Maybe she was just well raised

On Saturday night at the Opera House I had a memorable encounter with the monitor person, Chantal. Chantal joined my friend John Power and I for fries before the Hidden Cameras gig, and she was concerned about overhearing an intimate conversation. We assured her that, as the monitor person, she was already intimate, and would be the one guarantor of a smooth performance, so it was in fact best for her to know us better. Not only did Chantal do an excellent job on the monitor mix, she also helped us out with a linguistic quandary that had me stumped for at least ten years.

I was chatting with John Power about whether being a faghag is a genetic predisposition. Being a faghag isn't really a choice. Some women just adore gay men, and are equally adored by the gay men they encounter. It's only right and natural. The only bad thing about it is the word itself- 'faghag' just doesn't sound like a nice thing, even though it represents a beautiful reality.

In support of my foolish and dangerous genetic theory, I gave John and Chantal the example of one particular faghag who is the daughter of another faghag. "Maybe she was just well raised" offered Chantal.

Chantal couldn't be more right. Not only is it a terrible thing to assume that people are totally determined by their genes, and by their biology, "well raised" is also a way better term for the Liz Taylor/Madonna phenomenon. The Madonnamenon, if you will.

From now on, this blog will retire that old, dated term that has its roots in the fear of strong, single women, and the prejudice that women should confine themselves to coupledom, rather than deeply intimate nonsexual friendships. A woman who loves gays, a woman who gays love- she is just well raised.

And just to make things crystal clear, while this blog entry is fixed on the death of an exclusive, restrictive word, BB loves all LGBTQ people, and will always love all LGBTQ people, until the sun goes supernova and rains glitter on the dusty remains of the world.

Yours,
BB

A ballad of survival against all odds

Truth is stranger than fiction, especially along the St. Lawrence River, and for people born in towns around its tributaries.

Here is a link to a song of ours about a man from Alexandria, a little town at the North end of Glengarry County, Ontario. He moved out West to work in mining, and had a few unfortunate encounters, the worst of which was with a wrench that fell from high enough above to break through his helmet, and into his brain.

I often try to imagine what must have been going through his head, besides blood and metal, when he was at the bottom of the mine, refusing to die. Maybe the thought of unfinished business, or unresolved matters of faith, kept him going.

Here is "El Dorado"

The footage is from a live performance at The Dakota Tavern in October. The musicians include one of Newfoundland's delicious exports, the rhythm section of Jon Hynes on bass and John Power on drums; the prairies are represented by Saskatchewan's Shaun Brodie on acoustic guitar, and Alberta's Holly Andruchuk on the electric. I'm the one accidentally channeling Jello Biafra. The photo above is of Jon and John.

Thanks to John's excellent drumming, I have to recant the earlier commitment to the 'play only what you can carry' rule. Nobody is an Island, so I guess the rule is now 'play only what we can carry together.' Together we can carry a whole drum kit.

We will be playing a string of dates with some friends from out West in the new year, so stay tuned, as details will soon be posted. Though it has yet to be confirmed, I must confess I've already been using Skype to rehearse a Hank Williams duet with one of said friends, for said dates. Which tune? Which towns? All will be revealed in due time.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you face to face before long!
Love,
BB

Get Rhythm

We have a couple of gigs coming up that we're super excited about, and the band is expanding in order to make our tall tales sound even taller.

On Sunday, October 4th, we will be playing our first Wavelength at the brand new venue The Garrison, at 1197 Dundas Street West. Comedy rappers Sherpafeast, and Brooklyn/New Orleans band Home Video will be playing, and Sean Ward will DJ between bands. Our set is at 10pm. The new venue is being opened by a former Sneaky Dee's booker, and we're very excited to be part of the festivities.

On Thursday, October 8th, we will be opening for Octoberman at their album release party at the Dakota Tavern, at 249 Ossington Avenue. The Dakota is one of our favourite venues. It's the kind of place you can expect to find great music without consulting listings in advance.

Now about the expansion of Betty Burke... We've been playing as a threesome recently, giving some the impression that we're folkies. As I explained in an earlier blog, we're actually skids (though we clean up real nice!), and when we are hanging around our respective homes amusing our ears, we're more likely to be spinning The Clash or Johnny Cash than Pete Seeger. In order to express what's on the tips of our tongues, we really need a rhythm section, and at the upcoming gigs, there will be drums!!

John Power is a Newfie from Paradise, Conception Bay, who plays with Brutal Knights and The Hidden Cameras. You may have seen him around town, wearing his "Municipal Waste" t-shirt. In keeping with the "play what you can carry" spirit, John will be kicking away at a suitcase and tapping a snare for Betty. We can't wait.