T.C. FOLKPUNK: Rants, etc.

Hey!

I know this is kinda short notice, and I apologize for that, but I'm
playing one more gig for July and then it looks like I'm off for a month or so. Here's the info:

TIMOTHY CAMERON (over here)
MONDAY JULY 18th
at MITZI'S SISTER (1554 Queen Street West)
with CLARK INSTITUTE and JON BROOKS
9-ish start time, no cover, good food.

My fellow performers are both excellent songwriters, for whom I have a great deal of respect, and I'm honoured to be sharing the bill with them. As far as I know, Jon's on first, followed by Clark/Jim, and then me at 10:30 or 11:00...I think.

You can check out their websites at

http://www.clarkinstitute.com/
and

http://www.jonbrooks.ca/
Okay, so while I'm away, here are a couple of handy tips on how not to piss me (and others) off during this crankiness-inducing heatwave:

1. Try not to ride your bike on the sidewalk really fast in a manner
that requires me (and others) to leap for safety at the last second.
Which part of the word "sideWALK" is escaping you?

2. Contrary to the beliefs of some (including a couple of my
neighbours), pigeons are not, repeat NOT on the endangered species list. You can stop feeding the fucking things now.

There, I've saved the world again so my work here is done....

Later,
Timothy

Remember the good old days when "spam" was something that Terry Jones (in drag) would prattle on about to a cafe full of vikings?

You don't ?!?

Yeesh.

Anyway, all your worst fears have come true: I have another gig. Care for details ? Well, VOILA (or "walla" as it's spelled in Owen Sound):

TIMOTHY CAMERON (that's me)
GRAFFITI'S (170 Baldwin, in Kensington Market)
FRIDAY JUNE 3rd
9:00 pm, NO cover.

It's part of the Songwriters Unite series, hosted by the lovely and
talented Russell Leon. Also on the bill will be guys with names like Kirk, Andrew, Guy, Patrick, Noah, Pierre, and Rex. All good reliable
singer-songwriter type names, no ?

So that's it. No rants or stories this time.

Want a rant ? Wait for Lewis Black to come on The Daily Show.

Want a story ? Go to the library.

Want some white-hot folkpunk? Come to Graffiti's.

It's that easy.

See ya,
Timothy

Hi.

Yup, it's gig announcement time again, so here's the dirt. Or rather
here's the info (dirt is such a dirty word).

TIMOTHY CAMERON (a.k.a. "me") at
MITZI'S SISTER (1554 Queen Street West) on
MONDAY MAY 30th

The show will start at 9:00pm, there's nary a cover charge and the food is great. And best of all, I'm sharing the bill with one of my fave singer-songwriters, Jennifer Foster, and a fellow named Andrew Haughton. I haven't heard Andrew yet but I've heard good things about him.

So I know that the pro-pit bull lobby is upset over the provincial
government's decision to ban the breed, but I'm actually in favour of the ban. However, I don't favour the ban because I don't believe pit bulls are any more vicious than any other variety of canine. I think they're just
dogs, and like any dog a pit bull can have a bad day and snap at somebody. Only difference being that when a chihuahua snaps at you you're mildly annoyed, because there's only so much damage the jaw muscles on a
chihuahua can inflict.

I dunno, maybe the answer is not to be "breed specific" in a ban, but "power specific". Maybe somebody should invent some sort of contraption to test the power of the jaw muscles on dogs, and base the ban on that, since the definition of "pit bull" is a bit nebulous, and the ban gets
into a grey area when the dog in question is half pit bull, half
Sherman tank or whatever.

Then again, maybe Queen's Park has another secret motive, and the breed is being banned for reasons of aesthetics as well. I mean really, have you ever looked at a pit bull? They're not the handsomest dogs at the prom. I'm reminded of what Woody Allen once said about a young lady he
once encountered: "I don't want to say she was ugly, but facially she resembled Louis Armstrong's voice". I always think of that quote when I see a pit bull. They're kinda like the canine version of Ernest Borgnine (sorry Ernest).

Anyway, once again, the gig:

MITZI'S SISTER (1554 Queen Street West)
MONDAY MAY 30th
Show starts at 9:00pm
No cover
No pit bulls will be in attendance (I hope).

See ya,
Timothy

Hey all,

"Could it be another gig?" I hear you asking. See for yourself:

TIMOTHY CAMERON (yup, that's me) at
GRAFFITI'S (170 Baldwin in Kensington Market)
FRIDAY MARCH 4th
9:00 pm-ish
I'm there as part of the Songwriters Unite! showcase. There will be six or seven other songwriters as well, although nobody's told me who they
are yet. Maybe it's a big secret. Yeah that must it. They're such huge stars that it's all being kept very hush-hush. So let's assume that Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, Ray Davies, Billy Joe Armstrong, Randy Bachman, and uh, I dunno, let's say Cher will all be there.*

So I bought an American Apparel t-shirt a couple of months ago, and if any of you have a Beanie Baby that needs a t-shirt let me know because the bloody thing kept shrinking (although I followed the washing instructions). Twenty-five bucks. They saw me coming. I only really bought it because the company promotes itself as being sweat shop free and all that. Of course when one stops to think about it, there are no sweatshops
in the vicinity of Truro, Nova Scotia, home to a certain company by the name of Stanfield's. And their shirts are half the price and THEY DON'T SHRINK IF YOU SO MUCH AS LOOK AT THEM THE WRONG WAY.

Yeesh.

Anyway, enough fashion victimization, hope to see you Friday.

Timothy

*don't quote me on these names...

Hello.

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's FOLKPUNK, not fokpunk...

Anyway, this Thursday I will be sharing the bill with three of my fave Toronto singer-songwriters. For those of you who like my simple "just the facts ma'am" announcements here ya go:

TIMOTHY CAMERON (that's me)
VAUGHN PASSMORE
CLARK INSTITUTE
JENNIFER FOSTER
THURSDAY FEBRUAURY 17th
at HOLY JOE'S
651 Queen Street West (at Bathurst)
8pm start, Pay-What-You-Can.

Before I forget, here are some more specific details on getting to Holy Joe's: It's on the second floor of The Big Bop which is that big
ominous building on the southeast corner of Queen and Bathurst. The entrance from Queen Street is the SECOND door east of Bathurst which is also the
entrance to The Reverb Room. Go up the black-walled winding staircase (which seems all the more winding when one's lugging an amp and guitar, but I digress...) and at the top of the stairs you'll find yourself at the entrance to The Reverb. If anybody is there collecting a cover for whoever is playing Reverb, simply look them in the eye and (in your best pirate voice) yell at them "Arrrr, I be here for some folkpunkin' so
avast ye scurvy dog". Chances are they'll not ask a second time. Then you walk straight ahead through the doors and keep going so the bar and washrooms are on your left. Just past the washrooms you'll see a little five or six step mini staircase, beside which is painted in huge letters "Holy Joe's". Go up the mini staircase, through the door and TA-DA
you're in...an alcove. But you're really close by this point. If you feel you need for some nicotine after all this spelunking and exploring, turn left to nip out on to the fire escape, otherwise go straight through another door (this is all starting to sound like the opening of Get Smart) and there you are in...another alcove. Look to your right and TA-DA (really) you're in Holy Joe's.

If you leave now you should be there by Thursday...

Anyway, this gig came about after having conversations with each of my fellow performers that went something like this:

Fellow Performer: "Hey Tim, we should do a show together sometime."
Me: "Sure."

We're starting at 8pm, each doing a short set, then starting the
rotation again at 10pm or so. So for those of you who have to get up early Friday, you can catch each of us and be home in your jammies by 11pm, and for the night owls among you, show up later and you'll still see each
of us in action. It's a pay what you can cover, although a minimum of $5 will ensure that we not mutter things about you under our breath. Oh, and we're deciding the running order at the gig, so it'll be a surprise for everybody.

I was going to add some great reviews of the CD which have recently been posted around the web, but this has gone on long enough, so next time.

See ya!
Timothy

Hey y'all,

I've just returned from the big CD release bash at Holy Joe's, and wanted to thank everybody who made it out. It was a rousing success, and a great launch for my humble "little grey album".

And I'd also like to thank John Terauds and/or whoever it was at The Toronto Star who decided that tonight's show was worthy of some ink. I didn't even know they'd written me up until a friend called to congratulate me just before I left home for the club. It's on page A26 of Thursday's Star in case you feel like rescuing it from your recycling. Here's what Mr. Terauds said:

"Punk'd!
Accomplished local singer/songwriter Timothy Cameron, whose punk sensibilities come with a distinctly folk political gloss (think Billy Bragg) holds court at Holy Joe's tonight, where he's likely to dip into songs from his polished second album, Every Cloud Has A Sulphur Lining."

And they even found a photo of me to stick above the column. How cool is that?

And finally a word about the impending hockey strike. As you may have gathered by now, I'm one of the silent majority who have a sort of take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward the game. I liked hockey back when it was a sport, but once it became a religion I lost interest. Now it almost seems like the CBC (among others) are doing all they can to make it look like this is the end of Canadian culture as we know it. Not surprising, since the "Ceeb" has a vested interest in keeping their ratings up, and televising hockey games is relatively inexpensive what with not having to hire script writers or as many lighting technicians (turn on the
halogen floods over the rink and you're pretty much done).

Anyway, there is an opportunity for all the other aspects of our culture and entertainment to finally get noticed, and not be buried under the hockey rhetoric that bombards us for nine months of the year. If you're a musician for example, here's your big chance to build an audience that otherwise might never have stumbled across you, since they have their entertainment dollars burning holes in their pockets and are liable to venture into a club for something to do. Play your ass off and show them how cool live music is, and maybe you'll end up with a few converts.

And if you're a hockey fan who's looking for a diversion, well I just told all the musicians on this email list to get their shit together, so what are you waiting for?

Do I have to do ALL the thinking around here?! Yeesh! And now if you'll excuse me, I think there's a celebratory bottle of champagne waiting to be inhaled...

Later gators,
Timothy.