A CD Launch!
On my way home, I saw Lillian on Water Street and dropped her off at the Post Office before continuing back to the house. Jim and I listened to an interesting show on indigenous people from firstvoicesradio.org. They talked about the impact of the oil industry on the native people in Alaska. We talked about the effect of the arrival of the Europeans on the indigenous people here in North America. Jim proposed a great album title would be 1491 – the year before Columbus arrived.

The band, Dr. Zoo must have been listening in on our conversation because they released a CD entitled 1492 at the Fat Cat tonight. Jim and Lillian were invited and Patrick the bartender remembered me from the Festival and hooked me up with a pint glass of Coke without my asking!
We stayed till their set was done and went back down to Erin’s. I told Jim and Lillian I’d take the van back because my foot was bothering me, but they beat me there anyway. As I passed O’Reilly’s, I heard a familiar voice singing Whiskey in the Jar – it was Larry Foley and Patrick Moran on stage. The windows were wide open at the stage, so I stood there and enjoyed Patrick’s fiddle and Larry’s vocals. I’d much rather stand out on the street and listen than be in there, all crowded and annoyed by drunks. Been there, done that. I prefer someplace quieter to hang out like Erin’s.

Drove down to Erin’s thinking of Jackie Sullivan. She gets married tomorrow. Jim recorded a CD of her singing Oceans Wide so she can have it played for their first dance and husband and wife. I know he is going to love it! And I sure hope she puts that on the next CD. I’ll buy the CD for that one alone!
When I got into Erin’s I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people I knew there. Jim & Lillian, Roger, Wayne Cook, Hugh Scott, Graham Wells and one of the LeDrew boys were there already. Dave Panting was entertaining and sang some of my favorite Dave songs as well as a bunch of Elvis and Everly Brothers songs. I love the harmonies that the Everly Brothers produced back in the day. Dave’s intro and extro to “The Fire” included a classical guitar intro and extro as well. He plays so many instruments, it’s a pleasure to be there when he’s “on.”
Roger shared more of his fractured horoscopes and Graham told us about a version of Rhythm of the Goat that he recorded with Ann Devine. Lindsay Ferguson came in later and shared that she had been down at O’Reilly’s watching Larry and Patrick. She and I waxed poetic about Patrick’s wicked fiddle work. It was Padraig’s last night working at Erin's and even Trevor and Lisa were there. I hadn’t seen either of them since last June! They came to see Padraig back home to Ireland. He’s a nice guy and will be missed by the patrons at Erin’s. My pillow saw me at 3:45 AM – this is becoming a habit. Used to be I turned into a pumpkin at midnight. Not in Newfoundland!

Friday, August 18th

Woke up fairly late considering we were driving to Terra Nova today. I didn’t need to pack much though since we were only going for two nights, and I fixed the CDs in the changer to play Jim’s Terra Nova when I turned the car on. He hadn’t heard that album (Friendly Fire) for awhile, he said. It’s one of my favorite albums and occupies a spot in the CD changer most days.

I just let the CDs play and I was surprised to hear that it was Jim’s first listen to Great Big Sea’s The Hard & the Easy album. He enjoyed it for the most part and liked Bob’s whistle work for the beginning of Tishialuk Girls Set. He had a few choice words to say about their changing the title of Sweet Forget-Me-Not to Graceful and Charming, too. I agree – it should not have been changed. He likened the album to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors album, although I didn’t quite get the connection. Jim then made a comment I didn’t know how to react to. “It seems like a ‘farewell’,” he commented, “A ‘let’s-get-together-and-make-one-last-album’ kind of thing.” He mentioned that would be a shame if that were the case since they are still selling plenty of albums and having successful tours. Jim liked this album much better than the Something Beautiful CD. He was surprised that they record  albums in St. John’s and glad that they produced this one themselves and didn’t farm it out to mainland producers.

He also heard Runrig’s Stamping Ground CD for the first time and we made some observations that I agree with – Running to the Light should have been the 1st track and Summer Walkers should have been the last. He was startled when there were four songs AFTER Summer Walkers. And I found out he’s actually met Bruce Guthro in Toronto while Jim was performing in The Needfire, before Bruce recorded his first solo album.

The ride to Terra Nova took three hours with one quick stop in Clarenville for lunch. AS SOON AS WE ARRIVED, Lillian hopped out of the car and went into her meeting with Park officials while Jim and I shot the breeze outside in the parking lot. It was great just standing there and chatting music with him. His Musaik:In This World dropped into the CD player and I talked to Jim about how this album touches me and my class so well. They really respond to the rhythms on it and totally enjoy the songs, even the one not in English.
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Wonderful Terra Nova
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