NOV 14 - HOMEWARD
I am sitting in London Heathrow airport feeling quite exhausted. I jumped on my flight from Vancouver at 615pm. I figured that I would take half a sleeping pill, snore my face off then wake up refreshed in London. Well, I took the sleeping pill but then proceeded to stay awake THE WHOLE FLIGHT! I am now working through a 9.5-hour connection! I hauled my whole laptop rig with keyboard controller, audio interface, big headphone, recorder, mic…. The whole 9 yards! I figured I would never have a better opportunity to sit all alone and just write beats. I never figured that Heathrow would be such a zoo. Trying to find a spot where you can sit, spread your gear out, plug your gear in (cause laptops love to run out of batteries) and all without paying for it during the 9-hour window, is challenging to say the least!
Ok, the real reason why I am up for this travel mayhem is of course because I am going to Chandigarh, India to attend Vijay’s wedding. The things we do for friends! When I land in Delhi tomorrow (hopefully rested), I have an additional 5-hour layover before jumping on a 3 hour train up to Chandigarh. I’m kind of looking forward to making my way through Delhi, that’s the kind of mayhem that’s right up my alley! I love India Not sure I’d want to live there but there’s no place better to travelJ and explore. I’m sure that Vijay’s place and surrounding will be much more civilized than a lot of the places that I’ve been in the past. This trip will mark my 4th time in India. Kind of crazy!
I’m now sitting at the departure gate, it’s 812pm local time and we depart at 930 providing that we are not operating on PST. (Inside joke) I have verified that the flight is in fact 8 hours long so I am hoping for sleep once and for all.
I am really looking forward to the opportunity to record AMAZING sounds while in India. I have about 5 gigs worth of memory in my recorder so I should be able to record about J6 hours worth of CD quality audio… Nice! More to come
Ok, the real reason why I am up for this travel mayhem is of course because I am going to Chandigarh, India to attend Vijay’s wedding. The things we do for friends! When I land in Delhi tomorrow (hopefully rested), I have an additional 5-hour layover before jumping on a 3 hour train up to Chandigarh. I’m kind of looking forward to making my way through Delhi, that’s the kind of mayhem that’s right up my alley! I love India Not sure I’d want to live there but there’s no place better to travelJ and explore. I’m sure that Vijay’s place and surrounding will be much more civilized than a lot of the places that I’ve been in the past. This trip will mark my 4th time in India. Kind of crazy!
I’m now sitting at the departure gate, it’s 812pm local time and we depart at 930 providing that we are not operating on PST. (Inside joke) I have verified that the flight is in fact 8 hours long so I am hoping for sleep once and for all.
I am really looking forward to the opportunity to record AMAZING sounds while in India. I have about 5 gigs worth of memory in my recorder so I should be able to record about J6 hours worth of CD quality audio… Nice! More to come
NOV 15 - DELHI MEMORIES
Delhi was crazy like usual, I grabbed a prepaid cab to the New Delhi train station, familiar territory. This is one of the busiest and crappiest neighborhoods in Delhi but I have affection for it because it was the first place I discovered on my first trip to India with my 3 buddies. Walking down those streets brings back so many memories and to a large extent they still look the same as 13 years ago. I stood outside and recorded street noise to my heart’s contest, went up to one of my regular restaurants and had chicken curry. It was a great way to start the trip off. Jumped on my train to Chandigarh, first class, air conditioned with a full India meal. I arrived in Chandigarh around 830pm and waited about 20 minutes for Vijay and his cousins to arrive.
NOV 16 - SECTOR 17
I am sitting in Vijay’s family home with Vijay himself on the other side of the couch, both of us on our laptops! Upon reaching Chandigarh I realized that it was much colder than I had anticipated. I did not bring a lot of warm clothes… Once at Vijay’s house we were immediately fed then expected to start dancing. Yes, bhangra! I slept like a log; it was my first opportunity in about 48 hours. I went out into Mohali (Vijay’s actual city name) today and recorded some great ambience. We hit Sector 17 to do some shopping for most of the day. I purchased a full on Indian Kapara. The only problem I had was that no one sold traditional shoes in my size so I had to settle with a pair of sandals that are not quite right but better than my sneakers or western dress shoes! Back at Vijay’s place tonight, he has a Hindi priest and helpers doing a 24 hour holy book reading as part of the pre-wedding blessing. Not that it’s not interesting but I think that I will have to put some ear plugs in tonight as the priest has his voice pumping through a speaker in the house! Incidentally, I am now aiming for Friday after the wedding ceremonies to hit Jalundher and the Golden Temple. Hopefully it all works out!
NOV 17 - AMBIENT RECORDINGS
I awoke this morning at 5am. The Hindu priest and helper were still saying their prayers however one of them decided to play along with a tabla, my room is right beside the room they are in! Therefore, I got up, went outside with my recorder and captured some nice ambient recordings. The most memorable moment was when I stopped in the middle of an open residential area and gave a brief verbal description of where I was standing before concentrating on the recording. Then I stood there for a moment listening to the crickets and the quiet morning ambience. All of a sudden, morning prayers broke out filling the empty air from a near by mosque. It was both chilling and wonderful; my timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Now it’s 6am and I’m back in my room, time to attempt sleep once more with the prayers next door.
NOV 18 - DANCING
Yesterday was quite relaxing. The Hindu ceremony ended around 1030am, the time in which the holy book was finished being read. When it finished, many of the ladies proceeded to sing religious songs, this lasted about 2 more hours. I went for a walk and brought my camera. Just across a near street there is a poorer neighborhood in which I took a variety of pictures. Later, myself, Martin & Veronic (Also guests from Vancouver) hired a car and went to the local tourist spots, the rock garden, a lake nearby and back to the shopping area Sector 17. The first 2 locations were not much to talk about as Chandigarh really doesn’t have a lot of history and those spots, although mildly interesting, are certainly not historic. Sector 17 is considered the “Yale Town” of Chandigarh. It is littered with Western store franchises with a sprinkling of India dress shops. The driver and I walked around the area alone and he asked me if Sector 17 is what Canada is like. I wanted to say nice things because I know that the area is considered posh in Chandigarh but honestly India is India and one could never compare the two.
Later that evening was Vijay’s outdoor family and dance party. A company was hired to set up the park right across from their house as a huge party area. It was quite unbelievable to say the least. Walking into what was earlier a meager park was like walking into an India castle with cloth, couches, lights, food tables, about 50 servers spread out everywhere. They hired a great performance band that did live playing, singing and dancing. We all got up onto the stage and did a little dancing and of course the food was incredible. This is not an event for alcohol consumers or meat eaters but the great vibe, food, venues, people made it easy to have a great time. After last night’s event it was straight to bed and now we were up at 6am to continue ceremonious events with Vijay. Today is the big wedding day, we drive for 3 hours to the next location, witness 2 different wedding ceremonies then I will be off with Gurwinder Senghera to Jalundher then Amritsar and the Golden Temple. I haven’t exercised in 4 days and I feel like a sloth, hopefully I can squeak in a run at some point today!
Later that evening was Vijay’s outdoor family and dance party. A company was hired to set up the park right across from their house as a huge party area. It was quite unbelievable to say the least. Walking into what was earlier a meager park was like walking into an India castle with cloth, couches, lights, food tables, about 50 servers spread out everywhere. They hired a great performance band that did live playing, singing and dancing. We all got up onto the stage and did a little dancing and of course the food was incredible. This is not an event for alcohol consumers or meat eaters but the great vibe, food, venues, people made it easy to have a great time. After last night’s event it was straight to bed and now we were up at 6am to continue ceremonious events with Vijay. Today is the big wedding day, we drive for 3 hours to the next location, witness 2 different wedding ceremonies then I will be off with Gurwinder Senghera to Jalundher then Amritsar and the Golden Temple. I haven’t exercised in 4 days and I feel like a sloth, hopefully I can squeak in a run at some point today!
NOV 20 - VIJAY'S WEDDING
Part 01
Holy smokes! 3 hour bus ride to the area that Vijay’s weddings were at. We pulled into a hotel and all changed into our wedding clothes. Us Gora’s all wore Indian clothing while the Indian’s wore western clothes! Just outside of the wedding facility, Vijay mounted a horse and we entered all dancing and celebrating around the horse. The facility was huge. Monika showed up with her entourage about 30 minutes after us. The two of them we basically on display for the next 2 hours, food as usual was great and in abundance. The place cleared around 1130pm and only family and close friends remained at that point. We had to wait until the Hindu priest decided that it was time for the ceremony, around 3am. Many of us stretched out on the couches and slept while we waited. We all made our way outside into the cold air and circled Vijay, Monika and the priests. The ceremony took about 3 hours. The whole event was a marathon for the spectators, never mind the couple! There were 5 of us sharing a couch and had a blanket to cover all of us that was just a little too short to go end to end. I was at one end of the couch and Vijay’s relative Sukh was at the other. It didn’t take long before we began pulling the blanket back and forth, fighting for more coverage! We quietly fought over the blanket for about an hour, trying to be mindful of the fact that Vijay’s wedding was going on in front of us! It got a little silly to say the least! Around 645am, we made our way back to the hotel for a 1-hour sleep then were awoken to begin preparations for the Sikh ceremony. The Temple was around the corner from Monika’s house in her village. You always cover your head at Sikh temples and the only thing available when I was about to enter was a full turban cloth so one of Vijay’s relatives quickly tied it for me. When I entered the temple and wedding area, everyone stopped to check out the white guy wearing the turban. Very amusing, I’m sure! The Sikh ceremony was like many I’ve been to in Vancouver and took about 1 hour in total. Some of the local village ladies drove me crazy afterwards begging for change. All of them had gold nose rings and earrings, which made me want to ask them why they didn’t just sell their gold if they needed my money so badly. That aspect of India can be lame. We made our way over the Monika’s house where Vijay’s family was to ceremoniously take her from her family and return her to their home to live. That’s when Gurwinder Senghera showed up to get me…….
Part 02
Gurwinder is my boss’s nephew who still lives on the family farm in the village where Kulwinder and his siblings grew up. Gurwinder immediately drove me all the way to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The drive was long, another 3 hours but Gurwinder was good company. The temple was very beautiful but like many famous sites, different than what I expected. I never imagined that it was circled by a large walkway. I had no idea that you could actually go inside the temple and that there were live sermons with live music. I was amazed that the original holy book hand written by Guru Nanak Dev Ji was sitting there and still being read. We were hungry before entering but Gurwinder didn’t want to eat any meat before going inside so we both had a veggie burgers. When we left Amritsar and headed back to Jalindher, with no plans on attending any other religious events, Gurwinder stopped to pick me up some Red Bull and beer… Nice! The drive back to Jalindher was about 2 hours and by the time we hit the area it was quite dark. Gurwinder had arranged for friends to make bakra (goat curry) at a small farm out in rural Punjab. When we pulled up I was immediately down with the plans. Gurwinder’s friends were also relatives of a few people that I know in Surrey. As soon as we sat down, the bottles came out. They tried to tempt me with some homemade moonshine however not being crazy, I politely declined! The first round of bakra came out and in traditional style, we all tried it and made our suggestions. The 2nd round arrived and we continued with the process. After about 8 rounds of bakra, it was fully evolved into an amazing dish. I realized that that every time I eat bakra with Punjabi guys, we always have drinks and by the time it is at it’s best, I’m always a bit drunk so it kind of defeats the purpose.
Holy smokes! 3 hour bus ride to the area that Vijay’s weddings were at. We pulled into a hotel and all changed into our wedding clothes. Us Gora’s all wore Indian clothing while the Indian’s wore western clothes! Just outside of the wedding facility, Vijay mounted a horse and we entered all dancing and celebrating around the horse. The facility was huge. Monika showed up with her entourage about 30 minutes after us. The two of them we basically on display for the next 2 hours, food as usual was great and in abundance. The place cleared around 1130pm and only family and close friends remained at that point. We had to wait until the Hindu priest decided that it was time for the ceremony, around 3am. Many of us stretched out on the couches and slept while we waited. We all made our way outside into the cold air and circled Vijay, Monika and the priests. The ceremony took about 3 hours. The whole event was a marathon for the spectators, never mind the couple! There were 5 of us sharing a couch and had a blanket to cover all of us that was just a little too short to go end to end. I was at one end of the couch and Vijay’s relative Sukh was at the other. It didn’t take long before we began pulling the blanket back and forth, fighting for more coverage! We quietly fought over the blanket for about an hour, trying to be mindful of the fact that Vijay’s wedding was going on in front of us! It got a little silly to say the least! Around 645am, we made our way back to the hotel for a 1-hour sleep then were awoken to begin preparations for the Sikh ceremony. The Temple was around the corner from Monika’s house in her village. You always cover your head at Sikh temples and the only thing available when I was about to enter was a full turban cloth so one of Vijay’s relatives quickly tied it for me. When I entered the temple and wedding area, everyone stopped to check out the white guy wearing the turban. Very amusing, I’m sure! The Sikh ceremony was like many I’ve been to in Vancouver and took about 1 hour in total. Some of the local village ladies drove me crazy afterwards begging for change. All of them had gold nose rings and earrings, which made me want to ask them why they didn’t just sell their gold if they needed my money so badly. That aspect of India can be lame. We made our way over the Monika’s house where Vijay’s family was to ceremoniously take her from her family and return her to their home to live. That’s when Gurwinder Senghera showed up to get me…….
Part 02
Gurwinder is my boss’s nephew who still lives on the family farm in the village where Kulwinder and his siblings grew up. Gurwinder immediately drove me all the way to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The drive was long, another 3 hours but Gurwinder was good company. The temple was very beautiful but like many famous sites, different than what I expected. I never imagined that it was circled by a large walkway. I had no idea that you could actually go inside the temple and that there were live sermons with live music. I was amazed that the original holy book hand written by Guru Nanak Dev Ji was sitting there and still being read. We were hungry before entering but Gurwinder didn’t want to eat any meat before going inside so we both had a veggie burgers. When we left Amritsar and headed back to Jalindher, with no plans on attending any other religious events, Gurwinder stopped to pick me up some Red Bull and beer… Nice! The drive back to Jalindher was about 2 hours and by the time we hit the area it was quite dark. Gurwinder had arranged for friends to make bakra (goat curry) at a small farm out in rural Punjab. When we pulled up I was immediately down with the plans. Gurwinder’s friends were also relatives of a few people that I know in Surrey. As soon as we sat down, the bottles came out. They tried to tempt me with some homemade moonshine however not being crazy, I politely declined! The first round of bakra came out and in traditional style, we all tried it and made our suggestions. The 2nd round arrived and we continued with the process. After about 8 rounds of bakra, it was fully evolved into an amazing dish. I realized that that every time I eat bakra with Punjabi guys, we always have drinks and by the time it is at it’s best, I’m always a bit drunk so it kind of defeats the purpose.
NOV 22 - SMALL TOWN INDIA
We made our way back to the Senghera residence which was palatial. When I awoke in the morning, I was greeted with hot coffee and a muffin. Gurwinder took me up onto the roof to take a look at the village. I dragged all of my recording gear up onto the rooftop so that I could record the sound of a truly rural Punjabi village, free of cars, scooters, horns and typical noises that pollute Indian cities. I later walked around the village taking pictures and recording ambience. A young Punjabi lady prodded by her mother asked me if I had a wife and If I would be interested in a Punjabi wife… Quite the offer! The Senghera family was all really wonderful and made me feel right at home. Later Gurwinder took me out to see the farm, which was totally impressive. Some of Gurwinder’s friends from the night before showed up and we all drove to one of their houses together to make an appearance at a Sikh Bhat. (Ceremony where Sikh priests read their holy book from cover to cover which takes 72 hours on average.) The owner of the house thought that it would be funny if only him and I showed up at the ceremony so that his family and friends would be startled. Keeping in mind that this is a small Punjabi village in the countryside, foreigners, particularly white foreigners don’t come around that area very often. When we pulled up, everything went according to his plan. His friends and family all stopped what they were doing and stared, some even laughed. (I guess he’s a bit of a joker in general) He walked me into the house and into a large living room where about 15 Punjabi men were talking among each other. All of the men stopped when I walked in and looked at me like “what the hell is this guy doing here”! Of course the guy I came with didn’t speak a word of English so I had no idea what story he came up with to explain my appearance. After about 5 minutes, Gurwinder and the rest of the guys showed up to get me.
We then went to a mall that was stunning even by Western standards. I would have been fine not visiting a mall like this since we have lots of them in Canada but I think that Gurwinder thought I might find it interesting since something like that would never have existed even 10 years ago. We stopped on the side of the road to drink fresh juice at a stand and I think that my stomach may not have enjoyed the liquid as much as my taste buds did. We then stopped on the roadside to see brown sugar being made from sugar cane. I purchased a few samples to bring to my Red FM co-workers. The drive took about 4 hours in total although we did stop a lot, I finally made it back to Vijay’s house in Mohali at around 530pm, just on time for a run!
We then went to a mall that was stunning even by Western standards. I would have been fine not visiting a mall like this since we have lots of them in Canada but I think that Gurwinder thought I might find it interesting since something like that would never have existed even 10 years ago. We stopped on the side of the road to drink fresh juice at a stand and I think that my stomach may not have enjoyed the liquid as much as my taste buds did. We then stopped on the roadside to see brown sugar being made from sugar cane. I purchased a few samples to bring to my Red FM co-workers. The drive took about 4 hours in total although we did stop a lot, I finally made it back to Vijay’s house in Mohali at around 530pm, just on time for a run!
NOV 22 - INDIA MANIA
We made our way to the reception park, it was massive and beautiful. There were multiple tables of multiple food items, many of them being cooked on the spot fresh. Like the dinner party on Wednesday, there were a million servers trying to cram appetizers down our throats. Being that there were supposed to be over 100 dishes being served for dinner, I knew better than to fill up on finger food. Vijay and Monika arrived about an hour after most of the guest on horse and carriage. It was a very lavish entrance made almost impossible by the steps and tunnel leading into the reception area. There were Indian bag pipers, a massive stage with live entertainment, a full lighting and spot light set up, sound, a hydraulic podium for Vijay and Monika to stand upon for everyone to see. Vijay and Monika posed for pictures with all the guests for way over an hour while most of us stuffed our faces. I saw Ritu, an old co-worker and friend who I hadn’t seen for over 2 years at the wedding so that was really nice. In February this year, I had Malkit Singh in the studio recording radio IDs for us so I asked him if he would record a congratulatory message for Vijay and Monika. I went up on stage and quickly addressed the crowd telling Vijay and Monika that everyone from Red FM considers Vijay as family and extended the same love and care to Monika. After that we hit the dance floor pretty hard, Monika initially needed some prodding but then displayed some pretty rockin dance moves herself. Unfortunately we had to shut down the music by 1230 as local bylaws prohibit music that loud after midnight. That kinda sucked because we were really starting to get into the dancing! Finally, a head table was set for the couple, family and close friends. We all had one final round of food, again served by way too many servers but charming anyhow. I discovered sweet paan, that is a variety of spices and sweets packed into a paan leaf then stuffed in your mouth by the guy who made it for you. When he made the sweet pun, he entertained you with a short poem in Urdu, then plop in goes! The poem he said to me was “if alcohol is intoxicating, why is the bottle able to stay still?” I grabbed all the other foreigners and insisted that they try it because it was like eating a bottle of perfume, in a pleasant way of course. By the time we got home, it was already 3 in the morning and we were all peaking from the good times but had to hit the sack unfortunately!
On Sunday, my last day, we hit a local bizarre, had some fresh juice at a stand on the street, relaxed and just enjoyed the day. I was feeling a little Delhi belly, probably from the fruit juice stand I went to the day before so I loaded up on multiple remedies. In the evening the sky was filled with fireworks for Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birthday so Martin and I headed out to look for some fireworks of our own! We bought a bag full just outside the local Sikh temple for 300 rupees. Upon returning to the Saini residence they were quick to inform us that we paid way too much for the fireworks, which only made me laugh because I thought they were pretty damn cheap! Vijay, myself, Ramsarup (Vijay’s dad), Martin and Veronic went outside and had some fun with the firecrackers. I came pretty close to blowing my fingers off at which point I realized that there is a reason why they are banned in Surrey! My ride back to Delhi arrived around 9pm, 1 hour early. I ate one last meal with the family and said my goodbyes. It was at exactly this moment that I realized that I had just experienced one of the best weeks of my life.
The drive to Delhi took about 5 hours, the driver drove like he was trying to outrun a tornado passing cars, busses, trucks to the right, the left and any which way he could maintain 100kph! Driving on Indian roads at night is dark and treacherous, at one point we almost hit a guy who was laying passed out drunk with his head halfway into the inside lane. At another point, we almost rear-ended a guy riding his bike in the middle of the outside highway lane dressed in all black. Being that there are no streetlights on these roads, we never saw him till the last second. We hit the airport at about 230am, which was way too early for my 720am departure however once I went inside I was utterly impressed with the beauty of the terminal. Honestly, terminal 3 is stunning, large, clean, and peaceful. Air India let me check in right away to rid my bags, after security I discovered an amazing departure area with great food choices, seating areas, nice shops, the works. I ate then sat down and proceeded to edit music on my laptop for the next 3 hours. I was tired but it was still pretty luxurious, especially when I was expecting a crappy old airport like the last 3 times I visited India. Made it to the gate around 630am and boarded early onto a virtually empty aircraft!
On Sunday, my last day, we hit a local bizarre, had some fresh juice at a stand on the street, relaxed and just enjoyed the day. I was feeling a little Delhi belly, probably from the fruit juice stand I went to the day before so I loaded up on multiple remedies. In the evening the sky was filled with fireworks for Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birthday so Martin and I headed out to look for some fireworks of our own! We bought a bag full just outside the local Sikh temple for 300 rupees. Upon returning to the Saini residence they were quick to inform us that we paid way too much for the fireworks, which only made me laugh because I thought they were pretty damn cheap! Vijay, myself, Ramsarup (Vijay’s dad), Martin and Veronic went outside and had some fun with the firecrackers. I came pretty close to blowing my fingers off at which point I realized that there is a reason why they are banned in Surrey! My ride back to Delhi arrived around 9pm, 1 hour early. I ate one last meal with the family and said my goodbyes. It was at exactly this moment that I realized that I had just experienced one of the best weeks of my life.
The drive to Delhi took about 5 hours, the driver drove like he was trying to outrun a tornado passing cars, busses, trucks to the right, the left and any which way he could maintain 100kph! Driving on Indian roads at night is dark and treacherous, at one point we almost hit a guy who was laying passed out drunk with his head halfway into the inside lane. At another point, we almost rear-ended a guy riding his bike in the middle of the outside highway lane dressed in all black. Being that there are no streetlights on these roads, we never saw him till the last second. We hit the airport at about 230am, which was way too early for my 720am departure however once I went inside I was utterly impressed with the beauty of the terminal. Honestly, terminal 3 is stunning, large, clean, and peaceful. Air India let me check in right away to rid my bags, after security I discovered an amazing departure area with great food choices, seating areas, nice shops, the works. I ate then sat down and proceeded to edit music on my laptop for the next 3 hours. I was tired but it was still pretty luxurious, especially when I was expecting a crappy old airport like the last 3 times I visited India. Made it to the gate around 630am and boarded early onto a virtually empty aircraft!
NOV 22 - LONDON HEATHROW
So, here I am again. Fitting that I started with Heathrow and I will end with Heathrow. What a shit hole, they could really learn something from the airports in India. I never would have thought I’d say that 10 years ago.
SEP 24 - ASIA, HIKING, HOCKEY
Tokyo came and went. We spent 4 days and 3 nights running around, shopping, sightseeing, eating and even the occasional drink! Tokyo was 44 degrees on the Sunday not including humidity; let’s just say that it was very sweaty! I always love visiting Tokyo and seeing my brother and his family. Amber came along and I think she had a really good time as well. We were provided business class on the way back so we were able to sleep in the new pods on board the 777. Sweet!
I’ve been trying to hike as much as possible but being the world’s busiest man, it can be tough Manning Park last weekend but it was pouring rain all weekend. John and I elected to try again another time and go the BC Lions game. BC lost but it was a good game anyway. Did the Grind twice last Saturday and found it really challenging. I’m not sure if I’ve been training enough this season to be able to do it 5 times in one day. (Oh who am I kidding!)
I’ve been practicing on my Akai EWI very faithfully. It is a MIDI controller design to be played like a Tenor Saxophone. I’m up to lesson 26 in book one, one day I be playing as soulful as John Coltrane. Ha!
Red FM sponsored the first preseason Vancouver Canucks game of the 2010-2011 season. We were thrilled to have the Red FM logo splashed all over Rogers Arena and thought that it would be a unique way to market our brand to the non South Asian demo. The Canucks ended up losing but we had a great time!
I’ve been trying to hike as much as possible but being the world’s busiest man, it can be tough Manning Park last weekend but it was pouring rain all weekend. John and I elected to try again another time and go the BC Lions game. BC lost but it was a good game anyway. Did the Grind twice last Saturday and found it really challenging. I’m not sure if I’ve been training enough this season to be able to do it 5 times in one day. (Oh who am I kidding!)
I’ve been practicing on my Akai EWI very faithfully. It is a MIDI controller design to be played like a Tenor Saxophone. I’m up to lesson 26 in book one, one day I be playing as soulful as John Coltrane. Ha!
Red FM sponsored the first preseason Vancouver Canucks game of the 2010-2011 season. We were thrilled to have the Red FM logo splashed all over Rogers Arena and thought that it would be a unique way to market our brand to the non South Asian demo. The Canucks ended up losing but we had a great time!
AUG 26 - IDOL, THE WEST LION & TOKYO!
We produced our 4th annual Red FM Idol show at the Bell Performing Arts Center. The show was stellar, with excellent talent, fantastic stage design and as always a great crew! We borrowed equipment from a local wedding designer; I went to the theatre the day before and spent a few hours setting up 28 chandeliers. The day of the show, everything went smoothly, the musicians showed up on time (thank god!), hair and make-up had the performers and hosts looking great and the in-house theatre crew was totally on the ball. The show lasted just over 3 hours but seemed to fly by much faster quickly! I am really noticing that with a lot of the events that we produce throughout the year, we’re getting into routines as staff and because of that the shows are really improving. :)
My friend John and I climbed up to the peak of the West Lion last Saturday. We started at the trail head in Lions bay and began climbing up the endless matrix of fire roads, trails and rocks. We made it to the base of the West Lion’s peak in about 3 hours. The final section, climbing up onto the peak itself is kind of sketchy however we took our time and managed to scale the final portion in about 20 minutes. Being on top of the West Lion is such an incredible experience. On a clear day you can see for miles in every direction. There were a few clouds to the South of us so Vancouver was in and out of view however it was very clear to the West, North and East. Stunning! We took a lot of pictures because a person just never knows if they will ever be back. It was my 3rd visit to the West Lion and I would really like to go back again one day.
I am off to Tokyo tomorrow for 3 days. I have not visited Japan in over a year so I am really looking forward to seeing my brother’s family again. I feel like I never need to make plans when I visit Tokyo, just taking the subway, buying coffee, window shopping etcetera can fill up your days with interesting and fun activities. I bought some cute little gifts for my nephew and niece and can’t wait to see them! Hopefully, I will get some crazy audio recordings too!
My friend John and I climbed up to the peak of the West Lion last Saturday. We started at the trail head in Lions bay and began climbing up the endless matrix of fire roads, trails and rocks. We made it to the base of the West Lion’s peak in about 3 hours. The final section, climbing up onto the peak itself is kind of sketchy however we took our time and managed to scale the final portion in about 20 minutes. Being on top of the West Lion is such an incredible experience. On a clear day you can see for miles in every direction. There were a few clouds to the South of us so Vancouver was in and out of view however it was very clear to the West, North and East. Stunning! We took a lot of pictures because a person just never knows if they will ever be back. It was my 3rd visit to the West Lion and I would really like to go back again one day.
I am off to Tokyo tomorrow for 3 days. I have not visited Japan in over a year so I am really looking forward to seeing my brother’s family again. I feel like I never need to make plans when I visit Tokyo, just taking the subway, buying coffee, window shopping etcetera can fill up your days with interesting and fun activities. I bought some cute little gifts for my nephew and niece and can’t wait to see them! Hopefully, I will get some crazy audio recordings too!
JUL 28 - HIK, RUN, BIKE
My friend John and I hiked the whole Baden Powell trail about 3 weeks ago. Parked one car in Deep Cove and brought the other to Horseshoe Bay. We hit the trail at about 8am at sea level. The first obstacle was summiting Black Mountain which took about 2 hours. I can go on and on about the pain involved in doing this hike however I can sum it up this way; we made it to Deep Cove at 9pm, at dusk. The final 2-3 hours were absolute pain! The trail seemed like it went on forever not to mention we went off course for about 2-3 hours during the course of the day here and there. We discovered a bear on our path at one point but surprisingly it was quite a peaceful experience. I loved it but am not sure if I will do it all in one day ever again. With our off course hiking added onto the trail itself, I would estimate that we hiked about 60km or more. Very extreme, just ask my quads!
The Red FM Run took place on July 18th. Once again we had great weather and a very good turnout of about 1200 paid participants. Our in-house team was very organized and the event went over quite smoothly. Originally, we struggled to find an identity with the event. Are we a formal run for runners? Are we a walk that encourages activity or are we a festival with a walk/run mixed in? We determined early on that our demographic may not respond to a serious run as much as a walk/run mixed with entertainment so we straddled all 3 ideas trying to attract participants. I will say that after this year, I have decided that we need to improve the run aspect of the event and perhaps go back to timing chips in 2011, allow the 10km participants to have a separate start time, 10km runners need to be identified separate from the 2km walkers, the distance has to be an EXACT 10km route and I would also like to have the 10km sanctioned. Over all the event was really great and I look forward to improving it next year! (Oh yeah, we may try to move it onto the street next year… EXCITING!)
I went a little crazy last Sunday. I rode my bike from Langley (a few blocks from the casino) to the base of the grouse grind (64km), and then did the grind which just about killed me. From the ¾ mark, both of my quads were freaking out! Then I had to make it to a wedding reception so I rode down to the Sea Bus and took transit back to Surrey from there. I suppose I could have ridden home if time permitted but I cannot say that I would have enjoyed the bike ride home. I was pretty spent! I still plan on riding from Surrey to the Grind, hiking up then riding home time permitting this summer.
Red FM Idol is coming up next on August 20th. We have open calls for Singers this Wednesday and Sunday. I’m putting together a production package for the first prize winner consisting of a laptop, Pro Tools system, mic, and all the extras. I am also going to provide the winner with free Pro Tools/recording lessons. If we have the budget for the prizes, I think it will really add hype to the project. We also have 2 big time singers joining us this year as judges which should help.
The Red FM Run took place on July 18th. Once again we had great weather and a very good turnout of about 1200 paid participants. Our in-house team was very organized and the event went over quite smoothly. Originally, we struggled to find an identity with the event. Are we a formal run for runners? Are we a walk that encourages activity or are we a festival with a walk/run mixed in? We determined early on that our demographic may not respond to a serious run as much as a walk/run mixed with entertainment so we straddled all 3 ideas trying to attract participants. I will say that after this year, I have decided that we need to improve the run aspect of the event and perhaps go back to timing chips in 2011, allow the 10km participants to have a separate start time, 10km runners need to be identified separate from the 2km walkers, the distance has to be an EXACT 10km route and I would also like to have the 10km sanctioned. Over all the event was really great and I look forward to improving it next year! (Oh yeah, we may try to move it onto the street next year… EXCITING!)
I went a little crazy last Sunday. I rode my bike from Langley (a few blocks from the casino) to the base of the grouse grind (64km), and then did the grind which just about killed me. From the ¾ mark, both of my quads were freaking out! Then I had to make it to a wedding reception so I rode down to the Sea Bus and took transit back to Surrey from there. I suppose I could have ridden home if time permitted but I cannot say that I would have enjoyed the bike ride home. I was pretty spent! I still plan on riding from Surrey to the Grind, hiking up then riding home time permitting this summer.
Red FM Idol is coming up next on August 20th. We have open calls for Singers this Wednesday and Sunday. I’m putting together a production package for the first prize winner consisting of a laptop, Pro Tools system, mic, and all the extras. I am also going to provide the winner with free Pro Tools/recording lessons. If we have the budget for the prizes, I think it will really add hype to the project. We also have 2 big time singers joining us this year as judges which should help.
JUN 28 - NOISE & CHICK
I just finished a course on sound art, music and design called SLAB 4 at VIVO in Vancouver. The course essentially investigated the sound creation process using a variety of tools, toys and sources. Attending a course like this from my technical perspective was really refreshing. I watched people break many of the rules that I have always maintained. Making noise, creating “crazy” sounds were encouraged and not everything needed to be controlled like I’m always so accustomed to doing. Learning how to experiment, how to use my imagination felt very empowering. We performed a final show on Saturday; my piece was a quadraphonic noise-music demonstration. My intention was to create a large soundscape using samples, effects pedals, a mixer and my computer utilizing all four speakers differently. I wanted to give everyone in the room a different aural experience depending on their proximity to any one of the four speakers. Once my soundscape was established, I recorded all four speakers into my laptop and began playing the soundscape back from the laptop, into all four speakers thus creating control over the noise. (I still like control!) I began layering different musical parts over the sampled noise quickly creating a musical piece. I further edited the recorded noise/soundscape creating more order over randomness. At this point, I began rolling the track back into all four speakers and assigning different effects to all four speakers again creating four different mixes in the room. I finished my piece with a final soundscape, which was layered into the track naturally. The piece ended with the soundscape taking over with a big horn that I put reverb onto with infinite release, mixed 100% wet. The horn became this massive wall of sound, filling all four speakers equally, I started rolling off the top end with a low pass – 4 pole filter until I was down to under 100Hz at which point I pulled down the last of the volume on the master fader of the mixer. My soundscapes consisted of recordings I have made over the last few months: the ice surface at a Canucks game, including hits, skates, players yelling, shots, passes and the final horn, recordings at an Audio Engineering Society meeting I attended a few weeks ago where the speaker was talking about sound, a recording of Russian athletes talking during the Olympics, machine noise from YVR, a recording of Red FM hosts from our stage at Vaisakhi in Vancouver etc. I wanted to use sounds that reflected my life at the moment, sounds that I hear and work with on a regular basis, sharing my experiences with the listeners. I am inspired.
I went to see Chick Corea last night with my great friend John Mink. There is no secret that I am a massive jazz fan and no secret that I already think the world of Chick Corea so I was super hyped up all day waiting for the show to start. The opening act, the Terry Clarke Trio was a pleasant surprise, turning out to be an amazing performance and would have been worth the price of admission alone. When Chick Corea came out, he addressed the crowd immediately displaying his humorous nature. He looked at the piano and said “Steinway?” then began to walk off the stage like he refused to play it. Everyone laughed; it was a great way to start off the show. Chick Corea played a staggering amount of piano in about 90 minutes covering great composers before him like Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans to name a few. I’ve seen many, many great shows but Chick Corea may have been the greatest one yet. I was awestruck by his pure musicianship, the sound in The Center was absolutely superb and I laughed every time Chick said something humorous. I can only say that I will always remember that concert fondly and I would jump on an airplane any day of the week from here forward to see him play again.
I went to see Chick Corea last night with my great friend John Mink. There is no secret that I am a massive jazz fan and no secret that I already think the world of Chick Corea so I was super hyped up all day waiting for the show to start. The opening act, the Terry Clarke Trio was a pleasant surprise, turning out to be an amazing performance and would have been worth the price of admission alone. When Chick Corea came out, he addressed the crowd immediately displaying his humorous nature. He looked at the piano and said “Steinway?” then began to walk off the stage like he refused to play it. Everyone laughed; it was a great way to start off the show. Chick Corea played a staggering amount of piano in about 90 minutes covering great composers before him like Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans to name a few. I’ve seen many, many great shows but Chick Corea may have been the greatest one yet. I was awestruck by his pure musicianship, the sound in The Center was absolutely superb and I laughed every time Chick said something humorous. I can only say that I will always remember that concert fondly and I would jump on an airplane any day of the week from here forward to see him play again.
JUN 15 - BOO BOO BLACK HAWKS
The Canucks came and went again this year. Two years knocked out by the Black Hawks kind of stings but at least the Black Hawks went on to win it all. There is nothing worse than being knocked off, only to see the team that did it throw away their own chances upon advancing. I immensely enjoy the opportunity to produce the broadcasts at GM Place. We are working on our plans for Canucks broadcasts for 2010-2011 already. (Can’t wait!) I did my first Grouse Grind of the season a week ago! The trail was closed so technically I was a bad boy for doing it but it felt great once I got to the top. I am taking a class in June that is essentially about taking noise and manipulating it for use in your own project. Sound confusing? Well, we are doing things like creating feedback loops in mixers then running them through guitar effects in parallel or serial to modulate the signals. Then recording the results and using the audio in musical pieces. Not sure that I can use this new skill in all facets of production but it’s nice to generate ideas in a unique fashion. I will be doing a presentation/show on Saturday, June 26th, should be wild! I have also been attending a number of Audio Engineering Society meetings as of late. It’s nice to “nerd out” a little with people that have a common interest in sound however at times the nerdyness can be a little over the top! I was in Winnipeg last weekend for a 10 year wedding anniversary party. I visited many old friends and had a blast. The weather in Winnipeg was very warm and clear, what the **** is the issue here in BC? Finally, I am writing the score for a short film. I agreed to do the work but was then advised that I had 2 days to do it all. Kind of reminds me why I ran the heck away from film in the first place! None the less, bring it on! And bring on summer too!
APR 26 - DECK BUILDING
I have been thinking that it is high time that I made another entry! So much has been going on in my life, here we go: Gave the car away to a very nice Lady. The whole Red FM staff did a phenomenal job with the giveaway, it was totally intense! We had a crowd of about 5000 people watching as we made it down to 1 winner from the 12 finalists. What a relief! Both Vaisakhi celebrations came and went, Red FM had 2 great stages, and boy did we put out some volume! I feel sorry for people stuck standing in front of all our speakers in front of the stage! The Canucks broadcasts are going very well. Our team is really getting into a groove and the broadcasts are tight. We’re hoping the Canucks remain as tight as our broadcast skills because we don’t want to stop doing this anytime soon! I built a 10’x12’ deck in my back yard with my brother who was in from Tokyo for the weekend to celebrate my sister’s 40th birthday party. We put together a night of fun for Lana and her friends at a pub in the neighborhood. It was a late night! I just had the canopy of my 6 massive red cedar trees in my yard raised; it looks like a totally different yard. I’ve increased the light and enhanced the view, what more can you ask for?! My friend John and I hiked ½ of the Baden Powell trail a few weeks ago, about 33Km. We started in Deep Cove and finished at the bottom of the Grouse Grind. The hike took about 5 hours and we are going to try the whole thing (Deep Cove to Horse Shoe Bay) in the next while. I hiked up the Chief yesterday. It’s beginning to feel like summer!
MAR 09 - MARATHONS
So many things going on in my life! I have totally fallen into the world of Bikram’s Yoga. I was introduced to in about 6 weeks ago and have quickly become a regular. I can be a bit excessive when it comes to exercise; Bikram’s is no exception! I completed the Fort Langley Half marathon a few weeks ago. I was battling with a sore toe so ended up finishing slower than I managed when training but it was a great day for a run and I still really enjoyed the event. It’s interesting to participate in other runs and compare them to my own. It was impossible to hear the race officials at the start of the run so it was a bit confusing. The food tables for runners where right out in the open after the run so a lot of spectators were eating up the goodies. Water was too slow to come at one of the stations on the course but the course itself was well marked and manned. The run also cost over $80which if you ask me is more than excessive! I would give it a 5/10. We’ve launched the Red FM Car Giveaway Contest again and it has kept us more than busy. We are also starting our Canucks broadcasts again the Saturday. We will be broadcasting the last 10 home games as well as all home playoff games. I look forward to the opportunity once again, producing a show of this nature really teaches me a lot in a short period of time. My personal goal for this year is to create a tighter production in terms of communication between the hosts, the on-air studio op and myself. I would also like to work on enhancing sound quality, mix more crowd noise when appropriate and cutting it out more effectively when not necessary. I’m working out the details on a new contest, which I would like to propose for May-June that will include business’ marketing the Red FM brand. (More to come, maybe!) Finally, how can I go further without mentioning the Olympics games? I managed to see a little, enough to experience the games but not too much! It was a great time, one that I will not forget.
JAN 27 - BIKRAMS YOGA, RED FM'S 4TH ANNIVSARY
I went to my first Bikram’s Yoga class on Saturday. Being a compulsive person, I started my day with a nice big run, stopped off at the gym to lightly lift some weights, then off to the class. Bikram’s Yoga was very, very difficult. Wow! It took my about 45 minutes to compose myself after the class, I felt like I had just run a marathon. Being a bit of a work out freak, I’m now hooked and went to my 2nd class last night at the Surrey location. I will be running the Fort Langley Half Marathon in February so I don’t think that I’ll be able to do Bikram’s more than a few times a week leading up to the big event. Red FM celebrated its 4th anniversary on January 23rd. For the first year we didn’t have an open house but focused our energy on upgrading all of our in-house sounds for each show. New intros, bed tracks, bumpers and the like were all recreated from scratch, I’ve been busy! We had a jingle contest for the anniversary inviting listeners to come up with a new melody for our Jingle. I decided to go with Juggy Jag who was actually the runner up in the last Red FM Idol contest. Juggy came in to record the vocals and I wrote the rest of the Jingle, I’m pretty happy with it. Check it out here if you’d like!
JAN 18 - HAITI, BIRTHDAY'S AND RAILS
To begin, it is important to reflect upon the horrible earthquake that took place in Haiti last week. Thousand of citizens have died, thousands more injured and still more are yet missing. The president of Red FM, KulwinderSanghera decided to donate a day of air-time towards fund raising for Doctors Without Borders. We started at 6am and went though to about 9pm. Red FM listeners donated over $400,000.00. The total is great but there is no reason to celebrate, as it is still such a sad event. My 35th birthday came and went. I spent the evening at my sisters having some dinner and a few glasses of wine. Friday was spent at Pete & Kate’s with Dave and Angela, kind of a birthday thing I guess! Saturday was spent with Rachelle and Alex at my place for dinner and Sunday evening was back with family. What better way to celebrate than just being with good friends! Finally, on Sunday, I managed to install a staircase railing on my property in New Westminster. I know it’s no big deal but when you are as handy as me, it’s pretty satisfying to get the job done! 09Jan10 Holidays, family, weddings, dips & Santa With too much to possibly cover, I will discuss the major events that have happened over the last month! The holidays started off great, we had a Red FM gift exchange and Santa showed up bearing gifts. I was selected to participate in a galub jamin eating contest eating contest. Due to my well known aversion to fattening foods, my coworkers thought it would be quite hilarious to force me into the contest. Being Christmas, I decided that I would just go for it and kick some butt! I went up against Sham (in house camera man/editor) and Amrik (account manager). It was a lot harder than I ever thought. Eating huge, sugary, warm dough balls quickly is quite the challenge. I am happy to report that Sham won the contest! Christmas was really great this year. My brother and his family came out from Tokyo and I cannot remember having a better visit with all of my family in a long time! New years eve got a little crazy then on New Year’s Day, we headed down to English bay to participate in the 90th annual Polar Bear Swim. This year was easier than years past because it was so much warmer outside (and in!) There’s nothing like starting the new year off by shocking the hell out of your body in freezing water! My co-workers and dear friends Delpreet and Rupy tied the knot on January 2nd, 2010. This was a Punjabi wedding so needless to say, we spent the whole week leading up celebrating. I had enough alu gobi to satisfy any cravings for quite some time! Delpreet invited myself and Vijay to stand up for her with her brothers during the ceremony which was an incredible honor and something I will never forget. The reception was a total blast, take 200 people you know really well, add great bhangra music, Indian food, a few glasses of scotch and you have the perfect recipe for a good time! We stayed and danced until the lights were turned on which if nothing else, proves the fun everyone was having. I think that Red FM staff members need to get married like that more often! Last but certainly not least, Vijay, one of my very best friends (and my subordinate!) has become engaged as well. Vijay and Monika will be getting married on November 18th, 2010 so I guess we’re getting another Red FM wedding of sorts. Vijay & Monika’s wedding will be in Punjab however and I am going 100%! CANNOT WAIT!