Redcliff was fun- I'm glad I wasn't shopping at Costco Sunday morning after their Xmas party hit the Hylton Saturday night. Think I'm gonna chain my computer to my leg, though.

This weekend at Foxy's, Alida plays Friday night then Geoff Hogg will be gracing the stage drumming and singing all of Alida's songs- come on out and request some Fleetwood Mac, or Joey.

The last weekend of the year, I am booked to play the Captain's Cabin with the new VG Schneidercaster! Think I'll just bring my horn and a whistle. 

Nov. 10

Jimb's havin' a good day. I got word this morning from Jimmy that Rhon and I can go to see Chris Cornell tomorrow night- YEAH! And then I got the band's first Olive Grove date for February. Let's see, what else... got an estimate for $1800 in damage to my van that isn't my responsibility, that's okay... oh, I picked up about eleven hundred pounds of dog crap in the back yard- no, that shouldn't go on the "yippee" list...

As always, I had WAY too much fun in the Royal last weekend. Alida was a huge hit, and the jams were rockin'! We got a start to recording a CD in Chris' studio. Might take a while to get it done, but it'll be worth the wait!

Nov. 4

Okay. Finally got Frontpage up and running again. Friggin' Microsoft crap. The program went all weird, so I couldn't do any updates to the site. So I dug around and found a Swedish version of the program- that was fun, try following those prompts- Fjlaudjeierglutzdrigk?

Rhon and I went to see David Lindley at Knox United Church, he was amazing as always. We hung around after the show and got to meet him. Conrad Walls opened the show, so I finally got to hear what Brian was bragging about. Wow, what a talented guy.

Oct. 15

We just finished playing the Valley in Red Deer last weekend. Got to hang with Kevin Sawatzky all Friday night, had a great time.

I'm trying to quit smoking. Haven't had one since one this afternoon. Not quite ready to chew thru iron bars yet.

Yet.

Sept. 26

I'm back! Rhonda and I had a great week traipsing around B.C. We spent time in Radium, Kelowna, and Penticton, and visited Hell's Gate. Got to visit with Johnny and Doreen in Enderby, too.

Alida got her new drums a few weeks back, I'll put a picture up. They sure sound good. Tonight we're back in Len's Den. Yippee!

Sept. 2

Ain't this lovely- the Flight Deck bar now doesn't think it's a "live venue" after all, so they've cancelled us with less than two weeks notice. I'm wondering if the same peckerhead that books bands at Symon's Valley is in charge there. Guess I'll never find out, I've got better things to do.

Aug. 26

Yoiks! Long time, no update! Lots to report- my desktop pc crashed when Microsoft tried to cram Servicepack 3 down its gullet the other day, so I've had to finally get up and running with doing the updates from the laptop. The desktop still has all my old files, but thinks it's a brand new unit so I can't GET any of those files. Ernnh!

Last weekend in the Royal was a screaming blast, the jam was stupendous! The board did some gymnastics, but survived. Sheila brought down my old friend, a '79 Gibson "the Paul" which sounds just as amazing as it did when I played it 25 years ago. So Tim and I are going to go halves and share joint custody on it. Can't let a jewel like that slip away. Doug Ryley jammed with us a whole bunch and had us all over for a barbeque on Friday- what a great guy!

Speaking of bbq's, ours was a whole lot of fun. Mom came up, Bud and Elaine and Bob and Shirley were here, Roy and Alida and Jimmy and Gene and Al, and Albert and Ken and Darren and Bentley and Chrystal and Bev and Ron and no Audrey for Moe. Where were you? Now you gotta wait until next year!

The WSM Strat gets Texas Specials installed this weekend, right after Alida and Al and I get together for Shuckalucks. Gotta go work on my loop station!

Aug. 11

How cool is this? We played the Delburne Hotel this weekend, a nice little place, and Saturday afternoon I ran into Kevin Sawatzky my old bass player from 1983!!! Had a good yap with him, and even better yet, his wife books the bands at the Valley Hotel in Red Deer so we got a gig out of it! Maybe I'll even drag Kevin up to play some tunes.

Kelly Kavanagh had me come play the Olive Grove with Mike, Gene, Charlie and her last night. Had fun!

This Sunday's the big barbeque, I guess I should get some work done.

July 31

Yup, he's one of the best. Absolutely spellbinding. Checked out the Flightdeck afterwards, what a beautiful room!

This weekend, we're with Matt Beatty at the Old Mill, and also doing a street performance for Rocky's Bakery in downtown Strathmore after the parade. Come on by!

We've decided Sunday August 17th is the second annual Jim & Rhonda barbeque, wanna come? Let me know.

July 24

Hey, just got a call to play a brand new bar in Calgary, it's called the Flightdeck International Bar & Grille. I think I'll go have a look at the place on Sunday- Rhonda and I are going in to the Calgary Folk Festival for the the day. Sonny Landreth is doing a set on the main stage. He's one the the best slide guitarists on the planet.

July 16

I'm sad to say that Sandy Stewart passed away on Tuesday the 15th. Rob and Sandy were a big part of the jam scene in Calgary for the last few years, first as supporters, and then as players and hosts of their own jams. Sandy was a wonderful presence and will be missed. My condolences to Rob and family.

July 11

The new owners at the Eddy have cancelled Sunday entertainment.

Foxy's in Okotoks last weekend was awesome!

July 2

Hey, we found out last minute that David Wilcox was playing at Olympic Plaza for Canada Day, so we went! He was fabulous as always! Yippee!!!

July 1

Happy Canada Day!

We rented "Southland Tales" last night. It sucked. Sucked, sucked, sucked.

Sucked.

Save your money. It sucked.

Happy Canada Day!

June 23

Saturday night was a great time! Darren Johnson put on a great show, the crowd was really appreciative, Greg and Al played great- everything was awesome! Ladi and Dave have a beautiful ranch and treated us like kings. The weather was perfect, even the looming specter of a mosquito feeding frenzy never materialized. Couldn't have had more fun.

I picked up a Squier Strat while I was down in the Hat to use for teaching, so I'm swapping my Ernie Ball Silhouette for studio time with Chris at Absynthe Studio in Medicine Hat.

Looks like Thursday will be the last jam at the Eddy with drums and all of Rob's other stuff there- he's apparently sold the joint and moving on. So I guess it will have to grow into more of a true acoustic jam. Hope the new owners let it keep happening. Sure could use some more drunks out on Thurdays and Sundays! Come on folks, let's belly up!

Well, George Carlin died. Wow. What a long shadow he has cast over the culture of the last forty years. I remember watching him on Carson back in '75 or so. I think he had as much of an effect on me as Roger Waters.  

June 18

I just put up a second track from last weekend. Not much more I can salvage, I had the inputs too hot on the Tascam. More to come down the road!

June 16

Okay, I have the first track uploaded from the Shuckalucks recording. Should have more soon. Go listen!

June 14

Last minute news! Well, I could have mentioned it a few days earlier, but I didn't get around to it. Anyhoo, I'm playing the Wild Fire Grill in Langdon tonight as an acoustic single.

Last night was a great time as always at Shuckalucks. I did some recording, might be able to upload some snippets soon.

June 8

Happy Birthday, Al! And Al's dad tomorrow. And Nicko McBrain while I'm at it- he's Iron Maiden's drummer, had his birthday Thursday when we saw them. How many people get 18000 people to sing Happy Birthday to you?The show was great!

June 3

Sad to hear that Bo Diddley passed away yesterday. Mom saw him last year at the Fuselage thing, with Doug Riley helping out.

Forgot to say Happy Birthday to Shelby last week. So...Happy Birthday, Shelby. Luv ya.

May 31

Hey, congrats to Bruce and Sandy, they had a boy! Born on May 27. Yippee!

I got a nice surprise when I played Sidestreet two weeks ago- Patty was out from Ottawa for a visit. Sure good to see her. She emailed me the pics she took, even though Carol said it wouldn't happen. Had a good visit with Doug Riley and everybody else, except Chris Streifel probably won't remember he even saw me. Shoulda borrowed money off of him, I guess.

Big Al's went well the following weekend. Ran into Mike Jacyna- that's pronounced GUZEENA, or just call him Yutz. Brian liked us so much, he even bought us a BEER!! Holy Cow! Oh, yeah, JC came in and pestered us to play Maybe I'm A Leo, so we did! Cool! Alida and I hadn't played it over a year.

My son Willie graduated last Saturday. I'm proud of you, kid. I'll put some pics up.

No gig this weekend, might go bug the Pistol Nooners tonight at the Green Bar. Sidewinder is back in Len's Den next weekend.

May 8

I finally put up a new picture on the photos page and I've come up with a new song for students to practice to on the music & video page. Ta-daa!

May 6

Well, I don't know where the bug came from but I picked up a nasty case of the flu Sunday before last. I phoned Tim yesterday, and as soon as he spoke, it was obvious that he was hit at least as hard by it. It was sure a good thing to have Alida to fill in for the coughs and squeaks last Friday at Dick's Pub. Ick.

Doc showed up for a bit Friday night. All that time in Libya, no tan. Maybe he's just working in Saskatchewan and is afraid to admit it.

Looks like we're going to do an opening set for Darren Johnson at Ladi's ranch on June 21. By we, I mean Tim and I on acoustic and Al rumbling in the back. Darren Johnson is an acoustic artist in Calgary who sounds kinda like Louie Armstrong. Ladi is having me host a jam after the main performance. Should be a blast!

Apr. 20

Lovely spring weather, isn't it? The drive to High River Friday night was really scary, watching tanker trucks slide around in front of me, etc. Alida got stuck behind an accident blocking the road into town for about forty five minutes. But we all made it there and back in one piece both nights.

Rob cancelled the afternoon at the Eddy, what with the weather and the hockey game tonight. Bummer.

Apr. 13

Mom got out of the hospital on Wednesday, she's doing really well. She quit smoking after sixty years. I guess I'm next. Duh.

I had a blast playing with Doug Aman at the Crossroads. He'll be with us in Dick's Pub in May. Things are shaping up nicely with Al. Bookers was really quiet this weekend, but they sure treat us good there. We saw Rubber Soul at the Riverstone on Friday after we finished- Ed Johnson and Darren Dame are in that band. Small world. I sure like Ed's drumming.

Mar. 29

Mom had a stroke on Tuesday night. She woke up Wednesday morning and couldn't talk. I tore down there and collapsed when I saw her. Scared the living Bejeezus out of me. I'm still pretty scared. She's still in the hospital, and doing okay. The neurologist said it was a pretty mild stroke. She had no other symptoms before today- Carol said her right side has become weak. Apparently it can be a week before all the symptoms show. I hope she comes out okay. Nothing to do but wait and see.

Rhon and I went to Los lobos with James Hunter at the Jack Singer. I think Hunter stole the show. He's fabulous.

Al did a great job on Sunday last. He sure is a good bassist.

Next weekend I have Doug Aman coming in to play steel in the Crossroads with us. I haven't played with him in over ten years. Looking forward to it.

Mar. 18

I had a blast the last two weekends playing with Tim and Chris in Medicine Hat. Thanks, guys! I got back on Sunday in time to catch a set of Soulchowdah at the Eddy. Good to hear those guys!

I'm back at the Eddy this Thursday. Coz came out last Thursday, it was cool to play all those complicated songs with him. There's a good chance Doc will be out for this one coming up.

Rhonda and I met up with Doc at the Auburn last night. Good players there, but the service from the idiotic staff was appalling. Certainly not worth driving in to Calgary to be ignored like that.

This weekend I'm in Len's Den with Alida and Randy Shepard then Sunday Al is making his debut with Alida and I. Hey, that's two Als in the band.

Mar. 2

I just heard that Jeff Healey passed away today. That's a whole lotta guitar player out the door. My sympathies to the family. Thanks, Jeff, we'll miss you.

Bookers went very well for us this weekend. Ray Duhaime came in to play bass, he's always fabulous. The folks are so appreciative there, makes us feel all warm and fuzzy.

Matt is holding forth at the Eddy this Thursday while Tim, Chris and I take on the Royal. Can't wait!

Feb. 25

I guess I should apologize to all the people that I emailed the picture of Willie's mangled thumb to- I thought they'd all enjoy the gore. Oops, sorry. So, for those of you who WANT to see it, click here.  

Okay, the reason it looks like Frankenstein's monster's appendage is he opened it up right down to the bone at Dairy Queen cutting boxes open. Or maybe he was experimenting with a new flavour concept for banana splits, I don't know. "Extra sprinkles, anyone?"

A big thanks to the pinhead at Symon's Valley ranch who double booked us this past weekend. It really helped that he bent my ear for twenty minutes saying, basically, "I didn't do it, I didn't do it!" Don't expect to see Sidewinder up there anytime soon unless he wants to put up a deposit. I prefer to PLAN my weekends off.

Hey, Al got up and played a few tunes on bass at the Eddy yesterday, what a treat! Not bad for a gear-jammer.

Feb. 20

Oh, yeah, just realized I forgot to mention that my sister Leslie got married on Feb. 14, but that happens ALOT. Congrats, sis.

And the quote of the day is from Jim Turner, who recently uttered," No, thanks, babies are sticky."

Feb. 17

Wow, haven't blah blah blahed on here for a while. I bought a laptop computer  the week before last and just did the first single gig with it. It works! I'm also starting to use it for teaching. And playing cards. Of course.

Next week Alida and I are in Symon's Valley with Randy Sheperd on bass. I saw Randy yesterday at the Grampa's jam where I also ran into Troy Clarke, Kim Butts, and found out that Bill Blayney and Carol Ann got married. Yippee!

Jan. 22

Rhonda and I went to Tim Williams' jam last night at the Auburn Saloon, in the base of the Calgary Tower. What a great night of music. Not only Tim, the master, and of course the ubiquitous Dr. Rock but a constant stream of folks with a firm grip on the concept of finger-style blues. Even saw a guy play lap style, a la Harry Manx. And they were all really good!

Speaking of really good, Randy Sheperd played with Alida and I for the first time on Sunday afternoon. Nice player! Great guy, too. So much fun to make Gene squirm when he feels the competition breathing down his neck.

Jan. 16

Bentley And Crystal Heintz came out to Bookers last weekend to say hello and Bentley filled me in on what he's up to. He and the boys formerly known as Late Nite Radio have gotten back together and are now playing as a trio called Midnight Drift. I still think Royale should lend me that guitar for a few decades.

Things went well in Bookers and we're back in there at the end of February. I'm sure enjoying having Alida in the band. She's playing this Sunday with me again at the Eddy with a new guy around Calgary, Randy Shepherd on bass. I met him last Saturday at the Grampa's jam where, lo and behold, I ran into Greg White! Good to play with you Greg! Who am I talking to, Greg doesn't have a CAR, let alone a computer.

Oh, yeah, Rob is letting me handle booking the Sundays at the King Eddy- BUT I'M NOT AN AGENT!! NO, I'M NOT, SHUT UP!

Jan. 8

Sunday I'll be doing the King Eddy again with Alida and Dave Smith on bass- Gene's got a previous commitment. Speaking of the Eddy, Devin has been coming out the jam on Thursdays and getting up to sing, and he's doing really well! Also, his buddy, Baker has been getting up to play bass and doing really good, too! The P.A. that Rob installed sounds great- I even miked the kick drum on Sunday and it handled it fine. Life is good.

Jan. 2, 2008

Happy Gnu Year! Thanks to Tim & Greg Herman and the bunch for putting up with me on New Year's Eve, I had a great time!

A special thanks to Chris Streifel for doing a fantastic job on the drums for the last five months- you're an awesome guy to work with, Chris! For the next while Alida Schedel will be playing drums for the Sidewinder dates.

Also, Alida, Gene and I will be playing every second Sunday at the King Eddy in Strathmore.

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