Manic Monday

I’ve joined Manic Mondays to provide myself some inspiration for NaBloPoMo … I fear I am already lacking in material after four short days!

Today's word is “earth” and the only thing that popped into my mind initially was “Peace on Earth” which is a great thing, and I could go on about that, but it would remind me that Christmas is coming up. And although I am quite excited about that, it also means that December is just around the corner, my baby will be turning three, and I’m not ready. Just not ready for that yet. My life feels like it’s passing by so quickly already, we need to slow it down a bit.

So what I’ll post about today is "Red Earth" a CD released in 1990 by a now defunct band by the name of Crash Vegas . Or more correctly, I’ll post about the memories conjured up by the melancholy sound of that band. The CD still gets its fair share of play from our collection, even to this day.

When the album came out we were instant fans. And no wonder, as there were definite links of their sound to those of another band that figured largely in our relationship – Blue Rodeo. The lead singer of Crash, Michelle McAdorey, was the girlfriend of Greg Keelor at the time. Songs that were the basis of the band’s repertoire were songwriting collaborations of the two.

Heady days, those were, back in the late 80’s, early 90’s. when it was just me and Ian. Done with university, not really in a long-distance relationship anymore. We were working full-time, so making some money, travelling in sin and having fun on weekends doing the couple thing. Busy enjoying being in our 20’s, being with friends, laughing, drinking; drinking and laughing.
Thinking about the future, but not too seriously just yet. This was the phase in our relationship just before it got a bit strained. You know, the difficult part, when you've been together for a while, when the biological clock starts gonging at the female’s head and the male doesn’t want to jump off a cliff into the abyss called marital commitment? Yeah, that ugly stage came just a little after this album was released.

But back to the heady days again. We went with friends to the venerable Lee’s Palace to see Crash Vegas live one night. A fantastic venue to experience a live band. I remember having a such a great time. The beer was good, the company was fun, the music rocked. Me and the other girls of the group (remember how we always went to the ladies' room in at least pairs, if not packs?) even had a celebrity pee -- the woman’s washroom was so small, we were in line with the lead singer just before she got on stage. She was so tiny and unassuming, we had no idea it was her until we came out of the bathroom and saw her get on stage with the mike! And of course her supportive grizzly-bearded boyfriend Greg was also in the room, we saw him through the smoky haze too. Celebrity sighting numero deux. So that was quite cool.

Flashforward to this past weekend. We had a couple with three children over for dinner on Saturday evening. With the daylight savings, we were able to have an extra hour. Turns out not to sleep, but to sit with friends, have great conversation and some lovely wine while listening to some great retro tunes. Like the following:


Our kids all got along so well, we were left to our own devices for most of the evening. Drinking and laughing again. Not quite Lee's, but our own palace complete with a prince and princess.

A lot of things have happened in 17 years. Including 14 years of marriage and two children.

Crash Vegas split up in the mid-1990s. But thankfully, Ian and I, well, we’re still rockin’, at least in our own minds.