No need for a grandiose introduction on this post. Given that I’ve gone down this road six times before (see volumes I, II, III, IV, V, and VI of this series), I’ll get right to the heart of the matter and go over five additional albums and their covers, continuing to explore various ways musicians … Continue reading Alternate Album Cover Art VII
Category: Jazz
Keys To Enjoying A Concert (and Proper Etiquette)
If you’re at all like me, a new year leads to new concert experiences. As of today, I’ve got Depeche Mode, Enslaved / Insomnium, and Herbie Hancock shows marked on the calendar, and I highly anticipate seeing what other events sprout up in Toronto and the surrounding area in the coming months. While I maintain … Continue reading Keys To Enjoying A Concert (and Proper Etiquette)
Alternate Album Cover Art VI: The Undiscovered Variant
They stopped numbering Star Trek movies after the sixth one, so if I’m to continue this series I’ll need a new franchise to pay homage to in my titles. What goes beyond six movies, though? The Fast and the Furious series? I love action movies, but I’ve never been won over by Vin Diesel. I’ll … Continue reading Alternate Album Cover Art VI: The Undiscovered Variant
My Jazz Odyssey: A Musical Tribute to Baseball Cards
Baseball and Jazz. Two things I enjoy greatly, and two things Ken Burns made popular PBS documentaries for. That could be part of the reason I’m associating the two in this post, but why not? Both had musicians and athletes that brought wider public awareness of inequalities and civil rights struggles of the Black population. … Continue reading My Jazz Odyssey: A Musical Tribute to Baseball Cards
Toys That Rock!
We still can’t enjoy our favourite musicians on tour, but if you are a kid at heart like me with an active imagination, then you can simply take a tour of your room or living space and reenact the live experience. How is that, exactly? I’m a toy collector. Yes, on top of my music, … Continue reading Toys That Rock!
Music Press Photos
You know those glossy, black and white photos that celebrities like Jerry Seinfeld would sign for fans while on the road, and write quips on them as regrettable as “Nothing’s finer than being in your diner” or worse? I collect those. I’ve seen plenty of bars and dining establishments display signed pictures of musicians or … Continue reading Music Press Photos
Alternate Album Cover Art IV
There doesn’t seem like much to do as a music fan these days. Thankfully, I can still order albums over the internet, though the stacks of them flooding my modest apartment make me look much like a hoarder. Organizing music is always a good activity, especially when you find the odd record that you haven’t … Continue reading Alternate Album Cover Art IV
Please Make My Album Cover!
While I’ve never had a musical project that escaped the confines of a jam room or apartment, I often find myself admiring album art in wonder of what artistic styles would be appropriate for any particular sound. As good as the work of many of the more heavily-utilized cover artists can be, I feel I’d … Continue reading Please Make My Album Cover!
Brothers
Tomorrow is my brother’s birthday, and as a result of being his twin, tomorrow is also my birthday. For some reason, we never bother to get each other presents to help ring in the occasion. We usually just hang out and go have a nice meal somewhere, so it’s not much different than any other … Continue reading Brothers
A Christmas Mixtape
Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? No? I get it. You’re avoiding the malls in fear of being bombarded with Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” or whatever pseudo-holiday songs are being spun by the latest manufactured boy band, right? That’s my theory of why online retailers are becoming more popular … Continue reading A Christmas Mixtape
La Bella’s Musician of Note – Jamaaladeen Tacuma
I’d like to shine the spotlight on an advertisement that is, well… shining the spotlight on a musician, for lack of a better term. Here’s a La Bella Strings clipping from the December 1981 issue of Musician magazine featuring bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma. There’s a certain level of charm to this advertisement that I find lacking … Continue reading La Bella’s Musician of Note – Jamaaladeen Tacuma
Record Label Closeup – Sackville Recordings
When you hear the term record label, what thoughts spring to mind? To many, they think of big business, labels that buy and sell bands like they are stocks, and executives that will cut deeply into an artist’s revenue with the ferocity of Freddy Krueger. While this may be true in some cases, particularly a … Continue reading Record Label Closeup – Sackville Recordings
Armchair Maestro 