M is for Manitoba ...

The more I head down to the legendary Mississippi delta, the more I realize Manitoba is an incredible place. That’s because all the things I love about the birthplace of the blues can be found right here in the place I call home: muddy waters, flat farm land, good music, good food, and good people.

Two of those good people crossed my path today. One of the them was Hal Brolund, who without a hint of exaggeration is the finest slide player I’ve ever heard. He’s also a great singer/songwriter, flat-picker, and finger-picker. Not a week goes by where I don’t dig into some of his tunes.

Today, Hal and I headed down to Lovey’s BBQ and Smokehouse on Marion Street. Roger and the crew at Lovey's are slow-smoking the best ribs, chicken, brisket, and pulled pork north of St. Louis. Hal and I were both satisfied customers today, but Hal expresses his satisfaction way better than I do.

He writes a song about Lovey’s … using the takeout menu as inspiration. Then he calls me up and plays it for me on the phone. (I should eat out with this guy more often.) Hal's new song has a great Mississippi John Hurt vibe. We're going to lay down a demo next week.

As Hal is playing his Lovey’s musical masterpiece for me on the phone, there’s a knock at my door. I open the door and in walks Blair Hordeski, with his new CD and posters (and a bottle of wine).

(Interesting coincidence: it was Hal who introduced me to Blair four years ago.)

I can’t say enough about Cold Cold Heart, Blair Hordeski’s new CD. The album rocks with an alt. country vibe. Blair sat down in my living room and we spun a few tracks on the MacBook. Impressive, but why settle for Memorex when live is right in front of you? I pulled out my Martin D-35 and asked Blair to give me a song off the new album, live and unplugged. Blair ripped my heart out with I Loved You More:

They always said we’re doomed from the start
You with the devotion and me with the scars
And now I know your friends were right
Six years and a week/weak moment in time

No one could have known
No never you
To break the promises we knew

No shoulder to cry on
No comfort to bring
No one to throw in the towel before the bell rings

I’ve lost and I’m one alone with the score
It just goes to show
I loved you more


Mix in vocals by Chris Thornsteinson (from Doc Walker) and Amanda Stott, grooves from some of Winnipeg's top session players, and Dylan Thomas Hermiston as producer, and Cold Cold Heart is a local disc with country-wide cred. Check this album out ... especially the title track, as well as Better Than Never and I Loved You More.

Country radio in Brandon, Portage la Prairie, and Dauphin are already spinning the disc. For now, Winnipeg’s QX104 fans are missing out. Cold Cold Heart is scheduled for release on May 4. I’ve got a few copies to pass around.

---

I’m just a lowly rock ‘n’ roll preacher – a guy who loves Jesus and loves rock ‘n’ roll. As I watch 11:59 of this day pass into midnight, I can’t begin to comprehend the creative people who cross my path every day. I’ve been playing with singer/songwriter Royal Unruh and the band for seven years. Larry Updike and I are getting ready to launch the B-side Apostles. Sitting in with pro’s like Hal and Blair have been tastes of the big time. (And it was Blair Hordeski who christened the Rock ‘n’ Roll Preacher.) All made in Manitoba moments and memories.

M is for Manitoba.

And I’ve got another M to tell you about. She can clean her house, do ten loads of laundry, shake a bunch of kiddies off her leg … and produce some of the finest content you’ve ever heard on the GodTalk Radio Show.

That’s another blog post ... but here's a preview from the Blog Catalog spotlight.

M is for Manitoba, but check out M is for Mississippi, produced by Roger Stolle and friends down at the Cat Head in Clarksdale, Mississippi. I met Roger this summer and he's paying his dues to tell the story of the blues. For $40, you get the M is for Mississippi DVD, the CD soundtrack, and free shipping anywhere in the world. Worth the price of admission. (A tip for guitar collectors: Sled Dog Music in Winnipeg is selling a Silvertone that's a dead ringer for the one L.C. Ulmer plays in the film.)

Winnipeg morning show host announces his conversion ...

Some people won't be surprised. Many saw it coming. But for those who haven't been following the local news, today the announcement was official. Larry Updike, the host of CJOB's Morning Show, has undergone a personal conversion experience. The Easter season is noted for baptisms and confirmations, and Updike joins countless tens of thousands of souls around the world who are rediscovering religion.

In a limited press release on Facebook, Larry Updike (now also known as The Apostle) told his friends and family that he had converted ... from PC to Mac. The Apostle purchased a 20" iMac on April 11 from a local, independent electronics store. He admitted that he finds the conversion experience daunting, but is relying on friends to support him in his newfound faith.

For more information, contact The Apostle at lupdike@cjob.com. Further announcements are expected on the Monday edition of the Morning Show on CJOB.

A postmodern pilgrim takes the pulpit ...

Today, most people know Larry Updike as the host of CJOB's morning show. He's also been a rock jock, a philosophy scholar, and ... a preacher. Larry preached his last sermon in 1981, but returned to the pulpit today at Central Baptist Church. Feel free to download his message or listen online:

This Boat Won't Be Going Under.

Every story needs a story-teller and John Longhurst did a great job telling Larry's story in today's Winnipeg Free Press. Larry has also written an autobiography -- a fascinating read, but not yet published.

Taxation without representation ...

I pay my taxes online. Why do I have to vote in person?

For the record, I marched my patriotic self down to the local school today to cast my vote. There, I encountered one of the last vestiges of the pre-computer age: the Canadian polling station.

As I walked into the gymnasium, I was greeted by a friendly representative of Elections Canada who asked to see my voter information card. And that's when the trouble began. He looked at my card, grimaced, and informed me that I'd have to wait in a long line to cast my vote. I was surprised by the news, as there were three polling stations in the gymnasium and two of the stations were completely inactive. Not a soul waiting in line. Nada.

However, the gods had deigned that I be assigned to polling station #43, which indeed had a long line of voters waiting to cast their ballots. At first I thought to myself, "This should go quick. How long can it take for these people to cast their votes?" And this is when I came face to face with the marvelously multi-dimensional inefficiencies awaiting the Canadian voter.

The cardboard polling stations are bad enough: a complete waste of paper.

The paper ballots add impractical to wasteful. The clerk at my polling station had so much difficulty finding and tearing the perfs that he mistakenly opened the ballot and exposed the vote.

The pre-printed voter information cards seem like a good idea, but their advantage is defeated by poor execution. The problem? Too many people have information cards that don't match their photo ID. This particular misfortune grinds the process to a halt: no one in line can vote till the person with the defective ID sufficiently demonstrates their identity (i.e., fills out the paperwork).

And so, on election day, in my quaint little neighbourhood, I found myself slowed by tedious paper ballots, stymied by line-halting paperwork, and staring at two empty polling stations across the gymnasium. And I asked myself ...

• Why don't we have voting machines instead of convoluted paper ballots and cardboard ballot boxes?


• Why isn't there a side table or separate line for people to prove their identity?


• Why are there long lines at some polling stations and no lines at others?

and, most of all ...

Why am I here in the first place?

If I can pay my taxes online, why can't I vote online? As far as my online personhood is concerned, it's taxation without representation! Maybe it's time for an online Boston Tea Party!

I don't think I'm alone in my complaint. Check the stats. No one is surprised by the outcome of the Canadian federal election. The real news item in Election 2008 is the voter-turnout stat: the lowest-ever at 59%. (The prairies take the title for lowest turnout in Canada at 55%.)

-----------------------------------

On another note ...

I'm sad to report that Hard Rubber didn't win the CBC Anthem Challenge. Still, I'm glad I did my best to give Canadians a new hockey anthem. My thanks to the boys in the band and a special note of appreciation to Winnipeg's #1 morning show host, Larry Updike, who featured the anthem on his show.

Maybe I'll shop Hard Rubber around to another sports program?!?