Juke Night - March 11

Hey there bloggies! We're doing another Juke Night at Acadamy Bar & Eatery. It's a night of old time dance blues. We'll be digging into the old songbook and playing songs by Willie Dixon, Bo Carter, Lovin' Sam, Big Dave McLean, Barbeque Bob, BB King, Big Joe Primrose etc...

This time the band will be a trio featuring Dave Lentz on Keyboard, Laurie Sabiston on Drums and me (of course) on the telecasters. The cover is only $5.00 and the show is a hoot so please tell your friends and let's all get down and JUKE!

Embracing my inner Rock Star

This is my new guitar. After I built the last one I started dreaming about a real hot rod machine. Something attractive and polished. I looked around and discovered that I couldn't afford what I was looking for but I could afford a cheaper guitar if I didn't mind doing the upgrades. So here is what I did. I bought this Squire "made in China" telecaster and immediately replaced the pickguard. I also ordered two Dimarzio pickups to replace the stock ones in the guitar. I also ordered a new three saddle bridge (the silver piece that holds the strings - for the uninitiated) to replace the stock one.. When it's all done this guitar will be a bad ass muther f@#ker (shut yer mouth). It's already been used on stage once and it looks real purty under the lights. I can't wait till its all done.

Now some of you will remember that I said I was going to build a second guitar and I probably will, but I found out that I couldn't get any parts from my supplier till March. The parts that were available were too expensive for my meager budget. So after looking around I figured I'd just start with a good looking body and replace the guts. Total price around $400.00 all in.

Now get out there and Rock the house!

Sleepy Days of Winter

Things have been kinda sleepy here for the past couple weeks. Around this time of year I start getting all 'hybernate-ey'. I want to sleep alot and find myself tired most of the time. I think it's the cold finally seeping into my bones and my desire to be a lazy, shiftless bum. Sadly though my life doesn't allow for laziness and I have to work, work, work just to stay level.

Here's what I've been up to.

Mon to Sat (tuesdays off) I work at Sled Dog Music. Selling guitars, ordering inventory and generally running a store.

In that same block of time (usually at night) I also teach ukulele, rehearse with the 'for kids' show that I play in with Judy Cook, rehearse with my blues band (and record), work on booking the Trout Forest Music Festival and rehearse for Sunday.

Sunday I play in my Baptist Church band at Central Baptist Church. We meet early in the morning and run over the songs, play the service and then hold a rehearsal for the coming week. With going for lunch after it ends up being a full day.

So if you know a way to add a day to the week let me know. I could use a real day off.

Last Minute gig announcement

Hey there blues fans! On Friday Jan 13th (yikes) I will be performing THREE songs at Academy Bar and Eatery. The Manitoba Independent Songwriters Cirle (MISC) will be having one of their songwriter showcase nights and my friend (and harp player) KC Cramer was supposed to be playing. He cancelled due to illness and they asked me to step in and save the show .

See ya there!

What I did over New Years

Well folks this is the result of four days work over the New Years weekend. It all began on Dec 30th when I decided that I would paint my den over the long weekend. So after work I toddled off to the paint store to choose colours and get supplies. New Years eve I woke up early and emptied my den and painted it this lovely shade of red called 'burnt pumpkin'.

This is the colour of the walls before the painting. I took my cues from the many home improvement shows and tried to "re-purpose" the room and use existing furniture in a new way. So for $30.00 I added a two door melamine cabinet that I attached to a CD shelf and a small narrow bookcase to create a media storage unit that improved my storage in my office and leaves my walls free. You can see the top of it in the picture above.

I also threw out a TON of stuff. Literally a whole ton of excess paper and stuff. So after four days and loads of work I have a new office with loads more room. Unfortunately the rest of my house is still a shambles and I have lots more work to do there. Expect more updates on the home upgrades later this month.