Friday, August 27, 2010

Stevie Ray; Virginsfest; Aritha van Herk; CAA W-i-R 2010 - 2011

Can't let this day go by without a tip of the hat to Stevie Ray Vaughan, massively talented blues guitarist who died in a helicopter crash twenty years ago today. I saw him and his band Double Trouble play at the Jubilee Auditorium, of all places, in 1984. The air was blue with dope smoke, and Stevie Ray put on an amazing show. They kicked down the baffles the Jube staff had put up in front of their stacks and went for it. A great evening.

Had a swell time with members of The Virgins (and our later incarnation, The Strangeloves) over drinks last night. We tried to hang out on the deck in my backyard but it was just too windy. Calgary.

Heading to the Alexandra Centre tomorrow for a talk by Aritha van Herk on Writing: The Dubious Occupation . Indeed it is.

Finally, I'm happy to announce that my friend and colleague Rona Altrows will be acting as Canadian Authors Association's Calgary Writer-in-Residence for the 2010 - 2011 term, starting Sept. 15th. Congratulations, Rona! I encourage anyone who may be looking for feedback on their work or a friendly ear to submit your work to her. We're fortunate to have these kinds of opportunities in Calgary -- take advantage!

1 comment:

Jan Markley said...

Glad you had fun with your old band mates. Way to go Rona! I'm looking forward to Aritha's presentaiton.