Hello,
Anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with the Ottawa Senators. I became a fan of the team during the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs and haven't looked back since.
At the start of this current hockey season, I like many other fans were excited about the team. We had some forwards who could put the puck in the net, we had a healthy Pascal Leclaire in goal and we acquired Sergi Gonchar; arguably one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL. I was looking forward to watching the team score a lot of goals.
Now; after 50 regular season games; the Senators have a record of 17-25-8; they are at or near the bottom of every statistical category in the league; and are on pace for their worst finish since well before the lockout of 2005. So what went wrong? Here's my take.........
INJURIES! This train wreck of a season started twenty minutes into their first practice when Filip Kuba; one of our projected top four defensemen hit a rut in the ice; fell into the boards and broke an ankle; twenty minutes! Must have been an omen. Then Pascale Leclaire has been injured so many times these past two seasons that I can't keep track of them all. His most recent injury happened in mid December when he got hurt during a pre-game skate! He's still not on the mend. Milan Michalek and Alexei Kovalev are still recovering from off season knee surgeries last year, but Milan is starting to look like his old self lately. Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson have been playing hurt all season. Then on boxing day, the daddy of them all happened. Jason Spezza; our number one centre was checked from behind by Kris Letang of the Penguins into the boards and suffered a separated shoulder. No penalty and no discipline by the league. They've played fourteen games since; and only have one win.
Luke Richardson's daughter commits suicide.Not really sure if this is a reason for the team's struggles but it deserves mentioning. In mid November assistant coach Luke Richardson's 14 year old daughter Daron took her own life. The team may have gotten a brief emotional uplift the next night as they shut out the Boston Bruins in Boston; probably the team's best game of the year; but it didn't last. The day of Daron's funeral, the team attended the service in Ottawa, then flew to Raleigh the same day for a game against the Hurricanes. They lost 7-1.
Players not stepping up. Peter Regin was a point getting machine in last year's playoff series with the Penguins; this year he has one goal. Nick Foligno lit up the opposition in pre season; but only has about 12 points so far. Lately he's been playing better. Sergi Gonchar is among the league's worst in plus minus. Chris Phillips and Erik Karlsson are turnover machines, and our goalies have been, I hate to say it because I'm not a goalie but, brutal. Sure Brian Elliott has the team record for most consecutive victories which he earned last year, but the team played super good in front of him. He's a guy who goes as the team goes, not the other way around. I had high hopes for Mike Brodeur after the couple of games he played last year, but this year he too has been hurt and not playing well. Prospect Robin Lehner won his only start in an Ottawa uniform, and he played well in the World Junior tournament, but he's only nineteen so they are taking their time with him.
Are the coach and the GM to blame?Personally I don't think so. Let's start with GM Bryan Murray. Is it his fault Pascale Leclaire can't go two days without getting hurt? Is it his fault Sergi Gonchar is having trouble getting points and is a defensive liability? (ok, we knew about the defensive liability part when they signed him) Is it his fault Peter Regin and Nick Foligno aren't progressing like people thought; based on their past performances? Is it his fault Jason Spezza was injured? Is it his fault Alexei Kovalev has no heart? Is it his fault Dany Heatley sabotaged this franchise last summer by demanding a trade? I rest my case, I think he's doing the best that he can and he should stay in the organization after this season is over.
On to coach Clou. He does mix up his lines a lot so there is no chance for forwards to find any chemistry with each other and I think that's an issue. However, with the injuries he's had to deal with, what else can he do? He doesn't seem to have Erik Karlsson and Sergi Gonchar playing their opposite sides on the power play and I don't agree with that. Playing the opposite side gives you more chances for one timers from the point; a play that I'm a big fan of. And he often pulls his goaltenders, which is bad for their confidence. But other than that, I like the guy as a coach and hope he stays next season too.
So why aren't they scoring? I'll tell you exactly why. Since the beginning of the season, Bryan Murray said he "likes to have the puck." and wants this team to play a puck possession game. Now I understand the philosophy, the more you have the puck, the more the opposition can't score on you. Well here's the dealio; these guys are just not skilled enough to play a puck possession game. They are so brainwashed into puck possession that it makes them nervous and unconfident when they get the puck, resulting in poor decisions, turnovers, and goals against, a lot of goals against. Now here's what I think, instead of puck possession, chip the puck in, forecheck like mad, make one or two passes, get guys in front and SHOOT!I think it was Wayne Gretzky who said you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. They need to shoot more, they need to screen goalies more, and they need to get more of those "dirty goals." Now would this help them score more often? I don't know, but shooting more doesn't sound like a bad idea to me.
So where do we go from here? Hopefully when Jason and Pascal get back they can play well and help the team be more competitive and win some games. I hope management goes after some goal scorers and goal scoring prospects because you can't score one or two a game and expect to win. Personally, I'd like to see a sniper (Semin, Parise (I know he's an RFA), Gagne) and a goalie (Vokoun) somewhere down the line. We need more first line talent! A poor finish would mean a high draft pick and there are some kids who look pretty good. Landeskog, Coutourier, and Nugent-Hopkins look like players who could step up right away. As the trade deadline nears, I would be listening to offers about Phillips, Gonchar, ( I guess any defenseman other than Karlsson), Kovalev, Fisher, (yes Fisher), Ruutu, and any of our goalies except Lehner. What I would REALLY like to see is Murry swing a deal with Boston for Toronto's first round pick!
It hasn't all been bad. Erik Karlsson is only nineteen and will play in his first all star game. Chris Kelly stepped his game up when Jason got hurt, and we have a good core of players left from the cup run in 2007 to build around. Am I disappointed in this season? Yes. I am excited for the future? Definitely, but the right decisions have to be made, so we'll see.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Monday, December 13, 2010
Dryden Hockey Tournament Dec. 10-12, 2010
This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend my first minor hockey tournament as a head coach. It was in Dryden, Ontario with my Atom team the Sioux Lookout Jr. Flyers. I have to say that I had lofty expectations for our team; maybe even winning this tournament; based on the facts that we have good players and the kids were playing well as a team at the time. But at the same time, it's all about the experience for the kids so I made sure I did my best to see that each kid on our team got lots of ice time.
Game 1: Our first game was against a team from Dryden. This was an interesting game for me as a coach because we had not played a game since the Monday of the previous week. So to keep things simple I lined up the kids in positions which I thought they would feel the most comfortable; and I explained to them that this game's line up was not set in stone. Well, I guess it worked because we won 15-0.
Yes, I'll admit the Dryden team did not have a lot of skilled players, but at the same time, we played a good team game; we passed the puck and played our positions well. And when Dryden did have chances, our goalie made the saves. After the game I told the kids "I know I said the line up wasn't set in stone but........." and then one of our parents chimed it, "that worked." Yes it did!
Game 2: Our second game was against a team from Kenora; six hours after game one. I was happy to see the kids didn't seem tired and they were anxious to play another hockey game. I talked to a couple of kids who politely came up to me and asked if they could play different positions, so I juggled our line up a bit to accommodate them. After the first period of this game, the score was 2-2; we had given up a 2-0 lead but the kids didn't get down on themselves and the final score was 9-2 for us. I (and a lot of others) noticed some kids on their team; one in particular; seemed to get progressively more angry as the game went on; and started to trip, slash, and crosscheck our kids; even our goalie, pretty aggressively. As one of my players put it "she was nasty!" I liked how our team handled it though, we got off the ice and talked about it as a team in our dressing room; we didn't make a fuss with the refs or the coaches or parents of the other team, and then we moved on.
Game 3 was Saturday morning at 10:30. All the kids showed up looking well rested and ready to roll. Our opponent was a team from Thunder Bay. Now; based on what little experience I had; I knew Thunder Bay teams were good teams. So as a bit of strategy; I lined up my best player and his line as our third line instead of our first; hoping Thunder Bay would have a weaker third line and our guys would have a field day. It worked early, we got up on them 2-0. But like I said earlier, they had a good team and they tied it up 2-2. Again, our kids didn't get down and continued to play hard. We got the lead 3-2; and it seemed like we made it 4-2 a little later but a good goal was not seen by the refs so they didn't count it, Then in the third period; they stormed us for three straight goals to make it 5-3. I could tell on the bench the kids seemed pretty down; so my assistant coach and I just kept telling them to keep playing hard and good things will happen. Our best player scored late in the game to make it 5-4; so we pulled our goalie with about 45 seconds left. We stormed their net but just couldn't bury that tying goal, we lost 5-4. While we were shaking hands with the other coaches, they praised us for having a good team and playing a good game, which I appreciated to hear, but seemed somewhat confused about why they would say that with such conviction. Later I looked at the standings, their team was pummeling other teams 8-1 and 7-2; and we came within a disallowed goal of tying them. I was super proud of our kids after that game and I told them so. I thought it was the best game I'd ever seen them play; we could have given up when it was 5-3, but we didn't; and we clawed our way back and almost tied it.
(continued below)
Game 4: Our final round robin game was Saturday afternoon about 4 hours after our close one with Thunder Bay and I have to say; the kids looked tired. I thought we gave up some goals the previous game because some of our defensemen aren't that mobile yet, so I moved one of my forwards back to defense because he was a good skater; and he could help out the lesser skilled kids. He wasn't crazy about the idea, but I convinced him by telling him he'd get more ice time! I asked the kids before the game "are you guys tired?" and they all shouted "NO!" And I told them I thought they looked tired and to prove me wrong. Well they did, we won 4-0. This game was made interesting by our new defenseman, who kept wanting to play as a forward and wouldn't stay back, leaving our less mobile kids on their own. He played a great game though, picking up an assist and sliding through our crease to save a goal! Another highlight for our team was one of our defensemen scored! It was a long wrister from the point that made it's way in after hitting a couple of sticks. The kid that scored is my most reliable defenseman, so to see him score one was pretty special. I picked him our team MVP that game. The other team had some chances, but our goalie was there everytime. When we went to shake hands with other coaches, one of them said to me "you've got a hot goalie there." He was right, we had the best goalie in the tournament, in my opinion.
Later that evening, we found out we finished sixth place out of sixteen teams; which was OK, but I couldn't help but think about that one disallowed goal against Thunder Bay. In my head we would have won that game or maybe even tied it, but either way we would have ended up in the A side instead. But that was our place and we had to live with it. Our first playoff game was the next morning at 8:30am.
That evening I went home and emailed our parents about the game time. That night though; I couldn't sleep. I hadn't been involved in a minor hockey playoff (or any hockey, for that matter) since I was about 12 years old! I was so nervous, yet excited at the same time. I kept going through my head, trying to think what I could say in the dressing room to get the kids fired up, or what I could do to our line up to make us more competitive, balanced, yet still fair for the kids in terms of ice time. In the end though, I couldn't come up with a damn thing! After I think 2 or 3 hours of shut eye for me, we loaded up at 6:30am Sunday morning for our next game.
Game 5: Our first playoff game; and I was happy to see all the kids there rested and ready to go. I didn't shuffle the line up; and preached to the kids to remember to do the things we do well that set us apart from the other teams that were no longer playing in this tournament. My assistant coach got the kids fired up. He would say so who are we? And the kids would scream "FLYERS" over and over again before we went out. Way to go coach! We played another team from Kenora and it was a pretty even game, but in the end it worked out for us. Our skilled players scored some goals and our goalie made all the saves and we won 4-0. It was on to the B side finals!
We didn't have too much time as our next game was only an hour after our first one ended. Our whole team and parents spent the hour watching the other Sioux Lookout team play their A side semi final game. Probably the most exciting Atom game I have ever seen! It was just a non stop, up and down, back and forth hockey game. The team from Sioux played their hearts out but in the end they came up just short; losing 6-5.
Game 6: Our last game of the tournament; win or lose. Our opponent was from Red Lake. They were a good team, they won a lot of their games 4-2 or 5-3 and according to a parent that I spoke to, they had two kids who passed the puck well and scored all their goals. To be honest with you, I thought they sounded pretty beatable, but for some reason, I was nervous for our team before the game. I made no line up changes, some kids asked but I just couldn't accommodate them at that point in the tournament, we were playing well, and we were playing as a team. Red Lake actually scored the first goal of the game, after we had some chances but didn't score, and the kids seemed a little down on themselves. But this time I didn't say anything as they always bounced back before. We wound up getting two goals from our third line centre and went up 2-1; but after his second goal, Red Lake scored again on the very next shift; game tied 2-2. The kids seemed to play tentative so I reminded them to play hard and without fear; if they made a mistake, there were five kids on the ice to help them out. It was our last game of the day and I just thought we should play like it. Red Lake made it 3-2 but we were able to tie it. I got the feeling that it was going to be a "next goal wins" kind of game and I was feeling a little upset that it got to that point because throughout the whole game our kids had chances, but either hit a post, had a save made against us, or we missed the net entirely. Sure enough, Red Lake scored to make it 4-3 and with about a minute and a half left I called a time out. I just used the time out to give the kids a rest and then I put a made up line of my five best skaters out there to try and tie things up. With about 45 seconds left we pulled our goalie for a sixth skater. The kids played their hearts out but we just couldn't seem to get the puck deep into their end, then somehow,and I don't know how, the puck started to make it's way towards our empty net from center ice. At first I thought it was going to go wide, then as it got closer I thought it was going to hit the post, it seemed like forever for me, but then my next feeling was my heart sinking as I watched that puck slide into our net, millimeters from the inside of the post. We lost the B side final 5-3.
During a short ceremony to hand the medals out to the kids I made sure to thank the organizers of the tournament for a job well done; and to ask the fans in the arena to give our kids a hand; they played their hearts out but came up just short.
I was happy to see how the kids handled the loss. No one cried, no one complained, we all just accepted that we tried our best, but it just wasn't to be for us this time. In my own mind, we were the better team out there, we just couldn't bury our chances early in the game and it wound up costing us. But whatever, I asked each and every kid if they had fun and the answer was always a "yes" and that's what's important for kids playing hockey at this age.
I shouldn't forget to mention I had several compliments from other coaches, other parents, the refs, and the tournament organizers about how we were a good team that played well. I can't put into words how proud I am of these kids! Two more tournaments to go; both in the month of February,2011. Of course I'll be blogging those so feel free to come back to this site and see how we did! Thanks for reading.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
My Love Affair with Music
As some of you know I play the bass, as well as dabble in the guitar and sing; if you didn't know that about me, well.....SURPRISE! Seriously though, I'd like to tell you where my love of music came from and the whole journey behind it. I've been thinking about blogging this for a long time; but now is the time that it just had to come out.
I grew up hearing my dad and my sister play guitars and sing songs during get togethers at home, mostly when I was trying to sleep. I remember being a kid and listening to my sister practice her guitar; playing along to the Scorpoion's "the zoo" among others. I also remember seeing her play live with her friends at a fair or something; it was the first time that I can remember that I actually adored my sister and thought she was pretty cool!
When I was about 9 or 10 I would get my parents to buy me compliation albums; "Blast Off" and "Radioactive" are two titles that I can remember. My cousin Kyle and I would air band to the songs on my bed and wet our faces in the sink to make it look like we were sweating! I also remember at the time going for rides to the dump in my dad's half ton and listening to Don Adams, Willy Nelson and Merle Haggard on his 8 track!
During my pre teens I became a fan of Michael Jackson, just like the rest of the world. I bought the Thriller album and even put his poster on my bedroom wall. Then it was in my teens that the infamous "heavy metal phase" kicked in. Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Dokken, Cinderella, Poison, Warrant, KISS, Alice Cooper, Ozzy, Whitesnake, RATT, Autograph, Triumph, Twisted Sister, Queenryche; Skid Row and the immortal King Kobra were all bands I adored and spent a pile of money on; buying their tapes and putting posters on my wall. Yes, I'm a little embarassed to admit it.
Then, between the ages of 18-20; three things happened that cemented my love for music that will last forever. Number one, I became a fan of Metallica. I was a late blooming Metallica fan; I didn't get into them until they made their "... and justice for all" album and my friends drove me crazy playing it in the car on the way to our baseball games. The song "One" really got to me; so I bought the CD and their back catalogue as well. To this day I've purchased all of Metallica's recordings; a couple of home DVD's and seen the band live 4 times.
Number 2: When I was 18 or 19; I taped a "battle of the bands" contest that was on TV. One of the bands was from Winnipeg and they were called "the watchmen." They performed two songs; one of which was called "mister" and I absolutely adored that song. A short time later, my best friend Charlie introduced me to the watchmen's first record "maclaren furnace room." "Mister" was on there; as well as a song he thought was pretty cool called "run and hide." I bought the album and something in me just connected to that band, I really caught on to their music more than any other band I've liked before or since. I got their emotions and inspirations that they were trying to get across in their music, I memorized all of their lyrics; taught myself all of their bass lines; and they are the only band that's written songs that can make me cry when I hear them. As I got into performing music myself (and I'll get to that later) I got to meet Sammy, the watchmen's drummer, and Ken their second bass player whom I idolize, and I got to speak with Joey; their guitar player on the phone. I've never had any contact with Danny, their singer, but that's okay because rumour has it he's a bit of a prick anyway! To this day; I've bought all their albums, and seen them live more times than I can remember. Maclaren Furnace Room and their second record "In the trees" are two of my all time favorie albums.
Number three: At age twenty; I finally got the nerve to call up Dennis Hammerstendt; a local guitar teacher and ask if he could give me lessons. I was always a nervous person and I remember shaking and my voice quivering on the phone when I called him. I asked for bass lessons which some people thought was crazy, they thought I should have asked for guitar lessons instead, but the bass was where I wanted to go; and I had a drummer friend and a guitar player friend, they needed a bass player!
I have to admit, starting out was hard, but Dennis had a way to keep it fun and interesting; he kept teaching me new techniques and after a while, we both noticed I had a bit of a natural feel for bass playing. He liked it when I would come in for a lesson and we'd jam on the jazz chords he taught me last time! What I liked about taking lessons from Dennis was I could bring in a song and he'd learn it by ear on the spot; and teach it to me.
Finally, around the age of 23 or 24; I joined my first band. We were called Bullwhip Griffin and our members were Michael, our singer, and Ammy and Jeff, two of my best friends in the world on guitar and drums. We wrote some songs, recorded a demo, played some live shows in some bars in Winnipeg, and even got a radio interview. Unfortunately it didn't last, but to this day if I ever made a career out of music, I wished it was with that band. We had an energy and an edginess to our music that I absolutely loved; and playing that music for a living would have been my dream job for sure! Ammy and I teamed up with our friend Jaimie and some other people to form "L'Ammy L'Amour and the Gorillas" and played a couple of fund raising socials for Ammy's dentistry class; but that was all.
I eventually sought out some other musicians and joined a band called Sandlefoot. We played rock music but were more classic rock sounding than BG. Same thing, we wrote some songs and recorded a demo and played live, but the band split up when a couple of members couldn't get along anymore.
So when I was about 25 I put my own ad in a local newspaper and even got a few calls. I settled on a group that called itself "Frankie Machine" and they were writing songs for a record. We didn't last too long, but the musicians from the band left to form "Shades of Difference." "Shades" had a good run, we played a lot of shows, recorded and I even met a couple of music industry and radio people. I thought we had a sound that would be popular; and we had a gifted singer/songwriter named Ken and I absolutely loved playing his songs. We wittled down to a three piece band but still were able to keep playing shows; having fun; and meeting new people. In 1999 though, I moved from Winnipeg to Sioux Lookout, Ontario. It was time to grow up and quit trying to "make it" in the music business!
I have to admit; I thought I was done playing music when I moved to Sioux Lookout. SL isn't Winnipeg; and I thought for sure there no bands here. Much to my pleasant surprise, I hooked up with a guy named Pat; who was one of the best singers I'd ever heard; and I joined his band "Badjazz." We had some fun playing covers in the bars here, but I was just relieved I didn't have to quit playing music! When Pat moved, things got really quiet for me musically. I didn't touch my bass for about six months, and I thought for sure that would be it. But, one day I came home from work and there was a message on my answering machine by a girl named Gabby who was a singer and wanted to play at a local music festival that summer, all she needed was a bass player. I was in, and through Gabby, I met Ryan, a local drummer.
Since meeting Ryan that fateful summer about 10 or 11 years ago, we have been collaborating on music projects ever since. Mostly just cover bands for fun, but we also did the sound for a music festival here one summer; my first gig as a soundman!
It was through Ryan that I met Neil and Suzanne. We formed "Edible Rex" about 8 years ago and are still together today; our latest gig was the summer of 2009 where we played our seventh year in a row at the "Fireman's Social;" an annual event during the bluberry festival here in Sioux Lookout. The social is a pretty big event; about 300 to 500 people come out every year and we were their entertainment! Funnest gigs I have ever played for sure. Funny thing; I was so worried about moving here that I wouldn't get to play music, yet here is where I've played the biggest shows of my life!
I should say I kept out all the negative BS and side stories in this writing. If I included them, I'd be writing for a week straight. Music is a very cut throat business full of make believe people who think they are the next great thing. I've met so many people that I couldn't stand because of my music career; so if you know someone who wants to start a band, you can tell them it's not all fun and games.
Today, Edible Rex is still around but dormant; until the phone rings for that next gig. I also play bass for the worship team at our church; so I'm still involved in music a little bit. All through it though, I keep telling myself that day I finally got the nerve to call Dennis was one of the smartest things I ever did in my life!
Thanks for reading. Next post: my love affair with hockey!
I grew up hearing my dad and my sister play guitars and sing songs during get togethers at home, mostly when I was trying to sleep. I remember being a kid and listening to my sister practice her guitar; playing along to the Scorpoion's "the zoo" among others. I also remember seeing her play live with her friends at a fair or something; it was the first time that I can remember that I actually adored my sister and thought she was pretty cool!
When I was about 9 or 10 I would get my parents to buy me compliation albums; "Blast Off" and "Radioactive" are two titles that I can remember. My cousin Kyle and I would air band to the songs on my bed and wet our faces in the sink to make it look like we were sweating! I also remember at the time going for rides to the dump in my dad's half ton and listening to Don Adams, Willy Nelson and Merle Haggard on his 8 track!
During my pre teens I became a fan of Michael Jackson, just like the rest of the world. I bought the Thriller album and even put his poster on my bedroom wall. Then it was in my teens that the infamous "heavy metal phase" kicked in. Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Dokken, Cinderella, Poison, Warrant, KISS, Alice Cooper, Ozzy, Whitesnake, RATT, Autograph, Triumph, Twisted Sister, Queenryche; Skid Row and the immortal King Kobra were all bands I adored and spent a pile of money on; buying their tapes and putting posters on my wall. Yes, I'm a little embarassed to admit it.
Then, between the ages of 18-20; three things happened that cemented my love for music that will last forever. Number one, I became a fan of Metallica. I was a late blooming Metallica fan; I didn't get into them until they made their "... and justice for all" album and my friends drove me crazy playing it in the car on the way to our baseball games. The song "One" really got to me; so I bought the CD and their back catalogue as well. To this day I've purchased all of Metallica's recordings; a couple of home DVD's and seen the band live 4 times.
Number 2: When I was 18 or 19; I taped a "battle of the bands" contest that was on TV. One of the bands was from Winnipeg and they were called "the watchmen." They performed two songs; one of which was called "mister" and I absolutely adored that song. A short time later, my best friend Charlie introduced me to the watchmen's first record "maclaren furnace room." "Mister" was on there; as well as a song he thought was pretty cool called "run and hide." I bought the album and something in me just connected to that band, I really caught on to their music more than any other band I've liked before or since. I got their emotions and inspirations that they were trying to get across in their music, I memorized all of their lyrics; taught myself all of their bass lines; and they are the only band that's written songs that can make me cry when I hear them. As I got into performing music myself (and I'll get to that later) I got to meet Sammy, the watchmen's drummer, and Ken their second bass player whom I idolize, and I got to speak with Joey; their guitar player on the phone. I've never had any contact with Danny, their singer, but that's okay because rumour has it he's a bit of a prick anyway! To this day; I've bought all their albums, and seen them live more times than I can remember. Maclaren Furnace Room and their second record "In the trees" are two of my all time favorie albums.
Number three: At age twenty; I finally got the nerve to call up Dennis Hammerstendt; a local guitar teacher and ask if he could give me lessons. I was always a nervous person and I remember shaking and my voice quivering on the phone when I called him. I asked for bass lessons which some people thought was crazy, they thought I should have asked for guitar lessons instead, but the bass was where I wanted to go; and I had a drummer friend and a guitar player friend, they needed a bass player!
I have to admit, starting out was hard, but Dennis had a way to keep it fun and interesting; he kept teaching me new techniques and after a while, we both noticed I had a bit of a natural feel for bass playing. He liked it when I would come in for a lesson and we'd jam on the jazz chords he taught me last time! What I liked about taking lessons from Dennis was I could bring in a song and he'd learn it by ear on the spot; and teach it to me.
Finally, around the age of 23 or 24; I joined my first band. We were called Bullwhip Griffin and our members were Michael, our singer, and Ammy and Jeff, two of my best friends in the world on guitar and drums. We wrote some songs, recorded a demo, played some live shows in some bars in Winnipeg, and even got a radio interview. Unfortunately it didn't last, but to this day if I ever made a career out of music, I wished it was with that band. We had an energy and an edginess to our music that I absolutely loved; and playing that music for a living would have been my dream job for sure! Ammy and I teamed up with our friend Jaimie and some other people to form "L'Ammy L'Amour and the Gorillas" and played a couple of fund raising socials for Ammy's dentistry class; but that was all.
I eventually sought out some other musicians and joined a band called Sandlefoot. We played rock music but were more classic rock sounding than BG. Same thing, we wrote some songs and recorded a demo and played live, but the band split up when a couple of members couldn't get along anymore.
So when I was about 25 I put my own ad in a local newspaper and even got a few calls. I settled on a group that called itself "Frankie Machine" and they were writing songs for a record. We didn't last too long, but the musicians from the band left to form "Shades of Difference." "Shades" had a good run, we played a lot of shows, recorded and I even met a couple of music industry and radio people. I thought we had a sound that would be popular; and we had a gifted singer/songwriter named Ken and I absolutely loved playing his songs. We wittled down to a three piece band but still were able to keep playing shows; having fun; and meeting new people. In 1999 though, I moved from Winnipeg to Sioux Lookout, Ontario. It was time to grow up and quit trying to "make it" in the music business!
I have to admit; I thought I was done playing music when I moved to Sioux Lookout. SL isn't Winnipeg; and I thought for sure there no bands here. Much to my pleasant surprise, I hooked up with a guy named Pat; who was one of the best singers I'd ever heard; and I joined his band "Badjazz." We had some fun playing covers in the bars here, but I was just relieved I didn't have to quit playing music! When Pat moved, things got really quiet for me musically. I didn't touch my bass for about six months, and I thought for sure that would be it. But, one day I came home from work and there was a message on my answering machine by a girl named Gabby who was a singer and wanted to play at a local music festival that summer, all she needed was a bass player. I was in, and through Gabby, I met Ryan, a local drummer.
Since meeting Ryan that fateful summer about 10 or 11 years ago, we have been collaborating on music projects ever since. Mostly just cover bands for fun, but we also did the sound for a music festival here one summer; my first gig as a soundman!
It was through Ryan that I met Neil and Suzanne. We formed "Edible Rex" about 8 years ago and are still together today; our latest gig was the summer of 2009 where we played our seventh year in a row at the "Fireman's Social;" an annual event during the bluberry festival here in Sioux Lookout. The social is a pretty big event; about 300 to 500 people come out every year and we were their entertainment! Funnest gigs I have ever played for sure. Funny thing; I was so worried about moving here that I wouldn't get to play music, yet here is where I've played the biggest shows of my life!
I should say I kept out all the negative BS and side stories in this writing. If I included them, I'd be writing for a week straight. Music is a very cut throat business full of make believe people who think they are the next great thing. I've met so many people that I couldn't stand because of my music career; so if you know someone who wants to start a band, you can tell them it's not all fun and games.
Today, Edible Rex is still around but dormant; until the phone rings for that next gig. I also play bass for the worship team at our church; so I'm still involved in music a little bit. All through it though, I keep telling myself that day I finally got the nerve to call Dennis was one of the smartest things I ever did in my life!
Thanks for reading. Next post: my love affair with hockey!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Back to the Rink
Haven't posted for awhile because nothing's been new. Except......
The kids started their minor hockey this month and as usual, we are pretty busy with it. Both boys have ice three times a week; as well I have my own hockey two nights a week, so that leaves Friday as my only night off. This year I'm assistant coaching Cameron's Novice team and I'm head coaching Andrew's Atom team. This is my first crack at head coaching so I hope it goes well.
On top of it all, I took a refereeing course and will likely ref a few games.
Sounds crazy but I love it; so it's not hard for me to go the rink that often.
See you next post.
The kids started their minor hockey this month and as usual, we are pretty busy with it. Both boys have ice three times a week; as well I have my own hockey two nights a week, so that leaves Friday as my only night off. This year I'm assistant coaching Cameron's Novice team and I'm head coaching Andrew's Atom team. This is my first crack at head coaching so I hope it goes well.
On top of it all, I took a refereeing course and will likely ref a few games.
Sounds crazy but I love it; so it's not hard for me to go the rink that often.
See you next post.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The Medicus Dual-Hinge Swing Trainers
Hello folks! As some of you may know, I moonlight as a golf instructor. (I also moonlight as a bass player and an actor in the adult film industry)
Seriously though, people sometimes ask me what the best swing trainer is. My answer is always the same; it's the Medicus. Why you ask? Well, in my opinion, the Medicus teaches you the most fundamentally important aspect to a good golf swing; and that's the swing plane.
The swing plane is simply the path the golf club takes from takeaway to follow through. In a good golf swing, the club stays "on plane" which means the club follows the same path back and then through the ball. A swing that is not on plane does not follow the correct path and that leads to poor ball striking.
Here's one of the best explaining what I mean;
The Medicus dual hinge swing trainer is the best in the business at teaching golfers how to swing on the correct swing plane. If you don't believe me, listen to what this guy has to say.........
You can purchase one of the fine Medicus products at the best price available; by clicking the banner below. Thanks for reading.
Seriously though, people sometimes ask me what the best swing trainer is. My answer is always the same; it's the Medicus. Why you ask? Well, in my opinion, the Medicus teaches you the most fundamentally important aspect to a good golf swing; and that's the swing plane.
The swing plane is simply the path the golf club takes from takeaway to follow through. In a good golf swing, the club stays "on plane" which means the club follows the same path back and then through the ball. A swing that is not on plane does not follow the correct path and that leads to poor ball striking.
Here's one of the best explaining what I mean;
The Medicus dual hinge swing trainer is the best in the business at teaching golfers how to swing on the correct swing plane. If you don't believe me, listen to what this guy has to say.........
You can purchase one of the fine Medicus products at the best price available; by clicking the banner below. Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Hockey in July
Well we just got home from the boy's hockey camp in Winnipeg. For five days we set up shop at the Canlan Ice Sports arena at 1871 Ellice Ave. in Winnipeg. First thing I have to say is the facility is perfect for a hockey camp. They have 3 indoor rinks, plus an indoor soccer field, a pro shop and a restaurant with a view of all of the rinks upstairs. Pretty nice. The pro shop did the best skate sharpening job I've ever seen, if we go back, I'm bringing my skates in. The gear they had for sale was all high end stuff, no naturally it was pretty expensive.
While we were there, they also had camps going for soccer, and.... wait for it.....ringette! I thought that game was extict, but I guess not.
We mostly hung around the rink and watched the boys practice. All I could think about was how jealous I was that they were playing hockey, it didn't help that there was "pay and play" for adults twice a day there. Next year, if we come back, I'm brining my gear! Anyways, sure sitting and watching the kids skate around pylons got a little boring once in awhile, but luckily Polo Park Mall, Walmart, and most importantly; Golftown were five minutes away. My only complaint was the restaurant upstairs was pretty expensive. $13.00 for a burger, fries and a coke? (mind you, it was a really good burger!)
After hockey each day we did some fun stuff. We took the kids to laser tag in Stonewall one night, and Grand Prix Amusements another night. Plus we took them to Dispicable Me (great movie) and Jennifer and I took in Inception with my best buddy Charlie. (also a great movie.)
So that's it for summer trips for us, except for down to the lake I guess. If you read this and live in the Sioux Lookout area, stop in for a swim! We'll be home!
See ya next post.
While we were there, they also had camps going for soccer, and.... wait for it.....ringette! I thought that game was extict, but I guess not.
We mostly hung around the rink and watched the boys practice. All I could think about was how jealous I was that they were playing hockey, it didn't help that there was "pay and play" for adults twice a day there. Next year, if we come back, I'm brining my gear! Anyways, sure sitting and watching the kids skate around pylons got a little boring once in awhile, but luckily Polo Park Mall, Walmart, and most importantly; Golftown were five minutes away. My only complaint was the restaurant upstairs was pretty expensive. $13.00 for a burger, fries and a coke? (mind you, it was a really good burger!)
After hockey each day we did some fun stuff. We took the kids to laser tag in Stonewall one night, and Grand Prix Amusements another night. Plus we took them to Dispicable Me (great movie) and Jennifer and I took in Inception with my best buddy Charlie. (also a great movie.)
So that's it for summer trips for us, except for down to the lake I guess. If you read this and live in the Sioux Lookout area, stop in for a swim! We'll be home!
See ya next post.
Monday, June 21, 2010
My Proudest Moment As A Father (so far!)
In honour of this past father's day, I wanted to post my most proudest moment as a dad, so far. Sure there's the usual things, teaching the kids to ride a bike, learn to skate, do the dishes, cut the grass....(OK those last two were a joke) but this moment is extra special to me.
In March of 2009, Andrew was 7 years old and told Jennifer and I he wanted to play hockey. Since it was too late in the current season, he couldn't start until October, 2009; so to give him a bit of a head start, we put him in a hockey camp in Winnipeg at the end of last August. The plan was for him to stay at my dad's and go to camp for a week while Jenn and I stayed home. Just before he left I gave Andrew a good talk about camp, that it would be fun, but it would be a lot of hard work too; he said he understood and reassured me he would do fine.
Well, two days in, we get a call from my dad. "I don't think Andrew wants to play hockey anymore." He was crying on the ice, crying in the dressing room, and making up any excuse he could not to participate. Andrew even said his skates were hurting his feet, so dad bought him new ones, but nothing was helping.
Now, Jennifer and I knew this might happen; and there's lots more to the story than what I'm saying here; but to keep it short; about one hour after dad called I got time off work and booked it to my dad's, I got there just as Andrew was going to bed.
I said "Andrew, I know you want to quit hockey, but you are going to finish this week of camp, because that's what you, me, and mom agreed you would do. After this week, if you still want to quit, that's something we will talk about." He agreed and went to sleep. My dad said, "I don't know what you can say or do to change his mind."
The next morning, I took Andrew to hockey camp myself. He was fine all morning but in the dressing room, I could tell he was getting nervous. (Here's my shining moment....) I asked Andrew if he was nervous because the other kids out there were better hockey players than he was, and he said yes. I said "Andrew, don't worry about anybody else; just go out there; listen to your coaches, do the best you can and have fun." He quietly and confidently said "OK" and headed out to the ice.
I have to say that hour I was watching him practice I was on pins and needles the whole time. Although Andrew has skated before and taken some lessons, he was a horrible skater compared to the other kids out there, and he didn't even know how to stop. Every drill he was the last kid done, and I was just waiting for him to come off the ice all discouraged.
But he didn't.......
He got off the ice and in the dressing room he told me he was happy and having fun! I stayed with him the whole day, they did exercises outside and watched videos of hockey drills and ate lunch. Then he had another on ice practice in the late afternoon which he participated in and did great. I could even see a little bit of an improvement in his skating from that morning. That night we had pizza for supper and let Andrew pick a movie at the video store in celebration of his great day.
The next day, we went up again, and Andrew did great in his morning practice. That afternoon, my dad came up to watch him practice. "Holy shit" he said when Andrew got out there. Dad couldn't believe how much progress Andrew had made in a day and a half. Andrew's coach Larry Bumstead or "Bummer" as everybody calls him, saw dad and I standing there and came off the ice to see us. "Is this Andrew's dad?" When dad said yes, Larry reached over; shook my hand; and thanked me for keeping Andrew in camp. "Look at him" he said. "He's smiling and having fun, just like everybody else." I snuck away from my dad and sat in the bleachers by myself for a few minutes, and while I watched Andrew do his drills with a smile on his face, I started to cry like a chick for about 10 seconds. I was so proud of him. Once I regained my composure; I went back and stood by my dad.
The story get better.
I had to leave Winnipeg and get home to go back to work, but Jennifer was able to go and watch Andrew's last couple of days at camp, including the game they have at the end. Well, during that game, didn't Andrew score a goal! Jennifer said the place went nuts and all the coaches cheered for Andrew and gave him high-fives. I got three phone calls that night about Andrew's goal, one from him, one from Jennifer and one from my dad. One of my friends said to me later "You know, that goal is going to cost you about 10,000 bucks on future hockey fees." I know he's right but I don't really care.
This past fall, Andrew played his first season of minor hockey. Although he is still not the best skater, he works hard out there and he's strong on his skates. He scored about 5 or 6 goals this year (10 or 20 if you ask him) but I really noticed was his development as a defenseman. He was hard for kids to get around, but most of all he had fun and wants to play again next year.
So, why was this my proudest moment? Well, anybody who knows me knows I'm passionate about hockey, and to see both my kids playing minor hockey today is a thrill for me. Also, my dad and Jennifer were there to share the experience with Andrew too. Will Andrew make it to the NHL? Probably not, but if he does this would be one hell of a story. Thanks for reading.
In March of 2009, Andrew was 7 years old and told Jennifer and I he wanted to play hockey. Since it was too late in the current season, he couldn't start until October, 2009; so to give him a bit of a head start, we put him in a hockey camp in Winnipeg at the end of last August. The plan was for him to stay at my dad's and go to camp for a week while Jenn and I stayed home. Just before he left I gave Andrew a good talk about camp, that it would be fun, but it would be a lot of hard work too; he said he understood and reassured me he would do fine.
Well, two days in, we get a call from my dad. "I don't think Andrew wants to play hockey anymore." He was crying on the ice, crying in the dressing room, and making up any excuse he could not to participate. Andrew even said his skates were hurting his feet, so dad bought him new ones, but nothing was helping.
Now, Jennifer and I knew this might happen; and there's lots more to the story than what I'm saying here; but to keep it short; about one hour after dad called I got time off work and booked it to my dad's, I got there just as Andrew was going to bed.
I said "Andrew, I know you want to quit hockey, but you are going to finish this week of camp, because that's what you, me, and mom agreed you would do. After this week, if you still want to quit, that's something we will talk about." He agreed and went to sleep. My dad said, "I don't know what you can say or do to change his mind."
The next morning, I took Andrew to hockey camp myself. He was fine all morning but in the dressing room, I could tell he was getting nervous. (Here's my shining moment....) I asked Andrew if he was nervous because the other kids out there were better hockey players than he was, and he said yes. I said "Andrew, don't worry about anybody else; just go out there; listen to your coaches, do the best you can and have fun." He quietly and confidently said "OK" and headed out to the ice.
I have to say that hour I was watching him practice I was on pins and needles the whole time. Although Andrew has skated before and taken some lessons, he was a horrible skater compared to the other kids out there, and he didn't even know how to stop. Every drill he was the last kid done, and I was just waiting for him to come off the ice all discouraged.
But he didn't.......
He got off the ice and in the dressing room he told me he was happy and having fun! I stayed with him the whole day, they did exercises outside and watched videos of hockey drills and ate lunch. Then he had another on ice practice in the late afternoon which he participated in and did great. I could even see a little bit of an improvement in his skating from that morning. That night we had pizza for supper and let Andrew pick a movie at the video store in celebration of his great day.
The next day, we went up again, and Andrew did great in his morning practice. That afternoon, my dad came up to watch him practice. "Holy shit" he said when Andrew got out there. Dad couldn't believe how much progress Andrew had made in a day and a half. Andrew's coach Larry Bumstead or "Bummer" as everybody calls him, saw dad and I standing there and came off the ice to see us. "Is this Andrew's dad?" When dad said yes, Larry reached over; shook my hand; and thanked me for keeping Andrew in camp. "Look at him" he said. "He's smiling and having fun, just like everybody else." I snuck away from my dad and sat in the bleachers by myself for a few minutes, and while I watched Andrew do his drills with a smile on his face, I started to cry like a chick for about 10 seconds. I was so proud of him. Once I regained my composure; I went back and stood by my dad.
The story get better.
I had to leave Winnipeg and get home to go back to work, but Jennifer was able to go and watch Andrew's last couple of days at camp, including the game they have at the end. Well, during that game, didn't Andrew score a goal! Jennifer said the place went nuts and all the coaches cheered for Andrew and gave him high-fives. I got three phone calls that night about Andrew's goal, one from him, one from Jennifer and one from my dad. One of my friends said to me later "You know, that goal is going to cost you about 10,000 bucks on future hockey fees." I know he's right but I don't really care.
This past fall, Andrew played his first season of minor hockey. Although he is still not the best skater, he works hard out there and he's strong on his skates. He scored about 5 or 6 goals this year (10 or 20 if you ask him) but I really noticed was his development as a defenseman. He was hard for kids to get around, but most of all he had fun and wants to play again next year.
So, why was this my proudest moment? Well, anybody who knows me knows I'm passionate about hockey, and to see both my kids playing minor hockey today is a thrill for me. Also, my dad and Jennifer were there to share the experience with Andrew too. Will Andrew make it to the NHL? Probably not, but if he does this would be one hell of a story. Thanks for reading.
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