09/08/11 10:30:18PM @dana-r-mccall:
Really enjoyed looking at your pics the wedding was beautiful.
01/01/10 10:04:30AM @paul-rappell:
Your response brings back memeories. Yes, I knew Grit and Judith way back then - a bit. I doubt they'd remember me. (I went to university with Abbott and Ferguson of the Air Farce, and they don't remember me, either.)Grit gave a great little workshop at the Toronto Folklore Centre once, on guitar construction. He gave an even "better" one at Fiddler's Green once, between sets. He grabbed a guitar that had been hanging on the wall, sat at the mic, and started to tune it, and ... the neck folded up! After the next set he came back with one of his guitars and said, "Remember that guitar I tried to tune?" Holding up his new guitar he continued, "Now, with my course, you too can make guitar repairs like this!" I used to bring instruments to the Mariposa festival and relax in the performer/staff compound between shifts. I was sitting with my L'Arrivee once and Grit came over for a look. At a glance he could tell what work had been done to it, "The fingerboard's been crowned ... ." Of course, he probably worked on it as an apprentice.Mariposa gave me a good connection: Rick Avery. I used to get performers into my school (Sharon, Lois, and Bram before they formed the group, Ken Whitely), and Rick was one. he later called up and said he was getting an Ontarion Arts Council grant and would we be interested in having him as our folksinger in residence. That was a no-brainer!Occasionally he'd give me a lift after school, in his little black Beetle. He was, I think, the second wildest driver I've ever sat beside.I got as much out of it as the kids did. At lunch we'd sit in my classroom and he'd teach me stuff. I learned how to fingerpick "I'll Fly Away" from Rick. Then I made it a choir song. I really lucked out.Did you frequent the Folklore Centre, 284 Avenue Road? It moved to Dupont toward the end of the seventies and then faded away.
12/31/09 05:58:22PM @b-ross-ashley:
The choir, by the way, is in some ways worse than a choir of teenagers; we are 70 aging folkies, old reds, and labour union hacks, with a sprinkling of younger enthusiasts. At least we all want to be there!You hung out at Fiddler's Green? We may have friends in common from those days too ... principally Grit and Judith Laskin, and perhaps Tom Kane and his ex Becky.Wood for a noter ... the harder, the better, for sound, although you need a very light touch and a darned near perfect placement next to the fret to keep from marking the fretboard with it. See Strumelia's remarks on noter playing, on her blog. Mine is rosewood I got from Carrot Creek in Connecticut via the eBay store.
12/31/09 02:28:05AM @b-ross-ashley:
I was taught the Can-Bike 2 course by a pair of instructors from the Toronto City Cycling Committee back in '95. Rob Maxwell was co-chair at that time. Heh. Small durned province sometimes, innit?
12/30/09 01:42:10PM @rod-westerfield:
welcome Paul.. glad ya joined the family..
12/30/09 12:36:02AM @strumelia:
Hi Paul, there are several bicyclists here on FOTMD (including myself). Welcome! :)
Really enjoyed looking at your pics the wedding was beautiful.
Your response brings back memeories. Yes, I knew Grit and Judith way back then - a bit. I doubt they'd remember me. (I went to university with Abbott and Ferguson of the Air Farce, and they don't remember me, either.)Grit gave a great little workshop at the Toronto Folklore Centre once, on guitar construction. He gave an even "better" one at Fiddler's Green once, between sets. He grabbed a guitar that had been hanging on the wall, sat at the mic, and started to tune it, and ... the neck folded up! After the next set he came back with one of his guitars and said, "Remember that guitar I tried to tune?" Holding up his new guitar he continued, "Now, with my course, you too can make guitar repairs like this!" I used to bring instruments to the Mariposa festival and relax in the performer/staff compound between shifts. I was sitting with my L'Arrivee once and Grit came over for a look. At a glance he could tell what work had been done to it, "The fingerboard's been crowned ... ." Of course, he probably worked on it as an apprentice.Mariposa gave me a good connection: Rick Avery. I used to get performers into my school (Sharon, Lois, and Bram before they formed the group, Ken Whitely), and Rick was one. he later called up and said he was getting an Ontarion Arts Council grant and would we be interested in having him as our folksinger in residence. That was a no-brainer!Occasionally he'd give me a lift after school, in his little black Beetle. He was, I think, the second wildest driver I've ever sat beside.I got as much out of it as the kids did. At lunch we'd sit in my classroom and he'd teach me stuff. I learned how to fingerpick "I'll Fly Away" from Rick. Then I made it a choir song. I really lucked out.Did you frequent the Folklore Centre, 284 Avenue Road? It moved to Dupont toward the end of the seventies and then faded away.
The choir, by the way, is in some ways worse than a choir of teenagers; we are 70 aging folkies, old reds, and labour union hacks, with a sprinkling of younger enthusiasts. At least we all want to be there!You hung out at Fiddler's Green? We may have friends in common from those days too ... principally Grit and Judith Laskin, and perhaps Tom Kane and his ex Becky.Wood for a noter ... the harder, the better, for sound, although you need a very light touch and a darned near perfect placement next to the fret to keep from marking the fretboard with it. See Strumelia's remarks on noter playing, on her blog. Mine is rosewood I got from Carrot Creek in Connecticut via the eBay store.
I was taught the Can-Bike 2 course by a pair of instructors from the Toronto City Cycling Committee back in '95. Rob Maxwell was co-chair at that time. Heh. Small durned province sometimes, innit?
welcome Paul.. glad ya joined the family..
Hi Paul, there are several bicyclists here on FOTMD (including myself). Welcome! :)