Tour: Days 5-8

I'm falling a bit behind with the blog here.

The past few days have been a bit rough. I came down with a cold. This is the second time I've left the maritimes since I moved back home last December, and the second time I've gotten ill. It's starting to feel like it's not a coincidence.

So, anyway, I dosed myself up with Oil of Oregano, Cold F/X, Vitamin D and Advil Cold and Sinus and went and played at Grumpy's on Day 5. Despite my cold, it was a really fun show! With the delightful Brie Neilson hosting the evening, Gern F of United Steel Workers of Montreal behind the bar, and a full room of enthusiastic revellers, we made a great night of it.

On Day 6 I drove to Ottawa and I spent that evening and most of Day 7 recuperating at the home of some dear friends. The house concert on Day 7 went amazingly well, given my state of health. I was so full of Advil Cold and Sinus, I'm amazed my eyes didn't glow like yellow gel-caps. But, my voice held out for me to serenade a room full of lovely, attentive and generous-hearted folks. Also, generous-walleted - thanks, folks!

Now, it's Day 8, I've driven to Peterborough and am at a laundromat here. A solar-powered laundromat, in case you're interested.

Here's the mandatory picture of my car. Note the kleenex on the passenger seat. And my bathing suit still draped over the driver's seat from the pool in Edmundston. Classy.

Summer Shows

About time I posted a list of my summer shows—a couple of wonderful ones have gone by un-blogged (gasp!)

Saturday, July 16, 2011 8-11pm

Pennybrook Folk at the West Dublin Hall

10 Huey Lake Road
West Dublin, NS

$10 at the door

I'll be the feature performer at this monthly Folk Club held on the 3rd Saturday of every month. There will be a few open mic spots, so bring your instruments and voices if you like.

Saturday, July 23, 2011 (on Market Stage at 10; festival runs from 8:30 to 12:30)

Growing Green - Bridgewater Sustainability Festival

On King Street, between Dominion and Empire

Bridgewater, NS

no cover

This free festival runs from celebrates efforts at improving the sustainability of Bridgewater and surrounding communities; come to have fun, learn and share your knowledge.

Friday, August 5

Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival

Lunenburg, NS

Three appearances; 1pm St John's Anglican Church (blues workshop with Thom Swift, Harry Manx and David Myles), 4pm Family Stage Bandstand, and a tweener on the main stage (exact time TBA).
Tickets available from www.folkharbour.com

Thursday, August 25, 7pm

Scuttlebutt Restaurant

139 Montague Street, Lunenburg, NS

great food; no cover

No Fracking Way

I've been spending some time lately working on the campaign to stop hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking) in Nova Scotia.

Hydraulic Fracturing is a process for extracting natural gas embedded in shale rock. The process requires the use (and contamination) of mind-boggling quantities of water. The companies who do it don't want to disclose what chemicals they use. In places where fracking has been allowed on a large scale, it has turned rural landscapes into industrial landscapes.

It seems obvious to me that it's an all-round terrible idea – and we can put a stop to it if we take immediate action.

Anyway, enough talk. I wrote a song about it.



I'm using a Creative Commons license for this song, so you're welcome to repost, distribute and/or sing this song in any non-commercial context, in order to facilitate spreading the word about hydraulic fracturing. The lyrics are included on YouTube and I'd be happy to send you the chords, too. Just drop me a line via my website, facebook, twitter...

And, if you'd like to learn more about fracking, check out these resources put together by the Council of Canadians and the Ecology Action Centre.

I hate to gloat, but...

It's been a little while since I last posted. Just about two months, which is, I guess, the exact amount of time it takes to pack up 2 decades of life in Toronto and resettle out home in rural Nova Scotia.

Wow, is it ever some nice out here. (If you live here, you know what I mean. And if you don't, have you considered moving?)

I've settled in remarkably fast. In some ways, it's like I never left. My dialect and accent are coming right back. And the gentler pace of life suits me down to the ground. Years of rushing around in the city have given way to calm, quiet, easy days. I do a little work. I write some songs. I bring in wood for the stove. I go play cards with my grandmother. I shovel snow. I cook supper. I watch Republic of Doyle. I tweet. I go to bed and sleep like a rock.

For me, it feels like I'm undertaking a rehabilitation: detox from the pressured, go-go-go of city living. Don't get me wrong, I loved living in Toronto. I loved running around, doing a million things, seeing a million people. But I got worn out. And some of the harsher aspects of the city started to get to me. I didn't feel like I could continue to live there and still be the person I want to be or have the life I want for myself.

I chose to simplify. Living here, I can afford to work less, which means more time to be creative, more time to contribute to the greater good, more freedom, more breathing space.

No question, it was still a terrible wrench to leave. I miss a lot of people. I wish a bunch of my Toronto friends and family could have moved out here with me. And, I miss a few things, too. Mostly lunch specials. (Hey, Salad King! Hey, Ritz! Hey, Pho Linh!). But, what Nova Scotia's south shore lacks in diversity of restaurants, it more than makes up in friendly people and pristine forests and beaches. And when others tout the cultural advantages of living in Toronto, I have to smile. Don't they realize that I can go down to the Fire Hall and enjoy incredible, award-winning live music — for 20 bucks or less?

It seems I've landed in Paradise. It's good to be back home.