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So, my friends, here I am – ONE week until blast off! In preparation for this tour I have been prettying up my merch table (and it’s getting more colourful by the day!), choosing a couple covers to do (I always find myself back at Gospel/Soul and Motown if I don’t watch it!), and making a few last minute contacts with people in Toronto. While these things are all well and good, I would like to tell you what has consumed a good portion of my time today…
Ready for it??
I am thrilled and slightly embarrassed to admit to you that I probably spent a solid 5 hours tracking down and purchasing a cool-about-eight-years-ago manual foot scooter. That’s right! I said it! AND I did it!
Why, you ask? (Fair enough, my friends!) To make a long story short, I would not be permitted to participate in this tour if I did not enter the RV with a scooter in hand. I would be kicked out. Sent home. Shunned for life. It was made quite clear to me early on that the terms and conditions were strict – no scooter, no show.
But alas, here I am at the end of a busy workday for me – scooter purchased, potential disaster averted. I will keep you posted but the scooters are sure to be an integral part of our eastern journey through our home and native land.
PS. I wanted to share something else with you tonight before I retire to my piano for the rest of the evening. It’s been running through my head all day so maybe it deserves a few minutes.
Last March the Juno’s were in Vancouver and I was hosting one of the green rooms. Hawksley Workman was there, and he was talking to Sarah Slean. I wasn’t really supposed to be a part of their conversation but I was definitely listening in. Sneaky, sneaky…J. Essentially, they were talking about the music industry in Canada and how it can sometimes be a hard go for artists. Hawksley then said something like this – (and I misquote): “ You just have to stick to it. Your name and your music can bob above and below water – sometimes there’s a buzz and sometimes there is nothing – but if people keep hearing about you, over time they’ll get used to the idea that you’re sticking around. They’ll start to trust that you’re here to stay”.
Here’s my moment of truth: sometimes I doubt myself. I question why I still get up in the morning with the aim to carve out as much creative and physical energy as is possible to write and play music. I think everyone one of us feels this to some extent. Whether it’s in our jobs, or in our relationships, or in our aspirations – we feel deflated every once in awhile. Sunken under. Carrying a torch for something we love can be tiring – it can get heavy.
But stick around. See it through. Let it bob around a little longer and let the deep ocean that is our desire and hope, in its strength, raise it yet again to the surface, in clear view.
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