The Grand Opening

So – I’m gonna blog am I? It seems to be the going trend, and as a ‘somewhat trendy’ type of guy, I guess I have to be part of it. Besides, I keep pretty busy (sometimes stupidly so), but my ‘busy-ness’ will be on hold for a few weeks in the near future due to engagements in Europe etc. leaving me time to possibly share some of my thoughts and observations.

I leave for Poland on September 4th to play with Cease and Desist and continue on to Sweden and Denmark etc. when the Randy Bachman Band comes over on September 26th to tour. After that I go on to Toronto and play Air Canada Centre with Cease and Desist. We are playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs for a few nights (private parties and, I believe a game or two plus VIP tix for Paul McCartney on October 10th!!!) so I won’t return to Vancouver proper until October 12th. I guess my cat will die. The poor thing’s sacrificing her life so you can get some blogs. (God speed, Josie)

Some people may read these I would imagine, but for the most part, it will be an attempt by my ego to think that what I have to say is relatively important…ill fated, no doubt. Maybe some people will read the blogs hoping for an ‘inside scoop’ on thoughts and observations of some my contemporaries. Will they succeed in their quest for ‘inside knowledge’? Possibly - if I’m in a bitchy enough mood… I’ve been known to ‘spew’.

Some of these will be short – others will go on and on like some barbaric Sunday sermon because I’ll be caught on a plane with no one near me - like now. (Heh heh – don’t you love the luck of the draw…I’m not in first class this flight BUT I have all three seats – I feel like a land baron – heck I just woke up having stretched out nicely…. ah!!!!)

So as I start this I’m flying over Ontario and Manitoba on my way back from a couple of dates in Ontario playing with Randy and the band. The weather held fast for us on both nights (it was trying to rain on the outdoor shows we did in Port Elgin and Gananoque (my spell checker hates the word Gananoque, so you may see it mentioned a few times during this, just to mess with it’s head)

Both gigs went very well and Gananoque is quite a beautiful place – it was wild having big yachts pull up to watch us play (the stage was set up beside the shore of the 1000 Islands part of Lake Ontario - breathtaking). I also got to hang with my sister-in-law Mary Jane, which was pretty cool. I never get to see that side of the family.

One of the great things about playing with Randy Bachman is the dates I do across Canada and the USA. My family is so stretched out as of late; I’m probably one of the few family members who get to see the rest of the family on a fairly regular basis. It was to the point where it seemed funerals were the only things bringing us together, which really sucks. BUT travel is expensive. When it’s a necessary part of your ‘busy-ness’, it can be a real blessing, and in this case, it most certainly is. I adore my family – I’m a very, very lucky guy.

(Ahem) Gananoque

Port Elgin was a pleasant surprise. I ran for 52 minutes there by the way, which would be about 8 k (about 5 miles) at my snail’s pace, but, hey it’s something) It’s a beautiful little Lake Huron town, with extremely friendly people and some of the coolest, funkiest homes I’ve seen in a long time. I do miss that about Ontario. The old brick ‘last forever’ type buildings. It seems like BC (Vancouver in particular) wants to rebuild everything before it gets to the ‘cool’ point. Probably a good metaphor for the way our elderly get treated too.

(Ahem) Gananoque

I’ve had the opportunity to play for the Squamish nation a number of times. The Squamish Indian band is based mostly in North Vancouver, and my band ‘Cease and Desist’ has played their events a number of times. The way they treat their ‘elders’ is one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever experienced. It was actually humbling, because I felt myself getting swept up in the respect shown to these people, to the point of actually making a point to try and meet and greet them. I was caught up in the ‘minor celebrity’ treatment given them. It kind of made me think a bit. What if elderly people were treated like celebrities? What an amazing thing. Our celebrities are coddled to the point of ridiculousness - it would be nice to see some of that praise for people that really deserve it.

Colin Wiebe (Randy Bachman Band) and I have a friendly little competition going that he coined, ‘Svelte By Sveden’ (The band is playing Sweden starting September 26th) inspired in no small part by the fact that Colin’s sister just qualified for the Boston Marathon and is looking very good mostly due to her running/exercise commitments. She’s ‘challenged us’, and Colin being the ‘pro-active’ guy he is, designed a chart for all of his eating, exercise, moods…man it’s all there!
He sent me one of his charts at my request.
Will I use it?
I had a ‘Turtles Flavoured’ cheesecake for dessert in Port Elgin.
You figure it out.

(You guessed it…) Gananoque

I just edited about an hour’s worth of writing out of this because my political and religious opinions started to rear their ugly heads. I’ve saved you a lot of grief…(well some of you anyway *wink wink nudge nudge*) – you can all thank me later.

Gananoque - Gananoque - Gananoque


*Footnote*
Congratulations to my son Carman for his new birthday. You’re doing it boy, and I’m so proud of you.

Love, Dad