I’m home, and it’s always great to be home. It’s great to be on the road too! So many wonderful people, old friends and new. The shows went really well, audiences were super. Thanks to everyone who came out and thanks to everyone who brought folks out as well!
The Legendary Byng Roadhouse in Cranbrook was a lot of fun. Big thanks to Pete and Rhonda for everything. Hi-lights: the pro arm wrestling session before my gig, and doing a request for the Rodeo Song! Earlier in the day I sat down in a café and this guy was looking back at me! I knew nothing about it, my friend Ferdy did the write-up and got me in the paper. Thanks Ferdy!
Getting back to the Prairies for the first time in many years was eye-opening! Mucho sky! Fantastic cloud formations! Wind! I was thankful for the screaming tail wind, that’s for sure! #GasMileage
Home town Regina has grown, looks like it needs to let out the waistband for sure. Beer Bros. on Scarth St. let me play there, despite my sordid reputation and dubious history on Scarth St. It was St. Patty’s, and I guess the Roughriders are Irish, because that’s the Green I saw everywhere! I hope Tatiana enjoyed my music! Thanks to Darren and James, as well as Zoe & Matt behind the bar. Great venue, I’m looking forward to playing there again.
Regina Beach was a wonderful host, Kristin and Wayne and the kids were lovely and helpful. I really enjoyed playing the Last Mountain Lake Cultural Centre, and such a nice group of people came out and appreciated my music. Thanks Kristin!
The folks at Roca House, Chelsey, Jason and Rock, treated me to a fun night playing music, and my nieces Kami-Jo & Kate went above and beyond on the merchandise and hat passing! Big thanks as well to nephew Simon for muscles and ears in loading in and sound checking at Roca and Beer Bros. Gotta love roadies!
My first real visit back to the home town in a long, long time was superb. Thanks and shout-outs to Mom for her excellent food and accommodations, sis and sis-in-law Brita & Tania for their hospitality, poster-making, and crystal magic; Harry & Pat from Harry’s HiFi, so nice to see you guys; Houston Pizza for one of their legendary pies; and the weatherman for the March blizzard!
On to Calgary, another old home town actually, and a great evening at Wine-Ohs! Excellent sounding room, good audience, plus big thanks to Drew for booking me and to sound guy extraordinaire Ben for making me and my Tinker sound fabtastic! The Well Mannered Thieves put on a most enjoyable and groovin’ show, Calgary you have a gem of a band there. Check out these amazing paintings of Eagle & Bear from dedicated music fan DebbieA, and thanks to Debbie for all her support! Hi-lite of the Calgary visit though goes to Peter’s Drive In. More legendary road food! (Phil’s Pancake House comes in a close second for the beef chubbies!)
So, 4,000 kilometres, blizzards, high winds, huge skies, great audiences, foodfoodfood apparently, friends old and new, family, sweet venues, and lots of music is a recipe for good times! I’m already planning the next tour. Watch for details.
John
Here are a few more pictures from the tour:
On stage with one of my heroes!
Tom Waits wrote about Grand Forks BC? In this here song.