Another Sunday... :P

Quite the relaxing day so far... gotta love it.

Watched Elisabethtown again too...

We had a family friend from South Africa over for dinner last night. Very interesting to hear about life in a crime ridden area, and the precautions they take that are just part of every day life for them. Her daughter is going to Harvard too and is in Harvard's model UN club, so they went to Geneva... I like hearing about other people's lives when it involves something other than the 9-5 grind... Her accent is enjoyable as well. This woman started teaching my wife singing lessons 23 years ago... Now that I mention it, I now remember she taught a few other friends of mine! (wink)

So tongiht we're heading over to the in-laws for a nice meal and I get to enjoy The Apprentice finale and The Sopranos on a new 42 inch widescreen TV. Nice!

I was watching a brief glimpse of a documentary today about female actors in their 40's and how hard it is to find good roles, etc... Whoopi Goldberg had a great quote. She said that "they" are always changing. The "they" that we think says we can't do this or do that, is the same "they" that won't be doing their job 5-10 years from now, but you still will be. So you can't worry about what "they" say all the time.

Eug and I had some great conversations on our trip last weekend, some of it was playing back in my head this week. When it comes to sharing a dream, I think the conversation could go on forever... It's always about how no matter what, no matter what anyone says, when you want something, you're not going to stop until you get it. For Eugie and I, we've had our head in the clouds for years. It's lead to some great experiences, but also it means a lot of sacrifice. Example, neither of us has wanted to move up in their respective "day-jobs" because the more money and responsiblity you gain, the harder it is to walk away from in order to faciliate the dream. Anyway, we've sunk a lot of time, money, and effort into the band more recently, and I've noticed with more on the line I've been listening to more and more people's opinions... And I remembered that I shouldn't! All the people have their opinions about what my band should do, needs to do, has to do... "Do you have a manager yet?" "Who's your agent?" "Who's doing your tracking?" "What label are you with?" "Who produced your album?" "What bands have you played with?" BLAH BLAH...

I think about my favourite bands...

Example: Who is Pearl Jam's agent?
Who does their tracking?
Who is their manager? (I do know that one..)
What label are they with?

Does any of that information matter in terms of whether their music is any fucking good???

From a fan perspective... no. But the industry so-called big-wigs make numbers and names more important than the music.

With all the attention the band has received lately, there has been a million opinions coming through the door. I'm happy to hear 'em. But I'm so happy that I've spent the last decade not in the spotlight so now that the band is getting noticed, we're not going to be like some deer in the headlights doing everything these so-called experts suggest.

Granted I like to talk about the industry and all that, but people really want you to forget about your songs and worry about numbers. It's hard to stay focused.

Well, I am focused. I'm hard headed. And sorry, but I'm not dumb either. I love being in control of everything and I'm not going to apologize for it. It's like the Billy Talent line from The River Below... "I'll take all the blame. The front page and the fame." So, when people ask us, "Who's your manager?" I'm not going to apologize for saying "me." You won't believe how many people I've heard say, "A band can't manage or produce themselves." You know who says that? Managers and producers!!!!!

Well, sorry industry, but you've met a stubborn SOB who ain't gonna eat what you're feeding him. I know what's important to us, and anything extraneous is just that.

Why should we have to include bands we've played with on our band bio? Does that make our music better? You know, our band could really get ahead if we just lied all the time. Yeah, we opened for The Pixies in 2004 in Prince George BC. It was a last minute thing. Eug and I backed up Frank Black cause his band was late. Okay, now that I've said that, will you play my song on your station? Do you have your story now? Would it help if I said we played Warped Tour and Lollapalooza in 2003. Can you verify that we did or didn't? We did then...

It's all BS. Let the music speak for itself.