Touched by a Groove

Some beats come from the oddest and most unlikely of places but still manage to move and inspire me. I hear it and I want to hear more. I wish it were mine. That I created it and could do with it as I pleased. Sadly two of the latest grooves to set up camp in my head come from the saddest and most pathetic of places. One is a simple acoustic guitar lick set to a minimalist dance beat. The other is a sweet hiphop number that picks up energy by adding a punk guitar line to the mix. Both are insanely infectious and are just the type of thing I would have done. The first song is the background music for a "please turn off your cellphone" message at the theater. The other ends with the McDonalds theme. Geez.

Whoa.

Anybody who knows me knows I'm a touch on the impulsive side. Todays impulsive decision: A shameful $5.00 cup of something-or-other at Second Cup. Those same people also know that I'm fully and completely caffiene powered. This of course makes it really hard for me to get a good caffiene high going. Im not sure what Second Cup puts in their coffee but let me tell you: I am flying. Was it well worth sacrificing five of my hard earned dollars for? Oh yeah.
Unrelated Qoute of the day: "Hey! Cannibal is offensive, we're Human Eating Americans!."

Its at times like these . . .

. . . I have to wonder if Im on the right side of the world.

Note: Its hotter on the streets of HK than it is in my own house.

St. Joes

Some friends of mine recently went to a reunion back at my old high school, which is how I found out that my old choir teacher still works there. Mr. Olsen helped me embrace my creative side and got me completely hooked on music. I do what I do because of him.
Today I went back to shake his hand, do a little catching up and possibly hook myself up with some recording opportunities with his choir class. I was completely taken aback by the changes when I got there. The poor old school that I attended is now a state of the art facility. The music department, that had only a handful of second hand equipment, now had a full orchestra, a top of the line recording studio and even its own radio station!
I was almost sad to see that there was no evidence of the life I had in this shool when I found a corner of it that had not been affected by the passage of time at all. My favourite spot in the whole school even. The drama department sat in the deepest and oldest part of the whole school and many decades ago was once a gymnasium. In my first year there it was still a gym and a massive dividing wall seperated it into two sides. One being the drama department and the other an old unused television studio. It was here that I discovered and explored music and escaped to with all of my friends at every possible opportunity. Much time was wasted here. We were never denied access, never disturbed by anyone, and we could get away with anything our twisted little minds could think up.
The following year saw major changes to the sub basement. The old studio was seperated permanently and turned into the music department, where even more memories were made. Besides the sad removal of an old wooden two story stage, perhaps the coolest structure Ive ever seen in a school, the drama room remained exactly the same. The only changes made since then were new posters of recent productions that adorned the old walls.
While looking around I saw something that darn near made my heart stop. Three beautiful paintings of different flowers paired with very well painted chinese characters. I didn't even recognize the paintings until I saw the signature in the very bottom right hand corner. Tomenas signature. I was instantly taken back in time. My life since graduation was completely lost. Had I not known better I would have taken a seat and waited for my friends to show up, trouble hot on their heels.
I almost cried when I left that room. Almost.

Note: Mr. Olsen was no longer part of the music program but I was introduced to the current teacher. He was more than willing to lend me his time, equipment and even his own students to help me out with my own recording projects.

Vanessa Mae

Dear mom, while wasting my precious time surfing the internet I came across this video. It was while watching this video that I came to realize that I'm in love. Her name is Vanessa Mae and she is something of a classical musician based in the UK. Would it surprise you that her chinese name is the character for "Beautiful"? Anyways, I'm off to the UK. So I guess Ill be missing supper tonight. I promise to send you a wedding invitation soon.
Your son,
-John
PS: Do you have any cash?

December 1st:

FEAR FACTORY IS COMING TO TOWN.

WITH HYPOCRISY.

IN A PRIVATE CLUB.

Death Match

The Bear has been a mainstay on my radio for years. I love the Deejays and Im going to miss them, but if I hear one more Nickelback song I'm gonna wig out. So far I've got nothing but respect for Sonic, especially for playing tracks otherwise not heard on the radio. Examples? Off the top of my head:
-Fatboy Slims "The Rockafeller Skank"
-Ministrys "Jesus Built My Hotrod"
-The Prodigys "Breathe"
Could this be the reason why the Bear played Nine Inch Nails "Closer to God" this afternoon? Of course it was a very heavily edited version, but it was still played. I can only hope that the two stations battle it out, playing cooler and edgier songs in the ultimate battle of supremecy that only leaves the listeners as the one true winner.

Kelowna

So this past week I lost an uncle. He and his family have always been very close to ours, even though they lived in Kelowna. Thats why every chance any of us gets, we travel out to visit them. So when we learned of his passing it didnt take much to get us out once again. I was fully prepared to leave my job had they not let me go and Ive heard the same statement made a couple of times while being there.
There could not be a better word for this gathering then bittersweet. Even under such a sad occassion it was still so nice to see the whole family come together.
Kelowna itself was a complete dream. The weather was absolutely perfect. The earth remained green, as if fall had not yet found this place. The tempature was estimated to hit 27 degrees the first day and it wasn't even the nicest day of that trip. The nights were calm and crystal clear. I could have spent every last minute on my aunts balcony taking in that incredible view of the lake, the city and the hills that closed it off from the rest of the world.
There is a cycle that I go through everytime I find myself in Kelowna. The first day I am awestruck at actually being there. I dream of this all year long and won't be able to sleep the first night. The rest of my stay will be as if in an impossible dream. One I pray that no one wakes me up from if it is. The last day will be the absolute worst. The reality of having to leave this all and face the world again hangs over my head and makes it terribly hard to enjoy whats left of my stay. The trip out is once again made in utter disbelief, but this time in a state of sadness.
I only have one thought.
I don't want to go.
Even though Id be leaving my friends and lots of opportunity here in Edmonton I will always dream of being able to go to Kelowna and never having to leave it again.