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P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight!
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Subject: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Rick Fielding Date: 23 Oct 00 - 03:01 PM Hi. Well I just picked up the fabulous Pam Swan at the airport, fresh from her adventures at the Gettaway. She says she had a great time, but being sequestered with Mudcatters for a few days has wreaked havoc on her sleeping habits. Ahh yes, those late night jams can get to you. Pam will make an appearance on "Acoustic Workshop" tonight at 7pm (Toronto time). We're at www.ciut.fm Tomorrow, the esteemed environmentalist, author and singer of Spanish songs, Peter T, will show Pam the cultural hilites of Toronto (I've already taken her to the 12th Fret!) and on Wednesday I've asked her to join me on a song I'm recording for the new album. Ace fiddler Oliver Schroer will also be at Paul Mills' studio. At the moment, Duckboots and Pam are deep in conversation.....probably discussing which Mudcatters look best in their underwear! Probably that damn Big Mick again! Rick |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: catspaw49 Date: 23 Oct 00 - 03:08 PM Glad I wasn't there since I don't wear 'em. I'll be hoping for a congestion free line tonight although the past several times have been pretty bad. Best to Pam and of course to Boots too. And speaking of Boots, what about El Swanno the Cobbler? I guess since he now can plow with oxen he needs to make some boots to keep the ox crap off his feet! Spaw |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: katlaughing Date: 23 Oct 00 - 03:10 PM Esp. if he had the spud in front! Wow! That is really wonderful, Rick! New CD? Out when? With El Swanna?!!! YeeHaw!!! Ya'll have a good time and I will tune in as soon as I get home from an appt. this afternoon. luvyakat |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Peter T. Date: 23 Oct 00 - 03:12 PM I thought you were the cultural highlight, el Rick... or if not you, then Acoustic Workshop, beaming its folk filth to the wider world.... Hmm. Better work on itinerary options!!(Welcome to our fair city -- cue the flower girl...cue the flower girl...where the hell is the kid with the flowers!!!?). Peter T. |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: catspaw49 Date: 23 Oct 00 - 03:21 PM Probably comatose watching the chess tournament PT. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Rick Fielding Date: 23 Oct 00 - 03:38 PM PAM HERE, POSTING ON RICK'S COOKIE... Hello all from lovely Toronto! Amazing, it's like a whole other country here! And just to think, mere hours ago I was enjoying a 3 a.m. gigglefest with the Mudcat girls at FSGW and listening to BigMick and BarryFinn serenade us to the lovely accompaniment of AllanC. on the snorzaphone... The Getaway was amazing, more to tell on that later, but I was warmly met by Rick this morning at the Toronto airport for the next leg of my adventure. He and DuckieDear have already made me feel right at home, and it sounds like I can look forward to non-stop nonsense for the next 4 days. I am especially excited to be recording with Rick & Co. this week. I hadn't posted anything about it here, because I feared he would come to his senses and realize what a terrible mistake in judgement he had made. But now that he's gone public, I can say that I'm beaming from ear to ear at the prospect of being let off the porch to run with the big dogs. Thanks, Rick. Love to you too, 'Spaw. In answer to your question, I think Dave's plan is to make nice with a couple of oxen who were born with pretty paint jobs, then turn them into boots. I keep telling him he could start a whole new fad by leaving the tail attached. I'd wear 'em. So Peter, tell me where and when to meet you-- I can't wait to see the sights of the big city! We'll keep you all posted, of course. I feel like a kid in a candy store! pj |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Steve Latimer Date: 23 Oct 00 - 03:45 PM P.J., Welcome to Canada. You're in good hands with Peter T. as your tourguide. He'll proabably take you to places that I didn't know existed, and I grew up here. I'll try to tune in tonight. Break a leg. Steve |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Peter T. Date: 23 Oct 00 - 03:59 PM Pj, I'll phone you or you can phone me in the reasonable a.m. Tuesday (assuming you aren't crashing till noon). yours, Peter T. |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Peter Kasin Date: 23 Oct 00 - 06:15 PM Congrats on the recording project, P.J. Ask Rick about the game "Botticelli." It's perfect for long drives. -chaneyranger |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Jeri Date: 23 Oct 00 - 06:46 PM Bugger - RealAudio seems to be down... |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: catspaw49 Date: 23 Oct 00 - 07:13 PM Yeah Jeri.....I've been trying but CIUT seems to be out to lunch on RA.......Know anything Rick? Pisses me off because I would have loved to have heard Pam. Sorry guys........ Spaw |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Dani Date: 23 Oct 00 - 10:23 PM "...mistake in judgement"?!?!? Let me just tell you all what a treat it was to meet Pam. I'll say all kinds of mushy personal things about her later, but suffice it to say that her music is MAGICAL, and the way she shares it with folks who know nothing about it is a rare gift. As I told her, she ought to teach anything to anybody. But her love for her genre is infectious and wonderful to be around. Hope you all enjoy the radio show. Dani |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Rick Fielding Date: 23 Oct 00 - 10:41 PM Don't know if the radio show came through or not. Pam was a wonderful guest..articulate, funny and bloody musical. Asking her to play a couple of songs on the new album was not just because she's a neat lady...t'is because she is a fine bodhran player and singer. I'm looking forward to the session. We took her to the Free Times Cafe and Mudcatter Tony Burns joined us, so after her tour with Peter T. tomorrow, she'll be a Toronto "veteran". Rick |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: catspaw49 Date: 23 Oct 00 - 10:54 PM All sounds great Rick....but the show did not come through on the net. CIUT as I said above, was down in Real Audio and the link through their site kept coming back as "Not Found/Out of Date" or something to that effect....Whatever, a dead link. Have a great time tomorrow and I look forward to hearing Pam on your next album. What song are you doing? Spaw |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: WyoWoman Date: 24 Oct 00 - 03:16 AM This is totally great! And I'm chartreuse with envy. Have a fabulous time as the citizens of the Mudcat turn their yearning eyes (and ears) on you .... I'll look forward to hearing the CD ... ww |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Steve Latimer Date: 24 Oct 00 - 10:16 AM Good show, I really enjoyed her Bodhran playing, singing and song selection. I hadn't really heard "mouth music" before and found it very interesting. |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: catspaw49 Date: 24 Oct 00 - 12:17 PM Screw you Steve. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Steve Latimer Date: 24 Oct 00 - 12:35 PM 'Spaw, For what??!! |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: catspaw49 Date: 24 Oct 00 - 12:51 PM Yeah right..........The freakin' net link was dead but SOME of us live in an area where we can get the show over the good old airwaves.........THEN they come back here and say how wonderful it was...................Not being a part of that "SOME" I sit here cursing CIUT.......... But I don't hold it against you.......................much. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Steve Latimer Date: 24 Oct 00 - 01:03 PM 'Spaw, Allright then. I sent you a PM you can now ignore. But you're not getting of without a "Nana Nana Nana" Steve |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: catspaw49 Date: 24 Oct 00 - 01:05 PM That's OK....I responded anyway..........Up Yours!! Spaw |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Amergin Date: 24 Oct 00 - 05:39 PM Boy it sounds like I missed a great show....I had to work... |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: GUEST,Hogtown Harry Date: 24 Oct 00 - 06:15 PM Rick, your show's usually pretty interesting but why do so many things break down at CUIT? Seems like there's a lot of equipment failure. Last night didn't you have some tekkie fixing a mike while your guest was singing into it? HH |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Little Neophyte Date: 24 Oct 00 - 06:50 PM Oh dear, I miss something special. I would have love to met you guys at the Free Times Cafe, but I had to be elsewhere. Pam I hope Peter rolled out the red carpet. He has been known to lay his coat down over muddy puddles for lovely ladies. Wishing you all the best with the recording, Bonnie |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Peter Kasin Date: 25 Oct 00 - 02:59 AM Spaw, is "Up Yours" your favorite soft drink? I understand it does have more effervescence than a bottle of "Piss Off." :-) -chanteyranger |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: GUEST,Barry Finn Date: 25 Oct 00 - 10:32 PM Pam, you got let off the porch???? That only means you gotta run with the Mutts now. Good choice on Rick's part. And I thought I couldn't find the right place to plug in the radio, it took me 2 days to give up, thinking that my machine wouldn't do Canadian Air. Hope your time in the Great North is as fun as in the Middle East (coast), we certainally enjoyed having you visit, next time bring the hubby, the gall of him not coming. Hopefully we'll see you soon. Barry |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Willie-O Date: 25 Oct 00 - 11:01 PM Hey, Pam, welcome back to our fairly northern clime! (Fairly freakin warm this week ackshully.) So now you've seen what Tronna has, try a visit to McDonalds Corners next. In fact, come for our first Celtic Labyrinth Festival next June 16-17 (pending funding)--it's the same weekend as the horse pull so there'll be something to interest Dave too...and our Artsy Fartsy Crowd is going to team up with the horse pull folks, the Ag Society, to put on a dance with the Pierre Schryer Band. This will be a pretty durn interesting cross-cultural event. Not to mention the coracle regatta and the catapult trials. I am not making up a single word of this. It's my friends around here that're all crazy! (Ask Fielding, but he doesn't know the half of it.) p.s. thanks for the photo Bill |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: catspaw49 Date: 25 Oct 00 - 11:19 PM Well chantey....I think its more than just the fizz. "Up Yours" is a lot lighter whereas "Piss Off" has a full bodied "Heady" kind of flavor that I don't care for and the lack of bublles makes it kind of flaccid. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Rick Fielding Date: 26 Oct 00 - 12:04 PM Pam acquitted herself magnificently in the studio yesterday. We got two more songs in the can for the new album. She played bodhran (and sang) on "Houston Special" and the old song "The Cukoo". Oliver Schroer (fresh from touring the known world) lent his fiddle skills, and Mudcatter Paul Mills pushed the buttons and faded the faders. When Pam expressed a bit of nervousness about her first album sideman (sic) session, I reminded her that it would be ME, the 30 year experienced veteran who'd be making most of the mistakes, and doing the "circle pacing". Spot on of course. (I love playing live, and hate recording) Warning to hubby Dave though. Your gal is coming back with a new dulcimer (mountain), and three chords on banjo, mandolin, guitar and autoharp! There'll be no living with her now. Bit of an unsolicited commercial here. Paul's studio (he calls it "Millstream" as in "down by the old...") is a great place to do a demo or an album....the guy is just so....."acoustic positive"! I haven't got his e-mail or phone # handy, but if he sees this, he can give it to you. Good flight Pam. Rick |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Big Mick Date: 26 Oct 00 - 01:46 PM I am a big man with a very bad attitude just now. I tried my damndest to get the CIUT link last night but it just wasn't to be. I cursed and kicked and was generally foul about it. Is my whining generating any damn sympathy?????? Rick, you recognize talent quickly and this woman is a wonderful talent. And a wonderful person and a wonderful friend. Are you going to send Max a copy that he can archive? I would love to listen to the broadcast. Two of the best things I have ever done was to arrange to take Dave and Pam to Toronto, and to convince her to get to the Getaway. Now we have to get the wee fella, El Swanno, to come with her next year. Can't wait to hear the CD. Mick |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Peter T. Date: 26 Oct 00 - 02:53 PM Yeah, well, you may have your measly Nobel Prize, but I got to spend a whole day crusing the streets of T.O. with Pam Swan. Trade? Ha. Forget about it. Just to rub it in (grind, grind) picture this (one small vignette from a great day): It is late in the evening. I get to sit at the dining room table, listen to Pam and Rick work on their tunes (god, I love listening to pros at work in practically any craft). The words of one of the songs are literally hot from the computer printer -- in at the beginning!! At our elbows, we are working through most of a bottle of Laphroaig (single-malt scotch for the uninitiated). "Let us hope that Robert Conway found his Shangri-La". Well.
It really does not get any better, guys. |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Rick Fielding Date: 26 Oct 00 - 04:35 PM Actually you're right Mick. You're the guy who brought us together (so to speak). Guess you get a free album when it's done. Peter (although full of Scotch) was a valued "song timer" during our rehearsal, not sure if he'll get an album credit for it though.....although you never know. HOGTOWN HARRY! Love your name. You have to be a native Torontonian to know that nickname. If you're anonymous 'cause you think I'd be upset at you mentioning all the technical foul-ups....rest assured, t'aint a problem. I TOO wish the equipment worked all the time, but that's community funded radio for you. For such a powerful station (15000 watts) some of the wiring is pretty old! Yep, Mike the tech guy, (he's the former road manager for all those major rock bands, that we had on a guest a few months ago) was indeed crawling around under our interview desk. Rick |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: catspaw49 Date: 26 Oct 00 - 06:15 PM At the risk of being boring, which I am........I'm envious too of your time with Pam and I look forward to the album, HOWEVER>>>>>>AT THE RISK OF BEING EVEN MORE BORING............. WHAT'S WITH THE WEBCAST STUFF???? THEY WERE DOWN FOREVER AND NOW????????????? Hello Rick.... We keep asking but get no answer......... Spaw |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Peter Kasin Date: 26 Oct 00 - 10:40 PM Spaw, you're spot on about Piss Off. There's an exclusive club, though, for it's conisewers. If you can drink six bottles of it at once, yur in. -chanteyranger |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Amergin Date: 26 Oct 00 - 10:46 PM Uh, Spaw, you are right...you are boring...;-) |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: catspaw49 Date: 26 Oct 00 - 10:56 PM Yeah 'Gin....Its a fact. Fielding just totally ignores me anymore................sigh.................. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Amergin Date: 27 Oct 00 - 12:59 AM yeah, he's one of the few who learned.... |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Rick Fielding Date: 27 Oct 00 - 01:14 AM Learned what Amergin? Hey Spaw, I still can't even set a VCR, so the best I can do is keep sending CIUT memos saying "get your shit together". Rick |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: GUEST Date: 28 Oct 00 - 12:49 AM Hi there... Just picked up on this thread. Thanks to Rick for his endorsment of my studio "The Millstream". We had a GREAT time on Wednesday with he and Pam and Oliver. What a great musician Pam is! (Oh and Oliver and Rick too...sorry guys!). Rick mentioned he didn't have my phone or email handy. Well, here they are: Phone (416) 289 2777, Email: paul @themillstream.com For any mudcatters who will be at the Northeast Folk Alliance Conference in Pennsylvania in a couple of weeks, come by and say "hi". The Millstream will have a table in the exhibit hall. Would love to meet ya! Cheers, Paul |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: p.j. Date: 28 Oct 00 - 07:32 PM WELL, then...*sigh* I don't know where to begin. This has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life. You know when you're standing somewhere and it occurs to you "I'm gonna remember this forever..." as you look around? I can't count the times that feeling has come over me in the last 10 days. If you plan to stick around for this, you should be warned that it's likely to be involved. I'm going to try not to write "War and Peace" here-- although I want to ramble on for days I'll just hit the high spots and try to give you, gentle reader, a sense of what it's like to land on Planet Fielding. Leaving the FSGW Getaway commentary for the appropriate thread, I must at least say that nothing could have prepared me for my time in "Tronna" (thanks Willie-O) like spending the weekend at FSGW with the Mudcat Gang. It was the perfect foreplay, for the perfect trip to heaven. Rick met me at the airport and took me directly to the 12th Fret. He grabbed me by the hand and dragged me across the death-defying freeway jaywalk (which I have come to recognize as a staple of Toronto life) into a world of Martins, Gibsons, and odd assorted string-ed alien creatures overseen by a quiet, talented fellow named Chris Bennett. Chris and his friend Ally were Rick's guests on the radio show that night, and it made me feel better to have met them before we got into the studio. CUIT was just as folkie as you want it to be. Picture the perfect combiation of underground coffeehouse and University tech-capsule and you have a start. Now add Duckboots in tight jeans and a hot little red sweater running the sound booth, subtract the 2 guys named Mohammed hosting the show just before us, and gently stir in a shot of adrenaline and patchouli. Your're starting to get it. Here's the important part... overlay the rich, soothing bass of Dr. Rick's radio voice behind the little red light, and imagine that he's pointing at YOU now, indicating that it's your turn to talk... *gulp* I kept meaning to get nervous...it seemed appropriate...you're supposed to get nervous, aren't you...but I just couldn't manage it, it was all so much fun! People were crawling around on the floor with screwdrivers trying to make the little red light come on (there was nothing wrong with the broadcast equipment, the damn little red light was just broken...) And in popped one of the engineers from Deep Purple (I'm not kidding, Jim, was it?) who hangs out at CUIT for just such an occasion, and beat the little red light into submission with his screwdriver...or roach clip...or something (it was somewhat unclear) but soon we were back on track. Rick was the consummate professional. He made the whole thing sound like a cross between the CBC news and Prairie Home Companion. Unruffled and undaunted, he made us all feel right at home, and somehow, he made us all look good. Later, at the Free Times Pub, I got to see some of the down-home Toronto folk scene that Rick has been such a contributor to. Tony Burns was there, badgering me again for the Wallflower Waltz with his particular brand of charm that will one day hit its mark... and a good time was had by all. Next morning I was met by Peter T. for a tour of the city. Little did I know the amazing day that lay in store for me. While Rick sat at home composing a song that sounds like it was written 60 years ago by an old blind blues player on a broken-down porch, Peter waltzed me through the streets of Toronto teaching me about Ruskinski Gothic architecture and 7 Japaneese ways to describe leaf confetti. OHMYGOD. This man is the perfect Toronto tourguide. I know you've read his posts here, and you are aware of his ability to cradle the English language in the crook of his arm and leave you sad and happy and contemplative. Well, picture a whole day in the company of that mind, in a city filled with the art, literture, nature and architecture he loves, and try to imagine the slack-jawed, sophomoric look on my face that must be the only memory he carries of me from that day. (Ever get the feeling you've been busted picking your nose in a room full of poets?) End the day: Dinner in Yorktown, currently the most tragically-hip urban village known to man, devoid of the slightest reference to its noble heritage as a haven for folkies past (yes, of course Rick lived there, Peter too.) We had dinner in a great little Italian joint, in which I imagined Dylan and Baez making out in some back corner 30-odd years ago, or Lenny Bruce scrawling radical notes for an upcoming gig...here we sit discussing environmental philosophy and the effect of radio on Tibetan aboriginal culture. I'm in heaven. Wednesday morning...Rick says let's go, it's off to record a CD. OH, CRAP. Isn't this the part where I'm supposed to wake up, safe in my bed, smiling at the fantasy but safe from the reality of facing an actual RECORDING STUDIO with actual FOLK MUSICIANS making actual PROFESSIONAL RECORDINGS? How did I get here? So away to Millstream Studio, and the venerable presence of Paul Mills, recording engineer for the likes of Stan Rogers, Natalie MacMaster, Raffi, and scores of others whose feet have trod this carpet. I'm cool. I can do this. No problem. Any minute I'm gonna get nervous, but I can handle it. First, Paul hands me a cup of coffee. Isn't that a picture of Stan holding Paul's daughter? That's okay, I'll get nervous in a minute. And when I do, I'll breathe through it, and be fine. But first, we need to go up to the sound booth and look at the new electronic toy Paul has gotten. It has lots of letters and numbers in it's name, and it's very shiny and I'm sure I should be impressed, but I can't stop staring at Stan's guitar on the wall. "Yeah," Rick whispers. "That's Stan's. Grit made it for him." I'm cool. Everybody's cool here, I'm just one of 'em. "Oh yeah, nice." I say, trying not to pee on myself. Paul invites us to run through the songs once or twice before we record. Okay, sure, okay. (I feel like Jerry Lewis. Do I actually HAVE bones in my legs?) We go downstairs, and Paul adjusts our microphones. "I've never miked a bodhran before," Paul confesses, "when you record, how do you usually set up?" I supress the hysterical laughter gathering at the base of my spine. "Nobody's ever miked a bodhran before Paul," I think to myself "...nobody in his right mind would be recording this. What the HELL am I doing here?" Okay, Tommy Hays...Ringo MacDonough...Cormack Gannon...I can do this... "Um, I'm new to this. I've never recorded before. I can tell you how we mike for gigs, though." And we go from there. Any minute now, I'm gonna wake up. Things will be fine, then. Somehow, we get thru it. Somehow, although I mean to get nervous and steady my heart and slow my breathing the way I've practiced before, I keep forgetting to be scared. Between the sweet, homey attitude of Paul running around in his stocking feet, and the silly, playful behavior of Oliver Schryer, with his goofy grin and wry humor, and Rick-- dear Rick, pacing and fearless and willing to change his vision in a moment when he hears an interesting idea, it's all so fascinating and entertaining and easy, that now it's late and I'm hugging Oliver and Paul and I realize that I haven't gotten around to being nervous all day. Is this how it's supposed to be? And on the way home, Rick takes me to the 12th Fret again. Back to the land of Martins and Gibsons and alien string-ed creatures, and back to the land of Chris Bennett. Did I mention I was on a radio show with him a couple hundred years ago? And Chris and Rick have a few secret words and Chris presents me with a lovely Mountain Dulcimer. Mine. Now, they say, I have to learn to play it. Huh? Did I come in at the middle of this movie? So we grab Heather and go off for Indian food, and Rick feeds me some very strange narcotic thing in Little India that they tried to ban but somehow is still barely legal in Canada (although Heather won't chew it) and we go shopping in a store filled with silk and gold and books on the Kama Sutra and erotic elephantine images, and when it's all done we're back on Kingston Rd. and Rick is handing me a pair of nail-clippers. "Here, cut off your fingernails, you're going to learn to play the banjo." Huh? "I hope I'm not being presumptuous, but cut 'em off." Rick says. Heather has gone to bed. She sat up reading while he showed me how the Dulcimer worked, but her patience has grown thin for yet ANOTHER fawning student, melted in a puddle at his feet, as he plies the string-ed craft. The scotch is gone. I'm on my own now. "Go on, all of 'em." "Dave is gonna hate this," I mutter as I obediently create a little pile of fingernails on his coffeetable. I was lying. Dave would love this, and I knew it. The idea that Rick Fielding was asking-- no ordering-- me to give up the last 10 reasons for not playing a stringed instrument would tickle him silly, and be a fair exchange for loss of back-scratching abilities. I think. Maybe. Oh well, too late. A few minutes later, one of the truly surreal moments in modern folk music occured. Rick taught me to frail. "I'm frailing," I thought to myself. ("Hammer-on, hammer-off grasshopper...) Then he grabbed the banjo from my hands and replaced it with a guitar. "Back me up on this..." he says as he starts in on the melody line to a simple song. I barely had the chance to figure out where the 3 guitar chords were when he handed me a mandolin and said "Now pretend we're going on stage in 1/2 hour and you have to back me up with this song somehow..." AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH......... It was magic. Rick is an amazing teacher. Patient and kind and boundlessly positive. Made me feel like I could do anything. I tape recorded the session and have listened to it in quiet amaze many times since then. The bloody stumps on my fingertips notwithstandng, Rick says that if I thus abuse myself daily for 2 weeks it won't hurt anymore. Who am I to argue? The next day I caught a plane back to reality. I arrived with the headcold from hell, and took 36 hours to crawl downstairs to the internet, but I practice everyday. And the roughcuts from our recording session remind me of the wonderful day I spent at Millstream studio, in the company of true professionals. And the pile of brightly colored leaves in my pocket remind me of seeing a beautiful city with a wonderful guide. Wow. Toronto. pj |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Allan C. Date: 28 Oct 00 - 07:59 PM Damn, Pam! The next time anything even half that cool happens in my life, would you please write the narrative? Nothing anyone else could have written would so wonderfully convey such a sense of being there and doing those things right along with you. I know I say this a lot; but, Wow! |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: p.j. Date: 28 Oct 00 - 08:14 PM Allan, you were one of my favorite parts of the week that led up to Toronto, one of my sweetest memories from FSGW. One day, if I ever get over this cold and feel like sitting upright again, I can't wait to talk with you about the good ol' days at camp. Phlegmatically yours, pj |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Big Mick Date: 28 Oct 00 - 10:48 PM Did I tell you she was good, or what???????? And don't forget...................if you see anything you don't unnerstand, feel free to ask questions.........LOL. Rick, me lad, you are a wizard to start her down the path to stringed instruments..........can you imagine as she continues to progress??? And all this because of a little truckstop on the information superhighway called the Mudcat Café. Like Rick sez, it's the place I always wanted to live. Good onya, Peej,......I luv ya. Congrats on a great trip. And tell the wee man that I love him too, and thanks for sharing ya with us. Mick |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Peter T. Date: 29 Oct 00 - 01:20 PM Sorry about your cold, Pam -- did you know that the Japanese have 5 prepositional phrases for blowing your nose? -- one for dabbing the nose with kleenex, one for honking like a skein of flying geese heading over the autumn woods, one for really getting up in there, and....er....well anyway. That Fielding -- he is always throwing instruments at people and saying, oh, this balalaika stuff is not as hard as it looks -- drives you nuts. He had me playing the cajun accordion last week. If anyone had told me earlier in the day that I would be playing an accordion of any shape....It is a scary house that Fielding place: The House Of Mystery Instruments. I heard the rough mix of the two tunes -- great, particularly the neat outros. A bodhran like a rock with a heartbeat. yours ever, Peter P.S. How are the boots coming? P.P.S. Hate to do this, but the place is Yorkville, not Yorktown, in case you are place dropping. |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Peter Kasin Date: 29 Oct 00 - 02:01 PM Does this mean you and Dave are going to freak out the Starry Plough session with a tune on banjo and electronic pipes? (they have this little bagpipe chanter that runs on a battery) |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Rick Fielding Date: 29 Oct 00 - 09:47 PM Pj. Is it coincidence that you, I, and Duckboots ALL have colds? How come Peter doesn't have one? Hmmmmm, House of Mystery Instruments eh? Rick |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: p.j. Date: 29 Oct 00 - 10:08 PM Yorkville, oops-- thanks Peter. Does your sojurn into the world of keyboards mean you may take another crack at the piano? Prepositionally speaking, the 'honking like a skein of geese' phrase would probably come in most handy for me unless there's something more disgusting on the list. How many nouns do they have for phlegm? Nevermind. The warden let Dave out for a brief conjugal visit last night-- he flew into town for about 18 hours to teach a class and fix me some chicken soup, then back to cowboy heaven. Didn't even have time to check in on the 'Cat, but he promises to give it his full attention when he gets home. The boots, by all accounts, are shaping up nicely. He'll be back with them next Saturday. Chantyranger, I came home with something crazier than banjo & bagpipe music to freak out my friends-- my newfound passion is...wait for it......PRISON WORK SONGS. At FSGW Barry Finn and Ken Schatz unscrewed my head, poured in vast amounts of Irish whiskey and Allan Lomax tunes, and I came back hopelessly addicted to this great music. Ah-well-ah. I'll bet you know one or two of these little gems your own self, don't you? Lordie-Rosie-naw. pj
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Rick Fielding Date: 29 Oct 00 - 10:13 PM But are you practicing your dulcimer? Enquiring minds gots ta know! Damn, the house seems a bit emptier since you flew off. Heather and I agree...always a couple of smiles waiting for you on any return visit....hubby too! Rick |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: p.j. Date: 29 Oct 00 - 10:33 PM Rick, you'll be proud to know that there is no intact skin left anywhere on my fingertips. I have struggled downstairs from my deathbed faithfully each day to torture the cats with both dulcimer and banjo practice. This morning, I frailed for my husband. Never thought I'd do that, no siree. Funny, I thought his flight was supposed to leave several hours later, but suddenly he remembered some sort of 4-hour early check-in time required by the airline, so I had to cut the banjo recital short. No worries, I promised to play for HOURS for him when he returns. Lucky man. And to think, he has you to thank for all this... pj |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Peter T. Date: 30 Oct 00 - 12:19 PM Fielding's House of Mystery Instruments strikes again! Good thing he didn't start you on the theorbo. (Just went to a Lully opera, Perseus, where they had 4 theorbos, lutes like basses about 12 feet long. I was told they had to orchestrate their movements, so they didn't poke the eyes out of other members of the orchestra). yours, Peter T. |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Rick Fielding Date: 30 Oct 00 - 02:17 PM C'mon Peter, everyone knows there's no such thing as a "Lully Opera"...maybe a Lloyd-Webber Opera or a Pete Townsend Opera, or even maybe one of them old guys like Poochaninni, but Lully? I didn't fall off a turnip truck! 12 foot lutes? George Theorogoods? You've been dipping into the opium again haven't you? Next you'll be telling us that you're putting augmented chords into Roy Orbison songs! Rick |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: p.j. Date: 30 Oct 00 - 02:22 PM I think it was either Earth, Wind and Fire or Tower of Power (Rick would know) that tried to tour with therobos, but it got too expensive travelling with a proctologist on 24 hour call for choreography mishaps... pj |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: catspaw49 Date: 30 Oct 00 - 03:09 PM I have of course thoroughly enjoyed reading of Pam's exploits but now I am troubled as to exactly who did or did not fall off the turnip truck..........I suggest you all CLICK HERE and test yourselves. Proctologist my ass................ Spaw |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: p.j. Date: 30 Oct 00 - 03:20 PM Spaw, if I had actually fallen for your little trick I would be very annoyed just now. Fortunately, I am far too sophisticated to be taken advantage of by such a sophomoric prank, ya bastard. According to the Full Frontal Irony thread, I am now supposed to draw a little happy face with punctuation marks to indicate my good-natured humor. :Q Please note that mine is sticking his tongue out. That's because I can't figure out how to draw a little cartoon hand. pj |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: catspaw49 Date: 30 Oct 00 - 03:30 PM Oh good Peej..........I DO so worry that I might offend and even worse that people will think little of me. Now I am aware there is irony you can imagine my relief.....and also the "little cartoon hand" saying you're "Number One" with me too. Spaw ,,!, |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Amergin Date: 30 Oct 00 - 03:35 PM Spaw, you have a good reason for those fears....
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Bill D Date: 30 Oct 00 - 05:28 PM lawza MERCY, Ms.PJ...you did have quite a trip, didn't you?....I count myself as very lucky to have visited with you, sung with you and listened to you BEFORE you had your head stuffed full of strange instruments and Toronto culture by Rick and Peter!... and do be assured that our conversation has inspired me to resume some experiments with chunks of tree...*grin*...will let you know.... |
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: p.j. Date: 30 Oct 00 - 06:03 PM Bill!! I searched the net for the burl porn sites you told me about, but couldn't find a single example of your work. Have you started on my jar yet? Honestagooness, dearie, the FSGW shots were great, but where are the wooden pictures? pj
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Subject: RE: P.J. Swan on Toronto Radio Tonight! From: Bill D Date: 30 Oct 00 - 09:30 PM well.....ummmmmmmmmm...... is MUCH easier than burls!...every 3rd page it seems!.... as to wood....well, I have a bunch of pics on my HD...guess I need to stick a few up on Photoloft so you can be sure that jar wasn't a fluke..*grin*....I had one craft show last weekend and 4 more to go, so time in the shop is, to put it mildly, 'focused'....but nagging and blandishments work wonders....I'll see what I can do...(wow...just had an idea for **BURL** in the lid!) |
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