HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-05-22, Page 3im, Medd
From home to recording studio
by Cath Wooden
While entertaining at his parents''
parties as a teenager, dim Medd
iscovered' he liked the sound of coins
dropping In hisguitar case and Made.
up. his m1nd to make a career of
playing country and western music. •
And that IS just what hes doing; The
Hullett Township singer's firstzalbum,
called Country Comfort, has been in
stores for only a few weeks and has
already Sold half .of the 1,000 copies
40 made in the first pressing. '
Country" Comfort has been a long'
Y
time in the making. Jim says: that to
moduce the album that has 34
inutes of music on it, 1,000 hours of
work, including 130 , hours- of ex-
pensive studio time was put into it - all
part-time. 'The album was recorded at
the eight track King's Sound Studio in
Wingham.
Jim explained that the process
involved in putting•an album is a long,
and complicated one, The first thing
he did was lay down what IS called va
"bed track" way 'back in July., This
included rough vocals, drums, bass,
and guitar.
. Then other musicians were brought
in toadd to this, and then the voice
gas redone_ text came •the C`mlxn
- » , r ess in - w�. ich the
p oc aur , S � h e
sounds were blended and edited..
Finally the master tracks were made
,.and the tape was ready to .be pressed
into records.
At that point, Jinni could have sold
the 'copyright to a record company
Who would have taken it from there
but he decided to retain the rights and.
as a result, had todo all the legwork of
finding a pressing company and
getting the album cover made, and
finally distributing the album to
stores and radio stations.
rt-IS-really-the-disc-joekeys that
•
WS ECl RI , THURSDA'' , MAY 22, 1980—PAGE 3
New program 4 4,
make or break a rnusician's album,
Country Comfort's getting air time on
CKNX In Wingham, CEOS ip Owen
Sound, and Kitchener'.s CKKW, Jim Its
planning on getting. some 45's
(singles) made because ,that. ,is. ,What
radio stations prefer,
Because the album was later
, °- coming ooi t.than,hl hnd:,expected, Jim
is finding himself ; a busy man these.
days. In addition to distributing the
album, he has had to put his Crops in
for the year.on his RR 1, Blyth farm.
He says that .his wife Margaret,
"isn't too keen on the whole . thing,"
because entertainers spend so much -
time on the road, "but she is behind
n e.1:00 per cent." His biggest fans are
his daughters Mandy, four, and
Melissa, one,
Sim has : been playing . guitar and
singing for most of his 26 years. His
parents got hien started at lessons, but '
m d "him--quit°-because-he--woukla;'t-
practice.
"I worked • out songs on my own and
played for a hobby until I°was 16 or so,
then I got into a band," He has been in
several bands since then, playing at
receptions and dances.
Jim has written some of his own
songs, but none of them are featured
on the album. "Since it was my first r
time in the studio, I felt a little more
secure doing other people's
material." The album includes songs
by such artists as Tom T. Hall,
Whalen VJennings, and Merle
Haggard, but Jim arranged the tunes
to sound different than other people
have done them.
The best cuts on the 11 -song album
are "Shelly's Winter Love," an Qld
Merle Laggard tune 'and "The'
Wonder of You" by B. Knight. Jim's
rich, steady voice sounds best doing
the slow numbers he calls, "tear-
jerkers".
The album is suprisingly slick
considering the limitations of the
Winghatn studio, and -the pressing is
excellent. There's no doubt that this
first album .isn't going to""' be Jim's
last. He says it's a result of "a lot of
hard work and never giving up" and it
shows. •
A visit to the dentist or the doctor
is usually a terrifying, frightful
experience, so making both trips in
one afternoon can turn the
steadiest person into a complete
wreck. i
Butwith nerves of steel (actually
just bad planning) I accidently
scheduled appointments with both
the medical men on the same day.
It took me three days to recover
from the anxiety attack that both
appointments caused but I finally
eased my mindwith the "killing
one bird with two stones"
reasoning.
The dentist came first, and I was
sure- that last- -minute desper.,ate_.
tooth brushing attempts wouldn't
help.
In truth my dentist's a nice man
and kindly supplies dead flies in the
overhead flourescent lights for
patients to count, while he jabs
fingers and tools into their mouths.
I only made it to 20 before the.
dentist stopped prodding •and the
light was switched off.
"I made it," I thought with a sigh
of relief and just got ready to jump
from nay perch- when the terrifying
words "wisdom teeth" rattled my
body:
"Better see if they should be
pulled," grinned my optimistic
dentist. .,;
"But they're fine," I begged. "I
don't even have any yet."
I don't known much about teeth
but it didn't seem quite right that
he would consider pulling some of
my pearly whites when they hadn't
given me a touch of pain or
problem.
I let the man go ahead with his
investigation and consolled myself
by deciding to get -a.- second _opinion
before anybody started ripping
apart my mouth.
'Trying to X-ray those hidden
teeth was painful enough and if the
day ever comes when I get the
inclination to invent something, L'11
create soft X-ray plates.
Perhaps I have a low tolerance
for pain, but when those little
plastic cards where jammed down
my throat I almost bite the den-
tist's finger in two.
Some may strongly object, but
maybe the : dentist had . trouble
• fitting the X-ray cards in, because
any mouth just isn't big enough!
My smiling dentist assured me
that he'd call me if the X-rays
showed anything out of place, but I
bravely told. him I'd -wait to see the
results first hand.
I should have left when the going
was good. As it turned out the first
X-rays, didn't_ .show. a _ thing.. I
personally thought that was a good
sign but he insisted that we do it all
over again.
And after 40 minutes of pain and
anxious waiting my dentisthappily
announced that my., wisdom teeth
were alright, for the time being.
With one traumatic -experience
out of the way I drove across town
to my second challenge of the day,
the doctor's office;
Two hours, later still sitting in
the waiting room, I wondered if he
was saving the best or the' worst
until last.
Luckily my greatest fears only
turned out to be in my imagination
and the terrible pain from a growth
on my toe only turned out to -be a
wart.
"Are you sure it's just a wart?" I
questionned as we examined my
toe. "It hurts more than wart."
He assured me however that
amputation would not be necessary
and I happliy agreed: to set up a
wart removal appointment. •
And so, even though my nerves
were a little tattered and torn I
came away -from my afternoon a
the doctors' with the words of
assurance, "You're healthy as a
trout."
I just hope my gills and fins keep
that way for another year anyway.
Great
season...
• from page l
Pullen also mentioned that farmers
have . their beef cattle out to pasture
and that dairy cattle would be going
out soon, also.
Herbacides are the order of the day,
according to the agricultural
representative, because they work
best in moist ground.
Jim Medd recorded his album, Country Comfort, in the eight -track sound
studio in Wingham. It is the first country and western album for the Blyth area
farmer and is selling fast. (News -Record photo)
Highway contract awarded
Transportation and
Communications --
Minister James •Snow has
announced the award of a
contract for Highway 21
in Stratford district.
The contract is for
resurfacing on Highway
21 from Bayfield south
limits northerly to 0.3 km
south of Goderich south
limits for 19.3 km.
This contract is part of
a continuing program to
upgrade Highway 21 to
present Ministry stan-
dards. The work will
include updating of side
road and commercial
entrances, drainage
improvements and the
addition or improvement
of intersection tapers and
or radii where warran-
ted.
Work on the project is
se.herinled to begin in
June 1980, with- com-
pletion set for early fall,
1980.
The contract is
awarded to Cox . Con-
struction Limited. or-
Guelph,. Ontario at a cost
of,$493, 525.
from page I
grant of $300 to Seaforth Community
Hospital which had asked fox' $663 for
the 221 Tuckersmith patients ad -
nutted thhospital 'in 197 ►. 'Th
V`anastrato Lionse Club was grantede
permission to build one unit of
bleachers at the baseball diatni nd at
the Vanastra recreation. grounds with
thecouncil paying for the material,
estimated around $600 and the Iti"ons
doing the work; The work is to be done
under the supervision of building
inspector, Henry Van Wieren,
A 'supplementary road subsidy for
$26,200 was received" from the
ministry of transportation and
communications. for repairing 'two
township bridges ti
Council will provide the township
lawnmower and tractor along with an
operator to assist the Vanastra
businessmen's association to -clean up
b in the -industrial section which
have been .ne neglected.
Council will assist Seaforth in a
$12,500 survey to locate a new landfill
site to serve Seaforth anti- Tucker -
smith and ,Hibbert Townships. The
town's share will be $4,500;
Tuckersmith's, $2,250 and Hibbert's,
$750. for engineer's costs. Councillor
•William Brown and clerk -treasurer
Jack McLachlan will serve on the
landfill committee, representing
Tuckersmith.
William Brown had his salvage
yard license fee renewed for one year,
ending May 31, 1981.
The fire hydrant in the middle of
Harry Sidney's driveway will be
removed by council, following a
request from Mr. Sidney.
The new purchaser of the town
houses at Vanastra will be allowed to
pay the back water taxes on the
property in instalments every six
months until paid.
Council noted the reporter had, an
error in the budget report from the
las.t-mg
.eetin .wwhervitshould-have read -,,
the recreation costs were $1-41,750; an
increase from $116,252 over 1979.
Pressure -Treated Lumber
Don't
monkey
around
withyour
pool!
MacLean's hove trained
and experienced personnel
to advise you on
maintaining your pool.
Bring us a pool water sample
and let us test it for you.
We will help you
maintain a crystal-clear
pool year round.
We have all your chemicals
as well as pool games,
floats and lounges.
PICNIC TABLES [nest exactly
as illustrated ]
30 different. styles & sizes to choose from
GAS BARBEQUES
WE STILL HAV SOME AT THIS GREAT
PRICE!
•LARGE DUAL CONTROL
*Deluxe Handle
*Warming Rack
•Shelf •Rotisserie$2 8 8 8
'•Heavy duty cart •
•20 Ib. Propane tank
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INSTENSIVE CARE
LOTION
660 ML.
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GOLFERS: Clubs, carts, bags, balls, shoes, accessories
BASEBALL: Gloves, spikes, balls, buts, Loam uniforms
TENNIS: Shoes, shorts, skirts, racquets, covers, ball's
SOCCER: Shoes; pads, balls
JOGGERS: Shorts, shirts, shoes
CAMPERS: Stove lights, coolers, tents, sleeping bags
BIKES: For all ages. We also do repairs.
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THE SQUARE MAIN CORNER
GODERICH "CLINTON & SEAFORTH
TR1ANG LE
HENSALL
262-2418