Hello again. Here are some excerpts from blogs I wrote for CP's Holiday Train blog ..... for more info on what the Holiday Train is - check out past entries on this blog. It was a great trip .....
DEC. 1 2008
So another year begins. I read of the adventures to date of the US train. It's no surprise that their train and performances are receiving rave reviews. The train is the star, but of course the talent is unsurpassed. Introducing your performers: Bass guitar virtuoso and resident 'handsome man' John Dymond. The thunderous drumming and smoky vocals of Ken Post. The soaring vocals and daunting presence of Marty Mctiernan The fiery axe slinging and soulful vocals of Wide Mouth Mason and acclaimed solo artist Shaun Verreault. Finally, a talented instrumentalist on violin, guitar or any other instrument she chooses, an amazing songwriter and vocalist whose sweet siren song captivates listeners and never lets go - the incomparable Melanie Doane. Those of you fortunate enough to see these performers are lucky indeed.
So here we are in Canada .... we gotta do our part and rock the North! Today we arrived at the train - drum legend Pat Steward, renowned for his work with Colin James, The Odds, Bryan Adams and many others. Yvan Petit - a terrific guitarist/ vocalist who works with many artists including Johnny Reid. Randall Prescott, Holiday Train producer (North and South) and multi instrumentalist second to none! He was nominated for a Grammy, people! Multi CCMA award winner and smoky voiced soul serenader Johnny Reid. Finally, truly one of the greatest voices on planet Earth today - Tracey Brown. She knows not the phrase "wrong note". We rehearsed for about two hours and put together our set.
Due to the efforts of all of the wonderful CP employees who worked on prepping the train (I'm not gonna name names - I'll forget somebody) everything was in perfect working order. The stage car was amazing - organized, sounding good, clean, comfortable, warm. Awesome.
The crowd at the first show was 1000 strong. Tracey opened the show - a rollicking shuffle medley of Mabel Scott's 'Boogie Woogie Santa Claus' and Brenda Lee's 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree'. Yvan and Tracey's bilingual duet on 'White Christmas' was a delight. Johnny was up next with his version of Tom Jones' 'Darlin''. He followed it up with his hit 'Love Sweet Love'. Yvan treated the crowd to a French version of 'Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer'. Randall wowed the crowd with his take on J. Geils' 'Whammer Jammer'. The finale featured Tracey and Johnny on 'Silent Night' and the oft covered 'Put A Little Love In Your Heart'.
From a musician's standpoint - it was a success. No "train wrecks" (pardon the pun) ... the crowd was great and we're off to a rocking start. Can we match the thunder of the US train? Time will tell. We hope so.
Submitted - Nov. 30 2008 - 6:00AM
Mike Norman - musician
DEC. 4 2008
We are seven shows in. I sit in my room - enjoying some tea and toast as I'm sure people who rode this train in the past did. I consider myself fortunate in my day to day life. Without trying to sound cliche, this time of year makes me feel especially blessed. I mean, here I am, riding around on a piece of Canadian history .... seeing Canada by rail! I get to play music for appreciative crowds with unbelievable musicians. I meet great people. My living quarters on the trip are second to none. I can't imagine what it would cost to buy a trip like this. This is my fifth year as the "musical director" (hate that term - it sounds so pompous) of the Canadian Holiday Train. It's always a great way to cap off my year.
Watching all of the good this train brings is an uplifting experience. Everyone's face lights up as the train pulls in. As the big doors open, Santa Claus performs his opening song and revs the crowd up into a frenzy. The food bank reps are thrilled to get the big cheque from CP. Then the music - Tracey, Randall, Johnny are all show-stoppers. My old friend Pat and new friend Yvan are a tremendous musical force. What really blows my mind are the people who come out to the shows. I've heard so many times from food banks reps about the increases in non perishable goods they receive when the Holiday Train comes through their respective towns. That is entirely due to the support from their local communities. That, my friends, is the Christmas spirit. No matter what you believe in at this time of year - whether or not you think it's become to commercial etc etc - if anything - check out the good it does the less fortunate. I've never gone hungry and I count myself blessed for that fact alone. I hope people like me NEVER take that for granted.
The crowds have been awesome. The requests for the train to come and visit communities in Canada is overwhelming. I have no idea who does the logistics for the Holiday train tours. It ain't your average rock and roll tour. This has so many more factors - other trains, safety, protocols, time of arrival and departure, making sure the train arrives at a spot that can accommodate a large crowd etc etc.. It's amazing and a simple musician such as myself can't comprehend it. Even after their schedule is finalized, the CP logistics people get requests for the train. Even after everything has been mapped out, the T's crossed, the I's dotted and the ink is dry on the itinerary, they do their best to figure in these places. Sometimes a longer stop for a full show is just not possible. Thus the '10 minute off the back show' was born. If anything, the opportunity to stop, sing a couple of Christmas carols and show off the train for a short while is the best that can be done. It's not the full show, but I applaud the efforts and am more than happy to participate.
We partook in one one these stops recently in the town of Brighton, Ontario. A huge crowd came out which took everyone in the crowd by surprise. Brighton - FYI - you guys were the topic of conversation that night. Please understand if a full show could have been accommodated, we would have done it. However, circumstances dictated that the shorter stop was all that could be done this year. Your numbers spoke volumes to the people on the train and while I have no say in scheduling, if I were a betting man ..... don't be surprised if you get a full show next year (bear in mind the predictions in this blog are mine only...). What a town - Brighton Rocks (we caaammmee to roocck! Sometimes it's all you got.... from the 80's metal band of the same name)....
Finally - we had a cool thing happen in Smiths Falls Ontario. The US Holiday Train stopped and we had a brief visit from the cast and crew! What a great treat. So cool to see them all ... if you're reading this - hope you are doing well. We miss you all.
That's it for now - season's greetings everyone!
Your humble servant Mike Norman
DEC. 10 2008
We're about 10 days into our journey in the sovereign nation that is the Canadian Holiday Train. We have no concept of time, date or what is going on in the world around us. All we see are bright smiling faces of people enjoying a taste of the holiday spirit. The gigs have been great - we are currently on show number 5 of our 7 show day. In between shows, we enjoy the unbelievable scenery that is offered up by this great country. We wave at people in cars. Drummer Pat Steward and myself grind premium coffee and serve it up in abundance. Our lives on the train are the makings of perfection. We are blessed.
It is interesting to watch the evolution of our holiday train team. CP employees have become well oiled stage hands. Everybody has their tasks and we are working in tandem with flawless precision. We're a swiss watch up there! However, the repetition has not staled us yet. The crowds fuel the energy in a Celestine Prophecy type manner - I can almost see the green glow of energy.
Johnny Reid has caught the Holiday Train bug in a big way - so much so that he wrote a song on the train. 'Everyday People Making A Change' represents the entire spirit of the train. The lyric is entirely based around life on the train and what it stands for. We learned it and immediately incorporated it into the set.
Tracey Brown has taken to 'working' the crowd. Sing alongs have been the order of the day - during 'Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer' ,Tracey will offer the microphone to youngsters to sing lines from the song - much to the delight of the onlookers.
More later ..... support your local food bank!!!
Mike N. - musician and Christmas fan
