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The magic of Scott Merritt lives on

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I just found out through a buddy of mine on Facebook that one of the greatest musicians that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, Scott Merritt, was playing at this years Guelph Jazz Festival today.

Three Parades, by Guelph artists/multi instrumentalists/producers Scott Merritt and Jeff Bird, will orchestrate a performance by three different bands, each made up of 10-20 musicians, that will approach the St. George’s Church’s bell tower from different directions. All three bands will play a Merritt composition in counterpoint with one another and with the tolling church bell (played by Guelph player Jeff Bird), which will act as both a time pulse and key center for the composition.

Along the three routes, road signs will provide supplementary cues for the musicians to change what they are playing. The bell tower will house a PA system, which will project a pre-recorded score for solo voice that is reminiscent of a muezzin, who delivers the Muslim call to prayer from mosques. Once the bands converge at the tower and play together for several minutes, they will turn around and recede to their original starting positions.

The compositions for the three bands, the bell, and recorded voice work both independently and in concert, regardless of the listener’s position.
The Guelph Jazz Festival

The man was always a head of the curve. How he composed his songs were brilliant and very innovative. He did it such a way that I have never heard of before. I guess this is what peaked my curiosity with his overall body of work. In 1986 he was a nominee for the Juno award of Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year!

He was the kind of guitarist that when he entered the local music store, Music and Sound, everyone who was holding a guitar put it down making it look like they didn’t play it at all! We all just had so much respect for him that we felt a little bit insecure about playing in front of him. The man was always a gentle giant in person and Scott’s interviews were always insightful.

My wife and I feel in love with his Gravity is Mutual album when we first heard it. We still have our original vinyl copy downstairs!

I will leave you with a video that he did to support his album and I know that you’ll all enjoy it!

Scott Merritt, Keep on Jammin’ PLEASE!!!

More things about Scott Merritt





Will Oshawa Rock and Roll all Nite or Not? City not listed on Kiss Tour

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Kiss is NOT coming to Oshawa?

The contest, called Demand Kiss, that the band KISS held over the summer was to see how many Kiss fans in any city would vote to have them play there on their latest tour. Oshawa, On. was the winning Canadian city with 14,569 votes.

What is the real reason why the band took the city off it’s official tour dates?

“I’m devastated,” Oshawa Councilor Robert Lutczyk said. “Gene told us personally that KISS would be in Oshawa. He said the top three in the contest are guaranteed a show.”

The band’s publicist, Erik Stein, did say that the band had something special in store for the city. What that is, was not disclosed. I’m not sure if Gene and the boys are just trying to create a buzz for the event or what, but it certainly has a lot a people pissed off.

The Sun, CBC and The Star gave this story tons of attention. They’re certainly getting a lot of publicity out of this.

I, for one, hope that this special event will blow everyone away because the town of Oshawa seems to be in desperate need of some good news! Even the United Church of Canada is behind the show! Odd but interesting! So let’s keep our fingers cross for all those Kiss Army fans in the city!

Keep on Jammin’

The Band Gemini played Moving in stereo perfectly

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The song titled Moving in Stereo, by The Cars on their 1978 album debut LP, was is a song for the ages! It must be in the top 10 songs to silent to on headphones. The other way I loved listening to it was when it was played by my childhood friends band in Brantford called Gemini!

I clearly remember watching these guys in my parents backyard performing for my little sister’s birthday party. It was the song that I thought they did the best while playing live.

They played it in a very simple but yet secure form. It was very tight from beginning to end. Their version of the song was very haunting and ominous-sounding, just like The Cars.

This song “travels” around your speaker system during the first set of verses and once during the middle of the song. Each channel is faded in/out, in order. It’s a cool effect when you’re in your car, as the sound moves from front right, to back right to back left to front left. Gemini didn’t have the same panning effects in their PA system or have that futuristic vocal effects, but it was true to the original form of the song.

They also had a strong resemblance to the Cars stage presence. Nicely done boys!

I recently saw a show that used it in one of it’s episodes. It was in an episode of Family Guy that rips off the Fast Times scene. Very funny stuff indeed! God I love that show.

So in case some of you out there have never heard of this song, check out the below video. This is a live version, so it does not represent the sound quality of the album, but you get the idea. When I listen to this song today, I can close my eyes and still see the band Gemini performing it at my little sister’s party!

Keep on Jammin’ Gemini where ever you are!

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