To those of you who are in Saskatoon I extend an invitation to come and celebrate my small part in the Juno-fest week. I’m playing a 15 to 20 minute set (yes you read correctly) which is almost as long as a re-run episode of Seinfeld minus the commercials so you’re getting a quality chunk of time. This set will be played at the Roxy on Broadway at some point between 9:30 and closing tomorrow (Tuesday, March 27th) evening. The cost is $5 at the door and I’ll be playing with 11 other wondrous and wildly talented acts from around the Bridge City. I could post the list but it’s really diverse and you’re sure to come across something that grabs you. Hope to see some of you there despite the short notice.
I have seen two commercials recently that struck me with their inconceivable logic.
First up is the Canadian Kia Rondo sales pitch, you know the one with the clapping. The music of the commercial contains this really slow ‘high school jock’ style clapping that happens in the John Hughes films after the nerd finally does something the cool kids admire. The irony is all the people in the commercial are more of the peewee soccer ilk than anything else….and they’re all standing beside the road clapping! To finish it off there is the most unflattering flare, much like the ultimately inevitable cutting torch of minivan doom coming from the tailgate of the Kia Rondo. No offense to any who drive this vehicle I just needed to vent my incredulity as advertisee.
Second is the Gillette Fusion ad. In this one the ‘lab’ which is a concrete bunker in the middle of the desert dunes is opened to allow a supermodel in a lab coat to approach the be-whiskered billionaire who obviously paid for the whole place. She walks through the four security spotlight beams on the floor and then delivers the silver briefcase with a flourish as though to say “myself and your other hot scientists have finally finished creating a battery powered razor”,…”I’m not sure why you wanted it but it’s done and we’re ready to party”. If you’ve got a minute you should head on over to Gillette where yet another hot scientist (I think her name is Cassandra) will guide you through the lab. Once again, no offense to users of this product.
In the end I think that the last truly powerful democratic right I have is in what I choose to buy. A multinational doesn’t care what my social justice stance is or whether my local library’s funding should pay for their overpass but they do want my money. I’m not sure what that has to do with commercials I despise but it seems that a pathetic commercial reveals just how vulnerable a big company is to us as consumers in this one small aspect. With our currency we can say try harder and tell us more.
I was just looking at how long a ago my last post was and it coincides almost exactly with a rather large job that I was working on. Well now I’m done so it’s time to post again. For those of you that have spoken with me about said job I have been frustratingly coy about the whole thing because of certain legal restrictions BUT as soon as the thing (which will remain nameless until it) is released I’m planning to have a fun little party at which all of you, that can make it can check out my work. I’ll post back here with more details once these events are underway.
Also of note, two new songs of mine are posted on my site and on myspace where you will also find a demo of a third tune. Check back often as there will be more new songs up in the near future. I’m also offering the two new songs for purchase as a digital download (mp3 with no DRM) from a site called MusicFreedom .
Thanks to all who are still checking this blog occasionally. I will be justifying your hitherto baseless loyalty in the coming days.