By popular demand, Carter returns with more of his jokes and charm to brighten things up. We both head back to school after this weekend (where does the summer go), so we slipped in some back to school/work songs. Following that, some great new music, some great upcoming events, and whatever else we could squeeze into such a busy show!
Pre-recorded this week as I’m taking part in the MS Bike Tour. Thanks to everyone who supported the charity auction last week; I’ll do my best to come through like so many kind listeners did. This week on the show, a bunch of tunes based on that theme, bikes, roads, etc., as well as some great new music.
August 24, 2008
I’m taking part in the MS Society Biking to the Viking event where I’ll be riding from Stonewall to Gimli on Saturday and then back again on Sunday. Although I do plan to be back by 2, you just never know, and I have a feeling I’ll be a bit tired, so I won’t be in the studio. There will be a pre-recorded episode for you to enjoy (it’ll be posted on the downloads page before then, so check back soon).
Next week TTBTGH will be pre-recorded because I’m taking part in the MS Society’s bike tour, where I’ll be riding my bike from Stonewall to Gimli and back again to raise money for the thousands of Manitobans living with Multiple Sclerosis, and their friends and family members like me. The MS Society does great work to help, educate, and fund research into this terrible disease, and I’m committed to doing whatever I can to help them out. To that end, I brought in a box of CDs, DVDs, books, etc. and had my very first radio auction where listeners called in “bids” for the items. All money bid is donated directly to the MS Society, so you’re doing a good deed and getting some good stuff at the same time. We played an hour of music from some of the items up for bids, and an hour of great new music.
August 17, 2008
As I’ve mentioned to some of you, again this year I’ll be taking part in the MS Bike Tour to raise money and awareness for the MS Society. It’s a very worthwhile cause that hits very close to home for me. I could really use your support. I am humbled and honoured that some gracious friends/listeners have supported the cause already. Their generousity is so much appreciated, but I’m looking for as many folks to help out as possible.
This week on Tell the Band to Go Home, I’ll be having my first (and probably last) charity radio auction. I have a whole bunch of CDs, some DVDs, VHS, books, etc that I’ll be giving away in return for pledges to the MS Bike Tour. There are some great CDs (yeah, there’s some mystery junk too) that I’ll be auctioning off on the air this week. You can call or email in a “bid” on any of the items listed, and the highest bid gets the item (hopefully others will still be willing to pay…). ALL of the money goes to the MS Society, so no matter how much you pledge, it will help out. You can bid as much or as little as you want for as many items as you want. It’s all going to a really great cause.
Get in your bid now at: https://msofs.mssociety.ca:443/2008Bike/Sponsor.aspx?PID=1060132&L=2&GC=ORS
Folks who have already given a pledge can request anything they like. I’m still hoping to bring in some new pledges, but those kind and generous folks who donated previously will be looked after somehow, someday.
We’ll be hearing music from some of the discs being given away, including Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, Dustin Bentall, Scott Nolan, Teddy Thompson, Lyle Lovett, and much more. I’ve also got a ton of new stuff to share with you, so whether you’re able to bid or not, tune in.
Thanks!
Marc Guiguere, who is normally on the air before me, wasn’t coming in today, and Jared, knowing what a sucker I am, mentioned that I could come in early if I wanted to. I’m on holidays and haven’t been in the studio much lately, so why not? Marc’s show is a mix of blues and old rock stuff,so I tried to stick with that by hosting my own hour of blues and an hour of bluesy rock. It was a fun experiment, but I think I’ll stick with the singer/songwriter stuff.
And there was no shortage of good singer/songwriter stuff to play. I just got back from a trip to Hillside in Guelph, with stops in Toronto and Minneapolis, so you know that I have a ton of stories to tell and new discs to play. You throw in some info on upcoming shows and you’ve got a pretty solid show, I’d say.
August 8, 2008
“… the sounds keep you up / in the night…”
Like most kids, most of my early life I took for granted that my grandfather would just always be around. When he was gone, it was about the saddest thing I could imagine. The funny thing is that as is so often the case, I appreciated him so much more after he was gone than I did when he was always around. I guess it is true that you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
When he died, I was very sad, but the truth of the matter is that by that point, my life didn’t change all that much. I was pretty independent and wrapped up in my own things by that point, so nothing really changed. Until Christmas, that was. Christmas was always his big thing; it was always important to him that everyone was around, and everyone participated in family rituals. After he was gone, Christmas was just never the same, and Christmas was when I really started to miss having him around. It took a few years to adjust to Christmas again and settle into new rituals.
“… the sounds keep you up / in the night…”
Tonight I felt a similar sense of loss and longing. Since his untimely death earlier this year, I’ve been mourning Willie P Bennett, but because I’ve listened to him so much since then, I’ve never really had to miss him; he was still there whenever I needed him. There are many times when only his words can hit the spot, and thankfully, there are so many left behind, and they’ll stay with me for the rest of my life.
I’ve thought many times about the sad, sad fact that I’ll never see Willie again. For years I’ve longed to see a full Willie concert, but because I never had the chance, I guess I’ll never know what I was missing. But tonight Fred Eaglesmith came to town, and it was my first time seeing him live since we lost Willie. I’ve been a huge Fred Eaglesimth fan for almost a decade, and I take nothing away from Fred’s talent, charm, or appeal, but I’d say that an equal part of the magic of seeing Fred and following him was keeping tabs on Willie and getting to see him. He brought things to a Fred show that made it out of the ordinary, and they’re things that can never be replaced. Sadly, they’re things that I can never experience live again.
Whenever I went to see Fred, I’d always try to sit on Willie’s side of the stage, I’d cheer like crazy when he was introduced, and, as I saw more shows and got to know the songs and arrangements better, I’d wait eagerly for those moments when I knew Willie was going to add his mandolin, harmonica, or amazing voice to the songs. Those were always the moments that made the show for me. I’ve seen Fred solo before, and it just wasn’t the same for me; sure, it was fun, but it only served to make me appreciate Willie more, and look forward to seeing him again. (I think that, among all other things is why I’ll never warm up to Dusty. A Fred album without Willie just isn’t complete.)
“… the sounds keep you up / in the night…”
The more I got into Willie, the bigger his legacy loomed for me. For me, he really was a god that I could only worship from afar. I knew that many people really knew Willie, and I knew that he was just an ordinary guy with an absolutely extraordinary talent, but to me, he was so much more. His songs move me and resonate within me perhaps more than those of any other writer, and I listen to a lot of songwriters. Something about those songs, that music, those words, and that voice have made Willie the lifelong friend that I never even really knew.
I always wanted to know more about Willie, and my biggest ambition was always to have him on my radio show and find out more about him. I thought many times about trying to get to know him better, but I was hugely intimidated by him, and I guess I was kind of afraid to find out that my ideas and expectations were unrealistic. I guess that’s why the first time I got Willie’s autograph, I had to get someone else to get my record signed (which probably explains why it says “To Geff”)
I guess in the end I’m glad that I never pulled back that curtain to reveal the true wizard, because the larger than life image in my mind is probably so much more fun.
“… the sounds keep you up / in the night…”
Knowing that I was going to see Fred live caused some anxiety, and it caused me to start thinking about Willie more, and what things would be like. I know Fred’s been touring without Willie for quite a while now, but I’ve never seen, or even heard a show since that point. I know there’s a new player and the set’s been worked out and the shows are Fredhead approved, but you can never really judge something until you experience it for yourself. I wondered what the songs would be like. Would the new guy be trying to fill Willie’s shoes, or have the songs and arrangements changed since then? Only being there would tell.
I felt kind of uneasy going in and sitting down. It was kind of like a first date after the breakup of an important relationship; you know you want to try it again, but you know it won’t be the same, and you have to learn to try again. I was expecting things to be different, but I know that there’s much more to a Fred show than just Willie, so I knew that it wouldn’t be a disaster, but there was still something difficult about it.
It was especially interesting to go with my future wife, who had never seen Willie, or Fred, before. I got to experience Fred for the first time again through her eyes, and I suppose that helped me to remember what it is about Fred himself and his songs and his show that I loved so much in the beginning.
But I tell you, there were plenty of times in the show when all I could think about was Willie. I was having fun, but I was also very sad, and feeling a sense of loss and longing that I hadn’t really felt in a very long time. The first song was hard, but Codeine was, ironically, the most painful. Although as I said, Dusty has never really won me over, Willie’s part in that song stole the show the first time I saw him do it, and it’s lived within me ever since. And tonight, more than any other, the sounds are keeping me up in the night.
It’ll take a while for me to adjust to life without Willie, because seeing Fred in concert will never be the same, and it will always make me think of him, but he left so much behind, and that won’t ever change. Fred’s got a great new band and a wonderful show still, and I have more respect for him than ever because, to my knowledge, for the first time in his career, he’s doing a cover almost every night. Tonight he finished off with “Country Squall,” and it kind of gave me the closure I needed, because it showed that Willie is still a huge part of the show; that moment is an acknowledgement that he is still there, and he’s still important, even though we all have to move on in his absence.
“… the sounds keep you up / in the night…”
August 3, 2008
I have returned from far off lands with tales to tell. OK, so it wasn’t quite as far as it sometimes seemed, but still, my trip to Ontario for the Hillside Festival (and much more) was a big success, and a lot of fun, but I’m glad to be back home and back on the air, live this Sunday. To celebrate (and because I’m putting off all of the many, many other things that I have to do…), in addition to the usual jam-packed exciting edition of Tell the Band to Go Home, this week we present two special bonus hours of A Collector’s Guide to Jeff’s Musical Universe. Marc Giguere, who normally hosts A Connoisseur’s Guide to Jigger’s Musical Galaxy from noon-2 isn’t coming in this week, and although I’m absolutely sure it isn’t what he had in mind, I’m going to fill in for him. He normally does an hour of blues and then an hour of psychadelic/prog rock, and I’m going to do my best to suit the format (although Rheostatics are likely as psychadelic or prog as I get). Tune in to see what happens.
Then on the usual Tell the Band to Go Home, I’ll run down some of the music I’ve heard and bought over the past couple of weeks on my travels. There were some great moments at the festival and some great new CDs fell into my hands in Minneapolis, and I’m eager to share those.
Don’t forget, coming up is the Trout Forest Music Festival next weekend, so I’ll be away and pre-recorded once again next week. Congratulations to loyal listeners Oly & Laura for winning a pair of weekend passes, but thanks to all who expressed interest. Hope to see many of you out there, or out in Gimli this weekend.
I try not to be too self-serving or personal in these emails, but I do have a personal plea for support/assistance. I’ll leave that at the bottom, so you can ignore it if you see fit.
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When I was younger, I thought that cancer was about the scariest thing in the world. I’ve seen far too many people afflicted with that horrible disease, and I never want anyone to have to live through that again. But the thing about cancer is that it is treatable, it is somewhat preventable in some cases, and usually, you can see it coming and deal with it somehow. Recently, I’ve been learning a lot about a disease that I think might be even more scary. It’s called Multiple Sclerosis, and someone close to me is affected. Luckily, this person is for the most part as happy and healthy as you and I are, but that could change at any time, and in a number of different ways. MS is highly unpredictable, and it can strike at any time. The MS Society has this to say:
“Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system — the brain and spinal cord. In its most common form, MS has well defined attacks followed by complete or partial recovery. The severity of MS, progression and specific symptoms cannot be predicted at the time of diagnosis.
MS symptoms are unpredictable and vary greatly from person to person. Symptoms may include: vision disturbances such as double or blurred vision; extreme fatigue; loss of balance; problems with coordination; stiffness of muscles; speech problems; bladder and bowel problems; short-term memory problems, and even partial or complete paralysis. Please keep in mind, not all people with MS will experience all symptoms and often the symptoms will improve during periods of remission.”
Basically, although there are things you can do to help your chances, and treatments you can undergo when the disease strikes, you really have very little control over how and when it strikes, or what happens after that. So basically you live knowing that someday, somehow, you will likely have to go through the fight of your life, and you don’t know what the outcome will be. Although MS doesn’t usually kill people, it does make life really, really difficult, and it’s always really frightening.
And when I see someone important to me worrying about something like that, it bothers me. Apart from being as supportive and helpful as I can, there’s not a lot that I figured I could do to help directly. Luckily there are great people working hard on prevention, treatment, support, and maybe someday a cure. But those people are, of course, under-funded and struggling for whatever support they can get. That’s where I can help.
Again this year I’ll be participating in the MS Bike Tour where I and a bunch of other folks will (try to) cycle from Stonewall to Gimli on Saturday, August 23, and then back again on the next day. Last year I took part in this great event. The ride there was certainly a challenge, but I’ll be honest, I didn’t feel like I was really suffering for the cause too much. Sunday was another story. I suddenly felt for all of the people who have real struggles in life, because a crippling head-wind was making it almost impossible to keep my bike up straight. I’ve never worked so hard in all my life or been so frustrated and tired. I did what people with MS can’t ever do, I said enough’s enough and got a ride home in a comfortable car and didn’t have to fight any more. This year, that wind isn’t going to get me down. I’m going to make it all the way there and back (or so I plan…).
But in order to do that, I need your support. By making a pledge to the MS Bike Tour, you’re helping me to support someone I love, and you’re helping the almost 75,000 Canadians living with the disease, as well as their countless friends, family members, and supporters. I’m asking you to give whatever you can so that someday these people can live more peacefully, not having to worry about this devastating disease. If you think you’re up for the challenge, join me on the ride. All of the cool kids are on a “team” and someday, I’d love to be a cool kid. Let me know if you want to ride along. Or, if you’re not a rider and don’t have a few bucks to spare, you can volunteer to help out. You can email candace.gower@mssociety.ca if you’d like to help out.
Please take a moment to read more about the disease if you like by visiting the following links:
http://www.mssociety.ca/en/information/faq.htm
http://www.mssociety.ca/ORS/PDF/MS-Facts.pdf
And then, take a moment to make a pledge if you can. Any size of donation is appreciated and will help me to reach my goal, and will help the MS Society to continue on with its important work.
Here is the link to sponsor me online: https://msofs.mssociety.ca:443/2008Bike/Sponsor.aspx?PID=1060132&L=2&GC=ORS
Or, let me know and I’ll collect a pledge from you in person.
Thanks for reading, caring, and your support. It’s much appreciated.