55-200mm Lens Purchase

It was my birthday recently and I bought myself my first new lens for my Nikon D3100.  With some advice from a co-worker I grabbed the Nikkor 55-200mm zoom lens.  This new lens along with a daily news article I manage as well as contribue photos to (Good Morning Thunder Bay) has really motivated me to get out and shoot.

The weather has been pretty frigid but I've managed to get out and get some very interesting pictures with my new glass.

Cafe Paris

So it finally happened, I got to see a group of musicians called Cafe Paris.  It couldn't have been a more picturesque setting. A breezy sunlit summer evening at Marina Park.  Sail boats racing in the harbor, the smell of food trucks in the air and a very pleasant capacity crowd lounging comfortably in their fold up chairs.

Cafe Paris, an ensemble of highly respectable local musicians not just playing 'jazz', but FRENCH Jazz! They have been around as a group for at least 2 years to my knowledge, often playing the Foundry on Jazzy Thursdays.  I am intrigued by all things French - be that film, art or music.  So when Blanchet and Pepe started doing Cafe Paris, I just had to see them.

There's something comforting, nostalgic and just very relaxing about this particular brand of music.  If you've ever seen the movie Chocolate there's some great period music that makes up the soundtrack.  Cafe Paris strikes a similar chord for me.

This was also my first Live on the Waterfront experience and it was fantastic.  Very well organized and the sound technicians responsible for what the crowd hears was top notch.  If you've attended Live on the Waterfront - this is of no surprise, but if you haven't yet checked out this wonderful summer long event, you just have to go!

Donnie Darko

It's been a while since I've been completely blown away by a movie.  Donnie Darko is amazing.  I count myself fortunate to have waited until now to watch it.  There has been so much fan theory and research explored in this flick and thanks to Youtube I've been able to deep dive into the stories behind the story.

The explanation that the key to this film's understanding is the Time Travel book Donnie's teacher gives him.  It is the blueprint for Donnie's self discovery that he's in fact living in a corrupted timeline that risks the existence of existence itself.  With the help of Frank he determines his destiny in this alternate timeline.

Along with the amazing Soundtrack including Tears for Fears and Joy Division, this film has had me thinking A LOT.

Battery Life Problem Solved

Asus Zen Phone 2

Once again I was inflicted with the problem of my phone getting drained way too fast.  I currently have an ASUS ZEN Phone 2.  It's been for a bit, but last week the battery life started to drain ridiculously fast.

I'll cut to the chase - REMOVE YOUR MEMORY CARD.   This is the second time this has stung me.  My old Samsung S4 suffered the same problem.  Took me forever to figure this out - factory resetting phone, stop using popular apps like Instagram and nothing.   Took my expanded memory chip out and boom!   Battery sucking problem solved.

I now understand why Apple iPhone has never had the expanded memory option on their phones.  By no way am I converting from Android to IOS, but I at least I get it.

So maybe a compromise - just keep a memory chip handy if you run out of room.  Migrate all your photos/videos to the memory card and then dump it to your computer.

Playing the Foundry on the 28th

Just a quick update with one of the bands i'm in (Tourist Bureau) - we'll be playing at the Foundry next Saturday the 28th with the very talented and awesome Jean Paul De Roover.

Show time is 10PM but let's be honest - we probably won't get going until 11ish.  Unless for some unforeseen circumstance the bar fills up earlier than that. 


Tourist Bureau:
http://www.touristbureauband.com/
https://twitter.com/TourBureauBand
https://www.facebook.com/touristbureau
https://www.instagram.com/touristbureau/
https://touristbureau.bandcamp.com/

Jean Paul De Roover
https://www.facebook.com/jeanpaulderoover/ 
https://jeanpaulderoover.bandcamp.com/
http://jeanpaulderoover.com/

The Show Must Go On

It may have been one of the worst nights in the city for weather in some time, but that didn’t stop The Balconies from putting on a fantastic show at Crocks Wednesday night in front of the few brave souls that dared to venture out to see them.

Some bands may have taken the night off but Jacquie and company performed as if they were playing to a sold out house.  True professionals they performed their polished and well-rehearsed set in support of their latest album “Rhonda”.  Their latest offering is a mix of hard hitting alt-rock-pop songs with some sweet 80’s synths.

Jacquie’s range of vocals were predominantly strong, powerful and passionate - but she had no issue switching gears to soothing and melodic.

The band last night comprised only of herself, fellow guitarist Liam and drummer Mike.  Their Bass player was MIA for a few of their gigs which forced the band to use some technical ingenuity to fill out the rest of lineup.   The result was a slick and encompassing performance.   If Jacquie wasn’t rocking out on her guitar, she was dancing up a storm.

The Balconies are heading west on this leg of their tour but hope to be back in Thunder Bay soon.
For more information about the band: http://thebalconies.ca

Big show coming up

We're 2 days away from playing a big stage at the CLE Wednesday night. We haven't played since Sportnet's Hockeyville event at the Marina back in January.

We got a good rehearsal in last week and it didn't take much time at all to dial everyone in and get things nice and tight. Last night's practice was fun - we went over all the cover songs and 2 songs we may throw into the lineup if we need them. Spirits were high and everything sounded right.

Carlo suggested i use his new Savage amp. He liked the way it sounded. I got used to the subtle differences after adjusting a few things in my effects chain. We're going through the whole set list again I'll run that amp through it's paces. It will definitely save some effort moving it instead of my 4x12 cab and amp head.

I've really made an effort with Tourist Bureau to 'add' nuances to the songs instead of 'blasting' through with my guitar. There's a lot going on and my approach of less is more i think seems to be really helping the overall sound of the live shows.

I'm really looking forward to this gig. It's outdoors and from what I hear it's a big stage. Maki is doing the sound I believe and that's always a great thing. My family are able to attend which is always important for me to have my kids see me doing what I love doing. I hope it inspires them to do what they love doing.