5/20/2008 - Tour Highlights

I can't believe this tour is almost over, just one show left out here in California before I fly home sweet home. We've been through all kinds of illnesses, weather and delays, but it's nice to finish up in the Southern California sunshine. I went for a run on the beach today and then swam in the ocean. Even though I'm anxious to get home and start working on some songs and hanging with my friends I definitely appreciate having a day off to reflect on the last couple months. Here are my highlights:

- kicking off the tour in oldest city in North America, St. Johns, Newfoundland- playing the most beautiful old restored theatre in Saint John, New Brunswick (it's confusing, I know)
- the most well-attended show was my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario (1200!)
- Ann Arbor, Michigan where we played in the quietest room full of most enthusiastic people (at The Ark)
- Taking the boys to my fav lunch spot in Vancouver, The Sha-Lin Noodle House on Broadway and playing a sold out show in my new hometown of Vancouver, BC
- Getting to see the Nevada desert without having to ride my bike there



3 little guys or 1 big chair


Our cluttered stage bathed in red


People often ask how we get from show to show, I will let you guess which one we ride and which one The Proclaimers ride

5/8/2008 - Big Sky Country

Last few days have been drives across prairie watching back-lit clouds being diced by sharp rays of sunlight. There are few trees and if your dog runs away you can watch him for about 3 days until he becomes a dot on the horizon. I think of us as a dot on the horizon, rolling around this earth like a bead of mercury in our maze of venues, hotels and dead-end truck stops. I'm thinking about making a new record and buying old guitars. The two go hand in hand really. I'll let you know what I come up with.


I find Isaac sitting in one of my heels that I plan to wear on stage. Sometimes you don't realize how small a guy is until you have to pull him out of your shoe.

5/5/2008 - The Proclaims

I started to think I was so late in doing a blog for this tour that I shouldn't do one at all, but every day we get a chance to start anew so I am taking this opportunity to reform an old habit. We're out on tour with The Proclaimers. By we I mean myself, Isaac, Duke and Peter (whom some of you might remember from the quartet I brought out on the road last year). Mark was adopted by The Raconteurs and if you miss him as much as we do you can check you local listings and go watch him rock the masses on keyboards and guitar with them. It is said that he can be found wearing hats and being introduced by Jack White as Mark Waterhorse.

This tour has been great for us. The Proclaims (it starts to get to be alot of syllables when you say their name as much as we do) are fun to hang with and super nice and accommodating to our needs. We eat their fruit tray and drink their wine and they even stick a back up guitar on the stand for me in case I need it during the show. Every show has been really fun so far and the trio is gelling nicely as I hoped it would. I will make an effort from this point forward to take pictures and remember stories.


We stayed on the 62nd floor of a hotel in Detroit that also houses the offices of GM. There was a mezzanine level that resembled the starship enterprise.


When you wake up at 6am the morning after a show and post-show drive the make-up room is not an option - it is mandatory. We didn't have any make-up or hairbrushes though, so we looked like our regular scrappy selves.


And here is our moment to shine while the rest of the world leaves coffee burning in the kitchen and the little tv on the counter blinks at low volume as they run out the door late for work...again.

5/5/2008 - March 2008

I found these last couple photos on my camera from the last tour and it brought back warm and strange memories, I thought I would share.


My breakfast looks like Texas! And that woman who found the virgin Mary burned into her toast thought she was special.


Looking back in the van I would see Isaac and Mark making gestures, Hannah trying to figure out what they were doing and Brooke talking on the phone.

3/13/2008 - I may as well be anywhere...

So here I sit on the last day of the tour with a few minutes to myself in my hotel room waiting for the last couple of interviews and meetings before I fly home. I'm in Austin at SXSW, but I may as well be anywhere since I've only been catching up on sleeping and eating and haven't really gone out to see anything cool - yet. Tonight and tomorrow I will hit the town to take in some music before I head home to my very own coffee machine and veritable bicycle collection.

I haven't written in a while so the pictures belonging to this blog are a bit random since I couldn't really string together the events of the past week or so. We flew to Canada and Isaac got stuck there due to severe weather, along with most of our gear so Mark and I were forced to play the Nashville show on merely guitar and melodica. It was a bit weird, but to tell you the truth it is kind of fun every once and a while to have those things you take for granted stripped away and be forced to realize that you can get through a show anyway. It reminded me of touring on my bike when I would have to deal with situations like that on a daily basis.

I will try to give updates from home. I'm going to join a frisbee team again this year, clean all my bikes, do some songwriting and recording, and make lots of healthy food until I'm off to the Juno awards in April. Thanks for reading.


A snow storm around St. Louis forces us to cancel the show


Isaac and Mark get matching shoeshines for their matching boots


The old-fashioned Stairmaster

3/3/2008 - this highway 6 years ago...

Riding shotgun in our van barreling down I-90 bound for Minneapolis I'm reflecting on the countless hours I spent on my bicycle on this highway 6 years ago. It occurs to me that even though my current situation is certainly an easier way to travel it is not necessarily more desirable. The upside is that the rumble strip (that Pringles Potato Chip slice of road that wakes up sleepy drifting drivers) is not such a formidable enemy to a van and trailer. I am happy to have great company and cover so much ground in a day, but I miss simpler times.


Our last night on tour with Jim Bianco – I got to join him and accordionist Brad Gordon for an intimate version of his song 'Sing' at Schuba's in Chicago.


Everybody's gear clutters the starlit stage of Club Café in Pittsburgh


Loading out in the snow


Mark admires a perfect latte served up at Molly's Cupcakes in Chicago

2/26/2008 - New member to the trio

It's been a long week of shows and rehearsals and all is going well but there has been little time for the computer. I guess that's a good week. We have added a new member to the trio, Mark Watrous is playing Bass, Keyboard and singing the high parts in all the songs.

Here is the readers digest condensed book version of what's been going on: Drove up the coast from Atlanta where in the nation's capital our passenger window got busted by thieves, it was a cold and windy drive that night to Philly where our hero Duke found a new window as Isaac and I played songs on a TV show. The TV show hosts and I debated the difference between a contest and a sweepstakes (the world was enlightened). In NYC we played two shows, one of which Mark had to play after only 1 hour of rehearsals. Today in Boston our trailer fell off the back of the van and we learned a valuable lesson about trusting valet parking attendants with our gear. Tomorrow we drive to Pittsburgh and I make a mental note to snap more photos this week.


Brad, Mark and Isaac connect in a meaningful way


We play on a news station - O'Reilly is nowhere to be seen


Meet Mark, he is our newest member

2/19/2008 - heading up the east coast

Starting this tour out as a duo, Isaac is back in the saddle and Cindy is back home having ultrasounds and midwife crises. Actually everything is ok with her pregnancy, I just wanted to use that bad pun, sorry. Um, what is going on is we're heading up the east coast with Brooke Waggoner and Jim Bianco playing nice intimate rooms. The first two shows have been really fun, the best part has been trying to track down the missing pieces of our drum kit (which should be complete tonight in Columbia) and get enough of a soundcheck to initiate our new man behind the board into the sonic fraternity. His name is Duke, and we're thinking of officially adding a "The" in front to give him a more definitive moniker. So, you can see I don't have too much to say other than we are working hard at taking it easy and loving life.


Sound-checking my new Gibson L-200

2/4/2008 - blurry white out of beauty and weariness

This tour is coming to an end as we have one last show tonight in Boulder, Colorado with Will Hoge and Jason Isbell. The weekend felt like the snow we drove through, a blurry white out of beauty and weariness. Our travels from Seattle have been wrought with detours, gridlock, delays, blizzards and white-knuckle, two-hand-on-the-wheel 12 hour drives. Yesterday as we careened through the rocky mountains we listened to radio reports warning that travel should only be attempted in case of emergency. It occurred to me how strange it is to prioritize touring alongside an emergency. I feel lucky to have a job I love so much, and a maybe a little stupid too.

You remember when France didn't support the war in Iraq and some folks decided to pay them back by changing the name of French fries to 'Freedom' Fries? I couldn't believe my eyes and good fortune when I stumbled across the re-named adult novelty toy pictured here in a bathroom in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Freedom Tickler proclaims to be the patriotic thing to do. While we're on this subject, I would like to note that when directly translated the French called deep fried potato sticks merely, "Fries". "Where's Waldo" translates to "Ou est Charlie?", in case you were wondering. I don't even know for sure, but I bet they don't call a French tickler "Chatouillier Francais". If so, I propose they change it to "Chatouillier de Liberte", and they could hold a press conference at the Statue of Liberty. I'm pretty sure she's French too. I am tempted to digress further, but I'll try to make some kind of point.

When I lived in Seattle, my house was in a neighborhood called Beacon Hill. Historically it had been a part of town that was home to many Japanese families. In the WW II when Japanese-Americans were forced out of their homes and into camps it was deemed a patriotic act to cut down the Japanese Maple trees, as the story goes Beacon Hill was covered with them. Now the streets are almost bare on the hill (not entirely though, you will find some big old Douglas Firs) and I can remember going to a community tree planting event in 2000 to re-vegetate the area and make it look like a cozy neighborhood again. In retrospect it would probably have been for the greater good if Japanese Maple had just been changed to "Freedom" Maple, but the chopping down of trees does better illustrate the futility of vengeance. Just saying.

I'm going to take the week off at home to eat some healthy food, record some music and recharge for the next leg. Look for a new tour with Jim Bianco and Brooke Waggoner starting up in Georgia at Eddie Attic on Feb. 13.


It's the patriotic way to get erotic! The Freedom Tickler.


Listening to Sigur Ros and watching the Utah mountainscape go by

1/30/2008 - a wonderful miserable weekend

It was a wonderful miserable weekend. Isaac, Cindy and myself flew out to West Virginia to play the NPR show, Mountain Stage. We'd been looking forward to this all tour and of course hours before our flight out of LA we all got sick. We transfered planes in Detroit bound for Charleston, but one of the generators broke down mid-flight and with no heat or lights (imagine rocketing through the turbulent dark sky in complete darkness) so we turned back to get a new plane in Detroit. Delayed, underfed, sick and tired we limped into Charleston around 2 am.

Everybody at Mountain Stage were so nice and accommodating that they really made it worth the effort to get out there. The show featured Bill Evans, Mark Cohn, Amy Correia and Kelly Sweet. Holly Cole was supposed to be there too, but had a snag at the border. It's pretty amazing what they do there, putting on a full show in real time in front of a live audience and then recording and mixing it simultaneously for broadcast. I felt honored that we got to kick off the show in the opening of their 25th season.

Looking at Isaac before we went on, I wasn't sure he would make it through playing the drums because his fever was running so high and he was just trying to keep it together to stand up straight. Surprisingly he made it through the whole set and Cindy stepped up to sing all his back up vocals. Unfortunately I think it took every last ounce of his strength he had and we had to change his flight to go home to LA and recover fully. So...it'll be just Cindy and I finishing off the last 4 dates of the Will Hoge/Jason Isbell tour duo.


The light at the end of the tunnel as our van drove through to the other side...of the continent


Watching the sun go down just before our plane pierced the clouds over Houston, TX


Peace out Isaac

1/25/2008 - west coast sunshine didn't last long

We made the long drive across Texas and Arizona into Southern California in a couple of days and immediately found the Pacific Ocean. We're now in LA where it is raining frogs, I swear. This morning I woke up to a skylight leaking Chinese water torture drops on my forehead. Why is it when a guy who lives in Vancouver visits the desert it always rains? Last night we played in a huge club to a small but might crowd. Jason Isbell and his band had to cancel due to illness and they were dearly missed. To help make up for it Will Hoge and I tried to do longer sets. This included almost every song off of my album and may or may not have included a cover of the most romantic rock song ever, You Shook Me All Night Long. Only those who were there will know for sure.


west coast sunshine didn't last long

1/21/2008 - barreling along the I-10

I'm typing to you as we barrel along the I-10 in Texas heading toward Arizona. This part of the state has been surprising in that I've seen hundreds of wind turbines and only a handful of oil wells. I like it here, and actually our stop in Austin was one of those ones where you look around and try to picture yourself living there. Ate some great Mexican food, stayed with lovely friends and played a nice stripped-down set at Antone's. My friend Kim Deschamps who now lives there sat in on pedal steel which made for a refreshing re-invention of the songs from my record. But now we must drive. And drive and drive.


Unsuccessfully trying to stay warm and work on songs in the back of the van


With Kim Deschamps on pedal steel at Antone's

1/17/2008 - Tonight I will dream that Bill Murray is a Hamster.

I'm glad I don't live near great BBQ because I would never eat a healthy thing again in my life. But sometimes healthy is a state of mind and the BBQ Shop in Memphis definitely had that going for it. We shared a big slab of ribs and pulled pork sandwiches and baked beans. I didn't eat the fries though, because in an effort eat right I have ruled out deep fried foods entirely. I know that all sounds ridiculous. I just try to buy those green superfood smoothies every time I see one.

Last night's show at the Hi-Tone was really fun, and after we packed the van and mowed through some salad and pizza we drove to Little Rock, Arkansas. This morning we started to rock (or whatever it is that we do to translate instruments into music) at 8am on Good Morning Arkansas! It's a TV show, probably like Good Morning America!, but I think that people in Utah and most other states don't watch it. In order to maintain the same energy level of our gracious hosts in the interview segment I somehow tied together anecdotes about baby hamsters and using comedy as an abdominal workout. Tonight I will dream that Bill Murray is a Hamster.


Cindy, me, Isaac and our host Jason on Good Morning Arkansas


Isaac and his splat pig

1/13/2008 - Sitting in an Airport lounge in Charlottesville.

The other day I went to Avatar Studios in Manhattan to cut some vocal tracks for a TV theme song. I can't tell you much other than I really like the show it's for and will be stoked if they use it. My version is inspired by Queen, and how I would imagine them mashing up the themes from Cheers and The Office. The most fun was taking some creaky old tracks that I cut in my living room and mixing them on a nice desk in a legendary studio. I took a picture of myself working on the background vocals, and if I look serious it's because some of the parts were seriously high in my vocal range. Who do you think could sing higher, Chuck Norris or Steven Seagal?

I'm currently sitting in an Airport lounge in Charlottesville waiting for a plane that will take me to Memphis - that's where I will be meeting my band to rehearse for the tour that starts in two days. There's Earl Grey tea in my travel mug and CNN is relentlessly assaulting my right ear. This is my circle of friends on days like these, Anderson Cooper and watery Earl Grey. Anderson is deeply concerned about the issues and Earl couldn't care less really. I'm somewhere in the middle, I wish the tea was a little stronger and the TV was a little quieter - but I appreciate their attempts to keep me company.

I visited Ground Zero on Sunday for the first time. I took a run down there from my hotel first thing in the morning because it's something I've always wanted to do and have just never made the time for. It was pretty heavy being there on a quiet sunny Sunday morning and looking at the massive square of blue sky where the twin towers once stood. Some of the buildings around it are still covered in scaffolding and the streets in the area seem to be disappointed to end at the chain-link fence perimeter to the construction site. I had a laugh with one of the security guards over how ridiculously under-dressed I was for the weather (in my shorts and running shoes) and thought about how deep wounds can heal. I ran back to the hotel contently aware of my relentlessly beating heart, wondering what makes it pump and if that has something to do with how far space goes? That's as far as I digress, I really just meant to post a picture for you.


Vocal Session