August 28, 2005
Sat.Aug.7/04 - Calgary/High River, AB.
Corporate Cash Cow... Independent Musician Cross Canada Tour (Pt 1) Western Canada.
4.5, 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1, .5K to High River, make sure you don't miss this!
Yesterday's bedtime was, well, uhm, today at 7 AM so today doesn't start until 2:30 PM. A little laundry is in order and a stop over at our favorite restaurant Van's (3 trips make it an official '04 tour stop). We barely have time to check in with our hosts before we have to be off to High River for the night's gig.
High River is about 50 or so kilometres south of the big city of Calgary, not that you could possibly miss it as it is diligently signposted every .5K starting about 10K out :D. Unfortunately, the bar isn't as easy to find. Maybe I should've written down the right address? I make a mental note for next time, *sheepish grin*. The search turns out to be worth it. When we arrive, Dudley's Pub is a bustlin'!
The place is pop'hoppin', the gear is already set up and ready to go, Tadd and Crystal (the bar staff) are wicked accomodatin' and Deb, the bar owner already has the party in full effect. I slap myself in the face and ask if they've got the long necks on ice and cocktail sammy's I asked for in my dressing room - J.K. - LOL!! One ice cream l8er (Evelyn's home made across the road :P), a brief warm up (the voice has managed to recover), a wicked setlist concocted and *bang* the show's ready to begin.
Throughout the night, I end up doing 3 sets. The first two are to a packt house, the last is to a thinning but appreciative crowd. Shortly into the first set Theresa, Paul, Max, Kevin and Janna show up - instant posse. At one point a younger lady requests some "Sublime". The crowd (with a little help from yours truly) harrases her to sing but she bows out. Never one to shy away from a challenge, I oblige. Somehow, I manage to score a free meal - ahh the life :) Deb, the owner buys tha posse a shot each. Overall the show turns out to be a slammin' success!
You kno it's been a good night when the bar owner/bookee can barely stand to bid you farewell (they kno how to partay in High River). The posse seems pleased and the festivities continue later on at P&T's out back by tha fire. Alas, all is short lived and the night ends up with myself and Paul chewin' the fat on the back porch. Alberta will always hold a special place in my heart as a province that knows how to drink, party to tha acoustic music and treat their talent with respect and the occasional shot of booze.
Next diary - Calgary to Kelowna and the first time this city boy witnesses the grandeur that is mountains. REAL Mountains!
Posted by i220 at 07:48 AM | Comments (2)
July 26, 2005
Fri.Aug.6/04 - Medicine Hat, AB.
Corporate Cash Cow... Independent Musician Cross Canada Tour (Pt 1) Western Canada.
Fetish shops, free house boat trips and the dangers of prarie driving.
Friday, the 6th of August/04 will always stand out as a day of challenges for me. It starts out innocent enough. We say goodbye to our host family over a breakfast of take-out Humpty's and Tim's coffee. The drive between Lethbridge and Medicine Hat is pretty uneventful.
We pull into tha Hat early afternoon, load into The Silver Buckle (not nearly as country as you might thaank - LOL) and decide that some exploring is in order. It seems that coulees are more common in tha west as the bar is at the bottom of one and the town at the top. We decide to tackle the geography head on rather than go around it. We climb a staircase carved into the side of the coulee wall. At the top (out of breath) we find a bench overlooking the lower part of the town and the railyard. We reflect on the trip so far - the good, bad and tha uhgly.
Downtown is definitely interesting. I'm not sure about the folks from tha Hat but for a small town it sure has a lot of strange places of business. On one strip, about 2K in length we visit a couple of fetish shops (and I do mean fetish :S), at least one tatoo parlour, some dirty ol' hock shops and a store that seemed to have a little of everything maybe even some porn? I start to wonder..;)
Back at tha Buckle I do a little warm up and we order some food. I notice during my soundcheck that my voice has suffered from the party the previous evening and the prarie dry air. I re-adjust my setlist and get to werk. Overall the gig is a strange one. I think it is the first time I've ever opened up for a "houseboat trip". The place is packed with folks anticipating winning the BIG prize, video gamers, pool players, meth-heads and a few cats who are really enthusiastic about live music. I feel like one of the attractions in a big bar theme park. Overall, I play well despite my physical obstacles. The small crowd who care really enjoy the show. The bar treats us incredibly well and we're done in plenty o' time to hit the prarie highways before 1AM. S'all good right?
But... it isn't. Shit gets pretty perilous on the drive between Medicine Hat and Calgary. At one point, it starts to rain so we have to pull over to cover the gear in the back but it's still early so no problemo. About an hour later tho with Calgary still a couple of hours away I start to get drowsy. Real drowsy. I mean the roads are sooooo straight out there and with the exhausting last coupla days, 4AM is a pretty scary time. I start to do the headbobbing thing. The truck starts to do the grinding the shoulder thing. The road won't stop doing the same thing over and over. Gus finally says, "No More." We pull over and crash hard for at least an hour. It would seem that the catnap is just what the doctor ordered as by 7 AM we are pulling into Paul and Theresa's place ready for a good long nap. Head. Pillow. Goodnight!
Next time - Calgary/High River, back on my A game and a pub owner who KNOWS how to party!
Posted by i220 at 09:48 AM | Comments (2)
June 16, 2005
Wed.Aug.4-Thur.Aug.5/04 - Calgary/Lethbridge/Picture Butte, AB
Corporate Cash Cow... Independent Musician Cross Canada Tour (Pt 1) Western Canada.
Re-connecting with Gus' past, sexy ladies and hecklers that would give you the shirts off've their backs.
Wednesday August 4th is a travelling day. A lot of it is spent in an old Uncle Jesse truck bouncin' across the western country side. Finally seein' Lethbridge is pretty decent as I've heard alot about the place (K territory from BITD). Meeting Gus' friends Chris, Natalie and their crew, partaking in the Moxie's HUGE chocolate brownie and blowing up my brand new air matress for the first time are all highlights of the day. But the biggest and best is meeting the kids - Maren and Mason. Beautiful younguns with energy to spare - at least until naptime :D
Thursday tells a different tale. During the daylight hours we play the part of tourists with C, N and the littleuns acting as our guides. We pack tha whole fam-dam into a minivan and head down to the coulee which is a Lethbridge spot of interest. Apparently, the railway bridge that spans the riverbed is the longest/highest of its kind. Also, apparently someone decides to jump off've the bridge monthly :S We check out an old fort with cows (alberta beef live :). We finish off our Lethbridge tour at the park watching the kids expend some energy on the apparatus there (climb the net seems to be a hit).
The gig that night is in Picture Butte, a small town just north of Lethbridge. I head out early for set up. Gus and tha gang decide to follow up later. So I pull into the Cactus Pub and immediately notice that the front is lined with pickup trucks; not an SUV or sports sedan to be found. LOL! I load in and there's the token regulars at the bar, country rawk on the system and typically over accomodating staff. The owner/operator, Greg is especially helpful. He gets me set up with the gear and notifies me that start time is 8pm - farmers hours. Woah!
I barely have time for a warm up and it's showtime! The first set is a quiet one performed for a few regulars and the staff. The encouraging thing is that the crowd is slowly growing in size and my posse hasn't even got in yet. About 4 or five songs into the set a rowdy bunch roll in, order beers and immediately begin heckling me; I sing, "They paved paradise, put up a parking lot." - Cat yells, "It was in the fucking way!" I can't help but flub the entire first verse laughing. A couple of more songs pass by and the same heckler decides it's time he ended the set so he invites me out for a session. About this time Kristi and her crew roll in so a coupla finale tunes are in order. The place packs up nicely.
During the break, I really start to feel the western hospitality. One older cat literally offers me the shirt off've his back as a souvenir. I'm thinking that either these folk really dig acoustic music or that they are pretty excited about the attractive group of out of towners that have just invaded their local; Gus, Nat and Nat's sister-in-law Kari definitely stick out lets just put it that way. Nah, it must be my playing - LOL!!
After the break shit gets blurry... Cats are yelling tunes at me right and left. "Do you know how to play this... that... (I need to know every tune ever recorded)." "Nirvana?" Out comes "Heart Shaped Box". Bingo! Shit gets rowdy. Shooters start to fly; the ladies receiving more that their share. One dude asks Nat out to dinner in front of her husband :O Luckily, Chris is pretty calm 'cause he's also quite built. At some point somebody produces a rubber chicken, puts a cigarette in it's mouth and lights it - "What tha...?" 3 sets later, a rousing choral version of Sandler's, "At A Medium Pace" and the dust begins to settle.
After the pics are snappt. After everybody's signed the chicken. After dude has apologized to Chris for the hundredth time. And after a very happy Greg has sent me off with his blessing, we roll back into Lethbridge, tired as hell, knowing that the kids will be keeping us honest in just a few short hours. What a gig.
Next time - Medicine hat. Fetish shops, free house boat trips and prar.i..e dr..i...vi...ng... *snores*.
Posted by i220 at 09:03 AM | Comments (4)
May 16, 2005
Tue.Aug.3/04 - Calgary, AB.
Corporate Cash Cow... Independent Musician Cross Canada Tour (Pt 1) Western Canada.
The animals are frisky, $30.00 worth of beef and the last men standing at the bonfire.
Now this is how to tour Calgary stylez! Tuesday sees us sleep in, lazily chow down breaky and head out for the Calgary zoo all before noon! LOL! A two spot gets you a bus ride to down town and a transfer to the "C" train which takes you right to the zoo grounds.
15 bones later we are bustlin' our way thru exhibits like Eurasia, Primates and Night Creatures. Highlights? Well, let me tell you - the animals are on fire this day! My personal favorite is when I notice a pair of tigers. A great big one is lazily coolin' in the water at the edge of this man made lake. A smaller/younger one sneaks around to the back of the big cat and surprise attacks him/her! I start laughin'. Big boy/gurl makes short work of the fight leaving the challenger to prowl over towards us pride hurt but already planning the next attack.
Aside from all this excitement we discover that hippos are in fact "freakin' huge"! Elephants are probably some of the coolest creatures on this earth! We get about 10 feet away from a bathing Grizzly. But, one of the scariest moments of the day happens when we walk into the gorilla compound. There must be about a dozen or so all roaming around just behind a piece of plexiglass. The viewing area is packed so we have to work our way to a good spot. Just as we're settling in - BANG! "What tha hell?" A very large gorilla hits the plexi barrier close to where we are standing. I don't know about Gus but I sure have to check my undies. Turns out that two of the gorillas are engaged in a several day long mating ritual. The boy is showing off to the much older (and larger) lady by being as loud as possible and occasionally charging the glass. Man, why not just buy her a drink like the rest of us?
Well, there is no way that I am leaving tha C without a real Alberta steak dun up on tha BBQ. So, that evening sees us chillin' with the entire of P&T's crew, cooking up huge steaks with all the regular trimmings and drinkin' our faces off. The capper to tha day is when it all gets dark - we haven't even touched desert - and P sparks up a ragin' bonfire. Out come the geetRs. Neil, The Beatles, The Dead... Everybody jams out. The dry western air has parched the fuck outta my voice but no-one cares 'cause everybody's singin' along. Infunkin'kredible. Cats start to filter off as the wees start to assert themselves and I'm proud to say that I am one of the last 3 standin'. What a nite!
Comin' up: Picture Butte - a town of crazy mofos who know how to drink and what to do with their rubber chickens.
Posted by i220 at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2005
Mon.Aug.2/04 - Calgary, AB.
Corporate Cash Cow... Independent Musician Cross Canada Tour (Pt 1) Western Canada.
Grade A Alberta Beef, Tha Red Mile and Recouperation.
Never bin so happy to see ALL my stuff, a coupla months too late to see the naked boobies and Gus' cuz and his wife extend serious hospitality. Read on. Comment if ya like.
Howcome when you drink up a storm you wake up extra early the next day? Man I'm feelin' dog but the benefit is that I do get to see tha last 200 or so K into Calgary. Inkredible! As we climb off've tha bus panick suddenly hits me. I DO NOT remember getting on tha bus. What if I forgot my shait? Not Good. But as it turnz out, s'all good and we are on our way to call Gus' cuz P.
P grabs us at tha station, bringz us back to tha hous(es), introduces us to his wife T and then proceeds to seriously hook us up! Among tha many hospitalities are a full basement to sleep in/wash up/etc.., food/drink, an old "Uncle Jesse" truck to use for as long as we may need it and the list goes on...
P has to get back to werk but we are in serious need of breakfast. We head down to Van's, a greazy spoon nearby and I get my first taste of Alberta beef. Fuck Mad Cow - this shait is HEAVEN! Later we decide to walk tha "Red Mile". Unfortunately, the half naked girls all went home after the hockey finals but it still is a beautiful walk. Catch the stampede grounds, TD tower and peek inside the Unicorn Pub (one uv Gus' old haunts) my gut aches once again.
The evening is fairly lax - can you say recovery? After a bus ride home we dine on turkey and potats (cheers T), do a little laundry, chat it up and hit tha sack. S'all in a fun Calgary Monday.
Apparently were not tha only animals in Calgary. Check in next time.
Posted by i220 at 09:40 AM | Comments (2)
April 08, 2005
Sun.Aug.1/04 - Regina, SK.
Corporate Cash Cow... Independent Musician Cross Canada Tour (Pt 1) Western Canada.
Regina holiday Sunday, busking by tha river and partaking with the locals.
*Child's voice* "Do you know any Bare Naked Ladies?", 3 shots of Tequila Gold and disguised as a stripper and Tom Hanks in "Lady Killers" we paint the town red. Go ahead, laugh - make fun:)
Canada West! I get THAT feeling deep down when Gus wakes me up just in time to catch the prarie sunrise. Awesome! And not in a TMNT kinda way either ;) Shit begins innocently enough. We get set up. We decide to explore the relatively small downtown for a coffee shop. But, of course it's very early AND a holiday to boot so we're SOL. After 30 minutes of fruitless searching we decide to regroup at the coffee shop in the Greyhound.
We discover that Regina is mostly closed on public holidays, but that doesn't discourage us one bit. Off to tha park - down by tha river. So, I guess this is what Saskaterians do on their days off. The place is buzzin'. I grab my guitar. K sets up under a tree with her book. And it's buskerama time - right there in front of tha water. Pretty soon I get an audience. Some young ladies are throwin' applause. Young kids requestin' and dancin'. even tha old folks are diggin'. I do aight.
S'probably good that I'm cut short by a nearby band warming up in tha band shell as I might have overstayed my welcome - *whispers* "a bit of a ham you kno." We are intending to stick around and watch the "Brian Newson Band" do their thang but the 1 hour sound check kinda dulls the 'spearience for us kno what I mean. The one song we hear is competently played but a little too "bar rockish" for us. We scram.
This is where it gets interesting - I think we fall into some kinda Saska-Twilight Zone. After a bit of searching we manage to find a pub open - O'Hanlan's. We grab sum food, Gus grabs a beer God bless her. We meet Marnie the flight attendant from Calgary, Stacy the very friendly waitress and Rob, a regular who happens to have the key to the city (so to speak). We are already starting to figure out that Regina folk are friendly as hell but it isn't until Rob drops a trio of Tequila Gold shots in front of us that we start to truly get the idea. We laugh at him for doing shots at 3:30 pm - figuring that they are for him and his friends. He says, "What are you laughing for? They're for us!"
Next thing you know, we're washed up and changed, walking downtown with Rob, Becca (Rob's G) and D.J. (Rob's cuz) actin' all raucious like, laughing and looking for excitement in an essentially "closed" Regina. We pull into this back alley and the "Toronto" comes up in me. "What are we doin' here?" "Don't worry", Rob says and pulls out some keys. We come to this dilapitated door, cat opens it up and disarms the alarm. What tha? Apparently we've come to "Gingerz" a Martini Bar and Restaurant that Rob manages. They say that Gingerz is haunted and I do think we hear some bangin' and shit goin' on while we're tippin' some of the strongest "Mae West" martinis ever created, but by that time the ghost is just another to add to tha party.
Shit gets really ugly when we grab Becca's car and head to a southend Boston pizza. What? 4 Litre jugs of beer you say? Gotta get one of those. Appetizers? Yeah, why not? At one point, Rob goes to tha bar, worx some voodoo majic and comes back with a tray of shots??? At some point the gloves get dropt and the bar buys us all a round of JDs :S And shit continues like this until we have to break it off to go catch our bus.
We say our goodbyes, stumble into the Greyhound, grab our stuff and sit in a coupla chairs to wait. Gus proceeds to visit tha ladies room and jet puke Jack all over the big white fone, comes back and we fall asleep... Suddenly we are woken up by yet another kind Regina cat. "Are you waiting for the bus?" "Uh, yeah... buuuuuuurrp!" "Well it's about ready to leave. "Uh oh." We scramble to our feet, grab our shit and head outside just in time. Then the driver spots Me :S "Excuse me sir, but have you been drinking?" There's no point in lying. "Lots!" "Well, we're not allowed to let you on the bus then." K pleads with them swearin' that we'll cause no trouble. I sway in the wind.
Finally we're on a crammed packt bus on our way to tha C. Gus finds a $20 bill in her bra and manages to shock the young teenage girl she's sitting beside. Don't ask. I don't remember sitting beside this nice old lady as I'm snoring before the bus pulls out of the station. But I do remember waking up a few hours later drooling on the poor ladies lap :O Of course I withdraw to my own, nothing is said but I do know that it wasn't a dream 'cause when I wake up the next time she has politely put the armrest down between us - LOL!
Next... An Englishman from Toronto with a hangover in Calgary - stay tuned.
Posted by i220 at 07:05 AM | Comments (1)
March 29, 2005
Corporate Cash Cow... Tour Diaries: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Independent Musician Cross Canada Tour Pt1 - Sat.Jul.31/04.
"Friendly Manitoba" license plates, MTS phone booths and expensive bottled water.
Rain gets harder but life gets better, busking encouraged for locals and oops, the wrong bus.
Yes! We're out of the province of Ontario. Time for the adventure to begin :S And immediately we discover three VERY useful travellers tidbits.
#1 - $2 Greyhound lockers can hold all of our stuff all day, well except for the guitar but the courier will hold that for an extra small fee.
#2 - Sing it! Y.M.C.A. Free for first timers and a great place for a workout and a shower (preferably in that order).
#3. Safeway. Loblaws is passé - Safeway is the grocery destination of choice in Canada West!
Since this is another gigless holidayin' type visit we decide to explore beautiful Winnipeg. I bring my guitar along in case a busking opportunity arises. The parliment buildings are stunning but neither Gus nor I are political enough to want to check out tha insides. Lunch is delicious at Muddy Water's Café but no matter how much I harrass tha waiter - Muddy won't come out and jam. The scenic walk along the river between the parliment buildings and the forks is a pleasure but the "Forks" themselves are the ultimate for any tourist.
Complete with a market, souvenier and clothes shops, restaurants, river rides, and on and on, the "Forks" is a true Winnipeg tourist attraction. I am happy to discover the designated busking locations complete with signs that pay homage to tha past time. Unfortunately, you need a license so I am outta luck but it's definitely great for the local talent. An aboriginal display buried deep in the rear of the grounds is a find. A huge "Stonehengesque" theatre is awe inspiring despite our bad timing (no show). We do catch the end of a capoeira display and a huge hand drum solo tho :). What a day!
Our trip back to the Greyhound station isn't kwite so straight forward. So far the weather has been kind but after dinner the skies open up. Rain, rain, rain, HAIL?? The size of marbles! "Winter"peg anyone? We take refuge on a free bus but find out after returning to exactly the same spot that it is the wrong bus. We get the right bus but just before we reach our destination we decide that we have time to take in a movie before our trip out of town. Fahreneit 911 - don't worry, I won't tell you how it ends but it does begin with two airplanes and a bunch of terrorists :(
Well, that's tha Peg, and things are looking up for our two travellers, one being me.
Posted by i220 at 11:07 PM | Comments (1)
March 14, 2005
Tour Diary: Fri.Jul.30/04 - Thunder Bay,ON
Corporate Cash Cow Independent Musician Cross Canada Tour Part 1, Western Canada.
Musicians. If you wanna play the Apollo in TBay - play the Horseshoe in TO. That's where the bookee werx ;) But tha ducks perform for free :)
Drowned rats drowning their sorrows, in the middle of nowhere and the prophetic rainbow.
Now, here's a little geography lesson kiddies :) Thunder Bay is actually two towns; Fort William and Port Arthur. Unfortunately the Greyhound drops you near neither. Throw in a little miserable weather and the fact that Gus still hasn't adjusted to tight quarters bus sleeping and you get a pretty sad day :( If this tour had a low point, I think it may have happened 3 days in.
Reading over my diary for this particular day, alls I gotta say is, "Blah". No gig. Busking rained out. Locals seem pretty bummed - maybe it's the weather? So - we do what any hot blooded Canucks would do faced with such a dilemma. DRINK!
Ahh... Port Arthur is a beautiful place. Besides being on the shores of beautiful Lake Superior which plays home to some qwite pretty little Daffy's it also boasts an interesting slew of watering holes; and I relay them in order: Office Bar, Gargoyles, Apollo, Kelsey's and that pretty much sums up our day. Mr. Corona kept me kwite well entertained at least until the late evening rainbow stopped in to tell us that all would get better in tha days to come :D Ahhh... Drunk!
Posted by i220 at 08:25 AM | Comments (1)
February 07, 2005
Corporate Cash Cow... Tour Diaries
Thur.Jul.29,/04 - Sault Ste Marie,ON
Tha first gig. Old friend, good omen? Sleepin' on da bus.
Not sleeping with old lady American football fans, what do you mean "NO P.A." and dealing with the stereotypical sleazy bar manager...
~ O.K. So this day is the first test! After only 3.75 hours of sleep, the madness begins. Timmy's. Cabbie. City 'er busee. And here we are at the Sudbury Greyhound again waiting for the bus. Hmmmnn... hear a familiar voice. WAY familiar. Kenny! An OLD childhood friend right here smack dab in the middle of Ontario. What tha? Turns out he is headin' to tha Sault as well to visit his G. Maybe we can all sit togetha (even tho we're way too exhausted to even think nevermind chat). Yeah, well wishful thinking. The "hound" is PACKT! Gus and I manage to sit accross the aisle from each otha but Kenny ends up with the luggage I think :(
~ On this trip, I draw the short straw and her name is Laurie. I like to remember her as Loudmouth Laurie. "Let me tell you about the Minnisota Vikings and every Flarida based college football team and my kids and every uninteresting landmark between here and Blinde River and..." I don't sleep. After a brief stopover, I nicely ask LML if she'll switch spots with Gus. Woooh, she accepts. Zzzzzz...
~ So we're in Sault Ste Marie and it's early afternoon. Kenny meets up with his girl Danielle and her friend Mario. They head out and we catch a city bus to the "Downstairs Bar". Now, most of the daylight hours are spent touring tha mighty Sault but I'm going to focus on our time at the bar; as it was an initiation in the truest sense of the werd :S
~ Upon load-in we meet Heidi and Connie the barstaff. They set us up, we stowe our stuff and all is good. The bar is a nice "legionesque" setup with adequate acoustics. I had been told that the bar had it's own gear and Heidi confirmed. S'all good. Right :P Five hours later when we show to setup we meet Jimmy tha co-owner of the bar. Not the cat who set up the show. Conveniently, he ain't around.
~ Jimmy: "No gear." Me: "Well, can you get some?" Jimmy: "Hmmmnnn..." Me: "Hmmmnn..." Jimmy: "Let me make a few calls." Maybe you think I should be pretty pissed right now. Maybe I should raise some hell? But, I've been thru shit. Hell, my old band were supposed to play the Metropolis the night after it burned down. We were once payed NOT to play. Hey, what's the werst that can happen? I don't play? Shit happens.
~ Two hours later, after a shitload of sweatin on Jimmy's part and a few games of pool for Gus and I we get gear. One cat shows up with an amp and mic. Another shows with speakers, stands and cables. I'm ready to rawk. The show goes well enough. I play like a champ. The baseball team, which are 95% of the patrons seem to enjoy themselves. My biggest supporters are the buxom waitress Rachelle *said with fonesex operator voice* and Fred, the toothless old guy trying to pick up on Gus. Kenny, Dani and Mario show for the last shortened set and it's a good job 'cause apparently the Sault goes to bed after 11 on Thursdays. I finish up and everybody seems to have thouroughly enjoyed themselves, well, except Jimmy.
~ Tear down. Bid our farewells. Go to get mine. Jimmy: "Well... we fell a little short and uhmm... the gear did end up costing us quite a bit, hows'bout I screw you up tha ass." Me: "While that might feel O...K... nobody does it kwite as well as Queen Elizabeth in my pocket." Jimmy: *looking at the ground* *sighs* Me: Hey cat, you do what U think is fair but I feel I did my part." So it turns out that Jimmy wasn't all that "Jabba tha Hut". Suite Rachelle and her boy Jason give us a ride down to the bus station and after a brief nap on a bench we're off to somewhere other than Sault Ste Marie:)
Posted by i220 at 06:58 PM | Comments (1)
January 24, 2005
Corporate Cash Cow... Tour Diaries
Wed.Jul.28,/04 - Sudbury,ON
Tha GREYHOUND! Goodbye Ma 'n Pa. Hello Canada West. The beginning of a life of experiences in less than a month.
Breakin' in a cheap hotel Sudbury stylez, 'cause you never know when a blues jam might break out and The Havocs rawk my face off!
~ The day starts out innocently enough as Gus shaves me bald; my head you sick f%#@ks :P We wave goodbye to Benny and tha folks and say, "hello" to a month worth of Greyhound rides - Woooh! :S This day's bus ride, however, is a piece of cake compared to what's to come. A couple of hours later, we are in North Sudbury, trying to haul a thousand pounds worth of gear about 5 kilometers to the downtown core. Who knew? The packs looked innocent enough back in North Bay. Apparently, Sudbury has a stronger gravity system than we're used to. Apparently, the rest of Canada does too. With the kind guidance of a Sudburian (savior) we quickly discover local transit and manage to make our way to the Townehouse Tavern without incurring too much lower back damage.
~ Unfortunately a band, The High Dials are using the bar's sleeping space for this particular night so it's off to discover the beauty of Canada's seedy, cheap hotel system. "The Canadiana" will always hold a special place in our hearts. The first cheap hotel shared. Two humans, five sizeable cockroaches named Curly, Sandra, Geoff, Cassie and Dr. Speckle, and a gentle daddy long legs named Horace. A great deal of our time at the Canadiana is CENSORED but I will tell you this - it IS better with an audience!
~ The rest of the day is spent busking (will dish deetails at a later date), exploring down town and chillin' at the T-haus but there are 2 events of note. The first occurs while we are exploring Elm/Cedar street. We are just by the public transit station when a bloke quietly asks me, "what do you play?" Now, you all know that I'm aweful shy about my music and public performance but on this occasion, I am feeling particularly inspired. The fella's name is Marc and he, Gus and I have a short conversation right there on the sidewalk. He tells us that he promotes an open mic night ("Green Teapot") and invites us into the building that we are currently loitering in front of. It turns out that this is the home of "The Sudbury Arts Council".
~ Their bi-monthly newspaper, "directions" spills a few details. The council is a funded organization dedicated to, "promoting the arts and articulating their relevence to the community." If you're in Sudbury, you can grab a copy of "directions" free but for the rest of us, we can czech them online @: www.sudburyartscouncil.on.ca THIS is revolution in action.
~ Back to July/04. So we are inside Council headquarters and sure enough there is this funky ass little room complete with original artwerk (most of it by Marc), a cozy sitdown atmosphere and... a STAGE complete with gear! Oops, I end up on stage with a Mic and my guitar plugged into a PA system - how convenient! The next hour is spent jammin' with Marc on some suite accoustic blues shait :) We bash out a little Hendrix, Doors, bust out a little ZZ and finish with some original Marc Music which has a funk/blues flava. Gus is our only audience but she's completely hyped at witnessing this off da cuff jam in some strange community room smack dab in the middle of Ontario - ahhh the adventures.
~ So, after all of the contacts are exchanged and our excitement has finally subsided, Gus and I decide to wind down our evening at the Townehouse. We just settle into a nice refreshing soda, plant ourselves safely at the back of the concert section and begin discussing the already transpired events when a ragged looking band begins to soundcheck. The Havocs are Paul's (Townhouse Manager) rawk/punk trio; Paul is in quite a few acts including a more experimental outfit called The Mondo Idols. Well, our tranquility is short-lived as The Havocs proceed to rip our faces off with some serious plectrum bass drivin', surf/punk guitar bashin', hyperactive drummin' and catchy yet raw vocalizin'. The music has a garage feel to it but is delivered in a manner that only more experienced musicians can. Gus and I are dead on our feet but we manage to stay for pretty much all of their set - fuckin' awe-inspirin'!
~ And, so our day ends - back at the Canadiana strongly anticipating about 3 and a half to 4 hours sleep. "Goodnight Curls. Goodnight Sandy. 'Night G and Cass. Dr. Speckle, sleep tight... Goodnight Horace. Goodnight."
Posted by i220 at 10:09 AM | Comments (5)
January 08, 2005
Mon.Jul.26,Tue.Jul.27/04 - North Bay,ON
Corporate Cash Cow... tours Western Canada - 2nd Entry.
On tha road - finally! Not quite the Greyhound yet but a little black Toyota with badly installed rear speakers.
Wanna hear the one about a sex jam, chinese food and a purple pig? Klik the title below then.
~ Let me tell you why I hate Mondays. Well, sometimes we have buddies named Prince and his birthday happens to fall on a Sunday. Of course, when this happens we have to head over to his house where quite a few colourful folks may have gathered to enjoy fondue, shrimp crackers, sushi, a keg of beer, a stunning capoeira display and a seriously funkay sex jam; events of that sort. In such a case it is most probable that we would get down and dirty on tha mic with Gus and a couple of suite young hunny's with sacharine voices to boot. Maybe we might have a rock on metal guitarist, rasta drummer and serious rawk stylez bassist kick tha jamz. And then; afta all this madness has ensued, when the lights have gone down and the left over sushi is festering on the counter... Then and only then is when we have to get up at 4am the next morning to drive 3 and 1 half hours north. Bah!
~ Due to the aformentioned unmentionables, most of July 26th is and always will be a haze. I know there's at least one nap in there. Left ova Chinese food is consumed. I seem to remember helping tack together a wall. Gus swinging a hammer? Maybe that part is a little suspect? Again with the Chinese food. I think I'm coming around by the time we hit the bar for a night cap because I do remember that Coronas are only 2 dollars! I also remember this band playing summer funtime tunes a hell of a lot more professionally than our drunk asses could manage one night earlier.
~ Here's where I have to insert a short digression; just a little diatribe. Music + Music Venue = audio/visual entertainment for the evening. All of you "aspiring artists" out there take note: AUDIO/VISUAL! If you want clubs to stop replacing you with DJs then you have to give them something more than a DJ! I don't fuckin' care how well you reproduce Trooper's greatest hits. I, (in my love for live music) don't even mind Trooper's greatest hits but c'mon, don't just stand there like a big pile 'o ugly with that sad "artistic" pout all over your face feeling smug about the fact that you just hit that last flurry of sixteenth notes perfectly. Mozart did it in 1770 at half your age, all fucked up on opium with one hand under some princesses skirt and even he didn't give a shit! ENTER"MOTHERFUCKIN"TAIN Sucka! I'm off to bed.
~ July 27th is equally as subdued. I do up the August newsletter, I think laundry enters the equation somewhere and I do need to practice so that goes down. There are really only 2 events of any consequence whatsoever that transpire. One: 27,07,04 are the official registration digits for themusicalrevolution.com - Big Love Scotty for doing up the clericals. Number two is my birthday celebration. This is where the purple pig comes into tha picture. Actually it is a "Purple Pig" and it is a restaurant in the grand city of North Bay. I expect that it has probably already changed names by now but really, only in the town that I grew up in would you get a restaurant with a moniker stolen directly from the pet name of some porn star's private parts. C'mon, you we're all thinking it!
~ And that was that.
Posted by i220 at 02:36 PM | Comments (7)
November 27, 2004
The "Tour Diary" Category
Tour stories for entertainment, education and an overblown sense of self importance can be posted here.
Crazy shit happens when you are on tour. I've got my stories. I'm sure you have yours. People want to know. So...
Ship your tour stories to: weblog@themusicalrevolution.com
Use the Comments button at the bottom of each entry to well, uuhhh... comment. If you can in fact verify the tour story that would be coo. If you can disprove said story... *maniacal laugh*
Stay on top of this one. I'm sure it'll get juicy: Tour Diary Category.
I said, "NO BROWN M&Ms!"
Posted by i220 at 11:05 AM | Comments (1)