When I started to get back into this “music thing”, I decided I would do things differently from what was for me the traditional approach to paying the band. In the past, in all my bands, we would sit around at the end of the night waiting for the club to play the leader, who would in turn divvy up the proceeds to the rest of the group. This time around, I pay the musicians, and technicians if that is needed, before we hit the stage. It just seemed to make sense.

“Well, thanks, and goodbye!” is the usual joking reaction, especially when I first did it. It made me think, based on the reaction, how unusual this practice might be, at least in my own experience. Yet, it makes sense on so many levels.

First of all, as a singer/songwriter, especially with my name first in the band identity, it’s my reputation that’s out there and my responsibility to support it. My fellow musicians are my performing musical partners, but the financial risks are not theirs to share. That’s on me.

Second, why have others wait to be paid? Paying them up front is a tangible sign of confidence, makes them feel happy and allows then to leave at the end of the show as soon as convenient. And, it’s far less risky than keeping hundreds of dollars in one’s pocket all night.

In doing research for this blog, I found a great article by Ari Herstand in Digital Music News who says the same and more, and probably better than I have. I guess there a few original ideas, but many are worth repeating! It’s a great read, especially for other singer/songwriters.

Finally, a quick reminder that this Saturday, April 23 at Relish Bar and Grill is the possibly-annual Félix birthday show, starting at 9:30. We hope to see you there!

 

First, a note of thanks to all who came to the Billiards Academy show last Friday. Special shout out to fellow musicians Tim Cameron aka TC Folkpunk  and Carlos Morgan for your encouragement, to the staff at the Billiards Academy for a warm reception and to Johanne Britton and Chase Washington for making it possible (and the photo). These two run a first-class, professional show.

Coming soon, on Saturday, April 23, and I am back “home” at Relish for a birthday’s eve show, starting at 9:30. If it happens again next April, can we call it an annual event?

For this show, the awesomely talented David MacMichael will sit in with Paul Brennan and me, filling in on bass for the fabulous but unavoidably absent NEMO. David is a superb songwriter and a busy guy, fronting one of my favourite bands right now, the Danger Bees, as well as playing guitar for rising star Jonathan Roy. Thanks for doing this, David!

David and Paul are also the backbone of Stir It Up Sundays at Relish, the best open mic for original music in the city. I will always be grateful to them (and the restaurant) for the opportunity to come out of the writer-composer closet, and for their amazing ability to make everything I have played there sound good.

Owned and cheffed by Joanne Clayton, Relish is a unique venue in its genuine love of great food and music. As the band plays at 9:30, come earlier for a great chance to sample their tasty selection if tapas style dishes before the performance. The selection of beer is excellent as well.

Looking forward to seeing you all on the 23rd!

Every so often, I get asked about the guitars I play, or at least about some of them…

These two!

These guitars were designed and produced in Japan in the early ’80s on by the Tokai Gakki Company. I won’t go into the full history of this guitar, you can read more here.

The one on the right dates from 1982, while the one on the left is probably from the ’90s (no serial # on that one). Both are unusual in that the bodies are made of racing car engine grade aluminium, with chambers built in to reduce weight and increase resonance. The necks are standard maple with rosewood fingerboards. The name Talbo is an acronym for Tokay Aluminum Body. Many of the write-ups say the guitar was made popular by DEVO, and Tim Farris of INXS, but images in the wild are more elusive than for Nessie or Bigfoot.

My favourite detail is the headstock decal, which reads a syntactically awkward, “The New Legend Of The Guitar History.”

I love my Talbos for their great tone, easy playability and original look.

I hope to see you at the Billiards Academy on Friday, April 8 starting about 10. Also, check out my new Facebook avatar, courtesy of Powerpuff Yourself.

 

 

Okay, bad joke on a great song!

This week’s blog is on the topic of audio technicians (affectionately referred to as “sound guys”) at live club shows. Somehow, they are the most obvious yet most invisible part of the performance.

While most small venues provide only a basic sound system that the performers run themselves, essentially for amplifying voices and acoustic instruments, larger rooms will often provide a house audio tech, and this is where things get interesting.

The band/”sound guy” dynamic is a complex one, and the reasons better covered in other blogs here and here. Suffice to say, in some cases, the musicians ask too much and thank too little, and at the other extreme, the technician is too rigid, or simply too uninterested to care. Fortunately, our show at the Black Swan was neither.

Right from the start, things went well with Kevin Gould of Reinforce Sound. He showed up when he said he would, listened to our needs, and quickly set about rigging the stage for us. In turn, we tried to keep the levels on stage reasonable so he’d have something to work with. Kevin remained attentive throughout the entire show. One quick tweak at the beginning of the evening and we never had trouble hearing ourselves on stage for the rest of the night. The feedback from the audience was also nothing but positive.

So, officially, thank you, Kevin for a great evening for us and our audience!

 

We are happy to announce a recently added show to our calendar, this coming Friday, April 8 at the Billiards Academy on Danforth and Logan (above the Tim Hortons). This will be part of their Fluid Friday series. Thanks to our own NeMo and Johanne at JJPress/mobtoronto.com for putting us in the touch with Chase at Xpozae for the booking.

The Billiards Academy has 9 pool and 3 billiard tables for those fond of that sport. For the, and the rest of the patrons, it also features a great food and beverage menu, and since we won’t be playing until after 10, make an evening of it and grab some dinner too. I am pretty sure the band will.

 

As the saying goes, a good time was had by all! Here are a few pictures of the event taken by Ian Sinclair, photographer extraordinaire. He must be good cause he caught me smiling! See the bottom of this post.

We were particularly chuffed at having the very talented Sam Taylor sitting in on many songs during the night. Sam, despite his youthful looks, is an old soul in the best way possible, and someone to watch and listen for. The kid is truly talented, as you can discover for yourself if you check out his recent releases on iTunes here, or catch him live (even better). He made my guitar-overdub-loving heart soar, particularly on Song for Vicky (more on that one in an upcoming post). We had a lot of fun trading riffs as well in Old Man Blues.

Thank you Sam for joining us! I hope we can do it again real soon!

 

No, it’s only the beginning.

It’s been a long while since Neil and I have played together at the Black Swan, although we have many times over the years. This will be my first time there with my own material, so I am nervous, but in a good way! There is also the distinct possibility of some friends sitting in at various points in the evening, so the pieces are in place for an interesting evening.

I will be continuing to add content to this site over the next few weeks, so please be patient as it evolves and I learn the ins-and-outs of WordPress.

I hope to see as many of you as can make it on Saturday, and if not, there are other shows lined up. A calendar should soon be available on this site, once I figure out how to do it!

These are my fabulous band mates: Neil Morris on bass, and Paul Brennan on drums.