Sunday 25 March 2012

Sing Your Heart Out

I've always believed that singing frees the soul. Ever since I was a little girl I would sing along to the radio, 8 track, album...whatever...if it was playing, I was singing along.  I remember a school field trip...grade 8...we were heading out of town to a dude ranch to do some riding.  The trip was a couple of hours on the bus and to make the time go easier with a bunch of fucking adolescents, the bus driver had the tunes on....of course I was singing along.  A classmate looked over at me and asked, "Do you know the words to every song?"I realized in that moment, not everybody knew all the words to all the songs.  I felt pretty fucking special.
I was waitressing years ago...in the kitchen doing dishes, singing along with the radio...of course...when my boss, who also loves music asked me, "How do you understand the lyrics in every song?"  I simply answered, "I listen to the song and I hear them."  He couldn't quite fathom how I did it, and when we worked together he would often ask as the music played, "What does he say there?"  I would laugh and feed him the lyric.  We had a very good working relationship.
It was a little later in life that I learned through a tutor training class that although its pretty easy for me to learn through all learning methods - visual, kinetic and auditory - that auditory is my strongest learning method...huh, go figure.  No wonder music appeals to me so much and why it seems so easy for me to pick up the lyrics.
One of my most favorite Canadian bands has the kind of music and lyrics I love to sing along to.  The band is The Trews.  These are down home boys that know how to have a good time.  Even their songs about heartbreak,  I Cant Stop Laughing for example, makes you want to party.  I think it must be because this is what most men do when they go through a break - up.  Women get together with their friends...eat, drink and cry.  Men go out with their friends eat, drink and laugh.  Oh just listen to the song....



Another song by The Trews I can really relate to is I'm Not Ready to Go.  This is because I hate to leave the party while it's still swinging.  My husband was not the same way.  He'd get tired and want to leave...I wasn't ready to go...take a listen.


I have been lucky enough to catch The Trews live 3 times now.  The last time just recently at Average Joe's Sports Bar in Lethbridge Alberta.  They did not disappoint .... as usual.  These guys had the packed joint rockin!  I got so caught up in the excitement that I forgot to take my usual place at the back and ended up right up in front of the stage, clapping and singing along!  Man, it was fucking hot...the music, the band and the temperature! 
They played all my favorites including Sing Your Heart Out, She's So Leaving, Paranoid Freak, Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me, and many more including the two songs above and this one...my very favorite...Fleeting Trust.


The Lethbridge Fire Department Pipes and Drums joined The Trews for their song Highway of Heroes.  A heartfelt tribute to our fallen Canadian soldiers.  This song brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it...how could it not?  I'm going to share it as well below, because I think in this day and age, where war is prominent in almost every nation, we can all relate to it.


And I must admit the Lethbridge Fire Department Pipes and Drums really know how to rock!  They proved it when the joined The Trews once more to rock AC/DC's It's a Long Way To the Top if You Wanna Rock N Roll!!  It was fucking awesome....and The Trews lead singer Colin MacDonald nailed it so well that I now can't listen to AC/DC without thinking of The Trews!  It was a fucking great show, a great time and I can't wait for them to come back so I can check them out for the fourth time...... ; ) 

Check out more of The Trews and catch their links here http://www.thetrewsmusic.com/

The Poor Young Things from Toronto opened for The Trews and they know how to fucking rock too...I hope to showcase them in a blog soon.  In the meantime you can check them out here http://www.pooryoungthings.com/ 


Sunday 18 March 2012

The Name's Johnny...just Johnny

For those of you who don't know yet...though, how could you possibly not know?....I have a wicked crush on Godsmack's sexy lead singer Sully Erna.  Well just let me say this, never before have I been so glad to be a Gemini!  You see, one of the personality traits of a Gemini is that they can actually love more than one person at a time.  This is a good thing for me, because if I now had to choose who to love....Sully Erna or Johnny JustJohnny...I would seriously be really fucking stuck.

Yes, that's right.  There's a new kid in town and he goes by the name Johnny....yeah, Johnny JustJohnny.  Johnny only has a couple of songs recorded but they turn me on so fucking much that every time I listen to them, I want to get naked with somebody....well okay, I want to get naked with him.  Not only does he have a classic hard rock sound that very much appeals to the rocker chick in me, but I find I really relate to the lyrics.  It's like Johnny has been living in my head and found the perfect method in which to express my thoughts.

His song The Way it Goes pretty much describes the kind of shit I'm going through personally right now. Here, click on the link and take a listen.....
The Way it Goes
That's right, I'm going through a divorce....my second.  So yeah, it kinda feels like I didn't learn my lesson the first time.  When Johnny says "Have you ever given thought to just staying down, before it happens again?"  Yeah Johnny, that's pretty much where I'm at now. Staying down doesn't have to be a bad thing...let him win, I'm tired of the fight....I think I might try smiling for awhile.  I've seriously been thinking of not getting back up on the horse....whoa, wait a minute, that's not right....I still have every intention of continuing to "ride bronc" if you know what I mean.  I guess I just don't want to own the horse any longer....I'll still take the wild ride, just let someone else water and feed it. 

Smiling sure sounds good but some days though, that is still difficult.  You see, my husband and I agreed to stay together until the kids (twin boys) graduated high school....that happens in June of this year.  So....here we are living in the same house but no longer wanting to be with one another.  Besides the obvious discomfort of living with someone who looks completely different from the person you fell in love with there is a greater discomfort.  That's right, no sex....for about a year.  Now because we are still living together and still have some semblance of respect for each other there have also been no extra marital affairs.   Now, I'm a very sensual woman and I appreciate the pleasures that sex brings.  Let me be blunt (like I even know what subtlety is),  what that means for me is well, a lot of masturbation.

That brings me to Johnny's second song.  Listen to Good Time.....
Good Time
I almost don't have to touch myself when I hear this song....it gets me that fucking hot!  And yes Johnny is definitely the one that's "on my mind."  But sadly, masturbation only goes so far....every time I listen I want to reach out, grab a hold of him, rip off his clothes and....well that's a story for the other blog I write.

Speaking of writing blogs....Johnny does that too.  And like the way he makes music, he does it very well.  He manages to turn what must have been his mothers worst nightmare into a hilarious lighthearted look at his childhood antics.....yeah, little Johnny Knuckles may have been the devil himself.  The link to this blog is below....you gotta check it out!

It's amazing how music comes to us right when we need it. Johnny's came to me at just the perfect moment in my life.  His songs validate the way I feel, giving me control at a time when things seem to be spinning away.  His sexy style turns me on and I wonder if he really is good at everything he does.  I can't get enough of Johnny JustJohnny, which definitely brings to mind a Bad Company song ~ Can't Get Enough.
Well I take whatever I want, and baby I want you
you give me something I need, now tell me I got something for you
That's right Johnny, I'm singing to you.  This summer this wannabe cowgirl is going to need a bronc to break...literally....come here, baby....... ; )

Check out Johnny's blog as well his other links.
johnnyjustjohnny.com
Johnny JustJohnny on facebook
Johnny JustJohnny on twitter

Saturday 3 March 2012

Kottonmouth Kings

I have a bone to pick with the Kottonmouth Kings.  It has nothing to do with their music.  That fucking rocks.  It's not because many.....okay a fucking lot.....okay all....of their lyrics have to do with legalizing or smoking weed.  Roll up motherfuckers.  It's not because I have anything personally against any of the members of the band.  You don't get any fucking cooler than D -Loc, Daddy X, Johnny Richter, The Dirtball, Lou Dog, DJ Bobby B, and Tax Man. No, the bone I have to pick with the Kottonmouth Kings has to do with $102.72 (CAD), a head of burnt hair and grave disappointment.
The Kottonmouth Kings are a perfect example of how an Independent band can see real success.  They have been making music for more than 15 years.  In that time they have sold more than 2 million albums and have had more than 50 million views on Youtube.  And they did it without the help of the music industry. In fact they created their own music industry.  They’re completely self-empowered, overseeing every aspect of their career from production, videos, Web sites, and merchandise.  Daddy X and Kings manager Kevin Zinger have built a highly successful independent label, Suburban Noize Records, to market and distribute their music, as well as promoting and distributing other artists such as HED PE, Kingsspades, Big b, Saigon, La Coka Nostra.
Their music, as I stated previously seems to have a theme....the legalization and the freedom to smoke marijuana.  And though I'm in agreement with them on that particular point it isn't the only reason I listen.  I continue to listen to the Kottonmouth Kings because there is a social wisdom in their words.  In fact, I have decided that in my next residence one of the design factors in one of my rooms....probably the living room...will have Kottonmouth King lyrics written on the wall.  The song is Think for Yourself ft the Insane Clown Posse and the lyric is:

Think for yourself, man...don't do like they do
It's a sick world....you just gotta stay true
Stay true and everything will be cool
You gotta blaze your own trails and make your own rules

 I mean, how fucking brilliant is that?  (Check out the full video at the end of this blog)  If our schools taught our children how to think instead of how to conform, think of how many great leaders would be churned out for us every fucking year.  But here I am getting political when this blog isn't supposed to be about politics.  I just can't fucking help it...The Kings certainly incite political thinking and start a fire within me that is sometimes hard to contain.  But let's get back to why I am pissed at this band.
A couple of months ago  I was in the process of coloring my hair...I am a natural blonde but as I get older I find the vibrancy of the color of my hair needs a little help.  Anyway, I was coloring my hair when my sons came out of basement to announce to me that the Kottonmouth Kings were coming to Lethbridge.  My answer was "bullshit."  Why would the Kings come to Lethbridge?  "No mom, really!  We saw it on the sign for The Stone!"  The Stone is a small nightclub in Lethbridge.  Now I really didn't believe them. "So you're trying to tell me the Kottonmouth Kings are not only coming to Lethbridge, but they are playing The Stone?  Not possible.  You saw something wrong....what were you smoking?"
They insisted so out comes the laptop to look it up and no shit...there it is, the Kottonmouth Kings scheduled to play The Stone at the end of January.  Holy Fuck!  The dye in my hair and the timer forgotten, I am now on the computer buying tickets to go see the Kottonmouth Kings.  Three tickets for a total of $102.72 (CAD) including fees and taxes, not bad at all.  I had my tickets!!  Then I realized I still had the dye in my hair....needless to say, a full head of hair fried!  I didn't care....well I did but was too happy to be sad about the hair at this point.  The concert was scheduled 2 weeks before my twins birthday.  The birthday that would make them legal to walk into the bar, so they went to work on their phoney ID's.  Yeah that's right...my kids think for themselves too and before you judge my parenting skills, keep in mind the show was two fucking weeks before their birthday and they didn't already have phoney ID's!  Then a couple of weeks before the show we discover the sign is changed outside The Stone.  The Kottonmouth Kings name is removed....back to the computer.  The Kottonmouth Kings have an apology that at this time they will not be able to make their Canadian dates (only 2 by the way) but tickets will be honored to see their replacements.  I won't say the name of the replacement band because though I am a big fan of supporting Indie music, I had bought tickets to the Kottonmouth Kings and I was not interested in seeing anyone else.  I went to the site I had purchased my tickets and saw very clearly...all sales final, no refunds.  Okay, now I'm pissed...my hair is fried, I'm out $102.72 and the kids efforts to make phoney ID's is wasted time!  So yeah...I got a bone to pick with the Kottonmouth Kings if they ever do cross my path.  Hmmm, I wonder how that would go down......
this is the dream sequence part of the blog...squiggly lines and weird slide whistle noises.....

I am home and hear a knock on the door.  I open the door and discover the Kottonmouth Kings standing at the door.
Daddy X:  Hey Cat, we want to talk about you hatin on us in your blog.
D-Loc: Yeah!
Rest of Kottonmouth King backing up with grumbles of agreement.
Me: Oh yeah?  Well I got a bone to pick with you too.  Please come in and have a seat. (I'm still Canadian...I'm gonna be polite, no matter what).

In walks Daddy X, D-Loc, Johnny Richter, The Dirtball, Lou Dog, DJ Bobby B, and Tax Man, taking seats on the sectional and the various chairs around the room.  Tax Man is shooting me evil looks and though he is very intimidating, I am strong and stare him back down.  Before we get to business I take out my bag and start to roll a fatty....it's the fucking Kottonmouth Kings...you gotta know I'm gonna smoke one with them!  Once the "ceremonial piece pipe" has been passed around...several times...and the room is filled with aromatic smoke we get to business.

 Daddy  X: We're sorry we couldn't make the show in January, Cat.  It was due to forces beyond our control.
Me: Yeah, I understand...I was just so disappointed because I was so excited I would see a Kottonmouth Kings show.  I'm a big fan.  You know, I'm gonna write your lyrics on my wall!
Daddy X: Yeah, we read that in your blog....excellent blog by the way...you're a really great writer!
Me: Thank you!!  I love writing about music and you guys really have great music!
D-Loc: Thanks! That's so sweet of you to say!  And we're sorry about your hair too...you're really rockin the bald look though.
The Dirtball: Yeah, you have a very.....unusual shaped head.
I run my hand over the surface that used to be a full head of healthy long blonde hair
Me: Aw thanks guys. And no worries...it's only hair...it'll grow back.
Tax Man is now laughing, evil eye is gone, replaced by bloodshot slits.  I realize I really like Tax Man and laugh along with him.  I'm not sure what we are laughing at but I don't care.
Johnny Richter: And because of the financial loss you suffered we want to give you a private show for you and all your friends! - Okay I might be getting a little carried away here....scratch that and lets try again.
Johnny Richter: And because of the financial loss you suffered we have 3 tickets for you and your boys for our show tonight!
Me: Fucking A, boys! I fucking love you guys!
Kottonmouth Kings in unison: We fucking love you too, Cat!

As I said earlier....this is a dream sequence...but who fucking knows...could happen, right?  If you haven't heard the Kottonmouth Kings, I've placed a couple of my favorites below and don't forget to check their website at http://www.kottonmouthkings.com/ ..............; )