Just an update....

The weekend was a little rough. I was trying to beat back this miserable flu that’s been running rampant around everyone I know. Alas my efforts were in vain. It struck me like a freight train. I hate being sick. I turn into an unreasonable prick when I have a cold. I blame fellow comic and best friend Brett Martin, vile disease carrier that he is. That’s right I said it!!! He is fully responsible for it. I know it in my heart. (And he knows it too…)

I did a couple of shows for the Laughing Arts Festival. The flu didn’t make them any easier. Suppressing a dry hacking cough is harder than it sounds. The crowds were small, and I wound up fucking around a little more than I normally do. As far as I can tell it went okay. I wish it were easier to get people out to shows than it is.

Overall though, life is pretty good these days. I’m super busy (as per usual…) I’ve got gigs coming out of my ears over the next few days. I like that. There’s nothing like being busy at the things that you like to do. Happily I don’t have to go too far on this round of touring.

The first stop is Lethbridge. Usually this gig goes very well for me. Well, except for last time. I ate it last time. I shit the bed. (So to speak…) The cards were pretty stacked against me though. It was during the playoffs and the bar was empty. It was just totally awkward. This time should be much better though.

Next up is Claresholm. I have never played there before. I have heard good things about the gig. I’m looking forward to playing there.

Then from Thursday to Saturday I play at my home club, Yuk Yuks here in Calgary. I haven’t been on stage there in quite a while. I’m exited to get it on. I’m going to try and shoot some video for a DVD I’ve been threatening to make. If it looks good, then it’s a go. If not, I’m going to try again in Saskatoon on September 1st.

Other stuff…

I have continued on with my Johnny Cash collection. I picked up a couple more CD’s. The first is “The Legend of Johnny Cash” which has a lot of his early stuff. There’s a really good version of “Cry Cry Cry” on there.

The second is the last disc he ever recorded. Called “American V: A Hundred Highways” It has some cuts that were finished just weeks before his death. It’s a little creepy in a way, but the songs are pretty strong.

I also picked up a new DVD too. It’s a strange documentary about The Clash. It’s called “Rude Boy.” There is a fictitious character that plays a roadie / fuck up that tags along with The Clash during their two UK tours in 1978 and 1979. It’s pretty good. It’s like an arty rockumentary, but it doesn’t really distract from the performances. It’s a neat little time capsule.

I hate fences...

“To one who builds it, a fence is an image of safety, of security, of things being kept where they belong. Yet a person who feels safe, or secure, doesn’t bother building fences at all. And so a fence, or a wall, or a security barrier, is equally an image of gnawing insecurity, made tangible, in brick and razor wire.

Do fences really make good neighbours? We’ll find out soon enough!” – Adbusters Aug 2006

This quote has been gnawing away in the back of my mind since I read it. I think the question deserves an answer. Do fences make good neighbours?

It seems that just about everywhere we go, there is some sort of fence in the way. Whether it be made of the afore mentioned brick and razor wire, or perhaps less tangible, like a social barrier.

I remember when the Berlin wall came down. The entire world hung on that moment. Strangely that was a fence designed more so to keep people in, rather than to keep people out. When it came down, the world seemed like a little bit of a better place, like perhaps for a moment a blow had been struck. People had had enough and took matters into their own hands. It was a powerful moment in modern history.

Then, in less than 20 years, it seems like we live in a time that is becoming more hopeless. It’s as if that wall never fell. In fact, fences are going up all over the world at a near break neck pace.

If we look at the current (and very confusing) conflict between Israel and Palestine (As well as Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Hezbollah etc.) we find another physical wall constructed. It could not be more deliberate either. The differences of culture, wealth, and power are illuminated very clearly by the physical manifestation of hatred and frustration. A big fucking wall. One side is wealthy, and desperate to protect itself, and the other has tired of being displaced and treated like an under class.

On this side of the world we have a big wall too. It used to be the world’s largest unprotected border. That is not the case anymore. Now there are platoons of terrified hillbillies and their ilk, watching with vigilance over the border. (In addition to both Canadian and American Immigration authorities.)

Do these walls help? Likely not. I’m convinced they lie to us. Sometimes they imply safety where there is none. Other times they just add fuel to an already raging fire. Perhaps it makes more sense to remove all the walls, and knock down the fences completely. They don’t seem to be doing any real good.

Maybe all they really do is say “Hey I’m hiding something!” Maybe if we were left out in the open, it would be a lot harder to ignore the troubles staring us right in the face. To me a fence is just another tool of denial. If I can’t see it, it must not be there. Maybe on a Nation state scale it shields the populace from a sense of shame or guilt.
Wouldn’t it be better if you could turn to your neighbour and see what their world is really like? It’s a lot harder to be hostile when you understand those who surround you. The barriers that exist only serve to prevent us from ever being able to stand level footed with those who live on the other side.

How can you ever hope to communicate when there is something in the way?

Just a Quick Update

I have been neglecting the blog for too long. I have been busy living life for a change. I got involved in a festival, and have been paying a lot more attention to the career. It’s a really nice change in my life. I feel like the reins are in my hands again.

I have left Leger. Currently I have no day job to speak of. That feels good too. It was about time for the change. I had become stale, and needed to move on for some time. Happily I got put out of my misery. It’s not a bad thing to be “downsized” if it means that your life will improve.

This weekend has been fun too. I’ve gotten to hang out with Erin. That rocks. Given that the next few weeks will be very busy for me, I’m glad that I got to spend some quality time with her. I know she doesn’t like the touring as much as she pretends. I know she gets lonely. I don’t blame her at all, I would get lonely too. (In fact I do… the road is a lonely place.)

I got some new CD’s too. Some real gooders. (Like tons of Johnny Cash…)

1) Johnny Cash – Unchained
2) Johnny Cash – American Recordings
3) Johnny Cash – American III
4) Johnny Cash – American IV (The Man Comes Around)
5) Kinnie Starr – Sun Again
6) Thievery Corporation - The Richest Man In Babylon

The Cash stuff is fantastic. I really like the Rick Rubin produced stuff. It has more soul in it. It’s much less country, and more folk. I really like most of the covered songs too. I wish I had developed an appreciation for him sooner.

Anyhoo, I’ll post something more meaty soon.

End of Transmission.