn these lily-livered liberals, letting our Lord and Saviour out of the hoosegow!"


The surviving 13, including Christian, are able to escape in the chaos and confusion. Local and State Authorities as well as Leaders of Religious and the scientific communities despite massive efforts have been unable to locate Chris Doe for questioning.

Really? Leaders of the scientific community couldn't find him? Well, then, they might as well give up. If dudes who stare into test tubes and light bunsen burners can't find a dude, he just will not be found.

Anyway, by now I'm sure you're as hooked as I am. I can't wait for this to be made into a TV series, which is why I nearly donated a dollar to the IndieGoGo beg. I don't need any gifts in return: I just want somebody who understands punctuation to be hired in my name.

So please, be generous. I'm already on the edge of my seat. Will Our Lord ever be found? At least he'll be easy to spot.



All Units be on the Lookout for a White Male Age 33 Surfer Distance From Top of Hair to Bottom of Nose Three and One Half Feet adios Charo 3.1416.

(Via the divine Joe.My.God)

Sunday, 4 August 2013

Kathleen Edwards and Stan Rogers in Last Half of CBC's Top Canadian Albums List



The area was well represtented in the first half of CBC's top Canadian albums list. Now that the final half of the tally is complete, two more talented local musicians have been added.

21. Kathleen Edwards: Failer



Links: Kathleen Edwards, More Kathleen Edwards Stories, Video courtesy of baer157

31. Stan Rogers: Fogarty's Cove



Links: Stan Rogers, More Stan Rogers Stories, Video courtesy of NovaScotian1992

On top of this, a number of musicians from our region made comments on other albums from the list.

Ben Caplan on Stan Rogers: Fogerty's Cove (21)
Luke Doucet (Whitehorse) on  Sarah McLachlan: Fumbling Towards Ecstacy (20)
Kathleen Edwards on Blue Rodeo: Five Days in July (15)
Sarah Harmer on Tragically Hip: Fully Completely (13)

Links: Numbers 40-21 on the list, Numbers 20-1 on the List, The Complete List, More CBC Lists

Blast from the Past: Kathleen Edwards and Stan Rogers on Top Canadian Singers List

Previous (New Paul Federici CD) - - - Next (Patrick Lawton & Mark Vanderheyden@Rolly's)

Saturday, 3 August 2013

New Paul Federici CD: Now and Then . . .

Lush melodies and unique acoustic guitar work are just the beginning for Paul Federici's new CD Now and Then . . .    The St. Catherines singer/songwriter has delivered an incredible album filled with rich, vibrant, musical magic.

Layered vocals and beautiful harmonies bring out Paul's soft, moving voice.  Everything is enhanced by touches of cello, mandolin, piano, pedal steel and more.

This is courtesy of the artist's musical cohorts, Leon Furs (multiple instruments), Kirk Starkey (cello), Adam Warner (drums), Mike Vial (guitar), and Nick Skalkos (drums)

This wonderful album is available as a physical CD and download through his Bandcamp page and can also be downloaded through iTunes.

Below are two videos from the album courtesy of Paul's YouTube page.





Links: Paul Federici, More CD Releases

Previous (News Roundup w Interviews and vids by Dave Battrick, Troy Harmer and Sam Turton) - - - Next (Kathleen Edwards and Stan Rogers on CBC's Top Canadian Albums List)

Thursday, 1 August 2013

I had no idea I was going to be tall until high school. It seemed like one day I was staring at everybody's stomach and the next I was slamming my forehead into doorways. Mystified, I ran to my mother for advice.

"Mummy," I said, since in my mind I always pictured myself as a British lad, "what's happening to me?"

"Roman," she replied after taking a dainty sip of Earl Grey, "you're going through that stage in life when a child turns into an adult. Hispanic girls turn into spitfires, Italian boys turn into gangsters, and boys with overactive pituitaries turn into gentle giants."

"What do gentle giants do?"

She laughed. "Whatever they want, darling!" She blotted her crimson lips with a lace hankie. "Well, except for one or two things, of course. You can't crush kittens in the palm of your oversized hand. You can't tear the golden arches off a McDonalds if a clerk forgets your fries. You can't sit little girls in your lap and pet their hair while repeating, 'Pretty! Pretty!'"

"That's it?"

She shrugged her narrow shoulders. "Well, if you want to cower in fear every time you see fire, that's not going to hurt."

"But aren't those rules that regular people follow? Why is it different for tall people?"

"Darling, regular-sized people want to hurt everybody. They want to smack their dentist if he farts while he's cleaning their teeth. They want to strangle that girl at the post office who flings their fragile package into a big metal bin. Regular-sized people are all, 'Oooh, if I were one foot taller I'd show that bastard a thing or two!' They think tall people must start the day garroting the man who elbowed them on the subway and end it dismembering their neighbor for playing Iron Butterfly at 2 a.m."

"So people will respect me for not doing something?"

"That's exactly right. If you were tiny, they'd call you a coward. But since you're big, they'll think, 'Wow, it's amazing how he's controlling himself!'"

I wasn't crazy about being stereotyped, but it didn't sound like such an awful fate. "Do you want to beat up everybody?"

Mummy laughed. "Me? Heavens, no!" She took another sip from the porcelain cup as her eyebrows rose. "Well, possibly. You know that checkout girl at the supermarket who's never said so much as 'Hello' to me? If I were six inches taller, I might give her a Chinese mustache."

"What if I don't want to be a gentle giant?"

"Darling, the alternative isn't pretty. Remember Jaws, that misshapen, horrific oaf in the James Bond films? Do you want to be like him? He's not a gentle giant. Do you really want to chew up a motor home with your giant metal dentures?"

I shook my head.

"Do you want to be the box of rocks who doesn't understand he's fighting for the wrong side until James Bond explains it to him?"

I said no.

"Do you want to get shot into space inside a cramped satellite with a tiny, pigtailed girl?"

I flinched. Mummy shrieked. Just the thought of that fate rubbed me the wrong way, and the late Mr. Meowster would have agreed.


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