Ignore the system and make everything up.
In the last year, I joined a couple of gig bands ( The Hurry Hards - an upbeat ska-punk outfit that plays kick-ass covers of Canadian classics, and The Inconsoulables - a cool garage rock / r&b group playing a whole different type of classics). It's been really refreshing and challenging to work in this way again. Naturally, it's different from all the solo / Patreon / short songs and stories…
After 16 years working as an elementary school band teacher for Regina Public Schools, my wife quit her job. The job was impossibly difficult: managing 200+ students, their families, travelling between 9 elementary schools, plus 1 high school, every single week - and all of the complexities that implies: kids with high needs, entitled or neglectful parents, bad administrators, other teachers…
Remember when Metallica sued Napster? They didn't see it at the time, but we all know now that it was already too late. When I was a kid, banging around on pots and pans and harmonizing with the hum of the microwave , the dream was to be in a rock band, tour the world, sell a million records. That formula had been in use since the days of payola. Seemed like a good plan. Once music was digital and…
Buy music and merch directly from artists at shows. Money you spend goes directly to the artists ( usually ). Buy it from good retailers like record shops. Their variety promotes discovery and their expertise helps shape community. Buy it from artist websites. You're still supporting artists, but it tends to be more more expensive due to shipping, payment processing fees, etc. But it from online…
Whenever I meet someone new in a social setting, I specifically don't ask them what they do for a living because I'm not interested in the thing society requires them to do so they can pay for groceries. Instead I ask, "What are you passionate about?" or "What brings joy to your life?" and I genuinely want an answer. If that thing also happens to be the thing they do to pay the bills, so be it -…
I recently joined a band and started subbing in another. Both projects play cover tunes. Since it's a bit unreasonable to ask for a mixtape every time we add a tune to the repertoire, I caved and resubbed to Deezer. At least it's not Spotify. Or YouTube. Damn. Anyone have any better ideas? I'm wide open to suggestions.
I was not good at school. The classes were usually so dumbed down that I just saw it as a colossal waste of time. I'd already read the books we were now supposed to be learning about - years prior. I'd complete assignments to kill time during class, then leave them in my locker without handing them in. Teachers who cared, and weren't already completely burnt out, would later review them and tell…
Music education is under attack in Regina, Saskatchewan. Regina public elementary band programs could face cutbacks (May 20, 2025) Regina school division CEO says there's insufficient funding to maintain band program in current form (May 30, 2025) Click here to sign the petition to stop these cuts When I show grade 6 kids how to use a saxophone or clarinet for the first time, one of the earliest…
Those of us who are really into music may find it plays a role in our sense of identity. People often get offended if you don't like their favourite band and will judge you instantly based on the type of music you like or dislike. I'm certainly guilty of this. With some music, it can feel like any disagreement from someone about something I hold so strongly is nothing less than a personal attack.…
I'm addicted to music. I get squirrelly if I go too long without putting something on. I was also born in the '80s, so I've grown up and lived with a concept of collecting music. I have a handful of cassettes, an intense number of CDs, and a silly amount of vinyl records. I also have an unthinkably large digital collection from ripping CDs, sailing the high seas, and retaining purchases from the…