June 22, 2000 - Okay, we have official confirmation from Virtuecast.com that all is technically well with the webcast of the NXNE SOCAN Songwriters Circle, found here (Moe's even listed in their blurb now). Moe is featured most prominently at the 9:47 and 38:40 marks in the proceedings. Thanks to Rob Bolton at Virtuecast for his help. Also a tip for those with modems under 56.6: if you have a Media Player, try the ISDN file.

- And as Brad himself says, he's "not too busy call-screening to rock the nation." He'll be back alongside Melanie Doane when she plays Downsview Park in Toronto on Canada Day July 1st.

June 18, 2000 - The NXNE SOCAN Songwriters Circle webcast is available from Virtuecast.com here. Again, the featured songwriters (despite what they may say) are in order of appearance: Ian LeFeuvre of Starling, Moe Berg, Andy Stochansky, Sarah Harmer and Neko Case. The webcast is available for Real and Media Players through 56.6, ISDN and Cable/DSL. The accessibility and quality of all of these files has not yet been confirmed, but take your best shot and let us know how it comes out. Virtuecast confirmation will be passed on here when it's received.

June 12, 2000 - Now that North By Northeast is over and we await the Virtuecast.com webcast, there's lots of new news to catch up on. Moe's next solo show will be July 14 at the Rivoli on Queen St. W. in Toronto, but it won't be just any ol' man-and-his-guitar show this time. He'll be joined on stage by the Waltons' Sean Bryson (see the bottom of the Pals page) on drums and Dan Roberts of Crash Test Dummies on bass, making for what Moe terms a "power trio" to crank out his solo stuff in a way it's never been done before.

- As for some of the other creative personae, Moe the DJ returns to the Cameron August 16, and Moe the Author's short story collection The Green Room (which he says is about "failure in an urban environment") is now slated for release in mid-September.

- And what about Brad Barker the Radio Guy? Off the road from the Melanie Doane tour, the recent Humber graduate is now producing at a Toronto talk radio station. He's reportedly having a great time and is not letting callers push him around.

June 10, 2000 - Today, the SOCAN Songwriters Circle at North By Northeast Conference came off fine (Moe performed "I'm An Adult Now" with the odd memory lapse and did a recent unreleased song called "I'm In Love With You"), and was indeed recorded for webcast. Virtuecast reps could only say the material will be on their site "mid-next-week," so sit tight.

June 8, 2000 - Here at the dawn of NXNE, word has come down that Virtuecast.com may be webcasting the Songwriters Circle described below. There's no mention of it yet over there at press time, but they do have material from an event from Tuesday, so it's promising and will likely be archived. Keep checking here and with Virtuecast.

June 2, 2000 - Early June in Toronto means the North By Northeast Conference and Festival, and Moe will in the thick of things as usual. At the conference (at the CBC Broadcast Centre) he'll be part of the SOCAN Songwriters Circle Saturday June 10th at noon, pickin' and grinnin' with Neko Case, Andy Stochansky, Gordie Sampson and Starling's Ian LeFeuvre - possibly the strongest lineup they've ever had. And as dutiful member of Fosterchild, he'll likely be alongside Jennifer Foster (diary in tow, one hopes) when she plays the Cameron House Thursday the 8th at 10pm. Other Pursuit Pals playing the festival include Tim Mech's PEEP-SHOW (Chicago's, the 8th at midnight), Memory Bank (Sneaky Dee's, the 9th at 10pm) and Robin Black and the Intergalactic Rock Stars (Lee's Palace, the 10th at midnight). All festival shows can be had for a dead-cheap wristband, while the many conference seminars and festival access require being a delegate. To learn all the details, from registration to who's playing where, head on over to www.nxne.com. (And all times just listed could change.)

May 21, 2000 - Thanks to list member Paul Sisung in Florida, who valiantly and dutifully watched "Rated X" on Showtime to try to spot Moe, Dave or Kevin Hilliard. Here's what he reports:

There was one scene where there was a band of sorts playing in the background. There was approximately 3 seconds of camera time for the band...such as that is. There was a female lead singer that I did not recognize. The only other band member that got any "face time"...was a rather tall male doing something to the right of the singer.....I wish I could be more descriptive, but hey, it was three seconds.....There were band and musician credits at the end of the credits, and no mention of any of our pals...Now that in and of itself was no great accomplishment except for the fact that it was not a particularly good movie, and the NHL playoffs were on too.

All the more reason to appreciate your sacrifice, Paul. Seeing as none of the guys could be described as "rather tall," it looks like they were sent to the cutting-room floor. Any other possible sightings are welcome, though. (For more on the events leading up to this sighting, start at the bottom here.)

- In other minor news, more than a week ago, Moe was able to feed his fanciful ambition to be a DJ. He lugged out a small portion of his obscenely vast record collection and spun some vinyl (yes, vinyl) at the famed Cameron House in Toronto. The playlist included (among many others) Badfinger, the Brothers Johnson, the Smithereens, Breeding Ground, the Mavericks and Motley Crue. Among the luminaries grooving along were the ubiquitous Mr. Hilliard (raving about the horrible Kiss concert he'd just attended in Toledo, Ohio), MuchEast's Mike Campbell, Benjamin Darvill of Crash Test Dummies (and now Son of Dave) and Dr. Craig Browne of Memory Bank (who would be in the Pursuit Pals section if they could give me a darn website).

- Should also catch up on a recent meeting with Kris Abbott. The work on the book continues slowly but surely, and she was getting ready to work on some demos of new music she was writing. Here's hoping some of all this sees the light of day in the next several months.

May 3, 2000 - In the sluggish quest to determine if Moe, Dave and the Grace Babies' Kevin Hilliard did make the cut as a wedding band in the movie "Rated X" ("Huh?" you ask? See the February 7 Update here.), we alert pay-cable people in the States that Showtime starts airing the film May 13. You Yanks pay close attention and report back, okay?

April 14, 2000 - Way back in the April issue of Mojo (the British "music connoisseur's monthly treat"), in the section "How to Buy '90's Powerpop," Dave Henderson lists chronologically 10 exemplary attempts to break the Beatles/Beach Boys/Byrds template back out of cult status. Guess what's at the top of the list? Yup - "I'm An Adult Now."

"In the late '80's, The Pursuit of Happiness were being preened by Chrysalis for rock stardom, but lank-haired front man Moe Berg had a penchant for pop and chart success was on his mind. Todd Rundgren was brought in for their debut album Love Junk and the first single...became an immediate powerpop legend. Chart success materialised with the sweeter follow-up, She's So Young, but the album stiffed and TPOH reacted by beefing up their sound. Anonymity was theirs."

Darling. Henderson goes on to thumbnail folks like Jellyfish, Matthew Sweet, The Loud Family and Cotton Mather. So look for the issue with Paul Weller on the cover.

- And as promised, here's some info for Canadians to order Sex & Food domestically. You can head on over to the Canadian site for HMV and snag your copy. (For international links to order, check the Sex & Food page.)

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