I was never young.

Impossible outcomes

So continuing on the musical education I was partaking, I was discovering like with bands like The Beatles, The Who (pre reunion x3 +new album) and so forth, there were bands that had I only known about them a few years prior I could have gotten to see them live.

Prime example, Guided By Voices, I find out about them in 2004 to discover that they are having their final show new years eve that year. Then Derrick Plourde, for the first two Lagwagon albums and Bad Astronaut commits suicide preventing any new albums or potential tours. Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel writes one of the best albums of the the decade and potentially the century, and hangs up the hat. The Get Up Kids decide to go the many side projected ways, Brand New hadn't released anything new and wouldn't for another 2 years. Alkaline Trio took a turn for the worse direction wise. How could there be so much good music but a lack of bands still producing it?

Well thankfully I'm on music nerd overload right now. GBV have reunited, unfortunately no Canadian dates. The Get Up Kids get back together and release a damn good new interesting album that was as challenging as it was enjoyable to experience. I have tickets to see them next week for the first time ever. Pavement set aside their differences last year for Matador Records 21st anniversary. So I got to see probably one of my desert island top 5 favourite bands play live. Most recently exciting is I got tickets to see both nights of Jeff Mangum in Toronto. After 13 of almost complete no activity on the music scene. (other than hanging out and recording with Superchunk, Apples in Stereo and Circulatory System) This may be the show I tell my grand kids about. And if there is any justice in the world they will be jealous and appreciative of the historical significance of this and be proud I was apart of it.

Moving along into my delusions of grandeur... I never would have thought I would get closer to seeing Bad Astronaut play live than when I saw Yellowcard open for Lagwagon. Yellowcard covered a Bad Astronaut song and Joey Cape came out and sang it with them. I was hoping Joey would have pulled out some of that material at his solo acoustic show but he didn't. Well now the guys in Bad Astronaut have decided to give itself an official ending worthy of the work they put out during their tenure. One last tour with a stop at the Horseshoe Tavern. Most excitingly is John Snodgrass is opening for them. You may know him from Alt Country band Drag the River or the twang tinged Punk Rock of Armchair Martian who did a split e.p. with Bad Astronaut. First time I will be seeing him live too. I highly recommend checking out Armchair Martian and Bad Astronaut.



This year is going to be seriously awesome for concerts I can't wait to see what else is in store.


Stay tuned plenty of more name dropping and ranting about how much and why I love them and you should too. I may consolidate some of the info in that past few posts and make a beginners guide listening list as a digital mix tape if any of you are looking for some new music an are curious of recommendations.

M.Hask!

Secret Knowledge of Back Roads.

So while talking about music that excites me to the point of combustion, somewhere in the middle of high school I met someone who helped connect the missing musical dots. A lot of music I heard on The Wedge Much Music's once epic source then canceled now back triumphantly, for good music.

I knew of bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth, but not about Sebadoh, or Pavement. I loved the New Pornographers, but didn't know about Destroyer or Zumpano. I knew Pink Floyd but had yet to look deeper and find out about Syd Barrett. Elliott Smith I loved but I had never heard of Heatmiser. This where I began swapping mix cd's with Jeff Brodeur. He was my Midland musical kindred.

I started hearing of bands like of Montreal, and The Apples in Stereo, and something called the Elephant 6 Collective. All of a sudden I had all new favourite bands. Neutral Milk Hotel, Guided by Voices, Heavy Vegetable (and then, Thingy, Pinback, Goblin Cock and many other Rob Crow projects)

I learned that no matter how hard I could try that there is no possible way to be a GBV completest. The back catalogue was extensive, the solo e.p.'s the 7"s the casettes, a new release almost every 4 months it seemed.

But then there were the more cult followed pop acts through out the decades, like The Zombies, who I've had the privilege of seeing several times. Weird pop bands from all over the place like Os Mutantes, which are like the Brazilian equivalent to The Beatles. Chris Bell's solo work and Big Star. Speaking of Big Star did you know that Alex Chilton makes (Iguess 'made' now) a $70 royalty every time an episode of That 70's Show is played, because they used a Big Star song for the theme. The fact that the amount is $70 is kind of ironic, but think, how many times a day in the world is that show played back to back to back in multiple time zones. Now doesn't that make you mad ? I'm so mad I could spit!

I think what I really enjoyed about playing musical connect the dots was finding something new and exciting and sharing it with your friends. There's also a sense of pride and bragging rights associated with telling your friends first. Friends are what make music great, and often times why I crave to make music. I just want to share good music with my friends, and contribute back to all the good music that has been given to me.

I'm hoping this year I get some sort of assembly of the band that I would like to be in put together. I'm tired of being the sole member of my fantasy recording band. I want to play shows, I want to turn up the amplifiers. I want to get rowdy on stage. I want to be in a band with people I admire. I want to be in a band that people actually want to come to their show. I want to put something out on vinyl. I want someone to read this and want the same thing.

Sometimes I want to stop wanting though because pessimism is easier to rely on.

I will stop wanting after I get Jeff Mangum tickets though. Even Paris Hilton thinks he's hot.

Something to Write Home About

Chapter 1. A Long Introduction in as few proper sentences as possible.

So as I'm coming up to my first gallery show at Awkward Stage in Barrie On. Looking at what I've been creating, nostalgic technology and child like pleasures, in a childish style. I got thinking to what is going to happen exactly 3 days and 1 hour later after this show that I have titled "I Was Never Young" as an homage to Kevin Barnes / of Montreal.

... back to the origin of that last run-on sentence. In 3 days and 1 hour after my first solo art offering to the world I will be seeing The Get Up Kids. For the first time. I first heard The Get Up Kids at the tender age of 13. Something to Write Home I heard Christmas of '99 at my cousins house. I instantly fell in love with "Valentine," "Ten Minutes" and "Out of Reach." There was a whole rash of emo bands that sprung up after TGUK that were terribly fashionable, pretty, and most importantly knew how terrible it felt to be in love.

Now The Get Up Kids might not be "cool" these days, but they are, so deal with it. There were a whole bunch of late 90's emo that rocked before eyeliner and screaming became the status quo. Bands like Braid, Cap'n Jazz, Promise Ring and Jimmy Eat World. Now all of these bands excluding Cap'n Jazz have had poor albums released that were less than cool, and some quite embarrassing. (I'm looking at you post Bleed American Jimmy Eat World). Now due to circumstances I missed a TGUK show in high school, as well as their farewell tour because of this or that and also finding a way to the city. Then they reunite and well I had no one to go with and then I waited too long and found it sold out. So now they release a new album and I have tickets for the new tour so I will see a band for the first time that I have listened to for 12 years.


End of Chapter 1.

Chapter 2. The Meat and Potatoes of This Runaway Tale

I listen to A LOT of music, all different kinds, new, old, I need to know what is out there and absorb as much of it as possible. Now upon watching late night television I saw that Jimmy Eat World was on Conan. So I figured maybe I will watch, not expecting much considering the 2 post Bleed American albums... wow. So I watch a band that I had originally heard in the soundtrack to Never Been Kissed a decade or so before rock out not aged looking, nor dated sounding, making music that made me feel excited about music again. Now I wouldn't say the song is mind blowing or the album is the greatest thing ever. A solid awesome effort for a band hasn't gotten stuck in a rut and continues to write quality material. What got me so excited was at nearly 25 years old, I remembered when all of this music meant somehow more than it means to me now. It was the sounds that forged me. It gets your heart racing and a stupid smile of enamoring splendor that everything is alright and that you're alive.

I immediately dove back in time and imported old JEW cd's into itunes. All the while I continued to listen to TGUK and other said bands, but now with renewed passion and feeling. The excitement I felt seeing Joey Cape of Lagwagon play solo at the ElMo, or Pavement reunite at the island show was again back. For the few minutes these songs would play I feel like I could explode, why haven't I felt like this in so long?

I think that the music that we listen to in high school is somehow responsible for who we are in some bullshit John Hughes neatly wrapped package kind of a revelation. I can often place myself in memory where I can recall hearing a song, and it really becomes ingrained in the perception of my memories. Like hearing Wilco for the first time on Much Music when I was like 8? "Outtamind, Outtasite." was an awesome video and I rarely ever saw it, but I remember in the backroom at my Nan's having a Coke and some cookies watching this band jump out of a plane and were catchy as hell. Now being 8, pre-internet, small town, and no job because I'm 8, I would have to reunite with Wilco in grade 10 with Elliott Smith.

But it's shit like this that I remember more than anything else. Bleed American, I don't even have the cd anymore, just the jewel case because I left it in somebody's car one summer. There was an actual summer that Siobhan and Alison had a copy of it on cassette and literally listened to that album back to back.

And I would have to say that The Get Up Kids' Something to Write Home About is probably tied with Broken Social Scene's You Forgot It In People for an album that I most made out with girls to. As well as listened to after they got sick of me. It as full circle therapy.


Anyways that's probably enough blathering. I just need to figure out that joy and excitement. I feel it's what my music is lacking. I can't seem to capture the excitement in my songs or the heart strung connections, or raw lack of sense that makes things magical.

I need to find the magic. I should call Rivers Cuomo, I heard he knows something.


M.HAsk!

Sundays

So after watching a Phil Spector documentary awhile ago I got to thinking. Jeff Barry who wrote such epic hits as "Da Do Ron Ron" amongst a million other songs said that the original lyric in the song was to be " I met him on a Sunday, and my heart stood still... Da doo ron ron ron, da doo ron ron." After working with the song he stated that while Sunday seemed like the day to meet somebody, or to fall in love, that the 's' sound ruined the fluidity and alliteration that could be achieved with "I met him on a Monday." and of course the fill in lyrics for a chorus he hadn't written yet. the "Doo ron ron" part stayed for lack of anything better coming to mind. Well obviously he knew what he was doing. Alliteration and nonsensical syllables became a huge hit by numerous artists.

This brings me to my thought today, that over time there has been a lot of songs written about sundays. Sundays being good, happy, sobering, bloody. So here is my list of favourite Sunday songs.


1. Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning.
2. Jimmy Eat World - A Sunday
3. Sonic Youth - Sunday
4. Blondie - Sunday Girl
5. The Monkees - Pleasant Valley Sunday
6. Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - Sunday St.
7. of Montreal - Everyday Feels Like Sunday

No matter what kind of Sunday you have there's probably a song about it. Sunday is probably the best day of the week for the sheer fact it's an underdog. It's not as exciting as Friday or Saturday, but for the most part most of us don't work on Sunday. Depending on how Saturday went you might wake up next to a beautiful stranger for better or worse. Or you could have the worst hang over in the world. Either way, one of these days I think I'll get around to my own Sunday song. Mine are generally pretty boring but there's something nice about sleeping in and not getting anything accomplished. Although I feel like Sunday is making it's mark on everyday of the week in my life currently. So maybe I'll hang with The Monkees and be the local rock group down the street trying hard to learn their songs.



Here's the list of songs for your streaming pleasure ----> SONGS

That time of year...

Well, it's that time of year that people either love or hate. Or perhaps if you're like me both.



With the on set of Christmas coming I often loathe the shopping malls, peoples demands for service they would never dream of giving someone else and the impatience of those who wait in line ups for expensive gifts that have nothing to do with the spirit of the season.

However what I enjoy most about Christmas is that for the most part in my family that has its ups and downs with squabbles, is that everyone shuts up for a day or two and gets along. upcoming weeks to Christmas are often stressful and full of complaints but the week after everyone tends to say they all had a great time and cannot understand why we don't get together more often.

So for today my first list is for those folks who can't get enough of Christmas, most likely due to the fact they don't work in the service industry.

Most of these songs are from the Phil Spector Christmas album which is probably the best holiday album ever made, but some other classics from the Beach Boys add a sunny California warmth to a temperature challenged season.

Here's the songs.

I will also later post some sit by yourself in a poorly lit bar songs for all of those who could do with out, or at least had a regretful day of waking up to a mall.

Until next time, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.

Rock & Roll Arts & Crafts

so it's been a long fucking while hasn't it? So lately I have been working my day job, and then coming home to my night job. My night job consists of mainly drinking, and working on music, but mainly drinking. I think about music a lot. It consumes most of my time money and energy. Ironically this doesn't help my musical output thinking about shit doesn't get the shit done. If it did I'd be a philosopher.

Anyways what has brought you to this blog today is a little at home repair project. Due to the cheap construction of one of my favourite pedals it's in need of repair. My black Russian Big Muff pi reissue has a broken jack due to Electro Harmonix being cheap and using plastic jacks and nuts.

So me being equally cheap I've decided rather than track down a new jack for it and pay the whopping $2 for it I'm just going to glue the cheap plastic part back together with some 2 part epoxy and hope for the best.














For the second installment of Rock & Roll Arts & Crafts I went to the The Paper Place to see my friend and former room mate Heather to pick up some Japenese paper to cover the housing of a project pedal I'm building. Awhile ago I ordered a kit to build a pedal that normally I would never be able to afford the coveted Lovetone Big Cheese fuzz pedal. It's a really cool sounding over the top fuzz pedal used by Stephen Malkmus among others. (you can hear it quite a bit on Pavement's Wowee Zowee album)

So I will update you on this one I get my ass in gear and start building it.

In more exciting news I've added 3 more pedals to my arsenal recently which has made me broke and extremely frugal for the next few months. I managed to get great deals on all 3 of these no longer manufactured pedals.

My first acquired pedal was the semi rare often over priced Boss Pan Tremolo PN-2 which is a really cool stereo pan / tremolo pedal that was made in the early nineties and was replaced by the TR-2 tremolo with out the cool panning effects. Either way I must admit I partially wanted it for the hype that My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive used them.

Secondly I picked up an 80's Boss Delay DM-3 which is the bigger brother of the DM-2. The Dm-2 is much more collectable but also has the price tag to go with it. They sound pretty much identical with the exception of a stereo out on the DM-3 and a noise reduction circuit. I snagged this guy up for a good price and rather enjoy it. It's a nice smaller alternative to my EHX Deluxe Memory Man.

Lastly I went to a music store promising myself not to buy anything when I came across what is seemingly rare these days. A Frantone Hep Cat. I've wanted one of these for a few years and had a chance maybe 2 years ago when Song Bird Music closed it's doors. But alas, I did not have the money to purchase one even extremely discounted. Well thankfully I waited and got an even better deal on it. It's a pretty simple over drive but it sounds fantastic and hand made by Fran herself in New York.

Alright well I think I've finally bored everyone to tears so I promise a more interesting blog next time. Maybe some music, or I will have some picture of the pedal build.


xo, Matt