Hi folks!
[Bits of this are being copied from my "Adventures in Cello Land" blog -- apologies to those who read both!]
Thisafternoon, Don and I paid a return visit to "Sing For Your Supper", a songwriters circle led every Saturday by our friend (and amazing songwriter) Kev Corbett at The Carleton in Halifax. We got to do some of our solo stuff, which is rare these days, although we did cheat a bit and accompany each other from time to time. The other guest artists were Jadea Kelly and surprise guest David Borins (who is touring with Jadea).
It was a fun afternoon, and there was a larger audience there than we'd had the last time we played the series. We made some new friends, and made a new connection that might prove profitable in the long run... (not saying it out loud yet, I don't want to jinx myself!)
Kev gave us a copy of his yet-to-be-released CD, Son of a Rudderless Boat, which I'm really looking forward to hearing. Jadea and David also gave us their CDs, so we'll have some pleasant listening material on the road, for sure! This was the first time I had heard either of them, and it was a treat. Although David did a song about disliking women who drink whiskey... he promised me it was just a song. :-) I countered, of course, with Not Enough Whiskey -- dodge, parry, thrust!
Unlike last time, we actually got to stay for dinner -- The Carleton has great food, let me tell you! Don had the ribs in... some sort of brandied BBQ sauce. I had curried penne with shrimps and scallops, mmm-mmm, and a nice Australian Merlot whose name I've already forgotten. Hopefully Kev will invite us back a third time, so we can sample more of the menu. :-)
Actually, we might be heading back next Monday, if we aren't busy visiting family -- David Myles is playing that night. We saw him at Shelter Valley this summer, and would love to see a full night of him!
Well, I'm off to tuck my niece into bed. Hope everyone's having a great weekend!
Just in case we haven't hammered it home -- our Halifax CD release is tomorrow afternoon at The Company House. We'd love to see you there!!! 3:00 pm, and a mere $6 -- that works out to less than a dollar per instrument you see on stage!!! :-)
Hope to see you there,
Alyssa
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
A grand evening at the Rose & Kettle
Hi folks!
Well, last night at the Rose & Kettle Concert Sessions was tons o' fun -- what a great evening!
It was a bit of an adventure getting there... MapQuest said the drive would be about 20 minutes, so we left about an hour and a half before our "sound check" time, with the plan that we'd stop somewhere in Cole Harbour for a quick bite before the show. Well... MapQuest doesn't quite understand how tricky it is to get across the MacDonald Bridge in late afternoon! I think we spent about 45 minutes just driving the three or so blocks TO the bridge... aiyaiyai, we poor Orillians aren't used to rush hour anymore. :-) But we finally made it on to the highway and off at the proper exit, with just enough time to dash into a Tim's for a take-out sandwich -- so much for a leisurely nibble. After driving a few more minutes, we hit a dead end and water -- oy! We had, somehow, turned ourselves around the wrong way on Portland, and had to double back to get to the right spot. We finally got there, only a few minutes past our original plan, to find the crew getting set up.
The Rose & Kettle Tearoom is part of an old farmhouse in the Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum -- a little gem hidden amongst the malls and hustle of the city. Beautiful old wood structure, antique teacups lining the walls, work by local artisans for sale, and some delicious-looking baked goods! (There I go, talking about food again...) Vince Morash hosts these concerts, under the auspices of the Harbour Folk Society, every Thursday night (minus the summertime). Wearing my OFS hat, I couldn't help but be a teensy bit jealous that they can present concerts every week -- imagine how many more great acts I could bring in! Ah, sigh...
Vince is a fabulous host! We are, as you know, rather loathe to toot our own horn, but he was constantly reminding the audience about our CDs for sale, our mailing list, AND our CD Release Concert at The Company House on Sunday, AND our individual appearances at "Sing For Your Supper" at The Carleton on Saturday. We didn't have to do any "tooting" whatsoever!
It's a tremendously supportive audience, too. We knew it would be a good night when George walked in, bought a CD and had us autograph it before we'd played a note! (Fortunately, he didn't ask for his money back after the show...) Very friendly and welcoming people -- we had a chance to chat with a few folks ahead of time (as we scarfed down our aforementioned fast food and tried to put a set list together -- which we later ignored, of course), and chatted with a bunch more -- many of them musicians and songwriters, themselves -- at intermission and afterwards. (Vince and his partner Pixie said they enjoyed presenting these concerts because they always got home before 10pm -- I think last night was an exception, though, unless they live next door!)
It was such a positive night, we left with big smiles on our faces and a few new friends. This is why we love these nights SOOO much better than the battling-with-the-cappucino-machine gigs. Call me Pollyanna, but it feels so good to share yourself with a community and know that they got something nice out of it. That's what it's all about!
On our way back in to Halifax (which took a lot less time than getting out, I can tell you!), we had a brief chat with our cat- and house-sitter extraordinaire, Bernie. Apparently, she likes food stories too, because she had one to share as well! She saw a coveted jar of Arnie's Latvian Dills (made by our friend Arnie Ivsins, A.D. of the Barrie Folk Society), and thought we wouldn't mind if she swiped one. Sadly, a macho firefighter had closed the lid, and she couldn't open the darned thing -- so close, and yet so far! I have now told her where she can find the jar opener (front of the cutlery drawer, to the left of the fridge, Bernie!), so hopefully there will be some missing pickles by the time we come back. :-)
And no tour posting would be complete without a food and beverage story of our own. So... after we dropped off the instruments in Mom's living room, we walked down the road to Quinpool and headed in to Freeman's pub -- which apparently serves food until 5am, oh happy day! Don had a yummy-looking penne with chicken and broccoli in a light cream sauce with a side salad (his first vegetable in a few days, aiyaiyai!). I wasn't quite so hungry, so opted for the mozzarella sticks (one of my filthy addictions, especially after a performance!) and stole a piece of his garlic bread. We both tried the Propeller Porter -- a local brewery, and the porter was really good! So good, we grabbed a second -- which the waitress forgot to charge us for, and was very thankful when we pointed out her mistake. So there ya go, we were good citizens. :-)
Now Don has headed out to buy himself a new hat, and I'm waiting for a conference call. After that, we'll be heading around the corner to wake up Lilly and Wyatt from their naps, spend the afternoon playing, and then have a nice dinner with their parents -- the first time we'll actually see Tarah and Daniel since arriving in Nova Scotia!
Hope you're all enjoying this beautiful Friday.
Musically,
Alyssa & Don
Well, last night at the Rose & Kettle Concert Sessions was tons o' fun -- what a great evening!
It was a bit of an adventure getting there... MapQuest said the drive would be about 20 minutes, so we left about an hour and a half before our "sound check" time, with the plan that we'd stop somewhere in Cole Harbour for a quick bite before the show. Well... MapQuest doesn't quite understand how tricky it is to get across the MacDonald Bridge in late afternoon! I think we spent about 45 minutes just driving the three or so blocks TO the bridge... aiyaiyai, we poor Orillians aren't used to rush hour anymore. :-) But we finally made it on to the highway and off at the proper exit, with just enough time to dash into a Tim's for a take-out sandwich -- so much for a leisurely nibble. After driving a few more minutes, we hit a dead end and water -- oy! We had, somehow, turned ourselves around the wrong way on Portland, and had to double back to get to the right spot. We finally got there, only a few minutes past our original plan, to find the crew getting set up.
The Rose & Kettle Tearoom is part of an old farmhouse in the Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum -- a little gem hidden amongst the malls and hustle of the city. Beautiful old wood structure, antique teacups lining the walls, work by local artisans for sale, and some delicious-looking baked goods! (There I go, talking about food again...) Vince Morash hosts these concerts, under the auspices of the Harbour Folk Society, every Thursday night (minus the summertime). Wearing my OFS hat, I couldn't help but be a teensy bit jealous that they can present concerts every week -- imagine how many more great acts I could bring in! Ah, sigh...
Vince is a fabulous host! We are, as you know, rather loathe to toot our own horn, but he was constantly reminding the audience about our CDs for sale, our mailing list, AND our CD Release Concert at The Company House on Sunday, AND our individual appearances at "Sing For Your Supper" at The Carleton on Saturday. We didn't have to do any "tooting" whatsoever!
It's a tremendously supportive audience, too. We knew it would be a good night when George walked in, bought a CD and had us autograph it before we'd played a note! (Fortunately, he didn't ask for his money back after the show...) Very friendly and welcoming people -- we had a chance to chat with a few folks ahead of time (as we scarfed down our aforementioned fast food and tried to put a set list together -- which we later ignored, of course), and chatted with a bunch more -- many of them musicians and songwriters, themselves -- at intermission and afterwards. (Vince and his partner Pixie said they enjoyed presenting these concerts because they always got home before 10pm -- I think last night was an exception, though, unless they live next door!)
It was such a positive night, we left with big smiles on our faces and a few new friends. This is why we love these nights SOOO much better than the battling-with-the-cappucino-machine gigs. Call me Pollyanna, but it feels so good to share yourself with a community and know that they got something nice out of it. That's what it's all about!
On our way back in to Halifax (which took a lot less time than getting out, I can tell you!), we had a brief chat with our cat- and house-sitter extraordinaire, Bernie. Apparently, she likes food stories too, because she had one to share as well! She saw a coveted jar of Arnie's Latvian Dills (made by our friend Arnie Ivsins, A.D. of the Barrie Folk Society), and thought we wouldn't mind if she swiped one. Sadly, a macho firefighter had closed the lid, and she couldn't open the darned thing -- so close, and yet so far! I have now told her where she can find the jar opener (front of the cutlery drawer, to the left of the fridge, Bernie!), so hopefully there will be some missing pickles by the time we come back. :-)
And no tour posting would be complete without a food and beverage story of our own. So... after we dropped off the instruments in Mom's living room, we walked down the road to Quinpool and headed in to Freeman's pub -- which apparently serves food until 5am, oh happy day! Don had a yummy-looking penne with chicken and broccoli in a light cream sauce with a side salad (his first vegetable in a few days, aiyaiyai!). I wasn't quite so hungry, so opted for the mozzarella sticks (one of my filthy addictions, especially after a performance!) and stole a piece of his garlic bread. We both tried the Propeller Porter -- a local brewery, and the porter was really good! So good, we grabbed a second -- which the waitress forgot to charge us for, and was very thankful when we pointed out her mistake. So there ya go, we were good citizens. :-)
Now Don has headed out to buy himself a new hat, and I'm waiting for a conference call. After that, we'll be heading around the corner to wake up Lilly and Wyatt from their naps, spend the afternoon playing, and then have a nice dinner with their parents -- the first time we'll actually see Tarah and Daniel since arriving in Nova Scotia!
Hope you're all enjoying this beautiful Friday.
Musically,
Alyssa & Don
Thursday, November 19, 2009
The tour has begun...
Hi folks!
We're already on day 3 of our tour, and finally getting down to this business of blogging, after a couple of not-so-subtle requests. :-)
The GREAT news is that Don's back medication worked very well, and the driving was not so bad at all -- which was especially important on day 1, when we had to put over 12-1/2 hours on the road. Thank Dog for whoever had the good sense to invent anti-inflammatories!
So yes, day one was just driving... driving... driving... We didn't encounter any moose or deer at their various crossing signs, although there was a wayward donkey catching a snack in a ditch east of Quebec City. Spent the night in Cabano with a nice bottle of red we snagged from the depanneur earlier that evening -- oh yes, it's like April all over again, except I forgot to make a note of what kind it was... Italian, I know, and quite good, considering we got it at the same place we filled up the car and Don bought fruit squirts (they had no wine gums -- how's a man supposed to tour?!?).
That left us with only five hours we had to drive yesterday, before our gig in Sackville, NB. A nice coffee house (avec biere) called the Bridge Street Cafe. The first thing we saw when we walked in was a now-laminated poster of Taylor Mitchell, for the gig she played there just a few weeks ago... We counted our blessings and tried not to let it get to us.
Unfortunately, OUR posters had still not arrived (curse you, Canada Post -- three business days, my arse!!!), so there were many patrons who were (pleasantly, we hope) surprised that there was music happening that night, and we found ourselves explaining to many people who the heck we were.
The staff at the Bridge Street Cafe are all very nice, and quite supportive and enthusiastic. A nice crew, although they could, perhaps, have run the cappucino machine at some more opportune moments than, say, the beginning of our quiet instrumental After (like, I dunno... AFTER!).
Here, we also found ourselves part of a young student's term paper, which was kind of interesting. He's doing a double major in music and psychology, and is writing about sound in urban spaces. This was phase one of his project, where he records some typical sounds in various places -- a cafe, library, and... I forget the others. The next stage, he's going to mix things up a little, and introduce atypical sounds into the same places -- he's also going to write a composition that brings everything together in the end. Very cool, and we had an interesting conversation with him about music and sound and stuff.
We also met Edward, who seems to be Sackville's number one music fan -- I think he spends a lot of time listening to live music, and apparently plays a bit too. We ate dinner with him on our break (FABULOUS food at this cafe!!!), and talked about many musical things. Our friend David Francey is playing in Sackville tonight, so we told Edward (and anyone else who stood still long enough) to go check him out -- any Sackvillians reading this post should get their cute fannies out the door too! Sackville United Church, David Francey -- go, you won't regret it! :-)
After the show, we headed back on the highway for the final two-hour drive to Halifax -- avoiding aforementioned deer and moose, which is good, because Edward was very concerned about our safety along that stretch, which was making me very nervous! Got in to a very dozy Mom, who said hello and then went right back up to bed, leaving us alone with the plonk-in-a-box. (silly woman...)
This morning, we were wakened by the lovely Lilly, my four-year-old niece, and she and I spent the morning baking sugar cookies. Can't get any better than that...
Don's now tapping his toes to get me out the door in time to grab a sandwich before our show tonight, so I'd better vamoose (how the heck do you spell that?). Tonight we're playing for the HarbourFolk Society at the Rose & Kettle Concert Sessions in Cole Harbour. Don met some of these folks when he was out this way recording our friend Bob Ardern this summer, but I'm looking forward to meeting them myself. It sounds like a great venue, too. And did I mention they have baked goods? :-)
OK, I'll stop talking about food and wine, but just for a little while... (We're staying at Mom's house tonight, so it'll just be plonk-in-a-box, anyhow!)
Thanks, as always, for reading!
Alyssa
We're already on day 3 of our tour, and finally getting down to this business of blogging, after a couple of not-so-subtle requests. :-)
The GREAT news is that Don's back medication worked very well, and the driving was not so bad at all -- which was especially important on day 1, when we had to put over 12-1/2 hours on the road. Thank Dog for whoever had the good sense to invent anti-inflammatories!
So yes, day one was just driving... driving... driving... We didn't encounter any moose or deer at their various crossing signs, although there was a wayward donkey catching a snack in a ditch east of Quebec City. Spent the night in Cabano with a nice bottle of red we snagged from the depanneur earlier that evening -- oh yes, it's like April all over again, except I forgot to make a note of what kind it was... Italian, I know, and quite good, considering we got it at the same place we filled up the car and Don bought fruit squirts (they had no wine gums -- how's a man supposed to tour?!?).
That left us with only five hours we had to drive yesterday, before our gig in Sackville, NB. A nice coffee house (avec biere) called the Bridge Street Cafe. The first thing we saw when we walked in was a now-laminated poster of Taylor Mitchell, for the gig she played there just a few weeks ago... We counted our blessings and tried not to let it get to us.
Unfortunately, OUR posters had still not arrived (curse you, Canada Post -- three business days, my arse!!!), so there were many patrons who were (pleasantly, we hope) surprised that there was music happening that night, and we found ourselves explaining to many people who the heck we were.
The staff at the Bridge Street Cafe are all very nice, and quite supportive and enthusiastic. A nice crew, although they could, perhaps, have run the cappucino machine at some more opportune moments than, say, the beginning of our quiet instrumental After (like, I dunno... AFTER!).
Here, we also found ourselves part of a young student's term paper, which was kind of interesting. He's doing a double major in music and psychology, and is writing about sound in urban spaces. This was phase one of his project, where he records some typical sounds in various places -- a cafe, library, and... I forget the others. The next stage, he's going to mix things up a little, and introduce atypical sounds into the same places -- he's also going to write a composition that brings everything together in the end. Very cool, and we had an interesting conversation with him about music and sound and stuff.
We also met Edward, who seems to be Sackville's number one music fan -- I think he spends a lot of time listening to live music, and apparently plays a bit too. We ate dinner with him on our break (FABULOUS food at this cafe!!!), and talked about many musical things. Our friend David Francey is playing in Sackville tonight, so we told Edward (and anyone else who stood still long enough) to go check him out -- any Sackvillians reading this post should get their cute fannies out the door too! Sackville United Church, David Francey -- go, you won't regret it! :-)
After the show, we headed back on the highway for the final two-hour drive to Halifax -- avoiding aforementioned deer and moose, which is good, because Edward was very concerned about our safety along that stretch, which was making me very nervous! Got in to a very dozy Mom, who said hello and then went right back up to bed, leaving us alone with the plonk-in-a-box. (silly woman...)
This morning, we were wakened by the lovely Lilly, my four-year-old niece, and she and I spent the morning baking sugar cookies. Can't get any better than that...
Don's now tapping his toes to get me out the door in time to grab a sandwich before our show tonight, so I'd better vamoose (how the heck do you spell that?). Tonight we're playing for the HarbourFolk Society at the Rose & Kettle Concert Sessions in Cole Harbour. Don met some of these folks when he was out this way recording our friend Bob Ardern this summer, but I'm looking forward to meeting them myself. It sounds like a great venue, too. And did I mention they have baked goods? :-)
OK, I'll stop talking about food and wine, but just for a little while... (We're staying at Mom's house tonight, so it'll just be plonk-in-a-box, anyhow!)
Thanks, as always, for reading!
Alyssa
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)