It Came From The Garage!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 12 May 2015 14:55:00 +0000

Saturday May 09, 2015

Live From The Garage 14.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Wed, 06 May 2015 13:37:00 +0000

Wednesday May 6, 2015

This Saturday night at 7 PM. Seven bands. Admission is FREE!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 21:12:00 +0000

Monday April 13, 2015

My student Benji came to his first lesson this year in September with a melody that he had written over the summer. I suggested working on it and then recording it. This inspired me to propose the idea to more of my students and a few of them agreed. These eight songs are the result, some of which will be performed at my end of year student show on Saturday, May 9th.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 13 May 2014 01:17:00 +0000

Saturday May 10, 2014

Live From The Garage 13.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:18:00 +0000

Saturday May 11, 2013

Live From The Garage XII.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:33:00 +0000

Tuesday November 6, 2012

Last Friday night. I went to the launch of my friend Steve's new album, entitled "My Mountain". Steve has sung at multiple Live From The Garage shows. The launch went really well. Steve and the band sounded great. Above, I've posted the song My Mountain. During the recording, Steve asked me to come down to the studio to record the solo for this song. So here it is... For more info about Steve and his album, check out his website: herskomusic.com.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 01:42:00 +0000

Tuesday October 23, 2012

My student Matt has got a duo going with his friend Sara. They are doing acoustic covers of popular songs. This is their first one.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:04:00 +0000

Saturday May 12, 2012

Live From The Garage XI.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:14:00 +0000

Thursday, February 16, 2012.

The benefit was a big success. We raised just over $5,000 dollars for the Shriners Hospital For Children. There was lots of live music.

The evening started off with a jazz duo. They played some standards which were appreciated by some of the older members of the audience. The second group was The Country Cousins with my students Wayne and Tim on guitar. They got the crowd going with some Johnny Cash. Next up were The Filthy Five. They rocked the house with a mix of covers and originals. Very good band.

Then came The Daft Devils. This was the band that everyone was waiting for as one of the main reasons for this event was to honor my student Rob. He is the outgoing chairman of the board at the Shriners. He is also plays guitar for The Daft Devils, as does his son Kenny who is also my student. I joined them on stage and we played a ten song set of 70's, 80's and 90's party rock anthems. The band got people up dancing so you know they must have been doing something right!.

The last band of the evening was The Flu Fighters. I was also a part of this band - a tribute to Foo Fighters. It was a blast! We played a fast and furious ten song set of great Foo Fighter songs from their first album to their most recent one. The band sounded tight. I was really proud of my students Matt, Marcel, Mike and Zander. They all sounded great. It was also awesome to welcome my very good friend Mario back into the fold. He is a great singer and an awesome guy. As well, my brother Doug did an excellent job on drums even while dealing with the lack of sleep and general craziness that comes with having a new baby. Overall it was a very good night. Rob is already talking about doing it all again next year...

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:54:00 +0000

Monday, October 31, 2011.

This is the video for the theme song for The Black Book. I actually edited the song for the video. Here is the full version:

Happy Halloween!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 01:10:00 +0000

Monday July 4, 2011

I have added a new category called "Books" in the links section to the right. In it, you will find two books that I have written. The first has been up for a few years and is entitled "Anatomy Of A Rock Band". Click here for more info.

The second book is a book that I have just finished writing called "The Black Book". This is a children's book that I wrote for my daughter. My friend Natasha illustrated it. I came up with the story about two years ago when my daughter asked me to tell her a Halloween story "from my imagination". This was something she was in the habit of asking me almost everyday at that point! On this particular occasion, I somehow spontaneously came up with this story. My daughter remembered it and would keep asking me to retell it to her. About nine months ago, I decided to try to make it into a book. I asked Natasha if she would like to illustrate it and she said yes. And there you have it. I presented it to my daughter as a surprise for her birthday only a few days ago. It was amazing to see her reaction. Click here to read the book.

LFTG X

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Sun, 15 May 2011 19:16:00 +0000

Saturday May 14, 2011

Here are some photos from the show: LFTG X.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:53:00 +0000

Friday April 8, 2011

Originally, The JSBE was made up of Wayne and Bill, who also played in their own band called Papa So Mean. Papa So Mean actually played at the first Live From The Garage! and have performed at almost every one since. Along the way, they have been joined by Tim and Dominic. At LFTG VIII, they even changed their name to Dominic and The Dominators. For this show, they are returning to their blues roots and everyone is psyched!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 23:43:00 +0000

Monday March 27, 2011

Allan and Elyse played their first show at LFTG II. They actually began as The Wet Straps playing an all White Stripes set. At their first show, they were joined by their two daughters, Kira and Maya. They have played all but one LFTG show since. They have really come a long way! Check out the videos and see. As of LFTG XIII, my student Marcel joined the band. For LFTG X, they will be facing their biggest challenge yet...

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 23:54:00 +0000

Monday March 21, 2011

As the tenth Live From The Garage show draws near, I thought it would be fun to put together a few little retrospectives of some of the bands/students who have performed at multiple LFTG shows. We will start with Rob, Kenny, Ken and Mike and The Daft Devils. They have performed at eight shows. It's really fun to see their musical progression. They will be there on May 14th, of course, to put in their ninth appearance!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 02:47:00 +0000

Thursday October 14, 2010

I finally finished mixing the Glass Horse songs. Glass Horse is a band that I've been involved with since January 2010. To hear all eight songs and find out more about the band go to Jon's Bio.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 01:42:00 +0000

Tuesday June 1, 2010

Once again, it was my distinct pleasure to perform with the Docs That Rock. This was the third year of the event and it rocked! The band consisted of ten ER docs from across Canada, including my student Rob, and a few friends. We played two sets at the CAEP(Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians) gala. It was a blast. We played a mix of rock, R&B, funk, soul and disco. The audience was up dancing for pretty much the entire evening. Thanks Rob, I had a great time!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:25:00 +0000

Saturday May 22, 2010

Despite the fact that, for me, this was probably one of the most challenging shows to put on, it was definitely one of the best. It was amazing for me to hear all of my students perform so well and it was a blast to be on stage with most of them. Here is video of the eight bands that performed. I will also post some photos soon. I would like to once again thank all people who helped with the set up/clean up at the show. I couldn't have done it without you. Also, I would like to thank all the volunteer performers for donating their time. Your participation really takes things to another level. And Angela, thank you for saving the day!

Here are some of my students comments on the show(more to come...):

"I had an amazing time watching, singing dancing, playing, and running outside during the breaks between bands for fresh air... not the first one I'd watched, but definitely not the last time I'd like to play in it :)" - Isabella

"Thanks for the show on Sat! I had a great time as did my family and friends - thanks to you they think I'm a rock star!!" -  Marcel

*** If you are feeling nostalgic, click here to view videos from all the past Live From The Garage shows.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Saturday December 12, 2009

It was an awesome night. Seven bands and lots and lots of guitars! Thank you to all who came out to support the students. Click here to see a ton of photos from the show. Happy holidays! See you in 2010!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:16:00 +0000

Tuesday November 24, 2009

I am really looking forward to next Wednesday night. My student Matt and his band, Sam I Am, are playing at Metropolis in the Maimonides Battle of the Bands. They are opening the show. Matt, as you can imagine, is psyched. As a bonus, my friend Jay is also playing with his band called The Hip Replacements.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:15:00 +0000

Thursday October 29, 2009
Flashback

Yesterday, my student Matt (from Sam I Am) and I were talking about his band and he mentioned something about his singer, whose name is Sophie. It turns out that his singer is a former student of mine who also performed at the first Live From The Garage show back in May of 2006! For some reason, I never posted any video from that show. So, here it is! This is the opening song of Sophie's band's (Warped Verdict) set.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:10:00 +0000

Saturday October 24, 2009

Saturday night was the second annual benefit show at the Bistro Westminster. This year, the cause was the Shriner's Hospital. It was a great night of music, good food and friends. We raised $840 in all. The music was provided by Papa So Mean and The Daft Devils. Papa So Mean opened with an eclectic set of reggae, blues, rock, country, 90's Canadian rock and soul! The band never sounded better. Then, The Daft Devils played a set of 80's rock that got everyone going. And apparently there was a crazy guy in a wig... My wife, Cara, took pictures throughout the evening. Click here to see them.

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:49:00 +0000

Friday October 16, 2009

I will be joining The Daft Devils for a show at the Bistro Westminster on Saturday, October 24th. The evening is a benefit for the Shriner's Hospital and promises to be a fun night of good food, good music and friends. Papa So Mean will be performing as well. The show will start sometime after 8 pm. The address of the bistro is 49 Westminster and it is very close to Sherbrooke. Hope to see you there!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:24:00 +0000

Monday June 8, 2009

I recently was invited to play a show with my student Rob. It was a unique and amazing experience for me. The show was in Calgary and I played with about a dozen E.R. doctors from all across the country. The show took place during the annual Emergency Medicine conference. We had one rehearsal the day before. As you can see in the video, the audience enjoyed it! As well, the show was a medical research benefit. I met some great people and had an awesome time. Thanks Rob! Next year, the conference is in Montreal. Planning has already begun...

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:23:00 +0000

Saturday May 30, 2009

Six Decades of Rock rocked!!! What a show guys! I'd like to especially thank Bilal from CHOM, who hosted the evening and did a great job. Thanks once again to all who came out. It was one of our biggest audiences yet. Check out video of the 50's, 60's 70's , 80's, 90's and 2000's, along with special guests Billy Brown and Sam I Am. Excellent work, everyone!