Back at it#1

**ive been slow with this stuff but here is the latest and below some stuff from the past


July 13, 2009

So it’s been sometime now that I have sat down to record some of my adventures, travels, and stories. The last 2 tours that we (Propagandhi for those just arriving) have done have been in North America which means most of my daytime are stuck behind the wheel driving and then upon arrival at the venue I am then consumed with show related work.

It actually seems as of recently that the most time I have to write is actually in an airplane going from one destination to the next. So in normal fashion here I am high above the Atlantic on my way to Frankfurt, Germany to meet the other dudes for a 2 week (10 shows) run of Germany, Hungary, Austria, Netherlands, and France. The only place I have not been on this run is Budapest, Hungary so this I am pretty pumped about and looking at the map today in this airline magazine Budapest is definitely pretty east in Europe which rules.

Oh….they are bringing out the “special meals” which means its time to eat.

I must say that vegan airplane food honestly is really okay stuff and what makes it just a tad better is when the flight attendants bring you your food first. Sorry everyone but we just roll with the punches.


Before today’s flight I thought the airline to Frankfurt was going to be United and wondered how entertaining the entertainment system was going to be. Once I got my boarding pass I realized that the airline was Lufthansa and instantly thought “oh yeah” there is going to be some quality entertainment more so then United.

Wow was I wrong. No individual TV screens which means you are forced to watch (or not) the movie which the airline has chosen which is probably very family friendly. Oh well. Roll with those punches.

It’s pretty wild that I and 200 or so other people are here 35 000 ft in the air flying to another continent. Think about even 60 years ago and what technology offered then and what it offers now. Pretty wild stuff eh.

Last night I watched a documentary on the NFB website named Kahnasatake (spelling?) 270 Years of Resistance. The NFB website is unreal and you can actually watch 95% of the films they have released which is something else. So this documentary was about the Oka stand off which took place in July of 1990 outside of Montreal. The city of Oka had plans to construct a 9 hole golf course over ancient Mohawk burial grounds. In response to this the natives barricaded themselves in their land to fight for what was going to be taken. For the next 3 months there would be a heated standoff between the Mohawk warriors, the Quebec police (SQ), and eventually the Canadian army all over land in which was rightfully native land.
I remember as a child sitting in my downstairs TV room with my Dad watching this unfold on the news. At the time I was only about 10 so didn’t really understand what was happening until years later when I read a book named “the people of the pines” and also viewing a couple of NFB docu’s.



MAY 13, 2009

“Some say that our connection to Orca whales is deeper and goes back further then we could ever understand.” I am currently watching a documentary named “Saving Luna” on a flight from Montreal to Los Angeles.
Luna is a baby Orca that was born to a pod of whales known as the Southern Residents but soon after his birth became an orphan and found himself lost 200 km’s in Nootka Sound in the Vancouver Island Chain.
Orca’s are one of the most socialized creatures on the planet and need that socializing to survive.
The documentary follows 3 years of Luna’s life interacting with boats, people, dogs, and rubber toys in the water. Luna had no family so turned to humans for friendship and family. Throughout the story all humans had one objective in mind which was to keep Luna safe. Some of these groups wanted to offer a “tough love” approach and not pay attention to the whale at all. Another group (Department of Fisheries) wanted to net the whale, try to return him back to his pod, and if this didn’t work into capitivity. And another group (First Nations, Scientists, and just your regular Joe, and Jane) wanted to protect the whale through friendship, love, and companionship. Its such an amazing documentary showing the bond between this whale/ humans, the bureaucracy of governments, and the 3 years of life of this orphaned whale.
The story of Luna ends tragically when he is hit by a tug boats rotor and doesn’t survive.

A must see!!

This little thought and what I am currently watching isn’t going to win me many friends at the moment. Oh well!!!

I am now watching a Coldplay (whom I hope to see live one day) concert on this entertainment system on the plane as we currently are flying over the Grand Canyon.
A couple years ago I did a trip across the US with some of the Bouncing Souls where we were meeting the others on the West Coast. Kate, Matt, DJ, Dubs, and Myself found ourselves arriving and stopping at the Grand Canyon for sunrise and it was one of the coolest things ever. I had never been to the Grand Canyon before so what a better way to take it in all by ourselves, not a person in sight, watching the sunrise over this deeply carved out wonder.

So I am flying to Los Angeles to spend a couple days with my Dad who recently has decided to move back to the Vancouver after him and I moved there in 1992. He has currently hit a point in his life where he needs a change and I have to be in LA to pick up a van in a couple of days to drive to Dallas, TX for tour so it’s all worked out where I can hang out with Dad, and then head off to another tour.

The circus continues!! This next Propagandhi tour starts in Dallas, TX works its way west though Arizona, Nevada, and then up and down the coast of California. Yet again like any of the tours we have done, or are doing this one will certainly have its surprises and good times. Touring the west coast especially California to me is a pretty sweet thing due to it being the place I grew up from 12-22 yrs old and the amazing Mexican food that California has to offer.

May 18, 2009

So we (Philippe and I) have finally made it to Dallas, TX. 1450 miles which took a good 3 long hot dry days in the desert of south west US of A.

I landed in Los Angeles about 6 days ago and spent all my time with my father visiting and keeping him company before his move back to Canada. When it was time for my Dad to hit the sack I would meet up with my friends John, and John to catch up on our happenings, and hang out. Fun times.
John and I were going to go surfing one day but due to the flatness of the ocean and the chilliness we stayed out of the water. Hanging out in So Cal was definitely a lot of fun and nice to be back in the place I called home for a good 10 years of my life.

On Saturday my Dad drove me back into LA so I could pick up our tour vehicle, Philippe from the airport, a trailer, and our backline gear for this run. After we were packed up we searched out a Whole Foods- stocked up on some travel snacks and hit the road.

The first night we made it as far as Phoenix which was nice because it was all night driving. The temperature at 11PM was a full 95F/ 35 C so driving in this heat in the full on day would have been rough on us, and the van plus the temp would have even been higher. Nothing like driving down a highway, not to many cars around, windows down blowing in warm air, a sky full of stars, and music just blaring as we make our way eastward.

The next day we stopped off in Tucson, AZ for some good healthy eats at a place named Loving Spoonfuls which was a full vegan café/ restaurant. For breakfast I had myself a burrito stuffed with potatoes, soy chorizo, scrambled tofu, and beans. Yum. There is nothing like South Western Mexican food and this tour will definitely be top notch when it comes to such.
After eating I grabbed myself an Acai smoothie and continued on through the 104F/ 40C to Pesco, TX where we stayed last night.

Today we did the remainder of the drive to Dallas and are now just sitting here relaxing for the evening. Everyone else flies in tomorrow evening so Philippe and I will run some errands- picking up merch, checking into our Dallas hotel and then head to the airport to pick up the rest of the circus. Pumped!

June 5, 2009

Currently flying from Seattle where I had a layover from Vancouver, BC on my way to Washington DC to go camping with my buddy Helene.
The last couple weeks have been pretty busy with me not finding or setting aside some time to capture some thoughts, and adventures.
Tour ended about 5 days ago and went as well as most of them do.
We started in Dallas, TX for the first of tour, then made our way to Austin, TX for the Chaos in Tejas fest which we were part of with many other punk bands around this planet. Austin is a pretty cool city and with a fest as such you are always going to run into many people you actually know. The day we were there Ted (Leo) was in town playing which was cool because him and I hadn’t seen or talked to each other since the tour I did with him/ them (The Pharmacists). Ted was playing in Austin solo so this meant I wouldn’t get to see the others which was unfortunate but you take what you can get. He ended up coming to the venue where Propagandhi was playing and hung out with us for awhile before his set which was at the same time as Propagandhi but at a different venue. Oh well. The next morning we picked him up so we could all go out and grab a nice vegan brunch before we all went our own ways. The highlights in Austin were hanging out with Ted, and the show Propagandhi played to 700 wild, crazy kids pumped out of their minds.
Next we headed west into Arizona stopping off in Tucson, Phoenix for shows, and then onto Vegas for a show.
The Vegas show was pretty interesting. It was the show of the tour which we were all worried about due to venue changes, permit problems, and PA problems. The show happened which is all you can ask for but it happened after I personally, and some others in our circus actually got into a verbal argument/ conflict with the venue owner who was a total freak. Long story short the venue was basically just a room with 2 speakers and a sound board which could have been a childs toy. The owner claimed the PA was incredibly amazing even while right in front of him it was making the most horrific crackling noises. Oh well. You win some you loose some but it was pretty entertaining afterwards thinking about myself, and some others all having our own interactions/ conflicts with this venue owner.
After the show Todd, Chris, Ethan, and myself ventured over to the Stratosphere so we could ride the rides on top of it. Lets just say I had done one of these rides years ago but it was by far scarier this time and even at that time I told myself I would never do it again. Well I did and I am not sure why. Looking back on it, it was fun but some times certain things are just a little much especially while getting older. Haha. Old Fart I am.
Onto California we went where the show in SLO, San Diego were a little interesting however all the rest and over all California was amazing.

After the tour I headed to my fathers house in Oxnard, CA where I hopped in his car, he hopped in a U-haul truck and in 2 days we drove to Vancouver, BC.

I was in Vancouver for 1 full day before this current trip to Washington DC where this evening Helene, and I will head to the mountains of Virginia for 4 days of camping before I have to head to Pennsylvania to pick up a van/ trailer to drive to Minneapolis to start another leg with the dudes. Go go go.

Yesterday while my Dad and I were driving for some food in Chilliwack, BC I felt my Dad coming to a pretty abrupt stop. I looked ahead and just a couple of meters in front of us I see a mother duck with her 2 ducklings crossing a very busy 2 lane street. I quickly stuck my arm outside my window as far as I could to signal the other lane to stop which the car next to us did very quickly. Phew!! These ducks were naturally doing what they do by walking to a little swamp however they had to cross a man made obstruction (asphalt road) which almost cost them their lives. Totally crazy to come across, be apart of, and then think about. It was pretty amazing. The mother duck was definitely in front of her ducklings, leading the way, but also protecting them and she definitely seemed to be looking directly at traffic in a way of “Hey. STOP!!!” Fortunately my Dad, the people in the lane next to ours were paying attention and stopped or it would have been a fatal crossing and something that I would never want to witness or be apart of.

The Nature of Things?

June 12, 2009

On a train from Washington DC to Lancaster, PA rocking out to the REGULATIONS from thee almighty Sweden where I am heading to pick up a spaceship for Propagandhi’s next space mission here on planet Dearth. After I am suited up and inside this space craft I will then head westward towards Minneapolis, MN where everyone else arrives from Winnipeg for a 9 show tour of the mid-west and then 5 shows in Canada.

This next tour is an adventure I am super pumped on because it’s with some very close friends from Richmond, VA who like to STRIKE ANYWHERE with their rock. Pumped.
Years ago while touring with Strike Anyere I was fortunate enough to do a tour with them, and the Bouncing Souls (before I actually toured with the Souls) which at that time was something we were all so incredibly pumped on due to us being huge fans of the Souls. How rad? Here we are getting to tour with one of our favorite bands.
Fast-forward to today and the same thing holds true however on this run I am with Propagandhi who has Strike Anywhere out as support. Good times lay ahead.

On this tour we are going to have Substance/ Rainforest Action Network out with us on the whole run bringing attention to the tar sands in Alberta. An issue which hits home for me due to being “Alberta born, Prairie raised” and that environment in which I grew up in.
Grande Prairie, Alberta in the 1980’s was not a big place at all compared to where I have lived since. If my memory hole holds true it was a town of around 25000 people which main industries were forestry-lumber-logging/ and oil which is still the case today. Once you were outside of G.P. there was to the east the Prairies of Canada and to the West (1 hour) the beginning of the Rocky Mountains. I grew up in an outdoorsy type setting with forests, hills, mountains, lakes, rivers, streams, marshes, and wildlife. When not in school you could usually find me outside playing with friends, building forts, playing war, playing ice/ or street hockey, playing baseball, and just being outside as much as possible. During holidays my family and I would make the trek from Northern Alberta to South Western British Columbia to visit relatives. At the time there was Highway 40 which made the trip a couple of hours shorter however it was still a dirt road at the time which we would take for about 4 hours or so to the main highway. Driving through the mountains, forests, seeing moose, elk, deer, mountain goats, and bears will have an affect on you especially when you don’t see much of these creatures in these parts today.
It’s a scientific fact that the decline of wildlife in this part of the world is due to logging, and oil.
Alberta is now a major player in the world market due it being home to the 2nd biggest oil deposit in the world which is located in the tar sands and underneath the forests of the province. Seeing how our world has/ is approaching its peak oil production this means that the tar sands in Alberta will be the last thing lubricating the wheels of this earth.

The RAN/Substance people have named our tour “Freedom from Oil- Tar Sands Resistance Tour” which is pretty rad if you ask me. On this tour as all of our tours we will have plenty of organizations/ groups some of them being: speakers from Rainforest Action Network, Canada Haiti Action Network, Indigenous Resistance and support groups, Liberty over Violence, plus some Animal right groups. All in all many different groups but ultimately one cause I would say- enough of the bullshit.

Okay. So tonight is a big night in NHL. Game number 7 in the Stanley Cup finals will unfold between Detroit and Pittsburgh. I am not sure how much of the game I will get to watch due to driving to Minneapolis but I am hoping to catch some of it on the radio while driving through Pennsylvania and there is a good possibility that I’ll pull over to watch the game. My fingers are crossed that the Penguins take the game but they are up against the almighty wall known as Detroit.