Nectar of the Gods – Welcome to Gomer’s Midtown
R09_0198 (2) Rumballade, Thierry Masson
Upon being presented with a rare bottle of tequila from Gomer’s, my friend back here in Toronto has given me permission to report that he openly wept!*
It was great to return to Gomer’s after first discovering the place back in May of this year – such friendly staff, and this time around I was determined to
A Hallmark Moment, Kansas City
Paved Paradise… Wrecking Ball Blues
Forlorn, forgotten, and slated for the wrecking ball to make way for a parking lot, this building in the downtown core of Kansas City invited some Oz-style urban exploration.
Actually on the prowl for some classic acoustics in the historic old Kansas train station and with less than two hours to get myself to KC International, this
Urban Exploration in ‘The Paris of the North’
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Karg-Elert, Caprice #12Nothing like a little Urban Exploration, European-style!
I espied this hulking warehouse just off the O-1 in Copenhagen* while in Denmark last month and just had to investigate!Even more alarming than the massive murals by some invisible army of reveling tag-artists were, of course, the stunning acoustics.
As you might imagine, it’s always a unique experience recording alone in
Emerald Jungle, Kansas
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emerald improvKansas like you’ve never heard it before – no wonder Dorothy wanted to head home!?
Recording in a Haunted House
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J.S. Bach, SarabandeMy thanks to everyone at Music By The Lake for a fantastic week of music-making in a beautiful setting – some readers may recognize this view from the second-floor of the Stone House where we had our flute masterclasses and ensemble coaching sessions.
MBTL was a great experience, and the enthusiasm of the flute students a true inspiration!
On the final day, after
Outlaw Flute – The Ballad of Jesse James
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The Ballad of Jesse JamesI have no idea why, but at times I feel like a bit of an outlaw flutist!?
So you might imagine that I felt right at home playing in the Jesse James Museum while visiting Liberty, Missouri recently – such a renegade, asking if I could play my flute in the restored room that was the setting for the first
Postcard from Kansas
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Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Arlen & HarburgWith time on my hands waiting to board a flight back to Toronto from Kansas City MO how could I resist sounding the opening of this classic tune from The Wizard of Oz?
Hey, besides some pretty amazing mosaics in the flooring, they actually have tornado bunkers at the KC International – how cool is that?
Getting through
Taj Mahal, North American-style!
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Paul Horn, Prologue/InsideNo, I didn’t play while sitting in the hot tub here, but it was this view as I listened to the ambient sound of the water in the deserted pool area that inspired me to set up and record a bit while the coast was clear.
At the tail end of a recent conference I had been attending up near the
You Raise Me Up, GWMC Choir, Guelph
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You Raise Me Up, Rolf LovlandIn a break in my schedule last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Guelph-Wellington Men’s Club Choir up in Guelph – it was a gorgeous day, and it felt great to hit the open road and play hookey for the afternoon. I knew that I was in for a treat, having attended the GWMC Spring Luncheon
Subterranean Bloor Street
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Not far from the Glen Road bridge described in the previous couple of posts there is another interesting space, this one relatively public and respectable!
If ever you’ve driven west along Bloor towards the Danforth, you’ve unwittingly passed over this very tunnel, which can be easily accessed steps from the TTC’s Sherbourne Station. This magical tunnel truly links opposite worlds, and has a satisfying and
Mystical Satie in Toronto’s Ravines
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Erik Satie, Gnossienne #1(NOTE: For some readers, soundfiles may be mysteriously garbled for recent posts – to hear this recording of Satie in hi-fidelity along with more images from this evocative space hidden away under one of Toronto’s Rosedale bridges, check out the slideshow here.)
No, my friend Steven and I did not drag a piano in under the bridge here, though that
Rosedale Underworld
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Debussy, SyrinxInspired by the late afternoon sun and glorious spring weather as I cycled back from rehearsal in Rosedale last weekend, on a whim I revisited this mysterious recording location that I had discovered about a year ago that’s hidden beneath a massive bridge right in the heart of this historic Toronto neighbourhood.
One of several impressive bridges that span the network of ravines