Toys, toys, wonderful toys!

Toys Toys Toys!!!

OK, so I had this idea to go hang out at my favorite store Long & McQuade to just noodle around with the guitars and chat to people about the League of Rock and it turned into a super fun and inspiring afternoon. Not only was I was surrounded by creative and musical souls everywhere I looked, I also had a microphone in front of me that allowed me to just burst into song whenever I wanted to. It was like, living in the Sound of Music but with more classic rock.  And I'm not bragging here, but to be able  to just walk in and take my pick from the gosh darn fanciest guitars in the store and then plug them into the prettiest sounding Bose system ever then given the stool of honour to sit on, well, that was like going to school on  the best field trip day ever!

  

With Rob Boshaw Vancouver Chapter Head  for the League of Rock.

I was delighted to see my friend Stephen from my first LOR band Know Mercy who came down to support us, Stephen and I held each other up through a lot of  our own personal firsts during the inaugural Vancouver session of the League and I think it was brilliant that he came to support me in this 'first' of mine. 

I've said it before I will say it again, you rock Pallivicini~

A number of interesting people came and sat down to jam with me which was fun and totally in the spirit of the League. I also just had to stop this dude before he left the store ( thanks for coming back fella) that red strat you see?  It's made out of Lego. Awesome.  

See this teeny tiny set up? It's from Bose ( you don't even need the mixing board as the speakers are powered with a plethora of inputs, but I would recommend using one seeing as a mixing board will make use while playing more functional )

This is the stack of speakers, is this SLICK or what? I'm totally in love with them, in fact, I think I would have kissed them if everyone wasn't looking. ;)

Now I know you are thinking.... how can these little bitty baby things sound like anything? Well, I'll tell you this, I've played on a lot of PA's large and small and  the sound of these things  blew me away. For a singer songwriter, duo, trio type ensemble, I think it is a GORGEOUS system. As a matter of fact, as GM Scot  Buchanan was thanking me for playing at the end of the day, I found myself  thanking him, for letting me play with all of his toys. Of course, like anything that is top of the line, this system is not cheap.

 But if you've got the cash, I would wholeheartedly say, two thumbs up!

My last jamming guest was General Manager of Long & McQuade Vancouver, Scot Buchanan. I think this  was the perfect way to end the day.  I just love when the staff of any company get to see their boss be put on the spot and I love it even more if I am in some way responsible for it!  Of course Scot is a player so it's not like it was rough for him to get up there, and the truth be told he actually rocked,
but still, it was a nice break in the program for all I think!

To those of you that made the trip, thanks for coming out. I know I had a blast and I am seriously thinking that doing this kind of thing will really help improve my guitar playing a great deal, so collect your  groove and do stay tuned to this blog or to my Facebook page for  future
announcements telling you when we will do this again~!

   

And we will see you on Wednesday night at the Yale!

For more info on the LOR kickoff and how you can 'riff' you way into the League, click this LINK!

Rach xo

Wasn't that a party?!!!

[Video of the League of Rock bands, founder Terry Moshenberg, and featuring special guest Tal Bachman]
Ok I am still buzzing over last Thursday's League of Rock showcase at the Yale, it was the end of the first 10 week session, and wasn't THAT a party?

Terry Moshenberg flew in from Toronto for the big event, but before he came to the Yale, he and Vancouver LOR chapter head Rob Boshaw went and picked up the instruments from Long and McQuade which were to be given as prizes for members who stood out during the 10 week session. These included a new guitar, a bass, some cymbals, a microphone and some other goodies. I must say it had to have been hard to pick winners because every single member made an impression on all of us for different reasons.

Anyhow, we all showed up that night with family and friends in attendance and it took no time at all to fill all the seats in the house. The excitement was so thick in the room that you could touch the nervous energy as it floated around. Some members were getting ready to go onstage and play in a band to a PACKED house at the Yale for the first time in their lives. The buzz in the room made me feel like it was on fire and it wasn't just the TREE beer that sold out half way through the night. I think I chatted to almost everyone, though it was largely a blur and if I didn't have the video footage as proof I was there I would hardly believe it even happened.

I have made this little sneak peek video to share with you. Since there were two professional videographers there I didn't really focus too hard on taking video and I really only caught a snapshot of the night knowing that someone else had it covered. While I did get a shot of all the bands, I totally forgot to get my own band which now I think is a bit of a shame. I didn't think of shooting Know Mercy, because of course my hands were full of either a guitar or a bass at the time and also I just plum forgot to ask anyone to shoot it for me so it's a little sad that I didn't' manage to get my band mate Stephen playing his guitar in this video. Stephen has been a good pal throughout this whole thing and on Thursday night, he was just a superstar, in fact he was voted MVP for this session! High five rockstar!

Fortunately Stephen will be in the video the League of Rock is producing, but for today there is only ONE piece of footage that I could find of him and it came during the finale. He was in the background of a single shot which I probably would not have included in any video for public consumption, because I am being such a dork in it, lol, but I weighed the pros and cons quite carefully and decided to include the shot despite myself, it was more important to make sure I got my band mate in there. Just ignore me (my sister who is queen of self portraiture and taught me everything I know however, will laugh her head off when she sees it).

See here is what happened. At the end of the night after my band KNOW MERCY played, LOR founder and host of the party Terry Moshenberg asked our special guest Tal Bachman to come up to the stage to close off the night. Oh my god! I nearly fell down. I was up onstage at the time and there was NO WAY I was going to get off of it if Tal was getting up there. It's been no secret to anyone I am a big fan, so you can just imagine how much of a thrill that was. It would be like having the chance to strap on your skates and take shots on Roberto Luongo if you were a big fan of the Canucks.

So anyhow, Stephen from my band gave Tal his guitar and then stepped back to hang out onstage ( which is how I got him in a shot, Stephen is wearing a blue tshirt, you'll see it. ), Terry also picked up a guitar and with no notice or planning whatsoever, we all set out to close the night with a little jam. I just hoped to heck I knew the songs that would be called.
Seeing as I wasn't playing an instrument, I grabbed my camera and took some footage of the finale while I was onstage. First we played a Bad Company song. Great, easy, I knew that one. Then, Kenny McNally from LOR Toronto got up to rock the house with Crossroads and Tal wowed us with some Clapton solos, the crowd was thrilled, the energy high, my smile ridiculous. Once that was finished, we were taking off the guitars and putting them away when the crowd started chanting 'She's so High', over and over again.

Graciously, Tal put his guitar back on and quickly told the band how the song went (that's the way jam's go), and with no rehearsal, we charged ahead. 10 years ago when I first fell in love with that song, I never would have imagined I would one day be up on stage singing it with the artist.
And I tell you THAT because I want to illustrate for you that not only does the League of Rock help non-professional musicians realize their dreams of playing with a band, recording, and performing live onstage, but it ALSO has the power to blow away a regular gig monkey like me, by surprising me and fulfilling one of my own dreams. It was crazy, it was the ultimate reward, and I can't thank Terry enough. This whole experience has exceeded even MY expectations! I can't wait for round two.

So watch the video folks, grab yourself a glimpse of what it is like to be in the League of Rock. If you are a non-pro musician who is busy with your work and family life, but are still aching to get out there and rock, remember this:
You go to five, we go till 11!
The next session is registering right now, you can find more info here at LEAGUE OF ROCK. See you soon!


Rach xo