Category: Non classé

Here I am after my first week of freedom. Honestly, I am still adjusting, and all the possibilities come with their own set of choices, and sometimes stresses, albeit welcome ones.

Work on the studio is ongoing, with this week focused on upgrades: my Edirol baby monitors which honestly could not be relied upon for any balanced mix have been sent upstairs to the living room where they make fine multimedia speakers. In their place, a pair of YSM-5s, which are at least twice as large, despite the image below, and considerably clearer. A good entry level choice I think, given the space and the $ available, and support for a fine Canadian company, my alma mater Yorkville Sound Inc.

 

Also on the to-do list was finishing my Solo Telecaster. After a disastrous attempt at staining, which looked much better in my imagination than in reality, I sanded everything back down to raw wood, and went with the simple and true clear lacquer approach. I’m looking forward to Tuesday when after curing, I can buff and  assemble this thing. Hopefully I can report back next Sunday on completion.

Not having to worry as much about “the next morning” has also made it possible to check out weekday shows, and I have taken advantage of that, budget limitations notwithstanding.

First on my calendar was Taylor Harp, who was playing a set at the Supermarket in Kensington. This was my first time in the room, which has a superb sound system, for which you have the privilege of paying $10 cover on a Wednesday. The beer is well priced though, and the show excellent, so it all worked out. People gotta get paid somehow!

Here he is playing Lost Love (verse 2) that evening. The audience was very attentive, including the guy whose head is in the shot.

Friday was devoted to checking out the Fraz Milne Band at the Opera House. Again a first time for me at the venue. The opening act was a tad loud, but the venue sells ear plugs for a modest $2. I had a brief but lovely conversation with one of the Ellinas family, owners of the place. Please click through on the link above for a history of the place; quite remarkable. Fraz, Robin and Chris were second up, and looked and sounded comfortable and ready for this show. The PA crew quickly adjusted to their style after the first song. Sal, Michael, Lynn and I thank you, Fraz, for not wearing shorts!

Saturday, it was down to Jimmy Simpson Park for the Jazz Fest, featuring the always entertaining Arsenals, with my guy NeMo on bass. I wrote more extensively about them a while back — see Skalicious. They will be back to play Streetfest for 3 nights (July 27-29, 7-11 PM) in front of Shoppers Drug Mart/Kew Gardens – 2000 Queen St. E. It will be worth your while to check them out! I’m hoping they can come back and play a good room in the East End soon as well. Eton House, you listening?

Today, I gotta get back to the voice exercises before my vocal coach disowns me. Tonight will be a big night at Relish as the community is wishing Will Meadows buen viaje y buena suerte as he moves to Austin, TX to pursue his destiny with Whitney Rose.

One last thing… I have added on the right sidebar links to Brilliant Fish’s excellent radio show, The Upstream. Please click through and enjoy!

Until next week then, be well!

The week has been momentous.

First on Tuesday, Tim Prueter, Sal Indigo and I played the Linsmore Indie Tuesday show. What a lovely receptive audience we had! It was all a first for me in an entirely solo mode, and it won’t be the last!

Thanks to Mary,  Drew and all the staff for always making us feel special and welcome. We hope to do it again soon.

Thursday saw me out for the usual fun and games at Legends, with Gary and Amber. This coming week will mark 10 weeks continuous. Some marriages don’t last that long, so good on Gary and Amber for making it work, and the management at Legends for supporting live music!

Friday was the big day, when I retired from my day job. Thank you Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan! More importantly, it marked 35 years of marriage two Mrs. FatC. Things are still purring along after all this time. None of this would have ever happened had she not been supportive and understanding all along. We had a good time at the house welcoming many friends and family who came down to celebrate with us. Big thanks to daughter (and gifted ceramicist) Lucy and boyfriend (and gifted singer) Omar, whom I went to see at the Cameron House playing with the amazing Lonely Hearts, for above and beyond at the party. I was happy to see fellow musicians Kyle Sullivan, recently back from a European tour with Whitney Rose, and Fraz Milne, at the same show. Fraz has a show coming up this Friday at the Opera House that I look forward to attending. Info and tickets are available through the “show” link above. And you can catch Kyle with Adam Beer-Colacino, Terry Wilkins and Jeff McLeod tonight (Sunday July 2, 2017). I’m sorry I can’t catch that show but I have a friend playing the Stir It Up Sunday open mic at Relish for the very first time tonight and want to be there for moral support.

So what now? Big projects are starting soon: sound treating the ManCave Studio™ walls and ceiling will be an ongoing summer (or more) job, as well as building up the arsenal of gear. I’ll try to remember to take photos as the project goes on.

Putting together this thing on the left should be my first priority though. I’ve always wanted a Telecaster, and this one will be finished exactly as I like, which should be a lot of fun. The kit comes from Solo Music Gear, right in the GTA, and includes all the hardware needed, and predrilled holes to guide the work. Not only do they sell a great product for a super low price, the service is top rate, and friendly!

Come back next week for a progress report.

Until then, be well!

 

 

This coming Tuesday, June 27 is a special one at the Linsmore. Not only will it be my last show while still holding onto a day job, it will be a great night featuring some awesome musician friends. Here are the blurbs we put together for the show.

Tim Prueter is a musician living in East Toronto. He works to capture an engaged audience by delivering original songwriting, honest life driven lyrical content and an emotional and often intense vocal experience. Like a photograph, Tim’s songs offer a window into a moment, the only type of journal that has ever consistently stayed with him.

Sal Indigo aka Johnnie Blue aka Blind Lemon Meringue crawled out of the dark, murky swamps of Kensington Market in southern Toronto. He was born with a steel slide bar on his left hand so he took to playing blues and rock n soul on an electric guitar. Influenced by Elmore James, Hank Williams, Tom Waits, Doris Day and Desi Arnaz, he writes a variety of warped thud-like opaque melodies and work songs.

Félix and the Cats is Bob Pelletier’s long-repressed and most personal expression of his musical obsession. Inspired by daily observations or simply made-up shit, FatC look at the world and try to make it catchy and rhyme. A lifelong devotee of Curmudgeon Rock, Bob/Félix will fall prey to thinking the worst of many things and people, but fortunately dials it back before his friends and family label him a complete jerk.

We hope to see you there!

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The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, moistly due to wrapping things up at work as I leave the world of education, at least formally.

The most unusual event was a retirement party for my superintendent about two weeks ago. To mark the occasion, I had decided to learn and perform the Beatle’s In My Life, which worked out well as it was the object of my vocal lessons too. That went reasonably well, although I fumbled the chords after the bridge, remarkably played on the violin by Neil Dyal, a fellow VP in the Board. We played it with only one quick run-through, so kudos for that, and for the even equally awesome job on Difficult People, which I royally messed up by forgetting the words 2 lines in, and breaking one of the top ten rules. I NEVER forget that song, but it had to happen this time!

It was particularly irritating as the retiree had brought a friend along to sing: Ali Matthews is a multiple award-winning performer. Below is the bio from her site, worth reading in full as it is very impressive.

“I desire to write songs that connect us with each other; songs that tap into our hopes and heartaches, our fears and passions, the things that make us vulnerable, the things that tell us we are alive. I see a dark and broken world in desperate need of mercy and compassion and I am compelled to create music that will draw us closer to grace, to each other and to our Creator. I am not a preacher – just a fellow-traveller on this fascinating ride …and I don’t mind being transparent.” Ali Matthews

Multi-award winning recording artist, Ali Matthews has been a performing songwriter since her teens and has built a strong following across Canada and beyond. She has released 7 critically acclaimed CD’s since 2000 on her independent music label, Shake-a-Paw Music. Her CD’s are distributed nationally through David C Cooke Distribution.

As a graduate of The University of Western Ontario, where she studied English and Drama, songwriting is her natural passion. Writing and performing on both piano and acoustic guitar, she blends mature and sensitive lyrics with evocative, compelling melodies. Ali’s songwriting and performing are highly respected in both the Christian and the mainstream music industry due to her accessible, honest lyrics and her ability to weave the “spiritual” into every day life experiences.

Matthews’ songwriting and recording have yielded an impressive collection of international awards. She holds the GMA (Gospel Music Association Canada) record as the artist with the most awards – 20 GMA Covenant awards and 44 nominations in 10 years. She was a winner in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition, The Canadian National Songwriting Competition, The Word Guild Canadian Writers Awards and she was named Woman of the Year in the City of Stratford for her outstanding contribution to the Arts.

I followed up that evening by sitting in again at Legends with buddies Gary Edward Allen and Amber Durette, an experience which was repeated again this past Thursday with even better results as I had prepped some Sheryl Crow and Amy Winehouse songs to play with Amber.

Thursday also including seeing T.C Folkpunk (who I had caught at C’est What? on June 11) in his film debut at acting and singing in Love in the Sixth, at the Fox Theatre. It was a fun indie film, with lots of great lines and catchy tunes. T.C. impressed me with his natural acting abilities too.

Friday I ran my last talent show at the school where I work. It involves some 50 student acts and goes on all day (in a very hot gym with 400+ kids), lots of gear to set up, operate and playlists to manage. Good thing I love this stuff. The day left me a bit dehydrated for vocal classes, which Jaclyn noticed right away, but she was kind and patient with my warbling.

Last night, it was Leanna Yamada‘s turn to impress me with a great set at the Amsterdam Bicycle Club, where FatC will be back August 4. This time, they had the full band out, and, having taken the time to get the PA set right, it was a great showcase for the entire group. Wish I could have stayed for more, but there will be other opportunities, I’m sure.

Tonight, it’s back at Relish to hopefully première a brand new one. I’ll let you know how that went next week.

Until then, be well!

Another Father’s Day, another collection of report cards to proofread!

I’d rather be hanging with these guys…

Come back next week for fresh news about Worlds Colliding – Part deux!

Be well!

Hello again! First the social update:

It’s been another busy week of burning the candle at both ends, with two open mic/late nights back-to-back. Thanks again to Gary Edward Allen for the Thursday Legends event, which seems to be picking up steam. Just need to get players out a bit earlier.

I took advantage of a quiet moment to slip out with T.C. Folkpunk to catch a set by the excellent Katey Morley and band, then back to Legends for powerful sets by Tiffany Fairbairn, Amber Durette (thanks for letting me sit in), and further late night jamming and silliness with colourful local favourites. I have written about Tiffany (aka Lucy at the time) last September and it was great to hear her again and talk a bit about drummers!

Gary Edward Allen and Amber Durette plus yours truly covering “Rocking Mountain Way (including a an interruption with me futilely searching for a slide bar). Thanks to Jen Murphy for photos and video!

Friday night, I rendezvous’d with buddy Sal Indigo to strategize our upcoming show June 27 at the Linsmore, and play a few tunes at the relocated Friday Night Blues Jam, hosted by Mike Sedgwick at the Salty Dog Tavern. Sal had a great set. For me, maybe it was fatigue, or the amp was set too loud, but the vocals just did not carry over. Live and learn.

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Now for the topic at hand. Last February, I posted a piece called Music City? that undertook to discuss the challenges of being a musician in these times of easy and “free” access and a corresponding diminished valuation of the arts. The lovely and talented Mrs. Félix sent me a link to an article from the Daily Beast that does a much better job of explaining this, particularly for the composers in the digital age. I posted it earlier in the week on my personal Facebook page, and have linked it below for your reading pleasure.

Until next week, be well!

 

This week was fairly quiet so the post will be correspondingly brief. Let’s go backwards in time, okay?

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Starting this afternoon, the missus and I saw the new Wonder Woman film, which lived up to expectation. The only false note was a musical one, pun intended. For context, and trying to avoid spoilers, there is a scene set in a Belgian village where they are playing music in the village square. The time is 1918, just a few weeks away from the signing of the Armistice, so we are somewhere in late October or early November.

The interesting selection of material is “Sous les ponts de Paris“, performed by Lucienne Delyle (according to the movie soundtrack). The song itself is fine, as it was composed in 1913 (lyrics Jean Rodor, music by Vincent Scotto). The problem is that Delyle was born in April 1913, making her either a precocious 5 year old when the song was recorded and available for playback in the Belgian village square, or the film makers were simply sloppy. I vote for option2.

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This past Tuesday, I was (again) at the Linsmore to see good buddy T.C. Folkpunk perform at Indie Tuesdays. Tim was hale and healthy thanks to the Jameson diet, and not only rose to the occasion, but was literally lifted higher by the brand new stage the fine folks at the Linsmore have just had installed. Not only does the stage make the performer more visible, and better lit, the sound seems to also benefited. I am very much looking forward to my next show there on Tuesday, June 27, sharing the bill with Timothy Prueter and Sal Indigo. Please put it on your calendar!

Timothy Prueter 

Sal Indigo

It’s nice to see the Linsmore pushing back against the trend by increasing their support of live music. If this is an anachronism, then let’s do the time warp again.

Until our next temporally ordained re-acquaintance, be well!

Another busy week has passed, with a great new discovery, an impromptu gig and a planned show under our belt.

Last Tuesday at the Linsmore, I got to see and hear the very charming Moscow Apartment perform, featuring Brighid Fry and Pascale Padilla. Combining beautiful and youthful harmonies, spare but tasteful guitar work, and quirky lyrics, this duo seems destined for great things. Their bios speak to a lot of musical experience even if the bar scene may be new to them. Each had unique qualities to their voices (Pascale reminding me a bit of Feist, while Brighid of friend Mary Stewart), and playing styles that blended to create a greater-than-sum of the parts. They were a delight and I wish them well!

Here they are performing “Annie”

After Moscow Apartment finished their set, host and multy-threat talent Drew Chale played an extended set. At first, I assumed that was part of the plan, but by the time 10:00 rolled around, it became evident that the second and third act had not shown up, for reasons unknown still. As I was considering heading home, Drew collared me to play a half a dozen impromptu songs, followed by Gary Edward Allen. It turned out to be a fun, and cheap night out! Thanks to Mary Gilbert and the club for the honorarium!

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Thursday night was the date for my first time at the Eton House, with Elana Harte and M. E Law. I was looking forward to this show, but the weather and the Stanley Cup semi-finals conspired against us, so we had a spree, albeit appreciative crowd, and each other. Elana blew me away as usual with the quality and power of her voice, and Marion, no slouch in the voice department, resonated for me in the sometimes pointed but still humorous observations she made, something I strive to do in some of my songs too.

Here I am with Marion and the infamous Michigan J. Frog tie.

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Which finally brings me to the topic in the title, by which I mean writing songs that talk about people. It’s been alluded to in this post that some of my songs can be ranty. I accept that, and that some songs are more finessed at it than other. There is a certain cathartic quality to getting this stuff off my chest, but there are also inherent risks, such as causing considerable offence. See, it’s one thing to pick on celebrities such as in a song I wrote called “In These Times We Live In“, which I hope to remix and upload soon, it’s quite another to point the finger at someone “ordinary”; it could easily degenerate into holding that person to ridicule. Not good for anyone. Some songs have accomplished that delicate task by making the specific more general, and disguising enough the identity of the targeted person, or making the character in the song an amalgam of more than one person. Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” is a great example.

I have tried to keep in mind with these types of songs, like “The Queen is Dead“, and the newest “Loud Girl“. I try to be guided by the idea that observed events should be reported in as a non-judgmental way as possible, that the context was very public, and that in the end, the listener should hopefully feel that the song did not harshly deride a specific known person. And it must rhyme.

On the other hand, it may also be a question of how egregious the behaviour was. Tough call.

I have included a rough demo of Loud Girl below. Let me know if you think I am sticking to my own guidelines, particularly if you were there when the events it describes occurred. I say no more.

Loud Girl ©2017 R. Pelletier/Félix and the Cats

Loud Girl

Verse 1:
I love the loud girl
The not-too-proud girl
The flouncy bouncy
All in white girl
Perched high upon the ledge
Dancing too near the edge
She beckons for attention
Lacking all circumspection

Chorus:
She whistles too loud in my ear
And makes the sound I don’t want to hear
She may not like what I would say
Then she’ll stand up, and simply walk away

Verse 2:
She is the wild girl
The fun-inside girl
Dancing and prancing
In her happy world
Plié and arabesque
In her mind’s discotheque
Twerking to get a rise
Skirt hiked up to her thighs

Verse 3:
Now she’s the gone girl
The Cinnabon girl
The steamy creamy
All too much girl
Was it wrong if I stared?
If I did had she cared?
Is it for me to measure?
She dances for her pleasure

 

 

After much prodding, soul-searching and a few humbling recordings, I finally decided that, for the good of the band, I needed to take proper singing lessons. Quite honestly, this has been the most neglected part of my craft, so it is now time to make it as right as I can.

Fellow traveller Sam Taylor provided some good advice a month ago. That conversation led me to seek the structure of formalized lessons to put his suggestions into practice. A good friend recommended Elite Music Academy, where she is taking guitar lessons. I was initially hesitant, due to the “School of Rock” promotional material posted in the windows, but after checking out their site and popping in for a chat, I quickly realized they had the quality teaching I was looking for. Even better, both sites are very close to home.

I selected Jaclyn Serre as she seemed to have the most rock music singing in her background. She also plays guitar so I believed she would have a good understanding of the context I perform in. There is nothing wrong with musical theatre singing, it’s just not what I want to sound like.

Two lessons in, I am totally impressed with her approach and I am optimistic that it will pay off, as look as I do the exercises!

I asked Jaclyn after the first session whether she also performed in clubs, and it turned out she had just recently joined Just Heart, a locally-based Heart tribute band. She plays the Nancy Wilson part, alongside Valerie Shearman as Ann Wilson, including going blonde for the job! I had also briefly met Valerie at the Kelly Jay benefit I wrote about briefly last year.

The band was recently featured on CHCH television. Below is my favourite part of the video!

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Finally, my next show is this coming Thursday at the Eton House, hosted by the awesomely talented Elana Harte, and featuring the remarkable M.E Law. FatC will be up third, again in the “unplugged” version. We’re looking forward to seeing a bunch of friendly faces there. New material will be featured.

That’s all this week, so be well!

This week’s post will be brief, as mothers in the best sense of the word require deserved attention.

A quick recap of the week… Despite thoughts I would not make it out, I ended up attending for a brief while Gary Edward Allen’s open mic at Legends. Again, Gary drew out an amazing cast of players, including Julian Taylor who played a captivating set. It seems other notables showed up after I left, but it was a school night after all. The discovery of the evening was Bonnie Memphis, who is like a cross between Elvis and Sandra Bullock. I mean that in the most flattering way as I am fond of both.

Friday was a busy night attending two birthdays, the first for a friend from the Hot Docs group I’m a part of, and the second for Omar Saab, singer/guitarist for the Lonely Hearts and Alright Alright, which I’ve written about before.

I caught a great set at the Nightowl, and here is a taste of that below. Sorry for the bad video quality, the cover got in the way of the sensor. Plenty of dancing and good times! Can somebody please book these guys in the east end already?

Things are slowly getting prepped for the next FatC show on May 25 at the Eton House. More on that in next week’s blog.

Until then, be well!

We will be going back in time in the episode, in two ways.

First, I will be talking about the week that passed, but beginning with Friday, then Thursday. The second reference to the past will be in the content of the first part. Please consult your lawyer for explanation.

This past Friday, as promised in the last blog, I went to hear Circle 5 with Hermina George at Dora Keogh. The band delivers beat-infectious reggae originals and covers, and a full house enjoyed a great set.

The connection to Hermina goes back a few years, as her son was a student at the school where I work. When I found out she was a singer, I recruited her to front a couple of teacher/parent bands we put together for school fundraisers, once with NeMo on bass, and more recently and notably in a big R&B band with a 4-piece horn section made up of students from a nearby high school. It was one of the most memorable shows I’ve ever done, and Hermina really delivered.

But the connection gets even more complex as I recently discovered. Fergus Hambleton, Hermina’s guitarist and collaborator also works with singer, writer, and keyboardist Julie Long, a frequent performer at Relish Bar and Grill, my home away from home for all things musical. She also happen to be the daughter of Jack Long founder of Long and McQuade, and brother of Steve at Yorkville Sound, both for whom I worked for nearly a decade in the 80s.

Never mind six degrees of separation, this is maybe 3 at most! The music scene in Toronto is a very tight-knit group, and an overwhelmingly great group of people.

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Taking one more step back, Thursday past was the first ever open mic at Legends, hosted by Gary Edward Allen. I managed to convince Leanna Yamada to come down for the inauguration and, with some coaxing, she delivered a few of her not-often-played originals for a well-received set.

A little after my set, the awesome Tyler Ellis showed up and invited me to sit in, which is always great fun. That evening though, we were joined on flute by Doriann Forrester, a Juno-nominated musician who showed us just why that was the case. It made for an impressive first night. Thanks to Gary for spearheading this, to all the other performers for your excellent performances and encouragement, and to owner Nick Papalambropoulos for supporting live music in Toronto. Yes, I am available for a gig in June (and onward)… just sayin’!

Until next week, be well!