The Weekend Updates

G'Day, one and all;

So, as written below re- Groundhog Day, yet another week passes by (this one with strict assurances at every juncture "This will be the absolute last delay, of all... no more delays.") and a new date is set for... You guessed it.... Tuesday. With no more delays, attached.

Whatever.

In better news, last night's gig mentioned below went extremely well, mostly due to an opportune appearance by a buddy of mine, whom I've sung with periodically, but not much in the past 2 years. I had a little advance warning that he would be showing up, and so I prepared accordingly... mostly with selections of the type and genres listed in the previous post. Suffice it to say, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" went over quite, quite well. I do believe me and he will have to try, once again, to get something more substantial on the go, in terms of some regular gigs together. It was really, really awesome.

I have had family visiting for the past few weeks, and so its been a bit hectic around the house as we go from task to task, event to event, and so forth. I'm really looking forward to kicking back and doing SFA tomorrow.

More gigging tonight. Its karaoke and various other past-times for me tonight, but I do believe I'll be bringing my guitar for kicks. If and when the mood strikes me, I may even record a little.

Get Your Freak On Fridays

Greetings,

Another day, still no dollars. Such is life.

On the plus side of the equation, Friday's marks the beginning of the working weekend for this Looch. Work = music, either live, acoustic style sets in comfortable, cozy environs, or as a roving host for a karaoke show here in my town. Times are good; the repertoire continues to expand, as do the crowds of adoring regulars.

There's a band I know (I used to play with 75% of its members, back in "the day") who describe their own adoring fans as "children of the 80's". This distinction really hadn't sunk into my thick skull until long after the fact, perhaps due to some chemical imbalance or another. The eternal truth that these fine gents have discovered, and are readily capitalizing on, is really rather simple: as much as we don't like to admit it, even the music we didn't much like during our formative years has been ingrained in us, in an amazingly persistant way. I mean, come on; who in their right mind will say that they really do enjoy the collected works of Def Leppard? (One age-old joke I know goes thusly: What's got 9 arms, and sucks?)

That being said, I heard the aforementioned band one night, not too long ago, and without a doubt, the most stirring, exciting, and audience-response-inducing selections they played was "Pour Some Sugar on Me", in an acoustic style. Couple guitars, a bass, a tambourine, and a lot of voices: what a wonderful frickin' arrangement!! In search of that particular track one evening, I found out that STP ALSO performs this song, featuring much the same fare, albeit with a decidedly familiar groove (its almost a New York groove, almost!). The eternal truth continues to dawn upon the minds of us children of the 80's... Its not dead yet, nor does it truly suck.

Here's really my first call for feedback, then: what songs would you consider "essential" to the 80's - mid 90's rock/alternative experience? My short list would have to include:

• Mr. Brownstone, G n' R, from Appetite for Destruction; also
• Used to Love Her, from G n' R Lies (the acousitic R side!)
• Jeremy, from Pearl Jam's debut "Ten"
  
• Down Under, by Men at Work
• More than Words, by Extreme
• Hunger Strike, by Temple of the Dog
• We're Not Going to Take It, by Twisted Sister
• Walk LIke an Egyptian, by the Bangles. (Really rather cool when 5 guys do a cover of it)
  
• For you Canadians out there, anything by the Tragically Hip. And I mean, anything.
• Anything from the soundtrack for the movie "Cocktail"... just check it out and see.
  

I really have to admit, sometime in 1992 I turned in my credentials as a full-blown 80's kid, and moved myself back a generation: the Doors, anything crossing the line of 1965-1980 became my true love and forte, and I really haven't looked back too much.

Enough rambling on from me. Anyone has song selections that make the cut for kids of the 80's, feel free to add 'em here. Hell, I'll even learn, record and post the muthas if there's response. ;)

What Does the Term "Groundhog Day" Mean To You?

Salut!

A cryptic beginning for the day, hey? Ever watch the film Groundhog Day, possibly Bill Murray's greatest remembered role ever, next to the whacked out dude from Caddyshack, or perhaps his ghost-butt-kicking playboy role in Ghostbusters? The executive summary for Groundhog Day is simple: a journalist gets caught in a surreal world where Groundhog Day happens day after day, and no matter what happens or what he does, he'll wake up the next day, the calender not having advanced, and have to do it all again.

This particular film has taken on a good deal more meaning to me in the last few months. Why? you ask (or perhaps not... I've no idea if there's anyone even reading this), why would you say this type of space-time continuum conundrum has personal meaning for you?

The answer is simple: I've been involved in my own personal Groundhog Day for a period of days, weeks, and now months, waiting for an event to happen (the proverbial "Tomorrow!") and which has been continually assured to be, in all actuality, "Tomorrow". Just take a moment, and let me paint you a picture.

Imagine you have a very, very good idea; something that is worth a certain amount of money, something that is fairly big, in terms of scale and exposure. Imagine that this idea could possibly mean long-term employment, and a more comfortable life, provided you put in a bit of hard work in the meantime. Imagine that you take this idea as far as you can on your own resources, and having made it moderately successful, decide to take it to the next level. Imagine that you pitch your idea to the right people, through the right channels, and it is well received.

"Don't worry," they tell you, "This is a terribly good idea, and we are happy to help you take this to the next level, immediately and forthwith."

And then, you ask them: "When will you start helping me?"

"Tomorrow."

And tomorrow. And tomorrow. Ad nauseum.

I have, I can tell you, spent the last 5 months hearing "Tomorrow" on a daily basis. This has generally meant every day has been a series of missed deadlines, unanswered phonecalls, non-existent meetings, and press conferences that I am very well prepared for, but which never happen.

Words cannot describe the surreality of it. My day (used to) begin with an early rise, in preparation for a meeting between the hours of 9 and 11 AM. The inevitable phonecall comes in at 11:30, when I find out that the meeting has been rescheduled for somewhere between 2 and 4 PM (and never happens). After Wednesdays, it's a toss up between "It'll be tomorrow, sorry for the delay" and "Monday next week, I promise you, this is the final date." After a couple of months, you begin to wonder "Gosh, is it possible this is all a bad dream?" and you begin to wonder "Is it possible my dwindling bank account will become critically low before this actually comes to pass??"

And that is exactly what comes of it. You're forced to postpone the dream idea, the moonshot, that idea which got you out of bed on all of those mornings and look for another job. I never would have gone so long without steady employment, but for a continual chorus of "Tomorrow!!" egging me on to further self-destruction and financial ruin; and what do you tell a prospective employer?

"Says here on your resume, Looch, you've been self-employed for the last couple of years; what kinds of things were you doing?"

"That's a good question, Mr. The Man, I'm actually waiting for an answer, its due 'Tomorrow!', I may not actually be able to work for you, should I get this position."

:rolleyes:

All fine and dandy, I suppose. Do you know, I started to write this column this morning (at work, my new job, with an understanding employer who knows part of the reason I hold onto a dream of 'Tomorrow!' and what part of the hold-ups are; it is now 11:30 PM local, 12 hours later) and ended up spending the day in meetings which got postponed, on a day when the cheque announcing the beginning of the launch of the dream idea was due, and when the dusk settles, guess when the cheque will actually be forthcoming?

Tomorrow.

I swear, I have heard that chorus so much since May, I am strongly considering running away and joining a Broadway cast for a production of "Annie!"

The moral of my story, for anyone who cares to listen: use invectives early and frequently when your prospective partners use too much "Tomorrow". You have nothing to lose.

Unveiling the Looch in us all.

If I Could Choose an Avatar Here and Now, what would it be?

So,
D'ya know, most of my blog experience (to date) has been pretty limited, as these things go. I can't say that I've ever really followed a blog for long (Wil Wheaton's maybe being the exception to that...) and mostly, I've avoided getting into the whole zeitgeist of the blog culture.

It seems my online time has really been reserved for a few other boring and otherwise repetitive tasks, like hours online on mIRC, or perhaps a couple games (read: 4 hours) of the latest versions of Unreal Tournament. These things too shall pass: I started working (lately) for a local tech support company, and wouldn't you know it, spending 8-10 hours daily in front of other people's computer tends to take the glamour off of spending 4-6 hours every evening in front of your own.

In the meantime, something that is undeniably alluring about blogs in particular is the raw, exposed nature of the artform (can I call it that?) especially in today's computer culture, where we're constantly being told "Hide your identity! Protect yourself! Download this or that virus scanner/spybot killer!"; and yet, the largest growing usage for the 'Net (check your local ISP provider...) is making provisions for consumers to be able to blog from home with little or no hassle.

Case in point: I hit Google.ca this morning to check the news, and lo and behold!! "Start your blog with Blogger: it's easy, customizable and free."
And here I am. Another one bites the dust.

As I was saying, the culture of secrecy and security continues to bombard us all from one side, while on the other, a counter-culture gains strength by making the innermost thoughts of anyone and everyone readily available on the 'Net. What would YOU rather have protected? Your PC from popups, or your most guarded thoughts and feelings? Strikes me funny, though entirely understandable. I guess the word anonymity really sums it up, eh?



A Little About Looch
Age: Undetermined, it matters not.

Sex: Male.

Geographic Location: If there's a bright center of the universe, I'm in the Canadian Province it seems farthest from. In short, Newfoundland and Labrador.


Enough for now: other people's computers beckon me, and the day is yet a fetus. I look forward to writing more at some later date...