Hey Cornwall Folk,

A few Saturdays ago I took a musical road trip to Brockville with Winston Marley, a local Cornwall band, who has played numerous shows, various charity events and can claim the honor of having released a full-length cd.  As the wheels were spinning with melodic anticipation, we were making our way to the infamous gig; with me being the interested “roadie”.  After finding a strategic spot to park the cars loaded with instruments, amplifiers and gear, we lugged the tools of gigging into the bar…the show must go on!

As the night passed, Winston Marley entertained the large crowd of pub patrons, who were dancing and singing along.  As I was a non-paid due payer for the night, I had the opportunity to speak with a lot of people in respect to music….while the band kept playing of course.  A lot of these people rhythmically remarked how talented the musicians from Cornwall were and still are.  In full agreement with these remarks, I began to have questions that are still begging to be answered.

In unison with these previous internal questions, I had thoughts of a perpetual story my Dad always tells me about the “good old” Cornwall days.  Folks, I can promise you it is not the story about walking to school in ten feet of snow.  Rather, the story is about the word hotel, which to me; means a place where somebody sleeps for payment.  But to my father and most people his age, a hotel was a place where live bands played regularly and abundantly with people amassing while dancing the night away.  As the tone of my father’s story may come off as repetitive, it is actually a story that inspires insight and intentions on those “good old” days.

Personally, I believe music has taken a back seat in numerous facets of our society.  From schools cutting music programs to the extinction of my Dad’s meaning of the word hotel, music is not valued as much as it should be.  In my opinion, music programs in our schools are just as important as any English or Mathematics class, just as live music in our local establishments is equally important as the food and drink served.  With that said, Cornwall’s current musicians serve this town and other city’s appetites very well….now let’s all lick our lucky lips….SUPPORT LIVE LOCAL MUSIC!

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music”—-Aldous Huxley

“To deny music is to deny one’s sole; so start walking”—-Chuck Leclair

Musically yours,