Must be time for another Great Outdoors gig at the legion. How does your Uncle Jon know this? Well, I swung by East Van Eden the other night to catch a bit of the boys’ rehearsal (and to grab my backup stash – long story). Anyhoo, I ended up staying only 15 minutes – just long enough to hear ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ five goddamned times. No other reason to be rehearsing that song unless they were preparing to wow a bunch of bluehairs down at the A.N.A.F. And Your Uncle Jon dyes his hair, so I grabbed my goodies and got the hell outta there. I mean, I love The King and all, but not five times in a row. Not even Anne-Margret could love ol’ Elvis five times in a row. (Now I’m designing my material around the blue-hairs, too. What the fuck?)

Anyways, Adam and the boys are (hopefully) only gonna play that song once this weekend. Well, twice actually; they are playing two nights in a row – Friday and Saturday. You know the place: 5896 Fraser Street. So yeah, see you there. I’ll be the handsome devil holding up the bar whilst sporting some the shockingly vibrant looking hair.

Shine on you crazy diamonds.

Jon Raw
owner/operator
DDG Records

March_GO_Poster

Greetings music fans.

I know you were all excited about the big Slim & Randy gig coming up this Friday at the Anza Club, but you’re just gonna have to hold on a bit. Seems there is a problem with the booking. How that happens, I don’t know. A venue is either available or not, right? I don’t actually know whose fault this all is, but I am going to put my money on the Australians. They almost never have their shit together. Too much drinking and fighting and surfing and singing Men At Work anthems. Though they did give us Miranda Kerr, so I can forgive a little double-bo0king here and there. Oi.

Shine on you crazy diamonds.

Jon Raw
owner/operator
DDG Records 

Vancouver Co-op Radio Archives

The show is listed under the title: African Vibes – Sunday Jan 30 (in two separate hours, 7-8pm and 8-9pm).  African Vibes is the name of the show that normally runs in that slot. But it’s appropriate, ’cause like most African nations DDG is a disorganized dictatorship ruled by some debaucherous lunatic.

Shine on you crazy diamonds.

Jon Raw
owner/operator
DDG Records

Greetings music fans.

The Great Outdoors are playing this Friday and Saturday at the ANAF Hall on Fraser Street. Hipsters and hip-replacers will be cutting a rug and sipping cheap draught and hi-balls whilst Adam Nation and the boys lay down some swinging goodness for the vets and their pets. Bring your dancing shoes. Even your Uncle Jon will be making the scene – unless I take a bath on that LSU/Alabama game. I’m taking LSU to beat the spread. I still think they’re gonna lose, but not by more than the 5 points my Korean bookie is giving – a whole half point more than Vegas! But if I’m wrong, then I most likely won’t be at the gig ’cause I’ll be too busy drawing the shades, drowning my sorrows, and ignoring calls from the very persistent Mr. Kim. However, I might still stop on by  the ANAF and try to recoup my losses by hustling some of those geriatics at shuffleboard. The only thing sweeter than winning regular money is winning pensioner money. (Take that, greatest generation.) And you know, now that I think about it, that actually might be a pretty good back-up plan. Besides, Mr. Kim would never look for me at a Legion hall. He was in country back in the early fifties. Last thing he wants to be around is a bunch of liquored-up vets on a Saturday night. God bless our fighting boys. But I digress.

See you there, music fans. Here are the deets:

The Great Outdoors
November 4th and 5th. 7pm start. 4 sets a night.
ANAF Hall, 5896 Fraser Street
NO COVER!

Shine on you crazy diamonds.

Jon Raw
owner/operator
DDG Records

THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Nanton: Live at the Auditorium Hotel
DDG Records (DDG-013/DDG-013LP)
release date: September 7, 2010

Jamaican Prison Song

Recorded by Steve Loree at the Auditorium Hotel in beautiful downtown Nanton, Alberta, this 10 song masterpiece is set to be released on both CD and vinyl.

Greetings music fans.

Let me fill you in on The Great Outdoors’ new album, Nanton: Live at the Auditorium Hotel. They recorded a live album during a two night stint at the Auditorium Hotel in Nanton, Alberta. (I guess that was pretty much explained in the title, huh?) Anways, we just completed all kinds of expensive updates to our own East Van Eden Studios when Adam Nation and the boys decided to do their next album on the road. In another town. In another province.

Jon Raw: Why do you guys want to record in Nanton?
Adam Nation: It’s the greatest town I’ve ever been to. I love the people. I love the vibe. And I think if we record a live record there we can capture that real 70’s sound.
Jon Raw: The 1870’s?

But he album actually turned out pretty fucking great. BC Musician even called it, “…the best live album of the past thirty years.”  And it turns out Nanton’s a pretty nice place too. So yeah, sometimes it pays to take the show on the road. (Please God, let it pay.)

Shine on you crazy diamonds.

Jon Raw
owner/operator
DDG Records

And what better way to kick off this new year of the new me than with The Great Outdoors at the A.N.A.F. Hall (5896 Fraser Street) featuring. And it’s an early show. Not “bloody mary” early. More like “early evening weed and scotch” early. See you there. I’ll be hard to miss; I’ll be sporting a few feather-boa-clad pornstars. Gimme me a break. I’m just trying to get them out of my system before 2012 starts.

Shine on you crazy diamonds.

Jon Raw
owner/operator
DDG Records 

NewYear’s Eve with THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Greetings music fans.

Well, no time off with good behaviour for your Uncle Jon this time around. In fact, they kept me inside a week longer. All because I got in fight over a chewy granola bar. Long story. Actually, if you must know, I was trying to keep myself from being sodomized by said chewy granola bar. I am not gonna get into details. I really don’ t wish to revisit the incident. Let’s just say, as far as granola is concerned, I am still a virgin. Well, not including that hackey-sack saleswoman I slipped it to while working the backline for Pearl Jam at Lollapalooza back in ’92. But I digress.

So yeah, looks like I missed a bit while I was locked up, huh? Some old friends said goodbye. Some new friends said hello. Some friends put out their first recording on vinyl. Congrats boys. And I hear the show went well too. Nice work. And speaking of shows, let’s not forget that The Great Outdoors and Kingsway are both playing with the fabulous We Found A Lovebird this Thursday at the new Cobalt Cabaret. (I’ve been in jail so long, when I get out even the Cobalt has changed.) Need tickets? Email your favourite band member. Me? I won’t be at the show. I am not allowed to be inside any establishment that sells liquor of any kind for the next six months. Even restaurants. Luckily I’m a motherfucking gourmet.

Well, gotta go. I’m in the middle of my three day welcome home party, and the new shift of ‘party-goers’ just arrived. I hope they brought some Gatorade.

Shine on you crazy diamonds.

Jon Raw
owner/operator
DDG Records

Greetings music fans.

That’s what we used to called the Fairview Pub back in the day – ‘The Fairview Medical Building’. ‘Cause that’s where we got our medicine. Plus the place used to be packed with off-duty hospital workers. I used to meet my old dealer there for drinks every Thursday. He was a big Brickhouse fan. Me, I was more a fan of slutty nurses. But I digress.

The Great Outdoors. In concert. This Saturday night. Fairview Pub. If you see Cookie, tell him I said ‘hello’. And tell him I’ll be sure to swing by soon with that four hundred I owe him – maybe the next time Brickhouse plays. 

Shine on you crazy diamonds.

Jon Raw
owner/operator
DDG Records

Greetings music fans.

Happy October.

Remember earlier this week when your Uncle Jon told you about how he was gonna use phone-it-in Friday to fill you in on all the details of the Kingsway recording that happened with the un-fucking-believably amazing Weber Brothers? Well, I changed my mind. Too tired from the rock. (Music, that is. Not crack.)

Oh, and look for Donovan to beat the spread in Philly this week. (There’s a spreadable cream cheese joke in the somewhere, but I am too beat to find it.)

Shine on you crazy diamonds.

Jon Raw
owner/operator
DDG Records

when: Thursday, November 11th

where: the NEW! Cobalt Hotel

tickets: $10 – available @ the door