Stand By Dave

Welcome back to FNHHVD. Last week's episode was postponed due to plans being made to watch a certain team from Wisconsin win a small trophy. Yes, the Packers are Super Bowl XLV champs, and I am still on cloud nine.

Tonight's video comes as a suggestion from my old friend Dave, who now resides in Kelowna. Dave and I met on our first day of ski patrolling over 20 years ago and he is a true friend. Since that fateful meeting, we have lived together, shared a business dream together, played in a killer band together, and shared one or two beverages from time to time. Years ago, Dave placed a massive pile of sticks on my 1961 Valiant while I was asleep. That's the kind of thing that a true friend does - and one doesn't mind. Although we see less of each other now due to our distance apart, we still manage to chat once in a while, and we get together when we can. Life goes on. Good friends can be apart and still be friends. That's just how it works.

Dave's suggestion comes from "Playing for Change", a group of documentary filmmakers whose goal is to bring the music of the street to the masses. This video, "Stand By Me", was created by recording and then synchronizing tracks played by a huge variety of musicians across the world. What I like about it is that it's NOT the over-produced, auto-tuned, American Idol tripe that we see so much of. These people play simply because they love to play - there is no expectation on their behalf. There is no glitz or glamour, no awards. Yet, their musicianship is remarkable.

Like Dave, these people (or at least some of them) have probably piled sticks on their friend's car at one time. And power to them for that.

My "Inception" Dream

I have had R.E.M. on my mind all week. Not the band, but the sleep state. It all started on Tuesday morning as I tried to grab those last few precious moments of sleep before facing the day. I dream a lot at that time, and Tuesday was no different - except it was different. Bear with me here. In my dream I was at some business meeting on a 20-storey rooftop with my brother and when it came time to leave there was a panic with the elevator. You may or may not know that I absolutely despise elevators. After a treacherous ride down, I awoke, breathing heavily and my heart racing. After telling Leona about my nightmare, she comforted me and rubbed my back, soothing me. I was lucid and ready to arise and start the day. Then......I freaking woke up. So, as you may have guessed by the title of this post, I had a dream within a dream. If you haven't seen the movie Inception, you should, and if you have seen Inception, you know that this is indeed a seriously excellent thing that happened to me.

So for tonight's video post, I thought it pertinent to celebrate with a video from one of my favourite bands, R.E.M. Many connect their name with the sleep state (Rapid Eye Movement), however the band considered names like "Twisted Kites", "Cans of Piss", and "Negro Wives", before settling on R.E.M., which singer Michael Stipe selected at random from a dictionary. Although it's a fine name, are there any bets on how far they would have gone as "Cans of Piss"??

This song was their first single, back in 1981. The performance was R.E.M.'s first live television gig, back when David Letterman was funny, Michael Stipe had hair, and my dreams were only one level deep.

A Heap of talent

Welcome to FNHHVDWP (That's the shortcut - you figure it out). We're a bit late tonight as happy hour was shortened due to some awesome visitors we're having over.

I posted this video to Facebook a long time ago, and I just had to make it officially a part of the show. Imogen Heap, a British singer/songwriter, is simply brilliant. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't appreciate her voice and writing style. What is unique is that she marries that with a powerful understanding of technology. She makes use of a vocoder, as well as a myriad of synths and other instruments to augment her sound.

This live (yes, live) performance highlights her immense talent. Enjoy "Just For Now", and have a skookum (that's a great word) weekend.

Back to the 80's

Welcome to 2011 and "Friday Night Happy Hour Video Date" with Pete. I spent the holidays sorting through tens of thousands of videos to try and come up with a few that I feel are a "cut above" the rest. Hope you enjoy the first of the new year.

Tears for Fears was formed in the early 80's by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. The two were teenaged friends in Bath, England and quite accomplished session musicians by the time they formed TFF. Many pundits wrote the band off as another synth-based 80's duet, however it soon became clear that they had great talent as both writers and performers.

Their second album "Songs from the Big Chair" went #1 in the USA and cemented their legacy as one of the great 80's bands.

Tonight's video is a live performance (one of their last) and was shot at the County Bowl in Santa Barbara, California, in 1990.

I sincerely wish that I had written this song, because I sure sang it enough times dri...ving around in my car in 1985. How about you?