(Please note that I started writing this on Thursday May 3. I only ever type with my toes so it takes a little longer than other people.)

Holy crap.

A lot has been going on with Jessie Farrell and her band, of which I have been a part.

I know that she's been doing a better job of keeping up with the news bulletins. As a matter of fact she just finished one on this very laptop sitting beside me on a couch backstage at the Great Northern Casino in Grande Prairie, AB. Johnny Reid and the boys are onstage now and gettin' a bit funky.

We've been touring as the opening act for Johnny Reid since April 12. It's sort of been a weird one in the sense that the dates haven't been solidly booked, so we've been doing three or four days here and there with maybe a day or two at home. In a way, it's easier just to be on the road for a straight stretch of time because you get into a rhythm and a routine. And when you're back home for such a short time, you don't necessarily have a chance to do anything productive except maybe a bit of laundry and catching up on some sleep. On the other hand, it's great to not be away from home for too long when there are people there that you would miss otherwise.

Johnny is a class act -- a superb fellow who is not only a phenomenal singer and performer, but also a guy who is so great to his fans, taking time to chat and sign stuff no matter how many people are hanging around after the show. Of course, his band is wicked too, and we've gotten to know them a bit better over the last couple weeks even though one band is usually on the way in when the other is on the way out. Another couple dates with JR and them we're back home, but it's been a gooder.

On Sunday April 29 we shot Jessie's first music video for the single "Let's Talk About Love", which incidentally is now #9 on the country radio charts, or thereabouts. It was directed by Ante Kovacs, a guy from Toronto who has directed a bunch of videos including some for artists like Sarah Harmer and the Tragically Hip. He is a really cool guy, and even after a ridiculously long day he never got cranky or fatigued and it was such a pleasure to have a character like him calling the shots. I've worked on film sets before as part of the crew, but being in front of the camera is a different story and an experience I had not had previously. It is so important to have someone at the helm whom you trust, especially for the star, in this case Jessie, who is putting so much faith in his ability to create and deliver something that will set the stage for this early part of her career.

Speaking of Jessie, she was amazing. I've been in her band for about a year and a half, and in that time I thought I might have seen the breadth and depth of her skills as a performer. No way. She was on fire for 16 hours straight -- she looked incredible and she slayed it, she hit her marks, she nailed her steps, and she really worked the camera like a pro. I was so impressed. It's going to be awesome, so look for it on CMT sometime in the next two weeks.

I have to say a big thanks as well to the crew who all made it look easy. We had lots of fun.

When the video comes out, you might see some faces in the band that you won't see at any live shows (on the stage, anyway). My girlfriend Lisa and our friend Andrew were enlisted to play the part of the fiddle player and keyboard player, respectively. I wish they could be in the band all the time, but we're still working up to bigger budget tours where we can have more musicians with talents as unique as Lisa and Andy's.

More next time about the rest of the Johnny Reid tour…I'm trying to catch up, I swear.