So last month, due to a scheduling mix-up, that I maintain was not our fault, Gordon’s Acoustic Living Room did not play at the Free Times Café in April. I did send out a little blurb about that show, obviously before I knew about the snafu. Thus, while we are definitely playing this month at the Free Time, on Sunday May 19th, it seemed odd to me to write a whole new piece about seeing the band and so I’m not. I am however enclosing last month’s blurb which is now this month’s blurb although the dates in the blurb are still for the April show.

Continue reading →

Not being Irish (cries from astounded readers – “What! I can’t believe it! Not Irish! But I was so sure!”) St. Patrick’s Day was generally not a big deal in my life. I remember when I was in high school that McDonald’s introduced a Shamrock Shake for St. Paddy’s Day. Based, I suppose, on the same twisted logic that has publicans alter their beer to give it a green tinge, McD’s thought they would do the same thing to their milkshake. I tried one, got sick and have carefully avoided McDonald’s ever since – and for that I am eternally grateful to St. Patrick.

Continue reading →

As you know, there is no formulae for our shows – they are all one-offs consisting of a broad range of new and old tunes & styles with wild instrumentation that has resulted in a repertoire of over 350 songs over 10 years and counting…

Continue reading →

Gordon’s Acoustic Living Room will return to the Free Times for our 10th Annual Robbie Burns Day Show. In this case the show will start a bit later than normal, probably around 9:30 (but you are advised to get there early, we get a big crowd for this). There will still be no cover, but there will be lots of bagpipes and other Scottish themed stuff, and in addition to the food and drink you can buy, there will be haggis and it will be free.

Was it only yesterday I stormed the barricades shouting “Free the haggis!” What was I thinking?

Continue reading →

Learning, we are often told, is a life-long endeavour, and I certainly agree. And with smart phones and Wikipedia we are able to keep learning all sorts of stuff, some of which might actually be correct.

If we want to be honest however, most of our learning, at least the important life lessons, happen when we’re younger. When we’re very young we learn things like not touching a hot stove or the converse, putting your tongue on a metal pole in the middle of winter is not a good idea (although I’m not sure why I needed to learn that one more than once – but by the third time, I got it down).

Continue reading →

Special All-Request Night!

Sometimes it’s not really about us, it’s about other folks. It’s not what we want; it’s what other people want. Sure you don’t like Swiss Chalet, but would it really kill you to go there once in a while because your grandmother really likes it (and let me tell you, grandmothers like Swiss Chalet, I think it’s something about the sauce, but I don’t really want to think about it too much),
Continue reading →

I don’t usually pay attention to news stories about big corporations suing each other – generally my attitude is “a plague on both your houses.” Recently however, I was captivated by the lawsuit against Pfizer Canada – the pharmaceutical giant who makes, among other things, Viagra. Pfizer’s patent in Canada on Viagra was successfully challenged by another huge company, Teva Canada, (I don’t think they are the same folks who make Teva sandals but who knows how multi, multi-nationals are, these days).

Continue reading →

We are living in challenging times. There is tension in the Far East, the Middle East and Europe. And here in Ontario the premier resigned but is staying in office and is forcing all the elected officials to take an unspecified vacation while he waits for someone to take his place. But while all of this deserves our attention and concern, the matter that dominates the news day after day, night after night, is the hockey lockout.

Continue reading →