Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame
Cleveland, Ohio ~ May 18-20 2007



Hiya, folks! Been a little while since I've posted anything here (Facebook seems to be the place to hang out at these days), but I thought I'd share a few pictures of our trip to Cleveland over the May long weekend. Dan & Krista McCardle swung by Oshawa on May 18 at 9am, Nikki and I hopped in the van and we were off to the races.

Rolling through Toronto...

We saw this funky ride on the 401 south of TO. 6

Pit stop at Peace Bridge Duty Free before crossing the border. 6
Not a bad deal! 6



We grabbed three for the hotel (plus some big-ass bottles of Sheridan's and Mint Bailey's at insanely low prices) and crossed over into the US with no trouble.

Gettin' there...

Hello, Cleveland!

We stayed at the Hyatt Place in Independence, OH. Very nice hotel not far from downtown.

We only stayed for 2 days, honest!

After check-in we had a few drinks and decided to head over to the Winking Lizard Tavern for some ribs, and to check out the World Tour of Beer 2007. 100 different brands to choose from! I had a nice big glass of Stone Arrogant Bastard to start. (Nikki and I also got a close look at Lucy the iguana, but she didn't wink at us.) Note: No photos from Friday night are available because I misplaced my camera shortly after we checked in, and was sure I'd lost it...I was totally bummed out. But hey! Krista found it in their room the next morning! Quite a relief, let me tell ya!

Anyway, on Saturday afternoon we piled into the van and made our way to the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

My first glimpse of The Hall from the backseat. 6

Nice shot of me and Dan with the museum in the background. 6

Some info on the Rock Hall from wikipedia.org...

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was created in 1983. During early discussions on where to build the Hall of Fame and museum, the Foundation's board considered the Cuyahoga River. Ultimately, the chosen location was in downtown Cleveland by Lake Erie, just east of Cleveland Browns Stadium and the Great Lakes Science Center. Cleveland lobbied to be chosen, citing the facts that one-time Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed is widely credited with promoting the new genre (and the term) of "rock and roll", and that Cleveland was the location of the first rock and roll concert. After a petition drive that was signed by 600,000 fans favoring Cleveland over Memphis, and a USA Today poll which Cleveland won by 100,000 votes, the Hall of Fame board voted to build the museum in Cleveland.

At a point in the planning phase when a financing gap existed, a proposal was made for the Rock Hall to be located in the then vacant May Company Building. But it was finally decided that Chinese architect I. M. Pei, who is credited with such other projects as the Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France, and the Bank of China Tower, would be commissioned to design a new building. Pei came up with the idea of a tower with a glass pyramid protruding from it. The museum tower was initially planned to stand 200ft high, but it had to be cut down to 162ft due to its proximity to Burke Lakefront Airport. The building's base is approximately 150,000 square feet. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 7 1993, with Pete Townshend and Chuck Berry doing the honors. The museum opened on September 2 1995, with the ribbon being cut by an ensemble that included Yoko Ono and Little Richard, among others.

Definitely some funky architecture. 6

Images of the glass as we were approaching the main entrance. 6

Main lobby area...

Photography and video of the exhibits inside the museum is strictly prohibited due to artist copyrights. Some of the most memorable items for me were ZZ Top's '33 Ford Eliminator (as seen in their videos from the early '80's), Elvis Presley's white sequined suit from his '70's Las Vegas shows, and some undipped blotter acid sheets with artwork by Robert Crumb, which once belonged to Janis Joplin! But of course there are thousands upon thousands of amazing items at the museum; obviously a firsthand visit is required to get the full effect.

So anyway, the only picture I took inside the place was this funky monitor set-up. 6
But back out in the lobby...

...they've got some other cool stuff. 6 These are the statues that were used for the cover of Pink Floyd's 1994 album The Division Bell (pictured below).

The Teacher from The Wall (1982). 6 This thing is huge. [Larger image lifted from veritography.com.]

The gang outside again; Nikki and me by the entrance sign.

The GoodTime III in Cleveland harbor...

And finally, a shot of Cleveland Browns Stadium from the parking lot before we left. 6

After we returned to the hotel we kicked back with a few cocktails. (Hyatt Place is really cool, there's a 42" high-definition television in every room.) 6 For dinner we went down the road to Damon's Pub and ordered several 22oz MGD's (and some other refreshing concoctions. :) That evening we took a wild cab ride with Igor the Romanian taxi driver to the House of Blues on Euclid Avenue (let's just say he knew a few good shortcuts). Lefty Collins & The No Mercy Band were jamming that night; a very good house band. From there it was a foggy stagger over to Flanagan's Pub and then back to the hotel sometime in the wee hours...

* * * * *

Check-out time was at noon the next day. Ouch! It's always rough to pack up again and get goin' back the other way. Another stop at the duty free shop is always in order; check this stuff out: Remy Martin Louis XIII, 40% a.b.v., 700ml, $1290.32 CDN. 6 Compare and save!


And here's a shot of Jack and me by the door. 6 So rare to see the man in public these days.

Traveling back through Niagara Falls we stopped at My Cousin Vinny's for a late lunch. (Don't let the kitschy name and the big tomato fool ya, though - Mediocre and over-priced food with terrible service. Avoid!) But they did have this tacky Velvet Elvis, and I got a nice photo of Krista and Dan. 6 So it wasn't a total loss. :)

And we made it back home around 7pm that night. Seeing the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame was really a dream come true for me; here's to Nikki, Dan & Krista for making it a fun and amazing trip.

Thank you, Cleveland! Good night!

-B.

K

Piña coladas en paraíso ~
Varadero, Cuba / Feb. 10-17 2007



¡Hola, mi familia y mi amigos!

Nikki and I spent a week in Cuba from Feb. 10-17 '07; here are few photos from our vacation.

¡Tomemos un viaje! (Let's take a trip!)

Our pal Laurinda gave us a lift from Oshawa to the airport on Saturday Feb. 10 at 11am. Here we are leaving Nikki's, and a view from the backseat on the 401 West heading to Pearson. 6

At the airport...

Oh, man... Get us outta here, please! Sunny Varadero awaits... 6

After hanging out with some fellow travelers at the airport bar, we finally boarded the plane at 3:30pm. Ladies and gentlemen, your capable pilots! (Photo courtesy of WestJet. :) 6 Also, a shot of the passengers.

Flyin'...











All WestJet planes now have monitors on the backs of the seats; you can watch TV or purchase a movie by credit card for $5. One channel also shows the progress of the flight. 6 Cruising 35,000 feet over the Florida keys at speeds of just under 500mph... ah, what a feeling...














And there's even a nice lunch! :)















We landed in Cuba around 7pm; we breezed through customs and entered the country with no trouble. (See a short video of our descent through the clouds before landing in Varadero by clicking here.) After collecting our luggage and switching our Canadian currency over to Cuban convertible pesos, we hopped on Nolitours bus no. 769 and were on our way to the resort.


The first bus I've ever been on with its own waiter! A cold Cristal or Havana Special, anyone? :)

The bus ride was a trip; it was cool to be traveling through a Caribbean country for the first time, and we were really excited to get to the resort (which is about 45km from the airport). Soon we arrived safe and sound at... La Hotel Playa Varadero 1920! We checked in around 9:30pm.

So, here's our first room:
1210 didn't have much of a view, but it was clean and everything was functional. However, the dank, musty odor from the mildew on the walls was almost overpowering (at some point this part of the hotel must have been water-damaged by a typhoon or something). We ran the a/c constantly and sprayed a lot of perfume and cologne around in an attempt to mask the smell, but Nikki was still forced to sleep with a towel over her face! It was pretty bad. (Not to mention the big Cuban bug outside the bathroom that scared the life out of her shortly after we got unpacked. :) Reception couldn't get us another room that night, so we spent the first night in there and upgraded the next day...

...to the Cayo Coco Villa bungalows! Now we're talkin'!

Ah, good ol' room 6415. Nice and fresh! A huge improvement over the first one, with a lovely view of the ocean. Here's the view from the patio:














So, we were perfectly happy with our new neighborhood! Our first day at the resort was warm and sunny, so we spent the afternoon at the beach and took the first of many refreshing dips in the ocean.

Some images from the coastline not far from our room. 6 The crystal blue-green waters of the Caribbean are amazing...

It began to cloud up a bit on Monday afternoon, so we took some time to explore the resort. Various images of our wanderings below:


You can tell by the sign below that we were on the far end of the place; all the arrows point in one direction. 6



Here's the Cayo Coco pool bar, which was right near our bungalow (the area where we stayed is visible in the background). 6 We stopped for a piña colada (our cocktail of choice for the week) on the way by.

The bartenders keepin' things loose...













On we go...



























It's paradise, I tell ya!


















After lunch on Monday we visited the Cohiba Bar, which is right down the stairs from the main hotel lobby.



Umm...Brian doesn't really feel like drinking today... 6












Wait a second! Yes he does! Mmmm, spanish coffee (with rum. :)


That night we dropped over to the...

...which happened to be completely deserted (and incidentally, didn't have a piano). We were looking to sample an authentic Cuban Mojito which, back in the day, was a favorite cocktail of Ernest Hemingway's.

The Mojito (recipe & information courtesy of Tasteofcuba.com)
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
Juice from 1 lime (2 ounces)
4 mint leaves
1 sprig of mint
2 ounces of Havana Club white rum
2 ounces club soda

Note: There are countless recipes for the Mojito (pronounced moh-HEE-toh), but this version is the one Hemingway himself enjoyed at the drink's place of birth, La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana.

Place the mint leaves into a long mojito glass (often called a "collins" glass) and squeeze the juice from a cut lime over it. (You'll want about two ounces of lime juice, so you may not require all of the juice from a single lime.) Add the powdered sugar, then gently smash the mint into the lime juice and sugar with a muddler (the wooden device pictured below; you can also use the back of a fork or spoon if a muddler isn't available). Add crushed ice, then add the rum and stir. Top off with club soda and garnish with a mint sprig. Fondos para arriba!

Quite an interesting concoction, I must say! We chased 'em down with some cold Cristal. :)

After the El Mojito we had dinner at Restaurante Mirador Los Coco's (seafood) and saw a magic show at the resort's theatre.

Skin the shrimp and remove the head, you say? Why bother?













On the way back to our room later that night, I found myself carrying an umbrella, one of the drinking mugs and a beer.So, I quickly came up with a way to cut down the load a bit...

Brilliant! :)

So anyway, we woke up and it was mid-week! The rain was letting up by this point, and our wandering continued...here we are poolside near the Habana bar.


One of the other small bars by the beach. 6 The piña coladas here were the best...




















Watch video of Nikki writing in the sand by clicking [here].

Scenes from a paddle boat...












As were we hanging around that afternoon, a wedding party began to assemble for a ceremony on the beach. A large crowd soon gathered to watch the happy occasion, and I captured the images below.

Welcome to Mini Jurassic Park! 6 In the wooded boardwalk area between the main hotel and the beach, the lizards run wild and free...

More relaxation on the beach. 6 (The beauty of being on vacation: Even when you're doing nothing, you're still doing something. :)

There are a variety of day trips and excursions available for purchase through the tour company; on Wednesday we went on the Seafari catamaran tour to Cayo Blanco island. This was an amazing trip which included a swim with trained dolphins, snorkeling the reef among a huge school of tropical fish (no pictures, damn!), and a seafood lunch on Cayo Blanco...all drinks included, of course! Some photos taken with the disposable camera during the day, below.

Aboard the catamaran on the way to the reef...

Lunch time for a pelican flock...

And of course, the dolphin enclosure (I had to crop this one into the shape below due to a screwed-up scan of the print).

Here we are in the water with the crazy creatures.

After swimming and having a photo taken with the dolphins, we got back aboard the catamaran and cruised to Cayo Blanco for lunch (icy cold Cristal beer, lobster, shrimps and a pretty tasty fried fish). All the passengers were allowed a couple of hours to enjoy the sun and gorgeous white sand on the island, then it was back onboard for an awesome sail back to Varadero. It was an amazing tour, the best day of the entire week. That night at the resort we had a nice Valentine's Day dinner in the main dining room; these folks provided the music. 6














In anticipation of Kelly & Yuniesky's visit the next day, that evening we decided to take it halfway-easy on our cocktail intake. :)

Main pool area at night...














The Habana Bar. 6 (Largest bar in the resort, open 24 hours.)





















On Thursday morning Nikki and I rented a couple of motorscooters, which are available right near the front door of the hotel (cost: 24 pesos for 24 hours). 6

















(This shot was taken right after Nikki realized, "Hey! I can drive one of these things!" :) 6


Kelly and her fiance Yuni were on their way by scooter from Matanzas where she was staying, and they met us in a parking area in front of the resort. They arrived around 10:30am; this was the first time Nikki and Kelly have seen each other in nine years! I got a quick photo, and we were off to Varadero for the day. 6

On a scooter doing 60 kph, the trip to town from the Playa Varadero 1920 takes about ten minutes and is a beautiful oceanside drive. It was a very cool ride. After getting the scooters parked, we walked around the Gran Parque de la Artisania market and shopped for some souvenirs.

We spotted this little guy sitting on a bench with his owner. 6 It was really hot that day in town, but he managed to lift his head long enough to pose for a photo. :)

Coconut taxis! 6 Another common means of transportation in Cuba.



A side street next to the market. 6 There wasn't an oldies car show going on, believe it or not...


I

I like the way this pic turned out. 6 ("Palm tree fireworks.")

For lunch we dropped over to the 13th Street Snack Bar. (A peso for a beer, a half-chicken dinner for around $3.50. Wasn't bad, either!).

After lunch we hopped back on the scooters and visited the local conference center & shopping mall, La Centro De Convenciones Plaza America.



























After strolling around for awhile, we were soon relaxing with a round of cold Heineken's at The Marino Bar.






And here it is, folks -- I believe it was these salami slices at the Marino that knocked me out of commission for a day. 6

At least I think that's what it was; it was the only thing I ate that nobody else did, and I was then laid up with cold sweats and stomach cramps for most of the day on Friday. It tasted normal, but live and learn, kids -- be careful what you eat and drink while outside the resort! :)

La policia outside...

After the mall, we hopped on the scooters and motored back to town...






It was great hooking up with Kelly and Yuni; by late afternoon it was time for us to head back to the resort and for them to hit the road back to Matanzas. Some parting shots before going our separate ways:



That night Nikki and I had our second a la carte dinner of the week at the Palma Real.


As you can see, the fish is prepared in a pretty basic manner...


And I had to get a shot of some of the artwork inside the Cohiba Bar. Truly fine work...


From speeding around town with Kelly and Yuni on Thursday, Nikki and I felt comfortable with jumping on a single scooter and heading to town the next day for some more sightseeing and to pick up a few additional souvenirs. More photos from the market, below.

Some of the public transportation in Cuba is pretty funky indeed...


















Painting for sale...behold, "Samuel L. Castro." 6

After we returned from town on Friday afternoon, I was completely out of commission for the entire evening (damn that rancid meat!). But I felt better after a night's sleep, and on the last day of our vacation (Saturday), we had until 4:30pm before the bus arrived to take us back to the airport. I captured a few final pictures of our neck of the woods before our buddy Jose arrived to bring our luggage to the lobby.

On the way to the catamaran on Wednesday I'd noticed Ambrosio's Cave about 5 minutes up the road from the resort, so we decided to rent a scooter for a third time and check 'er out (and maybe take another quick cruise to town!).

Cueva Ambrosio is one of the 15 archaeological sites on the Varadero peninsula which contain testimony of Indian customs. It's 820 feet long and has five interconnecting galleries. The cave contains 72 rupestrian drawings - one of the largest collections of Indian pictographs in the Caribbean islands. During Cuba's colonial period, runaway slaves used to take refuge in the cave. (A full tour is available at a cost of 3 pesos per person, but we had to return the scooter by 2pm and didn't really have time to see the whole thing). We did step inside to look around, though...

The cave is a really cool place...and is populated by quite a few fruit bats! 6

They fly around constantly. You can tell Nikki was slightly freaked out... :)








A few stops on the way to town...





...and some shots from our last tour around town on Saturday afternoon.





There are dogs in the streets everywhere in Varadero. Here's a few hangin' around the gas station...

...and an old Daschund we saw by the river who's had a few hard nights. :)
We motored back to the hotel around 2pm, and took a last walk around the resort before the inevitable bus ride back to the airport...













Yep, lots of lizards in Cuba...













...and snakes, too! (This guy's about 4 feet long.)

Mucho cacti! Glad we didn't fall in there when we were loaded...

Some images of inside the hotel...

Dining room and Main Hall.

Much of the main hotel building is "open-air;" staircases lead right outside without a locking door in sight...



























While waiting for the bus, we hung out in the lobby with this crew from Brampton, ON...

...and got these cool shots of Nik and I above the sign.




Varadero airport...

And once again, ladies and gentlemen...our capable pilots!

Aerial view over Toronto before landing...

And finally, ground transportation back to Oshawa from the airport. Nice to be home!















For a first trip to the Caribbean, Varadero was a great place to start. We'd go back! Actually, planning for the next trip is already underway... :)

Hasta la vez próxima, amigos! (Until next time, friends.)

Cheers,

Brian

J

A visit from Scott! / Jan. 26-30 '07

How's she goin'! As you probably know, our old buddy Scott was in the Ottawa / Kingston area on the weekend of Jan. 26/07 for a quick stop-over on his way out to Calgary. Here's the first 'after the fact' entry I mentioned in my last post; a few photos of the gang's wacky get-together while Scott was in town. (Note: Cuba vacation photos coming soon!).

So, then! On Friday night, Scott, Dan and I uncorked a few wobbly-pops at the hotel...

We then got mobile on Saturday afternoon and made our way to Kingston to meet up with the rest of the crew.

[I saw this heart-warming message at a Sunoco station somewhere on the way to Kingston. 6 Remember, kids -- Big Brother's watching!]
















Traffic jams in the snow on the 401 are always fun...but not really! Nik and I got held up for a bit on the way back to Brent & Nerissa's...

...but we got back in time to make 'er out to the Time To Laugh comedy club on Princess Street to see Otto & George. Simply put, it's the raunchiest ventriloquist act you'll ever have the misfortune to see. Absolutely filthy. :)


www.ottoandgeorge.com


Back at the house after the show...

Of course, I had to get a picture of Nerissa and her belly! (She's about 3 1/2 months along here.)

It was a cool weekend, lots of fun. Scott hung out at Brent & Nerissa's for another couple of days, and then continued to motor west (and the rest, as they say, is history!).

So there ya go people! Stay tuned for photos from Varadero.

Hasta luego!

Brian

A quick (and photoless) update between actual posts...

Happy Super Bowl Sunday, everybody! Hope all is well with ya.

So, as the subject line says... I left my camera at Nikki's in Oshawa last weekend, so I haven't yet been able to post photos of Scott's big visit to Ottawa/Kingston on his way out west. Nik and I are also leaving for our Cuba trip this Saturday, so I'll have to do a couple of "after the fact" entries when I return in a couple of weeks.

(I know it must irk ya when you take the time to check out Brian's Blog-O-Rama! and you see the same post from a month ago. I'm such a slacker with this thing sometimes, it's unbelievable.)


So anyway, no new pictures this time around. However, last night I was digging through my Photos folder and stumbled across a nice pic of Eva that I took at a baseball game down home last summer:


(Chatham won! :)

Cheers,
Brian

Rick has some fun with PhotoBooth.

Hey hey!

Today Rick Belliveau sent me a little something he put together with some cool software that was included with his new iMac:



Oh, man. Too good! (I think the "Hulk" and "mind reader" panels are the best. Hee hee.) Once again, Rick - fine work!

Later all
Brian

Niagara Falls / New Years in Oshawa 2006

Happy New Year, everybody! Been a little while since my last post; thought I'd share a few photos of my time in Oshawa, Hamilton and Niagara Falls with Nikki's family and friends over the holidays. I left Ottawa after work on Friday, Dec. 22 '06 and spent a great Christmas in Oshawa with Nik and Franklin. On the 28th, it was off to Hamilton to visit Nikki's mom and the rest of the family; on Dec. 29, Nik, her sister Lori, Lori's fiance Mike and I spent the afternoon in Niagara Falls (Canadian side). Some photos below.


Varying angles of the falls from near the edge. 6 (We didn't ride The Maid Of The Mist on this trip; just a bit too chilly and wet! The spray coming off the waterfall was intense. Next time for sure, though.)

View of the hotels which overlook the falls, on the way back to the downtown area. 6 (As you can see, 2006 was a green Christmas in southern Ontario, folks.)

And of course, some of the many attractions you can find around town. 6

[See a video of us strolling the Clifton Hill area, pictured above, by clicking here. ]






















Lori & Mike w/frog outside the Rainforest Cafe...















Nik eye-balling some white-tip sharks in the big tank...


...and the gang inside. 6 The jambalaya was excellent. :)


After lunch (and close to sundown) we decided to take a ride on The Niagara SkyWheel to get a bird's-eye view of The Falls and the downtown core...



























Various images from up high...



























































...and some cool angles from the ground after the ride. 6








































Last pics taken on the way out of town before the drive back to Hamilton. 6



Niagara Falls is an amazing place; we're looking forward to heading back this spring to stay overnight. I'll be sure to get more photos of the inside of some of the places shown above when we have more time. Watch this space...

$
We spied this sign when we got back to Hamilton that night. Happy Festivus, everybody!

We were back in Oshawa on Saturday Dec. 30, and rang in the New Year at Nikki's with Trev and Jen. Photos below of the gang enjoying a few grogs (in my new super-cool limited edition Rolling Stones pint glasses! Thanks, Nik. :)
































Trevor even fixed me up with a new set of strings. Thanks, Trev! She sounds a lot better now!

















And of course, some groovy guitar and harmonica are never far behind...



































Anyway, that's about it for now. It was a great holiday. Happy New Year, folks! See y'all in '07.











-B.

entry two / 11/21/2006

Good evening, folks. Behold! Another look at just some of the music your old pal Brian's been into as of late.

Maestro! You know what to do...

Bob Seger ~ Face The Promise (2006; EMI Music Canada)

Seger's first album since It's A Mystery (1995); his first solo effort -- sans Silver Bullet Band -- since Beautiful Loser (1975). A real return to form. Includes duets with Kid Rock ("Real Mean Bottle") and Patty Loveless ("The Answer's In The Question"). The title track will have you doing 100 mph down the highway if you listen to it in the car.

George Thorogood and The Destroyers ~ The Hard Stuff (2006; EMI Music Canada)

Thorogood's still rockin' his life away with The Hard Stuff, an excellent follow-up to Ride 'Til I Die (2003). Highlights have the Delaware Destroyers hammering through Fats Domino's "Hello Josephine" and John Lee Hooker's "Huckle Up Baby," as well as George's own "Hard Stuff," "Rock Party" and "Any Town USA." There's also a great version of Bob Dylan's "Drifter's Escape" (which is slightly similar in tone and tempo to "Oklahoma Sweetheart" from 1991's Boogie People -- a personal favorite). Now at age 56, George is showing no signs of slowing down.

J.J. Cale ~ To Tulsa And Back (2004; Sanctuary Records)

Cale's first studio outing in 8 years is another great set filled with the man's trademark sound. Like his earlier '90's albums Travel-Log and Guitar Man, here Cale uses some technically smooth instrumental effects which juxtapose nicely with his murky lyrics and gruff, laid-back singing voice. Favorite tracks for me include "My Gal," "New Lover," "Fancy Dancer," "I Step," and an absolute highway necessity, "Moto Mouth."

J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton ~ The Road To Escondido (2006; Reprise/WEA)

Finally! Clapton & Cale together on one album! (It's well-known that two of Clapton's biggest hits -- "Cocaine" and "After Midnight" -- were written and originally performed by Cale; their inevitable team-up has been a long time coming. ) This is signature stuff, with the guys grooving out on J.J.'s unique brand of laid-back country blues. The jumpin' "Dead End Road," "When The War Is Over," "It's Easy" and "Ride The River" are all excellent. Also features great new versions of "Anyway The Wind Blows" and "Don't Cry Sister."

Various Artists ~ Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival (DVD, 2004; Warner Strategic Marketing) 6

A birthday present from Nikki! Thanks, sweetie. :)


Held at The Cotton Bowl in Dallas TX in June of 2004, the Crossroads Festival showcases an incredible line-up of guitarists and musicians. Besides Clapton, there are appearances by Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Dan Tyminski & Ron Block, James Taylor, Joe Walsh, J.J. Cale, Carlos Santana, John Mayer, Jonny Lang, David Hidalgo, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, ZZ Top and many others.

Clapton's thoughts on the Festival, from the booklet included with the DVD: "The Crossroads Guitar Festival started with a list of players I admire, musicians whose work on the guitar has inspired legions of others to follow the same path. My wish list grew into a three-day event as responses came back with resounding affirmation. The time had come for such an event. The musical history of Dallas, Texas, and my personal relationship with the city made it a natural fit for this get-together. On June 4 2004, the artists showed up, instruments in hand and ready to plug in, making a weekend of unforgettable performances...a celebration of music and life."

Royalties from the sale of the 2-DVD set benefit the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. Founded in 1998 by Eric after his own legendary struggles with drugs and alcohol, the Crossroads Centre is a unique, world-class addiction treatment facility located on the island of Antigua in the West Indies, within the tranquil Caribbean Sea. Clapton chose the location because "Antigua has always been a special refuge...a safe place, a serene place where one can begin the process of healing from even the most devastating life situation.

"The cause is a simple one. It's for people like me who used to drink and don't want to drink anymore. A lot of my heroes didn't have that option: Leroy Carr died drunk, Big Maceo died drunk, and maybe they wouldn't have today, if the kind of help I had was available to them."

www.crossroadsantigua.com // www.ericclapton.com

Bob Dylan ~ Modern Times (2006; Sony)

Following 1997's Grammy-winning Time Out Of Mind and 2001's Love and Theft, Dylan's latest caps a three-record streak that ranks among the best of his mythic 44-album career. The album contains a number of lengthy, down-tempo ballads, however its most rollicking tunes include the opener "Thunder On The Mountain;" the mellow and bluesy "Someday Baby" (which rolls along with an infectious John Lee Hooker "Boom Boom"-style groove); and "Rollin' and Tumblin,'" a great version of the 1950 Muddy Waters classic (with alternate lyrics by Bob). To quote a review in Rolling Stone, "There is no precedent for the territory Dylan is now exploring with albums that stand alongside the accomplishments of his wild youth."

John Gorka ~ Writing In The Margins (2006, Red House Records)

Gorka's tenth album, and his fourth for Red House. I've been a fan of 'The Gork' since I saw the video for his song "Good Noise" on CMT back in '94. Since then I've bought all his albums by either mail-order or as they're released. (I recall stumbling across the out-of-print - and usually hard to find - Temporary Road in a used bin at a CD Exchange a little while back...score!). John's voice is a rich baritone, and his lyrics are consistently clever.

Margins includes rare instances of Gorka performing tunes written by others - the ballads "Snow Don't Fall" by Townes Van Zandt, and "The Lockkeeper" by Stan Rogers. (John is a definite Rogers fan; "That's How Legends Are Made," from 1990's Land Of The Bottom Line, was apparently written with Stan in mind).

The Proclaimers ~ Born Innocent (2003; Persevere Records)

Craig and Charlie Reid put Born Innocent together in 2003 and cranked out a great follow-up to their 'comeback album,' Persevere (2001). From allmusic.com: 'If Persevere proved in both name and sound just how determined they were to keep making music after their unfair categorization as one-hit wonders, Born Innocent establishes The Proclaimers as an album-oriented act dedicated to endurance and stylistic growth.'

I prefer this record over their latest, Restless Soul (2005). I like Persevere better than this one, and my favorite Proclaimers album is still Hit The Highway (1994). There are a number of great songs in the familiar Proclaimers mold here though, such as "Born Innocent," "Hate My Love," "Role Model" and "Dear Deirdre." The album also features a couple of bonus live tracks.

The Flaming Lips ~ At War With The Mystics (2005; Warner Bros.)

The third Lips album I've gotten into, after The Soft Bulletin (1999) and Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2001). Another trippy experiment by Wayne Coyne and co.; choice tracks for me include "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song," "It Overtakes Me," "Mr. Ambulance Driver" and "Haven't Got A Clue."

Various Artists ~ The Rocky Horror Punk Rock Show (2003; Springman Records)

Downloaded with BitComet during a search for Halloween music for the Ghostly Schoolhouse bash (see previous post). Most of it's pretty much crap (stick with the original soundtrack), but there are some half-way decent covers by the likes of Apocalypse Hoboken, The Migraines, The Chubbies and Me First and The Gimmie Gimmies.

"A painter paints a picture on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence." - Leopold Stokowski

((( W Rock on! X )))
Brian / 11/21/2006