mid-winter and dreaming of summer. although we just had some snow last night, it was just a dusting, and I either want more snow or none at all ;)
My thoughts are moving toward June, because that is when we are thinking of having the album release party.
Will keep you updated!
for now, here is a video of a recent show at Studio 314 in Montreal, QC.
so the album is officially being mixed. we are done the recording. it is just up to the wizards in the studio to make that balance that our ears love...
Aliza and I are back in Montreal, after working on the album in Vermont most of the summer. We have 14 songs recorded, and we are in the final stages of adding instrumentation; which is inviting our talented friends here in the city to come perform on selected songs.
keep in touch!
Kit
A short Maine, US tour, 5 shows and a wedding :)
opening for Bob Corn in Kortrijk, Belgium tomorrow, wednesday june 15th
my friend Carly just got us a last minute show this saturday the 11th in Cologne/Koln! at the Vorstadtprinzessin
the tour has been going great! things have been so busy with playing and travelling we were late getting the blog up.
go to the blog page here on the left for all the stories, we are just going to use this news page for short announcements from now on...
thanks for reading!!!
keep in touch...
we got to see an amazing thundershower in rome. we had just arrived at Roma Termini, the train station, and had walked across the street to decipher our tourist map of the town and get some coffee (but we got a beer and some pasta instead).
we woke as early as we could... 10am... and drove down to the riveside, taking badoo the dog with us. the river is mostly riverbed; a small stream that moves around a large old riverbed of limestone and marble. the cliffs up above us show the the ripples and the layers that compose the appennines. the sun is shining so bright and we wish we had time to go for a swim at the the waterfall that is a little ways further up the valley. but we have to pack and leave castel corneglio, make our way to vianino for lunch and coffee, and then drive into parma. the mountains fade into prairies like waves on a sandy beach, it is a slow but inevitable exit from the steep green mountains that seem to sing their history to us.
it is 8:15pm on saturday may 21st, we arrive the the site of our first show: an old oratorio in the village of vianino. the sun is just setting over the verdant fields, the air is thick with humidity and pollen, the trees stand at ease along the winding roads, and the stones of the 13th century houses are glowing a soft hue of orange. we have just arrived here with lorenzo, our friend and host and concert organizer this evening. the oratorio is used for community events and lorenzo thought make use of this space, there was seating for fifty, but more chairs were being brought and there was standing room too. i thought to myself how perfect of a place for our first show and how exciting this was going to be. we had soundchecked in the early afternoon, and all we had to do was set up the recording device, a zoom recorder with stereo mics, and the camera, and also set up the cd's to be sold... except at that moment i realized there were no cd's in my case or in my hands, the cd's were still back at the house were staying at, half an hour drive, an hour round trip. and the concert starts in an hour and fifteen. and we have not had supper yet, and lorenzo's wife maria has just cooked us a feast.
woke up to the wild sounds of bird calls we had never heard before. it was really loud and strange music. and out our little
attic window there was this wall of forest, and looked out just in time to see the the beige/pink glow of the sunrise
on mont blanc... amazing.
so here we are in the french alps. wow, these are some big mountains.
started the day in paris, had breakfast early enough to get a full day in. walk around, then packed up.
found our way through public transit to the Gare de Lyon, but we were much too early for our train. found a nice park to sit in and sing some songs while kids played and pigeons flapped. the bench paint was old and covered in sap. so it stuck to my jeans but not aliza's.
took the TGV to geneva. amazing how fast that thing travels. it feels funny to pass cars that are already going 100km/h as if they were going a walking pace.
the green wide fields slowly started rolling more and more until they were wave upon wave of lush green pastures and forests. things soon steepened and we saw our first signs of green mountain water. the rocky peaks pocked out from the forest canopy and soon in the distance we could see our first alps.
in geneva we didnt know which train to transfer to since we hadnt checked before leaving. oops, nice one brain. so we guessed on the IR towards Brig, and we guessed right with only a minute to spare.
the ride along lake leman was beautiful. all these neat houses and old and modern towns flashed by, with the backdrop of the alps growing bigger and bigger. montreux felt like the real entrance to mountains and i also cant wait to play that festival one day (wish me luck).
in martigny we switched trains and got on the chamonix express. we had the train to ourselves; we took up 16 seats, it was great. the train slowly climbed the pass, the valleys got steeper and darker green until we were truly nestled and sliding and snaking along cliffs. it was aliza's first time ever being close to mountains higher than 5000 feet, so her eyes were very wide at the sight of the gnarly rock formations, and disbelief was next when she saw her first glacier; hard to believe that the ice is so huge and old and cold... for myself, i live in BC among mountains for a decade, so it felt like coming to an old home, and being amongst giant friends.
Had a great overnight flight, was too excited too sleep, so watched the sun rise over the clouds above the ocean.
arrived in paris around 11am and loaded up our packs onto our backs and took the train into town. it was about 20 degrees celcius warmer here than it was in montreal when we left. way too many layers on.
found our hotel in latin quarter. took a nap.
woke up, got out of bed, went for a croque madame et monsieur and some double allonges.
then went and saw notre dame cathedral, and of course montmartre was next. had a bottle of wine.
on the way home bought some chocolate.
we go to the alps tomorrow, get some hiking and some practice in before our first show in vianino, italy.
excited to be starting what has been so long in planning!
Aliza and I are packing and practicing... We leave on monday the 16th for Paris. We have a few days to relax and then off to Italy to start the tour!!
it's not quite spring yet in montreal, but we are marching forward with spring plans... we have 18 shows booked for the Europe tour. right now planning trains and hotels. really looking forward to getting out on the road
Stoked to have this article about the CD, tour, Aliza and I in this week's issue! A big thank you to Rupert and the Mirror!
http://www.montrealmirror.com/wp/2011/02/03/music/take-it-to-the-bridgeburner/
In the middle of booking the tour to Europe for May and June 2011.
Have some good shows lined up...
Looking forward to being on the road!
Well, although I released the album "like a dancer unstrung" in the Summer of 2010,
I never played a show to celebrate finishing it and releasing it.
So it is time to do it.
I will be playing a duo set with Aliza Thibodeau
and then a second set with The Bombadils.
At Grumpy's, Feb 5th 2011.
so, planning a summer tour to Europe. Six weeks on the road with Violinist Aliza Thibodeau, performances as an acoustic duo.
Dates will be posted soon...
recording of the new album will start in the next few weeks.
This album with have full band on it, Chris Olsen on drums and piano, Mathieu Roberge on Bass, and Aliza Thibodeau on violin and piano, and me singing and guitar-ing...
All new songs that have been written during summer and autumn 2010. Co-writing with Chris Olsen and Nick Soden.