Archive for August, 2011

Complainte pour Ste Catherine

Friday, August 19th, 2011

Two months after the release of our first Warner recording in early 1976 we were asked to send a visual of a song that was getting some attention in Holland. Kate was 8 months pregnant (doesn’t look it) with Martha and because she had some edema the big East coast tour that had been planned got cancelled and we were at home twiddling our thumbs convinced our short-lived music careers were over. Now it turns out somebody somewhere liked something. Timing was everything. I remember it was a weekend and the Quebec WEA company rep arranged for us to lyp-synch before a camera at a TV station in Sherbrooke, QC, 1.5 hrs drive E. of Montreal, the only place that could make the video on short notice. In spite of the sorry-looking tulips, the song became a hit in Holland and Northern Europe. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this clip. It was uploaded to youtube and last.fm by fans. The irony here is that in the Spring of 2009 Kate and I were to fly to Holland to do this same song on a TV show with the Dutch group Alderliefste but because of post-surgery complications Kate had to spend a month in hospital and we never made it over. Complainte pour Ste Catherine indeed. Be careful how you title your songs. Stick to Love Me Do. The song appears on our first Warner record and on French Record (where I’ve written it phonetically – Kumpleint por St Kathryn)

Complainte pour Ste Catherine – Dutch TV 1976

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Robert Bower, fan, friend and lover of cats.

Saturday, August 6th, 2011

Just got the sad and unexpected news that longtime friend and fan Robert Bower died suddenly in NYC yesterday. He was only 62. His beloved mother Ida died a month ago on July 8th and he was heartbroken but bearing up. He had a health problem he was being treated for and seems to have died as a consequence. Here is a pic of Robert and his mum (from a while back) that he sent me in July.
Kate and I first met Robert in 1976 shortly after our first record was released. We were touring in the NYC area and he presented himself backstage after a gig. If memory serves me well, he was with Ron Gomes. Thereafter he would call regularly and send us newspaper clippings of K&A reviews from around the World and he never missed a K&A concert in the NYC area and often travelled further afield to attend if his work schedule permitted. He was a longtime employee of Hotalings News in Times Sq. More recently he worked in Bob Dylan’s office. Robert was probably Leonard Cohen’s biggest fan and many people will remember him from LC’s concerts and ours. He was always taking in stray cats and at one point had what he thought were 2 female kittens which he named Kate and Anna. Kate turned out to be a male (my Kate was supposed to be one..) so he renamed the kitten Kit which was also my father’s nickname for Kate. They are also long gone. Here’s hoping Robert finds all his loved ones on the other side. Adieu old friend.

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