Tag Archives: time for the fair

Time for the Fair Episode 17

Adapted from  Saskatoon, Canada (Tilt-A-Whirl  Uploaded by SchuminWeb By Daryl Mitchell) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

We are down to the second last episode of Time for the Fair. At the end of the chapter, I discuss some of my upcoming musical events.

March 21: 7:30-9:00:  I will be attending and playing a couple tunes at the annual Music at the Merril Filk Concert at the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy 239 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R5

March 24: I’ll be playing again at the Ladybug Cafe on King Street in Midland, Ontario from 5 – 8 along with Adrien Robitaille.

April 11, I will be performing and participating on panels at the Ad Astra Fan Con in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

April 17-19, you can find my family at the 25th annual FilkOntario in Toronto.
The story so far this week is read by friend, singer-songwriter Scott Cooper I begin the episode by playing his apropo song, Tilt a Whirl from his 2007 album, Tiny Increments.
In this week’s penultimate episode, Robert takes a wild ride, and he and Sue revisit their youth at the fair while frantically searching for Billy.

Now… It’s time for the fair.

 

adapted from By Eric Wüstenhagen from Hamburg, Deutschland (Red Rule) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

Musical Interlude 1949: Time for the Fair

In Episode 13, Billy encounters Pops and his new bride in 1949.  They dance to the music of Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians.  Guy Lombardo was Canada’s most famous bandleader.  He and his siblings had an orchestra that was popular for almost 50 years, from the 1920s until his death in 1977.

You can find out more about Guy Lombardo on wikipedia.

Here is a sampler of their music from the 1960s.

The SS Noronic was great lakes cruise ship that burned and sank in Toronto Harbour on September 4, 1949.  139 people died in the fire and its aftermath. It was one of the greatest marine disasters in the world.  In life, as in the story, the remains of the Noronic victims were taken to a makeshift morgue on the CNE grounds.

By Andrew Merrilees [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Time for the Fair Episode 13

Guy_Lombardo_1944 from wikipedia

 

After his experiences during the Summer of Love in the last episode, Billy finds himself at the CNE 20 years earlier.

I play, Robbie the Misfit Zombie,  one of my new songs written for February Album Month.  You can follow my progress there at http://fawm.org/fawmers/ductapeguy/.

 

The Story so Far is read by Phil Mills, a filk musician and songwriter from Toronto who I met through February Album Writing Month.  I play Phil’s song, Talk to Strangers from his album Mix Until Absurd which is available on Bandcamp.

 

From Wikipedia via City of Toronto Archives

Musical Interlude 1969

In Episode 12 of Time for the Fair, Billy enjoys a day at the CNE in 1969 which includes a Monkees concert.  Although Time for the fair is a fictional fantasy story, The Monkees did perform at the CNE on August 25, 1969– two days after the events in the story.  It’s great writing historical fantasy– you can tweak the dates a bit.

 

Here are some silent clips from the Monkee’s performance at the CNE in 1969, and a couple musical numbers that they may have played at the show as Billy and family watched on.  Stay tuned for chapter 13 of Time for the Fair this weekend.

Silent Clips from the CNE archives


… and a little music