Valley Street Redemption

       

This week marked the one year anniversary of one of my best friend's experiencing a life-changing event. Without getting into details, he had to spend five days in the local jail. You know, the clink, the big house, slammer, pokey, con college, hoosegow, etc...

As a good friend, I thought it would be nice to visit him during his brief stay. I also thought it would be nice to bring a gift. Naturally, my first idea was a cake with a file in it, but over the years I have started to realize that my first idea is usually awful. So, I decided to bring him the Drew Brees autobiography instead. After all, who is more admired and inspiring than Drew Brees?  Only Pope Francis, that's who.

     The day was sunny and windy and cold as I drove to the jail.  Thankfully, I had never been there before and had a little trouble finding it. I found a nice parking spot and with my book under my arm, headed towards the entrance.  Surprisingly the door was locked and I needed to buzz in.  A gruff sounding man badgered me with questions as to why I was there. I had as many questions for him as he had for me, so he ended up buzzing me in. I was in for another surprise. The front door weighed about 300 pounds and I struggled to open it. I think the strong wind was working against me as well, but I can't be sure. One thing is for sure, God forbid I was ever in there, they wouldn't need to lock me in a cell.  I could barely get through an unlocked door.

                 


I walked into the "lobby."  A woman bellowed "Can I help you with something?"  In an embarrassingly high voice, I told her I was there to see a friend. She told me that I would need to write a letter to request to be added to the visitor list. I told her my friend would not be staying there long enough to receive a letter. Cleverly, I asked if I could write my letter there and just hand it to her. She said absolutely not, the letter needed to be postmarked. Not giving up, I asked if I could leave my book with her at the desk.  She said "We do not deliver gifts here!" In my head, I had a few more ideas, but I happened to glance around and there was no one in there that looked like they might be on my side. I decided to give up before they locked me up.  Dejectedly, I walked back out the 300 pound door with my book still under my arm. My friend would never even know I tried to visit him until he got back on the outside.
 

 My friend is free again and living a clean, wholesome life.  He is a great guy with a bright future. Now I don't want anybody to think I am making light of our penal system (yup, just typed "penal" without giggling.) I have always lived by the famous words of 1970's TV undercover detective, Tony Baretta:  "Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time."  So let this be a lesson for all of my fans, keep your nose clean and don't make me go through something like this again. It was very upsetting for me.

One Weak Beam Away...

          Monday February 16, 2015 started out just like many other Mondays.  I had started writing my blog about the Grammy Awards and got about half of it done. Later that evening, I went to 7 Star Pizza to see my friends and watch Monday Night Raw. Around midnight, 7 Star owner, Nick, was talking about grabbing a flashlight and going up to clear some snow off of his roof when he got home. I think he was just kidding. We both laughed. I had a shot of Jagermeister for last call with my friend Jack.  Then I hugged my friends and went home.
     I got home around 1:30am and ate half of the turkey sub that I brought home. Then I fell asleep. Around 3am I heard a loud bang which woke me up. I thought maybe some ice had fallen off of the roof.  Then I heard some more loud noises that made me sit up in my bed. I realized something odd was taking place so I thought I should get out of my house. Getting dressed quickly, I ran out thru the living room to the front door.  I heard many more loud noises on my way out and determined my roof was collapsing.
   I jumped into my car and got it off the driveway just in case the whole place came down. For the first time in my life I needed to call 911 which I did. The firemen arrived in a few minutes. The first fireman out of the truck looked exactly like Channing Tatum.  It was ridiculous. I thought I was getting Punk'd. Thankfully the rest of the guys in the truck were average looking and I felt better about myself. We waited in our vehicles for the town Building Inspector to show up.  The wait lasted about 45 minutes. This night featured a temperature of -10 degrees with a wind chill that brought it down to -40 degrees.  Not the best night to determine that you need to relieve yourself or risk your bladder exploding. I received permission from the firemen to unfurl my hose and relieve myself in the howling wind. They turned the fire engine lights off so I wouldn't get stage fright while trying to complete this endeavor.  These were good men.
     The Building Inspector eventually got to the house and took a look around. he determined my home was uninhabitable due to the roof issues.  He slapped some big UNSAFE signs on my place and that was that.  I called my great friend Peter Smith, and he took me in from the cold and let me stay at his place and warm up. This wasn't the first time he has helped me at a time of need. My brother took me into his home for the next week while I worked on getting my home repairs in order and deal with the stress brought on from my brush with death.
     The day after the horrifying incident, plumber extraordinaire, Dave Pollock, met me at my house and winterized it for me in order to save all of my pipes from bursting. He worked like a dog that morning. I wanted to help the poor guy, but I wasn't wearing gloves and I was wearing sneakers, not boots. Next, I called Construction Guru, Dave Courtemanche, for advice on where to find a good contractor to help bring my home back to life. Needless to say, he found me a good guy to help me.
     I met with the contractor the next day and he explained to me that my home originally had a flat roof and that the peaked roof that collapsed was an addition to the original roof. He was amazed that the original roof stayed strong and was not damaged in any way. He told me that original roof saved my life. His exact quote was "you were one weak beam away from being squashed like a bug.                                        

A Year In Music As Reviewed By A Mentally Young 51 Year Old Caucasian in 2014

   
 So we are going to take a look at some of the music I enjoyed in 2014.  There will be many areas of the musical world that will not be mentioned here.  Basically, I will be mentioning catchy Pop tunes and semi-obscure songs that I can share with friends and family.  The only common thread I can find in my semi-obscure songs is that most of them make the listener want to remain still.  I find that important in my music as I don't like to move around too much,

FAVORITE POP SONGS

I don't claim to know all about the 2014 Pop music scene, but I know enough for this blog. It is safe to say that Pop music was dominated by females in 2014.  My three favorite Pop songs from last year were all by females.  Also, I liked a few songs from Iggy Azalea, who seemed to be all over the place in 2014.  Here are my favorite pop songs from last year:

1)  "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj = I was immediately sold on this song as soon as I saw them perform it on one of the MTV Award shows.  It has everything I like in a song, plus some things I didn't even know I liked in a song.  Two thumbs up!

                 
2) "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor = what a catchy tune and fun lyrics!  video perfect too!
3) "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift = love everything about her!  hugely talented.

Honorable Mention goes to the band Magic for their song "Rude."  They aren't female, but they did throw together a memorable song from 2014. Also, have to mention they are a Canadian reggae band. Who knew there was even such a thing?

SEMI-OBSCURE SONGS THAT GARY LIKES FROM 2014

"Dangerous" by Big Data = This was absolutely my favorite song of 2014.  The fact that the video is sexy and disturbing at the same time, only added to the allure.
               

Below are other favorites:

"Beware the Dog" by The Griswolds
"Take It As It Comes" by J Roddy Walston & the Business
"Scare Away The Dark" by Passenger
"Budapest" by George Ezra
"West Coast" by Lana Del Rey
"Drive In Movies" by Ray LaMontagne
"Habits" by Tove Lo
"Sunken Ship" by Will Dailey
"Water Fountain" by Tune-Yards
"Come Up Man" by G Love & Special Sauce



SEMI-OBSCURE SONGS THAT GARY LIKES THAT MAY HAVE COME OUT IN 2013


"Three Headed Woman" by Boy & Bear
"Emmylou" by First Aid Kit
"So American" by Portugal. The Man
"Take Me To Church" by Hozier
"Cool Kids" by Echosmith

LOCAL CD's RELEASED IN 2014 BY BANDS I TALK ABOUT CONSTANTLY

"Good Luck" by Girls Guns and Glory
"Love Whip Blues" by Erin Harpe and the Delta Swingers
"Fake It 'Till You Make A Hit" by Pat and the Hats

BEST CD BY A DISTANT RELATIVE RELEASED IN 2014

In  2014, I found out from my Aunt Pat that her grandson, or my cousin Jodie's son, is a drummer in an up and coming band from the Nashville, TN area.  His name is James Alan.  They put out an EP this year that I think is excellent.  The name is below and I included a video of one of their songs.

"Won't Be Long" by Wabash

                     
SONG I LIKE TO PLAY AT START OF EVERY NEW YEAR

"Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) by Baz Luhrmann

You will know this song/speech, as soon as you hear it.  Something about it always puts my brain in a good place.  Once per year is probably not enough to hear it.
           
                     

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2015 Inductees

       

The 2015 class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees contains some of my all-time favorite solo artists and bands.  The eight inductees are Bill Withers, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Green Day, Ringo Starr, Lou Reed, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and the 5 Royales.  I thought it would be fun to share some thoughts on each of these artists.




Bill Withers - A few of his most popular songs are "Lean On Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", and "Use Me".  "Ain't No Sunshine" has always been so much fun to sing with when it gets to the part "I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,  I know, Hey, oughtta leave young thing alone, But ain't no sunshine when she's gone."

Stevie Vaughan & Double Trouble - I actually didn't know they weren't already in the Hall until about a year ago.  Stevie entered my life around 1984 when my brother brought the "Couldn't Stand the Weather" album into our house.  The song that hooked me for life was "Cold Shot."  I have been known to destroy that tune at karaoke from time to time.  If you have never seen his concert recorded in Toronto at the El Mocambo in 1983, you should.  It came out in the early 90's and for me it solidified that Stevie was a one of a kind talent.  An amazing performance for sure.  I also credit him for helping me discover other great Blues music over the years.  One of my favorites of all-time for sure.

                     

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - "I Love Rock and Roll" from 1982, one of the great singles since I have been on the planet.  Strange memory I have of this song is my high school friend, Mike Provost, singing this to me in the Merrimack High School store.  I wish I could shake the memory, but I can't.  I guess it could be worse.  He is a good guy.  Anyway, Joan Jett could bring it.  "I Hate Myself For Loving You" is another classic.  She also reminded me of Leather Tuscadero from the "Happy Days" television show and I was always a big fan of both Leather and Pinky Tuscadero.   "Aaaaaaaa"

Green Day - Can it be that these guys have been around 25 years?  Yes, they have with their 1990 album "39/Smooth" on an independent record label.  Their major label debut was "Dookie in 1994.  "When I Come Around" and "Basket Case" were hits from that album.   Since then they have consistently put out strong music.   My niece is a big fan and that is a good enough reason for me to endorse them!

Ringo Starr - the last of the Beatles to be inducted into the Hall as an individual.  I love Ringo.  The world loves Ringo.  He had his share of individual hits such as "It Don't Come Easy" and "You're Sixteen."  He is also responsible for one of the three songs that can easily make me cry.  His song "Photograph" gets to me every time I hear it.  The other two songs are "Nightshift" by the Commodores and the immortal "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks.

Lou Reed - I have more Lou Reed albums than a normal person should have.  Lou is responsible for my favorite Rock song of all-time.  "Sweet Jane" recorded by the Velvet Underground, of which Lou was a prominent part before he went solo, has been on my favorite list for many years.  Most people probably know him from "Walk on the Wild Side" which I imagine was his biggest hit by far.  It was also an unlikely hit in hindsight, but the music business is a fickle mistress.  Possibly my favorite recording of his is "Live Take No Prisoners" album.  He throws some between songs banter on that recording that was not heard before or since.  Entertaining from start to finish.

                 

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - I have to be honest, I have seen his name before over the years, but not familiar with his music. Thanks to the interweb, I found out he was from Chicago and was a big Blues fan.  He was a singer and harmonica player.  Paul learned from such greats as Muddy Waters and Little Walter.  He and his band played at the original Woodstock.  They are also credited with spreading Blues music to lots of people that never would have been exposed to it.  I am a fan of anyone that creates interest in the Blues.  Next up for me is checking out some of his music.





The 5 Royales - These guys are not so well known compared to most of the people mentioned above.  Let me tell you how I got into them.  I have seen lots of Blues bands over the years.  Each time you see a band they play something that you don't know, but instantly love it.  I like to research those songs when I get home from the show and find out where they came from.  Well, I can tell you that many times the results of my research led me to the 5 Royales.  So, I had to look into them.  They were at their best in the 1950's through the mid 1960's.  I scooped up one of their Greatest hits cd's and loved it all.  Then, I found a marked down box set of five cd's of their music and now I think I have nearly every song these guys recorded.  Some of my favorite songs are "I Like It Like That" and "Baby, Don't Do It."  The Shirelles had a big hit with the 5 Royales song "Dedicated to the One I Love" and James Brown recorded their song "Think".   These guys are a fine example of "so much music, so little time."  I am glad I found these guys and have their music in my life now.

                    


Congratulations to the 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees!  Thank you for the music and the memories.

Christmas Show at Capitol Center for the Arts - featuring local guitar legend Myron Kibbee

       
   
   

      Rocking Horse Studio in Pittsfield, NH put on a Christmas show at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH recently.  First off, I want to apologize for any of the performers that I don't mention here.  I forgot to bring my little notebook to jot down what I saw, so I am doing this from memory.  Some of you may have seen a version of this show on WMUR's "Chronicle" show last year.  The show was nominated for an Emmy.  It was rebroadcast this year.  This Rocking Horse Studio has quite a stable of talented musicians (see how I linked horse and stable? can't teach that).
 

Myron playing at my friend's wedding

   
     I first heard of this place from the super cool and super talented guitarist, Myron Kibbee.  He plays on a lot of the recordings that take place there.  He also was onstage most of this night providing fantastic guitar work on a variety of songs.  On a side note, I am nearly related to Mr. Kibbee.  He is my good friend's brother in law.

     Some of the performers that I saw were Dusty Gray Band, Rachel Vogelzang, Pat and the Hats, Chris Peters, Delanie Pickering, The Connection, Steve Blunt, The Four Legged Faithful, Seth Wonkka, Gina Alibrio, Mike Dunbar and Hannah Michaud.

     I am not a huge Christmas music fan, but I enjoyed nearly every song I heard this night.  The arrangements and talent of the performers seemed to bring new life into most of these traditional Holiday tunes.
 
     Next, I will mention some of the songs that have stuck in my murky memory banks.  "Merry Christmas Baby" performed by Delanie Pickering, featured some soulful vocals and bluesy guitar work.  "Christmas Wrapping" by the Waitresses was performed by Michelle Coombes and Brittany Laine (the female singer from Pat and Hats) on vocals and backed by Pat and the Hats and other folks.  Pat and the Hats stayed on stage to perform a a sizzling version of "Father Christmas" by the Kinks.

     Chris Peters did a beautiful original song entitled "Christmas Angels" which hit me right in my single-guy heart.  I happened to meet him after the show and he gave me a couple of things that I am told you can download this song with.  He also gave me a copy of his latest full-length CD.  Chris was very kind and generous and a great representative of what the night was all about.

     One last song I would like to mention was the playful version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" performed by Mike Dunbar and Hannah Michaud.  I have included a video of this song and you can see the fun they had performing this classic.  Hannah also had the nicest Christmas sweater at the show.

             
     Special mention should go to Brian Coombes, who apparently is the head honcho at Rocking Horse and without him this great night would not have happened. If this show comes around again next year, you should buy your tickets fast. The event sold out this year.  Bring your family, a loved one, a friend, or just bring me.  whatever, just go.  Happy Holidays!
       

             

A Musical Weekend (Part One - Friday)

          I had the pleasure of seeing two of my favorite local bands in the same weekend, a few weeks ago. On the Friday night, I saw Erin Harpe and the Delta Swingers in Lowell, MA and on the Saturday night ,I saw Pat and the Hats in Warner, NH.  Both bands have been featured in this world famous blog previously, so I am not going to rehash all of praise I have already tossed on them. Instead, I am going to try and share the fun you can have with the local music scene within sixty miles of Nashua, NH.

The Friday night show took place at the Back Page in Lowell, MA.  I have a limited knowledge of traveling around Lowell, but my traveling partner, Abbi, allegedly had a GPS-type feature on her fancy phone. This alleviated any fears I had of getting lost in Lowell and not getting good seats for the show and quite a number of other catastrophes I envisioned.  The only trouble with this GPS thing was that any time we reached a part of the trip where we needed to make a decision on which way to turn, Abbi or the phone would lose contact with our GPS instruction deliverer. I heard the word "recalculating" quite often.
This GPS service raised some concerns right from the start, as the woman's voice guiding us, sounded like it came from someone with the flu. I seriously felt like I was going to catch something from her. Anyhow, we overcame that somehow and arrived at our destination on time. I would never be able to retrace the route we took to get there however.
After parking the car, we walked by a group of youths that all must have been battling glaucoma, as they seemed to be sharing their medicinal marijuana to combat their affliction.
Next, we walked by a finely dressed middle-aged couple sharing a bottle of wine in a bag near a dumpster outside a sushi palace. This already had the makings of a good night.

     The bar opened at 7pm and we arrived at roughly 7:03pm.  We walked in and the place was empty, except for a bartender who was setting up her cash register for the night. The bartender asked what we were doing there so early. I told her we were there to see the band and she responded with "you know the music doesn't start until 9pm."  I told her I was aware of that, but wanted to be sure that we got good seats. She said "it doesn't get crowded here until 10:30pm."  None of what she said helped me with my friend Abbi, who skipped dinner to fit into my strict time constraints. I scanned the empty bar and picked the perfect seats and settled in for a fun-filled evening.

They had a nice selection of beers and fancy martinis to help us kill a couple of hours.  As far as food goes, they have what would best be described as a "limited" menu. The only other negative that I found was that no matter what I tried I could not lock the men's room door. It was a one man at a time setup, but there was no way for me to prevent the door from being flung open when I was in there.  I was quite jittery during my visits there. I am not sure if the other male patrons had the same problem, but I really had no idea who to ask and if I even should ask.

     Eventually, the band came on and we enjoyed their music and the celebration of their their new CD release, entitled "Love Whip Blues."

A local radio station also broadcast the show. Our bartender wasn't lying either, there was a good crowd there by 10:30pm     The entire night would have went off without a hitch, if I did not make a colossal social gaffe when saying goodbye to the one and only, Erin Harpe.
I gave her a hello hug like a normal human would.  We talked about the new CD and that the band sounded great, and the crowd was good, and then I ran out of things to say. So... I hugged her again.  It was way too soon since the initial hug and was awkward for both of us. I am afraid in the future, I will have to enjoy the band from a distance. It is a shame because I think we were on our way to becoming friends. I think I was just starstruck from the excitement of the radio broadcast and the CD release party. I was done in by the double-hug. Embarrassing.

Asleep at the Blog and Asleep at the Wheel

Me & The Bride

          So I missed an entire month of blogging.  I am not sure if anyone noticed, but it's true.  There are three reasons for this lengthy break.
   The first reason is that my birthday was at the end of September. Any of you that know me, know I need to celebrate my birthday until everyone around me is sick of hearing about it.
   The second reason is that my friends Abbi and Matt got married in early October and you know how time consuming other people's weddings can be.
   The third and final reason was due to a personal change in my acknowledgement of Columbus Day.  I made the switch over to Indigenous People Day, rather than the traditional Columbus Day and I found that gave me a deeper meaning of the Holiday.  In fact, during a celebration toast to Indigenous People Day, a nearby Micmac Indian came over and gave me a hug for my thoughtful cheer. It did not take long for this change to impact my life. Okay, let's get to a recent show that I took in.

Asleep at the Wheel

I saw the band Asleep at the Wheel at one of my favorite places, the Bull Run in Shirley, MA.  These folks play a brand of music called Western Swing.  I would think Country should be part of that description as well, but I do not name my own musical categories yet.  There cannot be too many Western Swing bands still around, although I do not really have verification of that fact.  Apparently they are carrying on in the tradition of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, who were big in the 1940's with this Western swing thing.

Katie Holmes

     Ray Benson is the leader of the band and has been in charge since the band started in 1970.  They have won nine Grammys and recorded a total of over 25 studio and live albums.  I have seen the band a few times over the years and was surprised to see they changed up their lineup recently. They added Emily Gimble on piano and vocals and she can really belt out a tune. Also new is Katie Holmes on fiddle and vocals and she is talented and perpetually smiling. Gone is stalwart fiddle player, Jason Roberts, who has his own band now.

The man to watch perform however, is Eddie Rivers on the steel guitar and occasional saxophone. He is a captivating performer on his steel guitar. Second to that would have to be singer Ray Benson's ball-juggling that ends with him catching the last ball in his cowboy hat.  You cannot put a price in that type of entertainment.


                   

     Perhaps their most famous song is their rendition of "Get Your Kicks (On Route 66). "  An interesting little fact about their history with that song is that they have recorded and released different versions of that song four times in four different decades.  That's pretty cool. A couple of other songs that they perform in their concert that you may have heard are "Don't Fence Me In" and "Hot Rod Lincoln."  "Miles and Miles of Texas" and "Big Balls in Cowtown" are a couple of other Asleep classics.  The show always ends with "Happy Trails to You".

I would recommend seeing Asleep at the Wheel if no other reason than to checkout their unique style and fabulous musicianship.