My friend Jon Nordstrom just popped by. Jonny has played bass with the band for almost 8 years now. He lives in Calgary now but was up to go to an Oilers' hockey game.
He dropped off a small Christmas gift; an edited video documenting the making of our doomed record, "Rise & Fall". It was a record that was never released, due to several reasons, primarily being that my record label wasn't crazy about it, which was too bad because the band and I were very proud of it...
At any rate, Jonny edited together an hour long documentation of the process, including our 3 day drive up to the Yukon, where the recording took place.
It re-invigorated my love of that record. I've actually re-recorded a couple of the songs which will be included on my upcoming CD, due in the spring. I'll try to post a few snippets of the video on my website in the next week or so.

Ouch!

Last Sunday, I played two games of hockey back to back... It was awesome!
I'm in two leagues that both hold their games at the same arena, so I was able to just stay in my gear and go right back out on the ice...
The first team we played were very chippy. Considering this is a "no-contact" league, they were bumping and generally playing on the dirtier side... I finally told one guy in particular, who we had nicknamed, Elbows, to lighten up a little... Well maybe I didn't say it that politely, but the next thing I know, I'm in the corner trying to dig out the puck and along comes Elbows and he gives me a good shot in the ribs... well, I went down and in the process, my stick went up. I received a high sticking penalty, while Elbows skates away, no call, looking like he was doing the Chicken Dance or something, his elbows still high and stuck out...
Well, that was in the 1st of my two games and I didn't really notice until the 1st break of the 2nd game that my ribs were still pretty sore.
Well it's 3 days later and they don't feel any better and having had broken ribs before, I can pretty much say that I have at least, cracked ribs at the moment...
Not sure if I'll be playing this weekend or not...

Snow day / Channeling ghosts...

So the first snow of the year has finally arrived! I was sort of wary before it came, it was looming in the distance for too long! Despite the cold, it's kind of a relief that it finally arrived...
I really like cross-country skiing, I used to ski competitively when I was growing up in the Yukon. I'd go on tours of different race circuits and did quite well... I was 4th at the Canadian Junior Championships about a billion years ago!
At any rate, now that the snow has fallen, my brain is fairly preoccupied with getting out on the trails.
The album....
Well, it's coming along slowly but surely. I got my friend and the band's former keyboard player, Dave Aide to play Hammond organ on it in a very unconventional manner: Dave lives in Nashville now so I emailed him the songs I wanted him to play on, he recorded them in his apartment with his keyboard. He then sent me his tracks back and I ran them through a real Leslie speaker cabinet (a rotating speaker that gives an organ it's recognizable "warbling" sound), re-recording it into the computer...
It was funny to be listening to the organ through the Leslie, without Dave actually being there... It was almost like channeling a ghost or something.

Deets on the new record...

Yikes!
Hard to believe it's been over a month since my last posting!
But when I think of all the things I've been up to, it's obvious why it's been so long...
Since October, I've been to Nashville, showcased and was nominated at the Western Canadian Music Awards AND... Recorded a brand new record!
The band and I just finished recording my 4th album. Unlike last record which took over 3 years to finally complete, this one has been recorded in less than a year since the last one (In Transit) was released.
For the first time, I am producing the record on my own. This is a very exciting endeavour for me. I get to make the record that I really want to make. I've been producing several records for other artists along with my studio partner, Chris Wynters for the last 3-4 years and felt that it was definitely time to try my own material.
We rented a space and brought in a bunch of gear from my studio. The idea was to capture the band in a very live state. I was really looking to limit the amount of overdubs and record the band the way we sound live at a show. The production was also very "dry" sounding and by that, I mean that the use of reverb and delay are limited, consequently the songs sound like they are being performed in your living room. The band lent their skills as well and were really able to shine. The feel of the record is slightly more mellow than previous recordings. There are also a few departures song-wise; there are two songs that we did that are very much story driven. By that I mean that the lyrics are very much a narrative. We recorded one song, "Canadian Summer", with just one microphone. We all sat in a circle around the mic and played it completely acoustically, in a very stripped down, rootsy feel.
At any rate, I'm excited for the record to be mixed and ready to be released for the spring of '09.

Ahhh, Nashville!

So my trip here to Nashville is rapidly winding up.
I've been staying at the SOCAN Nashville House. It's a house that is graciously provided, free of charge to members of Socan, who successfully apply. This is an amazing tool to have at our disposal and my hat is off to both Socan and the house hosts, Lee Ann and Darrell Burgess.
This is a truly amazing town. Music is everywhere.
And if ever there were a great example of how lucrative a business the arts/music can be, it's here. And by no means does it mean that money usurps creativity. In fact if anything, they go hand in hand.
You can't help but feel inspired by the history of the place. The Ryman Auditorium (original home of the Grand Ol' Opry) is a beautiful old building. Brown's Diner is the great, seedy, greasy spoon where all the great writers through the town's history drank and commiserated.
There are plaques everywhere, each one explaining some historical event or another that took place in that spot.
I was lucky enough to be able to meet up with a friend who lives down here, Mike Plume.
Mike was just finishing up the polishing touches on his new record the first day I was in town and he was good enough to let me hang in the studio with he and his producer. I was even able to contribute a small, line change for Mike's tune "8:30 Newfoundland", a song you will all be hearing soon, as I'm sure it will be a hit.
The producer Mike was working with was a walking storybook. Brent Maher has worked with Elvis and Carl Perkins and pretty much every other successful musician Nashville has ever produced...
I managed to finish off 4 new songs and may still complete one more before I head home tomorrow.
We'll be starting to pre-produce the songs with the band as soon as I get home and we'll hit the studio shortly thereafter.

Great shows

Just got home after seeing two fantastic shows:
Andrea House and then Smashula. Complete dichotomies. But both excellent.
Unfortunately being able to see both meant leaving Andrea's early, which broke my heart because it was so beautiful.
Andrea and Smashula were both releasing their CDs. I strongly suggest you check them out.
I have a big show tomorrow with the band at the Haven Social Club. We're going to be recording the show for eventual release...
I have two shows on Saturday for the Arts on the Ave/Kalideo Festival and then on Sunday, I'm flying to Nashville to do some writing.
I'll be sure to keep you all posted...
J.M.

So if you count the Caribbean as a separate ocean (sea), then I have visited 3 in as many weeks...
First the Pacific for the Edge of the World Music Festival, then the Atlantic for my East Coast tour, which I'll get into later and now... The Caribbean where I am currently hanging out, pen and paper in hand working on tunes for the new record. Don't expect any steel drums...
Great cigars and the rum flows like water. Trust me, you get more hydrated from a bottle of rum here than you do from the tap water...
My east coast tour was a great success. Nick and I managed to finally be in Fredericton and actually have a gig, instead of a dead car. All the shows were excellent but what stood out were the people. Be that the family that let us crash at their house after our gig in Annapolis Royal or the great folks at the Union Street Cafe in Berwick who took us to a fantastic gathering/kitchen party after our set.
I managed to get a few songs written and recorded a demo of one.
Next week, when I get back, I'll start getting together with the band to run new material for our show at the Haven Social Club and for the new record.
Gotta go, time for a swim!