Music Mondays - Great Big Sea (kitchen party, anyone?)

Great Big Sea is a Canadian treasure, another band on my top 5 list and one I've seen them at least 5 times, as well. They're from Newfoundland, formed in 1993 and are still going strong. They've been described as folk-rock and rock-celtic and are known for their interpretations of traditional Newfie sea shanties... BUT they are so much more than that.

Over the years GBS has explored different kinds of music from folk to rock to more poppier tunes, and of course, beer-drinking kitchen-party music. They're songs inspire fun and hope and just plain inspiration. They are an absolutely awesome band to see live no matter how big the venue but the smaller ones are more suited to some of the a capella songs they like to sing.

Alan Doyle does the main vocals but they all take a turn or two at the mic, especially when it comes to the raucous, teasing banter that always sounds so natural and unforced. These guys have known each other since they were young so there's a lot of stories to be told, a lot of ribbing to be done (lately it's been about Alan's starry-eyed appearance in the movie Robin Hood with his bff Russell Crowe) and a lot of caring in everything they say to each other. And may I mention the amount of instruments involved in a Great Big Sea concert? The norms like drums, acoustic and electric guitars, but also mandolins, fiddles, tin whistles, bouzouki, bodhran, bones, accordions, concertinas and hell, even bagpipes on occasion.

All these instruments mixed with the voices and most especially (only my opinion) Alan's fabulous vocals, and the heart-felt or sometimes funny lyrics make for wonderful and unique songs.  I was lucky enough to catch Alan's solo show this week and I was blown away by the strength and precision of his voice, even with all his banter in between songs. Just like a normal GBS concert, he sang for almost 2 hours and put on one hell of an awesome show. And he also assured us there would be a new GBS album out in 2013 to mark their 20th anniversary. Can you tell I'm a fan? Give them a chance, guys, they'll entertain you. :) (as always I've posted far too many videos but then I always know where to find them right? Though I'd never admit I have most of them on my iTunes anyhow :D)







Love this cover. :)



Live concert video - fabulous.

Just a really cute video.

One of those "sea shanties". :)





Alan has his "Robin Hood" beard in this one - lol - I'm not a fan of it. :P



From their last album - live - there's a long intro for the song but it's actually really interesting. It's a song that makes me cry every time.

And since I've totally hooked on Alan's solo album, not to mention I've been crushing on him or years (and I have this strange obsession with watching his lower body when he's singing - it fascinates me - and no, not his crotch cuz that's usually covered by the guitar - his GBS bandmate has described Alan's movements like he "always has to pee" lol - but alas, I find him sexy as hell) And it's not even that he's like rockstar hot, he's just got this boundless, addicting energy and smile and voice, and a normal man body. Lol.

At the gig the other night, it was a small theatre of about 500 people - fabulous acoustics for his voice - and he was in the lobby after signing autographs, taking pics and just chatting. He called me "love" and tried to use my crutch (really he's not that much taller than me) and I definitely gushed a little bit inside. Lol. TMI I know. :)  Anyhow here's a couple songs from his new album "Boy on Bridge".  Enjoy.






And yes, poor man even did a little performance at a couple Costcos in Canada - why are those people not gushing all over him???

Gratuitous Alan pics. :)

In Robin Hood (he was Alan A'Dale (left) - the minstrel, played by the fox in the Disney version. :)

Russell has also sang on stage with Alan and GBS a few times

(they also both appeared in an episode of The Republic of Doyle (Canadian tv series) together

I swear this could be a pic of Alan and Russell's love child. :P

A little ranting and rambling for a Sunday

I've neglected this blog again, so what else is new right? I just can't seem to get the hang of posting every day or even every other day with all the writing I'm trying to do and all of the RL crap that I'm dealing with. And to be perfectly honest, sometimes I don't see a lot of point in taking the time to blog at all.

In whining news ~ I generally have a congregation of one - thank you Lisa - and sometimes two - thank you Diane - and though I guess I write this mostly for myself, it gets discouraging. I know I'm whining, maybe even being a self-righteous bitch, but venting is part of blogging, is it not? Anyhow, my mood is low and RL is busy at the moment, both of which would explain the maudlin tone of this post so far.

In writing news ~ I'm stuck in a world of revising, adding and editing at the moment. My latest manuscript - Domestic Relations - is in the final stages of being completion before being submitted and it's driving me up the freaking wall. It seems when I get to this stage in all my longer stories, I end up wanting to throw my laptop or iPad out the window so I never have to look at those damn words and those stupid characters (that I know I still love) anymore.

It makes it harder to immerse myself in what I'm doing and what I need right now is to just get the damn thing done and out of my hands. One of the issues is not having had anyone look it over for me, except near the beginning, so my insecurity rises sending my confidence crashing to the ground and all I'm left with is what-the-fuck am I writing and who-the-fuck wants to read this anyway. ~~big dramatic sighs~~

In publishing news ~ Countdown to Daddies comes out June 15 (I think) and Lucius' Bite (Family of Misfits 1) on the 22nd from MLR. Both of which I will be away for - great. I'm thinking about doing a give-away but not sure there's a point to that either. Yeah, I'm not what you'd call a sparkling example of an enthusiastic writer at the moment which is really too bad because it's a big jump for me - two releases in one month, one of them my first novel-length and print edition. My free read for LIAW ~Lazy Sundays~ is due out on July 5 and I have a pretty cover courtesy of Megan Derr. Still love characters boys so hard.

In RL news ~ I leave on the 5th for London to board the ship for our 12 day Northern European cruise and unfortunately, I'm not excited yet. I know I will be and maybe getting this book finished and out of my hands for a while, will let me relax enough to freak out and get excited. I also know part of the issue is figuring out what to wear when you're so used to messing around in your pjs and sweats all day, and completely loathe having to put on real clothes everyday, especially when I hate how I look in everything. ~stops whining~

Also in RL, I saw Seether a week and a half ago. Awesome as usual though they never get true credit for what they do. Also went to baby boy's gig this past week ~til 2 in the morning may I add~ watching him always makes me happy.

AND I got to live out a bit of a fangirl moment this week as well.
Not sure how many people outside of Canada know of Great Big Sea but they are an absolute favourite of mine and I got to meet, get a pic and autograph after seeing Alan Doyle (lead singer) on his solo tour. The venue was under 500 people, a theatre actually, and it was the most awesome show ever. His voice is amazing and when he sings without instruments, I get total goosebumps. Wasn't going to post the pic with me in it but what the hell - don't judge, just had my hair did that day and hadn't fixed it my own way though (and it's a horrible as fuck pic of me). Alan is sweeter than pie, called me "love' and even tried out my crutch. Lol. Love him. Check out his album. :)

Finally something else much less appreciative - unfortunately this could be considered a self-righteous rant as well. I was one of the organizers of the Hop Against Homophobia and though it went far better than expected, one incident has put a damper on the whole thing for me. One of the participants, who put themselves out there in their post, received a comment so vile and unnecessary it made my skin crawl. The commenter slammed the blogger's way of life, character, profession and even their family under the guise of religious belief. It was an atrocious mix of words from a person clearly looking for attention, completely delusional in their thinking, someone so homophobic I wanted to crawl through the screen and wrap my hands around their neck. Yes, I know violence will not solve the problem but the over-the-top road rage I feel when I'm stuck in traffic has nothing on what I felt when I read that comment. I'm not looking for answers or advice. I just needed to vent about an issue that despite not being something that personally affects to me, makes me seriously question the thoughts, words and actions of people who claim God guides them. No offence to anyone with religious beliefs or anyone who believes in God, but that boat sailed for me a long time ago and at the moment I'm really glad to not be on it.

 In closing, I'll make myself happy with some Thor (Chris Hemsworth) pics (update - I've seen The Avengers 4 times now - don't judge)
:)

Tattoo Tuesday - Vinnie Woolston

Vinnie Woolston - from New Zealand, 6 feet tall, brown hair, blue/green eyes. That's about all I've found information-wise on this stunner but the pics just speak for themselves. I found a lot of black and white shots and you have to agree, he's stunningly beautiful and totally rockstar-inspirational for me.

I have winners! (Hop Against Homophobia)

I want to thank everyone for participating in the Hop Against Homophobia - I think we can all pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. Although I never made it to every single blog, I'll still be stalking them now that the hop is over.

When we started this, we never really knew what to expect or how to proceed and one of the things I know I'd didn't anticipate was the beautiful variety of posts. We had emotional, personal experiences, facts and information about how homophobia affects different parts of the world, quirky posts, interviews, etc., all that made the hop even the more interesting and important. I think we also learned that there is no "right" way to tackle the issue just as there is no right way to love except with your heart.

I was a little worried that my interview post with Patrick and Tyrell would be seen as too fluffy and not serious enough for the true purpose of the hop. But the boys and I received so many lovely comments about how the interview showed a hopeful side to the issue of homophobia - a light at the end of the tunnel, perhaps. Anyhow, thank you again, for taking the time to meet them and for honouring William Neale's memory with me.

Now back to the matter at hand... winners. *drum roll*

The winner of the Home series by William Neale is EMILY (tiger-chick)
AND
The winners of a $10 gift cert to All Romance or Amazon (if I can figure out how to do that) AND an ebook of their choice from my backlist or upcoming releases are KIMBERLYFDR and DANNYFIREDRAGON.
Congratulations - I'll be notifying all of you by email.

Enjoy your week and I hope if you have just discovered my blog through the hop, you'll stick around.

:)

Hop Against Homophobia - In memory of William Neale

In the memory of the passing of a good friend and highly-respected member of the m/m romance community, this post is in memory of William Neale. I've talked about Bill before in various ways and his passing is still fresh and teary in my mind. 

Bill's books are emotional and thought-provoking, and the perfect example of how a man can write with his heart and not just his brain. I only say that because controversy still exists in the m/m community over whether the difference between male and female authors can be clearly defined by what and how they write. 

As far as I'm concerned, Bill and others like him, JP Bowie, Ethan Day, Andrew Grey and others, shoot that theory all to hell. JP has even told me that many suspected he was female because of the romanticism of his stories. I'm not trying to start any more controversy, but on a day designed to throw some light on the issue of homophobia, hate and fear, I believe I can state my opinion without cause for attack. One person's opinion may be another person's need to judge, hate or even fear, but for today I choose to believe we can all get along and come together for a good cause.

Bill passed away in March just after finishing the last in his Home series and he was proud of hell of what he'd accomplished. The final book is called Hope and that's exactly what William Neale's writing is to me ~~ hope that one day the issue of homophobia and the hate, fear and bullying that comes with it, will not be an issue at all.

Comment on this post to win ebook copies of the entire Home series. I'd love it if you'd also comment on how Bill's books affected you if you've read any. Basically this is a William Neal lovefest post. Enjoy and good luck.

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HOP AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA blog post

Welcome to my Hop Against Homophobia blog post. I have a special interview with two very cool Canadian men who'll talk a little about growing up as gay men in Canada and about how they do their part to keep the issue of homophobia, fear and hate from becoming, excuse the pun "closeted". The instructions for my give-away are at the bottom - I'll be choosing two winners at random from the comments -- winners' choice of an ebook from my backlist (even though I don't have much of one) or one of my two new releases for June (Lucius' Bite or Countdown to Daddies), plus two $10 gift cards to All Romance Ebooks.

* * * * *

I welcome Patrick Levesque and Tyrell Witherspoon to Chaos in the Moonlight today on International Day Against Homophobia. Thank you for being here guys. I appreciate the Canadian support, eh. Lol. Sorry. 

The good, the bad and the pretty

Yeah, that's how my life kind of feels like right now. This post is a whole lot of odds and sods, some pretties, etc, etc, etc.


Just a reminder that the Hop Against Homophobia starts Thursday, May 17 on the International Day Against Homophobia. There are over 230 authors, publishers and review sites involved in the hop, all with individual give-aways. We've encouraged all of our participants to acknowledge the International Day Against Homophobia in their posts on that day, whether it be in addressing the overall issue of homophobia, the relaying of personal experiences, the importance of getting the word out about bullying or helplines, etc. So join the cause, fight the fear and hate, and see some great m/m content. Click the icon for the link. And just a heads-up, I'll be giving away a set of William Neale's Home series ebooks in his memory on my site, in a separate post than mine, so make sure you check out both posts.



Next I have a couple of release dates for June - two in one month is still a little surreal, plus I'll be on my cruise for the first and flying for the second.