Yeah, this is us, photographed with a drugstore camera at a blues festival in Kitchener, ON, last weekend. We're taking care of details leading up to departure on what is possibly the biggest blues tour ever mounted in Canada- over 55 concerts, pretty much back to back, coast to coast on over 20,000 km of highway. I'm Doc, and I'll be trying to operate this blog as we tour, so I hope you'll bear with me as I get in the groove of formating.
The Big Road Blues Tour is a pretty amazing thing. It's not even mobile yet. But I think it's an important indicator that the blues is very much alive, well and thriving in the digital age. When I was a young guy, soaking my harps in corn liquor, I never imagined that my office would include more than a record player and a coffee pot. But now, here we are- wired in a whole different way. What I want to underline is that tours as comprehensive as this one simply could not have been organized by independent, niche artists in the past. The internet has evolved to enable us to connect and to create viable markets for the music. True, these are micro-markets, but they are substantial enough to support a growing number of creative artists and to encourage them to make some real contributions to the blues. This is a great time to be a musician or a fan- we're making this happen together.
But it's not magic. Many hours over many weeks are still involved. I've got a bound Tourbook three inches thick of maps, confirmations, contracts, schedules, addresses, contacts, media dates. It's a back up for the laptop and the cell phone. Posters have gone out. Advance cds. Press releases are being customized for each show and scheduled for release. Phoners to radio are being sought and arranged. Tour jackets are done- now waiting on delivery. (Diva did 'em, and they are nice!) We're gonna raffle some of them off at shows. This is all the boring stuff. Soon we'll be on the road! Hey, I put nitro in the truck tires and Dave's bought himself a Gibson Northern Jumbo. I'll get the schedule and some links up over the next few days. Actually, I'm on the road already- eastern Ontario this week and a couple of dates in Alberta next week. Thanks for dropping by.
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