Give us hope that this love never ends

   I'm writing this from the lounge of a very old, very vibey recording studio here in Vancouver.  This place has started to feel like a second home to me over the last few months. Granted, it's a second home with way nicer TV's and much cooler audio equipment than my first home, so at this point, I'm kinda thinking of making it my new residence... 

  Today is the last day of tracking on Jessie Farrell's newest album.  I'm extremely happy with every aspect of this project: the musicians involved, the engineers that made the music sound great and the music itself.  This record has felt like a cohesive collaboration between some incredible people, all fluent in the same language of soulful musical expression, and it could not have come together without each of them being involved.

  Jessie and I worked methodically on each song together, writing and re-writing, until we felt we had a group of them that we'd actually be THRILLED to commit to tape (which isn't ACTUALLY how they were recorded, since tape is no longer ACTUALLY used, but committing something to 1's and 0's doesn't sound as badass).  I have no idea how the songs will be perceived by listeners, but to be completely honest and somewhat selfish, that's very secondary to me.  I'm extremely proud of the work and the efforts of everyone involved, and I wouldn't trade any moment during the creation of this music for gold.  I have learned more about songwriting and production and recording and vibe on this session than any other I've been a part of.  I have to thank Jessie and Dean Maher and the musicians involved for that.

  I got a new gig this summer: playing guitar for Aaron Pritchett!  I was very excited to get the call, and terrified at the same time, wondering how I'd fill the HUGE Converse All Stars of Jay Buettner. The guys in the band have been very helpful and tremendously accommodating while I try to figure out what the hell I'm doing. I've listed the tour dates below that you can catch me at an Aaron show, and also the Jessie Farrell and Adam Woodall Band dates as well.

Friday July 8 - Merritt Mountain Fest, Merritt BC  (w/ Aaron Pritchett)

Saturday July 9 - Calgary Stampede, Nashville North, Calgary AB  (w/ Aaron Pritchett)

Saturday July 16 - Sarnia Bayfest, Sarnia ON  (w/ Aaron Pritchett)

Friday July 22 - Langford BC  (with Jessie Farrell)

Saturday Aug 6 - Harmony Arts Festival, Wine Stage  (w/ Adam Woodall Band)

Friday Aug 12 - Sunfest, Duncan BC  (w/ Aaron Pritchett)

Saturday Aug 27 - Airdrie AB  (w/ Aaron Pritchett)

Sunday Aug 28 - Barrie ON  (w/ Aaron Pritchett)

Wednesday Aug 31 - Butchart Gardens, Victoria BC  (with Jessie Farrell)

Peace.

Some New Gear Pics

Check out the Gear page for some new guitars and such.....

Fortunate, son. Fortune, cookie.

The words Fortunate and Fortune interest me. Being Fortunate means you have luck, opportunity and good timing on your side. Having a Fortune means you have loads of money, or some other sort of wealth, which just means lots of money anyway, so that's why I said that first.

I like to think I'm a very fortunate person. Sometimes I'm lucky; sometimes I get really great opportunities; and every once in a while, my timing is not too bad. I can attribute most of the good luck and great opportunities to the environment I was brought up in. Now that I'm a grown-up (yikes!), what I choose to do with those fortunate gifts is up to me. That's an empowering thought. I have control over what happens to me. 

So do you. You have control over what you do. Control over what happens to you, and your life, and your luck (good or bad), and over your opportunities.

So, if we have control over what we do with our lives, and what we make of our fortuitousness, what's our goal? What motivates us? Doing the right thing? Being a good person? Hopefully. What else? Wealth? The promise of that fortune? Probably quite often. But, does the possibility of a good payday lead us to suppose that once we have a fortune we'll be able to attain happiness AND satisfaction from our choices? A type of happiness and life-satisfaction we couldn't achieve without wealth. Is the fortune a means to and end; that end being a good life, filled with better luck, better opportunities and even better timing? Do we learn anything from the fortune itself? Or, could we stand to learn more from the hard work we put into gaining that fortune, satisfied with the knowledge that we chose to go for it? What if there's no fortune waiting at the end of it all? We worked hard, enjoyed every minute of the journey, learned a hell of a lot about ourselves, and other people, and that was the only reward. Could we remain positive and dedicated to our goal? Is positivity as valuable a product of good fortune as wealth is?

I feel like positivity breeds positive outcomes, negativity just breeds more negativity. Don't do it for the money, do it for the experience, and for the fun, and for the love. Love what you do. If you don't love it, stop doing it. Find what makes you really happy, and what challenges you to be better than what you thought you were capable of. Spend time making yourself, and others, happy, and spend time enjoying it too. 

On another note, if you have a burning desire to name and date your old G.I. Joe figures from the 80s, like i did, I found a really rad website dedicated to just such a task. Enjoy!

Peace.

Summmmer? OK!

I'm going to check out Meshell Ndegeocello at the Commodore here in Vancouver tonight.  I hope she brings John Cougar Mellencamp with her, that would be sweet.

Playing lots of summer shows with Jessie Farrell.  Opened for Barenaked Ladies earlier in the week.  Then, a Canada Day show in Surrey, BC yesterday.  Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we fly to Slave Lake, AB for a set at Sawfest, opening for The Road Hammers. 

Here's a full list of other shows this summer:

July 3 - Sawfest, Slave Lake, AB (w/ Jessie Farrell)

July 10 - Stampede Breakfast, Chinook Mall, Calgary, AB (w/ Jessie Farrell)

July 21 - Westerner Days Expo, Red Deer, AB (w/ Jessie Farrell)

July 23 - Voyageur Days, Mattawa, ON (w/ Jessie Farrell)

July 24 - Fergus Truck Show, Fergus, ON (w/ Jessie Farrell)

July 30/31 & Aug 1 - Rigger's Pub, Savary Island, BC (w/ Adam Woodall Band)

Aug 6 - Harmony Arts Festival, West Vancouver, BC (w/ Adam Woodall Band)

Aug 13 - SunFest Music Festival, Duncan BC (w/ Jessie Farrell)

Aug 14 - Rockin' River Fest, Mission BC (w/ Jessie Farrell)

Aug 15 - Bowen Pub, Bowen Island, BC (w/Adam Woodall Band)

Aug 20 - Queen's Cross Pub, North Vancouver, BC (w/ Adam Woodall Band)

Aug 28 - Bowfest, Bowen Island, BC (w/ Adam Woodall Band)

Sept 4 - Music In The Fields, Lucknow ON (w/ Jessie Farrell)

Sept 19 - SummerBlast, St. Thomas, ON (w/ Jessie Farrell)

I also just updated my gear page with my current pedalboard configuration for all you geeks.

I may update this page regularly throughout the summer, I may not.  I guess you'll just have to check back often to find out! 

Peace

Nashville

I spent a week in Nashville, working on Melissa's record.  We co-wrote a bunch of the songs on it, and I'm helping produce it too.  Working with Chad is always a great time.  He's extremely fast, and precise and has perfect pitch.  Seriously, he does! I'm very proud of him for his recent Grammy wins with the Swift camp.  My favourite part of the trip was when I pretended to know what I was doing, producing the sessions with Nashville A-Team guys like Rob Hajacos & Paul Franklin. 

I love it down there, I always want to stay longer.  The level of talent is ridiculous.  I saw Gary Burr play and sing but missed seeing Vince and the Station Inn.  I learned a ton watching and hearing Tania Hancheroff and Bruce Wallace lay down backups. I went to see Bruce's band 'Walrus' later that night; genre: GREAT Rock n' Roll. I will be back ASAFP.

Here's a few pics from my trip:

On our way...

Chad had ALLL these channels, and yet only used one fader. That's how the pros do it, I guess

I'm not sure if the actual home of the company is in this alley behind Broadway, but the sign is cool.

Chad's studio is called Hippo, and thus he had this fellow living there.  I had a little stuffed man when I was small made of this SAME material, same eyes and everything!! Coincedence? I think not.

This is Paul. Paul plays steel. Paul has no equal on that instrument. Paul is a very nice person, and working with him was a thrill beyond words. "Appreciate ye!"