Aaron Pritchett - Aug. 18 - Dartmouth, NS - Rodeo Lounge

Our second go 'round at this club in Dartmouth - a suburb of Halifax. We had a gracious host named Carla who treated us very well. It was a nice way to end our 10 day trip.

Aaron Pritchett Band - Aug. 17 - Lawrencetown, NS

This was another agricultural fair - the APB seems to play several of these a year. Don't ask me where this town is ... a three hour drive became about five. Although I wasn't paying close attention, we seemed to take a few detours getting to the venue. When we got there, we found an amazing site - a great stage situated by a river at the bottom of a hill making it a wonderful natural amphitheater. The response by the huge crowd was overwhelming - "Warm Safe Place" was sung by the crowd loud and clear. The screaming was deafening.
Afterwards the autograph lineup was well over two hours long. I took some great pictures at this memorable gig. The haddock I had for dinner was also great.

Aaron Pritchett Band - Aug. 16 Charlottetown, PEI

What a town. I had been there before a long time ago but never got a chance to explore it but it's a gorgeous gem of a town. Charming people and the vibe is amazing. The gig was at the Civic Centre - part of what seemed to be an agricultural fair. It was a general admission gig. When they opened the doors after our soundcheck - people rushed the barricades to the stage. Several thousand people soon started chanting Aaron's name. We hit the stage and it was thunderous. A great gig - the crowd outdid themselves and it was a lot of fun. The stage crew rocked as well - the gear was first rate as was the lighting and monitors. Afterwards the autograph lineup must've been close to two hours long.
The next morning Darren and I got up early to check out the city some more. A cup of coffee and fruit smoothie later - we moved to buy indigenous food items for our people back home. I know my Nana loves preserves.

Aaron Pritchett Band - Aug. 7- 12 - Prairies and Ontario

Roll call - Aaron Pritchett, Mitch Merrett, Mike Sanyshyn, Darren Parris, Ron Briggs, Scott "Scooter" Findlay, Warren Dieno, Carmen Choney and yours truly (sorry no pictures this time):

Aug. 7 - Edmonton, AB - The first gig of a 10 day trip - a show at the Western Canada Summer Games. Weather was not on our side and the gig was not very well attended - although those that were there were great. It was interesting to note that Jordan (Aaron's son) and his band Roswell opened for us. During 'Hold My Beer' Aaron invited Jordan up on stage for an impromptu duet. It was great - the pride on Aaron's face was a sight to behold.

Aug. 11- Little Current, ON - A festival sponsored by the local radio station, we arrived the night before into Sudbury ON and drove three hours to Manitoulin Island where Little Current is located. Our hotel was a nice Inn on the lake - a great place to stay although unfortunately located about a half hour from the gig. The crowd was great as per usual. After the gig - we got back to Sudbury to our hotel, We slept for about one and a half hours then headed to....

Aug. 12 - Wood Mountain, SK - Well - not directly. We flew to Regina and then drove to Assiniboia SK. We checked in to a hotel (no names will be mentioned) which is probably one of the most appalling hotels I have ever been in. Flies, stains on the floor, walls, and curtains - smoke laden and just plain awful. Darren and I arranged for a ride to Regina (courtesy of Scooter who lives there) and booked our own room in a more livable situation. We felt bad for the rest of the band - but they chose to rough it. The gig however was another story. Another fun time - a mixture of several small communities at a music festival held in the middle of Saskatchewan. Nice folks. Darren and I got back into Regina into our beautiful room and got a good night's sleep.

More With Aaron

I just returned from Ontario from two gigs with Aaron.

July 28 - Delta ON - A fair in Ontario. We played the set - ate some mini donuts and drove 5 hours to get to our next gig as it was an afternoon start. Nice people. Darren had a hot dog that was half burned and half raw. MEDIUM HEAT people. Also, some carnival folk berated him into playing one of their games. After he won, they berated him into playing again as the prize they gave him was "something you'd find in a dumpster". God bless the Carny folk.

July 29 - Fergus ON - A truck show. Aaron and Greg Evigan from BJ And The Bear. Show business.....

Anyhow - nothing too eventful. We wrote some suggestive songs in the car ... one called "Da Shocka" .... ask me and I'll sing it to you. Bye...

June 21- July 16 - Aaron Pritchett, Al Foreman and Eric Martin (walk into a bar...)

Here is a brief recount of the last few week's events:

June 21 - Vancouver, BC - A benefit gig for "Rock Against Diabetes". I did a set with jam band Combustible Jimmy and finished up with a set with Eric Martin - a great singer noted for his work with Mr. Big. It's always an interesting experience getting to meet the people you listened to on the radio when you grew up. It's even more interesting when you become a musician and get to play with these people. This has happened to me a few times: playing "Taking Care Of Business" with Randy Bachman, "Working For The Weekend" with Mike Reno, "My Girl" with Bill Henderson. Well, it happened again with Eric. "To Be With You" was a #1 hit around the world. Playing that song as well as a bunch of his others was great fun. Hopefully we can do it again someday.

June 30 - Peterborough, ON - Last year Aaron and band were slated to perform a gig at the Festival Of Lights. However the outdoor gig was cut short as Mother Nature sent in a tornado about five songs in. The gig was rescheduled for this year. Gig went great. This was the first gig for my brother in law (nepotism?) bassist Shane Hendrickson. He nailed it of course. He phoned his other bosses, Natalie McMaster and the Leahy family who all came out to watch us.

July 1 - Toronto, ON - A Canada Day gig for CMT featuring Aaron and a few other bands (Jason Blaine, Corb Lund Band and The Roadhammers). We did a quick line check and hit the stage. Another good gig. Shane and I grabbed a taxi to the airport after wards and flew home.

July 2 - Vancouver, BC - The Yale blues bar. This gig is always fun and the band is always exceptional. Jerry Adolphe and Jack Lavin (the rhythm section) are great players and the hosts of this Monday night gem. The rest of the band was Tim Porter (a fellow Vancouver Islander and GREAT guitarist) and Al Foreman (highly entertaining - pianist/ harp/ vocalist). Al sings a bunch of great tunes and I get to blow lots of sax.

July 4 & 5 - Calgary, AB - The beginning of the Calgary Stampede run began with two corporate gigs with Aaron. These types of gigs are, to be perfectly honest, cash grabs. They're fun but generally because we make our own fun. The audience is never generally "into it" and these gigs were no exception, but they're gigs nonetheless and that's a very good thing.

July 10 - Calgary, AB - This was a gig at the Nashville North tent on the Stampede grounds. This gig always stands out at being one of the loudest onstage - not the band but the crowd. Women screaming for Aaron trumps the band everytime. Great crew and a great gig. See the bottom four pictures above.

July 11 - Calgary, AB - Another corporate gig at the Sheraton Au Claire. An acoustic gig - the change up was fun. I also saw Bon Jovi in the lobby of the hotel. They looked stunning. They were all wearing sunglasses inside which made them all look "incognito". Nothing draws attention like a party of ten wearing sunglasses inside. On steel horses they ride.

July 13 - Lloydminster, AB - A gig where the stage was in the middle of some rodeo grounds. My first mini donuts of the season. Finished the gig and got back on the bus for an all night drive to Peace River. Incidentally, our bus was used the previous two nights by Bon Jovi. So yes, I rode the steel horse they rode.

July 14 - Peace River, AB - This was a cool little music festival at a really cool location - a train trestle behind us and a river beside us. This gig was especially fun for me as we shared the bill with Nazareth and The Headpins. After the gig I planted myself side stage and watched both band's sets. Great fun. Hits aplenty and I took sadistic pleasure in watching the security weed the Peace River "undesirables" out of the crowd. There was a lot of arrests - and the police chose to put the guilty parties right beside our bus. We thought about bringing out the rider for them to snack on as their "last meal" before their incarceration into the town drunk tank. However, we chose not to as we were hungry. Sorry guys. Next time, perhaps.

July 15 - Craven, SK - Another all night ride and we pulled into the Craven Music Festival. We closed up the night in the "beer garden" after Reba Mcintire's set on the mainstage. As expected - another loud rocking night where the women were screaming at Aaron's every move. Aaron extended the encore and we pulled off a 2 hour ten minute show. Dwayne our bus driver intercepted a few young men who, fueled by alcohol. made their way onto the stage (perhaps they were from Peace River). The crowd was estimated at no less than 10,000 people. It was a nice way to finish up this little run. See the top two pictures including the sign which was thrown up onstage. Rock and roll.

July 16 - 5:22AM - Regina Airport - flying home to my own bed.

A Week In The Life - June 4 - June 10 2007

I'm writing this in point form to add to the hectic tone. I didn't bring my camera so unfortunately I have no pictures to share.

June 4 - Leave for airport at 3:30AM PST - flights to Nashville. Arrive at 4:30PM MST - hotel by 5:30PM. Quick nap - 7:30PM leave for gig at Stage lounge on Broadway. Gig at 9:30PM with Aaron Pritchett - back to hotel at midnight.

June 5 - Leave for airport at 5:30AM MST - flights back to Vancouver. Arrive at 1:00PM PST - get in car and drive to Vancouver Island ferry to Victoria. Ferry is delayed an hour. Arrive in Victoria at 6:00PM. Soundcheck at 6:30PM - gig at 8:00PM with Vancouver party band Dr. Strangelove. Back to hotel at 1:30AM.

June 6 - Leave hotel at 6:00AM - ferry to Vancouver at 7:00AM. Arrive in Vancouver at 8:45AM and head to gig - CKNW Orphan's Fund picnic at 9:30AM - have pre arranged my gear to be waiting for me - it was tight but I made it. Home at 2:30PM -sleep for two hours - head to Coquitlam (suburb of Vancouver) to a casino for a casual - soundcheck at 7:30PM - gig at 8:30PM. Home at 1:00AM

June 7 - 6:00AM - pick up my wife from the airport - back home at 9:00AM (rush hour) - sound absorbing fabric guy arrives to install panels in my brand new home studio and isolation booth. Pay bills, learn new material etc. until he leaves. Afternoon nap again - gig at 9:00PM - home at 1:30AM.

June 8 - Session at 9:30AM - three songs - organs and keyboards. Home at 12:30PM - pack and head to airport for 3:30PM flight to Toronto. Arrive in TO at 12:00AM EST - hotel at 1:00AM.

June 9 - 8:30AM lobby call - two and a half hour drive to Minden, Ontario - a small town with a big heart. Soundcheck at 4:00PM - gig at 8:00PM with Aaron Pritchett - back to hotel at 12:30AM.

June 10 - 4:30AM lobby call - drive back to Toronto. As some of flights leave earlier than others we arrive early to YYZ - my flight is at 11:00AM. Email - eat and catch the flight. Back in Vancouver at 4:00PM PST. Session at 5:30PM - the producer on the session has taken very ill and needs me to bail him out while he recovers - I create drum loops and play my parts for 14 songs - it has to be done by 9:00AM the next morning. I work - drink coffee - work - nap - work - order pizza - work - eat - nap ...

June 11 - 8:30AM - Done! Acoustic guitarist is arriving at 9:00AM - however - the producer is still ill and someone has to record the guitarist .... he's a friend and I agree to do it. Andreas Schuld (the guitarist) arrives and wails through his parts - they sound great and go down very quickly. Home at 11:30AM - and sleep. 2:30PM I awake - unpack - put gear away - laundry - string arrangement for a producer ... send it off. Bed.

June 12 - Recap and write the blog.... so there was a quick snapshot into my life as a musician. Good times.