-My spam trap for this blog just passed the 2500 mark. In fact, it currently sits at 2501; a prime number.  ……mmmmm…… prime numbers…….

-We played a gig last sunday morning/afternoon, at the Mississauga Folk Fest. Three sets. One on the main stage; and two other sets on different stages without p.a.'s. (Is there supposed to be an apostrophe in p.a.'s?. It's not possessive, it's plural, but it sure looks weird without one) It was cool playing without a p.a. No mics; no cables; no muss, no fuss. Just sit down and play.

-I'm going on my annual holidays this Sunday. Two glorious weeks in London, and Paris, and anywhere else I can think of in between whilst over there. Don't bother trying to reach me…….

-Remember: a good friend will come down to the jailhouse and bail your ass out any time of the day or night. However, a REAL friend is the one sitting next to you in the drunk tank saying "Wow! Wasn't that fun?!?!"

Here we are playing Walking Boss on the front porch of The Second Cup at the Southside Shuffle a week and a half ago!

Man, those good old double espressos do come in handy……

This Tuesday past, we went into the studio to record, and video tape some new songs for a television program airing on the Bravo network.

We started at ten a.m., and were out by five that afternoon with six songs in the can, and about a half hour of interview footage.

Not bad, when I consider that I've been on studio sessions where it's taken that much time just to get the sound of one drum 'right.'

For better or worse, we remain lo/no-tech.

We record everything pretty much 'off the floor,' as they say in studio parlance, which means that we set up a bunch of mics, and all play together as we would if we were playing a show.

Recording in this manner pretty much negates the chance of overdubbing or fixing things after you've completed a song, because even though you can fade certain parts up and down in the final mix, you can't really get rid of them because everything 'bleeds' into every mic.

My vocals can be heard in Alec's bass mic, for example, or Jerome's harp bleeds into my vocal mic…….

It's an old time way of recording old time music.

The down side of working this way, is that you've gotta get things right for the duration of the whole song. Make a mistake, and you've gotta start over from the beginning. No problem if your not pressed for time, but what usually happens if you keep repeating the same thing over and over, is that you eventually lose some of the energy, and enthusiasm.

Additionally, one doesn't have the opportunity to add other parts, or to overdub vocals. What you play, is what you get -warts and all!

Also, recording in this manner, one has the propensity to over-scrutinize the final results. "My voice was a little out of tune in the second chorus"; "I could have played a better solo if I was able to overdub one"; "this fucking banjo is a retarded instrument……."

A certain amount of…… shall I boldly say…….. bravery is required to gather the confidence to say that you're satisfied with the results when you're finished.

……….Or is it stupidity?

This past Saturday afternoon, we played at the Southside Shuffle in Port Credit, Ontario for the second year in a row. We had a great time, and Jerome played particularly well -I thought so.

I was again reminded of how I sometimes feel as though we are sneaking in under the radar for some of these gigs.

The 'Shuffle is a big street fest where they have about a dozen bands stationed every fifty meters or so, playing at intervals throughout the day. They're pretty much all electric blues based.

Then there's us.

No amps; acoustic instruments only; harmonies, -and lots of foolishness. I really got a kick out of playing something like a hurtin' country song, while some band up the street was blasting out a B.B. King tune.

The nice thing about it though, is that a lot of people really seemed to enjoy the change of pace. We pulled some pretty good crowds all afternoon.

However, my festival 'moment' of the day wasn't music related. I was walking around in between sets, checking out some of the other bands, and noticing this horrific stench that was periodically wafting up from the lake. I overheard one of the locals talking about it, and saying that 'it's starting to smell like Toronto around here!'

We're gonna be playing at the Southside Shuffle again this year in Port Credit.

This Saturday afternoon -Sept. 8, we'll be part of the street fest from 3 'till 7.

We played the Shuffle last year and it was a blast. It's the kind of gig that keeps you loose, and makes you feel as though you're busking. Who knows, maybe this year we'll just grab out instruments and take a stroll through the crowd……

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I live right over an A.A. meeting hall. It's great for me -I have no bothersome neighbors to complain about… They're usually only there for a couple of hours each evening. The only thing that really concerns me is the wanted poster with my image on it, in the front window…….

Funny thing is though, I'm starting to get the feeling that a lot (maybe most) of them aren't even reformed drunks. I'm beginning to think that most of 'em are using their daily meet to get away from their wives, hang out with each other, bullshit amongst themselves, cook big meals, and escape from the drudgery of day to day living.

It's like a fucking clubhouse down there.

Smart, huh?

Here we are living in the age of rehab, where we are taught to forgive each other for our past transgressions, and that everything will be alright if we only admit our sins.

"Yeah, I was a mess. I blew the kids college fund on crack, and cheap whores, but since I've admitted my problems, and attempted to turn my life around, all is forgiven! Fuckin' AYYY!!!!"

I gotta admit, it looks pretty good from my perspective.

The way I see it, our current psychology driven ideologies tell us that it's O.K. to fuck up everything all to shit, so long as we eventually admit it, and attempt some kind of re-programming.

"That wasn't really me who crashed my car on your front lawn, pissed on your doorstep, and then stormed into your house threatening to massacre your entire family for building your home where there should have been a road! That was the booze/drugs talking……."

(O.k., I know I'm going all over the place with this post………. I've had a few, alright?)

HOUSEWIFE #1: "Yeah, George is at his meeting tonight. God bless him, he's really turned his life around"

HOUSEWIFE #2: "How long will he have to go to these meetings Shirley? Isn't he all better now?"

HOUSEWIFE#1: "He'll always have to go to his meetings Dorothy. For ever, and ever."

Smart guy, that George…………