Surviving Summer Concerts Season

Well summer has been zipping along and before we know it we'll be complaining what a short one we had. I've tried to keep as busy as possible whilst maintaining a decent summer, and so far I think I'm failing - on all counts!

I passed on performing at the Collingwood Elvis Fest even though they offered to pay my way and had paid satellite shows. Just couldn't get motivated for it this year after last year's let down being judged in a wrong category. Maybe Wake Stock in August? Ha. Sure. I'm there. Not!

I did manage to attend Edge Fest on the same day that I was auditioning for one of the more weird gigs I've attempted to land for TPE. At first they'd wanted impressionists but somehow I apparently influenced them to look at genetic "characters" too such as a pirate etc. This confused me somewhat, as on top of it all you had to read from a script that would be a snap shot of you calling an online bingo game! The idea I guess is to spruce up otherwise boring straight bingo calling, and at any rate, I read it to the camera as Elvis, Don Cherry, an idiot, an ornery Scot, a wacky woman, gangster..and forgot a few like Thompson Williams! Not sure how I fared yet as they had said they'd let me know this week but I can think of better ways to
make $350 a day...!Ha or can I?

Anyway after that I went straight to the Edge Fest concert still dressed with white pants and shoes on and a white and red striped jacket in my bag that I'd used for the Don Cherry bit in the now pouring rain. I was supposed to meet a buddy at the gate who'd won free tickets and who was going to drive. Of course, he was already in but allowed to the gate to get me in just in time to stand for the next 6 hours in one freekin' spot in the pouring rain all so we wouldn't lose our frickin' spot to hear Monster Truck  who seem to have a bit of a Pink Floyd influence, and later the Luminaires, but they were crap. Anyway it's not worth the battle to protect the bag all night long and fend off attacks on my hat that everyone seemed to love, along with the jacket, just to say we did it! Rock on!
Thank god for the umbrella hat buddy had for me!


I've kept up with blogging and online stuff too though, and good to see Jazzled moving forward with the youth oriented social web-hub having had its first contest winner of a Kobe Reader and new website beginning to take shape.

And one must pay bills! I finished up a clients t.v. show proposal package which originally I had geared towards industry funders but which she had wanted amended to include private investors, so I simply added a limited partnership to it's structure.

And why can't one have fun while working? To that end I agreed to M.C. a hockey banquet complete with stand up comedy which of late of taken a returning interest. I tried out some new material out at a recent open stage in Newmarket and it was very well received (they laughed hard) so I know I can do it. It's a cool feeling when they laugh where you think they should and are comfortable enough to add to it or improvise on your feet. A rush. It's a challenge too, and I guess something that's been missing of late for me. The motivational factor. A challenge that any age person can tackle and succeed at, oh yea, and they are paying me too, that helps. Years ago I had once been a participant in Canada's Funniest New Comic Contest losing to Jeremy Hotz. He won peeking out from his hand to deliver his zingers. Then I got full custody of my kids ending that path...for then!

The Newmarket Jazz Festival was well attended for a first timer but lacked much actual jazz music. The day I attended I spent four hours there and heard not one song. Too often blues, rock, calypso and everything else was played - some really good music - just not on theme. Too bad for this year, but maybe next year they'll invest more time to book some more jazz now that they know if you simply build it they will come!@.

Come on! Surely there has to be something more to do this summer before it too late than these same old, same old themed events....The Tastes of the Danforth Festival is coming up attracting over 1,000,000 visitors and I guess Newmarket's attempt to mirror it would be the ' Multicultural Festival" upcoming, but again, been there done that. I need something different!

There is one $$deal out there worth checking out with something for all ages at the Festival of Friends or Friendship Festival, whatever in Fort Erie this weekend and it gets 10's of thousands of people over 3 days and is free with big names like Chubby Checker...all free..!

Here's a detailed list of Ontario festivals for August! ...Pick one and go!

TP Out!