Well, it's official as I'm heading over to Vancouver Island next week to start rehearsals with the fantastic MOEV!  I'll be playing bass and maybe some guitar and keys for the veteran industrial/dance band with a 27 year history...check 'em out here on my top friends.  The plan is to be doing some shows here on the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island and then...who knows?  I'll keep you posted as to when and where the shows will be happening.  The set list is pretty comprehensive; from Dusk and Desire, Yeah, Whatever, Head Down, Suffer and a bunch of new unreleased material!  I wonder if Sarah will come sing bv's on In and Out!!!
Moev

Hello y'all! just wanted to post a blog for my dear friends at Monochrome Museum who have put together a wonderful project called "Anthem For Green England" of which I had the pleasure and privilege to be a part of. (I contributed bass guitar and some slide guitar on the track...all done via files sent from around the world...none of us have ever even met in person!)


you can read all about it here...
Anthem For Green England
and here...
Bognor Observer

The release is happening tomorrow Feb. 27, 2009.

Yep. It only took 3 years for me to send some actual cd's to CD Baby and they're available for purchase now! Just click on the button below and it'll take you right there. Mp3's also available for download and of course, in short order I'll be available on iTunes, Amazon and a host of other sites! Wooo hooo! I'm sure it won't be long before I hit 'gold' status and beyond. (spray paint works)

Terry McBride and Nettwerk...Internet visionary or schoolyard Bully?

Yesterday I received an email from my friend David Gratton of Project Opus Technologies (also known as www.projectopus.com). It contained a cease and desist order from Nettwerks' lawyers demanding two songs, Captive and Temptation, be immediately removed from my Project Opus web-page. Now these two songs were co-written and recorded 20 years ago with Sarah McLachlan and I had them uploaded and available for streaming from my Project Opus page. They were just part of my 'archive' of old songs that I wrote and played bass guitar on. Now, I co-wrote these two songs so you would think that I had/have the right to post these songs on my web-pages such as Opus and MySpace BUT think again!
Here is the said letter...
Via E-Mail
CEASE AND DESIST

August 1, 2008
Project Opus Technologies Ltd.
404, 329 Railway Street
Vancouver, BC
V6A 1A4
david.gratton@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Dear Sirs,

Re: Sarah McLachlan master recordings entitled "Temptation" and "Captive"

We are legal counsel for The Nettwerk Music Group, including Nettwerk Productions ("Nettwerk"). The recording artist Sarah McLachlan is a party to an exclusive recording agreement with Nettwerk (the "Agreement"). Pursuant to that Agreement, Ms. McLachlan recorded two so-called "demonstration" recordings for Nettwerk entitled "Temptation" and "Captive" in approximately 1989 and 1990, respectively (the "Tracks"). It has come to our attention that the Tracks are currently being made available for streaming on the Project Opus website. It appears that the Tracks were posted on the site by a band calling itself "uberbelly". Uberbelly is the working name of an individual named Jeff Sawatzky, a former member of Ms. McLachlan's band.

Pursuant to the Agreement all master recordings recorded by Ms. McLachlan, including the Tracks are owned and/or controlled by Nettwerk. The unauthorized use and exploitation of this unlicensed material is a gross violation of Canadian, U.S. and international copyright law. We demand that you immediately cease and desist the streaming these Tracks on the Project Opus site and that these Tracks be immediately removed from www.projectopus.com.

If we do not receive communication from you by the end of the business day, Pacific Standard Time, Friday, August 1st, 2008, that you agree to comply with the demands set-out in this letter and that you have commenced complying with the demands of this letter, without further notice to you, we may proceed with the appropriate legal action to enforce our clients' rights and to seek any and all remedies available to our client at law or equity, including but not limited to general, special and statutory damages for multiple counts of copyright violation.

We look forward to your response. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

ATKINS & COMPANY



Patrick Aldous

Now, Captive I could possibly see as being in violation as I do not 'own' the master recordings but I did co-write the song and performed on the recording. Ok, I'll let that one go but Tempation is a bit of a different story. Again, I co-wrote and performed on the track but the most important thing is that the song was actually recorded at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Montreal...therefore the master tape actually belongs to the Canadian Public as the CBC is a Crown Corporation!!!! Nettwerk has no right that I can see to demand anything in regard to the use of this recording, only the CBC can tell me what to do with it!
Now the story gets even more ridiculous and convoluted. I have been in contact with a lovely woman named Claudia who runs a Sarah McLachlan fan-based web-site called Blackened Sky. I had offered her the two songs in question along with a bunch of other old Sarah demos and rarities that I have been dragging around for twenty years and just figured that somebody out there would love to hear these old songs. I was right and the fans just loved them. Claudia went ahead and posted the songs including the two songs in a Project Opus widget style player.
Well, what do you know? Nettwerk hits her and her site with another cease and desist order for the two songs. Here it is below...
Via E-Mail
CEASE AND DESIST

August 1, 2008
Blackened-Sky.net
claudia@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Dear Madame:

Re: Sarah McLachlan master recordings entitled "Temptation" and "Captive"

We are legal counsel for The Nettwerk Music Group, including Nettwerk Productions ("Nettwerk"). The recording artist Sarah McLachlan is a party to an exclusive recording agreement with Nettwerk (the "Agreement"). Pursuant to that Agreement, Ms. McLachlan recorded two so-called "demonstration" recordings for Nettwerk entitled "Temptation" and "Captive" in approximately 1989 and 1990, respectively (the "Tracks").

It has come to our attention that the Tracks are currently being made available for streaming on the MySpace site of a band calling itself "uberbelly" (http://www.myspace.com/uberbelly). Uberbelly is the working name of an individual named Jeff Sawatzky, a former member of Ms. McLachlan's band. It has also come to our attention that the Tracks are currently being made available for free streaming on your website, blacked-sky.net and that your website is also offering a link to the uberbelly site on Myspace.

Pursuant to the Recording Agreement, the Tracks are owned and/or controlled by Nettwerk. The unauthorized use and exploitation of this unlicensed material is a gross violation of Canadian, U.S. and international copyright law. We demand that you immediately cease and desist referring making the Tracks available for streaming on your website and that you cease and desist referring users of your website to the internet link for the uberbelly Myspace site.

If we do not receive communication from you by the end of the business day, Pacific Standard Time, Friday, August 1st, 2008, that you agree to comply with the demands set-out in this letter and that you have commenced complying with the demands of this letter, without further notice to you, we may proceed with the appropriate legal action to enforce our clients' rights and to seek any and all remedies available to our client at law or equity, including but not limited to general, special and statutory damages for multiple counts of copyright violation.

We look forward to your response. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

ATKINS & COMPANY



Patrick Aldous

Now to add insult to injury, if you had noticed that they had also demanded that Claudia remove a simple link to my Myspace page! Like they have any kind of right to do that! What the fuck Nettwerk?
After all that we hear on the Internet about just how "innovative" and "forward thinking" Nettwerk and Terry McBride is, this just smacks of Internet Bullying! Is this all you've got going for you Nettwerk? Harrassing people that helped put Sarah where she is today? (read $$$) The funny thing as well is that another song I co-wrote and performed on, Trust, was left alone. Why? Hmmm. And Claudia had a bunch of other old demos of Sarah available for streaming (she has since taken them down as well, don't blame her) but they were never singled out. I find this all very strange and was just wondering what you all might think. And of course, Nettwerk never bothered to contact me in any way, just Project Opus and Blackend Sky. Silly bunch.

 

UPDATE - Aug 2.

I (Claudia from Blackened Sky) did ask the laywer who wrote to me why Nettwerk is so pro-P2P in public but demands that fansites remove ancient demo tapes who are only being shared among a relatively small circle of fans. Here's what he replied:

They were meant as demonstration recordings. For whatever reason, creative or otherwise, either Ms. McLachan or Nettwerk, or both, decided that those recordings were not to see the light of day. [...] If Ms. McLachan had wanted those demonstration recordings to be heard by her fans, it is very likely she would have arranged for that by now.

So, what do you do after your first heart attack?
You heard me right...I just turned 44 years old and had my first heart attack (not that I'm hoping for a second one!). Well, actually it was more of an angina attack, my heart didn't actually stop but I can tell you it definately wasn't a pleasant experience.

So let me explain a little bit...less than a month ago I had an experience where I was just walking up the hill heading home from Vancouver's Wreck Beach. It's quite a steep hill but I've done it many, many times before. When I reached the top of the hill I felt a 'tight' feeling in my chest right where my heart is. I bent over with my head between my knees, took some deep breaths and it subsided within about 10 minutes. Thinking it was just something I ate earlier and the steep hill I really didn't think twice about it...until it happened again a few days later. Same thing, some food, some mild exertion and that weird tightening in my chest again that went away in a few minutes. This time though I thought it was something that I should bring up with my doctor next visit. Never got the chance...

This time was a little different...I was just driving with my buddy over to Third Beach, no exertion involved, and as we were walking from the parking lot down to the beach, the tightening began again. But this time it didn't subside. It progressively got tighter and tighter and nothing I did would help aleviate the pain. Like a bad movie where some demons' hand was inside my chest squeezing harder and harder until I had to tell my friend to go get the life-guard/medic guy on duty. While I was waiting for my friend to return with the cavalry it got so bad that I actually tried to call 911 myself but I couldn't see the keypad on my cell. Kinda went downhill from there. The medic gave me oxygen and called the troops. Now Third Beach is not the easiest of access for the ambulance but THREE of them arrived, along with a firetruck and the Park Warden and every other available rescue type person. It was pretty awesome I was told (at this point my eyes were closed in pain and I really don't remember much). And of course this is on a crowded beach in a crowded park. I could have been naked and had shit my pants and I really wouldn't have given a fuck.
They proceeded to do the usual, kept asking me questions; where did it hurt, how much did it hurt, could I feel my toes, etc. Then they gave me a couple of sub-lingual sprays of nitro-glycerine and the pressure pretty much miraculously subsided. Wow, what a relief. Of course with me, I'm cracking jokes in the back of the ambulance, just relieved to be able to relax again. My heartfelt thanks go out to these anonymous people...they treated me like gold.

Anyway, I get to St. Paul's Hospital emergency room and just breezed right on through (I could hear one old lady with the runs screaming "I've been here since 6 this morning! I'm a human being and I want a bed too!).
After numerous blood-taking (never knew I had so much!) they finally took me to the x-ray department where I got the bad news...my left anterior descending artery was 99% blocked! Wha?! Now, I've never had high cholesterol levels or high blood pressure so this was all quite a shock (I guess it was the smoking and my past drug abuse coming back to haunt me). So anyway, off for an angiogram (and the inevitable angioplasty and the installation of a stent).

Well, after three days of an uncomfortable hospital stay (St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, one of the best Heart Health Units around) I'm now back at home and recovering nicely. Just one HUGE blue/yellow bruise where they did the angio in my groin...I have pics of my blue balls if anyone would like to see 'em!

Anyway, there is no moral to this story except to offer some advice of getting your heart checked now and then, even if you think you're in perfect health...these things can creep up on you and bite you in the ass...HARD!
Thanks for listening...
Uber
(thanks to Omnifarious and Agharta for the fine (and FREE) recovery music)

Hockey fans might have heard that the CBC has decided to change the theme song to Hockey Night In Canada.  Wow, to Canadians that's like changing our National Anthem to a Nickleback song!  It would SUCK!

Anyway, here's some HNIC composer trivia...

Most of us should remember a Vancouver band called MOEV

The original line-up was Mark Jowett (from Nettwerk), Cal Stephenson, Tom Ferris and a sublime vocalist by the name of Madeleine Morris.

Well guess who Madeleine's mother is? None other than Dolores Claman, composer of the greatest hockey theme ever.

Also seems that Nettwerk is involved with the possibility of the new theme challenge. I can just see it now..."Nettwerk Presents....So You Think You Can Write A New Theme Song?"



Addendum

June 10

Madeleine Morris responds

morris blog

I just wanted to thank you, on behalf of my mother, for your support of the hockey theme. I also wanted you to know my side of the story, because it's important to me. What I hope you will acknowledge is that the CBC has had an exclusive media platform on which to air its side of the story.

First, to clear up some misconceptions. For 25 years, CBC paid my mother no license fees at all for the music. It was only in the last 15 years that they began to pay any license fee at all.

Last week, after more than a year of CBC bullying, threatening and endless changing of positions, we offered the CBC the following deal: forget the lawsuit - just pay our legal fees (which we incurred because of CBC's breach of usage as agreed in the license deal) and let's keep the same licensing deal as before. That's it...same as before. $500 per episode of HNIC. They did not accept.

They kept bullying us, telling us the song was worthless, threatening to drop the song altogether if we didn't give them exactly what they wanted, absolutely on their terms. If not, they'd hold a national contest and replace the song. Honestly, it became increasingly clear to us that this was their plan all along - to offer deals that were impossible for us to accept, so they would have the excuse to drop the song without being blamed for doing it. On Thursday, they sent us an email rejecting the offer and saying that it was sad we could not come to an agreement.

Then on Friday, Scott Moore of the CBC announced the Song Contest to replace the theme. So, it was clear, for sure, that this was over for us.

My belief is that when it started to become clear to the CBC that the public wasn't happy with their decision, they announced that they would negotiate further. Frankly, my mother was so depressed, she just said - no, they don't really want the song. It's better at least if it dies a dignified death.

When CTV made an offer, they promised that they'd use the song, and they'd use it in association with Canadian hockey. Of all the things, this mattered most to my mother.

I know you are probably upset that we didn't resolve our differences with the CBC, but no matter what they say publicly, they really, clearly, didn't give a shit about the theme. Their only concern was they should not be seen to be the villains in getting rid of it. My mother became a very convenient scapegoat.

To a composer, their music is like their baby - they don't want to see it buried, or forgotten, or sidelined. And my mother, being a rather strong woman, just wasn't willing to be bullied and threatened any more. A lot of people are going to call her greedy and opportunistic. Well, they just don't know her at all. It's going to sound trite if I say that "it wasn't about the money". But ask any composer of music if they want to see their work buried, and never played again. It's easy to focus on the money. But it was never, ever about the money. Life, and people, are just a lot more complex than that.

That's my side of the story, for what it's worth.

Madeleine Morris

Well, actually, the fine feathered Gits from MM are just graciously playing my song, Cadillac, on this weeks show, 107!
A simple heartfelt song about love, sex, jealousy and TWO TONS OF GLEAMING DETROIT REVENGE!

So sit back and relax, grab a smart cocktail and take a listen to John and Moll the TechBat. The best radio show on the Net!

Just click on the banner below and download or stream the show...



Then vote for my song by clicking on the banner below. It's EASY! No emails or signing up...just point and click. Vote often but only once a day.



And you can download my album for free, just check out my blog below this one!

cheers,
Ooobie

p.s. New album out hopefully by fall '08.

You can download my album, Give Me Something Real, for FREE!

Just click on the banner below...

Hola all my dear friends!Once again, the very, very fine folks of MONOCHROME MUSEUM have graciously decided to play one of my favourite Uberbelly tracks Blue For You on their fabulous and crazy Internet Radio Show, this Sunday, November 11, 2007.

Madness and mayhem is guaranteed and c'mon, it's only one hour out of your life so take a listen while you're doing the dishes! Just CLICK ON THE BANNER BELOW and it will take you right there. EASY!





On your lower right-hand side just click on the download link and enjoy!

Or, if you prefer, just click on the widget below so you can just stream the show.



And if you feel compelled, please take a moment to vote for your fave track on the guest book or just drop a note to say hi to John and Moll, your fantastic hosts of the show.
They do more to support independant music than most anybody else on the planet so show them some love! And even better, send them your tracks and they might just give your tune a spin!

And remember to take a moment in respect of our troops who have either given their lives for YOUR freedom or are still fighting for YOUR freedom. Think about it...do you want extreme religious zealots telling you and your kids what to do or think?



And you can download my album "Give Me Something Real" for FREE! Just click on the banner below.