crows to burnaby

Man, you'd think I'd be in the habit of blogging after last month, but I still have to make a conscious effort. At least I'm feeling more inclined to blog again and a little less restrained. Having a month on the road acted as a bit of a "reset" for me; I don't feel like I'm caught up on the same things I was caught up on before I left. (I can always find new hangups, thank you very much.) It feels more like a new start now, coming back to my new place with fresh eyes.

One of the other big changes is my employment situation. I'm finished my contract with Education at UBC, which was nice, but I was in need of a change. I'm going to be getting back into freelance web design like I was doing a few years ago, and am starting those wheels turning again (yes, I am looking for projects).

Also, I've started working two days/week at an artist management company. I'd like to tell you all about it, but instinct tells me I probably shouldn't (okay, there's that restraint again). Suffice it to say I'm really excited about it, the people there seem great, and in one week I already feel like I've learned so much my head is swimming. In a good way.

I have two unrelated observations for you:

1. Where the hell is summer? It's almost summer solstice and there hasn't been much of anything summery going on. It seemed like everywhere we went on the trip, we missed the warm weather by a few days - I was wearing gloves and heavy sweaters in Toronto when we were there, and a week after we left, it hit 41 C. Of course, I'm just as glad to have missed that, but still.
2. I was all excited about the new Portishead album, "Third", being quite a fan of the first two and having seen very good reviews. Someone gave us a copy of it before we hit the road, and I find it terribly unmusical. It's abrasive and irritating, and Gibbons even sings noticeably out of tune from time to time. I keep giving it another chance, then getting annoyed and skipping tracks halfway through. My theory is that Portishead used a new form of copy protection, in which if you make a copy of the CD, the music just turns really crappy. Does anyone have the original who can confirm or deny this?

Well, I don't know how many of you are still checking in here after that lengthy hiatus, but I seem to be back, in some way or another anyway. I was doing some pretty heavy-duty blogging over on ARCTIC's site. If you'd like to read that, here's a sort of table of contents:

1. Vancouver tour launch
2. Kelowna
3. Regina
4. Winnipeg and Thunder Bay
5. Sault Ste Marie
6. A few days off
7. Guelph
8. Toronto
9. Montreal and Waterloo
10. Hamilton
11. Peterborough
12. Ottawa and Oshawa
13. Windsor
14. Northern Ontario wanderings
15. Thunder Bay return
16. Calgary
17. On supporting local businesses
18. Kelowna and home

I'm back in Vancouver now and adjusting to normal life. I'm in danger of acquiring what I like to call Post-Ecstatic Stress Syndrome - the big crash that comes after a highly anticipated, fun and exciting event. I'm already heavily into booking the next tour, so hopefully that'll help ease me down. Plus I can enjoy the little things about being back, like having a greater selection of clothing to wear, and not having to dig them out from the bottom of a suitcase in the trunk of a car.

I really had a great time on the road. I never would have thought, years ago, that I'd do so well being constantly in transit, with interrupted sleep and naps in the front passenger seat of a car, and so on. And I guess it'll be a little harder in the fall and winter, when the weather is harsh (though the weather seemed to be pretty miserable everywhere we went this time anyway) and there are more colds going around. But it was a pretty comfortable thing, and I'm ready for more.

I also had the most awesome reunion with Dexter (the best dog in the world) today. He was staying with some friends who absolutely love him and have been doting on him non-stop, and I half expected him to be disappointed to have me come and take him home. But when he saw me he launched himself at me with sheer wholehearted joy, and proceed to race up and down the hallway, running at me full tilt and leaping into my arms, then taking off down the hallway and flying at me again. It was the most dizzying display of giddiness and happiness and it made me feel really great to be his person.

So that's where I'm at.

You'll be pleased to know that in May I'll be blogging reliably... just not here. May 10 is the start of our tour, with a kickoff here in Vancouver, and I'll be writing updates from the road (time and internet access permitting, of course) over on ARCTIC's tour blog.

So where are we going, anyway? Here's the current list:

May 10: Wired Monk, Vancouver, BC
May 13: The Gaslight, Regina, SK
May 14: Mondragon, Winnipeg, MB
May 15: The Apollo, Thunder Bay, ON
May 16: Loplop’s, Sault Ste Marie, ON
May 17: Tranzac, Toronto, ON (Marcus Martin solo)
May 20: Albion Hotel, Guelph, ON
May 21: The Boat, Toronto, ON
May 22: Bar St. Laurent 2, Montreal, QC
May 25: Circus Room, Kitchener, ON
May 26: The Casbah, Hamilton, ON
May 28: The Spill, Peterborough, ON
May 29: Black Sheep Inn, Wakefield (near Ottawa), QC
May 30: The Atria, Oshawa, ON
May 31: Phog Lounge, Windsor, ON
Jun 4: The Cavern, Winnipeg, MB
Jun 6: The Stetson, Calgary, AB
Jun 7: Grateful Fed, Kelowna, BC

That's 18 shows, plus we're playing live on CiTR on May 1 (you can listen online at 10 PM PST) and on CKMS (Waterloo) on May 19 (3 PM EST).

See what I've been distracted now?

Hard to believe it's just a few weeks away now. I'm pretty much done with show booking, but still have to finish making new t-shirts, posters, and submitting the shows to event listings here & there. At least I can relax knowing that I will probably not be called upon to a) drive, or b) cook during our time on the road, mostly because neither of the guys entirely trust me with either task.

If you're on Facebook and this trip interests you at all, or if you think you can make it to a show, please join our Facebook event page. I'd like that.

Also, if you have friends in some of these cities who you think would enjoy the band, please please drop them a line or blog about us. At this stage, you really can't underestimate what it still means to catch the ear of a few more people. And it's just more fun for us and then it's better for everybody.

I'm really, really, really excited. This is what I want to be doing, after all.

No show tonight - Marcus has come down with strep throat and been advised by a doctor not to stress his voice while he's recovering. He is not someone to cancel a show lightly, either.

I'm pretty miserable because I was particularily excited about this show - I really like playing the Railway, and we had done some excellent work in rehearsal over the past week and really fine-tuned some things, plus there's a new song that we were looking forward to playing. But there's nothing we can do about it... it just wouldn't sound the same sung in a hoarse croak, and certainly won't help Marcus get better.

If anyone's looking for me this evening, I'll be drowning my sorrows at the Rail.

This Wednesday, Jan 30 I'm playing a solo set at the Railway Club as part of the Super Robertson Supper Show. I'm excited about this for a variety of reasons:

• I get a 25-minute set.
• Interior Design is also playing a set, very cool ambient music.
• The Rail is probably the nicest venue to play in Vancouver. Well, I suppose the Commodore is probably nicer to play, but I haven't gotten there yet.
• I have a new pedalboard and hopefully it'll all be assembled in time to put it through its paces that night.
• After the Supper Show, there's some really good bands including The Hermit, who are always good. So it's worth sticking around afterwards.

The show runs from 7:30pm-8:30pm and hey, it's free. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is dragging my gear up the stairs. I'm trying to decide if I do or don't want to bring my amp and cab, or just run straight into the soundboard. I love my amp, and it would sound really nice, but I ain't getting that cabinet up the steps without some help.

Then on Friday, February 8th, ARCTIC has a show at the Railway along with Stride Elementary, Windows '78, and Go Ghetto Tiger. That one starts at 9pm and it'll cost $10 but totally be worth it. It's worth it just to hang out at the Railway anyway - it's cozy and pleasant and has great sound and a lot of character, and you can either go up front and listen to the music, or hang out in the back and talk to people if you prefer. And there's a model train that runs on a track up by the ceiling, and a peanut dispenser. What more could you want?