Outta Sites

You know that song, "I Hear A Symphony"?

No, not that one. The one by Matthew Ryan.

Well, this film is nothing like that.

These and other wonders courtesy of WFMU's Sites For Sore Eyes.

I especially love Arthur Ganson's Kinetic Sculptures--those are simply wonderful, and made me feel all good 'n' stuff--and Joe Vaux's Home Pig--that made me feel all weird 'n' stuff, but still absolutely fascinated.

Y'know, some days the world seems like a big pile of blah, rotating uselessly in the void. But then you stumble across stuff like this, and the sheer scope and variety of the expressions that blossom from the human spirit just leaves you in a state of warm wonder. And you look for this big ol' roller coaster to come round again so you can hop on for another ride, to see what it has to show you this time.

"You are not alone
You are not alone
I swear this burden is not your own
You are not alone"
--Matthew Ryan, "I Hear A Symphony"

Anything Ellis?

[Okay, not the best title I've come up with, but it's better than another "dick" pun.]

I'm very pleased to announce the launch of the first ever Dick Ellis Revival tour! I'm calling it the Dick Over Ontario tour (a nod to the Wings live album). Right now it consists of a gig in Belleville next weekend...but, hey, even Dylan's Never-ending Tour had to start somewhere.

Belleville is Boag's hometown, and this gig is actually a private party for some of his friends, several of whom are turning the magical 40 around the same time. They've rented out a place for the occasion, The Belleville Club I think it's called, which is apparently a nice old heritage building. Should be a fun roadtrip, and a nice chance to get away and road-test our material. You know what they say about Belleville...if it flies in BelleVegas, it... well... it... you're good to g... it's all good... well, maybe they don't really use Belleville as a litmus test of any sort, but it should be fun all the same.

We've added a few new numbers to our repertoire:

Wait For The Light To Shine, an old Roy Acuff song that's been covered by lots of folks including Dylan
I've Got a Feeling, The Beatles
Burning Love, Elvis
Don't Cry No Tears, Neil Young (from Zuma)
I Still Miss Someone, Johnny Cash
Help Me Make It Through The Night, Kristofferson
Take Me Home Country Roads, John Denver

Plus we're trying to work out versions of Van Morrison's Wavelength and a funky Rufus Thomas song called The Breakdown (Part I). And there are some new originals on the horizon as well.

Last week's gig at Grossman's was a typically crazy time. Two songs into our set, this woman gets up on the "dancefloor" and starts doing cartwheels across the space in front of us, the first of which was rather expertly executed. Quite impressive. The second attempt fell a bit short of the bar, so to speak. I don't know if maybe she actually aimed to land in the chair, but the execution garnered very low marks, even from the French judge. As our imprudent gymnast landed hard on the floor, the chair tried to meld with the table, unsuccessfully so given the laws of physics, but this did succeed in the quite spectacular transformation of a full pint of beer into a creature of flight! Oddly, the gentleman who had been trying to drink the beer wasn't as impressed with his beverage's new aerial ambitions.

Cartwheel Katie then began grabbing Boag's mic, stepping on my pedal board to do so, and eventually leapt onto a table for some more dancing. This finally drew the ire of the bartender, who eventually managed to give her the bum's rush, after much high-pitched protestations and further furniture mangling. Of course, throughout all of this, we're all playing away. This all happened by about the third song. We did manage to use the occasion to work in some Jagger-at-Altamont-isms between songs.

"Peey-pul, peey-pul... who's foyting and wot foah? Who's foyting and wot foah?"
"Oh babies, everyone just calm down now. Let's get it together."

After that, it was a fairly normal evening. During the second set, we honoured some guy's request for Baby Please Don't Go, which we'd never played before, but we managed a reasonable facsimile. Late in the third set, a trio of 20-something yarmulka-wearing Jewish students ambled in and sat at the back. One of them kept bellowing for The Doors, so we obliged with the only Doors song you can pull out without any prior rehearsal: Roadhouse Blues, of course.

Always an interesting time at Grossman's.

I actually just discovered a newly added feature on our website, featuring kind words from locals who have seen us in action. Thanks for the kudos.

I'll let you know how the tour goes.

Say hello to my (new) lil frenz

I am fully aware of the fact that life is not about getting "things". That saying "whoever finishes with the most toys wins", just leaves me cold. I sincerely believe the Western world's rampant materialism will be our downfall (if that isn't a fait accompli already), and is certainly the source of much of the world's disparities.

Still, some toys are just so neat!

So I finally took the plunge and got myself an iPod. I was thinking I might get a Nano, but after fiddling around with a friend's and trying out the different varieties of iPods at the computer store, I concluded that the Nano was just too small, not just in terms of capacity, but physically. It just felt too small in my hand.

So, thanks to the fact that I was able to sell a superfluous guitar on consignment at a local music store, I went for the real iPod.


The new fifth generation 30GB iPod with video. It's a cool little machine. I doubt if I'll use the video function very much, but it is nice to have that. And you can hook it up to a TV, so you could download a movie on it and bring it over to a friend's house to watch. Same with photos. A travelling photo binder. Also has some neat extras like a calendar, contacts list, alarm, clock, stop watch, etc.

But of course the main attraction is the music, and with 30GB, I was able to transfer my entire iTunes catalogue (almost 20GB) over to the iPod. But I found that was just too much, and too unwieldy. So I switched from "auto sync" mode to manual, and I've started loading it up with all my essential music, favourite albums, playlists of songs to learn for the band, etc. It's come in handy at rehearsals when we've needed to consult a song we're working on, and I've been able to whip it out, plug it into a stereo and we can all listen. And, of course, it certainly makes my commute to work more enjoyable.

The other great use for the 30GB iPod is as a portable hard drive. I've been able to load files on it and transfer them to another computer, no sweat. Good way to transport MP3s, because, of course, the iPod is designed to sync up with your iTunes, and to be loaded with songs, but there's no "downloading" functionality, per se. So you can't really offload the music from your iPod onto your work computer, for instance, or to a friend's computer. The iPod designers' concession to concerns about file-sharing, I suppose.

But, there are ways around everything, and I've found that the PodWorks application works great as a way to get around the "offloading" problem. The best part is that you can store the application on your iPod, and launch it from the iPod when you're hooked up to a computer other than your own (Mac OS X needed). Very handy.

As soon as you get an iPod, the very next step is... choosing accessories. And there are tons of coolio accessories to be had. I may upgrade the earbuds eventually, but the first thing I looked into getting was a good protective case. I had heard lots of stories of iPods' surface and screen getting scratched up (which is one of the reasons I opted for the white model over the black).

I decided on the Agent 18 VideoShield, which is a great case. It protects the iPod completely while preserving its cool looks. It looks so good, I just leave it in there all the time. Highly recommended.

The other thing I found I needed was some kind of remote to move from track to track and to adjust the volume. Being winter, I keep the iPod in an inside pocket in the lining of my coat (designed for cell phones, but the iPod fits in perfectly). And because volume levels of songs can vary dramatically, especially in random shuffle mode, I've had a few occasions where I've had to unzip my coat and bring out the iPod just to turn it down or up. Very inconvenient, especially since my coat has a removable inner lining, so I have to go through two zippers just to get to the damn thing. Plus, as my commute takes me on the bus through some rather unsavory areas of Scarborough known for gang activity and such, I'd rather not have to flash my iPod if I can avoid it. I've heard that iPod muggings have been happening in other major cities.

So last week, my solution arrived. The iPod Radio Remote. It's been a godsend so far. The radio reception is great, though I don't think I'll use it very much for that. Nice function to have though. I clip the remote to the inside lining of my coat, so I can cover it up with the outside zipper, to protect it from the elements. One little zip, and I can easily adjust the volume or change tracks. Great little device.

And speaking of great things in small packages, this is my other new acquisition.


The Vox Pathfinder 15R amp. It's just a little 15W practice amp... but it's not just a little 15W practice amp. This thing is probably the best bang for your buck, if you're looking for a practice amp. They sell new for around $200 (CDN), but you can get a deal on a used one. I found mine used at Long & McQuade for $159. This thing rocks! Great tone, and great features. Reverb, tremolo, gain boost, headphone jack, line out for recording, output for connecting to another speaker cabinet. No midrange adjustment knob, but the bass and treble knobs are very responsive, allowing for lots of tone-shaping.

It's a transistor amp, but it's got a lot of personality. When I was trying it out in the store, I had it cranked up pretty good using the neck pickup of a Telecaster, the tone dialed off a bit and a good dose of overdrive, and the salesman came over and said "What's that, a little tube amp?" It's just so fun to play through, and it just loves my Telecaster. I could use it for gigging at a place like Grossman's, but I don't think it'll replace my Fender Blues, Jr. in that regard. Great amp for practicing and rehearsing, and a good backup if need be. Apparently Vox has discontinued this amp. So if you're in the market for a great little practice amp, you're not gonna do much better than a Pathfinder, at least not in this price range.

Until next time, this has been Jimbuck2's consumer products review. And remember, it's not all about the toys, but they're neat to have, just the same.

You've heard of government waist...?

I sat down on the subway tonight for the trip home, looked down at the transit newspaper sitting open on the seat next to me, and this is what I saw:


Conclusions from the above?

1) The photo editor for this transit paper was asleep at the switch;
2) The photo editor for this transit paper decided to have some fun on his/her last day;
3) Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has a great rack! Why would he need breast augmentation?

Another example of government waist...and cleavage!