To the best of my knowledge, blogs as a legitimate scholarly form is open to debate. Numerous articles are floating around regarding the merit of webtools such as wikis, blogs and podcasts as valid educational instruments. Guides for secondary school teachers outline and suggest that the use of blogs will enhance social learning in a time of technologically-induced isolation for children. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts by Will Richardson, argues that the use of blogs and other web-based resource allows for more interaction being learning source and user, forming a more flexible and interactive style of learning. The use of blogs in higher education has been discussed by Jeremy B. Williams and Joanne Jacobs for the Australian Journal of Educational Technology. In it, the defence of blogs as a legitimate source of knowledge is taken: “The nature of blogging engines allows for the creation of a legitimate warehousing of captured knowledge, and archiving for later retrieval. As a knowledge management tool, blogs provide the potential for relatively undifferentiated articles of information passing through an organisation to be contextualised in a manner that adds value, thus generating ‘knowledge’ from mere ‘information’. Comments systems and democratic posting privileges allow employees in an organisation to give voice to ideas and provide feedback on procedures in a manner not previously possible in a distributed office environment. Further, personalised responses to news and messages are a simple means of developing an understanding of the collective knowledge of an organisation and a means of broadening that knowledge, thus creating ‘intelligence’ from ‘knowledge’. Thus, in a business context, blogs provide a forum for learning. It logically follows therefore, that the experience of collective knowledge generation can and should be applied to traditional educational environments.” (Williams & Jacobs 2004)

As an experiment into the use of blogs to properly convey my ideas, I believe that the exercise has to be considered a success, but not without some hiccups. In my experience using the blog as the medium to narrate my journey across Canada, as well as discussing topics regarding Canadian music culture, urban communities and other observations, there were some definite questions I faced regarding the blog as a framework of knowledge. The blog bases it success on readership between daily posts on current events, discussion of ideas and the interaction between reader and author. The use of comments and discussion of topics is one of the highlight components to a blog’s popularity. Readers, for example, are able to make instantaneous comments and debate the contents of a recent blog post with other readers on any blog that posts on a regular (daily or weekly) basis. The problem felt with The Movable Beast was the nature of the tour journal and the corresponding material regarding Canadian music and underground culture limited debate or comment with any readership. Also, posts on The Movable Beast did not discuss events in a traditional chronological manner. Some blog posts were entered onto the website months after actual described events occurred, in effect creating two separate timelines for the blog. This was somewhat

The mechanisms of the blog restricted me the freedom to display my blog posts, the bulk of my discussion and findings, in the manner that I would have wanted it displayed. Posts had to be ordered chronologically or within categories I had set in order for them to be reviewed. While this display structure is perfectly useful for blogs with material that is intended to be viewed, considered, discussed and replaced on a regular basis, it was not conducive to what I wanted to do. It was my desire to display events in some sort of story arc, supported by feature articles discussing life on the road, but blogs do not function as such. There is neither beginning nor end to a blog. The blog is designed to be a conduit of constant information sharing, discussion and knowledge. To try and graft a story arc or narrative onto this structure, as I did with my tour blog narrative and supporting features, was troublesome to say the least. A blog is designed not to reach any conclusion, but to continue being a forum for authors to post ideas (of both the bright or banal variety) until the author or blog owner decides to stop posts. A story told day by day may be useful for superficial discussions, but for my requirements, it wasn’t as helpful.

What was useful was the way the blog capabilities allowed my information to be separated and structure. The creation of separate pages worked well to divide material into separate areas for the reader’s use. The ability to use hyperlinks to create instantaneous reference to supporting material was very helpful, as was its use in supporting my argument that the internet as a tool for networking was invaluable to the independent musician. The blog also let me customize and make edits throughout the process even after material was posted.

Overall, my experience using Weblog (blog) outlets for my project was successful; however there were some definite restrictions in the display capabilities of the resource. In the future, incorporation of a narrative may not be the best idea, but certainly supporting material could be useful as a supplemental product of a study or argument. That is not to say that The Movable Beast cannot be a useful tool in understanding some of the subjects it discusses within its (web)pages, but perhaps a different look at the structure of the blog could illuminate  better employment of blog potential.

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Findings & Conclusion to Objectives

At the beginning of this project, I outlined a list of topics I wanted to focus on throughout the material. This was meant to guide me in reaching a series of objectives I wanted to understand by the conclusion of the blog project. While there was no particular hypothesis I attempted to prove or disprove in the course of this study, my findings in regards to all my listed objectives has helped me construct a better understand of Canada and independent music today.

I had listed three main objectives I wanted to contemplate and share. These objectives and my conclusions are as follows:

Observation of the processes of the Canadian independent music community in 2009.

While the danger of my observations came close to being little more insightful than the average travelogue, my focus on the underground music and art sub-culture living in the city helped with my understanding of its existence. The capacity of specific regions within the urban confines to be forums of artistic expression was seen in every city I visited. These artistic enclaves allowed groups from specific sub-cultures to congregate with each other and express ideas, while interacting and creating links with those engaged in different creative endeavours all in one location. Given the economic reality of recent times in light of economic recession in the late 2000’s and also the habitual financial restrictions most bands have to cope with, it is a matter of survival that independent music groups from all sub-genres of music create music scenes and interurban connections with other bands to help support to continuation of their craft. Bands have long been able to support themselves in some capacity when economic reality and public awareness of bands are less than self-sustainable. My band, Endangered Ape, was consistently helped by members of other bands with sharing of band equipment, sharing bills for performances to increase public exposure, and sharing accommodations during travels. The feeling of community is implied, almost expected, for touring bands crossing the country. This mutual support, in terms of making connections to promoters, providing information about local music scenes, and even providing shelter for the night, ensures that the process can continue its existence. Without it, the means of touring for a vast majority of independent music groups would be unobtainable.

The use of the internet as a vital tool for musical groups to survive in a time of product saturation and relative market obscurity.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, the employment of internet tools to organize and coordinate band activity is the most vital tool underground, independent musicians can utilize. Bands can communicate with groups in other cities, research information regarding government funding or upcoming trends, strengthen social networks, book venues for performances and share useful know-how on any number of websites. More than just creating links between music scenes across Canada, the internet is allowing artists to form as one cohesive music scene that operates beyond physical limitations and distance. With the proliferation of social networking sites being used as means advertise and promote artists, a saturation of the market has been noticed. Membership into the specific niches of countless musical sub-genres is being fought for over the internet today. There are simply too many bands vying for media attention for any but a few to gain commercial notoriety. Members of bands, or their representatives, then must utilize the free and (mostly) universally accessible internet as a medium for product advertisement and consumption. Thus, in order to have any success in band development, commercially or culturally within a particular sub-culture and/or beyond, an effective employment of internet resources is needed to make that happen. Bands must be proficient at exploiting the internet just as well as they are at writing songs. The question then is, which skill is more valuable, songwriting or using the web? Perhaps the bands of the future will need only to know the proper internet resources to use to become successful.

Personal understanding of Canada and Canadian identity through observations and research during cross-Canada journey.

This project, at its heart, is the chronicling of a journey across Canada in the summer of 2009.  Much of my focus was on the distinction found, or rather perceived, in varying urban centres in Canada. As I mentioned in my earlier expectations found in the Objectives & Goals page of The Movable Beast blog, my initial conception of Canadian cities were that of distinguishable urban entities unique in culture and scope. While there would be superficial similarities to all cities I would visit, my hypothesis was that there is no classic, identifiable ‘Canadian City” or singular ‘Canadian culture’ present in the 21^st Century. In my travels and notes regarding the matter, I found at least three factors that influenced these pre-conceived notions. Differences in the city environments and culture depend on the structure of the city (how it is planned and physically divided), the diversity of its demographics (people), and its proximity and influence to other urban systems, specifically in terms of culturally diffusion and dominance. As a member of a touring band, my time studying a city was superficial at best, staying for only a few days at maximum in one location. My observations were usually kept only to the area around a certain venue or in some cases, to major attractions located in the urban centre. From this, I determined that while all Canadian cities observed a basic suburban/urban division, specific areas were, as anticipated, most neighbourhoods were utilized by residents of a very close proximity. I make this claim using what I had observed in neighbourhoods that one would call “artistic enclaves” (Markusen 2007). Most lived within a few minutes commute to the areas of performance, specifically, artists living near venues that could accommodate the expression and consumption of these endeavours. Most outsiders were not present here. Influence from larger neighbouring cities in terms of dominance is felt in the background of these artistic neighbourhoods, as well. Depending on size, economic, political and cultural dominance can be felt influencing the decisions of citizens. I base this specifically on the decisions and art expressed from music groups in performance. Some musical and aesthetic elements appeared to be mimicking stylistic trends appearing in vogue in larger, more culturally prestigious cities. Halifax-based group Sloan made a very poignant reflection on this phenomenon with their 1994-released album, “Twice Removed”. This title suggested the cultural point-of-view from artists and groups from Halifax looking to Toronto for inspiration, while Torontonians themselves looking to New York City for their cultural cues. The view on taste and expression is then twice removed from its initial origin.

So perhaps maybe, there is the existence of a mainstream, exported view of Canadian culture. If so, it would only be one of many cultures within the state of Canada operating today. Whether they operate in conjunction with each other is entirely inconsequential to the existence and reproduction of its own identity. It is this diversity, I believe, is what “Canadian culture” really consists of, and what it is ultimately that is being celebrated. The Canada of the 19^th and even mid-20^th century is certainly a different one that is being seen today on the road across this land. As the world becomes ‘smaller’ with the proliferation of technology and communication, identity has become more and more specific to younger generations brought up on consumer targeting and lifestyle branding. Sub-groups, seen stratified within the urban setting, continue to change and adapt to their physical surroundings.

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Thank you all for reading and reviewing this project.

From the ashes emerged a set of new projects by former Endangered Ape members. Evan Van Reekum, among contributing to local band, The Moby Dicks, has started a new group with drummer Ryan Grieve called Fist City, named in homage to Loretta Lynn. Kent Aardse has continued his studies in Grad School at the University of Lethbridge. When he has time during his work he writes music under the moniker, The Fifth Business. Paul Lawton and Jane Edmundson are still seen gallivanting together. Paul, the consummate workaholic, spends his time immersed in several projects, including work in community radio, promotion of local independent music and extensive work in his new band, The Mylien Sheaths, among other things. As for me, I am deeply immersed in my undergraduate degree at the University of Lethbridge, including chronicling my journeys of 2009 in this Independent Study. I have for the time being “retired” from music and performing in the public realm, but who knows what the future holds? The itch to perform will always be there, as will the memory of the band and the travels I undertook. While I reminiscese about the thrill of those times, I am also very aware of one thing about life; like being on the road, it’s not necessarily the destination that matters, but the journey itself that is to be relished and the moment that is worth living.

With Sled Island in June, Endangered Ape still had to put its nose to the grindstone and book shows around the country. For early July, a short 6 night romp of B.C. was planned, marking a complete tour of the nation in the process. Our first stop on the tour would be Kelowna, B.C., a summer paradise for sun seekers and wine connoisseurs alike. I can’t say Endangered Ape had a lot of good experiences in this town. The only other time we had come this way was during our brief tour on B.C. and the Northwest in August of 2008, when we had discovered the venue we were scheduled to play had double booked the stage. So, instead of playing, we roamed the streets gawking at the bizarre congregation of hippies and social elites gathering on the waterfront. The combination of social elites having to cope with the sometimes overwhelming surge of transients and bohemian drifters was an amusing sight, to be sure, but not exactly our main goal in coming so far that night. I was much more confident our trip out east would be much more fruitful this time. I took the liberty of transcribing my journal entries that were taken during this tour. Please read on.

On the road to Vancouver

Kelowna June 30, 2009

On the road again, hitting up Highway 2 back across Highway 22x through Bragg Creek. We found out today that Jane is leaving the band at the end of the summer. The band life is a grueling, unforgiving beast and not always the lifestyle for everybody. She’s one of the original members of the band, has played every show (minus one particular night in Medicine Hat) and has traveled with us all the way. She’s put in a lot of time and sacrifice, so I can understand feeling exhausted by the process. So, now the remaining members have to figure out what the heck we are going to do for the future. Maybe put Kent on keys for now? There has to be a lot of re-examining now that we’ve finished the major tour in May. What is left to accomplish? We’ll figure it all out when we get back home in a few days.

The Rockies in June are, of course, a beautiful sight to behold. The foothills reminiscent of the opposing power of the Canadian Shield we ploughed through earlier this year. We had all been out this way dozens of times before, living so close to the mountains. They are familiar and comforting to see, just a few hour’s drive into our backyard. The ride into the wild doesn’t feel as daunting as our infiltration into the East. These aren’t strange woods, but the backdrop for our lives on the prairies.

As clichéd as it may sound, I look at the TransCanada highway as an artery spreading a collective identity and symbolism to members of the country who are too immersed in the trials of their lives to have any kinship or commonality with faraway places. It symbolises identity, nationhood and sovereignty, things completely abstract. It is not only a road running along mountains and fields, but a reminder of our shared heritage and culture. The Trans-Canada is a simultaneous link between Canadians, never really meant to have a beginning or end, but functioning as one entity. Evan as it runs its way through some of Alberta’s staunchest bastions of western sovereignty and isolationism, there still is the reminder that there is still a nation linked together with them.

Kelowna is a vacation paradise. The warm sun and the placid waters of Lake Okanagan bring a motley gathering of families, hippies transients and beautiful people. I feel slightly absurd being there.

In tour news: This time around we are touring with one of Calgary’s best bands, The Sharp Ends, who went out to Winnipeg and back earlier in March. When I say ‘best bands’, I do realize that it is all relative, considering neither Endangered Ape nor Sharp Ends have any major record deal, commercial success, or massive fan base. It is, of course, a matter of opinion.

Vancouver – July 1, 2009 – Canada Day

The performance last night took place at a tiny cafe called The Grateful Fed, a clever play on the successful 60’s band, The Grateful Dead. As one could imagine, the venue was decorated with memorabilia from the 60’s, specifically the psychedelic hippie sub-culture that defined pop music for some time. We played with the Sharp Ends, and Rocket Reducer, from Ontario conducting their own tour this summer. Collectively, all the bands involved with last night played quite well, but were discouraged slightly by the cold reception we received from the audience. It was a gamble to play in a town like Kelowna, seeing as the tastes of the local youth seemed to cater towards softer styled music. If anything, it was a stopover for our trip to the coast, where our reception would be better enjoyed by an audience with more favourable tastes.

We slept in a tiny lakeside park along the road to Peachland, B.C. I was exhausted and retired early to one of the bench seats in the van. Kent and Evan soon joined to sleep in the adjoining seats, where I proceeded to torment them for the next 5 hours. From what they told me, my snoring was so extreme in volume and frequency that it drove Evan to finally exit the van and take refuge on the rocky beach near our parking spot. My snoring was likened to someone scraping my face off with a dulled knife. I feel sorry for the guy, but it is amusing nonetheless.

Most of Canada Day was spent driving through the B.C. interior while I dozed in and out of consciousness, so I wasn’t able to get a good description of our approach into the city. Later that night, however, we all were treated to some warm hospitality from Vancouver’s Patrick Geraghty, member of Role Mach and one of the organizer of the Canada Day festivities we were invited to play. The site of the party was a simple backyard in East Vancouver with a small area for bands to play in the back of the property. Bands playing were the Super Fantastics, Apollo Ghosts, Endangered Ape, The Sharp Ends and Role Mach. The event had a great turn out despite complaints by neighbours bothered by the noise. Other than this, it was a great time.

An interesting object I had noticed while in Vancouver was the design of the home in the adjoining lot next to us. It was occupied by a family of Asian descent and the construction of the house seemed to mimic some elements of South Asian design that I thought was interesting. Installed in the roof were bright red tiles similar to houses similar to those seen in Taiwan or the Philippines. In the back of the home was a modular construction to the back patio that created an extra enclosed room for living, replacing the open air patio. This design is reminiscent to what I had seen in my time living in Taiwan as a student/ English teacher where condo tenants would modify existing room dimensions with industrial plastics to create new living spaces and thus increase the amount of space available to them in their homes. I made note to take a picture of it, as I thought it was interesting to see the modifications being done here in Canada. While it can be argued that Vancouver holds the label of being a Pacific Rim city, the juxtaposition of such modification and construction in North America is interesting.

Nanaimo – July 2, 2009 & Victoria – July 3, 2009

I woke up early from sleeping on the wooden floor of Patrick’s house. The snoring incident a few nights ago left the other members of the band a bit fatigued, so I was separated accordingly. We collected our things and made our way down to the BC Ferries landing at Horseshoe Bay, located just outside North Vancouver. I can’t really give a lot of details into our approach, as I was hidden under a pile of blankets in the back of the Cream Dream. Four members of Endangered Ape hid behind sheets and pillows in an attempt to avoid detection by ferry authorities and save on boarding fees. If I recall correctly, admission onto a ferry to Vancouver Island costs about$13.50 per person. Add that to the $45.00 vehicle fee, and that’s $252.00 round trip for the 6 of us travelling. Luckily, we got through without detection.

The funny thing I noticed in terms of traveling the Trans-Canada Highway, the actual paved highway ends at Horseshoe Bay and begins again at Departure Bay. I had always found it odd how planners designated stretches of island roads as Trans-Canada, considering the physical disconnection to the mainland. It’s symbolism, of course, and part of a larger maintenance budgeting scheme, but only after I got onto the ferry did I realize the nature of roads, paths and trails as something dynamic and adaptive. I have always though a trail had to be one continuous line, but after being on the road across Canada, I’ve come to realize the interconnectivity.

Our time on Vancouver Island was unforgettable. The sights and the people made it one of the best times we as a band had ever experienced. Vancouver Island’s natural beauty in the summer is inspiring to those stuck in the flat, often underappreciated Prairies. The tepid climate is refreshing and timeless, especially when you drive out of town into the overgrowth. We managed to visit Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park, the last remnants of old growth forest found on the island as a result of logging practices. When you are surrounded by Douglas-firs that soar 60+ metres, I guarantee you will be impressed.

Cathedral Grove, MacMillian Provincial Park

Back in town, we had managed to fine tune our musicianship and songs into tightly organized expressions of post-punk mayhem. The boom of the drums and bass, the rough crunch of the guitars, the surreal buzz of the keyboard. We were becoming quite proficient at our songs and music style, being that we were playing together almost every night. For our efforts, we received a warm response from the crowds both in Nanaimo and Victoria. We were all slightly sad to leave the sun and ocean, but we had a job to do back on the mainland.

Vancouver – July 4, 2009

The return to Vancouver had a bit of the dramatics to it. After our arrival in Tsawwassen, I noticed myself feeling quite ill. Before I knew it, I was being admitted into St. Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver. I imagine that my body had taken quite a beating on the course of the trip, having to deal with late nights, lack of sleep, and dehydration. It could not handle it anymore and it began to react with the situation. Now, I must say, for my credit, I wasn’t engaged in any extreme use of substances or dangerous activities. I was simply dehydrated and exhausted to the point where I became violently ill in a restaurant on Granville St.

Thankfully, my ordeal at St. Paul’s would only take a few hours of recuperation, allowing me to, quite carefully, perform later that night. I was driven to the venue, a dilapidated old theatre on Hastings St. The Rickshaw, as it is called, is an amazing former kung-fu theatre that closed years ago due to slow business. Miraculously, a few interested entrepreneurs managed to track down the original owner of the building in Hong Kong and buy the space in an attempt to renovate and restore the theatre for love music. Take a look at the link, it’s a really great story, and I’m glad I was healthy enough for us to play there and healthy enough to make it home in one piece.

The Last 500 km (via qmass)

The homestretch felt undeniably timeless. The last 500 kilometres would be long. I recall a similar feeling going back to last year in August of 2008 when Endangered Ape first set out on the road. Our first tour was a 5 day stint in British Columbia and the American Northwest with Portland, Oregon being our last performance. In order to arrive back in Lethbridge in time for a performance, we had to resort to extreme measures, a nonstop, over-night cruise from Portland to Lethbridge. I had felt the same type of restless anxiety as I had been feeling on the way back from Regina. I was eager to be back on familiar soil with familiar faces to flaunt our achievements for. I could take a shower in my own home, sleep in the comforts of my own bed and not have to live out of a duffle bag. More importantly, I was keen on sharing my experiences with all my colleagues and loyal followers! I pictured a crowd welling upon us, eyes gleaming and waiting on every word as we retold the stories and mishaps of our adventure. The illustrious travellers had returned!

Mammoth Cave Festival

Our return would not be complete without a celebration. So, quite fittingly, a one-day music festival of unparalleled size was organized coinciding with our return on Victoria Day. Mammoth Cave Fest, as it would be called, showcased a bevy of musical groups from the local music scene, Alberta and beyond. Check out the link to the concert reviews, as they can do more justice for the event than I can. All in all, it was a great celebration of local music and also a reconfirming display of friendship from everyone who came out to support us. It was possibly one of the best highlights of out trip.

It was with this gruesome thought that I slipped into unconsciousness for the early morning. When I awoke, we were in a blizzard, why anxiety heightened. Given Murphy’s Law, this was the prime time for an accident. We were only a few days from home, in the middle of nowhere, with no way to call for aid in the event of an accident. Miraculously, we made the trip to Thunder Bay unscathed, but with an unfortunate casualty none the less; a bird hit the windshield, getting caught in the wipers and causing quite a stir with our driver.

We returned to The Apollo, the bar and musician compound that let us play and spend the night in the first stage of our tour. On our previous arrival in the city, we were greeted with a home cooked meal and a night of friendly conversation with the owner of The Apollo. Tonight, we were to play at the Black Pirate’s Pub, an antagonistic rival in the Thunder Bay music scene. Apparently Thunder Bay was too small a market to have two live music bars in the city, so a seemingly unending battle to attract crowds and business existed between the two. Endangered Ape had unwittingly found itself in the middle of a turf-war on the north shores of Lake Superior. It was a simple mistake through the process of booking shows months in advanced from Lethbridge that we had found ourselves booked in at two competing venues in one town. It actually is not an uncommon occurrence. In Calgary alone, we had played at the Palomino, Broken City, and The Ship and Anchor, just to name a few. What I was upset about was the level of hospitality we were given as an outside band by the proprietors of The Apollo. They definitely went above and beyond in feeding us, letting us sleep in the hostel above the venue for free and being genuinely kind to us all. Playing for their competitors, especially in an economic environment seemed classless. In a system where cooperation and group networking was essential, it felt like we were putting that initial solidarity at stake for future help in the area and beyond. Thankfully, the owners’ of The Apollo were understanding of the situation. What a classy bunch of people there.

The social misunderstanding didn’t really apply that night when all was said and done. We played to about 6 people, none of which were extremely interested in any of the bands playing that night. We ended up playing our set at Black Pirates Pub, then immediately hauled our gear down the street to the Apollo to set up for another set. Afterwards, while the night was winding down, we had a very topical discussion at the bar regarding bands meeting an untimely end from car accidents. It would seem that my chronic worry of van accidents was not trivial as accidents on the road have spelt doom for many a touring group. Ignoring some of the bigger names in music history that have died in accidents on the road (i.e. Marc Bolan, B. Doon, Cliff Burton), stories of touring bands from all corners of North America pop up in magazine articles and internet news sites. A passing search of the topic can be found in a matter of seconds. Examples come from all corners of the continent. At the time of this writing, you can search the internet and find recent stories of bands involved in serious accident:

Six-Piece Pop group from Chicago

Mall Rock band in wreck from September

Christian Rock band involved in a less than graceful collision

Even school marching bands are not safe from random accidents!

The list goes on, but from a short search, a number of bands can easily be found that experienced some sort of touring tragedy.

Between all of us, we could name off a few dozen bands that had been in serious accidents. I was acquaintances with a few musicians that were involved in a fatal van accident while on tour in Alabama. If anyone was around the Edmonton punk/hardcore scene in 2002, they would have heard about the fatal crash that killed two members of the band, Compromise. Personally, that is the closest I’ve been to an accident on tour, and that’s probably as close as I’d want to keep that experience.

Sobered with the night’s topic and reflecting on the reckless departure from Sudbury the past night, we decided to cut the trip back home in half to keep us roadworthy and safe. It was probably a good idea. I didn’t want anyone talking about us in some empty bar years from now talking about how senseless and utterly stupid our deaths would have been. So, in a rather un-climatic fashion, the last show of our cross Canada tour had ended with us alone in a quiet, empty bar in Thunder Bay, thinking about home and what we had been through together on the long, and sometimes unforgiving road.

Our last visit to the city culminated in a late night visit to a local Travelodge following a 12-hour journey through the dark forests of Northern Ontario. The drive itself had almost driven us mad. This time, arriving from the south from Toronto only 5 hours away, we were in much better spirits for our show.

As for Sudbury itself, it was basically what I expected from an isolated, resource-specific mining town.  We didn’t manage to see the Big Nickel or the butterfly gallery at the Science North Centre as a regular group of tourists do. As a touring band, sightseeing is only an occasional luxury afforded by a day off driving or a few hours to burn. Having managed spending time in Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax, we were not that disappointed.

The stereotypical Sudbury landscape (drivewiser.ca)

My knowledge of the city prior to visiting was its environmental legacy brought on by the years of mining, the use of the surrounding land to run practice tests for the Apollo moon landings and of course, Sudbury being the birthplace of Shania Twain (She was actually born in Windsor, then raised in Timmins, ON) Two of those points correspond to nickel. The other, my misunderstanding of popular country singers from Canada. I would be at some advantage if I was in the city to for precious metals, but I was here for music, and there wasn’t a lot I knew about it here.  Elgin Street neighbours onto an extensive rail park built in the centre of the city. It was built to support the large mining operations that are synonymous with the region and it was in this neighbourhood, slightly dilapidated by lack of use and away from heavier traffic, where Endangered Ape would be spending the night playing. A few years earlier, a clever entrepreneur in the area brought a city block’s worth of building along Elgin, transforming it into a sort of multifaceted entertainment compound for the neighbourhood. On the north end of the street, we have The Laughing Buddha, a vegetarian restaurant, then Sportsbury Bar & Grill, then finally The TowneHouse, the drive bar slated to be our next forum of performance. By far, this was the dankest venue we’d play on tour. A thick layer of dust covered the bar. Torn flyers, crunchy from years of moist acrid breath hung tenuously off black walls. The ghosts of a hundred other bands before us wafted upon stage. Speaking of ghosts, I am quite certain the building was haunted. There was reason enough for some spirits to be floating around. In the basement were beds and accommodations for visiting bands needing a place to sleep for the night. It was dirty, but an invaluable location for anyone needing validation or legitimization for their rock ‘n’ roll image. I was more concerned with breathing in black mould during the night. A friend of ours, Garreth from The Famines, an Edmonton-based band that toured Sudbury, had told us of the bout of pubic lice he had recieved from sleeping in the accommodations at The Townehouse. It is a perfect location for partying, which I’m sure has happened there a millions times before, but I wouldn’t want to sleep them. Take a look for yourself.

Adam and Evan searching for bedbugs at The Townehouse

Performance-wise, our set was fantastic. We played with vigour, energy and skill to an engaged and enthusiast crowd. We were met with applause after every song. Things were looking good until we ended our set. We finished our last song, said our thanks to the small crowd and began clearing off our equipment for the next band to take stage when a surly local made his way to the front of the stage. He appeared belligerent and began ordering us to continue playing. It took me a few seconds to realize that this was the manager of the bar commanding the band play on for another 20 minutes. After parlaying his frustrations to Paul, our ambassador, a stunned and confused Endangered Ape began to play an extended set of our B-grade material. It was a cluttered mess of unrehearsed mush, but it seemed to have appeased the manager enough to convince him to pay us for our troubles. There is a standard in many bars that require performers to play one, two, even three hours of material per night. It’s not unheard of for a band to play 3-sets in a night, causing many to learn other musician’s material, perpetuating the use of cover bands in live music venues. Endangered Ape was simply not that kind of band, preferring to perform original music in short bursts, preferably 20 minutes or shorter, in order to keep the audience’s attention and awe the entire time. With a supporting group or 2 or 3 other bands playing the same night, the venue still gets about 3 hours of entertainment to retain patrons, but with some more energy and variety for good measure. The Townehouse, with its temperamental entertainment manager, did not seem to follow that philosophy, and the communication between band intentions and venue expectations were not made clear. Luckily, we had our beloved Paul again to iron out the wrinkles left in the manager’s feathers, and the situation was contained for the time being. Still, the situation was very strained, strained to the point that, after consultation with fellow band members, an immediate strategic withdrawal was staged in the early morning hours. So, with bar patrons still mulling about, the members of Endangered Ape snuck down to the band quarters in the basement and began to collect our things.

Thus, in the cool morning lull of Northern Ontario, we set out to our next objective: Thunder Bay and Home.

We said our goodbyes to the members of the Stolen Minks, our hosts in Halifax for the past 3 nights, with intricately constructed gift baskets we had put together in the van outside the venue. I hope they liked them, I think I was too embarrassed to ever ask them, seeing as their hospitality during our stay in the Maritimes went beyond what any token of appreciation could give.

Early Wednesday morning, we all piled back into the Cream Dream for our 4,717 kilometre return to Lethbridge. The ride through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick was pleasant, for the most part, until we hit upon a snag with our vehicle. Up until this point, there hadn’t been any notable troubles with our van, but for some reason that morning, the Cream Dream decided to shut down entirely about 50 kilometres outside of Fredericton. The hair on the back of our necks jumped to attention as, for some unexplained reason, the van began to slow and chug to a stop on the side of the road. A slight tinge of panic ran through us all, but after the initial shock, we were not entirely surprised our 1979 Ford Econoline succumbed to the pressures of the road. A phone call was made to the tower’s, water was rationed and handed out, and we started to pray. There comes a time in any extended trip where the voyager gets a little anxious to get home. This was our day to feel impatient. We had gone as far as we had hoped and now that it was accomplished, we wanted to make some distance back to home.

Van Troubles

This van breakdown was almost unbearable for us. How long would we have to wait? How much would it cost to get our van moving again? I had already spent my last dollar in Halifax buying a tiny salad and was living off of handouts and good will. Would this put me and the group out indefinitely? You could imagine my relief when the old motor putted back to life after a few minutes of sitting. Apparently, there had been a simple fuel pump blockage that needed to flush itself out so we could get back on the road again. The road after that was calm, the weather was fine and a renewed sense of hope came over us.

We arrived in Laval, Quebec in the late hour in search for a hotel to rest up for our journey back to Ontario. As the rest of the group slipped into the franchise hotel room, I was charged again with sleeping in the van, both as an active method against my chronic snoring and also to protect our valuables left inside. In such unknown territory, with an unknown language, the best strategy to get us through would be to circle the wagons, as it were and be ever vigilant against our perceived thieves and biker gangs. This was not the mysterious, dark forests of the Canadian Shield we were up against; this was the urban jungle, an imagined foe greater in power and in threats. Luckily, due to my brave and resolute guard (i.e. my loud snoring), our van and our persons were left unmolested the entire trip.

The night of May 14^th found us trapped in the labyrinths of the Golden Horseshoe, the Canadian Megalopolis radiating from Toronto around Lake Ontario. This area of about 4,000 kilometres in its core region holds about 25% of Canada’s population. With such a huge concentration of citizens in such cramped density, much like that of the BosWash urban build up in the US or the Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka corridor, The Golden Horseshoe is site of several auxiliary municipalities existing in support of the city of Toronto. Tucked away in the south western corner of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), Burlington, ON defines the suburban banality to the fullest. I’ve come to notice, in each city that I’ve visited in North America, a particular road seems to snake out of the core that processes all the uncoordinated commercialism and uninspired land planning that our cities have had the unpleasant history of possessing. It seems like every city has one; the road full of strip malls, making its way away from the city like a vine of cheap land and box-style buildings. In Edmonton AB, there’s Calgary Trail; in Winnipeg MB, there Pembina Highway; Lethbridge has its Mayor Magrath Drive. They are the pinnacle of the car-culture craze, an eyesore, and a planning strategy that builds for a quick buck. Sure, the infrastructure is in place and shoppers will tend to shop in the same vicinity if the shops are there, but aesthetically speaking, they all look like a tangled mess of parking lots, boxes stores, and pollution. Burlington ON appeared to be an entire community based on this concept. Shouldered by Hamilton to the south, and the indefatigable city of Toronto, Burlington had become during its history a suburb of two larger metropolitan areas. The town consisted of suburban developments, strip malls, automobile dealerships and hotels for the business traveller on a budget and looking for something less pricey than a room in the Big Smoke. It was a city that had found itself swallowed up by the unrelenting growth of the nation’s largest metropolitan area.

Our show venue felt as manufactured as most of Burlington. Located in a strip mall next to a Home Hardware and carpet dealership, The “Legendary Red Rooster Vintage Cafe” was neither legendary, nor vintage. We had gotten the gig through the kind help of the Hot Blood Bombers, who we had met up with after leaving them to their own devices in Montreal. While we were in Halifax, our tour partners had busked lucratively on Toronto streets, drunk themselves near penniless and had a few semi-successful shows in the Toronto area. The reason for such a terrible venue in Burlington was simply to fit a show into an otherwise empty night. If we were spending money driving all the way there anyway, we might as well make a few dollars while we were at it. The Bombers had managed to squeeze us in that night with another 4 bands playing, so it was going to be a long night. The bands we were playing with were awful. There was a full-on hard rock band replete with thousand dollar wireless microphones and at least a dozen boxes full of merchandise. Another band was a jazz-influenced, soft rock band that clashes with the entire night. I suppose it didn’t really matter, there was a total of about 6 people in the bar that night talking over all of us in disinterest. For the experience alone, the night was memorable, only if to expose me to the worse touring bands might have to deal with when they are trying to make their mark. Having a bar to play might be the most important objective for a band at a particular time in their existence, and unfortunately, there are consequences to wanting that. Consequences, like having to endure disinterested audience members, receiving little monetary compensation for performance, or just having to deal with the realization that all your hard work and your artistic endeavours will only get you a free meal and a lot of bored faces at the end of the day. No glamour at the “Red Rooster” this night.

James from Amelia Earhart took pictures of the show that night. You may tell the subtle signs of exasperation on our faces as we perform. Enjoy!

Attempting Audience 'Clapping'/Participation

Begging the Audience for any Response Whatsoever

The Hot Blood Bombers cookin' at the Red Rooster

The Internet

The tools used were predominantly social networking sites on the web, specifically Myspace.com, Facebook.com and alternative music/culture boardrooms utilized by Endangered Ape members, Paul & Evan. If you have a band or a musician operating today, there is a high chance that you maintain a profile for bands on Myspace.com. For those who may not know its potential, creating a webpage on this site is easy, free and can provide visitors a wealth of information regarding your group. Visitors can view band pictures, listen to songs and see performance schedules. Most importantly, featured on every band’s Myspace page is a listing of band friends and supporters following the specific band. This allows for a networking with people of similar music tastes and allows exposure to new bands previously unknown to the internet visitor. This site was instrumental in creating new networks between our band and bands of a similar genre across Canada.

With these connections made, another social networking site was used to strengthen these rapports with other bands. Facebook.com was used to email and send information regarding our intentions of a tour to applicable players in the music scene. Show bookings at venues, tour scheduling and band interviews gave us an idea of what we could plan for on our 3 weeks on tour. This organization was all done by members of the band without outside promotional agents or employed manager.

Finally, to get a sense of the culture and climate of certain urban music scenes in Canada and beyond, community-based “bulletin board” websites were employed to establish a barometer for what was to be expected on tour. Researching tour tips, finding out the latest information on bands and other helpful information was all taken from user feedbacks and comment threads. This forum is really useful for getting the unbiased opinion of participating music fans on a variety of subjects. Some of the sites that were used were Terminalboredom.com & weirdcanada.com, just to name a few.

The reason why I wanted to mention the impact the internet had on organizing and managing our tour for May was that it was primary tool we used in organizing a totally independent endeavour with the resources we had available. This Do-it-yourself ethos, brought to the forefront of independent music philosophy by early American hardcore groups (such as indie music demagogue, Ian Mackaye and his Dischord record label), has evolved in such a way that bands today are using the same self-reliance to produce music and tour, but just with a different set of tools at their disposal.

It might not be as simple as writing a few songs, then harassing music promoters the world over for a chance to play Carnegie Hall or a similar alternative, but correctly utilizing the internet can definitely give a leg up on establishing contacts to other towns and resources otherwise untapped by the unknowing musician.

Typical Halifax Homes

I was born at the old Grace Maternity Hospital on Halifax’s South Side in 1982. My Father was stationed at Canada’s extensive Maritime Naval Base at the time aboard the HMCS Athabaskan, a Canadian destroyer operating in the Atlantic at the time. I was eventually baptised in the ship’s chapel and had my name engraved on the ship’s bell. Since then, I’ve been always meaning to return and try to get a chance to see the ship again. I was happy to notice when we left our accommodations on the first morning that the Naval Base (CFB Halifax) was located just down the hill from us. A majority of Halifax is basically one large Canadian Forces base in one respect or another. CFB Halifax, Stadacona, CFB Shearwater and CFAD Bedford (ammunition depot) are all located within the Halifax Metropolitan area. For the amount of land delegated to National Defence (DND) and other government agencies, I was surprised not to find more residents being employed in this type of work.

Industry Forecast, Halifax

Only about 10,500 people work in some capacity for National Defence in 2005, making up only about a small percent of the total employment in the HRM (Halifax Regional Municipality). Like most Canadian cities, the Service sector holds the majority of jobs for the region both in manpower and GDP. Looks seem to be deceiving in terms of physical presence versus the actual economic impact the Canadian Forces has in Halifax, but it would be hard to find another Canadian city with such a pronounced military history or presence.

The other attraction I was impressed with was the volume historical buildings around the downtown core. I may be hitting some serious clichés, but it was like walking in a museum. I’ve always loved the historic legacy of the everyday world; the modest homes that have stood for centuries, the ancient streets and heritage that lives within the modern world that functions in and around it. Ancient buildings with little plaques explaining their significance now home to another generation of locals, the blocks of public housing that served as a woefully inadequate substitution for the displaced residents of Africville. The city is a fountain of Canadian identity, folklore and the tourist-friendly environments that were as welcoming as a warm chair next to the fire after a day’s work catching lobsters. The streets were clean and colourful, the storefronts lining the downtown core were quirky and enticing. Halifax, or at least the downtown core running from The Citadel at the southern end to Richmond and the North End, was just plain cute.

Poster for May 12th show at Gus' Pub (taken from show promoter)

Gus’ Pub is located on North End, up onto of the embankment that rises southwest from the harbour. The Pub itself is situated on the corner of North Street and Argicola. It is the premiere local music venue for smaller indie rock acts to play, whether local or on tour. The show was booked graciously by The Stolen Minks through the booking agent at the pub, B.A. Johnston. Mr. Johnston himself tours the country extensively, playing Lethbridge a total of 3 times in 2 years to promote his records and music. He is a consummate entertainer and gentleman, and a example that one can tour Canada by car often without succumbing to the meltdowns of financial and emotional hardship on the road. Performing were Amelia Earhart and Endangered Ape, representing Alberta with Room Doom and The Stolen Minks representing Halifax. There is a great paradox in the relationship between audiences and local bands that seems to permeate from each city I’ve played in. Local audiences tend not to be greatly interested in touring bands that might possibly come their way. There is, of course, the exception for bands with greater publicity and greater popularity brought on by industry media outlets such as print or the internet. With this exception however, people will usually not bother taking the chance of watching an unknown musician or band perform. The potential audience would run the risk not enjoying the genre or content of the visiting group and would then be throwing away their time, money and patience. It is a tricky conundrum indeed. Now, if a new variable is entered into the stand-off between touring band and local, namely a local band, then the chances for a success turn out to the visiting band’s performance is greatly heightened. The local band brings with it friends, fans and family that are familiar and supportive of their music. In the frequent event that bands are booked to play together on the same night (even huge Rock n Roll acts frequently tour countries with opening bands supporting them), touring bands unknown to the region or city will still have a sizable audience in attendance to play to if they are playing with a local act.

Gus' Pub interior

Local acts bring people to the venue and often stay to see what a touring band sounds like. For the show at Gus’ Pub on May 12^th, we were lucky enough to have 2 great local bands playing with us to support our tour. Cupcakes were even made to entice people to come early to see all the bands and not miss out on any festivities, so the success of the event in terms of audience turnout was assured. As for Endangered Ape’s set, we played a bit haphazardly, mostly due to the PA system malfunctioning and not producing much sound from the microphones and also due to the fact that we had neglected to write a set-list to keep tracks of the songs we wanted to perform for the night. There was a bit of confusion there, but for the most part, the audience in Halifax were very gracious and kind to us. I can’t believe how friendly everyone was and how welcoming they were, I think we all left a piece of our hearts out there.

The details of the monumental explosion are quite interesting, as explained in Laura M. MacDonald’s “Curse of the Narrows”, an account of the event and subsequent consequences to the city. “Deflagration is the cycle of burning and disintegration accelerated by containments. When any fuel iginites, it gives off gas and heat, which further expands the gas…Explosives are classified by whether they have the ability to detonate as well as deflagrate…every substance in the Mont Blanc’s cargo was engineered to blow up.” (MacDonald 2005)

As for the blast itself, the North End of Halifax harbour was annihilated and debris was showered across the town; “…The anchor snapped its chain and separated, sending the 1,140-pound shank whirling through the skies over Richmond Hill and across the city for 235 miles, until it landed on the other side of the peninsula of Halifax across the Northwest Arm. The aft cannon shot off he stern and arched over the harbour and Dartmouth’s North End for three miles, landing next to a small lake. Every building within a mile was severely damaged.” (MacDonald 2005)

Endangered Ape came into Halifax hoping to create a bang of our own, but we had a bit of down time to burn before we could play at Gus’s Pub on May 12^th. I shouldn’t actually say, down time, because every minute we spent in town was great. Being that there were a total of 7 people traveling in our entourage, sleeping arrangements would be something of a challenge for us for the next 2 days staying in Halifax. Luckily, we had the help of some of the finest individuals aiding us on our stay in town, that being the members of The Stolen Minks. Kent and I were quartered for our stay at the cozy Halifax home of Tiina, bassist/vocalist of the band. I was, of course, segregated away from the rest of the house due to my snoring problems. Regardless, Kent and I were treated to a roof over our head, internet connection and food in a fabulous neighbourhood near the waterfront. We were staying in a classic Halifax townhouse, the classic block-shaped townhouse colourfully painted in all sorts of colours down near the harbour.

The street we were staying on was right off of North Street, which cut through the middle of Halifax and onward to Dartmouth via the Angus L. MacDonald Bridge. North of the bridge lays the Narrows, the bottleneck within Halifax Harbour that separates Bedford Basin with the outer reaches of the Harbour. It was within here that the explosion took place in 1917.  Much of Richmond, the neighbourhood situated above the Narrows on the Southeast slope, was levelled in the early morning of December 6^th. An interesting result of the clean up and reconstruction of the area was the use of a particular brick purchase en masse by rebuilding authorities that can be seen on many of the houses now lining the streets of the Richmond area. You can determine which houses were damaged and to what extent by the shape and colour of these building bricks close to the foundation of homes. Today, memorials and murals deck the sides of buildings and adorn city parks with the names and brief telling of that day. There was a momentous event here and no one will let you forget it. There is, of course, mention of it in tourist guides and sight-seeing tours also which tell the tale again and again to the city’s guests (One story was told by Tiina about a tour guide mispronouncing the word ‘explosion’ to his flock of tourists one day, referring to it as the Halifax “K’splosion”). But, I digress.

I met up with Paul and Jane traveling along Gottington Street heading towards downtown. Everything is within walking distance if you live along the crest of Halifax’s inner core. The waterfront is available for morning jaunts, there is shopping and businesses nearby, Dalhousie University is just a 10 minute walk south along Maynard Street and from downtown. Even with so many amenities in close proximity, Halifax did not possess the same urban commotion other cities had. Sure, it is notably smaller in population than many other centres we had visited before, but the atmosphere is markedly calm. After an afternoon of walking up and down the sloped streets, I was feeling pretty happy about our accomplishments. We had traveled the majority of Canada in a few days without any significant incident. We were at the geographical climax of our journey, the salty piers of Halifax Harbour. The task itself seemed quite daunting and we had our share of sacrifices within the members of Endangered Ape. Now, in light of our accomplishments, it was very satisfying. My first afternoon in town ended with a great sense of success, we made it to the end of the road and the only thing left to do was return triumphantly back home. In the meantime, we had to get to the gig.

Cutting a rug in Reflections

Our first night in Halifax had us play the strangest “show” of Endangered Ape’s existence. Every Monday night there is an phenomenon that occurs known as “Rockin’ 4 Dollars”, a special event aimed to provide cheat entertainment for patrons and fabled riches for any brave performer at a place called Reflections, Halifax’s premiere Gay & Lesbian Bar. “Rockin’ 4 Dollars” is explained like this: Every Monday night, any and all local Halifax bands are invited to come down to the club and perform a maximum of 15 minutes for the partrons. Bands only need to sign up prior to the night of performance and they get to play whatever they would like. The only catch is that no one gets paid for playing; the only compensation is a chance at the end of the night to win a lottery against the other participating bands. $100 is entered into the pot and bands get a chance to win it by spinning a wheel of prizes at the end of the night. If no band spins onto the grand prize, the money is kept for the next week with an additional $100 added to the pot and so on. Other prizes include having food tossed at bands, winning beer prizes and even winning baked goods from event organizers. Our night, the pot was up to $500, a juicy prize for the 7 of our traveling in the van would love to have. I personally was running dangerously low on funds, having spent most of it along our trip in gas stations and restaurants. Endangered Ape needed to win that money. We played our mini-set of 3 songs, sandwiched between an all-girl folk duo from Guelph and a funk-metal fusion band replete with dijirido. After waiting for all participating bands to finish, (I think there were 15 in all) it was time for everyone to spin the win for a chance to win. The 2^nd band that spun won the $500. We were deflated. Out of pride, cheap daught or both, Paul spun the wheel anyway, only to win “a pat on the back” from the MC. Talk about disappointment.

Reflections Pub, Halifax

To tell you the truth, Endangered Ape’s night at Reflections was great. We had a great time drinking cheap beer, watching Paul drink too much and hanging out with the Halifax locals, including Erica and Stephanie from The Stolen Minks. They can play a mean game of ping pong.

Enjoying the comfortable Halifax concrete.

We had a blast.

(Yes, that was a tip of the hat to 1917)