Rayzz

Hi All

Wow! It’s been awhile since I have updated! I’ve been very busy lately. I found out a few weeks ago that my day job is coming to an end. (Government cutbacks) I have ’till the end of this year to find another job. With this information in mind I find myself asking, “Do I really want to go back to work for someone else now that I am so close to retirement?” I’m going to be 59 in September and the more I play music, the better I get and find myself “automatically” going back to thoughts and attitudes I had when I was making a living just making music.

The “accessibility” business is what I worked at for the Gov. (making educational multimedia resources for mentally or physical disadvantaged people). I believe there is a lot of opportunity in this area of employment so I will likely continue to pursue opportunities there.

Sophie and the Shufflehounds are continuing to gig and get tighter. When we groove, we groove!! KickbacK went down to a jam at the GasPump yesterday and had a great time. We (KickbacK) still rehearse once or twice a week, whereas I gig a lot more with the Shufflehounds.

Just finishing up some demo mixes for Sophie and the Shufflehounds. Expect to see them here http://www.reverbnation.com/sophieandtheshufflehounds soon!

Our anniversary party came off very well. It is always nice seeing friends and relatives and catching up on “who’s doing what.” My wife and I would like to thank everyone who came and helped us share our good fortune. We were also happy to share our good fortune with the Edmonton food bank. We had asked everyone to bring a cash donation for the food bank instead of getting us any gifts. We raised 210.00!! That was great! I would like to thank Howard, George, Sophie, Mike and Tom for helping me with the musical duties. Hope you guys had as much fun as I did!

Talk to you all again soon!

Hi All

It’s been a very busy month and a half. I’m gigging almost every two weeks with the Shufflehounds. We’ve also been doing some recording in my studio for a demo project. Sure have had a lot of comments about my tiny little drum set. I must admit, you don’t often see a drum set with a 16 inch kick drum with such a big sound! Sophie and The Shufflehounds is getting tighter and some of the tunes are really coming together nicely.

We just finished a gig at a big club here in town called Fandangos. It reminded me of the good old days when we played big clubs and had huge P.A. and lighting systems. Lots of fun!!

Between gigging with the Shufflehounds and rehearsing with KickbacK (sometimes twice a week), my technique has got much better and makes playing so much easier … and fun!

My wife and I are busy organizing our wedding anniversary party. Kickback will be playing. My dad may do a few tunes also. Sophie and the Shufflehounds will do some tunes. We hope to see friends, family, workmates and fellow musicians. Basically, the music biz has been busy as of late and that has allowed my playing to get better. That’s very gratifying for an old guy. :-)

Talk to you next time.