Buzz Job- The True Story of Cal Cavendish finished a fantastic ten show run at the Ironwood Stage and Grill in Calgary last week.
For those who didn't see it or haven't heard about it, it was a 90 minute musical theatre piece written by Calgary's David van Belle and myself, and based on the life and antics or Cal Cavendish, a songwriter and pilot in Calgary who, in 1975, decided to protest the music industry by dumping 100 copies of his latest 45 and 100 pounds of cowshit on downtown Calgary from his airplane, 'buzzing' low past the Calgary Tower and getting it evacuated.


'Buzz Job' featured six of Cal's songs and six new ones I wrote for the show. It revealed a part of Calgary's middle history not many people know about. It addressed the struggles of the artist in boom time, but also spoke more generally about the point at which people's dreams are derailed by lack of money and personal roadblocks.
It was staged as Cal's last gig before getting sentenced, and featured myself as Cal, Crack Banders Chantal Vitalis and Diane Kooch, and Mark Igglesden on drums.
The show was a big hit, with many sold out nights and audience reaction that was at times moving. A woman approached me after the opening night show and said; "I moved to Calgary five years ago, and have spent the entire time thinking of ways to get out of here. After seeing the show, I feel for the first time that this is where I live, that this city is home".

You can hear an abridged version of 'Buzz Job' on CBC this Saturday Feb 28 on the Key of A 5pm on Radio 1 and also at 8 p.m. on CBC's Canada Live Radio 2.

Trickle Down is one of the tunes I wrote for the show.

Photo courtesy of photographer John Duff.