Well, that may have just been the fastest four weeks of my life. My first ever Eastern Canada tour is complete! What do I have to show for it? A semi-awesome-tour-beard. Give it another week or two and I can drop the "semi" from that statement, and, for the grammar nazis out there, swap out the “A” for an “An”. 

I've been absolutely blown away by how beautiful this part of the country is, and I feel the same way about the friendliness of the people out this way. East coast hospitality is a real thing, and I've experienced it to the fullest. A giant high-five to anyone who came out to a show, bought a demo, signed the mailing list, put a roof over my head, acted as my personal tour guide, fed me, fed me, and fed me. You are all best kind! I'll be back soon, and I can't wait.

After finishing off the last "official" show of my tour at the Ship in St.John's, Newfoundland, I spent a few days visiting family before embarking on my journey home. We hiked the Signal Hill trail, ventured out to Cape Spear, explored the ruins at Fort Amherst, and I even got to eat a Newfoundland delicacy: Cod Tongues. Because I still had a few train shows to play, I wouldn't be flying straight home from Newfoundland as what might have been a more logical, but equally less adventurous thing to do. 

I boarded my flight bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia yesterday morning at 07:15 NDT. After crossing a time zone, I touched down in Halifax and had the chance to partake in some of Cow's world famous ice cream before boarding my train home. I played my last train show of the tour on the tracks somewhere between Truro and Amherst, Nova Scotia. This morning I woke up in the EDT time zone, and transferred trains in Montreal. Aside from that 50-minute transfer, I've been on a train for the past 24 hours, and I still have another 5.5 to go. I've had Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues stuck in my head the whole time.

So what's next? 

Well, once in Toronto, I’ll be bussing straight to Waterloo where I’ll be playing at Overflow 2012 this weekend. My set is at 1:30pm on Saturday as part of the artist showcase. If you’re attending the conference, don’t miss it!

Tuesday, May 22^nd, marks the start of a slew of Southern Ontario shows I’ll be playing with Beth Moore. 

May 22 - The Painted Lady, Toronto, ON
9pm  $5/PWYC

 May 23 - The Spill, Peterborough, ON
w/ Three Little Birds
9pm  $5/PWYC

 May 24 - The Brownstone Cafe, Orillia, ON
9pm  $5/PWYC

 May 25 - Monsoon Lounge, Barrie, ON
9pm No Cover

 May 26 - Van Gogh's Ear, Guelph, ON
930pm No Cover

 May 29 - Avant-Garde Bar, Ottawa, ON 
9pm $5/PWYC

I also just recieved word this morning that I'll be playing S.C.E.N.E Music Festival again this year in St.Catharine's! I'll be sure to keep you posted on that. 

Tomorrow I will be playing the last "official" show of my Eastern Canada Tour. Its been an incredible four weeks, and I'll be sure to post a more detailed blog summarizing my adventures here on the rock. After tomorrow I will be spending a couple days visiting family here in St.John's before flying out Thursday morning to Halifax, catching my train bound for Toronto, and playing a few sets on the train along the way. The purpose of this post is to announce the tour dates I will be playing with my very talented friend, Beth Moore, upon arriving back in Ontario.

May 22 - The Painted Lady, Toronto, ON
9pm  $5/PWYC

May 23 - The Spill, Peterborough, ON
w/ Three Little Birds
9pm  $5/PWYC

May 24 - The Brownstone Cafe, Orillia, ON
9pm  $5/PWYC

May 25 - Monsoon Lounge, Barrie, ON
9pm No Cover

May 26 - Van Gogh's Ear, Guelph, ON
930pm No Cover

May 29 - Avant-Garde Bar, Ottawa, ON 
9pm $5/PWYC

For more information, be sure to check out the facebook event page for the tour by clicking here

Hope you can make it out!


 

Hows ya gettin' on b'ys? Heres a quick update from the Rock:

I touched down at St.John's International Airport at 12:15 NDT yesterday afternoon. It's great to be back! I was greeted at the airport by some of the Vaters clan (my mother's side of the family), and spent the day catching up on some sleep before my show the same night. I played at the Bull and Barrel and didn't start until 12:30am! Talk about a late show. Apparently that's the way things go around here - it was great time though! I played with the extremely talented Jerry Stamp and he'll also be joining me tomorrow night at the Rose and Thistle along with Matthew Hare.

This morning I had my first ever CBC radio interview! Pretty exciting stuff huh? It was pre-recorded for Mack Furlong's show, the Weekend Arts Magazine, and is set to air Saturday and Sunday morning somewhere between 7 and 9am NDT. Hopefully I can find it in myself to get up early and tune in. After the interview I was picked up by some Newfoundlander friends and carted around being introduced to everyone as a "CFA" (Come From Away). If the camera hung around my neck didn't make it obvious enough, my lack of understanding when it comes to Newfie-slang certainly did. Don't worry though, I've been picking it up pretty quick - best kind! We went to Signal Hill, took a tour of the Quidi Vidi Brewing Company located in Quidi Vidi village (pronounced "Kiddy Viddy"), and afterwards made our way out to the mouth of Cuckhold's Cove to see the iceberg that has been the talk of the town as of late - the ice berg was definitely the highlight of the day. I'm really looking forward to the next few days I have here! 

Be sure to the check out both parts of the interview I did with St.John's online magazine, The Scope: PART 1   PART 2