Low hanging Fruit (The UniverSALE health UnCare System)

So I am lying on the boulevard prone and getting a little shocky. The mosquitoes are getting bad as I didn’t see fit to land in short grass. The ambulance arrives, they ask the typical questions then apply a splint cast (something I am to become way too familiar with) and load me into the bus and set me on a tour of Winnipeg’s not too smooth roads.


I arrive at ‘The Vic’ and whether it is coming out of shock, time lapse, the bumpy ride or a combination, my pain is now peaking. Now ‘they’ say never need emergency help on a weekend and even more so not a long weekend but even McDonalds has extra staff on at peak times so it is a mystery why they were short staffed that night nonetheless I was the most serious case that night and would have been seen right away were it not for the late arriving stabbing victim. Even through my blinding pain I felt compassion for the man as he screamed while they pulled the knife out.

It seemed a long time before I could get some pain relief and longer till I got enough to take the edge off and longer till I get x-rays and longer still to see an MD.

When I did see the doctor he proceeded to tell this was the worst break he had seen in 18 years and that the arm would never be the same. He asked “what do you do for a living?” I said “I’m a musician” He says “I am so sorry it will never be the same”

Now he leaves me alone with the idea that music is over. Something I have committed to and done all my adult life is now gone. An attending nurse who heard his whole speech came to me and reassured me quietly that “no one knows how these things turn out and I have seen way worse turn out just fine so don’t you dwell on what he said”. Thanks but then they came to tell me that my injury was too severe for them to work on there and I would be transferred to HSC where they would operate on me immediately. The aforementioned nurse worked past her shift to accompany me on my transfer. So they drug me up put on a better slab/splint cast and send me on my way.

Once there I was given a better prognosis but no I was not going to be operated on anytime soon.

I could regale you with the happenings during my 4 days lying in a bed with a compound fracture/dislocation that was too serious to get treatment at one hospital but not serious enough to get attention at the next. But each day kinda went like this...Get starved and dehydrated each day on surgery standby only to have them announce today was not the day by handing me a tray of cold hospital food. Each night was a mixture of how loud the staff could be while ignoring my buzzer looking for pain relief from my still broken arm. Don’t get me wrong there was some great caring staff there just wasn’t enough to go around.

After that it was quite efficient. 9am of the 5th day I am told I am getting surgery. They wheel me in drug me up work on me for 4½ hours, wake up feel great eat real food get 2 more nights of no sleep and get discharged wearing my 3rd slab/splint cast.

Right now

Where I used to have a normal elbow I have 3 plates and uncountable screws and a whole lot of fluid that will be replaced with scar tissue. I hope to get a copy of the x-rays but clearly my days of sailing through airport security are over (and I think I set off the security at HMV the other day)

Overall i am ahead of anyone's schedule (except mine) I have no feeling in my pinky and only 70% in my ring finger and I have limited mobility in the fingers for now. How long? No one can tell me could be a coupla of months could be a year. There is a small chance it won't come back at all and I will need another surgery to take a nerve from elsewhere in my body and have it put in my arm. I have about 25% of my original hand strength and it swells up a lot hampering it further. While the cast, staples and big bandage are gone I have to wear a compression glove to keep the swelling from getting out hand (yes I made that pun) I have about 10--15° of movement in my elbow right now...plenty enough for guitar but not for much else like eating or shaving.

The musician



The limited mobility in the hand and fingers means my finger/hybrid style playing, Lenny Breau type harmonics, Wes style comping and chord melody solo guitar things are gone for a while. I can't play bass at all really, I was recently cleared for weight bearing so I am playing the drums (poorly) and some Piano.



The fisherman



Basically I think fishing is cancelled for this season but I am leaving the door open to go out the last weekend in October as it is the last weekend of trout season (kind of a tradition for me for the last 10 years)



I have done a couple of guitar gigs recently and I am still good to take guitar work as long as I have a bass player or some other accompaniment



I think I am doing well but that is in no small part to the care and love of my wife Adelle.

Breaking Away...Breaking, A Way Back

More than a few people thought it might be a good idea to write about events and experiences around breaking my arm.  Some might just want to hear horror tales from the Canadian health system, cautionary stories about bikes or are merely curious. Nonetheless here we go.

We had planned to stay home (instead of camping the Labour Day weekend as last year it was a prime time to get calls from new students. As it turned out there weren’t many calls but is neither here nor there. On the Saturday after dinner we elected to take our new dog Elly May out for a walk. It was I who suggested and then insisted we take our bikes.

Now tying my dog to my bike to get them a good run is something I have been doing for over 30 years and  3 dogs. It’s something we have seen many people doing and never thought dangerous.

As well I am no risk taker when it comes to my money makers (hands folks I’m talking about my hands). I won’t toss football around with anyone unless they can throw a spiral and are not trying to replay the super bowl. I don’t stick my hands in scalding dish water, use sharp knives and I always use gloves whether oven mitt, or the work variety.

So up the street we go, me pedaling faster to get to the dogs top speed around 20 kph. But I can see it all in slow motion now, one fire hydrant seems closer the the sidewalk then all the others...wait, is the dog going to go on this side or the other...no she is going the wrong side...I’ll hit the brakes...too late the bike stops dead and I keep going.

I hit the ground 7-8 feet from where the bike stops, on my elbow and heard the crunch. I knew immediately that I had broken it. Looking at the bulging elbow and feeling the searing pain confirmed it.

My family watched this unfold in front of them and were on the scene. My wife ran back (yes left her bike there and ran) back the ½ block to our house to call an ambulance.

It only took 20 minutes for them to arrive but it seemed an eternity. Not only because of the pain and the mosquitoes feasting on me but it was time I spent reviewing my music life and future. It was a time where i saw with great clarity what was important in my life. Now this may seem a little dramatic for a mere broken arm and I agree as I have tried to keep that in perspective I suppose, but at the same time it was a life changing event. I lay there wondering if I was going to play music again or if I was would I be limited in some way. To music people whether full time pros like me or those that ‘play’ at music, hurting your hands is our greatest nightmare

Next up, my entry in the Canadian health system in a big way.

Winnipeg Recording  Studios

My top 10

A while back I was asked to give my top 10 albums from a prospective of faith and spirit. Only 10?? Ya I could do it. So Here it is...

My Top 10 Recordings




1. Travels (Pat Metheny Group Live) I love this album, plain and simple. It represents a dividing line in Pat’s and the group’s timeline ( as most live albums do). The opening track is the extended version of Off Ramp’s “Are You Going With Me” and is a brilliant display of building on an idea and of patience. By the peak of Pat’s guitar synth solo we are at fever pitch. I have often timed the start of this album to finish just as I reach a fishing destination. Puts me in the right state of mind to fling flies at fussy trout. Most people feel instrumental music doesn’t challenge the listener. But I can’t imagine anyone missing the intensity of this piece and either being drawn in or repulsed (and what good art doesn’t do either or both)

2. Officium Latin word with various meanings, including "service", "(sense of) duty", "courtesy", "ceremony" (Jan Garbarek/The Hilliard Ensemble) Garbarek, a Norwegian jazz saxophonist and The Hilliard Ensemble, a British male vocal quartet devoted to the performance of early music. They combined Gregorian Chant with improvised saxophone. One of the record labels (ECM) biggest sellers. Faith based music mixed with improvisation, what more could I ask for?

3. 80/81 (Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Jack Dejohnette, Micheal Brecker and Dewey Redman) So much diversity in sound-scapes, dynamics and genre bending. Straight jazz, folk fusion or free jazz. I cannot think of an overt spiritual reason to include this in my list I just know this music speaks to my soul.

4. Unforgettable (Joe Pass) Just the man in a studio with a nylon string guitar. Just two years before succumbing to cancer and released 4 years after his death. His chops are fading but the passion is so there. He knows he is dying and plays like it. Not dissimilar to Micheal Brecker’s last album, Pilgrimage, before his passing. The only difference is Joe is doing it on solo guitar so the fire is understated.

5. Signals (Rush) Nothing was greater for my teenaged sprit than finding out that “Any escape might help to smooth the unattractive truth. But the suburbs have no charms to soothe the restless dreams of youth.”

6. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Genesis) in progressive rock there are two defining things; epic tunes pushing 10 minutes and the ‘concept’ album. Lyrically based on some dreams of Peter Gabriel the story hints at mysticism, self discovery, good vs. evil and fear.

7. Animals (Pink Floyd). The popularity of other Pink Floyd albums overshadows this short Orwellian style attack on capitalism in the form of yet another concept album. Sandwiched between Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Here and The Wall (and subsequent band breakup) this album was forgotten by most but resonated in me so much more. Portraying the upper class of our society, and those who emulated their behavior, as various types of animals really helped my self worth and validated my lack of interest in things material. In today’s climate of ‘dog equals pig equals baby’ portraying heads of corporations as farm animals might be considered unfair to the animals.

8. Mingus (Joni Mitchell) Joni had studied composition with Charles Mingus. Later, Mingus called upon Joni Mitchell in the last months of his life to work on a musical version of T.S. Elliot's Four Quartets, a project which, ultimately, was scrapped but served as the catalyst to Joni's "Mingus" album. Initial recordings for this album were done with other musicians, but Joni settled upon an all-star cast of Jaco Pastorious on bass, Herbie Hancock piano, Wayne Shorter saxophones , Peter Erskine drumset and Don Alias on percussion. The album has 6 tunes, 4 of which were Mingus compositions that Joni penned lyrics for including Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. Sadly, Mingus died before this album was completed but he heard every piece except (ironically) God Must Be a Boogie Man. This tune alone stands as a valid question mark to anyone’s faith and a great poke at God’s gifts of music, genius, humour and doubt.

“The plan, oh the cock-eye plan! God must be a boogie man”

9. The Bridge (Sonny Rollins) in 1959 Rollins retired from music, reportedly uncomfortable with his quick rise in fame that he felt unworthy of. Out from hiatus he comes and in 1962 with this record. A must have for any jazz fan. Spiritually, the concept of ‘going back to the shed’ after having made it and re-emerging 3 years later just blows my mind. What guts, what dedication!

10. Miserere (Henryk Mikolaj Górecki) inspired by the Polish militia’s overreaction to civil unrest in 1981 Górecki wrote this vocal piece based on one line; Domine Deus noster Miserere nobis (Lord our God have mercy on us) The variations, dynamics, harmonies are as brilliant as they are inspiring. Not for casual listening!

Winnipeg Music Studio