A movie about guitars and guitar players is obviously something that would intrigue me since I am a guitar player myself, but “It Might Get Loud” far exceeded my expectations. It is a documentary about three guitar players: Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White, who got together for a conversation and jam session. The film takes you through their own stories and interweaves the meeting of these three innovators in an inspiring narrative. There were too many good moments to describe, but one highlight was watching Jack White listen to his favourite song on vinyl: an old soulful singer belting out some blues, singing accapella accompanied only by his own clapping. I’m pretty confident I will buy this film when it comes out on DVD. If you have the chance to watch this, it is a must-see.

There’s something that U2 has that few other bands or artists have. It more than the music. Their concerts and their songs are so full of life. They point towards hope and a promise of something better.

This is inspiring to me as an artist.

I feel like I’ve written enough sad songs. I’ve poured out my broken heart and intended to connect with people who are hurting. But I myself am now healing and feeling really good. It is time for hope.

The concert was at the House of James in Abbotsford.  I used to live in Abbotsford and I never thought that it was a great place for gigs, but after experiencing my fair share of dull gigs in the “big city” of Vancouver, I realize that smaller cities and towns are fun to play at because they have less events and places competing for their attention.  And I think this affects the way the people respond to hearing some good music.  They want to support the artist and really get connected (or so I assume from what I observed).

There were quite a few people who bought my CD, plus people payed cover to see the show.  So I made a decent amount of money.  It feels so good to make money doing something I love.  And it’s not about the money in itself.  I’m very content with a simple life and am not in it for fame or fortune.  It’s a weird psychological thing that I’m talking about.  It feels good to get paid for playing music because it shows that people value my work.  They ascribe worth to my music when they pay to listen to it, whether live or on a recording.  Payment is a sacrifice.  In the old bartering system, people would exchange goods or services for other goods or services.  Now we have money as a middleman.  So when I get paid for a CD or concert it’s like people are saying, “Good job.  Your music is appreciated.  I will trade you this for your work.”  Hearing the verbal encouragement is nice too, but it doesn’t take much sacrifice on their part and, therefore, falls a little flat.  I remember the faces of people who buy my CD.  I don’t always remember the people who said, “Good job.”  But in the moment I still appreciate it.

I also want to mention a few people who made the night so great:

- Lando, the owner of House of James who let us perform there

- Adam Roper, who organized the event

- Brad and Shannon who drove me (I don’t have a car)

- Barbara Swain and Josh Hyslop who both performed phenominally as well

And last but certainly not least…

- Emily Ewing, who sang with me and did a fantastic job

Thanks also to everyone who came out to listen.  We couldn’t do it with out you.

Writing the composition was quite the adventure.  I didn’t even start working on it until midnight.  I “finished” at about 4:30AM… and then tweaked a few things for a couple hours the next day.  Inspiration just happened to strike at midnight and I couldn’t sleep until I had my ideas out.  It’s interesting how much late night energy I can get when working on something creative (juxtapose this to the fact that I can rarely stay awake to see a whole movie, and it really is quite impressive).  The composition is written for piano, violin, and cello - mostly focusing on the piano, with the stings just filling out the sound.  It is a fairly short instrumental experimental classical piece that depicts a day in the life of a spider.  I wrote it on a cheap version of the Finale notation software called NotePad.  The program allows me to hear what I’ve written on MIDI playback (it basically sounds like crappy keyboard versions of sampled instruments).  I enjoy listening to “Spiders”, but it’s probably not that good of a composition (it is only my first attempt).  I hope to one day record it though.

The other two songs that I wrote were pretty good though.  They’re both upbeat and fun to play.

I normally don’t do this, but I’m going to show you the lyrics (I usually prefer to have people hear the lyrics rather than read them, but “what the hey!”):

Beyond My Control (a song about the uncertainties of life after death)

I don’t want to die, but one day when I do, I think that I’ll be fine
I’m confident I’ll get through
But still I seem so scared, and oh so unprepared
For a new creation beyond imagination

So much is unknown and it don’t make me comfortable
So much is at stake and I just have to wait
So much is so strange; it’s so easy to complicate
Beyond my control, it’s beyond my control

There’s little information about the transformation
Into that second body, while the other one is rotting
So where do I go? And what is my soul?
How long is forever? How many meet together?

So much is unknown and it don’t make me comfortable
So much is at stake and I just have to wait
So much is so strange; it’s so easy to complicate
Beyond my control, it’s beyond my control

Better Man (a song about life change)

I was a broken man - a heartless beast
Among the damned and amid the least
You were beautiful
There was something new that I had to have that was inside of you
A quick and sudden change;
There’s really something strange about this

You’re a miracle. You’re the reason why I’m a better man.
You clear my mind
You’re innocent. I was so corrupt, but it balanced out.
You lifted me from the rut
I’m on the level ground. I’m never going down there again

And all you ever did was nothing else but live,
And teach me to forgive myself

I’m curious to know what you think.  Feel free to critique or completely tear me apart.  You can bluntly tell me which lines suck.  All is fair…  But if you want to say something nice, I like that too.   

The memorial service was really powerful.  I never really knew the man, but I wish I did.  The church was packed and people told all kinds of amazing stories about him.  Afterward there were refreshments downstairs so I stayed for a while to visit and then helped clean up.

Then when I was ready to leave I put the key in my bike lock, but it got stuck.  I couldn’t pull it out, but tried twisting it around a bit.  Eventually I felt it become loose - a little too loose.  I had broken the key with part of it stuck in the lock.  I did my best to refrain from blurting out obsenities at the church.  After realizing there was nothing I could do, I asked around for help.  Someone handed me a hacksaw to try cutting through the lock and I was skeptical.  Sure enough, the saw couldn’t even scratch the metal lock.  Oh, I forgot to mention that this was a Kryptonite U-shaped solid steal lock.  It was basically indestructible.  I asked around for more help.  Peter Unger, our resident handyman, took me to the tools room and grabbed a hammer.  He banged my bike lock to death, but it didn’t even leave a dent.  Again, I asked around for more help.  Another kind man, John Kroeker, volunteered to grab his grinder from home.  That thing cut through the lock like butter.  Victory!!

But this was just the beginning of my bike adventure…

I started riding and it was a pretty far distance, but I was making good time.  I eventually came to the part where I needed to get onto the highway.  I was nervous, but confident that I would be okay.  However, I had to cross over two lanes to get to the shoulder.  So I had to wait quite a while for a break in traffic.  I made it across alright; I conquered the obstacle and was feeling good.  I rode through the tunnel and approached the Second Narrows Bridge (aka Iron Workers Memorial Bridge).  To my dismay, the shoulder of the highway slowly diminished to the point that there was no shoulder at all.  I was stuck in the middle of the highway (on the far side of the left lane of North facing traffic).  Cars, trucks, and even Hummers sped past me just inches away.  People honked their horns and yelled out the window.  I felt pretty stupid and was actually scared for my life.  There seemed to be an endless flow of traffic.  I started praying that God will get me out of there alive.  I decided that I could probably cross the highway faster on foot than on the bike because it is easier to start running from a complete stop than it is to start biking from a complete stop.  Suddenly I saw the tiniest break in traffic, so I held my breath, picked up my bike, and ran like the wind!  I threw my bike over the barrier and hopped over.  I practically kissed the ground with relief.

Now safe on the fenced-in sidewalk, I biked across the bridge.  I made it to the North Shore (my homeland) and I was feeling great… for a few minutes.

Out of nowhere I heared a pop and a hiss and an evil snake.  “Are you serious!” I yelled out loud.  My back tire blew out.  Now with my head down and spirits defeated, I started walking to the nearest bus stop, hoping that the next bus could carry bikes on the front.  But before I arrived at the bus stop, I saw something off in the distance.  It was like an Oasis in the treacherous desert - Cove Bike Shop.  A bike shop just a block away from where my tire blew out.  This must have been a miracle.  There was a shimmering halo around the building and angels flying around playing trumpets.  A single beam of light broke through the clouds to illuminate the shop.  I walked inside and the worker said that they were just about to close but he saw me coming and thought I could use some help.  They fixed my tired for $10, which I thought was reasonable.

From there I biked home safely and lived happily ever after.  THE END.

I’m dog tired, and sick, and I have to wake up early to travel to the Interior for a wedding (which I am looking forward to, it will just not help the tiredness).

“Why are you so tired?” you say in an inquisitive and mildly concerned tone.

Well… the main reason I’m tired is because of kids.  About 40 of them to be specific.  This week I helped out with a kids camp called VBS.  It was a blast, but it drained me.  I spent hours upon hours running around, chasing kids, lifting kids, being attacked by kids, singing, jumping, yelling, dancing, playing “grounders” and other games, etc.  For a relatively-out-of-shape-non-athlete like me, this is pretty intense.  Oh yeah, I also had to wake up at 6:30AM everyday, which is also intense for a mostly-self-employed-rockstar-wannabe like me.

Crazy kids and no sleeping in would be managealbe by itself, but this was also busy week with music.  I was burning the candle from both ends (is that how the saying goes?)

Here’s what I’ve been doing:

- finding students and writing curriculum for guitar lessons
- finding musicians and starting auditions for a cover band
- playing shows (I had two this week)
- playing on a radio station

Yesterday, I met Julie Lee.  She is an amazing violinist and we got along really well.  She was so good that I invited her to play with me at my show that night (which Julia Spitale hosted so wonderfully).  We performed some songs that she had never even heard before and no one in the audience would have known - she’s that good (it’s like playing with Brielle, for those of you who saw her play with me).

The radio appearance was really cool.  It was at Simon Fraser University’s CJSF 90.1 FM station, on a show called Melodies in Mind, hosted by Ryan Fletcher.  There were three other performers - Aidan Mayes, Dana Marie, and Day Cart (four if you include both guys of  Day Cart - whose name is a reference to philosopher Rene Decarte) and we did a song circle.  We traded songs back and fourth.  All of them were really talented.  In fact one of Dana Marie’s songs almost made me cry.  It was a great show in general.  You can hear a few of the songs at http://www.myspace.com/melodiesinmind

Or download the full show here in two sections: one and two

Anyway, it’s been a hectic week!  I feel wrecked.  But what keeps me going is that I absolutely love everything I am doing.