Just making note of my own, personal, goals for the coming year. If you don't write them down, they're not real, right?
Here is what I hope to accomplish in 2015...
1) A visit with my parents in Palm Springs.
2) A vacation with Tracy to someplace tropical.
3) Read 10 books.
4) Learn 10 new songs on guitar.
5) Grow my birding Life List to 275 species (plus see 200 birds in Canada alone, 175 birds in Ontario and see 250 bird species in the calendar year).
6) Renovate one of the rooms in the house (either the kitchen or one of the bathrooms, or remove carpet from the stairs and upstairs).
7) Book (or go on) a trip overseas to Ireland, Scotland, England with Tracy.
8) Continue to grow Big Machine's market share at radio.
9) Get back down to 175 pounds.
10) Visit the dentist.
We'll check back in sometime in December of 2015 and see how I did.
Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Cheeseburger in Paradise?
A few years ago I took Tracy to visit Ottawa for the first time. We arrived in the late evening. After checking into our hotel we wandered out and grabbed a late night snack. I took her to the Parliament Buildings and we sat on the front steps eating our cheeseburgers. Tracy was amazed that we were allowed to wander right up to the building and sit without having to go through any sort of security. We were there for quite a long time before an RCMP vehicle pulled up. We had a chat with the officers. They were doing their job, making sure we weren't up to anything. They told us some great stories about the building and the surrounding monuments and gave us a bit of a history lesson. We commented on how great it was that we could come and sit on the steps of Parliament any time we wanted. It was one of the great things about being a Canadian, we all agreed.
After the terrible events in Ottawa yesterday I wonder if we will ever again be allowed to enjoy a midnight cheeseburger on the steps of our nation's capital. I hope so. If not, was that our last cheeseburger in paradise?
After the terrible events in Ottawa yesterday I wonder if we will ever again be allowed to enjoy a midnight cheeseburger on the steps of our nation's capital. I hope so. If not, was that our last cheeseburger in paradise?
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Bird Brain
Had a great day of birding on Friday. Took the day off and managed to visit two great spots. In the morning I visited High Park in Toronto and saw 27 species of birds including two species that were new to my life list; a Winter Wren and a Nashville Warbler. In the afternoon, after a conference call (yes I took a conference call on my day off), I made it to Woodland Cemetery in Hamilton and got to see the 2 Eastern Screech Owls that have been reported there. I also managed to get down into the Hamilton Harbour, just outside of the cemetery and I think I may have just found my new favourite birding spot. In just 45 minutes I saw 20 different species of birds including Great Egrets, Blue Herons, Mute Swans, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, an Osprey, and another new life list bird, a Long-billed Dowitcher. In the harbour I also managed to get a photo of a Greater Yellowlegs and a Lesser Yellowlegs standing beside each other. It makes it easier to tell one from another when they're standing together like that.
My goal for 2014 was to see 200 different species of birds. I am now at 213 for the year and my life list is now up to 246 birds.
My goal for 2014 was to see 200 different species of birds. I am now at 213 for the year and my life list is now up to 246 birds.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Update
Ok. I have to get better at blogging. I used to love doing it, and I think I still have a passion to write. So why I haven't I written a blog here in almost 3 years? Good question.
Here's the biggest problem: I commute almost 3 hours a day. That is 3 hours a day, stuck in a car, barely moving, along with a bunch of other schmucks as we go through the daily grind. I no longer have the time I once had to sit in front of a computer and type out all the crazy thoughts that go through my head over the course of a day. Trust me, stuck in traffic for 3 hours a day, I still have a lot of crazy thoughts, maybe even more and even crazier thoughts, just no time to put them down in blog form.
I'm going to try to get better at making the time. We'll see how it goes.
So, what's happened over the last 3 years? A lot. A hell of a lot. Where do I begin...let's start with the career trajectory that I was going with at the end of my last blog back in January 2012...
EMI did get bought by Universal but it took most of 2012 for the deal to get worked out. When it all shook down, I was asked to join Big Machine and run promotions for the label in Canada. The day I signed the paperwork, the person that Big Machine had doing marketing in Canada, gave her notice. I moved over to Big Machine on November 1, 2012 and was responsible for promotions and marketing. It was a HUGE learning curve. After 6 months I found myself drowning and needing help. Thankfully, the label allowed me to get some help. We ended up hiring my old friend and co-worker from PolyGram and Universal, Donna Lidster, to handle the marketing end of things. Together, along with our old friend Charlotte Thompson handling publicity for us (through her own company, Red Umbrella), we are Big Machine Canada.
Big Machine is a great company to work for. I've enjoyed a lot of success working songs by the many great artists at radio (9 #1's in my first full year). Since I joined the label, Florida Georgia Line has exploded into one of the biggest acts on the planet, Tim McGraw has enjoyed a major career resurgence, Taylor Swift has evolved into a full blown Pop artist (and one of the biggest on the planet) and Big Machine has grown by leaps and bounds, adding new label imprints, signing new artists and expanding the staff in America.
I still really enjoy working in the music industry. I'm coming up to my 25th anniversary of working for record labels (Dec. 1). Most of my friends are people I have met because of my job. I enjoy working with music every day and I still get a rush out of helping to build careers for artists that have dared to dream the dream and follow it. I still get excited about traveling, although as I get older, I've noticed it does take it's toll on the body (mostly the lack of sleep I think). Aside from maybe returning to radio, I don't know what else I would do for a career. My high school friend, Jack Veasey, nailed it when he had to write my bio in our grade 12 yearbook: "The kid likes music. If Ron Harwood (Rompin' Ron, Rockin' Ron, Raunchy Ron, or simply Eddie Van Harwood) could be an inanimate object, he would surely be and electric guitar. Or maybe a juke box."
On a personal level, the last three years have been great.
Tracy and I finally got married this past July 25th. We had a simple ceremony and dinner with immediate family and a few very close friends (less then 30 people) at the Riverbend Inn at Niagara on the Lake.
As for my girls, Hope is now in grade 12 and will be graduating next spring. Mally is in her last year at her current school and will move into high school next fall. Ella, is becoming a great little artist. I am so proud of all three of them.
As for me, I have become obsessed with birding over the last few years.
It started with seeing the movie "The Big Year", starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson, on a flight back from London, England. I had learned a bit about birds back in Boy Scouts. I could tell a sparrow from a swallow but I had no idea just how many species of birds there are out there. I decided to combine my love of photography and my love for walking and roll them into my new passion. I try to make time wherever I travel to squeeze in some quality birding. I've seen so many birds over the last 2 and half years and there are still so many more to see. My life list is only at 241 species now and there are close to 800 in North America alone. I know I will be enjoying this new hobby for the rest of my life.
Along the way, I have discovered that my love for birding goes beyond just seeing new species to add to my life list. I really enjoy watching birds and how they behave. We can learn so much about our planet from the birds. I'm sure I will get into more detail in future blogs, but I know that I am growing more concerned for our planet's well being, and a lot of that has come from what I've learned while watching and reading about birds.
Well, I think that catches us up for now. Looking forward to writing some more soon.
Here's the biggest problem: I commute almost 3 hours a day. That is 3 hours a day, stuck in a car, barely moving, along with a bunch of other schmucks as we go through the daily grind. I no longer have the time I once had to sit in front of a computer and type out all the crazy thoughts that go through my head over the course of a day. Trust me, stuck in traffic for 3 hours a day, I still have a lot of crazy thoughts, maybe even more and even crazier thoughts, just no time to put them down in blog form.
I'm going to try to get better at making the time. We'll see how it goes.
So, what's happened over the last 3 years? A lot. A hell of a lot. Where do I begin...let's start with the career trajectory that I was going with at the end of my last blog back in January 2012...
EMI did get bought by Universal but it took most of 2012 for the deal to get worked out. When it all shook down, I was asked to join Big Machine and run promotions for the label in Canada. The day I signed the paperwork, the person that Big Machine had doing marketing in Canada, gave her notice. I moved over to Big Machine on November 1, 2012 and was responsible for promotions and marketing. It was a HUGE learning curve. After 6 months I found myself drowning and needing help. Thankfully, the label allowed me to get some help. We ended up hiring my old friend and co-worker from PolyGram and Universal, Donna Lidster, to handle the marketing end of things. Together, along with our old friend Charlotte Thompson handling publicity for us (through her own company, Red Umbrella), we are Big Machine Canada.
Big Machine is a great company to work for. I've enjoyed a lot of success working songs by the many great artists at radio (9 #1's in my first full year). Since I joined the label, Florida Georgia Line has exploded into one of the biggest acts on the planet, Tim McGraw has enjoyed a major career resurgence, Taylor Swift has evolved into a full blown Pop artist (and one of the biggest on the planet) and Big Machine has grown by leaps and bounds, adding new label imprints, signing new artists and expanding the staff in America.
I still really enjoy working in the music industry. I'm coming up to my 25th anniversary of working for record labels (Dec. 1). Most of my friends are people I have met because of my job. I enjoy working with music every day and I still get a rush out of helping to build careers for artists that have dared to dream the dream and follow it. I still get excited about traveling, although as I get older, I've noticed it does take it's toll on the body (mostly the lack of sleep I think). Aside from maybe returning to radio, I don't know what else I would do for a career. My high school friend, Jack Veasey, nailed it when he had to write my bio in our grade 12 yearbook: "The kid likes music. If Ron Harwood (Rompin' Ron, Rockin' Ron, Raunchy Ron, or simply Eddie Van Harwood) could be an inanimate object, he would surely be and electric guitar. Or maybe a juke box."
On a personal level, the last three years have been great.
Tracy and I finally got married this past July 25th. We had a simple ceremony and dinner with immediate family and a few very close friends (less then 30 people) at the Riverbend Inn at Niagara on the Lake.
As for my girls, Hope is now in grade 12 and will be graduating next spring. Mally is in her last year at her current school and will move into high school next fall. Ella, is becoming a great little artist. I am so proud of all three of them.
As for me, I have become obsessed with birding over the last few years.
It started with seeing the movie "The Big Year", starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson, on a flight back from London, England. I had learned a bit about birds back in Boy Scouts. I could tell a sparrow from a swallow but I had no idea just how many species of birds there are out there. I decided to combine my love of photography and my love for walking and roll them into my new passion. I try to make time wherever I travel to squeeze in some quality birding. I've seen so many birds over the last 2 and half years and there are still so many more to see. My life list is only at 241 species now and there are close to 800 in North America alone. I know I will be enjoying this new hobby for the rest of my life.
Along the way, I have discovered that my love for birding goes beyond just seeing new species to add to my life list. I really enjoy watching birds and how they behave. We can learn so much about our planet from the birds. I'm sure I will get into more detail in future blogs, but I know that I am growing more concerned for our planet's well being, and a lot of that has come from what I've learned while watching and reading about birds.
Well, I think that catches us up for now. Looking forward to writing some more soon.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
2012 - Week 1
First off...WOW! Can't believe how long it has been since I've blogged. I used to love doing this. I guess I stopped when I started going through my divorce. Too much stuff that I didn't want the rest of the world to know. I maybe should have kept writing. It's good therapy. Anyway, I made it through my personal hell and have survived to write another day.
2012 is off to a great start on the career side of things. Despite the doom and gloom of EMI being bought by Universal (I've been through this twice before, once on each side of the purchasing - when PolyGram bought A&M and when Universal bought PolyGram), this is shaping up to be a good year for my gig as National Promotions Manager (Country).
We ended 2011 with the #1 song on the Mediabase Canada Country chart - Eric Church "Drink In My Hand. That song was also the #1 song to start the year at BDS.
Luke Bryan kicked off 2012 with the #1 song on the Mediabase chart with "I Don't Want This Night To End".
EMI had 6 of the Top Ten songs on the Mediabase Canada Country chart this week:
1) Luke Bryan "I Don't Want This Night To End"
3) Eric Church "Drink In My Hand"
5) Lady Antebellum "We Owned The Night"
7) Keith Urban "You Gonna Fly"
8) Terri Clark "The One"
9) Chad Brownlee "Love Me or Leave Me".
We also had the #1 Most Added song at Mediabase Canada Country - Lady Antebellum "Dancin' Away With My Heart".
We had 4 Canadian tracks inside the Top 20 as well...
8) Terri Clark "The One"
9) Chad Brownlee "Love Me or Leave Me"
17) Deric Ruttan "She's Like A Song"
19) The Stellas "In This House".
Next week we release the new Johnny Reid single, the title track from his forthcoming new CD, "Fire It Up".
Johnny is doing a live web chat on Monday night on 33 radio station web sites as well as livestream.com and JohnnyReid.com.
2012 is off to a great start on the career side of things. Despite the doom and gloom of EMI being bought by Universal (I've been through this twice before, once on each side of the purchasing - when PolyGram bought A&M and when Universal bought PolyGram), this is shaping up to be a good year for my gig as National Promotions Manager (Country).
We ended 2011 with the #1 song on the Mediabase Canada Country chart - Eric Church "Drink In My Hand. That song was also the #1 song to start the year at BDS.
Luke Bryan kicked off 2012 with the #1 song on the Mediabase chart with "I Don't Want This Night To End".
EMI had 6 of the Top Ten songs on the Mediabase Canada Country chart this week:
1) Luke Bryan "I Don't Want This Night To End"
3) Eric Church "Drink In My Hand"
5) Lady Antebellum "We Owned The Night"
7) Keith Urban "You Gonna Fly"
8) Terri Clark "The One"
9) Chad Brownlee "Love Me or Leave Me".
We also had the #1 Most Added song at Mediabase Canada Country - Lady Antebellum "Dancin' Away With My Heart".
We had 4 Canadian tracks inside the Top 20 as well...
8) Terri Clark "The One"
9) Chad Brownlee "Love Me or Leave Me"
17) Deric Ruttan "She's Like A Song"
19) The Stellas "In This House".
Next week we release the new Johnny Reid single, the title track from his forthcoming new CD, "Fire It Up".
Johnny is doing a live web chat on Monday night on 33 radio station web sites as well as livestream.com and JohnnyReid.com.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Hearing Aid - Early April
Here's what's really caught my ear recently.
Some stuff that should be on the radio...but isn't...at least not yet.
Tinted Windows
- This wins the award for Weirdest "Super Group". Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick on drums, James Iha from Smashing Pumpkins on guitar, Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne on bass and Taylor Hanson from Hanson...yes that Hanson...on vocals. The track was written by Schlesinger, who has written some great power pop songs with Fountains of Wayne (only "Stacy's Mom" got a lot of airplay, but others should have). It reminds me of old Cheap Trick, especially if you watch the video for the single "Kind of Girl". It's just simple rock and roll. 3 minutes and 13 seconds of pure power pop. Enjoy!
Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/tintedwindows
Empire of The Sun
- This duo is certainly "way out there". Fruity and freakish (not that there is anything wrong with that) but so catchy, in the same way the Scissor Sisters caught on a few years ago. Space age pop filled with infectious hooks. The single "Walking on a Dream" should be all over Modern Rock and Hot AC radio.
Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/empireofthesunsound
Jefferson Ross- A good friend of mine and former band leader of Terri Clark's band. Jeffro has put together his own disc of tunes that evoke some incredible imagery of the American South. The characters and places that Jeff writes about feel like I've known them for years. Some reviews have compared his songs to those of Guy Clark and Rodney Crowell. I can't say I disagree.
Check him out here and tell him Hosehead sent you: http://www.myspace.com/jeffrossmusic
Some stuff that should be on the radio...but isn't...at least not yet.
Tinted Windows
- This wins the award for Weirdest "Super Group". Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick on drums, James Iha from Smashing Pumpkins on guitar, Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne on bass and Taylor Hanson from Hanson...yes that Hanson...on vocals. The track was written by Schlesinger, who has written some great power pop songs with Fountains of Wayne (only "Stacy's Mom" got a lot of airplay, but others should have). It reminds me of old Cheap Trick, especially if you watch the video for the single "Kind of Girl". It's just simple rock and roll. 3 minutes and 13 seconds of pure power pop. Enjoy!
Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/tintedwindows
Empire of The Sun
- This duo is certainly "way out there". Fruity and freakish (not that there is anything wrong with that) but so catchy, in the same way the Scissor Sisters caught on a few years ago. Space age pop filled with infectious hooks. The single "Walking on a Dream" should be all over Modern Rock and Hot AC radio.
Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/empireofthesunsound
Jefferson Ross- A good friend of mine and former band leader of Terri Clark's band. Jeffro has put together his own disc of tunes that evoke some incredible imagery of the American South. The characters and places that Jeff writes about feel like I've known them for years. Some reviews have compared his songs to those of Guy Clark and Rodney Crowell. I can't say I disagree.
Check him out here and tell him Hosehead sent you: http://www.myspace.com/jeffrossmusic
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Why the World Hates Americans
Electing Barack Obama was a good start to changing the world opinion on "Ignorant Americans".
Next up should be getting rid of the morons on Fox News "Red Eye" show.
I am all for comedy, when it's funny and the comedians know what they're talking about. These uneducated bozos are damaging relations with their nearest neighbours with comments like these.
Barack Obama apologized for his slight on the Special Olympics on Leno the other night. He should have been apologizing for these idiots too.
Check these idiots out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcJn5XlbSFk
I hope Doug Benson tries to do his stand up act in Canada in the near future. Maybe some of our military will want to check out his act and remind him of our record of service.
Next up should be getting rid of the morons on Fox News "Red Eye" show.
I am all for comedy, when it's funny and the comedians know what they're talking about. These uneducated bozos are damaging relations with their nearest neighbours with comments like these.
Barack Obama apologized for his slight on the Special Olympics on Leno the other night. He should have been apologizing for these idiots too.
Check these idiots out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcJn5XlbSFk
I hope Doug Benson tries to do his stand up act in Canada in the near future. Maybe some of our military will want to check out his act and remind him of our record of service.
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