Saskatoon —— Calgary.

OK, up and out of the studio at 4:30 am…….hard to wake up, but always happy to gig……

Am at the Vancouver airport, passed security in a breeeeeeeeze, no beep beeps going off lately, even with my huge alfa-omega cross necklace (from South Africa)….am surrounded by the band now, all drinking coffee (not me)….

and also here is Shaun from Wide Mouth Mason, who is also singing at this gig……or so we think… Christmas gifts are being presented, and me quiet, because I didn’t bring anything…yet.

………One of the things that got lost in my mind during the Christmas spazz.

Craig (lighting guy) says he is going away next year for December.

He is Mr. Tourist-Man.

Me too……in my dreams……

It was totally dark and quiet out driving to the ferry with Scott, other than me explaining how I took on way too much stuff over the Christmas season, and how burnt-out I am. Typical.

With some friends in need, and the 10 volunteer gigs I took on, there wasn’t much relax time this year……….next year will be different. I insist.

Scott picks me up in the alley behind Gogo Manor just after 4:15 am for these early leaves. My studio is in the back, and this way I don’t have to go in the house and wake up any of the 8 sleeping students………….like they would wake up…….the house is much better sound-proofed since each bedroom has a 20-minute self-closing solid-core fire-door installed.

Yeah……..I used to volunteer to entertain in the hospital, old folks homes, polar bear swim, and at church when I was a kid, a lot………I mean, I used to dance for “the people from the cruise ship”…. and I wanted to do more of that…..lately……but not this much, and not for the cruise ship people again ….

Back when I was a kid, I was always being bossed around, of course, and never even considered getting a reward, or compliment for anything that I did. But now, as a long-time (and well-rewarded) road musician, and also as a volunteer entertainer (usually an hour of Christmas carols) I was uncomfortable being treated by people as if they had HIRED me.

OK, we are on a totally brand new airplane now, and have an empty seat between Scott and I.

That is the best, when there is that empty seat, a rarity around the Christmas flight season.

That is where the books go.

You know, with all these cool International students living in my over-sized 3 story, 1010-year-old house, and the fact that I agree to feed them (food and more importantly, internet)……….I do a whole lotta grocery shopping now. I mean, gotta do that anyway, right, and I have always had a fascination with grocery stores……so what is an extra few potatoes (?)…Every time I open my wallet I automatically whip out the RBC Infinite Avion VISA….(they don’t just give those to anyone, you know !)….points points points….and I fell into my default setting of whipping the card out at the gateway to the plane, where you are supposed to show your ID…well, kinda funny….but here is nap time.

Yeah, I yapped (complained) at Steve Crane (guitar tech and stage manager) about my recent schedule of thankless volunteer gigs; each one an epic…..before I forget all about it, and do it all again next year…..every  year I add a few more tunes to my Christmas repertoire (starting with the full sets that I used to play at restaurants with my Dad)…….and I can howl these songs for an hour for the special needs kids, and then drive out to put the daily 4 liters of milk (and 24 eggs) on the VISA, that our internet-junkie students supplement breathing with……and then straight to Church Choir practice, where you stand and sing every verse of every Carol, again, despite quite having “gotten it” by the middle of “deck the halls”.

During one such church choir practice, I sat down and accidentally passed out during Oh Little Town of Bethlehem. I think that insulted the other people in the choir….oh well……. I was awoken for my duties as conductor for Oh Holy Night……not that I was not taking is so seriously….I was just really tired. (Tuesdays also had RCIA class, mass and midnight meditation…..too much..but what the heck, all by choice…..)

I thought I did a decent enough job singing in the choir, and I was ASKED to join, but I found that my duties as cantor and soloist diminished at every gathering, to the point where I had no special duties whatsoever. By the last gig, (mass) what solos hadn’t been reassigned to others were now gang-vocalled. The leader had actually stopped me right in mid-solo at one point, imitated what I was doing, and a choir lady said “yeah this is NOT a rock band !” I dunno, I thought I was pretty good. But what you gonna do. It is about humility………

Anyway, the choir had never sounded better, and I have heard this choir since I was born, being that my Mom had put it together in the late 1950s….and I got to learn some classical Latin, (which I really dig) and the Priest liked it………… Parishioners told me that it was good.

And the free gigs I played at were totally brutal. Nobody at the hospital would book me to sing for anyone other than the really old people, and those selected groups acted as if they had totally given up on everything. People who had given up on life. Depressing enough, oh yeah. And the people who worked there had given up on having any joy associated with their careers….And the Old Folks homes (seniors care facilities) ……..I played one repeat free gig with a cellist (we also played last Christmas day…..) and this time I asked in advance that they could offer me a wee bit of the food that we are watching everyone else eat. They agreed, but didn’t go through with it……oh man, no snacks…..so I still don’t know what everyone was eating, or if was any good.

My Mom used to call it “singing for your supper” when you would go somewhere, play or sing some songs, and get some snacks out of the deal.

It appeared to me that the people who work at these facilities would rather be at home, I would bet, and probably figure that I am making double union scale, and the residents would all rather be in their rooms. Other than the one guy who went-for-it on the maracas. No matter what, there is always at least ONE PERSON who is touched by what you do. So that makes it worthwhile…….that is kinda what Steve Crane assured me as I ranted this crud on the ramp way…………..

All I wanna do is spread a bit of joy, you know.

It is true. Years ago, at a Trooper show, a young lady told me that she and her girlfriends used to sit at the back of the room when my old bands had played clubs in Vancouver, and they would cry during my solos………..not that it was bad……..it was all good, or “touching”, was what she told me. And of course I had no idea that anyone even cared. Yes, there is always someone who appreciates what you do, whatever it is. I appreciate when the dinner bell rings at home.

I remember playing CLUB KAOS once with the Broken Toys, and a really good-looking young lady walked over and sat on my lap during a break, and asked me if I wanted to go camping with her. I asked her what the scene was, and it all sounded too redneck for me, so I passed on it. I don’t know why I just thought of that, but I wonder if she remembers that as well. How music affects people hey………wild.

Next Day:

OK, just played this Trooper gig last night. Am on the flight from Saskatoon to Calgary, Westjet, speed 430 mph, alt 3402ft………

Just met Quincy in the waiting area, he is a big man in a suit who travels all over the world. His main job for the last 25 years was in taking care of troubled kids, refugees, runaways, the violent, rescuing kids from drug houses and abuse………..he burned out on it. And I complain about singing in the church choir…….Smitty passed around his huge mac laptop and showed everyone how to enter their security information into Excel, so that we can all pass clearance for the upcoming Olympics gig. My next idea is to look at Steve’s art portfolio, cos I just heard that he is a high-end portrait-artist. Pretty cool.

Ra is getting picked-up by Heather (promotions Manger for Trooper) in Calgary and I have been invited along to an art gallery, but I think I may just go to the hotel and continue the nap that I have been working on. Now the plane turns a bit and the sun is blocked by the wing……… oh…….. there, the sun is back.

Later:

I loved being 16 floors up in the Radison in Saskatoon. 2 huge plate-glass walls in a triangle corner looking over the whole town. I am big on views…….who isn’t hey. Great to lay around and just look into a great distance. From my studio at home, I can see the freighters on the ocean at bight, with all their lights forming lines, and the ferry going by………I love that so much….my favourite thing…I…The gig was great too. The whole city of Saskatoon is hockey-crazy, it is all you hear from airport security to the hotel elevator. Everyone happy about it.

We play at the World Championship Junior Hockey Association….big sports stuff, Brian Smith is very excited about it all.

Stupid me forgot about the time change and was late for lobby call to the gig. Scott phoned my room and the band had to wait as I grabbed my bag, ran out the door and waited for the elevator. I hate that, very embarrassing. The worst thing is being late. Makes me feel like a total zero…I mean, the most that is asked from us is that we be in the lobby in time (And that we do a good gig), which I am always totally confident with.

It is minus 22 out, and that has some zing…into a mini van shuttle, through town to a huge concrete indoor stadium…..park outside, walk through past the disassembled ZAMBONI and stacks of SYSCO cooking oil…..past the rows of curtained-off rooms, behind the stage to another indoor tent with snacks, drinks, and some people to greet us. NO soundcheck, cos there were several bands, and people, and TSN cameras.

Our crew gets us ready, we all slip into the TEAM CANADA jerseys gifted to us and we hit the stage. You know, we meet nice people everywhere, but I find Saskatoon to be especially hospitable, I liked every person I met. The crowd had the attention of a theatre crowd and the attitude of a party-hall. Nice to play again, it has been a couple of weeks……..a treat to hear Smitty’s excellent guitar tones again.

This gig had awesome stage dancers. It started with the Dutch sea captain on Ra’s mic, and gravitated to all girls, beautiful, dancing, singing, looked great from what I was told…….and the one guy on stage was ejected hahahahahahahahaha………….way it goes………..

The vibe is high in the band, for sure, everyone knows what to do, and lots of stories to share. Ra had 15 custom T-Shirts printed as gifts, with big bold print:

IF YOU DONT LKE WHAT YOU’VE GOT WHY DON’T YOU CHANGE IT………

….and also

HERE FOR A GOOD TIME NOT A LONG TIME…….

…..and I am so thrilled with these t-shirts that I wanna hang them on my wall.

I also got a JESUS ROCKS shirt, that I will wear-out

someday (before I ever stop getting compliments on it……).

After signing T-shirts, and photo shoots, inviting fans backstage who missed out on that for more photos and good cheer…..Ra sang onstage with the last act of the night, a local country band, and we all donned our gig-bags and walked out, without even saying “let’s go”……everyone seems really in-tune right now. In-tune with each other. I like that.

A few of the guys went to another hotel to hang out with the bands Big Sugar and Wide Mouth Mason….I went back to our hotel……

Back to the hotel, on my 3rd gig with a computer in my room…..and yeah, it changes things, having a new computer in my room, as opposed to a violin, and a TV.

Again I watched no TV, and I emailed friends here and there and listened to neat music on You-Tube. Computers can be good little friends, hey.

I booked my little guest list with Paul Cloutier (tour manager)………..can not say yes to every request for New Years tickets, but it is sure special and fun when I can.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

…….am in the shuttle van back to the Calgary Airport….

It’s a blue moon…..not that it has anything to do with the colour……..Ra is explaining, the last blue moon was New Years 1999.

The driver CJ Smith, is saying that it was 20 degrees above celsius (chinook) at that time.

I hope there is enough time and battery power for me to tell about the gig last night.

Clayton is shotgun, Ra and Scott middle seat, Smitty and I in the back……..the sun is cranked-up……Smitty is such a serious huge sports fan. He says he wants to go back to Saskatoon and watch more hockey games. I say it just goes back and forth, you know….the puck, that is……

When we got into town yesterday, I passed on the invitation for a trip to the art gallery…..hey….did I tell you about Steve Crane’s (our new stage manager) art portfolio ?

Clayton handed me a binder on the last flight……..all 8 by 10s of his large black and white acrylic portraits and chalkboard art. He has a pop culture theme, and I am astounded at how good they are……here is his page……..

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=413569405&albumId=830682

Steve is a full-out virtuoso rock guitar performer, and he traded his guitar lessons with an art teacher, and it only took him a few years to become a great painter. In fact, the Keith Richards portrait was his first, and Hendrix his second. Amazing. He is really looking forward to summer with us, and I have already hit him up for painting lessons.

I have a serious wish to be able to paint ivy up and down some stairs, and on walls. My ultimate dream is to be able to paint some flowers as well, like a clematis vine, but we will see how that goes. Don’t you love it, when you are in Mexico (or Spain) and you see the vines going up and down the stairs, and around doorways ? If you know how to do that, well, it is a huge difference that you can make to any area without having to spend a fortune. I think I have already spent the fortune at Gogo Manor, and now I wanna make it shine. Plus, it would be fun to paint vines and flowers.

I wanna build concrete houses too.

Cover them with real vines.

We have this cool driver today. Charley Smith, my fave Calgary guy (rock singer) drove us to the hotel yesterday and I got to sit upfront and hear more of his life story, he is 60, and full of mischief….well, is now a huge Baptist, and that is where the conversation ended-up, with me going, “NO, Catholics do NOT worship Mary……….” The big denominations debate, which I do not enjoy, really. Let love rule, man.

What is it you are not supposed to talk about………religion, art, politics……well, get real, that is about all we talk about……..(other than politics)….He gave us his CD a few years ago..and he went to our gig, and I think he had a wild time, along with the 1 000 people (my guess), who were divided between the 2 ballrooms, us in one, April Wine in the next.

Ra had proposed a band-swap, with April Wine….stage to stage, for one song, but that never materialized.

I hung out with the April Wine guys, got a nice hello-hug from Miles….I love those guys.

Hey, you know………

Did I tell the story a few years ago about a symposium I did at an elementary school (my level of intellect) where kids asked questions about the music scene. To my great surprise, the #1 question, by landslide, was “how much money do you make ?”

Wow, at that age I never thought about that……it was about the ART….man….I always thought that money came from business, you know, like hotels and bridge-building….so I asked my jazz sax player dude Pierre what to say to that….how to answer the question of how much money musicians (me) make….and he came up with: “Musicians talk about music, other musicians, chicks and funky clothing. Never about money.”

How true, so that was my answer.

Brilliant.

I have no idea what a funky jazz sax player dude makes, even if he is a very close friend who also plays corporate gigs like I do…… I don’t even know what our own crew makes; Craig makes, or Steve Crane……..and I don’t wanna know. Not my trip. I don’t know what Tony Thompson, (the excellent house-builder), makes, other than I suspect that he gives me a SERIOUS good-buddy discount…..on weekends between real jobs…..We have built the mountain house and the Protection Island cabin this way.

I wonder if he can build a concrete house.

And cover it in vines…….

So yeah. No money talk here. I think that money is a private issue. I even feel weird in the bank talking that shite. My Uncle Mickey can tell you how many Christmas trees he sold from his farm this year, and he can wave a fist-full of crisp hundreds in your face, and I don’t even wanna tell the world how many Christmas trees he DID sell this season…….(but it is very impressive)….

…I have had 3 music-fans in my lifetime ask me how much $ I make, and one young lady who (was trying to squeeze me out of my position as keyboard player for Trooper), so that she could have the gig. No go on either front there, despite her ridiculous propositions. (in my opinion).

I will talk about stocks, even though I have none.

I will talk about interest rates, even if I have no interest.

I toured coast to coast with THE Bryan Adams tribute band many many years ago, saved every cent I had earned and quickly lost it all the next month on the Vancouver Stock Market.

Some scammer had left a brief-case full of Bullshit contracts on the ferry and got the union guys all excited about this NEW awesome company when they read his private stuff………I got the HOT TIP and lost everything.

I guess those kinda people can explain that to the taxman….and save that speech for Saint Pete at the gates……..

And I feel is OK to talk about Real Estate, of course, cos I think that is fun.

It is a big game…….

And house design, cos both Ra and Smitty are some kinda geniuses there…….

Ra was the one who showed me how to made a scale model of a house, using foam core and pins………….which I did, very successfully……..Smitty can talk for hours about renovations,

and his waterfront “cottage” epic was pretty wildly inspiring.

This is what we talk about:

Ra and Smitty are talking (in the shuttle bus here) about when they were kids and the entire neighborhood would all go outside and bang on pots and yell at New Years. Scott had never experienced that, but I totally got in on that when I was a kid, and anyone who had any kind of horn would go wild, like me on a blaring French Horn, and to be the last one on the block making noise. I loved that…….Now we are looking at a rainbow. This is our last Trooper hang-out for a month and 2 weeks, our big winter break of the year.

I had first run into the April Wine in the hotel lobby at check-in, and I went right up to my room and fell deep asleep for a few hours. Am still tired from all the extra Christmas duties this year, and I didn’t want to be bagged-out for the show. I contacted the few people that I had on the guest list, told them that New Years in a GO, and crashed-out. I had a buffet ticket, and rather than take the shuttle across the 2 big parking lots, I walked to the casino and YIKES……….cold enough !?!?!?!? It is SO freezing that your face starts to turn to rubber………..I don’t know how the pioneers did it, in tents, and the Natives…..Ok we are at the terminal……

….in the Calgary Terminal now……..gate whatever, I just saw Scott and Clayton and sat by them. I told them that I saw another huge lady wearing the same big red sweater as I……….a told her “hey, I thought you said that you wouldn’t wear yours today……” she laughed…….anything for a cheap laugh hey………..

So yeah, after my huge and well-deserved nap yesterday, I walked to the casino, which was packed with people, noise and GOGO DANCERS………… and I saw a gigantic line-up of people, and I thought wow, they are at the gig early, but some folks called me over and I saw that they were slowly atacking a massive buffet…gorgeous salads, prawns, salmon, all gourmet, and plentiful……and a big beef thing……huge desert disply……apple pie is all I want, thank you…..well, nobody asked me for a ticket, I just walked throught the cassino into this huge hallway……….and I did have a buffet coupon, (to what restaurant in the casino I dunno), but I joined the buffet line-up, chatted with some Trooper Fans, and sat behind a curtain at the side of the stage by myself enjoying the last super-super of 2009. This was a neat moment, and the last one I was to actually spend alone in a while.

There are annoucments here at the airport, guy talkng about the brand new planes, wow WEST JET sure is expanding hey………..he says that the new planes have no TVs yet, so everyone should get a newspaper or a book……….I will sleep, thank you. Man, there is free wireless almost everywhere now hey…….even on the plane before it took off yesterday.

Ok here is Craig with a super slice pizza…….Craig is always happy.

…….am on the plane now

Nice shy Chinese lady beside me, I offered that I could trade seats so she could sit with her husband, so she was happy too, and now I am between a young rap guy and a teenage ski girl………all good. They both say nothing, despite my HOWDY………..am wondering how many people here are hung over, or whatever.

I have noticed over the last few years how people are becoming one step more stand-offish from each other. I have mentioned this to others who agree. If you ever need a jump start with your car, and you stang there, with the hood open, with the cables attached, and wave at people……… count how many cars just drive by……..guys in pick-up trucks……..I have a goofy headlight that gave me this opportunity twice lately, being on and draining the battery…and the count of how many people ignored my plight was higher than it was 10 years ago. I could call a tow truck for a jump-start, but I live in a NEIGHBOURHOOD, you know…….

I used to experiment with waving at people, randomly, years ago, to see who would wave back. My big rebelious science project….Old guys from India ALWAYS wave. Teenage girls, rarely, the hippier the girl, the more wavier……..but they have reason to be suspicvious I guess………sad to see that our society still drives people into invisible cages. Oh well.

A couple of our serious elders died in Nanaimo this year. (sure a banner year for celebrity deaths too, hey !)……………a big old super-redneck mill-owner died……….I missed his funeral cos of the MEGALICIOUS reunion concert…………and our local Chief died as well…………a new chief was elected (a 40-year-old lawyer who works exclusivly with land claims issues) so I phoned him up.

His Grandmother answered, who I have known for years, and at 87 she is chatty, funny, brilliant and full of world travel and cosmic energy stories…………she tells me that she talked to my Mom all the time about cosmic energy, auras, God and nature…..trippy as it gets…….I just called to see if they wanted to sing any Christmas carols. Aparently there is a message on my answering machine from them……..I think we have a sing-along on our hands.

My Mom and Dad were pretty tight with the gang on the reserves……..once my folks transcribed a bunch of music that was going to be lost. I remember it was pretty strange and they had to invent new notation for 1/4 tones. I don’t even know where those manuscripts are now…….but the people at the Nanaimo Music conservatory can figure it out when they sort through the pick-up load of sheet music that I donated to them when I was in power-cleaning mode with the estate house.

There was thousands of potential ebay dollars in old old amazing sheet music……..and they assured me that it would all be sorted and made available to the public. They probably have grants….if my parents had ever figured out the web of arts and music grants, they could have been ever so slightly less depression-era poor (in their minds).

The Trooper New Years gig at the Deerfoot Inn Casino in Calgary last night, yeah the place was packed, everyone all dressed-up beautifully and going crazy…all black dreses, suits..the best……stage pounding…………full-out yelling encore….do we have the best fans on Earth or what, hey !…$160 a ticket (according to the ones I signed)…the merch booth was madness, strange cos some New Years we don’t even do merch……you never know hey…….Paul Cloutsier (the Cloots) tour manager, jumped back there to help Steve with all of the people. …………..Heather was there with her husband Doc…….she customized my fave stage jacket.thank you, pretty cool……….now Scott is sitting net to Steve and they are catching up on rock talk, who is doing what, Paul Laine is in Japan, is huge there……hey man, what about a reunon tour ? Like a January jaunt………..yeah……

Ok………….am asked to power-down for take off…………..OK…….and on again, sorry,

I forgot where I was………..

Right, OK……focus………..the gig…..the buffet….YEAH !!!!!!!!…the keyboard stand was very tall, and the top keyboard was as high as my eyes and on a huge tilty angle. At first I went, OH NO but I tried it, loved it, had a  riot……nothing worse than a low stand to make a keyboard player fel very un-cool………this has ben an issue that I adress recently in the technical rider……..I remember some very imprtant gigs where I felt lke I was playing witht the Partridge Family….almost bending over to play……………I want a high stand, proper posture, no reaching DOWN…..ever…..you gotta stand really tall to play a Tall rig like the one in Calgary, and I love it, you gotta make the whole presentation big. My kinda fun. It seriously affects who you feel that you are, how you feel, and what you feel people will feel about you………..and imprtant as where yur guitar hangs.

We also have a digital piano on the rider, and last night I got the new YAMAHA MOTIF, which has a great sound and light action, so I could play whatever style I wanted, and not compensate for heavy action. I am not a heavy action guy at all. I can not even trill on heavy keyboard action. I just donyt have really strong hands, I guess…..MY piano at home (1914 KIMBAL grand) has very very light action, like a synth……..why work harder, you know, why have to hit an instument so hard ? I was the only one of my teen-age clasical stuent spazz gang that didn’t get tendonitis, and I am not planning on geting it now. I am SO careful with hand use, hand strain, and I spend my life avoiding hand injury.

Oh yes and thank you to Jurgen for tuning my piano as a Christmas present !

Ok, so we did not get soundchecks for with of these Trooper 2 shows,

and everything was set-up perfectly for us. DO we have the best crew of what !?!?!?!?!?

Speaking of best people, Richard Nott, who has recently retired his position (handed his stage manager job over to Steve Crane)…….Richard is pretty busy, mixing orchestra and jazz geniuses.

Great, and now the progarm I am using is running all wierd. Anyway, Ricard is doing great.

OK, I think I fixed the wierd computer thing.

Better than carrying a typewriter around, I bet.

I still don’t now how the pioneers did it…..survive, that is.

I guess Scott and I don’t have to wait for Richard to deal with the gear before we split from the airport……..and drive of for the ferry….well, I should grab my keyboard for recording……….apple juice being offerd here on the plane……..i will put this away…..

…..on the ferry now……

It is raining heavy at the Vancvouer International Airport, and Craig is talking politics,

Federal…and I commented on how that is the first of that kinda talk in a quite a while

………”ever” suggested Ra.

Scott grabbed his truck and we caught the 3pm whatever ferry, ran into an entrerpenour friend of Scotts, a guy who owns some surf-wear companies………this is going to be a stormy ferry ride, here we go……..rumble rummmmmmmmmble…….guy talking Chinese really loud behind me…..everyone else dead quiet………even the kids………….windows starting to rattle…………………….

Ok……

…….home…………..whooooooooooooooo……….see you all soon………….I hope.

January is off.

Gonna have fun.

ALways.

LOVE to everyone

and thank you for making life the best dream ever.

Gogo

PS…….I am now on the highway between Peace River and Edmonton, finishing-up 2 days………….the Casino in Edmonton………….and the Alberta Pond Hockey Association at a Catholic High School gym………all great people including Clark Gillies from the New York Islanders who hung out backstage and signed pictures for us……..usually we sign for other people………what a gas……….all of it……….

Next gig is the olympics………see you there !