Poor Karla. Preparing for her imminent release from prison, she's afraid she may be "relentlessly pursued" and "hunted down," and she fears for her life.
Now you know how it feels Karla. Shoulda maybe thought of that, dear, before you helped hunt down, abduct and kill those two young girls. You didn't have even a shred of humanity in you to allow you to put yourself in the place of those girls, and now you want our sympathy?
I think this is called Justice.
But really, I feel her pain. Oh, wait a minute... no I don't.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Sunday, June 12, 2005
What, The Dick Ends?
As I alluded to in previous posts, the days of The Dick Ellis Revival are near an end. Not the band itself--no need to run for the nearest open window!--just the band under that name. I had thought it was a good compromise name; one that we could all get behind. It wasn't my first choice, and others were lobbying for names that I couldn't live with. But, as is the nature of compromise, it just didn't satisfy enough of the stakeholders. So the search is mounted again for a consensus name. I don't know if you've ever tried to come up with a band name, but it's incredibly difficult. Especially finding one that will please seven people (and their attendant satellite community). And represents the essence of the band. And is original.
It's also unfortunate because after we had settled on the name, I had been inspired to whip up this essay on the origins of the name. It was going to go up on the website, but there's no point in that now. So here, by semi-popular demand, The Dick Ellis Essay.
-----------------
Far and wide, the question is asked: Who is Dick Ellis?
Fear not, my dear friends, for we have asked this question ourselves. And the answer has been revealed in time.
Some say he was a hometown hero. Some say he was a man of the people. Others say he is simply a myth, a story told to sooth worried souls in the dark of night.
But Dick Ellis is not one man. Dick Ellis is an idea. The idea of Dick Ellis cannot be expressed in one person. It takes a village--or at least a band of seven people--to conjure the presence of Dick Ellis. For Dick Ellis is not a captive of mere flesh and blood, nor of the flimsy, impermanent margins of time or tide.
Dick Ellis is the hero within all of us, waiting to be discovered--in every hometown, every city, every nation, and across the deep silence of space. Dick Ellis is a pure celebration of all that is beautiful and true.
But it wasn't always so. In the Fallow Times, there were many who turned their backs and sought instead the false pleasures of the shiny new ways and sounds. But, little by little, with each passing year, the shiny veneer thinned, the phony sparkles fell to rot, revealing more and more of the empty void behind the over-polished facade.
And the people began to wonder: Where was Dick Ellis?
And where was Dick Ellis? He was right where he always had been; we had simply become blind to his presence. And where is Dick Ellis today? Search your innermost soul, dear friend, and you will know the answer:
Wherever people speak from the heart -- there you will find Dick Ellis.
Wherever joyful folk maximize their mojo -- there you will find Dick Ellis.
Wherever innocence yearns to break free from the barbed tethers of the cynical mind -- there you will find Dick Ellis.
Wherever the Natural Smile, the Happy Tear and the Rebel Yell sway hand-in-hand -- there you will find Dick Ellis.
My friends, the spirit of Dick Ellis walks amongst us again. Find him, walk with him, dance with him. It is time for all of us to step out into the sunshine and join the parade. Welcome the rejuvenation.
Welcome The Dick Ellis Revival.
Sincerely,
The Esteemed Stan Herman
It's also unfortunate because after we had settled on the name, I had been inspired to whip up this essay on the origins of the name. It was going to go up on the website, but there's no point in that now. So here, by semi-popular demand, The Dick Ellis Essay.
-----------------
Far and wide, the question is asked: Who is Dick Ellis?
Fear not, my dear friends, for we have asked this question ourselves. And the answer has been revealed in time.
Some say he was a hometown hero. Some say he was a man of the people. Others say he is simply a myth, a story told to sooth worried souls in the dark of night.
But Dick Ellis is not one man. Dick Ellis is an idea. The idea of Dick Ellis cannot be expressed in one person. It takes a village--or at least a band of seven people--to conjure the presence of Dick Ellis. For Dick Ellis is not a captive of mere flesh and blood, nor of the flimsy, impermanent margins of time or tide.
Dick Ellis is the hero within all of us, waiting to be discovered--in every hometown, every city, every nation, and across the deep silence of space. Dick Ellis is a pure celebration of all that is beautiful and true.
But it wasn't always so. In the Fallow Times, there were many who turned their backs and sought instead the false pleasures of the shiny new ways and sounds. But, little by little, with each passing year, the shiny veneer thinned, the phony sparkles fell to rot, revealing more and more of the empty void behind the over-polished facade.
And the people began to wonder: Where was Dick Ellis?
And where was Dick Ellis? He was right where he always had been; we had simply become blind to his presence. And where is Dick Ellis today? Search your innermost soul, dear friend, and you will know the answer:
Wherever people speak from the heart -- there you will find Dick Ellis.
Wherever joyful folk maximize their mojo -- there you will find Dick Ellis.
Wherever innocence yearns to break free from the barbed tethers of the cynical mind -- there you will find Dick Ellis.
Wherever the Natural Smile, the Happy Tear and the Rebel Yell sway hand-in-hand -- there you will find Dick Ellis.
My friends, the spirit of Dick Ellis walks amongst us again. Find him, walk with him, dance with him. It is time for all of us to step out into the sunshine and join the parade. Welcome the rejuvenation.
Welcome The Dick Ellis Revival.
Sincerely,
The Esteemed Stan Herman
Sunday, June 05, 2005
I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine
It had been a while since the band had played a gig. Boag, Tim, Kenny and I had played the Cadillac Lounge as a foursome, but before that, the previous full-band show had been at The Horsehoe on Boxing Day--five months ago, So we were itching to get out and play, especially since we'd added a few more orginals to our repertoire, and had learned a whole slew of new covers that are fun to play.
Through the auspices of our keyboard player Bertie, we landed a three-set slot at Grossman's Tavern this past Tuesday night. Grossman's is a Toronto institution, though compared to some other live venues, it's a little more rough around the edges. Carol Pope and Rough Trade got their start there, as did countless other acts. Bertie's New Orleans jazz band, The Happy Pals, plays a saturday matinee there every week.
We were all happy to get the gig, but the idea of taking on a whole night, playing three sets, seemed to me like maybe we were biting off more than we could chew, especially after being off for so long, and having to learn a whole bunch of new songs. This was compounded by the fact that we had been having a little trouble getting all of us together for rehearsals. But, once we had the gig, we set out to get in as much rehearsal as we could. I think we had had one full rehearsal, and we had scheduled to get together again a few Wednesdays ago, when Boag had the misfortune of being hit by a car while cycling on College Street. He was all right (his bike wasn't), but that scuttled a much-needed rehearsal night.
I'm always nervous going into a gig. Waiting to go on, I always have to use the washroom about 4 or 5 times. Not sure where all that pee comes from, but it wants out. Abandon ship! I was getting anxious about this gig a few days prior, even after we got Bertie's other other band to open up for us. (It's a new duo with her friend Lara, called Mack And Hunt. This was their second gig.) That made our job easier, with only two sets to worry about. But I was still uneasy about our preparedness. And my own preparedness as well. There were a couple of songs where I was fairly shaky about my solos and other parts.
But then a funny thing happened. The day of the gig, I just stopped worrying about it. Something tells me the rest of the band took the same approach, because when we took the stage (actually just the floor at one end of the room), we rocked! We were just having fun--relaxed, easy, happy-go-lucky. Part of it may have been the venue. Unlike other places we've played, such as the Horseshoe and Lee's Palace, where there is a dance floor chasm between the stage and the audience, at Grossman's the crowd is right there in your lap, and you're on the same level with them. No stage.
It was also a pretty rambunctious crowd, for a Tuesday night. Grossman's is the type of place where there are always a few neighbourhood regulars hanging around getting sauced. And, like I said, it's a bit rough around the edges. In fact, just before we went on, there was a huge kerfuffle between some seemingly crack-addled woman and her boyfriend. I had seen them come in, and noted her behaviour, practically bouncing off the walls. Then, as I was at the bar getting a beer for the stage, the man, who had left momentarily, set off a firecracker or something just outside the front door, then comes running back inside pointing at the woman, and yelling "You'd better just call the cops right now!" She's screaming stuff back at him, and then they get into a stand-off around the pool table. He's starting to look like he's about to really attack her, and I'm standing about 10 feet away, wondering whether I should jump in and stop the guy (he was a fairly small-ish dude, didn't look like he'd be that hard to handle). But there were 3 or 4 guys, just patrons, standing closer to them, by the pool table, and they jumped on the guy before he could get to her, one of them putting him in a rather expertly done arm lock. They wrestled him to the ground and then escorted him out. Of course the woman is yelling at them not to hurt him.
And with that out of the way, we started playing!
The room was respectfully populated with various friends and co-workers and regulars. I think I may have heard a few heckles from the half-drunk regs at the beginning, but by about the fourth or fifth number, they were hootin' and hollerin'! "You guys rock!" Shouting out requests. It was a good feeling. There was one rather haggardly old dame who got up periodically to dance right in front of us, sans shoes. "Interpretive" I think they call it. The last time she got up to shake her thing, she jumped in and sang a verse of the song (I think it was during "Down By The Henry Moore"), and then on the way back to her seat, she tangled with a chair, and lost, wiping out rather heavily, landing on her ass. We kept playing, but looked on with concern. She was all right.
In the second set, this long-stringy-haired dude succeeded in badgering us to let him sing a song. For his moment of glory, he chose the Led Zep staple "Rock And Roll". Not part of our repertoire, but we did a reasonably good facsimile. The vocal stylings left a lot to be desired, but our drummer Gerry gets full points for finding his inner Bonham.
But it was a great night. Hot and sweaty and rockin'. It was like playing a roadhouse, without the chicken wire. Our best gig, and our funnest gig by far. We had a blast. We're booked in there again in late July.
Here's the set:
Grossman's Tavern - May 31, 2005
* = original song
1st set:
The Dick Ellis Ramble* (formerly known as The Mavis Ramble, soon to be renamed)
Fast Train
The Fever
Thelma Jane*
Men Without Women
Just My Imagination
Lanois Song*
Get It Together*
Down By The Henry Moore
I Can't Dance
I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine
Shine A Light
2nd Set:
Orange Juice Blues (Blues For Breakfast)
Don't Let The Green Grass Fool Ya
I'll Be Back
Fed Up Blues*
When Will I Be Loved
Don't Think Twice It's Alright (vocal & piano only)
10th Ave. Freeze Out
Tupelo Honey
Comin' Home*
Lost Highway
Slippin' and Slidin'
When I Paint My Masterpiece
Through the auspices of our keyboard player Bertie, we landed a three-set slot at Grossman's Tavern this past Tuesday night. Grossman's is a Toronto institution, though compared to some other live venues, it's a little more rough around the edges. Carol Pope and Rough Trade got their start there, as did countless other acts. Bertie's New Orleans jazz band, The Happy Pals, plays a saturday matinee there every week.
We were all happy to get the gig, but the idea of taking on a whole night, playing three sets, seemed to me like maybe we were biting off more than we could chew, especially after being off for so long, and having to learn a whole bunch of new songs. This was compounded by the fact that we had been having a little trouble getting all of us together for rehearsals. But, once we had the gig, we set out to get in as much rehearsal as we could. I think we had had one full rehearsal, and we had scheduled to get together again a few Wednesdays ago, when Boag had the misfortune of being hit by a car while cycling on College Street. He was all right (his bike wasn't), but that scuttled a much-needed rehearsal night.
I'm always nervous going into a gig. Waiting to go on, I always have to use the washroom about 4 or 5 times. Not sure where all that pee comes from, but it wants out. Abandon ship! I was getting anxious about this gig a few days prior, even after we got Bertie's other other band to open up for us. (It's a new duo with her friend Lara, called Mack And Hunt. This was their second gig.) That made our job easier, with only two sets to worry about. But I was still uneasy about our preparedness. And my own preparedness as well. There were a couple of songs where I was fairly shaky about my solos and other parts.
But then a funny thing happened. The day of the gig, I just stopped worrying about it. Something tells me the rest of the band took the same approach, because when we took the stage (actually just the floor at one end of the room), we rocked! We were just having fun--relaxed, easy, happy-go-lucky. Part of it may have been the venue. Unlike other places we've played, such as the Horseshoe and Lee's Palace, where there is a dance floor chasm between the stage and the audience, at Grossman's the crowd is right there in your lap, and you're on the same level with them. No stage.
It was also a pretty rambunctious crowd, for a Tuesday night. Grossman's is the type of place where there are always a few neighbourhood regulars hanging around getting sauced. And, like I said, it's a bit rough around the edges. In fact, just before we went on, there was a huge kerfuffle between some seemingly crack-addled woman and her boyfriend. I had seen them come in, and noted her behaviour, practically bouncing off the walls. Then, as I was at the bar getting a beer for the stage, the man, who had left momentarily, set off a firecracker or something just outside the front door, then comes running back inside pointing at the woman, and yelling "You'd better just call the cops right now!" She's screaming stuff back at him, and then they get into a stand-off around the pool table. He's starting to look like he's about to really attack her, and I'm standing about 10 feet away, wondering whether I should jump in and stop the guy (he was a fairly small-ish dude, didn't look like he'd be that hard to handle). But there were 3 or 4 guys, just patrons, standing closer to them, by the pool table, and they jumped on the guy before he could get to her, one of them putting him in a rather expertly done arm lock. They wrestled him to the ground and then escorted him out. Of course the woman is yelling at them not to hurt him.
And with that out of the way, we started playing!
The room was respectfully populated with various friends and co-workers and regulars. I think I may have heard a few heckles from the half-drunk regs at the beginning, but by about the fourth or fifth number, they were hootin' and hollerin'! "You guys rock!" Shouting out requests. It was a good feeling. There was one rather haggardly old dame who got up periodically to dance right in front of us, sans shoes. "Interpretive" I think they call it. The last time she got up to shake her thing, she jumped in and sang a verse of the song (I think it was during "Down By The Henry Moore"), and then on the way back to her seat, she tangled with a chair, and lost, wiping out rather heavily, landing on her ass. We kept playing, but looked on with concern. She was all right.
In the second set, this long-stringy-haired dude succeeded in badgering us to let him sing a song. For his moment of glory, he chose the Led Zep staple "Rock And Roll". Not part of our repertoire, but we did a reasonably good facsimile. The vocal stylings left a lot to be desired, but our drummer Gerry gets full points for finding his inner Bonham.
But it was a great night. Hot and sweaty and rockin'. It was like playing a roadhouse, without the chicken wire. Our best gig, and our funnest gig by far. We had a blast. We're booked in there again in late July.
Here's the set:
Grossman's Tavern - May 31, 2005
* = original song
1st set:
The Dick Ellis Ramble* (formerly known as The Mavis Ramble, soon to be renamed)
Fast Train
The Fever
Thelma Jane*
Men Without Women
Just My Imagination
Lanois Song*
Get It Together*
Down By The Henry Moore
I Can't Dance
I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine
Shine A Light
2nd Set:
Orange Juice Blues (Blues For Breakfast)
Don't Let The Green Grass Fool Ya
I'll Be Back
Fed Up Blues*
When Will I Be Loved
Don't Think Twice It's Alright (vocal & piano only)
10th Ave. Freeze Out
Tupelo Honey
Comin' Home*
Lost Highway
Slippin' and Slidin'
When I Paint My Masterpiece
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