... then all hail broke loose.

Monday, August 7, 2023 at the Canmore Folk Festival was, for the most part, the perfect day. It was 20-ish Celsius (70 F), morning until evening. Relatively cool and comfortable, a nice change from the heat we've been having. Prime outdoor music-enjoyment weather. The forecast said there was a chance of thunderstorms, but it appeared we dodged a bullet. However, when you have a music festival in the middle of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, anything can happen. And it did at about 8 PM. That's hail by the way, not snow.  Photo credit – David Q

dan hicks & his hot licks

The late Howard Hesseman wasn’t a radio deejay, but he played one on TV – on 70s-80s sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. Turns out Dr. Johnny Fever had quite a record collection in real life. It’s for sale on ebay. While scrolling through I noticed he and I have similar taste which brings me to Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks. Hesseman’s estate is selling Where’s the Money, a Hicks album I recently rediscovered that perfectly captures the band’s oddball jump rhythm energy, with signature vocals from the Lickettes. I first encountered their peculiar mish mash of jazz, cowboy folk, swing, infused with oddball comedy, when I was a teen. How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away is a favourite. Hicks broke up the band just as they gained some success. He died in 2016 and their music has faded into obscurity. Too bad. You can stream them on Spotify. You can also find their LPs and CDs cheap at your local record shop. .