Music and acting – Imagine having a career where you could do both of those things. Our guest today has had some great success in both those realms.
My connection through music
I have always loved music - specifically heavier music/hard rock even some metal.
Bands like KISS, Van Halen, AC/DC, Rush, Def Leppard, okay and some Metallica although I really just like their t-shirts.
I fell in love with the sound of rock guitar in the early 70s and wouldn't rest until I learned how to play all of my favourite riffs. I would practice for hours and hours - lifting the record needle and putting it back and playing until I got it right. I got pretty good. I will prove that to you on another episode and play you some of my biggest hits. I don't wanna brag, but the rumours are true - I did play my school's library. And, after my first performance ever at a middle school in Brampton, they had to lock us in the Principal's office as rabid fans mobbed us and took my shoelaces and guitar picks. Very beatle-esque. True story. You can see why I got hooked on the idea of becoming a rockstar.
I played in lots of bands through my teens and into my 20s. and did the bar circuit in Southern Ontario, into Quebec and a little bit down in the US. One of the bands I used to play in still plays AC/DC covers and they are one of the top AC/DC bands in Canada and they even play large festivals on big stages - even arenas now. Figures. That was my dream. Poof!
I was good enough that I played the same bars as all the great bands that came out of Toronto played - places like the Gasworks, Hot Rocks and the Opera House, where many famous bands go their start, so I'm fortunate enough to know a lot of great musicians from this area. That group includes Phil X from Bon Jovi, Barry Stock from Three Days Grace, Jason Hook from five finger death punch and many others. I'm proud to know those guys and so happy that they have achieved great success - they deserve it more than you can imagine.
I quickly realized that I wasn't cut out for the rockstar life, so I began to use my design skills to work with many of the bands. I did some logo design and video work - with my partner in crime - Todd Southgate, former CityTV videographer and incredible Director in his own right. Todd will be the guest on our next show - you will definitely want to listen to that episode as well.
One of the bands we did some work with was Slash Puppet. Todd and I were both very good friends with one of the great guitar players in that band, Lou Garscadden. We went to school with him and had followed his musical career. Lou was born to be a rock star. Tragically, he died of a heart attack in 2001 - way too soon.
Slash Puppet was at the centre of all the musical excitement in Toronto in the late 80's and early 90's.
They were writing, recording, performing… they were buddies with Sebastian Bach and the guys from Skid Row, they got signed by Ray Daniels of Rush fame, they won “Best club act” at the Toronto Music Awards, they were on TV…
It was all happening – it was an incredible thing to witness.
I remember when my band rehearsed at the same facility as many of these bands. We would just wander the halls and listen and even go in and just hang out. I even got to play with some of the guys in Slash Puppet using Lou’s gear and it sounded INCREDIBLE. I’ll never forget that.
If you search youtube for the song "Slow Down" by Slash Puppet, you'll see the video Todd directed, shot and edited. I was the executive producer, creative director, therapist and the guy who had to constantly tell all of the friends of the band to stop moving stuff on the damn set. That was the first video that Todd and I did that got played on Much Music - Canada's MTV, so we had clearly hit the big time.
Slow Down by Slash Puppet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2E-vZXV2fs
That era was an incredible moment in time. The music was so great and I was surrounded by a lot of very talented people that were really on thei...