Fab show, setlist and comments stolen from somewhere...

1. A Kiss Before I Go
2. Beautiful Sorta
3. Cold Roses
4. Good Night Rose
5. Dear John
6. Games
7. Let It Ride
8. Freeway to the Canyon (Neal solo)
9. Tears of Gold

Talking to the crowd: "When you're yelling stuff you just sound like cavemen" Ryan starts to grunt. The whole band starts grunting like cavemen.

10. Rescue Blues
11. Dear Chicago
12. Wild Flowers

Talking to the crowd:
Woman: "I want to have your baby!"
Ryan: "Wait I heard that! You think you're having a baby? Listen you should know if you're having a baby. Maybe you just ate some weird Thai food. When I eat spicy food I sometimes feel like I'm going to have a baby."

13. Peaceful Valley
14. Please Do Not Let Me Go
15. Night birds
16. Carolina Rain

Talking to the crowd: "Wow, during that song I threw up a little in the back of my mouth. I felt a little chunk come up...the best part is I swallowed it. I don't have to make out with me. I could eat a bowl of green onions and it would not make a difference with me. My mike smells great now."

17.Magnolia Mountain

Encore
18. Sylvia Plath
Talking to the crowd: "Why are you clapping, I don't even know what I'm going to play. I'm just trying to buy a little time!"

19. Sweet Lil Gal
20. Sweet Carolina

It was my turn for a little good luck, not much, but a little. It was true that i didn't have much ambition, but there ought to be a place for people without ambition, I mean a better place than the one usually reserved. How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 6:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so? - Bukowski

This photo came into the shop a couple of weeks back for reproduction (i'm not sure why), and one thing struck me immediately; Barry Gibb was in the dog's left ear. Seriously, check it out closely. It's a profile shot of Barry's left side, complete with beard, mullet and rubber neck. Another guy from work thought it looked like Barry White, so at least we agreed on the 'Barry' motif. I don't quite think this is on par with a 'Jesus in my waffles' sighting, but admissibly not far off. Any other suggested likenesses are welcome, Barrys or otherwise.

As suggested by the Bri man, i'm going to post up a top 5 'best' list for the past year, except instead of milking it for weeks by changing topics, this one list will comprise them all: 1-album, 2-movie, 3-book, 4-concert, 5-TV series. It was a fairly solid year for many releases, movies in particular, so choosing only one should prove quite interesting.

1. Bruce Springsteen - Seeger Sessions. A tough call for sure, but The Boss wins out. It's his liveliest album in years, and the 'off the floor' jamming vibe is a throwback to the way albums used to be recorded. The material, players and instrumentation are all second to none, proving that you're never too old to return to your roots, or in this case the roots of american music.
2. Stranger Than Fiction. As-yet-to-be-viewed movies notwithstanding, this nifty little journey taken by Will Ferrell is a fantastical (and believable) combination of reality and fantasy.
3. Chuck Klosterman IV. Books are tough to call, as you are rarely reading a book released within the current year, so out of the few i have that would qualify, this collection of Chuck's pop culture articles in their original unedited form, along with new prefaces, tops my list. Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews would top my list of books 'received but as of yet unread', and A Season in Hell with the Rolling Stones would be on there for 'currently reading and is awesome thus far'.
4. Gomez - The Guvernment. Many big names came through town this year, but getting to see one of my fave bands for the first time, touring a new record, and putting on a damn fine show to boot was a highlight. Extra points scored for the bass player getting drunker as the show went on until he was sitting on the drum riser for the rest of the night!
5. Dexter. A very recent discovery, i ended up watching the whole first season On Demand over a couple of nights. Serial killers have never had so much (pretend) personality. I am now torn between waiting for the coming season, or getting the next book that it is sure to be based on.

Men Behaving Badly is most certainly coming out on DVD in February! As mentioned in the last top 5, i'm beyond stoked about this. Check into other TV show releases coming up and see what's already available on this fab site i came across - TV Shows on DVD. There's so much great shit available that i didn't even know about, and you can get a lot of it right from Amazon. Far out!

Random top 5's may appear now and then, with this sweet topic being one of them. Let's just say anyone is fair game with the exception of The Fonz, who was elevated to god-like status when Peter started the Church of The Fonz on Family Guy. Ayyyyy.

Top 5 Sitcom Characters

1. Sam Malone - Cheers. The ultimate sitcom 'guy's guy'. Ladies, ladies, ladies, Sam Malone is in the hizzouse!
2. Larry Dallas - Three's Company. The greatest sleazeball womanizer of the 70's that didn't have to pretend he was gay.
3. Dr. Johnny Fever - WKRP. "All right fellow babies, that was The Doors, and this is sort of Johnny Fever, kind of doctor. And after... nine drinks, Venus Flytrap is catatonic, and I, myself, have personally just seen a giant pig. He is currently painting the walls of our lobby."
4. Frank Costanza - Seinfeld. Festivus, the Bro, the stop-short... shall i go on?
5. Jamie Coleman - Men Behaving Badly. Rob Schneider had a fantastic sitcom in the mid 90's that lasted a season and a half, mining the best material from the 'roommates and girlfriends' genre. (Probably loosely based on life at The Palace.) It was sadly cancelled shortly after the second season but i caught a rumour on IMDB that a February DVD release might be on the horizon. My anticipation for the new year just increased tenfold!

Having registered lebowskination.com about a year ago, i had all the intention in the world of assembling a Lebowski fan site of epic proportions. After coming across this site, the idea itself now seems pointless.

Dudeism.com

I'm sure the Bri Man has been to several of these locations, but as for myself, not even a one. Hopefully that will change someday, but for now i'll settle for having a say in what the new 7 wonders of the world will be. You'd think the Pyramids of Giza would be a shoe-in as a legacy pick, being the only remaining structures from the original listing. I'm still not sure what the Sydney Opera House is doing on the short list along side the likes of Machu Picchu, but i guess that's why there's a voting process eh? The new wonders are to be unveiled on the slicky chosen date of 07.07.07.

Hope you enjoyed the extra 2 days you have on me brother. Happy 34th you old sonuvabitch you. Hope to see you at the end of the year - make it happen baby! Can you drink the beer? I can drink the beer! Egészségedre!

Thanks to all for the comments and b-day wishes and beers. Had some good times last night with the first ever double shot of The D at the Brass - Karate AND Fuck Her Gently. I'm no Jack Black, but i'm sure it ruled in it's own strange and intoxicated way. Cheers to chilli, vag, party, killer's penis, greg and the captain for making it all happen.

Since it was such a popular choice last week, here's Gay #2...

This topic is also a blast from the past....and all toys are fair game here....going from simple stuff to electronic.

Top 5 Childhood Toys

1. Atari 2600 - I played this thing so much my parents had to buy another tv because some of the games were burning into the tube....ha ha. This was great for me because I now had my own TV and play-room...... I could play whenever I wanted.... my buddies loved it. My Mom didn't because this usually meant lots of friends staying for dinner and sleep-over parties.
2. Transformers - These toys were really cool. Granted they were very expensive and I remember having to beat someone's Mom to one around Christmas time..... I even remember her calling me a "Fucking Brat" and my Mom almost punching her out at the Toys R Us.... good times.
3. Army Men - I had hundreds of these things and would spend hours in my backyard making them bases and forts. My friends would come over and we would have war games....each kid would set up their army and then we used socks to blow up the other team. The guy with the last green army man standing won.
4. Hockey Cards - I can still remember buying them packs at a time and having a gum ball the size of a baseball in my mouth. We used to play games with the cards at recess throwing them up against a wall..... closest one..... keep throwing until someone over-lapped a card....or who would bounce off the wall the furthest. If I only knew how much that Gretzky Rookie card was going to be I would have kept them..... hindsight.
5. Table Top Hockey - This game even now would probably be right up there with Guitar Hero!!! My Dad and I used to play for hours. I remember back then too kids would order their guys with their favourite teams and kids would come over and we would switch the guys up every game.... winner stayed.

Honourable Mentions: Rubiks Cube.....was cool when it first came out then lost its luster. Pet Rock.... who woulda thought some dude would make millions by gluing some eyes to a simple rock.... but I am sure we all had them. Cabbage Patch Kids..... while I never owned one I just remember going with my Mom to the Mall at Christmas time to help her get one for my little sister. Let's just say I got all my speed from my Mom. We both got to the stack of them and both got one. My Mom sold the second one to a lady for $600 which back in in 83-84 was a good score. It was all I could eat at McDonald's.... ha ha.


Posted by scotty at 06:58 AM in Top 5 Tuesday | Comments (18)

Ladies and gentlemen (and i use that term loosely), i bring you Gay's first guest post....

This week's top 5 will be a flashback to those yester-years of television.....given the age difference for some.....I am sure there will be lots of variety. Note.....this topic is for non-cartoon shows as it was already covered in a recent post.

Top 5 TV Shows from when you were young

1. Battlestar Galactica - "By your command" I am sure there are few from my generation that didn't see this show. Although created because of all the hype from "Star Wars" this show had its own flavour. It tended to push the limits a little further with babes...booze.....and gambling......and of course the death of a few cylons and colonial warriors. For all those fans of the old show it is being shown on Space TV......I am not a big fan of the new show.
2. The Dukes of Hazzard - It was inevitable that were would be at least one tv show about cars on here. The short list was between Startsky & Hutch.....Knight Rider.....Hardcastle & McCormick....and the Dukes. The Dukes won hands down if not just strickly based on the T&A equation. How many of you out there had the die cast set that had the General Lee.... Daisy's Jeep.... Jesse's truck..... Cooter's Tow-Truck.... Boss Hogg's Caddy..... and Roscoe's Police Car?
3. C.H.i.Ps - Granted this could have been lumped in with the car shows but I just couldn't do it. There was never a bad guy that Ponch and John couldn't catch on their motorcycles. And the funky 70's beats kept your head bouncin'.
4. Night Court - This show used to run on the same night as Cheers....and at times I thought it was funnier and better written. It was always a little quirkier than Cheers and maybe thats why I thought it had more appeal. It had a great cast with each adding their odd character traits into the story lines.
5. Wrestling - I am sure there are very few guys out there that weren't glued to the TV whenever it came on. Whether it was the cheesy Canadian stuff that used to broadcast on Saturday afternoons......or Saturday Night's Main Event at night......this was before it was on daily!!!! And the big names were Greg "the hammer" Valentine...... The "Junkyard Dog"..... Jimmy "the Superfly" Snuka...... Tito Santana..... and the list goes on.

I think i'm gonna track down an outfit like Bobby D had on Friday. He had that whole cowboy thing goin' on. I dug his style. The Foos also kick some major ass. Not a bad way to spend a Friday night.

London, Ontario - John Labatt Centre - November 3, 2006

Maggie's Farm
She Belongs To Me
Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
Girl Of The North Country
It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
Not Dark Yet
Rollin' And Tumblin'
Masters Of War
Desolation Row
Highway 61 Revisited
Nettie Moore
Summer Days
(encore)
Thunder On The Mountain
Like A Rolling Stone
All Along The Watchtower

A very linear, yet fitting top 5 for the big one double oh. The Captain suggested taking more of a pragmatic approach to it, so here she be. Previous lapses notwithstanding, this could be my last one for a while, so give'er!

Top 5 Most Memorable Costumes (that you've worn)

1. Hunter S. Thompson. Hunter is my failsafe, last minute costume that is quite easily compiled from my not-so-standard wardrobe of Hawaiian shirts and large sunglasses. I have used Hunter to go incognito to parties, and assembled a hasty version over in Budapest for an impromptu Halloween outing. You can dig this photo as evidence.
2. The Dude. The Dude was rocked last Halloween quite effectively, save for the fact that the Captain's Walter was erroneously construed as George Thorogood. You can check out that sweet magic here.
3. Disco Dude. I got great mileage out of my dad's 70's pants (when they fit) and hat, coupled with a few thrift shop items and my grandma's old wig.
4. Jeremy Roenick. A last millisecond sporting of Matty's Roenick jersey and toque (Blackhawks of course), along with the mantra for the evening; "I'm Roenick!"
5. Robin. Not the ultra-gay green and red speedo'd Robin, but the only semi-gay black and red second generation one. I'm sure many have seen the classic shot of myself, guy Jarvis as Batman, and Vagina as Superman. It's probably the first and last photo to feature us both in tights and with hair.

...for the time being, anyway. 'The Fairmonts at Barney's every Saturday in October' has now become 'The Fairmonts at Barney's every Saturday in 2006'. Hopefully this will just become 'The Fairmonts at Barney's every Saturday'. The rock rolls on; catch y'all out there soon.

Honourable mentions to costumes from Saturday's gig go out to Mr. Rogers (scarily accurate), A.C. Slater, who sang half of What I Got with us, Gene Frenkle rockin' the cowbell down the street, and for best Bizarro world moment, a table full of Smurfs getting drunk, headed up by Papa Smurf himself. Far fucking out.

Let's say you have two friends named Jack and Jane. They have been romantically involved for two years, and the relationship has always been good. Then one day Jack calls you and sadly mutters, "Jane just broke up with me." You ask why this happened. Jack says, "She thinks I cheated on her." You ask, "Well, did you?" Jack says, "I'm not sure. Something strange happened."

This is what Jack proceeds to tell you:

"There is this woman in my apartment building who I barely know. I've seen her in the hallway a few times, and we've just sort of nodded our hellos. She is very normal looking, neither attractive nor unattractive. Last week, I came home from the bar very drunk, and I ran into her while I was getting my mail. She was drunk, too. So just to be neighbourly, we decided to go to her apartment to have one more beer. But because we were intoxicated, the conversation was very loose and slightly flirtatious. And then she suddenly tells me that she has a bizarre sexual quirk: She can have an orgasm only if a man watches her masturbate. This struck me as fascinating, so I started asking questions about why this was. And then - somehow - it just sort of happened. I never touched her and I never kissed her, but I ended up watching this woman masturbate. And then I went home and went to bed. I told Jane about this a few days later, mostly because it was all so weird. But Jane went fucking insane, and she angrily said our relationship was over. Now she won't even return my calls."

Whose side do you take, Jack's or Jane's? (Klosterman, 2005)

As mentioned to some, this week's list is the companion piece to the last top 5. Anyone who listed up actual living persons last week is welcome to transfer said list or create a totally new one if the mood strikes. We may still be on the party tip next week, so save a little ammo.

Top 5 Real Party People

1. Hef.
2. Sean Combs. This cat apparently spares no expense when it comes to throwing the ultimate party.
3. Tommy Lee. Need i say more?
4. Jack Nicholson. His Mulholland Drive pad was a 70's party hub, and he said in a recent Rolling Stone interview that last year he'd slept with women 'from 26 up to 61'. The dude is 69 years old!
5. Keith Moon. Moon the loon was, from all accounts, the rock and roll party madman. Hopefully the upcoming biopic can bring the insanity to the big screen good and proper.

It's a great time of year to party (as most times are), with weddings upon us, visitors from abroad, my 100th top 5 approaching, the return of football and hockey, and a thanksgiving long weekend a couple of weeks away. With all that said, let us list up the following...

Top 5 Fictional Party People

1. Frank the Tank. The Tank knows how to party like it's 1999, and shows the kids how the old school does it. Beer bongs, streaking, sedatives, costumes, KY wrestling, blow-up dolls and re-gifting are all weapons in his vast arsenal of party tricks.
2. Wooderson. The classic party gentleman, he never gets too dazed or confused while keeping the party shifting in various directions to see the night through to it's fullest potential, all while under the influence of a whole host of intoxicants.
3. Eric 'Otter' Stratton. Otter is the consummate party professional. He does it right or he doesn't do it. Various triumphs include the ultimate toga party (it wasn't an orgy) and the Dean's wife. That was Eric Stratton. He was damn glad to meet you.
4. Mike "Gandalf" Ganderson, The Party Wizard. "You just go out for a couple of beers and end up on a fishing boat to Nova Scotia."
5. Dan O'Callahan. Dan elevated the ski party to the next level; he took it to the hills, the hot tubs and the bedrooms. It's almost that time of year when i dust off Hot Dog for it's annual airing. Perhaps i'll throw a party.

I usually try and stimulate some type of (semi) intelligent conversation within the top 5's that goes immediately to shit anyway, so this week i'm just gonna let it all hang out and resort to the primal instincts. Killer, porns don't qualify here; they are a topic (perhaps upcoming) unto themselves!

Top 5 Hottest Actresses in Film

1. Scarlett Johansson. She's fab in Lost in Translation, looks promising in some recent shit i haven't seen yet, became Woody Allen's new muse, and had the 'balls' to pose nude for Vanity Fair's Hollywood edition. Far out!
2. Elisha Cuthbert. If she didn't make every thirtysomething schmo want to start a frat with her Old School appearance, try calling on The Girl Next Door. Am i wrong, Killer? Plus, she's Canuckian!
3. Jessica Biel. She came out with a coked-up bang in The Rules of Attraction, and now gets calls for roles that Scarlett has probably already turned down. I want to dig The Illusionist though, it looks cool.
4. Salma Hayek. Desperado got the ball rolling, and the deal was sealed with the "i'd give my left nut to drink liquor from her toes" scene in From Dusk Till Dawn. Do you think Quentin wrote himself into that scene by accident? Genius! Kudos to Chilli for reminding me that i almost let this one slip by. What a girl!
5. Rachel Bilson. The Last Kiss will explain what i'm talkin' about. She's a little college cutie that caused me undue harm in the theatre.

The pressure of the pending 100th top 5 is getting to me. (Or i'm a lazy and uninspired bastard?) Please advise on any topics you'd like to see, and i'll try and bring it on home in style. Rock the fuck out. \m/

So how was everybody's long weekend?

Top 5 Long Weekend Happenings

1. We had 3 bags of grass, 78 ounces of vodka, a quart of Jack, a quart of Sambuca, a 40 of Crown, 6 bottles of wine, reds, whites.... Also 7 cases of beer and a 26er of rum. The only thing that worried me was the rum. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of a rum n' coke binge, and i knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon.
2. The Ultimate Cottage Dance Party. I dusted off some of my old Mo' Gravy moves and got the fuck down.
3. The Standing Pass. I apparently passed out standing up, while still nodding my head rocking out to the jams, while my beer slipped out of my hand and crashed to the floor, waking me back up again. See point 1 for clarification.
4. Phil Spiderman. Seasons 1-8 of Friends were available for DVD viewing, so everyone's fave episodes were searched out and watched. I was looking for the "His name's not... Phil Spiderman, he's a spider-MAN!" conversation, and found it 5 minutes from the end of the last episode we watched. Far fucking out.
5. The Man. Damon Allen set professional football's all time passing yardage record during the Argos thrashing of the Ticats in the annual Labour Day Classic.

I think we should hold off on the pad-naming until an official housewarming party is called and we can all get a vibe on the place. Vag, the balls are in your court! I have come up with a topic that i think we can all get into, either from a band or an audience point of view.

Top 5 Guaranteed Bar Gig Happenings

1. 'Gear Bowling'. Some drunk ass will always stumble/trip/dance/fall/topple into your shit. Always. Guaranteed.
2. The 'Sublimely Hip Jam' Rule. No gig ever passes without a request for the holy trinity: Sublime, The Hip or PJ. This rule has been without exception since the Fall/Winter of 2002 when i hooked up with the Tribbianis.
3. The Cliche/Obscure Combo Factor. Example: "Can you play Brown Eyed Girl? No? How about some Fountains of Wayne?!"
4. The 'Wrong Band' Request. Can you play Home For A Rest by Great Big Sea?
5. The 'I don't really know what i'm talking about' request.
   Example: "Can you play some Stones?"
   "Sure man."
   (Band plays Dead Flowers.)
   Two songs later, "How about that Stones i asked for?"
   "We just played it!?!#"

I woke up this morning to the disturbing news that Pluto has been stripped of it's planetary status. All of my public school knowledge and old science fair memorabilia has been dumped on it's ear. Is nothing sacred anymore??

After running the gamut of musicians over the past few weeks, i now need to reload with a new approach and topics of moderate relevance. Until then, waste three minutes and at least tell me you're not Fez!

Ok, let's round out these lists of top musicians (keys aren't gonna qualify for this round, sooo sorry) with the ultimate prima donna listing - the lead vocalist, or solo singer, or whomever you choose to exalt. Once again all genres are valid; rock, crooner, or opera if you so choose. How many singers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Just one; they hold up the bulb and wait for the room to revolve around them.

Top 5 Singers/Vocalists

1. Burton Cummings. Burton rocks the rock, melts panties with ballads, and is Canadian to boot. Fuckin' eh!
2. John Fogerty. Nobody does a classic rock wail like John. Noooooobodyyyy! See: Fortunate Son.
3. The Band. I'm listing The Band as a singular voice because a: it's my top 5 and b: they were all lead vocalists. Richard's falsetto, Rick's bittersweet lilt, and Levon's southern drawl all added up to the greatest combination of voices in American music.
4. Martin Sexton. The dude's voice is like another instrument!
5. Sebastian Bach. The pipes, the ego, the hair. Bas could light it up like no other rocker from days gone by. If i was a singer in my early cock rock bands, i'd have wanted to be Bas.

I think i have created a fairly accurate representation of me, after a couple of bevvys, South Park styles! What do you think? Give it a shot yourself over at South Park Studios. It's in the 'games' area. If you want to save what you've created you have to take a screen capture; there doesn't appear to be a 'save' option. Sweet!

The singers are on hold for a week, i had to drop this one in...

Marty Party's Top 5 BBQ Party Rules

1. BYOC - Bring Your Own Cooler. This allows for the luxury of carrying your booze and storing your wallet and keys in a safe, enclosed container as to avoid misplacement once the drinks start flowing.
2. The Corey Hart Rule - sunglasses at night.
3. Proper Bathroom Etiquette. If the inside john is free, use it, but open the window so you can still join the party while peeing. If said john is occupied, the back of the yard is your friend.
4. No ice = stronger beverage.
5. Keep the party moving. Socialize, flirt, joke and relocate the party when necessary. Continue to drink in excess while impressing friends and passersby with feats of strength.

This Lebowski excerpt is the funniest shit ever, and you know i take my Lebowski seriously! Far fucking out. Also, dudes...

This week's top 5 enters into arguably the most overblown category of musician; the guitarist. The iconic image of modern rock music is also the most saturated. Just check your local 'musicians available' listings for confirmation of that. Most of us, i predict, will be thinking rock on this one, but all genres are available to you. I will once again forego detailed explanation, as well as blatant choices, as hopefully the player and style will speak for themselves. Plus, rambling on about guitarists bores me, frankly. \m/

Top 5 Guitarists

1. Django Reinhardt.
2. Warren Haynes.
3. Trey Anastasio.
4. Bruce Cockburn.
5. Martin Sexton.

Hey all wassup. We're having a BBQ at the new pad here this coming Sunday and would like to get a rough idea of who may be around. You are all invited, so just let me know by mid-week - here or by call - if you are around for the long weekend and would be interested. Rock!

We're back in action with the top 5 this week, and as promised we move around the rhythm section to the big bad bass. You've had 3 weeks to think, so let's get at'er! I'm a wee bit tired at the mo, so explanations may have to follow later tomorrow if i get back on it.

Top 5 Bass Players

1. John Paul Jones.
2. Larry Graham.
3. Flea.
4. John Entwistle.
5. Juan Nelson.

Hey guys wassup. Just a quick note as i'm off to work again, but i just got my tour pics up online. They consist mostly of venue and band shots, since that's about all we saw for 2 weeks, but there are a few shots from oot and aboot the lovely states of Cali, Washington and Oregon. Keep a special eye out for our overcast day at the beach, featuring Ty performing "The Mosquito", and my photo piece, again featuring Ty, of "passed out in public". You can dig'em here.

Wassup party people. Just a quick hey to say i'm heading out to T.dot/Cali tomorrow and will most likely be neglecting my blog/top 5 duties for a couple of weeks unless i get a few of chances to post some quick updates. The new place is taking shape just as i leave it in the capable and busy hands of my lady friend. I'll try and organize some type of proper shindig upon my return from the wild west. Also, just to keep the gears turning, the next 3 top 5's will follow the current pattern around the rhythm section to the bass, then guitar and vox, so there's plenty of time to think of bass players to fight over other than John Paul Jones and Jeff Ament. Play safe kids; catch you in a few!

Welcome to the inaugural top 5 from my new abode. I have the new office rockin', with images of The Band, Jim and Lebowski set to grace it's walls. They should serve as sweet inspiration for the weeks to come as we head back to the musical realm and hit on topics i should have covered long ago. With the theme at hand we should be in for 4, maybe 5 top 5's featuring different instruments. This could get well out of hand, so i'll keep it (for now) to instruments featured within the modern band format. The top 5 pan flute players could be well on down the line. Happy birthday Chilli!!

1. John Bonham. The King, The Myth, The Legend. Bonzo's the reason i kept on keepin' on; a true rock monster. The grooves, the power and the often overshadowed subtleties were the keys to Bonham's castle. A classic rock and roll death iced the man but created the legend.
2. Steve Gadd. A studio legend and the man behind Paul Simon's most legendary grooves; the original NYC session badass.
3. Clyde Stubblefield/Jabo Starks. The men responsible for James Brown's funky funk must be mentioned as one entry since they combined seamlessly to create the grooves on all the classic cuts. My first drum teacher gave me a James tape during one of my first lessons and i never looked back.
4. Levon Helm. The laid back beat behind The Band never gets enough credit for creating deceptively complex grooves that sound simple upon first listen; the mark of a true master.
5. Matt Cameron. Matt cracked open the math texts to drive Soundgarden's odd meters into the pop mainstream, no small feat for a 7/4 signature that crunches that hard. He moved on to the straight ahead rock and continues to drive PJ through their best material in years.

Three friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition as unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that Hugh, and only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.

Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him "A super callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis."

Some of these names came up in a conversation with the Captain, so the topic was formed by consensus, and some of his answers will most likely spill over into mine. It's pretty straight forward; the actors listed either have A parts in B movies, or B parts in A movies, but are never the stars of massive hollywood fare. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) For the most part they've had lengthy careers, and in some cases have blurred the line between A and B with consistent, standout performances. Bio links have been provided to facilitate your "Oh, that guy!" moment.

1. Bruce Campbell. The definitive #1 B guy. Fave role: Evil Dead II.
2. J.T. Walsh. You know him every time you see him, but can't name two movies he's been in. Fave role: Breakdown.
3. Danny Trejo. Need a badass? Call Danny. Fave Role: Desperado.
4. Powers Boothe. Probably the closest thing to A list here (Sin City, HBO's Deadwood) but always slightly in the background. Fave Role: Tombstone.
5. Parker Posey. Crowned as the Indie Movie Queen, she's always up for the quirky girl/bitch role, and always nails it. Fave Role: Best in Show.

Rooney and Hargreaves start for England today - could breathe some new life into the lads!