Blogging on

Hi, Richard Underhill enetering cyberspace in a fluid way with the T.A.Z. blog. Shout out to Hakim Bey for creating the concept. This is my Temporary Autonomous Zone, my unmediated culture jam and general hello world. So welcome.

If you're here you probably know a bit about me, but if not, here's the goods. Sax player, bike rider, tree hugger, Kensington Market resident in the fair(ly polluted) city of Toronto in happy old Canada. Nope, nothin blowin up here, we love everyone. Why the hell not? Everyone loves us...well almost. anyway, no ranting, I'm actually pretty happy today. Yep, because yesterday I released my second jazz CD, 'Moment in Time' at the Montreal Bistro here in TO. A fine event, I must say, with tons of old friends, new friends, and people I didn't even know. The music was great (not talking about me, but about the band!) and the vibe was wonderful. I was quite amazed that so many jazzheads showed, given that God was throwin it down Kyoto style outside, with Hummer size raindrops and winds. But people made it out and I'm very grateful. Stan and Tina drove all the way from Barrie, Barbearians that they are and I love em for it....People even made it from Hamilton. Crazy!

Well it's released and in the world and available for sale, so go out and pick one up, don't just sit there. Hey, it's not 'buy nothing day' yet...That's Nov. 25th (I'm actually going to be in a march and call it buy nothing but my CD day, but that is a little crass, but I am kind of a capitalist hippy, if that makes any sense...). http://www.richardunderhill.com has info on where to buy the CD's.

Tonight I'm sitting in the studio dubbing Shuffle Demons videos...Shuffle what you say...it's a long story, so go here to read all about it...http://www.shuffledemons.com Anyway, Demon Stich caught the booking bug this year, and has us set up to go to India on Christmas Day (my partner says thanks a lot Stich). I'm into checking out India, that's for sure. In my biz, playing around the world means free travel and an excuse to meet people. Kind of like the army without the guns and people trying to hurt you (unless you are in a boy band and the girls have gone wild). Ok, not at all like the army, to hell with the army, please, for the love of god, can we simply stop making guns? Are we so stupid as to want to kill each other off. I can't help it, just the whole idea of owning a gun...why we survived the blackout without no guns and man, it was fun.

This leads me back to my album. That night of abandoned streetcars sitting idle in the street, of neighbours having Thai style barbeques on the stoops and talking to each other, the night that Torontians saw the stars for the first time, saw the stars! We've seen the starss all of our thousands of years on this rock and to think that some crap video game is better than the stars, or it's more important to see where to park your beamer...that is just ridiculous. Give me back my stars! Blackout Thursdays, let's make it happen.

Anyway, tere is a long story here, and it will come, but needless to say, the blackout on Aug 14/03 was an amzing night. I platyed a gig by candlelight at the Rex Hotel with William Carn on trombone, Joe Poole on drums and Graig Earle on bass, a wonderful night. I was so inspired by that night that I wrote 'Where were you when the lights went out?' a great new song on my CD.

Thanks for readin gthis late night ramble, more to come tomorrow as I orient to the blogging experience.

Rich