Guitarist Bo Diddley dead at 79

Bo Diddley, the musical pioneer whose songs, such as "Who Do You Love?" and "Bo Diddley," melded rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll through a distinctive thumping beat, died Monday

"I walk 47 miles of barbed wire,
I use a cobra-snake for a necktie,
I got a brand new house on the roadside,
Made from rattlesnake hide,
I got a brand new chimney made on top,
Made out of a human skull,
Now come on take a walk with me, arlene,
And tell me, who do you love?"

He was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in January 1987.

R.I.P

Happy Mothers Day

Love You Forever is a short book written by Robert Munsch and published in 1986

It always makes me cry.

"I'll love you forever,I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be."

To listen to Robert Munsch read the story CLICK HERE

Free Your Mind

Free your mind and the rest will follow, be colorblind, dont be so shallow
Before you read me you gotta learn how to see me

Snippit of a song By John Prine called Long Monday

You and me
Sittin' in the back my memory
Like a honey bee
Buzzin' 'round a glass of sweet Chablis
Radio's on

Windows rolled up
And my mind's rolled down
Headlights shining
Like silver moons
Rollin' on the ground

The Moldy Peaches

OK I am a fan !!!
The Moldy Peaches are stuck in my head and I can't get them out.
It's not a bad thing.

"Up up down down left right left right B A start

Just because we use cheats doesn't mean we're not smart

I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else

But you"

lyrics from Anyone Else but You by The Moldy Peaches

Amy Winehouse

Ok so I'm about a million miles from cool, which is why I had never heard of Amy Winehouse until I watched the grammy's.

I LOVED HER.

Now after googling her I see she's racked up quite the reputation but frankly I don't care. Every song I have heard of hers I have not just liked but loved.

I urge you all to give a listen to some of the song samples she has on her site.

Farewell

My Pal Eric is going into early retirement today.

In the 60's people used to go "Find themselves" all the time.

These days people who "drop out" of the norm are called bums.

Personally I'm very happy that my friends is quiting his job and taking off into the unknown.

I wish you well on your journey and I expect you to blog regularly from where ever you land http://www.ericsestimate.com/

Below is a snippet of a Dylan song that reminds me of you, well at least you before you decided to quit.

HIGHLANDS
Words and Music by Bob Dylan
"Well my heart's in The Highlands with the horses and hounds
Way up in the border country far from the towns
With the twang of the arrow and the snap of the bow
My heart's in The Highlands, can't see any other way to go

Every day is the same thing, out the door
Feel further away than ever before
Some things in life it just gets too late to learn
Well I'm lost somewhere, I must have made a few bad turns

I see people in the park, forgettin' their troubles and woes
They're drinkin' and dancin', wearin' bright colored clothes
All the young men with the young women lookin' so good
Well I'd trade places with any of 'em, in a minute if I could

I'm crossin' the street to get away from a mangy dog
Talkin' to myself in a monologue
I think what I need might be a full length leather coat
Somebody just asked me if I'm registered to vote

The sun is beginnin' to shine on me
But it's not like the sun that used to be
The party's over and there's less and less to say
I got new eyes, everything looks far away

Well my heart's in The Highlands at the break of day
Over the hills and far away
There's a way to get there, and I'll figure it out somehow
Well I'm already there in my mind and that's good enough for now"

Taj Mahal - The Blues

I could listen to Taj Mahal 24 7

The Blues Brothers in B.C.

We went to the Blues Brothers Show at The River Rock Casino last night in Richmond, B.C.

It was an amazing show and a fantastic venue. It had everything from great music to laugh out loud fun. It was a complete performance!

Dan Akroyd as Elwood Blues did an amazing vocal and his energy on stage was electric.

Not only was Dan in town entertaining the masses he was also promoting his new line of Wine and Tequila.

Jim Belushi as Zee Blues sang his heart out and gave a perfect stage performance.
Jim can also be seen touring with The Sacred Hearts or on his TV Show According to Jim.

The Sacred Hearts are a spectacular Band. The talent in this group is overwhelming.

Larry Lee Lerma (bassist)
Johnny Lee "Shotgun" Schell (guitarist)
Glen Clark (piano)
Joe "Lester" Sublett (saxophonist/composer)
Julie "The Dove" Delgado (vocalist)
Johnny "The Beast" Rubano (vocalist/trumpet)
Darrell "The Good Shepherd"
Leonard (trumpet)
Tony "Diamond Ring" Braunagel (drummer)
J.J. "Taboo" Holiday (guitarist) - Member of the Imperial Crowns
Jimmie "The Dynamic" Wood (harmonica/vocals) - Member of the Imperial Crowns

On a personal note I'd like to say Thank You to Dan, Jim and the band for an amazing night and give a shout out to Dave, Wally and Amy.

Christopher Walken Dances

A lot of people don't know that Christopher Walken initially trained as a dancer in musical theatre before moving on to dramatic roles in theatre and then film. Acctuly the first time I saw this video I thought it was a stuntman but it's all Walken.

Almost Famous - Tiny Dancer

Almost Famous was a great movie and even though I'm not a Elton John fan I love the lyrics to this song.

Blue jean baby, l.a. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, youll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now shes in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

Jesus freaks out in the street
Handing tickets out for god
Turning back she just laughs
The boulevard is not that bad

Piano man he makes his stand
In the auditorium
Looking on she sings the songs
The words she knows, the tune she hums

But oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you and you can hear me
When I say softly, slowly

Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
You had a busy day today

Blue jean baby, l.a. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, youll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now shes in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

Lyrics by bernie taupin

Britney Spears Bombs at 2007 MTV Awards Show

I'm not "hip and cool" (as you can tell by the use of the words hip and cool) and I'm not a big "keep up with the celeb gossip" person but I ran across this and needed to comment.

This is a quote I read on AOL's news page that made me watch the video:

"Out-of-synch lip-synching. Lethargic movements that seemed choreographed by a dance instructor for a nursing home. The paunch in place of Spears' once-taut belly. At times she just stopped singing, as if even she knew nothing could save her performance. "

Now it's obvious that the girl is medicated and should not be on a stage .... however I like the paunch ... If you missed it watch the video and let me know what you think.

http://www.mtv.ca/?vid=173440

Songs I Love

These are all songs that I love so I looked them up on Youtube I don't really like the videos but I like the versions of the songs.

Judy Blue Eyes - Crosby Stills & Nash
Graceland - Paul Simon
Sam Stone - John Prine
Gravity - John Mayer
It's Oh So Quiet- Bjork

Thien Thu Thien Nhan

This is the Chinese Disabled Performing Arts Troupe. (Thien Thu Thien Nhan)
The dancers are all deaf and take cues from the side stage.
It is one of the most beautiful dances I have ever seen.

Tyler Mullendore and Canadian idol part 2

What can I say I love Tyler Mullendore.

Here's links to his last two preformances:

Brown Sugar
Have a Little Faith in Me

And CLICK HERE to view an inteview he gave on etalk.

Tyler Mullendore and Canadian idol

OK so if you read this blog on a regular basis you'll know I'm not a Canadian idol fan.
I watch the first 3 episodes for the bad singers, have a chuckle and that's it.

This year I saw one audition and said to myself if that guy makes it through I'll watch the show.

Well lo and behold Tyler Mullendore made it to the top 22 so I'll be watching as long as he's on the show.

Check out his audition tape and you'll see why.

Paul Potts is a mobile-phone salesman in South Wales

A very average guy who loves to sing, with a dream of being an opera singer.




To learn more about Paul Potts CLICK HERE

Why must Candian Idol copy American Idol

So the big season premier of Canadian Idol was on tonight and once again I watched it hoping the producers of the show had come to thier senses .... but alas all hope is gone ...

lol sorry slipped into my melodramatic persona for a sec...

I watch American Idol pretty faithfully. It's over the top and canned but it's American so I expect that. When I heard there was going to be a Canadian Idol I was thrilled.

I 100% support Canadian talent, ask my kids I'm always saying "so and so is Canadian", "this was produced by a Canadian" "This was filmed in Canada" you get the idea

So when I tuned in and saw this clone of American Idol I was horrified.

Brian Mulroney = Ryan Seacrest
Sass Jordan = Paula Abdul (Sass is a way better singer)
Farley Flex = Randy Jackson
Zack Werner = Simon Cowell (Zack is not in the same insult league as Simon)
Jake Gold = Whatever celebrity Judge they have that week

And it looks like nothings changed it's American Idol held in Toronto.

India Arie

India Arie was on T.V today and I saw her perform "There's Hope" I haven't desided if I like her or not yet ... I'll keep you posted

You see-Zero didn't satisfy me
A million didn't make me happy
That's when I learned a lesson
That it's all about your perception
Hey-are you a papa or a superstar
So you act, so you feel, so you are
It ain't about the size of your car
It's about the size of the faith in your heart
India Arie - There's Hope

Jann Arden

Sitting here waiting for 24 to come on (the best comedy on T.V., but that's another post)
and LUCKY me there is a Jann Arden special on ....

If you have ever seen an inteview with Jann you would know already that she is very funny and smart, in a Canadian way, so here are some quotes that are attributed to her that I have enjoyed.

"I am asked the same things and I repeat the same answers and try not to take it all too seriously. At some point I have to let the music just speak for itself. I get tired talking about something that is pretty self-explanatory. How does one explain a song? Isn't the song supposed to explain the song? It's like describing the color orange. How do you do that? You just compare it to other things and hope that people make a connection."

"It's hard writing music that everybody likes. It's hard enough to write things that even I like."

"If I had a song for every tear...hey wait a minute, I do have a song for every tear."

"Tempo was never my strong suit. God forbid that people dance to anything I write down. It would be much like trying to dance to this sentence."

"Do people know that they are a**holes when they are a**holes?? Do they?? How can they possibly not know? I know when I am an a**hole. I can feel it in the back of my mouth and heart. I can hear a loud voice telling me that I am being an a**hole. How can you not know?"

"You were born an original, don't die a copy."