Neil Peart yielded an army of air drummers, and at one time or another many of us were the Jason Segel character from Freaks and Geeks, playing along to Tom Sawyer in our parents’ basement.
Music
Gord Downie, 1964–2017
It’s too soon to say what Downie’s influence and legacy will be as these pertain to his twilight interest in Chanie Wenjack and Indigenous people generally. But his place in the firmament of Canadian music is well established.
Tom Petty, 1950–2017
When Tom Petty arrived forty years ago I was ready. I first got into music during that delicious interval when British rock was still king but when its chief rivals—punk, post-punk, and new wave—were charging the palace gate. It was the 1970s and Rock-n-Roll having crossed the Atlantic over a decade before was now crossing back.
Bloomistry Live at Zaphod’s (Solo Show)
If you’ve spent any time in Ottawa, you know about Zaphod’s. For 25 years it hosted live performances by countless bands. In May, Zaphod’s closed. Recently while I was going through the Bloomistry archive, I found a recording of a… Read More ›
Don’t go it alone
It takes a village to rock. ✎ By Wayne K. Spear This is a story about Mick and Keith. Steve Jobs wasn’t interested in computer circuitry, and Steve Wozniak didn’t believe there was a market for the machines he was… Read More ›
Bloomistry Live at Raw Sugar Cafe | 10.10.2009
Bloomistry live at the Raw Sugar Cafe, Ottawa, Canada. October 10, 2009 Audience recording. Dmitri Koev, bass; Simon Meilleur, drums; Terry Calder, guitar, b. vocal; Wayne K. Spear, guitar, vocal. CBC radio’s Amanda Putz had just done a feature on… Read More ›
Bloomistry, “To Be” (2015 Remaster)
For the 6th Bloomistry album I turned, as so often before and after, to the poets to get my ideas. To be or not to be, that was the question. And the answer was “Let’s be, and let’s make another… Read More ›
Bloomistry Live at Kaffé | 23.10.2009
Bloomistry live at Kaffé 1870, Wakefield, Quebec. October 23, 2009 Audience recording. Dmitri Koev, bass; Simon Meilleur, drums; Terry Calder, guitar, b. vocal; Wayne K. Spear, guitar, vocal. We did a bunch of shows at Kaffé 1870, a bar in… Read More ›
Bloomistry Live at Westfest | 12.06.2010
Bloomistry live at Westfest, Ottawa, Canada. June 12, 2010 Soundboard recording, MP3 (320 kbps). Dmitri Koev, bass; Simon Meilleur, drums; Terry Calder, guitar, b. vocal; Wayne K. Spear, guitar, vocal. Westfest is a yearly Ottawa music festival started by Elaina… Read More ›
Bloomistry, “Late Bloom” (2015 Remaster)
The third Bloomistry album, Late Bloom, was recorded from January 4 to March 31, 2007 and released on August 28—14 months after its predecessor, Ca Marche. In the coming 14 months, there would be three more albums worth of new… Read More ›
Bloomistry, “Laketown” (2015 Remaster)
In theory, Laketown was the 7th Bloomistry album. It quickly followed To Be, with recording taking place on August 21–23, 2009. But with To Be absorbing most of my attention, and getting all the promotional focus, Laketown remained in the… Read More ›
Bloomistry, “At The End Of A Difficult Day” (2015 Remaster)
Recording of the 5th Bloomistry album began on Wednesday, November 21, 2007, at The Underground in Hull, Quebec—three months after the previous album, All I Know Is the Skin of the Earth, was completed. The working title of this record,… Read More ›
Bloomistry, “All I Know Is the Skin of the Earth” (2015 Remaster)
2007–2008 was an incredibly productive musical year for me. Recorded over three days (August 17–19, 2007), All I Know Is the Skin of the Earth was the 4th full-length Bloomistry album, following Late Bloom by only a few months. By… Read More ›
Bloomistry Live at Zaphod | 03.15.2010
Bloomistry live at Zaphod, Ottawa, Canada. March 15, 2010 Soundboard recording, MP3 (320 kbps). Dmitri Koev, bass; Simon Meilleur, drums; Terry Calder, guitar, b. vocal; Wayne K. Spear, guitar, vocal. Playlist 1. Trigger of Your Soul 2. As Far As… Read More ›
Twelve things Millennials have amazingly never experienced
Show a Millennial a 20-D printer that can make a functioning human liver out of silicone pellets, and they’ll say “That’s awesome”— which is what they say about a new craft beer or the latest Drake song. What does blow the minds of Millennials is when you tell them that you saw the Rolling Stones in the 1970s for five dollars.
