Blue Grotto, Kamloops, BC

A great mountain drive from Enderby into Kamloops! The sun catching all sorts of angles on the strange, humpy hills that envelop this little city. After checking into our hotel we went down to the club for soundcheck. Another nice one! The Blue Grotto has a mostly wooden interior, great sightlines, quality stage, sound and lighting. We got set up and sounding good in just a few minutes time. Nice to have a sound guy that really understands EQ! Thanks Tony!!



Talked to the folks from 92.5 FM for a while before the show.

Vince and his blues partner have been big supporters on their Monday and Tuesday night blues shows- really much appreciated! Dave and I did some station IDs for them, and later Dave sat down and told some longer stories for broadcast. Pics and stuff later when I can get to a terminal with brains. (I'm back with pics...) Here's a pic of me with a local guitar hero- we brought him a rooster from his family in Yorkton, SK... Oh, that's a different kind of story. All great blues folks, the kind we like to meet over and over again.



An early start here- we went on at about 8:15 and played a first set that was about an hour and a quarter. Not the house we would of hoped for, but by intermission the room was quite busy- so we had a good house going into our second set. An early ending here. Back at the hotel before midnight to get on line and deal with press releases and the ferry schedules ahead of us. We'll be on our way to Vancouver in the morning, after which the tour moves out to the Islands for a few days. Can't wait!!!

Lorenzo's Cafe, Enderby, BC

A stunning drive though the mountains to get here today. We drove up route 40, bipassing Calgary city sprawl and seeing plenty of wildlife. We took quite a few pictures on the way. Way too many, actually! I remember doing this the first time I visited the Grand Canyon. But this is Canada, and the pics are digital, so who cares! Our perfect day has clouds now, sometimes level with, or in the valleys down below our road. There has been snow here, up in the high country, and it's remains can be seen here and there along these empty roads. Didn't see more than a couple of cars in 150 km up to the TransCanada. Here's what it looked like:






Nice, huh? We had Jimmy and Stevie cranked up in the truck to start off this drive- I think the cd is "Brother to Brother" or something like that. The album has held up surprisingly well over the years. It was great music on this empty road. Then we got out J.B. Lenoir- a cool recording featuring him and Willie Dixon talking and jamming. Fred McDowell and Johnny Woods was the chaser. The Fat Possum issue of this old field recording is possibly one of the greatest country blues albums. I'd heard one or two of these tracks before, but not the whole collection. Amazing. That's what it's all about. Go there.

We rolled into Lornzo's in late afternoon. It's a great little place, built by Lorne- a "woodland paradise." We did a very good show. Great sound. A few people who knew Dave from Saskatoon and Winnipeg showed up to say hello and catch the Big Road Blues Tour. We get quite a few of Dave's fans seeking us out. An excellent house, especially as it is Tuesday night! How do all these people find this place? This is very "west," if I may say so- people don't seem to mind driving long distances to catch shows. People were in tonight from Salmon Arm and Kamloops. I guess they know these mountain roads, I'd think the drive would be a little bit of work in the dark with frost on the road! I'll put up some pics when I can get a terminal with brains! (That would be now- Hi! I'm back, weeks later to drop these in!). Lorne built this place out of a one room school house into a large, multi-floored venue. It's got great, high ceilings, wonderful sound, wood everywhere- bowling alley motif, as Lorne used salvaged wood to construct this one of a kind concert room. And he serves fabulous meals. And the bar is good. And the company is wonderful. Go visit, say "hi" to Lorne and his staff.


Off to Kamloops, BC in the morning. First we'll stop by the river to see the salmon run. This place is so far from the ocean it is absolutely incredible that the fish can make it here to spawn. Addendum: The run was pretty much over by this time, but we did see dozens of big, pink slow moving fish down below the bridge. This is what it looked like, early in the morning, just a mile from Lorenzo's Cafe. A short drive today- good! Dave says, hi!!

High River, AB

Hung out in Black Diamond for most of the day eating vitamins, fighting this cold and catching up on email and the Blog. A nice drive over to High River where we arrived at Mel's Music late in the afternoon. Outside we met Mel himself with Ken Hamm and Bruce Everett, who had driven in from Calgary for the show. Kevin Belsner sold us some harmonica's and then took us across the street to the venue. The drive from Black Diamond looked like this-


Demand had been so great for tickets that our show had been moved to the old town hall which was across the street and around the corner! Great! Monday night in High River, AB was looking up. Ken, Bruce and I went for a beer while the sound guy got the system up. Dave met us and we went down the main street for coffee before the show. The weather remains perfect- we've been wearing the lightweight tour jackets and the fall colours have been beautiful. Again, very cool to be running into Ken Hamm out here. He's been at it as long or longer than Dave and I, and is perhaps better known to folk festival audiences than in the blues world. Ken should be much better known- he's been real good for way over 30 years now. Check him out if you have not heard him yet.

Another great listening crowd. Near capacity house. Dave and I had a fun time. Our show continues to get more relaxed, and the banter more interesting! We had Ken and Bruce come up to play a tune before the end of the show, and I asked Bruce up to join Dave and I for a triple harmonica encore- "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl." Suitcase James also paid us a visit, wish he'd come to play! Next time, eh, Suitcase?
Here's a couple of "musician pictures." Bruce, Suitcase, Dave, Ken, and myself.

Bruce and I.

We'll be up early to do banking and then eight or nine hours of driving to Enderby, BC. I can (more or less) sing again, rather than the raspy grind I've been passing off for the last couple of days. Dave says hi!!

The Stop, Black Diamond, AB

An easy drive down from Edmonton on a perfect day. We had breakfast with Ken Hamm and Bruce Everett, who had been doing a show elsewhere in Edmonton last night. Rick Fines and Suzie Vinnick were also in town to play, but we were not able to connect with them for the country blues breakfast. Anyway, we had a good time catching up, and the lads will be coming down to our show in High River, AB on Tuesday night. The ride south looked like this:

Rolling into Black Diamond- wow- what a great looking town. Neat little place with the mountains as a backdrop. It was biker day at the The Stop, so the street was clogged with choppers as we pulled in and looked for a spot to unload our gear. The Stop was already pretty much packed with people waiting to hear us. It was a listening audience and, again, they were with us from the start!

This is what the place looks like from the other side-


My cold is still giving me grief, but I managed to croak my way through the first set without too much trouble. Of course, I had to sing at full volume all the time to be heard at all, but the crowd was kind, so it worked out. At half time some gals from Calgary took me next door to the Black Diamond Hotel, where they bought me bourbon- which seemed to help quite a bit! Met Suitcase James in the parking lot, so cool that he came out- man, I love his playing. He does no wrong!

The Stop is a great little venue with a fabulous bunch of people who hang out there. Between sets everybody went outside for a chicken toss (yes, that's right- toss the chicken into a pail and win the pot!). This was actually pretty cool fun, and a good time was had by all.


For our last set the room was packed with people standing in every available space! They gave us a standing ovation at the end, and Dave and I came back on and played a piece with two harmonicas. That was cool. Did I tell you before that Dave has got me playing harp again? I really hadn't played in the last twenty years! We got going the first night in Halifax, which was little scary for me. Thank goodness no working harp dogs were in the front row! Anyway, with thirty some odd dates behind us it's now quite a bit easier- and it seems to be going down pretty well. I'm having fun with it. Heck, that used to be my life, blowing harp. And I'm really liking Dave's harp playing alot. I'm gonna miss him when this tour is over- he does great stuff with my songs.

Came back with my new pals Rick, and Suzanne and "Hoogy" Hoogstraten, had a great dinner- after which we played some music long into the night. Sometimes life is very good! Dave says "hi." Here's Dave and Rick having tea:
Suzanne, Hoogy and I had the stronger stuff and enjoyed ourselves, too!












Hoogy was a real cowboy before becoming an in demand film cowboy. Isn't he handsome? (Just kidding, Hoogy!) And he's a great clawhammer banjo player.
Not often I meet folks I enjoy as much as these! I'm really looking forward to staying in touch with all my new friends in Black Diamond, Alberta. The town has a great sense of community, and a great vibe, I can't wait to return!

Blue Chair, Edmonton, AB

A long day. Six AM start to drive from Yorkton, SK to Edmonton. We needed to get to Edmonton for a 3:30 soundcheck at CKUA. We got in with about half an hour to spare and had time to meet host Holger Petersen for coffee before getting too busy. The show went off really well- stories, a bunch of laughs and few live songs on the radio. My cold is leaning in hard on me so I'm using Halls and hot water between songs! Holger, Dave and I have known each other since the mid 1970's, so getting togther on his radio show was relaxed fun for all of us. It was nice to learn that our show at the Blue Chair was sold out! Good! Our pals Ken Hamm, Rick Fines and Suzie Vinnick are also playing gigs in town on this evening- so we tried to plug their shows instead of our own. Get out and hear some great live blues, folks!

Over to the Blue Chair for soundcheck. It's easy to get around Edmonton as the streets are numbered instead of named, so getting across town did not involve too much stress. Owner Harold was waiting for us and helped us in with our gear. He had us soundchecked and up sounding good in no time. This is clearly a top notch listening room. We were to learn that the food is also very, very good.


Soon the place is packed- every seat reserved and pre-sold! Nice to be in a venue that takes care of business. The shows went off really nicely.




Somebody put a clip up on YouTube- I haven't got the link yet, put will put it up here when I do. (OK, heard it- sound is very, very rough. Oh, well. Thanks for trying!) Holger Petersen joined us for drinks between sets- showing off his new, Big Road Blues tour jacket. This was our gift to Holger- hey, good swag, eh? Hey, how come he's not wearing it for the photo?

We were also to sell several tour jackets over the evening, as well as the raffle jacket. Folks from Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary showed up to take in second and third shows. Boy, it sure is nice- I can't say how much we appreciate this kind of support and encouragement! A couple of ovations and encores at the end, and we're finally back on the road looking for our hotel. By 2:AM we're checked into what turned out to be a stinking little joint and ready for sleep.

Yorkton, SK, Gallagher Convention Centre

We slept in. We did breakfast at Mr. Breakfast with some friends before starting out. We went to Value Village to look for cool stuff. We got big coffees to ride with, gassed up, and away. A smooth run up to Yorkton from Regina. In early, we stopped by the Convention Centre, admired the marquee, and confirmed hotel, soundcheck and load-in information. Off to our rooms for a break before getting to work. I spend a little time looking for an internet connection, but give up and return to my room for 40 winks. There's to be a big hockey game tonight, and the visiting team is also staying in our hotel. So far, all is quiet- and I hope it stays that way. We'll be up in the small hours to drive in the morning, so we'll need all the sleep we can get tonight.

Back to the Gallagher, where we load in, set up, rough in the sound. It's a big room with banks of speakers in different locations. The sound tech arrives, we soundcheck in short order. After some adjustments, and some discussion, I think we're good to go. It should be alright. We meet the chef- it's going to be a dinner and show package tonight, so we can look forward to being fed, too! But we need to perform afterwards- small servings, please!

The stage sound is good. The show is good. We have fans in the house keeping the place pumped. We sell a pile of cds, tour jackets, posters. It's a pretty nice night with a whole lot of friendly folks. I spend a few minutes talking to some grain farmers about frost lines, GPS machinery, the cost of fuel, computers. As small businesses we have quite a bit more in common than one might of imagined. I certainly come away with an increased respect for what these families do and how they do it. The only thing "rural" about these folks is their location. They know their blues, and they know the world, too!

Here's one proud family with their rooster, us, and a couple of their spiffy new tour jackets!

The Exchange, Regina, SK

This was a blast. The Exchange is a wonderful concert venue, and the Regina Delta Blues Association sure knows how to put on a show. We had great sound, lights, monitors, and hospitality on a huge stage in this vintage building. It was a good haul out of Kenora to get to Regina today, but the van is comfortable, and cruises well. We had Muddy cranked up on the stereo, the weather was nice, road life was good. Here's what it looked like-

Nice shoes, dude.

We went over to Long and McQuade Music to check out portastudios before loading in. I had thought that maybe we'd rent one and record a bunch of shows along the way. We elect not to do this. We will regret not recording some of these shows, but the truth of the matter is that we are carrying all the gear that two guys can manage to pack in and out in the context of doing a show. We've got the merch booth, the merch, the inventory sheets, the guitars, stands, suitbags... We decide that we simply do not have enough hands for another piece of gear, nor do we have time to worry about setting it up or operating it. Maybe we'll get to record a show somewhere down the road.

Soundcheck was quick and easy- are we getting spoiled? The show went well.

We had fun and played a couple of encores before calling it a night. Here's the lucky tour jacket winner!

I couldn't find a late night food place near my hotel, so I bought a soft drink and surfed the channels for a few minutes before going to sleep. Regina seems nice and friendly. I can't play here often enough!