Idlers' Blog

Bring Back the Summer!

john — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:01:43 +0000

Where has the time gone? We’ve been to Dreamland and back for album #3, and are excited about getting the Great Don Ellis on the go once again to help us put some finishing touches on it. If all goes as planned, we’ll be rolling around the country/continent this summer with some fresh new music in hand…keep an eye on this place for some previews soon.

Speaking of summer…we miss it. We’ve had just about enough of our annual January hibernation, and it’s time to shake off the cabin fever and play some music! And since the summer still seems so far away, we’re going to do our part to bring it back. On February 17th, we’ll be turning the Rock House into a full-on beach party – dress as you feel is appropriate. We’ve even got our favourite troubadour Mathias Kom breaking out his shorts and ukulele to sing us some songs to get the night going. $10 advance tickets on sale soon at the Sprout & the Ship..get them while they’re around.

New year, new tunes, new times, new…hey look, it’s a monkey eatin’ a hot dog!

junenuary.

john — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:16:46 +0000

The sun is finally starting to break after 130 straight hours of fog. ahhh…springtime in St. John’s. We have fond memories of being somewhere in the mountains of British Columbia this time last year, soaking in the sunshine and fresh air, while listening to those at home complain about 30 days and 30 nights of rain. Now we understand!

Thankfully there’s a few escape plans in the works. Corner Brook next week, Rocky Harbour in 3 weeks, then onwards to Ontario, and working our way back to finish off the trek with Evolve 2011. Look out Antigonish. Check out the tour page for the current dates – there’s more to come!
onward through the fog!
JD

How does water feel?

admin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:40:50 +0000

Again, the rain is upon us. Dripping off the leafless trees in the backyard, attacking the defenceless soil, moving unknown and unseen quantities of material towards the harbour. When you live on top of a hill this is what you think of. Things moving down and up the hill. Water has the luxury of evaporation. It doesn’t have to bother with climbing hills, stumbling up, tripping over gravity. No, water just goes up. I imagine it’s a lot like being teleported. Or maybe water feels it differently, slower. Perhaps water feels stretched like when you pull water across a concrete surface with a stick. It may even feel violated. Oh the life of water. Up into the sky, then down onto the earth, then up and continue. I would like to think that there are water molecules who like the life, being in St. John’s one minute than Milan the next, and those who hate it. One thing is certain, life would be completely different if water went the way of humans and decided (or did they) to settle. Domestic water…ha.
The van is parked ’til July. It is official, Idlers are not leaving the island ’til July. That said, we are not going to just sit around (well maybe a bit) and let the water run off our backs. Nope, we got work to do.
How ’bout that, Idlers win World Recording of the Year at the ECMA’s. Thanks for that. Too bad we couldn’t be in PEI to accept the award.
We had a great weekend. Got to play with C-pow (deadly) again after Curtis returned home, played our first political rally, and got the ECMA. The weirdest thing about the ECMA is that we would have been there if the ECMA’s had to give us an opportunity to perform at an international showcase. But they didn’t. We didn’t make that cut but won the World recording. Just saying. Bit weird. Maybe next year we’ll get an international showcase. Figures crossed.
Well, it’s still raining and I’ve been steering at this screen for way to0 long. Think I’ll go and play some tunes. T’il next time keep on telling your friends that Idlers are deadly wicked sure.
Peace

Oh big water, carry me home.

admin — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:43:18 +0000

Today is the final day. It is the end of this and the beginning of that. Time to ride the cold wind home across the Atlantic to our island paradise. Water, water, water. Tom Robbins once said that water invented humans to transport itself around the universe. Water under wheels, snow in the breeze, ya drink it down. Boats sit in it, the moon dances with it. Fire fears it and fish need it. Water, water, water. The rain in Moscow was just in Khartoum and will be over Luanda soon.
Halifax, do you believe that it comes for the corruption of the Old English words holy and face? Might be…
I am filled with love. 35 shows in 49 days. We did it. You did it. Together we did it. Idlers are most grateful to all who came out to support us. You make the show, we just help. So thanks Canada (if that’s really your name) for being so supportive. To our new fans, tell a friend. To our old fans, tell two friends. We will be back. John is taking off his shirt for some reason.
On the highway heading towards the ferry. Catching the 11:00 PM crossing. Hopefully no delays.
T’is been a while since my last blog. I find that the end of every tour is the same. You get tired and to deal you end up drinking an extra couple of drinks and sleeping a extra couple of hours. You become less productive. The weather has something to do with it too. Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick were cold. It’s hard to be productive, at least for me, when I’m drained and cold, but enough of that.
Montreal, Saint John, Fredericton, Petite Riviere, and Halifax, done like dinner. Montreal was the chill Sunday evening supper with your University Prof who kept going on about random facts. Rando info.
Saint John was a fireplace hang out, at a wonderful farm house with a fine… no… dandy, pile of dry wood.
Fredericton was not an American wedding, it was one of those nights. hint hint, nudge nudge, wink wink. Jagerbombs away!!!
Petite Riviere was supper at Grandmudders place. Fine China and all. Creamy gravy, white, and brown bread (now’den). Ring, your wine cup is empty. You best be filling that again. Petite Riviere owns my heart. Sorry Robert’s Creek, your just so far away, I still love you though. The after party was awesome, especially the house-bus. Big ol yellow school bus retrofitted to be a house. Equipped with wood stove, bed, sink (i think), table and chairs. Super sweet people too. Scotty, our chaperone, took good care of us. “All right b’yes, time to go, get in the car.” Which was great ’cause I could have easily passed out at the after party ( or puked in a jade plant ). Bunch of instruments on da go. Thanks Scotty, you’re da… BOOM!
Band mom and Daddy Ron. Halifax’s finest hosts. They have been there since the beginning. Since the North End Pub days. Who is Thom Duggan? They never fail to take great care of us. Feeding us when we’re there and sending us off with grub for the road.
What next? Good question. Ideally, home for a bit and then back on the road. Got a show planned for April 15 at the Rockhouse with our good buddy Neil Conway. Converse, converse, converse. Gonna get some demos on da go. Record at least another 4 demos. Shop them around to interested parties. Know any?
We are planning on returning to Midland for May to do more work with the kids and youth of Simcoe County. Still up in the air, stay tuned. Playing some festivals in July, whoop, whoop. Looking for a producer for the new record. Basically gonna keep on keepin’ on ’til we’re ON.
Well, the road is dry and the sky is grey, guess I’ll have to wait for the ferry to have water convey me away. If water did indeed create me to transport it around, I’m game. We all gotta move, that’s what water does. Travelling from coast to coast and many points in between. Flowing, rolling, smashing, drowning, cleansing, and waiting. Like water we all just await the next move, the next state. We are all solids, liquids and gases. We all transform into what we need to be at that given moment. What are you gonna be today?

No time like the present

admin — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 18:06:46 +0000

The alarm went off at 6:30 AM this morning. Was the first time in a while that I went to bed early and got up early. It’s the time in the morning, when your completely alone, that I love. I’m rarely alone in my life, not that I’m complaining, but I do enjoy those moments alone.
Since we arrived here at the Super 8 in Milton, where all but two of us have a room with two double beds (stop by if you’re in the area), I have been having some alone time. However, I have to admit when the lady at the desk told me I had my own room I felt instantly lonely. I guess that’s what happens when you spend two months in a van, with 6 to 8 other people. Eating, sleeping, complaining, enjoying, doing everything as a group is at times frustrating but we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t secretly love it. So I wasn’t totally surprised that we all went to the common room as soon as we checked into our rooms.
The Super 8 in Milton is a great place to take some reprieve from the road. Especially after driving 4 days through the states and playing 3 wicked crazy shows. Brantford, Toronto and London, all amazing. Thanks all for coming out and showing us that Ontario can rock it like the West Coast, any day. The London crowd were da bomb! You guys danced for almost 3 straight hours. Yep, that’s right, we played for almost 3 hours. The APK Live was the venue. It is run by a great friend of mine, Marc Gammal. You should definitely check it out if you’re ever in London.
So yeah, the Super 8. We’ve been here since Monday night and will be here ’til we head to Peterborough on Friday. Stellula Music (www.stellulamusic.com) “bringing music to the children and youth of Simcoe County” and filling the hearts of the Idlers with love and joy. Every province, every county, every town in Canada should take a page out of their book. We are lucky enough to be a part of Stellula and love every minute of it. Every day this week, we get to play for children and youth, at least twice, at different schools. So far we have been to three schools and one youth centre. Kids have an energy that is unmatched by adults. We have played for grades kindergarden to 12 and they all responded positively. I know that when I was in school there was never a 7 piece band at my school, ever. We basically go into these schools, play a couple tunes and open the floor up for questions. The kids jump up the moment Mark asks if they want to dance and go nuts for about an hour.
Playing for kids is so rewarding, they’ll dance, they’ll smile, they’ll sing along, they’ll ask you if you can play Kiss, ACDC, Lincoln Park, Lady Gaga but they don’t seem to like Justin Beiber. Really, most of the kids seem to dislike him. Just saying.
There was this one little blond headed kid who just kept running around the whole time. He would run up to the stage turn around and run to the back of the room. At one point he was wearing blue headphones to block out the music, which was super loud. I saw a couple of kids in the front row cover their ears with their hands.
10:16 AM. Blue skies and sunshine. Heading down the 93 towards Orillia for the second last workshop of this visit with Stellula Music. Yesterday was, like every day so far, amazing. Two schools, 3 performances finishing with a concert in Pentang. Dancing high school students, sitting senors, curious kids, and a home schooled 17 year old sound guy. I hope they all realize that they changed our lives. We’ll see ya all in May.
We have another workshop around 2:00 then off to P-Town we go. Peterborough is always a blast. We are lucky enough to know Carl and Erin who put us up, big time, when ever we are through. Unfortunately Carl is not gonna be there this time around. They have a cozy spot just outside of P-Town, well actually just around the corner from Trent University. They give us beds, showers, food and their love. We are super grateful for you guys. I swear that some time in my live I will repay all of you who have put us up while on the road. The Judy and Rons, the Don and Gails, the Erin and Carls, the Greg and Anna’s, Scotty Drummond, Jeff David, Anu, Mark Colbert, Julie in Fernie, Laurie Andrews, and especially Jenny and Ted. Thank you all soo much, it would be next to impossible without all of you. Your kindness is greatly appreciated.
It gets easier. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been on the road for 6 weeks. The gigs have been getting better, the accommodations have been getting better, we have all been getting along… well… about the same, but same is better with us. Things are looking good in the morning sun. The snow, what little is up here, is melting, and you can almost feel the energy of the buds waking up in the morning sun. Hope is all around us every day. Welcome to Spring. The poplars are preparing for the future.The seedlings are diggin’ in, the sun will soon start to pull them up against the downward force of gravity.
So much space up here in the near-northern part of Ontario. So many small schools in this area.
On to the next thought, which is 2 days and 600 km in the future. Both Peterborough and Ottawa have come and gone, Montreal tonight. Curtis, Chris and myself shared a bed last night. King size. Man, kings are giants. The three of us sleep without ever touching each other and it was totally comfortable. My good friend Tanya left us the keys to her place, thank you so much.
Listening to Salif Keita, amazing artist from Mali, while Aneirin starts breakfast. It’s 1:08 PM and we are just starting to stir. Computers are out and communication has begun. Montreal is in the near future. 6:00 PM sound check. We shall see what kind of night we will have. It is a Sunday night after all. Excited to see Beaver. You should all check out his stuff beavershepherd.com.
I feel inclined to apologize to Peterborough. You guys deserved a better show than what you got. I was super tired. Ever been so tired that you don’t know you’re tired and you become terribly grumpy? Well I do, and it happened to me Friday night at the Red Dog. I guess working with kids all week, going to bed early, getting up early, setting up and tearing down at least twice a day can effect your ability to play for 2.5 hours just before midnight. To make things worst, I was completely sober and tired and once I consumed a couple of beer I became even more tired and grumpy. I think I had a permanent frown. I just couldn’t shack it. I tried, but I just got more and more pissed off. This is the first time this has every happened to me. I’ve been annoyed on stage before, but I can usually suck it up and continue to giver. You find that spot inside and you go there. But not Friday night. So moral of the story… Nap before you play a 2 hour show, it helps. So people of Peterborough, I apologize for being a half asleep pissed off zombie Pahl. You deserve better.
Last night, I was not zombie Pahl. We rocked it to a near sold out crowd. The biggest crowd we have ever had in Ottawa. Thanks Greg Frankson for promoting and also to the Pelts for bringing out their awesome crowd. It was a great show, all around.
The end of the tour is approaching. Only five more shows, then a day of traveling and we are home to our snowed in port town. Remember to water your plants, walk on the sunny side of the street, look at the moon like it’s your first time, and walk on the land. Happy Sunday y’all.