Jan. 8th, 2011 IMPORTANT UPDATE!!

Van Leer-the-band DID NOT APPEAR anywhere 3 a.m. Jan. 1 -- event was cancelled. ~ NEXT GTA Van Leer gig is multi-band Event @ Birchmount Tavern Sun. Jan. 16th running 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. ~ VAN LEER hits the stage at 5 p.m. Other bands include The Hinges,
Scarpelli (Gino S., long-time member of Goddo) & AT LEAST 5 others. It's a charitable benefit, so there's a $10 cover charge. Big stage, big p.a. & lights, biggish menu, u r gonna love it! ~
May your 2011 be excellent. ~ Pls watch our GTA Appearances Schedule, BUT if it appears incomplete or non-current, do PLEASE return here to Lee's Blog, where we'll
ALWAYS keep u up2date on Van Leer gigs in the GTA, and any Lee Van Leer guest showcases
w/ other bands. ~ The Birchmount Tavern / Cactus Pete's is highly visible in the
Birchmount Plaza, N.E. corner of Danforth ROAD & Birchmount Ave. ~ R U Red-e turoq? Hopefully we'll see you there!

Event, not2B missed!

THIS SATURDAY, VAN LEER WILL PERFORM IN PUBLIC 4THE 1st TIME SINCE JANUARY 2010, at the Alpine Hotel again on Kingston Rd., E.of Vic. Pk. This is a charitable event w/ 4
other bands, so there'll be a cover charge.~ Start time is 8p.m. ~ 4sure u wanna be there!

Don Paveling & Declan Doran: Heroes, IMHO.

On New Year's Day 1961, used car dlr. Ernie Barnhart introduced me to Ronnie Hawkins.
I heard "Robbie" Robertson play his Tele and on the leads I thought it sounded "thin"
and I formulated A THE0RY, to wit: all u need4 a gd blues tone is 2 pickups & a metal
playing surface on your bridge. ``` ` ````` ` `` ````` ```` `` ` ``````` ` ` `````
``````` ``````` `` ```` ``````. I mean, look at Freddy & Albert King! Don P. & Declan D. played '54-56 LP gold-tops when others around them were buying Teles, and their tone was excellent! SO, I drew a CONCLUSION. Soon Mike Bloomfield, E. Clapton, J. Page & J. Beck were also playing LP's and sounding great. TONE to the BONE, my brothers! Case closed, nya-nya, nya nya-nya. I'd rather hear these gtrs. than attend the Sandy Claws Parade ANY year!

ENDORSEMENTS!

Lee Van Leer and Gord "Wayne" Munzy play Lado and Jillard guitars & basses exclusively, strung with Belltone Strings, their life extended by Stringtreat. Amplification is by Peavey Electronics. ~ Pls visit: www.jillardguitars.com ~
We have no idea who makes our kazoos.

My alien abduction.

When I was visiting Arizontal, Arizona, I was accosted by four Mexican nationals who possessed no documentation whatever. Three of my abductors looked like, uh, mid-30s male hispanics. The fourth was completely covered in curly, off-white fur, and she BLEATED. The three males lifted me and loaded me into a white Ford van with a cereal box where the rear license plate should have been. Their apparent leader asked of me many questions in heavily accented English, including if I knew the location of a peyote cactus. When I replied that I did not, my interrogator became very agitated
and smashed a plate of poutine into my face. ~ 2B continued.

Did you ever see/hear The Soul Instigators?

No?, well the day will come again in early 2012. ~ Pete Aube', Scott Sharp, (or John W.),
Mike Murphy<---(optional), Lee Van Leer and importantly, Wayne Munzy, bassist. Keep watching or following this Blog for more news. Meanwhile pls view PICS on my 2911-01-17 post. Be safe. Be well, my friends & fans, and thank you! for viewing and/or Following this Blog.

A very interesting day...

...is what I had at the MTV Bldg. 888 Yonge St. T.O. on Wed. Nov.10. While
there I had lunch with noted Cdn. film director Bruce MacDonald. (Cool, hey?)
As to what else took place there during my 7 hrs. on-site, my lips are sealed 'til
March 2011.

PLEASE visit Myspace music - Thunderland

Proud of the logo that I designed. Proud of the music we made when we were 4 & 5-pc. ~ Dear friend Andy Ray Fong was occas. 5th member, like on "Crossroads" -- Please listen. You WILL enjoy! Can Lee Van Leer design band logos? [see also VanLeer & Trill] Does Bigfoot rule the woods? ...

I am DELIGHTED...

... that Toronto, ON, ca municipal election enjoyed a 50% voter turnout, the largest
in the 10 yrs. of the Amalgamuddle (TM Appl. For).
... that longtime Councillor Sandra Bussin was soundly turfed out on her rump & repl.by Mary-Margaret McMahon, who facially resembles somone I used2 see on SNL
or somesuch. She'll hopefully teach Mayor-elect Rob Ford to be greener. It'll be fun 2 watch. ~ I'm NOT delighted that Frances Nunziata is still in office.
I'm delighted that my Councillor is still Adrian Heaps. ~ 'nuf politix. ~ I'm delighted...

AT LAST! NEW colo(u)r jewel case insert for "Thumbs Up" CD.

Here 'tis. Enjoy!

And now, an Ad for 2 fine musical products:

Stringtreat, the best instrument string life-extender yet, and Belltone Strings, which I now use instead of my longtime fave GHS Boomers & my "backup" Dean Markley's.
Please visit www.belltonestrings.com & chk it all out incl. links to, and through,
Haley's Strings. It's as good as the tunes on this (VanLeer) website. (Pls xcuse blatant self-promotion, LOL! I AM proud of our "Thumbs Up!" CD.) ~ Watch for news
of way cool charity benefit shows at a BIG venue in Mississauga.

Tomorrow I'm test driving a...

...Ford Fiasco annd a Chevy Charade!

U may call me Sherwood...

...bcuz I "Sherwood" like to hear from Lisa Ehrlich!

What d'you call a 3D 32-sided figure?

A BALL THAT ROLLS NOISILY!

4th of July was xlent @ N---a-- -- --- -a--, ON.

Daisy Bain & the Epaulets w/ V. Spl. Guests Shredded Flag and Lee Van Leer w/ Jimmy Cannon, drums - Some Young Guy, bass & gtr. and Russell Drone on gtr. ~ Gallons of Limeade, alcoholic and non-, + plenty of chicken! Fireworks when darkness fell. All in all, a most memorable day.

NEW THURSDAY EVG. EVENT starts June 24

BULLETIN! Every THURSDAY evg. from 9:00 p.m. The Danforth Project (band) hosts a jam at Danny Green's Billiards & Bar, 1218 Danforth Ave., 2nd floor
(rt. across from the Roxy Theatre bldg.) ~ Guests are MOST welcome -- come jam with us! ~ Great seating & sightlines, good food, big p.a. -- the best Thursday music event in the east end! ~~
CRUCIAL UPDATE RE: TDP's weekly Thursday event: EFFERCTIVE 2DAY June 9th, 2011
The Danforth Project (Pete, Lee John, "Wayne" and Scott) are TERMINATING our Thurs.
evg. Event at Danny Green's Billiards & Bar. ~~ To find out what's happening at
Danny Green's, i.e. 8 and 9-ball tournaments, Sat. evg. and other musical events,
please CALL (416) 462-3733 Wed. through Sun. afternoons & evenings, or drop in!

"Hu?"

Q.: "Hu" would win a fight between a PLANIPLOTINIPS and a TRIMMAZORBITUS if '80s Detroit
rock were the referee? A.: The fight ended prematurely with a portion of the Livingston house collapsing on both combatants. ~ Brush Park ruins 1, obscure species 0.

May 2 matinee at The Ice House was awesome!

Totally fun! Bick Bazilian & the Flap gave 115% -- Rick's voice is a cross betw' Paul
Rodgers & Eddie Vedder. I stood riveted near a p.a. spkr. stack for the 1 hr. set,
entranced. When an encore was demanded, Rick picked up a Les Paul & yelled, "a tribute to Lee Van Leer!" and proceeded to almost shred using my thumb lead technique. Huh? I didn't even know that Rick played lead! He plays acous. rhythm on
1 or 2 songs in their set. Wao! ~ Well, the gauntlet had been thrown in a friendly manner, so luckily I was able to borrow the SG/Les Paul Jr. from Shredded Flag with
which I'm so comfortable, and let loose w/ "Bruised Apple Pie" and Jeff Beck's "Free-
way Jam" at the end of my set. The audience roared -- They hadn't seen me, on gtr. or otherwise, since Summer '09. Having the b.u. vocal ladies was a huge plus, also,
on tunes like "A Love To Last A Lifetime Long." I'm still radiating enthusiasm. The
crowd was over 200, Bill said, so everyone was content. I think the next show is planned for late June. I'm stoked!

Greetings, friends and fans. 2010/01/16

L.Hip replacemt surgery and its immed. aftermath have gone v. well & w/out incident.
Pain level decreases every day & some days my hip gives me hours of NO PAIN AT ALL, yay! Mercifully , I've bn granted 6 MONTHS of WheelTrans eligibility (sigh of relief.)and in buses & vans f'sure from 2moro on, bcuz riding in a sedan w/ my raised seat cuhion is just total discomfort. Grr! ~ Until late, late Mar.2010, The Place to buy the Van Leer CD "Thumbs Up" wl be ENCORE MUSIC EXCHANGE, 40 Danforth ROAD, beside the Dairy Queen. There's street & DQ parking. U shd CALL 1st, (416) 691-2686, Noon-5:50pm Mon-Fri, & 11am- 4:50 p.m. Sat. as CD r runn'g v. low over there & might not get re-stocked 'til April 28 or later(sorry 'bout that!) ~ Lotsa cool stuff at E.M.E., fairly priced, including "real" USA Gibson & Fender (used), Ibanez,'80s MIJ Fender & so much more,
incl. a vintage ('59? early 60's) big-face elec. alarm clock, works great, and has bn a prop in a movie & a TV show. $35 firm. Wao! ~ Enuf sitting. Must lie down 4 a bit. Thanks 4 reading/following. Yours in Music, Lee

Fri.Feb. 5 is my surgery day: total L. hip replacemt.

I'm lkg. 4ward 2it, tho' 1st 2 wks.= chronic pain, but apparently not a baaad kind of
pain. I'll be in hosp. for 8 to 10 days, I've been assured. I like that better than the 5 days that they often turf u out after! Typical recuperation period is 6 wks., after which the patient can usually drive cars & do quite a few other "normal-type"
things. I wonder when I'll be able to stop using my cane! ~ By Mar. 19 I HOPE to be able to resume gigging with The Muddy Guys and the seldom-seen Van Leer (band). I DO
KNOW that during the recupe' period I am warned against long periods of SITTING,
therefore no rehearsals and no computer "marathons". ~ Next post wont be 'til Feb. 16
or later, my frieds, so BE WELL. LVL

Jan.9 @ Alpine Htl. was Different & Excellent!

We had advt. this event as a "The Muddy Guys" gig, but due to circumstanza beyond my (LVL) control, we instead hastily assembled a variant of VanLeertheband which included Rick Lintlop (ex New Regime bassist), drums ~ impressive, melodic Grant
Crawford on gtr. ~ bassists were Peter Benn & Alex A ~ Peter also sang & played rhythm gtr. (and one nice lead!) We vocalists were in FINE voice, and we did one long set of "classics" and originals, then a short set feat. Peter's lead vocals near-exclusively w/ Alex A on bass. Everything gelled SUPERBLY and we won some new
fans who bought LVL "Thumbs Up!" CDs. ~ All musicians present including Ryan L., Joe, "big" Eric, 2nd set drummer Al, and others not named here were MOST helpful w.
set-up, tear-down and sound reinforcement. Thanks SO MUCH, guys! ~ I was invited to stay for Mrs. L's birthday party, to be fed & hear 2 great bands (one of them college-age)but a red fruit drink I started to ingest after Set 2 set my hernia off into Severe Pain mode so I left, personal gear & all with my friends Pete Aube' &
son "Scott Sharp" who refused to accept expense money that I offered. ~ Some of my
friends frequently spoil me 4sure, LOL! ~ Spl. thanks to my dear Sa---, who sent 5
of the "new fans" my way. BTW, my pain subsided by 9:45 and I was able to "resume
normal life". ~ I'm posting this entry from Oakville ON where I'm visiting family -- always a pleasure.