Thursday, October 16, 2008

Frankie Venom; Good to a Fault; Rehearsals

I was stunned to read of the death of Frankie Venom, lead singer of Teenage Head, at age 51 from throat cancer. I still have hearing damage from seeing them at the Stampeder Inn here in the town of cows in the early '80s. They were probably the highest energy act I ever saw (well, maybe Iggy Pop gave them a run for their money) and they were working up to the very end. Wow. He'll be missed, no question.

In happier news, my signed copy of Marina Endicott's Giller short-listed novel Good to a Fault arrived here today. I had the good fortune to win it in a contest Freehand Books put on. Editor Melanie Little and her colleagues did an amazing job with their inaugural lineup --congratulations to all of you, and good luck with the Giller!

And in my own personal not-that-exciting news, I've begun rehearsing my reading for the Memorial Park Library launch on November 13th. I'm using the tiny hand held recorder that I bought this summer, and it's quite helpful to go back and listen for mumbling, strange inflections, etc. Hope I can polish it up a bit before the big night.

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