Whitehorse

Well, I've been back home for a week now, and I guess it is time to begin documenting my adventures around the country for the three weeks prior. As you know, I began with a trip up to Whitehorse(that's the capitol of the Yukon). This was a wonderful place to visit. It would be for anyone, but especially for me. Since I haven't lived there for about 10 years, I figured that I wouldn't be able to go anywhere that feels any more like home than any other place. However, I was wrong. Whitehorse is my real roots; my stomping grounds; my true hometown. I came to that overwhelming conclusion while I was there. A number of my friends and old classmates have completed their long educational careers and have settled back there. Some have houses, and now families. In fact, that was the whole reason I was back there; for my good buddy, Zeke's, wedding. It was an absolute honor and delight to be able to take part in his wedding ceremony as he married Rona (formerly) Mathies. I was a groomsman as well as the the officiant of the ceremony.
I throughly enjoyed myself all week hanging out with Zeke (even following him to the office as his personal assistant during the week). I stayed with him at his house and had the joy and honor of dining with his family a couple times. The Aasmans are all very charming, interesting, and sincere people and a real joy to be around. If I had not been born into my own family and had to choose another, I believe I would pick to be a part of this one. (Heheh, I just thought of Owen Wilson on The Royal Tenenbaums.)
Anyways, I also had the pleasure of Disc Golfing with Amber and Tyler (soon both to be Kuhns), and Loretta Jensen. Can you believe that we played until almost midnight and took this picture at the end? If I had done that a month earlier, you would be thinking it was noon. Ah, the land of the midnight sun.
Well, on Friday we finally got to hang out with Kyle and Nicole as well. (Nicole happened to be up there for a couple weeks as well. We 4x4ed it up to the top of Goldenhorn Mountain and chatted while I impressed people with my shotgun skills (Thanks to the Elkford Alliance Men).
The day of the wedding was pretty full. Nathan came over in the morning and made waffles and then we went fly fishing with the other Aasman males, even wearing our tuxedo jackets. The wedding began in the early afternoon at The Bean Coffee Roasters out on the Hotsprings road (I don't know why I say this because those that know where that is already know that's where it was). Then, The reception was at the Yukon Transportation Museum (hands down the coolest reception location ever).
Oh, here's a picture of the cake with Zeke and Rona and Emily as well who actually made the cake. It was so delicious (hazelnut based I believe). Well, there are a million things you could say about the wedding, but I'll just say this one was an absolutely incredible experience to be a part of.
Early the next morning I had to get up because I had the pleasure of preaching at my old church; Riverdale Baptist. It was also really cool to see quite a few other church members from my youth there again. Sara, Kyle, Rachel, Lauretta, Mike, Marisa, and my sister, Melisa all came out to see me there as well. We got to all hang out for a bit over lunch before Kyle drove me quickly downtown to get some collectibles before I flew out again that afternoon. It was all a pretty great trip and I don't have the space to write everything about it here now, but it sure was good to go home for awhile. I can't wait to go back again.I wish I could have spent longer with everyone.

I'm Back

So, I am now back in Elkford. I arrived back tonight. I have to start work again tomorrow. I was away from town for the last 3 weeks and was busy flying/driving around all over the country. I'll update about my trip later. Anyways, I will just do one more thing tonight. I will introduce you to my new separate blog dedicated to the guitar amp that I will be building (with my dad making the cabinet). So, anyone who does not like to hear about all my amp building stories, can be protected from it in this blog. Meanwhile, our team will do lots of updates throughout the process on the new blog. Click on the amp to go to the other blog:

Travels begin today

I'm writing this quickly before I have to go to church this morning because after church I depart on my holidays. I am taking three weeks off (2 actual vacation and one pro-bono) . I will gal avant rapidly around Canada in this time.
This afternoon I will drive to Calgary where I will meet up with the Heagys and Shareskis, until I go to the airport at 6:30pm. Then, this evening I will fly to Whitehorse for a week, where I will hang with Zeke (and possibly others from my youth) before conducting Zeke's Wedding and preaching the next morning at Riverdale Baptist Church.
Next, I fly back to Calgary and then after about 18 hours there again I soar off to Toronto. There I will hangout with Anh and her family and friends for another week. The possibilities there for food and fun are endless (so I hear; I've never been there). Maybe we will get to go to Blue Jays game or something, as well as roller-coasters and water-slides or who-knows-what.
Then I fly back to Calgary again and immediately hop in my car to drive to Revelstoke. I should have about a day and a half there to maybe catch up with the Hunchaks, Faucetts, Jenny etc. before driving down to Vancouver.

Then in Vancouver we may catch up with Grandma, some cousins and other relatives before Dara's wedding on Saturday. Then , on Sunday, we will drive to Revelstoke again, and on Monday I'll drive back to Elkford ... home where Ryan Monson will make me some Shepherd's pie.

The Dream is Gone -- Moan

Thank you everyone for all of your help choosing some new hobbies. I have found all your suggestions extremely useful and I think I will use a lot of them.

Now, I promised to inform everyone what happens with this unspecified Marshall stack. Well, as I attempted to prepare myself for, the dream is gone. Yesterday, Joe made some serious and desperate attempts to get to the bottom of this Tim guy's supposed disappearance. Joe even went as far as to phone the guy's mom (Thanks Joe). Anyways, it turns out that Tim (the owner of the amp) made a quick decision to accept a job offer on oil rigs down in Texas, and within 3 days, he sold his house in Lethbridge and moved immediately with all his stuff (including my potential amp). Apparently, this all happened over a month ago. That explains that. All my dreams were shattered and I went on a roadtrip with Joe and the Lyalls yesterday to Lethbridge in order to fight off my suicidal thoughts. We went to a number of music stores and looked for/tried out some different amps, because I guess now I am free to pursue a different amp for at home. We can discuss that more in the future. (You all know I won't be able to refrain from keeping everyone in the loop during that whole process).

Next, I would like to discuss something else that relates to this amp business, without going all into it. Joe and I rented a movie from our local store. We couldn't seem to find much, and then settled on one that we saw a preview for before. Black Snake Moan by Craig Brewer. It caught us rather off guard. I don't know why, but we were both expecting a bit of a silly comedy. From close to the beginning, it seemed to be quite a bit raunchier than we expected. I'd be careful on who to recommend it to for that reason, but in the end I was quite impressed with the film (especially considering my uninformed expectations). This is Craig Brewer's "Blues movie". He previously did a "Rap Movie" called Hustle and Flow, which I have not seen (but it won some awards). Anyways, I wouldn't consider Craig as any sort of brilliant film director, but I do appreciate what he is doing here and it is supposedly very loosely based on the novel, Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot . But really, this film has broke a keen interest within me for this sort of deep south blues music. It makes me want to discover this genre and style of music. I really like this style musical film; very intentional about the musical part of the film and making music a strong key element to the film. I guess some similar films that do such things (off the top of my head) are Swing Kids, The Pianist, and perhaps The Graduate (for what it does with Simon and Garfunkel). I'm not comparing the quality of these films with each other, but I remember them all causing within me a real strong impression and an appreciation for the specific musical styles that they presented.

Anyways, I loved the blues music in Black Snake Moan, and it will cause me to sample some blues music now and likely cause some sort of representation within my music collection. It could also have an effect on what sort of guitar amp I buy eventually; I adored the tones that these songs could get out of what I believe to be Class A style guitar amps or blues amps. The Lyalls watched the movie the other day right after Joe and I and it made a good impression with them as well, causing Kristine to pick up a glass slide for her guitar yesterday.

Now, I'd be interested to know if any of you who read this have had any experience with any blues musicians, or whether there are any albums you would recommend. Also, I'm wondering if any of you can think of any films that you enjoyed, that made a strong impression on you in a musical sense.

Something new to get into

As I try to work on my next big sermon this weekend, I've allowed my frequently wandering mind several breaks today. In these breaks, I've done great deal of contemplation. I need something new and exciting in my life. First of all, I've decided to step up my prayer-life and commit more time and energy to knowing God again; this is much needed I feel.

As well, I desire another source of recreation/entertainment within this small town which I now live. So, it's time for something new. I want something new to get into with my spare time (extremely limited as an assistant pastor). I'm not sure what sort of financial commitment this involves from my budget (extremely limited as an assistant pastor). In any case, please help me consider my options.

First, I should bring up the wonderful world of the electric guitar. This is still my new love and I am sincerely committed to developing my skills in this area. Presently this is limited by my lack of a guitar amp at home to practice on. (My amp is kept at the church and is too big to lug back and forth). My hopes have been high (but frequently crushed from prolongation) that I will acquire an undetermined Marshall full stack and amp from a friend of Joe's in Lethbridge. This dream has been fed and stretched for the last 4 months or so by Joe's phone calls to his friend (most of which are unanswered in recent weeks). Anyways, all that I know about this amp is that he will part with it for $120 and that it was his old amp before he bought his top-of-the-line Marshall stack. I have still not discovered anything more-not even what model of amp it is. It will be a great deal in any case, but how great of a deal is anyone's guess until more information is supplied. Anyways, the main frustrating part is that while I dream of the possibilities for over a quarter of a year, this owner of the amp works on the oil rigs with a 2 week on, 2 week off schedule that seems to elude any possible contact. But, Joe apparently calls him every day for at least the last 3 weeks, with no response. (I heard that he went to Hawaii a few months ago and got a Hawaiian girlfriend; maybe tat is what is resulting in his absence.) Anyways, this situation is slowly destroying me. I am ready at any moment to drop everything and rush to Lethbridge at the hope of picking it up, no matter what model it really may be. I don't even know if it will fit in my car, but if you read this Josh, I may have to store part of it at your house for a week or so if you are ok with it. I just need to separate it from its current (always absent) owner's home. Anyways, you will all know what comes of this...but I warn you, don't hold your breath.

In the mean time, what shall my hobby be? Should I try to whip my body back into its peak physical condition and make that my hobby? That is beneficial to my health and it does relieve stress, as long as I keep it up. It may cost about $30/month for a new gym membership, but I would have to be committed because I wouldn't dare pay and not go. (I've been good about going in the past.) Or, should I go for an all new enduro-style body- the leaner look and more aerobic style workouts? I could get into lots of biking and running. The upside and downside for that is the same; it involves no financial commitment, so I don't know if I will stick with it. It's weird how being a cheapskate could actually result in me spending money.

The other option I thought of this morning was inspired by my friend Aaron across the street. He was in a motorcycle accident, and therefore has had time off work to become our friend. But this accident also destroyed his Harley. Of course he needed a new one and he finally has replaced it. Although this is not the actual picture of his fancy new 1979 Chopper, this is the only picture he has actually sent me. This is the picture of what his new bike will eventually look like (generally) once he has personalized it more to his liking. Anyways, getting a motorbike to cruise around on sounded like a lot of fun, and I have kept revisiting the idea. But, I decided that even a bike that was so cheap that I would get ridiculed by everyone who saw me on it, is still far out of reach of my personal budget. I realistically could never afford it (remember-assistant pastor). When I found out that this won't even make Anh think I'm any cooler, I realized that all the financial sacrifice wouldn't be worth it. Besides, I'm no mechanic. You have to be able to fix 'em to ride 'em. All I can fix so far is my Wah pedal.

My next idea is film. I love movies. I like all sorts, as long as they don't suck. I've considered recently subscribing to Roger's Mail Out DVD Rentals. That's not what it's called but I forget their title. I could see all those well made and classic films that small town Pop-Video Stores don't bother with all for about $25/month. I know I will at least do their 2 week trial to hopefully see some Tarkovsky, Bergman, Dreyer and Kurosawa films that would be ridiculously expensive to buy. If I subscribed to that, I could also view other favorites of those people I hold in high opinion. Jon Kramer recently stated in his blog that "She's the Man" is the best film ever (I've personally wanted to see it for some time anyways), and I heard "Remains of the Day" is quite good, according to Jon Coutts. Well, this could be my chance to discover some real gems, and get more into appreciating the art of film. I could consult MacGregor, Wilkinson, and DK for endless possibilities of superb films to view and appreciate.

My last idea that I have come up with is the world of video games. Ryan says that Super Mario World on SNES is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable, but so far it hasn't been. I am getting better, but not without a whole lot of pain and anguish. You would think I have Tourette's Syndrome by the affect this game has on me. I always end up screaming and swinging the controller around by the chord and trying to smash it against the ground. Every time I play, I scream about how much I hate the game and that I will never play again. Still, I try every couple days. Nowadays, they make video games more exciting and a lot easier for beginners to play. Perhaps I should try to find a PS2 for cheap, or even splurge for one of those new systems that the world is talking about these days. Any thoughts? Again, this could be a bit of a financial commitment, but it's a whole lot more realistic than a motorbike, and video games can be your friends in all seasons.

Well, I' not just talking about this to sort out my own thoughts (although it does help). I need Your thoughts. Let's hear 'em!

Wild Cats Gone

Hi Everyone,
Sorry about the long absence. My life was incredibly busy in recent weeks and it seems that it still hasn't subsided. In any case, Wild Cat Days have now come and gone. Our Inter-Church Band performed on Friday night and Saturday afternoon for segments of just under 2 hours each time I believe. Friday night was limited by Thundershowers, and Saturday afternoon was delayed because a dunk tank got mixed up and went in our location (after much confusion, we were able to eventually set up nearby; just out of splashing distance).
Anyways, even with my pessimistic viewpoint, I would still say that it was worthwhile. I'm glad we did it. It seems people enjoyed the music at least some of the time. Some of the teens from my soccer team were really impressed by my electric guitar and they knew all about it too.
For the music, we seemed to have a pretty good crowd on the Friday night, especially at first.
Anyways, Aaron has posted videos of 2 of the songs that we did; one of his friends taped a bit.





I promised a finalized set list but I'm unsure whether there is any point because we only did maybe two-thirds of our 32 songs we had prepared. I think some of our more popular songs might have been:
When the Night Feels My Song- Bedouin Soundclash
Vertigo- U2
Have You Seen the Rain?- CCR
Meet With Me- Tim Hughes or somebody
On The Radio- Regina Spektor
Inside & Out- Feist/BeeGees
Fidelity- Regina Spektor
On Call- Kings of Leon
Mushaboom- Feist
Can I Help You? -Kristine Lyall

Actually, I think I love doing Kristine's songs the most. We need more opportunity to do them in the future. I was a little disappointed in some of our sound in the outdoor environment and without our usual guitar amps. But that's life.
Anyways, check out Monson's blog on the right to hear about our soccer tournament going on that weekend too.

My Videos

So, tonight we lost our first soccer game of the season, in Sparwood (the worst place to lose for an Elkfordian). Everyone is crushed, bitter, angry, etc. We could have/should have/would have won, but we didn't. Let's not talk about it.

So, I posted some videos that I wrote, produced, and directed, on Youtube. Here are my 2 favorites. It is a 2 part series with SpinMaster T-Hort. First, here is the instructional break-dancing video that started it all.

Now, here is the sequel, which is an interview with SpinMaster T-Hort, performed by Scott.

Welcome Tonebone!

I have gone far too long without talking about Guitar Pedals. I will now break that fast by talking about the final addition to the pedal line-up for quite some time. I would like to extend a warm welcome to my new Tonebone Classic. I ordered it second-hand on e-bay from somewhere in the United States. It seems rather ironic because these fine pieces of craftsmanship are made in Canada. Of course, people south of the border are willing to sell them for cheaper, so that is where I buy. Anyways, this Overdrive pedal allows me tone tweak and enhance my tone to wonderful degrees, making my guitar amp sound like it is worth about $1500 more than it actually is. (By the way, if I have any rich and generous readers out there, you can consider buying me a nice Marshall JCM 2000 or a Mesa Boogie All-Tube Amp of some sort, and I would be most grateful). In the mean time, I have this little unit with an 12ax7 tube inside providing me with some better tone than I would normally have to settle for.
As you can see, the Tonebone has been added to my pedal lineup and it currently looks like this:I think the first thing I should do to save myself some embarrassment, is explain what that ugly black, plastic, digital thing is doing to the right of the Tonebone. Well, that was what I used before I wisely went to analog effects. I now keep it in the line-up as a tuner and or occasionally as a delay pedal. I have singled out a few different delay settings and use that part of the multi-effects pedal alone. Ok, enough of the excuses. Allow me now to introduce the line-up:
Guitar goes to :
Original Cry-Baby wah ->
Digitech Whammy IV (for some crazy high-pitched sounds and some bending of notes) ->
Boss Equalizer Pedal ( set to 11 for added input punch for certains foot-selected times) ->
Boss Overdrive Pedal (for extra overdrive above the current Tonebone setting) ->
Zoom Digital multi-effects pedal (just used for tuning and delay) ->
TONEBONE! (for beautiful, toneful distortion) ->
Traynor Mark 3 Amp Head (about 30 years old) ->
tremelo and reverb footswitches for amp

Well, what does everyone think? Any suggestions for configuration or perhaps suggestions on what I should velcro to that black board that fits in my briefcase perfectly. Is it even worth it to attach some of the pedals to it or should I try to make a huge board for everything? If you have no suggestions, feel free to say "welcome back to Canada" to my Tonebone. Or, you could say, "Matt, I have a Marshall stack you can have". -whatever you please

Combat Wombats crush Fort MacLeod in Pincher Creek

Yup that's right. My soccer team is still undefeated. Last night was my first game coaching alone without Head Coach Morris being there since our very first game back in Sparwood. Anyways, we did well and won the game 7-0.... a solid victory. The Combat Wombats put in a solid effort and did me proud. What impressed me most is how well our team worked as a team and the passing was impressive and the team is very solid all-around, with lots of stars... and lots of goals. Anyways, I wish I had some pictures from this game. Even though Ryan Monson now lives with me and came out to help coach this game, he didn't bring his camera. Apparently, he doesn't have a fast enough lens to capture our team, and he didn't want to take his camera outside in wet weather. I appreciate him coming out anyways, even though we ended up being out an hour past his bed time. So, here are some pics of our team that Anh took at a practice a few weeks ago:Morris sets everyone straight and tells it like it is.Matt takes the field to join in some intense scrimmage action.

Go Wild Cats!

That title sounds like I am cheering for a team, but I don't think it is a name of one around here, but Wild Cat Days is a weekend festival or something here at the end of June. (I should mention that my soccer team is still undefeated as well...Go Combat Wombats!)
Anyways, I have commissioned by the churches to form a band/bands to perform Friday night and Saturday afternoon of Wild Cat Days for the entertainment of the crowds gathering at those times. We mostly be immediately in front of giant inflatable things for kids and about 50 yards from a beer gardens. Anyways, once we have finished forming a band or two, or different arrangements of a similar band with equal representation from the different churches, we will more specifically choose appropriate songs. I've called a meeting for all interested parties to meet on Sunday night to form the band/bands. I will now insert a picture to spice up the blog a bit-This is some people that will be involved in the band. It's a group of us that played some songs at Tara and Craig's wedding a few weeks ago.
Ok, back to the songs; We will do a few of the more fun and exciting church type songs mixed in with some other SECULAR (ooooooh!) songs, because this entertainment and not a church service and our goal is to do something nice for the town and people here. So, here is the feedback part of the blog: Tell me what songs we should or shouldn't do.
Here are some examples of songs we have thought of:
I wanted to do "Feel Good Inc." by the Gorillaz but our lack of any decent rappers would probably make it really lame (but who knows who might show up on Sunday night)
"Killing in the Name Of" by Rage Against the Machine would be fun to play, but it might be a bit too angry.
Some more likely possiblities could be maybe "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash, "On Call" by the Kings of Leon, or "Oh My Sweet Carolina" for all those Yanks working up here in the mines.
Let's here your ideas. (I know I don't deserve any feedback because I have not updated the blog enough to warrant any readers still visiting) I will wait patiently.

I will be OK.

Dear Readers,
I am sorry but I will not be around Elkford this weekend. I had to be heli-vacced to he hospital in Vancouver. It seems that I came down with a sudden case of what is refered to as "Jello-head". It is a frightful disease comes on instantaneously rendering the victim's entire head with the consistency of jello. Lucklily, it is not in the least bit painful and is easily treatable (I just eat fast drying/hardening glue). I should be released from the hospital on monday and will come straight back to Elkford to continue my life and work there. Anyways, I have attached pictures of my condition for those with strong stomachs. You will notice that while my head is malliable like jello, there seems to be very little danger of chunks of my head breaking off. For instance, you will notice that I can grab a chunk of my head between my thumb and forefinger and pull it out to the side, but within reason, it wil not break off (notice the first picture).
Anyways, thanks for your concern. I have felt much love in this difficult time.
Matthew Yeomans

Wii are soon to hit the road

Sorry, I know Wii puns are wa overused by now but I felt I was missing out and this is my first oportunity. (I got so jealous of all his pun fun from reading Jon Kramer's blog for the last year)
Today will be my 3rd soccer practice and my first time coaching alone since that first practice. I hope I can help this team get ready for their first game in just over a week.
By the way, I have now retrieved Anh, and we will be leaving in a couple days for Revelstoke and Tara and Craig's wedding in Vernon.
Hopefully, while in Revelstoke, we will get a chance to see Britt and Barry's new Baby- Samuel Hunchak. Here is their public Congratulations.
By the way, my sister, Tamara and her husband Josh have been updating their blog more frequently at last. Click the picture of my parents playing Wii to check it out. (This picture made me laugh so hard.)

Soccer Drills?!?!?!

So, Congratulations to Zeke! He and Rona are getting married this august in the good old mighty Yukon. I will give my left nostril to get there if I have to.
Some other news(and this will seem rather ridiculous): I am now the assistant coach for Elkford's U-16 soccer team. I was asked on Monday, and then yesterday afternoon, I had to lead the first practice of the year by myself. (Well, actually, the players definitely helped me out and seemed rather supportive) They have been playing together their whole lives and have taken the gold medal for the region for about the last 6 years or so. Anyways, the head coach was on his work shift and couldn't make it so he instructed that we should be starting with lots of running. This was a little bit of a relief because I have no idea what I'm doing; I haven't played organized soccer since I was in grade 2 (was it a mistake for me to have told them that?).
Anyways, most of my soccer experience has been watching the great David MacGregor show us all how it's done on the field, and CBC indoor soccer, and before that, my cousin Zac playing for UCFV. Of course, when I brag about that to these youth, they seem to give me looks of either not being impressed, or not understanding (maybe both). Anyways, Zac, with all his coaching experience, just told me to just roll a ball out onto the field and tell them to kick each other. Apparently, he desires his coaching secrets to remain as secrets. Hopefully, MacGregor will give me some tips.
Well, I survived the practice. If anything, I think I was too easy on them. Even though two girls decided to pack up and leave. They didn't even say anything before leaving but it was right when I sent everyone for 2 more laps. I felt like maybe I was being to hard on everyone at that point but the rest of the team didn't seem to think so. It's not like I was really barking orders anyways; all my instructions were more like suggestions. Besides that, I think my drills might have been rather lame, or at least not gone off super well. (I had found a few on the internet that morning) At least I was able to put some of MacGregor's teaching on taking shots to good use and help some of the players put some stink on the ball without it going over the crossbar, fence, and the side of the mountain. See Dave, you are already the secret coach for this team and you didn't even know it. Now, you better give me some more tips just to save your reputation. And Zac, if you read this, how about a few more tips too? Anyone else got some good advice? At least for our next practice this week, the head coach will be there too.

A Tour of North Korea

Click on this map for the BBC profile of North Korea
I had lost my bookmark for the BBC News headlines in my browser somehow a few months ago. Anyways, I took the initiative today to look for news online after having no exposure to the world for several months. Seriously, It's like I live in my own little North Korea of Elkford and I never bother to ask about the outside world. I am not trashing Elkford right now, but rather my own ignorance of anything outside of my apartment or office.
Anyways, today there is a 10 picture long tour of North Korea on the BBC website. Click this picture to check it out:
North Korea is the most fascinating country in the world to me. It's so unusual to think of what life must be like in the most closed communist country in the world. These people are completely lied to about lots of things in the outside world, as well as what goes on in their own country. I wonder what the average North Korean worker thinks about. What do they think about their own government? Is there a conflict in their minds between what they think might be true, and what they choose that they must believe? Does anyone have any thoughts on North Korea? I've heard lots of different things...many of them quite sad.
Oh, if you want to see the official government news website for North Korea, here it is (it's fascinating to see propaganda like this in today's world)(click on the Picture):

My Immense Apologies

It seems as though I am doing absolutely anything I can to make sure that any possible readers I have will never come back to this site. First I talk about nothing but church music and guitar pedals; Now if that didn't do the trick, I do nothing to update my blog for a long time. Is there anyone out there who still checks this site? Well, if there is, I am now back. Work was crazy busy for the last while and I think I was doing about 80 hours a week and then hitting the road on every day off.
Nathan Carroll's CD release party was a blast of a weekend. Check out Davies' photo blog to see some pics. The Young Wire Wicks were phenomenal and I was blown away by the quality of songwriting and performing that MacGregor is now doing. Nathan Carroll's performance was very cool as well, and I a have been enjoying the album. Pedal Steel is somewhat of a treat that I don't get to hear often at all.
Anh's piano concert was also very cool and she did an amazing performance on her concerto.
Easter was a great time and I was very happy to spend it with Anh and my family(minus Melissa) in Lethbridge. I should clarify that it wasn't the "minus Melissa" part that made me happy.

I'll post again very soon.

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Cookies, films, and analog effects

I have so many things I want to blog about, so I will do so now as my cookies are baking. Yes, I am baking oatmeal Chocolate chip cookies (don't worry Matthew, I would never consider making raisin cookies) because I finally found the recipe after searching for it all week. Ok, let's get down to business. I will leave my guitar/pedals writing stuff until my last paragraph so that those of you who hate that stuff can stop reading before getting that far.

First, let's talk about the film I rented a few nights ago. (I know, I am really living it up, and blowing all my money; but it was worth it on this one). I rented "Stranger Than Fiction" and I really loved it. It was quite enjoyable and original in some ways while still seeming humble. Do you know what I mean? Like, some movies (like "The Illusionist") act like they are some sort of brilliant film that is supposed to blow you away, while you can see through the whole story the whole time. Ya, the Illusionist was a crap movie and nothing even close to as good as "The Prestige". I don't know why I mentioned that film except for the fact that some people might go trying to rent "The Prestige and end up with the all time worst case scenario of walking home with "The Illusionist" instead. (Man! what was Edward Norton even thinking?) (Man! what was I thinking? Never give a film a chance based on the actors in it. Am I being too cruel? I just think you can choose a film to view based on a director, but never an actor. Why do I get so mean and mouthy when I blog? I feel bad now.
So, I just realized that "Stranger Than Fiction" is probably what inspired me to bake cookies this week; because of that scene where he enjoys the same kind so immensely. I guess I can also relate to his excitement with his Fender guitar. What I really grabbed me in this film was the (probably unintentional) allusion to the Garden of Gethsemane. This probably makes me an obsessed religious nut for even pointing this out, but isn't all of the true beauty in this film directly due to the story's similarity to the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The decision/obedience/actions of Jesus are duplicated in this story to a lesser degree. Even though this story isn't as brilliant and poetic as that of Jesus', it resonates with me because of its similarities.
Ok, so it's now Pedaltalk time again so Anh, you can stop reading now. It's time for an update. I bought a Behringer Expression/Volume pedal last time I was in Calgary. It seemed to work fine with my digital Zoom pedal, even though I didn't quite get the right chord to connect it. (I got a Y chord from TRS to two TS ends but it should have TRS to TRS. Anyways, after goofing with it for about a week, I have officially decided to return it. I'm not sick of wah effects yet but rather, I am sick of digital effects. Yes, that's right; I've decided to go analog. I have reached that point now. I used my guitar amp last night with just my Telecaster for the first time and I was rather impressed at the tones. Now, you should know that my amp is a VERY old Traynor 200Watt tube amp with no sorts of distortion really available. It has some reverb and a tremolo though. However, by cranking the volume for the channel and then just turning down the Master volume I could get a slight distortion that I rather enjoyed. It seems like the perfect amount of distortion for most of the stuff that we play so far in church, with much better tone than my digital pedal. So, I've decided to build from there. I will return last week's purchase. I already won an auction on eBay this afternoon for a used Dunlop Cry Baby wah pedal for quite a deal. Then, I will slowly add some analog pedals. I would like the option of some more distortion (a bit heavier sound) and so my first pedal may be something along those lines. I've considered the Boss DS-1 but I will consult some expert guitar store guys desperately trying to earn commission. Maybe I will get a footswitch for my amp's tremolo. I still greatly revere Tom Morello and his creative sounds so I will likely continue to try emulating some of his tones. Maybe down the road I will even consider the Digitech Whammy Pedal, if I could find one for cheap. Maybe a delay pedal first, (although that might be one use for my digital pedal). So, my analog journey begins.

Hey Tom, come join my band

Ok, I know I do this likely at the cost of losing any remaining readers, but I have to make one more post about guitar stuff. Well, Actually, this post is about Tom Morello. Ever since I did my random contest last post, I have actually researched this guitarist a bit more. Now, as circumstances would have it, he is currently my all-time favorite guitarist. I love this guy's talent and creativity. It would also so happen that he seems like a rather tolerable, friendly, and likable guy. I was watching some videos on youtube of him explaining how he gets some of his sounds and such. Check out the 3rd part of these clips (click on his picture to view it):

Anyways, I would love to play guitar like him and I could stand to have that kind of creativity. (You should watch the first 2 parts of this video to see how creative he gets with making different sorts of hip-hop sounds and styles with his guitar and pedals).
This is the sort of creativity we should be seeing in our churches. Well, some day I guess. You know; keep some tradition but also push forward and be creative as well. Innovation!

Distortion Thresholds and Pedals

I believe that every song has a distortion/guitar effects threshold. I am trying to nail down how that works exactly. My present thought is that it works somewhat like a game of Blackjack: The more you increase the amount of distortion, the more you increase the power of the song; BUT the moment you cross a certain line, all is lost and the song loses all its power. You can argue that this is subjective for each person, but I am going to pretend right now that this is an objective truth. Of course, depending on the style of effect, or type or distortion, this threshold will vary. For example, if it is a 60s fuzz style distortion with fat bass, the threshold for the song may be very small or nil, while a Peavey tube amp overdrive sound may have a much larger threshold for that very same song. That's just an example and I'm not sure if that is ever the case. So, when playing electric guitar the challenge is always to find the right type of distortion out of your available options and figure out what the gain threshold is for that song. (haha, this almost sounds like I know what I'm talking about) Of course, the electric guitar player can always just wuss out and not even try by using a standard clean sound. That's what I end up doing when I don't have enough time to find one. I don't think most electric guitar players have to deal with this on a day to day basis because they mostly get themselves stuck into a certain style of music that they feel comfortable with and then just go with one or two types of effects. But, if you want to play in a church that is truly going to connect with the music styles of the different people, you need to get out and try some new stuff. (Like I always say; not all the music styles will connect with each person but hopefully every person will connect with something.)
Ok now, let's get down to business. I need the help of my readers, which are you. I just spent the last paragraph talking about that which I don't know, so don't be shy to share even if you feel you are unqualified as well. I am looking at getting an expression pedal to plug into my little digital guitar effects pedal. I need your opinions, and remember: value for money is a top priority. The pedal I have is the Zoom505ii which has a lot of varying sounds. I want an expression pedal to plug in so I can take advantage of wah-wah features and such, or use it as a volume pedal. Now they do sell those, but is that really what I want? I heard it is cheaper to just get a basic volume pedal and some special adapters, like the following diagram. Apparently that is just over half the cost of the actual Zoom expression pedal. Do I want to do that? Please tell me. Maybe it is more worth my money to just get a Dunlop Cry Baby like Jimmy Hendrix used. I wonder if it would work to plug one of those into my digital pedal. Any thoughts anyone?

Ok, if you don't feel like you have any information to add to anything previous, perhaps you will step up to this challenge. I will buy a JBC (the next time I see you) for the first person to name the owner of this guitar pedal setup: (Oh Ya! In order to increase my simulated popularity through a comment count, you are only allowed to name one guitarist per comment and you actually have to name him and not just a band he was/is in).