Oh Canada

Oui Oui Music Newsletter

May 19, 2023

Hello Slim People,

Have you heard about the new male hygiene spray?

Their slogan:

Umpire.

For foul balls.

SLIM FOLKS!

How are you sluggers? Everybody OK? Stepping up to the plate? Swinging for the fences?

Before we get into the Slim News, I gotta remind you about the upcoming Slim Gigs.

And we have quite a few. The bases are loaded!

Tuesdays at Vicky's has been pleasantly packed. The Slim Man Band has been hitting it out of the park! Last show of the season is June 20th. Only five gigs left. Come on down!

Wednesdays at the Larkspur with the Rat Pack Duo has been a hoot anna holla. Chase Huna plays sax. I sing.

And they want us back every Wednesday in June. Joy to the World!

We have the Big Band Show in Ripon, CA, at the Lucca Winery on Saturday, June 10. Tickets are selling like hotcakes!

Not sure what hotcakes are or why they sell so fast, but the Ripon show is gonna be rippin'! Slim Man Sings Rat Pack songs with a big band.

A really big 16-piece band!

And then we have Humphrey's in San Diego on July 16.

Festival of Arts on July 18 and August 16.

And Sedona, Arizona at the lovely Soundbites Grill with Will Donato Saturday, July 22nd!

All details on all Slim Shows are down below.

And on the Slim Man website.

Come on out and see us sometime!

My good buddy Chase Huna has started a Kickstarter campaign for his new single, East Coast Swing.

He's trying to raise some dough to get the single produced, pressed, and promoted.

Just two more weeks to meet his Kickstarter goal. Check out the rewards and make a pledge!

NOW FOR THE REAL NEW REAL NEWS FROM SLIM'S SHADY TRAILER PARK

So I’m driving west on I-10. The Sonny Bono Memorial Freeway. I Got You, Babe!

I was headed from Palm Springs to Dodger Stadium because my amico, fellow Baltimoron and guitar picker Shea Welsh had a luxury box and asked me to join in the fun.

I’ve always wanted to see Dodger Stadium.

As I traveled west, I belted out Oh Canada the whole way. I sang it over and over.

Why?

A couple days before, the Firebirds, the minor league hockey team here in Palm Springs, asked me if I knew the Canadian anthem.

I did.

The Firebirds were playing a Canadian team in the playoffs, the Calgary Wranglers.

And they needed someone to sing both anthems.

This is a job for Slim Man!

When I was living in Baltimore, I used to sing Oh Canada and the Star-Spangled Banner with my band, BootCamp. We did killer a capella versions of both.

And whenever our hometown minor league hockey team, the Baltimore Skipjacks, played a Canadian team, BootCamp got the call.

So I knew Oh Canada.

So why did I need to belt it out so many times on the way to LA?

Because the Canadian government recently changed the words.

Seriously.

NFK! Not Effing Kidding!

They changed the line, “True patriot love, in all thy sons command” to “True patriot love in all of us command.”

Why the change?

Because the Canadians wanted something gender-neutral. I love those Canucks! So polite and thoughtful.

But I’d been singing it the old way for 100 years. So I had to retrain my brain to sing it the new way.

I didn't want the spotlight to hit me in front of 10,000 people and freeze up out there on the ice!

So that’s why I sang Oh Canada a bazillion times on the way to Dodger Stadium.

When I got to the luxury box it was quite…luxurious.

There were trays of food--hot dogs, wings, Mexican munchies, salads--and a fridge stocked with beer.

As soon as I got to the seats, a foul ball flew into the box, just a couple feet to my left.

A couple pitches later, another foul ball landed to my right.

It was pretty thrilling!

My family lived close to Memorial Stadium, where the Baltimore Orioles used to play.

When my brother and I were kids, we loved going to Memorial. We would get there early, sit in the bleachers and catch batting practice.

Put on our gloves and wait for foul balls.

So when those foul balls came flying into the luxury box at Dodger Stadium, it brought back some magical memories.

Dodger Stadium is really beautiful. And Shea and I had a blast. He had on a Dodgers hat and an Orioles jersey!

Way to cover all the bases, Shea!

The Dodgers beat the Padres that sunny Sunday afternoon.

On the drive back to Palm Springs, I sang Oh Canada the whole way.

The next morning, game day, know what I did?

Sang Oh Canada a zillion more times.

Oh Canada, glorious and free!

The neighbors here at Slim’s Shady Trailer Park must have thought I’d changed citizenship!

Game time at Acrisure Arena was 7 PM. I got there at 5. I was led down to the ground floor and into the green room.

The green room is where you hang out before a concert, a gig, a sporting event. Except this room wasn't green. It was Palm Springs pink!

It was cold in there. Chilling!

Well, I guess it had to be. It’s ice hockey. Not field hockey!

I rambled to the rink, took a look at the empty arena, and imagined myself out on the ice…

Singing the right words!

The behind the scenes staff was really wonderful. A couple minutes before game time, they led me to the rink, and kept me from being run over by the Zambonis that were coming off the ice!

I got introduced, walked on the black rubber mat to the center of the rink, and crooned...

Oh Canada! Our home and native land,

True patriot love, in all of us command!"

At the end of Oh Canada, I paused for three seconds and then sang the Star-Spangled Banner.

I thought I done did good!

Maybe not as good as Whitney Houston before the 1991 Super Bowl, but I did get a standing ovation.

Sure, they were already standing because it was the anthem, but I'm calling it a standing O!

The game turned out to be a real thriller. The Firebirds beat the Calgary Wranglers in triple overtime!

The next day, the Slim Man Band did the Tuesday show at Vicky’s. It was pleasantly packed, and the band sounded Slimsational!

When we finished, I saw a text from the Firebirds folks.

They asked me to sing both anthems again the next day. And mentioned that I had “missed a line” in Oh Canada.

WHAT?!?

I knew I sang the right words. The gender-neutral lyrics!

Tom Huna (Chase's dad) was at Vicky's. And at the game the night before. I told him about the text.

Tom does all the Slim Man Merch, hats, T-shirts, coffee mugs. That’s his day gig.

And at night he works for the Firebirds, helps with organizing stats, counting shots on goal.

And sometimes he even sits in the penalty box to make sure players don’t escape too early!

True story.

Tom told me a couple folks fussed online about me singing the new lyrics. Thought I was flubbing my lines!

Slim People, it bugged me a bit. I practiced long and hard, sang the right words—and still caught some flack.

Was I gonna get canceled? Banned from singing anthems world-wide?

Well, it couldn’t have been too bad, or the Firebirds wouldn’t have asked me to sing Oh Canada the next night.

But I couldn’t. I had to decline their offer.

Why?

I had a gig at Larkspur that night, doing the Slim Man Chase Huna Rat Pack Duo.

And I didn’t want to cancel. Some Slim Folks had planned trips from out-of-town to see the show. Some other Slim People had birthday parties that night.

I told the Firebird folks I couldn’t do the anthems.

Sure, it would have been a thrill to sing in the arena for 10,000 raving hockey fans.

But I didn't want to let the Slim Peeps down!

So Chase and I played the Larkspur.

When we did The Lady is a Tramp, I thought...are they gonna change the words to that song? It's kinda inappropriate.

Maybe change The Lady is a Tramp to The Lady is a Champ.

Or...The Lady Loves Slim Man!

Keep smiling, SlimStones.

And keep an eye out for foul balls. And Zambonis!

It's all about love.

Who loves ya?

Uncle Slimmy

PS: The Firebirds emailed me just now. They want me to sing the Star-Spangled Banner tonight for the final game of the playoffs. The series is tied 2-2.

And then they want Sax Man Chase Huna to play Oh Canada! That's one way around the new words. Do it as an instrumental!

I'll keep you posted.

PPS: Here's the video of one of my favorite dishes. Bay scallops with white wine, butter, garlic, basil, and lemon. She's a-so nice!

https://youtu.be/5AoE04RmoVU