Been debating with myself a lot lately about whether or not I should just go ahead and get a face tattoo. My brain says ‘no’ but my face is begging for it.
What to do?
Face Time
April 28th, 2010Chess Deaths!
April 11th, 2010
So as i mentioned in my last entry, the beautiful game of chess definitely has it’s dark side. WATCH OUT!!! If you get too good at chess, it can *#$% you up! …as this list of how various grandmasters met their maker shows. commentary by yours truly.
Abe Turner – 1924 / 1962 Stabbed nine times in the back by a fellow employee at the Chess Review office. (perhaps chess can be too competetive sometimes)
Curt Von Bardeleben – 1861 / 1924 Threw himself out the window of his boarding home. (Nabokov wrote a heart rending novel losely based on this man’s life called The Defence. He was a skilled player himself and writes beautifully about the game. my next entry will feature an excerpt)
Ed Edmundson – 1920 / 1982 Died of a heart attack while playing Chess on a beach in Hawaii. (definitely how i’d like to go)
Frank Marshall – 1877 / 1944 Died of a heart attack after leaving a Chess tournament. (he probably made a bonehead mistake right at the end of an otherwise perfect 5 hour game)
George Mackenzie – 1837 / 1891 Suicide: took an overdose of morphine.
Herman Steiner – 1905 / 1955 Died after a California State
Championship game.
Janos Flesch – 1933 / 1983 Died in a car wreck. (cars don’t move like knights buddy)
Johann Zuckertort – 1842 / 1888 Died of a stroke while playing Chess at a London coffee-house.
Johannes Minckwitz – 1843 / 1901 Suicide: threw himself under a train.
Mikhail Tal – 1936 / 1992 Died of kidney failure in Moscow.
Nicholas Rossolimo – 1910 / 1975 Fell from flight of stairs and died of head injuries.
Paul Leonhardt – 1877 / 1938 Died of a heart attack while playing Chess at a Chess club.
Robert J. Fischer – 1943 / 2008 Died of kidney failure in Iceland.
Vladimir Simagin – 1919 / 1968 Died of a heart attack while
playing in a tournament.
Stefan Zweig – 1881 / 1942 Committed suicide.
I could have included dozens more, but they were all pretty much the same…suicides, consumption, choked on a rook etc. moral of the story,… if you want to play it safe, don’t play competetively, rather, treat it as an excuse to spend a casual afternoon on a patio shootin’ the shit with a good friend. admire the great games of the great players from a safe distance!
A Musical Debate
April 2nd, 2010
Champagne James Robertson recently sent me this lovely video involving two of our most treasured contemporary artists. Then we got into a debate about who really came out on top by the time the performance was done.
I say Bolton, he says Kenny. Watch for yourself and I’ll leave it for you to decide.
Hot Rod Red Pepper Soup
March 31st, 2010
6 large red bell peppers
3 large jalapeno peppers
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
6 Yukon Gold potatoes
6 cups low sodium vegetable stock
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
Optional
Chevre cheese
Fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
Step one, put on your sexiest apron.
Cut jalapenos them in half and remove the seeds for a milder heat, or roast them whole with the seeds for maximum impact. Cut red peppers in half, remove seeds, and lightly coat all the peppers in olive oil. Roast in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until tender. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover with cling-wrap for 5 minutes, then peel.
Wash and quarter the potatoes, peeling is optional.
In a soup pot, cook the potatoes until tender, drain and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the olive oil, then add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook until soft, not brown, about 15 minutes.
Everyone in the pool! Add the ‘taters, peppers and veggie stock. Keep the heat at medium low, and heat the ingredients through. Puree until smooth with an emersion blender or food processor. For a smoother, seed free soup, strain through a siv. Return the soup to the pot, and add balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and allow to simmer lightly for 20 minutes.
Serve family style in a busted 15” speaker. I’ve always got a few lying around.
A dollop of cheese right in the middle and the cilantro on top is a nice touch too.
1000 Favourite Guitar Players
March 20th, 2010
I like the guitar. I like it so much that I want to share with you my favourite 1000 players of all time. They are in no particular order. I will do 25 a week for the next 40 weeks.
1. Nels Cline – I mention him first because I got the idea from him. On his website he lists his favourite 200 guitar players. This is nice:
2. B.B. King – He made a record called “Live at the Regal” that I listened to a lot growing up:
3. Ed Bickert – Amazing at voice leading. Also a master of accompanying his own solos:
4. Amos Garrett – Very unique playing style. David Baxter introduced me to his solo in a Paul Butterfield song called “Send Me Someone To Love”. This is his most famous solo on a song called “Midnight at the Oasis” by Maria Muldar:
5. Eldon Shamblin – He played guitar on the seminal Bob Wills recordings. He revolutionized rhythm guitar playing. Here is a quick bio:
6. Junior Barnard – You really can’t mention Eldon Shamblin without mentioning Junior. He was my introduction into western swing guitar soloing. He would use multiple amps and distort them. Sometimes he sounded like a saxophone. Here is shredding in 1945
7. G Love – I always liked his tone and delivery on the guitar:
8. Albert Lee – He is/was a crazy chicken picker. He was the first guy to use a dotted eighth note delay that makes it sound like you are playing twice as fast as you actually are. Here he is noodling:
9. Philip Sayce – There are shredders and there are rippers. This guy is a ripper:
10. Ali Farka Toure – I could listen to this guy play all night:
11. Joe Walsh – He gets the award for best guitar face:
12. Tony Mattola – Exceptional and extremely versatile. I really like his lounge sounding stuff. Like this:
13. Steve Miller – Abracadabra, reach out and grab ya:
14. Rivers Cuomo – A rare combination of great songwriter and guitar slinger. I like how much feedback he uses. Like in this one:
15. John Lee Hooker – You can hear a lot of where Jimmy Hendrix got his ideas in this amazing footage:
16. Mick Ronson – Glam rock monkey:
17. Ted Greene – He probably knew more chords than anyone else. Very original sound:
18. Clarence White – He made a record of 33 old time/bluegrass standards that I like a lot. He was also a trailblazer of electric country guitar. He was the first to use a device called a “B Bender”. He uses it here with The Byrds:
19. Grady Martin– I’m going to make up a fact. He is probably the most recorded guitar player in the history of everything. Here is playing his famous freaky looking double neck:
20. Django Reinhardt – Absolute freak.
21. Kevin Breit – He is playing an electric mandolin in this short clip, but you get the idea:
22. JImi Hendrix – I always loved his acoustic playing:
23. Jimmy Bryant – Probably the fastest guitar player ever. He made some now classic recordings with pedal steel player Speedy West. They were nuts:
24. Jonny Greenwood – Absolute champion. He is unique because of his angular/aggressive style. The link has none of his guitar playing, but it is my favorite song that he wrote for the movie There Will Be Blood:
25. Gordie Johnson – Pound for pound, my favorite sounding guitarist:
My Fav Recipe
February 11th, 2010
Since I love food almost as much as low-frequencies, I thought I’d share some of my fav recipes and cooking tips.
I figure I’d start simple, with a favorite default recipe of mine.
Go to the Cameron House in Toronto.
Cross the steet and go to Bons Submarine.
Order the Club Sub and a small black coffee.
Serve in the back seat of a mini-van packed like a Tetris game.
Enjoy!
Welcom To Us Blogging
February 9th, 2010
Greetings to those of you ‘in the Litter’ and welcome to the brand new website’s blog section! We as Kittens look forward to sharing our inner most secrets and desires with each and every one of you.
Look forward to more of Jake passionately getting off on chess, Champagne James Robertson’s list of the top 1000 guitar players of all time, Nigel’s hearty recipes’ for dishes that make him the bass player he is, and I of course will be talking about my favorite subject: me.
Anticipate audio posts of my original home demo versions of Kittens songs that you know and love today. Request lyrics to songs where you have no idea what the hell I am talking about. Look forward to hung over morning-after reflections on shows we have played the night before. Get all the latest gossip about the Kittens as each individual member of the band talks shit about each other on their own blog. Look forward to anticipating things you are looking forward to!
Chess Is The Best!
February 4th, 2010
I think I’ll try and blog about anything non-music related. I’ll begin with one of my other passions, chess, the oldest and most beautiful of board-games.
Why is this the coolest board-game ever invented by humans? Well, what other game can take five hours to complete and actually make your brain physically hurt!? …and not from all the drinks and sun you have absorbed on some patio all afternoon. Honest. What other board-game can you do for a living and make millions at if you’re good enough? What other game can invade and annex your dreams and conscious thoughts so completely with it’s sublime, dizzying, infinite complexity, that you become addicted and are slowly driven totally bonkers? And ladies, what other game can boast two female protagonists who wield the most power and freedom, and pretty much butcher the rest of the cast? That’s so hot. …but I digress. Basically, chess is the greatest cause you get to call yourself a Grandmaster eventually.
To kick off my first blog entry EVER!!!!!!!!, here is my favourite chess opening.
When playing as white, give the little known, but deadly Ponziani a shot! It is established after these moves: 1. P-e4, P-e5 2. N-f3, N-c6 3. P-c3…
(black’s next move options are various and lead to many different lines of play)
The beautiful thing about the Ponziani, is that it is as logically sound as it is strange, and it generally leads to very open, dynamic and exciting play! It contains many traps for black and will allow you to surprise and frustrate superior players since it is not a standard opening that people know about. It is also a fairly reliable way for white to take control of the center.
Google “ponziani” to check out some of the ins and outs.
Chess Fact: Did you know that Marcel Duchampes abandoned his artistic career at the height of his international fame after becoming hopelessly addicted to chess. All he did was study chess theory and attend tournaments. His wife divorced him after trying, unsuccessfully, to get his attention by gluing his chess pieces to his board.