I went to the launch for Dave Bidini's new The Best Game You Can Name book at The Paddock last night. The book draws parallels between the experiences of former NHL players and some of the musicians and music business people that Dave plays hockey with on a regular basis. I'm seven chapters into the easy-reading book and am enjoying it. I've known Dave since I started going to Rheostatics shows in the late '80s, and I've known some of the people he writes about almost that long, but it's interesting to read about them in ways that I'm not familiar with since I don't interact with them on the ice. I'll write more about the book when I've finished it, but I just wanted to give it an early plug now for all of you who were fans of his previous books or who are interested in former NHL players and current Toronto music scene people like I am.
Dave is also a big Stompin' Tom Connors fan, as am I (which you'd know from a previous post here if you didn't already). So is his friend Steve (the founder of the fun www.argos-suck.com web site) and comic Sean Cullen, who I chatted with last night about Stompin' Tom's Wednesday night performance at Hamilton Place that EMI Music Canada will turn into a DVD later this year. Apparently Tom forgot the words to a few songs, so I guess that there may have to be some judicious editing done on it.
Also in attendance at the launch were: Dave's wife Janet; his Morningstars teammates Steve Stanley, Andy Ford, Tom Goodwin and Johnny Sinclair; Don Kerr; Tim Mech; publicist Cam Carpenter; Chart's Aaron Brophy; Pete Windrem, who you might remember from my Pamplemousse review from last month; and other people who I didn't know.
I unfortunately had to leave early to go to a meeting and missed Dave reading from his book, but he did sign my copy with "To the SS" since we both play on the Horseshoe Tavern softball team. At least Dave did until his knee started acting up this season. Get well soon, my friend. The Morningstars will need you.