IPOD
RADIO
Muhammad, Scientology.....
We had the tennant's meeting last night. I live in this cool old funky warehouse space build in 1907 as a Feed and Tack Store with apartments above. It's looks like a commercial brown stone and is the oldest building on the block. Right on Granville street, in the New Entertainment Zone. Four blocks from the old movie theatre district and 8 blocks from all the Civic theatres, the regional ones and the CBC studios ( Man you gotta love a central planning semi-socialist country like Canada to put everything in walking distance that's artsy social.)
The street people and the noise on the weekend, slap dang in the centre of van is pretty stupid. And the Street people around here are so zonked on meth they still ask me for spare change and I've been in the neighbourhood since 1992. I try to think of them as Sesame St Muppets to decrease any angery reactions when I invaringly say no.
The owner of the building is our live-in landlord, Muhammad, and his lovely wife Jutta. He's from Eygpt and she's orignally from Germany. They met when he was a foreign worker in the 50's shipped into rebuild Berlin. And, won Juttah's heart. In their old wedding photo's he looks pretty cool. Like a young Omar Sharif. They're retired antique dealers, and are my immediate upstairs neighbours.
They and I get along great. They want it quiet and I'm pretty church mouse like. I work on loud shows and musicals most weeks so I barely play music when I'm home. All the other tennants are pretty cool. Most are actor types except my next door neighbour Dave, who's a down hill mountain biker. All of which makes 11 of us total. Just a perfect size to deal with. The next place I live I'm going to buy. Vacancies here are next impossible to happen. Someone has to rent out a room or die. And it's incredibly safe. Due to it's small size and quick outward look of delapitation, compared to the other newer buildings and hotels that surround us. walking by. If you blinked, you'd miss the front door. The interior hallways and old hard wood floors however, are pristine and lined with Arab Anitques and carpets. Every person I've brought into the building goes; oh wow, when I open the front door. The place is like a little vancouver secret.
Our Tennant's meetings aren't official get togethers. We have them when a few new roommers move in, or some couple sub rents and Muhammad and his wife sort of hold court.
At times like this, It's like living in a Casbah. Muhammads' the overlord, pasha, whatever. And he invites us up and we have strong Eyptian tea and pastries while he tells stories. Now, I've been here awhile so I've heard all of them. So, I dutifully listen and occasionally prompt him to tell all the really good ones. Muhammad and Jutta have been all over the world. Their passion is setting up and funding orphanages in Muslim countries for girls. They have one in Cairo left and have or had one on the Afganistan boarder with Pakistan. They've fed a town in afganistan back in 2001 for a whole winter with help from the local vancouver Muslim societies. Muhammad has been all over the muslim world done the pilgramidges and eaten with the saudi royal family. And their really progressive Muslims.
Mercedes, the woman in one of the apartments had a new roomate and Paul and his girlfriend have a new guest subbing and I have a new roomate as well so it was time for a tea party. And, as usual Muhammad was in good form telling all the sweet ones. while we all listened. Ate cakes and drank copious amounts of dark tea till midnight.
One of the new arrivals I believe is a scientologist. it could be the very quiet one in No.1 or the very cute, flirty, energetic young girl in No. 3 who' s studying musical theatre who I'm trying to get to know. ( Oh please don't let it be her...I tried dating a very young girl when I was 34 for a merciful short time. A 20 year old stagemanager who was into older guys and landmark forum and it was all, "Come to a meeting" in between heavy petting backstage. she was very wierd but ungodly, petite and cute so I tried - Oh lord how I tried. She duped me over possible sex into signing up for one. But then my Visa denied it and she stopped dating me. I guess I wasn't L.F. material in several ways. )
I didn't want to say anything about the magazines at the party, from L. Ron. Because years ago, in the 70's Muhammad rented the building out to them to use as a centre and they promptly went against the lease and changed the interior. To such an extent that when they left without paying the last few rent payments it was uninhabitable. They made all thease tiny rooms out of the place where they would indoctrinate their new groundlings. My bedroom which is slightly larger than a walk in closet has two switches in it to control the two bare bulbs left in the ceiling. Thease supposed L.Ron rooms must have been smaller than a cell in Hotel Hanoi. And the scientologists in a fit of paranoia. Chopped off the exterior fire escape and covered over the buildings skylights. Unfortuantly, as a story It's one of Muhammad's golden oldies. Cause he's the only guy in Canada to sucsessfully sue The Scientologists for damages. Or, so he claims.
But, I didn't want Muhammad to embarass any of our new cute neigbours. Especially if their's some possible sexual traction here with the musical theatre history girl. I mean how many cute, petite young wide eyed theatre geek girls are their, out there anymore. I'm getting on. As long as she doesn't smoke and tramp around. My babe can be a religious nut any day.
He didn't tell the tale and I think I can get comps to several of the shows comming up at theatres this season. But, those weird personality tests...No. Not going there without some commitment on her end.
We had the tennant's meeting last night. I live in this cool old funky warehouse space build in 1907 as a Feed and Tack Store with apartments above. It's looks like a commercial brown stone and is the oldest building on the block. Right on Granville street, in the New Entertainment Zone. Four blocks from the old movie theatre district and 8 blocks from all the Civic theatres, the regional ones and the CBC studios ( Man you gotta love a central planning semi-socialist country like Canada to put everything in walking distance that's artsy social.)
The street people and the noise on the weekend, slap dang in the centre of van is pretty stupid. And the Street people around here are so zonked on meth they still ask me for spare change and I've been in the neighbourhood since 1992. I try to think of them as Sesame St Muppets to decrease any angery reactions when I invaringly say no.
The owner of the building is our live-in landlord, Muhammad, and his lovely wife Jutta. He's from Eygpt and she's orignally from Germany. They met when he was a foreign worker in the 50's shipped into rebuild Berlin. And, won Juttah's heart. In their old wedding photo's he looks pretty cool. Like a young Omar Sharif. They're retired antique dealers, and are my immediate upstairs neighbours.
They and I get along great. They want it quiet and I'm pretty church mouse like. I work on loud shows and musicals most weeks so I barely play music when I'm home. All the other tennants are pretty cool. Most are actor types except my next door neighbour Dave, who's a down hill mountain biker. All of which makes 11 of us total. Just a perfect size to deal with. The next place I live I'm going to buy. Vacancies here are next impossible to happen. Someone has to rent out a room or die. And it's incredibly safe. Due to it's small size and quick outward look of delapitation, compared to the other newer buildings and hotels that surround us. walking by. If you blinked, you'd miss the front door. The interior hallways and old hard wood floors however, are pristine and lined with Arab Anitques and carpets. Every person I've brought into the building goes; oh wow, when I open the front door. The place is like a little vancouver secret.
Our Tennant's meetings aren't official get togethers. We have them when a few new roommers move in, or some couple sub rents and Muhammad and his wife sort of hold court.
At times like this, It's like living in a Casbah. Muhammads' the overlord, pasha, whatever. And he invites us up and we have strong Eyptian tea and pastries while he tells stories. Now, I've been here awhile so I've heard all of them. So, I dutifully listen and occasionally prompt him to tell all the really good ones. Muhammad and Jutta have been all over the world. Their passion is setting up and funding orphanages in Muslim countries for girls. They have one in Cairo left and have or had one on the Afganistan boarder with Pakistan. They've fed a town in afganistan back in 2001 for a whole winter with help from the local vancouver Muslim societies. Muhammad has been all over the muslim world done the pilgramidges and eaten with the saudi royal family. And their really progressive Muslims.
Mercedes, the woman in one of the apartments had a new roomate and Paul and his girlfriend have a new guest subbing and I have a new roomate as well so it was time for a tea party. And, as usual Muhammad was in good form telling all the sweet ones. while we all listened. Ate cakes and drank copious amounts of dark tea till midnight.
One of the new arrivals I believe is a scientologist. it could be the very quiet one in No.1 or the very cute, flirty, energetic young girl in No. 3 who' s studying musical theatre who I'm trying to get to know. ( Oh please don't let it be her...I tried dating a very young girl when I was 34 for a merciful short time. A 20 year old stagemanager who was into older guys and landmark forum and it was all, "Come to a meeting" in between heavy petting backstage. she was very wierd but ungodly, petite and cute so I tried - Oh lord how I tried. She duped me over possible sex into signing up for one. But then my Visa denied it and she stopped dating me. I guess I wasn't L.F. material in several ways. )
I didn't want to say anything about the magazines at the party, from L. Ron. Because years ago, in the 70's Muhammad rented the building out to them to use as a centre and they promptly went against the lease and changed the interior. To such an extent that when they left without paying the last few rent payments it was uninhabitable. They made all thease tiny rooms out of the place where they would indoctrinate their new groundlings. My bedroom which is slightly larger than a walk in closet has two switches in it to control the two bare bulbs left in the ceiling. Thease supposed L.Ron rooms must have been smaller than a cell in Hotel Hanoi. And the scientologists in a fit of paranoia. Chopped off the exterior fire escape and covered over the buildings skylights. Unfortuantly, as a story It's one of Muhammad's golden oldies. Cause he's the only guy in Canada to sucsessfully sue The Scientologists for damages. Or, so he claims.
But, I didn't want Muhammad to embarass any of our new cute neigbours. Especially if their's some possible sexual traction here with the musical theatre history girl. I mean how many cute, petite young wide eyed theatre geek girls are their, out there anymore. I'm getting on. As long as she doesn't smoke and tramp around. My babe can be a religious nut any day.
He didn't tell the tale and I think I can get comps to several of the shows comming up at theatres this season. But, those weird personality tests...No. Not going there without some commitment on her end.
System Of A Down....
What do you know, a large T-shirt. A free work shirt I can wear from a band that actually I would go see if I got comps. It's hard to discribe S.O.A.D. It's kinda a cross between Primus, Porno for Pyros and Rage Against The Machine. kindof a thinking man's (or woman's) prog metal. I suspect they're from Southern California due to the california tattooed surfer crew, the bandit lights package, and the fact that they carry their own catering on tour to deal with special menues. That last one is the give away. A lot of antibushisms and anticorporate lyrics but that doesn't signify anything thase days. Everyone hates Bush.
Awsome lighting show. Very busy and often right on the beat and the band is very assault like on the bass side. freaking loud ( Not as loud as Primus ) but definately one where the custom earplugs were nessasary. I've got their current big tune stuck in my head since the truck doors closed earlier this morning. Problem is I don't know the name of the song or what the real lyrics are just this close approximation of what I heard from the stage right Vom.
Of course on the out I ended up sitting at a table of sound guys so I got roped into the sound crew for the first part of the out. I'd rather do band gear and be a pusher than sound grip. Especially since this was a Show Co soundsystem with their huge grey fuzzy bass bins. Strain your back as well as get carpet burns on your arms. So, I was glad when the lighting crew pulled me back to the pods after the deck sound was cleared out ( Ah, crew guys fighting over me...kind of honoring.) Glad to get out of show co world and their oversized everything and away from Al who's always asking me about what's going down with one of the theatres we used to work in. it just gets to be a little too much.
And luck be have it Al is talking about retiring to Vas Vegas, now that his grand kids are all grown up. On the master list He's actually junior to me but a bit of a pain so we were all interested in seeing him off.
Ah... Abby Norm Al. Theirs something not quite right about him. He got into working as a stagehand with Reveen ( The hypnotist ) back in the late 60's and seems to know everybody on the old Vegas curcuit. He's actually gotten friends of mine tickets at shows in Vegas so he's not all bad but we've always wondered how he got work. We've joked that Raveen hypnotised him at a show one day years back, "YOU ARE A STAGEHAND AND YOU WILL WORK FOR ME ON THE OUT AND NOT ASK TO BE PAYED...WOOOOO" and he's been under the spell ever since.
He has no particular skill we can define. As a carp he slaughters wood. He'd dangerous as a flyman. Knows really nothing about lighting or sound gear. He's pretty much a box pusher and loader guy. He's never been the head of a department very long before the unions taken him aside and told him to go home. And I even suspect he can't read very well. I once had to explain to him his pay stub 4 times. ( Then again to get him to do something intricate you have to explain it to him 3 to 4 times anyways. )
He's not evil or anything. Just a bit of a nuisance when your trying to rock an out and get home before 3 am. Plus, it's easy to place the blame on him for everything cause he's usually right there in the thick of things when shit goes down.
And at the end of the show I had all thease people asking me if I need a ride back to downtown. Which was great, I didn't even have to ask. But it's more that people would rather fill their passanger seat with me so they can tell Al the seats taken. It kind of made me feel cheap really....
What do you know, a large T-shirt. A free work shirt I can wear from a band that actually I would go see if I got comps. It's hard to discribe S.O.A.D. It's kinda a cross between Primus, Porno for Pyros and Rage Against The Machine. kindof a thinking man's (or woman's) prog metal. I suspect they're from Southern California due to the california tattooed surfer crew, the bandit lights package, and the fact that they carry their own catering on tour to deal with special menues. That last one is the give away. A lot of antibushisms and anticorporate lyrics but that doesn't signify anything thase days. Everyone hates Bush.
Awsome lighting show. Very busy and often right on the beat and the band is very assault like on the bass side. freaking loud ( Not as loud as Primus ) but definately one where the custom earplugs were nessasary. I've got their current big tune stuck in my head since the truck doors closed earlier this morning. Problem is I don't know the name of the song or what the real lyrics are just this close approximation of what I heard from the stage right Vom.
Of course on the out I ended up sitting at a table of sound guys so I got roped into the sound crew for the first part of the out. I'd rather do band gear and be a pusher than sound grip. Especially since this was a Show Co soundsystem with their huge grey fuzzy bass bins. Strain your back as well as get carpet burns on your arms. So, I was glad when the lighting crew pulled me back to the pods after the deck sound was cleared out ( Ah, crew guys fighting over me...kind of honoring.) Glad to get out of show co world and their oversized everything and away from Al who's always asking me about what's going down with one of the theatres we used to work in. it just gets to be a little too much.
And luck be have it Al is talking about retiring to Vas Vegas, now that his grand kids are all grown up. On the master list He's actually junior to me but a bit of a pain so we were all interested in seeing him off.
Ah... Abby Norm Al. Theirs something not quite right about him. He got into working as a stagehand with Reveen ( The hypnotist ) back in the late 60's and seems to know everybody on the old Vegas curcuit. He's actually gotten friends of mine tickets at shows in Vegas so he's not all bad but we've always wondered how he got work. We've joked that Raveen hypnotised him at a show one day years back, "YOU ARE A STAGEHAND AND YOU WILL WORK FOR ME ON THE OUT AND NOT ASK TO BE PAYED...WOOOOO" and he's been under the spell ever since.
He has no particular skill we can define. As a carp he slaughters wood. He'd dangerous as a flyman. Knows really nothing about lighting or sound gear. He's pretty much a box pusher and loader guy. He's never been the head of a department very long before the unions taken him aside and told him to go home. And I even suspect he can't read very well. I once had to explain to him his pay stub 4 times. ( Then again to get him to do something intricate you have to explain it to him 3 to 4 times anyways. )
He's not evil or anything. Just a bit of a nuisance when your trying to rock an out and get home before 3 am. Plus, it's easy to place the blame on him for everything cause he's usually right there in the thick of things when shit goes down.
And at the end of the show I had all thease people asking me if I need a ride back to downtown. Which was great, I didn't even have to ask. But it's more that people would rather fill their passanger seat with me so they can tell Al the seats taken. It kind of made me feel cheap really....
Oh next week is looking good.....MuuuHHAAaa
And it's all lighting calls. No STINKIN RISERS FOR ME!!! Boys and girls.
With a Cultch dance show setup, Awards show, SUD's electrics hang and focus at ACT, Alexonfire electrics call at the forum and the Awards show out I'm almost fully booked til the 27th. And I've been warned to keep next week open by Skip. The locals calling steward. Which means either Mamma Mia or....Drum roll please.....
NIN!!!! I so want a deck crew gig or truss spot gig.... I've loved Trents work ever since the first CD. Way back in the 90's when music was all grunge copy cat bands here.
Plus, and this is very calculating I know so I'm probably not going to get the showcall due to murphies law. Sunday night before is free I can even warn the few gothy/ NIN friends I've made at sanctuary to look for me there
This is purely a sex play ego boost thing for me - It's just that theirs all thease cute goth girls that go there that I really want to impress. I'm terrible at clubbing. Every other time I've tried to talk to thease girls - or any girl at a nightclub scene in the past. The musics too loud, I've got no material, or I'm really just making up excuses and I say nothing cause I'm not really in the scene if there is one - it's so hard to tell. So , I don't and then they see me working a show and think I'm a snob at their club. When I'm really just some shy theatre geek who likes industrial music and owns mostly black clothes out of default. I don't wear local crew shirts. They're mostly XL's and I hate baggy t-shirts I think their a fashion crime unless your huge and I loath advertizing bands that I don't really like.
Seriously, I've got two, on three huge garbage bags full of rock show T-Shirts. All XL and mostly black going back to 1989 all unworn. (except for the pastel colour coded ones that they make you wear on the outs - Ugh those are the worst. I have this baby shit brown one from Pink floyd in 1993 which makes anyone who sees it want to throw up) And their mostly for middle of the road bands that I would never listen to or want anyone to think I do. The touring ones I wear but I haven't toured since 2000 so they're kind of thread bare. I've been thinking of the shirts as a possible Ebay business that i could get together with some of the really old boys in the local. They have t-shirts from band like Greg allman brothers in the 70's and i know that kind of stuff is like gold mineable. And many of those guys don't even have email addresses so they're compleatly out of the loop.
Other than T-shirts you get to order in your size, and the free tube socks on the rider. The best part of being on the road is chatting up girls. It's so easy when I'm with a band. Especially in little towns full of desperate bored young women. They would hit on me. Ironically, this was when I was very commited to a woman who well, should be commited.
Of course murphies law this sunday will intrude as it usually does. Sanctuary. will be in hiatus that night or the local's executive will call an exec meeting that evening. I'm the Member At Large....with a Prince Albert of course.
The old boys love the P.A. and make the M.A.L. jokes pretty scathing. - Sad, but more guys have found it more interesting than women and I got it for the girls. Gay men are facinated by the P.A. which isn't surprising Hell, I could have star fucked with it but that would mean I'd have slept with one of the Queer Eye Guys which isn't my side of the street. Jai Rodregas was pretty cute though, and we were all working on that sex gender bending musical RENT at the time.
Time to go to work.... System Of a Down out. Bandit Lights ,Electrics call....The tech guy loved our little mini F.O.H. pod crew so much cause we patched in everything without asking for direction ( Hey, I'm working thease days with all the guys just above me on the list who are serious old school hard touring guys in from a break from Avril, Bare Naked Ladies, Default, Bad Religion - it's second nature. Hell, I can't fuck up infront of thease guys.) So, he's asked for us back and the H.C. there is so cool about it.
And it's all lighting calls. No STINKIN RISERS FOR ME!!! Boys and girls.
With a Cultch dance show setup, Awards show, SUD's electrics hang and focus at ACT, Alexonfire electrics call at the forum and the Awards show out I'm almost fully booked til the 27th. And I've been warned to keep next week open by Skip. The locals calling steward. Which means either Mamma Mia or....Drum roll please.....
NIN!!!! I so want a deck crew gig or truss spot gig.... I've loved Trents work ever since the first CD. Way back in the 90's when music was all grunge copy cat bands here.
Plus, and this is very calculating I know so I'm probably not going to get the showcall due to murphies law. Sunday night before is free I can even warn the few gothy/ NIN friends I've made at sanctuary to look for me there
This is purely a sex play ego boost thing for me - It's just that theirs all thease cute goth girls that go there that I really want to impress. I'm terrible at clubbing. Every other time I've tried to talk to thease girls - or any girl at a nightclub scene in the past. The musics too loud, I've got no material, or I'm really just making up excuses and I say nothing cause I'm not really in the scene if there is one - it's so hard to tell. So , I don't and then they see me working a show and think I'm a snob at their club. When I'm really just some shy theatre geek who likes industrial music and owns mostly black clothes out of default. I don't wear local crew shirts. They're mostly XL's and I hate baggy t-shirts I think their a fashion crime unless your huge and I loath advertizing bands that I don't really like.
Seriously, I've got two, on three huge garbage bags full of rock show T-Shirts. All XL and mostly black going back to 1989 all unworn. (except for the pastel colour coded ones that they make you wear on the outs - Ugh those are the worst. I have this baby shit brown one from Pink floyd in 1993 which makes anyone who sees it want to throw up) And their mostly for middle of the road bands that I would never listen to or want anyone to think I do. The touring ones I wear but I haven't toured since 2000 so they're kind of thread bare. I've been thinking of the shirts as a possible Ebay business that i could get together with some of the really old boys in the local. They have t-shirts from band like Greg allman brothers in the 70's and i know that kind of stuff is like gold mineable. And many of those guys don't even have email addresses so they're compleatly out of the loop.
Other than T-shirts you get to order in your size, and the free tube socks on the rider. The best part of being on the road is chatting up girls. It's so easy when I'm with a band. Especially in little towns full of desperate bored young women. They would hit on me. Ironically, this was when I was very commited to a woman who well, should be commited.
Of course murphies law this sunday will intrude as it usually does. Sanctuary. will be in hiatus that night or the local's executive will call an exec meeting that evening. I'm the Member At Large....with a Prince Albert of course.
The old boys love the P.A. and make the M.A.L. jokes pretty scathing. - Sad, but more guys have found it more interesting than women and I got it for the girls. Gay men are facinated by the P.A. which isn't surprising Hell, I could have star fucked with it but that would mean I'd have slept with one of the Queer Eye Guys which isn't my side of the street. Jai Rodregas was pretty cute though, and we were all working on that sex gender bending musical RENT at the time.
Time to go to work.... System Of a Down out. Bandit Lights ,Electrics call....The tech guy loved our little mini F.O.H. pod crew so much cause we patched in everything without asking for direction ( Hey, I'm working thease days with all the guys just above me on the list who are serious old school hard touring guys in from a break from Avril, Bare Naked Ladies, Default, Bad Religion - it's second nature. Hell, I can't fuck up infront of thease guys.) So, he's asked for us back and the H.C. there is so cool about it.
When I'm drunk I miss stewardesses.....
It's a fixation I know. On those few moments way back when on tour we would fly back home from the east coast. ( Thank god for coast to coast rental vehicles.) The cost of shipping by air from Nova scotia band gear is oddly less expensive than traveling back to B.C. when you have no gigs or huge backline. And Visiting SXSW from canada is always done by air.
It's an attention thing...you get on the plane and your with a band so all the starched stewardesses all think your so much cooler than the average business class bastard that hits on them. ( if I was lucky, somebody in the band/crew had tattoos.) So, they'd be all over us - well really the musicians, but i'd get a nice side treatment.
Not high mile club or anything but we'd get to find out their names and hang with them at the stewards jump seats near the escape exits with more leg room and tell them road stories. Massage their feet while thier on thier short breaks in between being treated like cabin meat. It was fun and strangely a turn on.
I don't know where this is comming from. I guess it's because i had to wait in line at the terrible downtown club cause all the bouncers I knew who knew the Lighting guy at pulse, where were trying to hang out with for free, had moved on leaving dough heads who only cared about the punters who were paying 20 buck a head to get into this rat dive. And Arson ( The L.D.) had his phone off so we were S.O.L. for the evening.
I just remember a better time.... A sort of heaven where we could pretend we where Led Zepplin and doors opened for us majically and women where there for our interests.
We didn't pay the 20 bucks though....one small mercy.
It's a fixation I know. On those few moments way back when on tour we would fly back home from the east coast. ( Thank god for coast to coast rental vehicles.) The cost of shipping by air from Nova scotia band gear is oddly less expensive than traveling back to B.C. when you have no gigs or huge backline. And Visiting SXSW from canada is always done by air.
It's an attention thing...you get on the plane and your with a band so all the starched stewardesses all think your so much cooler than the average business class bastard that hits on them. ( if I was lucky, somebody in the band/crew had tattoos.) So, they'd be all over us - well really the musicians, but i'd get a nice side treatment.
Not high mile club or anything but we'd get to find out their names and hang with them at the stewards jump seats near the escape exits with more leg room and tell them road stories. Massage their feet while thier on thier short breaks in between being treated like cabin meat. It was fun and strangely a turn on.
I don't know where this is comming from. I guess it's because i had to wait in line at the terrible downtown club cause all the bouncers I knew who knew the Lighting guy at pulse, where were trying to hang out with for free, had moved on leaving dough heads who only cared about the punters who were paying 20 buck a head to get into this rat dive. And Arson ( The L.D.) had his phone off so we were S.O.L. for the evening.
I just remember a better time.... A sort of heaven where we could pretend we where Led Zepplin and doors opened for us majically and women where there for our interests.
We didn't pay the 20 bucks though....one small mercy.
As a door closes a window opens....
I'm starting to get nonunion work without even pushing around a resume. O.K. it's just a day call at Finning art space but the pay is competitive and it's electrics which is what I was hoping for.
God, that lightened my mood. I fear that without a regular seasonal gig I'll get depressed. And my sleep patterns are showing it. Which is something to watch for. Of course I've almost half filled next week with work so GTi hunting will take a back seat again. Mind you, I checked the paper and theirs nothing in this weeks B&S that's in my price range or any mileage bracket. finnings out near many of the used car lots so I could browse a bit after the hang and focus.
I'm starting to get nonunion work without even pushing around a resume. O.K. it's just a day call at Finning art space but the pay is competitive and it's electrics which is what I was hoping for.
God, that lightened my mood. I fear that without a regular seasonal gig I'll get depressed. And my sleep patterns are showing it. Which is something to watch for. Of course I've almost half filled next week with work so GTi hunting will take a back seat again. Mind you, I checked the paper and theirs nothing in this weeks B&S that's in my price range or any mileage bracket. finnings out near many of the used car lots so I could browse a bit after the hang and focus.
It's fun hangin in the air 50 feet over the auditorium floor of the Stanley theatre in a Bosun's chair focusing lights. I'm often amazed that i get paid to do this ( Mind you I could get more money doing it out on tour. But that means sleeping on busses with stinky roadies and deisel fumes.)
But, it's odd working a show at the theatre where, now they've hired a stage carp I'm not going to be on show call. Next week, other than the Alexonfire show I'm completely unemployed. I usually segway strait into 50 to 60 hours of rehersals and then the vampire run call begins for the rest of the month. But, now after several years of expecting that I'm a daymo again...
At work I was sort of doggin it and just bailing on the show while we were running practicles cause it wasn't going to be my show. So, I got careless. And the situation was sort of exasperated by the fact that Cliff was on his last few days of working at ACT as well. It was like this huge weight was lifted of us but unreplaced by anything. Which would explain my sort of languishing in bed all august and day calling it through the summer. But for years I've had an ever increasing winter shedule to look forward to. Now...
Well. what now?
I keep telling myself to get a car happening and get some film calls ( Movies pay, even budget ones so more than theatre and rock calls that three days on set can net me more money than working a 40 at ACT.) And now I really have time all next week and money in the bank to actually do this. Plus, I'm not compeating with all the students for the GTi's that are in the paper right now and might get a better deal.
So....F'ing do it...
But, it's odd working a show at the theatre where, now they've hired a stage carp I'm not going to be on show call. Next week, other than the Alexonfire show I'm completely unemployed. I usually segway strait into 50 to 60 hours of rehersals and then the vampire run call begins for the rest of the month. But, now after several years of expecting that I'm a daymo again...
At work I was sort of doggin it and just bailing on the show while we were running practicles cause it wasn't going to be my show. So, I got careless. And the situation was sort of exasperated by the fact that Cliff was on his last few days of working at ACT as well. It was like this huge weight was lifted of us but unreplaced by anything. Which would explain my sort of languishing in bed all august and day calling it through the summer. But for years I've had an ever increasing winter shedule to look forward to. Now...
Well. what now?
I keep telling myself to get a car happening and get some film calls ( Movies pay, even budget ones so more than theatre and rock calls that three days on set can net me more money than working a 40 at ACT.) And now I really have time all next week and money in the bank to actually do this. Plus, I'm not compeating with all the students for the GTi's that are in the paper right now and might get a better deal.
So....F'ing do it...
Tonight, after finishing the Ann Frank Hang ( The actress doesn't even look close to 14 yet alone Jewish...) I ventured out into polite society. And Met up with a bunch of Sg members here in Vancouver.
Vancouver has this specter about it as being a place where it's hard to make friends unless your part of some cliquey rareafied social strata. For me it's Theatre and Film. I get along great with Theatre and Movie people. Their's this unifyling geekyness that invites it, makes it easier and in many ways it's only because we're very slightly removed from being, or feeling like outcases forcing ourselves into highschool plays, the A.V.Club or producing the School Annual. All of which I did way back when. But, when faced with a group unslung from that narrow connection of theatre where I've evolved a career to. I feel a little unhinged. Even now at 38 where I"m supposed to stand appart from my selfissues by now and be perfectly, automatically engaging.
But, it takes work....And I'm comforted by the fact that it still takes a struggle from almost all other people there around me. Who feel a like outside their element. Not part of usual, forced and unforced social connections that we all have. It's like, in the end past all the extra drinks and psycing myself up to be in a room full of unknown people to me. it's just as hard for the person sitting next to me to be in the moment and just take the conversation somewhere. .
And although I think it's my fault that we're not talking or making a connection. It's really a mutual fear. And really only less than 5 percent of our fear is truely warranted. Because people, all people unless their phycopaths want to connect on so many different levels.
Not that this makes it any easier. it's just that I noticed it. And for the first time in a long time instead of acting too cool and walking past it I tried to amke a connection. However basic and fleeting. I'm not sure where I'm going with this but it fels great after locking myself into the world of stage and screen. Which is very in your face but often kind of empty. yet I do well there.
We had on tonight's hang call a few old faces and one brand new young guy who's working is first call and I was immediately animated. You know, "Who are you?' "What your thing" etc. hey, this is my stories about Matt and the Who show. ( man I love telling that Matt Good story..) And I got to connect and I'm really good at doing that inside a studio or a venue because that experience is second nature to me. (The easiest way to get a tech to talk is to get him or her to tell stories....) It's an ice breaker. Which helps Deal with crews that don't even speak my language either here or way back when in Europe.
But, connection with the unknown average vancouverite not part of that insular Theatre/ show, country club experience of, " we are we and they are they" That's a bit of stretch. And the comfort in the end was I didn't feel alone in the uncomfortableness. Plus, it wore away quite easily. And that was very heartening....
I like this site. Not that I'm going to abandon the tabulas journal but this all happens to be far more adult and more worldwide. Vs, the just in Asia with mostly very young journalists. And it's very opening....Would I get a an SG Tattoo?
I don't know but I like the site and the people I met tonight.....
Vancouver has this specter about it as being a place where it's hard to make friends unless your part of some cliquey rareafied social strata. For me it's Theatre and Film. I get along great with Theatre and Movie people. Their's this unifyling geekyness that invites it, makes it easier and in many ways it's only because we're very slightly removed from being, or feeling like outcases forcing ourselves into highschool plays, the A.V.Club or producing the School Annual. All of which I did way back when. But, when faced with a group unslung from that narrow connection of theatre where I've evolved a career to. I feel a little unhinged. Even now at 38 where I"m supposed to stand appart from my selfissues by now and be perfectly, automatically engaging.
But, it takes work....And I'm comforted by the fact that it still takes a struggle from almost all other people there around me. Who feel a like outside their element. Not part of usual, forced and unforced social connections that we all have. It's like, in the end past all the extra drinks and psycing myself up to be in a room full of unknown people to me. it's just as hard for the person sitting next to me to be in the moment and just take the conversation somewhere. .
And although I think it's my fault that we're not talking or making a connection. It's really a mutual fear. And really only less than 5 percent of our fear is truely warranted. Because people, all people unless their phycopaths want to connect on so many different levels.
Not that this makes it any easier. it's just that I noticed it. And for the first time in a long time instead of acting too cool and walking past it I tried to amke a connection. However basic and fleeting. I'm not sure where I'm going with this but it fels great after locking myself into the world of stage and screen. Which is very in your face but often kind of empty. yet I do well there.
We had on tonight's hang call a few old faces and one brand new young guy who's working is first call and I was immediately animated. You know, "Who are you?' "What your thing" etc. hey, this is my stories about Matt and the Who show. ( man I love telling that Matt Good story..) And I got to connect and I'm really good at doing that inside a studio or a venue because that experience is second nature to me. (The easiest way to get a tech to talk is to get him or her to tell stories....) It's an ice breaker. Which helps Deal with crews that don't even speak my language either here or way back when in Europe.
But, connection with the unknown average vancouverite not part of that insular Theatre/ show, country club experience of, " we are we and they are they" That's a bit of stretch. And the comfort in the end was I didn't feel alone in the uncomfortableness. Plus, it wore away quite easily. And that was very heartening....
I like this site. Not that I'm going to abandon the tabulas journal but this all happens to be far more adult and more worldwide. Vs, the just in Asia with mostly very young journalists. And it's very opening....Would I get a an SG Tattoo?
I don't know but I like the site and the people I met tonight.....
A rare saturday night out lastnight for a change....
I'm usually working on a show on the weekends so I'm not used to all the nightcity traffic outside my apartment. I couldn't sleep with all the traffic and booming ICE rides so i bailed to the side bar streets.
I live right on the Granville high street - Where all the bars, clubs, pot smoking shops, pawn and porn shops are thease days. Now that Granville st. has become the new Entertainment district of the city and all the bars are opening up here. The weekends are festooned with people walking in the area drunk and high. The news estimates that some long weekends almost 30,000 people venture down my street in search of a good time. Amsterdam of North America we certainly are.
All the artsy resturants, seedy old country bars, and B room strip houses that used to be around here are long gone and all replaced with Justin and Britteny style clone clubs. Which caters to the Bridge and tunnel crowd from the suburbs. So, the evening street crowd was quantity not quality but fun to laugh at.
I headed down to one of the few local hangs that surounds the area. The Railway Club. Where they still have live up and comming bands and the crowd actually gets up past the age of 30. (And their actually is a a railroad model that runs through and around the length of the bar...)
The one thing that sucks about Canada is the quality of rock bands. They tend to all play follow the leader. Whoevers huge at the time that season they appropriate their look and sound. It reminds me of being in a mall searching for something different and finding that all the stores have the exact same shade colour and size of clothing. to the point where your completely uninspired to buy.
( And this isn't a "It was better when I was young" kind of diatribe. The bands then did the same damn thing. The only difference was they cloned overseas acts looks and styles and canadianized them. But, right now, Canada's pretty hip - if for only not being USA. So, they clone Canadian acts Ones which I think have absolutly no stage presence. Like The Trews or Sam Roberts, who I've watch practically ignore their audiences and personal grooming at the same time. One of the worst offenders in this catagory is Sloan. Who were doing this way back when I was working with Matthew Good.)
And as usual since september 11th. We have the current, America Student Expatriots crowd hanging out in the Railway Their's been a steady increase in American, international and Muslim country students here. I love American Expats. They're fun to talk to cause they're the ones who don't drink from the Kolade barrel anymore. Plus, their so much more approachable than the average Vancouverite - Hell they tend, male and female ( Shock!!!) to start the conversation. Which just makes me realize how freaking shy most Canadians are, including myself. They make bar friends easily. and they seem enthrawled to tell the world how much Bush sucks as if it's some sort of crime to speak out south of the 49's
American girls are very cute on the whole. Maybe a tad overwieght and a little selfobsessed but the extra cost of food and transportation here tends to deal with the fat. And the American guys are full on players. Everyone of them are right in there. No fear. It's great to watch. And it makes me understand why Canadian girls go nuts for them and brit boys. I hung out with a few that night, and even after a few drinks and a chat the ones that were leaving were wanting to exchange email addresses even though I was at least ten years older than most of them.
The big shocker was this cute bleached blond punk rockabilly girl who was 22 at the most, and studying a trade up here at BCIT being interested in me. Mind you, she was very drunk and I was going on a bit about working on rockshows. Just like me to be completely stunned to do anything before her friends convinced her it was time to bail. At least I got her number but, I suspect it was a drunk passing.
Tonights Sanctuary though...My regular Industrial / goth night out. where the crowds a bit older and more my pace.
I'm usually working on a show on the weekends so I'm not used to all the nightcity traffic outside my apartment. I couldn't sleep with all the traffic and booming ICE rides so i bailed to the side bar streets.
I live right on the Granville high street - Where all the bars, clubs, pot smoking shops, pawn and porn shops are thease days. Now that Granville st. has become the new Entertainment district of the city and all the bars are opening up here. The weekends are festooned with people walking in the area drunk and high. The news estimates that some long weekends almost 30,000 people venture down my street in search of a good time. Amsterdam of North America we certainly are.
All the artsy resturants, seedy old country bars, and B room strip houses that used to be around here are long gone and all replaced with Justin and Britteny style clone clubs. Which caters to the Bridge and tunnel crowd from the suburbs. So, the evening street crowd was quantity not quality but fun to laugh at.
I headed down to one of the few local hangs that surounds the area. The Railway Club. Where they still have live up and comming bands and the crowd actually gets up past the age of 30. (And their actually is a a railroad model that runs through and around the length of the bar...)
The one thing that sucks about Canada is the quality of rock bands. They tend to all play follow the leader. Whoevers huge at the time that season they appropriate their look and sound. It reminds me of being in a mall searching for something different and finding that all the stores have the exact same shade colour and size of clothing. to the point where your completely uninspired to buy.
( And this isn't a "It was better when I was young" kind of diatribe. The bands then did the same damn thing. The only difference was they cloned overseas acts looks and styles and canadianized them. But, right now, Canada's pretty hip - if for only not being USA. So, they clone Canadian acts Ones which I think have absolutly no stage presence. Like The Trews or Sam Roberts, who I've watch practically ignore their audiences and personal grooming at the same time. One of the worst offenders in this catagory is Sloan. Who were doing this way back when I was working with Matthew Good.)
And as usual since september 11th. We have the current, America Student Expatriots crowd hanging out in the Railway Their's been a steady increase in American, international and Muslim country students here. I love American Expats. They're fun to talk to cause they're the ones who don't drink from the Kolade barrel anymore. Plus, their so much more approachable than the average Vancouverite - Hell they tend, male and female ( Shock!!!) to start the conversation. Which just makes me realize how freaking shy most Canadians are, including myself. They make bar friends easily. and they seem enthrawled to tell the world how much Bush sucks as if it's some sort of crime to speak out south of the 49's
American girls are very cute on the whole. Maybe a tad overwieght and a little selfobsessed but the extra cost of food and transportation here tends to deal with the fat. And the American guys are full on players. Everyone of them are right in there. No fear. It's great to watch. And it makes me understand why Canadian girls go nuts for them and brit boys. I hung out with a few that night, and even after a few drinks and a chat the ones that were leaving were wanting to exchange email addresses even though I was at least ten years older than most of them.
The big shocker was this cute bleached blond punk rockabilly girl who was 22 at the most, and studying a trade up here at BCIT being interested in me. Mind you, she was very drunk and I was going on a bit about working on rockshows. Just like me to be completely stunned to do anything before her friends convinced her it was time to bail. At least I got her number but, I suspect it was a drunk passing.
Tonights Sanctuary though...My regular Industrial / goth night out. where the crowds a bit older and more my pace.
Ann Frank....
My first call back at the Stanley since the end of Miss Siagon. The start of the lighting hang for Ann Frank. It seems the theatre's filled the Stage carp position that I was stupidly thinking of taking last season. They posted the thing three times with no takers that they liked. ( I never applied seeing as the demands were too high for skills vs the money paid and the loss of being a casual guy.)
Cliff. our Board Op quit. Finally after years of daring to. His jobs a joke to as far as I'm concerned. ACT has the Board op run both the lighting and sound boards ( On SFX) and I'm no fuckin sound guy. O.K. I can run a sound board in skummy bars for Punk bands. But theatre??? N.F.W. I hate running sound from a booth with Stagemanagement harping over me while watching lighting cues. It's two different jobs as far as I'm concerned. But try convincing the management, or our local to fight for it. I've tried. And I just give up. In film you do one job get paid well and get fed. O.K. you work hard but I'm no stranger to that. In fact it keeps me fit and away from craft service.
So, the new guy has come here all the way from freaking Germany!!! fresh off the plane. And during our coffee breaks we kind of let him in on all the stupidness of the situation. Because we assumed he must have been wondering why the position was never filled by anyone here, let alone accross Canada for months on end. The F.O.H. Stage Management girls are gonna go nuts for him though. A young german guy who kind of looks like a skinny Jeremy Irons/ Cold Play singer type with that cool euro accent. It will be fun to watch them bend over backwards for this guy.
The Stanley hates the union ( Or rather the production team does, or at least I feel they do. ) in the theatre so I knew I and the other old school crew guys who unionized the place would have gotten the pass anyways if we applied. The company wants a company guy or somebody not connected to the situation. So, it was a forgone conclusion the job wouldn't be offered to me or the two other senior guys on the list.
The fact that I'm now third on the pecking order vs second after Tim who usually tours kind of sucks. (Tim's burning out fast though, I'm kind of worried about him.) But, I tried taking every show last season and I nearly died from all the work and I saved half of what I could have saved if I'd just stuck it out and done film this summer. So, I know that I can't and don't want the gig but I miss the easy thought of just being called second vs being one of thousands of Lamp Ops in the studios around town.
I need this little upset. This change will spur me on to getting a damn VW going and feel like a real person again. ( It's that suburb boy in me that thinks " Without a vehicle I'm nothing - No woman will date me" etc.) And this time I want a cool car as my last car before cheap oil ends. And I want it to have mags. A fast car again with Mags before I'm 40. And get The Grand MA finally figured out in my head. Now that's a goal!
My first call back at the Stanley since the end of Miss Siagon. The start of the lighting hang for Ann Frank. It seems the theatre's filled the Stage carp position that I was stupidly thinking of taking last season. They posted the thing three times with no takers that they liked. ( I never applied seeing as the demands were too high for skills vs the money paid and the loss of being a casual guy.)
Cliff. our Board Op quit. Finally after years of daring to. His jobs a joke to as far as I'm concerned. ACT has the Board op run both the lighting and sound boards ( On SFX) and I'm no fuckin sound guy. O.K. I can run a sound board in skummy bars for Punk bands. But theatre??? N.F.W. I hate running sound from a booth with Stagemanagement harping over me while watching lighting cues. It's two different jobs as far as I'm concerned. But try convincing the management, or our local to fight for it. I've tried. And I just give up. In film you do one job get paid well and get fed. O.K. you work hard but I'm no stranger to that. In fact it keeps me fit and away from craft service.
So, the new guy has come here all the way from freaking Germany!!! fresh off the plane. And during our coffee breaks we kind of let him in on all the stupidness of the situation. Because we assumed he must have been wondering why the position was never filled by anyone here, let alone accross Canada for months on end. The F.O.H. Stage Management girls are gonna go nuts for him though. A young german guy who kind of looks like a skinny Jeremy Irons/ Cold Play singer type with that cool euro accent. It will be fun to watch them bend over backwards for this guy.
The Stanley hates the union ( Or rather the production team does, or at least I feel they do. ) in the theatre so I knew I and the other old school crew guys who unionized the place would have gotten the pass anyways if we applied. The company wants a company guy or somebody not connected to the situation. So, it was a forgone conclusion the job wouldn't be offered to me or the two other senior guys on the list.
The fact that I'm now third on the pecking order vs second after Tim who usually tours kind of sucks. (Tim's burning out fast though, I'm kind of worried about him.) But, I tried taking every show last season and I nearly died from all the work and I saved half of what I could have saved if I'd just stuck it out and done film this summer. So, I know that I can't and don't want the gig but I miss the easy thought of just being called second vs being one of thousands of Lamp Ops in the studios around town.
I need this little upset. This change will spur me on to getting a damn VW going and feel like a real person again. ( It's that suburb boy in me that thinks " Without a vehicle I'm nothing - No woman will date me" etc.) And this time I want a cool car as my last car before cheap oil ends. And I want it to have mags. A fast car again with Mags before I'm 40. And get The Grand MA finally figured out in my head. Now that's a goal!
GIGANTOUR
As I suspected I got called in for the out. An extra 4 hour call ( The out was terribly short at 2 and change ) And we went past midnight so the last hours were at double time ( God I love unions...)
The only thing that sucks about the union thing is the seniority deal. Wishing that members ahead of you would get sick or retire is kind of shitty and our local is full of guys in their 60's and 70's and still hauling cases. It sucks when they take the loader gigs and I'm in the truck as well. cause they can barely lift which makes me do all the grunting for the guys who can't. In fact they complained so loudly that the road crew made us, the electrics crew do the stacking. And they used a forklift to get all the shit into the truck. If we'd just ramped the bastards and the old boys stacked the cases ( hell, they're making 28 bucks an hour...) we would have been out of there a little past midnight.
Seeing as I got called in A.S.A.P. I didn't get to see any of the show. Which sucked til I found out it wasn't Metallica it was Megadeath headlining the show. ( Both those bands all spell their names on the posters with those cheesy Faux Gothic lettering so it's so fucking easy to mix them up.) But I missed Fear Factory. Which has friends of mine who tour as guitar techs. But they were long gone by the time we struck the rig.
Another annoyance this time is working with one of the Dresser women ( This older one in particular ) When she's dispatched as an electrician. I personally don't think she 's competent to do the job but, I'm not on the review board. ( If you can't run DMX or ethernet cable correctly you shouldn't be taking electrics calls cause it's all moving lights thease days.) But the thing that bugs me the most is she's such a nag She'll repeat everything the road crew guys tell you even if you where there and were the one they told the instructions to.
I used to tour and I know so many of the guys either by name or sight from being out there and more recently in a house venue. Plus, after years of being a light tech I just sort of look like I know what he wants. So, they always stare straight at me when I'm working with this wardrobe women in particular. But, she persists in nagging me while we're working. And god forbid I try to help her with anything. She once threatened to slap me like I was her kid. (And the kicker is... We were in college courses together back in the 80's when I was fresh out of highschool and she was a mature student. And back then she did wardrobe and I was working towards a BFA in lighting design. )
I mean, I don't work on the operas as a show call guy and I don't tell her how to steam the freaking costumes when I'm a grip in the big house for a day so shut the fuck up and stop nagging me like Marge Simpson. And I'm not alone in this ( Thank God...) My work pal Teresa ( Vancouver's Punk sound engineering Grandmother.) hates the same woman as well from years of working with her at Live Ent. All the other older crew in Van I get along with famously it's just this one person who sticks in my craw all the time. And she's one senior to me on the master list.
As I suspected I got called in for the out. An extra 4 hour call ( The out was terribly short at 2 and change ) And we went past midnight so the last hours were at double time ( God I love unions...)
The only thing that sucks about the union thing is the seniority deal. Wishing that members ahead of you would get sick or retire is kind of shitty and our local is full of guys in their 60's and 70's and still hauling cases. It sucks when they take the loader gigs and I'm in the truck as well. cause they can barely lift which makes me do all the grunting for the guys who can't. In fact they complained so loudly that the road crew made us, the electrics crew do the stacking. And they used a forklift to get all the shit into the truck. If we'd just ramped the bastards and the old boys stacked the cases ( hell, they're making 28 bucks an hour...) we would have been out of there a little past midnight.
Seeing as I got called in A.S.A.P. I didn't get to see any of the show. Which sucked til I found out it wasn't Metallica it was Megadeath headlining the show. ( Both those bands all spell their names on the posters with those cheesy Faux Gothic lettering so it's so fucking easy to mix them up.) But I missed Fear Factory. Which has friends of mine who tour as guitar techs. But they were long gone by the time we struck the rig.
Another annoyance this time is working with one of the Dresser women ( This older one in particular ) When she's dispatched as an electrician. I personally don't think she 's competent to do the job but, I'm not on the review board. ( If you can't run DMX or ethernet cable correctly you shouldn't be taking electrics calls cause it's all moving lights thease days.) But the thing that bugs me the most is she's such a nag She'll repeat everything the road crew guys tell you even if you where there and were the one they told the instructions to.
I used to tour and I know so many of the guys either by name or sight from being out there and more recently in a house venue. Plus, after years of being a light tech I just sort of look like I know what he wants. So, they always stare straight at me when I'm working with this wardrobe women in particular. But, she persists in nagging me while we're working. And god forbid I try to help her with anything. She once threatened to slap me like I was her kid. (And the kicker is... We were in college courses together back in the 80's when I was fresh out of highschool and she was a mature student. And back then she did wardrobe and I was working towards a BFA in lighting design. )
I mean, I don't work on the operas as a show call guy and I don't tell her how to steam the freaking costumes when I'm a grip in the big house for a day so shut the fuck up and stop nagging me like Marge Simpson. And I'm not alone in this ( Thank God...) My work pal Teresa ( Vancouver's Punk sound engineering Grandmother.) hates the same woman as well from years of working with her at Live Ent. All the other older crew in Van I get along with famously it's just this one person who sticks in my craw all the time. And she's one senior to me on the master list.
AUGUST 2005
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