As soon as they lowered me into the chair and froze my mouth and stuck things inside it so I could not communicate and went to work on the two fillings, they put on their music. It was Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, Cowboy Junkies and Grapes of Wrath. It was torture in a way but fortunately there was a drill. When Till I Am Myself Again came on I found myself remembering every punch of that guitar solo and it still sounds like a bunch of punches to me. I recall where Greg sat in the studio, his efforts to make it continuous and organic. I wish sometimes that they let me steer. That’s what fuels a person to produce their own projects.

Earlier, when my mouth was unobstructed they asked about my life, I revealed the PhD is in musical improvisation. The dentist also has a PhD. She said after finishing she realized there were no good jobs in her specialized area so she next went to dentist school. Then the assistant said the last concert Gord Downie did was awesome. I told her I knew him a little and he was a beautiful man.

Suddenly she bragged about the drummer from Blue Rodeo. He had been in the same chair this morning. His name was Peter something or other. I said I know the drummer from Blue Rodeo, his name is Glen Milchem. They both reassured me it was Peter and I was wrong. Eventually they decided to prove they told the truth and checked his name in their ledger, Peter Timmins, then looked online and realized he was from the Cowboy Junkies. I said that makes sense. My God she said, if it was the drummer from Blue Rodeo I would have freaked out and got his autograph. I do not want to startle people handling drills, blood and needles in my mouth. I counted the minutes.