20 things I love about Dave Clement

Dave and me. Photo by Beckett Gladney.


Less than a week to FilKONtario, woohoo! Allison, Jodi and I are hosting a Tolkien/fantasy theme circle on Friday night; hope to see some of you there. We are excited about the Urban Tapestry DVD, which will be auctioned off to raise money for the convention.

This DVD contains edited song videos from our concert at The Gathering of The Fellowship in December, a Tolkien convention held in Toronto; the DVD also contains a photo slideshow. Many thanks to John Durno (Allison's husband), who did an amazing job at putting together this project. The DVD will not be for sale, but donated to one or two Interfillk auctions in addition to the auction at FilKONtario.

I'm also very much looking forward to a visit this week from my friend, Dave Clement. A while back, I posted my list of things I love about Allison as well as Jodi. I figure it's about time I posted...




Dave and me playing music a couple of years ago.

20 things I love about Dave Clement

His singing. I love the texture of Dave's voice: warm, chocolately, velvet, wraps around you like a hug. Check out songs like Canadian Lady, Windego or Fisherman's Wharf on this page of sample soundclips, for example (or click here). You can also hear him singing on our first CD on "Sex and Chocolate".

His optimism and benevolence.

His chili. Last time Dave was visiting, he made his famous chili, which Jeff declared to be the best he's ever tasted. Dave has promised to make more this time, and our mouths are already watering.

His generosity.




Chef Dave cooking chili.


His courage. Dave's courage manifests itself in so many ways and situations too numerous to list here. But here's a more direct example: A mugger once made the mistake of attacking Dave and his wife, probably thinking them easy target because of their age and Dave's blindness. The guy didn't count on them fighting back, especially Dave whalin' on him with his white cane. The would-be thief ended up fleeing sans money. :-)

He has a cool house! The Bhigg House is one of my favourite places, a house with personality, rooms with cool names/themes, and wonderful people.

His encouragement of other performers, no matter what their level of talent. See this citation when Dave was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame.

He's a good writer.

His storytelling abilities. Can't wait until his first book comes out...

His appreciation of chocolate.

His ability to connect like-minded people with each other.

His guitar-playing. He's one of those musicians whose instruments seem to become a part of them when they perform.

Not to mention the other instruments he plays, like penny whistle and drums!

He's a steadfast friend and a good shoulder to cry on.

His wholehearted enthusiasm for life. Tom (Dave's music partner in Dandelion Wine), about Dave: "Dave decided to go bowling with us one day. I was quite skeptical about this until he stepped up, threw a strike, and sat back down. This was after I had just thrown a gutter ball. I have never doubted his ability again and he has done everything from riding a bicycle while playing his guitar to shooting pool at an RCMP barracks."

His tact and sensitivity.

His very cool music partner, Tom Jeffers.

His love of folk music.

His love of reading. He and I trade tips on audiobooks.

His hugs. If he could bottle these up and sell them, he would be a zillionaire. And the world would be a much happier place.

If you want to find out more about Dave, check out Dandelion Wine's Web site (managed by the talented Beckett Gladney).

March 2004 comments: Read | Post | LJ