Monday, May 25, 2009

spring - time to revive the blog!

Oh dear. It has been more than three months since I have tossed anything the way of the blog. That's shameful. Spring has sprung, we're almost (finally) into summer, and over all that time, not one single post.
In my defence (sorta - I'm not one for excuses!), over that time I have been back home to NB for some maple sugarin', across SK to the family farm, work has been nuts, there's been hockey on TV every effin' night, I've been riding my bike, putting in the garden, enjoying longer days, and not generally feeling like sitting down at my shitty old laptop and bloggin' to y'all. Sorry. Spring breathes new life into all kinds of things - and this sucka is in serious need of resuscitation! Like paddles-in-the-ER style.
Besides, y'know how sometimes you get so behind with something, your delinquence kinda generates its own momentum and you need some serious escape velocity to pull out of your sloth-funk orbit? Well, that's where this thing has been for at least a month. This post is all about clearing the slate and starting anew. It's a new season, I'm sharing the show with a new friend (more on that later), and I really feel like if I can just get back on top oof this thing, I can get back in the habit of regular posts.
Here comes a setlist-a-lanche - in case any of you care anymore, here are all the songs I've played since mid-february:
March 5th - navigable waters and international women's day.
This guy Tony came in and told us about proposed changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act that the Harper government buried in Bill C10. The Bill passed but there's still a chance that the right to floatin' boats on Canadian water can be protected - check out I Speak for Canadian Rivers. Tunes:
kanyonza - bitone*
break it down - sharokh sound of k featuring jamie lloyd*
third eye vision - mishka*
vision - mo'kalamity & the wizards*
sound system - michael franti & spearhead
magnificient seven - the clash
our story - no luck club
nothingness - georgia ann muldrow
take a minute - k'naan*
donkey ride - mr scruff vs. quantic*
mcqueston river stick gambling song - jerry alfred & medicine beat
say valley maker - smog
burn on - randy newman
the life of dreams - julie doiron*
people got a lotta nerve - neko case*
distraction - hank*
This show concluded with a piece my friend Jane McCullogh did on the Women's Resource Centre at the University of Calgary, in commemoration of International Women's Day on March 8th.

March 19th - we like bikes!
My friend Kelsey came in from the Bike Root on this show, to tell us about their grand opening party. I missed the party, but I heard it was a great time, and some awesome local bands threw down for the occasion. Check out the bike root and some other cool local pedal-powered initiatives like goodlife and veloplzen. Tunes:
tappin' that thing - john sebastian & david grisman*
there's a man goin' round taking names - bourne, schuld, & stamer
jesus on the mainline - hans thessink & blue groove
blue monk - rebirth brass band
i ain't got none - coolbone
brothers on the slide - dynamics
fire coal version - sound dimension
big long gun - culver city dub collective
the sidewalk song - bran flakes*
tune down - chris joss*
what's in the middle? - the bird & the bee*
fila brazilia (disco frisco mix) - clinton
zone coaster - odd nosdam*
eneff - moka only feat. ishkan*
that knack - dj ko feat. wordsworth*
icycles/bicycles - belle orchestre*
(original sample) - project bicycle
side car bicycle - jh8 mica ochel
your style bike - disposable cars
things i like to do - ben kweller*
wise old man - colonial quarrels*
tiny ghosts - nick worby & milkwood sparrows*

April 2nd - Bill 19 - change that works for albertans (?)
Joe Anglin is the new leader of the Alberta Green Party, and he came on the show via telephone to tell us about proposed AB Bill 19, why we should care about the amount of power it bestows on members of honest ed's caucus, and what the greens are doing to generate some discussion. He is on a massive province-wide road trip trying to spark some debate. He promised to email me the details so I could post them here, and he never did. Tunes:
unknown - millimetrik vs. the banjo consortium*
more & more of your amor - nat king cole vs. the bird & the bee*
let me show ya - jazzanova feat. paul randolph*
jumping jack - jackie mittoo
universal - noiseshaper*
saranghi breaks - kaya project*
kinetsa - bela fleck & d'gary*
get behind the mule - booker t jones*
big black mariah - tom waits
spacious thoughts - nasa feat. kool keith & tom waits*
union canal - horde of two*
spider - swan lake*
diamond dogs - david bowie
moonage daydream - danny michel
sunnyside boys - kara keith*
rave on - m. ward*
blue mountains - jenn grant*
new scotland blues - joel plaskett*
mayflower - bob snider
the cabin - hot toddy
shake your kitchen down - the kitchen shakers*

The day after this show I headed out to NB (with a stop in the big smoke to see some family), to help ma & pa with the annual maple sugar season. It was a pretty good run and great to see my folks and some other friends and rellies.

While I was away, our old buddy Robin (from the airport bison days!) kept the soapbox warm with some great tunes, and no doubt a little bit of silliness. Thanks Robin!

Also sometime during March, Bryson hosted his last derby, packed up his shit, and moved down the road to Monday mornings 9-11am - he and Yvonne are throwing down evey week over there now. Thanks for the good times (not long times), Bryson!

New to the derby but a wiley veteran of CJSW, Ola K has joined the ranks of soap box afficianados, and is bringing the "cold smoke derby" to y'all every other Thursday morning. I'm super-stoked that she's sharing this time slot with me now, and hope you dog her positive, soulful, mellow morning vibes. I have invited her to post here if she likes, but I think she might have her own blog elsewhere - either way I'll keep you posted.

Ola went away to the left coast, then I went away to SK, so we did the ol' swapperoo - I did 2 in a row, then she did.

April 30th - feelin' like summer!
It was a nice week as I recall - and I was a little frazzled from work, so not much soapboxing and lots of good tunes (all from the CJSW playlist)!
soul beat - myka9*
high fives - desmond & the tutus* (for the best high fivers I know - J&K Burima!)
suparide - moodini*
good morning, good morning - easy star allstars feat. steel pulse*
optimistic soul - buju banton*
never gonna touch the ground - still flyin'*
dondung goan gay - meas samoun*
dancing time - the funkees*
zawose - bela fleck feat. chibite*
people's promised part - people's poets*
man'o'war - casiotone for the painfully alone*
nice to come home - julie doiron*
peace of mind - cam penner*
fish on land - lhasa*
i loved you but you didn't love me - rodney guitarsplat brent*
are the good times really over for good? - john doe & the sadies*
hillbilly highway - the weight*
reptile style - reigning sound*
land of the freak - king khan & the shrines*
cold hard ground - cripple creek fairies*
ripple - jane's addiction*
noam disco - ultimate power duo*

May 7th - Dance Party!
Well, I learned one thing on this show - if you promise a James Brown dance party and you say it's gonna start at 9:30, well you better make sure you start it at 9:30 'cos come 9:31, folks start getting a little antsy. I had one fella call up and tell me to drop it into gear, and I later heard from some young mother friends of mine who were rollin' around, gettin' down with the young'uns (one as far away as Lethbridge!). It does my heart good to know that the next generation will keep the funk alive...
Tunes:
creatures - akron/family*
stay up late - talking heads
run - shout out out out out*
babylon bridge - horace andy vs. mad professor
my jamaican weed - andru branch*
yuppy conqueror - futurepigeon
(my 1st) big break - cut chemist
make it funky - james f#@king brown!
better half - maceo & all the king's men
chillin' with fred - jb horns
the dap dip - sharon jones & the dap kings
watch your mouth - hoots & hellmouth*
victoria day (may flowers) - melissa mcclelland*
treehouse enthusiasts - maybe smith*
pay the rent - the rocky fortune
rococo zephyr - bill callahan*
large red man - lucid 44
holiday - pink mountaintops*
old world - the burning hell*
belly button window - jimi hendrix

Then in mid may, I took a little trip out to the Chernoff farm in SK, to visit the aunties, help out a little, and celebrate my pa's 70th birthday.
Yep. Cheers, Dad - many happy returns.
Whew.

Well, that does it. I'm caught up, ready to turn a new leaf, and keep things rollin' on the ol' blog. If you read this, fire me a comment sometime, so i know it's worth the effort - that might motivate me to be a little more diligent in the future.

This Thursday my friend Philip is coming on the derby to tell us all about a charity he has co-founded called Ssubi, and a fund-raiser they have coming up in June. Tune in for some good times, good tunes, edification, soapboxamologizing, and random craziness.

Thanks for your patience - enjoy spring!
greg

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