28 Feb - Caribbean cafe in Salmon Arm

Sam and I leave Calgary by late afternoon, after I’ve done some running around. Into the mountains. Sam confesses his affinity for this majestic geography—it’s the landscape that resonates with him. Mine, not surprisingly, is the prairie. We swing into the mountain highways, pontificating on wild, random, unfounded theories about how the body connects to the land and elements, and we end with a million promises to “look that up”…

A sweet surprise comes in Field. We stop at Truffle Pigs, a quaint organic café, restaurant, wine store, general store, and bakery in the small town of Field, where I played about a million years ago. It was one of the most memorable gigs of that tour, certainly producing the most stinging hangover. I made some great friends, played to an appreciative crowd of ice climbers from around the world, jammed all night with the locals, and learned fine wine from “Strawberry.”

I was ecstatic to introduce Sam to this little gem of a place, but shocked as hell to enter the café and see Andrew (aka “Strawberry” who was supposed to have escaped to Ontario) and Jen and beautiful familiar faces still lingering about. With a few days off on our way back west, Sam and I agreed to come back next week for a show at the café. Can’t wait to be reacquainted with the fine food and folks.

We make it to Salmon Arm and crash for the night. Tonight we play in Penticton, and we didn’t realize how close we actually were. So this morning, there is time to hunker down in a Caribbean themed café (parrots and palm trees abound), soak up some local culture, and get back on the road.



I'm totally taken with my horoscope, so very appropriate for launching into a tour and all those promises to myself to be more relentless in my explorations of the country:

Cancer Horoscope for week of February 28, 2008

"Never play cards with a man called Doc," said Nelson Algren in his book A Walk on the Wild Side. "Never eat at a place called Mom's. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own." Whether or not you generally heed cautionary advice like that, I suggest that you adopt a more freewheeling approach in the coming weeks. In fact, given the frontier-prowling, rules-breaking, fun-erupting nature of your current astrological indicators, you may benefit from experimenting with a host of exploits that at any other time might seem iffy or dicey or itchy.

If you're a fan of prophesy, check out the wildly adventurous horoscopes of Rob Brezny at http://www.freewillastrology.com. I'll let you know how this one pans out...

26 Feb - And so begins the tour

The tour starts with an overnight in Calgary as Sam and I make our way to the coast. It’s comforting to share this adventure with another musician, and I’m excited to perform the shows as a duo with Sam. There’s a bit of business here to take care of here, preparing for the show in Calgary in ten days. So the layover is busy, but without a show to focus all this energy. So at night, I toss and turn, with an alert edginess that hasn’t been worn down yet. Our clothes are still fresh. Our instruments tuned. Get me to a stage before I bust.

It’s like getting my sea legs back again, being on the road. There is turbulence and a beautiful queasiness in my stomach, as we launch ourselves onto the prairie, with a car strategically stuffed full of gear. It’s been awhile since I experienced this aching sadness in my heart. I don’t bother reminding myself that I’ll see you (for a couple days at least) in less than two weeks. I simply indulge the longing, let it wash over me, and feed it equal parts of long prairie vistas, Mavis Staples, and conversation strategically directed at picking apart Sam’s life.