So all is well. Burns Lake was a lot of fun. Great people live there ! Scott and I played at the Heritage building and with the help of a couple red light bulb’s had a fine night. Rachelle Van Zanten, a person who I am proud to call a friend , sat in on the last few songs. She is a terrific performer and a lot of fun to hang out with.
Prince George – we had the band and another good night. We had great audience response and afterwards, talking to people, I am reminded again, live music matters. The band goes to the room for a couple beer and we played a new game – talking without using google references. Let’s call the game “phone lockdown” ! Inexpensive to play and definitley challenging.
Vanderhoof rules ! As photographer/ promoter/ friend, Lorne Clark said afterwards, great energy off the top and it carried on throughout. Scott and I played in the back of “the Village Inn”. Just driving into Vanderhoof I couldn’t help but remember playing in “the Yellowhead Inn” in the mid eighties, with our band, Timberline. Back then we used to get requests like “Stayin Alive” and “Islands in the Stream”, and watch a few fights break out as we played. For many years now, performing along the Yellowhead highway has been a huge part of my life.
Overall this tour has been a reflective journey. This troubador thing is a bit of work. The promotion/ booking thing – not the performance part – that is fun. Lately I’ve had the image of the late Alaskan songwriter, Buddy Tabor, in my head. Years ago, my daughter and I went to see him on a Tuesday night at the art gallery in Smithers. Maybe a dozen people were there. We really enjoyed it. He was great ! There were stories and images and a feeling that it was timeless. Somehow I feel we are connected through the craft. I played at a wedding with our junior high school band over 40 years ago! Songs and performing has been a huge part of my life and I am so grateful. Hey – working on a couple new songs -onward..