Yesterday we made our best attempt at sight seeing, but it was really foggy and misty - but isn't that what Newfoundland supposed to be about?
We went up to Signal Hill but couldn't see a damn thing. So Jud took us around to places like ""The Battery" and "Fort Amherst" which was a bunch of really cool newfoundland-looking tiny fishing villages. It was really cool. We even saw an iceberg!
The show last night at The Ship was pretty cool. For the second night in a row we had an amazing crowd and played with a cool band - The Pathological Lovers. Earlier in the week we were invited to a house party just up the street from The Ship, so we hit that up before our show and met some really nice people, most of whom came to the show later and danced up a storm.
Today we are going to get some breakfast (I also need some new books to read) and then we're heading to Cornerbrook for the last show of the entire tour. Tomorrow morning we get the ferry back home, and in less than 48 hours I will be sleeping in my own bed.
Yum.
May 24, 2008
May 23, 2008
St. John's
Wow. I think I love it here.
We've been hanging out in St John's since Tuesday, and though we haven't really "done" much - it's been great. On Wednesday it rained pretty hard so we were all stuck in the house - which was OK, because it gave us a chance to start the fancy videos you've all been (hopefully) watching. We're hanging out at our friend Jud's place (which is awesome), so it's nice to have a comfortable place to just relax for a bit.
Yesterday was sort of the first time we ventured out into downtown St. John's, we went to a cool record store called Fred's and loaded our stuff into the ship. Being in this town makes me feel like I'm constantly on the CBC, I don't know why. But I like it.
The ship is a mid-sized venue, maybe similar to Gus' pub and is apparently the "hip" bar in town. We played our first St. John's show with a band called The Human Soundtrack who were super nice guys and played some really cool tunes. The singer's voice reminded me of Neil Young, if he was from Newfoundland.
Anyways, by the time we played the place was pretty packed bringing the Newfoundland large crowds ratio up to 2/2. We're playing at the same bar again tonight with another band from St. John's called The Pathological Lovers. Word on the street is the crowd tonight is supposed to be even bigger. I can't wait!
We've been hanging out in St John's since Tuesday, and though we haven't really "done" much - it's been great. On Wednesday it rained pretty hard so we were all stuck in the house - which was OK, because it gave us a chance to start the fancy videos you've all been (hopefully) watching. We're hanging out at our friend Jud's place (which is awesome), so it's nice to have a comfortable place to just relax for a bit.
Yesterday was sort of the first time we ventured out into downtown St. John's, we went to a cool record store called Fred's and loaded our stuff into the ship. Being in this town makes me feel like I'm constantly on the CBC, I don't know why. But I like it.
The ship is a mid-sized venue, maybe similar to Gus' pub and is apparently the "hip" bar in town. We played our first St. John's show with a band called The Human Soundtrack who were super nice guys and played some really cool tunes. The singer's voice reminded me of Neil Young, if he was from Newfoundland.
Anyways, by the time we played the place was pretty packed bringing the Newfoundland large crowds ratio up to 2/2. We're playing at the same bar again tonight with another band from St. John's called The Pathological Lovers. Word on the street is the crowd tonight is supposed to be even bigger. I can't wait!
May 21, 2008
May 20, 2008
This One's For The Moms!
It's been a while since an update mostly because we haven't had internet access since we left Quebec.
Well, that's kind of a lie. Obviously we had internet access when we were in Halifax, but we were all so happy to be home (well, at least I was) that I wasn't even thinking about using the internet.
So anyways,that being said a lot has happened - so here's a quick run down:
Montreal - scary. Played at a sketchy bar (someone told us it was the bar fight capital of Montreal), got to see a few friends like Karley, Anne and Jen McDonald (Matt's big sis) who informed me that Matt's mom constantly reads this very blog so - Hi Matt's Mom! - and we played a lackluster show to about 25 people (one of whom was Julie Doiron who hung out with us for a while after the show). We were all real tired, and real annoyed about playing a few shows in a row to tiny to non-existent crowds. There was a girl from the Montreal blog Midnight Poutine was there. Unfortunately she didn't really like the show, though her devotion to the band remains.
Quebec City - weird. We played at a bar called L'Agitee and met a few new friends like Jane and Sam who were nice enough to have us over and cook us supper. There wasn't a huge crowd at this show either, but the people who were there were very enthusiastic - sometimes even cheering for the parts in our songs when we hit the solos. Some guy bought us all vodka shots. That was cool.
After the Quebec City show, we went for a 1:00am quick band-visit to Chateau Frotenac and started the 10+ hour drive back to Halifax. We drove through the night, taking shifts and making it back to Halifax safe and sound around noon on Friday.
After several shows and naps, we all met up at the Seahorse for load-in around nine, and then played a show to a great hometown crowd. Lots of dancing, and singing along, and heat, and fun. It was definitely good to be home.
Saturday we headed to Cape Breton around 3:00, where we played at a bar called the Upstairs in Sydney with one of our favorite people Carmen Townsend. Carmen is like watching a female version of Kyuss, Zeppelin, and Queens of the Stone Age all wrapped in one. To paraphrase a scene from Wayne's World, "She can wail."
After an interesting night at Pirate House and some fun adventures with their new kitty, we headed towards the ferry to begin our first trip to Newfoundland.
The ferry ride was kind of rocky, especially as we approached "The Rock." It was long. I spent most of the time reading, sleeping and playing Crib with Pinky (I bought a crib board before I left!). I suck at crib. To date , He's up 8 games to my 1. But its fun.
As soon as we got off the ferry we drove to Cornerbrook for our first show of five here in Newfoundland. We weren't expecting a whole heck of a lot since it was a Sunday night, but the show was amazing. There was about 150 people there, and we played with a couple other touring bands, dd/mm/yy and Video Hippos who were both on their way back through the maritimes. It was a pretty crazy show. On top of it, our usual Cape Breton counterparts Megan Macs and Nicole just happened to be in Cornerbrook so it ended up being quite the party.
The next day was pretty lazy, we hung out with the Cape Breton counterparts and drank new and exciting beers and pops and spent the night at our new friend Neil's house.
Today, we drove the 7 hour boring drive to Saint John's. This city is about exactly what I pictured it to be. It definitely screams Newfoundland. It's really cool and distinct. I'm excited to explore it in the next couple days. Aaron and I played a surreal show at a vegan restaurant with an electric guitar and no microphone. Weird. On the bonus side, we got paid and added some more bling to the till.
Both my mom and Matt's mom were talking about how they missed the blogging, so hopefully this sustains their cravings.
We don't have another show till Thursday here in Saint John's, so tomorrow is an exploration day. Woo!
Bonsoir.
Well, that's kind of a lie. Obviously we had internet access when we were in Halifax, but we were all so happy to be home (well, at least I was) that I wasn't even thinking about using the internet.
So anyways,that being said a lot has happened - so here's a quick run down:
Montreal - scary. Played at a sketchy bar (someone told us it was the bar fight capital of Montreal), got to see a few friends like Karley, Anne and Jen McDonald (Matt's big sis) who informed me that Matt's mom constantly reads this very blog so - Hi Matt's Mom! - and we played a lackluster show to about 25 people (one of whom was Julie Doiron who hung out with us for a while after the show). We were all real tired, and real annoyed about playing a few shows in a row to tiny to non-existent crowds. There was a girl from the Montreal blog Midnight Poutine was there. Unfortunately she didn't really like the show, though her devotion to the band remains.
Quebec City - weird. We played at a bar called L'Agitee and met a few new friends like Jane and Sam who were nice enough to have us over and cook us supper. There wasn't a huge crowd at this show either, but the people who were there were very enthusiastic - sometimes even cheering for the parts in our songs when we hit the solos. Some guy bought us all vodka shots. That was cool.
After the Quebec City show, we went for a 1:00am quick band-visit to Chateau Frotenac and started the 10+ hour drive back to Halifax. We drove through the night, taking shifts and making it back to Halifax safe and sound around noon on Friday.
After several shows and naps, we all met up at the Seahorse for load-in around nine, and then played a show to a great hometown crowd. Lots of dancing, and singing along, and heat, and fun. It was definitely good to be home.
Saturday we headed to Cape Breton around 3:00, where we played at a bar called the Upstairs in Sydney with one of our favorite people Carmen Townsend. Carmen is like watching a female version of Kyuss, Zeppelin, and Queens of the Stone Age all wrapped in one. To paraphrase a scene from Wayne's World, "She can wail."
After an interesting night at Pirate House and some fun adventures with their new kitty, we headed towards the ferry to begin our first trip to Newfoundland.
The ferry ride was kind of rocky, especially as we approached "The Rock." It was long. I spent most of the time reading, sleeping and playing Crib with Pinky (I bought a crib board before I left!). I suck at crib. To date , He's up 8 games to my 1. But its fun.
As soon as we got off the ferry we drove to Cornerbrook for our first show of five here in Newfoundland. We weren't expecting a whole heck of a lot since it was a Sunday night, but the show was amazing. There was about 150 people there, and we played with a couple other touring bands, dd/mm/yy and Video Hippos who were both on their way back through the maritimes. It was a pretty crazy show. On top of it, our usual Cape Breton counterparts Megan Macs and Nicole just happened to be in Cornerbrook so it ended up being quite the party.
The next day was pretty lazy, we hung out with the Cape Breton counterparts and drank new and exciting beers and pops and spent the night at our new friend Neil's house.
Today, we drove the 7 hour boring drive to Saint John's. This city is about exactly what I pictured it to be. It definitely screams Newfoundland. It's really cool and distinct. I'm excited to explore it in the next couple days. Aaron and I played a surreal show at a vegan restaurant with an electric guitar and no microphone. Weird. On the bonus side, we got paid and added some more bling to the till.
Both my mom and Matt's mom were talking about how they missed the blogging, so hopefully this sustains their cravings.
We don't have another show till Thursday here in Saint John's, so tomorrow is an exploration day. Woo!
Bonsoir.
May 13, 2008
Toronto (day 2) and Hamilton
Our Sunday in Toronto was a lazy hazy grey day.
I woke up at Kerri's and went downtown for a mother's day brunch with my newly discovered extended cousin Amanda and her family (which, I guess, is also my family). It was nice. They had a barbecue and I got to meet some more of my Dad's cousins. It's cool to know that there's family "out there," especially when they treat you like they've known you for 20 years although they've only met you yesterday. I love it.
After the barbecue, Amanda and I went downtown for a drink at a bar that reminded me a lot of Gus' Pub, and then I walked up to Bloor Street to meet the rest of my bandmates at our friend Keith Hamilton's place (Keith plays in many bands including Hamilton Trading Co. and The Postage Stamps). Basically, aside from a trip to Pizza Pizza, we didn't do anything all day except kindle a romance with the BBC series Planet Earth.
Monday morning we got up early to do a session on the CIUT (UToronto) Radio Program Take 5 which would have aired today. We recorded three tracks, two new ones (Coup d'Etat & Information) as well as our single (Got Caught). The mixes turned out really good, and hopefully we will throw one up on our MySpace.
After the Session, we hit the road and headed to Hamilton where we met up with our new friends The Details for some drinks. They were playing in the same club, right next door. Luckily, because of our four-band bill, we were able to sneak out and see them play a wicked set. We also got to play with a really cool band from Guelph called Cursed Arrows which is actually Ryan Stanley's (ex Vermicious Knid) new band with his wife. Really cool stuff.
The show at the Casbah was probably the best one we've ever had. Our shows there before have been pretty desolate, but for a Monday night the crowd was excellent. We had lots of old friends show up, like Maria, Matt, Nick, Jill, etc, and we made some new friends - who thankfully were kind enough to let us stay at their place.
Right now we're in Oshawa at our friend Maria's place watching even more episodes of Planet Earth and having a BBQ.
Tonight we will play in Peterborough to probably 30 people max. Meanwhile my girlfriend and pretty much everyone I know will be watching Queens of the Stone Age in Halifax. Fuck.
Next Stop: Montreal
I woke up at Kerri's and went downtown for a mother's day brunch with my newly discovered extended cousin Amanda and her family (which, I guess, is also my family). It was nice. They had a barbecue and I got to meet some more of my Dad's cousins. It's cool to know that there's family "out there," especially when they treat you like they've known you for 20 years although they've only met you yesterday. I love it.
After the barbecue, Amanda and I went downtown for a drink at a bar that reminded me a lot of Gus' Pub, and then I walked up to Bloor Street to meet the rest of my bandmates at our friend Keith Hamilton's place (Keith plays in many bands including Hamilton Trading Co. and The Postage Stamps). Basically, aside from a trip to Pizza Pizza, we didn't do anything all day except kindle a romance with the BBC series Planet Earth.
Monday morning we got up early to do a session on the CIUT (UToronto) Radio Program Take 5 which would have aired today. We recorded three tracks, two new ones (Coup d'Etat & Information) as well as our single (Got Caught). The mixes turned out really good, and hopefully we will throw one up on our MySpace.
After the Session, we hit the road and headed to Hamilton where we met up with our new friends The Details for some drinks. They were playing in the same club, right next door. Luckily, because of our four-band bill, we were able to sneak out and see them play a wicked set. We also got to play with a really cool band from Guelph called Cursed Arrows which is actually Ryan Stanley's (ex Vermicious Knid) new band with his wife. Really cool stuff.
The show at the Casbah was probably the best one we've ever had. Our shows there before have been pretty desolate, but for a Monday night the crowd was excellent. We had lots of old friends show up, like Maria, Matt, Nick, Jill, etc, and we made some new friends - who thankfully were kind enough to let us stay at their place.
Right now we're in Oshawa at our friend Maria's place watching even more episodes of Planet Earth and having a BBQ.
Tonight we will play in Peterborough to probably 30 people max. Meanwhile my girlfriend and pretty much everyone I know will be watching Queens of the Stone Age in Halifax. Fuck.
Next Stop: Montreal
May 11, 2008
heres and theres
In a very quick format:
Guelph was probably the worst show we've ever played period. Aside from Joe and Andrea, nobody there was interested in hearing us play - the tiny crowd actually applauded when AC/DC came on the radio after we were done.
Bayfield Ontario is such a unique and fun place. It's a little resort town in the middle of nowhere (close to lake Huron) - and it is gorgeous. Its the kind of place where rich people buy summer homes. The people there are super nice and it always makes for a good time. Peter, the guy who runs the Blog Dog Pub (the place where we play) always treats us super good. We got there pretty early in the afternoon, so we played Rock Band all day and waited for load in. The show was decent, we're pretty loud for that room, so a lot of people actually watched from outside. But regardless, it was fun. After the show, Sleepless Nights went into party mode - which is something that rarely happens. After an evening of being fed free drinks, we topped off the night at the Black Dog by doing shots of something called Polar Bear (Creme de Caocoa and Peppermint Schnopps) and then proceeded to go to this other bar called The Docks. Basically anyone who was at our show was there. Its the bar to go to after the bar you wanted to be at closes. Also, it was kareoke. Let's just say this - never in my life have I done kareoke, and never have I had the desire to, but Pinky and I sang Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi - and it was terrible and hilarious (especially if you take into account how much we both love the Bonj). Anyways, good night.
We got to Toronto pretty early again yesterday because our show at The Drake was early (7:00pm). The headliner for the show dropped off the bill because one of the guys was sick and in the hospital - so that thinned out the crowd i think. The stage was great though, we sounded amazing and we played a good set. When we're put on a stage where everything is properly mic'ed and everyone can hear everything, it just boosts our confidence and we play a little bit better.
Long story short, I had a bunch of extended family come out - my Dad's cousins and their kids - and they have invited me to a BBQ brunch at their place today, so I'm on my way out the door with my friend Kerri to hit that up. We are staying here all day, and we have a radio session on CIUT tomorrow morning.
Next stop: Hamilton (on Monday)
Guelph was probably the worst show we've ever played period. Aside from Joe and Andrea, nobody there was interested in hearing us play - the tiny crowd actually applauded when AC/DC came on the radio after we were done.
Bayfield Ontario is such a unique and fun place. It's a little resort town in the middle of nowhere (close to lake Huron) - and it is gorgeous. Its the kind of place where rich people buy summer homes. The people there are super nice and it always makes for a good time. Peter, the guy who runs the Blog Dog Pub (the place where we play) always treats us super good. We got there pretty early in the afternoon, so we played Rock Band all day and waited for load in. The show was decent, we're pretty loud for that room, so a lot of people actually watched from outside. But regardless, it was fun. After the show, Sleepless Nights went into party mode - which is something that rarely happens. After an evening of being fed free drinks, we topped off the night at the Black Dog by doing shots of something called Polar Bear (Creme de Caocoa and Peppermint Schnopps) and then proceeded to go to this other bar called The Docks. Basically anyone who was at our show was there. Its the bar to go to after the bar you wanted to be at closes. Also, it was kareoke. Let's just say this - never in my life have I done kareoke, and never have I had the desire to, but Pinky and I sang Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi - and it was terrible and hilarious (especially if you take into account how much we both love the Bonj). Anyways, good night.
We got to Toronto pretty early again yesterday because our show at The Drake was early (7:00pm). The headliner for the show dropped off the bill because one of the guys was sick and in the hospital - so that thinned out the crowd i think. The stage was great though, we sounded amazing and we played a good set. When we're put on a stage where everything is properly mic'ed and everyone can hear everything, it just boosts our confidence and we play a little bit better.
Long story short, I had a bunch of extended family come out - my Dad's cousins and their kids - and they have invited me to a BBQ brunch at their place today, so I'm on my way out the door with my friend Kerri to hit that up. We are staying here all day, and we have a radio session on CIUT tomorrow morning.
Next stop: Hamilton (on Monday)
May 8, 2008
Waterlooooooo
Yes. Waterloo. Awesome.
If Fredericton is like our 2nd home, Waterloo is without a doubt our third. The guys at The Trepid House are so awesome to us all the time, and it's good to come to a place where so many friends show up. It was a Wednesday night, in a house ("it's a house") and to see friends like Joe, Andrea, Katherine, Cole, Owen, & Jeff just puts everything in its right place.
We played the show to a living room of sweaty, dancing fools - and it was fantastic. We sold more merch last night than we have pretty much the whole tour (maybe even the whole tour combined) and had a fantastic time. If we ever get to the point where we're playing a large venue in Waterloo, I would always want to play secret shows or something at the Trepid House.
We came back to our friend Cole's apartment for the night - which is a super nice place in Kitchener - and this morning Matt and I got up at 7:30am to go to CKMS with Cole to do a two-hour co-hosting stint on her show The Culture Vulture. Matt and I indulged the opportunity and played a bunch of Sleepless Nights tracks from Turn Into Vapour and from our upcoming Dance EP Jamz!. We also went ahead and played some Superfantastics, Quiet Parade, The Establishment and Cheval tracks. Being on Cole's show is so much fun - even at 8am.
Right now, we're just hanging out at Cole's place. We're heading to Guelph tonight and playing at the Jimmy Jazz where we will have more fun with our Waterloo BFF's.
Next Stop: Guelph
If Fredericton is like our 2nd home, Waterloo is without a doubt our third. The guys at The Trepid House are so awesome to us all the time, and it's good to come to a place where so many friends show up. It was a Wednesday night, in a house ("it's a house") and to see friends like Joe, Andrea, Katherine, Cole, Owen, & Jeff just puts everything in its right place.
We played the show to a living room of sweaty, dancing fools - and it was fantastic. We sold more merch last night than we have pretty much the whole tour (maybe even the whole tour combined) and had a fantastic time. If we ever get to the point where we're playing a large venue in Waterloo, I would always want to play secret shows or something at the Trepid House.
We came back to our friend Cole's apartment for the night - which is a super nice place in Kitchener - and this morning Matt and I got up at 7:30am to go to CKMS with Cole to do a two-hour co-hosting stint on her show The Culture Vulture. Matt and I indulged the opportunity and played a bunch of Sleepless Nights tracks from Turn Into Vapour and from our upcoming Dance EP Jamz!. We also went ahead and played some Superfantastics, Quiet Parade, The Establishment and Cheval tracks. Being on Cole's show is so much fun - even at 8am.
Right now, we're just hanging out at Cole's place. We're heading to Guelph tonight and playing at the Jimmy Jazz where we will have more fun with our Waterloo BFF's.
Next Stop: Guelph
May 6, 2008
Montreal (for hang outs)
We woke up early Monday morning and hit the road for Montreal. We didn't have a show on Monday night, and our next show was in Kingston, Ontario on Tuesday - so we decided to go to Montreal (a good half way point) and stay with our friend Valerie and her dog Starbuck and her kitty Kramer.
It was about a 10 hour drive - and I unfortunately was not able to sleep a wink in the van. What I was able to do was get a ton of reading done. Since school is done, I'm trying to take a break from academic books for a while and read some fiction for once. Already, not even a week into the tour i have finished Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" and Mordecai Richler's "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz." Both were phenomenal. Next on my list is The World According to Garp and Bob Dylan's Chronicles.
We got to Valeries around 8, and drank a bunch of wine on her patio. It is nice there - and it is nice here. Spring has come. Merci Dieu.
This morning I got up earlier than my bandmates and went down to Saint Catherine's Street for breakfast with Tory and Karley - so good to see them again, as always. After breakfast we piled in Bettie White and hit the road to Kingston.
Right now, we're at the Queen's campus radio station CFRC where Aaron and Pinky did an interview on-air with our new friend Lauren, and we're heading over to the Grad House to unload in a couple minnutes. I'm excited to see Nich Worby again, and friggen Becky Murray!
Tonight: Kingston
Next Stop: Waterloo
It was about a 10 hour drive - and I unfortunately was not able to sleep a wink in the van. What I was able to do was get a ton of reading done. Since school is done, I'm trying to take a break from academic books for a while and read some fiction for once. Already, not even a week into the tour i have finished Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" and Mordecai Richler's "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz." Both were phenomenal. Next on my list is The World According to Garp and Bob Dylan's Chronicles.
We got to Valeries around 8, and drank a bunch of wine on her patio. It is nice there - and it is nice here. Spring has come. Merci Dieu.
This morning I got up earlier than my bandmates and went down to Saint Catherine's Street for breakfast with Tory and Karley - so good to see them again, as always. After breakfast we piled in Bettie White and hit the road to Kingston.
Right now, we're at the Queen's campus radio station CFRC where Aaron and Pinky did an interview on-air with our new friend Lauren, and we're heading over to the Grad House to unload in a couple minnutes. I'm excited to see Nich Worby again, and friggen Becky Murray!
Tonight: Kingston
Next Stop: Waterloo
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