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It's been a crazy, full-on, Fall and Winter.
Since the release of our latest CD "We All Fall Down" (which includes three songs from
the feature film of the same name) we have been contacted by two other production companies
interested in licensing our music. We now have our music included in the weekly television
series "Cold Squad" and the feature film "The Barber" starring Malcolm MacDowell.
In early November I went on the road with bluesman, singer/songwriter and
slide guitarist extraordinaire Ken Hamm. Man, this guy is an amazing delta blues guitar
player. I was looking to do some live performance gigs and while talking to Terry Moorehead
(the web master for both Ken and myself) he suggested that I contact Bobbie Blue who does Ken's
bookings. Bobbie arranged some gigs which were fantastic!!!
My partner Bonnie Dakota and I left Vancouver early one Friday morning heading
for Hornby Island and the first gig with Ken. Hornby is one of the Gulf Islands off the west
coast of British Columbia Canada. To get there you have to take three separate ferries.
The first one is a large ferry from Vancouver to the city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.
From Nanaimo we traveled north for about an hour and caught a small ferry to Denman Island,
another one of the Gulf Island group. We then had to drive across Denman and catch an even
smaller ferry to Hornby. The Gulf Islands are made up of small communities that are basically
scattered through the forests. There is a great laid back feel about them. In fact us city
folks say the people who live there operate on island time. Life is just not rushed or stressful
when you live on a Gulf Island with bald eagles soaring above and the ocean breeze whispering
through the trees. Paradise!!!
On our arrival we checked into our accommodation which was a small resort on
the ocean front and set out to find the place we were to perform that evening. The venue
turned out to be a building tucked away in the trees back off the road. Part of the building
houses the island's public library and the rest is a beautiful cozy room with a huge fireplace,
kitchen area and an open space to set up chairs and tables for a concert. I think the gig
started at 7:00p.m. that night and at 6:45 there were absolutely no people there. I'm thinking
to myself "What kind of a bust is this gig gonna be"? Suddenly the folks started to stream
in and to my surprise turned out to be the best audience I had performed for in a long time.
Ken and I did a set each to the appreciation of a great attentive crowd. Thank you Hornby
Island!!!!
The next day it was back onto the ferries and back to Vancouver Island heading
for Errington. It turns out Errington is basically an intersection with a traffic light, a
gas station, and a few stores. Just past the intersection, seemingly in the middle of nowhere,
we came across our destination, the fantastic rustic dancehall called "Errington War Memorial Hall".
We went in and got down to doing our soundcheck. It was getting close to gig time and once
again Bonnie and I are thinking "Gee we hope some people show up". Again the folks came
pouring in the door just before start time. I guess by now your getting the picture that
this little tour is turning out to be great. Now I'm thinking "Hey this Ken Hamm guy really
has this thing all figured out". I might add that Ken has been touring and building a fan
base for many years so these turnouts where no mistake. The man is constantly on the road.
Next day it was up island to the town of Courtenay. I had never met Bobbie
Blue in person, I had only talked to her on the phone so Ken had arranged for all of us to meet
at a restaurant to grab a quick bite before soundcheck. Bobbie had driven up from Victoria
that day and it was a great opportunity for Bonnie and I to meet her. The gig was in a music
store that sold musical instruments but also had a performance area in the back. These were
exceptionally intimate shows. Ya gotta love that!!!
The next stop was down to Victoria to the George And Dragon Pub which has a separate
performance space in the back of the building. Once again a great night!!! A great audience!!!
I guess the thing that Bonnie and I realized on the trip was how great, friendly,
and attentive audiences can be outside the main centres. We tend to forget that there is life
outside the large cities, and to be quite honest, it sometimes seems the people out there have
a greater sense of what life is really all about. In closing we would like to thank Ken Hamm
for being such a respectful and professional artist, Bobbie Blue for booking the gigs, Terry
Moorehead for the suggestion, and especially all the people who attended the shows. Peace.
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