Aaron Pritchett Eastern Canada Dates March 21-April 1 Part 2

March 27 - Toronto, ON - Gibson Show Lounge

This gig was set up as a show for contest winners in the Toronto area as well as for industry types as invited by OPM records. The show is a one hour acoustic show with guitars provided by the Gibson people - makers of quality instruments for many years.

March 28 - Whitby, ON - Johnny B's

Just outside of Toronto is Johnny B's. A lot of effort went into this gig on the part of the promoter - great sound crew - nice stage sound. Promo throughout the town - cars sporting wraparounds with Aaron's picture driving throughout town spreading the word. Also excellent was the dinner we had at the restaurant. Gourmet all the way - I enjoyed Chilean Sea Bass with fresh vegetables and jasmine rice. Delicious.

March 29 - Toronto, ON - Sheraton Downtown

This was what we call in the business a "corporate gig". We were hired to play a private concert for a bunch of people who worked in the insurance business all over Ontario. Corporate gigs, generally, are humdrum affairs. You get in - set up - play a polite set to an empty room as have the people are in the foyer drinking and socializing. It is a way for bands to make a quick and healthy wage.
This gig was different. I have NEVER been in a room at a corporate gig (and I've done a lot of them) where everybody sat back, listened and enjoyed it. There was no audience murmur, nobody who left, no requests for "Brown Eyed Girl". They were an excellent bunch of people and one of my favorite gigs on the tour.
My one question though .... explain to me why, when staying at a Sheraton, the local phone calls are $2.00.... yet when you stay at a Comfort Inn they are free?

March 30 - Burlington, ON - Big Bucks Saloon

After a grueling 45 minute bus ride we arrived at our next gig. Our hotel? A COMFORT INN! Free calls! Free breakfast! Free internet! Love this place! We had an interesting twist before the gig. Carmen informed us that there were some contest winners whose prize was a four song acoustic set aboard our bus. All of us (except Ron) piled onto the bus and situated ourselves on a couch. The fans came in and we did the three new songs as well as an barbershop arrangement of 'Hold My Beer'. Let me explain. When 'Hold My Beer' first hit the charts in July of last year it was (and still is) getting a great crowd response. After an excellent festival gig the libations began to flow on the bus. One thing led to another and we came up with different ways to perform the song.... heavy metal, reggae, cocktail jazz. Barbershop was the style that stuck. Hopefully we'll document it someday.
The gig was an exciting 90 minutes - filled with screaming women, really loud guitars and drums. I bailed out of the post gig party to do some work in my room. I'm looking forward to the post gig report tomorrow.

Aaron Pritchett Eastern Canada Dates March 21-April 1 Part 1

Here are some of my observations of the March Eastern Canada run of Aaron Pritchett and the APB (roll call - Aaron (fearless frontman/ guitar), Mitch Merrett (guitar/ vocals/ management), Dennis Marcenko (bass/ vocals), Mike Sanyshyn (violin/ mandolin/ vocals), Ron Briggs (drums), Carmen Choney (tour management, merchandise), Scott "Scooter" Findlay (sound technician), Dwayne Nemlander (bus driver) and yours truly (keyboards/ guitar/ vocals).

March 21 - Dartmouth, NS - Rodeo Lounge - Meet and Greet

The trip started with the band flying out to Toronto from Vancouver and meeting up with the tour bus. This particular bus will be our primary mode of transportation on the longer runs as it was purchased by Aaron's "people". It's past owner (or at least the guy who held the lease) was Kenny Rogers .... which is a good thing. I have a feeling Kenny is a somewhat clean living guy -by comparison my brother in law Shane Hendrickson (who plays bass with Natalie McMaster) is currently riding around on a bus that belonged to Tommy Lee. What happened on those couches and bunks on that bus is a mystery I don't think anyone wants to unlock.
Due to prior commitments I flew straight to Halifax - the rest of them rode for around 18 hours to Halifax. I missed the meet and greet but apparently the event went well - hands shook, babies kissed, autographs signed and pictures taken. I got a report from the crew that the hospitality of the club was overwhelming ... as evidenced by the slow start everyone had the next morning. The club was nice enough to buy us breakfast the next morning which was most welcome. We are slated to come back for a gig in two days..... looking forward to it.

March 22 - Liverpool, NS - Astor Theatre

Nice gig. A small theatre in a wonderful little community about and hour and a half from Halifax. They were a great listening crowd. We hadn't played in quite about a month and a half with the full band so this was a nice way to get back in the groove.
By the end of the trip we should have six new songs added to the set including three new tunes written by Aaron, Mitch and some Nashville based writers. We're also doing a tune from his very first record called 'Perfectly Blue' - a slow 6/8 shuffle a la 'Treat Me Like A Fool' as well as 'Right Down The Line' - a Gerry Rafferty song from the 'Something Goin' On Here' CD. We managed to rehearse and add 'After The Rain' (a new ballad) at this show.
I think the town had a sale on digital cameras that day - every time I looked out that crowd every other person was snapping photos.

March 23 - Dartmouth, NS - Rodeo Lounge

Back for the show - we had a quick soundcheck. Due to some production issues (apparently the truck with the PA and backline broke down en route to the venue) we had time for a quick soundcheck as the lineup to get into the club was around the block (general admission). This impeded our chance to rehearse our second of the three new songs - 'My Kind Of Woman'.
We managed to have a hotel room rehearsal and worked MKOW up and got it in the set for that night.... it went pretty good - we'll hopefully have time at the next gig to nail it down a little better.
The gig was great - another one of those AP shows where the crowd deafened me. The band hung around after and enjoyed the hospitality once again .... very nice. I unfortunately had to retire early and get back to the room to complete some overdue tasks (accounting - tax time.... FYI deadline is the end of April - mid April for our US friends - so do your part!).
The next day we were invited back to club for more hospitality in the way of breakfast again! Good times.... we look forward to coming back.

March 24 - Truro, NS - Cobequid Education Centre

I'm on the bus by myself - the rest of the gang is in the venue signing autographs and I opted out to write whilst watching some romantic comedy with Hugh Grant where he plays a handsome and whimsical yet awkward English gentleman who gets caught in a "sticky wicket" eh wot. (Which movie was that again? Oh right - EVERY movie he's been in!)
A quick drive to Truro - about 45 minutes. Soundcheck was far more plentiful.... we had a couple of hours. We used most of the stage time to fine tune "After The Rain" and "My Kind Of Woman". We are especially excited about "After The Rain". It's a very good song written by Mitch, Aaron and Deric Ruttan. We are in preliminary arrangement stages and it is starting to really feel huge. It cries for big strings and we're setting it up for just that. Chances are it'll be in the set all year.
The gig was great - crazy crowd. Aaron, Mitch and I debuted a new tune that they had written called"All Over Again" - the third in the trio of new tunes. We did it acoustically - by the end of the trip I'm sure we'll have the band in on it as well. Dwayne our driver has started up on other duties - he escorted a couple of young ladies off stage when they made their way on stage to touch Aaron.
Great crowds in Nova Scotia - we're coming back in August - thanks everyone!

March 25 - Moncton, NB - The Rockin' Rodeo

We were here last year and I guess we're back by popular demand. Especially exciting was the prospect of hitting Captain Jack's, a restaurant on the water that serves an exquisite lobster feed. We left Truro early, looking forward to a lunchtime arrival. To our dismay our restaurant was closed for the season. After a slightly less satisfying lunch at another local eatery (which franchises into many other communities around the world) we carried on to soundcheck.
The gig was a madhouse - a party crowd as only the town of Moncton can provide. It seemed as those the party could've continued long into the night for the patrons and band however the bus had to be on the road by 2:30AM as we had to be in Toronto by Tuesday and wanted to allow sufficient travel time. Apparently rumours abound that we will be back here in August as well. The party will continue then. That's what we do. We party. Yee. Haw.

March 26 - New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario - Trans Canada Highway

Dwayne is earning his money by putting in several "overdrives" (bus driver lingo for overtime and double scale wages) to get us to Toronto in time for our show tomorrow. The time on the bus is passed several ways - movies, sleeping, writing blogs, editing recording projects by other artists (those two are mine), texting or calling friends and loved ones, confirming gigs and organizing booked ones (Carmen) and a new pastime - playing Jacks (not the card game - rather the game where one bounces a ball and you have to pick up as many jacks as you can - you know the one). Posted for your viewing pleasure is a little home movie (or pictures depending on which blog you visit) of this activity. It's actually a very nice way to travel. Exciting to note was the truck stop we visited. The typical pedestrian food fare was accented by a selection of East Indian food which was prepared by the owner .... very good and a very welcome surprise for myself and Carmen - the band Indian food aficionados.

Nazanin Showcase Dates - March 6-16

I was contacted by Bodog Music to assemble a band for an artist named Nazanin. Nazanin is a remarkable person. She was born in Iran and raised in Vancouver. She studied Political Science at UBC and speaks three languages. A former Ms. Canada and Ms. World runner up - she has received accolades from around the world for her humanitarian efforts.

She was instrumental in the release of a young Iranian girl whose name is also Nazanin. While walking with her 15 year old niece, three men attacked and tried to rape them. In self defense, she stabbed one of the men who later died in hospital. She was charged with murder and to be executed until Nazanin (the artist) collected over 350,000 signatures and through pressure from the UN and other organizations the young girl was released.

In order to strengthen her voice for humanitarian causes, she recorded an album which will be released her on April 24. A few showcase gigs were set up for publicity's sake - Vancouver at Ginger 62, West Hollywood at an amazing home one block off Sunset in the hills and New York at the Plumm Club.

The band was a pleasure - great friends all of them. I played bass and some piano, Chris Meister on drums, Lee Worden on guitar and vocals, Rick "Boink" Bazuin was our road manager and Carly Mckillip on keyboards and vocals (you may know Carly as the star of CTV's "Alice I Think" or from the singing duo with her sister "Saving Grace" - she's also the daughter of producer Tom Mckillip). It was Carly's first trip to NYC and we had a lot of fun. I learned a lot from her on the basic principles of cell phone texting - something I was not that versed in before.

Being fans of Woody Allen, Chris, Lee, Boink and I made certain we visited the Carnegie Deli, made famous on Woody's movie 'Broadway Danny Rose'. We ate some great food - I went for the Blintzes. Chris ordered a Rueben snadwich - the size of which had to be seen to be believed. Therefore - I am posting it .... and no, he did not finish it. The two pictures are before and after....

Nazanin is a pleasure - we had a great time. The gigs went well and everyone who met Nazanin fell in love with her and her message. She is a beautiful person inside and out. I hope we can do it again sometime soon.

RIP - Andrea Boorman, Brad Delp, Richard Jeni

One more thing.... sad news. Three people - one of which I knew personally passed away in the last couple of weeks.

My friend Andrea Boorman - comedian, production manager, producer to be, all around beautiful person - passed away at the age of 33. Far too young. Say hi to my Mom and Nipsey Russell. You know....

Brad Delp - Boston blew my mind. What he sang on record he could do live as well. One of rock's truly great vocalists. I'm sorry you felt it was your time. RIP.

Richard Jeni - underrated and had probably the funniest bit from "The Aristocrats". Also taught me the importance of emphasis - "A&E - time, well, spent!" RIP.

Aaron Pritchett Fan Cruise - Mexico - Feb. 26 to Mar. 4

What makes my life so cool these days is my lack of routine. I hate routine. My life is laid out for me in a daytimer. Most people have a general idea of where they need to be during their work days. My life is in a different place - different city - different gig - different style of music - different instrument almost every day. This keeps me on my toes - vibrant and loving what I do more and more. I mark down the appointed engagements in my daytimer and then generally forget about them - a way of downloading so I can keep my mind (or operating system) functioning at optimum efficiency for the tasks at hand.

So when you look at the daytimer and realize the gig for the next week is a cruise through the Mexican Riviera where your workload consists of a couple of one hour concerts - well as you can imagine it is a nice surprise. To add to the jubilance - my wife, my Dad and his girlfriend are coming with me.

This was a "fan cruise" featuring Aaron Pritchett and a couple hundred of his close friends and fans. This was a chance to get to know him - sign autographs, get pictures and enjoy a cruise. My wife Wendy who rarely attends Aaron Pritchett shows finally got a chance to check out what the gig is all about. She met some of the hardcore fan club and even made some new friends.

When the onboard PA system proved to be more of a hinderance than a convenience, our better judgement prevailed and both our shows turned out to be as acoustic as it gets - three guitars, three voices - no mics or speakers - "without all the assistance" as Buddy Rich said on the infamous outtakes. It turned out well - the gang seemed to like it which is good. We debuted three new tunes that Aaron and Mitch wrote with some of Nashville's finest writers.

We hung around onboard - saw the shows (big Vegas medleys always amuse me), gambled, watched karaoke singers butcher Neil Sedaka and got to hang with a buch of cool people.

So after some ample buffets, sun, trips to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas ("Let me take you down, I will show you all around...) we bid goodbye to the Carnival Pride. I enjoyed it.

Lucky for me.