[GNote] Drumlin new cd, Candlelight Fundraiser

March 23rd, 2011

Quick Summary:
New Drumlin CD out that I play some keyboard on, see drumlin.ca
Candlelight Fundraiser at United Church this Friday at 7pm (my student and I play a duet, I play a solo)

————————————————————————————

Hey everybody,

Hope your newly arrived Spring is going well. (It is Spring now, right?)

A couple things in this email, and the first is for everybody! (Not just the locals.)

The local band Drumlin has a new cd out, called Paper Flowers. How did this make my newsletter, you ask? Well, I happen to be playing some keyboard tracks on it :) I’m going to get a clip onto my website later which illustrates the background piano, but in the meantime, you can hear some full tracks at Drumlin’s myspace ( http://www.myspace.com/drumlin4 ), and read more about them and find links to order their cds on their website ( http://drumlin.ca/ )

And now a local event plug – this Friday at 7pm at the Central United Church in Lunenburg, I’m involved with the Candlelight Fundraiser being put on in support of the Lunenburg and District Music Festival. My piano student Liam and I will be playing a duet from Pirates of the Caribbean, and I’ll be soloing with Beethoven’s Pathetique Mvt 1. There will be plenty of other great music by a variety of teachers and students. Plus, since Liam happens to also be the drummer for Drumlin, we’ll be plugging and selling Drumlin’s new album there (with partial proceeds going to the music festival.)

That’s all the news for now.

Party on,
Gus
gnote.ca

Doctor Who (2005 to present) / Torchwood / Sarah Jane Adventures Series Viewing Order

January 30th, 2011

(Last updated December 2011)

Since its 2005 relaunch, Doctor Who has become one of my favourite TV shows, along with its spinoff series Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

These shows interact with each other. You can watch them on their own, but if you’re a completionist, or simply want the full effect, it’s a good idea to watch them in order.

So, further to discussions my friend Dave Turcotte and I had on Facebook with our friend Tara, and given that I prepared the list for someone else online, I thought I would post a viewing order for the shows here. Unlike other versions of the list I posted (Facebook and elsewhere), I’ll try to keep this one current.

It is less detailed than Dave’s notes in that I went by whole series (the British call seasons ‘series’) at a time, which seems to be the easiest way to watch through them.

For Doctor Who series numbering, I am calling the 2005 Eccleston series “Series 1″ and counting from there. I’m not listing the different Doctors as they show up, so it’s more of a surprise for those who haven’t been following the show as of yet.

Note that for Series 6 of Doctor Who, they split it into two sections.

There are also radio plays and animated specials, etc. I didn’t get into those here.

I did include a couple Children in Need specials, which in several cases linked a series into a Christmas special.

Now, without further ado:

Doctor Who (2005 to present) / Torchwood / Sarah Jane Adventures Series Viewing Order

  • Doctor Who Series 1 (spring 2005)
  • Doctor Who Children in Need special (7 mins leading into Christmas)
  • Doctor Who Christmas 2005 Special – The Christmas Invasion
  • Doctor Who Series 2 (spring 2006)
  • Torchwood Series 1 (fall 2006)
  • Doctor Who Christmas 2006 Special – The Runaway Bride
  • Doctor Who Series 3 (spring 2007)
  • Sarah Jane Adventures Series 1 (fall 2007)
  • Doctor Who Children in Need Special – Time Crash (8 mins leading into Christmas)
  • Doctor Who Christmas 2007 Special – Voyage of the Damned
  • Torchwood Series 2 (winter 2008)
  • Doctor Who Series 4 (spring 2008)
  • Sarah Jane Adventures Series 2 (fall 2008)
  • Doctor Who Christmas 2008 Special – The Next Doctor
  • Doctor Who Easter 2009 Special – Planet of the Dead
  • Torchwood Series 3 (summer 2009) – Children of Earth
  • Sarah Jane Adventures Series 3 (fall 2009)
  • Doctor Who Autumn 2009 Special – The Waters of Mars
  • Doctor Who Christmas 2009/New Year’s 2010 Specials – The End of Time
  • Doctor Who Series 5 (spring 2010)
  • Sarah Jane Adventures Series 4 (fall 2010)
  • Doctor Who Christmas 2010 Special – A Christmas Carol
  • Doctor Who Series 6 Part 1 (spring 2011)
  • Torchwood Series 4 (summer 2011) – Miracle Day
  • Doctor Who Series 6 Part 2 (late summer/fall 2011)
  • Sarah Jane Adventures Series 5 (fall 2011)
  • Doctor Who Christmas 2011 Special – The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

Alternate options:

  • Torchwood Series 1 could come after Christmas 2006
  • Sarah Jane Series 1 could come after Christmas 2007
  • Torchwood Series 4 can be watched after both parts of Doctor Who Series 6

Notes:

There are miniature episodes I haven’t seen yet which aren’t in this list at present – Sarah Jane Adventures: “From Raxicoricofallapatorius with Love (Mar 2009)”; Doctor Who: “Space / Time (Mar 2011)” and “Death is the Only Answer (Oct 2011)”.

References:

From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love

[GNote] Christmas Show & Bake Sale Saturday

December 16th, 2010

Hey everybody,

Hope you’re all well.  My solo show went really well (I was touched by the standing ovation).  It was great to get up there and perform all sorts of different music.

Looking into the near future, this is the official reminder of the Christmas show on Saturday!  The 3rd Annual Christmas Festival of Music and Bake Sale will be at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church this Saturday at 7pm.  There will be various holiday hits, secular and sacred, some sing-alongs, special guests, choir numbers, and of course a smattering of my zany Christmas-inspired numbers.  Followed by the chance to buy all sorts of awesome baked goods (I’m hoping lots of people buy some so I don’t buy too many myself ;)

For more details, you can click through to the official poster here - http://gblog.gnote.ca/2010/12/3rd-annual-christmas-festival-of-music-poster/ , once again created by Ariel Marsh ( http://happyraccoon.com/ )

Happy Holidays,
Gus

3rd Annual Christmas Festival of Music Poster

December 15th, 2010

Here’s the poster for the 3rd Annual Christmas Festival of Music and Bake Sale , as designed again by Ariel Marsh.

3rd Annual Christmas Poster

3rd Annual Christmas Festival of Music Poster (click for full size)

Solo Variety Show Poster

December 2nd, 2010

Here is the poster for my show Saturday, as drawn/designed by local artist Ariel Marsh.

Gus Webb's Solo Variety Show Poster

Gus Webb's Solo Variety Show Poster (click for full-size)

[GNote] Solo Show and Christmas Concert

November 21st, 2010

Hi everybody,

Hope you’re all having a good fall.

I’m writing to plug a couple of fun concerts coming up.

On Saturday, December 4th at 7pm, I’m going to be doing a solo show at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church here in Lunenburg. It’ll have all sorts of different musical genres in it – Classical, Romantic, Rock, Pop, Music Theatre, etc, so it should have something for everyone. Plus, as I finalize the program, I’m still taking requests. If I don’t get them into this show, I’ll save them for consideration for the next one. Drop me a line if there’s a piece, group, or genre you’d like to hear.

Then, on Saturday, December 18th at 7pm, it’s the 3rd Annual Christmas Festival of Music and Bake Sale at St. Andrew’s. A variety of secular and sacred holiday hits, with the St. Andrew’s Choir, some special guests, and myself, as well as audience sing-alongs. Also still taking requests for this one (and guests – drop me a line if you have a holiday number you’d like to perform).

Further details below, and there will probably be another email or two as we get closer.

Party on,
Gus
gnote.ca

Gus Webb’s Solo Variety Show
Organ/Digital Piano/Keyboard/Voice
Featuring the music of: Beethoven, Beatles, Brubeck, Chopin, Elton John, Debussy, Lady Gaga, Gus Webb, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and many more…
7pm, Saturday, December 4th, 2010
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 111 Townsend St., Lunenburg
Tickets: $10 adults/$5 students/Children 12 and under free

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Lunenburg, Presents
3rd Annual Christmas Festival of Music and Bake Sale
Featuring Sacred and Secular Holiday Hits
Solos and Audience Sing-Alongs
With Local Guest Performers and the St. Andrew’s Choir
Emcee/Organist: Gus Webb
7pm, Saturday, December 18th, 2010
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 111 Townsend St., Lunenburg
Free-Will Offering Accepted
Bake Sale follows in the Church Annex

[GNote] Nunsense! and Music Festivals

May 18th, 2010

Hi everyone,

I hope you’re having a good Spring. I have been very busy this Spring. I had my first piano students enter and perform well at the Lunenburg and District Music Festival, which was very “Circle of Life” as I used to do the music festival circuit back in the day. I also did a lot of accompanying for vocal students in Lunenburg and Bridgewater, and will be accompanying two talented singers for Music Theatre classes at the Music Festival Provincials (held here in Lunenburg this year on June 4th and 5th, keep an eye out for posters).

The other major musical endeavour I am currently involved in is the musical comedy Nunsense! at Petrie’s Halifax Feast Dinner Theatre. I play piano as Father Amadeus Beethoven (who is on loan from the Presbyterians). We opened last Thursday, and had some great audiences over the weekend. We have a couple more shows this week, then the Feast’s other show, Cod and Order, is on this weekend before we have a string of shows leading into our closing weekend. It’s a great show with a talented cast and band. If you have the chance to check it out, I recommend calling ahead for reservations at 420-1840. The Feast’s website is http://feastdinnertheatre.com/index4.htm This show is also a bit “Circle of Life” for me as I previously played second keyboard for Nunsense! when the Acadia Music Theatre students put it on.

In the midst of these musical endeavours, I also continue tutoring, doing tech support, and playing church organ. My thanks to my clients and my friends for being flexible and understanding with my currently hectic schedule.

Party on, everybody,
Gus
gnote.ca (where you can currently see a picture of me as Father Amadeus Beethoven)

[GNote] Music and Meditation

February 15th, 2010

Hey everybody,

I’m writing to let those of you in the Lunenburg area know that I’m playing the first of the Music and Meditations at St. John’s Anglican in Lunenburg this Wednesday. It’s a half-hour concert at noon, good-will offering admission, wherein I get to play organ, grand piano, and sing.

FYI, this will be a little more serious, aka hardcore, than a lot of the programs I arrange. I normally skew comedy, but this series has a bit more of a serious aesthetic. There’ll be a fair bit of classical, with a few appropriate modern tunes thrown in. I’ll even be rockin’ some straight-up killer impressionistic fare with Debussy’s “Clair de lune”. *

Cheers,
Gus
gnote.ca

*Disclaimer: “Clair de lune” – won’t be technically “rocking”, what with the serious aesthetic.

[GNote] Cabaret Monday!

January 15th, 2010

Hi all,

Hope you’re having a good, brand new year.

We are nigh upon the evening of Jim Petrie’s cabaret show, Monday at 7pm at the Halifax Feast. (Event details here.) It will be a great show; Jim is a fantastic singer and is doing a variety of songs including Broadway, Streisand, Jazz, and more. I’ll be accompanying on the piano, and there will be other Feast cast and alumni helping out, including Josh Kogon on drums and guitar, Steven Heisler on drums, and Sarah Richardson in a duet with Jim. Plus, I hear a rumour that there may be snacks involved. I only hope I can grab some at intermission, as I imagine it would be a bit tricky for me to eat at the piano during the show (though not impossible ;)

Party on,
Gus
gnote.ca

GReviews Content Merged into GBlog

January 11th, 2010

All the content from my old GReviews blog can now be found here. It seemed like a good idea to merge the content into just one blog, less administration to deal with, etc.