Happy New Year

All the best in 2008. I'm in my studio right now. I'm finishing up Aaron Pritchett's new record and doing some keyboard overdubs for a few people. After so much road work last year, I'm also looking forward to living in my house for a while.

See ya!

Melanie Doane and Wide Mouth Mason - Canadian Pacific Holiday Train - Dec. 1 - 18 2007

I have had the pleasure in the past of participating in this wonderful trip. Randall Prescott (musician/ producer/ songwriter etc. extraordinaire) in conjunction with the Canadian Pacific Railways organizes this yearly event which is tough to describe - one must see it to truly understand it's majesty - but here goes:

Nine years ago, CPR decided they wanted to give money to food banks in communities in Canada and the US where they operated. It started as a train decorated with lights traveling from town to town giving out donations. Long story short - I was contacted four years ago by Randall to act as musical director. He explained the train was going "live". CPR had built a "stage car" which housed a PA system and full stage gear - all of which is strapped down tightly. The acts (in the first year were The Moffatts, The Ennis Sisters and Tracey Brown) would perform a half hour set in about 70 communities over a three week period all the while living on the train in very comfortable staterooms. Since then - I have acted as the MD whereby my duties include rehearsing the band, playing the odd impromptu acoustic set for VIPs as well as record specific musical cues on my portable recording rig.

This year saw the return of Wide Mouth Mason whom I met last year and have since become good friends with. Their original drummer Safwan was unable to do the trip so his sub was the terrific Pat Steward whom I've known for years. His accolades include work with Colin James, Matthew Good, The Odds and of course Bryan Adams (that's him on "Summer Of '69" among many others). It's great fun getting to be (In my own words) the "fourth guy" and play rhythm guitar and keys to all their great songs.

Melanie Doane was someone I had not known personally until this trip however her reputation preceded her. She is a tremendous person and an amazing talent. She plays terrific violin and we have only scratched the surface on her abilities as a guitarist, mandolinist, drummer and bass player. Then - she sings like an angel and writes amazing songs. ON TOP of that - she's an excellent hang and a beautiful soul. Her quiet perfectionism and endless positive energy is a great source of inspiration. I hope I get to work with her again.

We quickly became a very good "band". We perform two Wide Mouth tunes, two Melanie tunes and throw in a couple of holiday tunes to reflect the season. The closer is a tune Melanie performs - a 5/8 fiddle tune called "Tamarack" which includes a quote from Kiss' "Detroit Rock City" where we perform the famous solo section from that song.

To break down every gig would take forever as we're making about 60 stops in 18 days - suffice to say it's a lot of fun. We have a great crew and as I write this we have two more days to go. I'll miss it - however December 2008 will come quicker than I think it will. Thanks to everyone including:

Wide Mouth Mason (Shaun, Earl, Pat), Melanie Doane, Randall Prescott, Steve Petrie (Stage Manager) Jill Winkler (our chef), Mark Seland, Breanne Fiegel, John Dorais, Mark Rickerby, Michel Spenard, Heather Jones, Leslie Pitcock, Steve Sugars, Kevin Hrysak, Richard Young, Ian Libby, Richard Alain, Operation Lifesaver, Phil Dangerfield, Scott Hughes, Hoppy and family, Scott, Tom, Larry, Nadine, Mark, Gawiya, and many others that I'm forgetting. Next year - the 10 year anniversary of the Holiday Train and 150 for CPR. Looking forward to it.

APB Vancouver Island tour - Nov. 23-29 2007

We hit the road one last time this year. A quick recap:

Nov. 23 - ADSS Theatre, Port Alberni BC - Nice gig and their culinary arts department didn't disappoint - another fine meal. A mill recently closed there and despite the hard times the town is facing the crowd was really into it.

Nov. 24 - Tidemark Theatre, Campbell River BC - A nice theatre - a sold out affair. It was Scooter's (our FOH guy) birthday. Aaron brought him up on stage and we ate cake.

Nov. 25 - Cowichan Theatre, Duncan BC - Another sellout - this is one of my favorite venues to play. Great crew and a very nice theatre.

Nov. 26 - Evergreen Theatre, Powell River BC - A beautiful part of the world. Nice gig once again.

Nov. 27 - Sechelt BC - I can't remember the name of theatre however this gig has an interesting story. The promoter could not justify doing this gig due to the expense - however a lady named Erin started a campaign on Facebook to get Aaron Pritchett to play at this venue. It was such a successful campaign that enough tickets were sold to make the gig feasible. Crazy crowd. Darren and I enjoyed our third Thai meal of the trip.

Nov. 28 - Port Theatre, Nanaimo BC - GREAT gig. My hometown (more or less). My Dad and Nana came to the gig as did my good pal Lee Worden and his Dad Marv and daughter Lily. The crew was great and the gig was another sell out. The old hometown rocked it.

Nov. 29 - Pit Pub at UBC, Vancouver BC - College crowd - a residual gig from the one we did at Thunderbird Stadium earlier this year. Good fun - and my last APB gig of the year as I am committed to another tour. Guitarist Jay Buettner picks up where I left off for the final APB gigs of the year.

Nov. 8-11 - Four in four with the APB

Within four days - the Aaron Pritchett band (Aaron, Mitch, Mike S., Ron, Darren and myself) join our crew (Scooter and Warren), our road manager (Carmen) and our new driver (Don Stafford) for four gigs in three provinces (the equivalent to the USA's "states" FYI). It is testament to the crew and driver that these types of runs can be pulled off. Scooter and Warren always have us up and running in the most difficult of situations and of course we wouldn't be anywhere (literally) without a good bus driver. Donnie is no exception. We got to each gig safe, sound and well rested.

Nov. 8 - Dukes Cabaret, Grande Prairie AB - Big ol' rocking cabaret gig. Nice people and another good time. Joel and his staff made us feel very welcome.

Nov. 9 - North Valley Cultural Centre, Fort St. John BC - This is a theatre I've played several times in the past. Nice gig and always a great crowd. A little girl came up on stage and gave us all flowers. It was very nice.

Nov. 10 - Shaw Conference Centre, Edmonton AB - This was a gig for the Canadian Finals Rodeo, which I imagine is a rodeo event of some kind (I'm not really an aficionado of said sport). Nice gig and we got to visit Sam Wok's, one of our favorite eateries in Edmonton.

Nov. 11 - Regina, SK in a big hall by the Brandt Centre - This was a similar event to the night before - a big cabaret for the Western finals of the Grey Cup - the equivalent to the USA's "Super Bowl" (yes I've had some US readers - hence the clarifications). We got in late for soundcheck due to bad weather.... but that is due in part to our driver Don who decided to get us there late and alive rather than potentially not at all. Good call Don - thanks. I could learn a lot from you.

BCCMA Awards Show - Oct. 28 2007

I had the good fortune to play as part of the house band (and damn near the same house band as were at the CCMA's a month and a half earlier) for the British Columbia Country Music Awards show. I got to play with some fine BC singers including Kelly Brock, Ken McCoy and Emily Adams among many others. JRFM's Chris Coburn hosted along with Carolyn Dawn Johnson who also sang a couple of songs. Aaron and her debuted a song that we recorded a few days earlier called 'I Wonder'. Aaron cleaned up as did Jessie Farrell who also performed. Lots of fun.

Oct. 22-25 - The Warehouse - Aaron Pritchett record

Aaron Pritchett and his manager/ guitarist Mitch Merrett asked that I be involved in the production of Aaron's new CD which I of course accepted. My history with Aaron is a long one. I met him in the early 90's when he was a finalist in a Canada wide talent contest (Paul Brandt was also a finalist - neither him nor Aaron won - and look at them both now!). Over the years - Aaron has been working on his career as a singer and I've been a part of it. His first CD was produced by Tony Rudner - it was a four song EP and I played on two cuts. Next - we did a review show together at Vancouver's Pacific National Exhibition. I produced five songs off his next CD - "Consider This". I played on his next two CD's and have written several songs with him - three of which have been on two of his CD's including one pretty big hit - "Lucky For Me". For almost two years I've played in his live band. To come back to the producer's chair is a great opportunity.
We chose 16 songs to record - tunes Aaron had co written with outside writers as well as songs sent to him by publishers. As it turns out - 13 of the strongest songs came from Aaron and his co writers. The studio was set up on Sunday the 21st and we were off.
The roll call: drummer Jerry Adolphe, bassist John Dymond, guitarist Jay Buettner, guitarist/ steel player Russ Pahl, engineer/ producer Dean Maher, assistant engineer Scott Ternan and yours truly on keyboards. THIS is the team you want on a record. A great band - musically very mature. They're all great guys and a great hang as well.
We cut four tracks a day for four days. This included overdubs and as a result - the "bed tracks" are damn near complete musically - it already sounds like a complete record. We had fun arranging the tunes (most of which were demoed using just an acoustic guitar and vocal). All the performances came off very progressive sounding for Aaron which is a good thing - growth from album to album is important.
It was great to spend time with Russ. He's a top Nashville musician - playing on many major records and demos. Currently he tours with Vince Gill. I first met him when he came to play on Aaron's "Big Wheel" album. I took him to Stanley Park one morning and had a great time. He had a lot to offer and I took home a lot of lessons for my own personal musical "library".
On the final day we cut a duet with Carolyn Dawn Johnson which may or may not appear on the CD - there is only going to be room for about 11 songs. Aaron and her will debut it at the BBCMA show which happens in two days from the time I post this.
Next up we're going to get busy at my home studio recording a few overdubs and the vocals. Hopefully by January we'll be mixing! Stay tuned....

More Pix from Greece