"it just isn't the same without you"
Last night the Sleepless Nights made their triumphant return to Guelph. Well...it was hardly triumphant but it was fun.
After our show in Windsor, we drove back to our friend Joe's to chill out before the show at Jimmy Jazz. They were kind enough to make supper for us, and we hung around, sipped on some wine and I talked about The View with Joe's mom for a good while (apparently, Rosie is leaving earlier than she was supposed to!)
If fitting seven people in the van at any given time is difficult, fitting nine is an even bigger challenge. That being said, on the way to Guelph, we brought Joe and Andrea with us. Joe showed us a shortcut that involved us taking the rural route, passing by mansions and farmlands. say what you want about Ontario, but when you take roads like that - it sure is beautiful out here. Maybe one of the most beautiful landscapes i have ever seen.
The show at the Jimmy Jazz was fun. Our crowd was better this time than the last time we played here in March, but should the 100 people on the patio outside decided to enjoy the show - our crowd would have been immense.
Before the show started, Pinky and I decided to bite into some 40s of malt liquor in the van - because according to our new friends the Crimson Tides, "the 40's never stop."
Besides Joe and Andrea, some other friends of ours stopped by. Lindsay and her friend Steph came out, and Jeff - the guy who ran the house show in Waterloo - was popping in and out snapping photos.
Andrew, aka Share, played an opening set, which was lovely. I enjoy his songs so much - he is truly one of my favorite songwriters. He ended his set with the song "The Hill" and Pinky and I accompanied him on the drums and bass. Always a pleasure Sisky.
Our set went well, we set up the stage a bit different than last time which gave us more room to maneuver. We played for over an hour, performing nearly everything we know, or are brushed up on.
The drive back to Waterloo was filled with a sweet mix of hits from the 80s, lots of fun, and awesome sing-a-longs.
You can't really see anything since its like 2 in the morning, but the audio is the only thing that's important in this clip:
Today we're playing in Cambridge, which is only 20 minutes away from Waterloo, so we'll hang out at Joe's all day. I'm up early because I set my alarm to buy Marilyn Manson/Slayer tickets (!!!!!!!!!!) so my day is off to a good start.
Later, Pinky is making us all pizza. Ooo la la.
I just noticed it started raining
May 26, 2007
May 25, 2007
toronto/peterborough/windsor
haven't been able to make it to a computer for a while...
we strolled into toronto for the better part of the day on tuesday, and parked near the horseshoe, where we would be playing later that evening as part of their New Music Night. Load in wasn't until 6 so we went to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant, we checked out some music stores, and hung out in a park for a little while.
as a band, we like parks.
soundcheck was around 730, and at about 8 my cousin malizza came to meet me at the bar for a drink. it was good to see her, good to talk. a bunch of friends ended up coming out, namely Simp (one of Pinky's friends from X), Travis Greenough (who I haven't seen in at least 6 years) and Rachel and Katherine (two friends of mine from my college days at Kings).
Usually playing last at a show is a good thing, but at these New Music Nights in Toronto, it's kind of the opposite. When the first band went on at 930, the bar was packed. By the time we hit the stage to fill the final slot, there was maybe 20 people left. That really sucked, especially since we had all been building up this particular show so much.
That night, we slept at Nadia and Rob's - who are friends of Andrew's with an amazing house and outstanding hospitality. They made us breakfast and we listened to Wilco mixed tapes when we finally woke up around 1 on Wednesday.
Soon after we began the trek to Peterborough. We assumed since it was a Wednesday night, and we weren't playing with a local, and necause our only other show in Peterborough was a complete bust last year, this show would not be fantastic - by any stretch of the imagination.
We played at a place called The Spill, which was very nice. James, the guy who runs the place, was very nice and accomodating to us. We played to about 8 people - which, by my counts is 700% times better than the amount of people we played to at our last Peterborough show - but they were all very nice, and they all loved our band, and they all bought merch.
We had a lot of fun with our set. We played a few songs we don't usually bust out - like "Too Many Ghosts" - and at one point, I was even playing my bass outside, still plugged in an everything, but I was just out on the sidewalk, playing "Breathe Deep Tornado." Hilarious. Yes, I am.
Philip Clark, aka A/V was in town with The Crimson Tides, so he came to watch some of our set. In return, after we were all done, we went down the street about a half a block to watch both of their sets at another Peterborough venue. The Crimson Tides were awesome, and hilarious, and possibly my new fav. Halifax bands, and A/V capped the night off with a new-wave dance party - like he always does.
It was a six hour drive to Windsor, but it was good to see the boys in Orphan Choir as always. There was a good crowd for our set at Phog, and we sold a bunch of CD's. Oh, yeah, PS, we found our missing bag of Tshirts. They're in Montreal. We're picking them up on the way home.
Right now we're at Jim's house, everyone's sleeping (or trying to) and my head hurts from the shots of whisky we were doing with Nate in the bathroom.
Tomorrow, Guelph.
Back to Joe's! But, I am sad that Katherine won't be there.
we strolled into toronto for the better part of the day on tuesday, and parked near the horseshoe, where we would be playing later that evening as part of their New Music Night. Load in wasn't until 6 so we went to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant, we checked out some music stores, and hung out in a park for a little while.
as a band, we like parks.
soundcheck was around 730, and at about 8 my cousin malizza came to meet me at the bar for a drink. it was good to see her, good to talk. a bunch of friends ended up coming out, namely Simp (one of Pinky's friends from X), Travis Greenough (who I haven't seen in at least 6 years) and Rachel and Katherine (two friends of mine from my college days at Kings).
Usually playing last at a show is a good thing, but at these New Music Nights in Toronto, it's kind of the opposite. When the first band went on at 930, the bar was packed. By the time we hit the stage to fill the final slot, there was maybe 20 people left. That really sucked, especially since we had all been building up this particular show so much.
That night, we slept at Nadia and Rob's - who are friends of Andrew's with an amazing house and outstanding hospitality. They made us breakfast and we listened to Wilco mixed tapes when we finally woke up around 1 on Wednesday.
Soon after we began the trek to Peterborough. We assumed since it was a Wednesday night, and we weren't playing with a local, and necause our only other show in Peterborough was a complete bust last year, this show would not be fantastic - by any stretch of the imagination.
We played at a place called The Spill, which was very nice. James, the guy who runs the place, was very nice and accomodating to us. We played to about 8 people - which, by my counts is 700% times better than the amount of people we played to at our last Peterborough show - but they were all very nice, and they all loved our band, and they all bought merch.
We had a lot of fun with our set. We played a few songs we don't usually bust out - like "Too Many Ghosts" - and at one point, I was even playing my bass outside, still plugged in an everything, but I was just out on the sidewalk, playing "Breathe Deep Tornado." Hilarious. Yes, I am.
Philip Clark, aka A/V was in town with The Crimson Tides, so he came to watch some of our set. In return, after we were all done, we went down the street about a half a block to watch both of their sets at another Peterborough venue. The Crimson Tides were awesome, and hilarious, and possibly my new fav. Halifax bands, and A/V capped the night off with a new-wave dance party - like he always does.
It was a six hour drive to Windsor, but it was good to see the boys in Orphan Choir as always. There was a good crowd for our set at Phog, and we sold a bunch of CD's. Oh, yeah, PS, we found our missing bag of Tshirts. They're in Montreal. We're picking them up on the way home.
Right now we're at Jim's house, everyone's sleeping (or trying to) and my head hurts from the shots of whisky we were doing with Nate in the bathroom.
Tomorrow, Guelph.
Back to Joe's! But, I am sad that Katherine won't be there.
May 22, 2007
waterloo/london
we might as well have been living in LA yesterday.
We are staying with our friend Joe in Waterloo, and he has a magnificent house with plenty of room for us all, a gorgeous back yard (with a pool - even though it wasn't available for use just yet) and an undying amount of hospitality.
we spent the majority of the day reading outside, building and jumping on a trampoline, eating barbecue and - at one point - listening to our own cd (joe's mom wanted to hear it) through the stereo system that allowed us to hear the music throughout not only the whole house, but outside.
ridiculous.
our show last night was in london, at a place called The Alex P. Keaton. It wasn't terrible, but it definately was the worst show of the tour so far. the power to one entire side of the stage (including the vocals, and matt, aaron and andrew's amp) was knocked out twice. we mustered through it quite well actually, at one point turning the last verse of turn of the world into a complete acapella band sing-a-long. it was actually pretty friggen cool.
we also discovered that we lost an entire bag of tshirts which SUPER sucks - we think we left them in montreal, so we're trying to call the venue.
the crowd at the alex p. wasn't huge, but the people who were there were quite receptive. my friend jacqueline came out to see us, and our old friend Peter Mansbridge and the CBC's (I think is real name is Harry) came out.
we ended up coming back to Joe's to spend the nite again, and Joe's in the process of cooking us pancakes.
we're off to toronto in about an hour.
We are staying with our friend Joe in Waterloo, and he has a magnificent house with plenty of room for us all, a gorgeous back yard (with a pool - even though it wasn't available for use just yet) and an undying amount of hospitality.
we spent the majority of the day reading outside, building and jumping on a trampoline, eating barbecue and - at one point - listening to our own cd (joe's mom wanted to hear it) through the stereo system that allowed us to hear the music throughout not only the whole house, but outside.
ridiculous.
our show last night was in london, at a place called The Alex P. Keaton. It wasn't terrible, but it definately was the worst show of the tour so far. the power to one entire side of the stage (including the vocals, and matt, aaron and andrew's amp) was knocked out twice. we mustered through it quite well actually, at one point turning the last verse of turn of the world into a complete acapella band sing-a-long. it was actually pretty friggen cool.
we also discovered that we lost an entire bag of tshirts which SUPER sucks - we think we left them in montreal, so we're trying to call the venue.
the crowd at the alex p. wasn't huge, but the people who were there were quite receptive. my friend jacqueline came out to see us, and our old friend Peter Mansbridge and the CBC's (I think is real name is Harry) came out.
we ended up coming back to Joe's to spend the nite again, and Joe's in the process of cooking us pancakes.
we're off to toronto in about an hour.
May 21, 2007
CJLO Session
The guys and gals @ CJLO in Montreal were kind enough to send us an mp3 of the session we did on the Don't Mess With Dallas Show where we performed Way To Ruin Everything, Hang Up, Guitar Hero & Godspeed You Deathwolf!
Download The Session!
Download The Session!
Angel of Debt tour photos + videos part 1!!
Fun in our new tour Van - Bettie White
Moshing to Sabotage by Beastie Boys in the van = Tradition
CJLO On-Air Performance at Concordia University
Bex Cookin' Us Waffles
Hanging Out In Parc Mont Royal
(this is Starbuck)
Pinky's Fancy New Bon Jovi Belt Buckle
Diner
Hanging Out At Jon Stewart's
Windom Earle Dance Party in a Montreal Apartment!
Waterloo
Moshing to Sabotage by Beastie Boys in the van = Tradition
CJLO On-Air Performance at Concordia University
Bex Cookin' Us Waffles
Hanging Out In Parc Mont Royal
(this is Starbuck)
Pinky's Fancy New Bon Jovi Belt Buckle
Diner
Hanging Out At Jon Stewart's
Windom Earle Dance Party in a Montreal Apartment!
Waterloo
montreal part 2 + waterloo
it was a gorgeous day off in montreal. it was probably +20, we had absolutely nothing to do, and we had a ball.
we drove from bex's back downtown and hung out in Parc Mont Royal for several hours. I met up with karley and had a good couple-hours chat with her.
After hanging outs got stale, we headed to Jon Stewart's - where we were spending the nite. We had no definitive plans, but Halifax pals of ours - Windom Earle, and A/V - were playing a show somewhere that we were going to hit up. Turns out, the show was cancelled, and all the guys n gals from Windom Earle ended up coming to Jon's place. As the night progressed, and the big beers were consumed, and we spent some time meeting the upstairs neighbors - a girl who was having a birthday party upstairs asked Windom Earle to play in her apartment - so they did. what a fun time. they rocked that apartment with their sweet dance tunes. it was a great night. that, i think, is what montreal is all about.
today we drove to waterloo and hung out at 130 King St - The place we were playing. It was a really cool house with lots of different rooms - including a room called "the pirate room" and a loft that had to be accessed by a ladder.
We set up our gear in the living room (this place has house shows about once or twice a week), and waited for the crowd to show up. honestly, on a sunday nite, i wasn't expecting too much. however, a whole bunch of people showed up and a lot of people were really into us. we played with Richard Laviolette and his Black Lungs - and they were great. Really nice guys too.
Tonite we're staying at our buddy Joe's place. It is quite literally amazing. No foolin. I'm excited to sleep in a bed tonite.
we drove from bex's back downtown and hung out in Parc Mont Royal for several hours. I met up with karley and had a good couple-hours chat with her.
After hanging outs got stale, we headed to Jon Stewart's - where we were spending the nite. We had no definitive plans, but Halifax pals of ours - Windom Earle, and A/V - were playing a show somewhere that we were going to hit up. Turns out, the show was cancelled, and all the guys n gals from Windom Earle ended up coming to Jon's place. As the night progressed, and the big beers were consumed, and we spent some time meeting the upstairs neighbors - a girl who was having a birthday party upstairs asked Windom Earle to play in her apartment - so they did. what a fun time. they rocked that apartment with their sweet dance tunes. it was a great night. that, i think, is what montreal is all about.
today we drove to waterloo and hung out at 130 King St - The place we were playing. It was a really cool house with lots of different rooms - including a room called "the pirate room" and a loft that had to be accessed by a ladder.
We set up our gear in the living room (this place has house shows about once or twice a week), and waited for the crowd to show up. honestly, on a sunday nite, i wasn't expecting too much. however, a whole bunch of people showed up and a lot of people were really into us. we played with Richard Laviolette and his Black Lungs - and they were great. Really nice guys too.
Tonite we're staying at our buddy Joe's place. It is quite literally amazing. No foolin. I'm excited to sleep in a bed tonite.
May 19, 2007
montreal
we left halifax around 8pm on thursday nite, in our new van (Bettie White) on what we have officially dubbed "The Angel of Debt Tour." we drove for 15 hours straight, through the night, making it to montreal around 10:30am friday morning.
we had an on-air performance/interview on the Concordia campus radio station - CJLO. We played four songs, Hang Up, Guitar Hero, Way To Ruin Everything, and Godspeed You Deathwolf! - and they sounded pretty good - especially for the radio. The people there were super nice, and extremeley accomodating. They even came out to our show later that nite.
Our show was at a place called Casa del Popolo - right across the street from La Sala Rosa - which is where we played last time we were in town. It's a pretty cool venue owned by one of the guys in Godspeed You Black Emperor. We played with Petunia and the Loons - a band from New Brunswick for whom our buddy Kyle Cunjak plays for. They were pretty cool, they reminded me a lot of O Brother Where Art Though because they were a 3-piece folk/bluegrass/country outfit. Very George Clooney.
The show was well-attended, and we were really happy considering this was only our second time here.
We are staying with our friend Bex who has cooked us massive waffles with fruit and ice cream(!!!!!). We have the day off today. It's gorgeous out so there's talk of some frisbee playing, but hopefully I'm going to be spending the day with Karley. I'll call her after breakfast.
Yum.
we had an on-air performance/interview on the Concordia campus radio station - CJLO. We played four songs, Hang Up, Guitar Hero, Way To Ruin Everything, and Godspeed You Deathwolf! - and they sounded pretty good - especially for the radio. The people there were super nice, and extremeley accomodating. They even came out to our show later that nite.
Our show was at a place called Casa del Popolo - right across the street from La Sala Rosa - which is where we played last time we were in town. It's a pretty cool venue owned by one of the guys in Godspeed You Black Emperor. We played with Petunia and the Loons - a band from New Brunswick for whom our buddy Kyle Cunjak plays for. They were pretty cool, they reminded me a lot of O Brother Where Art Though because they were a 3-piece folk/bluegrass/country outfit. Very George Clooney.
The show was well-attended, and we were really happy considering this was only our second time here.
We are staying with our friend Bex who has cooked us massive waffles with fruit and ice cream(!!!!!). We have the day off today. It's gorgeous out so there's talk of some frisbee playing, but hopefully I'm going to be spending the day with Karley. I'll call her after breakfast.
Yum.
May 16, 2007
me no update longtime, so sorry
yeah yeah yeah, little to no updates - i apologize, but getting ready to go out on the road again with sleepless nights i felt i should get back into the swing of things.
here's a brief band-by-band run down:
Sleepless Nights
Well, we're leaving for tour tomorrow - gone for about two and a half weeks, then we play a bunch of local shows when we get home. we just bought our van today as a matter of fact, and the boys are running around getting the paperwork all filled out.
Here are the tour dates/details:
Spring 2007 Tour Dates:
Friday, May 18 – Montreal, PQ – Casa del Popolo w. Petunia & The Loons
Sunday, May 20 – Waterloo, ON – 130 King. St. N. [Trepid Records House Show] w. Richard LaViolette
Monday, May 21 – London, ON – Alex P. Keaton w. Icharys Flight
Tuesday, May 22 – Toronto, ON – The Horseshoe w. Jason Kent, etc.
Wednesday, May 23 – Peterborough, ON – The Spill Café
Thursday, May 24 - Windsor, ON - Phog w. Orphan Choir
Friday, May 25 – Guelph, ON – Jimmy Jazz w. Share
Saturday, May 26 – Cambridge, ON – 69 Pickups
Monday, May 28 – Hamilton, ON – The Casbah w. Petunia & The Loons
Wednesday, May 30 – Moncton, NB – The Paramount w. The Peter Parkers and Paranerd
Thursday, May 31 – Fredericton, NB – The Capital w. The Trick & Smir
Friday, June 1 – Saint John, NB – Elwood’s w. The Peter Parkers & Hospital Grade
Saturday, June 2 – Charlottetown, PEI – Back Alley Discs [all ages] w. The Peter Parkers
Saturday, June 2 – Charlottetown, PEI – Hunter’s Ale House w. The Peter Parkers
and then when we get home...
Friday, June 15 – Halifax, NS – The Attic w. The Peter Parkers & Museum Pieces
Friday, June 22 – Yarmouth, NS – The Cotton Mill [No Scene Records Showcase]
Sunday, June 24 – Halifax, NS – The Khyber Club [No Scene Records Showcase]
The Establishment
The Estab just played a couple Halifax gigs with our good friends Kilbourne from Calgary, AB who rocked the house down at Gus' on Sunday nite.
We're just getting the funding in place to pay for our 7" split with Orphan Choir, and crossing our fingers that we may get some cash to record our new EP at J. LaPointe's.
We're planning a short tour in August to push the 7" - and hopefully we'll be playing a bit more maritime dates come the fall.
Quiet Parade
Keyboard player/trumpet player Carolann left the group some time ago to focus on her awesome band Gamma Gamma Rays. Since then Megan, Mary and I continued practicing and learning some new songs, introduced a new Megan to the lineup - Megan MacDonald on the glockenspiel - and madfe our grand debut at Tribeca last week, opening for Ryan Cook and the Sunny Acres Band.
It was marvelous, better than I could have ever expected. Unfortunately for me, and for this band (not to mention Sleepless Nights), Mary is moving to Toronto, so i am in need of a new drummer.
However, we did get to record 7 songs on saucy Friday evening, so at least there will be a record of what we worked on together. Can't wait.
Did i mention TOUR!!!!!
weeeeee!!!
here's a brief band-by-band run down:
Sleepless Nights
Well, we're leaving for tour tomorrow - gone for about two and a half weeks, then we play a bunch of local shows when we get home. we just bought our van today as a matter of fact, and the boys are running around getting the paperwork all filled out.
Here are the tour dates/details:
Spring 2007 Tour Dates:
Friday, May 18 – Montreal, PQ – Casa del Popolo w. Petunia & The Loons
Sunday, May 20 – Waterloo, ON – 130 King. St. N. [Trepid Records House Show] w. Richard LaViolette
Monday, May 21 – London, ON – Alex P. Keaton w. Icharys Flight
Tuesday, May 22 – Toronto, ON – The Horseshoe w. Jason Kent, etc.
Wednesday, May 23 – Peterborough, ON – The Spill Café
Thursday, May 24 - Windsor, ON - Phog w. Orphan Choir
Friday, May 25 – Guelph, ON – Jimmy Jazz w. Share
Saturday, May 26 – Cambridge, ON – 69 Pickups
Monday, May 28 – Hamilton, ON – The Casbah w. Petunia & The Loons
Wednesday, May 30 – Moncton, NB – The Paramount w. The Peter Parkers and Paranerd
Thursday, May 31 – Fredericton, NB – The Capital w. The Trick & Smir
Friday, June 1 – Saint John, NB – Elwood’s w. The Peter Parkers & Hospital Grade
Saturday, June 2 – Charlottetown, PEI – Back Alley Discs [all ages] w. The Peter Parkers
Saturday, June 2 – Charlottetown, PEI – Hunter’s Ale House w. The Peter Parkers
and then when we get home...
Friday, June 15 – Halifax, NS – The Attic w. The Peter Parkers & Museum Pieces
Friday, June 22 – Yarmouth, NS – The Cotton Mill [No Scene Records Showcase]
Sunday, June 24 – Halifax, NS – The Khyber Club [No Scene Records Showcase]
The Establishment
The Estab just played a couple Halifax gigs with our good friends Kilbourne from Calgary, AB who rocked the house down at Gus' on Sunday nite.
We're just getting the funding in place to pay for our 7" split with Orphan Choir, and crossing our fingers that we may get some cash to record our new EP at J. LaPointe's.
We're planning a short tour in August to push the 7" - and hopefully we'll be playing a bit more maritime dates come the fall.
Quiet Parade
Keyboard player/trumpet player Carolann left the group some time ago to focus on her awesome band Gamma Gamma Rays. Since then Megan, Mary and I continued practicing and learning some new songs, introduced a new Megan to the lineup - Megan MacDonald on the glockenspiel - and madfe our grand debut at Tribeca last week, opening for Ryan Cook and the Sunny Acres Band.
It was marvelous, better than I could have ever expected. Unfortunately for me, and for this band (not to mention Sleepless Nights), Mary is moving to Toronto, so i am in need of a new drummer.
However, we did get to record 7 songs on saucy Friday evening, so at least there will be a record of what we worked on together. Can't wait.
Did i mention TOUR!!!!!
weeeeee!!!
Apr 8, 2007
re: last post
here is the written part to the podcast
we're #4
http://www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/200081
we're #4
http://www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/200081
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