The Velvet Underground Toronto - Halloween

....Last Saturday we were at The Velvet Underground in Toronto, located on Queen St. it's one of those legendary bars that's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Halloween is always a great night at the Velvet and last weekend was no exception. The place was packed and there was a massive line up outside waiting to get in. We arrived early to avoid the non-sense there's nothing I hate more than standing in a frackin lineup. The thing I like most about the Velvet is that nothing ever seems to change, not the music not the people, and not the atmosphere yet at the same time they seem to years ahead of the mainstream when it comes to just about everything if that makes any sense. One things you'll notice immediate is the diversity in the crowd. The average age of the people that frequent this place is anywhere between 18 to 50 it has always been and always will be Toronto's best night spot, especailly for those that like to be different. Above are some pics I took, it was a pretty wild night and happily all we survived it.

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...to see the pics in full size just click on the images they will enlarge.

Ignatius Jones

....Part of a group that would have driven your parent absolutely nuts. An Australian artist and the frontman for "Jimmy and the Boys" a shock rock group that featured obscene lyrics and imagery among other things. Their act included horror related theatrics, S&M, transvestism, self mutilation, simulated sex, drug abuse and even a mock rape enactment all in an attempt to convey the degeneration of our society. The core of the group form in 1976 and included Ignacius as well as keyboard player Joylene Hairmouth who was a transvestite.

Rock 'N' Roll Might Be Over, Says...U2?

.....I read an article on Yahoo today and that's precisely how it started and I have to be honest it made me laugh. Bono Vox is apparently unhappy with the sales of U2's latest album "No Line On The Horizon" not gonna go into details, suffice to say he's blaming the record industry which is increasingly being geared towards pop music. Don't get me wrong, I like U2 but to blame pop and suggest the lackluster sales are because rock'n'roll is dying would be to suggest that U2 is rock band ...THEY'RE NOT... U2 is in fact a POP band and have been so for at least 20 years. Second to perhaps only Abba they're the most successful pop band in history. Obviously they aren't making the same kinda pop as "Brittney Spears" or the "INSYNC" but they are in fact a Pop group, I hope this doesn't offend anyone not trying to be offensive but I gotta call it the way I see it. The last legitimate rock album U2 put out was "War" and by the time the "Joshua Tree" was released they'd made the full transition into main stream music. In saying that I need to be clear, there is nothing wrong with pop, I like a lot of pop bands, probably more than I should, but for Bono to blame the very thing that is responsible for U2's success, as the instrument of their failure is in my opinion quite ridiculous...

Duran Duran

....Few bands during the 80's polarized music fans quite as much as these guys, most people had an opinion either ya loved them or you hated them. Were they legitimate New Romantic pioneers or sugar coated garbage? I'm still trying to decide. I talked to many who feel Duran Duran were all style a no substance, while others feel they were one of the most important groups to emerge in the 80's. Considering they've been around for close to thirty years and still making albums perhaps it's time  to cut them a little slack.
.....Duran Duran is a New Romantic band from Birmingham, England. They were one of the most successful groups of the 1980's spearheading what many at the time called the second British Invasion. There original line up consisted of Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Stephen (Tin Tin) Duffy, and later Roger Taylor, after numerous personnel changes, Andy Taylor, and Simon Le Bon were also added while Tin Tin departed. band's first album, Duran Duran, was released on the EMI label in 1981 it yielded three singles "Planet Earth", "Careless Memories" and of course "Girls On Film" the video to which created so much of controversy was banned by the BBC and heavily edited for MTV. The second album Rio released in 1982 was the one that broke Duran Duran world wide, yielding no less than 5 singles they charted across the planet and they became for a time the biggest band in the world.  A world tour followed, in support of the album and MTV seemed to play their videos 24/7 their images were splashed across every magazine on the planet as the mania spread. When I look back on it now in my mind it seems like it went on forever, but in reality the bulk of their success was achieved over a relatively short period of time between 82 and 85, by the time their fourth album "Notorious" was release in 86 much of the hype had subsided and their popularity wained. Still can't take away from what they did, for a short time during the 80's Duran Duran were being compared to the Beetles a band above all others, an astounding feet to say the least.

....Duran Duran is now in their 28 year and have released a total of 13 albums, the line up has changed over time as members come and go. They still tour pretty regularly to the thrill of their fans, in fact just this summer they were in Toronto to play a sold out Air Canada Center. They still look and sound great after almost 30 years. The Wedding Album released in 1993 is absolutely ingenious and perhaps their best work. 

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Duran Duran's line up during their period of Global domination 81-85 is as follows..

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Simon Le Bon

Nick Rhodes

John Taylor

Roger Taylor

Andy Taylor

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Other past and present members are as follows...

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Dominic Brown

Sterling Campbell

Warren Cuccurullo

Stephen Duffy

Andy Wickett

Simon Colley

Alan Curtis

Jeff Thomas

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I've Included below the video "Save A Prayer" released in August 1982 perhaps a bit sappy but still my favorite song by the band...
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Charlitans UK Cancel North American Tour.

The Charlatans were to play the Mod Club in Toronto tonight but unfortunatly the show has been cancelled along with the London show, this is from their web site...The Charlatans are sorry to announce the cancellation of their forthcoming North American tour. This is due to drummer Jon Brookes' longstanding shoulder complaint. He has been strongly advised by doctors against undertaking 23 concerts in 28 days as this could cause severe damage to ligaments in the affected area. He will start a course of treatment starting in September and in the coming months to rectify the condition.

Elemental - Tears For Fears

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...I was never so sure in my life that I was gonna hate an album, after all Curt Smith was gone leaving only Roland Orzabal how could it possibly work. As far as I was concerned Tears for Fears was done, I thought it best they just fade quietly into the night. I didn't actually pick this album up till years later, and the only reason I picked it up at all is because it was on sale. Even after I bought it, it just kinda sat on my shelf collecting dust for a year. It was release in 1993 and I didn't get round to listening to it until around 98, happily I finally did and to my pleasant surprise I was completely and totally wrong. This isn't just a good album it's a bloody great album. It's now loaded on my iPod were it receives regular play, and I mean the entire album not just select songs.

...The big single of the album was "Break It Down Again", which charted well in Europe as well as North America, "Cold", "Elemental" and "Goodnight Song" which are equally impressive were also released as singles, not sure why they didn't chart better in North America, I guess I'll attribute it to our bad taste, or perhaps our sudden 90's fascination in boy bands and grunge music. "Power" my personal favorite should have been released as a single also, come to think of it there isn't a week track on the entire disk. With Smith's departure Orzalbal co wrote this album with Alan Griffith, they'd worked together many time in the past and the end result in an almost perfect album. I know I've said this before and I'm gonna keep on saying it every time I feel an album's gone un-appreciated. Buy this Album!!... you will not be disappointed.

Patrick Swayze dies at age 57

There are few things that anchor us to a period in history quite like the movies, they're a microcosm of an age, a window through which we see our passing time. Few actors defined our generation or were as popular in this era as Patrick Swayze. One of our iconic film stars, he died today after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, he was only 57. He passed away peacefully with family at his side by all accounts he remained happy and positive till the very end..

... Like so many others I still enjoy watching films like Red Dawn, The Outsiders and of course Road House which I especially relate to having spent so many years working in the bar business.  He will be missed, also like millions of others I will continue to enjoy his work for many years to come. Condolences to his friends and family ...

Raybeats

...The Raybeats were one of those great post punk bands that never really got their due credit, the landscape of this era is littered with bands that suffered much the same fate. They were labeled as No Wave, which is a slag against the commercial elements of the New Wave scene during the early 80's. But like New Wave / Alternative bands of the time, they drew on mish-mash of styles such as rock'n'roll, punk, jazz, blues and funk to create yet another sub genre of music quite unique but hard to categorized. There were no rules for bands in the 80's, just idea's and choices.

...Originally formed for shits and giggles (as a hobby) in New York 1979 the Raybeats consisted of Jody Harris on guitar, Don Christenson on drums, Pat Irwin on keyboard/sax/guitar and original bassist George Scott. They quickly gained prominence on the New York club circuit and decided to make the group permanent. When George Scott died from a drug overdose in August 1980 he was replaced by Danny Amis shortly after they signed a recording deal with Don't Fall Off the Mountain, a subsidiary of British recording label Beggars Banquet. There first EP was completed in late 1980 called "Roping Wild Bears" and in 1981 their first full album, "Guitar Beat" hit the shops. Amis's departed in 1982, the Raybeats recorded one more album, "It's Only A Movie!" which was released on Shanachie Records in 1983 I have no information on sales or singles unfortunately . They disbanded in 1984 and that's a shame, I'll include video at the end of this post so you can see how talented they were. It's a sad reality that true genius is often not rewarded...

The Raybeats are...

Jody Harris - guitar
Pat Irwin - Keyboards, sax, gutar
Don Christense - Drums
Danny Amis - Bass
George Scott III - Bass

other musician that played Base post Amis - David Hofstra, Bobby Albertson and Gene Holder

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Raybeats - Jack The Ripper

Simple Minds - Sanctify Yourself ( Extended )

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. "This is the Age of Thunder and Rage..."
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This extended re-mix was released by Simple Minds under the Virgin Records label 1986, it received alot of airplay back in the day. This EP contains two version of "Sanctify Yourself" an Extended mix and a dub mix. It was co-produced by two legends in the recording industry Bob Clearmountain and James Iovine who's resumes are to say the least extremely impressive. Bob Clearmountain's been nominated for four Grammy awards and worked with likes of Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Bryan Adams and Robbie Williams to name just a few. James Iovine has engineered for John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen and produced for U2, Dire Straits and Patty Smith to name just a few. This version (extended) starts off with a simple beat overlayed with Jim Kerrs vocals approximately 20 seconds ahead the the heavy beat kicks in followed shortly after with the keyboard and bass tracks. Made for mixing the you get a good two minutes of repetitive droning before the meat the song proper transitions. An excellent variation of the original deviating enough to make it unique but not so much as to make it unrecognizable. Obviously the purpose of this 12 inch was the clubs and pubs so the drum tracks takes on increased prominence throughout, it works well. The B-Side dub mix is pure instrumental (well almost), very repetitive, very cool this is for pure mixing purposes, there are some vocals at the very end, also very repetitive. This is an extremely well done EP can't believe someone gave it up.

A. Sanctify Yourself - extended mix 7:10

B. Sanctify Yourself - dub mix 6:11

Produced by Bob Clearmountain & Jimmy Iovine

Mixed by Jay Burnette, Bob Clearmountain assissted by Moira Marquis

Written by Simple Minds

Virgin Records 1986

Toronto Fan Expo 2009

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BRUCE CAMPBELL, The Evil Dead, Army of Darkness and Bubba Ho-Tep among other things was there on Sunday. He was only willing to sight a few hunder autographs before calling it quits, kinda disrespectful if you ask me. The first time he's been here to my knowlege and there were alot of disappointed fans who I'm sure wanted to meet him but could'nt because he decided to be a dinky dink.

LOU FERRIGNO, The Incredible Hulk from all accounts one of the nicest guys at the show, always willing to talk to the fans and joke around.



It aint just about Science fiction at the Fan Expo many of the Menga and Comic Hero costumes as well as costumes from video games such as Legend of Zelda and Guitar hero are also popular. Very impressive to say the least these kids sure put alot of work into them.


What ever your into you'll find it at the Fan Expo, here the WWF's Iron Shiek and the Honky Tonk Man sign autographs and converse with the fans. Dang is that Iron Shiek ever loud, scared the hell otta me, always yelling at someone...all in good fun for the show of course.


Yup the 501st Legion of which I'm a proud member, we have alot of fun and the crowd is always appreciative. I usually spend much of my weekend posing for pictures.


LEONARD NIMOY was also there, long line up for this guy, yet he was always friendly and made sure all the fan got their autograph or picture. definitely one of the highlights having him there.

Aaron Douglas-"Battlestar Galactica" and Erin Grey- "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" sign autographs for fans. This is a tragedy for me, I really wanted Erin Greys autograph, who can forget her in the white spandex pilot outfit, it was truely pivotal moment in Sci-Fi TV history...at least it was for me. I got so busy and I completely forgot to go see her. I hope she comes back again. I'll never forgive myself for missing out on what could have been one of the defining moment of my life...Ohhh.. notice the look of bewilderment on Aaron's face, that's because someone has just handed him a bootleg copy of BSG to be signed, I wonder sometimes what goes through peoples heads.

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...Well another Fan Expo has come and gone, I spent all weekend at the Toronto convention center I'm exhausted, never walked so much in my life. This year was bigger than ever as a record 60,000 people attended, what a crazy mad house it was. I took some shots at the show but spent most of the time trooping with the 501st Legion. I think it would be best they move this event to the North building for next years show as some people reported a two hour wait just to get in. Security had a tough time keeping control the line was so long it went all the way up the stairs through the concourse, down the outside steps were it snaked half way around the Sky Dome (Rogers Center). That said a good time was had by all, I now count the day until the next one.

Below is a slide show of many of pics I did last weekend enjoy.




Toronto Fan Expo 2009

The link to the entire album is here...

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/574439110vCwHqz?vhost=good-times