I Have Seen The Light...But In A Completely "God May or May Not Exist" Sort of Way...

Ummm...yea....I just saw one of the best bands I think to ever come through the Sault. They blew me and everyone else in attendance at Loplops away. They are the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir.

Not only do they have a really cool name, their sound is...well...I picture it this way; Muddy Waters, Tom Waits and Hank III went on a week long bender and at the end of said bender they puked up the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir.

...yea, that works...

I bought a disc and plan on playing for anyone who will listen. I plan on playing it so much, it'll have to be replaced next week. I plan on driving everyone I know crazy with it until they love the music as much as I do. I plan on figuring out how to post a song on this here blog to spread the word and share the music...it must be done.

...stupid audioblog...

So...

I tried the Audioblog thing and it doesn't seem to like me much. I recorded it two days ago as a test and it failed....not only does it not play, but it took two freakin' days to even show up as a post. I will investigate further and try again...maybe. It's a long distance # you have to dial in order to do it so maybe that is where the problem lies.

I just thought it would be cool for me to post audioblogs on location when seeing a cool band and stuff.

....hmmmm....that's a noodle scratcher indeed....

Clerks and Goth and Puppies and the Simple Things That Make One Giggle

Kevin Smith does it again. Clerks II will not disappoint any fan of he original. It is brilliant. So mush so, that I am going for a second look this evening. There are two aspects of this movie that, for me, make it worth multiple viewings; 1. The actor that plays Elias is fanfreakintastic...hope to see him in many more flicks, and 2. the Jason Mewes homage to "Silence of the Lambs"...and not the one that has appeared in trailers...the OTHER one...those of you who have seen the movie know what I am talking about, but I will not spoil it for those of you who have not. Trust me...it's funny...

I give it two "even cowgirls get the blues" sized thumbs up....




So after taking a look at the above album cover, you may think the band is some sort of crazy metal goth thing....right? Wrong. Although this is one of the worst album covers I have ever owned (if the band ever reads this, I am sorry, but it truly is the cheeziest album cover I have ever seen...love the music though), the band completely kicks ass. They are Bluessmyth and they played last Friday night at Loplops Lounge. They are not Goth nor are they Metal...they are a blues trio from Calgary with a lead singer/guitar player who is model hot...I mean REALLY hot. They are a cross between the Allman Brothers and Hendrix and I really liked them and he was hot...did I mention the singer was hot? Check 'em out. I bought both CD's 'cause they were hot...I mean really good...

....and hot....



Since Craig has not posted any pics of his new family members, I will. World, meet Nietzsche and Bear (AKA Malcom as I had originally named him), puppies meet world. I never thought I would describe something of Mr. West's as cute but for the love of God these little guys are down right adorable!...



...almost as cute as my little guy, Milhouse...but a lot less crazy. Ah, the life with a Jack Russell Terrier. Never boring and he eliminates the need for a doorbell.

And now for things that made me giggle recently...

I went to the grocery store yesterday to buy my favourite bread, only available at Rome's, and the muzak was priceless. As I entered the store, the lovely melody of "Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head" greeted me....and I laughed....and got side ways looks from those around me. Whatever, that shit is funny in my world. One of the corniest songs ever recorded made cornier....I love it! And not for the "Butch Cassidy" connection, but for the "Clerks II homage to Butch Cassidy" connection...

....see how it has come full circle?...I like circles...

...and then my memory card caught fire...

Ok, so it didn't really catch fire, but I did shoot about 800 photos over the last week. There was a lot of stuff and things happeneing 'bout town. Here are a few highlights...


...this is myself with Shauna and John...I met John at the Downbeat lounge...he is from the UK and is spending 5 weeks touring Canada...I gave him a 4 hour tour of the area; Kinsmen Park, Mockingbird Farm, Gros Cap, cottage country, the shitty and the ritzy neighbourhoods, the canal...it were fun, eh...



"I'm a chicken hawk and yer a chicken. Now are ya gonna come quietly or do I hafta muss ya up?!"...God I love Foghorn Leghorn...



"Sure, Lisa....one magical animal..." God I love the Simpsons....



...cheezy shot, I know, but I thought it was cool none the less...

Second Satge, of course, ate up a huge chunk of my time this weekend. I did not mind, however, as it was a stellar opportunity to shoot local talent. I loved every second of it and am extremely pleased with the outcome. Rather than write about the event, I'll show you how damn cool it was....











...there are far too many pics to post here...for more shots of Second Stage, please visit my photo blog...thank you...

I also got to meet some fellow bloggers I had been reading for quite some time...


...I wonder who this could be?...Canadian Mark?...the Pirate?...or Hohmann maybe?...this man has many names, but I just call him the Boardwalk Piper...nice to finally meet you, Mark...I tried to sneak up on him to snap some shots, but he spotted me through his third eye which is apparently in the back of his head...also met Les Becker but the heat stroke affected me so much that I forgot to snap a shot of her...BAD BLOGGER!!...

...and I met some blogger pets...


...Domino...which is longer?...his tongue or his ears?...how was the dog drool bath, Rob?...


...and Fozzy...ready to go home, I guess...

And finally something I never thought I would see in the Sault...well at least not until Buskerfest anyway...


...yes, my friends...that is a break dancer at the Downbeat Lounge...it was very cool...again, visit my photo blog for more pics of this young fella doin' his thang...what are you waiting for?

Don't Make Me Get the Lemmings Out....

...if you do not attend, I will be forced to drop rabid lemmings down your pants...don't make me do it, 'cuz I will...

"Celebrate the birth of your Nation by blowing a small part of it up"

Happy Canada day!! John Doucette has the right idea...and possibly the biggest Canada flag in town. Good job Mr. Doucette.

I had a weekend chock full 'o fun and hi-jinx with only one small injury sustained when Dustin Jones beaned me in the foot with a drumstick...it hurt like a bastard and I have an impressive bruise to prove it. I think I shot about 500 pictures in all and I am now VERY busy going through and editing them.

After about a year of begging, I finally got my picture taken laying on the hood of Bella...Robbie Adamson's totally sweet '61 Chevy Belair...this made me very happy although I am slightly concerned I may have dented her hood a bit...



Tonight is Jon Rae and the River at the downbeat Lounge. Rob and I will be in attendance with bells on to round out our crazy musical Canada Day weekend. I suggest everyone else do the same...

Elliott Brood is a 'They', not a 'Him'...

So there I am watching game 5 of the Edmonton/Carolina Stanley Cup finals and the game is tied at 3 a piece...it's going into overtime. I am suddenly torn...stay to see an amazing short handed goal by Edmonton (the team I am cheering for, obviously) in overtime on Carolina ice, or go to the Downbeat to see Elliott Brood. I decide it is more important to not miss one note of Elliott Brood. I grab my camera and head out the door despite the sighs and rolling eyes of disgust from my fellow hockey fans.

At the bar, the first thing the band (who have not yet hit the stage) asked me was the score of the game. I guess they would have understood had I missed their first song or two in the name of overtime. The call came in to me not moments later that Edmonton had won. I relayed the good news loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear and we all cheered. It set the perfect tone to enjoy an evening with one of the best Canadian indie bands around.

Elliott Brood is a 'they', not a 'him'....there is a Casey Laforet, a Mark Sasso and a Stephen Pitkin but no Elliott Brood. As Mark explained in a 2005 interview with EYE, the name comes from the movie The Natural..."Well, sort of. There's a dark character I thought was named Harriet Brood. I imagined that if she had a brother, his name would be Elliott Brood, and that it was a good name for a band. Except her name was actually Harriet Bird."

The bands 2005 first full length release Ambassador was nominated for the Roots and Traditional Album of the Year award at the 2006 Junos, losing to Corb Lund's Hair In My Eyes Like A Highland Steer. ( It is interesting to note that Corb Lund's tall, handsome mug has also graced the tiny stage at the Downbeat Lounge...and Corb Lund is a 'him', not a 'they'...)

Elliott Brood's music can be described as alt-country acoustic folk-rock. They call it death country, which is fitting since Ambassador was recorded in an old slaughter house, now Monumental Sound near Kelle and St. Claire in Toronto. I just call their music great.

The bands Wednesday June 14th show was their second highly anticipated appearance at the Downbeat Lounge. There was a banjo-playing man in black, a drummer who used a suitcase as a kick drum and a guitar player who also played bass with his foot as he danced better sitting down than most people do standing up. After the show, I described them to a friend as the new Neil Young...breaking ground and expanding the spectrum of Canadian roots music.

Their intense gritty songs energized the packed house, creating one of my most memorable band experiences. Although disappointed I missed Edmonton's spectacular win, I am elated I was fortunate enough to have experienced this truly inspired Canadian band for a second time. Had you been there, you would understand.


...casey laforet...



...stephen pitkin...



...mark sasso...

The First Time

I have been photographing so many live bands the past few weeks, I hate to say that I'm starting to get them all mixed up. I do know one thing...they all kicked ass and can't wait for them to come through the Sault again.

However, one band in particular sticks out in my mind because they granted me an amazing honour...they asked me to do photo shoot for them....my first real official band photo shoot!

From Chimpan-A to Chimpan-Z played the Downbeat Lounge to a small but appreciative crowd Sunday June 4, 2006. I loved their stuff and found them a blast to photograph live. After the show, we got to chatting. They were in no hurry to take off in the morning and decided to stay in the Sault to hang for the day. They asked me to do a shoot. I said yes and got nervous...never done this before...what will they expect of me?...where should I take them?...what if the pictures suck?

I decided to take them to the train yard. I told them it would be cool...there's never any activity there during the day and we could climb trains and sneak around...it would be fun. Stupid Murphy and his pain in the ass law foiled that plan. As we drove into the yard, we could hardly see the trains from the dust being kicked up by all the activity and stuff and things going on. Crap.

Plan B...the waterfront...corny, I know, but there are some interesting spots there so off we went. It was insanely sunny and hot that day so lighting proved to be a bit of an issue, but I managed to work with it. Here are a few of my favourite shots......











The day was a hoot but we finally had to stop because we were all sweating our balls off and my battery was dead...poor planning on my part. Afterwards we headed off to Lone Star for a nibble then to Casa Case for an enjoyable evening of VEX drinkin', poker playin' and hockey watchin'...good times, good times. Jay and Carrie let the band crash there for the night and I thank the two of you on behalf of the band once again for your hospitality.

I welcome all comments and suggestions regarding the pictures. Please let me know what you think.

BONUS QUESTION: Anyone who can tell me where their name comes from gets a free butt grab from yours truly. Jay, Carrie, Dan, Trevor, Amanda, Krista and Rob...you guys are excluded from the contest because I know you already know...I'll probably end up grabbing all your butts at some point anyway...

YEEE-FREAKIN'-HAW!!!

Lets Go Oilers, Lets Go!!!!

I Got Licked by the 'Bell

They came, they drank, they played...boy did they play...and I of course was there right in the thick of it, camera in hand...and there was more cowbell than Mr. Walkin would know what to do with...

White Cowbell Oklahoma tore Foggy Notions a new one lastnight. It looked a bit grim when we arrived at the bar...just us and the band sitting around watching Edmonton clean the Ducks clock. I was concerned that it would be yet another disappointing turn out....it was Sunday night after all...and this is the Sault...

By midnight, the bar was pretty full and the Sheriff emerged from the fog to taunt us, riffle aimed skyward and bull whip at his side. The music started and I did not stop shooting....173 pics later and here I am to share a few with you....


...the sheriff and his bell...


...keeping all the stage names straight proved too difficult for me in my drunken state, but i think there's a bubba and a cousin with no name in this photo somewhere...


...grinder meets bell with spectacular results...


...hollis is fun...


...clem liked carrie's underware...'nuff said...


...chainsaw charlie/the sheriff and clem thought i was tasty...

The show was way too fun although I expressed my disappointment at the lack of chainsaw and cock rag action to the band. They offered to give me a private cock rag demonstration if I accompanied them back to their hotel, to which I replied, "I'm pretty sure my husband may have an issue or two with that." So, alas, no cock rags for me...

Me 'n Mike

So...here it is ...fianlly...the picture of Mike Ness and Myself after the Toronto show, October 2006...




...right after the picture was shot, I turned to Mr. Ness and asked, "You made the tough guy face, didn't you?" to which he replied, "Of course." Good God, he is one coooool mother fucker...I love him...and Rob's cool with that....really...in fact, I'm pretty sure Rob has a man-crush on Mr. Ness...

...and here is me and Danny McGough...as he signed my set list on the windshield of a smart car...




...he's the keyboard player and back up singer (of many) for Soacial Distortion...I met the rest of the band as well, but no one was around to take a snap shot...bummer...

...there's always next time..and there WILL be a next time...trust me...

Does This Blog Make Me Look Fat?

Following my usual late evening routine, I fell asleep the other night on my couch in front of the TV. Stirring a couple of hours later, I was rudely and abruptly forced into reality by an obnoxious infomercial about the latest weight loss/exercise DVD...a new fad much like the forgotten Plates, Tai Bo and Jazzersise.

Much too tired to actually get up and go to bed, I watched through the fog as people professed the miracle that is "Turbo Jam". Apparently you can burn up to 1000 calories an hour with this program "and lose up to 10 lbs and 10 inches a week in as little as 20 minutes a day!" Wow. "For only 3 equal payments of $19.95, you can have the body you've always wanted." Sure.

I watched a while longer, the before and after pictures of the program's success stories...the horrible, obese, disgusting before pictures and the beautiful, trim and fit after pictures. Jenny lost 65lbs and 10 inches from her waste. She went from a size 12 to a size 3.

Say that again? That horrid looking woman in the before picture was a size 12? BULLSHIT. I'm a size 12!

Now I was fully awake and fully pissed off. Size 12 is not fat, nor is being a size 12 cause for concern. Marilyn Monroe peaked at a size 16 in the 1950's. Due to changes in sizing standards over the years, that would be about a size 12 today...keep in mind, she was only 5' 5" tall...

Anyone trying to tell me being a size 12 warrants a strict (and expensive) exercise program to shed unwanted pounds can suck my ass.

'Nuff said.

GO NOW!!!

Those of who know me know I have a new found passion for bombing, graffiti, tags, spray paint and everything related to it. You need to check out "Flinging Pooh" AKA Rob Slack's blog. Go there now and check out the links. Do it NOW!!! This guy is my new hero. The time, effort, planning and risk that must have gone into what this guy pulled off is wild....

WTF?!

I came across this site as I was looking around the Social Distortion fan site (someone posted it in protest), and it made me so angry I was rendered totally and utterly speechless...

I may be able to actually write something about it when I calm down a bit, but until then I'm just gonna sit here and fume and curse and ask "What the fuck is wrong with people?!" and fear for the fate of our race.

Hi...Remember me?...

OK...I have emerged from my Mac induced stupor to finally update...sorry for my lack of stuff and things.

Actually, I can't blame it solely on the new computer. There is also the new camera, a sick pooch, the fact that I have been on holidays and have left my car at the Downbeat more nights than I would care to admit, trying to somewhat organize my house and Buskerfest stuff. In fact, I think I have been busier on holidays than I would be had I been working...odd...

...oh yea...and I am slowly morphing into a geek. Yep, I now have a MySpace. So that makes 3 blogs, a MySpace and a Flickr photo account, all of which require regular updates and maintenance...oh boy. What have I done...

The purpose of this post was to assure everyone that I am indeed still alive. Once I have shaken all the flickr, photoshop and fonts out of my cranium and returned to reality, I will make a real post. Until then, I present this for your listening pleasure...thank you Lord Pugh.

Slackhopper Vortex

This is my brain on iMAC...my new iMAC...mine all mine...sweet mother of God it'scool! And the speakers I got sound better than the ones we have hooked up to our home stereo. I may not been seen in public for a while as I am still on a serious learning dead man's curve...but I will emerge shortly all pasty, dehydrated and bug-eyed an avid MAC user...fear not!!...now back to the fun...

A Brain Dropping

So why the hell didn't "Sin City" win any Oscars this year? Oh yea...you have to be nominated to win...

...fucking Acadamy Awards...

Local Film Threats

Local Sault boy, Kevin Perry is one step away from the final round of the National Film Board's current short film competition, Make Shorts, Not War. I think that's pretty damn cool. Each week, NFB members can view the shorts and rate each one. At the end of the week, the two lowest rated films are eliminated. There are currently four remaining shorts and Perry's is among them. What makes his film even cooler is the sound track is provided by the Inner City Surfers...a rather intersting and locally significant detail omitted from the SooNews.ca coverage. Good luck, Kevin...you've got my vote.

In other film news, tall dude with camera and good buddy to all Dan Nystedt has recently returned from a 3 week stint in Toronto with the first 20 minutes of his documentary film,"The Middle". Over the past 2 or so years, Dan has been interviewing, filming and drinking with Canadian touring bands who have graced the stage at the Downbeat Lounge.

He gave a few lucky viewers a sneak preview of his film Thursday night, where else, at the Downbeat Lounge. So far, so good...the film looks fantastic and I can't wait to see the final full product. I'm very proud of you, Dan and keep up the good work putting the Sault on the map. Say "hi" to Bruce MacDonald for me...

Rebel Rebel

I did it...I dove in head first and bought a Canon Rebel XT Sunday, March 12, 2006 at 1:38pm. It's my new baby. I even brought it to work with me Monday 'cuz I couldn't stand to be appart from her. Now I just have to learn how to use it. The accompanying software is not compatable with my old operating system, however, which bummed me out. But then I spent even more $$$ on a SanDisk card reader/writer and just like that, problem solved. I am so smart...S-M-R-T...