makeajazznoise

I live in Niagara Region ON, have 2 kids. I see them a lot, but they only "live" here every other weekend.
On the *other* weekends I like to go out and see live bands.... theres nothing better.
I play guitar/keyboards/bass. Sadly, I havent played with other people in years. I have this ever-repeating cycle going... I'll play in spurts: I go weeks where I barely touch a guitar... and then I start playing regularly to the point where I build my chops back up enough to consider jamming with people again, but things get busy... and I fall back into hardly playing again...
The playing regularly spurts seem less frequent the older I get. I'm my own worst critic. I can play... but I can't play the kind of stuff that *I* like. People that hear me encourage me, but I cant impress myself (or, rarely impress myself... or dont impress myself much...) so I've given up on being a musician. I could play well enough in a rock or blues band.... but when you listen to the cats I do I just think my own playing sucks.
What else about me? Hmmmm..... I hate my job, I love my kids, my family, and my new house... I love hockey and football, I like baseball. I am a hard core Chicago Blackhawks fanatic... and my 2nd favorite team is whoever is playing the leafs (changes nightly). In football I am a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan. Baseball: I am not a bandwagoneer - I have been a Blue Jays fan their entire history... been going to Jays games since their inaugural season! Did I mention I am an insane music junkie?
I love spring and fall, photography, going hiking, sunsets, lightning storms and waterfalls. I am also fascinated by manta rays and sharks. I really like the sound of (natural) running water... I would like to one day record a running stream or waterfall and incorporate the recording into a song.
People have asked... whats with the name? Well, I used to host the "Make a jazz noise" radio show on CFBU 103.7 FM. (of course, back then it was influenced by the FZ album "Make a Jazz Noise Here"). It was a show where you had to "earn" your requests! I had people call in to the studio and make a noise for me (preferably one that "simulated" jazz) through the phone lines. But I was easy - if they wer e a little shy of making a "jazz" noise then anything that might impress...or amuse...or even "titilate" me into honoring a request would do. Giving me updates on sports scores, and of course - flattery gets you everywhere too. It was easy enough to get a request out of me. It was a lot of fun and I miss doing it. Sigh.
This years obsession(ok, 2006's): the Zappa plays Zappa tour. They are doing such a great thing: they are bringing live performances of Frank Zappa's music to people, and I cant express my appreciation or my admiration enough. AND they are doing a great job too! On top of bringing out some former sidemen of Frank's, Dweezil has found some amazing talented musicians to accompany him, and this is the best band I have seen in years, if not decades. Don't just take my word for it, read some reviews . Cool story: I went to pick up my daughter at school the other day, I was wearing one of my Zappa plays Zappa t-shirts, and a kid (girl, maybe 11 or 12) came up to me and said "I went to that concert too... it was GREAT". I was so impressed. I wish I could have taken my kids, but couldnt afford to :(
This tour has consumed a LOT of my time that year: researching, d'loading a lot of shows(audio and video), attending a couple, and of course appreciating the multiple shows I have listened to and/or watched multiple times....
EDIT March 2008: Wow - I havent updated myspace much in the past year or two! Still not much now, but the past year has been incredibly busy - I am now a homeowner, moved into MY first house almost a year ago and working my butt off to keep it(I fear I am failing miserably) but I have received notification(s) that a lot of my videos are dead (sorry) so I am trying to remove them. I spend more time on facebook if you really want to get hold of me, but I still check this out weekly (as opposed to almost daily on FB)
various Frank: