Square foot gardening

So, we are doing square foot gardening this year in our awesome downtown backyard. To build our planters we got a really good deal at Home Depot on slightly bent cedar. Jan used his radial arm saw to make the planters. They are beautiful. In order to keep the squirrels out we need to build a chicken wire enclosure to keep them out. Jan and Brook building the frame for the chicken wire

I'm stoked that these gardens may finally produce a healthy plentiful crop of veggies. Tomorrow is planting day as we are having an Orchard family BBQ here so everyone can help out.

Holy cow its been a long time

Holy Moly it's been a long time since I wrote a blog.

So here's an update...

I got my boobs removed in January. Actually just 6 weeks ago today. I had what was called a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction all in one go. The surgery took about 2 hours and the recovery was kind of shitty. Since I was favouring my chest it made by lower back hurt and without the Percocets I could hardly walk. At first I though that bilateral mastectomies and reconstruction at the same time were a bad idea but now that I'm 6 weeks in and I'm just about ready for my implant I think it was the right choice. I've been going in to see the plastic surgeon weekly have my fillable balloon type implant things and after this week I think I'm at the size I want. I gotta tell yah, its pretty sweet that I don't have to wear a bra!!

The Rotten welcomes Kiefer on bass... (well he joined in June but then I haven't written a blog in ages). We really, really look forward to touring with Kiefer this summer. Can't wait!!

We've also been working on a new album that we hope to have ready for this summer's tour.

We'll the bread I'm baking is burning so that's it for today. I'll try to blog more often.

The Rotten tour 2011 - Review

Well the tour is over now and I'm glad and sad about it coming to an end.

I've compiled a list of all the things I love about tour that I can compare to the list of things that I don't love about tour. Lets see how it measures up.

I love...
Traveling and seeing new places

I don't love...
Traveling but not getting the chance to really experience the places we go because we are on a strict tour schedule.

I love...
Living like a gypsy

I don't love...
Living like a gypsy with 4 people in a van that can't comfortably sleep 4 people. Also, wondering when the next shower/clothes washing machine opportunity is going to arise.

I love...
Spending lots of time with the boys in my band and living as a single unit

I don't love...
Spending too much time with the boys in my band so that everyone can't stand each other. Living in a 12' x 6' box together for 3 weeks is pretty trying sometimes. I do believe though with more touring we will learn how to cope better with those frustrations.

I love...
Meeting new people... and there is nothing I don't love about that :) I also love seeing old friends which I did plenty of this tour.

I love...
Playing shows everyday

I don't love...
How my body feels now after playing shows everyday. Ever see that movie The Rocker where the drummer is practically disabled when he returns from tour just from playing... yeah, that's how I feel right now...ouch! I have bruises I don't remember getting and yesterday my bass drum attacked my knee and now I walk with a limp... WTF?

I love...
To have a minimal amount of things. Its really easy to get dressed in the morning when I have very little choice or when I wake up and I'm still dressed. That's super handy.

I don't love...
To have everyone's minimal amount of things in our 12'x6' living area. Doesn't seem so minimal in this space.

I love...
To hang out and party

I don't love...
Hanging out and partying every day. I just can't do it anymore.

I love...
Sleeping and...

I don't love...
That on tour you don't get to sleep.

I love...
That our van, with over 800 000kms on it did the whole tour beautifully

I don't love....
That after our first west tour show in Thunder Bay we realized that the only way we could start the van is by popping the hood and yanking on the positive terminal battery cable but...

I love...
That we didn't have to worry about the van being stolen because the car thief wouldn't be able to start it.

I love...
Sleeping in the van

I don't love...
Sleeping in the van when its below zero outside. Its one of those cases where you sleep fully clothed with a hoodie, toque and as many blankets you can pile on. Then you still wake up with a cold nose. Also, with all 4 of us in the van its too crowded to get a good sleep. I didn't realize until this tour how important it was to be able to stretch my legs out so they are straight. Sleeping cramped up in the van really hurt my knees... and this was before my bass drum attacked my knee.

I love...
Seeing the wildlife on the side of the highway like deer and foxes.

I don't love...
That I didn't see a freaking moose... @$%*@^#*!!!

I love...
Pizza normally but

I don't love...
Pizza everyday. However the spinach and feta pizza we got in Regina was the most delicious pizza I have ever had.

All in all the tour was amazing and an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life. There were good times and bad times. The shows were great. The people were awesome and I look very forward to our next tour!!!

Oh and....

I don't love....
Driving a million hours at a time and paying outrageous amounts of money for gas. That sucks.

April 23 Kenora and April 24 Sault Ste Marie

This will be my final blog while on tour. Well actually we are at Brando's place in Toronto right now (10am) after driving all night... AGAIN... We are trying to muster up the energy to get back into the van and drive our asses home to Kitchener. The last 48 hours to me are a total blur. All we did was drive with a few short break in different small towns to play shows. We drove 10 hours from Regina to Kenora to play the Rideout Community Center with 1971 and We Built This City (I think their name is something like that but as I said before... its a blur). The show was cool. I really liked the venue which was this very small community center on the top of a hill in small town Kenora. There were deer grazing in the street on our way up to the venue. This place reminded me... felt like when I was 16 or so and we were doing shows at the Button Factory. Really awesome!

Immediately after that show we hoped in the van and started the 16 hours drive to Sault Ste Marie. Will took driving duty first and I was navigator then we switched part way through our shift (which happened at Thunder Bay). I saw about a million deer that night but NO FUCKING MOOSE!

In Thunder Bay we were stopped by the same OPP officer that pulled us over on our way house. He came up with some bogus story that he mis-typed our plate in and it came up as a stolen vehicle... yeah right. He came up to the van and said "hey, wait a second... aren't you guys in a band?"
We reply "yup"
"Oh I think I pulled you guys over about 3 weeks ago"
"ah, yeah"
"oh, so how was the tour?"
Ha ha ha... we're thinking, if you wanted to hang out with us and live vicariously through us and our band you could have just asked.
Then when we pulled away he was right behind us and then poof he was gone. We are wondering if he might be an OPP ghost caught in the mouth of madness. Weird. Anybody else meet this cop on your travels?

At around 8am in Thunder Bay Jan and Brando took over driving duty. When we finally arrived in Sault Ste Marie it was 4pm and we were exhausted. We all hunkered down in the van in a BDO parking lot and slept until 7:30pm. We got up and waited at the venue with Greg Rekus until after 9pm when Foggy Notions finally opened and we were allowed in. The bar is really cool but being that it was Easter Sunday the whole place was a ghost town. A few people showed up and it was great to meet the other musicians. The first band was called Redd Monkey. Instead of a bass they had a cello player who played really intense cello with a bow. Really cool. They will be touring this summer and we are going to booked them a Kitchener show... So everyone come and see them. We played after Redd Monkey and we had to play ultra quiet because the bar was getting a lot of noise complaints recently. Its really awkward playing quietly... and it sounds dumb but its actually more work. It was alright though. The final act was a solo dude named Greg Rekus (former Hi Five Drive). It was an awesome and entertaining set. He's touring now too and we're trying to put together a Kitchener show for him. Come out to that show too!

Well, we're heading home now.

Happy Birthday to Brando today! And I'm sorry he had to spend the first part of his birthday driving.

I'm so glad to be home but I'm gonna miss the road.

April 21 - Red Deer

Red Deer, Red Deer, Red, Deer... apparently the place to be if you are a touring punk band.

We played Red deer last night at an Irish pub called O'Mally's and it was super kick ass!!

First off... we arrived and shown to our hotel room! Woah!! Then they prepared our homemade pizzas that we enjoyed in our room while we waited for the promoter to show up. The first band was called Midwest Mindset and they were a full band hip-hop act and holy crap were they ever good. Personally I think hip-hop and punk mix really well at shows and I wish that more promoters would do that. The second band was called Uncultured and they were some cool punk rock. The third band was called Shotty Out! And they were awesome also. Despite the fact that it was pretty late by the time we hit the stage (and by stage I mean corner of the floor that the bands played on) the crowd was 110% pumped. They were moshing and slam dancing and crowd surfing... everything. And because we were on the floor Jan, Will and Brando got the mic in the teeth a few times... ouch! Today though, everyone has all their teeth :) It was crazy and awesome! I suggest that every touring punk band make a stop in Red Deer.

I also got the chance to see my friend Kirsten whom I haven't seen since high school. She is living in Red Deer working at a radio station there. It was awesome to catch up.

I've been really lucky on this tour to have had the chance to see old friends and meet tons of new friends. We all have been. Will was able to catch up with an old friend in Calgary that he hasn't seen in over 5 years. Despite all the bitching and whining and fighting int he band I think we're all having one hell of a good time.

I just got off the stage in Regina and thought what a great time to blog. We played at a venue called O'Hanlons (another Irish pub I think but it reminds me of The Huether in Waterloo). We played first which was a welcomed change to the headlining slot we have had most of the tour. The bar was full of regulars but we had our own crowd that were digging our sound. It was a little awkward at first but we rocked the hell out of the bar.

The second band is just about done so we are gonna load out and head to Dillan's place to sleep. Another long day of driving tomorrow so we've gotta get some serious sleep tonight... for real.

April 20 - Calgary

Calgary was meh... and I don't like saying that about shows but its really was a meh show. We were on last and there were not too many people there. We were all really tired and just not digging the vibe. The best part about the show was that Missy (highschool friend and guitar player for Rassinet) came out to hang out. Haven't seen Missy in a couple years and never in her (new) hometown. We spent the night at this really cool punk house (in the sense that punks live there) but its was really nice and lots of places to sleep. Matty and Jo own the house and made us feel right at home. We had a good sleep, showers and even got to use their washer and dryer to clean our clothes. It was really great meeting them and I hope that we can cross paths again soon. They had a zoo of reptiles... snakes, gecko, chameleon, turtle and a rabbit. So... they weren't dogs but at least I got to fill a little bit of my pet void. I miss my doggies.

It was a short jaunt today to Red Deer and now I'm sitting in our promoter-supplied hotel room (above the venue) and waiting for our promoter-supplied pizza to arrive!

Looking forward to seeing some old friends that I haven't seen since high school tonight. Should be a good time.

April 19 - Edmonton

We were at the DV8 again last night. It was awesome! If anyone is planning on being/playing in Edmonton visit the DV8. Rod, who promotes there, is really cool. Pop in and say hi!