In the morning we checked out and had breakfast at a really cool diner/bowling alley. I guess the theory is that after you eat a stick to your ribs breakfast, you then burn it off bowling. After the diner, we headed on down to the Anacortes Arts Festival. There sure was a lot of art there, tent after tent after tent…Lots of interesting and quirky stuff. Unfortunately it was raining and a little cold so after five or six hours of wandering around I think we were all looking forward to playing.

A local band called Spoonshine played before us on the main stage. We’ve known the mandolin/guitar/singer Jacob for quite a few years. They were really rockin’ out with lots of awesome solos. Seeing as how Jacob had his stuff already set up, we invited him to sit in on mandolin.  It was really nice to hear the banjo, the fiddle and the mandolin playing together at the same time. It rained a little but everyone had a good time. Thanks to Tim Carey for filling in on bass and my two intrepid roadtrippers Amanda and Levi for making the trip extra fun!”

Newpark Amphitheatre

Park City, Utah

We had driven to Boise the night before to break up the drive to Utah so we left at a reasonable time in the morning for the gig. We had played their summer concert series the year before so we already knew what to expect. And our expectations were met! Beautiful weather, awesome mountain views and close to a thousand people digging the tunes. It must have said in the newspaper that bringing a cute kid along was required for admission, because there sure were a lot of them!

After the show we retired to the condo and did some of the regular stuff that bands do. Some of the highlights:

-We put a crouton on Jason’s shoulder and took a picture of it without him noticing

-Talked about Lebron James moving to Miami

-Changed Tyler’s homepage on his laptop to something taboo

-Ate pizza. Ate more pizza

-Luxuriated in the hot–tub

(I won’t say who went in as naked as the day he or SHE was born)

-Watched a show on Panda mating habits

-Saw an advertisement for a show called “Lifestyles with Rebecca”

-Watched Henry Winkler flirt with Joy Behar whilst promoting his book about what it was like growing up with Dyslexia. The Fonz has still got it!

-Surfed the net, online pokered, tweeted, and status updated

Life on the road. Thank you and goodnight!

It was a 4 a.m. departure from Vancouver on Friday morning. We made good time and got to Lewiston Idaho in the early afternoon. We seem to end up In Lewiston about once a year. This time we were back behind Boomers on an outdoor stage playing with The Bellboys who were mostly born and raised in the area so it was kind of a homecoming gig for them. It was a beautiful night with a bright moon overhead. A couple of hundred people showed up and a good time was had by all.

We left early Saturday morning for the Mt. Helena Music Festival. Most of the journey is alongside a river. Beautiful for sure, but kind of slow going in the “make good time” department. But we generally allow plenty of time so we rewarded ourselves with a half -hour pit stop at the Missoula Taco Bell. We’ve played the festival a few times in the past and Jim and his crew always present an interesting and diverse line-up of folk, rock, blues and Cajun music. This year was no exception with Michelle Shocked and a bunch of great bands from Louisiana among others rocking Helena in the sunshine!

We took the stage at six and played hard for a solid 90 minutes. The summertime outdoor vibe is always a good one. So wonderful to see people of all ages enjoying the music. There’s always something that happens that lives on in your memory years after the show: seeing Kevin Costner in Las Vegas, or Jeff Bridges at a wedding, or a freak storm knocking out the power at a festival forcing us to play unamplified, a cute kid joining us onstage, a long lost friend showing up, Rebecca’s 89 year old Grandma making a surprise appearance in Seattle…I could go on and on and on… After our set in Helena, we were presented with a card signed by several hundred in the audience as we played. So sweet and a nice keepsake to keep with us in the van. Won’t forget that anytime soon.

Friday we played a house concert/party at Kirk and Kerri’s amazing place overlooking the Snake River outside of Twin Falls. A GOOD time was had by all! Great people. Great situation. They even made us pancakes in the morning!

Then it was on to Pocatello for Riverfest. We’ve been there before and were excited to be coming back. Ecological preservation is a great cause for sure and we knew our Pocatello friends would be raring to go. The thunder and rain that threatened to derail things passed over, the sun came out and we all had a good time for a few hours. One friend who was conspicuously absent was a wonderful young lady and a longtime fan of the band who unfortunately lost her battle with cancer earlier this year. We miss you Ryleigh! A woman named Barb left a comment on our Facebook page that seems like a fitting way to wrap up this entry:

“It was very special that you remembered Ryleigh. Heart-warming to see her parents enjoying themselves. I looked to the sky and knew she was lovin’ it too!”

It was a long day on Thursday to get from Vancouver to the show in Bend. Things got rolling about 5 A.M and we arrived at the Silver Moon around dinnertime. Oregon is such a beautiful and geographically diverse state that’s for sure. Such an awesome drive but it left us a little tired. Thankfully, the chipper and youthful Tyler was kind enough to stick around to organize some of our technical requirements so we could drift over to the mighty Shilo Inn to gather our bearings before the show. Our friends the Bellboys opened up and rocked hard with an energetic set that went over well with the crowd. Then it was us and lo and behold for the 2600^th time we did the same thing- rocked hard with an energetic set! We’ve had our ups and downs here in Bend as we’ve had in most places over the last decade and a half so it felt really good to be in “the zone” in front of an appreciative audience.

For sure we continue to do all the things bands are supposed to do (send out our mailing list, take hopeful stabs at social networking, try our best to make good albums, add new songs to the show…etc) but we always come back to the obvious realization that at the end of the day the future of the Clumsy Lovers is firmly rooted to our performance on any given night. Every night really. We still figure that if we play to our potential, to crowds big medium or small, the word will get out the next day that something cool and unusual transpired the night before. And that will hopefully inspire you and your friends and your friends’ friends to want to check us out the next time we roll through town. Or the time after that. It’s an ongoing experiment. We’ll let you know how it all ends up. We will one day publish our findings.

When the evening came, we all slept like fallen Doug Firs and awoke refreshed for the three-hour drive to Hood River, reminding ourselves along the way that any drive through the mountains without snow is a good drive.  Hood River is a town we played all the time back in the day but it’s been a little bit of a tough sell for the last five years or so. Hence the infrequent visits. But thinking back to Friday night, what I saw was an amazingly energetic audience, a supportive promoter willing to take a chance and a bunch of  Canadians kickin’ out tunes in a beautiful ballroom. What’s not to like about that?

And it was only a hundred paces to a super comfy bed for a glorious sleep. As the relatively new proud papa of a bouncing baby boy, sleep is uber appreciated these days. Who would have thought a few years ago that I would need to go out on the road with a rock and roll band to get my beauty rest.

So Saturday arrived and we found ourselves rolling down the I84 alongside the majesty that is the Columbia River on our way to Portland to play the indie-rock Mecca known as the Doug Fir. We arrived in time to take a little stroll across the bridge to check out the Saturday Market. Quite the scene. Man it was hot. Rebecca’s experiment to familiarize herself with 20 minutes of vitamin D left her reaching for a Cosmo and the Aloe Vera as the sun went down. She is currently pretty AND pink. Great Molly Ringwald movie by the way…

Showtime at the Doug Fir~ Such an awesome venue! It is without doubt the twin sister of the Biltmore Cabaret here in East Vancouver. After some backstage jamming and PBR’ing, the Bellboys stepped up to sing their sweet soulful tunes heavily laden with awesome harmonies. Norman was next and they sounded amazing! Then some band I’ve never heard of called the Clumsy Lovers shuffled in from Buffalo and played into the wee hours. So great to see old and new friends enjoying  the music, singing along and generally making merry. All in all, a great night with three groups of musicians offering up their own take on things.

Long live live music!

After loading the van we walked up the stairs in the pouring rain to our rooms at the Jupiter Hotel where we were immediately transported back to 1970’s Los Angeles, left thinking that some Led Zeppelin would have sounded good right about then as we drifted off to sleep cursing the early morning wake-up.

written by Trevor

What can we say that hasn’t already been said about the Tractor Tavern in beautiful Ballard? Everyone that plays there raves about the place. We’ve been playing the Tractor for a decade or so, and every time we do Chris and I can’t help but say to ourselves “Maybe tonight nobody will show up, the show will tank and that will be that.” Not saying it won’t ever happen, but so far it hasn’t.

It’s always good to see Dan the owner and all of his great staff. Ballard is thriving. The bars and restaurants all seem to be full. There is definitely a cool vibe in the neighborhood. And especially inside the Tractor. Even more so when it is so packed full of people you can barely move. And I’m happy to report it was.

Lots of familiar faces and first–timers side by side feeling the love and the energy in the room. And participating in the madness. After all, it wouldn’t be a Clumsy Lover show without some kind of spontaneous thing happening: An impromptu jam, a weird medley, a wacky dancer or the occasional colossal mix-up on stage that we do our best to skillfully steer around…J I would guess that these are only several of a dozen reasons why some people keep coming back time after time. Like Juliana and Matt who for some reason know that they have seen the band 65 times.  

Boise, Bellboys and Bean Burrito’s

This phrase pretty much sums up last Saturday night in Idaho. Boise was the town  we were playing, the Bellboys opened up the show and a bean burrito was what I had for lunch earlier on in the day. The Knitting Factory is a top-notch venue we’ve been playing for the last few years. A big stage, killer sound and lights make it a full-on rock and roll experience for sure. That being said, some of our longtime supporters miss seeing us at smaller venues around town where it can be easier to establish eye contact and thereby have more of an intimate connection with the audience. I like both situations. In my opinion, we generally do a pretty good job of connecting with the audience with whatever situation we are presented with, but there are always exceptions. Tonight wasn’t one of them.

When there is a lack of connection with the audience, sometimes it’s something as simple as having the lights shining bright in your eyes. It’s kind of like having a tractor trailer truck with its high beams in your face for a couple of hours. Poor sound can also really quash one’s mojo. Or maybe you’ve been up early and drove all day through a snowstorm and your last remaining nerve is pretty frayed before you even get started. Or maybe you are feeling homesick, or just plain old sick, or your new pants are too tight, too much wine with dinner, or you’ve got a cramp in your calf…but generally speaking, all of these things are put aside once we fire up the clumsy engine.

When playing a larger venue, there is the need to have lots of people come through the doors. The doors opened and lots of people came in. We played long and loud, threw in some spontaneous things and before we knew it, it was time for the doors to open and let everyone out into the street to resume their lives. Ten years later we are blessed to still feel the Boise love.

It’s different these days, in Clumsy Lover land.  We used to be on the road over 300 days a year.  Basically lived in the van, more or less cut off from the realities of home life.  Not saying it wasn’t fun a lot of the time, but honestly, looking back, it’s not really a way to live.  I’m quite proud of us that nobody had nervous breakdowns, or at least not super major ones. 

But it’s a new day.  And while it does suck that we don’t get to towns as often as we used to, or some towns really at all anymore, it is really great to have some balance in our lives.  Makes a fella feel like he could keep doing this for a long, long time.

One by-product, tho, is that we very often arrive at gigs from different places.  Tonight’s gig in Pocatello is a fine example.  Trevor, Rebecca and Jason drove from Vancouver to Boise last night.  Tyler drove in today with the Bellboys, who toured this past week, from Billings.  I flew in to Boise this morning, via SLC, and caught a ride to Pocatello with the van.  I should have just caught a ride up from SLC with Renee, who was driving up to run the door.  These types of arrangements have become the norm, and while it can be a little stressful, so far everybody’s made every gig (although I did get an 11:30pm phone call from Tyler December 30, needing an emergency plane ticket for early the next morning to make the New Year’s Eve gig – but, hey, that’s what orbitz.com is for).

What’s that?  The gig?  Oh yeah.  It rocked.  After The Bellboys played a stellar opening set we did three full sets of our own.  As somehow seems to always happen at the First National, it probably went a drink too far.  Man, they pour stiff ones there.  Plus I got coerced into an over-the-top shot of whiskey by one of the Bellboys (I think Brad).  Those guys are a bad influence.

But honestly, it was a really, really fun gig.  A packed and sweaty bar of people ready to participate quite simply never gets old.

Moscow, Idaho January 15 & 16, 2010

 (written by Trevor)

We’ve been going to the college town of Moscow three times a year or so, for over fifteen years! How is that possible? We’ve played club shows, university events, street fairs, ren fests, hemps fests, weddings…the full gamut. So suffice it to say, we know the town fairly well and look forward to seeing old friends and familiar places.

We left very early Friday morning and made it to the club, John’s Alley, by late afternoon. We set up and had time to grab a bite to eat and hop in the shower to freshen up. The drivers, who didn’t get much naptime during the day were pretty tired by show time, but the energy in the room was off the charts so that was soon mostly forgotten. Drummer Tyler has a group in Portland called the Bellboys so they drove down and played a good set of music with wonderful harmonies to warm up the crowd. We’ll be doing select shows together in the coming months when the timing is right. We started out with a ninety-minute power set, took a break to cool off and rocked out loud and proud until the wee hours of the morning. Expectations exceeded! Got to sleep around three so it was a long, but eventful day.

The great thing about playing two nights in a row is there is no driving to do the next day. So everybody slept in and explored the town a bit in the afternoon. The opener Saturday night was a great outfit, also out of Portland called Hillstomp. A two-piece band that created a wall of sound with slide guitar, manic vocals, and a drummer on an eclectic drum kit pounding out an unrelenting beat.

There was a sizeable crowd gathered by the time we were set to play but there was still plenty of elbowroom. It wasn’t thick and humid like the night before. Generally a Saturday is a bit busier, but this weekend it was the opposite. We went to work rocking as usual but for my money it didn’t take off the way I was hoping it might. Ah expectations…When a humdinger of a Friday night is followed by a slightly smaller crowd, for some reason it can feel disappointing. Quite ridiculous actually when you really think about it. It’s amazing to think even one person in a town might like your music, let alone several hundred, but nevertheless it can by taxing psychologically. Of course we generate a lot of energy from the music itself, and we do still love to play but an insane mob of people can push it over the edge. In a good way.  So I felt a little distracted and overtired from the day before and therefore wasn’t fully able to lose myself in the music. My mind was periodically wandering and the brain felt mushy. Songs I’ve sung perfectly, O.K. almost perfectly, a thousand times seemed new and unfamiliar. Lets chalk it up to the stars not aligning the way  they usually do.

Part of the problem with playing less, is that because we are trying to randomly play every song we’ve ever played as a band, months can go by without playing a particular song. With long, frequent tours it’s easier to get into a rhythm. By day ten, the wheels are turning the way they are supposed to be turning. Music and lyrics begin to enter the unconscious part of the brain and flow out effortlessly most nights. As we’ve mainly just being playing weekends lately for the sake of the newborns, the contrast between home life and road life is quite apparent. From a cozy room with a smiling baby, to a cold mountain highway can be a little jarring to the nervous system. But, we still love doing what we’ve been doing all these years. If it means dad needs to be away now and again, then so be it. Music is our career and travel is a big part of it. Finding the right balance is the tough part.

So is it better to lives one’s life with little expectation and be pleasantly surprised when things go well, or should one always aim high and let the magic of positive thinking and mystical forces combine to ensure every night, or every event in life will naturally be the best it can possibly be? See, this is what happens when I sleep with an unread Deepak Chopra book under my pillow at night.

New Years Eve 2009

Spirit Mountain Casino

Grand Ronde, Oregon

 (written by Trevor)

After a month off, it felt good to be back in the van heading south. Getting up at 5 didn’t feel quite so good but as we all know, the traveling lifestyle involves a lot of late nights. And early mornings…

It was a slow wet drive to Oregon along the I-5, but we arrived at the venue mid-afternoon and set up for the show. We’ve played a lot of different situations on New Years Eve over the years: Clubs, theatres, and various events but never a casino so we weren’t quite sure what to expect. After partaking in the massive buffet, we loosened our belts, strapped on our axes and were ready to ring in the New Year Clumsy style.

The band was in good spirits and it was fun to play again. We’ve been trying to make the shows more interesting and ever-evolving by adding new music and medleys as well as digging way back into the Clumsy catalogue to dust off a few crowd favourites from yesteryear. By and large, things are coming along and sounding pretty good. We knew some folks in the crowd but it was mainly everyday people living it up Las Vegas style on the last day of the decade. We did a countdown at midnight, busted into Auld Lang Syne for a while then finished up the evening with a long medley. There it was: New Years Eve 2009! That decade sure flew by.

2009 has been a very exciting year. Having a self-imposed lighter schedule has allowed us to slowly re-integrate back into civilized society. We still played 150 or so shows all the way to Kentucky and back, but we also had plenty of time at home to see family and friends, get married, have children, exercise, practice, pursue other interests and projects…things that have been lacking in the past. More of a balanced life for sure. Deepak Chopra and Dr.Phil would both approve.

Hope everyone has an awesome and inspired 2010!