What I did on Canada Day
True to my statement of spiritual purpose yesterday, I celebrated Canada Day the best way I knew how: by playing the tunes of some of the great musical heroes this country has produced.Actually, I started off a little more humbly, barbequing corn and tofu dogs and catching some UV rays with Trevor Mills, itinerant bass-man and soon-to-be sideman on my upcoming Lunenburg concert recording.
Naturally, we wound up jamming. Good thing I put all that work into re-configuring my deck, so we had a place to sit and strum in the hot noonday sun. We both hauled out new material and convened a temporary mutual admiration society for the occasion.
Eventually, we wandered down to Jimmie Simpson park on Queen Street, where Suzanne de Bussac was celebrating the day with her usual musical aplomb. She played my guitar on stage, due to a patriotic mishap: she broke the nut off her guitar trying to shove a Canadian flag through the strings. I showed up just in time to save her from a nervous breakdown, but not before nearly giving her one by losing track of time along the way. That's why I don't relax, it just gets hazzardous.I sat with Trevor on the grass and said howdy to the umpteen Riverdalians I've gotten to know through my long hours at the Oasis.
For the record, it has been a long time since I've sat on the grass and chilled out. I kept having mad urges to go and build something. They passed.Evening found me back at the Oasis, and I actually managed to do an entire set of Certified Canadian Classics, including Gordon Lightfoot, Niel Young, Leonard Cohen, Stompin' Tom and other old chessnuts from my busking days. I felt a little odd airing out material that I hadn't played, in some cases, for a decade, but to my surprise, my regular supporters seemed to find it sort of refreshing. And for my part, I had some mini-epiphanies, remembering in mid-song how much I had put into these interpretations over the years.
And I managed to rock my way through "Land of the Silver Birch." Yes, you CAN sound cool singing "boom-diddy-boom-boom." Try it, you'll love it.
Naturally, we wound up jamming. Good thing I put all that work into re-configuring my deck, so we had a place to sit and strum in the hot noonday sun. We both hauled out new material and convened a temporary mutual admiration society for the occasion.
Eventually, we wandered down to Jimmie Simpson park on Queen Street, where Suzanne de Bussac was celebrating the day with her usual musical aplomb. She played my guitar on stage, due to a patriotic mishap: she broke the nut off her guitar trying to shove a Canadian flag through the strings. I showed up just in time to save her from a nervous breakdown, but not before nearly giving her one by losing track of time along the way. That's why I don't relax, it just gets hazzardous.I sat with Trevor on the grass and said howdy to the umpteen Riverdalians I've gotten to know through my long hours at the Oasis.
For the record, it has been a long time since I've sat on the grass and chilled out. I kept having mad urges to go and build something. They passed.Evening found me back at the Oasis, and I actually managed to do an entire set of Certified Canadian Classics, including Gordon Lightfoot, Niel Young, Leonard Cohen, Stompin' Tom and other old chessnuts from my busking days. I felt a little odd airing out material that I hadn't played, in some cases, for a decade, but to my surprise, my regular supporters seemed to find it sort of refreshing. And for my part, I had some mini-epiphanies, remembering in mid-song how much I had put into these interpretations over the years.
And I managed to rock my way through "Land of the Silver Birch." Yes, you CAN sound cool singing "boom-diddy-boom-boom." Try it, you'll love it.
Labels: Suzanne de Bussac, Trevor Mills
posted by David Newland at 2.7.03
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