name that song.
but seriously, it took us two days to drive from winnipeg to saskatoon, and it involved hitch hiking. so far on tour the van has had some problems on longer road trips, after a while it would just crap out. also, about a month ago we'd had a bunch of trouble with it not wanting to start. to get it going somebody would have to hammer on the starter with a hammer while somebody started it. but these problems had never occured at the same time, and they hadn't happened for at least a month.
well, they chose to come back at the same time on our trip to saskatoon. we made it 3 or so hours out of winnipeg when it stalled the first time. i think we got it going again pretty quick and drove some more, but it soon started stalling every 15 minutes or so. that's also when the starter stopped working too. so every time that happened we sat for a while waiting for old Bertha to recover, and then somebody hauled out the hammer and went underneath the hood to hammer away. it wasn't just a little tap on the right spot to get us going either. you really had to hammer hard on that thing, and it could take a very long time to actually start. the worst part was that it seemed to be taking longer and longer each time we stalled. Finally it just wouldn't start. We couldn't even call for a tow because they couldn't transport 6 of us. In the end a nice lady at the Russell Inn sent the security guy to pick us up and we stayed on cots there in a conference room since they were all booked up. $10 a person, including breakfast. I highly recommend it.
The next day we got it started and headed out for the nearest town with a Canadian Tire. I drove 50 the whole way and we didn't stall once. The garage was closed, but we replaced some parts and thought we had the stalling problem fixed, although the starter would have to wait, since we had a show to get to in saskatoon. But after driving an hour the van stalled again. So Jordan and Fin hitch hiked back to the Canadian Tire to pick up another part. When they caught up with us they were with a really nice couple of ladies who had offered to drive them all the way to saskatoon. Since we needed to fix the van yet, jer and sheree went with them to get to the show on time, while we fixed the van.
End of story, we made it to Saskatoon in time for our second set. Good times.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Sewer Adventures
We just stayed in Listowel, Ontario, which is a cute little town a couple hours outside of Toronto. Two nights ago we went on a walk and discovered a canal, with super high concrete walls. This canal disappears into a tunnel, which our friend Tyler told us went underneath the entire town. It's usually a river, but the lack of rain had pretty much dried the river up.
So we decided that the next day we would explore this tunnel. The next evening we went out. We brought a canoe to see if we could put it in further upstream and canoe down, but the river was too dried up, so we walked down the riverbank towards the tunnel/canal. Tyler had a headlamp on and rope slung over his shoulder. Finn had a police-style flashlight. On the way to the tunnel we passed the hospital, which had some construction happening, and i found a solid metal pipe. The guys didn't like me carrying it around, cause the tunnel was right by the police station, and they figured it looked suspicious. I thought we looked suspicious enough anyways and I wasn't about to part with my pipe. There's nothing like getting up to no good with a bunch of guys in a small town, and carrying a metal pipe. It makes me feel hilarious and macho at the same time.
So we found a place to scale down the canal wall, there was some sort of thing on the wall that made it easy to climb. We walked down into the darkness of the tunnel and it was awesome. I love that feeling of excitement as you go into something dark and unknown. We explored all the way to the end, threw rocks around, and checked out the little sewer things that fed into the tunnel. The echoes in there were amazing. We did some nice accapella harmonies with hand claps and metal pipe percussion. That combined with the scattered reflections of the flashlights off the water made a very spooky effect.
The tunnel wasn't as long as we were expecting, and when we finally climbed out of the canal, we were invigorated and still looking for excitement. With my metal pipe still in hand, we bandied around some ideas, ranging from climbing the police station to petty vandalism, but we soon started playing with the pipe and the rope. Jer had the idea that we could make a zip line out of it; you could hold onto the pipe while it slides down the rope. To me this sounded like an amazing idea that was obviously too crazy and unsafe to actually attempt, but I was underestimating the company i was with. Finn immediately volunteered.
We first rigged the rope up from one side of the canal to the middle of a bridge over it. The bridge was higher than at the side, enough that we didn't think Finn would get stuck in the middle or anything. But it was high up. It was over a river, but remember this river was not deep enough to canoe in. With rocks. And the sides were completely dry. With rocks. I was concerned about how safe this was. Luckily, once we had rigged the rope up, we realized that a slight curve in my pipe meant that it didn't slide freely along the rope when the rope was taut, it was too tight. Me and Jordan went back to the hospital construction site to find a better pipe. We ended up having to actually climb the fence into the site, which of course we did with as much stealth as we could muster. The best thing we could find was a solid, heavy, lead pipe.
By the time we got out of the site the other guys had followed us upstream, where there was no longer a canal, just the mostly dry river bank. We decided to try the zip line here first, where we could test it out under somewhat safer conditions. A foot bridge and a tree at the side of the river offered perfect anchor points, and here the drop was only 15 feet, onto grass that sloped quickly but gently into the river. It seemed much safer than the canal.
When the rope was strung up and Finn almost ready to take off, the other guys held onto his pants so he could position himself properly on the edge of the foot bridge. I headed off the bridge and down the slope so I could spot him underneath, just in case the unthinkable happened. But what could happen? Tyler guaranteed his knots with his life, the rope was strong although a little thin, and the lead pipe was solid enough.
Well as I headed down the slope I saw Finn launch off onto the zip line, except instead of following the direct path of the rope from the bridge to the side of the river bank, he followed a curvy path that was more in line with the forces of gravity. He didn't really look like he had been on a zip line at all, he basically fell sideways 15 feet to the riverbank below, where he landed directly on his side and rolled down the bank, making noises that were something in between grunting and screaming. The general idea he was conveying to me was pain. As I rushed down the bank after him he came to a stop with his leg and arm bent behind him. I thought he had broken something for sure, and wondered what we were gonna do for a bass player. The good news was that we were right by the hospital!
In the end, Finn was OK. The whole thing winded him a lot, and he was in a great deal of pain. We waited at the hospital with him, and saw him get wheeled away on a bed for x-rays. Nothing was damaged. He was happy about a hot nurse taking care of him. Today he went back to give them a urine sample, and they found some blood in it, but every thing seems OK. We were pretty lucky he wasn't more seriously hurt. Apparently the lead pipe, which must have weighed at least 25 pounds, landed inches from his head.
I should also quickly describe the house we stayed at in Listowel. When we walked in, I immediately sensed that something was not right, in the sense that the house seemed to be trying to get away from me. It was tilting. It evened out as I walked through, and then tilted back towards me as I got to the other side. It was an old house, and had significantly sunk in the middle. Significantly. The end result was that I kind of felt like I was on a rolling ship the entire time I stayed there, except without the constant motion.
Tour is fun.
So we decided that the next day we would explore this tunnel. The next evening we went out. We brought a canoe to see if we could put it in further upstream and canoe down, but the river was too dried up, so we walked down the riverbank towards the tunnel/canal. Tyler had a headlamp on and rope slung over his shoulder. Finn had a police-style flashlight. On the way to the tunnel we passed the hospital, which had some construction happening, and i found a solid metal pipe. The guys didn't like me carrying it around, cause the tunnel was right by the police station, and they figured it looked suspicious. I thought we looked suspicious enough anyways and I wasn't about to part with my pipe. There's nothing like getting up to no good with a bunch of guys in a small town, and carrying a metal pipe. It makes me feel hilarious and macho at the same time.
So we found a place to scale down the canal wall, there was some sort of thing on the wall that made it easy to climb. We walked down into the darkness of the tunnel and it was awesome. I love that feeling of excitement as you go into something dark and unknown. We explored all the way to the end, threw rocks around, and checked out the little sewer things that fed into the tunnel. The echoes in there were amazing. We did some nice accapella harmonies with hand claps and metal pipe percussion. That combined with the scattered reflections of the flashlights off the water made a very spooky effect.
The tunnel wasn't as long as we were expecting, and when we finally climbed out of the canal, we were invigorated and still looking for excitement. With my metal pipe still in hand, we bandied around some ideas, ranging from climbing the police station to petty vandalism, but we soon started playing with the pipe and the rope. Jer had the idea that we could make a zip line out of it; you could hold onto the pipe while it slides down the rope. To me this sounded like an amazing idea that was obviously too crazy and unsafe to actually attempt, but I was underestimating the company i was with. Finn immediately volunteered.
We first rigged the rope up from one side of the canal to the middle of a bridge over it. The bridge was higher than at the side, enough that we didn't think Finn would get stuck in the middle or anything. But it was high up. It was over a river, but remember this river was not deep enough to canoe in. With rocks. And the sides were completely dry. With rocks. I was concerned about how safe this was. Luckily, once we had rigged the rope up, we realized that a slight curve in my pipe meant that it didn't slide freely along the rope when the rope was taut, it was too tight. Me and Jordan went back to the hospital construction site to find a better pipe. We ended up having to actually climb the fence into the site, which of course we did with as much stealth as we could muster. The best thing we could find was a solid, heavy, lead pipe.
By the time we got out of the site the other guys had followed us upstream, where there was no longer a canal, just the mostly dry river bank. We decided to try the zip line here first, where we could test it out under somewhat safer conditions. A foot bridge and a tree at the side of the river offered perfect anchor points, and here the drop was only 15 feet, onto grass that sloped quickly but gently into the river. It seemed much safer than the canal.
When the rope was strung up and Finn almost ready to take off, the other guys held onto his pants so he could position himself properly on the edge of the foot bridge. I headed off the bridge and down the slope so I could spot him underneath, just in case the unthinkable happened. But what could happen? Tyler guaranteed his knots with his life, the rope was strong although a little thin, and the lead pipe was solid enough.
Well as I headed down the slope I saw Finn launch off onto the zip line, except instead of following the direct path of the rope from the bridge to the side of the river bank, he followed a curvy path that was more in line with the forces of gravity. He didn't really look like he had been on a zip line at all, he basically fell sideways 15 feet to the riverbank below, where he landed directly on his side and rolled down the bank, making noises that were something in between grunting and screaming. The general idea he was conveying to me was pain. As I rushed down the bank after him he came to a stop with his leg and arm bent behind him. I thought he had broken something for sure, and wondered what we were gonna do for a bass player. The good news was that we were right by the hospital!
In the end, Finn was OK. The whole thing winded him a lot, and he was in a great deal of pain. We waited at the hospital with him, and saw him get wheeled away on a bed for x-rays. Nothing was damaged. He was happy about a hot nurse taking care of him. Today he went back to give them a urine sample, and they found some blood in it, but every thing seems OK. We were pretty lucky he wasn't more seriously hurt. Apparently the lead pipe, which must have weighed at least 25 pounds, landed inches from his head.
I should also quickly describe the house we stayed at in Listowel. When we walked in, I immediately sensed that something was not right, in the sense that the house seemed to be trying to get away from me. It was tilting. It evened out as I walked through, and then tilted back towards me as I got to the other side. It was an old house, and had significantly sunk in the middle. Significantly. The end result was that I kind of felt like I was on a rolling ship the entire time I stayed there, except without the constant motion.
Tour is fun.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
blogger is dead
nobody posts anymore. or comments on my posts. boo. i'll post anyways. This week we are staying on a dairy farm in ontario. It's pretty much gorgeous so far. There's cows, a big rolling yard, an old farmhouse that's quite nice and updated, but still definitely a farmhouse, a creek, a dam in the creek, a hammock, beautiful huge trees, two dogs, one very pregnant dog, and last but not least, the smell of a farm. It smells like farm, that's all there is to it. Not sure if I like that yet or not.
In the last week I went to see a lot of shows at the Montreal Jazz Fest, which was pretty cool. I really enjoyed it. One night when Jeremy and Sheree were just playing a duo show I walked down to the fest and stayed there, knowing I would have to take the bus back to our campsite (a church that's not even technically in montreal). The bus was quite an escapade, but the bus drivers in general were helpful and could speak my language, so it worked out. It only took me three hours to get home!
Anyways, there were a lot of free outdoor shows, and many of them were quite good. But nothing compared to Moses Mayes. My cousin's the guitarist so I may be biased, but honestly, nobody gets a crowd moving like Moses Mayes. Dance music that you can actually listen to. My only complaint was that they only played one show, whereas some other bands that were not nearly as interesting were double or triple booked. Not cool.
So by now it seems like word is somewhat becoming public, that I'm in negotiations with my church for a job there. It's exciting to me, but I'm quite apprehensive about it and not sure about my motivation in being interested. Anybody who might actually still be reading blogs and is interested in giving me some insight into what they think is welcome to do so.
In the last week I went to see a lot of shows at the Montreal Jazz Fest, which was pretty cool. I really enjoyed it. One night when Jeremy and Sheree were just playing a duo show I walked down to the fest and stayed there, knowing I would have to take the bus back to our campsite (a church that's not even technically in montreal). The bus was quite an escapade, but the bus drivers in general were helpful and could speak my language, so it worked out. It only took me three hours to get home!
Anyways, there were a lot of free outdoor shows, and many of them were quite good. But nothing compared to Moses Mayes. My cousin's the guitarist so I may be biased, but honestly, nobody gets a crowd moving like Moses Mayes. Dance music that you can actually listen to. My only complaint was that they only played one show, whereas some other bands that were not nearly as interesting were double or triple booked. Not cool.
So by now it seems like word is somewhat becoming public, that I'm in negotiations with my church for a job there. It's exciting to me, but I'm quite apprehensive about it and not sure about my motivation in being interested. Anybody who might actually still be reading blogs and is interested in giving me some insight into what they think is welcome to do so.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
quebec
I love quebec. I love having the opportunity to pretend I know french. I love having old men yelling at me in french and being able to say je ne comprends pas. I love the montreal jazz fest. Hopefully i'll be catching more of it next week. We're in quebec city right now, which is gorgeous. I explored the chateau frontenac today. Definitely got into some places I shouldn't have been. But couldn't find the way into the cute little courtyard in the middle.
It's been a long time since i've written and so many things have happened. I must tell about the awful week we had last week. Up until last monday we had been able to mostly stay in people's houses, expect for one night we spent in a starbucks parking lot. They were very hospitable and we went to a rec centre the next day to shower and swim and relax. So that was nice. But last week we were stuck staying at rest stops or truck stops with no showers. The weather was unbelievably hot and humid. We left st. catherines on monday morning, drove eight hours to ottawa, slept in a rest stop on the way back to toronto, drove back to toronto the next day, and then drove back to montreal the next day. That's a lot of driving in horrible weather with no showers. We felt so gross. It was only three days but felt like eternity. And the van kept breaking down on the way to montreal that last day. By the time we got there we were so worn out, and the guy who was putting on the show was just a complete douche bag. He either had no social skills or was just a jackass. He kept on threatening to cancel the show that we had driven all the way to montreal for, with no valid reason. One was because we were late for our 2:30 sound check. The show started at 8:00! Who needs 5 hours to sound check? And our van broke down, what were we supposed to do? Then he hold us we sounded muddy and gross and he couldn't hear a single lyric. This despite the fact that we were playing especially quiet, with the vocals turned up. He went into a explication of how why we needed to turn the bass down so we wouldn't keep adding to our muddy noise. All he had to say was the bass is too loud.
The end of that horrorshow went like this. He wanted all of our addresses and personal information. Originally it was so he could send us recordings that he was gonna make for us, but we were late so that couldn't happen, and he still wanted this info "for his records." Jer asked why he still needed those, and he started into his big jerk routine: "Jeremy, Jeremy, let's just keep this simple." Jer told him we'd keep it really simple, pack up our things and get out of there. So we drove to montreal for nothing. We were all feeling pretty low except for Jer since he at least got to tell Zeke off. But he told his dad about our horrible week, and his dad offered to put us into a hotel for two nights. So that was awesome. We felt so rejuvenated being there, being able to shower. And it was real close to the jazz fest which worked out really well. All in all, it was a nutso week.
While i have time i might as well mention our stay in midland at my aunt and uncle's. It was awesome. When we got there Aunt Loreen pulled out some pork chops and other great foods. The pork chops were declared the best we had ever had. We played at their nursing home and it was super great to play for such a captive audience. Haha. They really did seem to like us and that was cool.
There's too many stories to tell to tell any of them properly. Jeans.
It's been a long time since i've written and so many things have happened. I must tell about the awful week we had last week. Up until last monday we had been able to mostly stay in people's houses, expect for one night we spent in a starbucks parking lot. They were very hospitable and we went to a rec centre the next day to shower and swim and relax. So that was nice. But last week we were stuck staying at rest stops or truck stops with no showers. The weather was unbelievably hot and humid. We left st. catherines on monday morning, drove eight hours to ottawa, slept in a rest stop on the way back to toronto, drove back to toronto the next day, and then drove back to montreal the next day. That's a lot of driving in horrible weather with no showers. We felt so gross. It was only three days but felt like eternity. And the van kept breaking down on the way to montreal that last day. By the time we got there we were so worn out, and the guy who was putting on the show was just a complete douche bag. He either had no social skills or was just a jackass. He kept on threatening to cancel the show that we had driven all the way to montreal for, with no valid reason. One was because we were late for our 2:30 sound check. The show started at 8:00! Who needs 5 hours to sound check? And our van broke down, what were we supposed to do? Then he hold us we sounded muddy and gross and he couldn't hear a single lyric. This despite the fact that we were playing especially quiet, with the vocals turned up. He went into a explication of how why we needed to turn the bass down so we wouldn't keep adding to our muddy noise. All he had to say was the bass is too loud.
The end of that horrorshow went like this. He wanted all of our addresses and personal information. Originally it was so he could send us recordings that he was gonna make for us, but we were late so that couldn't happen, and he still wanted this info "for his records." Jer asked why he still needed those, and he started into his big jerk routine: "Jeremy, Jeremy, let's just keep this simple." Jer told him we'd keep it really simple, pack up our things and get out of there. So we drove to montreal for nothing. We were all feeling pretty low except for Jer since he at least got to tell Zeke off. But he told his dad about our horrible week, and his dad offered to put us into a hotel for two nights. So that was awesome. We felt so rejuvenated being there, being able to shower. And it was real close to the jazz fest which worked out really well. All in all, it was a nutso week.
While i have time i might as well mention our stay in midland at my aunt and uncle's. It was awesome. When we got there Aunt Loreen pulled out some pork chops and other great foods. The pork chops were declared the best we had ever had. We played at their nursing home and it was super great to play for such a captive audience. Haha. They really did seem to like us and that was cool.
There's too many stories to tell to tell any of them properly. Jeans.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
hpapy bdiahrty
so today was my birthday. I awoke to 2 males and 2 females parading into my room and singing happy birthday while throwing balloons in my face. One of the males inexplicably tried to remove my blanket. He surely knows i don't sleep in much, and what makes it even more inexplicable is that the two females in the room were the wives of the two males. luckily i held on tight to said blanket despite my sleepiness.
we had a show at our bassist's old high school, which was super sketchy cause their sound system was crap. It was lunch time and nobody was in there when we started, and they turned the lights out so we couldn't see people coming in. It felt like nobody was there, but when the show ended we could see that there was a decent crowd. At one point Jer decided I needed to be sung to again, so everybody did. Apparently somebody shouted that I was gorgeous. I don't know if it was a male or female, but either way it's probably best that I didn't hear it. That kind of thing tends to go straight to my head.
in the late afternoon we went to see some of the greater Meadow Lake area nature and have a picnic. we saw some beautiful sites and wildlife, and finally found an ok picnic spot. This was tough because it was raining. I didn't know why we were trying so hard to have a picnic in the rain and mosquitos until after the hot dog roast, when i was sat down with a huge bag of presents. included were a pillow (because the one i've been using isn't great), a notepad and pen for journalling or whatever, nice new sandals which i needed, some peach like candy and some chocolate covered peanuts. it was a treasure trove. then there was even cake, black forest cake no less. Home made! and I was sung to again. and blew out all the candles in a single puff. not any of that blowing wildly in all directions for 30 seconds until no flame in a 10 foot radius has a chance. just one highly efficient puff. We also replaced frisbee with this amazing thing called trackball. I highly recommend it. I tell ya, being away from family for the last couple of birthdays, it's been a while since i've had such a good birthday. I thought I'd hear from a few more people than I heard from but then again my phone doesn't have reception in this town so maybe i'll have a few texts waiting for me. Cheers all.
we had a show at our bassist's old high school, which was super sketchy cause their sound system was crap. It was lunch time and nobody was in there when we started, and they turned the lights out so we couldn't see people coming in. It felt like nobody was there, but when the show ended we could see that there was a decent crowd. At one point Jer decided I needed to be sung to again, so everybody did. Apparently somebody shouted that I was gorgeous. I don't know if it was a male or female, but either way it's probably best that I didn't hear it. That kind of thing tends to go straight to my head.
in the late afternoon we went to see some of the greater Meadow Lake area nature and have a picnic. we saw some beautiful sites and wildlife, and finally found an ok picnic spot. This was tough because it was raining. I didn't know why we were trying so hard to have a picnic in the rain and mosquitos until after the hot dog roast, when i was sat down with a huge bag of presents. included were a pillow (because the one i've been using isn't great), a notepad and pen for journalling or whatever, nice new sandals which i needed, some peach like candy and some chocolate covered peanuts. it was a treasure trove. then there was even cake, black forest cake no less. Home made! and I was sung to again. and blew out all the candles in a single puff. not any of that blowing wildly in all directions for 30 seconds until no flame in a 10 foot radius has a chance. just one highly efficient puff. We also replaced frisbee with this amazing thing called trackball. I highly recommend it. I tell ya, being away from family for the last couple of birthdays, it's been a while since i've had such a good birthday. I thought I'd hear from a few more people than I heard from but then again my phone doesn't have reception in this town so maybe i'll have a few texts waiting for me. Cheers all.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Catching Up
On Friday we drove from drove from Calgary to Medicine Hat, played a show, left the next morning for Edmonton, which took us back through Calgary and took all day, played a show there until 1:30 am, and then left for Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. We arrived at 7am and played at the local church at 9am and again at 11am, and again at 7pm. That was hectic. But some good very good times have been had.
Of note was the show we played on thursday at a beach house, a swanky type of place in a swanky neighbourhood in Calgary. It was a nice warm day. We took some pedal boats out to the middle of the lake and I decided to swim back, not remembering that a week previous the ground in Calgary was actually covered in snow. It was so cold that I had trouble making it back. Not because it was that far, but because the cold made it so hard to breathe. Even floating on my back I was having trouble. By the end I was a big wet noodle. And my body refused to warm up for the rest of the night.
The bar we played at in Medicine Hat was previously a gay bar and apparently a strip club. It looked the part. Sleazy, but in a very hip way. I liked it. We didn't have a place to stay that night but a guy who played before us said we could stay with him at his parents' place. His dad was a doctor, so we said yes. On the way to Edmonton the next day we stopped at a rest stop and played with the local gophers for quite a while. I tried to take one out with a frisbee, but they're speedy little fellas. I also almost got one to eat out of my hand. But not quite. We tried to leave but our van was having no part of that. It was refusing to start, and then when it finally did it would either stall or backfire loudly. Eventually it decided to give in, and we made it to Edmonton safely.
In Edmonton we had supper at a place called Big Boy Pizza or something like that. We were told it was a buck-a-slice place, and it looked sketchy and affordable on the outside, but it turned into a fancy sit-down place with Italian menus once you got inside. Turns out the words "Big Boy Pizza" sound and look a whole lot more classy in Italian.
Then we played a secret show at Castle Awesome. Let me tell you about Castle Awesome. Castle Awesome has a climbing wall. Castle Awesome has a pool. Castle Awesome is not exactly what it sounds like. It's on a very ordinary street in Edmonton, and it's a very ordinary, very messy bungalow that two scene guys live in. The pool cost $60 at Walmart. The climbing wall is 10 feet tall. But they have shows there all the time, and Castle Awesome is still pretty awesome.
We played a cool show in the basement that was crammed with people and EXTREMELY hot. It was probably the best show we'll play on tour. The energy in there was incredible, the crowd was crammed right into our faces, and they loved us. And there's something about leaving a show in a t-shirt drenched with sweat that makes everything feel all right. Even if you then have to drive through the night and play worship music you haven't ever practised the next morning. We watched Big Fish in the van and then I drove the rest of the way. Our improvised worship songs were not very good, especially since Jer, who was leading most of them, didn't really know some of them. We're not a worship band, and we were really tired. None of us was really happy with our show that night either, especially compared to the energy and sweat of the night before. The ambience in a small town church sanctuary isn't quite the same as the basement of Castle Awesome, and we had no idea if anybody there liked us at all, especially since they were either over the hill, or in junior high and probably into screamo and hip-hop. But we sold 28 CDs, so they obviously did.
Today we played Frisbee in a field well stocked with mosquitos. It's been a while since i've experienced mosquitos but i figured they wouldn't bug me too much since i'm from Winnipeg. The weird thing is though, they did. Turns out mosquitos aren't very fun to be around. Especially not in the thick variety, when you can slap yourself and hit more than one, or swing your arms randomly and hit several.
Of note was the show we played on thursday at a beach house, a swanky type of place in a swanky neighbourhood in Calgary. It was a nice warm day. We took some pedal boats out to the middle of the lake and I decided to swim back, not remembering that a week previous the ground in Calgary was actually covered in snow. It was so cold that I had trouble making it back. Not because it was that far, but because the cold made it so hard to breathe. Even floating on my back I was having trouble. By the end I was a big wet noodle. And my body refused to warm up for the rest of the night.
The bar we played at in Medicine Hat was previously a gay bar and apparently a strip club. It looked the part. Sleazy, but in a very hip way. I liked it. We didn't have a place to stay that night but a guy who played before us said we could stay with him at his parents' place. His dad was a doctor, so we said yes. On the way to Edmonton the next day we stopped at a rest stop and played with the local gophers for quite a while. I tried to take one out with a frisbee, but they're speedy little fellas. I also almost got one to eat out of my hand. But not quite. We tried to leave but our van was having no part of that. It was refusing to start, and then when it finally did it would either stall or backfire loudly. Eventually it decided to give in, and we made it to Edmonton safely.
In Edmonton we had supper at a place called Big Boy Pizza or something like that. We were told it was a buck-a-slice place, and it looked sketchy and affordable on the outside, but it turned into a fancy sit-down place with Italian menus once you got inside. Turns out the words "Big Boy Pizza" sound and look a whole lot more classy in Italian.
Then we played a secret show at Castle Awesome. Let me tell you about Castle Awesome. Castle Awesome has a climbing wall. Castle Awesome has a pool. Castle Awesome is not exactly what it sounds like. It's on a very ordinary street in Edmonton, and it's a very ordinary, very messy bungalow that two scene guys live in. The pool cost $60 at Walmart. The climbing wall is 10 feet tall. But they have shows there all the time, and Castle Awesome is still pretty awesome.
We played a cool show in the basement that was crammed with people and EXTREMELY hot. It was probably the best show we'll play on tour. The energy in there was incredible, the crowd was crammed right into our faces, and they loved us. And there's something about leaving a show in a t-shirt drenched with sweat that makes everything feel all right. Even if you then have to drive through the night and play worship music you haven't ever practised the next morning. We watched Big Fish in the van and then I drove the rest of the way. Our improvised worship songs were not very good, especially since Jer, who was leading most of them, didn't really know some of them. We're not a worship band, and we were really tired. None of us was really happy with our show that night either, especially compared to the energy and sweat of the night before. The ambience in a small town church sanctuary isn't quite the same as the basement of Castle Awesome, and we had no idea if anybody there liked us at all, especially since they were either over the hill, or in junior high and probably into screamo and hip-hop. But we sold 28 CDs, so they obviously did.
Today we played Frisbee in a field well stocked with mosquitos. It's been a while since i've experienced mosquitos but i figured they wouldn't bug me too much since i'm from Winnipeg. The weird thing is though, they did. Turns out mosquitos aren't very fun to be around. Especially not in the thick variety, when you can slap yourself and hit more than one, or swing your arms randomly and hit several.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Nothing Much
Nothing much has happened over the last while that's very entertaining to write about. There's now an official tour blog you can check out on the link to the right. The other night we played BaseBee, which is a lot like baseball but with a frisbee, and you get way more exercise cause we only play with four or five people. Which is good, cause when it comes to getting exercise, plain baseball is akin to golf as a sport. And shuffleboard.
Saturday night we played at a hardcore show, which is always fun. We played first, and then two bands that sucked, but then a super nuts band called Snic came on. Those guys are so fun to watch, and don't take themselves too seriously, which is a good idea in that genre I think.
I guess I'm becoming accustomed to life on tour. The days meld into one, a lot of good times are had, some boring times, some good music is played, some not so good, and at the end of the day i'm usually rolling out a bed in a new place.
Saturday night we played at a hardcore show, which is always fun. We played first, and then two bands that sucked, but then a super nuts band called Snic came on. Those guys are so fun to watch, and don't take themselves too seriously, which is a good idea in that genre I think.
I guess I'm becoming accustomed to life on tour. The days meld into one, a lot of good times are had, some boring times, some good music is played, some not so good, and at the end of the day i'm usually rolling out a bed in a new place.
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