The Oppenheimer Report 5/28/18

The other night, I watched a news story about some thirty something who sued his parents because they wanted to kick him out of the house. They presented him with an eviction notice, even offered him some money to move out, and said they want him out ASAP. His reaction was to take them to court. It astounds me that someone can be so out of touch with reality that he or she thinks this is ok. We hear a lot about bad parents, and there are certainly a few of those out there, but what about the bad kids? Sometimes parents do the best they can, but the kids don’t do their part. The judge in this case laughed this failure-to-launch deadbeat out of the court room, but I wonder if this might be a sign of the times. This is one of the disturbing trends I see today, especially true in N. America. Along with the omnipresence of gratuitous violence in video games and film, and the resultant general disrespect for life, the tendency to poison our food and water supply, and our growing, technology-induced alienation from our fellow man, I see the omnipresence of this failure-to-launch syndrome. If you are over thirty years old, living at home, and your parents want you out, it might be time to do a reality check. A close friend of ours recently began dating a widower with two adult children. Both kids are still living at home, and one of them has a young child. Neither of these kids contributes to the household income, or do they do anything to contribute to the household chores. The widower is still doing all the cooking for everyone, after coming home from a full day of work. Maybe he is enabling the dysfunction, but what is wrong with this picture? I understand that it may be harder today to make a living or to find affordable housing than it was thirty years ago. I also don’t think there is anything wrong with adult children living at home, with the blessing of their parents. I had help from my parents when I graduated from university, and I lived at home for four or five years before moving out. I saved up enough money to put up a down payment on a house, and was grateful for the support my parents willingly provided. But what about the young adults who live a carefree life at the expense of their parents; is this OK? I used to wonder how I would be judged by the generation that grew up during WWII, when men and women were forced to grow up at 18.

I saw a funny video spoof the other day wherein a young female “Millennial” was in a job interview, and her works skills essentially boiled down to Facebook and Instagram. By the end of the interview, the exasperated interviewer told her that he didn’t think she was going to work out, and she threw a hissy fit. “Are you FIRING me?!! I don’t feel safe!” I know a lot of extremely capable young people who are successfully coping with the business of life. Still, I worry about many of today's young adults, numbed by video game violence, baby sat by a TV set, given a gold star for accomplishing next to nothing, and trained to rely on technology to turn on a light. Heaven forbid there should be a power outage.

Someone came up to me at the Craft Beer Festival a few weeks ago and asked me “Why aren’t you up there performing?” I was of course flattered, but I try to keep my live performances to a minimum. Sometimes writers are better off remaining in the background. Leo Kottke said in the album notes for his first album that his voice was like “geese farts on a muggy day”, and Leo has a much better voice than I do. Last Saturday night I had the good fortune to see Winnipeg singer / songwriter and excellent slide guitarist Joey Landreth perform at Peters Players in Gravenhurst. To see a talent like Joey in a boutique venue, which seats about 80-100 people, was as good as it gets for me. My dream and goal has always been to have my songs covered by talented artists like Landreth. So far, I’ve come a long way towards achieving that dream. My gifted songwriter friend from Edmonton, Bobby Cameron, recorded a song he and I co-wrote, along with my talented wife Shauna. As well, several local artists, including Juan Barbosa and Paul Lagendyk, have done amazing covers of several of my songs.

Sometimes it takes a lifetime to achieve one’s goals. Oftentimes, it never happens. In the beginning I thought I'd like to be in the spotlight, but mostly, for the past 40 years, I’ve only really wanted to be a recognized songwriter. Thanks to Hunters Bay Radio and a music-friendly community full of artists, I’ve had a little success (don’t book the limo just yet). In turn, this has encouraged me to keep writing and to support like-minded artists. This is my dream come true, but it certainly was not my day job. There were a lot of bends in the road, but I always saw recognition for my writing as my brass ring. I think about the kids coming into the work force now, and the possibility that they face a less hopeful future than I did. I wonder, what are their dreams and goals? I can’t imagine a world wherein I thought it was alright to sue my parents because, after having put up with my nonsense for 30+ years, they wanted me to stand on my own two feet.  That my friends, is chutzpah.

    - Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Oppenheimer Report 5/21/18

"Broke Toe"

Last Saturday, to usher in the May 2-4 weekend, and to sound the starting gun for the beginning of summer festivities, Huntsville BIA and Hunters Bay Radio hosted the annual Craft Beer Festival in River Mill Park. This event has been getting progressively more popular each year, and on top of the many craft breweries offering lots of different kinds of beer to sample, there were two sound stages and about ten local musical acts represented. I came for the music.

Unfortunately, the weather was less than spectacular, and it rained on and off throughout the day. That probably kept some people away, but the turnout was pretty good, and I had a ball regardless of the weather. I enjoy watching all the local artists, especially to see how their acts  are developing, but I really wanted to see one musician in particular. Scott Gilson, a good friend of mine, who recently got married and moved to Parry Sound, had not performed in public for years. Like too many musicians I know, he’d burned out on the “business” end of music and had all but given up playing or writing songs. I think Scott’s a talented songwriter, with a great voice and a strong, passionate delivery. I’ve missed hearing him play. He was the second to last act to perform, and just about the time he came on, the heavens let loose. I was taking a video with my phone of him performing a new song, and I had to take my hat off to protect my phone from the downpour. If you go to my Facebook page, you will see the clip I recorded and, if you look closely, you can tell the rain is coming down pretty hard. I’m sure everyone in the audience, under cover, was laughing at the fool standing in the rain. I’ve never had a problem acting like a fool.

River Mill Park is a lovely venue for live entertainment, and I’d like to see a festival, dedicated to local artists every year. Last Friday night I attended the monthly coffee house show in Burk’s Falls, and there were two new songwriters on the bill that impressed me. I now know of 20 or 30 local musicians who could hold their own in the national market, and it would be fun to see them all collaborate onstage in an outdoor venue. Of course, weather is always the wild card. I distinctly remember what a disaster the Muskoka Sound Festival turned out to be four or five years ago. It was the first big festival I attended in Huntsville, perhaps the first of its kind, and the rain really killed it. I remember watching people walk by and get stuck in the mud. Nature can be a mother.   

Final note on the subject of all things natural. Shauna and I share a love and appreciation of birds, probably enhanced by our many visits to  the Canadian Rockies. Out there, we befriended a Clark’s Nutcracker we named “Broke Toe”, who came to visit us every year when we’d stay in Banff. As spring erupts up here, we’ve been spending a little “us” time out on the second floor porch off our bedroom. It’s a little like sitting in a tree house, and the bird watching is spectacular. This afternoon I watched a hummingbird feeding four feet away from me, and there were Red Winged Blackbirds, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, Loons, Crows, Grackles, Grosbeaks, and someone says there are a few Eagles living down the lake. Strangely, five pigeons have moved into the neighborhood, thus vastly increasing the overall volume of guano on the property.  The yin and the yang of Mother Nature.

  - Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Oppenheimer Report 5/14/18

In one month, Hunters Bay Radio will be hosting(I believe) its 5^th annual fundraiser at the Algonquin Theatre in Huntsville. The theme for last year’s show was The Last Waltz, featuring the music of The Band, and it was a huge success.  The theme for this year's show is The Beatles White Album, and, under the musical direction of Sean Cotton,  over thirty local musicians will be participating. I won’t reveal what song I’ll be performing, but I will say it is daunting to cover any song from that legendary album. My high school hockey team used to start their Friday night games with Why Don’t We Do It In The Road, and the music from that album has increased  my appreciation of popular music more than any other album.

I see a lot of posts on Facebook wherein people list their top ten favorite record albums. As a practicing songwriter for over 40 years, I’ve had a lot of different musical influences, and I’ve gone through many phases. Earliest albums that immediately come to mind include Cream – Wheels Of Fire/ Disraeli Gears, The Beatles – Rubber Soul/ Revolver/The White Album, Jimi Hendrix – Are You Experienced/ Axis Bold As Love/ Electric Ladyland, The Allman Bros.- Live At Fillmore East, Cat Stevens -Tea For The Tillerman, The Rolling Stones – Beggar’s Banquet/ Let It Bleed/ Sticky Fingers/ Jethro Tull - Stand Up!/ Aqualung, Pat Metheny – Bright Sized Life, Fleetwood Mac – Then Play On/ Bare Trees/ Kiln House. Anyone under the age of forty is likely unfamiliar with these albums, but many of the songs from the 70’s are still being covered more than forty years later. I have found that a surprising number of my friends’ kids like the music of the 70’s, and decidedly, that was my golden era of popular music.

On my radio show, I sometimes talk about songs being mnemonic triggers. If I hear the Stones song Satisfaction it transports me to a hot summer day waiting to cross the border in my mom’s ’68 Buick convertible. When I hear an Allman Bros. song, it takes me back to my boarding school days. The Beatles White album was there from the very beginning of my days as a music lover, and it has stood the test of time. It included such a rich and varied catalogue of songs, ranging from blues to folk to rock ‘n roll; it’s an old friend. Each song is unique in its arrangement, and to this day, I still appreciate the genius of The Beatles as composers. My big problem with much of the music today is that it has become disposable. There are still, and always will be, artists out there who are fantastic writers and composers, but I don’t think people are listening to music (or anything) the way they used to. There is too much noise competing for our attention. Now, we might gravitate to a hit song, but we are less inclined to listen to the whole album of an artist. As well, videos have become a much more important marketing tool. I wonder if songs like Blackbird or While My Guitar Gently Weeps would even make the cut in 2018. Digital platforms like Spotify have cheapened music and corporations and commercial success have re-wired our brains (and I fear the way we create). Some feel The Beatles were over-rated, and that there were and are many better artists and composers out there. I don’t think The Beatles were technically the greatest musicians, but they composed beautifully, and they had an ear for melody that few can replicate.

This week, I’ve started to practice my song for the White Album show, and while I don’t perform a lot of covers, let alone in a theatre full of people, I will try to do my selected song justice. I’ve seen the list of who is performing what song, and I’m eager to hear how my many talented colleagues will cover these songs. The White album is a special collection of music, and I know this show is going to be a lot of fun for everyone involved.

  

  - Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Oppenheimer Report 5/7/18

My mom, circa 1962 at our home on Chapin Pkwy.

What is it they say about the best laid plans? Saturday morning there was a service in Buffalo to commemorate the passing of my best friend’s father, “Big” Bob Miller. I was going to attend that ceremony come hell or high water; I did not anticipate gale force winds. I figured I’d head down to Shauna’s mom’s place in Toronto Friday evening before dark, thus ensuring that I was a little closer to Buffalo for the 11AM service on Saturday. I thought I was being very forward thinking, but Mother Nature had a different plan. Around 4:30 Friday afternoon, we had some strong wind gusts, which only lasted a short while, but did major destruction. Old growth trees  toppled over, power and telephone lines went down, and it was a real mess up here. In fact, the winds were so strong that Hwy 11, and my direct access to Toronto, was closed for a few hours due to debris and fallen power lines. Our power went out, and later in the evening we lost our phone lines as well. I’m sure there were a lot of people crying “Why Me?” Friday night. I was very concerned about leaving my sick and home bound wife alone in a power outage. Murphy’s Law. Thankfully, we have a good generator. Eventually, I did make it down to Toronto, albeit a lot later than I had planned.

Driving down to Buffalo, early Saturday morning, I was hit with a mild panic attack, similar to one I’d experienced before my 35^th high school reunion. My memory is terrible these days, and I was about to see a lot of people I hadn’t seen in a long time. Would I remember their names? I have not been to my hometown in at least three years, and a lot can change in three years. It was strange crossing the Peace Bridge. Short of several old friends with whom I keep in touch, I was not familiar with my city anymore. Even the access to the city from the bridge was different. I got lost in my hometown.

The service was well attended, and a fitting tribute to Big Bob. There was no insufferably long mass, the speeches were just the right length, and there was just a good vibe in the room. I got there early and sat near the front, because I was feeling asocial, but wanted to make sure I heard all the speakers. To my surprise, the person who sat down next to me was an old friend and his wife, whom I had not seen for over 25 years. Jerry Miller lived on my street when we were kids, and he is the offspring of one of the three Miller brothers who lived on the same block. I had not seen him since shortly after he and his wife were married, and it was wonderful to see them both. We’d lost touch but old friendships never really die. Later, at the reception, I saw and caught up with a lot of old Buffalo friends, and even remembered many of their names. The re-connection felt good.

I don’t know why I’m having these anxiety attacks. It might be the chaos, lies, and spin blowing around on the news like a torn flag. Maybe it’s the swift passage of time, made more evident by the visible changes in the faces of the friends I rarely see. Their eyes speak volumes about changes that I was not around to see. Maybe it’s simply that, as I get older, it becomes so glaringly apparent how completely out of control of everything I am. I have been struggling with depression over the past few months, and I fear I am losing my ability to connect with others. Attending this funeral was important for me, likely more important than it was for the family of the deceased. I woke up the next morning, back in Katrine, a little wired from the residual effects of driving for 14 hours (we rarely go anywhere but to the doctors these days). I walked outside to survey the damage from Friday night’s wind storm. I think I’ll be using the chain saw today. I can only react after the storms have passed. One day at a time.

  - Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED