Grateful We're Not Dead

We're Not Dead Yet

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 02:28:00 +0000

In case you think we've given up the ghost, don't despair. Grateful We're Not Dead has changed their focus for postings. Most material now shows up on the Grateful We're Not Dead Facebook Fan Page. Sometimes we also post to the Grateful We're Not Dead website.

We've also been in the recording studio and are currently working on recording original Grateful We're Not Dead material. In order to keep abreast of what's happening with Grateful We're Not Dead, we'd recommend the Grateful We're Not Dead Facebook Fan Page

We're Still Alive and Kicking

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:31:00 +0000

It's very seldom that Grateful We're Not Dead uses this blog seeing as most information in either posted on the Grateful We're Not Dead website and/or our Grateful We're Not Dead Facebook Fan Page. However, we still get some traffic to this site so we thought it wise to publish the following information here.

We are putting on a push to get more Likes on our Grateful We're Not Dead Facebook Fan Page. If you have a Facebook account, please feel free to drop by and click the Like button on the Fan Page. It will be much appreciated.
Grateful We're Not Dead entertained in Brockville at the Zoomer's Health and Lifestyle Expo on June 8, 2012. We set up a small video camera and the resulting, edited video is now on Youtube.

If you've only been dropping by this site and thought we'd died off, we're pleased to announce that we're still alive and kicking and hope to see you at a Grateful We're Not Dead show sometime in the future.

Grateful We're Not Dead T-Shirt and Sticker

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 01:45:00 +0000

If you want to be amongst the best-dressed tens and tens of Grateful We're Not Dead fans, check out our new Grateful We're Not Dead T-shirt. All Grateful We're Not Dead fans are wearing them. Well, at least Gord, Bruce, Al and Don.

Got a hankering to plaster stickers over everything you own, then what you need is the Grateful We're Not Dead sticker. Feel free to buy as many as you like. Stick them on your books, laptop, guitar, pickup truck, baseball cap, rifle case, whatever. Use it as a bumper sticker. Even stick one on your forehead. Show 'em you're a big Grateful We're Not Dead fan.

Have fun and see you again,

Don

Exposing Grateful We're Not Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Is this a new trend for Grateful We're Not Dead? Are we planning a major costume change? Will we be baring it all for charity? Is there a Nude Grateful We're Not Dead calendar in your future? Only time will tell. But we decided to test the market with a small sample of what may come. And good ol' Gord was willing to make the sacrifice for the band. So without further ado here it is:

Gord Bared

Let us know what you think and stay tuned for further developments!!!

By the way, here's what we look like with clothes on.

The choice is yours!!!

Stop And Smell The Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:54:00 +0000

Wow! Five months since I've written something on the blog. To be honest I've been quite busy with other things over the Summer and Fall but Winter is almost upon us and it's time to sit back for a bit and look at what we've accomplished. First and foremost, the Grateful We're Not Dead web site has been redeveloped and now includes mp3 and video files. The band now also has a presence on CBC Radio Three.

The summer was quite busy for Grateful We're Not Dead. For a band that originally expected to entertain maybe once a month, we've been running our butts off since the beginning of June but in the process have raised donations for the Alzheimer Society, Ottawa Valley Aid for Chernobyl Children, Mufindi Orphans and the Carleton Place Food Bank.

Fans waiting to meet the band.

June started with the 2010 Psychogeriatric Team Exchange Welcome Wine and Cheese Party on the 9th which was reported in the article Psycho. Grateful We're Not Dead then entertained at the 20th Anniversary Party of Elizabeth Court, a seniors' building in Carleton Place on June 13. This was followed by a birthday party at Little Rahane Farm for four individuals who had reached their mid-century mark. And we finished off the month with a performance at Lanark Lodge in Perth on June 29.

July and August fortunately weren't as hectic. Grateful We're Not Dead entertained outdoors in the bandstand at the North Gower Recreation Centre on Canada Day. The wind was so strong we had to nail up tarps around two sides of the bandstand in order to play. The electrical service to the bandstand wasn't working so we ended up running the sound system off a gas-powered generator. Other than that, the afternoon and evening went quite well. A few weeks later we donated the money from that event to Ottawa Valley Aid For Chernobyl Children.

Don and Al present OVACC with $400 donation

On July 16th we entertained at a 65th birthday party at a home outside of North Gower. This gig resulted in a significant donation to the Mufindi Orphans charity. The big event in August, of course, was the Mufindi Orphans Fund Raiser on the 14th at the home of Peter and Janet van Zyl of Manotick.

Grateful We're Not Dead

Our September 4th gig was a surprise party for Gord's 65th Birthday. We booked it on our calendar as a 50th Wedding Anniversary party. Gord and I showed up early to set up equipment and Gord even helped me hang a large "Happy Anniversary" banner. When the bride and groom showed up, Gord immediately congratulated them but by the time the first guests appeared you could tell by the look on his face that he was getting suspicious. When the next guests arrived you could see the "How in Hell do they know them?" look as it finally dawned on him that he'd been had.

Unfortunately, our annual performance at the Ariel Court End of Summer Party was rained out but the party went on in the rain without live music. On September 23rd we entertained at a 4th Ottawa Peace Festival event in the Ottawa Main Library Auditorium before and after the showing of the documentary, The Peacekeepers. We received quite a bit of nice feedback and inquiries as a result of that performance.

On October 3rd, Grateful We're Not Dead were back in the barn at Little Rahane Farm near Franktown for the 3rd Annual Cowboy Classic entertaining the cowboys and cowgirls participating in the two day Ranch Sorting competition. This resulted in another donation to the Mufindi Orphans charity.

October also saw the band getting involved in municipal politics when we were booked to entertain at an election campaign event for Carleton Place Mayoral candidate Wendy LeBlanc. We must have done something right that evening because we were then booked to play in the Carleton Place Canoe Club on October 25th for Wendy's Election Night Party. We knew there were two possible outcomes that night. If she lost we'd be home early; if she won, it would be a late night. We ended up playing four 45 minute sets. Congratulation on your win, Wendy. In between our politic-ing, we managed to perform at Lanark Lodge again on September 19.

Wendy LeBlanc with Grateful We're Not Dead

That pretty well raps up what Grateful We're Not Dead has been doing over the last five months. For November, we'll take some time to just sit back and smell the flowers as we brush up on some of the Christmas material for our December gigs.

And just in case we don't see you for awhile, have a Grateful We're Not Dead Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Don

The Sean Rasmussen Song

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:30:00 +0000

As some of you may know from the bombardment of emails, Plurks, Tweets and Facebook shares soliciting support, I've been involved in Sean Rasmussen's For A Few Dollars More Learn and Earn Internet Marketing competition for the last seven weeks. I've been meeting some interesting people and having a blast. I'll miss it when it's over tomorrow. Even Grateful We're Not Dead has been playing second fiddle to my attempts to score points.

One thing I considered early on was that I should write a theme song for the competition but that exercise fell by the wayside as I found myself unexpectedly climbing up the Leader Board. However, I did manage to scribble down a few lines and I'll post them on the Grateful We're Not Dead blog so I can find them in the event that Sean holds another competition that I can get involved in. So here goes:

The Sean Rasmussen Song

His name is Sean,
And he looks a lot like Clint
And he's making his money
On the Internet.
He'll show you how to do it
And it won't cost you a dime.
All you'll be investing
Is just a little time.

Chorus
He's got bags and bags of money
And he's giving some away.
If you want to grab some of it
All you have to do is play.

Three Famous Black Hats

That's as far as I got before time ran out. A Facebook friend and fellow competitor, Jody Chambers, posted a few more lines on the Sean Rasmussen Talks Facebook fan page for me to work with. But like those little Post-It notes I mislaid them and now I'll have to try to work my way back through the posts to find them.

So if Sean holds another contest and I get involved, I'll have to finish this song right at the start and maybe Grateful We're Not Dead can do a basement recording in time to get it up on the 'net before the contest ends.

Don

P.S. Sean, if you're watching did you notice I'm using some of those little on-page SEO tricks I learned from you?
P.S.S What in Hell rhymes with Rasmussen?
P.S.S.S This is not a typical Grateful We're Not Dead composition - no mention of beer, boobs or babes.
P.S.S.S.S And if you've got some free time, check out the Sean Rasmussen Fan Club

Psycho!

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:30:00 +0000

On Wednesday, June 9 Grateful We're Not Dead entertained in the Panorama Room of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Ottawa. The captive audience consisted of attendees of the 2010 Psychogeriatric Team Exchange Welcome Wine and Cheese Party.

Don, Al, Gord, BruceGrateful We're Not Dead
Bruce, Don, Jerry Doll, Gord, Al

Now I must admit, upon seeing the name Psychogeriatric Team Exchange when they contacted us last year, some weird images ran through my head: psycho = crazy, geriatric = old, team exchange = wife swappers???. Hmmm, what are we getting into here? However, it turned out that's not what it was about at all. What we encountered was a fun-loving group of people ready to party and capable of dealing with some of the more socially-significant material in the Grateful We're Not Dead repertoire such as At Least Once Every Minute, Don't Look Now Mama's Got Her Boobs Out, Show Them To Me, The Day My Wife Met My Girlfriend, Dear Penis and The Boob Song, amongst others. (With apologies to Rodney Carrington and J.D. Wilson)

May I say, that Grateful We're Not Dead thoroughly enjoyed the evening. And we'd like to take a moment to thank Kim Schryburt-Brown of the Geriatric Mental Health Community Outreach Teams of Lanark, Leeds & Grenville for asking us to perform for their function and making a donation of $150 to the Alzheimer Society as compensation for the entertainment. Apparently, Kim first heard the band on CBC Radio's All In A Day while travelling between appointments. She then tracked us down on the Internet and got in touch via email.

Grateful We're Not Dead
Getting The Feel Of The Crowd

All joking aside, this is an amazing group of people who on a daily basis provide services for adults with severe and moderate mental health concerns, including support for primary mental health problems such as depression and anxiety as well as more chronic illness such as schizophrenia and manic-depressive illness as well as dealing with senior adults experiencing dementia and other related concerns. I would like to raise our Grateful We're Not Dead hats (both cowboy and boob) in a salute to all those men and women who carry out these difficult tasks.

Bless you all.

Don

Just A Little Bit Longer

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:31:00 +0000

Now it's not often that I'd comment online about something I've got that's a bit longer than I'm used to. But seeing as it has an impact on Grateful We're Not Dead I've just got to get a grip on it. However I'm finding that it's difficult to break old habits and teach my left hand to reach out just a bit further. But hopefully, the end is in site.

Of course, what I'm talking about is my new Fender Telecaster.

The neck of the Telecaster is a bit longer than the the neck on my Fender Mustang which I played for 45 years.

I've gone from a 24" scale to a 25.5" scale; from 22 frets spread over 17.25" to 21 frets spread over 18". Now granted that leaves a bit more space between the frets which is nice when playing closer to the body of the guitar. However, it also means that the frets are not located where my mind tells me they should be. And at my age the mind is difficult to retrain, especially after 45 years. You've heard of old dogs and new tricks, eh?. Oops, that should have been A instead of B^b. Now I find myself having to look at my left hand a lot more than I used to and I'm hoping it won't take 45 years to retrain my mind to the new positioning.

But I must admit I do like the feel of the new machine. So I guess I'll just keep plugging away and trying to slide my left hand to new lengths.

And guys, I'll try no to screw up too often.

Don

Getting Updated - Late Again

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:05:00 +0000

I've been extremely remiss in updating the Grateful We're Not Dead blog. Unfortunately, this was the result illness and death amongst senior members of the family. My mother (Eleanor White) and mother-in-law (Edna Ireton) both passed away in February and we lost Gord's mother-in-law (Helga Voigt) in March. However, that is all behind us now and it's time to get back to business.

Grateful We're Not Dead have been reasonably busy over the last nine months. In September 2009 we played for the Annual Ariel Court End of Summer Party at the home of John and Barb Reid. We managed to do this without a repeat visit from an Ottawa By-Law officer. Then in mid-September we performed a few peace songs during presentations at a Civilian Peace Service Canada meeting at St. Paul's University.

October found us entertaining the Ranch Sorters at the Annual Rahane Cowboy Classic sorting competition at Little Rahane Farm near Franktown, Ontario. In November we provided background music for the Canadian Future Achievers Awards Dinner and at month's end we were back entertaining the residents of Park Lane in Ottawa.

In December we headed out to Perth to entertain the seniors at Lanark Lodge. For the last half of that show we did a quick costume change into Christmas hats and ties and performed a number of country Christmas classics such as Christmas In The Valley, Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy, Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer, Blue Christmas, etc. We ended the Christmas season with the Annual Christmas Party hosted by Gord Breedyk and Evelyn Voigt.

At the beginning of January we entertained at a fund raiser for AIDS Orphans in Mufindi, Tanzania. Geoff Knight, who represents the FOX Foundation in Tanzania, made a presentation concerning community outreach activities in the Mufindi district. You can view videos related to the activities on Youtube. At latest count the evening had raised $3,135 for the programme.

In early February, Grateful We're Not Dead joined forces with the comedy troupe Something's Missing to present another Comedy Night at the Perth Civitan Club. This was a fund raising dinner for local charities. Late March found us back at Lanark Lodge for another enjoyable evening with the seniors.

April turned out to be a busy month. Mid-April we entertained at St. Brigid's Church for their annual Spring Fling. The following Saturday evening we performed for the Annual Ottawa Valley Aid for Chernobyl Children Spaghetti Supper. The next morning saw us set up and playing at 8AM in a chilly, stiff breeze beside the Rideau Canal in front of the Canal Ritz for the participants in the Minto Run For REACH. Finally, in late May we provided the music for a sing-along at a reception following a memorial service for the late Helga Voigt.

I think that brings you up to date on what Grateful We're Not Dead have been up to over the last few months and the calendar is starting to fill up with events for 2010. If the fates co-operate I should be able to keep this blog updated more frequently than has been possible in the last year.

So here's looking forward to a busy, comical, peaceful and happy year. And just be Grateful We're Not Dead!

Don

P.S. If anyone has digital photos of the band from any of the above events, we'd appreciate if you would forward copies to the email address you'll find in the column on the right.

Just Shoot Us

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:00:00 +0000

On Saturday, August 22 Grateful We're Not Dead entertained at Five I's Farm near Drummond Centre in Lanark County. Seeing as it was a pleasant, sunny day we decided to have a few somewhat formal pictures of the band taken prior to our performance in the evening. Don's niece, Laurie Latham, agreed to act as photographer and we proceeded to pose at different locations in the farm yard. Following are some photos from the shoot.

Bruce, Gord, Don and Al wielding the instruments they play best.

Bruce,Gord, Don and Al with their new found friend, Silverado.

Bruce, Don, Gord and Al in front of the old maple sugar shack.
Maple sap is still boiled down into Maple Syrup
for the family in this building each Spring.

Don emerges from the Think Tank with a new
Grateful We're Not Dead song
after many, many hours of meditation.

Bruce and the Grateful We're Not Dead guitar
which he built himself shortly after he retired.
Notice the inlay on the headstock, fingerboard and pick guard.
Beautiful work. And this is an impressive sounding guitar
which gets even better as it ages and is played.

Finally, I should mention that the refreshments at the party were fantastic. Pork, beef, beer, baked beans, corn on the cob, beer, salads, cheese, beer, rolls, desserts, etc. Did I mention the keg of beer? John and Tracy, please feel free to invite us to entertain anytime you decide to throw another party like that one. We'll be there in the shake a lamb's tail.

If any of you would like a closer look at the photos, you can find them on the Grateful We're Not Dead Flickr account.

See y'all later.

Canada Day for Natasha and Misha

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:00:00 +0000

For the first time in four years, Grateful We're Not Dead did not entertain at the Ariel Court Canada Day Street Party. Instead, we were booked by Ottawa Valley Aid for Chernobyl Children (OVACC) to entertain at a fund raising Chicken BBQ at the North Gower Recreation Centre. The benefit was on behalf of Natasha, a young lady from Belarus who has been coming to Canada for 13 years. Unfortunately, Natasha is slowly going blind and is in dire need of surgical procedures to save her sight. OVACC has located a clinic in Toronto capable of treating her and funds are being raised to pay for related expenses.

Grateful We're Not Dead had the pleasure of meeting Natasha after our performance and having her picture taken with us.

Bruce, Gord, Natasha, Al, Don

It was an honour to have been invited to participate in such a worthy cause on Canada Day for such a lovely young person. We will be waiting patiently to hear the outcome of the procedures which will be carried out in Toronto later in July. We wish Natasha all the best and hope to see her again.

If any of you reading this article would care to make a donation to help pay for Natasha's surgery, you can do so through the OVACC donations page at CanadaHelps.org. And in advance, Grateful We're Not Dead would like to thank you for your support.

We also enjoyed meeting Misha another youngster from Belarus. Misha started coming to Canada in 2007 when he was 10 years old. Misha graciously agreed to have his picture taken with the old guys in Grateful We're Not Dead although I don't imagine that we play the type of music he'd be most interested in.

Bruce, Gord, Misha, Natasha, Al, Don

And by the way, the BBQ chicken was delicious and was totally sold out.

Grateful We're Not Dead sincerely hope we can help OVACC again in their fund raising activities.

Hope to see you somewhere soon.

Grateful We're Not Dead: The Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:30:00 +0000

"They're gonna put me in the movies.
They're gonna make a big star outta me."

Well not really a hope in Hell of that.

However, Grateful We're Not Dead now have a bunch of videos up on Youtube. When we performed at St. Paul's University on February 16 for the Women Building Peace conference we were captured for posterity on video. We obtained a DVD copy of the concert video and extracted the relevant clips featuring Grateful We're Not Dead. Those video clips are now on Youtube. If you are at all interested in seeing us in action then just pop on over to the Grateful We're Not Dead Youtube account and subject yourself to the experience of a lifetime.

And if you're not so inclined to visit us over there, then here's a little sample to whet your appetite or totally destroy it.

The groupies can line up to the left.

Weez b on U2b

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:30:00 +0000

As most of you know, Grateful We're Not Dead entertained at the COAT's protest against the 2009 CANSEC Arms Show at Lansdowne Park. The performance was in Southminster United Church, Ottawa on May 27, 2009. Musical entertainment was also provided by Just Voices and The Raging Grannies.

One of the selections by Grateful We're Not Dead was As One, written by Geri Childs, an Ottawa jazz singer currently living in Seattle. We would like to give a great big Grateful We're Not Dead hug and thank you to Geri for giving us permission to use her song. We would also like to thank Bill Clennett for posting a video of the performance on Youtube.

So without further ado, here is the Grateful We're Not Dead video. Enjoy or not.

Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:30:00 +0000

Over the last week I've been scouring the hard drives for photos that we might have of Grateful We're Not Dead and friends. These are pictures that have been taken at various functions on everything from point-and-shoots to cell phones. Some are good and some are so-so. I've uploaded as many as I could locate. Now if you're willing to take the chance of possibly going blind or, in the case of the ladies, swooning when gazing upon our inordinately handsome visages then drop on over to the Grateful We're Not Dead Flickr account.

Original Members: Gord, Bruce and Don

What We've Been Up To

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:30:00 +0000

Where has the time gone. I planned on updating this blog back in mid-March but the plans of mice and men... etc.

OK. Let's see. What has Grateful We're Not Dead done since the beginning of the year. March and April were busy by our standards. Us old timers don't want to be tied down too much to this fame and fortune thing especially when we're at the age where we'd appreciate the services of a roadie more than those of a groupie. (Gord just told me to speak for myself).

Monday, February 9
The band entertained the residents of Park Lane on Merivale Road. This was a slightly early Valentine's Party and the music provided tended to of a more romantic theme than raunchy.

Monday, February 16
The band was part of the entertainment at a concert held at St. Paul's University for the Women Building Peace conference. Many talented artists performed that night including Christina Marchant and friends, Evelyn Voigt and Peggy Friday, Kristine St. Pierre, Ross McNaughton and Marguerite Bilodeau. Grateful We're Not Dead performed a number of songs as well as providing backup vocals and instrumental accompaniment for the poetry of Evelyn Voigt.

Saturday, February 28
Grateful We're Not Dead joined with the improv comedy group, Something's Missing, to entertain at a dinner and comedy night, Desperate For Laughs?, at the Perth Civitan Club in Perth, Ontario. The evening was sponsored by Something's Missing and the Civitan Club as a joint fund raiser in support of Perth Community Support Service and Perth Union Library Kindergarten Reading Program. The band provided instrumental material prior to the dinner and then played a set of their boobs and beer music during the show.From the laughter it appeared that the material was well received.

Saturday, April 4
The beginning of April provided Grateful We're Not Dead with an interesting experience. We were one of the two bands booked to play for the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Stuart and Joyce White in the Carleton Place Community Center. (Stuart and Don are first cousins). That night we had the pleasure of working with the Bowes Brothers, an extremely popular country band out of Carleton Place.

Grateful We're Not Dead does not normally work with a drummer as we usually play shows instead of dances. However, that night we had the good fortune to have another cousin of Don's, Dave White, sit in on the drums for our first set. (Thanks, Dave)

Saturday, April 18
For the third year in a row GWND became the ad-hoc house band for a night of entertainment for St. Brigid's Parish. This year the event was held at the church hall in Enniskerry, Ontario.

Thursday, April 23
One thing you can never turn down is an invitation to perform for 200 women. The Perth Lionesses invited Grateful We're Not Dead to entertain at their Spring Fling in support of the Perth and District Memorial Hospital fund . The band played instrumentals while the ladies arrived, bought their drinks and got settled at their tables.

This event was an evening of enjoying drinks, home made desserts and comedy. The only men present were the bar tenders, servers, one comedian and of course, Grateful We're Not Dead. The other entertainment included a lady clown and three standup comedians from the improv group Something's Missing. Grateful We're Not Dead was the final act and we started our show with a bit of a handicap: the organizers had asked us to not play Puking in the Parking Lot. Seems they were worried about all the drinks and dessert that the ladies had consumed. However, we did include most of our other "Socially Significant" songs including Grateful We're Not Dead, Over Sixty Blues, At Least Once Every Minute, Ain't Never Gonna Do That Again. And of course, we finished the night with J.D. Wilson's Boob Song. I can only imagine what some of these ladies were thinking as we performed, seeing as the entertainment for the previous two years had been the author, Mary Cook.

At the beginning of the evening, the Lionesses had given us an envelope containing $100 to cover travelling expenses. In order to not destroy our reputation of only playing for food and beer, the band donated the money to the hospital fund at the end of the evening. We quite enjoyed the evening, ladies, and hope to see you again.

Saturday, April 25
Grateful We're Not Dead entertained at a spaghetti supper in the hall at Pierce's Corners held as a fund raiser for the Ottawa Valley Aid to Chernobyl Children. We must have been well behaved because they've booked us to entertain at a chicken dinner on Canada Day in North Gower.

Wednesday, May 27
The band provided the sound system and some music at COAT's protest against the 2009 CANSEC Arms Show. Protest was held at Southminster United church in Ottawa. Music was also provided by Just Voices and The Raging Grannies.

Grateful We're Not Dead appears for 12 seconds at the 48 second mark. Also for 32 seconds at the 1 min 32 second mark providing backup accompaniment to Ottawa poet, Evelyn Voigt. Originally, the band's name was spelled incorrectly in the video but the videographer, Bill Clennett, quickly corrected the error and posted a new version. (Thanks, Bill).

Of course, along with these outings we've also attended the monthly Music Nights hosted by Gord Breedyk and Evelyn Voigt.

So that's what Grateful We're Not Dead has been up to for the last few months. And I see that it's way past my 9 o'clock bedtime so I better find my groupie and hit the sack.

Grateful We're Not Dead Theme Song

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000

A while ago, (seems like a year, well 10 months at least) I wrote the lyrics for the Grateful We're Not Dead theme song. My intent was to use this as the opening and closing song for performances of the band. The lyrics sat on the shelf for nine months with no progress in developing the music for it. I tried a number of approaches and nothing really caught my fancy. A few weeks ago I took another shot at it and "Eureka", it all came together. So Grateful We're Not Dead now has an official theme song. We used it last weekend for the first time and it was well received. We've specifically been requested to play it for a show we're doing in April for the Perth Lionesses. Now I know you're just sitting there on the edge of your seats, eager to hear it. So without further ado here is a 'quick and dirty' (me and my acoustic) recording of the song. Just click on the Play button below.

Grateful We're Not Dead

We're here to entertain you
We're here to drink your beer
We hope you like to listen
To dance and hoot and cheer
We've got our pasts behind us
But we like to look ahead
But most of all you've got to know
We're Grateful We're Not Dead

Chorus:
We're Grateful We're Not Dead
We're Grateful We're Not Dead
Yea, most of all you've got to know
We're Grateful We're Not Dead

We like to play the old songs
By Willy, Merle and Buck
'Bout cheating, lying, drinking,
Prison and pickup trucks.
But we'll also do some new songs
That came right from our heads
And that is just to show you
We're Grateful We're Not Dead

Chorus

Now we may be getting up there
And have the Over Sixty Blues
But we'll still sing to the ladies
About the blue pills that we use
And if the hangovers seem harder
Like someone stomping on your head
When you consider the alternative
We're Grateful We're Not Dead

Chorus (2x)

Here's looking atcha,

Don

Back On The E-Lectric Radio

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 09:17:00 +0000

Hey people, we did it again. Grateful We're Not Dead were back on the E-Lectic radio. Talk about getting our fifteen minutes of fame.

This time we appeared on the CBC Radio One show Bandwidth, hosted by Alan Neal. As loyal readers of this blog know (all tens and tens of you), an interview with Grateful We're Not Dead was broadcast on January 5, 2009 on the CBC Radio One show All In A Day, hosted by Adrian Harewood. Following that broadcast, CBC reporter Julie Ireton contacted us to say that Alan wanted to use Over Sixty Blues on a Bandwidth show he was preparing on Blues You Can Use. So Grateful We're Not Dead got out the beer and the Diet Pepsi, sat down around the dining room table, switched on the digital recorder and laid down a version to email to Alan.

Now we figured at most a portion of the song might be played during the show. Imagine our surprise when we heard Alan and Julie doing an introduction of the band including some of the original interview and another Grateful We're Not Dead song, At Least Once Every Minute. If you missed the broadcast you can hear the relevant part by clicking on the play button below.

We'd like to give a big Grateful We're Not Dead hug and thank you to Julie for the interest she's shown in the band and to Alan for including Over Sixty Blues on Bandwith. And to both of them for the great introduction on the show.

After this we'll be able to double our price: now it'll be two beers (or Diet Pepsi) each for doing a performance.

And as a bit of clarification, only Gord and Don have 60 in their rear view mirror. But I want Bruce and Al, the youngsters in the group, to remember this: If you think pushing 60 is hard, wait until you start pulling it.

Y'all stay tuned, eh!

We Now Have An Email Address

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 02:30:00 +0000

Grateful We're Not Dead has finally decided to face the threat of spam and make an email address available for anyone wishing to contact us. Instead of having to leave a comment on the blog in order to get in touch you can send an email to:

gratefulwerenotdead@gmail.com

All offers of free beer gratefully accepted. And don't forget the diet Pepsi

We Were On The E-Lectric Radio

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:30:00 +0000

Grateful We're Not Dead have finally made it onto the E-lectric radio. Fame and fortune is just around the corner for sure.

On November 9 as we were preparing to perform at the Canadian Future Achievers awards banquet we were interviewed by CBC reporter, Julie Ireton. Late last week I received an email informing me that the interview would be aired this week on Adrian Harewood's All In A Day. Sure enough, on January 5, 2009 at 4:46PM EST there we were, the fabulous four in all our glory, coursing out over the airwaves and the Internet for the world to hear. For those of you unfortunate (or possibly, fortunate) enough to miss such a momentous event, we've made this historical broadcast available for eternity via Soundcloud. Just click on the play button below and enjoy.

A big thank you to Julie for tracking us down and preparing the material for broadcast. Thank you, also, to Adrian for using the material on his show. And I mustn't forget to thank my Plurk friends who gave up their precious plurking time to listen on the radio or via the net in real time. Finally, a thank you to everyone who found their way to this blog and then managed to sit through the entire interview. To you we raise a beer (or diet Pepsi) to salute you.

So if we're lucky we'll see y'all at the next Grateful We're Not Dead performance.

2008 Wrapup

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Well another year for Grateful We're Not Dead has come to an end and we're looking forward to the New Year with enthusiasm. So many people to entertain (or abuse depending upon their taste in music and humour) and so much more beer (and diet Pepsi) to drink.

Now to catch up with the end of 2008.

On November 9 we entertained at the Canadian Future Achievers awards banquet, held at the Parkdale United Church. This was an easy evening of providing some pre-dinner background music and later, some more background music as people were preparing to leave. However, it did give us a chance to try out the sound system that was given to Grateful We're Not Dead by Mike Shea. The equipment provides excellent sound. Thanks again, Mike. As an interesting aside, Grateful We're Not Dead were interviewed that evening by CBC reporter, Julie Ireton. The last we heard the interview is to be aired in January on CBC Radio One, Ottawa. (More info to follow).

On December 12 we entertained at the 14th Annual Music Night Christmas Party hosted by Gord Breedyk and Evelyn Voigt. This is an offshoot of the monthly sing-alongs held in Gord and Evelyn's condo. Music night participants, condo residents and friends are invited to the Christmas Party. The eats are potluck. The liquid refreshments are beer, wine, soft drinks and juices. Did I mention beer? The sing-along is lead mainly by Marg Penniston. Grateful We're Not Dead is the house band and pitch in vocally during the evening with some country Christmas songs such as Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy, Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer, Here Comes Santa Claus Again, Blue Christmas and Christmas In The Valley. This year we were pleased to have Vicky Streeter from Carleton Place sit in with us. She has a fantastic voice and Grateful We're Not Dead plan to work with her some more in the New Year. As usual, Marie Rakos was on the piano to help us through some of the convoluted chord structures one finds in the Christmas carols. Mel Sanshagrin sat in on acoustic guitar and vocals for the entire evening and John Hunt provided his baritone throughout the night. Many thanks to others unnamed who jumped in to help over the evening.

Guys: Bruce Penniston, Al Owler, Mel Sanshagrin,
Gord Breedyk, John Hunt, Don White
Gals: Vicky Streeter, Marie Rakos, Marg Penniston

On December 18 Grateful We're Not Dead did a Christmas show at a group residence on Merivale Road complete with our Christmas hats. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures from that event. The evening seemed to be much appreciated by the residents and we hope we can return to entertain in the future.

Most other major events that we participated in have been reported elsewhere on the blog. However, there were numerous smaller events such as birthday parties and Peace Conference sessions that we also entertained at. These events, though small, keep us on our toes and prompt us to pick up our instruments occasionally to practice (although sometimes to hear us you wouldn't know it).

I mentioned earlier that we plan on working with Vicky Streeter this Spring. Vicky belongs to the Lanark County Western Horse Club and is responsible for some of the fund raising. She has asked us to record a garage CD of her original material and Grateful We're Not Dead original material to sell to club members, friends and relatives (with a lot of stress on relatives) to raise funds. So we'll be working on that over the next couple months.

Well, that's a wrap and at this time I'd like to wish y'all a Happy New Year and a successful 2009 to you and yours from Grateful We're Not Dead.

Keep watching and if you see us coming, hide your beer!

We've Been Tagged

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:45:00 +0000

Well here's an interesting development. The Grateful We're Not Dead blog has been tagged by a Plurk friend, JimBob51, in Australia. The first thing I have to do in return is to shout his blog: AOEDE. As explained on his blog header, "Aoede is one of the three original Muses. She is the Muse of Song or Voice. It is also the name of one of the Moons of Jupiter". Jim's blog is his spot to muse on just about anything and it can be an interesting read. So drop by and have a look.

This tagging of the Grateful We're Not Dead blog resulted from my interaction with my friends on Plurk. Plurk has become my main vehicle for building up a social network of friends and acquaintances around the globe. Now as I understand the rules of tagging, I have three tasks to complete:

Shout your taggers blog
Write 5 Interesting facts about yourself
Tag six more blogs

I completed Task #1 in the first paragraph, so on to the remaining two.

Since the Grateful We're Not Dead blog is dedicated to the music and the comings and goings of the band I guess I'll say a few things about my musical background pre-"Grateful We're Not Dead". You may not find these interesting, but I have to write something.

I started playing guitar in 1956 when I was 13. The old guitar that I used to learn on had strings that were at least 1/4 inch above the fret board and the pain from playing was almost enough to bring tears to my eyes.

The first time I ever played in a band was New Years Eve, 1958 in Lanark, Ontario. The band was the Mississippi River Boys, a country dance band that played throughout Lanark, Renfrew, Carleton and Frontenac counties in Ontario. My first job was as a drummer. If I remember correctly we were paid $40 each for that night. For regular dances we usually received $5 to $10 for the night.

My first electric guitar was a H44 Stratotone by Harmony Guitar. I bought it and an amplifier in a pawn shop in the Byward Market in Ottawa in 1959.

The most interesting place I ever played with the Mississippi River Boys was Rideau Hall, residence of the the Governor-General of Canada. This was for the staff Christmas Party in 1965. The Governor-General, Georges P. Vanier, and his wife were in attendance and appeared to enjoy the country music, especially the fiddle tunes..

I played with the Mississippi River Boys from 1958 until 1988 when we disbanded.

Now the final and most difficult task: Tag six other blogs. Hmmmmm. I'm thinking, thinking, thinking.... OK, some may have already been tagged, but here goes in no particular order:

angesbiz Buzzing With Ange
balkhis Balkhis Vision For Success
tjcs63 Tjcs63’s Weblog
MarkCarras MarkCarras.com
Becca L-Smith Writer’s Round-About
maljam Team Gherkin

So with this final task completed I'll go back to sleep until inspiration hits me with an idea for the next Grateful We're Not Dead article.

Mike Shea: Musician and Gentleman

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:00:00 +0000

We'd like to offer a big THANK YOU to Mike Shea. Mike, a well known Ottawa musician for many years, has been downsizing and donated his sound system to Grateful We're Not Dead. The equipment includes an AudioPro MicroMix SP8 mixer/amplifer, Elite Micron 160 speakers and an assortment of microphones, stands and cable.

Now a bit of information about Mike.

He started his musical career 47 years ago at the age of 16. He performed on a regular basis until 1993 when he stopped entertaining professionally. During his career as a musician he was a member of an Ottawa band, The Counts, for 8 years. He also entertained at the former Skyline Hotel with a band called The Beggarmen for 1-1/2 years. For 20 years Micheal entertained, on a volunteer basis, for the Children's Hospital Foundation of Ottawa. He received a Citation from the Children's Hospital in recognition of his volunteer contribution.
In addition to the above, Mike entertained in senior citizens homes throughout the Ottawa Valley for his whole career, also on a voluntary basis. For five years of this time, he joined forces with Bernie Carroll and entertained as Bernie and Mike.

So once again, Thank You, Mike. We do appreciate your generosity and will be proud to continue using this excellent sound system, hopefully for years to come.

And for the techies, some information about the MicroMix:

1987 marked the introduction of Micromix. Paul Ierymenko designed an advanced stereo mixer and a 250-Watt per-channel stereo amplifier then put them together. Voila - the Audiopro Micromix SP-8 (8 channels stereo, 250 wattsx2, fan-cooled), soon to be joined by the SP-12 (12 channels, same power). Both powered mixers were compact, console-style affairs with slick blue cosmetics, colour-coded knobs and loads of features. Each input channel had a gain control and clip LED, a monitor level control, 3 bands of EQ, an external effects level control and another for the internal effects system, a pan control and a slide control for main mix level. Masters included two ten-band graphic equalizers - stereo for the main PA and mono for the monitors - a stereo reverb/echo (a "first" for Yorkville), dual LED level meters and a pushbutton which enabled you to power the main speakers with one of the built-in amp channels and monitors with the other (another "first" for Yorkville). Naturally there were the usual master faders for sub 1 and sub 2 (left & right), one for monitors and another for the mono line-level output which resulted when the afore-mentioned pushbutton was depressed blending the sub 1 & 2 signals into one. Whew! Oh, and one more thing - a full-time stereo limiter in series with the power amp ensured that distortion would be minimal even under worst-case conditions.

Reference: Yorkville Sound History: 1963-1991 Published Feb 20,2002. Written by Mike Holman

Helga Voigt's 93rd Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:00:00 +0000

On September 6, Grateful We're Not Dead had the honour and pleasure of entertaining at the 93rd birthday party of Helga Voigt. It was standing room only for Helga's party with guests arriving from as far away as New Jersey, North Carolina and Germany. Helga's three surviving children, Peter, Evelyn and Veronika, were in attendance for the party as well. We have known Helga for a number of years and she is truly a remarkable woman and I hope we can entertain at quite few more of her birthday parties.

In conjunction with the Helga's birthday was the launch of her book, Letters From Helga: 1934 - 1937: A Teen Bride Writes Home From East Africa. The book is based on letters Helga wrote to her family and friends in Germany after she left for Africa at the tender age of eighteen to marry Werner Voigt, a man she had never met. The three years worth of letters give a detailed, exciting picture into her life in East Africa. The letters have been translated and annotated by her daughter, Evelyn Voigt.

Letters From Helga is available from:

General Store Publishing House
499 O'Brien Rd
Box 415
Renfrew, Ontario K7V 4A6
1-800-465-6072

and can be ordered online as well.

60 Years in East Africa by Werner Voigt, Helga's late husband, is available from the same publisher.

Al Makes It Onto The Sidebar

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:00:00 +0000

Last year, in an article, we listed some of the Friends of Grateful We're Not Dead. One of those, 'young' Al Owler was sitting in with the band on a regular basis and becoming quite familiar with our repertoire. Being the youngest and the strongest, Al was also extremely helpful during the 'load out' at the end of the evening seeing as he was the only one really capable of lifting the equipment, and the older members of the group, into the van.

Since then, at Bruce's suggestion, Al has taken up playing bass guitar and is providing a fuller sound to the performance. Because of his on-going interest, assistance and full participation, Al has become an honourary member of Grateful We're Not Dead. He's even allowed to wear a black hat and silver tie. So it's with great pleasure that we announce the addition of Al's photo to the side bar with the old farts.

Welcome aboard, 'young' Al.

Gord Goes Electric

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:00:00 +0000

As we indicate in the Over Sixty Blues, advancing age brings with it a variety of physical problems. For the past few months, Gord has not been able to play his full sized acoustic guitar because of discomfort in his right shoulder. Hoping that the problem would right itself he has been playing a Martin Back-Packer in the interim. Although the Martin is great for carrying with you on trips it doesn't provide a full sound. At the last Grateful We're Not Dead jam session we set Gord up with Al's solid body electric. Needless to say, this provided the fullness that we were looking for. Gord was so thrilled with the sound that the next week he went out and purchased a Fender Telecaster and a Fender amp and is now merrily whiling away the hours getting used to the action of his new toy. Way to go Gord. Ah, the sacrifices we make for Grateful We're Not Dead.