Winter Tour Part 1 - Road Stories and all.
Ok, I know... I should have written earlier. My apologies... it's very hard to write and drive 5000 + km's.... :) I'm still catching up on email!
So...I've made it to Toronto, after being on the road for over a month, and the songs stuck in my head are: On the Road Again, Wake me up before you go go and... something about packing?? And ... well I would take suggestions at this point! My road music is actually the latest Michael Connolly audio book - Void Moon (which was fantastic by the way...) or a John Grisham audio book... then spice it up with a little Daft Punk's 'Around the World' or Beastie Boys 'No Sleep til Brooklyn' (or Kansas City, or Chicago or.. well, you get it). I bet you that's not what you were thinking a folk artist would say!
Speaking of folk, I've had a ton of audience members tell me I sound like Margo Timmons from the Cowboy Junkies, Allison Krauss or Janis Joplin. What a mix hey? The Western Canadian leg of the tour went very well. Many people showed up at my gigs sent by fans from previous towns. That's so cool.
And speaking of Folk again... I drove a day and a half down to Folk Alliance in Kansas City from my last Western Canada gig in Winnipeg. Folk Alliance could be likened to speed dating between industry and artists. There are panels, workshops and showcases. I ran a private showcase room again from my hotel room-turned-live performance venue with the help of mood lighting, chocolate and an espresso machine. My hotel room jammed from 10:30pm-3am with the sweet sounds of Graydon James & the Young Novelists from Toronto, Liz Stringer from Australia, Mel Parsons from New Zealand, and the F5 Four (a favourite) from Oklahoma. http://f5four.bandcamp.com/ and tons more.
La La Land - the appropriately named showcase room for Vancouver artists, and then some. Posters designed by Christa Couture... and so cool folks were stealing them!
Mr. Graham Nash
A true highlight for me was hearing Graham Nash speak... and he even played a little. I teared up. That also could have been because I got no sleep... again!
After Folk Alliance, I drove north to Minneapolis to visit my friend and fellow 2012 Kerrville New Folk Finalist Andra Suchy. We had fun... saw this fantastic band that apparently Prince checks out all the time. Prince wasn't there that night, but we did sit in his regular seat. The harsh winter began taking its toll on me at this point with a brutal outbreak of eczema. Im used to the misty west coast, not the cold, dry, over-furnaced climes of the midwest and north east. The thing that helped was actually putting oatmeal right on my face...
Andra and I. We love our headgear.
After leaving Minneapolis and realizing I'm officially SICK of winter and being cold... I drove on through, about 8 hours, to the outskirts of Chicago. I'm quite certain the highway-side motel I stayed at had bed bugs... It was an itchy experience not to be repeated. I left a detailed review on Trip Advisor and immediately put all my clothes in hot dryer for 20 minutes. All my clothes were already dry, but apparently the heat kills the bed bugs and I wasn't taking any chances. So far so good...
I've actually become an avid Trip Advisor review writer. I think it's important. I travel a lot and also use reviews myself. Do it!
Then I finally made it back into Canada after 6 or so more hours through MIchigan to arrive last Friday for gig in London Ontario. The border went well.... can't say coming into the US where border guards actually searched my car. Coming home was comparatively easy. I'm thankful for that.
So here I am now, in Toronto, basically pet sitting my way through Ontario and Quebec. I love it! I so miss pets. An old needy shitzhu; an even older doe-eyed rottie, a revolving door of cats. Makes me remember how fond I was of Elvis and all my tours 'Lindsay May on the road with Elvis'... he opened many a radio DJ's door :)
So tomorrow night is Toronto, then Toronto again Tuesday, followed by Oshawa Wednesday (happy birthday to the Cafe owner and coincidentally my little bro), then I leave the Oshawa gig, drive four hours at night to arrive in Ottawa... a quick sleep and a 9am CTV performance. Back to nap, then Ottawa the 13th. A weekend of making maple syrup (seriously...) and then Montreal. It will be great to use my french other than on Radio-Canada interviews!
Big NEWS - Last tour stop - I was chosen to showcase at the NERFA one day conference in New Jersey April 5th... so back to the US I go before the long 5 day drive back to British Columbia. Send me road tunes! Text me jokes! Facebook some love my way :) Don't worry, no more crappy motels where I don't read reviews.
May your seat heaters be set to high,
Lindsay