Rockwater Magic

We made it our personal mission to make the contractors in Golden, BC our stoke slaves. And stoke we did accomplish. Thank you Ryan at the Rockwater for being a wonderful host, and thank you magician James for reminding me that magic is real.....I mean REALLY real. I mean this guy made water disappear over Sage's head. I am actually sure that Sage will find it someday just floating around in magic behind her ears or something.

Don't break his pen though. He'll cut you in half with magic.

Shred Kelly, Ben Hur, and Home

It's the weekend again and that means its time to play music. Tonight its Shred Kelly at the Pub for a three hour epic and Saturday its Ben Hur at the Central as part of Banned Fest. If you don't know, Ben Hur is the epic rock outfit that our Mandolin/Guitar player Jeremy leads, and I am the drummer. There is also Ian Bolzenius on guitar. The three of us have afros. In fact, if it were not for our famale bassist Alana, we'd look like Jonas Brothers........except less Jonas Brother.....and more......awesome.......

Monday its home for the holidays before returning to the Kootenay's for a week of carnage like no other. Starting with New Years Eve in Panorama, we ring in 2011 with foot stomping greatness, followed four days later by a show at the pub for the Kokanee Ryde or Die Party, only to wake up the next day to play the Freeskiing World Tour in Revelstoke, only to wake up the next day to play the Royal on Baker in Nelson, BC, only to wake up the next day to play the Kaslo Hotel. My god man! We might actually spontaneously combust from stoke.

Ben Hur.....

um.................whoops

The holidays are upon us and "Hark the Harold Angels Sing", let the rum and egg nog flow like golden boozy lava. And while we get together with loved ones this holiday season, we reminisce of simple times. The good times! Times when social status was based on who could finish Super Mario Bros 3, and your best friend was an E.T. doll who lit your bedroom carpet on fire with a cigarette lighter.......

Am I right?

I mean....everyone did that right??.....E.T.?...............Fire?

Anyways,

There I was about a month ago, booking plane tickets home to Toronto for Christmas. I got my tickets booked with a credit card online and all was good. Aside from hearing about Ontario snow drifts that eat people alive, I was in great spirits. However, two days ago my parents checked my flight itinerary online and well, turns out, instead of booking Calgary to Toronto on December 20th, I had actually booked Toronto to Calgary on December 20th instead. That's right folks. I got the destinations backwards.

And so here is a drink to my Mom and my Dad for finding my mistake via email. You both deserve a stiff drink after realizing that your youngest son is, well......special. And before you think this turns into some "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" storyline, you are wrong because a lovely Westjet representative named Sara was very understanding to my pleas of stupidity and gave me a very good stupidity rate.

And no Dad....to answer your question via email, I am not on elicit drugs.

Here is a clip of what could have ensued had my father not noticed my fatal mistake in airline booking.

Shred Kelly to play the 2011 Freesking World Tour

Sorry for the lack of posting folks. Its been an interesting week. We played Lethbridge, I got sick, I got better, jam night + snowboarding, I got sick, I got better, we played a gig in Golden, I got sick, working on getting better....eeeesh. The good times are killing me.

Anyway, one good thing that emerged from this germ infested week is the news that we will be performing at the Canadian leg of the 2011 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour in Revelstoke, BC on January 6th, 2011

Oooooh snap! ...

Yeah that's what I said......Ooooooohh Snap!

*ahem* I'll say it again.....oooooooohhh Snap?


That isn't cool for people to say that anymore is it?


Last years kick off party in the Colorado......



For more info and lots of pictures of crazy shredding check http://www.freeskiingworldtour.com/

Citytv......Everywhere

Another Monday, another day of paying the mechanic $750 for auto repairs on my 1993 Mazda MPV (ShitHawk) and mourning the passing of another iconic person from my childhood.

R.I.P. Mark Dailey

Mark Dailey was an news reporter and anchorman on Citytv's news show CityPulse throughout the 1980's to the present. He was known as the voice of the Toronto station with his iconic line "Citytv....Everywhere". I cannot tell you how many nights during my childhood I fell asleep watching Late Great Movies on Citytv with Mark Dailey's quirky narratives keeping the ball rolling before every commercial break. It just won't be the same show without him.

Stop dying iconic people from my childhood. I am starting to feel really old.

If you are from Ontario (maybe Canada?) and around my age, watch this video clip and you will understand what my typical Saturday night entailed as an awkward movie obsessed teen....*ahem*.....er......I mean, popular confident AC Slater look alike teen....cause.....that's what girls liked back then..........right?



Side Note: I nearly fainted when Johnny 5 came on the screen.

Another Side Note: Readers, if you don't know who Johnny 5 is then do yourself a favor and please rent a movie called Short Circuit and go back home to the moon and watch it.....cause that's where you are from.......the moon.....because its so classic.....and awesome.......

and clearly I am old.

Our Friends Make Cool Things

This is the kootenay based Jah Raven Creations new film trailer titled "What's in the Fridge" which is premiering at the Vogue Theatre in Fernie tomorrow night (Dec 4th). The after party is at the always wonderful and continuous party machine, Bulldogs North. Now I don't want to tell you what happened to me when I watched this trailer for the first time, but it involved having to start a load of laundry.

Congrats Jah Raven Creations for raising the bar once again and forcing another chore into my day. I mean, Tetris.......and shredding........and glorious pow......and....
..................um..............................it happened again.

Whats in the Fridge? A Teaser. from Jah Raven Creation on Vimeo.

The Magnificent "Magnificent 7's"

As I hear the avalanche bombs explode on ski hill yonder, I cannot help but to fathom what greatness will proceed this day as I wax thy board and sharpen thy edge and tune thy banjo to open c, for tonight we share the footlights in Lethbridge with fellow folk legends of the stoke manner, the Magnificent 7's, and tomorrow, yes tomorrow, we ride.

.....these medieval tights are huggy

Shred Kelly to help save melons (boobs)

Let's face it. We ALL love boobs. They're pretty much awesome. They come in all shapes and sizes, they feed our young, they make for great Dolly Parton jokes when passing one of these on the highway:



Heck, I'm actually sure that boobs are the sole reason that I failed grade 10 science.

But there is this unspeakable evil out there that takes boobs from us ! (Some say it also takes nards from us too *gulp* ) So when we were asked to play at a charity fundraiser on April 2nd at Norquay ski resort in Banff, Alberta called SAVE THE MELONS that raises money for breast cancer research, we were more than game. I mean, there is going to be a slopeside competition, beer gardens, entertainment (us!), raffles, 50/50 draw, and BBQ. glorious glorious BBQ.

Here is a video from last years Save the Melons event.

November In a Nut Shell

November started on Halloween at midnight and we battled dark forces. Actually, the dark side got too drunk so we shook hands and got loose.



We played with great friends



We read some educational material



Chewy got some action...rrrrrdddddddrrraaaaaaaar



I played the drums in my underwear.




We played in Montana with more great friends



A gremlin moved into Super Dave, our tour van.



We won a contest and played at the Calgary Snow Show



It snowed a little



and I grew one of these



Now that December is here, I say bbbrrrring on the rum'n'egg noggers.....infact I've been drinkin'em since midnight last night...*uuuurrrrp*......4 cartons and a 40ozer already....they're gurgling in my tummy tho..... Meeerrrrry Chr............................*uuuurrrrrrrrp*

Happy December 1st!

Begone with you hairy demon.....Begone with you back to the hell that you have grown and take your itchiness and your food crumbs and your used car salesman/Ned Flanders/creepy uncle/porn star demeanor with you....begone Demon....BEGONE!!!!!

*ahem*

Mo'vember is official over and all of us men can go back to having a clean upper lip, although as much as I despised the little creature that grew under my nose.....in a strange way, I will miss the little guy.

Bulldogs North

One of our loosest gigs of the year. Thanks to Bulldogs North for having us back after a long hiatus. God Bless Kyle Hudon. You are as talented a sound man/promoter as you are dreamy.

Here are some photos of the show as well as one big Tornado Alley rock ending to end all endings....

Side Note: Special thanks to the man in the pink polo shirt, creepy moustache, and aviators for dancing up a ridiculous storm front stage all night, as well as the very very VERY drunk women after the show that gave us $100 to play them one more song only to feel up our poor keyboardist in a very unwarranted manner. That was pretty rock and roll. And um.....thanks for the gas money?

Case of the Mondays

I know I know....Its Tuesday and legions of you were all "What the Hell Newton?! I thought you were a blogger? You can't just take Monday off!! Your words are the new religion that guides us through the monotony of our daily lives"

Well, you're right. But yesterday was a day of rest and a day of mourning. Not only did I sleep very little all weekend, but on Monday I awoke cranky as all hell only to find out that two visionaries that helped shape me into the man I am today had passed away.

R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen and Irvin Kershner.

Leslie Nielsen was best known for his hilarious one liners in the Airplane movies, Police Squad television series, Naked Gun movies and most recently, Men with Brooms. He was Canadian, had two stars on walks of fame, and brought people to tears with laughter.

Irvin Kershner directed one of the most important tragedies of all time titled "The Empire Strikes Back" for which we are introduced to Imperial Walkers, Yoda, the betrayal of Lando Calrissian, Han's Carbon Freezing, and the line that kept us hanging in utter suspense for two more years....."I am your Father" followed by a rather dramatic "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Actually I was 2 when the movie came to theaters and apparently according to my own father I peed myself when Darth Vader entered the room to the music of the Imperial March. I also remember having the "Empire Strikes Back" childrens picture book that you read along with to a 7" vinyl record playing in the background and you turned the page when you heard the *chime*

A tribute....

Leslie Nielsen in a nutshell.



Oh the agony in Chewy's crys.....I still tear up.



Side note: Apparently in the carbon freezing scene, when Princess Leia declares her love for Han, the original script called for Han to pronounce is love back to her, but this didn't jive with the director Irvin Kershner and he fought with George Lucus to have it changed to the response that eventually made it to the final cut:

Leia: I love you
Han: I know

Genius.

A full report of the weekend to follow as soon as I can figure out how to connect Emma's camera thingy to this computron thingy.

The Good Life

We have a busy weekend ahead of us full of music, faceshots (the snowy kind), travel, and good times. So busy in fact that I only have time today for one posting before the weekend takes me away to that special place, and if I stare too long, I'd probably break down and cry-ee-i-yee. Oooooooh oh-ou-woah sweet child.....*ahem*.... sorry.

G'N'Fn'R man. Gets me everytime.

So, its Shred Kelly at Bulldogs North tonight, up early for the grand opening of Fernie Alpine Resort, which by the look of things is going to be epic, and then off the Rossland to play the Red Room Lounge.

So as I peace out for a weekend of awesome, I leave you with a bunch of videos of poeple performing already awesome songs in a stoke folk manner. Guns and Roses "Sweet Child of Mine" on fiddle which made me pee a bit because its so awesome. And like the Metal Roses Tour of 1992 which my mom wouldn't let me go to because she thought I would grow horns, no G'N'R fiddle is complete with a little Metallica "One" to sweeten the pie performed with footstompin' greatness. Happy Weekend.

Stoke Folk

Stoke Folk: Modern fast driven folk music that makes you Stoked!

Our dear Sarah coined the term one humid boozy evening in NFLD and here are some bands that I'd lump into that category and with whom we have either played with, or will be playing with in the near future. Unfortunately I can't name one of them cause its only a rumor/not-in-stone/highly-classified/theydontevenknowyetsoshutyo'mouth kind of thing, but they rhyme with Smelliot Nude.

The Magnificent 7's from Winnipeg (December 3rd in Lethbridge at the Owl Lounge)

Larry and His Flask from Oregon, USA (April 3rd in Fernie at Bulldogs North)

The Wellits from Montreal (opened for them in Montreal last summer)

The Stables from Oshawa, Ontario (opened for them in Fernie)

Matthew Hornell and the Diamond Minds from St. Johns (opened for them in Newfoundland)

Broken Down Suitcase from Golden, BC (future date to be announced)

The Tuques from Rossland, BC (Blizzard Fest Rossland, BC Jan 38 - 30th)

The Harvest Conspiracy from Toronto (opened for us in Toronto)

Do your ears a favour, turn off your Beibers and your Nicklesacks, copy/paste these bands into your search engine and get your stoke folk on. I hear it cures indigestion and rashes. Just check out Larry and His Flask and you might even gyrate off the couch uncontrollably. I think that show is going hurt so good......so so good.

The Daily Grind

I have a lot of time on my hands these days before the Fernie ski hill opens and in between gigs . My job starts at 4 o'clock and its part time. I don't own a TV and so I am developing a serious addiction to coffee and Youtube. In fact I'm getting to know the people of youtube pretty well. We're like THIS.....*fingers crossed on both hands*

Here is my daily pre-work schedule:

7:15 *MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH* (girlfriends alarm clock)
7:20 - 8:30 Breakfast smoothie, check email, facebook, kiss GF goodbye. (she works)
8:30 - 9:30 Micro nap, coffee, scratch self and stare at wall, contemplate
awesome things.
9:30 - 10:30 Check email/facebook again, finish coffee in pot, BLOG!
10:30 - 11:30 Watch Big Bang Theory on internet stream, youtube, more coffee.
11:30 - 12:30 Eat PBJ toast and play banjo, check youtube for cool banjo stuff, demo
sweet reverb pedals on youtube.
12:30 - 4:00 Repeat above cycle of nap, coffee, youtube, banjo, internet TV,
scratching, staring, email/facebooking until GF comes home from a
hard days work shaking head at mess in apartment. Look cute. Kiss.
Go to work.

What's that you say? Lazy?! I think NOT!! Did YOU make youtube friends with a Japanese visionary who makes instruments from FOOD???..........that's what I thought.

Dare to dream people.......dare to dream.