Text Messaging

Depending where you live in the world, text messaging from your phone is either big or it isn’t. I live in Japan and from what I’ve read; Japan and Australia are the two biggest text messaging countries in the world.

Our thumbs were not designed to text message.

I text message because I’m a cheap bastard! But at the end of the day, which is really more important, saving a wee bit of cash, or saving time?

Here’s my biggest question. How important is it that you must text message when:

1)     You’re driving! (this one is literally KILLING PEOPLE)

2)     You’re at a movie theatre (you’re the most annoying person I have ever seen)

3)     You’re in a busy place by yourself and you want to look important (we see right through you)

4)     You just got an email from someone you don’t know on Facebook (once again-hope it makes you feel important)

The list is endless really. My point is, COME ON PEOPLE! How about checking out the scenery, or chatting with a stranger on the bus instead of a text from FIND A DATE.

Oh…hang on….. I better finish this later, just got an email from Mr. Tomo saying,

“Hi, I’m at home watching YouTube, what are you doing”?

Attack of the killer Pillow!

I bought a new pillow two days ago.

It looked all nice and soft and fluffy.

I brought it home, introduced to my bedroom, and gave it a bed.

The first night I slept it with it, it kept me up all night.

Last night it woke me up at 5am and threw my neck out.

I feel like I’ve got very severe whiplash and now I’m walking around like a robot.  I can’t move my head in any direction.

Who’d have thought a pillow could do so much damage!

Curses soft fluffy stuff anyways!

I’ve evicted the pillow and let ol’ faithful come and sleep with me again.

Moral to the story:  Don’t fix what ain’t broken!

Language breakdown

I was in Australia in the outback sometime back. I was on a tour that consisted of about 15 people. One of the guys in the group was about our age and was really quiet.

One of my friends asked me if I knew much about the guy. I said, I hadn’t talked to him yet and then we decided that someone should walk over and say hi.

My buddy my Scotland volunteered and casually walked over.

“G-Day mate”, my Scottish friend said trying to act Aussie. “Where you from”?

“Saskatoon, Saskatchewan”, the guy replied.

“Come again”?

“Saskatoon, Saskatchewan”, he said again.

My buddy came back to our group awkwardly.

“What did he say” I asked.

“I don’t know” said my friend,

“he doesn’t speak English”.

Speaking Japanese as a second language

Speaking a second language is fun!

There’s a lot of embarrassing mistakes made in the process of learning however.

For example I have said these before:

a) What I wanted to say: “Does your back still hurt”?

what was said: “Does your fish still hurt”?

b) What I wanted to say: “I’ll just have one drink”,

what was said: “I’ll just drink one breast”.

Some other examples courteous of my friends are:

a) wanted to say: “My grandmother returned it”

(obachan ni modoshita)

what was said: “My grandmother pissed herself”

(obachan ni moroshita)

b) wanted to say: “Your kid is really cute”

(akachan wa totemo kawaii desu)

what was said: “Your kid is really scary”

(akachan wa totemo kowai desu)

c) wanted to say: “I want a used car”

(chuko no kuruma ga hoshi)

what was said: “I want an advice car”

(chukoku no kuruma ga hoshi)

Mutually my Japanese friends have made similar mistakes when speaking Engrish.

For example there is no vowel sound in their language for the letter “A” when pronounced in words like hat, ran, fan, sank. They usually end up sounded closer to the words hut, run fun, sunk.

So, one time (at band camp J) when I was struggling to play a song properly on my guitar my friend was laughing at me. She attempted to say “You can’t”! What she ended up saying is “You c_nt”!

I just brushed it off though. I’ve been called worse!

There will be updates to this blog.

Standing in Line

I don’t like standing in line.

You would think that most people are the same and yet I’ve seen otherwise.

The Japanese will go to Tokyo Disneyland and wait in lines all day just to enjoy 2 or 3 rides.

I’ve read that the average New Yorker spends 5 years of his entire life standing in line.

They could have picked up a doctors degree in that time.

I avoid lineups as best I can.

If I’m stuck in a line, I try to get other things done at the same time.

I’ll write a “to do” list or lyrics to a song or flirt with the woman in front of me (careful though – done wrong and it could send you to a police lineup. The worst of all line ups)!

Avoid lineup tips:

1) Don’t go to banks or government offices on Mondays.

2) If you’re going to a place that is guaranteed to have a lineup. Get there a half hour before it opens. I’d rather wait only 30 minutes that a couple of hours.

3) At airports, don’t get in the “now boarding” lineup until it’s almost finished. Why stand there in that lineup?

4) Do you take elevators?

If it’s only a few floors think about the stairs. It’ll take the same amount of time but you’ve got a bit of exercise at the same time!

Do you have any good tips on avoiding line ups?

Saturday nights and Sunday mornings

I love Saturday nights!

I hate Sunday mornings!

Two sides to an LP.

Two sides to an LP.

Side One

Although I have been selling a lot of songs via MP3 download lately, physical CD sales still surpass them. For some strange reason, it’s comforting to me to know, some people still prefer the physical aspects of a CD case.

It’s a different era to be for sure.

When I was a kid, cassette tapes and CD’s meant everything to me. You always bought the entire album and you read the jacket from front to back with such desire! And more often than not, the hit song from the band was never their best. It was always the song that wasn’t radio friendly enough that became my favorite.

Music was fashion for a majority of the world! When I lived in Australia (I’m Canadian), I could talk to a local about bands like REM, Oasis or Counting Crows and they knew and loved them as much as I did.

It was cool to be up-to-date on the best bands and have that common connection.

It’s a lot harder to find that today and music seems to carry the same value as a bumper sticker.

Side Two

The flip side for me is I have always been an independent artist. With the fall of major record companies and the power they possessed over radio and promotion, I am finally getting a chance to expose my music to the entire world!

Internet and MP3 downloads have crushed major music corporations and have set wings on smaller independent bands.

I can now have my songs and pictures next to Counting Crows for free! This makes it a lot tougher for the consumer to weed through all the crap out there, but it offers every musician a fair and fighting chance.

Bonus track

Amazing what has happened in the last 3 years of music.

It’ll be interesting to see where this revolution of the music business will end up in the next 3 to 5 years.

I really have no idea but I do predict it won’t look anything like it does today!

Exercise smexercise!

I exercise a lot.

I always have.

This week I ran over 60 km’s and bicycled another 120 km’s.

I also lifted weights and I play Ice Hockey.

I feel so good about it that I also indulged in chocolates, potato chips, ice cream and alcohol. (not necessarily in that order)

Basically, the main reason I exercise is to enjoy the other things in life I can’t say no too.

I’d have a lot more free time if I just gave up all those unhealthy things I crave because then I could limit my exercise time too.

Curses to thee who made those things bad anyways!

Curses for being a carnivore!

Why can’t brussel sprouts be bad for you?

Truth is I’d exercise anyways.

It’s just who I am.

I’d just have to find another excuse to do it!

Note to self: Out of beer!

Rain

Rain

Why is it rain is always written in songs when talking about heart break or lost love?

To me, rain is great!

I like a good rainy day from time to time.

Sleep in late, play the guitar, and eat junk food.

I’m not going to build a boat if it rains for 40 days!

No Way!

I’m going to rent a bunch of DVD’s and put a dent in the sofa!

Maybe even write a blog!

It’s raining right now!

Thought:

Do I have to go outside and get wet while returning the DVD’s?

That sucks!

I hate rain!

The trip back to the west coast (home).

The trip back to the west coast (home).

Well, after flying back to Canada for 4 weeks to tour the west coast and visit family, I found that trying to kill two birds with one stone isn’t as easy as it seems. Thanks to UBL and all my fans to help me win the Ultimate Band contest some 7 months ago, things have been moving slowly but steadily towards a brighter future. It’s a constant battle like Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to find harmony in being a musician and a business man for the music. I have found a love for both but 24 hours in a day just doesn’t seem like enough to make them both harmonize.

Stepping off the airplane in Vancouver, Canada led me jet lagged yet racing down to Seattle in a car with my father to pick up some music gear I purchased with one of the UBL prizes I redeemed so gratefully. The next day I was rehearsing with some great musicians for the up-coming shows in and around Vancouver looking like I had been on the whisky bottle for a week thanks to time zones and lack of sleep. Mark Geraghty and Kate Polsky added volume and depth to my music as well as a belly full of laughs and rekindled memories. It wasn’t easy trying to make time for practice and everything else on my plate. I keep a truck in Nanaimo that hardly gets used but when I dust it off, and remind myself to drive on the right side of the road, it’s a real life savor. I use it to zip between a divorced mother and father, a frail grandfather, friends with beer in their fridge, and all the things required to make a concert happen.

Fortunately for me, my father took over a lot of the duties and really stepped up to make the 7 shows possible. In fact, I think he missed his calling. He organized press coverage and cool venues and by the time he was finished there wasn’t a soul left in Nanaimo who didn’t know what I was up too. In some cases it felt like a high school reunion where old friends came out of hibernation to say hi and catch my shows. I literally hadn’t seem some friends in like 18 years! My mother and her hubby Fred came up from Victoria to two of my shows and I took a photo of my mom and dad together again. That’s as rare as sushi. Even Vancouver Islands, CHECK 6 news came to one of the shows to cover my story but none of us really knew how they were informed? You can watch it here. Some of the Vancouver shows were cool too. Jerry Wong and Scott Jackson were present. The incredibly talented Jerry jammed a tune with me while Scott did an evening gig with me.

Call it a wonderful disaster if you will but I had the good fortune of meeting a myspace fan/friend/music reviewer Shannon Ambrose. She flew in from Calgary just to watch a few shows. The highlights include going out for brunch and having a quite time with her and other friends in a bar after one of the gigs. We shared some stories of familiar acquaintances and got to meet in person rather than on MSN. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her for making such a huge effort and then I had to cancel one of the gigs because I was sick. She came all that way to only catch one show (which turned out to be the big dud of the lot as well). Sorry Shannon!

All in all, the Canadian/USA trip was incredible. The support and coverage I received was impressive and touching. People really went out of their way to make things happen and I’m still moved by it. I sold lots of CD’s, had a fan make Kelly Pettit t-shirts, got newspaper, radio and TV coverage, all while standing next to my friends and family. A real highlight I won’t forget anytime soon.