A minute with Matte? No thanks!

Hello friends...

It sure is funny, this crazy blue marble we live on, huh?

One minute, you're 10-feet tall and bullet-proof. Next minute, you're pissed off at the world and thinking more about how life sucks instead of about how fabulous it is.

It's been a wacky week. First, my dad gets sick. Really sick. Secondly, my career as a mediocre radio contributor has been resserected.

Firstly, my dad is resting comfortably at a hospital in Ottawa. His spirits are up and his family is spending lots of time cracking jokes at the foot of his bed. I am not sure whether the nurses and other hospital staff read Regina Riffing, but I apologize for anything me and my brothers might have said during our visits there. One of us might have propositioned the nice lady who came to hook up the TV in his hospital room, so that requires an extra sincere apology.

This week sucked, but all was not lost. This is the week Regina Riffing hit the airwaves.

A few weeks back when I was listening to Evan Baran's Grindhouse, I felt especially melancholy about the hours and hours I spent listening to metal shows on radio stations in Montreal and Ottawa when I was in my teens.

The Wolf's Grindhouse is Saskatchewan's only radio show dedicated to heavy metal. And it's a great show. Honest. I am officially a fan of radio in all of its incarnations -- radio is great, even though I like to complain about stations appealing to the masses at the risk of watering themselves down -- so contributing to it seemed like a natural to me.

I listen to the radio a lot. I listen to CJME sometimes, and to CBC. But when I need some music, then I listen to the Wolf. And since Grindhouse started, it's been my favourite thing on Regina radio.

Back before Christmas, I thought about my days as host of "Matte on Metal," an hour-long radio show I did on CKDJ, a show that aired on Friday nights at the rarely-listened-to radio station at Algonquin College in Ottawa. I chatted about metal and played the best of what the station had to offer. I remember fondly spinning old Saxon and Queensryche while inviting friends in for guest spots to read the news or ramble on about the latest Triumph concert.

Nobody listened, but I was ok with it.

It wasn't much different than when I was in elementary school. I would put a casette player up to a record player and play song after song, filling the time it took to change records to "rap" like a DJ. Then I'd play back my "show" when I went to bed at night.

Fast forward a few years -- I was flattered that Baran invited me to contribute to his show. We tossed some ideas back and forth, and we thought that a weekly update on metal was in order. It gives me a new voice in Regina, and gives the show an added element. I promise not to take up too much time -- the music and Baran are the reasons we all listen -- but I hope to improve on Friday night's debut.

I chatted a little about metal's history and introduced the song "Stone Cold Crazy" by Queen. It was loads of fun. But I need to get better. And I shall. I will research more and I'll work on my delivery -- on Friday's show, I sounded like a drunk person who had consumed a gallon of Nyquil.

I thank Evan for the opportunity and guidance.

I'm also happy that my bosses at the Leader-Post didn't object when I told them about my new radio gig.

But Evan deserves the biggest kudos for coming up with a name for my "bit."

Matte's Metal Minute is a quality name. I promise to work hard at living up to it.

So one other thing is happening this week - just as I did when I was in Grade 8, I put a tape recorder near a speaker and recorded Friday's show. I'll play it back for my dad tomorrow.

To me, the Wolf does, indeed, rock.

A.M.