Got The Pre Show 'Heebees'

Not 'Heebeejeebees', because I'm not nervous, I'm excited. Although I do end up taking what I call 'The nervous shit'..also know by me as, 'The pre-show shit'... Too much info? If yer a musician, you know what I'm talking about! Or maybe you've had to speak in front of a ton of people. Stomach goes to knots, maybe a day, maybe an hour or two before you have to be onstage.

And I love this, this is what I always have wanted to do is be on stage, maybe wish I had my pre-arthritis body, to really be able to put on a show but I'll work with what I got. It's all painful, standing still, banging my head, moving to the music, but this is totally worth it and this show in particular. It's sad we  have to do this for our friend, but more than ever he needs our help and we're going to give it to him, in spades. 12 hours of it. I really hope you, the reader, obviously if you're in  the Fredericton area, should come help, Rock out and be among the best of friends.

And we got, what I think is a great surprise for long time friends and 'fans' of the band. I'm really, looking forward to this. Can you tell?

No pix, but just spent some time with 'Buddy', seeing as we were so rudely interrupted by that damn tree rat! Fucking tree rats!
It's amazing when you pet them, they feel so delicate, like they are made of nothing, but that's probably why the can move so quickly and when you watch them, they sometimes move in spurts, like abrupt starts and stops, almost looks like they are teleporting (Oh come on! The 'spell checker' isn't recognizing 'teleporting' as a word...)
Anyhow, it's good to see my most tame (and I think appreciative) 'munk is back.

He looks like a cross between a baby chick and a chipmunk....

This is a great love story and it's not often I talk about maternity photo's!... 

This guy wanted to get a beautiful Fall live, pumpkin patch shoot with his beloved and his soon to be born child....

Ahhhh that's just truly truly awesome.

This Nanaimo couple, well the gentleman Todd wanted to pay homage to Ridely Scott's 'Alien', obviously the most famous scene in the movie. That's a great sense of humor there. 

Next blog will be post show! (Oh rumor has it they may be making a 'DVD' of this show).

Have a great Friday night peeps.

And just the reminder, benefit starts at 2 with Mad Mary (my cousin Todd Aube plays bass and they are fantastic!). We play at 6 and LOADS of great bands before and after us, some one time and first reunions there!

Oh jkeez, this happened last night... Again with burrying the face... Just go some place dark in the house!

What An Ugly Day Out! Oh yeah! [Updated]

Look at this cat! Why the heck wouldn't she just get under my blankets away from the light, instead of cramming her face into the corner of the chair to keep it out??.... Cats are such strange ones

As I say, 'I thought I was ugly until I stepped outside'!

Rained from last night and has barely stopped. Temperatures been no higher than +10.

But compared to what happened down south where the hurricane hit... Man, talk about decimation, that hurricane tore that coast up! Places flattened...
And this, this is the most ridiculous thing, I was watching coverage of the hurricane and one of the anchors commented that most of the areas along the coast had been wiped out by a major hurricane back in the '30's and I think maybe it was the 50's. And since that time the places population and housing had swelled like 70%..... So....

This place, along the coasts had been "wiped out"... Yet people still chose to inhabit those coastal areas... Should there be some laws to stop this from happening? I mean, either way hurricanes are gonna happen. What did these people think, "Well, those hurricanes happened decades ago, there haven't been any real major ones, so I guess it's safe to be here!"..... But I guess it's somewhat the same as earthquakes and coastlines. Since the dawn of civilization people have lived along coasts and waterways because it has food and water, but, these areas flood, tsunami's happen.... What can ya do eh?

Saturdays the big day! Pretty excited about it. Kinda wish we coulda got in a practice this week but Jake works nights so it was out of the question... We'll do fine, I just don't mind getting in a rehearsal a couple days before a show. I don't know about the guys, but a week before we play, I kinda live and breath our music. When I get up and get ready, shower, I'm listening to our songs, using a playlist that's in order of our setlist. At night when I'm getting ready for bed, same thing, listening to the songs... When I go for a walk, listening to our stuff... Glen, our drummer says, "If we don't know the songs by now...".... But for me it's not about knowing them, it's about being confident, KNOWING with every fibre that you know the songs inside and out, forward and backwards. In Dreamkick we practiced the songs until we were blue in the face. No matter how well we knew them, we'd practice them faster than we play live and slower, we'd try anything to get the music into our souls.

It's gonna be cold Saturday, but at least it's supposed to be nice out. Hoping a lot of people make it out for the show. I know Donnie's gonna be proud and I hope his kid's will too.

'Buddy' Is BACK!!

So, yeah, much to my dismay, Buddy the chipmunk has been MIA for many days now. The 'other' chipmunks ain't no 'Buddy'.... Monday I was sitting at the picnic table and was waiting for the chipmunks to come and get sunflower seeds and one came at me so quick, all I saw was this thing dart up my leg, which startled me, it zipped across my lap, onto the table and took off, because it gave me such a start!
None of them would really let me pet them like Buddy and even Buddy's 'brother', would sometimes be quite skittish around me.

Today I did not see one chipmunk, not a sign of them. Around 5 pm I went out to my 'Shack Out Back' for a puff and shelter from the rain. I was standing there and looked out and saw a chipmunk sitting on the back of one of the chairs for the sun table. I wondered, 'Is this Buddy?'... I called to it and put down some sunflower seeds at my feet in the shack... After a few moments the chipmunk came over and seemed quite comfortable with me... I wondered again... Then this chipmunk, having filled it's cheeks with seeds, took off.... Now, all the 'other' chipmunks went either under the garage or they quickly went under the fence and have homes on the bank behind the house... This one actually went straight out to where Buddy had his dens in my backyard... Except, it went down a different... new hole I had not seen or known of.... Could this be Buddy???

I waited... then up came the chipmunk from the hole and it went back up onto the back of the lawn chairs.... What this chipmunk did next, I knew without a doubt that it was Buddy!

So happy to see Buddy's alive and well! Hopefully see him again soon before they settle down for Winter sleepies.

My apologies about the profanities.... Hate those damn tree rats!

Sweet Emotion

It's not too often that I run across a song by one of my favorite bands that I've never heard before...

Well such an instance happened not too very long ago when I was filling my Faith No More collection and found this song, 'Sweet Emotion'.... I thought to myself, 'What the?? FNM did a cover of Aerosmith's 'Sweet Emotion'... but as the song began to play I noted two things: 1. It was certainly not, Aerosmoth's version 2. I knew this song... But the lyrics were totally different than what I knew them as.. How could this be???

This song, 'Sweet Emotion' had been recorded around the time that the 'Real Thing' (the bands 'bust out' album) was being recorded, it would later have it's lyrics totally overhauled and renamed as 'The Perfect Crime', which appeared on the Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey soundtrack.... 

I love the 'Sweet Emotion' version as much as I love the 'Perfect Crime'... Patton is just sheer genius. 

'Sweet Emotion'

'The Perfect Crime'

Another favorite 'B-Side' track from FNM, one I found years ago is 'The Cowboy Song'

Man, the Gulf is getting bitch slapped... I have a friend who lives in Lakeland Florida with her family and at least they are safe and sound (they got hit bad last season).... Crazy hurricane! AND, rumor has it, we may get bits and pieces of this hurricane this coming Saturday or Sunday.. Hopefully Sunday, as Saturday is the benefit....

Body's going through the ringer, but I got out to get some provisions so I can rest as much as I can this week... I'm going to try and give it my all on Saturday, after that, who cares what happens to my body.... 

Been watching horror flick after horror flick.. Fearless Vampire Killers, Halloween, 1 & 2, Friday the 13th 1 & 2, Blood for Dracula, Jess Frano's 'Dracula'.... Still got tons of movies left to watch.... This hurricanes been sidetracking me though.. Hard to watch horror flicks when there's real life horror happening...

That's It!

Last practice tonight went great! We're ready as we'll ever be, this is for Donnie so we'll do our very best to rock it as hard as we possibly can!
NEXT Saturday, Oct 13th, 12 bands, 12 hours.
It's gonna be a fantastic day. So many of the area's best musicians coming together. I know we'll make Donnie & Bobbie proud and we'll hopefully raise some greats funds for Donnie's kids.

You can get one of these kick ass 'Rock For Donnie' T's at Long & McQuade on Prospect St.

They are going super fast! So get 'em while ya can! Rumor has it there MAY be more available at the show... But don't wait until then!

We've got a special surprise when we play... I MIGHT be able to keep the secret for the week... We'll see...
Here's the line up and times bands are playing. - ALL AGES from 2-6PM!
2pm Mad Mary
3pm Vinyl Tap
4pm Brass Knucklehead
5pm Wasteland Zombies
6pm Southbound Sinnerz - All Ages Ends at 6PM!
7pm Brother
7:30 Pete Gillies/Ryan Munn
8pm Appetite 4 Destruct
9pm Run for your lives
10pmSheltered
11pm Awake By Sunday
12am Hero’s Last Rite

Here's some pix from tonight's rehearsal.... Yes, even a horrible photo of me...

In other news....

Still no sign of buddy today.. Think he's gone... And his 'brother' freakin bit me today. It wasn't out of defence... I just figure that to chipmunks sometimes our fingers look like big juicy morsels of food... And Buddy had 'bit' me before, but this little fucker CHOMPED onto my finger... Just about broke the skin... So I've dubbed Buddy's brother 'Chompy'... I think they are just a little wound up because they are in full on food hunt mode. They gotta supply up! Winter is coming....

Damn My Right Foot

Had errands to do today.. Haven't been feeling well already, I stepped on onto the driveway and my metatarsal heads (MT heads) in the center of my foot felt like a nail was through it... Maybe even a spike and the stayed with me through the whole outing. If I had some patience I'd use this poor excuse of a transit system in this city. But when I can walk somewhere quicker than the bus could ever dream of, yeah, I'm walking. It's painful but I got to keep moving. I'm like Forrest Gump (in more ways than one).

I recall startling the 'new' physio therapist I had a Burnaby hospital out patient physio program by rattling off the areas of my foot that were bothering me by their medical abbreviated terms... She had not been told I was one of the programs longest running patients.
(I know I've written about the following before)
I began physio therapy there, the hospital was a block from my house, in 2000 and continued sometimes 3 days a week until I moved back here in 2012. I had been there longer then two of the team lead physios. My first physiotherapist was the one who got me diagnosed. She couldn't understand why I was on the waiting list with no listed injury, but the referral was 'urgent' from my GP. When she saw me she was again at a loss as to why I had not been sent to a rheumatologist... I had seen a podiatrist and I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but his accent was so thick in Asian that neither my room mate who accompanied me nor I could figure out what he had thought the problem was and left us all questioning, What was "sporadic arthritis"? Which of course turned out to be psoriatic arthritis.
I did have a vacation from physio during one of the election periods between 2000 and 2012. The Liberals made cuts and the hospital had to 'cut' our systemic disease physio program... Myself and several other patients, plus some old patients I kept in touch with wrote to the government and told them how important that physio program is to us and denying us that program was causing harm to our quality of life... They finally found a means to get us up and running again.
I learned soooo much at physio and got so much help. Owe them my life.

Got some sunflower seeds today! Came home, got a cup and sat down on the front steps and it wasn't long before the chipmunk I call 'Buddy's brother' showed up. He came up the steps and took bird seed from my hand. Got his fill, then took off.
So I took a small handful and went out back and was waiting on Buddy to show up, he's actually been MIA for two days, so there is a possibility that he's either dead or been run off, mind you I haven't seen any of the chipmunks come in or out of his den....\
Anyhow, I look around the corner at my steps, where I left the cup with some seeds in it and there's one of the young chipmunks, ass up in the air, head down in the cup taking seeds. They must have a strong sense of smell. It had only been minutes that I was out there with sunflower seeds for the very first time.
Hopefully Buddy comes back around, his Brother is warming up to me, but we're still quite a ways to how comfortable Buddy was with me. The chipmunks will soon be heading to sleep.

I saw a dove at my feeder today, well I've seen it on the fence a few times.. I gotta say, what a dumbass looking bird. They look about as smart as rocks... Seriously, they way the cock their heads and look around, it's like they haven't figured anything out about the world they are in...


Just under two weeks until marijuana is legal in Canada!

Just saw the other day that we will be able to fly anywhere in |Canada with I believe 30 grams of pot! Crazy! I mean, I had 'heard' through some source that OBVIOUSLY pre-legalization that they don't condone it, but people have got away with putting pot in the stowed luggage, that airport security's are looking for 'other' items and that weed is kinda low on the list...

I got to thinking and I'd bet anything that in the first year or more of legalization that we'll see many a Canadian being arrested at many airport security checkpoints with pot. Especially those flying to warmer climes... But just because it's legal in Canuckia, again, 'OBVIOUSLY' does NOT mean you can jet around the World with it... EVEN if it's 'medicinal'.... And I'm also betting those countries will no doubt be on extra alert for those Canuckians trying to get some green along with their vacation...

Don't be a dumb pothead!

The Size Of A Cow

The Wonder Stuff

Don't you think it's funny that nothing's what it seems

When you're not looking forward?

Me, I'd like to think life is like a drink

And I'm hoping that it tastes like bourbon

You know that I've been drunk a thousand times

And these should be the best days of my life

Life, it's not what I thought it was

Damn blast, look at my past

I'm ripping up my feet over broken glass

I said, Oh wow, look at me now

I'm building up my problems to the size of a cow

The size of a cow

You know it would be strange to live life in a cage

And only believe the things you see that are written on the page

How easy would it be home in time for tea

And stop feeling like a sailboat rocking on the sea

You know that it's been sunk a thousand times

And these should be the best days of my life

Life, it's not what I thought it was

Damn blast, look at my past

I'm ripping up my feet over broken glass

I said, Oh wow, look at me now

I'm building up my problems to the size of a cow

The size of a cow

The size of a cow

You know that I've been drunk a thousand times

And these should be the best days of my life

Damn blast, look at my past

I'm ripping up my feet over broken glass

I said, Oh wow, look at me now

I'm building up my problems to the size of a cow

The size of a cow

Damn blast, look at my past

I'm ripping up my feet over broken glass

I said, Oh wow, look at me now

I'm building up my problems to the size of a cow

The size of a cow

The size of a cow

Songwriters: Malcolm Roy Treece / Martin Bell / Martin Richard Gilks / Miles Stephen Hunt / Paul Clifford / Robert Jones

Size of a Cow lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Chipmunk Mania!

Dang it was trying to find some 'chipmunk chaos' videos. I don't think if I went out with my camera that what happened would happen again.
I found a 'chipmunk fight' video, but it was actually pretty brutal, with one lil chipmunk limping around and it's adversary coming back and kicking it's ass some more... Wasn't very cute or humorous.

So over the last few days, a couple of the young chipmunks from the late Summer brood have been slowly coming up to me. As I was out back, 'Buddy' was up on the back of the lawn chair, his perch to have a great overview of the backyard surroundings.
It's happened a couple of times that while Buddy is watching over the yard that one of the other chipmunks will come up to me for a nut and Buddy will dive off the chair and give chase to whoever the chipmunk is.
This morning, right after Buddy had taken a couple peanuts back to his den, I felt a tapping on my foot and there was another chipmunk.. To be honest, with these new young ones packing on weight, I've really lost track of who is who. I have noticed that sometimes two chipmunks will be up on the bird feeder. So I'm guessing it may be either 'Chippy' or 'Skit' the Momma and a young one. Even Buddy doesn't seem to run off the young ones, just the older youth chipminks and perhaps even Buddy's own parents. They are quite territorial, as I've read and observed.

So I was out about 15 minutes ago and Buddy had just gone back to his den, then a real young one, who might as well be 'Skit Jr.', has been slowly getting used to me, but is very wary of taking a peanut from my hand.. So 'Skit Jr.' is deciding whether to take the peanut or not and another chipmunk shows up and then Buddy comes over, so I had 3 chipmunks all together at once around my feet. All was going pretty good, but I think Buddy lost patience and gave chase to the older chipmunk, while the younger one stayed behind and took a peanut.

I've been trying to lay off on peanuts for Buddy, god knows he's got a fucking mountain in his den... Oh, I learned something recently about chipmunk dens. So, because the average lifespan of a chipmunk is maybe 2/3 years, if that. They usually get killed by cats, foxes and other predators. Of course in the city, cats and cars would be the biggest risk, maybe the odd raccoon encounter. So, fact is, a lot of chipmunks die, leaving their dens and their horde of treasure available for any new chipmunks who decide to venture in to the now vacant dens. Chipmunks are 'fixer-uppers', they'll find an old den and then refurbish it for their own.
But yeah, I've been trying to get peanuts to the other chipmunks. Really, in reality, maybe I shouldn't be doing this at all. I question that sometimes. But also I know I haven't totally made them reliant on me for food. When I'm not around or in the house I'll look out and they are foraging for food, not just from the bird feeder, but other nuts on the ground, berries in the trees.

LOL, sometimes I feel a kinship with Buddy, he's like a metaphor of me. He's got this MASSIVE stash of food and should he die before Winter, he loses it all.. Me, my stocks and RDSP have been doing really, really well and it's made me think, 'Damnit, I better not die before I'm 65 or all that money will be vapor'...Who should I leave it to? Maybe the chipmunks?

Check out this guy and all his chipmunk buddies! lol Makes me feel like less of a nerd! he's got 'em on his head, climbing all over him.... Maybe next Summer I'll have them all over me. Buddy's been getting better at letting me pet him... I think I might get some sunflower seeds and see if he'll feed off me that way.