Well folks, we're half way there and doing well! Here we are in Regina during one of the worst rainfalls I've ever seen. That 's after living on the West Coast for 13 years! Todd and our new found prairie fans/friends were just out running in the rain and lightning. I chose to stay inside and write this blog for you.
It was hectic and right to the last minute (literally) getting it all together. But down to the smallest details I think we got it all done pretty nicely considering the amount of work involved. It was definately a group effort ( thank you friends and family!). So we pulled out on the 9:30 pm ferry to Vancouver with feelings of hope, freedom and directional anxiety. We headed out to experience life on the road as a group of friends and bandmates together for the first time. There were but a few inches to spare yet we were comfortable and excited.
After taking care of some last minute business with Kali Entertainement around midnight we said goodbye and headed east to Kelowna and slightly cheaper gas prices! The sounds of Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson seem so surreal as we listened and drove. Their songs take on new meaning for each of us as we head out on our own adventure that pales in their comparison. The show at the Grateful Fed proved a success as did our gig at the Parks Alive Festival. After our opening of the 2 month festival, the sponsors asked us to return and to be the closing group with the promise of promotion and airtime for the closing of Parks Alive with Kings Without. We were off to a good start. Unfortunately we couldn't play the Molson Canadian Rockanogan Festival that we'd been invited to by Ryan of the Grateful Fed because we'll be at the Clayoquot resort playing a high profile celebrity wedding. (Who could it be? They won't tell us!) We'll be there next year Ryan! As much as we would have liked to have made it to the beach in Kelowna, we still needed better locks and more socks so we got our shopping done and moved on to Kamloops for our Sunday show at On The Rocks. (I didn't intend for all of that to rhyme quite that well!)
The weather has been perfect so far and besides some stressfull moments trying to park a huge van and a trailer everything is great. On The Rocks is full of Jeanetta's (Todd's girlfriend) friends and we rock the place. I'm still thinking about the girls back in Kelowna wow! We are selling CD's and shirts and start to think that this "could" work out as well as we'd hoped. At the show Gilles (our soundman and rhythm guitar/banjo extraodinaire) is reunited with a long time friend who is blind and one of the more charismatic charming people I've met on this tour! It was great to meet you Bill! We spend the night at Todd's Grandma's house and are gifted with more food and supplies as only a loving Grandma could! Lookout Banff here we come!
Wild Bill's Legendary Salloon. The real deal! Bo Diddley even graced this place's stage right where we stood! The Chili was a bit too meaty for me but other than that you should all go some time! After what we felt was fun but not our best performance, we still had the crowd and staff engaged and dancing. To our surprise we were asked back with showers of compliments from the management. Of course we obliged and look forward to ongoing performances at one of our new favorite spots! Todd runs into an old friend and we suddely have a place to sleep and don't have to perform our sardines in a can imitation that we do so well when sleeping so closely together in the van. Onward to Calgary and rest!
In Calgary we spend a lot of time in some kind strangers' backyard cooking and jamming. Thank you so much Laura and Kiara! I took the opportunity to go out and get drunk in true Albertan fashion and experience the Calgary Stampede. ( I even found my way home at 5 in the morning! A great tribute to the transit system in Calgary!) Three days go buy and we pick up Todd where he bids Jeanetta farewell and we head to Edmonton.
In Edmonton Andrew's aunt and uncle give us the most wonderfuly decorated house to live in and we each have beds! His uncle who is the only remaining art proffesor at University of Alberta has a plethora of beautiful art and a gorgeous backyard on display. We feel great as we contemplate how we could possibly pass the house off as our own and party in it! (just kidding Graham and Wendy). But seriously it would have been a wicked party!
Edmonton is always a good place to be because the people who live there are awesome. We play our show at the Mead Hall (it's more like a wharehouse) to a crowd of maybe 15 at best and still manage to have fun. Dawn and the City opens the night and absolutely tear it up! Afterwards the guys humour me so that I can party with some people I met and we go on a long and slightly agonizing goose chase in the suburbs to drink beer and play rock band until 6 in the morning. I met some good people there and I think we'll be friends for a long time to come. Then we get lost trying to get back to the mansion so we can finally sleep. The sun's been up for hours we're tired and a wee bit grumpy.
The following day begins as does every other day with a few pots Guayaki Yerba Matte (our new sponsor) and I tell you it's the best drink i've ever had! Think green tea meets red bull without the shakes or comedown! We all check out White Ave and it's artist walk on a beautiful afternoon. I meet someone for lunch in a pub and take a walk through one of Edmonton's beautiful parks. Then we all reunite at the Lizard Lounge where we were able to play for the regulars and Andrew's family, friends, and their friends. All in all a really fun and tight show with some special guest jammers including Burnell of Dawn and the City to make it special. We'll be sure to collaborate again sometime! I don't think we left the back alley until 4:30 in the morning.
Now we feel the vastness of the prairies as we head to Saskatoon where we hope to find a nice spot to camp. After the 7 hour drive we instead decide to head straight for Lydia's where our next gig is. Our plan works and they let us stay in the band room which luckly isn't being used. Yeah, three days in the most pimpin' band room in Canada. Check out the pictures i'll be posting and you'll see. Feeling a little bit like rock stars (only because of the decor and the beer tab of course) we are glad to have a home on busy Broadway street for our four days of Saskatoon livin'.
I can't say enough about Lydia's. So much fun. It's all about the music and the rest that comes with it. We ended up making some pretty great friends and contacts. In fact we'll likely be recording part of next album in Saskatoon and will definately be keeping a prescence here. Sadly we had to leave our awesome pad but not before we had one good after party. The next few days I spent with a friend and the rest of the band camped out in the backyard belonging to our newest favorite soundman who may or may not be joining for part of our tour! Ian you rock!
The gig at the Roxy in Saskatoon didn't go so well as we were mismatched for the empty heavy metal venue and way too drunk for our 1am start. However to our credit we regrouped and played a terrific follow up show in Regina at the Plains Hotel where the staff and customers were terrific. It was kinda like the Ivan Hoe relocated in the prairies but we played the whole weekend and were very well recieved. We'll be playing here again on our way back and look forward to it.
Regina folks are quite unique and we seem to have met the best of them. I've heard some amazing heartfelt songs here and got to be at the recieving end of their generosity. Thanks to all of you here who've opened your arms and your doors to us! We'll always appreciate it!
I hope that all of you are enjoying yourselves and keeping safe this summer! Thanks to everyone who's put us up for the night along the way. Those restful nights are incredibly helpful and have made our trip much more enjoyable! We hope to hear from all of you and please check the blog again in a few weeks to hear more about our Canadian Tour! (Don't forget the pictures either)
All the best,
Neil and Kings Without