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

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.

Moments That Matter - Early March Edition

Pop Culture: What I am into these days.

Music: Eric Church "Carolina" (advance) / Johnny Reid "Dance With Me" / U2 "No Line on the Horizon".

DVD: "Burn After Reading" / "War of the Worlds".

- Happy Birthday To Me
- We had the big birthday party on Friday, February 27th at our place. We had some good friends over for a few bottles of wine. Nothing too crazy, just some good catching up.
- On Saturday, February 28th we went to West Edmonton Mall with the Dynamyx Gymnastics gang for a night at Galaxyland. The whole family enjoyed rides from 7:30 until 10:30.
- On Sunday, March 1st we celebrated my birthday with the family by going out to dinner at Boston Pizza in St. Albert. My actual birthday was on Monday, March 2nd but Mally had gymnastics right after school that day so we opted to do dinner out on the Sunday instead.



Mr. Mom
- Lesley took off for her annual Epicure Convention in Toronto on Wednesday, March 4th. She was gone until the following Tuesday. I had a whole week of being Mr. Mom. I learned that being a single parent would really suck. It was hard to juggle work and all of the various kids activities. On the good side of things, the house was clean when Lesley got home (even though I was exhausted and ready for the loonie bin).

In Like A Lion
- March came in like a lion...so let's hope it goes out like a lamb. We got pounded with snow and cold at the end of the first week of March. It didn't help hearing from my boss, and friend, Rob Chubey about how nice it was in Nashville for Country Radio Seminars (72 degrees!) or from Lesley about how nice it was in Toronto (+15). The kids helped me shovel a couple of times but for the most part it was too damn cold to go anywhere while Lesley was away at her conference.



I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock N Roll
- Dave and Carol came over on Friday, March 6th to go over some music for their upcoming wedding. We had a good time going through my CD collection and picking tunes that we hope everyone will dance to at the wedding. If Dave and I had our way though it would be all Blues Brothers and Van Halen with a sprinkling of tunes from the Animal House Soundtrack. Good thing Carol was here to reign us in.

Who Do I Cheer For?
- Warren came over to watch the Oilers versus the Leafs game on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, March 7th. I was having a hard time deciding who to cheer for. I want to see the Oilers make the playoffs but I am a die hard Leafs fan. I don't think the Leafs have a shot at the playoffs this year and would almost rather they lose down the stretch to sink in the standings and have a better shot at the John Tavares sweepstakes for the top overall draft pick this off season. Still, it was hard not to cheer for the Buds. It was nice to have Warren drop in for a little adult conversation. The kids were making me a little mental by this point.

Underoath
- I worked with Christian Metal band Underoath on Tuesday, March 10th. The guys were nice to work with and we had no problems with any of our contest winners that got to meet the band at their soundcheck. I have to say that Christian Metal is really not my thing though. I much prefer the more melodic, Satanic version of Heavy Metal. Still, the band put on a good show at the Edmonton Events Centre. I wasn't singing along with any of the tunes when I left the gig but I had been impressed with their stage show as well as the cool lighting and video effects.



Trivia Time
- Wednesday, March 11th I went out to Table Team Trivia at the Beer Hunter, hosted by my good buddy Jake Daniels from Team 1260. I joined Warren and Dave about an hour into the trivia as I had stayed to watch some of Mally's gymnastics class with Lesley and Hope and Ella. We had a decent round of trivia and all of us ended up winning some draw prizes. I came home with a deluxe BBQ tool set and a new t-shirt. Not too bad a haul for a couple of hours of drinking with buddies.

No More Sex and Candy!
- On Thursday, March 12th I spent the day with Marcy Playground. The band is working hard to get the word out about their forthcoming new CD, due out in July. So many people only know them for their huge hit "Sex and Candy" that it makes it hard for them to get the word out about the new material. Hopefully some of the new stuff will cut through though as the band are all great players and the tunes are all quite clever.
I met the band at 8 A.M. at City TV where the guys played a couple of songs on Breakfast Television. They weren't going to do "Sex and Candy" but ended up doing it when John Wozniak's voice gave him a bit of trouble. We chalked that up to just being early in the morning and the dry Alberta air. Later that afternoon I took John, the singer / guitar player from the band, over to Sonic 102.9 for an interview and acoustic performance in the Listener Lounge with Layne Mitchell. John's voice really started acting up and he was getting worried that he might have to cancel the show that night. After the Sonic interview we stopped at London Drugs and loaded him up with Halls and other throat medication to get him through his last radio interview and the concert. Our last media visit for the day was at Joe FM where John did a live interview and an acoustic performance with Gary James.
The show at Jet Nightclub later that night was good despite John's voice problems. Not a huge crowd but certainly some hard core fans that knew more about the band than just "Sex and Candy". John had to pull some of the new songs from the set though as his voice was not going to be able to cut it.
I hope they come back after the new CD comes out this summer. Hopefully John will be able to do those tunes he missed playing here this time around.



Sp-Oil Kings
- Sunday, March 15th I went with Warren and Dave to see the Edmonton Oil Kings play their last regular season home game of the 2008-2009 season at Rexall Place. The team was in a tie for the last playoff spot and only needed to get a single point against the Red Deer Rebels in this game to secure the final spot and make the playoffs for the first time in their current history (the old Oil Kings were a very successful Junior franchise and won the Memorial Cup a couple of times back in the 1960's). The game was not that great. The team didn't look like a team that desperately needed that one last point. They lead 1-0 going into the third period but ended up losing 2-1. Now they have to travel to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan for a one game, sudden death, tie breaker with the Prince Albert Raiders. The winner of that game will get the last playoff spot. Hopefully the Oil Kings will play with higher sense of desperation in that one.

Moments That Matter - February Month End Edition

Family Day - Feb. 16th
Officially, Family Day in Alberta was created to recognize the values of the pioneers that built this province and the values of home and family. It is celebrated in a lot of ways but in Edmonton this year it seemed to be “Take the Family to West Edmonton Mall Day”. That’s how we spent it, our family and everyone else’s family. Lesley’s sister, Laura, who was here visiting, wanted to go to the mall so we spent the better part of the day there. The girls had gift cards that they received as Christmas gifts so they had a blast shopping in the various stores. I spent most of the time sitting on benches or pacing the hallways, trying to stay out of the mayhem at the mall. I did enjoy a nice ice cream cone at Purdy’s though.

Feel That Fire - On Tour With Dierks
I was on the road for the better part of week between February 17th and February 22nd. I was working with Dierks Bentley, who was opening for Brad Paisley on his Paisley Party Tour of Canada. We hit 5 cities in 5 nights in 3 different provinces.

My first stop was Winnipeg on Tuesday, the 17th. I flew in and had just enough time to grab a quick lunch with a few radio friends before making my way to the MTS Centre for Dierks’ media schedule. After the show, Dierks and some of his crew went out to Earls for a late dinner and a few drinks before their bus rolled to Regina. I broke my digital camera that night and was not a happy camper about it.
I flew into Regina on the morning of the 18th. Again, I had enough time to visit with a couple of radio people and then had to make my way to the Brandt Centre for Dierks’ interview schedule. I had a good visit with Brad Paisley’s guitar tech, Chad Weaver, who used to work with Terri Clark and then went out shopping for a new camera before the meet and greet.

On the morning of the 19th I visited with a few more radio folks in Regina before driving my rental car north to Saskatoon. It was funny to run into Brad Johner in the small town of Chamberlain, Saskatchewan. I spotted Brad putting gas in the family vehicle as I was driving through town. I had to stop and snap a quick shot with my new camera. This was real life “Corner Gas”. Chamberlain is the real cross-roads of Saskatchewan. It’s really nothing more than a few gas stations and motels at the intersection of a couple of the provinces major highways. Running into one of Saskatchewan’s biggest music stars in Chamberlain was a perfect moment of pure Canadiana.



On the drive up to Saskatoon I got word from Dierks Bentley’s Tour Manager that Dierks needed to change his entire interview schedule for that day in Saskatoon. Dierks had an opportunity to skate with the Saskatoon Blades team at their practice that afternoon. I got busy on my cell phone and moved all the interview times around and then hustled into Saskatoon to go and watch Dierks take part in a real WHL team practice. I was impressed that Dierks didn’t look too far out of place during the drills. The highlight was when Dierks was put on the spot by the coaching staff at the end of practice. They challenged Dierks to a shootout scenario as the whole team watched on. If Dierks scored the practice would be over. If he missed, the whole team had to do wind sprints. Dierks said he has never felt so much pressure, not even when he first opened for George Strait in front of 70,000 people. What he didn’t know is that the goalie was going to let him score. All Dierks needed to do was shoot for one of the corners. He made his moves and decided to try to beat the goalie between the legs. The goalie turtled, giving Dierks plenty of net to shoot at. Unfortunately, because he decided to shoot “5 hole” he hit the goalie as he flopped awkwardly. Everyone had a good laugh. Luckily I had bought my new camera in Regina the night before as I ended up having to take some pictures of Dierks and the Blades players, as the team’s camera battery died before practice was over.



Friday, the 19th, I flew home to Edmonton. I went straight from the airport to Rexall Place for Dierks’ media schedule and then got things set up for his pre-show meet and greet. After Dierks’ set I got to hang out with Oilers players Sheldon Souray and Dustin Penner as we watched Brad Paisley’s show from the side of the stage and from the soundboard out front. During Brad Paisley’s set, Dierks, Crystal Shawanda, Shane Yellowbird and Gord Bamford went up on stage to sing “Alcohol” with Brad. After the concert we made plans to go out but Dierks ended up having to leave early so I ended up going out with Souray, Penner, Shane Yellowbird and a few of their friends to the 100 Club for a bit.



On Saturday morning I drove down to Calgary for the last of the 5 shows in 5 nights run. I got to hang out with a few friends during the show and had a few drinks after the show as well. I was exhausted after the run of dates though so I packed it in pretty early. I could easily have slept all day on the Sunday if I hadn’t had to check out of the hotel and drive home.




MONTH END STUFF

Three Stars of the Month:
1) Barack Obama – Visits Canada and makes great speech to joint session of Congress.
2) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Dynamic duo cleaned up at the Grammy Awards.
3) Brad Slater & Lacey Kapler – For giving me their dinner reservations at Yanni’s Taverna on Valentine’s Day.

Milestones of the Month:
- 50th Anniversary of the “Day The Music Died” – plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper (Feb. 3rd).
- 45th Anniversary of The Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show (Feb. 13th)
- 100th Anniversary of the first Canadian Aircraft Flight (Feb. 23rd).

Best News this Month:
All 22 crew members of the Spanish fishing vessel “Monte Galineiro” rescued by the Canadian Coast Guard after ship sinks 400 kms off the coast of Newfoundland.

Weirdest News this Month:
Chris Brown allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, Rihanna, the night before the Grammy Awards.

Best Sporting Moments of the Month:
- The Pittsburgh Steelers win Superbowl XLIII in a close game with the Arizona Cardinals.
- Alex Rodriguez admits to steroid use. Now maybe the game can really clean up it’s act.

Best New Music of the Month:
Country: Dierks Bentley “Feel That Fire
Pop: Lily Allen “It’s Not Me, It’s You”.
Rock: GlasVegas “GlasVegas”.

Best Concert of the Month:
Brad Paisley / Dierks Bentley and Crystal Shawanda at Rexall Place in Edmonton (Feb. 20th). Gord Bamford and Shane Yellowbird joined the other three for “Alcohol” near the end of the show. Edmonton Oiler Sheldon Souray joined Dierks on stage during his set.

Best Reads of the Month:
- Johnny Cash: The Biography by Michael Streissguth.
- Rolling Stone Magazine’s “Barrack Obama and the Triumph of Hope” commemorative edition.

Best Screening of the Month:
The Buddy Holly Story – DVD.

Best Dining out this Month:
Valentine’s Dinner with Lesley at Yanni’s Taverna on Whyte Avenue.

5 Artists You May Not Know...But I Love Them...

Cory Noel at CKFM Radio in Old, Alberta tagged me in his note "List 10 Bands/Artists You Love That Your Friends Have Never Heard Of".

The idea is to list 10 bands or artists that you're friends have never heard of. That's hard for me to do as most of my friends are in the music biz and have heard of just about everyone out there already...sometimes before I do.

So, I decided to go with 5 instead of 10 artists, and changed the parameters to...
"5 Artists You May Not Know...But I Love Them...".

Here they are...in no particular order...

1) Patrick Ballantyne - Patrick is a Toronto based singer/songwriter. He has written several tunes with Gordie Johnson for Big Sugar and Grady, including one of my all time favourite songs about Canada, "All Hell For A Basement". Patrick finally released a CD of his own and it was one of my favourite indy releases of last year.
Check him out here:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=382177866


Patrick Ballantyne's self titled debut CD. Go and buy it now off of CD Baby...there's a link off of his MySpace page.


2) John Kilzer - I first heard John Kilzer off of a record company compilation that we had for in-store play at HMV in Guelph back in 1988. His song was "Red Blue Jeans". I loved my red jeans so I bought the cassette "Memory in the Making" and became an instant fan. Tunes from that album like " Memory in the Making", "Heart and Soul", 'Green, Yellow and Red", "Pick Me Up" and "Give Me A Highway" (as well as "Red Blue Jeans") are all on my MP3 player. His follow up CD "Busman's Holiday" featured the tune "Marilyn Dean and James Monroe". John's music is rootsy, guitar driven pop/rock. He is obscure enough not to have any info on Wikipedia and his MySpace page is actually run by a fan, not him. Check out some of his tunes here:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=94338374
Check out the video for "Red Blue Jeans" on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngVg_kc-1EI


John Kilzer. Apparently now living in Memphis and involved as a Youth Director / Music Teacher at Grace United Methodist Church in Jackson, Tennessee.


3) Billy Falcon - Billy had a hit in the early 90's with a song called "Power Windows". Billy had been around a long time before that hit though, recording as far back as the late 1970's. He was an artist that Jon Bon Jovi had seen around the New Jersey scene when we was first getting into the music biz. Jon was such a fan that he signed Billy to his JAMBCO label in the early 90's. Billy released two great discs in the 90's, "Pretty Blue World" in 1991 and "Letters From A Paper Ship" in 1994. His tunes are melodic guitar rock with some roots flavouring. Billy moved to Nashville where he has become a fairly well known songwriter. He's written tunes for Trace Adkins, Cher and Stevie Nicks to name a few.
You can check out Billy Falcon here:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=51200027
or on his official page: http://www.billyfalcon.com/
Video for "Power Windows" is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKJebJ7iISQ


Billy Falcon's CD single for "Heaven's Highest Hill" from the Pretty Blue World album.


4) Webb Wilder - Webb Wilder, hailing from Mississippi, blends country with blues rock and surf music for an original sound that he calls "swampadelic". I first heard Webb Wilder at an Island Records showcase of new music at an HMV Managers Conference in Toronto in late 1989, right before I went to work for PolyGram Records.
His second disc "Hybrid Vigor" came out that year and I fell in love with a tune called "Human Cannonball". A year later, working for PolyGram, we had an artist on the same bill as Webb Wilder and I was totally blown away with his live show. Webb has put out 6 more discs since then and has also become famous for some award winning short films that he calls "Corn Flicks".
Check out Webb Wilder's "Swampadelic" music at:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=124586228
or his official home page: http://www.webbwilder.com/
Check out the video for "Human Cannonball" here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGssb5YKaNM


Webb Wilder's "Hybrid Vigor" Album cover.


5) Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers - Another artist I learned about while working in Record Retail. The band's major label debut in 1988, "Rumble", featured the #1 Rock Hit "I'm Not Your Man". The blues heavy guitar rock was in line with Colin James debut release. If you like that album then you will like the "Rumble" disc too. Sadly, the band only released one more disc, 1990's "Guitar Trouble". The entire "Rumble" CD is on my Dell Jukebox MP3 player.
Check out the video for "I'm Not Your Man" here"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjE-VtpOh9w


Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers "Rumble".

Moments That Matter - Early February 2009

Pop Culture:
Music: Dierks Bentley "Feel That Fire" / The Bird and The Bee "Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future" / Bruce Springsteen "Working On A Dream" / Buddy Holly "The Best of Buddy Holly - "The Millennium Collection".
Book: "Johnny Cash - The Biography" by Michael Streissguth.
DVD: "The Buddy Holly Story".
TV: Superbowl XLIII / The 51st Annual Grammy Awards.

Milestones:
-50th Anniversary of "The Day The Music Died" - plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (February 3rd 1959).
-45th Anniversary of The Beatles appearance on Ed Sullivan (February 13th 1964).

Hello:
John Kucera (Gold Medal Winning Canuck Ski Racer at Val D'Isere, France).
Steve Omischl (Canadian Winner of 3 straight World Cup Skiing Aerials Season Titles).

Goodbye:
Dewey Martin (Drummer from Buffalo Springfield)
Estelle Bennett (Singer with The Ronettes)
Gerry Niewood (Sax player with Chuck Mangione's band)
Coleman Mellett (Guitarist with Chuck Mangione's band)

Good, Bad and Ugly:
Good: Canada winning medals galore in winter sports - 1 year out from Vancouver Olympics.
Bad: Brushfires in Australia, Plane crash in Buffalo.
Ugly: Chris Brown beating Rihanna.


Superbowl Sunday
Great game. I was kind of hoping for the underdog Arizona Cardinals to win, but giving up a 100 yard interception return for a touchdown with no time left at the half kind of hurt their chances. Although, you have to give Kurt Warner props for bringing the team back and taking the lead late in the game. The Cardinals left Pittsburgh with too much time left on the clock though. Credit the Steelers for working the two minute drill to perfection to seal the win.
Best play of the game might have been Bruce Springsteen's knee slide right into a camera during his half time performance. I don't care if you think Bruce sold out to do the halftime show. I'll take 12 minutes of seeing the master showman at work anytime. It sure beats watching Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson halftime show - although the "wasdrobe malfunction" made for good water cooler talk. I think the last two Superbowl halftime shows have been great, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. How can they top that next year? Maybe Van Halen? That would be sweet!

Groundhog Day
Who came up with this concept? How does a varmint's shadow predict the weather?
Come on! We live in Canada. On February 2nd we know damn well that we've got at least 6 more weeks of winter coming. We'll be lucky to be golfing before the third round of the NHL playoffs start in late April or early May. Stupid groundhog! Stupid winter!

50 Years After The Day The Music Died.
February 3rd, 1959 - the day the music died. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash outside of Clear Lake, Iowa. I watched "The Buddy Holly Story" on DVD on the anniversary of the tragedy. I think it is Gary Busey's best role ever. It got me thinking about what the hell one of the biggest music stars of the time was doing playing a show in a town of about 5000 people in early February. That's how they developed fans and put faces to the names that people were hearing on the radio back then. There were no music video channel . There was no internet. If you wanted to get known you had to go out and hit the people where they live. More artists should do that now. Get a good backing band and put 3 or 4 artists on the bill. Pile into a bus and barnstorm towns, big and small. If you want to reach people with real music do it the old fashioned way. Sure it's a lot of work, but I bet the concept still works in developing long lasting careers. Paul Brandt's Small Towns and Big Dreams tour worked pretty well, didn't it? People in Brooks, Alberta and Fort St. John, B.C. are starved for entertainment. Go play those places and the residents will never forget you. I know I thought seeing Red Rider at the Fort St. John Arena in 1983 was like the Beatles playing Shea Stadium. Okay maybe not quite like that, but still a pretty big deal to have a big rock show in a fairly small town.
I can see arguments about economics coming. I think that's just an excuse. Work hard, plan properly and I think the artists will make money and get to be better performers for playing more gigs in more widely ranging situations. They will also develop a lasting fan base.

Juno Who's Had a Good Year?
On Tuesday, February 3rd, the nominees for this year's Juno Awards were announced. I was especially proud to see that Edmontonian Kreesha Turner was nominated for two awards, Best New Artist and Pop Album of the Year. I was also happy to see Serena Ryder up for a couple of awards. The Junos take place in Vancouver on March 29th.

If This Game Was Happening In My Backyard I'd Close The Drapes
On Tuesday, February 3rd I went to see the Oilers play the Chicago Black Hawks with my buddy Michael Hogan. The Oilers looked bad, real bad. They seemed to have no effort and no heart. Chicago played a decent, but boring, road game and put most of Rexall Place to sleep. At least Michael and I got a chance to catch up on things. I wish the real Edmonton Oilers would stand up. After this loss they rebounded and started playing good hockey again. What's up with this team this year?

Country Connections
I had several good visits with Country artists in the first two weeks of February.
On February 3rd I met with Chad Klinger to hear his new, Bart McKay produced, CD. I think he's got some solid tunes on the disc. I could hear 3 or 4 songs being radio hits.
On February 4th I had a visit with Craig Moritz and Natalie Harper. It was nice to catch up with them and hear about Craig's new video.
On Thursday, February 12th I had a visit with Deric Ruttan and Travis Switzer. Deric was in town for the night. He was on his way up to Whitecourt to play a couple of solo acoustic shows at the casino this weekend.

Grammy Weirdness
Even more bizarre than some of the winners at the 51st annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 8th, was what happened behind the scenes. It's alleged that Chris Brown assaulted his girlfriend, Rihanna, the night before the awards show. This news was just breaking as the rest of the American Music industry was strolling down the red carpet for the night's showcase event.
The Grammy's are always hard to predict. My earlier blog is proof of that. I was blown away with some of the winners this year, but ever since Jethro Tull won the first ever Grammy for Hard Rock / Heavy Metal Performance in 1989, nothing about the Grammy's shocks me any more. It really is a night where anything can, and usually does, happen (remember the "Soy Bomb" incident from 1998?).

Visitors from Away
Lesley's sister, Laura, is here for a visit. She flew in on Monday February 9th. The girls are very excited to have Aunt Laura here. Laura and Lesley have had a good time catching up. I am happy that Laura will be here for most of the time that I am away on the Dierks Bentley tour next week.

Jeremy Summers, one of my old bosses from my Universal Music days, was in town on Tuesday, February 10th. I met up with Jeremy and John Dunham for drinks that evening. While I waited for them I visited with Jane and Will at Jake Daniel's Table Team Trivia night at the Beehunter in the West End. I won a car seat warmer as a door prize. It might still come in handy this winter.

Getting Lucky on Valentine's Day
I left things too late to book a dinner reservation. Lesley and I weren't sure what we were going to do for Valentine's so we didn't really plan ahead too well. When we finally decided that dinner out would be nice, all of the local St. Albert restaurants and all of our favourite Edmonton ones were booked solid. We were thinking we might just have to go to some place that didn't take reservations. Luckily for us though, Brad Slater, from The Team 1260, read my Facebook status about not having reservations and offered me his, as he and Lacey had made other plans. Lesley and I ended up having a fabulous dinner at Yianni's Taverna (although they didn't have their belly dancers on Valentine's Day). After dinner we ventured out to the River Cree Casino and Lesley won $60 playing the nickel slots. There's nothing like getting lucky on Valentine's Day.

"And The Winner Is..." - My Grammy Awards Survey Results

Updated to show actual winners. We were way off! Our votes were only right on 3 of the 10 categories!The good news is that Donna doesn't have to poke her eyes out and Heidi doesn't have to eat her hat.

Here are the results from my recent Grammy Awards Survey. These are based on your votes submitted here and on my MySpace blog page.

Album of the Year
- Your choice is: COLDPLAY - Viva La Vida of Death and All His Friends.
- Coldplay received almost three times as many votes as the runner up, Radiohead (15 - 6). In third spot, just two votes back of Radiohead, was Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (4). Lil Wayne and Ne-Yo each only received one vote in this category.
- My personal favourite in this category was Coldplay, although I am a bit biased working for their label. I was also a big fan of the Plant & Krauss disc. One of those two should win. If Radiohead wins it would signal a real shift in the attitude of the American Recording business. Remember, these are the guys that shunned the traditional way of selling music...and a lot of the people voting for these awards are part of that old machine.
- Actual winner: ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS - Raising Sand.

Record of the Year- Your choice is: COLDPLAY - Viva La Vida.
- This category was a close one. Coldplay recieved 10 votes, just two more than Robert Plant and Alison Krauss with 8. Leona Lewis was third with 6 votes. M.I.A. received 2 votes and Adele 1.
- To answer the question about the difference between this category and the Album of the Year category, this is a singles category. The actually Song of the Year category is awarded to the songwriters of that song.
- My personal pick in this category was Leona Lewis. While my EMI loyalty is hoping for Coldplay, I just have to think that this song, which is still on AC radio current spins lists more than a year after it was released, should win for that kind of endurance and saturation. Plant & Krauss are the dark horse in this category. If they win, commercial radio should start re-thinking what they play. I don't recall hearing this song anywhere except CKUA and CBC.
- Actual Winner: ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS - PLEASE READ THE LETTER

Best New Artist
- Your choice is: JONAS BROTHERS.
- This was a bit of a landslide. A lot of you made comments about how much you dislike the Jonas boys. Donna even went so far as to say she would pke out her eyes if they win this category (I hope she was joking). Still, there was no denying they had a massive year and they received 13 votes, 6 more than runner up, Duffy (7). Lady Antebellum was third with 4 votes. Adele received 2 votes and bringin up the rear was Jazmine Sullivan with 1 vote.
- My heart is with Lady Antebellum in this category. Their debut disc was instantly one of my favourite Country CD's of the last few years. They were great people to work with too. That being said, if I was betting money on this category I would have to go with the Jonas Brothers. They certainly sold more units than the others in this category and they also dominated the media with both positive and negative critiques of everything from their clothes and their hair, to who they were dating, to (shock of all shocks) some actual mention of their music. I know my daughters and all of their tween friends are cheering for Joe, Nick and Kevin. Duffy also had a great year, but she was certainly overshadowed by the Jonas machine.
- Actual Winner: ADELE

Best Rock Album- Your choice: KINGS OF LEON - Only By The Night.
- Another landslide win. The Kings received 13 votes, 7 more than runner up, Kid Rock (6). Metallica was only one vote back of second (5) and Coldplay were just two votes back (4). The Raconteurs didn't receive any votes (although Lisa did say they should win).
- I was a huge fan of the Kings of Leon disc. I bought it after reading a Rolling Stone review of the CD and fell in love with it on my first listen. Of course, my EMI loyalty is cheering for Coldplay again here, but I wouldn't feel slighted if the Kings of Leon win tonight. It's just that good a disc. Kid Rock has a great year too, but a lot of his success was off of one smash summer time hit. If he wins it would be a bit of a surprise...so much so that Heidi says she will eat her hat. I'm going to hold her to that if Kid Rock takes this trophy tonight. Metallica should never be counted out either. The industry likes these guys. This will be an interesting one to watch.
- Actual Winner: COLDPLAY - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.

Best Alternative Music Album- Your Choice: DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE - Narrow Stairs.
- This category was close. Only one vote seperated DCFC from Radiohead. In the end it was Death Cab For Cutie with 8 votes and Radiohead with 7. Beck was third with 5 votes. Gnarls Barkley received 3 and My Morning Jacket just 2.
- I liked the My Morning Jacket CD. It seemed to get a lot of positive press too. I still think it could win this category. However, there is no denying the media's gushing over Death Cab For Cutie. Radiohead could also win, but for reasons I stated in the Album of the Year blurb, they could find themselves on the outside...or maybe this will be the bone that the voters throw them for having a good year despite their shunning of the old way of doing things. Another category that I look forward to seeing who comes out on top tonight.
- Actual Winner: RADIOHEAD - In Rainbows

Best Pop Vocal Album- Your Choice: EAGLES - Long Road Out of Eden.
- The Eagles flew away with this category. They received 9 votes, three more than runner up, Leona Lewis (6). Duffy and Sheryl Crow were tied with 4 votes each for third spot. Rounding out the category is James Taylor with just 2 votes.
- The Eagles are my pick to win. I liked the double disc even though I had to venture into a Walmart store and wait in line at the checkout counter for half an hour to buy it. Maybe that's part of the reason I like it so much. I had to actually make an effort to go and get it. I invested time and money into getting the music (just like the old days). Leona Lewis could be a contender in this category. Her disc is solid although most of America still only knows her for that one giant hit ("Bleeding Love"). Duffy and Sheryl Crow both put out great discs too and, although your votes had him dead last, don't forget the love that the American Music Industry has for James Taylor. They could throw him a bone here too.
- Actual Winner: DUFFY - Rockferry

Best Country Album- Your Choice: GEORGE STRAIT - Troubadour.
- George won this category easily. He received 15 votes. Second place went to Jamey Johnson with just 4 votes. Trisha Yearwood received 2 votes. Patty Loveless was fourth with just 1 vote. Poor Randy Travis didn't get any respect. Not a single vote was cast for his "Around the Bend" CD.
- I have to think that George Strait wins this category. The guy continues to be the monster of country music. Another batch of number one hits off of this CD (what is he up to now...54 number ones?) should propel him to an easy win. That being said, the Grammy's have surprised us before. They could throw their votes to one of the old guard artists (Travis, Trisha or Patty) or they could really step out and crown the newcomer Jamey Johnson. If Jamey wins, a lot of mainstream country folks will be scratching their heads (and asking the Universal guys to get them copies of the disc).
- Actual Winner: GEORGE STRAIT - Troubadour.

Best R&B Album- Your Choice: JENNIFER HUDSON - Jennifer Hudson.
- A lot of you felt that the industry would choose this as the sentimental pick after the terrible tragedy that J-Hud had to endure in 2008. Jennifer recieved the most votes of any of the categories. She got 17 votes. There was a tie for second, four votes each for Al Green and Raphael Saadiq. Boyz II Men recieved just one vote and Eric Benet was shut out.
- My EMI loyalty is behind Al Green but I agree with the majority of folks on this one. Jennifer should win this category. Not only did she have a tough year but this is a solid disc. I look forward to her hearfelt acceptance speech. If she doesn't win, I am sure that whoever does will acknowledge her in their speech.
- Actual Winner: JENNIFER HUDSON - Jennifer Hudson.

Best Contemporary R&B Album- Your Choice: NE-YO - Year of the Gentleman.
- Ne-Yo received 15 votes, 8 more than runner up, Mary J. Blige (7). J. Holiday recieved 2 votes to put him in third spot. Karina and Jazmine Sullivan were both shut out.
- Ne-Yo should win this one although the industry does have a soft spot for Mary J. My EMI loyalty is hoping for J. Holiday, but I think his chances are slim here.
- Actual Winner: MARY J. BLIGE - Growing Pains.

Best Rap Album- Your Choice: LIL WAYNE - Tha Carter III.
- Another close one. Lil Wayne only one by tha one vote (8 - 7) over Jay Z. T.I. was third with 5 votes. Lupe Fiasco got 3 votes. Nas didn't get any love.
- Again, tough one to pick. Does the industry go with the relatively new Lil Wayne or throw their votes to the old guard (Jay Z.). Lupe seems to have a lot of industry love too. T.I. could also surprise here.
At least we know that Kanye won't be storming the stage this year.
- Actual Winner: LIL WAYNE - Tha Carter III.

The Road To A Juno Nomination

Today, Kreesha Turner was nominated for two Juno Awards, Best New Artist and Pop Album of the Year. She released this quote to the media this morning:
"2008 was such an AMAZING year! Being nominated for 2 Juno Awards is such an honour and a perfect way to kick off 2009. I am so grateful to everyone that has supported me - especially the fans!"

It's been a long and hard road for Kreesha to get to this point. It's also been a lot of fun, as a music industry insider, to get to work with Kreesha. Here are some of my memories of the road to Kreesha's Juno nominations.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The first time I met Kreesha I was working for another record label and was with another artist (I believe it might have been The Game). We were on our way into the Bounce FM radio studios for an interview. Kreesha and her Mom were just on the way out of the studios. I had never seen Kreesha in person but I knew who she was. She had just won the first ever Bounce Talent Search and her song, "Bounce With Me" was getting a lot of spins on the station. While the artist I was working with chatted with the on air staff I visited with Kreesha and her mother and wished them luck with her singing career. I was struck by how beautiful and poised this young lady was. I was convinced that she would be a star. Two years later I left Universal Music and went to work for EMI. I was happy to discover that Kreesha had been signed to EMI and I would get to work with a hometown, Edmonton, artist.

Flash forward to early 2008. EMI Music Canada is getting set to release Kreesha Turner's debut CD, "Passion". To set the CD up, Kreesha is doing a promotional tour across Canada to meet with key media and music industry people. As we are close to Valentine's Day, I sit with my youngest daughter one morning and we make up some bags of candy for Kreesha to drop off on our visits.


Ella helps put together Kreesha Turner "Passion" packages.

Kreesha, her day to day manager, Jessikah Roberts, and I dropped in to radio, newspaper outlets, music stores, and concert promoters in Edmonton and Calgary over the course of two days. Kreesha sat in the offices as we played back some music from her forthcoming CD and chatted with everyone about her musical path so far and her plans for the future. She was a delight to work with and made a great first impression everywhere we went.


Kreesha Turner drops into the Alberta Music Industry Association offices in Edmonton - February 2008.

As "Bounce With Me" was released as the official first single from "Passion" it quickly climbed the charts at CHR and Hot AC radio. The song didn't go as high as we would have hoped though as some stations, like the Bounce, had played the song previously when Kreesha first won the Bounce contest a few years earlier. The song did make some surprise appearances on network television in the United States though. Kreesha was still getting some great early exposure.

In the summer Kreesha returned to Alberta and performed at Edmonton's Capital Ex on the Ed Fest stage, opening for Jully Black. Her set was quite impressive. Kreesha's band consisted of keyboards, drums, a bass guitar and three background singers. They put on a very funky show.


Kreesha on the Ed Fest Stage at Capital Ex in Edmonton - July 2008.

While Kreehsa was in Alberta in July we had her perform for a private party of Bounce contest winners at the Bank nightclub. We also drove down to Calgary and had Kreesha perform a set at the oddly named Snatch Rock Bar at a show presented by The Vibe. Kreesha was working on her live performances with the help of ace arranger, producer, performer, Jon Levine, as her keyboardist and band leader. Her stripped down sets featured Jon on Keys and three lovely background singers. We put on a lot of miles in 15 passenger vans over those two days.


Kreesha on stage in a tent behind The Bank nightclub for a Bounce FM contest winners event.


Kreesha performs at Snatch Rock Bar in Calgary.

As "Don't Call Me Baby" took off as Kreesha's second hit single, we finally released "Passion" to record retail on Tuesday, August 12th. Kreesha came back to Alberta for some more promotional dates to celebrate the launch of the CD. On the Friday after release, Kreesha, Jon Levine and the back up singers performed a free lunch hour concert on Stephen Avenue Walk in downtown Calgary presented by Energy 101.5. After her set she signed autographs for about half an hour and sold numerous copies of her CD. That same afternoon she visited Calgary FM and recorded a few songs for the station's "Live at Five" show. Later, that same day, Kreesha signed autographs at Play in Market Mall. Although there weren't too many people at the signing, Kreesha was a total pro and chatted and mingled with the store staff and curious passers-by that had no idea who she was.


Kreesha performs a free lunch hour show on Stephen Avenue in dowtown Calgary.


People line up to meet Kreesha and buy "Passion" after her performance.


Kreesha visits with the store staff at Play in Market Mall.

On the Saturday after "Passion" was released Kreesha made a triumphant return to Edmonton. She performed a set on stage at West Edmonton Mall that was carried live to air on Bounce FM. A large crowd of several hundred people watched the show and cheered on their hometown girl. After the set Kreesha signed autographs for well over an hour.


Kwame from The Bounce introduces Kreesha to a large crowd of hometown fans.


West Edmonton Mall greets Kreesha Turner.

Through the rest of the summer and into the fall Kreesha's star continued to rise. "Don't Call Me Baby" was a hit at CHR, Hot AC and AC radio. It went on to hit #1 on the AC radio chart and stayed there for several months. Kreesha made numerous appearances in fashion magazines (including the cover of Fashion Magazine) and on television. Her singles continued to rack up airplay at multiple formats. She flew back to Alberta to co-host an episode of E-Talk and was a presenter at the Western Canadian Music Awards in Edmonton.


Kreesha and I with Rick Campanelli from E-Talk Canada in the lobby of the Palliser Hotel in Calgary.


Kreesha and I at the Western Canadian Music Awards at the Myer Horowitz Theatre in Edmonton.

In the winter months Kreesha released another single and a video for "Lady Killer". She also released a Christmas song called "Wherever You Are" that got a lot of praise from stations hungry for new, original Christmas music.
Kreesha enjoyed a quiet Christmas and then was back at it early in 2009.
"Shattered" was released as a new single for AC radio and Kreesha came back to Edmonton to be a celebrity judge on a new TV show called "Karaoke Star Jr.". The show was shot in her old school, Victoria Comp. It was another big homecoming for Kreesha as the staff and students were thrilled to see a hometown girl doing so well in the music world. After the show taping, Kreesha was mobbed by hundreds of kids demanding photos and autographs. On the day she visited her old school Kreesha found out that she had been nominated for 6 Canadian Radio Music Awards. All of her hard work and talent was finally being recognized by the Canadian Music Industry on a grand scale.


Kreesha with her fellow judges from Karaoke Star Jr., Danny Fernandes and Tara Oram.

Today's Juno nominations are just one more stepping stone on a long and, hopefully, very successful music career for Kreesha Turner. I am proud to have been involved in working with this fabulous young lady. Good luck Kreesh!

Moments That Matter - January Month End Edition

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
- Monday, January 26th
We lost a family member on Monday. Robert Cowley, my Great Uncle Bob, passed away suddenly.
Uncle Bob was a Staff Seargant on the Sudbury Police force and helped set up a police museum there. The museum is named after him, The Robert D. Cowley Sudbury Regional Police Museum.
I have many fond memories of visiting with my Uncle Bob, Aunt Julie and all of their kids whenever we drove across Canada.


LAST SUPPER
- Wednesday, January 28th
Anthony Farrauto and I took Dan Tucek out for his last supper as Program Director of The Bounce. Dan is leaving the station to focus on his own company, Ear Candy. He's already landed a lot of big clients for his voice over company. Russell James, the APD & MD at the Bounce, and Newcap Radio's Pat Cardinal joined us at Thanh Thanh for dinner.

It was a good night of catching up on the music and radio biz. Sadly most of the conversation was about downsizing. We talked about Universal Music laying off people and Astral Radio laying off people. Careers in the music and radio worlds are shaky at best. At least in radio's case there are more radio station launches on the horizon, so we know there will be more jobs. You can't say that about the music biz. I don't think any new major record labels are about to spring up.

Dan will be missed. I always enjoyed our chats about the music biz. Every time I was in Dan's office at the Bounce my visits would always go on much longer than I intended. A couple of times I even ended up with parking tickets because the conversations were that good.

Dan and I actually go back a long ways. One of his first interviews with a band was with Utah Saints in Toronto. I was the Promotions Rep for PolyGram Records overseeing that media schedule. It was a day I will never forget, although I don't remember meeting Dan. It was the day after the Toronto Blue Jays won their first World Series in the fall of 1992. The highlight of my day was finding a copy of the Blue Jays theme song (Let's Play Ball) for the group to sample for their show at RPM that night. I was also a wee bit hungover from partying on Yonge Street with thousands of other Jays fans. My girlfriend at the time worked for the Jays and I had been to the first 5 games of the World Series, including the first two in Atlanta. I was quite close to the staff of the team back then so it was a pretty special feeling when they won the championship. Sorry Dan, there is now way you could compete with that. Although I am sure the interview with Utah Saints went well. You did go on to become a Radio Program Director after all.


OMG! TWO HOT BLONDES AND THEIR G-STRINGS
- Friday, January 30th
One More Girl were in Edmonton on Friday for a show at the Myer Horowitz Theatre with Jaydee Bixby. I picked the girls, and their Mom, up at their hotel and took them to CISN FM for an interview and acoustic performance. Shortly after arriving at the CISN studios we realized that Carly's guitar had a broken string, the G string. She wasn't used to having to change her own strings so she had to get her Dad, Tom, on the phone to help talk her through the procedure. Mike McGuire tried to catch Carly during their interview but she wouldn't take the bait. He tried to get her to say "G-String" but Carly said "G Note String". Nice catch!

During the show that night, the girls talked about the incident from the stage. Carly said she was afraid that she might break another string during the show. As luck would have it, it was Britt who broke a string. Funnily enough, it was also her G-String. At least it happened during the second to last song of the girl's set so they were able to finish off the show, doing the current hit "I Can Love Anyone", with Carly carrying all of the guitar work.

I brought Hope to see the show and introduced her to the girls during the intermission. She was pretty impressed with the show and how nice the girls were.

After driving Hope home, through a wicked wind storm, I met back up with the girls and we attempted to go out and visit a few Country Bars. We headed to The Ranch but when we tried to go into the club we were turned away because Britt didn't have any photo ID with her. She just turned 18 earlier this month and isn't used to having ID on her. We had planned on going to Oil City and the Wild West as well but decided that we wouldn't risk getting turned away at those places like we had been at The Ranch. We did go to Cook County though as it was close by. Luckily we were on the guest list and were able to walk right in without much of a hassle. I knew the owner, Barry Sparrow, was at the club so it wouldn't have been a problem to get Britt in. We had a drink in the club and met some of the staff. They played the girls song in the club, the first time the girls had heard their music played in a club. Afterwords we met up with Barry and his family at Von's Steakhouse and enjoyed a late night snack in the restaurant.

I dropped the girls off at their hotel a little after midnight and as I was pulling away from the hotel "I Can Love Anyone" was playing on the radio. The perfect end to a great Friday night with One More Girl.


HIP-HIP-HOORAY FOR MALLY
- Saturday, January 31st
The first time I got my ear pierced was way back when I was working in radio in Penticton (as the Night Ranger doing overnights at CIGV in Penticton). One weekend I drove to visit my buddy, Neil Rachynski, in Castlegar where he was working at the radio station. We went out and got really drunk on the Friday night. On Saturday we were very hung over and couldn't even think about drinking the remaining beer in the fridge. We needed some inspiration. All of a sudden a light bulb went on over Neil's head and he said, "Hey! Let's get our ears pierced." We stopped at a record store in Castlegar before heasding to the beauty salon in Trail. We had to check the album graphics from some of our favourite artists to make sure we knew which was the right ear to be getting pierced. After getting our ears pierced we found the inspiration to finish off the remaining beer in Neil's fridge and head back out to the High Arrow, Castlegar's legendary night spot. You haven't partied until you've done it at the High Arrow.

Saturday morning we took Mally to Merle Norman in the St. Albert Centre to get her ears pierced. She had been talking about it for days leading up to her birthday. Of course, as soon as we arrived at the store she got nervous and decided that she didn't want to get it done. I had been toying with the idea of getting my ear pierced again so I told her that I would go through with it if she went ahead and got her ears done. Even that didn't convince her. We told the girl at Merle Norman that we would take a walk through the mall and see if changed her mind. While we were in Claire's looking at earrings it dawned on us that some of Mally's friends might be getting her earrings for her birthday. Once Mally realized that some of her friends might be doing just that she decided she better get her ears pierced. We headed back to Merle Norman. Mally made me go first and then she bravely stepped up and got hers done. She cried as soon as they pierced her ears but not from pain, it was simply a reaction to the whole big build up of nerves. I was proud of her for getting it done. I would have taken her to the High Arrow, if she was old enough...and we were in Castlegar, instead we would have to settle for a birthday party at the Grandin Theatre and dinner out at Montana's.

Mally hosted a bunch of her friends for a party at the Grandin Theatre in St. Albert in the afternoon. The kids enjoyed cake and some snacks in a party room at the theatre. After Mally opened her presents the kids went into the theatre to see "Hotel For Dogs". Lesley went with the kids while I went to the library and enjoyed some quiet time. I really couldn't bear the thought of having to watch "Hotel For Dogs". As it turned out, there were problems with the movie. The picture kept cutting out. When it was over everyone got a free movie pass to come back and see another movie. An extra bonus for the kids at the party.

After the kids party we took the family out for dinner at Montanas. Once again Mally had to be brave. She was afraid that the staff at Montanas would sing to her and make her wear a set of horns. While we were waiting to be seated we saw one of these rituals taking place. Mally didn't want to wear the horns and told the waitress that maybe her Dad could wear them instead. When it came time for dessert and the staff came to sing to Mally, she changed her mind and wore the horns after all. My little girl is growing up. Hip-Hip Hooray for Mally!


Hip-Hip-Hooray for Mally.


MONTH END STUFF

Three Stars of the Month:
1) Barack Obama - incredible innaugaration speech.
2) Chesley (Sully) Sullenberger - incredible landing on the Hudson.
3) Jordan Eberle - Amazing last second goal against the Russians.

Milestones of the Month:
Mally's 8th Birthday.
Motown Records 50th Anniversary.
Doug Gilmour's #93 honoured by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Glenn Anderson's #9 honoured by the Edmonton Oilers.

Best News this Month:
Barack Obama sworn in as President of the United States.

Weirdest News this Month:
Octuplets born in California - Mom has 6 other kids already!

Best Sporting Moment of the Month:
Team Canada wins 5th straight Gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

Best New Music of the Month:
Late of the Pier - Fantasy Black Channel
- Mix Supergrass with old David Bowie, toss in some Prince and Van Halen from the 80's. Synth heavy, danceable, fun, pop music. I wonder how these guys would be live. Hope I get to find out.

Best Concert of the Month:
Default at Jet.
- Nothing beats watching a hot sweaty rock show from side stage with a few good friends.

Best Reads of the Month:
Fiction: King Leary - by Paul Quarrington - One of the funniest novels I've ever read. I picked it up after hearing some high praise from another of my favourite Canadian writers, Dave Bidini.

Non-Fiction: It Still Moves - by Amanda Petrusich - Great book about the history, current status and future of Americana Music. The road stories that Amanda writes about had me wanting to hop in the car and hit the highway on a road trip of my own.

Best Screening of the Month:
Dark Knight - Can you believe this didn't get a best picture nomination?

Best Dining out this Month:
Ribs at Montanas in St. Albert for Mally's birthday.

Internet Buzz of the Month:
25 Random Things Survey on Facebook - Seems everyone I know filled out one of these.

25 Random Things

This was floating around Facebook...

I was tagged by Lisa, Karen and Erika...so I guess I have to do this now.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

Here goes...

1) I love the smell of napalm in the morning (ok...so I don't...I do, however, love the smell of coffee).

2) My life is a series of movie quotes and/or song lyrics (see #1 above).

3) I am allergic to msg.

4) I have really curvy thumbs.



5) I am not as competitive as I once was...except when it comes to Scrabble (right Belinda?)..and maybe Wii Sports (right Lesley?).

6) I am thinking about getting my ear pierced again. Mally is getting her ears pierced on Saturday for her 8th birthday. I might just go with her. The first time I got my ear pierced Neil and I did it together and had to check every rock album in the record store first to make sure we didn't get the "gay" ear pierced.

7) I don't have any tattoos...am I the only one on the planet that doesn't?

8) I want to visit the Seven Wonders of the World.

9) I met my wife, Lesley, (and Deborah) the night I was working with Bob Geldof in Toronto.

10) I can't swim. Doggpaddle yes. Swim no.

11) If one of my girls had been born a boy I would have named him Luke just so I could go around saying, "Luke, I am your father". (See #2 above).

12) I was a Bobby Orr fan before I was a Toronto Maple Leaf fan.

14) I am superstitious (note I jumped from 12 to 14).

15) The first 45 single I ever owned was the theme to the TV show "Batman" by Neal Hefti.

16) The first album I ever bought for myself was Trooper's "Hot Shots" (on cassette).

17) I wanted to be a lawyer until I hit Grade 11 and decided I wanted to be a Rock n Roll DJ like Johnny Fever on WKRP.

18) In my opinion Van Halen is only Van Halen when David Lee Roth is the vocalist...otherwise it is just Van Hagar or Van Crap (with Gary Cherone).

19) When I was in Kindergarden I wanted to be a Cowboy or an Astronaut when I grew up.

20) I once threw a dart and it stuck in my sister's arm (I had seen the knife throwing act at the circus with my kindergarden class and thought that might make a good career...changed my mind after that).

21) I went to the Liberal Leadership Convention in Ottawa when I was 16.

22) I read both of Barack Obama's books last Fall.

23) My first beer was with my cousins, Allan and Blair, behind the boathouse at my Grandfather's cottage during a family reunion. I think I was 12. We all had one sip and then poured the rest out.

24) I was known as the Night Ranger when I did the overnight shift at CIGV FM in Penticton.

25) I ate off a frisbee when I got my first apartment because I didn't have any dishes.

***Bonus random thought to make up for the one I skipped between 12 and 14...
I lost my two front teeth in Grade One when I was pretending to be a walrus and a girl, pretending to be a snow leopard, swatted the two sticks I was using as tusks and sent my teeth flying along with them.

Hearing Aid - Late January 2009

The Hearing Aid - Your guide to what's HOT at EMI in the Mid-West.

In Stores:
February 3rd:
Dierks Bentley "Feel That Fire"
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus "Lonely Road".
February 10th:
Lily Allen "It's Not Me, It's You".
Van Morrison "Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl".
February 17th:
Bobby Valentino "The Rebirth".


On Tour:
January 28 - One More Girl - Grande Prairie - Rock City.
January 30 - One More Girl - Edmonton - Myer Horowitz Theatre (U of Alberta).
February 17 - Dierks Bentley (with Brad Paisley) - Winnipeg - MTS Centre.
February 18 - Dierks Bentley (with Brad Paisley) - Regina - Brandt Centre.
February 19 - Dierks Bentley (with Brad Paisley) - Saskatoon - Credit Union Centre.
February 20 - Dierks Bentley (with Brad Paisley) - Edmonton - Rexall Place.
February 21 - Dierks Bentley (with Brad Paisley) - Calgary - Pengrowth Saddledome.
March 9 - Underoath - Calgary - MacEwan Hall.
March 10 - Underoath - Edmonton - Edmonton Event Centre.
March 11 - Underoath - Saskatoon - Odeaon.
March 12 - Underoath - Winnipeg - Garrick Centre.
March 20 - Plants & Animals - Edmonton - Starlite Room.
March 21 - Plants & Animals - Calgary - Marquee Room.
March 22 - Serena Ryder - Winnipeg - Garrick Centre.
March 25 - Serena Ryder - Edmonton - Myer Horwowitz Theatre (U of Alberta).
March 26 - Serena Ryder - Calgary - Knox United Church.
March 26 - Saving Abel - Edmonton - Starlite Room.
March 27 - Saving Abel - Regina - The Drink.
March 28 - Saving Abel - Lloydminster - The Kooler.
March 29 - Saving Abel - Grande Prairie - Better Than Freds.
April 1 - Nickelback (with Saving Abel) - Edmonton - Rexall Place.
April 2 - Nickelback (with Saving Abel) - Calgary - Pengrowth Saddledome.
April 4 - Nickelback (with Saving Abel) - Saskatoon - Credit Union Centre.
April 5 - Nickelback (with Saving Abel) - Winnipeg - MTS Centre.
April 7 - Gaslight Anthem - Calgary - The Warehouse.
April 8 - Gaslight Anthem - Edmonton - Starlite Room.
April 8 - The Haunted - Calgary - The Warehouse.
April 9 - The Haunted - Edmonton - Starlite Room.

Moments That Matter - Mid January 2009

Pop Culture:
Music: Empire of the Sun "Walking On A Dream" / The Set "Neveroddoreven" / The Trash Can Sinatras "Cake" / The Honeydrippers "Volume One" / David Lee Roth "The Best" / Victoria Banks "When You Can Fly" (advance).
Books: "King Leary" by Paul Quarrington.

Milestones: Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.

Hello:
Chesley (Sully) Sullenberger and Jeff Skiles (just plane heros).

Goodbye:
Mathieu Garon (traded by the Oilers to Pittsburgh).

Good, Bad and Ugly:
Good: Obama sworn in as first African American President of the United States.
Bad: The return of the deep freeze to the prairies.
Ugly: Edmonton's first two homicides of 2009 coming within hours of each other on Wednesday.


Highlights of the past week:

- Friday, January 16th.
Viva River Cree! The River Cree Resort and Casino felt a bit like Las Vegas on Friday night. The new venue at the Casino, "Live", had it's grand opening complete with some Edmonton royalty, the who's who of the media world and a kick ass Bon Jovi cover band. "Dead or Alive" performed while we mingled and enjoyed some free food and drinks all the while in the presence of Edmonton Oiler greats Glenn Anderson, Dave Semenko and Bill Ranford. It was a great launch for the new venue and Susan Hughes and the staff at River Cree deserve huge props for putting on one heck of a party.

- Sunday, January 18th.
One More Girl opened for Jaydee Bixby at the Memorial Centre in Red Deer. I drove down for the show, actually seeing a deer as I entered Red Deer, and made it to the venue just a few minutes before show time. It was Britt McKillip's 18th birthday, making her of legal drinking age in Alberta, so I brought her a gift of a single Budweiser Beer, which I presented to her before the show. I got a quick visit in with Tim Day from CKGY, who was the MC for the show, along with Denis Dufresne, who was playing with the girls, and Ron Chamberlain, who was the Live Nation Rep for the show, before heading out to the front of house to see the show. I was pleasantly surprised to see Gord Bamford and Mark and Marla Branconnier (who was also celebrating a birthday) in the crowd for the show and ended up sitting with them for the girls performance.
The girls put on a great set that featured a lot of material from their forthcoming CD as well as one new song the girls have written themselves and a cover of a Lisa Brokop tune. The crowd responded really well to the current single, "I Can Love Anyone".
After the set, Britt and Carly signed autographs and posed for some pictures with some newly made fans. I stayed until the intermission was over and then hopped back in the car for the return trip to St. Albert, getting home around 11 P.M.


Happy 18th Birthday to Britt McKillip.


- Monday, January 19th.
Kreesha Turner was in town to make an appearance on YTV/CMT's new show "Karaoke Star Jr.". I met up with Kreesha at her old school, Victoria Comp, in the late morning. Kreesha, along with Tara Oram and Danny Fernandes were the celebrity judges for the TV taping.
Prior to the performances, Kreesha was interviewed for a bit of a profile on the show, since she had attended the school back in her junior high days. Kids in the hallway recognized Kreesha as we wandered the halls. You could tell they were excited to see her back in the school. Some of Kreesha's old teachers were also very excited to have her in attendance for the TV taping.
When it came time for the performances, the gym at the school was packed full of kids. The young girls in the audience all screamed whenever hosts Paul McGuire or Phil Guerrero mentioned Kreesha or Danny Fernandes.
After the performances most of the kids in attendance swarmed the judges table begging for autographs and photos with the celebs. Poor Kreesha had to sign hundreds of autographs. She signed iPods, sneakers, ripped sheets of paper, arms, clothing and even one kid's forehead.
Later, after safely escaping the school, Kreesha and I made our way over to Sir Winston Churchill Square where Kevin Sweet from the French CBC TV channel interviewed Kreesha.


Karaoke Star Jr. Judges - Tara Oram, Danny Fernandes and Kreesha Turner.


- Tuesday, January 20th.
I was up at the crack of stupid and on the way to Calgary by 5:30 in the morning. It was day one of a two day road trip with One More Girl.
I met the girls at a Tim Horton's near their Grandmother's house in Calgary. Britt, Carly and Lynda piled into my car and we headed off to Drumheller. On the way we listened to Barack Obama's Inaugaration speech on the radio. It was very inspiring.
We arrived in Drumheller around 11 A.M. The girls taped an interview with Q91 Morning Host Travis Kaye and performed a couple of acoustic tunes. I could be mistaken, but I think the girls performance may have moved the station's front office person, Donna Kittridge, to tears. Afterwards we went to lunch with Travis and Program Director Rick Walters. Before leaving town I took the girls on a little sight seeing tour of the Hoodoos in East Coulee and the giant dinosaur in downtown Drum.
We made our way out of "the Ditch" around 2 P.M. and arrived in our next destination, CKFM in Olds, at 3 P.M. In Olds, Cory Noel, interviewed the girls live on the air and had them play a song.
We made it back to Calgary in the middle of rush hour. I dropped the girls off and then headed to my home away from home, the Hotel Arts in downtown Calgary.


Hairdoos and Hoodoos. One More Girl visit the Hoodoos outside of Drumheller.


- Wednesday, January 21st.
Day two of my road trip with One More Girl.
I met the girls at the same Tim Horton's at 8 A.M. and we headed East on the Trans Canada Highway. We stopped into Brooks for a live interview and acoustic performance at Q13 with my good pal Bruce Barker. On the way out of town Bruce sent me an email from a listener that had been blown away with how good the girls sounded on the air.
I stopped before leaving Brooks so that I could get my picture taken at the Harwood Ford dealership on the outskirts of town. One day I will have to buy a car from there so I can drive around with my last name plastered all over the car.
Our next stop was in Redcliff / Medicine Hat. The girls were interviewed for CHAT TV by Rosalyn Church and then went live on the air at CHAT radio with John Cartwright. After the interview and acoustic performance of a couple of tunes we went for lunch with CHAT staff members Jay Hitchen, Mike Doll and Kristina Twork.
Our last stop for the day was Lethbridge. We made it to Country 95.5 shortly after 4:30 P.M. We were met at the station by Program Director Reid Morgan and then the girls went live to air with Buzz McEgan just before the 5 P.M. news.
We headed straight back to Calgary afterwards and got back to South Calgary by 7:30. It was a long but very productive day. Over the course of two days I had put 1500 kms on the car. I was beat and went to the hotel, ordered a pizza and then crashed early.


I own this place...okay...so maybe I don't.


- Thursday, January 22nd.
I woke up and went to take my gear to the car before checking out of the hotel. I was surprised to find that my car had been towed (see my previous blog). After dropping $124 and spending an hour at the City of Calgary Impound Lot I managed to retrieve my car and get to a meeting with Jim Cressman and Paul Biro at the Palliser Hotel.
I headed back home around 12:30, expecting to be back in St. Albert by 3:30. My trip would end up taking much longer than the usual 3 hours. There was a major accident, involving 3 tractor trailers, just north of Airdrie and I wound up sitting in the same spot for an hour and a half while the debris was cleaned off the highway. I didn't get home until after 5 P.M.
Thursday evening I ventured out to the Urban Lounge to see Honey and the Money perform. I got to the club just as Matt and Leila hit the stage. I stayed and chatted with the duo after the show and also got a good visit in with Steve Derpack and Del Kronstedt.


Stuck in traffic on Highway 2.


Honey and the Money at the Urban Lounge.

Moments That Matter - Early January 2009

- "Life's What You Make It" becomes "Moments That Matter" for 2009.

- Tip of the hat to Aaron Lines who's single "Moments That Matter" was the inspiration for this year's blog title.

- We rang in 2009 at the Minchau's house in St. Albert along with Warren and Lori, Dave and Carol, Tony and Nicole, Renee and Charles. The kids played while the adults watched Team Canada beat the Americans in an incredible hockey game at the World Junior Tournament. Later on we got into a game of Taboo and then, after the champagne was uncorked, broke into some Wii Tennis and Bowling. It was a quiet start to the new year but we were surrounded by great friends, all of us hoping that 2009 would be a much kinder year than 2008 was for us.

- On Saturday, January 3rd, I took Lesley, Dave and Carol, Warren and Lori, Greg and Teresa and Joe and Connie out to dinner. No, I didn't win the lottery. I used the gift certificate for the Canadian Brewhouse that I had won last fall in the Slacker's Golf Tournament. The certificate was good for a steak dinner for me and nine friends. It was one of the best prizes I've ever won at a golf tournament.
We enjoyed our steaks while watching Team Canada come from behind to win one of the most exciting hockey games I've ever seen. Canada tied the game with a dramatic last minute goal (5 seconds left in the game) and then won in a shootout. The win pushed Canada into the Gold Medal game with a chance to win their 5th straight championship.
Later in the evening, Dave, Joe, Warren and I went to Jet Nightclub to catch Default. We arrived just a few minutes before the band was due on stage. We managed to get in a quick visit with the band as well as a few good industry buddies and then watched the show from the side of the stage. The guys put on a typical great set that featured a few songs from a new CD that is still waiting to be released. Issues with their label have prevented the release from happening for over a year now but they hope to have a new label deal soon and get the disc out in the not too distant future.
On the way home we stopped on Whyte Avenue for some late night falafels. It seemed like a good idea at the time but on the drive home Warren and I both had to deal with falafel sauce dripping all over our clothing and the car seats. We had to pull into a parking lot to clean up the mess and ditch the rest of our late nate snack.

- Monday, January 5th it was back to work for me. Later that evening I watched Team Canada complete their "Drive For Five", winning the gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championsips in Ottawa with a 5-1 victory over Sweden. The World Junior Tournament is always some of the best hockey you will see all year. Even the NHL seems slow after watching the kids play.

Snapshot of the last two weeks...

Pop Culture: What I'm listening to, reading and watching:
- Music: Plants & Animals "Parc Avenue" / Late of The Pier "Fantasy Black Channel" / One More Girl (advance) / Various Artists "Motown 40" / Alana Levandoski (advance).
- Books: "It Still Moves" by Amanda Petrusich / "King Leary" by Paul Quarrington.
- DVD's: The Dark Knight / Mystic River.

Hot Songs:
What's Hot With EMI right now:
- Country: "California Plates" by Deric Ruttan / "I Can Love Anyone" by One More Girl / "Marry For Money" by Trace Adkins.
- Pop: "Thinking of You" by Katy Perry / "18 Days" by Saving Abel.

Good, Bad & Ugly:
- Good: Team Canada wins the World Junior Hockey Championship (YAY!).
- Bad: Pirates off the Coast of Africa (Arrrrrrr!).
- Ugly: Hamas and Israel ("War...what is it good for...absolutely nothing!").

Milestones:
- Motown Records celebrated it's 50th Anniversary on Monday, January 12th. 50 years ago Berry Gordy Jr. secured an $800 loan from his family and launched a label. (Try doing that today).

Hello:
- Jordan Eberle (Oilers draft pick became a household name during World Junior Tournament).

Goodbye:
- Dawn Dwyer (departed EMI after filling in for Charlotte Thompson's Maternity Leave).
- Ricardo Montalban (Mr. Roarke returns to Fantasy Island).
- Gil Grissom (CSI won't be the same - although I am hoping for more screen time for Marg Helgenberger)
- Ron Asheton (guitarist for The Stooges).
- Doc Seaman (one of the Founding Fathers of the Calgary Flames).
- Jett Travolta.

Welcome Back:
- Big Sugar (although I missed the show on NYE at the Shaw Conference Centre I hope you guys make a comeback).
- Steve Sullivan (Nashville Predators Forward is finally back after 2 years dealing with spinal injury).
- Charlotte Thompson (back at EMI after maternity leave).

Get Well Soon:
- Steve Jobs (an apple a day might help keep the doctors away).
- Patrick Swayze (fight like The Beast - or at least like James Dalton in Roadhouse).

Rotten eggs:
- Mats Sundin (not a rental player...yeah right).

In the Weeks Ahead:
- Mally turns 8 (January 31).
- Federal Budget (January 21)
- Barack Obama gets sworn in (January 20).
- One More Girl tours Alberta with Jaydee Bixby (dates start this weekend).
- Honey and the Money tour dates in Calgary and Edmonton.