Up the Ottawa, without despair

The Return of the House Band Reading Series

2011-12-09T04:22:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, December 15 the House Band Reading Series (HBRS) returns to Raw Sugar Café with a seasonal show that includes special guests Cameron Anstee and Dave Currie. This installment of the series will feature Brendan McNally and DJ Komsomol in the House Band.

HBRS mashes music and prose, featuring a DJ spinning a score alongside McNally reading, with guests rounding out the evening showcasing their different styles and genres of writing. Cameron Anstee publishes handmade books in limited editions with Apt. 9 Press, while Dave Currie is fiction editor for In/Words Magazine.

Originally conceived as a venue to serially launch each chapter of his novel Up the Ottawa, without despair, McNally decided to keep the format, post book launch. “I really enjoyed the format and development of a reading,” says McNally. “You know, rehearsing before hand with a DJ to figure out a score for each piece and bringing in other people who added their voice talents as we built the pieces up. The whole process of working with others, turning something written into something aural, then presenting it publicly, was neat.”

The House Band Reading Series

Thursday December 17th, 9-11

4 readings, starting about 9:20, and every 20 minutes or so after that.

DJ for some of the readings and in between at your friendly neighbourhood

Raw Sugar Café, 692 Somerset West,

here in the 613

$5 or Pay-What-You-Can

For a video example of the HBRS format click here.
Scroll down to see previous Special Guests, House Band members, DJs, photographers and musicians.

Previous Special Guests:

Colin Vincent, Amanda Earl, Jennifer Whiteford, Nichole McGill, Don Fex, Shannon Beahen, Megan Butcher, rob mclennan Dave O’Meara, Sandra Ridley, Zoe Roux, Max Middle, Christine McNair.

Photographers for the House Band Art Show: Scott Fairchild, Arthur Mastson, Eric Schallenburg, Peter Knippel, Megan Butcher, Jeff Hardill, Brendan McNally.

Past or present members of the House Band:
DJ Komsomol, DJ McKean, Zoe Roux, Don Fex, JP Sadek, Amanda Abdelhadi, Brendan McNally.

Other DJs/musicians McNally has worked/recorded with in the past:
Rob Frayne, John Gegge, The Undercats, Rman, Fiftymen, DJ Freakula, DJ Feck, Jim Bryson, Peter Houston Hanlon, Peter Von Althon.

Some of the musicians who performed in earlier versions of what eventually became the House Band Reading Seiries:
the supermegas, Kathleen Edwards, Chris Page, Janice Hall

Other Desdechado Productions/joint ventures:

1999
The One and Me: A Hitchhiker’s Tale (Ottawa Fringe Festival, reprised in 2004)
A Letter to Virginia (CKCU FM)
Twelve Months, Two Weeks and a Day in the Life of a Year (Written word collection)
2000
The Other Face of Ottawa (CBC Radio 2)
Welcome to My CD (Audio Recording)
2002
Ottawa Public Library (Audio and chapbook)
2003
Letters from Away (Ottawa, New World Theatre Project)
2006
Heads or Tails (Ottawa Fringe Festival)
2008
Hey, Bartender! (Ottawa Fringe Festival
2009-
The House Band Reading Series
2010
The House Band Art Show and Book Launch for Up the Ottawa, without despair.

A review of the novel.

2011-02-12T07:54:00.000-08:00

The latest issue of in/words has a review of my novel in it.

The novel looks like this:

And it is now available from me, or at Octopus Books 116 Third Avenue in Ottawa.

And the review reads like this:

Due to a lack of clarity on my part, the location of the e-dition is wrong. But I will right it soon enough.

To read the rest of Volume 10, Issue 1 of in/words, click here.

Coming soon: the book online.

The House Band Art Show

2010-10-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

“It all began with some broken teeth.”

With a book launch for Up the Ottawa, without despair

The House Band Art Show

on the walls of Raw Sugar Café during the month of October, 2010

Video preview of the show:

The House Band Art Show features the framed photographs and chapter books (in shadow boxes) from the novel Up the Ottawa, without despair. Each chapter of the novel was launched as part of the House Band Reading Series at Raw Sugar Café, with a different photograph on each cover.

Kinda like this one of Chapter 5, featuring Megan Butcher's photograph:

I organized the show as a thank you to, and to promote, the photographers who allowed their work to grace each of the eight chapter covers. The show features the photography of Scott Fairchild, Eric Schallenberg, Megan Butcher, Jeff Hardill, Peter Knippel and Arthur Matson.

Speaking of Peter and Arthur:

The show runs until October 31^st, 2010 at Raw Sugar Cafe.

So I organized the show and was wondering about when and where I would do the launch of the complete version of Up the Ottawa, without despair.

Being a big, fat, dumb-dumb head it had to be pointed out to me that I should do it during the art show.

d'oh

So, as well as featuring local photographers, the art show will also have the book launch for the completed edition of Up the Ottawa, without despair, bound in chapterbook format. As a bonus, the book will include a compact disc featuring the guests of the House Band Reading Series. Again, as a thank you and to help promote local writers.

Here's what the CD should look like, barring a power failure between now and the launch:

The CD includes Amanda Earl, Colin Vincent, Jennifer Whiteford, Nichole McGill, Don Fex, Shannon Beahen, rob mclennan, Megan Butcher, Sandra Ridley, Max Middle, Zoe Roux and Christine McNair.

Here's Zoe reading:

Also included with the book will be a bonus DVD with material from the House Band Reading Series, which featured DJs who scored the pieces read/performed, and who played along while different voices read/acted out scenes from the novel.

Some longer ones are over on the right, but to get a sense of it, here's the preview for the fourth reading, with Amanda, me, and DJ Komsomol:

The House Band line up changed, depending on availability, and featured Andrew McKean, DJ Komsomol, Amanda Abdelhadi, Don Fex, Zoe Roux, JP Sadek and Brendan McNally.

And here's the House Band, this version featuring Andrew, Amanda and myself:

This is a very short piece, a self-portrait. In blood.

Immediately followed by a crafty re-enactment of how I go that way.

Book launch for
Up the Ottawa, without despair:
Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 7-10 pm

Reading: 8:30 pm

It's magic, here's the rough cut from the launch:

A free e-version of the book will be launched in the next while.

I fell down. But fortunately I could get up.

The end of the House Band Reading Series

2010-09-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

Long live the House Band Art Show!

A little late, given that the last reading was more than two months ago (Chapter 8, July 3, 2010), but I've been very busy. So it's only now that I can write:

I’m pleased to announce that the House Band Reading Series (HBRS) is over! Pleased because, as you are no doubt well aware, coming up with an idea (artistic or otherwise), starting it, and then actually completing it are three different kettles of fish. And with it’s finish I can now say that, with a lot of help from my friends, I was able to accomplish what I originally set out to do, which was:

1. Publish the novel I wrote while at the Humber School for Writers, but do it serially, in chapter installments presented as chapbooks.
2. Have a dental plan jar present so that I could raise money to fix the teeth I broke slipping on some ice on the first morning of spring, 2009.

3. Have fun.

Check, check and check. With thank yous to all who came out, participated, donated, helped edit, design, produce and print the chapbooks. And thank you to those who took photos and drew pictures, some of which are online, here and here and here, amongst other places. Thanks!

To recap briefly:

The readings themselves featured performances from my novel Up the Ottawa, without despair, with different voices joining me to give it life, and musical stylings from djs who scored the pieces and accompanied us, live. We even brought in a percussionist (hi-hat and snare, not bongo, thank you very much) on occasion to provide a back beat. And cowbell. Cuz, well, you know.

It went a little bit like this:

And the chapters look a lot like this, but with a different photo for the cover of each one. And a different number. Clever, no?

That's chapter two, obviously, designed by Eric Schallenberg, using the photo by Scott Fairchild, which is below.

Not so obviously, this is the poster for Chapter 3:

I found that one of the good things about keeping the HBRS edition of the novel “live” was that I could make changes, if need be, to the copy, after the fact.

Most of them are small, like:

When Patch finishes reading The Catcher in the Rye on Lebreton Flats in the middle of chapter 4 he tosses the book into the grass and stretches out in the sun, thinking that Holden Caufield is a bit of a dweeb. Of course, I realized after I printed it that Patch should really think that Caufield is a phoney, which is obvious if you're familiar with Salinger's novel.

But I’ll save that kind of editing stuff for another blog.

Now, on to the House Band Art Show. As well as having the House Band feature the talents of different voices and djs, and the series feature the talents of various Ottawa writers appearing as guests, each of the chapbooks that make up the novel has a cover photo, as I mentioned, taken by talented local photographers.

Sooooo….the House Band Art Show will feature those photos, framed, on the walls of Raw Sugar Café, during the month of October. Plus a little something else, but you’ll have to head down to 692 Somerset West to see what that is.

As well as myself, the show will feature, in the order which their photos appeared on the chapbook covers:

Scott Fairchild, Eric Schallenberg, Megan Butcher, Jeff Hardill, Peter Knippel and Arthur Matson.

And round about the third week of October I’ll be having another little soiree where I’ll have the book launch for the whole of Up the Ottawa, without despair, wrapped in a nice cover with a unique binding and audio and video discs from the series.

I’ll also be doing an online launch for a free digital version of the novel.

And the reading on the night of the launch in late October will be a little different from what I’ve done before. But more detail on that, and the date and time of the launch, later.

Later, dudes,

b

House Band Reading Series: Old Montreal

2009-12-23T04:55:00.000-08:00

"Y'a-t'il perdu connaissance ou fait une overdose?"

photos: M. Pearson

Old Montreal kicked off the first edition of the House Band Reading Series. The show was also the occasion for the launch of Chapter One of Up the Ottawa, without despair.

rehearsal screen shots

At first rehearsals, the House Band usually does a read through of possible selections for the next show.

And we smoke a lot of crack. Just to keep it real. Whatever it is.

Then different voices and music ideas are tried out while we figure out how much cowbell to use.

rehearsal screen shots

Along with the musical arrangement, rehearsals are where the words are also arranged, to take into account that the show is an aural presentation of written text.

Which is why the beginning of Chapter 7 was called Old Montreal. Likewise with Tick Tock from the beginning of Chapter 3, performed at the launch of Chapter 2, Raceway Tavern from the start of Chapter 4 at the launch of Chapter 3, and so on.

You know, back to the crack and keeping it real.

rehearsal screen shots

After that, the next rehearsals are where we cut and trim, while working on tone and pace. And beer.

Then we're ready to hit the stage.

photo: L. Ripley

Or at least, block the toilets at Raw Sugar Cafe.

design by E. Schallenberg

The short set up for Old Montreal is that Patch, the main character, is on the bus out of town to see the Dead Kennedy's. And because he got into a punch up on Preston Street.

I made a short preview video for the first show:

The back cover blurb for the novel is:

And this is the video for Old Montreal.

I managed to edit it down to fit into the 10 minute You Tube limit. With one second to spare.

The special guests for the first installment of the House Band Reading Series were Amanda Earl and Colin Vincent. The House Band was made up of Amanda Abdelhadi, DJ Andrew McKean and Brendan McNally.

Oh yeah, and Chapter 5 was launched in December 2009.

Happy New Year.

I ain't ever pulling a grocery heist on acid with you again. No way!

2009-12-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

Behind a written scene: "Loeb."

But first, the poster for the next installment of the House Band Reading Series.

With special guests Sandra Ridley and David O'Meara.

The December House Band will feature Dj Eric Komsomol, Amanda Abdelhadi, and myself.

And yes, I know it's tonight. But better late than never. Besides which, my stapler broke so it has taken me a little bit longer to do things like, oh I don't know, staple Chapter 5 together for the launch.

And now, much ado about nothing.

The "Loeb" scene (video below) was presented at the May edition of the House Band Reading Series, which featured the launch of Chapter 2.

Even though this isn't a folk song, here is some set up for the video. I have been asked if my novel is "true," to which I have replied, "It's completely true. As it relates to itself."

Which is just to say that fact informs the fiction contained in Up the Ottawa, without despair.

Yes, there is a place called Ottawa. No it's not Chaparral Pro Regular font, 8.75 point

Having said that, I'll just paraphrase a short conversation I had with someone after I wrote this particular scene.

Them: How's the writing coming along, Shakespeare? [Note, I think they were being sarcastic with that comparison]

Me: Good. I just finished a scene where the main characters drop acid and try to shoplift groceries from the Loeb in Vanier.

Them: Wasn't it the IGA in Hunt Club, Poindexter? [Note, again with my suspicions about sarcasm.]

Me: Ummm, I just wrote it and I'm pretty sure I set it in Vanier.

Them: No, Jackass [no sarcasm there, I believe]. Back in the day. Didn't we drop acid and shoplift groceries from the IGA in Hunt Club?

Me: [after a pause] Oh yeah.

*****

Which is just to say that, apparently, the acid flashback I had took a literary form.

Having said that, "Loeb" is a work of fiction and any similarities between it and any persons, typing or not, is entirely conincidental.

Like, totally coincidental, Dude.

Me on the internet (not this internet) and Me on the radio

2009-11-24T04:04:00.000-08:00

So I was in touch with OttawaTonite.com and spoke with them about doing a series of articles for their brand new Website, dedicated to the various cultural goings on in Ottawa.

I thought the idea for the site was excellent, and now that it is up and running, I think the site is most excellent, and I congratulate them for thinking it up and getting it going. Well done!

But before I could contribute, first I had to come up with an IDEA.

The IDEA I had was to write a series about the people who run reading series. You know, they work hard organizing events for people to come to. Then they introduce the guests and disappear until the end to thank everyone for coming out. Unless they have to adjust a microphone stand halfway through.

I thought it would be interesting to write about them, what motivates them, how they organize things, asking pertinent questions like, "Can you buy me a coffee?"

With that in mind, my very first article for them was about David O'Meara. O'Meara is not only the organizer of the Plan 99 Reading Series that is held at the Manx Pub here in Ottawa, Canadian Notes & Queries reckons he is "...one of the best contemporary poets in Canada."

I reckon they're right.

Part of the article is a video I shot of Dave reading a poem from his latest collection, Noble Gas, Penny Black, published by Brick Books. Read about Dave O'Meara and the Plan 99 Reading Series.

While I was interviewing Dave, he asked if I could fill in for him on the radio. (Dave is a co-host for Literary Landscapes, on CKCU-FM 93.1 FM, Ottawa's Community Radio Station.)

Now, while I have been on the radio many, many times, I have never actually hosted a program. Not being able to do something has never stopped me before, but I was a little bit nervous, nonetheless. So Dave calmed my nerves by drawing me the above basic schematic of "How To Run A Radio Station."

Armed with that piece of invaluable paper, I said, "Yes!"

After all, what could go wrong?

Well, of course, I forgot to bring that very, very important piece of paper with me.

Find out what happened by reading the Bovine Voodoo Magic blog post, by my good friend and guest Amanda Abdelhadi. She even took some video. Which was great because while I had set up my camera, I was hiding under the table looking for Dave's piece of paper. So I forgot to actually turn my camera on.

FYI: OttawaTonite.com is up and running, obviously. But what is it all about?

Well, suzemuse says it is, a "...VERY ambitious project – we aspire to be the pre-eminent source for what’s happening in the theatre, music, literary, film, comedy, and food and drink scenes in our city."

A most excellent, and ambitious, project. I wish ottawatonite.com the greatest of success.

The Other Face of Ottawa

2009-10-30T04:44:00.000-07:00

With the help of some very talented friends, I kicked off the House Band Reading Series with a rendition of The Other Face of Ottawa.

The video of which will be below here.

In the meantime, here is my training video for the Winter Olympics:

The Other Face of Ottawa first appeared in print in this book that was published in 1999:

It was then recorded for CBC Radio Two and broadcast nationally in 2000, with musical accompaniment by Rob Frayne and John Gegge.

The back cover looks remarkably similar to this:

Langers Desdechado very kindly offered to proofread my galleys.
And then edited his name in. And put his photo on the cover.
So I cut his balls off.

When the video is posted, you will be able to "interact" with this blog by "reading along."

Budget constraints mean that I am unable to afford a Schmoo style bouncing ball to follow the words along, so you will have to pay attention.

Internet scandal(e) du jour:

Michael Jackson is in negotiations for the movie version of this piece, but is currently unavailable for comment. So here's a copy of the poster for the book launch:

And a random photo of a gas station pub in Tipperary. You know, for good luck.

Ottawa Public Library

2009-08-11T17:00:00.001-07:00

So I thought I would post some other stuff I've done while I'm editing the video of the House Band Reading Series.

Stained glass window, from the original Carnegie Library,
hanging in the main branch of the Ottawa Public Library.

chapbook cover

A long time a go, in a bar far, far away...

...Well, not that far, just around the corner from me at the time. It was a place called the Aloha Room, under a Music Hall that isn't really one any more. Shame.

Anyway, on the night of July 30th, 2002 we hit the non-existent stage. We being the undercats, who had scored a number and were accompanying myself reading from a short piece that has a remarkably similar title to this blog.

Either that, or I was accompanying them.

table of contents

Photo: S. Brooks
(Psssst...none of these photo were not in the original chapbook.)

You can click on the pages to read the whole thing. If you want.

"The gentle moon looked down on all the rooftops of the sleeping city. Onto the slanting shingled rooftops of the houses that housed single families; onto the bent and creaking dormers of the houses that had been broken up and housed a conundrum of people...onto those spots that were bridges for some, rooftops for others."

"...he had a hole in his shoe. That meant he had a hole in his sock. The left one. Not that he only had one pair of socks, he had a few, and they all had a hole in the left one. He always put the one with the hole that matched his shoe on his left foot. Only because if he didn't, he'd have a hole in both socks."

"A strong gust of wind washed a sheet of water against his window with a bang, distracting him. He turned to the sound and caught that briefest of instances where the rain lay as one flat piece of water hanging solid against the pane. Then it broke into its flush of tributaries cascading down the glass."

"He listened, but couldn't hear [the rain] gathering in the gutters or otherwise pasting leaves to the glistening flat black scrapbook of autumn colours that the street had become."

And here is one of the four poems mentioned in the contents.

As the sub-title says, it is a sonnet progression in five movements. I wasn't trying to be a fancy-pants or anything like that, it's just the way it worked out. Everything builds to the last two stanzas, which form a "proper" sonnet.

back cover

These are some of the columns that were part of the facade of the original public library.
Now made out to look like a folly, in The Rockeries.

If you liked it and would like a hard copy, let me know.

If you liked it and wouldn't like a hard copy, but would like to buy me a coffee, then let me know that too.

Ciao

b

hidden tracks

Photo: S. Brooks

Pictures, posters, covers and some stuff

2009-07-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

As the title says: pictures, posters, covers and some stuff from the House Band Reading Series, side one. Beginning with:

Chapter 4

photo by S. Fairchild

July poster

with DJ Eric Komsomol, Amanda Abdelhadi, Megan Butcher and rob mclennan
design by E. Schallenberg

notes for chapter 4.
I ended up starting the chapter with a slightly different version of the bit 2/3rds down:
"Patch looked at the bruises and scrapes on his knuckles and thought about the promise,
now broken, he had made to his mother."

Chapter 4 cover

design by E. Schallenberg

Photo by S. Marriner

Chapter 3

June poster

with DJ Eric Komsomol, Don Fex and Shannon Beahen
design by E. Schallenberg

Chapter 3 edits.
From the part where Patch and Mosquito are trying to steal groceries.
But then the acid kicks in.

Chapter 3 cover

design by E. Schallenberg

What it's all about
back cover blurb for Up the Ottawa, without despair

Chapter 2

photo by S. Fairchild

May Poster

with DJ Andrew McKean, Amanda Abdelhadi, Jennifer Whiteford and Nichole McGill
design by E. Schallenberg

chapter 2 draft
Early version of when Hector slaps Patch on the back of the head near the Rideau Centre

Chapter 2 cover

design by E. Schallenberg

photo by D. Fex

Chapter 1

with DJ Andrew McKean, Amanda Earl, Colin Vincent and (missing name) Amanda Abdelhadi
design by E. Schallenberg

Original prologue. I liked it a lot, but cut it out as it didn't really fit.

design by E. Schallenberg

No need for the original photo, but you should see the sidewalk. It never saw me coming and didn't stand a chance. "Take that, concrete foe!"

Preview for the June reading

...It all began with some broken teeth...

2009-07-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

photo by D. Fex

So I went for a walk on the first morning of spring and slipped on some ice.

I know, I know, it's central Canada after all, where spring is more of a concept, and who hasn't slipped on ice 'round these parts.

Fortunately though, I landed on my face and my front teeth broke my fall.

A week or so later, while nursing my swollen mug over a coffee at Raw Sugar, I wondered about what I could do.

Thing is, I thought, I had been to the Humber School for Writers, and ended up writing a novel called “Up the Ottawa, without despair.” So I decided to start The House Band Reading Series to raise money for my busted chops.

design by E. Schallenberg

you can see more of his awesome design work here

Photo by L. Ripley

With the help of some very talented friends, who are readers, actors, musicians, writers, editors, designers, printers, great at encouragement and all around just plain swell, I was able to put out a chapbook for the first chapter.

design by E. Schallenberg

It went down a treat, and was followed by more readings to launch the first four chapters.

We're taking a summer break now, until the autumn, which means I have the time to devote to this blog. It's gonna be a scrapbook of sorts for the reading series and the serial publication of the novel.

Photo by S. Marriner

The idea with the series is to mix words and music, with a dj scoring the scenes and providing back up music while the reading is in progress. It changes things up a bit and makes for a different sort of reading.

The various members of the House Band so far have been Amanda Abdelhadi, Don Fex, DJ Eric Komsomol, DJ Andrew McKean, JP Sadek and myself.

photo by L. Ripley

It's obvious that the web offers writers new opportunities to promote their work and get it out there, and I talked about just that with journalist Julie Beun-Chown. With this in mind, I've done this blog and I also filmed and produced short clips to promote the series on the web. Kind of like this one for the May reading:

you can view more of my shorts by checking out my You Tube channel

Other Ottawa writers have been invited to round out the evenings and make it gosh darn fun. So far guest readers have included Colin Vincent, Amanda Earl, Jennifer Whiteford, Nichole McGill, Don Fex, S hannon Beahen, rob mclennan and Megan Butcher.

Photo by S. Fairchild

I suppose I could have gone the route of mailing the chapter to a publisher, but I figured I’d get more of an immediate response if I put some posters up around town.

Which I did, and I was able to go to the dentist. Thank you all for dropping coins in my Dental Plan Jar.

Besides which, this is more fun than checking my mailbox every morning to see if any publishers have responded.

The first chapters of Up the Ottawa, without despair are now available at Collected Works Bookstore 1242 Wellington Street West Ottawa, Canada. 613.722.1265

The rest will become available at readings throughout the autumn.

More posters, photos and uniform font sizes next time.

Ciao,