Mom didn't make it.
I'm doing okay. It's not the worst way to go - with a month of her and I being together every day, plus a month before she got sick where *I* was sick and crashing on her couch while I went to the hospital for my foot infection. There was a lot of love, a lot of time spent together, a lot of chances to cry; I discovered that - comparing this to the loss of my father, where denial kind of reigned - it's much better to get your crying in before someone passes, when they're there, than after. It was all exhausting, and I'm no doubt not through it (or through the work I have to do, dealing with her estate, apartment and so forth), but I'm actually doing pretty good, I think.
I'm kind of glad it happened like it did, actually. Wednesday and Thursday were progressively more dark and depressing, as Mom faded away. Friday morning, with my consent, they'd tried a more aggressive measure to assist her breathing, in the hopes that there could be something more done to save
her; there wasn't, but it had the wonderful benefit, for me, of WAKING
HER UP, so we could spend one final day with her. (Selfish, but she got to laugh and say a few things and hear a few songs and see Erika again - her face lit right up when she arrived - and even ate a little vanilla pudding. So it could have been worse for her, too).
But Mom passed on Friday night, sometime around 10pm, I guess, if the call from the hospital was an accurate indication (I had gone home after about twelve hours at her bedside, because it was clear she was in her final sleep and would not be waking up). She was in no pain. My girlfriend Erika was there with me, until that last sleep started, and at Mom's request - almost Mom's last request - helped curl her hair before she got her final meds. Then I asked if I could take her picture with Erika, and she, as she loved to do, stuck out her tongue for the picture (though I missed it, in fact. But I have lots of pics of Mom with her tongue out).
It was difficult, and painful, but it was also a sweet, sweet final day.
And that's all I'm going to say for now.
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
The Pete Campbell Interview: of Pink Steel, the Wardells, the Sweaters, and Coach StrobCam
David M. left, Pete Campbell right; NO FUN Alone at Christmas (photo provided by Pete Campbell)
So I've seen Pete Campbell a dozen times at NO FUN's David M. at his Christmas shows (and elsewhere). Seen him do a few originals, too, at these shows. I absolutely love at least one song he wrote, the Sweaters' "Hockey Sucks," which appears on Johnny Hanson Presents: Puck Rock Vol 1. It's very funny, very smart, very Canadian, and very true to my own experience as a non-consumer of hockey; but I never realized, until earlier this year, that the Pete Campbell credited with writing that song was the Pete Campbell I'd seen live so many times beside David onstage.
Anyhow, I wrote about all that here and here. The song isn't online, so I can't link to it (though another great Sweaters song, "Harder," is). People trying to find out about ANY of Pete Campbell's bands are faced with somewhat of a scarcity of information online, so with him debuting a new band this Saturday at the Princeton, Coach StrobCam, I thought I'd get some of Pete's backstory down, as much for my own edification as yours. What follows is an email interview we did this week.
Truth is, I doubt very much I'll be at the Princeton on Saturday - or even at the Northwest Horror Show, the way things are going (I had thought maybe I could meet Lynn Lowry and still make the show, but I suspect I'll be in Maple Ridge; a small irony of the piece below is that I just sang "You Are My Sunshine" to my Mom in the hospital today, albeit without a guitar). Pete informs me that Coach StrobCam will be the second of four bands on the bill, with Whiskey Karma headlining. Pete says his new band will likely hit the stage around 9pm... There's no cover, so there's no risk; check it out!
Pink Steel, photo provided by Pete Campbell (second from left)
AM: You started in the Victoria music scene, right? What's your backstory? What was your first band? Are you on the All Your Ears Can Hear compilation?
PC: Ah, Victoria in the late 70's...a cultural oasis if there ever was one...albeit an oasis with fuck all to drink for the most part...Pink Steel was formed by me and a bunch of my high school drama friends...we had this very inspirational drama teacher named Tony Burton whose aesthetic criteria was: talent and skill are not as big a deal as energy and drive...pretty much the ethos of punk rock as it turned out...we came up with the idea for the band when a drama practice was cancelled and we decided to get high instead of heading home...we somehow started doing an improvisation based around the idea of a cool radio DJ who was the only person who had contact with the greatest band of their era:the enigmatic and elusive Pink Steel...yeah we were pretty high...lol...six months later we followed through on the implicit threat and 3 of us got together for a 'jam session'...Jeff Carter was the musician of the group as he had taken a few piano lessons as a kid...the bassist and I had rented gear that week and couldn't play at all..we wrote our first song at that rehearsal:a 2 chord wonder called "We Get High On Music" that became our theme song and we played until the band disbanded in 1982...we added friends to the group as needed until we were finally a full band of 8 members...we formed before we ever heard punk rock...cover songs were too hard for us to play so we wrote our own music...over the next couple years we released two 7- inch records...a 4 song EP called 'A Taste of Pink Steel' and a single called 'It Won't Come In Your Hand'... one of those songs from the EP, 'Here We Go Again' appears on the All Your Ears Can Hear compilation... Everything you would ever want to know about Pink Steel can be found here:
http://www.oculartip.ca/ot/pinksteel.html
Not to be confused with the gay metal band from Germany of the same name that formed later and stole our name......yes you read that correctly...
The Wardells: John, Rich, and Pete
Did you ever identify as a punk? What was the state of the punk scene when you were coming of age in Victoria?
Well that one is a bit tricky: we all loved punk rock, especially The Clash, The Ramones and all the amazing Vancouver bands of the era...in my mind, however these were just great rock bands, never mind the label they were given..we got to see the 3 piece version of DOA at some hall in Esquimalt and they blew our fucking mind...Pink Steel had an incredible drummer, Dave Robbins, who later went on to be one of Canada's premier jazz musicians..he actually went up to Chuck Biscuits after the show and told him "I used to be faster than you, but now you're a bit faster than me..."....Dave eventually caught up with him...
The scene in Victoria was interesting and diverse: many bands were cutting their teeth at the same time in different parts of the city, but were unaware of each other's existence...NoMeansNo was already happening, in one suburb, The Sickfux, who would later become The Dayglo Abortions, in another...Pink Steel played a show at our old high school and apparently we were so bad that we inspired the Infamous Scientists to form!... The I- Sci's as everyone called them were the coolest band in the city, pretty much from the day they started...I saw their first gig at a house party and they were already a great band..Andy Kerr, who later joined NoMeansNo, played guitar and Kev Lee, always the coolest guy in town played bass...he later went on to form one of my fave all time bands: BUM...John Wright joined the Scientists in the next year and they ruled the scene and were universally worshipped...the first speed-core band on the west coast, The Neos, recorded two EPs at NoMeansNo's basement studio and were an unbelievable fast and powerful live act as well...
Over the next couple years bands popped up all over town,most of them quite good, renting halls and putting on gigs...fanzines started to appear and records were released....in the spirit of punk rock, many local bands released their records on a co-operative label called Alandhiscar Records which was a label in name only, but was reflective of the spirit of solidarity in (most of) the Victoria scene...
Since Pink Steel was formed before we ever heard punk rock, we felt it would have been disingenuous to 'dress up' so we never adopted the visual style associated with punk...and our music was all over the place: some of our shows would have an acoustic set in the middle where our sweet voiced co- lead- singer John Robbins would make the girls swoon, backed by the band's often terrible but heart- felt 'harmonies'...but we had an amazing rhythm section that allowed us to play as fast and hard as any punk band when we felt like it...which we increasingly did as time went on...
Maybe I just hang around Tim Chan too much, but I get the impression that while Vancouver leaned mostly more towards punk, there was a bit more of a "pop thing," so to speak, in Victoria - that there was more love for bands like Seattle's Young Fresh Fellows and such... would that be accurate? (I think of the Wardells and the Sweaters as included in that, as power pop bands, really - yes?).
With our deeply held belief in the 'authenticity' required to make great 'rock and roll' or 'punk rock' or whatever you would call it, once Pink Steel disbanded John Robbins and I decided to start a band called The Wardells...we billed ourselves as "Victoria's Pop Sensations" and we kind of made the first movement towards the sound that you associate with the Victoria scene....Victoria was a government town, with a firmly entrenched suburban middle-class, so I would say that for many of the kids at the time,the energy of punk rock had great appeal but the politics not so much...I think The Wardells gave some local kids the idea that they could make melodic music that still 'rocked', as it were...and as a result bands of that style began to emerge: probably the best of them being 64 Funnycars who were just a terrific band, both live and on record...3 great songwriters (Tim Chan, Eric Cotrell and Eric Lowe- all still shining lights in the Vancouver music scene) and a breezy, effortless command of the 'power-pop' genre....and yes, when The Young Fresh Fellows first started coming to town they were treated like rock gods....I saw them play in Vancouver a couple times and the audience response was less than overwhelming...however, they were The Replacements' favourite band, so I think we Victoria folks had it right...
Screencap from the Wardell's "In a Hurry" video
I would agree! So... what were the high (and/or low) points of being in the Wardells?
The Wardells had one pivotal gig that changed the trajectory of our 'career' and brought us out of the backwaters of the Victoria scene: we opened for Stevie Ray Vaughn at the Royal Theatre....in the audience that night was our old high school friend Woody Turnquist who at that point was the advertising director of The Georgia Straight....he was impressed by our performance and offered to manage the band...within a few months we were signed to Zulu Records and were opening for many of the great bands of the era: we played with Soul Asylum and Husker Du in the same week!!...shows with X, Rank and File and many others followed over the next year or so...I think many of the Vancouver bands felt - somewhat justifiably - that we didn't deserve these gigs and so never really became fans of The Wardells; and as you say, it is true that Vancouver was much more of a punk than a pop town...I have to mention in our defence though that after a gig with The Enigmas, during which I basically told the audience to go fuck themselves if they didn't like us, Paul McKenzie told me that I was "The craziest motherfucker in town..."...a badge of honour that I proudly wore through our many poorly attended Vancouver shows...
The low points: well, when our manager decided that he'd had enough of pouring his money down the drain trying to 'break' the Wardells into the national scene, he chose to resign...within weeks our 'connection' to the music business in Vancouver evaporated...our agent Laurie Mercer told us that we could easily book our shows ourselves and Zulu Records let us know that our next release would not be with them...our rock solid drummer Rich Lang decided he was going to go to music school back east....we did find a new drummer and released a cassette called Back To The Drawing Board but by then John Robbins had had enough of both me and the trudge through the muck that being in an indie band was all about...when he quit the band my heart and spirit were pretty much broken....but James Richards ,who played drums in the final year of the Wardells as 'cousin Dizzy Wardell' wanted to keep playing so together we formed The Sweaters...
Screencap from the Wardells' "Under the Johnson St Bridge"
What were the high and low points of being in the Sweaters?
The Wardells always prided ourselves as being able to play songs in pretty much any style, which we eventually came to see as a weakness as much as a strength, so James and I decided that The Sweaters would focus on one particular style: fast punk-pop...there were really no bands playing that style in the late '80s that we were aware of and we felt that someone should be carrying the torch that The Ramones had lit and carried for so long...we had no idea that there were bands in California with basically the same idea...when bands like Jawbreaker and Green Day first started to come to town and performed at The Nappy Dugout (!!) there were really no other bands in town playing that style so we always got the opening slot...we opened for Green Day 3 times over the course of a year or so...with my never- failing sense of what worked and what didn't I made the proclamation to some friends at one of the Green Day shows "What a great band...too bad they will never make any money!"...at least I was half right...
The high points and low points of The Sweaters were both pretty much the same: we became punk rock road warriors and crossed the country numerous times playing anywhere we could get a show....in some cities we had quite a large following and were known as 'Vancouver's Punk Pop Kings'....In Edmonton we even had kids waiting for us outside the venue when we pulled into town...in other places, including Vancouver we often had more people on stage than in the audience!!...I remember one gig at the Railway Club, we were playing our last set and my buddy Jeff Carter stayed even though he had to work in the morning because he was the only patron left in the club...that is a true friend!!
...I also should mention that our fortunes in Vancouver changed quite drastically when Kuba started playing bass with The Sweaters...he was from Winnipeg and punk rock from head to toe....Winnipeg had always had a pop element to much of their punk scene and Kuba brought some of that punk legitimacy to the group...there was also a huge expat- Winnipeg community in Vancouver and they welcomed us with open arms...suddenly we were playing after hours shows and parties and were part of the hugely talented Van East punk rock scene...Kuba was an awesome bassist, especially live and later went on to play bass for a few years with DOA...
The Sweaters' family portrait: Pete, Kuba and James
Tell me about the "Hockey Sucks" song! I love that song! Is it totally autobiographical? Does it appear on any Sweaters albums? How did John Wright contact you?
Of course we knew John Wright form the Victoria scene and we heard about the call for submissions to his hockey- themed anthology...we all loved the Hanson Brothers, maybe even more than we loved NoMeansNo and really wanted to be on the record...I had been a huge hockey fan as a kid but that enthusiasm kind of waned as I become more a 'music' than a 'sports' guy...not that the two were mutually exclusive as the compilation would certainly prove to be the case...
Anyway I was looking for an 'angle' to participate and the intro to that song kind of fell out of my head onto the guitar and the page...once I listed all the NHL teams and realized that Mighty Ducks rhymed with Canucks I pretty much had the meat of the song sorted out...I have always been a contrarian by nature and it seemed to me that an anti-hockey song would be pretty much the 'punkest' thing that could appear on a punk rock hockey themed compilation...NoMeansNo's manager Laurie Mercer did not want it on the cd but John said it was a great song and insisted it be included...we were thrilled to be a part of it...
Screencap from the Sweaters' "Do Anything You Want" video
How did you end up a collaborator of David M's?
To tell you the truth I can't really remember how that first started...I should say though that I was a huge fan of NO FUN during my formative years...the partnership between David M and Paul Leahy was pretty much perfect in my opinion and their songs were as good as any ever written!...I bought every cassette they released, including the Snivel box set and played them all to death...I went to every show they ever played in Victoria..David has photos of me sitting on the floor in front of them at a show at Uvic...
At some point I reconnected with David when I was doing solo shows around Vancouver...we played a show together at The Main and he asked me to get up onstage and play a couple songs with him...The Wardells used to cover 'Ream Me Like You Mean It' so I knew that one and was more than a little jazzed to accompany one of my idols...the next time he did a solo show David and I got together and worked out a few songs: I am not even half the guitar player that Paul Leahy is so in the beginning of our collaboration we mostly played cover songs or songs where I didn't have to try and then fail to fill Paul's lead guitarist shoes..David always welcomed whatever I brought to the table and in time I became a fixture at his shows...he is a ridiculously undervalued member of Vancouver's musical history and I consider it a great privilege to play with him whenever he asks...
Tell us briefly about Sing Along With Pete? How did that start? Did you get exposure to these older songs through anyone in particular? What are your favourites that you've learned how to play?
During my years as a musician I always had a day job at long term care homes as a janitor, laundry guy etc...I owe a great debt to The Hospital Employees Union - of which my mom was a regional vice president for a few years - due to the fact that because of the union I never had to be a 'starving' musician..the work environment completely suited my personality and I loved working with and getting to know the seniors in the places that I worked...when The Sweaters finally tired of touring I decided to try my hand at playing music at care homes...most places have a weekly pub day or birthday party where they hire a solo performer to provide entertainment...limited budgets means they can't usually afford a whole band...I had seen many of these musicians over the years and thought to myself "I could do that"....and so I just started doing it...I would take requests at my shows and learn the songs for the next gig...over time I amassed a catalogue of about 600 songs from the 1920s to the 1970s...I play between 40 and 50 shows every month and that is now entirely how I pay the bills....most of the songs are not the cool, obscure material that hipsters would learn to impress their musician friends but rather the popular songs of the era....even though most of the material I play is not 'cool' I have learned and internalized so many chord progressions that most rock musicians and even many singer- songwriters have never heard, and elements of them come out in my own songs... the most popular song is 'You Are My Sunshine'....I must have played that song a couple thousand times and it has some sort of strange universal appeal...I have a love- hate relationship with that song...audiences love it , so I play it at every show...I think I know how Sting must feel about 'Every Breath You Take'!!
In starting 'Sing Along With Pete' I unknowingly stumbled into my vocation....I perform often in units where people have various forms of dementia and to be able to make these people who have lost so much, happy for a while is one of the great joys of my life...so much of a 'music career' is about 'me' , 'my pleasure' and in short, 'my ego' ...to be able to put the focus squarely on making the people in front of me happy is extremely liberating and deeply fulfilling...I tell people ,often and completely sincerely that I have the best job in the world...
Who or what is Coach StrobCam? That's a strange name and a strange graphic, what's the backstory? What kind of music is it? Who is in the band? Oh, and will you be incorporating any Wardells or Sweaters material into the show?
Well, Coach StrobCam is the name of my new band....and of course, it goes without saying that to call something 'strange' is really a personal judgement call...
I formed the band with a couple of fine musicians I met through my involvement with Clancy's Angels...The Angels were a group put together by Clancy Dennehy: a smoking hot rock band fronted by a fourteen to eighteen member choir....we did a show at the Wise Hall every Christmas for the last 10 year...this past Christmas was our final show so I decided to raid the group and put together my own band!!
Rachel Strobl has become one of my best friends and is a fabulous singer and also plays the guitar...just a couple of days ago she ordered a 'singing saw' online, so that will definitely be something to look forward to...
Greg Kelly was the keyboardist for the Angels and now plays and sings with Coach Strobcam....he is an extremely versatile musician and a hell of a nice guy....
We had musical chemistry right from the start and I was inspired to write about twenty new songs over the last six months or so...our style is hard to pin down: describing music with words is kind of like dancing about architecture, as some smart mouth once said...so I suggest you come see us play and decide for yourself...
The name: when my little brother was about 3 years old he used to have this stuffed baseball player doll ... he used to carry that thing with him everywhere...even though we told him the real name of the doll was Mickey Mantle he insisted on calling it by the name that he chose for it: Coach StrobCam....we still tease him about it to this day!!
Once the time came to name our band, for some reason that name came into my head and it kind of stuck...so Coach StrobCam it is....
The graphic was designed by former 64 Funnycars' dude mentioned above, Mr. Eric Cotrell who runs Thinkwell Graphic Design and is kind of a genius in my humble opinion...
But really when all is said and done, who cares what a band is named as long as the music is good?
We are thrilled to be playing our very first show this Saturday, April 23 at 9pm at The Princeton Pub on Powell Street, so if you really want to know about Coach StrobCam I suggest you come check us out and see for yourself... We will not be playing any Wardells' or Sweaters' songs as that is in the past and I am all about the future!!...oh, and a bit about the present as well, I guess...
Mom, movies, me
Well, I made a bit of time this week to see Midnight Special and, just tonight, 10 Cloverfield Lane, which has hit the second-run screens. I enjoyed, but wasn't that impressed with, both films: Midnight Special has interesting ambitions and its share of effective moments, including a strong performance from Joel Edgerton (who I best remember as Gordo from the "victim's revenge" movie The Gift, though he was also in Zero Dark Thirty; I briefly mistook him for Stephen McHattie's cohort in A History of Violence, but that's some other guy). One trouble is, too much of its suspense lies in the witholding of information, which, when you think of it, is a fairly easy trick to accomplish when its the filmmakers who have all the information in the first place. In the end, something stops it from being a fully satisfying film (unlike Nichols' earlier Take Shelter or Mud, both of which maybe have flaws, but work, and make a mark; it's been too long since I saw Shotgun Stories for me to really evaluate it.)
On the other hand, 10 Cloverfield Lane is thoroughly engaging and invenitve as a continuation of Cloverfield - it is the maybe least sequel-feeling sequel ever made - but feels kind of, ultimately, trivial, with no real interest value on the level of its meaning (spoiler: "what if the crazy survivalist was right all along?"). While I don't regret the time I spent with friends during both films, I wonder if I really needed either movie in my life when my Mom is doing so poorly.. I mean, sure, "I needed to recharge my battery" and all, "I needed to take a break." I've said both, but... doesn't that all smack of rationalization? It was nice to have a couple nights out of the hospital but, you know, I would feel pretty guilty if Mom died while I was off watching a movie.
Today was day 26 of Mom's stay in the hospital. Each thing that has gone wrong, and/or the treatment thereof, has led to further complications, requiring further treatment; the gallstone that started everything was removed on March 30th, but she's still in hospital, with no sign of immediate release. At present the biggest scare is damage to her heart. It hasn't been a strong heart since 2009, but now, signs of congestive heart failure are running rampant: cold hands and feet, swelling legs and ankles which are weeping fluid, deep wet coughing, kidney pain, dropping blood-oxygen levels when she's not receiving oxygen, a lowering of blood pressure... They say that her vitals are good, but she's not in ICU anymore, so I'm not sure how thorough they're being in monitoring them, and there have been a few moments when I doubt that the system as it exists is up to the task of giving her what she needs. I may just be being oversensitive - the doctors and nurses genuinely don't seem that worried about her, and are trying to reassure me - but there is no coming back from congestive heart failure, slow a process as it may be; I was told that years ago. And there was a terrifying half hour this afternoon where Mom was gasping and crying and clinging to me while her body was wracked with shivers and muscle spasms, mostly in her right arm - the not-a-heart-attack arm, but still. We were both telling each other we loved each other and I was trying to say comforting things, while praying inwardly that the nurse would hurry up with whatever he was bringing, but it took a long time and put us both through the wringer, as I tried to get her to calm down and breathe through her nose (and turned up her oxygen supply). I only let go of her hand to bring a photo of Dad closer, so she'd be able to see his face smiling at her...
Anyhow, the nurse came, meds were given - some sort of steamy inhaler to help her breathe and a painkiller - and the spasm passed. She was a little trembly for a bit, but all the same, we spent the next several hours listening to music - Kenny Rogers, Jim Croce, Charley Pride, and the odd mix I've made, including ones she and Dad and I used to play Scrabble to - and doing jigsaw puzzles (I think we got five done today!). We've done one or more of them each day, since it occured to me to bring the first one on the weekend - the day of the Residents show, in fact. These are some favourite pics I've taken, and I've put them, I believe, in the sequence of the puzzles we have done so far. I go quite a bit faster than she does, so when I find a piece, or put together several too quickly in a row, she growls at me and and says, "you're good," jealously, or maybe, "you're pissing me off!" Sometimes she just growls and glares and makes a fist, of course with her fine sense of wry humour behind it.
I always let her do the last few pieces by herself.
There have been a few other delightful times with Mom, despite the hospital setting - like the first time I took her out to explore the grounds in a wheelchair, and we ran into Teddy the Therapy Dog. He was so friendly! I think this was before "contact precautions" were declared (or at least before they were explained to me).
Another sweet moment: our one day in the garden out back, maybe a little over a week ago, where I wheeled her to a very pretty spot and we sat in the shade, watching the branches blow in the trees, drinking diet pop, and observing one squirrel that came by, showing only the briefest flicker of curiosity towards the banana peel I offered him (it was all I had). At a couple of points Mom remarked that it - the garden, the breeze, the whole moment - was so wonderful, she didn't mind being sick. I was glad that she felt so happy, though that seemed a little hyperbolic to me!
Sometimes there are just photo ops I can't resist, like the "what is that" pic from the day they got their wires crossed and served her food pureed (she's pointing at the green mounds, which, it turns out, were pureed broccoli. Nice that they give you a card telling you what everything is, because, barring tasting them, I never would have guessed). There are a few other pics I really like, below.
Perhaps my favourite moments of all came tonight, however, and I have no photographs to accompany them. I had brought a stack of movies I thought would be appropriate for her - Michael Apted's Nell, for instance, plus some films I only just picked up off a friend yesterday: Elaine May's A New Leaf, Sirk's Magnificent Obsession, Mazursky's Harry and Tonto, a Marlene Deitrich set. I figured they all might appeal to her, or that at least one would. She was kind of shrugging at her choices, though, so I glanced over at my backpack, where I had a few other options tucked away. "Um... do you want to watch a horror movie?"
"Yaaah!" she said. Y'see, I had, thinking I might bug Lynn Lowry for signatures this upcoming Saturday, packed three of her better known films along with me when I left from Burnaby this morning, in case I actually end up at the Northwest Horror Show. I contemplated the options - Mom is sick, she's experiencing plenty of "body horror" moments, so why not go for Cronenberg?
Yes, folks, Mom and I watched Shivers in the lounge area this evening. She laughed aloud several times: when the "poor little birdie" hit the umbrella, when the parasite was worming its way out of the mailbox, and maybe most entertainingly, when the infected old lady grabbed the bellboy, saying "I'm hungry! I'm hungry for love!" I shared what anecdotes about the making of the film that I could - like the one where Barbara Steele took umbrage at Cronenberg slapping one of the junior actresses (but at her request, to help her get into character as an abused housewife). Usually Mom rolls her eyes at my horror movies but I could tell she was entertained aplenty by this one. Even if she remarked at the end that it was the stupidest movie she'd ever seen (that one's for you, Robin Wood), she admitted she enjoyed having watched it.
It's, I guess, not the worst way to end a life, if that's what's happening here, though I wonder if I'm storing up all these positive moments to help balance out what I imagine will be a crushing sense of guilt and failure when she's gone?
Then again, maybe the doctors and nurses will surprise me and prove right and she'll pull through. I hope so. Meantime - I have an article promised for Friday and I have to be up at 8:30 AM so I can get to the hospital nice and early, with a new assortment of jigsaws in tow, so no more blogging for now.
Hang in there, Mom. I'll be there soon.
On the other hand, 10 Cloverfield Lane is thoroughly engaging and invenitve as a continuation of Cloverfield - it is the maybe least sequel-feeling sequel ever made - but feels kind of, ultimately, trivial, with no real interest value on the level of its meaning (spoiler: "what if the crazy survivalist was right all along?"). While I don't regret the time I spent with friends during both films, I wonder if I really needed either movie in my life when my Mom is doing so poorly.. I mean, sure, "I needed to recharge my battery" and all, "I needed to take a break." I've said both, but... doesn't that all smack of rationalization? It was nice to have a couple nights out of the hospital but, you know, I would feel pretty guilty if Mom died while I was off watching a movie.
Today was day 26 of Mom's stay in the hospital. Each thing that has gone wrong, and/or the treatment thereof, has led to further complications, requiring further treatment; the gallstone that started everything was removed on March 30th, but she's still in hospital, with no sign of immediate release. At present the biggest scare is damage to her heart. It hasn't been a strong heart since 2009, but now, signs of congestive heart failure are running rampant: cold hands and feet, swelling legs and ankles which are weeping fluid, deep wet coughing, kidney pain, dropping blood-oxygen levels when she's not receiving oxygen, a lowering of blood pressure... They say that her vitals are good, but she's not in ICU anymore, so I'm not sure how thorough they're being in monitoring them, and there have been a few moments when I doubt that the system as it exists is up to the task of giving her what she needs. I may just be being oversensitive - the doctors and nurses genuinely don't seem that worried about her, and are trying to reassure me - but there is no coming back from congestive heart failure, slow a process as it may be; I was told that years ago. And there was a terrifying half hour this afternoon where Mom was gasping and crying and clinging to me while her body was wracked with shivers and muscle spasms, mostly in her right arm - the not-a-heart-attack arm, but still. We were both telling each other we loved each other and I was trying to say comforting things, while praying inwardly that the nurse would hurry up with whatever he was bringing, but it took a long time and put us both through the wringer, as I tried to get her to calm down and breathe through her nose (and turned up her oxygen supply). I only let go of her hand to bring a photo of Dad closer, so she'd be able to see his face smiling at her...
Anyhow, the nurse came, meds were given - some sort of steamy inhaler to help her breathe and a painkiller - and the spasm passed. She was a little trembly for a bit, but all the same, we spent the next several hours listening to music - Kenny Rogers, Jim Croce, Charley Pride, and the odd mix I've made, including ones she and Dad and I used to play Scrabble to - and doing jigsaw puzzles (I think we got five done today!). We've done one or more of them each day, since it occured to me to bring the first one on the weekend - the day of the Residents show, in fact. These are some favourite pics I've taken, and I've put them, I believe, in the sequence of the puzzles we have done so far. I go quite a bit faster than she does, so when I find a piece, or put together several too quickly in a row, she growls at me and and says, "you're good," jealously, or maybe, "you're pissing me off!" Sometimes she just growls and glares and makes a fist, of course with her fine sense of wry humour behind it.
I always let her do the last few pieces by herself.
There have been a few other delightful times with Mom, despite the hospital setting - like the first time I took her out to explore the grounds in a wheelchair, and we ran into Teddy the Therapy Dog. He was so friendly! I think this was before "contact precautions" were declared (or at least before they were explained to me).
Another sweet moment: our one day in the garden out back, maybe a little over a week ago, where I wheeled her to a very pretty spot and we sat in the shade, watching the branches blow in the trees, drinking diet pop, and observing one squirrel that came by, showing only the briefest flicker of curiosity towards the banana peel I offered him (it was all I had). At a couple of points Mom remarked that it - the garden, the breeze, the whole moment - was so wonderful, she didn't mind being sick. I was glad that she felt so happy, though that seemed a little hyperbolic to me!
Sometimes there are just photo ops I can't resist, like the "what is that" pic from the day they got their wires crossed and served her food pureed (she's pointing at the green mounds, which, it turns out, were pureed broccoli. Nice that they give you a card telling you what everything is, because, barring tasting them, I never would have guessed). There are a few other pics I really like, below.
Perhaps my favourite moments of all came tonight, however, and I have no photographs to accompany them. I had brought a stack of movies I thought would be appropriate for her - Michael Apted's Nell, for instance, plus some films I only just picked up off a friend yesterday: Elaine May's A New Leaf, Sirk's Magnificent Obsession, Mazursky's Harry and Tonto, a Marlene Deitrich set. I figured they all might appeal to her, or that at least one would. She was kind of shrugging at her choices, though, so I glanced over at my backpack, where I had a few other options tucked away. "Um... do you want to watch a horror movie?"
"Yaaah!" she said. Y'see, I had, thinking I might bug Lynn Lowry for signatures this upcoming Saturday, packed three of her better known films along with me when I left from Burnaby this morning, in case I actually end up at the Northwest Horror Show. I contemplated the options - Mom is sick, she's experiencing plenty of "body horror" moments, so why not go for Cronenberg?
Yes, folks, Mom and I watched Shivers in the lounge area this evening. She laughed aloud several times: when the "poor little birdie" hit the umbrella, when the parasite was worming its way out of the mailbox, and maybe most entertainingly, when the infected old lady grabbed the bellboy, saying "I'm hungry! I'm hungry for love!" I shared what anecdotes about the making of the film that I could - like the one where Barbara Steele took umbrage at Cronenberg slapping one of the junior actresses (but at her request, to help her get into character as an abused housewife). Usually Mom rolls her eyes at my horror movies but I could tell she was entertained aplenty by this one. Even if she remarked at the end that it was the stupidest movie she'd ever seen (that one's for you, Robin Wood), she admitted she enjoyed having watched it.
It's, I guess, not the worst way to end a life, if that's what's happening here, though I wonder if I'm storing up all these positive moments to help balance out what I imagine will be a crushing sense of guilt and failure when she's gone?
Then again, maybe the doctors and nurses will surprise me and prove right and she'll pull through. I hope so. Meantime - I have an article promised for Friday and I have to be up at 8:30 AM so I can get to the hospital nice and early, with a new assortment of jigsaws in tow, so no more blogging for now.
Hang in there, Mom. I'll be there soon.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Five random statements
I sure will miss the Railway Club. Another severed limb for the city, to tingle in its absence for years to come. My last show there was David M's NO FUN at Ukrainian Christmas, I believe; my second to last was David's full on Christmas show the week previous. Before that I think it was China Syndrome... I'm glad I got to take my girl there a few times, it's a part of Vancouver's musical history that...
...ah, I'm not going to get sentimental or political, but I'll miss the place.
In other news, I am not going to be at Record Store Day today in any way shape or form. Happy shopping. If the Residents exclusive release is still around tomorrow and I end up near a record store, I might try to snag it, but I don't really need any more records, anyhow. There's a ton of cool stuff, but why the exact fuck is there a Justin Bieber RSD vinyl release? Do his fans actually care about vinyl?
I have stuff upcoming on Eddy D and the Sex Bombs and others, some of which will be on this blog, and some not. I can't really spill stuff that's going to appear in print elsewhere. But one show I haven't mentioned yet, and WILL be doing something on for SOMEONE, as yet to be determined: Ron Reyes will be doing a PIGGY farewell on May 6th at the Astoria. The last time I saw Piggy was, in fact, on Record Store Day at Neptoon, with a very late Alexa Bardach appearing on vocals. That was two vocalists ago! What, was that ten years ago or something?
More personally, Mom is more or less restored to a weakened version of her former self: her infections are almost under control, her spirits are good, her energy levels are okay, and she is still in the hospital awaiting rehab. I'm still visiting her every day. She has had a couple of episodes with her heart that have been kind of ominous - elevated troponin, anyhow - but then there are almost normal days, like yesterday. We watched The Judge with Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall. Kinda typical story, a bit implausible at times, but nicely observed performances. I've gotten to where I kinda enjoy Downey. Mom seemed to follow the story okay, and only napped a couple of times... today we're going to try The Peanuts Movie (she likes Peanuts).
With all my hospital visits, I still haven't had the chance to see Midnight Special yet, but I did get to take Homer Flynn for dosas at House of Dosas the other night, so that's something. House of Dosas is great, if you're looking for a late night bite in Vancouver and like it spicy. It's basically a ginormous crepe filled with your choice of curry.
The Residents show was a lot of fun, too.
...ah, I'm not going to get sentimental or political, but I'll miss the place.
I have stuff upcoming on Eddy D and the Sex Bombs and others, some of which will be on this blog, and some not. I can't really spill stuff that's going to appear in print elsewhere. But one show I haven't mentioned yet, and WILL be doing something on for SOMEONE, as yet to be determined: Ron Reyes will be doing a PIGGY farewell on May 6th at the Astoria. The last time I saw Piggy was, in fact, on Record Store Day at Neptoon, with a very late Alexa Bardach appearing on vocals. That was two vocalists ago! What, was that ten years ago or something?
More personally, Mom is more or less restored to a weakened version of her former self: her infections are almost under control, her spirits are good, her energy levels are okay, and she is still in the hospital awaiting rehab. I'm still visiting her every day. She has had a couple of episodes with her heart that have been kind of ominous - elevated troponin, anyhow - but then there are almost normal days, like yesterday. We watched The Judge with Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall. Kinda typical story, a bit implausible at times, but nicely observed performances. I've gotten to where I kinda enjoy Downey. Mom seemed to follow the story okay, and only napped a couple of times... today we're going to try The Peanuts Movie (she likes Peanuts).
With all my hospital visits, I still haven't had the chance to see Midnight Special yet, but I did get to take Homer Flynn for dosas at House of Dosas the other night, so that's something. House of Dosas is great, if you're looking for a late night bite in Vancouver and like it spicy. It's basically a ginormous crepe filled with your choice of curry.
The Residents show was a lot of fun, too.
Northwest Horror Show 2016: a Shane Burzynski interview
The Northwest Horror Show is practically upon us! Taking place April 22nd-24th at the Vancity Theatre, it boasts some seriously shocking, splattery cinema, opening with Fulci's Zombie and closing with Peter "The Hobbit" Jackson's hilariously gory early feature Bad Taste, pictured above - a sort of masterpiece of outlandish horror effects and clever stupidity that is absolutely essential viewing if you're a Jackson fan (it was, I recall it being said, banned in Ontario for a time for "indiginities to the human body;" he wasn't always so respectable). And it's way more fun if you see it with an audience, too, which opportunity arises all too seldom.
Also screening - besides shorts and swag draws and guest Q&As and other fun things - are grindhouse classics Maniac, Cannibal Ferox, I Drink Your Blood, and Street Trash, plus the somewhat lighter Night of the Creeps and the almost unbearably heavy Salo: The 120 Days of Sodom (pictured below).
Also screening - besides shorts and swag draws and guest Q&As and other fun things - are grindhouse classics Maniac, Cannibal Ferox, I Drink Your Blood, and Street Trash, plus the somewhat lighter Night of the Creeps and the almost unbearably heavy Salo: The 120 Days of Sodom (pictured below).
I wrote previously on the inclusion of I Drink Your Blood, my unequivocal favourite "Satanic rabid bikers on acid" movie, featuring Lynn Lowry in her first film role. She will be present to do a Q&A. There will also be a Skype'd in Q&A from Night of the Creeps' Tom Atkins, who is in John Carpenter's The Fog and Escape From New York, the under-rated, Carpenter-related Halloween III, as well as a whack of other films, including culty favourites Maniac Cop and Two Evil Eyes.
I do not, alas, have the mojo at present to interview either of them - I'll be lucky to be able to press some Blu-Rays at Ms. Lowry (DVD in the case of Shivers) and ask for signatures, please. But I did manage to fire a few emails off to festival curator Shane Burzynski, who took the time to answer about the films in this year's program.
We start with Salo - an essential film, but an unspeakably sad one, which needs to be understood as highly political and made with total compassion for the victims of fascism, even if its main characters are perpetrators. The film is structured - following de Sade - around the exploits of four fascist dignitaries who kidnap a group of youths and subject them to untold humiliations, from shit-eating to eye-gougings, while spouting crypto-fascist philosophy, listening to old whores tell dirty stories, and preening about how elite they are. It's a notoriously hard-to-watch film, but it's not just a shits-and-giggles experience; I remember being kind of grossed out by friends in high school, who, hearing of it, wanted to see it like it was a specialized kind of pornography...
The interview with Shane follows!
The interview with Shane follows!
SB: Not at all! It was really easy to get a hold of as the rights belong to Park Circus who have just struck a bunch of new prints for Pasolini's work, and since it's such a rough film it doesnt get booked as much as his other films. Was fairly cheap too as we were able to work out a box office deal.
How did you first see Salo? What's your history with it? (It was my first Pasolini and ill-prepared me for his other films). Have you seen Salo with an audience before? I have, but it's been a long time and don't remember reactions. You?
I had heard about Salo for ages, I used to read all those lists people had compiled about the most difficult movies to sit through/most disturbing films things like that, and for the longest time I didn't think I would be able to handle it. Eventually as I got into more Italian films I had seen a couple of Pasolini's other works like Mama Roma (which is probably my favourite of his) as well as Accatone and decided I would finally give it a shot. I was still living in New York at the time when BAM Rose cinemas did a screening of it on the 4th of July so one of my friends and I decided to go see it. The place was packed with a very diverse audience, a majority being 70 year old men which did and didn't surprise me. I pretty much sat there with a pit in my stomach the whole time just due to the sheer sense of dread that the movie filled me with but I was also blown away by the craft of the film, especially the production design and the moments of black humour. I remember also watching the one woman in front of me squirming throughout the entire film which was really entertaining. Not too many walkouts, maybe one or two. I had also seen it at MOMA on one of my other visits too with similar experiences.
Do you ever see films theatrically JUST to see them with an audience? Do you ever NOT want to see certain films with an audience, because they might mis-react to them, taint the experience? (I remember someone getting really pissed off with a friend of mine who giggled and cheered all the way through the ear-cutting scene in Reservoir Dogs...)
Absolutely! Some movies are way more fun with an audience, Pieces being one of them which is why I booked it last year. It's also why I'm booking Street Trash this year.
There are times though where I have definitely been annoyed seeing movies with an audience. I was just reading about someones experience seeing Suspiria with an audience who all laughed and jeered at it which would drive me crazy. I know its got its absurd moments but it would frustrate me to no end. My recent encounter with The Mask was also kind of similar but the audience at least weren't making cracks or comments throughout so that was at least good. I think its people's exaggerations that annoy me the most, like, most of the time those moments of dated acting aren't THAT funny, chill the fuck out and keep watching.
I have to challenge you on one thing: Salo, while a masterpiece, is on a whole different order of filmmaking from Cannibal Ferox, say; I love Cannibal Ferox plenty, but it's TRASH and Salo is, truly, ART, no? Plus the people I know who have seen Salo hoping for titillation are invariably disappointed; it's one of the saddest, darkest, most despairing movies I've ever seen, but it's also bone serious. I (harumph) kind of object to the company it's keeping, here, and am worried that the audience will be less serious than the film generally deserves - I'll be crying when they're laughing. Seeing Salo for its gore (and shit!) and such seems, I dunno, vulgar, no?
A pretty good question that I thought long and hard about when setting up this festival. I was actually originally going to do a separate screening of it outside the festival as a fundraiser until Vince D'Amato convinced me that it was a great idea to put it into the line up. And he's kind of right! At the end of the day a big part of why I'm putting on this event is to get films that rarely screen in Vancouver played on the big screen the why they are meant to be seen, on 35mm (or -very rarely- DCP if they're unavailable on film). It was also a good way to bring in a crowd who might not be interested in the festival otherwise. I will also be showing some other more "artsy" stuff for future line ups as well, I'm currently on the hunt for a print of Singapore Sling that wont cost a fortune to bring in.
A pretty good question that I thought long and hard about when setting up this festival. I was actually originally going to do a separate screening of it outside the festival as a fundraiser until Vince D'Amato convinced me that it was a great idea to put it into the line up. And he's kind of right! At the end of the day a big part of why I'm putting on this event is to get films that rarely screen in Vancouver played on the big screen the why they are meant to be seen, on 35mm (or -very rarely- DCP if they're unavailable on film). It was also a good way to bring in a crowd who might not be interested in the festival otherwise. I will also be showing some other more "artsy" stuff for future line ups as well, I'm currently on the hunt for a print of Singapore Sling that wont cost a fortune to bring in.
In terms of the audience I think most people are aware of what they're getting into with Salo, its not really a film you can laugh at outside of a couple of moments that are intended to be darkly comical. You'd have to be pretty fucked up to be able to laugh at it and it wont be something I'll be very kind to if it happens either (unless its clearly a nervous laugh). Context will definitely be provided beforehand and I'm also thinking of foregoing the usual pre-show. Most of the people I've interacted to who have attended the festival will definitely be able to appreciate it for its merits and hopefully we'll also draw more of those types of people, I have faith in it.
I'm surprised you're playing Night of the Creeps in digital projection. How did that happen? (By the way, I've never seen it. Am I missing out?).
It was actually a matter of availability. When I contacted Sony they told me they did have a print but it was booked for the same weekend we were going to show it, which meant I had two choices: I could replace it and wait until next year or accept their DCP. I actually decided to go for the DCP for two reasons: the first was that it was coming from Sony, so I knew their DCP would look almost as good as their print. They take care of all of their films very well and their DCPs don't look like mushy trash like a lot of them do (you hearing me Universal Studios?). The other thing that persuaded me is that we would get to screen the Directors Cut of the film which wouldn't have been available had we booked the print, so I decided that it would be okay this time to go through with it. The only other times I will allow DCPs are if the film isn't available otherwise or if I'm screening in a venue that runs platter projectors. I have another event I'm looking to book at the end of the summer that will also be screening heavily on DCP, but I won't be able to announce any other details on what it is until the final film of the festival, so be sure to come out for that if you wanna know what it is! ;)
It was actually a matter of availability. When I contacted Sony they told me they did have a print but it was booked for the same weekend we were going to show it, which meant I had two choices: I could replace it and wait until next year or accept their DCP. I actually decided to go for the DCP for two reasons: the first was that it was coming from Sony, so I knew their DCP would look almost as good as their print. They take care of all of their films very well and their DCPs don't look like mushy trash like a lot of them do (you hearing me Universal Studios?). The other thing that persuaded me is that we would get to screen the Directors Cut of the film which wouldn't have been available had we booked the print, so I decided that it would be okay this time to go through with it. The only other times I will allow DCPs are if the film isn't available otherwise or if I'm screening in a venue that runs platter projectors. I have another event I'm looking to book at the end of the summer that will also be screening heavily on DCP, but I won't be able to announce any other details on what it is until the final film of the festival, so be sure to come out for that if you wanna know what it is! ;)
Re: Zombie, do you feel like you understand Fulci? The Beyond seems like some sort of surrealist horror masterpiece, while Zombie seems a lot more straightfoward. The only thing I can see in common between them is punctured eyeballs (is violence against eyes a "thing") in his cinema? What are the high points, by you?
Probably as much as there is to get with Fulci. Someone actually just wrote a piece on Fulci's focus on eyes (whether being punctured or the use of extreme close ups) , Arrow Video just shared it the other day. Was pretty neat!
The high points of Fulci for me are definitely The Beyond and Don't Torture a Duckling which I consider his best film. There's a scene in Duckling where one of the characters is beaten to death with chains that is just perfect, the images matched with Riz Ortolani's score work together to create a really unforgettable moment. He did a great job at building atmosphere in his films, I remember how much dread Zombie used to fill me with when I was younger.
Is it known how he did the shark/ zombie thing? It seems pretty unbelievable.
I believe it was just with a wrangler in a tank. There's some more information on it on the blu ray releases and online but I think thats just what it was.
Can you tell me about tracking down I Drink Your Blood, and your guest Lynn Lowry?
Didn't expect to find a print of it but it turned out that Grindhouse actually did have access to one that was in good shape, so I decided to switch it out as I originally wanted to show that over The Crazies anyways (which had been previously, briefly announced). So maybe we'll screen that one at another time. I still havent seen some of her more well known performances actually. Cat People for instance has been a big blind spot for me, ditto on Score.
Gonna make sure I right those wrongs before she comes over though.
How did she get in touch with you?
She actually just contacted me through twitter. She sent a tweet my way saying she wanted to come out for the festival because she loves Vancouver and we started talking further through email. It was a real ego boost and I can't wait to meet her.
I have never seen Street Trash. What am I missing?
A lot! It's one of the best sleaze comedies I've ever seen. It's a really great exercise in poor taste with things ranging from a group of bums playing keep away with a severed penis, necrophilia, piss, puke, and several melting and exploding bodies throughout the film. It's a really crazy, gross and hilarious ride that I highly recommend taking!
If someone has a girlfriend who doesn't like horror or extremity, what is the "lightest" movie in the programme, in your opinion? Or is it all for hardy types?
Without a doubt Night Of the Creeps! Its basically an 80's comedy that just happens to have brain invading aliens and zombies. Really easy to recommend to pretty much anyone.
A lot! It's one of the best sleaze comedies I've ever seen. It's a really great exercise in poor taste with things ranging from a group of bums playing keep away with a severed penis, necrophilia, piss, puke, and several melting and exploding bodies throughout the film. It's a really crazy, gross and hilarious ride that I highly recommend taking!
If someone has a girlfriend who doesn't like horror or extremity, what is the "lightest" movie in the programme, in your opinion? Or is it all for hardy types?
Without a doubt Night Of the Creeps! Its basically an 80's comedy that just happens to have brain invading aliens and zombies. Really easy to recommend to pretty much anyone.
I seriously doubt it! The only exploding head scene that rivals it is in Scanners, but that wasn't a shotgun I guess.
Well, sorta...
EDITED TO ADD: SCREENING TIMES!
Friday April 22nd:
6pm - Opening night reception
7pm - Zombie
9:15pm - Maniac
11:30pm - Cannibal Ferox
Saturday April 23rd:
6:30pm - Night Of the Creeps
9pm - I Drink Your Blood
11:15pm - Street Trash
Sunday April 24th:
6:30pm - Salo, Or the 120 Days Of Sodom
9pm - Our SECRET closing night screening! (although not too
secret for those of you who have been following since the beginning)
Note; see my 2015 interview with Shane here! See you at the Vancity Theatre!