Do You Like Rap Music?

The Daily Grist: “It was hard for me to realize that they really liked that kind of music. …I don’t think you could think of no kind of music, I ain’t never heard none of it that I didn’t like SOME of it. Do you? I don’t like it all but any music I can listen to on...

I Don’t Like It

Listening to new music can be a very challenging experience. Suppose you hear a brand new song by a group that you really love. You might be a little bit sceptical. Just give me what I’m used to. That would be good enough. Maybe you sit there and patiently wait with...

The Wild Life

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Bruce from 2016.) Out here on Long’s Achers, the wildlife is abundant. To the South, the presence of the city is in fast approach. More homes are slated to be built. To the West, are still remains of partial rural living. “Homes with horses,“ I...

An Eastertime Story

(Editor’s Note: Here’s one I wrote a few years ago called the Department of Redundancy Department) Happy Easter to everybody! I have to admit that, for me, these days Easter isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. (pardon the pun) Easter egg hunts are mostly...

Why There’s a Bluegrass Club in British Columbia

Back when the earth’s crust was cooling (the late ‘70s), I was part of Vancouver Co-op Radio’s first country music show. We’d already established programming based on local music, blues, jazz, and folk, so a mix of bluegrass, old time, classic country, swing,...

Free Bird

(Editor’s Note: Here is one of my favorite columns from year’s past. I miss Amanda’s regular columns and I have always wondered if she is still in the “not yet” category. If not I’ll bet she’s still an enthusiastic...

Bluegrass Therapy

Here’s a paper I found while rifling through my therapist’s desk while she was out of the room. Therapeutic approaches to the treatment of bluegrass addiction Bluegrass treatment programs are in their infancy and as yet poorly understood. As a small contribution to...

People Think You’re Stupid

People think you’re stupid. 1. They think you’re going to talk over the telephone when you pick it up and discover that a robot just called you! (Come on! Like you enjoy talking to the robot when YOU call about an important issue and get the robot instead of a human?)...

A Musical Life

Living with the Covid-19 restrictions is making me (and I suspect many of us) more reflective. Our regular pattern of life, previously taken for granted, has altered. In this changing world music has turned out to be a firm anchor, often in unexpected situations. Last...