Chixdiggit- Live In Winnipeg August 26, 1996

Photo by Peter Ellenby

There are some concerts when you reflect back and think, "I'm glad I actually went to see this band". This was the case over 22 years ago when I saw the band, Chixdiggit who were touring in support of their debut album, Chixdiggit. I bought their CD on a whim, I think after I heard their song, (I Feel Like) Gerry Cheevers on late night CBC radio and instantly became a fan. At the time I was listening to a lot of like-minded pop-punk bands from Lookout Records and Mint, so their short, sweet melodic songs with their immature adolescent sense of humour was really appealing. And hey, when you write a song about Bruins goalie, Gerry Cheevers that combines my two favourite things, hockey and rock music, they must be worth checking out. And they definitely were! They are just regular guys, not long hard rocker wannabees or punks with attitude, but down to earth guys you'd have no problem sharing a beer with. Their live show is driven by front man, KJ Jansen with his Tony Esposito split-crouch stance (with the microphone really low) is the smart-ass of the band and his banter keeps the flow going as most of their songs are really short (their CD is only 27 minutes long). A fun band to see live and I liked them so much I saw them two more times in the 90's, but haven't seen them since. They celebrated their 25th year with a tour a couple years ago that came to town, but I wasn't able to attend. They are joining the Smugglers for their 30th anniversary show later this month, November 24th at Amigos in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. If you make the drive, hopefully not through a blizzard, it will be a worthwhile roadtrip to see two great Canadian bands.

I was lucky enough to make a live recording of the Chixdiggit show on my Walkman recorder. I've had the master cassette on my shelf for years and I thought it was about time to transfer it to my hard drive before the tape deteriorates too much. I have to admit it is one of my favourite early shows I recorded and despite the not perfect sound quality, the show is a very enjoyable listen. It's a good capture from the middle of the floor at the Pyramid with the usual crowd noise, but it really has that "been there" quality I love. As I write this I'm listening to the other live Chixdiggit tapes from 1998 and 1999, (I can't remember the last time I had a listen) and the sound quality is much better. If there's a request to hear them I'll transfer the tapes and upload them.
Enjoy!

Please do NOT sell or transfer to lossy format (except for personal use)
Please share!

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CHIXDIGGIT
Pyramid Cabaret
Winnipeg, MB
August 26, 1996
AUD Master

Sony mic> Sony WM-GX35 Recording Walkman> Maxell XLII 90 Cassette> Aiwa tape deck> ADS Instant music> usb> Nero SoundTrax> WAV> Direct WAV splitter> FLAC> rar

01. Toilet's Seat Coming Down
02. 323
03. Where's Your Mom?
04. Hemp Hemp Hooray
05. Henry Rollins Is No Fun
06. (I Feel Like) Gerry Cheevers
07. Van Horne
08. I Drove The Coquihalla
09. Great Legs
10. Haven't Got Time For
11. You May Be Right
12. Nobody (w/Levi Stubbs' Tears teaser)
13. I Should Have Played Football In High School
14. Stacked Like That
15. Song For "R"
16. I Wanna Hump You

Encore
17. Chupacabras
18. Pathetic
19. Lonely Nights (w/ Live Forever teaser)
20. Mila, Caroline And Me

CHIXDIGGIT- 1996-08-26 Pyramid Cabaret, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master. rar

Charlie Chesterman- Demos

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the passing of Scruffy the Cat frontman, Charlie Chesterman. His music lives on with recent releases of the Scruffy the Cat compilation, Time Never Forgets and the rarities, unreleased tracks album, The Good Goodbye. Worth checking out are the many albums Charlie recorded after Scruffy, several solo albums as well as records with Chaz and the Motorbikes. His solo recording output far exceeds the Scruffy the Cat releases, so there is much good music to discover. Just before his passing, the compilation, Solid Gold Electric Chestnut Dispenser (a collection of hard to find rarities) was available for download in October of 2013 with proceeds going directly to the Friends of Charlie Chesterman fund. The year before, Chorus Vs. Solos: A Tribute to Charlie Chesterman was sold to help him and his family while he was battling cancer. Needless to say, this man was well loved by his fans, friends and family. Check out the charliechesterman bandcamp page for all his post Scruffy releases to purchase or listen.

What I have is music by Charlie Chesterman not available on any of the compilations or was ever released (as far as I know). It's a disc of demos that I received many years ago from a friend that knew Charlie. (Hint: His band's debut album was produced by Charlie Chesterman!) The songs are demos recorded in a studio, mainly just Charlie and his guitar (with some harmonica), raw demo versions of some songs that appeared later and some I don't think were ever recorded. Off the top of my head, there's early versions of Where'd You Go (from Dynamite Music Machine), If I Had A Heart (from Studabakersfield), Last Summer Night (from Skunk On The Loose). I don't have much information, nor do I have a date when these were recorded, but I suspect it would have been sometime between the end of Scruffy the Cat and his first solo record, so probably early 1990's. If anyone has information about the recording dates and the tracks, please let us know. I'm sure these recordings will be of much interest for Chesterman/STC fans and I hope that sharing these demos is cool. I thought now was an appropriate time to finally share these rare demos.
Enjoy!

Please do NOT sell or convert to lossy
Please share!

CHARLIE CHESTERMAN
Demos (90's?)

01. Pretty Baby Please Don't Go
02. Cry Cry Cry
03. Tell Me What You Think About Love
04. If I Had A Heart
05. You So And So
06. True Love
07. Where'd You Go?
08. ?
09. Lost Summer Night
10. Tornado
11. Folk Tales

CHARLIE CHESTERMAN- Demos FLAC. rar