• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

From Flint to Flame

Travel, Music and Other Shiny Things....

  • Home
  • About
  • Destinations (T.T.W.T.H.)
    • Europe
      • Europe: Stampede of Unicorns
      • Italy
        • Pisa
          • A Pisa My Mind After Arriving
        • Lucca
          • Lucca Both Ways Before Crossing the Cobblestone – Part 1
          • Lucca Both Ways Before Crossing the Cobblestone Part II
        • Florence
          • Florence and I are Best Firenze Part I
        • Rome
          • Rome-per Room or, Un-Convent-ional Accomodations
          • Ready to Rome-ble at the Colosseum
          • P-Rome-nade on Palatine Hill
          • Rome-ing Underground. The Catacombs of San Sebastian
          • Ba-Rome-ater of History: The Vatican Museum
        • Pompeii
          • Pompeii and Circumstance Part A
          • Pompeii and Circumstance Parts B, C and 4
      • Poland
        • Auschwitz
          • Prologue
          • Oswiecim
    • North America
      • Hawaii
        • Hawaii – The Flint is Struck
        • Oahu North Shore
          • Pupakea First Impressions: Sunrise
          • Dillingham Airfield and As-soar-ted activities.
          • Haleiwa Surfing Lessons or, “Surfer Down” in My Case
          • Haleiwa Shark Cage Diving
  • Music
    • The Rocking Chair (Guitar Cover Tunes)
      • Aretha Franklin – Rock Steady (guitar cover)
      • Pink Floyd – Time
      • Steely Dan – Rikki Don’t Lose that Number (Guitar Cover)
      • Stevie Ray Vaughan – Pride N Joy
    • Musical Direction
    • Reviews
      • Fairgale – Pillars
    • Concerts
      • The Eagles Moncton 2008
  • Other Shiny Things…
    • Movies
      • Cinematic Survivor
      • Black Panther
      • Ready Player One
    • Miscellany
      • A Free Association Inaugural Post
  • Serious Fare
    • Auschwitz
      • Prologue
      • Oswiecim
  • Contact

Archives for May 2018

Stevie Ray Vaughan – Pride N Joy

May 30, 2018 By Mark Chatham Leave a Comment

Eastern Passage and the Internal Com-busk-tion Engine

Shamelessly, I busk my own son’s wedding. Fortunately, nobody called the cops.

New Menu

There’s a new sub-category under Music which is going to cover… well, musical covers. I’ll pull popular and unpopular songs into the studio, play along and video the entire thing. I’ve found the monkey bars next to the sandbox.

That’s the video component which I’ll go into a little more depth in a bit. Now on to the topic of busking!

Why?

Some are undoubtedly thinking “You’re going to busk at your age? Are you MAD?” The quick and proper answer to that query is “bite me.” However, I’ll go for a more tactful approach and respond “The material is timeless.”

As to why, I posted the rationale on facebook:

“#8 in the “So I’m…” series which I thought was finished after #4.

So I’m going to be busking the boardwalk at Eastern Passage this summer. It’s not about the money, although all proceeds will go towards the “Get the Grandcitters to Disneyworld” initiative.

I need to get used to playing in front of people again and this seems like a sensible way to go. Plus, there’s the bonus of I’ll get to meet a lot of cool people.

I’ll relearn a number of tunes note for note which have signature solos. “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number” and “Reeling in the Years” by Steely Dan for instance. Sultans of Swing, Hotel California, mucho Pink Floyd, etc.

Just so you know, I will be departing from musical dinosaur world by noodling along to contemporary artists like the Imagine Dragons, C2C, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, et al.

As to the latter choices, with the exception of C2C it appears that education goes both ways when you have grandcritters, who enlightened me in respect to Imagine Dragons, JT and Taylor Swift. I love my grandcritters, they teach me more than just patience.

As I get these tunes together, I’ll be making vids and posting them on my Groove Fondue Youtube account. For the verbatim covers, I hope to eventually include guitar tab for any young players who are learning. I wish Youtube had been around when I was learning.

I’ve come a ways since I did this video years ago and the sound quality will be much better, but it’s at least a starting point in terms of reference.

If nothing else, this should generate story food for my blog.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to get out there by mid-June.

My cover of SRV’s “Pride and Joy.” The audio quality of vids going forward will be much, much higher.”

Just because I’m going to make this a blog post, I’ll post a bonus tune: China Grove by The Doobie Brothers

 

Filed Under: Music

Fairgale – Pillars

May 11, 2018 By Mark Chatham Leave a Comment

 

I first met Andrew Rodgers of Fairgale out of St. John’s, Newfoundland at the Taxi Songwriter’s Convention in Los Angeles in November of 2017. Craig Dodge, a Charlottetown music producer and mutual acquaintance suggested we hook up at the convention. Don and I were attending as Groove Fondue to pitch songs and network, as was Andrew. It was charming. Don and I were two, far out old men attending this convention with a bunch of much younger musicians. Well, as it turns out there were a lot of far out old people pitching music along with the gaggles of youth there so fortunately, we didn’t stand out freakishly. Much. We hung out with Andrew and had a blast. That, however, is a story for another day.

25 years old, in LA for the first time and the rental car didn’t have the sub-sub-compact car on hand so a complimentary upgrade to a Mustang convertible was the solution. Times are hard!

Prior to the convention, I emailed Andrew as part of my “getting to know you” campaign. He told me about Fairgale and later would send me links to their first album and I was extremely impressed with the band’s sound and the maturity of their writing.

The tourism industry would have people believe the music of the Maritimes and Newfoundland are all about jigs and reels. Listening to Fairgale’s Pillars, there’s nothing even close to being influenced by a jig and the only reeling was done by myself as I was listening to this CD. I’m talking “reeling” in the “gob-smacked” sense rather than the traditional dance sense.

From the opening notes of Tunnel Vision until the final ringing note of  Another Day, I was enthralled. There’s not a hint of filler on this album and every song is compelling in its own way. For a basic four piece group Fairgale offers an incredibly sophisticated sound.

L to R Brad Tuck,  Stephen Green, Andrew Rodgers, Gary Powers At the launch of Pillars. I think Andrew should change his surname to “Beard”

Fairgale is an alt rock band but could easily cross over to pop given the production values and writing. Along with Andrew on guitar and vocals is Stephen Green on guitar and vocals with a rhythm battery which consists of Brad Tuck providing the iron on drums and Gary Powers the steel with his punchy and potent bass. Andrew and Stephen are the primary writers of the group and all of these guys offer the utility of playing multiple instruments.

If I had to compare them to another group it becomes difficult. Initially, given the high caliber of musicianship, production values and overall vibe I would say they would fit in a playlist with Amanda Marshall’s debut album easily and that’s a very tall order. It’s difficult to pin down a direct comparison because I hear so many influences that are referenced, but not copied. Alluded to but not imitated. U2, Don Henley, Tom Petty, Oasis…  but in the end, it’s all uniquely Fairgale.

The two singles Tunnel Vision and Bad Reputation, written and sung by Stephen and Andrew respectively kick things off. Tunnel Vision leads off and there are definitely shades of the 80’s in there. I hear the familiar roll of jangly guitar octaves in the chorus and I get all warm n fuzzy. It’s a good foot to put forward to begin the journey.

 

Bad Reputation written by Andrew also captures the 80’s vibe with a contemporary sound. It has a bouncy groove and the choices of organ as a layer adds to the fun. I hear the line “She’s crazy about Elvis is her favorite Tom Petty line” and I’ve got to smile. Andrew’s lyric brings this grrrl to life. It’s a fun tune and a nice follow up to Tunnel Vision.

 

When I initially fired up the CD, the bass sounded hot to me but as the album rolled on I realized it’s exactly in the space it needs to be in terms of the mix. The drums and bass are definitely the pulse of this band. They’re deep in the pocket, every time and this makes for a consistently driving foundation for each song. In terms of vocals, I find Stephen has a Bono quality to his voice, controlled, contained and silky. Andrew seems to be more on the edge in terms of phrasing and choices, but that tension creates great emotional moments. Both their vocals complement each other and dovetail beautifully to enhance the band’s cohesive and fluid vibe.

Andrew’s Drop in the Ocean is the third cut and has a compelling, mid-tempo flow that has shades of Pink Floyd and Cold Play. Perhaps a hint of Foo Fighters in terms of chord voicings; the continuously ringing open B and E strings that fatten the sound and help sweep you away. Andrew’s vocal is perfect. A simple melody with lots of room to work sustained notes to wring out the emotion and he does it perfectly.  Every time I hear this I pick up my guitar to play along, it’s a very relaxing groove. The opening lyric is striking in its simplicity but it resonates.

“You don’t speak my language. You don’t think the way I do.”

There are only two short verse but that’s somewhat appropriate given the isolation of which the song speaks. Drop in the ocean, indeed.

Wishful Thinking written by Stephen is a compelling mid-tempo rock groove that at it’s core flows like the Tragically Hip, but the instruments providing supporting color as well as the shift in the bridge twist things in ways that are “un-Hip-like,” but work well. A case study in musical tension. The bass and drums are locked together, feel more “rock” here and give an insistent push to the music. Stephen has fantastic control of his pipes.  His performance is structured and he makes great phrasing choices, particularly in the chorus.  The lyric is poignant, introspective and the phrasing in the chorus underpins a hint of bitter regret.

“Sometimes I wonder,
Is this as good as it is ever gonna get”

What really made that line pop in terms of performance was the punchy delivery on “good as it is,”  each word a shot on the beat and artfully done. Stephen is definitely a wordsmith.

“Daylight in the Dark” begins with evocative cellos and acoustic guitar but shifts gears to an upbeat drive that along with Stephen’s vocal styling lends a strong U2 vibe to the piece. Each and every time I’m impressed with Gary and Brad’s playing. It’s not just how tight they are when driving a groove, they just make solid choices across the board. Together. No weak and thready pulse here, their vitals are strong. How good are they? It’s another song that whenever it’s on, I’ve got the the Strat in hand and in a large measure it’s the compelling groove they set up that calls to me. These are simple lines, haunting and memorable:

“are we living on a memory 
have we gone too far 
gunning for the 
daylight in the dark 
daylight in your heart”

As a lyricist… I really wish I’d written that.

“40 nights of wishful thinking 
40 days of wasted time“

Biblical references are always powerful word juice, if you will. However, there’s a precision and symmetry in the lines is almost mathematical. That would carry more weight had I not failed math in high school, but I’ll stand by my position.

My first exposure to Andrew’s music was a song he was pitching for the convention called 100 Miles a Minute and it floored me. It’s not part of Fairgale’s portfolio yet, but even in its simplest form it’s a divine piece about a glimpse of a girl, a yearning ache and unrequited love. I was drawn to it and listened to it multiple times. There’s no doubt in my mind Andrew does “longing” extremely well and in Never Live Long Enough, the eighth cut on Pillars he does it again.

Is there anything that imparts a sense of deep longing in a more unique way than a single note, insistently pedaled on a piano? Think Don Henley’s A Month of Sundays or A Great Big World’s Say Something and you know what I mean. The song begins with a simple piano line accompanying Andrew in this beautiful piece on the loss of a relationship.

“Where are you now?
How have you been?
How did we become strangers after everything?”

The questions are a great way to set up the mood and they tell us everything we need to know. Andrew’s lyrics can be a little spare at times, but I believe it’s due to the difference in singing styles. If Stephen can be compared to Bono, then I’d compare Andrew to Peter Gabriel. He hangs notes out there and works them to their full emotional potential. However as it turns out, Andrew is also a wordsmith in his own right:

“I hear your song on the radio.
It haunts me like a ghost creeping in like the sunset through my window.”

That’s a nice bit of word craft and use of imagery. There are times Andrew’s lyrics almost feel like dialogue and I like the way that anchors the listener. I feel that aching pull every time I hear this song and I sigh.

The entire album is a work of casual precision. It feels casual, but it’s all actually precisely tooled and balanced. I think this is a world class project and these are hard working, serious lads.  If these guys can’t make it off The Rock and out of the Maritimes with this type of material, then I’d say the executives in the music industry are either deaf or willfully obtuse. Yes, that essentially means stupid. However, it’s always about getting music to the right set of ears. There’s always the “crap shoot” variable to success in the music industry and lucky for Fairgale, they’re rolling with loaded dice.

 Check out their first album Own the Light at their website at Fairgale.ca

Check out Pillars on Spotify

Filed Under: Music, Reviews

Lucca Both Ways Before Crossing the Cobblestone Part II

May 6, 2018 By Mark Chatham 2 Comments

Grocery Spoor

Day one in Europe had been a smashing success so I started our second day in Europe the way I always greet the morning in new and exciting places. I open my eyes and stare slack-jawed at the ceiling assessing the energy states of various portions of my body. After multiple systems tests (Toe wiggle, check! Eyes can blink independently, check! Nostrils flare…) I was ready  to start the day.

 

You’re not in Sobey’s anymore, JoJo

Breakfast was indeed an international affair and the kids… whew. It’s hard to fathom just how MUCH energy small children can bring to the table. Any table. Breakfast table, dinner table, the periodic table of elements, a table of contents… it just doesn’t matter, they bring it full out. I love it as I’m little more than a large child myself, but I’m old. I participate until I don’t, then I just have fun watching.

Jo and I decide that we’ll head into town with Anastasia and the kids for the morning to get a closer look at the town by light of day and let Steve work. After that I wanted to try our Global Eurail Pass in controlled circumstances so we’d take a train ride to Florence to spend the afternoon. Before that, Steve and I headed to the grocery store across the street to pick up some staples.

 

The concept of un-refrigerated “meat shelves” is alien to me, but to be fair I’m in a foreign land

It’s a grocery store and aside from the language, I figured it couldn’t be that different than home. I mean, aside from the product quality, prices, selection, range and variety of product, regulatory regime and storage methods… the procedure for self-service of produce and bulk items, method of payment, currency and local customs, it was exactly like home.

There was a hand held device with which you tracked your purchases and this was new to me. I draw the line at wearing electronic ankle bracelets. Italy must be two generations ahead of Nova Scotia in respect to grocery store technology. The deli case was particularly fascinating with an incredible assortment of meats and cheese. I helped Steve load up the cart with staples and then paid for the groceries when we went through the cash.

Later on Joanne and I would make the mistake of thinking we could just shop there which proved not to be the case. Had I understood Italian, I might have realized this was an Italian Co-op and we weren’t members. However this trip to the grocery proved a success. After we arrived back to the house, Steve the Translator retired to his office, to translate things. Anastasia and the kids piled into the car with Jo and I and we headed in to the walled town of Lucca.

Shop Til You Drop

Joanne makes her way home from Winners

After we parked, the girls decided to walk around and Joanne wanted to shop. Our shopping styles are vastly different. If shopping were athletics, I would be Usain Bolt. On your mark… get set… and I’m already back. I know what I want, I get it and I’m gone. Joanne is more like Rick Swenson, six time winner of the Iditarod, the two week or so dogsled race held in Alaska. If you lined that 1,000 mile course with shops, I wouldn’t be surprised if she could check out every store and snaffle up every rare bargain.

My feeble frontal lobes cannot wrap themselves around this phenomenon so I often tend not to go on safari with her when she’s shopping, at least when we’re at home. That being said, I have had a lot of fun shopping with Joanne when I pick the right moments, so I can appreciate why she enjoys it as a pastime and finds it relaxing. I fully endorse her shop till you drop philosophy! From the man cave easy chair mostly. In this instance she and Anastasia were comfortable so I begged off and broke off the group on a mission of my own.

Smoke Shop Culture Shock Therapy

Confession time for those who don’t know me personally, but I’m a smoker. This isn’t a monkey on my back, it’s Mighty Joe Young I’m carrying around. I’ve quit for varying amounts of time but at some point I end up going back and stress is the trigger. For Joanne’s part, she approaches this with equanimity so long as I don’t invade her space. I’d stopped smoking a few days before we’d headed to Europe and had been doing okay up to that point, however Mighty Joe began gently roaring into my ear. What now?

There are no 7-11’s or Needs in Lucca. In fact, there were no convenience stores of any kind, anywhere in Lucca.
For some odd reason, Italians don’t see value in a shop that’s open 24/7 and sells everything that’s bad for you and legal in one location. As it turns out, cigarettes are only sold at a tabaccheria, or a tobacco shop. It’s worth noting these shops are only open from 8-5 in Lucca. It struck me that pretty much everything was only open from 8-5  in Lucca with the exception of restaurants. I had no idea what to look for as the shop fronts all looked the same and I couldn’t read the signs. Fortunately, I was in the piazza in front of the San Michele cathedral and upon which operated numerous buskers. Hmmm….

 

 

Mission accomplished. I smoked two and dumped the pack. I’d only give in to the temptation once more in Berlin. That tally would be twice more but for the fact the only other time I was tempted was after our return from Rome. I went into deep search mode of the surrounding area of Steve’s house and found a shop which was closed. These shops have cigarette machines out front reminiscent of the cigarette machines of long ago in North America with the exception they don’t take coins or cash.

If I hurry this smoke I’ll have just enough time to see the Cathedral then meet the girls

There’s nothing quite so pathetic as a Jonesing smoker trying desperately to read and comprehend the instructions on an Italian cigarette machine using the Google translate sign reader app thing as one’s only tool. Oh, how I tried to make it take a card, any card! Pleasepleaseplease… well. It wasn’t pretty and I lost in the end.

What made it all the more ridiculous was the fact I had an inkling from what I’d gleaned that an Italian government I.D. proclaiming your incorrigible nature was required but I was in deep, deep, denial and tried anyway. However, all of that was a trial yet to come and at the moment I had about an hour to kill before meeting up with the ladies.

San Michele from the Inside

Anonymous bowlers awaiting registration at the local alley

I thought I’d check out the interior of the San Michele Basilica  which we’d passed the evening before on our way to restaurant. It was a well lit interior, which wouldn’t prove always to be the case in other historic locations. I can also say it was a striking interior.

I have a passing knowledge of the Catholic church, but in my experience I do have a sense of its value on deep tradition and the importance of ritual and all of that was in evidence here. There’s something about polished marble and wood that resonates and is compelling not just aesthetically, but on a deeper emotional level. I have mixed feelings in respect to how religious organizations use their resources, but on any level I can appreciate the beauty in the moment.

I’m still kind of awestruck with the work that goes into these structures given when they were built. That sense of awe would become magnified as we visited more metropolitan areas where the sheer scale was seriously mind boggling. If you stacked four Costco’s and put a couple of spires on them, you’d get a sense of the size of the 337 foot tall St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.

Even though San Michele was of a modest size, I still have difficulty wrapping my head around the comprehensive display of craftsmanship by medieval artists, artisans and masons. To essentially stack stone like this successfully and with such precision using 13th century technology is quite the accomplishment. I’d really appreciate this fact after visiting Florence and seeing what treasures 13th century medical technology held at the Da Vinci Museum. Yikes! Their priorities were sure messed up. Less church building, more R&D on medicine stuff that doesn’t involve leeches and the eye of a newt would have served them better.  No matter, it was a beautiful church and after taking it all in, I was off to meet the girls. and from there to the train station to head to Florence.

Previously on TTWTH: Lucca Both Ways Before You Cross the Cobblestone Part I

Next Time on TTWTH: Florence and I are the Best of Firenze Part I

 

 

Filed Under: Italy

Primary Sidebar

Island Time – Groove Fondue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HBwRdstgCY

Not Fake News.

Interviewing those who lived these disasters gives one an appreciation for life.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9 other subscribers

Recent Posts

  • Ba-Rome-ater of History: The Vatican Museum
  • Rome-ing Underground. The Catacombs of San Sebastian
  • Aretha Franklin – Rock Steady (guitar cover)
  • Steely Dan – Rikki Don’t Lose that Number (Guitar Cover)
  • P-Rome-nade on Palatine Hill

Recent Comments

  • Tory on The Eagles Moncton 2008
  • Europe: Stampede of Unicorns - From Flint to Flame on A Pisa My Mind After Arriving
  • Mark on Ba-Rome-ater of History: The Vatican Museum
  • Mark on Ba-Rome-ater of History: The Vatican Museum
  • Mark on Ba-Rome-ater of History: The Vatican Museum

Archives

  • March 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017

Categories

  • Auschwitz
  • Concerts
  • Cover Tune Music Videos
  • Europe
  • Europe
  • Hawaii
  • Italy
  • Miscellany
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Oahu North Shore
  • Other Shiny Things…
  • Pisa
  • Pompeii
  • Reviews
  • Rome
  • The Flint – Planning
  • Travel (T.T.W.T.H.)
  • Home
  • About
  • Destinations (T.T.W.T.H.)
  • Music
  • Other Shiny Things…
  • Serious Fare
  • Contact
Copyright Flint to Flame © 2021