New Perspectives

Michelle and I went to the Ontario Science Centre a couple days ago. I haven't been there since I was in elementary school. There are a bunch of new things there but still so much of it remains the same. I find my perspectives are completely changed, especially compared to all the kids running around, pushing every button, pulling every lever, just completely interacting with EVERYTHING they can with total abandon. One such moment was in the closed off room with different types of percussion you can play in the arcade area. I walked into it empty trying out the different instruments, listening to their resonance, their tonalities, just letting them hang in the air until a couple kids came in...BANG, BANG, BANGBANG, CLANGCLANGCLANGETCETCETC.

photos via myself and MM

MASSIVE VOLUME

ORCA will be performing with our good friends TITAN and WITH CONVICTION at Titan's record release show, Friday, April 6th. Check out their record The Chrysanthemum Pledge, out on React With Protest Records. This will be a show of density.

SANDBOX

Last Wednesday night I had the pleasure of once again playing in the SANDBOX, the monthly improvisational series at The Tranzac. The first was pure coincidence as ORCA just happened to be playing the lounge the same night and I was invited to stay and play as we were packing up. So it was great to come out and be part of it again. I did a interesting drone set with Michael Kieth doing vocals and another with my friend Johnathan Adjemian on piano and a young fellow from Guelph named Jake Neumann on bass. I performed with Michael at the last sandbox as well along with Colin Fisher and Nifty. I must say that it's amazing to find so many great musicians doing so many different things coming together to create spontaneously. I hope to do this much more in the near future, as I'm beginning to feel that GARDENIA is treading the waters of free improvisation for my strain of consciousness tendencies with music these days and ORCA is becoming much more of a structured beast.

Plans for a GARDENIA cd-r release(s) and performances are in the gears......