Grateful We're Not Dead

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 DivShare. Just click on the play button below and enjoy.

By the way, if you can't listen to the broadcast it's likely because we've exceeded our 10GB/month download limit. However, I think the chances of that are pretty slim. If that starts to happen, we'll upgrade our account.

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 1985 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.

Bruce Goes Under The Knife

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:00:00 +0000

One of the hazards of a career in computing is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). Unfortunately, over the last year Bruce started to show the symptoms. These developed until he did not have any feeling in the end of his fingers on both hands. Now this is both bad news and good news for a finger-picking guitarist: he couldn't feel the strings when he played, but if he played too long he didn't feel the pain in the end of his fingers. After a bit of procrastinating, Bruce finally decided to have the required surgery, starting with his left hand. On July 22nd he went under the knife and is now waiting patiently to see if the surgery was successful. Once the left hand is healed he will have the right hand done as well. Needless to say, this has put Grateful We're Not Dead on the sidelines for the summer, but we're looking forward to getting back into the fray come the Fall.

Update 1: I talked to Bruce on July 29th and his only complaint was that he was having trouble forming the B7 chord. Now it was supposed to take six weeks for to heal after this surgery, but what can you expect from a guy who was out entertaining at a Christmas party a few years ago, ten days after a triple bypass!

Update 2: August 8 was the monthly Music Night at Gord's. Bruce was out and in fine form - pickin' and grinnin' like he'd never had his hand cut open. In fact, after Music Night finished at about 11PM we stayed around and played until after 1AM.

Ariel Court Canada Day Street Party 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:30:00 +0000

On July 1, Judy Kingsbury hosted the 5th Annual Ariel Court Canada Day Street Party. As usual Grateful We're Not Dead were on hand to entertain the seventy or so participants. Unfortunately, Al couldn't be with us this year so it was just Bruce, Gord and Don in the limelight. The big disappointment of the day was the fact that the bylaw officer didn't show up during the band's performance.

This year's theme was Country and Western and everyone was expected to bring a rope and write an original song to the tune of "Home On The Range". As always, Judy's invitation was in verse:

Saddle up your broncos and bring your lasso
The first of July is coming, y'all know what to do
Don't be a slowpoke, come here for some fun
A day of music, and fellowship, a day in the sun
The band will be coming, it will be a show with a twist
I hope you will come, it's a day not to be missed
So dig out your boots and your cowboy hat too
We are having a party, a Canada Day do
Country and Western is the theme of the day
But don't bring any horses - I'm all out of hay!!!

Judy also informed us that this would be the last year that she would be hosting the party for the street, but hopefully someone on the Court will step in to fill that gap - a very big gap. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Judy on behalf of the band for the great work she's done in organizing this party over the past few years. Kudos, Judy.

But onto the party.

As in past years, the food was great: BBQ ribs, beans and wieners, chili, coleslaw, quinoa salad, pulled pork on a bun, fresh fruit, cakes, ice cream, etc. People started eating when they arrived and didn't quit until they left.

The reason we had to bring a rope was to make a lasso with which to rope a run-away hobby horse. The catch was that you had to do it from the back of a mechanical galloping horse which galloped faster each time you pulled on the reins. Now for some strange reason it was the women who seemed to excel at this task. I'm curious if this has something to do with their architecture and the design of the western saddle. Hmmm, there may be lyrics for a new Grateful We're Not Dead song in there somewhere.

The original songs were many in number and great and were performed with gusto. I'd planned to have some samples on-line but dumbass that I am, I forgot to press the record button on the digital recorder, so you'll have to settle for pictures. More pics are available on my Flickr account.

Of course, Grateful We're Not Dead contributed lyrics to the challenge in their own inimitable style:

Oh give me a home where the dust bunnies roam
And the mice and the cockroaches play
Where seldom is heard the sound of a bird
'Cause the felines have chased them away

Home. home under the range
Where the earwigs and silverfish play
Where seldom is heard the sound of a bird
'Cause the damn cats have chased them away

The street parties that have become common on the Court over the last few years have certainly brought the residents closer together. Quite frequently, when you live in a big city you never get to know your neighbours. But thanks to people like Judy Kingsbury, John and Barb Reid, Glenn and Dale Scanlan the people on Ariel Court get a chance to socialize throughout the year.

So now the next big party we're waiting for is John and Barb Reid's 3rd Annual End of Summer Pool and Hot Tub Bash. And Barb, if you invite Grateful We're Not Dead we promise to keep the volume down and the by-law officer away.

See y'all in the Fall.

And now I'll ride off into the sunset.

A New Song - Grateful We're Not Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:59:00 +0000

For the past couple years, Grateful We're Not Dead have been opening and closing performances with The Honky Tonk Juke Box Band's Pukin' In The Parkin' Lot. We've often thought that it would be nice to do something of our own to introduce the band but have never gotten around to writing anything appropriate. However, this morning while standing in the shower I came up lyrics which may (or may not) become our theme song. All I have to do now is set it to music. Let us know what you think.

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 our heads
When you consider the alternative
We're Grateful We're Not Dead

Chorus (2x)

Here's looking at ya,
Don

At Least Once Every Minute

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Fri, 23 May 2008 21:07:00 +0000

Yesterday I was reading one of Allan Cockerill's blog postings, Is It Possible To Have An Affair Without Sex, which dealt with the question "Is it OK to have an affair online if it's minus the sex?". The first thing that came to my mind was how in hell do you have an affair online WITH the sex??? Is there something about social networking that I haven't discovered? Another item touched upon was a study that had determined that "men on average have 7 heterosexual relationships, and women have 4'. Now aside from the fact that the math seems a little strange, I'd like to know who's been getting my share. And is that per week, per month, per year or per lifetime?

This report that men were getting more than women made me think of the results of another "study" back in the Spring of 2006. It claimed that 'women think of sex once every two weeks whereas men think of sex every 58 seconds'. Now that could explain why the men referenced in the previous paragraph appear to be more active than the women but I'm just wondering if those extra three relationships are just "hand-delivered" with a lot of imagination.

I put the following little ditty together in 2006 to comment on the 58 second statistic and Wednesday evening, after a few beer and Diet Pepsi, Grateful We're Not Dead recorded it during a jam session.

Don

At Least Once Every Minute

They say that women think of sex
Just once in every fortnight
But honey, if I come on strong
I don't want you to get up-tight
'Cause I'm a red-blooded normal man
And my head is really in it
And you know men think of sex
At least once every minute

Chorus:
At least once every minute
Something grabs my mind
More than my thoughts are rising
And things are hard you'll find
For me to listen to your complaints
'Cause my mind just isn't in it
And that's because men think of sex
At least once every minute

You say you want to cuddle
And could I hold you tight
All you want to do is snuggle
'Cause this ain't that bi-weekly night
Well honey, I have more on my mind
And I want to get in to it
And it's because men think of sex
At least once every minute

© Don White 2006

Not the 'Cover of the Rolling Stone' but...

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:04:00 +0000

Grateful We're Not Dead has finally achieved a modicum of international recognition. After posting Finally, Some Music (So To Speak) I returned a few hours later to see a comment added by Clay Eals, authour of Steve Goodman: Facing the Music, an 800 page biography of the late Steve Goodman. You can download the first chapter of Clay's book from his web site. The book looks to be a good read and can be purchased at the site's Online Store. The book is definitely going on my "must read" list.

The next morning I awoke to find out we had been featured in a blog article, Grateful We Are Not Dead And Loving It, by Allan Cockerill in Australia. Allan's blog is a worthwhile visit (especially since he thinks that Grateful We're Not Dead don't "sound all that bad") and I drop by on a regular basis. By the way Allan, is 'not sounding all that bad' synonymous with 'don't sound too damn good'? :-)

Anyway, as a result of Allan's article visits to this blog have skyrocketed. We've had t'ousands and t'ousands of visitors - at least 25. (That's 25 not 25,000 and according to Google Analytics, 40% of the visits have been by Search Engines. I guess those robots just love country music.)

Anyway, to wrap up this article I strongly suggest if you are a Steve Goodman fan that you drop by Clay Eals site and have a look at the first chapter of his book. And of course, for an interesting read, why not have Coffee With Allan Cockerill on a regular basis.

Finally, Some Music (So To Speak)

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:50:00 +0000

Last week Grateful We're Not Dead got together for a jam session in Don's living room and left the digital recorder running for the duration. Now that means there was no real concern for relative levels, panning, equalization, etc. while we banged and crashed. However, lack of professionalism aside we decided to upload some MP3 files for the foolhardy and masochists amongst you to listen to. So if you have a few brew handy, throw back, kick up your feet and prepare for some auditory abuse.

(P.S. If there are some delays in the streaming, blame it on DivShare. Thats where the MP3 files are stored.)

PlayList

Pukin' In The Parkin' Lot (Honky Tonk Jukebox Band)
Over Sixty Blues (Don White)
I Ain't Never Gonna Do That Again (Don White)
Idol Of The Band (Hoyt Axton)
The Farmer's Daughter (Merle Haggard)
Six Days on The Road (Dave Dudley)
Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream (Ed McCurdy)
You Never Even Call Me By My Name (Steve Goodman)
The Boob Song (John D. Wilson)

An Evening at Lorenzo's

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:11:00 +0000

Last Friday evening (2008-04-11), Grateful We're Not Dead gathered at Lorenzo's Pizza on Adeline Street. Initially, it was just to be an evening with 8 or 10 of us eating, drinking and playing some music but Bruce found out that it was Gord and Evelyn's 22 Anniversary. Emails were sent and we ended up with a surprise party of about 30 people for our dear friends.

The music for the first part of the evening was a sing-a-long led by Marg Penniston. After food was served, Grateful We're Not Dead swung into full voice and entertained until about 10:15 PM. Two of our other musical friends, Jay Hunt (banjo) and Mel Sanshagrin (guitar and vocals) sat in with us to provide some interesting sounds. Thanks guys, we'll have to do that again.

We'd like to thank the management and staff at Lorenzo's for putting up with us for the evening. And as for your invitation for us to do it again - you can count on it!

Global Warming Means A Pub With No Beer?

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Today I dropped by a friend's blog, Coffee with Allan Cockerill, and came upon some devastating information - BEER will be short supply, more expensive and may taste different as climate change affects barley production. However, along with this crushing news, Allan also included the lyrics of a song which I had long forgotten, A Pub With No Beer, and a link to a YouTube video of the late Slim Dusty performing it. Seeing as Grateful We're Not Dead are normally compensated with food and beer I think is only fitting that we add this song to our repertoire.

Where Have All The Photos Gone

noreply@blogger.com (Don White) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:37:00 +0000

This morning I checked out the GWND blog only to find that most of the pictures has disappeared. These pictures had been stored on an account with Zooomr. Now I must admit that I haven't been paying much attention to the activity at Zooomr but it appears that they've moved to servers in Japan and in the process my account has vanished.

I guess my next step will be to contact them to see if the account can be restored. If not, then I'll kiss Zooomr goodbye and move the images to my Flickr account (once I locate them all again). So for the time being, you won't see any of the photos originally posted with the blog entries. Once I've clarified the situation with Zooomr I'll decide on how to proceed.

Don

Update: The pictures are back. I checked ZooomrTV and found out that Zooomr was undergoing a major software upgrade. So it appears that the universe is unfolding as it should.