drink

Just read in the paper today about teenage drinking. Apparently teens are drinking a lot these days, much more than when surveys were done ten years ago. I have never in my life understood the attraction, the lure of alcohol. When I was in my teens, I tried to drink beer like some of my peers. I could never drink more than a couple without getting sick to my stomach. I persisted for about a year, then just gave up. I have never been drunk. I don't know what it feels like. I have been tipsy from a couple of glasses of wine but I don't like the feeling so I don't care to repeat it very often - unless forced to by social circumstances. When you're at a dinner party and you're the only one not imbibing you get a lot of weird comments and looks. I've tried beer, wine, even whisky over the years...I like none of it. It either makes me sick or I can't even drink it. I'll pour myself a glass of red wine with my pizza or pasta (or some other dish that red wine reputedly fits with) and I'll take three sips and leave the rest in the glass. My mother is the same way. Not sure if it's a blessing or if we're missing some phenomenal part of life but in any case it's hard for me to understand the teenage drinking trend. Btw, I've had the same experience with pot. Tried it, didn't see what the attraction was. I guess I am drug and alcohol-proof. To a degree it's a fear of losing control but basically, it's a biological thing. My body just doesn't take to it.

In other news, 2007 began in great style: my new band, Bohemian Swing performed a concert at the Victoria Hall in Cobourg. What a marvelous building! I have played that venue before but this time we actually played in the great hall - beautifully decorated super high ceilings, very good sound system and sound engineers, great lighting. After a 45 minute set, we shifted on over to the Oasis Bar and Grill and played there till after midnight. That, too, was a terrific gig. Very receptive audience, everybody in fine New Year's spirits. Both Bruce Whitehead on bass and Ian MacGillivray on trumpet did a great job, we all played our butts off. I had played at the Oasis many times before but they had us in a different room this time and the vibe was just right.

Some good shows are coming up but overall, I haven't done a lot of gig hunting lately and my schedule is rather thin after mid-February. Better stop blogging and start hustling, eh?