To filkers attending Worldcon

I'll be attending the annual summer conference of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators so won't be able to attend Worldcon this year, but for those filkers out there who -are- going, here's a message from Peggi and Judith:

This is a tough year to be thinking about a Worldcon. Money's tight, time is tight and we all have more important things to think about. However, those of us running the filk track are trying to decide whether to cut the planned track to 2 or 3 days. Open filk will run the full con. Right now we just don't have enough people to run that full track. So..... If you were thinking about Worldcon, planning on Worldcon, absolutely certain of Worldcon, AND you'd be interested in filk programming, please let us know asap.

If we're cutting the track, it needs to happen now. We have room space to cancel, sound equipment to cancel, etc. That asap really means ASAP.

Many thanks from Judith and Peggi
hayman at mountaincable dot net
peggiwl at rogers dot net

Memories: John Caspell

(Photo I took of Brooke and John at OVFF in 2006)

Brooke Lunderville (John's music partner and close friend) has posted an update about what happened yesterday. She says that if people post happy memories of John in her journal, she'd print them out to show his family.

Here's what I posted:

- I remember the first time I heard John perform in open filk. I had the impression he was quiet and shy, but then he opened his mouth and out came a bawdy/funny song I had never heard before. I never thought he was quiet and shy again.

- When John started smiling with an evil glint in his eye, you knew you had to watch out.



- At FKO last month, I enjoyed hearing John help out in Juliana McCorison's concert. I remember thinking that I had the impression that John was more of a loner type when I first met him and that obviously I had been SO wrong back then. He seemed to really enjoying himself on stage, and it was a joy to watch that.



- I loved seeing John's goofy side -- this tended to come out way more when he was with Brooke (she has that influence, y'know :-D). I remember being surprised but delighted when he clowned around for a photo I took at OVFF back in 2006, which I've posted at the top of this entry. I was flattered when Brooke and John decided to use it for their group webpage.

John, you will be deeply missed.

John Caspell

(Above: photo of John and Brooke by Alisa Garcia)

Just heard about the sudden and unexpected passing of John Caspell; I mentioned a few days ago that he was in a motorcycle accident, but he seemed to be recovering well. Thanks to those in the Filkhaven IRC for additional info.

The filk community is in shock. I last saw John (also known as Dr. Filk) at FilKONtario last month. I can't believe he's gone.

John Caspell and his music partner Brooke Lunderville were scheduled as Interfilk Guests at Concertino next month. [Update: madfilkentist says that Brooke will still attend the convention as the Interfilk guest: "By convention tradition, a guest who dies before the con is still a guest. Brooke said she's still coming, and honoring John's memory will be an important part of the con."]

My deepest condolences to Brooke, John's family and his close friends.

Info being posted at:
Brooke's LJ
Filk LJ community
Pondside's LJ

Healing vibes

Above: John and Brooke at FilKONtario.

Ack! Just found out from Allison that John Caspell was in a motorcycle accident a couple of days ago. Apparently he was hit by an SUV running a red light. :-(

He has broken some ribs, a tibia, and his foot; he's waiting for foot surgery right now, I think.

You can find out more info in Brooke's journal.

Jonathan Coulton with Paul and Storm at the Lula Lounge in Toronto

As Jeff said last night, it was the best concert we've seen in several years.

It was the first time either of us had been to Lula Lounge. Nice venue, though the whole dinner seating vs regular seating was a bit confusing. The tickets say "Dinner reservations guarantee best seating," but this isn't necessarily true.

The best seats, IMHO, are the small tables right in front of the stage, perfect for couples. If you're a larger group with a dinner reservation, you'll be put in the booths against the far walls at either side of the restaurant. You'll still see the performers, of course, but this isn't the best seating.

The non-dinner seating is behind the small tables in front of the stage, and appears to given out on a first-come, first-served basis on the night of the performance. If I'm wrong about this, someone feel free to let me know. Also, those with dinner reservations still have to line up with everyone else.

It seemed to me that the dinner tables were given out on a first-come, first-serve basis (e.g. you don't have a specific table, no matter how early in advance you book), though I might be wrong about this. Also, be sure to confirm your reservation closer to the performance date! I called the day before and found out that they had NO RECORD of my dinner reservation. Fortunately they still had room for more dinner reservations, and our seating was good -- Jodi, James, Jeff and I had a table for four near the railing. After dinner, Jodi and I moved our chairs up to the railing so we had a better view of the stage.



Paul and Storm opened for Jonathan Coulton as well as performing a few songs with him in his set. They were HIGHLY entertaining, and their harmonies and arrangements were great, plus they had a wide variety of material. You can hear samples of their material on their website.

One of my favourites: Nun Fight. :-D

Also love the fact that they obviously knew the crowd ("Ok, now yell 'argh' PI times!" (pause as audience responds without hesitation) "Wow, that really WAS 3.14159265 times...")

Jeff liked them so much that he bought all three of their CDs plus one of their Evil Minion t-shirts.



Next up: Jonathan Coulton. I was sooooo excited to finally see him perform live, and I wasn't disappointed. I had a mental list of songs that I fervently hoped he would sing, and HE SANG EVERY ONE OF THEM IN HIS SET, WOOHOO!



His set included: The Future Soon, Shop Vac, Still Alive, Curl, Code Monkey, My Monkey, Birdhouse In Your Soul, Creepy Doll, I'm Your Moon, I Feel Fantastic, Mr. Fancy Pants, Skullcrusher Mountain, Mandelbrot Set, You Ruined Everything, Re: Your Brains, Betty & Me, First of May, plus a number of others I can't recall right now. Some of the songs were requests that people had sent him on Twitter after he had asked what people wanted to hear.

I love the amazing effects gizmo he was playing during Mr. Fancy Pants, and especially how he played it; he was obviously having a lot of fun. :-)

Jonathan called up Paul and Storm on several songs, and the arrangements/harmonies were fantastic. I especially enjoyed the rapport between the three of them.



To those who are seeing him (and Paul and Storm!) tonight: You're in for a treat.