Kids in the Hall

VHS Archives #122: Rockhead – Ear to the Ground

CBC had a music program called Ear to the Ground in the early 1990s.  Their Rockhead episode aired at the tail end of 1993 (judging by the New Year’s ads).  Rockhead, of course, included producer extraordinaire Bob Rock on lead guitar — and as a writer and musician, he’s as good as the bands he produced.  But what made Rockhead special was not Bob himself.  It was the singer he discovered, Steve Jack, a new screamer who could easily compete with the big boys on the scene.

Apparently Bob Rock experienced some resistance from people who thought being a successful producer should be enough.  This is discussed alongside some killer live and rehearsal footage.  Drummer Chris Taylor and bassist Jamey Kosh also get some camera time to talk about the boss!  Other topics:

  • Four years of effort to get the record out
  • Going from unknowns to opening for Bon Jovi in Europe
  • Being true to your roots
  • The evolution of the songs and trying to say something “a little more deep”

The problem with the show Ear to the Ground was that they played a lot of music, but not complete songs.  This meant it was both light on interviews, and light on music.  Sort of a soupy in-between.  You be the judge.

I left in one ad for the Kids in the Hall!  Enjoy.

 

VHS Archives #69: Friday Night on the CBC (1993)

Kids in the Hall, Ralph Benmergui, and Larry Sanders. We had exciting Friday nights in Canada, did we not?

#384.5: Little Ani

RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale
#384.5: Little Ani

I was so happy when we got little Ani* in 2001. “She’s the best dog ever!” I said, and she really was. My parents have been taking good care of her since I left the family nest. My mom and dad really love that dog.

They had to put her down today. It’s one of those times when the family all saw it the same way, that sometimes these days come. Ani lived a happy little doggie life, constantly tormenting my dad by not being able to decide if she wanted in or out. I got to see her last weekend at Easter and you could tell she was not feeling well, but it was nice to see her one more time.

Ani is chasing birds in doggie heaven now, and I miss my puppy.

I believe in celebrating life with laughter, so here’s my laughter for today.  Thanks, Kids in the Hall.

*named for Anakin Skywalker

Part 280: Record Store Gallery III – Furry Friends

RECORD STORE TALES Part 280:  Record Store Gallery III – Furry Friends

I’m a sucker for furry friends.  Who isn’t?  Maybe you’re a cat person, maybe you’re a dog person, or something else!  I mentioned a few weeks ago that Kitchener has a high population of Miniature Schnauzers, and the Ladano clan have owned quite a few of those.

This first picture is kind of a sad one.  The year is 2000, and that’s me and my first puppy, Crystal aka Gozer.  (That’s what happens when you let my dad name animals.)  Crystal was a great little friend but very sick.  She went blind in ’94 and had all kinds of health issues.  This picture of us is the last photo taken of her.   I remember the day we had to put her down, I had to work an afternoon shift at T-Rev’s store.  T-Rev was out of town building a new store, and I was filling in for him as I occasionally did.  It was not the happiest shift to work.

GozerMike

However life goes on and a year later we got Ani!  Ani can be a bad little puppy sometimes, but she’s been my best furry friend for a long time now.  Unfortunately Ani suffers from a lot of the same health issues that Crystal did.  However she’s been a resilient little Schnauzer and has outlived her life expectancy by numerous years already.  And seemingly happily too.  Which is the main thing.

I brought Ani into the store one afternoon when I was off.  She was so good, a little scared though.  But she stayed quiet and didn’t try to escape, which she often does!  Customers would occasionally bring their dogs into the store, and I never had a problem with it.  Nobody pooped or peed on the floor when I was there.

Lotsa Schnauzers

Finally, I bought my own place and got this guy to go with it.  This is Zoboomafoo, a leaping lemur from a hit Canadian kid’s TV show.  It was on every morning before work and I started getting obsessed with it.  One of our store managers, a girl who worked in Cambridge, spotted a Zoboomafoo puppet at the Cinema One store there.  They only had one, and both of us wanted it!  It was a race to see who could get it first.  Needless to say, I won!

zoboomafoo