it was almost spring in canada today
the trees are hinting at buds
everyone was out doing yard work
i put some doobie brothers on in the garage
certain stereos have a certain sound significant to a certain place
i love the garage stereo
it's one of shari's old boom boxes
we used to call them ghetto blasters
but the kids tell me that term's improper
anyway
by midday i had jimi's axis bold as love wailing through the neighbourhood
on cassette
i got a feeling that most people dug it
funny thing about hendrix
you may not get it
but you listen regardless
well
i got it
clifton got it
a generation got it
and i think the neighbours over at 121 got it too
suddenly their landscaping took on a more freer vibe
one cat from down around the bend didn't get it
i know this guy
he knows me
we're polar opposites
i'm cool with it
he's not
he wants the music turned down to a level
that sours the mix
i can't abide
here's the plot twist
years ago we were doing this one theatre
and the tech used to stand over us with a decibel meter
it felt like getting your knuckles rapped
and it really impeded our groove
one christmas
our chief sound tech - rich
and my sister - tracy
presented said decibel meter to me for christmas
they stole it
it's one of my favourite gifts ever
it measures sound
so down around the bend polar opposite guy
has a team of landscapers show up to his place once a week
and they're equipped with leaf blowers
leaf blowers are the natural enemy of musicians
they're like our kryptonite
they impede music
they ruin vibes
leaf blowers suck
one day i chuffed around the corner
and measured 92 decibels worth of leaf blower noise pollution
aching out of polar opposite guy's front yard
now imagine if you're with your family
in the backyard chilling
and suddenly i crank out 92 decibels of norwegian death metal
for 10 minutes
you'd freak
you'd go john wayne
anyway
as the hendrix kept filling the neighbourhood with positive vibrations
i came to the realization that i can do something about the leaf blowers
so i re-started my petition at change.org
and i'm going to go door to door
to see if i can get leaf blowers banned from my hood
united we stand
there's a lot of asian people in our hood
so i'm going to get the petition translated to mandarin
and turn them on to some hendrix too
meanwhile i gotta figure out how to get down around the bad bend guy
feeling more open to some heavy music
he needs to drop by the garage one sunday
and check out some doobie brothers with me
craig
may 5. 2014
water
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