Leslie's Favorites (AMERICAN SPELLING'D!!!) Part II

Fond Recollections: Barn Owl Edition

Some of my fondest musical experiences were with Barn Owl-- self proclaimed Rock/Folk/Gospel band. We blurred the lines when it came to genre and even with our unpolished sound, somehow people kept inviting us back! It wasn't just the music that captured my heart, it was the experience of making the music. This took place back before I was married when I was still Leslie Fidler and got ragged on for playing the violin These excerpts are taken from a CBC Radio 3 write-up and are a great account of the kind of antics I experienced:

"Barn Owl formed in 2004 for a Cock n' Bull Christmas party. They played six songs, broke four strings and two sets of drum sticks. Guitarist and songwriter Jared Both screamed so loud during the end of “Death of a Submariner” that after the performance he sounded like a sixty year old smoker.

The first year at York university the band played where ever they could-- usually at open mics at the Cock 'n Bull but also once on the rooftop of the Ross Building. That is the origin of their Do-it-Yourself folk spirit, which is best heard on their first album “Wooden Hall Show”. "Wooden Hall Show" was practiced and recorded live on one fall weekend of 2005 at Alex Unger's apartment.

Sebastian Ostertag, the youngest person to run for the NDP during 2005 federal election, officially joined the band during the weekend of recording. He has been committed to the band ever since, even though he also studies classical music in London, recorded and toured with the Basia Bulat and Jared traumatically spilled beer on Seb's unbelievably expensive cello.

After a year Barn Owl expanded aesthetically to become more dance-able and top forty hit oriented with a drummer. Jared brought his drums down from Owen Sound to his new home downtown TO and for a year Drew Taylor moved back and forth from bass to drums.

Pat Piper entered the stage and proved to a Rancho Relaxo audience that Barn Owl could play the 'punkiest' version Motherless Child since Richie Haven's version to open Woodstock. As a drummer Pat is fearless for the reason that Jared, at the climax of most songs, will smash his kit with his guitar and body. [Not on purpose, but due to lack of awareness of where he is within his physical surroundings] Once at the Savanna Room on College Street, Jared was stomping so hard during “Young Explorers” that he slipped and fell onto the cymbals and broke one of the stands. This effectively testified to the audience that Barn Owl has little regard for its own safety or material belongings.

The last person to complete the current line up was piano and violin player Leslie Fidler who was a high school friend of Jared and Sebastian. Actually the trio of friends had performed together before in the high school musical H.M.S. Pinafore. It was Leslie's station wagon that traveled during a February snow storm to record the first chilling tracks from “Chasing the Glow” at Zion Kepple Church near Wiarton. The heater was so loud that they had to turn it off while Alex recorded. Everyone put on their winter coats and hats and huddled around candles in wine bottles to stay warm. To use the rural church a deal was brokered with the small congregation's representative Mrs. Hill: $50 for the weekend but only if they played some gospel songs on Sunday.

Lable: Journeys End Studios

Influences: Neil Young, Against Me!, Ghost Mice

Albums: Wooden Hall Show, Chasing the Glow -- Available on CD and Vinyl"

And that was the birth of a wonderful creative experiment. Cheers to my band mates and friends! I hope to play again with you sometime soon.

Homesick for Georgian Bay

This is the longest I've stayed "settled" in one place since I turned 16 and this is the most time I've spent in the city in my whole life. I feel like urban life is swallowing me whole and I don't know what to do about it. At first I felt panic, then I felt nervousness. Now I feel restless. It's impossible to describe how unnatural the city feels for me.

I stayed home from class on Friday, feeling overwhelmed by this season in my life. I love school and the decision to miss class pained me initially (especially since I enjoy it so much) but I needed silence. I needed to try and find a simple quiet moment before I lost myself completely. It was fleeting but it happened in front of the fire in a quiet home. It wasn't the woods though. It wasn't the lake and I miss my paddle. I'm not sure what I'm going to do or how I'm going to last for the next few years until Joe is done school.

I don't mean to sound simple and so closed-minded. I'm sure the city has much to offer but I need more trees and less noise.

The years leading up to my decision to go back to school were filled with a lengthy trip across canada (two months) followed by two months of living in a cabin by myself on the Bruce Penninsula. That was my most favorite time. There was no cable, no radio, no telephone and no cell phone service. I was told by the cabin's landlord that it was wise to get a big dog to help keep me safe on the trails. I didn't believe him until I woke up one morning to find large bearprints on my dirty car. I got a dog named Shadow that week. We ran into black bears often along our walks. Shadow looked like a bear himself-- half black lab and half collie (as in lassie-- not boarder collie).

For the last month of my stay in the cabin it was me, Shadow and my camera. I would be up on the Bruce for 6 days during the week and would drive 1.5 hrs into town on Sunday to visit the ones I loved and pick up groceries.

Picture taking, hiking, silence; it was time with God that I'll never have back again and it was so precious to me. I feel as though the transition has been so difficult because I came from a world that is the polar opposite of the one I'm in now. One week it's just me and the dog. The next week I'm living in the suburbs with my in-laws-- all 5 of them. I love them dearly.

I'm just feeling tired of this "city life".

Who do I listen to?

When I was sixteen I could often be found driving with the windows down listening to Led Zepplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Eagles, Van Morrison.... just to name a few. But these days traffic is louder, horns are more intrusive, lights are brighter and the air is thicker. I've had to compensate for the assult on my senses and turn to the lighter side of my collection (although on a good day I'll still break out my Phish albums)

I've been thinking and talking alot about music these days since it's always been music that's led me through the seasons in my life. I learned piano as a little girl and stuck with it for about 10 years... then tenor sax through high school. Guitar came about during my years on camp staff at Presqu'ile point and for the last 8 or 9 years it's been violin -- cape breton style fiddling to be exact, although I've been known to play the odd classical piece. Between school, snapping photographs and teaching violin lessons my time to enjoy music has been downsized. Without a musical identity I feel like I'm in some sort of cosmic limbo right here and right now.

I've had the following musical artists to keep me company through the mountaintops and valleys of this adventure of mine. If you're into folk, roots and the like you'll surely enjoy these recommendations. Look them up on youtube, visit their websites or listen for free on imeem.com

David Francey

James Taylor

Kobo Town

Old Man Luedecke

Rose Cousins

Bob Snider

Nick Drake

Ellen McIlwaine

Richard Laviolette

Autumn

It feels as though nature is holding its breath. It's as if winter might spring out of the darkest corner at any second and snatch the precious sunny warmth out from under us. The birds in my backyard can't decide what to do.

I miss birdwatching so I've installed a feeder and a suet basket in our yard. I'm thrilled to say that we've had a variety of birds already and the chickadees are comfortable enough with me to eat out of my hand. I suppose after sitting outside to watch them they've gotten used to me being there.

We've been able to identify the following birds (many with the help of my bird-watching guide):

Bluejay

Cardinal family (male, female and two youngsters!!)

Mourning dove

Chickadee

Woodpecker

Foxtail sparrow

Various finches

Junco

Thrush (although I'm not sure if I'm identifying it correctly)

We haven't had any gold finches yet although we've seen a few other types of finch which seems unusual. We also have one roley poley squirrel but he won't be back for a visit anytime soon. Our resident birdfeeder guard dog, Charlie, has been staying on top of the situation.

Old Man Luedecke and Red Wine

Like peanut butter and jelly.

Try it.

I dare you.

(Also acceptable: Bruce Cockburn and spiced rum)

I'm organized!

Every September I'd develop a strategy for staying on top of my school work. I'd outline each power play like a pro athlete and I'd charge out into play with all of the gusto in the world.. At least until the beginning of October. It seemed that each year on September 30th at 11:59pm I'd trudge out from beneith piles of crumpled paper and crawl into bed with a sigh of defeat. I'd make my way to class with a blank look on my face not knowing what was due next.

This year I decided things would be different. I made my plan more simple and less complex. I kept things realistic instead of planning idealistically. I suppose that's the advice I'd offer to anyone who is trying to get organized. Small, managable goals work best.. That, and a day timer.

Light painting, 50mm's and loneliness

I was torn between two posts, one about my light painting/50mm escapades and a second about my experiences with public transit, when I came to the stunning realization that this is my blog and I'm the boss. What have I decided? I'm posting both topics in one entry and there's nothing you can do about it. Gold star if you are able to draw a connection between the two as I'm unable. I'm almost certain this will be an unorganized rambling. (Reader beware!)

I discovered light painting at 8:00pm last saturday evening, and by 9:00pm I was 30 minutes into a light painting extravaganza. My sister-in-law was a very patient model and my beagle Charlie was a terrible assistant as usual. I can never count on him to do anything (least of all photo retouching-- terrible eye for it.) Here is what we came up with no thanks to Charlie. These images have not been manipulated with photoshop-- this is how they appeared when they came off of the camera.

Now onto some 50mm fun. I had an unfortunate accident with my camera earlier saturday morning last weekend. A large gust of wind lept over our fence, sprinted across the backyard and tackled my camera to the ground-- tripod and all. My 18-105mm lens has plastic threads holding it to the camera body, and even though it face-planted into our lawn, the impact was enough to break off one of the threads rendering the lens useless. I was less than thrilled but it was just what I needed as an excuse to buy the 50mm lens I'd been eyeing while I wait for the other to be fixed. It was easier to reason it out to Joe this way. It's super fast, super slick and takes lovely portraits. Charlie was kind enough to flash his better side my way so I could click out a few pet pics. Here's what I've got: (he's actually kind of cute when he's not licking himself)

FINALLY: On an entirely different note I had a sad and empty experience as I got off the shuttle bus from York to the GO train station. Everyone filed out-- nearly 50 people-- and no one spoke as we made the slow saunter along the walkway to the train platform. I felt extremely uncomfortable with how silent it was. It felt like a death march and everybody was so careful to keep their distance. Why is there such a strong social pressure to keep silent? I wished I could have jumped right into it and learned everything about the people around me today. I wanted to know so badly what makes them excited about life, what are their worries? What do they wish they could let go of? What are they hopeful for?

How is it possible for so many people to seem so lonely in each others company?

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