The True Adventures of The Key Frames

Duo-ing the Maritimes: March 16, 2013

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 22:45:00 GMT

Our trip to Plan B in Moncton was as much fun as you can pack into a Thursday night pretty much anywhere, though of course with Plan B, one would expect nothing less. After a day trip down to Peggy's Cove and around Halifax a bit, we bid that lovely city farewell and made the drive up in the evening. On the bill with us were two pretty awesome acts: Jessie Brown and The Stogies, the latter of whom are at CMW this week. Check out their rawkin' brand of rawk if you're into that sorta thing - some really nice, really talented fellas.

Without giving too much away, we left the next morning for the driving day we'd been approaching with some trepidation - a 10 hr trek to Montreal - with about two hours of sleep in the bag. Or, in Brian's case, the hammock. We fueled ourselves up with some greasy breakfast at Jean's and hit the road after a colourful encounter with some of the Moncton street life that you should make sure you ask BP about next time you see him.

And the drive was long. But the weather was good, and somehow our energy levels stayed fairly high and we had a lot of fun playing Le Cagibi last night with Nik and Trevor from Salton Sea. Also some very talented dudes (recommend!) It was a quiet night but it was at a great venue in one of the greatest cities, and we got to catch up with our pal Jon, who was kind enough to put us up.

Today it's off to Kingston to entertain some party guests and wrap this little adventure up. It sure has been a slice... going to be strange to reintegrate myself back into Toronto livin'. I'll try to throw down some final reflections when we get in.

Peace and love,

RW

Duo-ing the Maritimes: March 13, 2013

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:40:00 GMT

After leaving Cabano I drove all day down to Halifax, stopping in at Plan B, and then at the rather intoxicating Jean's Diner for lunch in Moncton. I got to wandering a bit and took some scenic routes with no real pressing need to hurry on. Until, that is, I looked up at the oil sticker and saw that the car was 4 months and about 3000 km overdue. Holy cow - you know who isn't cheap? This Mister "Lube" character. Thank me later, Mom and Dad.

I've been put up once again by the incomparable Pat & Kathy Higgins, who have been able to roll with my unheralded comings and goings into and out of their home after barely being settled from a 2 week old move, and without even having Ryan in tow to somehow justify my presence. They've been truly lovely hosts, and for that I'm grateful.

Met Brian at the airport Tuesday and we promptly flew out to St. John's to do our first show at CBTG's. The city, the sights and the people were all gorgeous to us and we had a fantastic time. I could go into more detail, but here's the long and short: the (awesome) bar got us tipsy, paid us well, our new buddies Bob and Tara put us up for the night, and we had lobster eggs benedict for breakfast. With a side of toutons. No, we DIDN'T eat again until after 7pm, thanks for asking. Yum.

Let's take a paus here to reflect on how, in that last paragraph, I mentioned we'd eaten lobster eggs benedict.

Thank you.

The flight back to Halifax was fun; we landed and went straight to the Folklore Centre downtown to meet David and Noah, who played with us at Gus's tonight, and then we got our cookies together for the gig. It was pouring down rain like you wouln't believe, and it was lightly attended to say the very least, but we had a great time and a great after-hours jam with Dangerous Dave, who we saw at the show - a recurring (relocated) character in this play, from the Saskatoon scene last August. Another great time.

Tomorrow: Plan B becomes Plan A, in Moncton town.

See some of you there. Peace and love,

RW

Duo-ing the Maritimes: March 10, 2013

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 07:20:00 GMT

So I'm on my way out solo to Halifax, to be joined by "Flyin" Brian on Tuesday (unexpected work schedule scotched our first set of plans) so we can kick off these five tour dates on our lil March Break duo jaunt. I've been looking forward to it a long time, and it's indeed great to be back out on the road. It's a lot of driving, and having to peel my own bananas, but it's been real fantastic so far. I was put up in Ottawa last night by my old pals Dave and Honnie and had a total blast there; Dave's one of my oldest buds, from the tobacco-rock days down in Delhi, and having not seen him in years it was a night full of belly laughs and characteristic hoot-laughing from both of us.

I like to think I have a pretty good memory of days gone by, but I was glad to be reminded of my childhood obsession with the following lyrical passage: "Dead skunk in the middle of the road, stinkin' to high high heaven!" I had no recollection of this, and I'm glad to be reconnected to this vital part of my past. Thanks Davey!

Plus, we got to sample some of what will soon become the niche food of Ottawa (mark my words!), in the way that smoked meat and donairs have been immortalized by Montreal and Halifax, respectively. The delectable delicacy? Gravy pizza, people. Gravy. On pizza. LOOK INTO IT. I was skeptical too, but the scales have fallen from my eyes.... and into my arteries.

Tonight I'm in Cabano holed up in an empty hostel. Less gravy tonight. But time to write this. See ya in Halifax.

-RW

The Making of Northwestern, part 12: Dovercourt Sunset

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:36:37 GMT

BP and I did our best to avoid the nasty traffic snarls on the 400 coming into TO mid-afternoon on Labour Day, though it was futile for the most part. A tough drive, and a bittersweet one, from the Sault this morning where we camped again for our last night out at the gorgeous Bell's Point Beach. Bittersweet because, of course, it`s a shame to have to bid farewell to the last three amazing weeks of seeing our country, playing our music, and singlehandedly sending some family member of (Tim Hortons' CEO) Ron Joyce to a fantastic college.

Our last show, at The Apollo in Thunder Bay on Saturday night, was a wonderful, homey affair and I really spent some time onstage stepping back from the performance (when possible) and observing how far Brian and I have come in our playing and singing over the course of the tour. I'm glad that particular trend was going in the right direction.

Coming back into my neighbourhood had a touch of the surreal after being gone for so long, and for having so much of this country packed into my brain with a shoehorn in such a short period of time. I unpacked; I showered; I frantically checked my work email to make sure I'm good to go teach tomorrow. I moved a lot slower than I thought I would - there's a lot to consider and a lot to digest about the last few weeks, and weirdly, I don't have to mentally prepare myself for an 8-10 hour drive tomorrow, which I'm now completely conditioned to do. I'm not sure Ossington to Davisville station will be quite as dramatic.

The tour made enough money to pay for 14,000 km of gas, almost to the dollar. Pretty incredible. It paid for nothing else. Hah. But it bought us something amazing too.

Of course.

Worth a few songs, at the very least. Worth being considered some of the most memorable weeks of my life, at the most. Thanks for reading my half-conscious car and hotel room ruminations. Happy Labour Day and all the best. We'll see ya when we see ya.

Peace and love,

RW

The Making of Northwestern, part 11: Prairiedise Lost, Prairiedise Regained

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 06:04:37 GMT

Brian and I are driving through northwestern Ontario on our way to the last gig of the tour tonight in Thunder Bay, at the venerable Apollo. We were late getting started this morning out of Winnipeg, and we’re gaining an hour due to the change back to Eastern time, which also isn’t helping our lateness.

Winnipeg was an unfortunate situation yesterday because we drove for nine boring, flat hours to get there on time, only to find that there had been some kind of misunderstanding and we were being shoehorned on to someone else’s double-booked bill (a la Calgary). All we were offered was 15 minutes of stage time, so we decided we’d rather stay out of their way and just eat the night at the Holiday Inn instead.

That was fine enough though, because the previous night in Saskatoon was probably the highlight of the entire tour thus far; we rolled in to CFCR 90.5 FM to do a community radio spot at 5:30, which was completely fun, and we played a few songs on air. Our friends Amy and JD were once again on board to point us in the right direction to Lydia’s afterward, where Amy was celebrating her birthday a few days early that night to help get people out to the gig. What a sweetheart! She even made us lunches for the car trip the following day. Amy, we the Key Frames hereby honour you in print – you’re the best!

The show was completely awesome, completely full of appreciative, cheering, merch-ravenous Saskatooners, and our playing and singing really seemed to rise to the occasion. As far as I’m concerned, Saskatoon might as well be dubbed Canada’s western Capital Du Rock.

So here we go for showtime at the Apollo. Gonna be fun to catch up with Sheila and Tina.

Peace and love,
RW

The Making of Northwestern, part 10: The Golden-Calgary STEAKFU

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 06:59:40 GMT

We left Vancouver ridin' high with just a slight twist of wist at the fact we're now on the homeward leg, and about to wrap this crazy adventure up in a few days. Our plan was to make it to Banff, but we crashed in the gorgeous town of Golden at a cool hostel full of board games and some of the best pizza I've had on this trip. Which is... some.

Yesterday we made it into Calgary where, coincidentally, my Mom and my sister were holed up, slumming it at the Sheraton. They were gracious enough to put us up for the night. When we arrived at Broken City for our gig it turned out that the other bands had had to pull out of the bill due to family emergencies, which was alarming; we were under the impression that the show was canceled until Lindsay "Awesome" Shedden, the booker there, let us know she was able to smuggle us on to the front end of a gig down at The Ship & Anchor.

Turned out we liked the Ship a whole lot, and they liked us right back. We did 20 hot raucous minutes to get the night started and had a pretty great time. A lot of friendly faces, even if the MC played up our Toronto status, referring to us as the heads of the Dion Phaneuf fan club. Dangerous in Cowtown!

After the show I took my Mom and sister to Caesars steakhouse, which was sublime - and with decor straight from Ron Burgundy's living room, to boot! Real classy, with a 12 ounce New York striploin sat right on top.

Drove to Saskatoon today and we hit the stage here at Lydia's in a couple hours, celebrating my pal Amy's birthday - it promises to be rip roaring! Snake farm.

Peace and love,

RW

The Making of Northwestern, part 9: Slamcouver

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 09:39:28 GMT

We thought we had BC Ferries figured out but they threw us for a loop on Sunday, and we were a bit late getting to our gig at the Railway Club. Or so we thought. But as it turns out we were still the first band there, and after getting set up, we got settled in to a super fun show in front of some very appreciative local Railwayers (thanks Christy! thanks Johnny! thanks Gord! thanks Trigger!) and many more friends than we expected to see. Some of those friends came a surprisingly long way, and it was awesome to see so many familiar faces so far from home.

We got to camp out in the basement of my good pal/roommate Mike's parents' place near Kitsilano, and they were wonderful hosts - after a much needed recharge and exploration day around Van on Monday, including trips to Wreck Beach, Stanley Park, and sundry cafes, restaurants and bars, we got a good night's sleep and hit the road back eastward for leg #3 of our lil' journey.

It was smooth sailing along the Trans-Canada till after Revelstoke and it suddenly got real rainy and real dark in a hurry so we're holed up for the night in a pretty cool hostel in Golden - tomorrow, Banff and Calgary! And Broken City! Look out, Broken City.

Peace and love,

RW

The Making of Northwestern, part 8: Longevity John and the Duncxperience

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 06:28:49 GMT

So this gig that Brian and I picked up at the last minute on Vancouver Island was in the Cowichan Valley in the town of Duncan. We got to Victoria off the ferry in the late afternoon and tried to catch up with my bud Mike Martin of Bells & Cannons at the place he works at; no dice - couldn't find him. So off we went to make the gig in Duncan.

When we arrived, after a pretty gorgeous drive up Highway 1 on the Island, we met Mary Egan and her band, who we were opening for, and the man himself: owner/spiritual guide of the Duncan Garage Showroom: Longevity (Long) John. He was tall, he was soft-spoken, he was a bit gruff, he warmed up to us, he was very very knowledgeable about sound. The Garage Showroom was one of the best sounding stages we've ever played. The crowd was lovely and attentive, and we had a great deal of fun playing what felt at times like a family bbq held indoors.

Our pal Katya from the Only in Toronto, along with her Nanaimo-dwelling friend Alex, showed up and completely floored us - the last thing we were expecting was to meet up with anyone we knew, so that was an amazing surprise. We proceeded to all have a very Vancouver Island experience (to choose my words carefully) and, next thing we knew, it was today. Fancy that.

After an awesome brunch in downtown Vic with bud Mike, here Brian and I are on the boat back to Van for our show at the Railway tonight. Turns out the BC coast is uh... kind of gorgeous.

Peace and love,

RW

The Making of Northwestern, part 7: Winding Through BC

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 09:01:09 GMT

We've spent a couple nights on our way down into the BC interior, and tomorrow we hit the Pacific. In July when we went east with the full outfit, I was careful to find at least one opportunity to dip a toe in the Atlantic, and you can be sure I'll be completing the set tomorrow when we reach Vancouver Island for our last-minute show in Duncan.

The drive down through the bottom of the Yukon and the top of BC was many things: long, gorgeous, harrowing, wet, wetter. We caved last night and sprang for a cheap hotel in Prince George - a hotbed of discount liquor, 6 packs of Pilsener and old cartoons. Much needed after the soaking wet, if astonishing, stay in the Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park campground the night before. Surrounded by mountains and about 100 km east of the border with the Alaska panhandle, we got a campfire together, had dinner and played songs around the fire until bedtime. It was a great recharge; very serene. Until it started raining in the middle of the night. That didn't stop, so we were on the drenched side by the time we struck camp and got it into the car the next morning.

It was all good though - we had a wild drive down the Stewart-Cassiar highway, which only recently was made safe for non-lumber-trucks, and that trip paid for itself in gorgeous vistas and Jade Cities.

Ran into the ladies from Miss Quincy, who we played with in Winnipeg, in the Pr. George Tim's this morning - that was a crazy coincidence. Now it's a beautiful evening here in Kamloops and we're about to hit the stage at The Art We Are. Should be a good show - I'll fill ya in later.

Peace and love,

RW

The Making of Northwestern, part 6: In which Brian and Rob Reach and Experience Dawson City

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 05:40:57 GMT

The Klondike highway from Whitehorse to Dawson has a few moments but isn’t really as scenic as the Alaska highway had been for us the couple days previous. I recall feeling a bit wistful that we were nearing the end of our crooked line to the top; there would still be new territory to explore afterward but this was our tour at its utmost reach.

We pulled into a tiny town smaller than Delhi, where I grew up. Wide, unpaved, hard sandy streets; western façade storefronts and hand-painted signs. Plank stage sidewalks, straight from an old western. I was filled with skepticism and trepidation we’d ventured 6000 kilometres into a tacky tourist trap, but excited nonetheless. When we got to the Midnight Sun Hotel, where our gigs were, the free and/or cheap drinks started flowing, the smiles got wide, the music got great, and everything started to get pretty exhilarating.

I heard Dawson referred to as a “Vegas of the north” and there’s something to that claim, but it’s also not quite right either. On its surface, Dawson does have a Sin City vibe to it; if you want to get into some trouble, whore around, live on the cheap unemployed for a few months and take as much work as you need when you need it, you can do those things. But unlike Vegas, this isn’t a place where you simply bring in a few grand to drop and have yourself a time of it – it’s not quite that American, you see.

Before (very shortly before) Dawson became a Sin City a century ago, it had a base industry of gold mining that led to its later boom and bust; also unlike Vegas, that industry and the service work associated with it, are still the foundation of the town’s raison d’etre. For the couple mornings we were there I had breakfast with a book and coffee at the Triple J Hotel and it was pretty wild to just listen to the old-timers in there shooting the breeze about their prospects and projects and mining crews, and their stories of boom times gone by.

The single best word I think I’d use to describe it is freewheeling. And freewheeling without falling into an attachment with any particular scene, even though there are certainly crowds of dumb young guys, camping addicts, dreadlocked hippies and foreign tourists of all descriptions wandering around. You really can do what you want, more than any place I’ve ever been maybe. I certainly got a taste of what hooks people the way Dawson does.

And the shows were fun too.

Driving down into BC now – it’s raining and I’m not sure we can handle the maybe-terrible highway we were planning to take. I’ll let you know later on.

Peace and love,

RW

The Making of Northwestern, part 5: From Edmonton to Whitehorse

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:52:59 GMT

I have a bad habit of Google Maps bravado that has manifested itself from time to time in the past. I blame my father for this prideful attitude. How it works, essentially, is Google maps tells you how long it’ll take to get somewhere, and you just shave a few hours off. Basically for no reason other than you’re awesome at driving places, and only the non-awesome suckers on that road would ever take so long.

I had an episode of this disorder affect me a few months ago as I was sitting at my computer planning this trip Brian and I are on, but didn’t realize its severity at the time – yesterday my bitter seeds bore their terrible fruit. Around hour 13 in the car, with the sun setting over the Alaska Highway, the elk and deer beginning to come down to the streams and rivers to drink (as well as endanger our already challenged windshield), and the scenery providing a breathtaking backdrop, I realized every attack of Google Maps bravado has its silver lining.

At 8 in the morning we’d left the Glowing Embers campground just west of Edmonton after a fun if lightly attended soiree at the awesome Haven Social Club the prior evening with Sarah Jane Scouten and her sister Anna. We reached Grande Prairie sometime around lunch, Fort Nelson, BC sometime after dinner, and the Northern Rockies Lodge sometime around 9:30 pm after the most completely insane, but also completely gorgeous and rewarding drive of the trip so far.

Now we’re on the equally astonishing stretch of the Alaska Highway between Watson Lake and Whitehorse after a dip in a natural hot spring in northern BC, and then crossing into the Yukon earlier this morning. So great. Talk at ya soon.

Peace and love,

RW

The Making of Northwestern, part 4: Saskatoon Chills, Edmonton Heat

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 09:20:00 GMT

Brian and I didn't have a gig in Saskatoon last night so we had the great pleasure of just playing in the living room of our friends and incredibly gracious hosts, Amy and JD. I didn't realize how badly I needed a night like that until it happened to us. We arrived around dinner time and Amy had been working all day on an incredible spread of cabbage rolls, pierogies and homemade sausage. It was Ukrainially delicious, and after a few drinks and the arrival of a few friends, a so-much-fun living room jam was in full force.

After another giant breakfast spread and some laundry this morning we hit the road for Edmonton - after stopping off to play a few more songs for what's quickly becoming a project of playing in front of giant roadside attractions (you'll see the results when BP puts em up in a day or two, hopefully). We made it into town, set up camp at an incredibly sketchy place on the edge of town, and made it here for the gig with the lovely and talented Sarah Jane Scouten and her sister Anna. We listened to them rehearse gorgeous folk music while eating Cajun sandwiches and gumbo from the Creole place upstairs. Pretty great.

I hope we sing good. Insane drive to halfway-to-Whitehorse tomorrow. If I get eaten by a bear or an errant sheep sends us careening off a mountain pass with no guardrails, it was nice knowing ya. If I don't - talk to ya when we get to the Yukon!

Peace and love,

RW

The Making of Northwestern, part 3: Shreddies in Winnipeg

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:21:44 GMT

I just woke up and ate a complimentary bowl of Shreddies from a friend of a friend of a guy we played with in Thunder Bay - a guy who had absolutely no reason to even let us in his front door, let alone offer us his couches, food from the cupboard and beer from the fridge. It's amazing what can happen when you don't plan ahead in a remotely responsible manner - but it's also amazing just how kind and welcoming a total stranger can be. To our host, Leith: thank you!

We had a show at the amazing Park Theatre with the very-talented Miss Quincy last night - it was quite an experience. A huge stage, very very kind and cool owner. Brian and I both felt we played and sang well, although we are going to have to start changing a few things up to put a show across that makes sense coming from two guitarists, rather than trying to play the same show the whole band would do. When you're in a cavernous theatre so dark you can't see people's reactions, and you notice that there are huge gaps in a song because that's where Ryan or Theo or Dan does his riff or fill or roll or etc... you will have yourself a memorable moment!

The sound is a lot more exposed, but we've got some ideas on how to make the show a bit more suitable for the duo setup we're touring with. Another idea: harmony singing in the car for the next nine hours to Saskatoon.

Peace and love,

RW

The Making of Northwestern, part 2: Showtime at The Apollo (part 1)

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 11:49:21 GMT

To any of you who haven’t taken in the drive between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay, let me assure you that it comes highly recommended from Brian and I – some incredible views. I’m writing this between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg, and so far it’s not quite measuring up to that standard, though I suppose it’s no slouch.

So let me get my low light out of the way first: like a chump, I got nailed at 26 k over the limit by a cop in Terrace Bay after we picked up some groceries for the road. I blame the utter excitement of a new bag of cherries.

The high light brings us to the friendly, music-appreciating crowds in the city of Thunder Bay, particularly the nigh-legendary Apollo with their gracious hosts Sheila, Tina and Alex. Ask any Canadian musician who’s traveled west and stayed there, and the universal praise will be the same from all of them, and last night we got to find out why. So fantastic – can’t wait to grace the stage again on the first of septembre.

An honourable mention for the high light goes to the yellow lane merge sign on Hwy 17 upon which some poet had used black electrical tape to alter the symbol so it said “SHITS”.

Peace and love,

RW

The Making of Northwestern, part 1

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 08:01:51 GMT

I decided since there's only two of us on this leg of the tour, I'd try and keep a blog going too to preserve the historical credibility of verifiable facts. Whose truth will win out, you ask? Stay tuned to find out. Plus hilarious shit happens all the time that makes me think of my friends.

I'll probably keep em short and sweet though. Here's a fun and suitable format: Low Lights, High Lights.

Low lights - leaving late, insane drivers almost causing shit to go down on Ontario's highways, not having time to go all the way up to Webster family legend Lake Matinenda.

High lights - "Just Lubes" on Hwy. 69, beautiful scenery, acoustic sesh with BP at the Big Nickel in Sudbury before lunch (which Brian will probably have footage of later either here or on his site), WiFi campground in Sault Ste. Marie. Radical.

Peace and love

RW

Pepperidge Farm (and RW) Remembers

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 02:48:07 GMT

So while we were on the road last week, out to the Maritimes and back, Brian and Higgins did most of the web posting for the band (a lot of it can be found either on our FB page or on brianpassmore.com - check it out!). This is largely due to their adoption of "cellular" telephone technology sometime around the dawn of the 21st century. While of course I just gazed moodily out of the van window, wondering how my typewriter was holding up back in the trailer. So I've decided to write my lil retrospective here, in the only place I know how. What really struck me about the tour was how the album title 'Low Light High Light' (which we initially selected on the flimsiest of criteria, by the way) kept coming to the fore again and again. In any number of ways, this tour was a much bigger success than the one we did for 'Out On The Point' last summer - our accommodation was covered the whole way through. We were well in the black. It got a bit more media attention. Many of the gigs were much better-received, especially the ones we cared most about, and there was a certain level of professionalism I think we all felt that wasn't there in 2011. The high lights felt higher. We were higher generally. We played in higher places. And yet there are the low lights. Self-promoting musicians don't usually like to zero in on them because it makes them sound complainy, and there's some risk that people will run screaming from your web content if you ever dare show two sides to a story. But I'm not complaining. Because I recognize what the low lights are for, and why we need them to keep creating and doing what we do. Speaking strictly for myself, I feel like I reached some lower lows on this tour. In kind of the best possible way, as it turns out. Our second night, in Quebec City, I completely lost my voice and discovered I had a nasty case of tonsilitis, which I used to get as a kid routinely but haven't had in about ten years. It didn't really clear up for the entire trip, which simply ruined a lot of my performances. This was, as you might guess, terribly frustrating, given that I sing either lead or backup on almost every Key Frames song, and really wanted to give my best to crowds in towns we're able to get to so seldom. Misrepresenting our music even that much, after all the effort and time we put into setting up this tour, really fucked with me. Some bizarre feedback triangle of depression, a temporarily rekindled smoking habit, and further ensuing throat damage, was no solution. There was also that old familiar feeling of watching three people with their feet up in a cavernous club yawn their way through a set of music you're putting every last drop of your heart and soul into. I'm sure there's a special place of dread in the heart of any indie musician who's experienced that (which is all of us, at some point). Despite being on the road with four of my best friends, the moments of profound loneliness can surprise you with how deep-down they can reach. It's an old cliche that traveling musicians are constantly on the prowl, but there's more to that than I realized. Salving those feelings of disconnection can become, for some people, an almost compulsive thing. But what you get isn't what you were really after - it's like making a mojito with the finest Cuban rum and three packets of Splenda. But as I said, the low lights are FOR something. High grabs your ear, but low compels you and brings you back. High is clickbait at work, but low is taking three or four songs undercover in the middle of the night when you're stuck awake trying to figure things out. High is playing the song and hearing people clap when it's done; low is the seed for the next you're going to write. The tour was great. Completely great. Because high and low alike, of course, it's all great. I eat them both. We'll see how it goes when BP and I head west in a couple weeks - stay tuned. Peace and love, RW

Wed July 11: Montreal tour kickoff w/ Jimmyriggers at Petit Campus

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 08:07:36 GMT

So in a little over a week we're going to be playing the first night of our Eastern Canada tour for "Low Light High Light", and listen: we're getting pretty randy about how this show is turning out. First, we're playing it with a band we met in April that have become fast friends of ours, The Jimmyriggers; if you haven't checked their stuff out, you seriously need to. It's melodic, it's well-written, it's well-sung - it's what you want. In fact, go listen. Then come back and read the rest. Seriously. I'll wait until you're back. Go. OK. Secondly, when we were putting the show together they suggested the idea of donating a portion of the proceeds to a great Montreal charity called Head and Hands, which after researching for just a few minutes, we discovered was well worth supporting. They focus on physical and mental health for young people, providing services for them, etc. Very cool. So we're thrilled to be able to do some good things with this show, not the least of which is to share a stage with our friends again, and bring what we've quite modestly dubbed "The Champagne of Canadian Roots-Rock" to our pals and supporters in La Belle Province. So mark down Wed. the 11th in your calendars at Petit Campus - 57 Prince Arthur E. Hope to see you there! -RW

Last TO show this Thurs. in The Junction before this here tour

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 10:45:30 GMT

A big heads-up to all that our upcoming Toronto show at the new-and-awesome 3030 Dundas W (this Thursday at 9pm with Sweden's "Almost A Band") will probably be the last chance you Hogtowners have to catch us here amongst the flannel masses before September or so.

That's because we're going to be gone tourin' for most of July and August - holy smokes! Check out the dates for our "Low Light High Light" Eastern Canada 2012 tour:

Wed. Jul. 11 - Petit Campus - Montreal, QC (w/ The Jimmyriggers)
Thu. Jul. 12 - Le Fou Bar - Quebec, QC (w/ Rat Lemon)
Fri. Jul. 13 - Cafe d'la Vieille Forge - Edmunston, NB
Sat. Jul. 14 - Obsolete Records - Halifax, NS (matinee, 4pm)
Sat. Jul. 14 - Rockbottom Brew Pub - Halifax, NS
Sun. Jul. 15 - Centennial Park - Port Elgin, NB (matinee, 3pm)
Sun. Jul. 15 - Baba's Lounge - Charlottetown, PE (w/ Old Stone Station)
Mon. Jul. 16 - Plan B Lounge - Moncton, NB
Tues. Jul. 17 - Brasserie Lafontaine - Riviere-du-loup, QC
Wed. Jul. 18 - Le Zaricot - Saint-Hyacinthe, QC
Thu. Jul. 19 - The Mansion - Kingston, ON

Hope to see you on one of life's (and Eastern Canada's) many stages, folks. And stay tuned for news on our westward (and northward!) August adventures.

Peace and love,

RW

The m-m-master would not approve...

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 05:55:00 GMT

Low Light High Light continues to inch ever closer to your ears. Tonight I dropped off the final mixes for our new eleven-track dawling at the mastering studio, and it looks like we're going to be ready to preview it for you within a week or two. It's truly something to behold; for that, we have to thank/offer burnt sacrifices to Don Pyle and Josh Finlayson for all they've done to help us get the little fella to this point.

We celebrate with the unveiling of its cover. Behold!

Stay tuned for our official tour announcements for this summer as well. It's gonna be a straight-up lulu.

Peace and love,

RW

Mixin' & Titlin'

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 06:35:00 GMT

Don and Josh are currently (well... "currently") sequestered away in a West Toronto attic putting together the mixes for our second disc, and it's going to be called Low Light High Light. Going to be in your ear by June or so, by the looks of things. Theo's working on the album art too - going to post it as soon as it's ready.

In the meantime, a present! Check out this brand new video of us doing "The Hit Plays You" (from ze new deesc) at Gladstone last month - thanks to Mike and the crew down at gottaBscene for putting it together.

www.youtube.com/watch

I've also got to tell you about this recording session we did in February, because honestly, after the drawn-out process of doing Out On The Point it was like getting struck by musical lightning. Times five.

Browse through our old blog posts sometime and you may find yourself chuckling light-heartedly about how every six months for three years I was like "First Key Frames album - just around the corner, kids!" and then inevitably, radio silence.

Not this time out, Chet! We were in Blue Rodeo's studio out on the Danforth over Family Day for three days. Had the whole band playing live (as opposed to one piece after another) - very much a "capture the moment" kind of session, with Josh from Skydiggers producing, and keeping us on an even keel. The result: we got ELEVEN tracks in the can in that three-day time-frame. We were pretty well-practiced, but shit... it still strikes me as nuts-ola that we pulled it off. A little tambourine/shaker/etc added in, and we were away to the races. (Of mixing?)

The tracks we put down, in no particular order:

Way To Love (Rob)
National Keyframe Rag (Theo)
Bootlegger (Rob)
Midday Sun (Ryan)
The Hit Plays You (Ryan)
Sorted Out (Rob)
You've Been On My Mind (Rob)
Wanna Be Rain (Ryan)
You're His Baby Now (Rob)
Yer Spell (Ryan)
In The Mirror (Rob)

We're all pretty fired up to get this to you (even Schwartzy, for shitssake).

It's a different kind of disc than OOTP (in the best possible way) and we're pretty positive you're going to like it plenty (in the baaaaad way). Keep an eye peeled - I've got a crazy idea rattling around in my head about how we might be able to get you a sneak preview (all for yourself!) when we start getting a couple of rough mixes back from Don. We know you're way too cool to Chinese Democracy our asses.

Peace and love, buds.

-RW