I'm not sure how this is going to look when it's delivered to your inbox - I'm trying out a brand new platform - but it's 2am and I say "Damn the Torpedoes!" I haven't sent out a Blainletter since last Christmas (I think it was #165 - that’s 13 years worth!) I said at the time that I was going to let it go because there weren’t hardly any gigs to promote and that was its “raison d’etre”.
I've switched to Substack on the recommendation of the eminent music publicist Richard Flohil. His Substack blog is called "Stories from the Edge" wherein he relates stories of his encounters with famous music people and extols the virtues of up-and-coming artists who aren't famous yet. He liked Substack because even though most readers opt for the free subscription there is a paid subscription option because there will always be some folks who are glad to pay a small subscription (he charges $6 a month, mine is $5).
I’m pushing 80 now, with a lot of the attendant afflictions, so I don’t have a lot of steam to go touring all over, but I’ve still got something to offer and I want to keep bringing my music to the people who want to hear it. I am actively soliciting house concerts that are within a reasonable distance of Toronto and I want to try offering a "zoom concert" - from my kitchen to yours! Would you like to be the first to have Brian Blain serenading you over zoom? And now there's a new zoom feature that allows musicians to play together also I look forward to setting up some virtual jams.
This Substack also has a podcast component so I will be doing some more Blaincasts with musical guests, in person and via zoom, and I hope to welcome some of you to my kitchen (virtually or in-person), or the back yard, weather permitting. Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 12, 2pm will be the first backyard concert & Blaincast. Let me know if you’d like to be part of the live audience.
And this Saturday, April 20, tune in to www.twitch.tv/thestringbuster for my “4-20 Special” at 4:20pm Eastern Time. I learned a couple of new country-flavoured songs in honour of Willie Nelson. There will also be a few video clips from shows I saw “Out and About” and anything else I can think of between now and Saturday. If you can’t join us for the live show, it will be replayed on my FaceBook page, my YouTube channel and archived at torontobluesdiary.com. Please leave a comment, like, share, follow…all that stuff.
Thanks for your continuing support and encouragement,
BrianB, aka Butch, Nappy, Shaker, Two-Lane Blain, Colorblind Brian, Stringbuster, Buddha of the Blues
Here’s a clip from last week - Dave Mowat is a bluesman I had not heard yet but he landed in town with a big splash at the Cameron and an official all-star backing band, Jimmy Bowskill, Terry Wilkins, Clayton Yates, Jesse O’Brien and Steve Marriner…Steve on drums! (Dave’s got a lot of hutzpah blowing harp with the best harp player in the land sitting at the drums!)
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