Rossini

           

            On Thursday afternoon, Nick Cushing came by with his video camera and a lapel microphone to shoot a video of me doing one of my songs. I did “Love In Remission” this time and tried three takes. I fumbled in different places on each try. I’m not really a perfectionist but I don’t want the kind of mistakes that interrupt the flow.

            That night I rode for four minutes up to Brock and Dundas for my first of two Thursdays of posing at Artists 25. When I got there, one member of the group was sitting and dozing just inside the building on the steps that lead down to the first floor. She chatted with me a bit but then apologetically told me that she was going to doze a bit more. She did so until another woman arrived and sat with us as we waited for Cy. He arrived as we were talking about my French language studies.

            Knowing that Cy’s girlfriend, Banoo, has been looking for a new venue for her poetry night, it came to me a few days before that the Tranzac might be a good home for Shab-e She’r. On one of my breaks I told Cy about it. He said that another friend of Banoo’s had also suggested the Tranzac. It’s an art friendly place; it’s a non-profit organization and Banoo could join the board of directors if she became a member. Both Cy and I agreed that the room just to the left as one enters might make a nice cozy home for Shab-e She’r. I think the space is called the Tiki Room and it even has a fireplace. Of course, it would also depend on whether they had an opening there for Banoo’s monthly event. Cy also pointed out that alcohol might change the atmosphere of Shab-e She’r. I do recall though that at the original location, at the gallery at Queen and Parliament, the owner of the space did sell wine during the break.

            Radio Canada was playing a piece by Rossini called Petite Messe Solonnelle (Little Solemn Mass). A section of it featuring a beautiful textured layering of voices really caught my ear.