More Random Brain Farts...

Can’t wait to get back to work… I need some rest…. Whew… what a weekend..

Man… do we ever work hard on the weekends… Between events, renovations, and even just general keeping the house clean, it seems to be nonstop..

Spare time has been a rarity of late… or so it would seem.. This summer has just flown by in a matter of days… And yet here are, closer to Halloween then anything else, then its Christmas.. where does the time go….

On the bright side, that it went by so fast means I wasn’t bored at all… Now that I think about it, some really cool shit went down…. A road trip/getaway with the boys back in May, Aerosmith in July, My Band opened for Trooper and I got to meet them, My Brother moved home, Mom came to stay with us for a bit, Dad came to visit, New job, new house…. To name just a few things..

My only regret is I didn’t spend enough time with all our friends… and we’ve got some good ones… But one of the things we envisioned when we bought this new place is having a few “sociables” with our friends, and while we’ve had a few, we’ve not had enough… but things are slowing down now, insofar as the big panic to get stuff done rush… We’ll likely still be busy.. but the major stuff is coming close to being done… and the rest we can pick at… Plus, I’m settling in to my new work and I can finally say that I’m really happy with it… As much as I will Always dream of a viable career in the music biz, this new job, while not music, is pretty damn cool, and if I retired from there and never changed firms again, that’d be ok by me… Big plus, less stress, less hours, so I have more quality time with Family, and also… the music hobby… and when I’m doing either.. I’m less distracted… so that’s a good thing..

IN more recent news… Someone wants to by a little piece of Real Estate I bought last year… Not “Real” real-estate.. but some cyber space…

When I registered http://www.robcrewe.com/, http://www.bongwatermusic.com/ and http://www.thestoryofgoodoldrockandroll.com/, I also bought http://www.almostfamous.ca/

The .com for the latter was taken, by the studio behind the movie of the same name, I would presume (unconfirmed) so I took the .ca and just left it, dormant, for hope of future use once we got the documentary up and running.. as it might be a cooler name then “the story of good old rock and roll!” or at least a shorter one…

Anyway… labor day weekend, I get an email from a Photographer… who wants it!
I’ll spare you the details of all or conversation back and forth… but in short, it seems this guy is the “who’s who” of rock photography… and is about as famous as one can be without actually being famous… And aparantly the name “Almost Famous” is an important title to him.. so much so he even has it tattooed on his arm!

Anyway… I checked out his site, and I’m soooooo jealous… Just click around there and see what he’s done.. Its quite admirable actually..

Actually, now that I see that typed out, I’m not sure jealous is the right word actually…

I mean, I’m not a bad musician, but Im not a pro..... but I do often wonder How good I could have become had I been able to play every day, for 8 hours or more a day….. I mean I often say that I’m jealous of anyone who is lucky enough to have made a career in Music in any way shape or form, but that’s not an accurate description… Its true, music is my passion, but I CHOSE not to persue it... and that was a conscious choice... Out of High school, I was accepted in the Recording Arts Program, and ST.FX Jazz program, But I “Chose” not to do either… I was also invited to Tour with a REAL cross country touring band, and Chose not to, and there were other opportunities I turned away from...…. In all seriousness, aside from a brief stint in a “Newfoundland” touring cover band, and an even briefer stint peddling CD holders and a one time Gig booking a band for an off-shoot of DKD called Spectacle Entertainment, I’ve really only ever done the weekend-warrior thing…. So I’m owed nothing… and a purest might argue that I haven’t paid my dues… but that doesn’t stop the “dream” ….

So when I see someone doing something in the music business that I think I'd enjoy doing, I have two reactions… 1) good for you, I hope it gets even bigger for ya… and 2) “F—k, why didn’t I go to that recording arts program” or something like that…

But they say hindsights 20/20.. and they also say everything happens for a reason… And I really and truly believe that… But for the road I did chose to go down, I might not have met my wife, had my daughter, nor met a lot of other really great people, and all the other great things that have happened to me along the way... So I aint seeking no time travel device. I'll stick with what I got and be quite content thank-you... …. But I gues its like they say, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence…

Just as an example; I have a friend who has been playing in the music big leagues for a known artist and has traveled the world doing what he loves… just recently, however, he got notice they are going from over 100 gigs a year to maybe 20… While we didn’t talk numbers, I can only assume his income might be reduced proportionately, and he still has a mortgage and family, just like the rest of us.. … Anyway, as much as I admire his success and ability, as he’s now back hitting the bars (albeit in a league considerably above where’d I’d be playing)… When we last hung out he asked me about the new job… I told him that I’m really liking it, and all the reasons why, blah blah blah, and I added “but its not as much fun as Rock and Roll” and then something completely unexpected happened.. He said that, given the up and downs of his career, he looks like a guy like me, with a steady “dependable” paycheck, some decent music toys, pension and security and is thinking I’ve got it pretty good….. Funny how that works.. And while I take no comfort in his recent stress (for lack of a better description) his saying that to me did mean a lot to me.. Some validation perhaps from a musician I greatly respect.… To her credit, my wifes been telling me I’ve got it pretty damn good all the while, but sometimes you got to hear it from someone else before it really sinks in.…. Anyway, he’s a really talented artist, so I’m sure, he will land a gig back up to where he was previously… and as for me?? I can honestly say that if, at the end of my days, this is as good as it gets…. Well, that’d be ok… While its human nature, perhaps to always want “more” I’m pretty content with how things are going, the ebb and flow of it all… and how things will go on this track….. But that said, I do have a gut feeling that something else is gonna happen…. I don’t know exactly what, or exactly how or when or how big… but its been quite comforting... Regarldess what has happened lately, rain or shine, I have this bizarre yet comforting quiet confidence that its all happening for a reason, and I just Role with it and keep on rolling....... these past 3 years in particular have been so “Bizarre” and exciting that I’m getting energized and anxious for whats gonna happen next.. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m still not considering packing up my day job… that’s just silly talk… But insofar as it relates to my weekend-warrior music career, there’s been far too many really cool coincidences and things that have happened, dots that have been connecting, doors that have been opening and stuff like that I’ve just this gut feeling that something really cool is around the corner… I’m not sure, exactly, how far away “the corner” is… but its out there… and its been breathing new energy into, well… everything… I’m working harder at work work, I’m working harder at home, and I’m working harder at my “music” related efforts. And While I’ve enjoyed all three before, I’m enjoying it all much much more, it seems, of late.. So who knows… Maybe this Documentary will pick up steam, maybe someone will want to record one of my original tunes, maybe monkeys will fly out of my…. HA! and maybe none of that will happen.. But man, it sure is fun…..

Next big thing up on the agenda!! …. Johnny D’s Stag party, coming in just a few weeks! I had to bail on an actual wedding to be able to go… And while the wedding is for some good people that we know… It’s really Trena’s friend, and Johnny’s, well… some friends pass a threshold where to call them just a friend would be rude… John’s Family.. and besides, I’m also standing in the Wedding… so there was no way I’d be missing his bachelor party!

Cheers for now..

Opps, wait a minute.. I got off on a tangent there and forgot to finish talking about Mr. Photography dude who wants my domain name!!! In short…. I asked him to think about it, and get back to me with an offer…. And that’s where it sits… While he did say “He’d make it worthy my while” to sell it to him… I have no idea what that means… I don’t think it will be dot-com millions, by any stretch, but I have a price in mind as my floor….. and given how dedicated I am to getting my documentary off the ground, it gonna aint cheap….. But An influx of cash would help get it off the ground faster… I could get a 3 chip camera, and some other related gear to make it better quality… Plus… this guy seems to be pretty big time, so I think he can afford it.. and if not… Hey, it’s a great domain addy… I’ll just keep it!







P.S. The Egg Crate's and Pic from the Movie "Hustle and Flow" are kind of an inside joke/reference... I can't remember If I blogged about it before, or just something that happened that I talked about... but in any event.. someof you will get the reference immediatly, the rest of you wont... Its no big thing, but if ya really want to know the significance, and why I put it there.. you can ask me about it later..

P.S.S. Hustle and Flow is a GREAT movie.. I highly recommend it. Even if your not a rap fan, but are a music fan, I think it will appeal to you... For myself, at least, While I loved the story, it also gave me a whole new respect for Rap music as an Art-Form.