Nova Scotia Hello- The Trellis, Hubbards, NS

Matchstick Mike and I- looking better than we ought to after an evening of playing and hanging out. It was great to see Mike again, and even better to hear him play. I think we'll be doing this again. Mike is a real "gentleman guitar player," in spite of his over the top reputation. We sounded really good and had fun. Now I'm going to drive for five hours... and Mike will be going back to bed for a nap!

A pleasant drive down past Moncton, over the great gas divide, into Nova Scotia. The first view of the province is now marred, or enhanced, by a skyline of giant props. I understand this windswept flatland is a practical place to build something like this- but I'm not sure it's the welcome I want as I roll in from away.

I usually stop here and stretch my bones. I think I've heard pipers here in the past. Today, I roar by in the Lincoln. I've got to make my gig in Hubbards. I'm not in a big rush, but I don't have time to spare, either.

It's nice to arrive at Hubbards. Fog just picking up in little patches. Rain. Then sun. The coast is like this. It's warm, but I can taste the sea.

Wilma and her brilliant staff feed me well, fill my wineglass with local red, and help me set up. It's a good sounding room. A few folks come out from Halifax- not as many as I might hope for, but enough for a comfortable little show. I play really well. Some nights are just like that. I hear it all, I tell some stories. It's good to be back in Nova Scotia.

After the show the staff go dancing at the Oceanside. I decline. Tonight I sleep. Lotta shows between now and Christmas time.

Night on the Town of Woodstock, NB

Big, bold slashes of highway across the New Brunswick highlands. The Lincoln is purring along under cruise control and I'm enjoying the ride. This car got me from Cornwall, ON to Edmundston, NB on a single tank of gas. The overdrive is quite cool...

I came down one of the old, back highways for part of the day. Strong resemblance to rural Quebec here, except I can order food in English without the guilt. Actually, my broken french seems to work better here. God is always standing in the distance, trying to figure out what to do with me next...

Clearly, Woodstock, NB is to be spared my devil's music yet once more. I'm a little early for soundcheck, but apparently a little late to learn of the venue's closing! I head up the road to Tim Horton's, where the wifi is free, to plot my night on the Town. Damn!

Mobile!! It's A Go!!

Mobile this morning in just a few minutes time. Not without the odd glitch- damned if I can find the camera to computer cable I need to transfer pics- I'll have to buy a new one on the way out of town. Other, less visible, parts of the Tour are way behind schedule, but nothing I can't manage via wifi in a Starbucks parking lot. It has been a slow process this year, but here we are at launch looking at about 85 shows. Dinner tonight at Smoke Meat Pete's in west Montreal. I may even play a few tunes as well. The genuine satin, white stripe tour jackets look great, and I have plenty of them to scatter across Canada. I'm really looking forward to visiting with musical friends like Matchstick Mike and Joe Murphy in the Maritimes. In the west I will, of course, be joined by the great Morgan Davis for about six weeks of shows. Morgan's got a great new, Colin Linden co-produced CD, called "Drive My Blues Away." It's on Electro-Fi records and if you listen to blues radio in North America you are probably hearing tracks from it now. Classic Morgan Davis in a mostly solo setting. Now I'm out the door!

New Ride and Road Ready

Nearly road ready! Posters to Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and Ontario shipped this morning- another cool design by Wendy Walker, nicely printed by DPI Graphics, Mississauga, ON. The "Blues Emergency" poster may be a little wild for some folks... but c'mon, loosen up- have fun with us! Posters to most western destinations will ship in about ten days.

Practically speaking the Tour is now all but sold out. All the prime nights are booked in the Maritimes, where I'll be conducting mostly solo operations through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Most of the non-prime dates are booked, too. I've got a bunch of Mondays and Tuesdays to spend visiting friends, trail and road running, writing and recording. Joe Murphy will join me for at least one show on the eastern leg- the Spitfire Arms in Windsor, NS.

Of course the virtual office never shuts down, so the big push here is to bind and print the Tour Book schedules over the next couple of weeks. It all resides in the laptop, but the Tour Book is the hard, reference copy of everything. It rides up front in the Lincoln. The Excel spreadsheets also keep the whole thing spinning... hopefully they'll be happy sheets with happy numbers.

By the way, here's a pic of the new Lincoln, me, and the Dark Angel Duolian. We're all on our way to being road ready. The Lincoln gets a tint job and a diagnostic next week, the Angel gets (probably) a new, slimline pick-up, I get minor dental surgery and a new pair of Mizuno runners. What's not to like about that? I'd really like to find an appropriate Calton case for this guitar. One of those nice, Alberta made ones. If somebody has one, and isn't touring it, I'll buy it. Meanwhile, the Lincoln provides pretty good protection. This tour will be over 30,000 km by land. The Lincoln Cartier is not so much a big car as it is a small house.

Morgan Davis will, of course, join the Tour in Winnipeg, in early October, for about six weeks of the Tour. This portion is also all but sold out. I think we've only got about four days down over the six weeks. I'm really looking forward to this, and I think it's going to be a fantastic little run. It's the backbone of the Tour, the heart of the thing. Doc and MD. The Blues Emergency...  I can't believe we couldn't give this show away in either Salmon Arm or Medicine Hat! When Morgan departs in mid-November to do a Home Routes series, I'll be turning the Lincoln around for another loop around western Canada. I've got my sights set on those towns again. I'm now booking dates into December. I don't know what the total number of shows will be yet- more than eighty, less than one hundred... We deliberately passed on Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal this year. The time and expense of promoting the show in those markets was simply not viable in the context of the national tour.

Speculation as to whether I should mount the speaker horns inside the power trunk lid of the Lincoln? I don't know if I can carry the custom install this season...

Hey, I'm just so looking forward to getting this big tour rolling again- I just wanted to check in and let everyone know that the wheels are turning.

Tour Mainly Sold!!

The last week has been a busy one with most of the blank dates now filled. We're really pleased to be visiting as many new (for us) places as we are- and of course we are thrilled to be visiting again with so many old friends as well. Now we will be busy getting those tour posters to print, tour jackets stitched, tour car in order, assembling tour books, inventory, spread sheets, and counting down to go mobile!

There are still a handful of dates non-confirmed, but for the most part the Tour is now sold out. Check out the Tour Schedule on the sidebar to the right, below!

In late November the duo portion of the Tour will end. Morgan Davis will continue through Manitoba and Saskatchewan on a Home Routes schedule. Doc MacLean has elected to extend his Blues Emergency duties for another three weeks, also in western Canada. Now booking! With any luck another 20 dates can still be added...

Fifty Dates Sold- Now Just a Few Left!

It has been a slow year for booking in Canada. The price of fuel is high and, like Rory Block, I know quite a few artists who will not be traveling this year, quite a few venues that are closing their doors or cutting back on shows, and quite a few people who don't go out as often as they once did. Morgan and I have both made our livings as traveling musicians for the past forty years, and we really appreciate your support- for us and for other artists as well. Not only are we committed to bringing the blues to Your Town- but this is the only life we know.

Now that the current Tour has sold some fifty dates coast to coast, I'd like to thank all of those who have agreed to be part of it- booking the blues, presenting the blues, feeding the blues, accommodating the blues over nine provinces and about 25 thousand km. There are only a few dates left to fill, and we're gonna get 'em nailed in, too! We're counting down! If you're already on board- great! If you're not, it's not too late!

Finally, I'm impressed and amazed that over seven years of booking this Tour coast to coast- some 650 National Steel shows in Canada's best and worse venues- never has a show been sold to Salmon Arm, BC, Medicine Hat, AB, or Sarnia, ON. These three towns form a dark trio of blank spots on the Tour maps and schedules. And I'm stubborn enough to keep asking and looking- that's what keeps the wheels turning.

Tour Car Needed

The lady crossed the centre line on Landsdowne Ave., in west Toronto. Coming down the wrong side of the narrow road, she took out the side of the Lincoln, breaking the back axle and wheels, pushing the car sideways into a utility pole. Her car stopped further down the road in a pool of fluids and gasoline. Later, after the ambulances had taken two people to hospital, after the police had cleared the scene and charged the other driver, my insurance company offered me $1500 to replace my tour car! This blues ride is no more.

A beautiful white Lincoln in tip top shape, gleaming at it skimmed along Canada's highways. Not to the Cooperators insurance company- in light of the 50 thousand bucks I've paid in premiums over the years I am shocked at how they treat their customers when it gets to be claims time. Seriously, folks- don't even consider a policy with Cooperators. I'm borrowing cash to buy another Lincoln while I go to court to try and get a reasonable settlement from them.

Meanwhile, I'm now looking for a 1997 Lincoln Town Car- Cartier or Signature trim, in black or white, leather interior, prefer vinyl roof. A nice one. No rust, no dents. I'd take a similar Lincoln, or possibly even a more recent year. The blues not only has to travel in style, but it needs a trunk that can hold a PA and a bunch of guitars. Not to worry. A replacement Lincoln will be found before this Tour goes mobile!