Jeff Monday Mar.16/09

Hey Kids,

Monday morning and I'm still recovering (no worries, it's all good) from the weekend and our little roadtrip out to Alberta where we just played a couple of shows. Thursday night in High River and Friday at the Tim Hortons Brier...well, actually the Big Four building, but we and about 4,000 partying curling fans from all across Canada had some big fun there. Firstly, a couple of thanks. To Rob Rogers and his staff for doing such a good job and making the show possible in High River and thanks to everyone who came out and supported us on Thursday night including Warren Ford (thanks for the intro bro') from the Eagle 100.9. I hope we can get a return date sometime soon. AND...many thanks to our friend Roger Powell and his staff for putting on a first class show (this is the Brier I'm talkin' about now) and this includes absolutely everything. We look forward to doing it again and wish you all the best. Shouts to Stuart and Jim for their help in creating the good vibe in the big room and to the boys at All Star...well done as usual, great monitors, FOH, lighting, all top notch and always a good bunch of guys to work with. Not to mention the Alberta Men's team kicking ass (although very close on Friday!) at the Brier kinda put everybody in a good mood. If you weren't having fun on Friday then you were pretty much in the minority. BTW, Tim and Jake, our fantastic rhythm section were on fire this weekend. Thanks for kicking my ass you m#*#!)@$#ckers. FYI, that is the highest compliment possible for any player according to the Musicians/Laymans Guide to Understanding the Language and Nature of Rock and Roll. Lol.

Lizzy and I went to the Celtic Festival here in Vancouver on Sunday and had fun even though it was an unusually cold and miserable day weather wise (read as a beautiful summer day in Ireland). Liz of course, being a Red Headed Celtic Goddess herself fit right in and my Irish heritage was stirred by the parade of pipes and drums. I realize some of you may find bagpipes akin to the sound of a cat having it's tail yanked but for me and other good, crazed Celts the sound is primal and stirs something ancient and powerful and I found myself thinking about how opposing armies must have felt standing there, waiting and literally shitting themselves out of fear, hearing this unknown coming towards them out of the mist. That was the point. It was fully intended as intimidation as much as it was an inspiration for the home team. Standing there in the cold and rain with my beautiful Elizabeth Anne, listening to the pipe and drum corps marching up Georgia Street, I understood and felt, just a little, the ferocity that these men must have fought with to defend their loves and country and though in reality I only wield a guitar, my (some say overly dramatic) spirit understands and subscribes to that ancient take no prisoners attitude. But you already know that about me if you've seen me play...

Hey, I just looked outside and I tell you, for as much as I talk about how great the weather is out here in Vancouver...today is a horrible mix of cold rain and snow and chill you to the bone wind. Really, really bad. Oh sorry, that's Michael Jackson (sh'mon, hehe... grab your junk and stand on your toes now). Anyways, not good if you have to go outside. 

Thanks everybody for the comments recently and kudos to Albert Bannatyne for taking the time to get the lyrics for Teenage Rage to SF. Mariha, to answer your question, my favorite band growing up as a kid was The Beatles. They changed my life. I have had many favs over the years but The Beatles certainly were number one and always will be for me. 

Ok, lots to do today so I am out for now...oh yeah, one last thing. The Witness Inc. disc, with the help and co-operation of Universal Music Canada, will be out in a week or so with all the singles and B-sides together in one complete set so watch the website for the availability on that CD. Yes, I will catch up on the massive backlog of email as well. Take care my friends. I'm off to defend my home against the invading horde. Slan go foill... J.  

Jeff Thursday Feb.26/09

Hey there...

A few seconds before the business of life musters up it's full force and throws me against a brick wall. I mean that in a good way of course. I love being busy and having lots to do. Funnily enough, it brings my stress level down. I am kinda uncomfortable with nothing to do. What does it all mean?  I never discussed that with my therapist as I was too busy with other pressing matters that somehow held much more importance at the time although, I can't remember any of them now. Guess they weren't that important after all... (thankful for that).

Ok, the Witness Inc. CD is almost ready for prime time. Through the kind co-operation of Universal Music we are finally going to get it released. My apologies to those who have waited so long for this. As soon as have all our legal ducks (I think I like the look of  them Hef style bunnies better somehow) in a row we'll be good to go. 

It snowed yesterday. Shit. Remember, I'm a golfer. You ever try and follow a white ball in the snow? It ain't easy baby... Ah well, there's always something else to do. Oh right, I do have a singer/songwriter that I am currently producing coming in from Calgary this weekend so I guess I'll be busy anyways. Perhaps next week if all goes well and I'm a good boy (wicked smile that you can't see). 

I'm doing laundry today. Boy that's exciting huh? It's all gotta be done and I don't have a maid or butler so... Jeff's laundry service, back in business. It's ok, I'm also the gardener/landscaper so why not? Let's do it all. I mean, I have to be clean as it helps me to think more clearly. Seriously. That's sort of crazy I know, but that's me anyways. Too many years in hotels I guess. You just get used to things being done. Wake up, go have breakfast, come back to your room and voila! clean as if by magic! Yeah, well as it turns out the only magic is a mop and bucket so, let's get at it kids... Alright, that's it for today. Just some ramblings from the morning but I gotta get going here. Life's pretty good as it turns out. It's all way too much fun and I wouldn't trade my blessed life for anything at the moment. Peace my friends. Have a great weekend...J.

Jeff Thursday Feb.19/09

Fore...

Yeah, I took a little break and played golf on Tuesday with one of my good friends and I gotta say that it was an amazing day. About 10 degrees but in the sunshine it felt much warmer. I am not sure how many other people in Canada, outside of the Lower Mainland, can say they golfed on February 17, 2009. It basically sums up why I have lived out here for the last 30 years (other than the 11 years that I lived in Australia and Europe between 1986-1997). I love all parts of Canada but when it comes to living year round give me Vancouver. BTW, it doesn't rain all the time... Yesterday I was able to work in the yard most of the afternoon digging up weeds and culling the lush overgrowth. I tell you, if you wanna stay in shape (which happens to come in handy in this Rock and Roll business), work out in your yard for a few hours everyday. I mean have you ever seen an out of shape landscaper? I love doing the work and so does my fabulous girlfriend (as in she loves me doing the work! remember, I'm supposed to be funny here). Don't misunderstand me, Liz is an extremely motivated and focused woman in her own line of work. It's really just about me not wanting her to do it since she does work so hard most days and she is such a gorgeous and delicate beauty that it seems, somehow, not quite right to me. I am kinda old school about these things and really, if I want her to be dirty and sweaty, well, that is something completely different... Ok, we're smiling at the double entendre now. The truth is we have a wonderful life together, I love her dearly and am inspired everyday by her kindness and her beautiful spirit. I am an extremely lucky man and not a day goes by that I don't appreciate all the good things I have. It would be such a shame to waste any of this amazing experience called living at this point in our lives. Personally I have already spent younger years worrying about many things that didn't turn out to be that important after all. Live and love fully today because today is all we have. I know I'm paraphrasing somebody although, I don't know exactly who that is at the moment. I guess that's just where I am at today. I have much to be thankful for between love, work and play and I just wanted to let you know that. Having recently gone through some tough times I cherish all that I have now and I wish you all that same happiness. You've given me a lifetime of great moments and memories that I never lose sight of and you are taking part in a journey that is far from over. So, what do you think, wanna see what's around the next corner?   J.   BTW, Jake...how was the Soo my friend?    

Jeff Monday Feb.09/09

Hey out there,

First, thanks for the positive feedback on the last posting. It was a tricky subject and a little awkward to discuss even after all this time. However, I am learning that honesty and truth, even when it ain't pretty, is important and somewhat cathartic. Ok, movin' on...

Monday morning , Vancouver beautiful sunny day, gonna be about 8 degrees, yeah,  I know it's not summer but it does feel a little springy (is that a word?). I got out in the yard on the weekend and cleaned up some of the damage from the Christmas snow storms. A lot of broken limbs and branches to deal with but at least no more snow. Had a good week last week in regards to sorting out some Streetheart business and it is interesting that as long as you keep at it things have a way of getting done that is, as long as you have some semblance of respect incorporated in your personal delivery system. Time is a great teacher but then again so is getting your ass kicked. I know the second one real well.

I went and saw our bass player Jake play with the Rankins on the weekend. Jake has been doing that gig long before Streetheart and their February tour slots in nicely with the fact that we are fairly quiet this time of year. The Rankins were great. Real nice production and they were a little more Celtic than country which was appealing to me being a good Irish boy. Some lovely moments, very touching stuff and great singing. Nice to hear quality like that. 

Went to my good friend Johnny Demarco's 50th birthday party. He's a great singer/ songwriter that I co-produced (with him) with last year. Check him out at www.johnnydemarco.net to hear some of that CD. He's a standup guy with an amazing and powerful story. Take a moment, it's worth it. Anyways, my girlfriend Liz and I went to his party on Saturday which was big fun, you see, he's an East Van/North Burnaby Italian so, too much good food, lots of homemade wine, kids, dogs and some of the best people you could meet. Of course being Irish we get along with the Italians, we got lots in common. You couldn't have a more loyal friend but don't piss us off. (we both have similar ways of getting things done that usually occur late at night) Remember, we never forget anything! So, lots of laughs but a nasty hangover. I think it was mixing Johnny Demarco's Italian homemade wine and Johnny Ferreira's Portugese wine or maybe it was that large glass of Bushmill's Irish whiskey I had when I got home...yikes. Thanks Mr and Mrs. Demarco for the wonderful food and great party. Nice to be a part of it all.

So needless to say Sunday Liz and I layed on the sofa recovering all day watching James Bond movies (the Sean Connery ones, Goldfinger, Thunderball and You Only Live Twice)  in HD which we both love so that was a nice way to spend a lazy Sunday. Man, those Bond girls, (I'm talkin' Pussy Galore here) you just gotta love the 60's. I do get more of the double entendre jokes now than when I was 8 years old. Pretty fun stuff. It all seems so innocent now. Ok, I gotta get out of the house and do stuff. I mean, I got a life too! Peace out...J.

Jeff Thursday Jan.22/09

A message to a friend out there...

I want to talk a bit about being bullied, feeling alone and how that can affect you. Seems when you are in the middle of it all you feel as though you are the only one who has ever been there and that you'll never get out alive. That sense of despair can be overwhelming. I remember it well. As a kid I was bullied severely after my family moved to a new town. I was so ashamed by it all that I never told my parents or my friends till much later in life. It was a daily agony, that sense of fear and it was so debilitating that my usual A+ grade point average plummeted to an all time low (that also was due to some terrible teachers as well at that time). I learned how to dummy down and avoid being noticed. I made some bad choices. Nobody liked a smart kid. Especially dumb ass bullies like the ones from my new school who hung around in small gangs and preyed on anyone who just happened to look wrong to them. When you're 11 or 12 and three guys a year or two older than you surround you (you see, these losers had already failed more than one year of school by that time) and tell you they're gonna kill you after school, well, you just believe them. You learn to run and hide from what seems like impossible odds and all the while you hate yourself for not standing up to them. This is the genesis of self loathing that can follow you into your adult life and hurts your adult choices if you're not careful.

For me I had music. It literally saved me. I was discovering my new talent and I practiced with a vengance born out of personal humiliation. Funnily enough, all my real friends at that time were a little older (fortunately, so too were the girls that hung around which ultimately, turned out to be real good thing, but that's another story...) and we were playing in bands together but they were all already in high school and lived a different life from 8:45am till 3:20pm. So there I was, in this weird temporary position of schoolyard prey by day and fledgling, junior rock star by night. It wasn't till a few years later and I finally got into high school myself that all the bullying stopped for me (not to mention the fact that I shot up to 6'2" over that summer. Funny how size matters.) The ones that hadn't quit school at 16 to work in the textile factory for $1.25 an hour went straight to the special bus and were never seen or heard from again. Those poor bastards. It wasn't till I became a bit older and figured out that "Shit Flows Downhill" theory. They were probably getting the crap beat out of them everynight at home and were taking it out on me during the day. It wasn't me. I was just a generic punching bag for their frustrations and anger. I hope they got some therapy along the way and got it together. Wait, that's a lie. The truth is I hope they're still making the minimum wage and are living a miserable life somewhere...(supposed to be funny).

What I am saying to you my friend, is that you are not alone here and you need to reach out and connect to the ones who love you now. Talk. Identify your passion and persue it faithfully. Give yourself a break. You can't figure this one out on your own. Everyone has obstacles to overcome in life and you can, with good and loving help, overcome any of your problems. Just don't try to do it alone. We need family and friends and don't worry, they will love you and support you through it all. It is worth the effort. Trust me on this...J.

Jeff Friday Jan.16/09

Hey, what's up...

Thought I'd drop a quick post in before my business day starts and I either forget or simply run out of gas. It's been a good week so far with some new dates coming in for the summer and later on in the year. It looks like we're solid at the Tim Horton's Brier in Calgary on March the 13th so I am now working on some other dates to go along with that if I can with the help of course, of my trusty agent...hey, sounds kinda like a Bond flick "The Man With the Golden Guitar" or hmmm... how about  "You Only Play Twice", no, that sounds like a gig on a cruise ship...ok, how about "Dr. Yes", no, I keep thinking Dr. Seuss. I'd use "Casino Royale With Cheese" but I think Quentin Tarantino (come on, hasn't everybody seen Pulp Fiction?...you know, "we're gonna get medieval on your ass"," Know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in France?") has a hold on that. Ouch. Yeah, yeah...uh, ok, how about..."Thunderballs" no, that's too blatantly pornographic and sounds like either a Mel Brooks movie or the new AC/DC album (gotta love AC/DC ) although, Ursula Andress looked pretty good to me even though I was only about 7 years old (yeah, I had that birds and bees thang pretty much figured out by then). I'm running out of movies... come on Mr. Broccoli help me out here, alright, lets go with "Diamonds Aren't Forever, They're Just Expensive". Somehow that seems to work for me. Lol.

Ok I've run that completely into the ground now. 

Well kids, it's that time to get on to the phone and answer your email (singing...letters,we get letters...). I hope you all have a great weekend. We are, apparently, going to see some sun and warmer weather out here on the Westcoast this weekend which will be welcomed by me and every other moss covered denizen hiding out in their $600,000.00 2 bedroom condos. I tell ya, if it gets over 8 degrees I'm going golfing. Betcha wish you were out here, eh Jake? LMAO. et tu Brutal? Wow, this is a kickass cup of coffee...

J.

Jeff Friday Jan.09/09

Hey out there,

OK, catching up on the New Year and I have been answering your emails all morning while continuing to do battle with this evil cold virus that I have. We did have a couple of great shows last weekend in Red Deer (thanks for breakfast Larry) and the Deerfoot Casino in Calgary plus a terrific New Years Eve show in Regina at the Casino there which is always a blast. Great staff (thanks Karen) and kudos to Edgar and all the boys for a production job well done as usual. Hey Edgar hope your eye is feeling better and that your health gets back to normal real soon (ps, thanks for the spare Strat!). 

Yeah...the new Hits/Anthology CD is doing great and it's nice to finally have a good package of all the best Streetheart material for our fantastic fans. Bless you all for your patience and sorry it took so long but hey, I got stuff goin' on! To all those patient Witness fans my apologies on the delay of the Witness CD but it is a business protocol issue at the moment and that needs to be dealt with appropriately and respectfully so, I'll keep you posted but again, my apologies. If I could, I would hand deliver one to each of you and in a utopian state that would be the case but, this is reality so...hang in there kids.

Moving on now...I promised some of you this past weekend (don't worry, I remember you!) that I would keep up with the blog so I am here on that promise even though, I am currently sick, swamped with Streetheart biz and have been up since 6:30am (am I bitchin'?) trying to catch up. I have no idea when I am going to be working on the songwriter part of life which is what I do for a living, allegedly. lol. Actually I am starting on a new project that I am pretty excited about that requires my producing experience (basically that just means being bossy... which apparently comes quite naturally (again, supposed to be funny); see Aries profile) so, I'll just find time and make it all happen. Just glad I don't have a Jack Russel Terrier (or twins...).  Happy to see the rain back in Vancouver again as sometimes that snow thang and Vancouver drivers (not all of you, just that guy in the other lane) create a dangerous mix. Not me however, being a good Northern Ontario boy and all. I mean, we had snow 6 months of the year when I was a kid and we used to have to walk 5 miles to school, carrying a 78 pound sack, uphill, with no shoes, in a blizzard... OK, a little exaggerated yes, but I'm currently having a hypo-glycemic dip and need some food so, that's it for now and we'll see you next time for another exciting and lurid episode of "Who Wants to Be A Rockstar Anyway?" LMAO.

Peace Out,

J.