Wedding Show

Looks like I'll be at the Toronto Wedding Show. Details to follow.

Cadence Last Night

Great Show.

That's pretty much all I can sum up at this time. Last night, a capella quartet Cadence had their CD release party at the Lula Lounge in Toronto and it was fantastic. Hosted by Heather Bambrick, the foursome brought their A-game that night by mixing in some of their old material with their new releases along with their energy and humour. A mix of jazz, pop and rock, Ross, Carl, Kevin and Dylan did a great job and was enjoyed by all.

Murphy's Law - Electric Bass

Let me know if something like this has ever happened to you.

I had a gig up in Orangeville where I had to bring both my electric and upright basses. While setting up, I had everything up and running and I was ready to go. To my luck, Murphy's Law decided to rear its ugly had. Five minutes before it was time to play, I plugged my electric bass into my amp and all I got was this enormous low-end buzz. I unplugged the electric and tried again. Once again, the loud buzz would not dissapear. I unplugged once again and attepted at fiddleing with the input socket on the electric to see if that would help. Again I plugged in and again the buzz returned. Thinking it was my brand-new 1/4" cable, I experimented by plugging the cable into my upright; no problem. I plugged back into the electric and began fiddling around with the input jack. I found that the buzz would cut in and out. I deduced that the problem was the input jack. With only seconds before playing I informed my band-mates that I would be playing my acoustic bass all night. I plugged back into upright acoustic and dove right into our first set.

Everything went well and all the clients were happy. I was especially pleased with the way I played on my upright that evening. Next stop, the music store to find a new electric.

Holding back

I have a potential gig tonight back and Day & Night (weather permitting) and tomorrow I will be playing for about four hours at a wedding reception. I must tell you, I'm thinking that I will have to hold back and pace myself on Friday night in order to last for four hours on Saturday night. I've never liked playing passively, but it will be in the back of my mind while I play tonight. Anyway, here's hoping I don't develop new blisters until after Saturday night.

Gig - "Day&Night"

This Friday September 16, I will be playing at Day&Night Restaurant which is located one block West of Brimley on Steeles in Scarborough. We start at 9pm and we go until midnight. It will be a mix of Jazz, old-school R&B and pop. Come by and say hi.

Hope to see you there.

Cadence CD Release Party

"TWENTY FOR ONE"
CD LAUNCH
Tuesday, September 20th
The Lula Lounge
1585 Dundas St. West, Toronto

These four guys are great. Fun, energetic and entertaining. I'v had the pleasure of singing with these guys back in my tenure with Wibijazzn' while at York U. I'm just happy that I can beat them all in billiards.
See you there.

If you'd like to learn more about Cadence, visit their website at cadence-unplugged.com

Google Talk

Let me put it this way, Google Talk is pretty good. I'm still trying to figure out a few things, but it seems pretty cool. It just started today and I'm finding it a neat little tool. I'm even intrigued about buying a headset to use the VoIP feature. The best part... it's free. Anyway, visit google.com/talk

More info can be found on Wikipedia

Adam Dow Fund

Adam Dow Fund

This has to be one of the most horrible things that I have heard about. Moreover, this story applies to a friend of mine. I was never one for details because I usually misinterpret facts but here is the story that I have paraphrased from a friend.

Matt Dow(a friend whom I've had the pleasure of working with), his brother Adam and his wife were trying to put up a flagpole at home. It hit some hydro lines and Adam was severely electrocuted. His wife has some burns from trying to remove him from the pole, but otherwise she is physically ok. As for Adam, he remains in hospital; he has severe internal damage, especially to his lungs. Furthermore, he has had numerous skin grafts and has had BOTH arms amputated. Apparently, he is unaware that he has lost both arms right now as he is heavily medicated. To make matters worse, Adam and Kelly have 2-month-old twin boys! This truly is one of the most horrible stories I have ever heard in my entire life. He is 25....His wife 23. And they have 2-MONTH-OLD TWIN BOYS! So horrible.

Well, I received a phone call a short while ago and it turns out that Adam Dow died Sunday night. A group of people are trying to put together a trust fund for the family and a care-package for the twins. One of my friends has created a website that is also receiving donations that will be donated to Adam Dow's family.

delish.typepad.com

Being a new father and with brothers of my own, I cannot help but feel for the Dow family. Hopefully, most of you can see where I am coming from. If you can make a donation or have ideas to help out the family, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Practice Time

Ever fall into a rut when it came to practicing. For me, it was never about falling into a rut, but being distracted by so many different forces. I enjoy the many things that life has to offer and I have always thought of myself as a "Jack-of-all-trades". This has been my blessing and my curse. Whether it is golf, sports, or just trying to learn about everything and anything, I have found that it takes time away from my time to practice music. I'm not saying that I'm going to drop everything right now just to free up practice time, but, it's more difficult to discipline myself to lock myself up and practice. On the other hand, I do find myself enjoying practice time after a short hiatus.

New Golf Equipment

Alright, I know. I've heard it many times before. "It's a poor craftsman that blames his tools". But I'd like to think that it's pretty cool to have new tools. Especially when they make you a better "craftsman". If golf were my workbench, then this new driver would be my 19.2V cordless drill. Just this past weekend, I decided to try out my newest weapon in my golf arsenal at a driving range. Let me put it to you this way; after hitting a few balls, I wouldn't want to bet against myself in match play. At least, that's what I felt when using my new driver. It's always a nice feeling when your ball starts hitting the back fences and people around you stop and stare at your very own "long ball". With a little work, I can control that fade I have on that club. When I was looking for a driver, I found a stiff shaft would give me a fade. With a regular shaft, I found myself severely hooking my shots and losing distance. Most of the store reps said that with my high handicap, I would only need a regular. It seems not listening to them has paid off; at least at the driving range. Next up, taking the big stick to a course; preferably one that accomodates my power fade.

Ill

Alright, I'm sick. Physically; not quite mentally. Usually when you get a cough you hope it will die as the days go on. Unfortunately for me, it has been wishful thinking. What can you do. Doctors and researchers state that you should just rest. I find that difficult when you find yourself up at all hours of the night hacking and coughing, hoping that you don't wake the neighbours that live 10 doors down. Oh well, grin and bear it.

Quote of the Week

"As for me, I know of nothing else but miracles."
-Walt Whitman

"As for me, I know nothing"
-BassBassDude

Friday July 22: "Day & Night" @ 9pm

I'll be at "Day & Night Restaurant" in Scarborough @9pm once again. It should be a lot of fun. There was a good turn out last time and I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow night. It will be a little trio with Glen Narona on keyboard, Kenny DeLaSantos on vocals and yours truly on Double Bass. To those who might need directions, Day & Night Restaurant can be found one block west of Brimley Rd on Steeles Ave. I hope to see you there.

Quote of the Week

"For there is not ordinarily a greater sign of the equal distribution of anything than that every man is contented with his share"
- Thomas Hobbes

"For there is no sign than that of the equal sign "=""
-BassBassDude

Gig Recap

Well, the gig went well. I found that the sound and feel was good. Most of all we both had a good time playing and performing for people that seemed to genuinely enjoy what we were doing. We played some old jazz standards and mixed in some pop and "old school" R&B. I think I may have played a little too aggressive off the top; it seems my hands are not used to playing for extended periods of time. It's funny how you sometimes need to practice for "long distance" playing; you may find yoursel not having the opprotunity for a break, or in my case, not wanting a break. It seems I'll be back next week on Friday @ 9pm at Day & Night. This time it looks like the trio will be coming out which is always a blast.

Day & Night on July 15 @ 9pm

Well, I've been tied up with a couple of things for the past few weeks but just so you know, I'll be playing in Scarborough this Friday night. On July 15 from 9pm to 12am, I'll be playing at Day & Night with a wonderful and skillful Keyboardist/Vocalist Kenny DelaSantos. You can find Day & Night on Steeles just west of Brimley in Scarborough, Ontario. It will be a lot of fun and it will be nice to be working with him again. Anyway, hope to see you all there.

City Chase Completed

Well, the City Chase is over and we performed a lot better than last year. With over 450 teams competing, team WIBI LOUD placed 135; about 2:35 later than the first place finishers. Not too bad considering last year we didn't get a chance to complete all the tasks. Communication between my brother and us turned out to be a lot better this year. He was able to download the City Chase clues and while we were competing in events planned out the best route to run. He was easily our eyes and ears of the race. He even made sure that we completed tasks that needed to be completed and that we skip those that were unnecessary. He was a lifesaveer as we stared up a 26-storey climb. Thanks to him, there were points during the race where we had completed 7 tasks and others had only 4. I think we had saved our energy well and used it when we needed to. We made a couple of errors but stumbled upon items that helped us finish; running around China Town looking for a cat on a red post for an hour helped us bump into a person that donated us our remaining item on our "Scavanger Hunt".

Speaking about bumping into people, I didn't get a chance to see anyone that I recognized but I got a chance to meet many new racers. Whether it be chatting with them on the subway, cheering them on as they completed a task, sharing strategies and last year's experiences, or teaming up with them just to get through a chase point, it was fantastic interacting with all the different teams. Like most races, the City Chase is designed to be one that is not about the finish line, but of the journey that you embark.

The City Chase - Toronto

The City Chase is but a few days away and I am feeling pretty good. Hopefully we'll be a strong enough team to make it into the top ten. It's a long shot, but with a bit of luck we could make things happen. I hope we can save our energy early in the race which was our biggest mistake in last year's race. We came out of the race pretty dejected, but we did finish. One thing is for sure; it will be a ton of fun.

Visit:
www.bellcitychase.com

Quote of the Week

"To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance"
-Oscar Wilde

"If looks could kill, then I should be handed a mirror"
-BassBassDude