Melodeoniously

Work continues apace on my debutante recording: last week I recorded a song at my friends Brad and Julia's house, on their piano. Brad helped set up the equipment and Julia played the big bad-ass double bass.


The song was inspired by my very brief time in Galway, Ireland, most of which was spent at the Central Bar on Woodquay Street drinking 1 million cups of tea and drawing in my sketchbook. I also walked around aimlessly a lot and talked to buskers, of which there were a good many in Galway City. One of the melodies I heard on one of my walks kind of got filed away in my head until I returned home, where it resurfaced at the piano and became 'Mrs. Murphy's Waltz'. The song still needs some fiddle parts, so it's not quite done yet, but it will be.... very soon.


I'm planning on recording two more songs for this project, one a Woody Guthrie song on dulcimer, the other is my newest shiniest song (on guitar). Stay tuned for a release sometime (hopefully) either in the very late spring or very early summer.


In other coincidentally Irish related news, I've come into the possession a button accordeon which belongs to my Grandpappy Antonio Couture (who is by the way a certified, award-winning Québécois Accordeon Champion), so I've started messing around on that. It's quite a challenging instrument on one hand but on the other hand it's fun to play an instrument that isn't just for right-handed people.


My friend Bronwen has invited me to participate in a collaborative live drawing event happening Monday at the Sustainable Concordia space (located above the Multi-Faith Chaplaincy on MacKay st.). I'm looking forward to it and I'll be posting some pictures of the finished work afterwards.


Here's a funny little thingie I found in an old magazine the other day: a few years ago, this middle-aged German divorced man created a CD of ordinary household sounds designed to "simulate the presence of a live-in partner" without the inconvenience and hassle of an actual live-in partner. Here's a selection of some of the track titles as further evidence of how weird Germans really are:

• Now and Then a Cappuccino
• Quickly Reading the Newspaper
• Blow Dry the Hair A Little
• Nothing on TV; At Least the Chips Are Good
• Fry a Roast Beef in the Pan
• A Bath Sounds Perfect