- It's been a hectic couple of months here in Pandemonium, primarily due to me being away from it quite often, that being possible after my reluctant-but-final decision to step down as Vice President of Neepawa Tire. In truth, I'd signed the papers at the lawyers almost a year ago. I haven't exactly retired at 38, just become self-employed... however, I should point out that being an undiscovered rock star in the middle of Nowhere, Manitoba, doesn't pay as well as I'd like. Still, it was this, or suffer through another bout of stress-induced prostatitis, and one of those is too many. Especially once you've endured the initial diagnostic procedure, which is still done manually, but not really manly.
- So I chose to skip the rubber-glove treatment this year; I'll leave that one for Howie Mandel's rooster-head bit. But speaking of things medical...
- At the beginning of August I'd done some serious damage to both my hands following an allergic reaction; the right hand healed rather quickly, but even now the left palm is red, cracked, swollen, peeling, oozing and bleeding. It was to the point that as I tried out several Gibson SG's at Long & McQuade a while ago, I had to kick the door to the soundproofed
practice room shut, to keep my pained screams from being overheard by other customers. I eventually chose the best value, an ebony SG-3 with gold hardware (which I named Jamie), after offering condolensces to salesman Mark London on the loss of his mother. The day ended with Jessica bringing me chicken strips at Hooters before the long drive home.
- Going guitar shopping is usually fun for me, but this time it was because I'd realized it was time to get serious about recording, which was why I wanted the Black Beauty SG. A subsequent trip was required to pick up my custom-ordered black-bodied with maple fretboard Fender VG Strat, which is of course more the kind of guitar I'm most used to and comfortable with. It has since replaced all other favourites in both practice and the studio.
- Recording of the album has been progressing, but with stops and starts and stalls, and I've almost completed renovating my study into a studio. Trevor has purchased his own electronic drum kit in order to be able to rehearse in his "penthouse" apartment without disturbing the downstairs neighbours, while I bought a new cowbell for the live kit.
- Somewhere in the midst of all of this we found time to get some performing done:
FADERS - It was supposed to be an acoustic set performed indoors, until we realized that Bill had not yet learned the acoustic arrangements for any of the material. We moved the show outside, and were dismayed to realize that the downtown events from the previous night had continued, and that our crowd was in a "cruise night" beer garden rather than in the parking lot where we stood. Typical.
HARVEST MOON FESTIVAL - First, let me say that I'm not unused to people mispelling my name, and eventually, this event would mispell it in every way possible. But when the organizers for the event spelled "Alan Gillies & the Blue Devils" as "Bill Mantie", and worse yet, in every available newspaper... seems that having our rookie band member be the contact person was an error in judgement. The mistake was even more apparent after we arrived in Clearwater to see acoustic solo performers on the "B" Stage to which we'd been relogated , in a field at the bottom of a hill, on a flatbed surrounded with hay bales, with a tiny PA powered by a generator. Made aware that the festival was running an hour behind, the sun was going down as we dressed the stage with amps & drums. We were in complete darkness by the time we started playing, although a flashlight and car headlights later gave some illumination. At the conclusion, we were promised a mainstage slot, with bigger PA, lights and larger crowd should we return next year. What did I learn?
A) Vegan food smells like it's already been through somebody.
B) Hippies don't necessarily smell any better than their food.
C) Hippy chicks tend to have more facial and body hair than the members of my band.
10th ANNUAL BANDJAM FOR CANCER - The reasons why I'd been unable to participate in this worthwhile event in the past are both ironic and unworthy of revisiting. Sick as a dog and running a fever, I sweated off several pounds under the North 40's lights as we tried out two new compositions at the beginning of a reworked, shorter set. The crowd was polite, the sound was great, and excerpts from all 3 nights can be found on YouTube. Thanks to Chris Kemp, Kevin Wielenga, Heidi Howarth, Frank Maguire, Kat Foy, Chris Nylen & Faders, the video crew, the bands, the Alan Gillies Fan Club and everyone else who attended.
Gibson
SG-3
promo during his drive-time show on KX96,
just because I remembered who won the 1980 World Series (and the radio station's phone number). Lots more to be written A.S.A.P., so as always, stay tuned and stay in tune.
"the Blue Devil"
