uganda XI

now we're back from the village...

saturday, august 23/08

on saturday we just relaxed. roger tried to arrange for us to go and see one of his shows. 

the way his shows happen is very bazaar to me. someone organized a bar or a dance, usually in a ghetto somewhere. they call roger or his best friend, beezman or goes by the name of "the reggae master"; roger goes by the  name of "r.eddie". the organizer calls just a few hours before the gig is to happen and off he goes. we talked about how he needs a manager who can set up a schedule of performances so he would know what he would be doing for some weeks at a time. apparently, is just doesn't happen that way and wouldn't work because of the way organizers work. weird!

everything they sing is either pop or traditional culture and is on cd. they just show up with their music, put it on and sing along. roger says he would love to have a live band but no-one can afford it. as it is, he is well know and quite popular. he says he makes $30 to $45 a night, sometimes up to three times a week. if that is regular, it's not bad pay. medical drs. make about $250 a month and live in a shack. (brad visited the hospital and had a conversation with the top doc who makes about $500 a month. they drove around and looked a some of their homes. the hospital is state of the art and has a teaching arrangement with a hospital in london.)

anyway, his shows are either too late or he doesn't want us to go to a certain venue. i hope we get to see him perform before we  leave. we saw him and beezman perform   at the wedding and they are clearly very good performers but i suspect these shows are a little different...longer performances than at the wedding, and working with the audiences more.

roger and i wrote a song together out at uncle eric's place and he has just returned from setting up a recording session. unfortunately, we can't get in before midnight and we can only go until 6am. roger and i are both excited about this. he records alot but i think he's pumped about doing a song with me. after years of experience in canada, i'm excited to be involved in a session in another country...particularly africa!