Troublemaker (Aka Rob Clutton) Music of Nick Fraser vol 1.

 Music fans! 

I finally got to hear the new solo bass record by Rob Clutton under his new project name Troublemaker. (I love the name of this project!)

What a great record. If you thought it was Thundercat who was doing the latest most innovative things on the electric bass you must listen to this record. 

The music had me locked-in from top to bottom of the record. Each track so special and unique in its own way. At times I thought Rob was channeling Squarepusher and then Hendrix (on bass!) but Rob is really just being himself; a creative musician with a special and unique approach to music and life. 

The ambiguity of where the composition (of Toronto drummer Nick Fraser) and improvisation occur is an added bonus for my listening experience. 

This record has a great home too on the All-Set Editions label. This is the work of Pete Johnston and you can find many great records on this label. A beautiful CD cover too by Mike Smith. 

I hate to spoil the surprise but the last track is totally worth waiting for. After hearing one of the worlds most creative acoustic bass players do his thing on the electric bass he gives us one live recording of him playing acoustic bass. (if you like that he has a couple solo bass records on the Rat Drifting label)

If you are a bass player or bass music fan this is definitely for you but I also think it goes way beyond being just a solo bass record. It is just good music. 

So Long Seven live concert video

This is one of the pieces will be including at our upcoming showcase in Montreal for Mundial Montreal.

It is actually a free concert too!
Friday Nov 18, 230pm, St. John the Evangelist Church, 137 Ave. du President-Kennedy (red roof church)

So Long Seven video from Hugh's Room

Some of you know that I have been playing with a group called So Long Seven. At the end of March we had our Toronto CD release concert at Hugh's Room.

Here is a video (shot by Ed Hanley) of a tune from the show. This is one that is not on the album. It is written by Neil Hendry and called Banjo Tequila. (nothing I would be interested in. Ha!)

So Long Seven features Ravi Naimpally on tabla, Neil Hendry on guitar, William Lamoureux on violin and me on the 5-string banjo.



Among other upcoming shows we are performing at this summer's Hillside Festival in Guelph, Ontario.

I write this hoping it will make me feel a little better. Maybe that is why most people write. Anyways, I played a gig tonight at a little festival that will remain anonymous and I didn't get paid. Well, sure; I will get some money in the end as it was pay what you can but it won't be much.

I have become somewhat used to the idea of playing for the door as this is what is happening with the big cities in North America. People of all levels of talent and stature play little venues in their home towns for no compensation from the establishment, just money from the people kind enough to put money in the tip jar. (the good bars that I am willing to play will give a percentage of sales too)

This is happening for a number of reasons that I wont go into detail about but they include the following; too few venues, too much overhead for bars, too many artists, too little interest in live performance....etc.

However, it is with strong conviction I feel that this should not happen at a festival. If you want to have a festival, you need to pay the artists and pay them well. This was the reason festivals were first invented; places for artists once a year in each town that would have them to play a concert that paid well. (to kind of make up for the lousy gigs they do the rest of the year)

I won't go into details about why I agreed to do this gig and it is beside the point that I had fun. (I can't pay my mortgage with fun!)

I guess the part that bugged me the most and made me almost wish I didn't do the gig (I try to live with few regrets) is that no one could or did get it together to give the artists even on free beer. There was a beer sponsor, there were people walking around in fancy clothes making speeches about how important art was and how happy they were that we performed at their venue (for free) but when it came time to have any kind of basic artist hospitality...nada.

Had I been working for a wage as most people do when they go to work I could have lived without the hospitality (taken it as a slight oversight) but when I got nothing from them, it hurts.

SOOOOOO...all you big fancy arteau-crats, when you decide to run a festival, make sure you take care of your artists. Simple things; nice little snack tray backstage (beer and juice) and some drink tickets (even two each would be nice) for the band.

There, I do feel a little better.

happy summer!
tim

p.s. I am doing a really cool and fun gig tommorrow Friday night at the Trane on Bathurst street. Bluegrass, storytelling and cool visual art. Here is the Facebok link:
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=165376790197845

If this is indeed my last blog from my three months in Mexico it feels like I should have some kind of big wrap up statement or something. Perhaps I should have learned something or been able to sum up this life changing experience in a clear and simple way?

I am laying in a hammock listening to a great radio show from Toronto called Abstract Index. He even interviewed a friend and fellow musician Brodie West tonight. This all made me very happy and I could almost imagine I was home again. I am really anxious to leave now. Some of you may think that I should be cherishing the last few days but there is almost an anxiety involved the major change that will be home.

For example, my day to day life will change quite drastically. Here in Mexico I often played banjo and fiddle on a beach or outside anyways. Back in Toronto I will be doing that in my little basement (can't wait!) Almost every day here we would prepare our own style of Mexican-type food that often resembled something like tacos. When I get home, we will probably eat tacos a little less often. However, there is food that we all crave; Chili comes to mind. (Don't people claim chili is a Mexican food?)

Whenever possible on this trip I spent a fair bit of time online. I suppose I do the same in Toronto. You can count on me checking my email and Facebook in the morning. (I usually try not to do that on Sundays) Also I usually end up online a bit over lunch and usually late at night.

Most days here I drank beer. (sometimes even before lunch when it got really hot) I never drink beer in the daytime in Toronto. Well...not in the early daytime... (thank you Steve Martin). However, I like to go out at night and have a pint or two of beer with my friends and hear their gigs etc.

One big difference will be that my kids will go to school. (for six hours, five days a week!) Most of you know how much I love my kids and how I have enjoyed spending so much time with them since they were born. This was one of the great things about this trip however; enough is enough. (ha!)

I suppose I learned a bit of spanish. I certainly took my calm, relaxed inner spirit to perhaps another level. However, I think this trip confirmed for me that relaxation, happiness, inspiration, creativity are mostly in your mind and your heart. One doesn't really need to be by the ocean or palm trees to find these things. Really, the search for these things is ongoing, gradual and it is hard work. I might even go so far as saying that travelling like this this could be a distraction. Perhaps it another level of learning where one needs to learn how to learn while travelling. ie. I am in a town that I don't like that much for four days; what should I do?

Big props go to my partner Julie for organizing this trip. I really didn't do anything to help plan and she did a great job (she doesn't read my blog). I know I can offer my kids lots of important things but I wouldn't have been able to pull this off the way she did.

Seven minutes left in the Abstract Index. A couple days left in this trip. Hopefully lots of interesting days to come in my city; Toronto.