Got a ton of things done today. Had a bunch of mailing to do, registered with the GoC as a visiting citizen (which apparently comes in handy should anything unexpected go down when I’m in Ghana), bought some money orders and went to my cohort meeting. We talked a little more about the program and I guess it’s best described as follows; there’s a lot of emphasis on North/South relations in any globalization class you take post-secondary, but it’s all textbook information. Simply put, the point of this trip is going to be experiencing some of the things that are going down in the developing world (many a result of the consumptive patterns and exploitative nature of the West), in the context of being a pre-service teacher interested in creating little global citizens. I still know very little about what I’m getting myself into, but I’m making sure to keep an open mind in order to have it (for lack of a better word) exploded. It seems to me that this year is all about shaking up my little routines and I have come to really embrace all the new challenges that keep popping up. But I digress.
I picked up the new Nightmarchers record yesterday. They’re the new project of one Mr. John Reis, aka Speedo (see: Rocket From the Crypt, Hot Snakes). The album is fantastic, not only does it pick up where the last Hot Snakes record left off, but there’s a lot more of a 50’s rock and roll feel to the album and hey, it’s nice to hear Speedo’s voice again. I was always a big fan of “Mystery Boy” on Auto Midnight and I feel like he finally made the record I wanted to hear since then.
It’s very humid here, my hair is huge and it seems like the tomato plants are not enjoying it. Last night an old friend dropped by unannounced and we spent the evening on the stoop with a bottle of wine catching up. It’s a magical thing when you can pick up where you left off a long time ago. In some ways it feels like it’s been forever since we last had to opportunity to really hang out but in others, it’s like yesterday we went on our first tour together.
Last night I witnessed the glorious rock spectacle that is Iron Maiden. Being that arena concerts aren’t typically my bag (due to the often copious amounts of Kokanee-Brahs attempting to re-enact mtv music videos on the dance floor), I was a bit unsure as to what to expect. But let me begin by describing how before I even entered the gates, I witnessed a firey-eyed metal fan tear his shirt off and toss it in the trash in order to don his brand new Somewhere Back in Time Tour ‘08 tee. This essentially set the precedent for the entire night.
The set was killer. Name your favorite Maiden tune, it likely made an appearance. I found myself in the various stages of rock throughout, cycling mostly between fist-pumping and air guitar. The backdrops were very thematic and were switched up between songs. One moment there’s a red-eyed devil rising from the ground, the next a 10 foot tall Eddie would walk across the stage with a laser. The pyrotechnics were in sync with several key points during songs and Bruce was running around like a wild man. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a band work a crowd like Maiden did last night. Wait, a stadium-rock band that is (Fugazi blew my mind a few years back).
Anyways, we ended up playing the afterparty which was totally fun. Then I slept for 11 hours. Tomorrow, we’re demoing a bunch of new songs then it’s back to school for me on Monday.
Things are coming together nicely. Half of the things on my pre-Africa departure list are crossed off and the malaria meds aren’t giving me any strange side effects.
Here’s where I’m going to be:
June 15/16 – Fly to Minneapolis, Amsterdam, Accra
June 16-29 – We’re at the University of Ghana in Accra, working on a variety of assignments and presentations. I believe at some point we’re going into a school nearby. Weekends off to check things out.
June 30-July 4 – We head to the village of Apemanim where we are to stay at the Chief’s house (who is also our instructor) and check out the elementary school there (which apparently consists of half the population of the village).
July 5/6 – Travel to Elmina where I believe we’ll be checking out one of the largest slave trading posts that existed.
July 7-12 – Back in Accra. Classes, school. Not too sure. A bunch of TBAs are listed on my calendar.
July 13-16 – I’m in Amsterdam. Apparently Blondie is playing while I’m there so I’m going to try to marry Debbie Harry.
July 17th – Home. After 5 months, cease living life out of a suitcase.
I’m back home for 10 more days. The shows went really well. In fact, I think it was the most successful jaunt I’ve ever been on. There are a few things that help keep spirits high when you’re on the road with your band:
The first is people actually coming out to the shows. Since we were opening for a bigger band we had nothing to worry about in that department. Sometimes you can hit a town half a dozen times and still only get 10 people out. On this one about 100 people watched us every night which is rewarding after sinking hour after hour into writing and rehearsing.
The second is promotion for the shows. We had some awesome people work really hard for us on this tour. That and the fact that we’re charting nationally now added to people actually being aware that we existed before we hit the stage. It’s neat to be out of town and have people sing along to your songs. I’ve never experienced that before, though the last touring band I played in was an instrumental one.
The third is pay. It can be a real bummer when you get paid out $6 at the end of the night when you have to find food, a place to stay and put gas in the tank. Fortunately for us, we were paid handsomely by each promoter and sold some merch to boot. This alleviates a ton of stress and I don’t think any of us had to dip into personal savings. A huge success in the world of independent music.
Fourth: tour tantrums. Spending a large portion of your day in a hot van with your bandmates can be grating. If people aren’t careful to keep their attitudes in check, the day can easily turn into a drag. Being that we’ve all run this gamut before in other bands, we made a point to air our grievances which helped raise awareness of things that can be done on a personal level to improve the overall enjoyment of the experience. It’s neat, we’re all older dudes and we were all pals before we started this thing, so it feels like everyone is a little more invested in making sure people are having a good time.
Anyways, our homecoming show was bananas and we were offered a spot to play at the Western Canadian Music Awards which is kind of neat. It’s a strange thing, this band. Things just seem to keep coming our way. The band we played with wants to bring us to Montreal in the fall. They really dug our stuff and would like to help us out so we’re starting to draft plans for the fall, which brings me to my next topic.
When I returned home, I arrived to find that I got a B in my ethics class and a reply from the public school board. Turns out my application was accepted and I was provided with information on how to apply for a job subbing this fall (which I will be able to do once I finish my last class and get my teaching certificate). That’s really what I’m going to shoot for. Having the flexibility to do the band thing and be in the school environment when I’m at home seems like the bees knees to me, for the next while at least. You know, you’ve got to keep moving forward, but you can’t forget who you are or what keeps you in love with the world. This is a lesson I’ve come to learn in the last couple of years re: happiness.
Ok, Africa time. Today I begin making with the preparations. First thing’s first; getting my itinerary together as well as a making list of supplies I need to pick up and things I need to take care of.
Filed under: Tunes
Last night a couple friends and I made a spur of the moment decision to drive down to Calgary to see Battles play. We made the most of our four hours spent in the city by hitting up Tubby Dog (for gourmet veggie-dogs), the show at the Warehouse and millennium park for a midnight skate-jam. Gotta say, Calgarians are an interesting breed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen people slam-dance at an instrumental show before, let alone during any kind of keyboard segue. Anyway, Battles are a neat band. I haven’t listened to a lot of that type of music for the past while and it was somewhat refreshing to check out a show by such an innovative group of dudes. Their drummer used to play from Helmet and damn, he was solid and a hard hitter. From our vantage point you could see his sticks splinter with every note he played on the hats. Ian Williams is also in the band, he used to play for Don Cab back in the day. At points he was rockin’ his guitar and synth at the same time. Band was loud too, hola.
I’m in the mood for Black Flag this morning. I think I’ll throw on the First Four Years while I clean my apartment. Have a friend moving in tomorrow to look after the cats while we play a few shows, gotta make the place look nice. Specifically, I have to clean the gore off the floor as one of the cats brought a mouse inside last night for a disemboweling. Gross.
I found some part time work washing dish. Figure I should be able to juggle that and school for the next couple of weeks. Did I tell you that I’m playing a friend’s wedding this summer? I’ve never played one before but have always secretly wanted to. We started rehearsing jams like The Kids Are Alright and Harvest Moon last night. It should be a total blast. Alright, I don’t know why it took me so long to figure this one out, but that record Every Picture Tells A Story by Rod Stewart is a rock and roll masterpiece. I found it on vinyl the other day for a dollar and it’s quickly becoming my spring soundtrack.
In other news, I’m swapping some vegan baked goods for some tailoring. The girls who’s altering some of my clothes can’t eat gluten so I’m going to try my hand at my first batch vegan, gluten-free cupcakes. Wish me luck. Based on that experience with the brownies for the school staff last month, I will probably need it.
Filed under: Tunes
Two nights ago, the original lineup of Jane’s Addiction played together for the first time in 17 years. I found the videos on youtube. Eric Avery is the man but unfortunately Dave Navarro is still a d-bag. Listening to Ritual was a ritual of mine in Grade 10. Before Three Days, I’d never heard a song longer than 10 minutes. At least a song that wasn’t a complete wank-fest.
Face to Face are back together and playing some shows this summer. They’re going to be in my town the day after I leave for Ghana. I’m kinda bummed. I’d love to see that band again. In fact, first song I ever played with a band was a cover of their song I’m not Afraid. It’s the lineup with Chad Yaro too. He was always one of my faves and the band wasn’t the same without him. That Big Choice record, dang. Good stuff.
Hot Water Music are also back together and doing a few dates this summer. Man live, no one I’ve seen has topped their performance. Totally pro and totally 100%. One time they came through town and were playing a club in town that’s kinda sketchy. The power went on stage a couple of times and at one point both guitars went so the rythym section took us for a ride. They pulled it off with no attitude or complaining, just giving ‘er and getting through. Dig it.
So with that in mind, here are the top three reunions I’d like to see.
Fugazi – I know they have another record in them.
At The Drive In – I know this is most unlikely but Sparta and the Mars Volta will never compete.
G’n'R – Scott’s out of the picture dudes, Axl what are you waiting for? That new album is not going to pay for itself. Reunion Tour. I’d go. Don’t pretend you wouldn’t.
I’m off to see my kids play an open mic night. They want me to do some drumming. I told them that if they supply a kit, to count me in.
Filed under: Tunes
We played a great show in Calgary last night. The first time this has happened after playing that town for 7 years. But more importantly, while we were eating dinner at the Ship, we sat beside Gene Simmons’ son.
I’m dead-tired. I had a lot of planning to do for today and consequently was up late last night. Plus, it’s mandatory that I watch an episode of Futurama before I fall asleep. One thing about being in the mountains, I’m sleeping like a log. They say it’s the altitude. I say it’s no cats, no ambulances, no roommates or no noisy neighbours. Ah, just joshin’. I can usually sleep through that stuff, well except for the cats. I am basically a slave to them when we share a living space.
Had my university facilitator in again today. He gave me a glowing review which is always nice to hear. I like criticism, but when I hear that what I’m up to is a step in the right direction, it makes me feel like I’ve made the right decision.
The superintendent was in today and I got to sit through a meeting where the staff talked about the pros and cons to refurbishing a 50 year old school as well as building a new one. (Wow, that was a pretty poorly constructed sentence…). Anyways, it was interesting to hear what people had to say regarding the implications either decision will have on the community.
I started my human reproduction unit with the 12’s today. It went over way better than I thought it would, I never give those guys the credit they’re due. There was barely any giggling when I went over the male bits and we had a few discussions involving stem cells, cloning and ethics surrounding abortion. Actually, when I think back on it, it was probably one of the most engaging classes we’ve had so far. Huh. I gave them an assignment to investigate alternative forms of made birth-control. I also told them that, regarding the test they wrote yesterday, they would not get marks for their long answers that consisted of what I call “term-salad”. That is, mashing a bunch of unrelated key terms together hoping for a mark or two. Jokers. I know how that one works, and ten years later it still doesn’t.
Played some more floor hockey with the grade 7’s. My team lost the shoot-out and I had stinky-glove-hand for a portion of the afternoon.
The young man who wants me to help him (with his application for post-secondary) gave me his admittance essay to look over today. It’s pretty rough. He’s a student who speaks English as a second language and it always takes me a bit for me to discern his words and understand the points he’s trying to make. Though I minored in ESLm who would’ve thought it would come into play so early in the game? At any rate, he wants to be a denturist and I have 2 weeks to work with him and get his stuff in order. He’s a good student in my class and I don’t think the language barrier should hold him back.
The girls I tried to get interested in curling yesterday threw snowballs at me after-school. I told them they all had detention tomorrow. They told me they were going partying this weekend and that I wasn’t invited.
The young lad who listens to me drum walked me home and talked my ear off about a bunch of stuff. I’m still trying to convince him to learn how to play an instrument. He says he’ll see me at the upcoming NOFX show.
It’s a beautiful day out there today. I walked home and could smell the melting mountains. There were many streams I passed and it made me a bit homesick. But also, not really. It’s hard to describe, but I almost feel at home away from home here. At any rate, I’m looking forward to being back in the city this weekend. I have some loose ends to tie up and some shots to get.
Oh yeah, the student really dug the new Constantines record.
One of the neat things about my living situation is that there is another room on my floor, rented out for other guests to stay in. This weekend an awesome couple were in town and last night we sat around the living room last night sharing stories. Turns out one of them (D.) lived in Kenya for the first 18 years of his life and his partner is a prof at my university who’s actually writing a book on sexuality in Africa (with a focus on the queer community). Very interesting stuff! I had my mind blown several times during our conversation as they told me stories that I would have never heard otherwise.
D has been back 8 times in the past 4 years and does work with a non-profit that tries to find disabled Kenyans work. It’s hard enough to be a resident there where the rate of unemployment is extremely high and the term minimum wage has no tangible meaning. But the people are very industrious and I saw some photos of things people were selling to get by that were literally made from garbage. One woman made shopping bags from wire and bottle caps. Another man’s job was going door to door in the slums offering his knife-sharpening service. The contraption he used to sharpen knives he made himself from various waste materials. The whole time I was being regaled with these stories, I couldn’t help but think about how much material we throw out that is usable.
Another thing they told me about was the water, and how it was usually undrinkable and black in colour. The lady, C., had a woman with “freshly” washed hands touch a cob of corn she bought and told me that the resulting effect was her first experience with projectile vomit.
It sounds like the vegan thing is going to be my biggest challenge while I’m there. While legumes and fruits are widely available, there isn’t much of an animal rights movement in a land where people struggle to get by on a daily basis. They told me that while I will probably be able to find food to eat, but the slaughterhouses there have glasswindows (unlike they do here) and people treat animals fairly poorly.
Lastly, they provided me with all kinds of tips on critical vaccinations and what to do to prevent pickpocketing and such. They were very clear that while things happen, I should be looking forward to the experience this summer as Africa is an amazing place. And I am. As well, they said my experience in Ghana will likely differ from theirs in Kenya. Don’t worry Mom, I’m going to have access to clean water.
Today I woke up, found some excellent breakfast/coffee and spent the majority of my time at the school marking, putting together tests and tomorrow’s lesson plan. A couple of other teachers ended up coming around during the day and I got to know them a little better. One of them invited me out to the community dinner that goes down every Sunday night and is put on by various local groups. Also, it’s pay by donation. Score! I don’t know who put it on tonight, but I ate like a king and met a few more locals. It was totally fun.
When I came home I marinated some tempeh bacon for the morning and had had a chat with the 12 year old (S.) who lives here. The one who screened me my first night, you remember. Tonight I asked him about the music he listens to. Sure enough, his hockey warmup playlist consisted of some predictably bad stuff. Hey, I don’t care if he’s 12. Kids today are unfortunately exposed to some total crap, marketed by labels that know their bands are seriously lacking in content. SAs a result, they appeal to people who were never exposed to the Nirvanas, Elvis Costellos and Minor Threats. So I’m going to make him a mixtape. Get ‘em into the good stuff while they’re young.
I went riding today for the first time in a couple of years. It’s hella expensive down here compared to when I used to live in the Yukon, where you could basically ride for free. I used to get into arguments with a friend about how for the city-dweller, snowboarding is a bourgeois sport. “Not even”, I would say. I didn’t come from a bunch of money and I started riding when I was 13. But it kind of is. To get to any decent mountains it’s not cheap, and the pass is, well I don’t want to talk about it. But whatever, it was my birthday present to myself and I had a great time today.
The best part was the addition of my ipod nano. The last time I had tunes on a skihill was with a sony walkman. I think it was my sister’s, (remember that white one Joce?). It had 3 play buttons and I would hit the slopes armed with either my skate-punk mix, my double-sided snfu tape or the best-of pearl jam collection I made (which went through many revisions). But the ipod, what an ingenious tool. Not only do you get to take however many albums with you, but talk about getting your mind off the dangerous aspects of a run. I had a blast, ran into another Ed. student up for the weekend (specializing in bio. no less), ate a gross veggie burger I’m pretty sure now wasn’t vegan and even saw a few of my students.
Here’s a view of the town im in from the lift. I can’t figure out what’s burning on the hill and as you can see, it was snowing pretty hard today.
Otherwise, I’m pretty tired. Think I’m just going to stick around and chill tonight, and try not to think about some things that refuse to leave my mind. I guess I could start working on my lesson plans for the endocrine system. I have no idea how I’m going to make this unit interesting. The senses are great to teach and I’m looking forward to reproduction, but hormones and their respective glands have never been my forte.
Wow, I can’t believe what I just came across! Alright, so in case you don’t know, there is no independent news media in Fort McMurray. Scary since there is so much craziness going on up there right now because of the Oil Sands projects, the boom and the war(s) in the Middle-East. However, Vice TV has put together a documentary that talks about everything that is being kept from concerned citizens including the pipeline being built to Chicago, the destruction of the boreal forest and what actually goes on at the sites. It’s more informative than anything I’ve seen from the press, government reports, corporate disclosures, Parkland or Greenpeace. You’ve got to check it out: Toxic Alberta.
I checked out about 50 booths and a couple others that stood out were alternative forms of power, hybrid cars: do they really cut down on CO2 produced?, the effects of music on your dreams and the mozart effect.
It’s a drag that because of crazy freedom of information and privacy acts, I can’t post any of the pictures that I took from it because I’d need permission from the students and their parents. But I will say that I was impressed overall with the passion for science that some of these students exhibited.
We were all treated to lunch afterwards and I overindulged on V8 juice.
I’ve been listening to a lot of Clash records lately. I have always been bummed out that I missed seeing Joe Strummer in Vancouver a couple years before he died. 1 of 3 shows I’ve missed in my life that I regret (with the Botch finale and the Texas is the Reason reunion being the other 2). Anyways, they played in Edmonton in ‘82, right before Combat Rock was released. I was only a year old. If my friend who shot photos for the university paper ever goes through his rolls and finds his shots, I’ll put them up here. Apparently the barricade collapsed and he’s got some good photos of Joe cooling down the crowd while security dealt with the mess.
Lastly, have you ever heard of Garbage Island?
Filed under: Tunes
The kids were losing it today at school. I think they’ve got Xmas fever. I kicked one kid out for making a crude remark and gave him 20 push ups to do in the hall. This chilled him out a bit. Then I kicked out his buddy for being an idiot.
Today I started going through my old punk albums, albums that were truly instrumental in the formation of Mr. T. This is all a result of me getting my hands on the re-recorded version of the first Chixdiggit album (which is still a classic, nearly 15 years later). So without any further adeaux, here are 5 of my favorite punk-rock albums from the mid-90’s that have withstood the test of time.
Though I didn’t actually get to see SNFU in their hayday, I listened to them continuously throughout my teenage years. Their singer, Mr. Chi Pig, still has one of the most unique deliveries of any punk-rock vocalist. Second only to Jello Biafra in my opinion. The music was fantastic, challenging and fast (perfect soundtrack for my early years on a skateboard). I always thought they had the tightest rhythm section.
I wrote to these guys in ‘96 and asked them why they were vegetarian (vegan actually) and what they thought of a bunch of issues that I couldn’t get my isolated head around. They wrote me back and schooled my ignorant grade 10 arse. I kept the letter. Who would have thougt 10 years later I would be vegan and sharing the stage with them.
My good friend H. introduced me to this album, containing some of the fastest music I’d heard up until that time. Smart lyrics and a cover of a KISS song! H would later write GR to tell the singer that he sounded like Henry Rollins on one track. To our surprise they included a cover of the mighty Black Flag’s “My War” on their next album. I still credit H. for that.
Man I listened to the heck out of this band. In fact, the first song I ever preformed live with a band was a cover of their song “I’m not Afraid”. Disconnected was another gem. I ended up meeting this band years later at a show and their bassist, Scott Schifflett, was one of the most down to earth people I’d ever had the pleasure of talking to. Years down the road he would later meet my sister wearing nothing but a towel. There’s a photo of it somewhere.
The first generation of punks had the Clash’s, London Calling. We had this. Our first exposure to reggae meeting punk-rock, later to be killed of by countless 3rd wave ska bands. I remember being so excited to see Rancid on SNL, and having my mind blown by the bass solo on the opening track. The band kind of went down the tubes over the years but they have unlimited cred in my opinion for this gem, while it’s nearly unlimited (cough cough… transplants…. cough cough… loreal commercials…. common Tim).
Yesterday a kid in my worm lab kept asking questions about worm reproduction, penises and the like. I told him to go home and put something together to show the class next time if he was that interested. Kid shows up today and he actually spent last night researching worm reproduction. It kind of blew my mind. So I told him to give me a dry run of his presentation (worm reproduction from a 1st person perspective) then I guess I’ll let him give ‘er nails. My mentor teacher says I’m walking a fine line with this kid (class clown, loves an audience), but that I’m handling it well. Right on.
When I was in Grade 8, I survived on a steady rotation of NOFX, Bad Religion and Pearl Jam. Today I conducted a small survey of music grade 8 kids are listening to these days: Soulja Boy, Guns n’ Roses (nice to see some kids are still keppin’ it real), OZZY, Panic! at the Disco, Fall Out Boy (gotta start somewhere), Metallica, Kiss “because there (sp.) cool, and Blink 182.
Edit
I forgot to mention that I had to throw a lecture together regarding good studying skills for an optional class for some kids that need a bit of help in the area. I won’t elaborate on it much, but I’ll tell you that I opened the lecture with a note on attitude, and how important a positive one is if you’re really going to care about what you’re learning. How did I do it? How else!
I asked the kids if any of them listened to punk-rock. A few of them said they did. Then I asked them if they knew the Bad Brains. They said they didn’t. Then I told them about the song they wrote called attitude that talks about the importance of P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude).
They were interested for about 4 seconds….
Nah, just kidding. I think they got it.
