Gig News and Thoughts –

On Monday, April 8th, I will be back at Caffe Barney’s on South Granville with Adrian and Doug for the third gig of what looks to become a recurring thing for the Hrothgar Jackson Band, and I have to thank Barney’s for this opportunity to play again for the Monday night patrons.

It’s simply a lot of fun playing to an audience, and I think we’re well suited to this very friendly restaurant/bar. It has a cool laid back vibe with a lot of local regulars there on a Monday night, which traditionally is a slow night for any establishment, but there’s always good energy at Barney’s with enough people to play to for a satisfying response. And Nick and Aaron are there to keep everyone happy with great food and drink.

The reason I’m so grateful is that it’s hard finding gigs as a relatively unknown singer/songwriter, and Barney’s has made it happen. It’s intensely satisfying to play my songs for people, to see their reaction, see them when they’re actively listening and tapping their toes. Playing live is essential to developing as a songwriter, a musician, and a performer. The confidence and comfort level grows and the performances get better each time. At least, that how it seems to me.

I perform occasionally as a solo act, most usually on Mayne Island, but there’s always something special about playing with Doug and Adrian. They make me sound better. Their backing vocals, for one thing, really work with my voice, and they are a top-notch rhythm section that’s the envy of a lot of players I know. And they’re a lot of fun to hang out with, too. I’m a very lucky guy.

So obviously, I’m looking forward to Monday, April 8 when we’ll be playing again at Caffe Barney’s on South Granville from 8 to 10. I hope you’ll come out and give us a listen. The food, drinks, and service are always great, and they will have happy hour prices all day, so there’s even more good reason to come!

HJ

I’ve been meaning to write this for a while now, but true to my nature I kept putting it off. However, now that Black History Month is coming to an end (shouldn’t we look back and learn from history every month?) I feel a certain amount of personal pressure to meet the deadline I set for myself before the end of this February.

So what does an old white guy have to say about Black History? Well, my focus for this Musing is to say I’ve recently read musical biographies of four Black American musical artists and have learned a little bit more regarding what I didn’t really know that much about before.

I had already realized that two of the very best things America has given the world has come to us through Black American musicians: Blues and Jazz, the sine qua non of rock and roll, and a major influence on so many other genres as well. But I didn’t really appreciate the history of it all until I read these books and got some sharper insight and context.

Who are the musicians I’m talking about? Louis Armstrong; Muddy Waters; BB King; and Jimi Hendrix. The first three were from the deep American South, and Hendrix from Seattle, who also spent a little time in Vancouver with his grandmother. I’m not going to take up your time with a lot of information you can find by reading these biographies in your own time, but I wanted to share my bigger take away on more than just personal details of these men, which is how of their time they were, and how like everything, music evolves and ultimately becomes historical in its own right.

Just one example from Muddy Water’s life is that he grew up working on a Mississippi plantation as a sharecropper, and that was a tough life. He learned to sing the blues by absorbing all that was around him and by lived experience. And this bit of historical fact really helped put things into perspective: when workers in the cotton fields were displaced by big farm machinery that could do the cotton picking, etc., a lot of the plantation workers moved north to Chicago to work in the factories that made the machinery that put them out of work in the first place. It was there that Muddy Waters ended up, and that was the beginning of the Chicago electric blues movement of which he was a spearhead. There’s always a causal progression to the narrative of change, and to the whole socio-economic picture, and these biographies highlighted the fact that no matter where we’re at, musically or otherwise, things will change. It’s nature’s way. The world certainly realized things had changed when Jimi Hendrix dazzled the world with his six-string wizardry! There will always be room for the old time traditional stuff, but it’s in our nature to adapt, to evolve, and nowhere is this more evident than in music.

So much more can be said about all this, I haven’t even touched on the huge number of outstanding black female blues and jazz artists, but I’m going to keep it short and conclude with this thought: so much of the music I like is thanks to the Black American artists who were, and still are, true innovators and trail blazers. Of the four men I read about, Louis Armstrong; Muddy Waters; BB King; and Jimi Hendrix, I only saw one of them live, and I’m grateful I did. It was BB King and the BB King Orchestra in Vancouver at the Orpheum in September 1980. It was a great show. I remember it well!

HJ

Every December 31st we make a fuss about the New Year coming in; we make all kinds of resolutions and establish goals for the 12 months ahead and I guess that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a good thing mentally when we can look forward to something being better than it is now or was then. Personally, I’m glad to put 2023 behind me.

Nevertheless, before I do, it’s interesting to look back on the Hrothgar Jackson Project and assess how my musical narrative has progressed. To be honest, other than trying to find gigs, I don’t have a lot of expectations or specific goals, just a rather vague improvisational attitude based on a musical theme, so not surprisingly there wasn’t much advancement in 2023 for me as a singer/songwriter, but that’s not to say things didn’t happen.

Here are a few of the highlights and the low points:

I started out the year with a gig lined up at the Princeton Pub for February 21, and on the night of February 20, I fractured a finger on my left hand and had to cancel the morning of the gig after a trip to Emergency and an X-ray. The show could not go on. I felt terrible, not just for myself but also for Adrian and Doug, and for letting down the booking agent at the Princeton with this last minute cancellation. I had an avulsion fracture from a stupid accident and could not physically play. I took comfort in the stoic philosophers: there was nothing I could do about it, so I put it behind me. Nevertheless …

We did play a gig at a new venue for the band, The Hero’s Welcome Pub on Main Street in Vancouver on Canada Day, and it was one of the highlights of the year. We don’t have any management, of course, and so it’s kind of up to me to go out and find gigs, which I am not great at doing. And it’s hard because not many people know about us and we’re in competition with all the musicians who have established residencies at venues that would be perfect for the HJ Band. Consequently, we don’t gig much. That’s something I need to work on.

But, I did share the bill for a gig on Mayne Island in early December, which was recorded by Mayne Island TV with videos released on the Mayne Island TV Channel, and that was a lot of fun. It wasn’t with the band, though. Still, it was good to play in front of an audience. Fifty-two people paid money to come hear me, Gail Noonan, the other singer/songwriter on the bill, along with Jim Heshedahl on bass. That was incredibly satisfying and we had a really good response.

One particularly sad event in my musical life happened this summer. Al Barber, a terrific guitar player on Mayne Island, died suddenly of a heart attack. That was a blow. He was such fun to play with. I miss him. I wrote a “Musing” in memoriam which you can read if interested.

More on the positive side, I played at the band shell on Mayne on a bill featuring some other Mayne Island Players: Darren Martin, Jim Heshedahl, and Mark and Karen Humpage; I played at Shavasana Gallery; and I was invited to play at the 44 on Mayne in a benefit for the Mayne Island Assisted Living Bus. That was a fun day.

And I wrote some songs, played a lot of guitar, worked on playing the harmonica better, read a lot, including biographies on Leonard Cohen, B.B. King, Muddy Water and Chet Baker, and found a new practice space in Vancouver. So I have to conclude that while there were some bumps along the way, the musical journey continues.

As I close this out, I look forward to what 2024 will bring. It’s already off to a good start as I have a gig lined up for January. Details and the date to be shared on this website soon. And I plan to be a little more proactive in trying to book more gigs, maybe do some recording. Also, the number of visitors to this website seems to be growing. The month of December registered over 700 visits. Not sure if this will keep up, but it wasn’t that long ago I was happy to see 200 visitors, so I find this is encouraging.

Anyway, Happy New Year everyone, thanks for reading!

HJ

St. Mary Magdalene’s Church Gig

It’s the perfect day to stay inside and do some musing. It’s cold, dark and wet outside, the rain wants to turn to snow. Sunday. While I’m usually on Mayne Island on weekends, I’m in Vancouver on this one with an empty day ahead of me. I haven’t posted anything since after the Canada Day gig at Hero’s Welcome Pub and I should write about a few things have that have occurred since, the most noteworthy happening last Sunday, December 3rd.

That’s when I performed some of my songs on Mayne Island at the historic St. Mary Magdalene’s Church along with Gail Noonan, with Jim Heshedahl on bass and back up vocals. Andrew Smith of Mayne Island TV was there as well to record it all for posterity. It went well. Simon Dalby, our venue liaison, said we had fifty-two people attend! It’s a small church. And we’ve had lots of great feedback. I still feel really good about the show.

So, with regard to that whole experience, this musing is about how things, based on a simple desire, sometimes unfold easily with wonderful results, thanks to the involvement of good people. A prime ambition in my life is to find joy despite the ongoing despair in the world, and strumming my guitar and singing my songs makes me happy. I decided I wanted to play to an audience, one of my favourite things to do. And, as booked gigs are hard to come by, I decided again on the DIY approach. I would just do it. Find a venue, book it, and play, hopefully cover expenses with a minimum donation suggestion and a tip jar.

I mentioned this to Andrew and Simon one night over scotch, and they suggested St. Mary Magdalene’s church as a venue. Andrew said Mayne Island TV would record it. Simon floated the idea that perhaps it could be done as a benefit because the building is pretty old (built in 1897) and preservation requires funds. Perfect. Always nice to contribute to community needs.

Then Andrew said it would be better from Mayne Island TV’s point of view if I did a show with one other performer for a bit of variety. Excellent idea. I thought of Gail, another Mayne Island singer/songwriter, and she said yes. We both thought it would be good to ask Jim to join us on bass, and he agreed. Then, Ryan Dahle, an excellent musician and really nice guy who lives on island too, offered to do the sound for us. Et voila!

It was just that easy. Very quickly we had the venue booked, a poster done up, a Facebook announcement. No stress. Gail, Jim, and I rehearsed individually, and three times together, and then it was show day, exactly a week ago as of my writing this. As I said, it was a lot of fun and the audience was very supportive and I wasn’t pelted with rotten eggs and tomatoes when I messed up some harmonica or some guitar licks. Such a good time! We took in a thousand dollars at the door! 50% to the church building and 50% divided amongst performers. Everyone’s a winner!

Andrew has been working hard editing, etc., and has already posted videos of some of the tunes on the Mayne Island TV YouTube channel. If you are so inclined, you can look for them on YouTube, and Webmaster Doug will soon be arranging access to them through the website. Thanks, Doug!

Here’s the link to my song called Tear Stains on Mayne Island TV.

Thanks for reading!

HJ

A Tribute to Al Barber

Al Barber died of a heart attack about a month ago. I was in the parking lot at Home Hardware when I heard and then saw the red Emergency Response pick-up truck speed by toward Bennett Bay with the siren blaring. Being in the city as often as I am, I’m used to hearing sirens, but it quickly dawned on me that this was Mayne Island. You hardly ever hear sirens. Maybe someone had accidentally driven into a ditch and was trapped in their car with a cheesecake, or there was a barbeque in a backyard getting out of control. Anyway, I didn’t think anything more about it. Until later that day, a good friend informed me that Al had passed away that morning. I knew he had heart issues, but it seemed like things were under control. I’ll tell you, the news hit hard.

My association with Al was initially completely through music, and that’s why it feels like there’s a big hole now. A black hole, and it sucks. Al isn’t around anymore to play, which we did often, especially at the Bennett Bay Bistro back before Covid, and when Toby Snelgrove (bass) was still on island. Now, that won’t happen again. Toby was a big part of how I was brought into the Mayne island music scene, how I got to play regularly with Al, and how we became an informal trio.

The first time I met Al, however, was when I was invited to play at the Mayne Island Arts Festival at the Ag Hall and somehow we paired up. I remember him coming over to the cottage in Dinner Bay with a vintage Gibson electric hollow body and we started playing my songs for our set. It was instantly apparent how good he was, and how lucky I was to have him to play with. So we did the show and it was a great time.

After that, most anytime I played at the Bistro, or anywhere on Mayne, if he and Toby were on island, they would be there to help me sound better. Toby probably still has a bunch of recordings of our sets. During the Covid lock-down, the three of us even did a series of deck concerts at the cottage for the neighbours.

Last August, Adrian and Doug came over to Mayne when the Hrothgar Jackson Band was invited to play at the Bennett Bay Bistro, and Al joined us for the second set. It was such a fun evening! And when Adrian switched over to electric guitar, he and Al traded solos that had people standing and applauding at the end of the songs.

Al was impressed with the band’s rhythm section and knowing the Hrothgar Jackson Band played gigs in Vancouver had asked if he could come and play with us next time we had a show. He loved Doug’s drumming and Adrian’s bass together, and I think being as good as he was, and as they are, he found a solid groove in which to do his thing. He had a collection of guitars, but mostly played his PRS through a vintage Fender Princeton amp. He got such great tone!

Anyway, we had a date lined up at the Princeton Pub on the Eastside and I invited Al to join us and he said sure. We had the poster printed, but as we got a little closer to the date he said he had to bow out. We usually don’t get on stage until 10 o’clock and it ends up a late night, and he wasn’t sure he was up to it, given his heart issues. We understood completely. But, he said, whenever you have a daytime gig, let me know.

The band’s last gig in Vancouver was on Canada Day, from 2 to 4, at Hero’s Welcome Pub on Main Street. Al passed away before that, in fact, on the very day I had planned to phone and ask him to come to Vancouver to play with us. That was sad. He had also recently built a studio at his and Lyn’s place, and we planned to record some of my songs there. I think about the fun we would have had.

But that’s the way it goes sometimes, right? I didn’t know Al for that long, about 8 years or so, but I certainly feel I knew him well enough to say he was kind, quiet, gentle, generous, unpretentious, and musically gifted. He had real chops on the guitar, was great at harmonies; he also played bass and drums. Perhaps he played other instruments as well that I’m unaware of; I wouldn’t be surprised. He was very musically aware. Unrelated fact, he loved animals.

Here’s a nice little story: Al and I were over at Toby’s place one day pre-pandemic and I was playing them my song Apathy, in which there was a chord progression in the chorus that went Dm/Am/E7/Am/Dm. I played it and they liked the song, but Al said, why don’t you throw in an A7 between the Am and Dm on the return. That’s what the Beatles would do, he said. So I did, and voila, brilliant! It has remained in the song ever since. In fact, every time I play Apathy and hit the A7 chord, I actually have a flashback to that moment. I now think of A7 as the Al chord. It’s a sweet little pick up in the progression that I love.

So anyway, there’s going to be a musical tribute to Al on Mayne next month, and I think the number of players there will be impressive. Al and I played together quite a bit, but he also played with just about every other musician on the island, too, and they all have their own memories. That’s how he’ll live on. These are just a few of mine that I wanted to share.

HJ

Playing Live Again!

Last Saturday I played a Canada Day gig with Adrian and Doug at Hero’s Welcome Pub on Main Street in Vancouver, and we had a blast. It was great to play live again!

The last show we had scheduled was in April at the Princeton Pub, but it had to be cancelled because I fractured my left hand the night before the gig. How I did that is a study in Lameness, so I won’t get into it, but needless to say, it was disappointing.

Last year I broke a bone in my right hand (another story I’d rather not tell), postponing a show at the Performing Arts Lodge in Coal Harbour by two months. I was coming to the conclusion I might be accident-prone and getting a little paranoid something would come up to force me to cancel again.

I’ll tell you, I was treading lightly, looking both ways when I crossed the street at crosswalks, being careful I didn’t break a finger crossing them too hard in hopes I didn’t wake up with a sore throat and cough a day or two before the show. Luckily, the stars aligned and I woke up Canada Day feeling rested, excited, ready to play!

We played from 2:30 to 4:30 to about 35 people who decided to come in for some day drinking, the meat draw, and music: two 12 song sets of mostly originals, with a few covers thrown in for good measure.

Thanks to the generosity of friends and strangers, the meat draw raised about $250 for the Burn Ward, which Neil from Hero’s Welcome said was as good as they do on a busy Saturday night. Grateful to all the friends who came out!

We had been rehearsing enough to feel ready, and I thought we delivered two pretty good sets; we had some nice responses, too, which was gratifying. I’m hoping we’ll be back soon!

I’ll end this Musing by saying I think playing music is about the most fun you can have with your clothes on, and you can do it with a group of people who also have their clothes on! Good times for sure!

I’ve got a few thoughts on my mind about some other things that I’ll share in upcoming Musings, so if you’ve got nothing better to do, why not check in again in the next little while.

Strumming on ‘til then …

HJ

I had a hard time leaving the sofa last Monday afternoon. I had been looking forward to the Vancouver Freelancer Symposium (see previous musing) but thanks to the record setting snowfall, which started coming down in huge flakes around 2:30, I began to wonder if I really wanted to go after all.

Ultimately, however, I got off the couch and went, arriving at the Holiday Inn on Howe Street just around 3:30 to hear a panel of four musicians (Judy Proznik, Noah Reitman, Ed Henderson, Shari Ulrich) talk about performance, their routine, how they prepare, etc.. It was interesting to hear about their various performance experiences though it wasn’t especially useful to me. I have played enough gigs now to know everyone has their own ways of preparing. I have a few of my thoughts on the topic posted in an earlier musing. But it was entertaining to hear the war stories, as it were.

Then there was a workshop on writing grants, hosted by Creative BC’s Joseph Bardsley. I didn’t hear anything really new about the actual writing of grants, I’ve written enough of them in my time, but I did get a bit more insight into how applications are assessed, and I feel inspired to try again even though the odds are not what you’d call betting odds. Given the speed of a recent rejection, I’m beginning to wonder if it’s hard for adjudicators to accept artists emerging later in life. But, hope does spring eternal. Nothing ventured … and all that stuff.

So, I consider the workshop was a worthwhile hour of my life. I’m going to see if I can get a helpful grant to edit the footage from last April’s performance at PAL Studio Theatre. I ran out of money after getting two videos edited (you can see them on this website) and I would really like to get more done.

The last event of the day was the networking reception and jam. It was the primary reason I thought I should go. I am not good at introducing myself to strangers and schmoozing and I figured this would be a good opportunity to try and over come my introversion.

There was a cash bar, as I’d hoped, and so I bought a glass of wine. There were snacks like olives, bocconcini and cherry tomatoes on bamboo skewers, samosas, and what I thought was chicken but turned out to be cleverly disguised cauliflower. I think I need a new prescription for my glasses. There were coffee and cookies and muffins too. Pretty nice. I had brought an apple with me just in case, but I was able to save it for lunch the next day.

Because of the weather there weren’t as many people as there might have been, but I decided I wouldn’t leave until I actually talked to someone, and by chance, there was a fellow sitting alone at the table right behind mine.

We started chatting and I’m glad I made the effort because I met Donny Ducharme, Buffy St. Marie’s bass player on her last European Tour, and a really nice guy. He said he had pretty much given up on music and was working as an excavator when he got the call from Buffy asking him if he was available for her tour. She heard about him from some musicians in Winnipeg where he’s originally from. He didn’t hesitate to say yes, and then he had to learn all the songs in very short order. He said that she’s a wonderful human being, very friendly. Nice to hear. I watched the recent documentary on her and it’s impossible not to like her.

Donny told me a few stories about his experience with his band Peacemaker, and some tour tales. I told him a little about me and the fact I have a gig coming up in April at the Princeton, and he said he would try and make it as it’s right around where he lives. We talked a little more and when I finished my wine we parted; I felt like it was mission accomplished. I had talked to somebody, and it was Donny.

The jam was getting set up though I wasn’t feeling the vibe and was disinclined to stick around. Maybe if I had come with someone. Anyway, I might have missed out there, but I was getting hungry for something more than cauliflower.

Before I left, however, I discovered the Getting the Gig session that I was looking forward to the next day had some panelist cancellations and it turned out there would not be any booking agents there, and the remaining guy specialized in booking orchestral gigs so that wasn’t going to work for me. Needless to say, I didn’t go. As it turned out, it was snowing again like crazy that morning and the Symposium went online.

All in all, I’m glad I went. It felt good to make the effort, be proactive in moving the narrative forward. You just never know what might happen or who you’ll meet when you go out.

That’s all for now. I’m working on a new musings about electric guitar solos that I’ll post soon. Until then, thanks for reading!

HJ

This morning whilst having my first coffee of the day, I scrolled through some social media and discovered the Vancouver Musicians’ Association is presenting, in partnership with Heritage Canada, a free two day event on February 27th and 28th. It’s called Soundcheck: Vancouver Freelancer Symposium. The word “free” caught my attention, as did the fact lunch is included. So I’ve signed up.

It’s a full two days of panels and workshops and while not everything offered is of interest to me, a couple of events caught my eye. On the first day there’s a Grant Writing Workshop facilitated by Joseph Bardsley, a member of Creative BC’s music team. I don’t have expectations these days of getting a grant as an emerging artist, not at my age, but you never know; I might pick up some hope and motivation there.

After that workshop there’s a networking reception and jam session that seems worth hanging around for. I find the idea of trying to network daunting and weird and yet somewhat amusing at the same time. Hopefully there will be cash bar.

On the second day, later in the afternoon, there’s a session called “Getting the Gig,” featuring contractors, booking agents, and casting agents. I’m totally interested in learning anything I can to get more gigs, so that should be interesting.

If you have read the text at the top of MUSINGS, you’ll know Hrothgar Jackson is an art project. It’s an improvisation, an exploration in creating and managing a causally progressive narrative tracking the story of Hrothgar Jackson’s musical journey in real life. So naturally, I see this Symposium as an opportunity to develop the plot and see if there’s any causally related activity as a result.

One never knows what will happen when you leave the sofa. I would be derelict in my duty to the narrative if I didn’t go. Not that I expect anything life changing to come from it, of course, but a connection or two may be made, new insights and advice might be received. Or not. Nevertheless, I’m going.

I’ll report back after the event to relay the experience.

Thanks for reading.

HJ

First post of the New Year. I was waiting until there was something new to muse about in 2023. And then, on Sunday …

I merely speculate, though I suspect it’s true that the primary goal of every gigging band is to gig. Last year, by our own standards, was a good one regarding HJB playing live, but after our last gig of 2022 back in October, I had nothing on the books for 2023. On Sunday, that changed and the band has booked another show at the Princeton Pub for April 21. It’s still a stretch of time away, but it’s such a good feeling to have a show to look forward to with lots of time to prepare for it. And these days, time seems to go faster than ever.

The Hrothgar Jackson Band is a small outfit and relatively unknown. I’m not really good at the publicity angle. I spend most of my time strumming my guitar and working on original songs. I don’t have a manager or a publicist. Doug does the website and sometimes it gets up to 200 visits every month, give or take, so Hrothgar Jackson, with or without band, is not a big draw. Hopefully, the more shows we do, the more people will hear the songs and word will travel. Fingers crossed there. Nevertheless, and I say this honestly, I have a really big smile when I think of the fun playing live with a band at this later stage in my life. When I was a teenager, this was pure fantasy. Fun, I have to say, is the primary motivation behind what I call the Hrothgar Project.

So, we’re back at the Princeton Pub Friday, April 21. I’ve said in the past that it’s become like home turf for us. We played our very first paid gig there, and when I think about it I’m still astonished that we managed to get booked. That is directly thanks to the booking agent Rob Clements.

I don’t remember exactly, but I’m pretty sure I cold called him and told him about us, and the fact that we played original songs. I do remember him saying that bands playing original material were the Princeton’s prime focus in booking acts. Anyway, for whatever reason, he booked us back in 2015 without even hearing us, and we’ve been coming back ever since. I’m so appreciative that the Princeton Pub supports original music and I’ll be forever grateful to Rob and the Princeton for validating us as a band.

And that’s the latest news. We’ve got a gig, baby! Have to say, too, I’m confident more bookings will materialize. In fact, I’m planning a small event sometime in May or June, a quieter, unplugged type show with more focus on the songs and will be posting about that when a venue and date are nailed down.

Thanks for visiting the website and reading my musings. Hope to see you at the Princeton, if not before!

HJ