FredRock 2011 Lineup!!

Nick & Mike of BabZees Entertainment have just released the lineup for FredRock 2011 & it's a doozy!

Nick mentioned to me a month or so ago they were seeking a more balanced, festival-like feel, and, man, did they ever succeed at that!!

The lineup for the August 13th show is: The Sam Roberts Band, the Joel Plaskett Emergency, Enfield, Classified, Serena Ryder & The Beauties and Carmen Townsend.

GirlTalk busts out the beats & the TP at FredRock 2010

Check out the FredRock 2011 website for more details!

Read Adam Bowie's (Twitter: @adamjbowie) write-up in the Daily Gleaner here.

Give FredRock a follow on Facebook & Twitter (@FredRockFest).

Congrats to Mike & Nick, & all the best for a super-kick-ass FredRock this year!!


PS- The festival is at the Loyalist Rugby Park...that's my club & extended family. Just sayin'.

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The Sam Roberts Band releases their new album, Collider, on May 10th. The new single is I Feel You, and I dig it. A lot. Give it a listen below.

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FOA Post: Upcoming Events

Time/Date: 1100, 09-Apr-11
Location: F'ton

I have a few little side-projects on the go over the past 10 days or so, which has unfortunately limited my ability to get posts out as often as I would like to.

BUT...I haven't forgotten about you (or, as our wonderful & humble Prime Minister calls us, 'you people').

If you're in New Brunswick (or Maine, PEI, Nova Scotia or Quebec), click on over to the FOA News/Blog to see a list of upcoming events. A lot of dinners & fundraising auctions coming up.

Loosen your wading belt & get off your wallet.

For all you non-Maritimers (the unchosen ones..?), here is some music. Really good music.

BTW, Matt Mays is also from the Maritime Provinces. Just throwing that out there.

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Anybody else looking forward to this???

Time/Date: 1750, 20-Dec-10
Location: F'ton

I am. Can't wait. Seriously counting the days until I can go see this:

I was a bit of a cowboy myself, back in the day in the rugged northeast of Nevada:

I really thought I'd get a call for a supporting role in True Grit, but the Coen Brothers must have thought differently. I thought I could win them over with this shot:

I guess I should have worn the eye patch.


Reminder:
Tickets for the Heineken Music New Year's Eve event are moving fast! The event features the David Myles Band with Ross Neilsen & the Sufferin' Bastards.

Tickets can be picked up at Read's Newstand, downtown on King Street.

A Voluptuous Volume of Vodka (and music)

Time/Date: 1115, 09-Dec-10
Location: F'ton

Click to go to Lava's Facebook page

This was supposed to be a Vodka et Vendredi post last vendredi, but someone (me) forgot to bring their laptop when they went to work early that night, so here it is now.

As a bonus (and because I probably won't write a Vodka et Vendredi post tomorrow), you're getting a 2 for 1 deal on drink recipes AND music today. That's right! Two drink recipes AND two music videos. I'm good like that.

But first:

The crew from Here Magazine, a weekly "Urban Alternative" (i.e., entertainment) paper in Moncton, Saint John & Fredericton, popped in to Lava & really like what they saw, heard & drank. You can read what they had to say in Here, umm, here (pun kinda intended). Hats off to my buddy Dave for being an awesome host & mixologist!

(btw, I didn't realize Here was owned by Brunswick News. Brunswick News being a part of the Irving Group of Companies and owns EVERY news outlet in the province. I wonder how a free, weekly "Urban Alternative" paper fits into their business model. Oh well. Irving family, if you're reading this, I will write & fly fish & put up youtube videos of music for you guys for $200,000. That's right, 411#3 has prices, not principles. They're just high prices.)

Enough of that. On to the drink recipes!

Here's a tasty cocktail that I call the 'Pom & Cran-It,' aka 'the Katie drink,' after my lovely coworker Katie. In a moment of pure genius, Katie decided that Three Olives Pomegranate Vodka would be delicious mixed with cranberry juice. She was right.

So here is the Pom & Cran-It:

• fill an 8-12 oz tumbler with ice
• 1 oz (or 2 oz, if you're so inclined) of Three Olives Pomegranate Vodka
• top with cranberry juice
• slice of lemon as garnish

That's it. Simple. Tasty.

For the anti-flavoured vodka purist, we have a special treat for you: Kissui Vodka. It's distilled in Japan from rice, so it leaves a faint aftertaste of Sake on the tongue. It's a special-order vodka at Lava, meaning you can't get it at NB Liquor. Our M.O. is get you hooked on something, and then tell you we're the only place you can get it. We're evil like that.

To best enjoy Kissui, I recommend:

• small rocks glass, with 3-4 ice cubes
• 1-2 oz of Kissui Vodka
• squeeze in juice from 1 lime wedge (1/8th of a lime)

As, above, that's it. Simple. Tasty.

Now, music time. 

The boys (& my good friends) at BabZees Entertainment are throwing a New Year's Eve extravaganza, featuring local music superstars Ross Neilsen & the Sufferin' Bastards and the David Myles Band. Tickets are only $25, available at Read's Newsstand on King St. A portion of proceeds are going to the Jim Pirie Foundation, so get out, support a good cause & local music, and have fun!

Check out some tunes below.

Fishing Big Hole Brook

Time/Date: 2105, 20-Sep-10
Location: F'ton

Note: I won't be posting precise locations to public pools, only river names, etc. I will mention any sort of private water/lodge, etc that I fish by name, with contact information where applicable. Feel free to contact me directly for more specific fishing spots.


Bucky secured us another invitation to Big Hole Brook this past Friday, so after doing my cashout at Lava Vodka Lounge at 4AM Friday morning I went home and grabbed my gear and we hit the road.

Big Hole Brook pool is a jointly-owned private pool on the Main SW Miramichi; the half we fished on is owned by the same chaps who build Oak Ledge Canoes. It's a nice spot, and it's a deep-water holding pool where the salmon take refuge during the peak warm weather months.

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Weather was ok: minor drizzle, cool, with light breeze. In hindsight, I would have liked some lightweight long underwear as the water temps were cool, but it wasn't unbearable by any means. I was plenty warm up top with a Columbia fleece & my Arc'Teryx softshell (note: that softshell has seen 5 years of use & abuse and still is my go-to. Love it.).

Fish were jumping everywhere and had some size to them. We were told between 7-10AM was the best time; we weren't on the water too long after 7AM. Recommended flies were the General Practitioner, Ally's Shrimp and the Shady Lady.

And, of course, the only thing I caught was a damn cold...I had one solid take but didn't get the hook-set. Bucky didn't have much luck, either, hooking two chub.

Due to soggy weather, I didn't use my camera this trip, but some pics from previous trips to Big Hole Brook are below.

Here are some tunes by Hot Hot Heat, who are coming to town on Oct. 13th. I saw them at FredRock this summer and they kick ass (event details, tickets).

Yes. Salmon were jumping.