So let's get to it and I'll keep it short.
So the initial tour was enjoyable me on the road seeing Canada.
Now I'm going back out west. Destination Vancouver.
But not alone.
Gina and Trail are coming with me. Also a big red cargo trailer.
The plan.
Travel to Van City, stop in Saskatoon along the way to play a gig. Write a pluthra of songs in Van, and return to Ontario with a multitude of shows along the way.
The funny thing is my car had magnets on it promoting my tour, it was paid for by Sleeman. The whole time traveling across Canada I was worried someone might take them. But I worried for naught. I arrived home the magnets still attached to my car.
The morning we are leaving what do I see on my car but an empty rectangle of dirt. Someone in my neighbourhood had swiped one of the magnets, and now has the coolest fridge in the world.
(puns anyone?)
I bought this trailer before I hit the tour and have not driven with it aside from getting it from the previous owners home to it's current resting place.
Packed up. Ready to go. First think I do is jack knife the thing backing out of the driveway and put a dent in my bumper. (an Aside: it doesn't matter Gina ripped the bumper off my car previously exiting from a parking lot and I am still awaiting her replacement...)
What are you pointing at?
Stops to make it to Saskatoon: Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg. Visiting family along the way.
Here some classy Gina moments.
Early on I was tired so Gina took over.
"Why don't you close your eyes for a bit." she says
Alright.
I get 5 seconds before...
"Why didn't you go out last night? Did you stay out with Hazy? He looks good, eh?"
Roar.
"You told me to close my eyes!"
"I didn't think you were actually trying to sleep!"
Another favourite Gina moment was in Sault Ste Marie.
Again she was driving (She's like my chauffeur) and I was navigator.
"Take a left up here."
she starts to turn.
"No, at the lights. These are train tracks."
Driving 7 hours so far, I'm pretty tired. Gina's bouncing around in good spirits.
"We're pretty perky for having driven 7 hours!"
"No, you are you just had a red bull."
"Oh ya!"
Good thing she's cute.
My dog will not relax in the car.
He braces himself the whole ride and when we stop he is so exhausted he falls asleep fairly quickly.
and if we go over rumble strips he does this.
A Frightened Trail
Saskatoon was a fun little place. Spadina Free House was a really busy bar, but I was clearly back-ground noise.
Lots of conversations going on.
I was surprised that people did come up to me afterward and tell me they enjoyed the music.
After the show with no place to stay we needed to find a motel. We were warned that Saskatoon was quite expensive place to stay and true enough it was.
The dingiest hotel we could find was still $100 for the night. Which would have taken away almost all my pay.
So, I had the killer idea of driving out of town and finding a cheaper place in a small township.
Driving down the highway in the Prairies at 1am was not a fantastic thing to do. I was very tired and it was very dark. All I could see was 2 red lights of a car in the distance.
I drove for a an hour before coming up to a place that wanted $90 I was too tired to find somewhere else. So whatever township we were at took our money.
Next was Calgary, to Salmon Arm, then over the border to Mount Baker.
While in Salmon Arm I was asked "Where's your trailer plate?"
"Uh what?"
Apparently I'm to have gotten a licence plate for my trailer. whoops well I'm in BC now, and made it hear with no trouble I'll wait until I get back to Ontario.
I have now since gotten the plate. but haven't attached it. It sits in the car.
Mount Baker was awesome we spent 2 relaxing booze infused days there.
We had a cottage at the base of the mountain, and it was just what we needed after driving 8-5 hours everyday for the past 6 days. it was nice to get up and not go anywhere.
We had good food friends and nature.
Topless Crowe sunning and strumming
I don't know why but I kept forgetting we were in the US rather than Canada.
I think because I don't usually go over the borders to get away from city life.
But it was fantastic going for jogs in the forest going up the mountain being around snow and ice but still be in shorts and a t-shirt.
Up in the mountain there are glacier pools some, the colder ones, have ice still on them.
I went up to my knees felt numbing pain and said "Not for me."
Gina on the other hand dives in.
gets out screams a triumphant banshee viking warrior cry and jumps back in.
So what. You think you're better than me?
I went up a little higher and found a pool that didn't have any ice and quietly waded in and swam alone.
It was still very cold!
Off to White Rock to visit with Gina's family then finally our destination. Vancouver!
We were extremely lucky. We had planned on renting out a place for 3 weeks that would have cost us well over a grand.
But good ol' Facebook came to the rescue.
Gina posted that we were coming to Van City and were looking for a place to stay.
A friend of hers just happened to be leaving for Italy for the month and we could stay at his place fre of charge. And better yet it was right between Gas Town and China Town.
Couldn't of had a better location.
We were excited to be able to save some money.
3 years ago Gina bought me a painting from someone off the street for $10 dollars. I loved it and every time she went back to Van I asked her to find the guy who painted it and get another one.
But never saw him.
THe night we arrived and settled in the pratment. we walked Trail around the block.
and some dude zoomed by us.
"Gina says "That's Foster!"
"Who?"
"The guy who did your painting!"
So within 10 minutes of being in the city, we've managed to find the guy who's been alluding us for the past 3 years.
There's the man.
Ken Foster is an interesting fellow and has done work for tv and music video's. The Rolling Stones Saint Of me Video he did the art and had lots of offers for more work but...
he is also schizophrenic and bi polar. Then started to use crack to self medicate against his symptoms.
So now sadly he paints and sells it on the street for way less than it's worth.
Before we left Gina did hook him up with some work at a restaurant they wanted 3 large murals.
She's good like that.
Ken said he had a big cubicle wall that he wanted to paint so we gave him some cash and said we'd take what ever he painted. here's what he made.
To get the piece I had to go to where he lived It's one of those old hotels that house drug addicts.
Not the cleanest of places. piss on the floor of the elevator dirty walls horrible smells, people slumped in corners passed out.
And if you have not shared an elevator with 6 crack and heroin fiends.
Then my friend, you haven't lived.
One woman, in fine form, traded her lighter for a bit of heroin, (this was in the hotel lobby) then screamed her head off that it wasn't enough to get high. The other woman who gave her the drugs was adamant that it was. They hurled fucks, bitches, and shit heads at each other until we were on the elevator. Then we all casually joked at how crazy that junkie was for not thinking that that wasn't enough heroin to get high, Ha ha ha. That silly bird.
(get me out of this elevator I thought)
Walking down the hall way some other lady was happily singing away as she tried to scrub the words "cunt" and "bitch" from her door. Someone got artistic and marked her door up in the late evening.
After leaving the place I asked Gina,"Wasn't that the dirtiest place you've ever been?"
"No. Bangkok. They had shit and blood on the walls there."
Awesome.
I got my piece and I'm very happy with it. Walking down the street many of the drug fiends would say how nice the piece was and offer a hand to carry it.
I really don't know why I didn't take them up on it. It was heavy and awkward.
I could have abused their desperation and paid a dollar to have it carried for me.
Here's a fun fact.
There's a street off Hastings that shuts down on Sunday afternoons so the people of the street can peddle their wares.
Car phone chargers, VHS tapes, magazines, dirty broken toys, all laid out on filthy blankets, or just placed on the street. Basically it's a collection of what they found or stole that week.
Red Bull.
I was surprised by how little time we had to relax. I was expecting to have all this free time and write a whole mess of new songs. In the end I completed 3 new ones and about 3 song structures that, as of today, I have not completed yet.
We had some brief moments of spontaneity in the city of Vancouver.
Out for a drink with a friend Dave Hamilton, (a fantastic photographer check out his stuff HERE) we ended up meeting up with a couple of his friends.
Dave's Studio.
They were actors, one of which, Katie, was killed by Jason Vorhees in Freddy Vs Jason. They got us into a couple of cool clubs. One where you were not allowed to take a picture, use a cell phone, or tell anyone that it was there.
They also made shitty drinks.
So maybe not so cool.
Fun time nonetheless.
I can give acting tips.
"Next time you get killed in a movie do this!"
Also, stay on my lap.
A resemblance?
Gregg, a friend of ours, was flying up from San Francisco to spend the weekend.
The plan was Gina would go with her friend up to Whistler then Gregg and I would cruise up after I scoop him from the airport.
Dear, dear Gregg. (with 3 g's)
But alas we didn't get away from the port until close to 11 and so plans changed. Gina was in Whistler drinking her little face off while the total amount of alcohol consumed by two grown men was 4.
Everywhere had a line up that looked to be a minimum of a 30 minute wait. Neither of us put up with lines so we resided in 2 dinner/ lounge bars. A drink in each.
While trying to find a bar up ahead on the walk is some tall lanky fellow wearing a Zack Morris type sweater, and an over sized flat brim hat, walking towards us with quite the swagger. There were 2 girls behind us and we heard him say "Let me check out these fly ass biddies."
and slowly walked by the girls giving them the creepiest look.
The look was mainly directed at their tits.
I have stolen this move and added it to my own repertoire on how to not pick up girls.
Also there was this guy.
He robbed a girl of her balloons and 3 bouncers chased him down the street and dropped him hard to the ground.
Since we were not getting into any good bars this night we decided we'd go to a local strip bar. Of course we had no idea where they were and hopped in a cab.
"We'd like to go to a gentleman's club, good sir."
"Uh, well, I think the last one closed done a year a go."
"What?"
"Ya the city is really strict on that."
"There's no way Vancouver does not have a strip club!"
"Oh a strip club! We got plenty of those I thought you wanted a sex club."
Vancouver Apparently has classy rip joints because we did not have proper shoes to get into half of them but cabby-extraordinaire said he knew where to take us.
A place called Orange or something of the like.
He drops us off.
We pay.
Walk over to the door.
It's Locked.
Turn around and cabby is driving away.
We walked to McDonald's
then went home and fell asleep in the same bed.
2 drinks a piece and I'm in bed with a dude.
My mom would be proud.
It's not what you think!
After 2 and a half weeks we were ready for home and 6 shows
Calgary, Regina, 2 in Kenora, Sault Ste. Marie, and Barrie.
Photo Booth!
Calgary round 2 THe Blind Beggar Pub was great. The bands ha fans out I even had fans come out (Imagine That!)
I played a new song for the first time, called Welcome Back Old Fear. The audience were responsive to it. I was pleased.
Regina round 2 is technically round one since I had food poisoning and lost my car key. This time I opened up for the Ontario band Adam's Rib. Again the place was packed! It was awesome, people were listening tapping toes, people were buying merch it was good. The place doesn't usually have acoustic acts but people dug it. Off the top of my head I can not remember the venue name.
This was our dance crew for the evening
Adam's Rib
At the end of the night we had no place to stay and Gina managed to get quite intoxicated the sound man and some new friends we met kept getting us drinks. It couldn't be helped I suppose.
Also because of the Roughriders game that evening there were no hotels available.
Another night of driving in pitch black but this time I had a near empty tank and a rambling drunk in the car.
"It's like Jersey Shore."
"What is?"
No response.
"If the cops pull us over will they ask Trail questions?" (Trail is my dog)
"Stop talking."
"You're Driving! Do you know where you're going? Are you ok to drive these guys?"
"There's no one else here."
"Oh, ok."
"Do you feel strong enough to drive everyone to Vancouver?"
"There's no one else here!"
"You are."
I got quite worried of running out of gas on the highway but my iphone said that there were 3 gas stations in some little town 15km up ahead.
They were all closed.
the first motel was booked up but luckily the other one in town had a vacancy and was only $65.
Come the morning Gina had no idea where we were, or how much she annoyed me in the car.
Kenora, on a Monday and Tuesday. I didn't expect much.
I played at The Cornerstone the first night it was busy, but sadly not many were there to hear music. I struggled to be heard over loud conversations. I tried 2 new songs Welcome Back Old Fear and for the 1st time Sleeping in The Kitchen.
2nd night was at Shooters. It was dead. I did manage to get some ladies to dance when I covered Adele's Rolling in the Deep.
They were the kind of ladies that like other ladies.
Some of the finer people in Kenora.
Leaving Kenora, heading towards Thunder Bay. Gina was driving and then all f a sudden there was a rumbling sound and bumping.
"Did you just blow a tire?" I asked
"No, I'm slowing down and the wind on the trailer is making it do that."
Does this look like wind on a trailer?
Sault Ste. Marie. Lop Lop's, Another night I didn't expect much. After seeing how many people came to see Broken Social Scene and Bedouin Soundclash, what chance did I have?
And true to form there were a handful off folks in half of which only wanted to drink Scotch.
Some of the fine folks that came out plus The Owner Steve.
We were instructed to not look at the camera.
I've tamed the ornery moose.
Finally back home in Barrie. When we arrived it hit me. I was tired.
3 months of travel will do that to you.
I set up At The Local and I played pretty mellow and kept banter to a minimum. Usually I play my sets longer than usual going over an hour for each, but tonight straight up 45 min sets I had no energy.
I packed up and headed straight home to bed.
I needed to get ready for the day job.
-Neil
www.eyeswide.ca
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