JohnCarroll.ca

Captains Blog , Recaps, Updates, Apologies and Promises

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:40:29 +0000

Had a great show up in Mattawa last Friday night, at the moon cafe. The moon is a friendly warm place run by a couple of kindhearted old souls named Bev and Lorne, if you ever get a chance drop in. The Mattawa audience was great, and a good time was had by all.
The bad news was that my trip to Loplops in Sault Ste Marie had to be cancelled. We were supposed to go on Saturday after the Moon Cafe show, but mechanical difficulties left our bus blue monday unable to make the trip and we had to drive really slowly back to Ottawa and seek medical attention for Blue Monday. My apologies to Stephen , and to Ox, who I was supposed to open for , and especially to anyone who came to the show expecting me to be there. I was looking forward to getting up there, and hopefully it wont be to long before we can reschedule the show. Sault St Marie Rocks, and I had hoped to rock it back, but alas, 5 tonnes of bus is a hell of a thing to move when shes having a bad transmission day.
Great events coming up are a return visit to the Blackshire Pub in London, Ontario coming up next week, as well as a show in Hamilton the next day. All info is on the site.
Towards the end of the month , on Saturday the 28th to be exact, at the Lafayette , and then the following Saturday Dec 5 at Cafe 1870 in wakefield, I will have a couple shows with my incredibly skilled and inspired band the Late Nights, (which is really 3/4ths of the epic proportions). It feature Olivier Fairfield on drums , and Fred Guignon on baritone guitar and electric lap steel. We always have a great time when we do these shows, and so will you, so come out and rock with us.
Have a good time, see you later.

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The Lafayette

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:16:45 +0000

Its about a week shy of five years that I have been playing weekly at the Chateau Lafayette on York st. in Ottawa. I may have missed 2 or 3 Wednesdays in that whole time.
A house gig is a most interesting challenge as a performer. You are faced with maintaining an interesting show for a regular audience, as opposed to performing the same show for different audiences.
Some considerations : adding new repertoire is essential , but can be time consuming as I like to get really comfortable with a song, this can take weeks , months and sometimes years. It is one thing to have a cursory awareness of a song, but I think it is accurate to say it takes a deep ongoing revisiting to really get it good.
There are some people that come in to the show almost every week , some that come slightly less regularly , and a majority that drop in from time to time. Also on any given night there are always some random new faces in the audience, and this helps a lot to keep it fresh.
I am always surprised that so many people come so regularly , but I have learned to go with it.
The real sense of freshness and the antidote to monotony at least for me is in being in the moment with each tune each time it is played. Allowing it to come out the way it wants to on any given occasion, with all the factors that define that moment distinguishing it from all the other times it is played. Its not quite the same as Jazz where ideally only the bare bones of a head and the harmonic structure are maintained, I’m sure 9 out of 10 times a given rendition is similar in most respects to previous incarnations, but once in a while it takes a whole new dimension.
Or course this could be true of any performance , and probably should be, but it is easier to rely on standardized approaches when you are in a new town playing to new audiences. With the house job , you have to keep it fresh and try and create a unique experience every time.
Of course the witty and not so witty banter in between songs always gives each performance its own energy. Sometimes the comic monologue flows like water , and sometimes the awkward moments steal the night. Often it is defined by what the regulars throw in there, or the odd heckler. The heckler psyche has always bewildered me, trying to understand what motivates someone to try and hijack the room when they are witlessly drunk. I always think of them as would be performers who are too lazy to get a gig or think of anything engaging to say.
As the performer however it is always your job to avoid catastrophe and an uncomfortable audience is catastrophic. I am not saying I suceed at it each time, but it is the goal. Ultimately you are there to have and facilitate a good time. And make millions of dollars. Luckily the good time part is working out.

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Blog # 1254

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:32:41 +0000

Seems like the first 1253 entries of my blog got deleted. So many memories lost in time, like tears in rain( thank you Rutger Hauer).
My bus , Blue Monday, Henry Noodles and Dear Birdie White have all returned safe and sound from a weekend long roadtrip up to the Northlands.
Sudbury’s Little Montreal on Friday was great , the show was well attended and the audience was excellent and attentive. A good time was had by all in spite of the Wolves losing to Oshawa just two doors down.
Saturday night in New Liskeard was also a fine show , at the Chat Noir book store, I highly recommend dropping in if you are ever there. It is not your run of the mill bookshop , the shelves are lined with great books, and the coffee and treats are swell.
Blue Monday, to the chagrin of many a hurried motorist, doesn’t like going more than a leisurely 90-100kph, so our return to O-town was scenic and leisurely, with an overnight rest in the parking lot of the Irving truck stop in Pembroke. It’s a damn fine place to while away a night , reading from dusty books we had aquired at the highway bookstore outside of Cobalt, and drinking rosehip tea made on a coleman stove. So blatantly hippy-like it made redneck me want to kick the crap out of whatever other me it was doing these terrible things. Fortunately I kept my cool and nobody got hurt.

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ANXIETY!

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:35:12 +0000

Title: ANXIETY!
Location: Cube Gallery
Link out: Click here
Description: Recording artist John Carroll with a musical tribute to your deepest insecurities
* Gruppo Rubato in a reading from the play: Airport Security (a comedy of paranoia) written and directed by Patrick GauthierThx
* Actor Kel Parsons reads anxious verse from the canon of classic poetry

Bistro Tables
Complimentary hors d\’œuvres
by Petite Bill’s Bistro
Cash Bar
Tickets $20

Please call for reservations
(Limited numbers)
613 728 1750
Start Time: 19:30
Date: 2009-10-04

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5 Years at The Chateau Lafayette Aniversary!!!

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:51:23 +0000

Title: 5 Years at The Chateau Lafayette Aniversary!!!
Location: 42 York St. Ottawa ON
Description: Come and celebrate 5 years of fabulously wicked Wednesdays at The Laff with John Carroll No Cover
Start Time: 22:00
Date: 2009-11-05

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The Miners Tavern

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:27:28 +0000

Title: The Miners Tavern
Location: 75 Lang St. Cobalt ON
Description: Back at the Miners\’ in the most Historic place in Ontario, Cobalt!! Enjoy good music, great friends in the friendliest tavern in the North!
Start Time: 21:00
Date: 2009-12-11

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Kafe 1870

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:23:50 +0000

Title: Kafe 1870
Location: 715 chemin Riverside, Wakefield Quebec
Link out: Click here
Description: Come out for an evening at the wonderful Kafe 1870 in the little town of Wakefield, and enjoy some great music with John, Fred Guignon and Olivier Fairfield! Nothing beats the country! $5.00
Start Time: 20:00
Date: 2009-12-05

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The Lop Lop Lounge

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:18:04 +0000

Title: The Lop Lop Lounge
Location: 651 Queen Street East, Sault Ste Marie, ON
Link out: Click here
Description: Second time in the Sault! A night of rocking good blues and folk with John Carroll and Mason Rack in the heart of Sault Ste. Marie\’s night life!
Start Time: 20:00
Date: 2009-11-07

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The Moon Cafe

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:07:47 +0000

Title: The Moon Cafe
Location: 312 Main St, Mattawa, Ontario
Description: Enjoy great food, company and music in this little Northern Ontario treasure! $5.00
Start Time: 20:00
Date: 2009-11-06

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Coffee House at The Chat Noir Bookstore

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:03:05 +0000

Title: Coffe House at The Chat Noir Bookstore
Location: 57 Whitewood Ave
Link out: Click here
Description: A lovely evening of music in the warmth of The Chat Noir Bookstore sipping espresso or tea and enjoying a quick browse of the shelves between sets!! $5.00
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2009-10-17
End Time: 21:00

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