Wipe the tears away and listen to this… trolling Picker’s Consignment Store today for a Zone broadcast I discovered a treasure trove of 45s. I ended up snagging 10 and one was Chris De Burgh’s 1986 number 1 hit… “The Lady in Red.”
Some people think De Burgh wrote the song as an homage to Expo Ernie, but that’s just ignorant. This touching love song was kind of written for or about his own wife Diane. The song was inspired by the time they were in a crowded nightclub and she was looking particularly striking in a red dress. It reminded him that he was married to a hottie and that many people take their wives and longtime girlfriends for granted.
Not blogging, doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. Far from it, that’s why I haven’t been blogging!
Coral and I are hard at work trying to figure out our car situation. God bless me Mom and Dad, they let me use their old mini-van for my DJ business. BUT by the end of this month, the lease on our Jeep is up, and we’ll need to figure something out.
My goal on our next car is to buy or lease a vehicle that has a payment that is less than our current Jeep lease. Looking at Honda Civics the other day… and maybe we found our car. Perfect four door, affordable, easy car for Coral to go to work in and tote our child. While being fun and modern and generally awesome. We’ll see if we can make that work over the next few days/weeks.
Lastly… been jamming out tons of great new music. TONS and T O N S!
One of my faves right now… and likely a future add to the record collection is Bon Iver. His new s/t album is getting major huge buzz and rocked Billboard last week with sales that put it at Number 2!
Whoa… its been a few days and that’s my bad. Summertime and the living has been, well, maybe not easy. Busy?
I got more than one email and bunch of calls on the Zone looking to hear Maurice‘s acoustic take on “Robin.”
JP Maurice had just got off the boat from Vancouver where he had been on the outskirts of the Game 7 riot. He rolled straight into the Zone and laid this song down.
I don’t have any tattoos. I know right? I’m that guy. The no tattoo guy. Which is funny, because I went through a punk rock phase and everything.
Today I am broadcasting my radio show from Incendiary Tattoo on Esquimalt Road. I am waiting on a cheque, but if I get some money I might try and get one during my show. But what?
I always loved this song. Their s/t album Grand Archives was new back in 2008 when Madelyn was born and became the soundtrack to that part of my life.
The song reminds me of staying awake at weird hours for her birth and later staying up on the couch watching late night TV and maybe a bottle feeding during the witching hours.
Swan Matches are pretty neat. Its an old British brand founded in the late 1800s. They were known as “the smoker’s match.” Obviously, they’ve changed their tag line today… but still… for the classic smoker still jamming out the match stick to light up, Swan’s is apparently the brand. The brand was Britain’s best selling match by the 1930s.
The company is now Swedish but they still operate as Swan.
Sort of a random thing for Grand Archives to find for a song and title.
I raced down during a little lull in my crazy hectic day to snap up a copy for Coral before they went sold out again. (also got me out of the studio/office for 20 minutes and into the city).
Foster the People – “I Would Do Anything For You”
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Yesterday I talked about buying a Ukulele and got lots of messages from friends with ukulele’s too! Neat.
And the reason I was at L&M was to check on today’s capital purchase for my Wedding DJ business… I bought a two PA speakers, a sub, a wireless mic and all the cables/stands I need to make them go.
It will save me money making the payments vs. renting each wedding. And by next summer… I’ll get to keep a little more profit!
Right, so it didn’t end the way Disney told me it would… and then the riots downtown.
But here I am, the day after hockey, and I feel pretty good. Canucks had an amazing year, game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final… and come October, we do it again.
I woke up today after a terrible sleep to a wonderful day. I thought, “oh right, its pretty much summer now.”
I watched TV shows about medieval cathedrals in France and a show where they renovate backyards and I glanced up form the TV for a moment and it was day time. Fuck. I managed to sleep for maybe 3 hours. I’ll sleep well tonight. And I am thinking I am getting sick? Summer sick? Lame.
Tomorrow I buy sound equipment for my wedding DJ company. I wanted to head down to Long & McQuade and make sure its all moving forward, and while there… bought a ukulele.
I’ve now owned this beast for about 3 hours as of writing this blog, and I love it. Ryan Awram told me that his friend took a 12 week ukulele course and she is loving it and can play it pretty good now. I wonder….
I often talk about my days in college radio at CiTR as the host of The Morning After Show. Oh the times… circa 1998-2003, playing Canadian punk, metal and indie rock.
When I started there… I was young and dumb. But it was really fun learning new bands and hanging out with Vancouver’s most groovy folks.
The show before the MAS was called Vengeance is Mine. It was a PUNK show hosted by a guy named Trevor that had a leg dedicated to tattoos of villainous logos… “Decepticons,” The “Empire” from Star Wars, and “Cobra” from G.I. Joe. He dropped out of radio school (hey, I was going to radio school in the fall!) and he was a cook at the Atlantic Trap and Grill back when it was more divey and cool and less touristy and near the arena and stadium (but actually, still a fun place!).
Trevor was very friendly, loved music, was in a band, and was a huge inspiration on 18 and 19 year old Jeremy. One of his favourite bands that quickly became my new favourite band was Winnipeg’s Propagandhi.
Propagandhi made the kind of punk rock that punk rockers talk about making but don’t, or sell out.
In 2001 they released Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes. The album very quickly became the most played record on my radio show. In fact, almost every radio show started with “Back to the Motor League.” The times when I couldn’t make the show and Paul flew solo, he played the song first!
At the time… the song was a party anthem for me. But I was also 21 and stupid. Listening now, the song still gets me fired up, but the message remains. The track talks about the co-opting the punk rock culture by corporations.
Generally Propagandhi are pretty politically charged… so being lectured every song isn’t for everyone… but I find the songs to be a great inspiration, and the energy to be positive. “Back to the Motor League” remains a favourite party rocker and usually a first play before a big night.
I was talking in a blog post earlier this month about the Sasquatch Festival being a very positive influence on my young lovely and her re-energized appreciation of alternative music. She came home with a few new favourite bands and artists.
It being payday today, I headed down to Ditch Records before work coming to the Zone to buy Coral the Foster the People LP. Coral had been talking about shaking up our record wall and subbing in some new cover art and one record she mentioned was Foster the People.
Sadly, Ditch was sold out. Jeremy said that since FTP became popular on the radio (Number 1 on the Zone’s modern rock countdown) and Sasquatch, its been a constant parade of music lovers coming down looking for the CD or LP. Both, currently, “out of stock.” Sadness. I have really been enjoying Torches as of late myself and was looking forward to some lazy weekends or late night drinks with that disc on the turntable this summer.
I remembered that Coral has had a couple other bands rotating on her iPhone. !!! and Yeasayer.
This weekend is Vic Fest. Going down Saturday on the grounds of St. Ann’s Academy will be a day of Island brew, wine, food, bands and DJs. To help celebrate and get people fired up… I am having performers form the festival on my show to perform live. Monday featured Acres of Lions. Today it was Georgia Murray.
Have a listen to this:
Acres of Lions including a live performance of the new song “Kids.”
Had an interesting moment yesterday cleaning my room. I was picking up a pile of clothes off the floor of the closet when I spotted with my little eye, something that is a record.
I don’t have a lot of JBT music on my computer, but everything by him that I have heard, I generally love…. so I must have grabbed this album many moons ago when it was in a “take one” bin that sometimes happens at the Zone with the records that don’t fit format.
I battled with the plastic wrap and threw that sucker in my computer to rip. So cool. I had to go back and listen to the only other couple songs I have by him. A cut from April Uprising and my favourite,” Groovin Slowly,” off Grand National.
Its funny how when your mind and ears are open to something, its seems like the world is conspiring to help and inspire you.
For some reason, I have been thinking of how fun it would be if I had a Ukulele at home to mess around on. I watched Eddie Vedder’s “Can’t Keep” on Youtube about a dozen times the other day.
Talk about having your life figured out. If I were a millionaire rock star like EV… I too would jam out ukulele songs and have my money plop me down on a lava rock out cropping in the middle of the Pacific Ocean while an aerial camera captured me wailing away on four strings.
Madelyn and I have been singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” each night before bed, I think a Ukulele accompaniment would be fitting… plus I have other plans… muhahahaha
Back to John Butler Trio… I have been dwelling on the ukulele and how fun that could be while I camp of grow coffee in Hawaii while I clean my bedroom closet. BOOM! John Butler Trio record (no ukulele) but it causes me to think JBT and reminds me of “Groovin Slowly”… which??? you guessed it, ukulele driven sexy jam.
Circles man.
And how about this… the dude is from Western Australia, one of the places of the world on my “list” AND his record label is called Jarrah Records. I have a cousin in Brisbane named Jarrah! (after the tree!). Neat.
John Butler Trio is a bigger deal in Australia compared to here in Canada. But his style is definitely something that any self-respecting Islander can get behind. Great laid back beach jams. A few epic swells thrown in from time-to-time.
When I hear “Groovin Slowly” I just wanna party… not AC/DC party, more like have sex, party.. party party. You dig?
The Sasquatch Festival did something mighty for my love Coral… it brought her back to the alt. music fold. Not that she had drifted far, but maybe the Beat 94.5 was on the radio more than maybe it used to be.
Coral came home for the Sasquatch with a tan, a week long hangover and an iPod FULL of great new (and not so new) jammers.
And its great for me, because now there are so many groups we both enjoy and get to punch up on a car ride or even… Coral is starting to turn the TV off, and the stereo on… nice.
One record she is on hard right now is Foster the People’sTorches. The song “Pumped Up Kicks” is arguably the most popular song on the Zone right now and currently number 1 on our countdown show.
Before its life as a mainstream modern rock single, the song enjoyed the distinction of being a “viral internet hit.” On the strength of that song and a small 3 song e.p., a record label snapped them and signed them. That might have been a wise investment as the full length record is super duper solid.
Very dancey, summery and fun. The record features some light dance numbers and a few pretty, 80s/90s-esque pop/love type songs. I love song “I Would Do Anything for You.” So cute.
Driving to Nana’s house yesterday for a BBQ; Coral, Alyx, Mads and I rolled down the windows of the Jeep and turned up the record. Coral said her favourite song is “Don’t Stop (Colour on the walls)”
Such a fun song.
I prefer track one, side one and the band’s third single… “Helena Beat.”
If you’re looking for a great summer soundtrack, Foster the People have more than a few songs for your playlist which makes Torches an excellent selection when thinking of buying new music.
The Morning After 