2007: Year of the Empty Bank Account

Before I get into too many details, I'd like to wish my readers a belated Merry Humbug and a Happy Hangover Day. I hope your last week has been filled with joy, fellowship, and lots of 'walking through the winter, drink in hand'.

The pillaging of the tree this year wasn't quite the cache as it has been in years past, though all I really asked for was clothes. I did however, brave the lineup at Visions on Boxing Day, and walked out with a 40" Samsung LCD high-definition television. I'll be feeling the pinch of that purchase when my January credit card bill arrives.

It has somewhat been a bit of a yearly tradition here at mcfro.blogspot.com that I take a few minutes on the first day of the new year to reflect what I accomplished this year, and what I would expect in the next 52 weeks to come.

Sifting through this year's posts, I have come to the early conclusion that I really didn't accomplish anything, given the astounding few number of posts there have been. I mean, there were at least three months were I didn't blog at all. Like I have said on here ad nauseum, I have been busy -- I've been lazy too, lethargic, exhausted, and unmotivated. It's all derived from worker burnout, and is a big reason why my New Year's resolution is to find a healthier work/life balance. Money can buy lots of things; but it can't buy sleep.

2007 got off to a very expensive start, as I quickly dropped four digits into a newer, faster, and larger iMac, which has, more or less, become a machine I use for audio production. Since the successful resurrection of my derelict iBook, I spend most of my web-surfing time on it instead of the desktop machine. Sure it's not the fastest, but it's good enough for most mundane tasks, and even runs a number of video games quite nicely. The laptop also keeps me out of the windowless basement, which ensures that I see more sunlight -- indispensable for someone like me who goes through mood wings and bouts of depression.

2007 continued with a string of large purchases, as in April I added a third drumset to my arsenal. Price is relative: though I got a great deal on the kit, I still paid a pretty penny for it. I have subsequently spent small sums over the course of the year for replacement parts and upgrades. The Canwoods have also seen a number of gigs already, so they are paying for themselves -- if they haven't already.

An expensive set of concert tickets allowed me to see the Police in concert in Edmonton. After paying for fuel, meals, accommodations, and toys, the trip escalated well into four digits, but it was worth every penny to see Stewart, Sting, And Summers together for the first time in nearly 25 years.

June also saw the most successful blog post on this site, ever. Skeet from medhatblog.com kindly linked to me from the website. Though it didn't elicit comments as I had hoped, it did generate scores of traffic -- over tenfold what I was accustomed to. It even increased my readership -- albeit temporarily. Had I continued blogging regularly, I may have managed to keep those readers, but they have since gone.

I guess this was where I really got lazy. Now that I was generating a great deal more traffic than I had been, I also felt increasing pressure to be delivering work of exceptional quality in order to maintain that readership. That was, to say the least a little daunting. In one hand, the site was beginning to become what I had wanted it to become (popular!). On the other hand, I didn't have the energy to invest the time and effort required to make this site what it was becoming. So I sat on my haunches and meditated on what I wanted to do with this site. The next thing I knew, nearly four months had passed, with nary a post on this site, and all my readers found other weblogs to be entertained by. Thus, the answer became clear -- I'll just write about my insignificant little life whenever I am inspired, and if readership increases, great. If they do not, that's still great too.

The first entry since my 'hiatus', was a review of Matthew Good's performance at Medicine Hat College this November. The posting also generated a fair amount of interest from readers across Canada, including a few views from Mr. Good himself. He didn't drop a note, but he left a trail of bread crumbs that said he had been here.

Musically, 2007 has been a year of transition and flux. The Savoys took an extra long vacation this year, and by the time the band got back together to prepare for this year, it became clear that the band would be falling apart. We have best intentions to continue in 2008, and we are currently auditioning a replacement for BG, which we should know in a week if he is the right guy -- or not.

Tung 'N' Groove also got out of our heads and onto the stage. It took a great deal of rehearsing, and a large number of hefty equipment purchases, but we are now gigging regularly, and continue to build a dedicated following. We have secured a number of dates for 2008, which will be posted on the band's website when I have both time and motivation.

I hope everyone's 2008 is a prosperous one. See you (hopefully) soon.

In the Doghouse

So yesterday, out of the blue, SK drops me a line. Our conversation kinda went something like this:

SK: Hey MC, it's SK. What'cha doing this Saturday?

MC: No plans.

SK: Wanna gig?

MC: Sure. When, where and how much?

So tonight, I will be playing at some club in town called The Dog House, or The Dog Pound, or Who Let The Dogs Out.

Oh, to Hell with it. It used to be called Waldo's Pub.

SK, RH and I will be playing from 8:00 until 9:30 as the opening act.

See you there.

Bring your friends.

Tung N' Groove Site Officially Open

The Tung N' Groove Website has been declared officially open. I had to move up my schedule, as it was brought to my attention today that Tung N' groove's debut has been moved up to May 18, 2007 at the Redcliff Hylton.

We have a lot of preparations to complete before we are ready to hit the stage that May evening, bit it's going to be worth it. It will be well worth the wait.

Tung N' Groove Makes Another Step Forward

Our showcases at local clubs have paid off. The Blue Turtle and the Royal Hotel -- with only one showcase at each club, have booked Tung N' Groove into their clubs this summer and fall. We are very excited to be an official local act, and we are looking forward to entertaining crowds young and old.

The next task at hand is to learn another 30 songs before August -- perhaps sooner, if we can pick up some more gig dates in the summer at other bars and pubs around town. We will be examining the feasibility of playing the Redcliff Hylton, the Mainliner Pub, and the Silver Buckle. this year.

Acquiring a PA system for the band will also occupy our summer.

This is near-perfect timing, as the Savoy Blues Band is just wrapping up a few dates in the next few weeks, before going on our annual summer hiatus. MA and I are going to be gigging lots in the coming months.

Amidst all this excitement, I have one other nagging project. To create a website to promote Tung N' Groove. Looks like I will have to manage yet another webpage.

We Grooved

48 hours have since passed since Tung N' Groove played their "second" gig at the Royal Hotel Saturday Jam on St. Patrick's Day. This was the perfect time to "redeem" ourselves from the disastrous first performance at the Blue Turtle a few weeks back.

Since then, we have been hard at work, learning a whole pile of new songs, tightening up old ones, and working on the ever-so-important vocal harmonies that seldom makes (but often breaks) a band.

As I have mentioned earlier, we have been going to local jams periodically to "test-drive" the material we have been practicing. The reasons for this are plenty: Of most importance, is this allows us to present the material in a live environment, and we can see how it works on-stage. We receive feedback from other patrons and musicians, which gives us some indication if the music will "sell". It gives us experience, and even though most of us are experienced in playing clubs (with the exception of our bass player KR), every new band is different. We need to get a feel for we listen to one another on stage. You can't do that in a rehearsal environment.

Lastly, but not of least importance, is that attending these jams allows us to showcase the new act, generate buzz, and sell the band to club managers, so we can be hired in the future.

The plan is working.

After a number of delays, Tung N' Groove managed to get on the open stage around 4:30 Saturday afternoon. By this time the Royal was getting quite busy, and the excitement began to boil in our blood. It took about fifteen minutes to get our equipment hooked up into the host band's PA, and get our sounds before we kicked off our set.

We opened with the Judas Priest song "Burnin' 'Up", which was likely not the best of openers, but it was enough to grab the attention of a number of patrons and musicians lingering about.

The rest of the set consisted of Mr. Big's Take Cover, Robin Trower's Day of The Eagle, April Wine's Enough is Enough (which I sang lead vocal on), The Scorpions' The Zoo, Led Zeppelin's Livin' Lovin' Maid, and Foreigner's Juke Box Hero.

I think the band was a lot more relaxed than our first performance; We felt so much more comfortable at our instruments, and our playing showed. The music was solid; the vocals were not strained, and the harmonies clicked in as they have been at practice. I felt we played very well, and judging by the crowd's reaction, we hit a home run.

After our set, we settled down for a few beverages, and mingled with a few of the other musicians who were present. Their comments were, to say the least, very candid and warm. A few of them even said they were blown away by the level of musicianship, the professionalism of our act, and by the material we showcased.

I for one, can say that this was one of only a few jams where I sat at someone else's drumkit and actually played well. The host drummers' kit was set up in a way that I felt was uncomfortable, but for some reason I played solidly; and with enough of my personal flair that I felt I wasn't compromising my abilities.

Even the managers of the Royal Hotel poked their heads from behind the bar, and sauntered to the dance floor to check us out. This can only mean a high potential for bookings this year.

Yes, Tung N' Groove is here. And we mean business. Look for us in the coming months; it's going to be very exciting. When we first started MA and I agreed we wanted to raise the bar as to what people expected in local talent and live entertainment. It might be egotistical, but I think this act has what it takes to accomplish just that.

Second Test Drive on St. Patty's Day

The new band, now tentatively named (and spelled) Tung N' Groove, have been working diligently away since our first near-disastrous appearance at the Blue Turtle several weeks back. We have accumulated at least 8 more songs to our repertoire, which means we have more than a full sets' worth of material. To put it another way, we have more than one-third the necessary material we will need to play a live show.

At this point, we felt it would be advantageous to test-drive the second batch of songs, in a new environment, and in front of a different clientele. About 2 weeks back we set the date of the next performance, which happens to be tomorrow.

St. Patrick's Day. The third-worst day of the year to be at the bar (First and second-place goes to New Years' and Halloween, respectively).

Tung N' Groove will be at the Royal Hotel for the Saturday Jam, commencing at 3:00pm. Stop by, drink some (disgustingly green) beer, and enjoy some local talent.

Tongue N' Groove to "Debut" at The Blue Turtle Tuesday

I am on vacation this week. Nonetheless, my week is already filling up, and I have my doubts that I can even get out of town for a couple days.

In my last post, I made mention that my new band, Tongue N' Groove has been rehearsing diligently in recent weeks. We are pleased to announce that we will be appearing at a few clubs in the next few weeks to "test drive" the material.

This Tuesday (that's tomorrow), there is an open stage at the Blue Turtle, beginning at approximately at 9:00pm. Tongue & Groove will be there, and we expect to play a half-dozen songs or so.

I hope any of you interested parties will stop by. I am excited to see how this new band operates from the stage.

We Have Liftoff...

Or, at the very least, countdown has begun.

Two years back, after I had been delivered my "walking papers" from Mule Shoe, I set out to create a new band, on my terms. After several interviews and quasi-iterations, I wound up with a three-piece lineup consisting of myself RH, and MA. We had about 6 "rehearsals" which really consisted of us sitting around with acoustic instruments, singing along to my iTunes collection, consuming copious quantities of beer. Inexplicably, RH stopped showing up for our practices, he never returned my phone calls, nor did he ever give me any reason why he lost interest in our project. But that's all in the past now.

MA and I continued forward, with a little less wind in our sails. As time went on, we did less practicing, and more drinking and goofing around. MA even stopped bringing his instruments to band rehearsal; it just became our night of the week to blow off some steam, and have some good laughs. We did some recording, and we picked new songs and dropped old songs from the repertoire.

It's really funny how things work out.

Fast-forward to this year, and Mule Shoe is no longer a band. DH agreed to record his solo album with me. MA of course, wound up being the new bass player for the Savoy Blues Band, and he turned out to be the perfect fit for our style of big-band blues and funk. DH knew about the Savoys and my little side project since we began recording. As the album progressed, it became clear that he would need a band to "back him up", and promote his recording.

Thus, the two projects became one.

DH has joined MA and myself in the new project. We even spent several weeks looking for a fourth member to round out the band. At this point, we found a barely-legal wizard bass player by the name of K. He seems interested and enthusiastic about our little band, even if he is a little quiet.

What I am pleased to inform you of, is that we have entered full-band rehearsals. This was something that never happened until last week. If I may say, the first few practices have turned out to be quite exciting. With a few rough edges aside, the band sounded like a band from the start. Everybody is doing their homework, and only a few issues are ironed out at practice.

And let me tell you, the material we have been picking are not particularly easy. They are either physically demanding, requiring all four of us to have complete command and control of our instruments, or the vocal arrangements are complex and challenging to sing -- even for a band that has three experienced singers.

There is nothing easy about this band.

As a teaser, here is a brief list of some of the material we will be performing.

• Say Hello - April Wine
• Jukebox Hero - Foreigner
• Too Late For Love - Def Leppard
• The Zoo - Scorpions
• Limelight - Rush
  

There is a lot more than just this in the pipeline.

We had our second practice this afternoon, and for the first time, we ran through Jukebox Hero and Too Late For Love. Both songs aren't terribly difficult with respect to instrumentation, but with respect to vocals, are quite challenging. But what I am pleased to announce is that all the vocal parts are there, in pitch, and it sounds huge.

You can expect to see us in bars, pubs, and clubs by April. I can't wait to see what the local response is going to be, which I expect it to be quite positive. I will be posting our appearances on the tour dates section when they come available.

In case you have been wondering, we are tentatively called Tongue N' Groove.

Savoys Gone Digital

MA, our new bass player has decided to jump into the world of cyberspace and set up an "official" webpage for the Savoys. You can access the site here. I expect the site will be dedicated towards band-related news and upcoming performances. We might be able to use it as a portal to keep in better touch with our fans.

A permanent link has also been added to the sidebar.