ShaneWilson.net

Blue Rodeo

Blue Rodeo is playing the folk fest this year. They're there almoste every other year so it's nothing special, but they always put on a good show.

Michael Franti and Spearhead

The band I'm most looking forward to seeing at the folk fest this year is Michael Franti and Spearhead. They played the festival in 2005 and blew me away. Then about a year ago I saw Michael Franti give an accousic concert and question and answer session to promote his documentary " I know I'm not Alone". Here's a couple video's, a live performance featuring 2 songs, and an interview.

Edmonton Folk Music Festival Line-Up

The full line-up for the folk fest has been announced! Here it is:

* African Guitar Summit
* Karla Anderson

B

* Baka Beyond
* BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet
* Kim Beggs
* Eric, Leon and Yana Bibb
* Black Umfolosi
* Blackie & the Rodeo Kings
* Blue Rodeo
* Bill Bourne
* Buck 65
* Sarah Burnell
* Jim Byrnes

C

* Campbell Brothers
* City & Colour
* Guy Clark
* Compadres
* Crooked Still

D

* Dala
* Kat Danser
* Damien Dempsey

F

* Roy Forbes
* Michael Franti & Spearhead
* Don Freed and the Woodlands Cree Kids Choir
* Amos Garrett & the Festival House Band

G

* Mary Gauthier
* Jackie Greene
* Nanci Griffith

H

* Rob Heath
* Jessica Heine
* James Hunter
L

* Seth Lakeman
* Penny Lang
* Little Wille Littlefield
* Los de Abajo

K

* Connie Kaldor
* Marie Knight

M

* Harry Manx & Kevin Breit
* Tony McManus
* Amy Millan
* Mortal Coil

N

* T. Nile
* Justin Nozuka

O

* Mary Margaret O'Hara
* Ollabelle
* Ndidi Onukwulu
* Ozomatli

P

* Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective
* Utah Phillips

R

* Justin Rutledge

S

* Buffy Sainte-Marie
* Darrell Scott
* Martin Sexton
* Martin Simpson
* Ralph Stanley & His Clinch Mountain Boys
* Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives

T

* Tagaq & Celina Kalluk
* Vieux Farka Touré

W

* Tim Williams

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings are playing the folk fest this year. A blend of blues, folk, and Rock and Roll, they always put on a great show.

Those wacky Scientologists are at it again

Recently the BBC produced a documentary about Scientology called "Scientology". After being led through a Scientology display about Psychiatry, which blames the Holocaust on Psychiatry, and after being yelled at by a Scientology, the reporter lost his cool and started yelling at the Scientologist. Anyway, the Scientologists produced and distributed a smear video trying to discredit the reporter. This CNN report also tells about the alien landing pads the Scientologists have out in the desert in California.

And speaking of Scientology, apparently they have a display set up in Edmonton's city hall untill the end of May. I think I may have to go check it out tomorrow.

Nanci Griffith

Nanci Griffith has been added to the folk fest line-up. I'm not a big country fan, but I really like her. In fact, her song "It's a Hard Life" is one of my all time favorite songs:

And here's another song by her that I really like:

Jackie Greene

Another act coming to the folk fest this year is Jackie Greene, a great blues artist:

Baka Beyond

Baka Beyond is playing the Folk Fest again this year. They were there last year and played the volunteer party, which was great. Their members are from six different countries and blend a variety of genres. Good stuff:

School's out

Well, I'm finished school until September, except for an English class I'm taking online starting in May. It feels good to be half way through and doing well. I'm not looking forward to going back to work full time at my shitty job though.

Yesterday I was supposed to be meeting a girl I met online for lunch, but alas I got stood up. Oh well, it's her loss I guess.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

On Wednesday one of my favorite author's, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. died. I've been a fan of his since I was a teenager, and Slaugherhouse Five is one of my all time favorite books. Here's a few quotes by him that I like:

Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae.

Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.

Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before.

I really wonder what gives us the right to wreck this poor planet of ours.

I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center.

If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you're a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind.

Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.

People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order so they'll have good voice boxes in case there's ever anything really meaningful to say.

The universe is a big place, perhaps the biggest.

True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.

We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap.

What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.

Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile!

One of the few good things about modern times: If you die horribly on television, you will not have died in vain. You will have entertained us.

Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.

1492. As children we were taught to memorize this year with pride and joy as the year people began living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America. Actually, people had been living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America for hundreds of years before that. 1492 was simply the year sea pirates began to rob, cheat, and kill them.

Well, the telling of jokes is an art of its own, and it always rises from some emotional threat. The best jokes are dangerous, and dangerous because they are in some way truthful.

Just because some of us can read and write and do a little math, that doesn't mean we deserve to conquer the Universe.

All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I've said before, bugs in amber.

I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did'.

here is no reason why good cannot triumph as often as evil. The triumph of anything is a matter of organization. If there are such things as angels, I hope that they are organized along the lines of the Mafia."

I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different.

The insane, on occasion, are not without their charms

The lying bastards! On the package Brown & Williamson promised to kill me. Instead, their cigarettes didn't work. Now I'm forced to suffer leaders with names like Bush and Dick and, up until recently, 'Colon.'"....

So it goes.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (1922-2007)

So it goes

Library Display

One of the assignments I did for school recently was a Library Display Case display about Hunter S. Thomson. Here it is:

More Folk Fest music

Ok, another band playing the Edmonton Folk Music Festival this year is Ozomatli. I had never heard of them before I found out they were coming and looked them up. Holy shit, they're amazing - I love it. I think these guys might steal the show this year, at least for me. Especially if they play the volunteer party. Anyway, I like them so much I'm posting two videos.

Damien Dempsey

Well, since it's St. Patricks Day, here's a video of an artist from Ireland that will be performing at at the Edmonton Folk Fest this year - Damien Dempsey:

Student Business Conference

Today I attended a student business conference at the Shaw Conference Center. The keynote talk was by mayor Stephen Mandel. Then I saw a talk about the music industry by the general manager of Axe Music, a session on starting a business, and a couple of library related round table discussions.

Seth Lakeman

Another artist I'm looking forward to seeing at the Edmonton Folk Music festival this year is Seth Lakeman. Here's his video for Kitty Jay:

Folk Fest

Artists have started to be announced for the 2007 Edmonton Folk Music Festval, so I'm going to start posting youtube clips of the artists who will be performing this year. To start off, Buffy Sainte-Marie.

New niece

Well, I'm posting this a bit late, but on Monday my sister had her second baby, my second niece, Sarah Clark.

Valentines Day

And once again, Valentines Day sucks. Actually, this year I had bought a card and a box of chocolates for a girl I was interested in that I thought was interested in me. But things didn't work out and I ended up eating the chocolates myself. Oh well, maybe next year.

Mad World by Garry Jules

Psycho

I just got back from an emergency after hours vetrenarian clinic. My cat Psycho, whom I've had for 14 years, died on the way there. Fuck. I'm really depressed right now.