Winterbottom!

i'm terribly sorry my loves, i've been without interweb and been busy. living loudly takes time, so occasionally i need to stay offline and breathe fresh air.

scotty and i spent four days in canada playing music, hanging with friends, meeting new great people, loving new york subway burritos, paying way too much for alcohol and generally loving life. oh, and scotty didn't mind the decriminalized stance on his favorite plant either.

it's pretty amazing to be in a place where people are so open minded, warm, kind, welcoming and supportive. sure, it's a bit of a generalization, but i suppose if i'm going to generalize, it's not so bad that it's a positive, loving one. bettie and pat took us in to their apartment for four days, which i know ben franklin would frown on. also, i went to more art galleries in the short time i was in canada than i've been to in probably the last year.

the first big show was at a gallery where i played to amazing people and re-fell in love with canada. the next day shawzy tattooed me and i laughed at how ridiculous i am. that night we went to another gallery where one of bettie's friends put on a show with a bunch of artists who'd donated their time and art on skateboards to support a charity for hospitals. while i thought that was an odd choice for a country with socialized health care, i really appreciated it. the styles really varied, were well done and exiting. i had a great time. plus, how often do you get to go to an art opening where you can drink beer and watch people skate a mini ramp?

we then drove to sarnia, which is just about michigan, and automatically expected the worst. we were told it was a chemical plant town and not only was it, but the street where the show was happened to be under construction. i thought we were late, only to be there before the venue was even opened. we didn't expect much at all. so, to kill some time, scotty and i walked to harvey's, which is a fast food place that sells veggie burgers, so obviously we had to go. after eating we walked back to the club and realized that things might not be so bad. kids started showing up, coming in and i got excited. as i started my set i wasn't sure they would be into it, but i figured i'd might as well just have fun. within a song i had 25 kids stomping and clapping along right below me while the other 50 or so people sat and listened, clapping loudly after each tune. what a great time. oh, and i neglected to mention that i was playing on what was obviously a stage built for strippers, as that's what this club used to employ. the front half, however, was filled with stuffed animals. not the cuddly kind, but the taxidermy kind. yikes. one of the bands playing was called streetcore, and they were really sweet young kids with a fake problems/against me vibe. well done. the headliner was spiral beach, super young band, no one older than 21, and they were fucking insanely good. super tight, psychadelic, dancey, fun, just awesome. i sold a bunch of stuff and got paid well. what a turn around from what i expected. canada never fails to deliver awesomeness. after the show i drove scotty and i back to toronto, as it was a few hours into a trip we needed to make to plattsburgh, ny.

we woke up in toronto and i was incredibly tired, but we had to make our way to ny. the drive took about eight hours total, including the hassling we got at the border. they obviously thought something was afoot with us entering and leaving canada from different points and no real reason for being there. one of the things they found while searching my car was an old oxycontin prescription bottle with someone else's name filled with pills. those pills were ibuprofin, generic brand advil. the bottle was just something to hold them in. i'm an idiot. but, the realized it was a stupid mistake, told me to be smarter and let us go. the long drive continued, we got a terrible sandwich and then eventually made it to plattsburgh. by then i was in a terrible mood and just wanted a beer and rub my bare feet in the grass. it was so incredibly beautiful out, if i were home i definitely would have been grilling veggie burgers, drinking a beer and hanging in my backyard. but, instead i had to walk up to a third floor apartment and play show. boo hoo. don't get me wrong, i fucking love playing, and i love seeing old friends, but i was just being an ornery bastard, and wasn't in the mood to not be sitting in the grass drinking cold beer. but, you know what? once i got up to the apartment and saw all my old friends from previous tours, i was in a great mood. i had a beer, hugged my buddies, talked a bunch, played a really fun set and just felt amazing. what an incredible turnaround. after the show we went for a walk and then to the river behind where the show was. i finally got to take off my shoes and let the grass tickle my feet. i was in heaven. great people, fun town, drinking beers by a river, all laughs. we then rode bikes to dana's house to check out old picture of my old band from five or so years ago. we were so skinny and soft looking. then a sweet photo shoot by monuments and the river. such a good time. we stayed up until the sun rose over the river, then went back for morning waffles and sleepy time. chris told me some amazing stories about being in a movie in iceland and i generally loved my time. scotty and i slept on a futon mattress on the floor until 3 pm. what bums.

when we woke up we went for pizza. i prefer breakfast food when i wake up, regardless of the time. scotty thinks i'm ridiculous, as he'd always prefer a burrito. we got the plattsburgh specialty: pizza with cold cheese. this is where they reheat the pizza in the oven, then pile on more cold mozzarella when it comes out. the pizza was so hot it basically heated and melted the cold cheese to the point where it was more or less an extra cheese slice, but i always appreciate local fare, espcially if it involves pizza, so i was down. by the way, a little side note: in canada they spell it "pea-eye-zed-zed-aye." zed zed! ha ha. incredible.

scotty and i left plattsburgh, got on the ferry to vermont and drove through the rain to matt's house. and that brings us up to tonight. this evening we had sweet jams, met lots of cool people and then we walked to the store and bought supplies for chili, came back, i cooked, scotty made corn muffins, and we all supped. amazing. phew, that was quite an update. sorry for being absent, i promise i'll be more current in the future. i have a couple more shows, then some time off, after which i head out with butch. should be lots of fun. thinking about a pizza tour when i get back.

(13/365)