Another weekend, another rained-out baseball game. But this time, instead of going to Harbourfront, I went to the Boulton Avenue (the street where I lived in a house with four other guys while we were going to Ryerson in 1989-90 and in a different house on weekends with my former girlfriend in 1990-91) home of Heather Morgan and Greg Bennett for a barbecue, party and jam session.
I had already eaten, but I did partake of a dozen beers, a glass of Sangria and shared custody of a number of aromatic combustibles. (Thanks, Michael) As well as seeing some friends, I got to renew acquaintances with a few people who I had met only a few times before, like Bruce Farley "Mole" Mowat and Peter Hudson, and meet totally new people like Nancy Dutra.
I've been a longtime fan of Chris "Baby Jesus" Houston as both a solo artist and from his days with the Forgotten Rebels, and I enjoyed talking to him for the first time and hearing some of his stories. Edgar Breau of Simply Saucer was also there, and it was a pleasure to meet another relatively obscure musical icon from Hamilton. There were just a lot of music lovers there. And that's the kind of environment that I love.
A good portion of the people in attendance were musicians, singers or both, and had brought instruments. Heather, Scott Bradshaw, one of the White Cowbell Oklahoma guys, Edgar and Andrea England were among those who I enjoyed. My personal highlight (and one of Heather's, too) was Chris doing an acoustic version of Surfing On Heroin with a few altered lyrics, and Hudson plugging into a cigarette pack amplifier behind him to add some fuzz guitar.
The wet weather might have kept a few people away, and the cops showing up may have toned things down a bit, but I had a great time. Thanks to Heather and Greg for their hospitality and ability to cultivate such an interesting guest list.