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2004-2005 ROAD DIARIES
Entry #: 34
Date: November 28th, 2005
By: Colleen
Well this week's road diary is
going to be a short one why? cause we only left our comfy homes
for two days this week. Saturday afternoon started out great,
but when we got to Watertown and had to back the trailer up...
it was stuck..... Ungratefully getting our shoes wet, we
unhooked Archie and got him free. Finally arrived in
Philadelphia around 10:00pm. After a few glasses of wine and
hearing all of the latest news we pigged out on chicken and
shrimp.... great sleep that night.
We got up early Sunday morning and
Karen made us a huge breakfast.. ..bagels, sausage, eggs... i
think i need to get something to eat....we drove to the show and
we passed arcadia university formerly an all girls university..
anyways We played the Andy Cooney and Searson show at the
Keswick Theatre. It was a pretty relaxing day, nothing went
wrong, and we had tones of time to hang out with Andy and crew
backstage. Mike and Andy really hit it off, Andy threw a few
wild ones in Mike's direction...
Because it was a Christmas
concert, we played two Christmas tunes. One being Holy Night on
the fiddle and guitar, and then my personal favourite was
Christmas Must Be Tonight by The Band.
Packed up, had sandwiches for the
road and headed home. Perfect driving weather. Heather and I
have recently moved to Ottawa, -its great living downtown again-
so our drive has been decreased by a couple of hours.
There was a bit of an ice storm outside of Ottawa, other then
that, it was almost perfect.
later,
Colleen
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Entry #: 33
Date: November 15, 2005, 11:59pm
By: Heather (aka the bass player)
In: Ottawa (and sadly my awesome Sens lost tonight)
The trip began differently than
usual. People had moved, people were
missing and people were excited to get to Fernwood.
After the floods during last years
festival we weren't sure what to expect.
The Friday night concert was a great indicator of the fun ahead.
We
performed at the opening night with the band Killing Thyme. We
were able to
catch up with a lot of people from the road we haven't seen since
early
summer. Since we started traveling at 6am that morning we
retired to our
beds early.
The next morning we each got our
Starbucks (hazulnet steamer
skim milk, light on the syrup). Between our performances on
stage we were
able to hang out with the other bands there; The Brigadoons,
Brother and
that awesome fiddling Canadian, Ashley. Colleen even helped Louanne from
the Brigadoons with some costume malfunctions. That night we
watched The
Wizard of Oz an all time family favorite in our condo and
relaxed.
The next day we had drum auditions
outside Albany. After jamming in the
studio for a few hours we headed home with hopes of being there
before 9pm.
Colleen took over the steering wheel, the next thing I know
we're pulling
into a gas station and I hear these people yelling SEARSON!!
I lookback to see another van and trailer only to discover it's
Enter the
Haggis. We met on the road outside of Syracuse. After catching
up and
filling up we all headed back to Canada, but oddly enough in
different
directions.
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Entry #: 32
Date: October 27, 2005
By: Erin (…in the comfort of my own apartment!)
Hey everybody! We have a lot of
you writing in wondering what the band’s been up to, since we
have actually slowed down for a few weeks. As you have read from
Jamie’s last road diary, she is very excited about her baby that
is due in December, and so are we!!! Hopefully my babysitting
skills will be tested out a lot this coming year. Since Jamie
won’t be touring anymore there are many things that are changing
up for us, and so we are preparing for everything. I’ve been
getting new press kits and promo photos ready and preparing
changes for the website. Everyone is working steadily on our
touring schedule for 2006, and we look forward to sharing all of
these details with you in the upcoming months. 2006 is looking
very promising and exciting! Jamie will still be booking shows
for the band, so if anyone still wants to talk to Jamie, all you
have to do is book a show!
A few weeks ago, we did our first
local show in a long time, in good old Pembroke, ON. This was a
dinner and show for parents of foster children in our area, and
it was great to see some familiar faces that I wasn’t expecting
to see. The show went great and we even had a lot of people up
dancing at the end of the night, trying to wear off their
dinners I guess.
We spent a few days last week in the studio, listening to final
mixes of the SEARSON LIVE CD that will be coming out in February
2006. It is interesting to listen to us live, and I’m glad we
decided to go ahead and do this recording this summer. I
definitely notice my Ottawa Valley accent now, that’s for
sure….as so many of the Americans have commented on in the past!
This past weekend we had a quick
trip to Richmond, VA for the Celtic Festival. We left around 9
a.m. on Saturday morning, and the plan was to drive straight to
Richmond. At about 10 p.m. the same evening, we made a quick
stop at a rest area, about on hour outside of Richmond. I knew
the trip was going way too well, when we all arrived back at the
car and realized that all of our keys were locked inside the
van. We called AAA, and waited outside, with no coats until 1:10
a.m. when AAA finally arrived. One good thing about this, is
that we made great friends with the supervisor of the rest area,
and hung out in his furnace/office. Us girls also learned the
art of keeping warm in the women’s urine smelling bathroom, by
using the hand dryers as an essential appliance to our survival.
We arrived exhausted to the hotel rooms a little after 2 a.m.
The next day was absolutely
gorgeous, and feeling a little refreshed, we were ready to take
on the day! We have never played in Richmond before and the
people were absolutely amazing. They were so enthusiastic and
appreciative, and we can’t wait to come back to Richmond. Met a
lot of great people, and saw a lot of great dancing! Congrats to
the guy who won a free CD by dancing with no shirt, and only his
kilt on.
After a great dinner of Mexican food, we were off to bed pretty
early. We decided to leave by 4 a.m. the next morning to beat
the D.C. and Baltimore traffic, and we arrived home by 5 p.m.
that day!
Next up….The Fernwood Scottish &
Irish Festival in PA, so come on out everybody!
Have a good one!
Erin
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Entry #: 31
Date: October 18, 2005
By: Jamie
First of all I’d like to apologize
for the major delay in writing this entry of the road diary… to
all of those who have been patiently awaiting its appearance.
The last three weeks for me have been quite interesting…
For all of you followers who have not yet heard, October 2nd was
officially my last day as a full-fledged member of the SEARSON.
So with that said, my last “tour” began on Wednesday, September
28th in Maplewood, NJ at the famous St. James Gate Pub – what
better way to begin a tour than to drive 10 hours, eat great (as
always) and play to a wonderful crowd…it was terribly fun, but
we were bagged by the end of the night. I’d have to say the
peanut butter cups on the drive back to the hotel made it all
worth while though! Thanks Colleen.
With Thursday being a day off, we
all decided that we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to
visit Manhattan for the day. We took the train from Maplewood (a
very short trip) and arrived in the Big Apple just after noon.
Other than the wind and rain it was a great day to walk around
the busy streets, check out some museums, shop a little, see a
show and dine at an amazing Thai restaurant for a late dinner.
It was a lovely day.
Friday we traveled just down the road to Tom’s River, NJ which
is approximately 90 mins from Maplewood. We arrived at our hotel
and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon (slept) until sound check and
dinner at 4:00, when we headed to McIntyre’s Pub. We always seem
to do well with set up at this location because of the size and
spaciousness of the bar/stage area. No problems at’ all! We were
back to the hotel with plenty of time to spare before our 9:30
start. Upon arriving to the pub, we were greeted by many new and
familiar faces. The night flew by as always at McIntyre’s and we
were happy to speak with many appreciative music lovers.
Saturday was another short trip to
Lafayette Hill, PA, where we stayed with our great friends Bill
and Karen Reid and quietly anticipated our evening show at
Brittingham’s. WHOA (3 sets - yikes!). Our set-up/sound check is
always dreaded when we play Brittingham’s because we have so
much gear to fit into such a tiny stage area. However, I must
say that we have mastered the art! The set-up/sound check went
very, very smoothly. To our surprise, we were out of there in
one hour and back to Bill and Karen’s for a delicious
home-cooked meal. A very memorable evening for me I must add, as
we sat and ate on the candle-lit porch and I thought about it
being my last time ever staying with these great people…they
will be missed dearly. I must mention that it was really nice to
see some dedicated Searson fans out for one of my last shows,
and you know who you are…I thank you!
Sunday, my last day on the road,
was quite suitable for many different reasons. Erin and I
thoughtfully discussed this point while sitting in the van
between sets listening to the Alexander Brothers on vocals and
squeeze-box; followed by a tremendous heard of bagpipes off in
the distance (a nutshell comes to mind – no pun intended
Searsons). It really was a nice day to be playing at an outdoor
festival, and I’m glad that it was a Bill Reid event because I
got to hug him one last time before jumping into the van. But to
be honest, I was glad to be going home, as we all were, because
a break was really what we needed after a long few months of
travel.
For me however, this is no
ordinary break. As I mentioned at the beginning of this entry, I
will no longer be touring with the band.
“Why?” you may ask.
Well, if everything goes as
expected, in eight weeks, my fiancée Andrew and I will be
welcoming our first baby. So in the past few weeks I have been
not only unpacking my own things, but also baby things as well!
We are extremely excited of course, and although this may come
as a surprise to many of you, I promised the band news about it
the whole time...
This is a welcomed change for me,
but I must say that I will miss many aspects of playing with
Searson, one of them being the people I’ve been acquainted with
on the road, such as you, and the support that we were given by
music appreciators. The band, as you can plainly see, is on its
way to the top, and I can’t wait to watch them grow even more
over the next few years. As of now, I will be reading the road
diary (just like you!) instead of writing it, but I know I can
say this, one last time, without a doubt - there’s plenty more
to come….Stay Tuned!!
Jamie Gardner
“I’m OUT!”
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Entry #: 30
Date: September 30, 2005
By: Colleen
The New Hampshire Highland games
was the weekend of the 23rd and Jamie’s birthday fell right in
the middle of it. Friday was a pretty relaxing day, we only had
two sets, and the whole night off.
Saturday was a different story. We
were playing at the pub, the concert stage, the ceilidh hall and
a bar show that night. Mike was the popular ‘stud’ on the
grounds that day. The girl scout troops came and were swooning
over his good looks. The Brigadoons, another band from the
Glengarry region in Canada, got Jamie up on stage and sang her
birthday song. She was pleasantly glowing with surprise! Since
Saturday all of the bands had arrived by this time, there was a
party in the hotel lobby I think that Heather and I finally went
to bed around seven in the morning.
Sunday we started the day by
opening the pub once again, and there was a scary looking old
dude dressed in tribal gear with blue paint from “Braveheart” on
his face swinging his sword all around the audience. At least it
woke us up for the rest of the day. We drove home early Monday
morning (6 am) so that we could have about 30 hrs. at home. Just
long enough to do laundry and business, but not long enough to
relax. Well it was on to Maplewood, NJ on Wednesday, but I’ll
leave that for Jamie...later.
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Entry #: 29
Date: September 30, 2005
By: By Heather (Writing from Beverly on the way to Tom’s
River), 1:06pm
Manhattan is home to good food,
good shopping and Searson for the day.
We woke up in Allentown at the
fine Holiday Inn, had a solid Dunkin Donuts breakfast and we’re
ready to drive to the big city. With map quest in hand we set
out. We actually surprised ourselves by not getting lost on our
way to the Full Shilling. Lost in Manhattan with a trailer, in
the business section is not a good time. We arrived at the bar
performed a quick unload as security across the street watched
unimpressed with our choice of parking. After setting up and
sound checking we sat down for good dinner. With our bellies
full we need only wait for the stock market to close and the
people to arrive. And arrive they did. Besides the usual
business crowd we met different people from our travels. I was
talking to a crew from Hunter Mountain, Erin met people from our
Ocean City gigs and the faithful group from Brooklyn was
present. We had a great time at Marty’s bar. His co-workers
treated us to a bottle of Champaign to celebrate, even though it
wasn’t the best day at the stock exchange. Not to mention
Searson ends to be a Crown Royal band. We packed up and weaved
our way out of the city to find a bed to sleep in that night.
The band was looking forward to
Rhode Island. We were going to be in the same place for a couple
days, and not just any place, on the ocean. We were performing
at the Joyce Family Pub. They were hosting an Irish festival
with live music every night. We spent our days relaxing. Except
for the 10 minutes Mike, Colleen and I attempted to get into the
ocean. I could only get in to my waist and that was cold enough.
Although I think I beat Colleen who only made it to her knees.
The rest of the days we spent baking in the sun, drinking coffee
and walking around the area taking in the sights. The shows at
the pub were great. The local crowd snuggled up in the bar and
it was a great intimae party. We enjoyed chatting with everyone
it was a great relaxed environment. After the shows were done
the band sat around our cabin playing cards and reminiscing
about funny road stories from our travels over the years.
With our second night completed in
Rhode Island we had to hit the road and head to New Hampshire
for the highland games. We arrived at the hotel some time after
3am. Tired and weary we were happy to run into fellow Canadians
in the lobby. Craig from Enter the Haggis even carted our
instruments up to our rooms. With a little needed sleep we knew
we were in for a fun weekend.
Cheers
Heather (aka the cool one in the band)
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Entry #: 28
Date: September 22, 2005
By: By Erin (At a cottage on the ocean, Rhode Island,
3:00 pm)
It is so great to have an
afternoon to stop, relax a little, and yes, catch all of you up,
on our most recent travels! After playing in Buffalo last Monday
night, we had Tuesday off, and were pretty excited, since a day
off on the road is a very valuable thing to us. Most of us spent
the day touring around the city a bit, doing some shopping,
caught a movie, and went out for supper. No unloading of
equipment or sound checking for us, so it was a great break!
Wednesday, we arrived in Euclid,
OH at the Great American Irish Club, loaded our gear in and
sound checked. We even had a chance to grab supper at a Mexican
restaurant, a favourite among the band. We can eat bowls of
tortilla chips and salsa like there’s no tomorrow. We had a
great turn out for the show and had a lot of people come out
that saw us at the irish festival in Euclid, in June 2005. We
had one really young irish dancer get up and he was absolutely
amazing! Definitely a crowd pleaser.
Thursday we headed to
Indianapolis, IN to the Claddagh Irish Pub on the north side.
This was the kick-off to the Indy Irish Fest that we were
playing at for the weekend. It was a great chance for the
committee to have a few drinks and prepare for the upcoming
weekend! A big thanks to Guinness for sponsoring the evening and
congrats to the winner of the Guinness Toast! The honourable
judges were yours truly, Mike, Colleen and Erin….after much
deliberation, and some sucking up to the band by one particular
contestant, a winner was found! After the show we headed to
downtown Indianapolis to our ‘home’ for the next four nights,
the Hilton Indianapolis (sponsors of the festival). Everyone in
the band loves it when we get to stay in the same hotel for more
than one night, especially in such a great hotel! I know I fully
unpacked my suitcase and everyone even had a chance to do
laundry. It’s the little things that mean so much to us on the
road….especially when we were already two straight weeks into
the trip!
We had a great weekend at the Indy
Irish Fest, starting with a show Friday evening on the Claddagh
stage. After the show, we all took Mike out for an awesome
supper at The Alcatraz to celebrate his 50th Birthday. Mike says
he’s feeling great and loving being 50!!! After stuffing our
faces and feasting on delicious chocolate cake and drinks, Mike
was fully satisfied. Saturday turned out to be a great weather
day, which meant great crowds at the festival. We met some
really cool people and had a generally all-round good day. A
couple of exciting shows in the afternoon and early evening, and
a big thanks to Julius who helped us with our product all
weekend long…we really appreciate it! Saturday night we ate at
P.F. Chang’s Chinese restaurant and we all fell in love with the
food! We enjoyed it so much that after the festival on Sunday,
we ate there again. We had a great last show on Sunday and the
crowd was very inspiring. We had many people travel great
distances to see us this past weekend and we found it very
flattering! Many people told us they drove at least 3 hours to
come and see us and we had a young couple that flew up from
Jacksonville, Florida to see us play. Thanks so much to all of
you, it is very encouraging! Thanks for a great week and more to
come shortly from the bass player!
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Entry #: 27
Date: September 14, 2005
By: Jamie
We have completed the first
weekend of our month-long festival tour beginning on September
9th in Syracuse, NY for the “Syracuse Guinness Irish Festival”.
We were only there for the night, but were sure glad to get a
spot on the grand stage for a hip-hopp’in good time – as always
in Syracuse. The location was beautiful – a monumentarium-type
setting in the heart of Syracuse where there always seems to be
festivals and celebrations held on weekends. Two big screens
showcased the stage for those in the back rows, lending to a big
production and overall fabulous night. We also had the chance to
listen to our newly acquainted friends from Ireland, Teada,
pronounced “Tae-da” (not “ta’da!!” as Heather initially referred
to them). The band comprises a phenomenal bunch of musicians
with an exciting traditional sound, very close to their Irish
roots; not to mention their awesome fashion sense (as we girls
dually noted).
Well it just so happens that Teada
followed us to our next festival for Saturday and Sunday in
Pittsburg, PA for the “Pittsburg Irish Festival”. We arrived in
great time on Saturday with no hold-ups on the highway and a
beautiful sunny day for the Celtic crowd. We played an afternoon
set, which gathered us a fair crowd on the Back stage priming us
for the Front stage set later that evening. We stayed on the
grounds all day Saturday and caught up with a few friends from
Gaelic Storm, whom we met back in February at the Midwinter
Scottish and Irish Festival in PA. Thinking back, the day seemed
very long considering that we were back to the hotel at a decent
time. Our set on Saturday night was awesome, and we ended up
recording it to DVD, as the production company was taping for
other bands as well. We have yet to see it, so hopefully it
turned out and will be featured at some point on the website
(only if it’s good though!). The crowd on Sunday was definitely
quieter than the one Saturday night - as to be expected when the
first game of the football season is on and the Pittsburg
Stealers are playing! The hotel was busy though. We arrived back
at the hotel in time to grab some dinner at a great Mexican
restaurant – and boy oh boy did we chow down large! You just
cannot put nacho chips and fresh salsa in front of four hungry
girls + Mike and expect it to last more than 5 minutes… you just
can’t. My relaxing evening ended with a stroll around Pittsburg,
a city of extremely unique architecture – and quite clean also.
I was very impressed!
Monday we headed out again, north
this time, to Buffalo, NY where we were scheduled for a night at
the Shannon Pub. We arrived in the mid afternoon and set up our
gear before the supper hour. It had been quite a while since we
had used our full sound-system, which was a really nice break I
might add. Colleen and I were scheduled to host a fiddle
workshop before the show; we had a great turn-out – two people.
We taught them a traditional piece and an original tune from the
Houseparty CD. I hope they had fun, we sure did! The turn out
for our show was very pleasing considering that it was Monday
night, and our first time ever in Buffalo. (Thanks to all those
who made it, we plan to be back for the Buffalo Irish Festival
if we are accepted – please put in a good word for us!!)
All-in-all it was a memorial night at the Shannon Pub in
Buffalo, NY and at the Holliday Inn where they have the best
peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies for guests checking
in…we checked in many times.
There’s a whole lot more to our
journey into October, so stay with us and try to make it to a
show if you can!
Keep’in it on the up bow…
Gardner
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Entry#: 26
Date: September 6, 2005, 3:55 pm
By: Colleen
We started this trek out in
Smyrna, Delaware to play at the opera house. It was great, the
food was unbelievable, there were bailey’s brownies for dessert…
so we took a whole tray for the car ride. Oh yeah, we did do
some playing while we there, but nothing out shines good food on
the road.
On to Fredericksburg, Virginia.
The good ole Colonial Tavern. Once again it was rowdy and
uncontrollable. They sure can party. It’s always thrilling for
us to be playing on stage and to see a sea of searson shirts
being worn. Us girls got in a lot of shopping that day, while
Mike fell asleep watching the tennis match.
Next, was the Wyoming county fair.
We opened for fellow Canadian George Canyon. He was the runner
up at the Country American Idol contest. What a voice. It was
great to talk about home, and the east coast, and we only felt a
little twinge of jealousy when we parked Beverly (the van) &
Archie (trailer) next to George’s brand new bus with leather
seats, and a huge plasma screen TV. Anyone who wants to sponsor
us, we need a new vehicle.!!!now!! The absolute highlight of the
day- the fair grounds used to be an old farm and they built this
massive beautiful permanent stage in the ‘turning of the manure
field’ that’s right, searson has played the SHIT PIT. Only when
the wind blew in certain directions did it smell like rotten
kraft dinner.
Altamont, NY. Right I’ve already
forgotten to explain that on this trip, every place was just far
enough away in distance that we had to get up around 6am to
start driving to the next gig. Well by Sunday our last day, once
again ordered the wake up call for six. Jamie is waking us up at
quarter after seven, crap, we’re late! So we tear our ass and we
show up for the last ten minutes of our set. Thankfully it was
us and Raithkelter
So they graciously let us continue on in the afternoon. We left
NY around 8:30 pm finally made it to my bed in Pembroke 3 am
…sleep…..
Stay tuned for more …
- Colleen
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Entry#: 25
Date: August 28, 2005, 3:55 pm
By: Heather (from the front seat, but don’t worry I’m not
driving.. or am I)
We packed up the van and left the
farm at 3 pm on Thursday. I’m not going to sugar coat it, no one
wanted to get back in old Beverly. We were still a little jaded
from the road trip home from Montana. Duty calls even if it
involves fiddling! Our goal was to drive to Michigan and get a
room for the night. We made it in good time and after a little
looking we were in our rooms by 12:30 am.
We went to the grocery store the
next morning for breakfast. I made a fine purchase of Life
cereal, yogurt and juice! Breakfast of champions! Champion
Searson bass players at least. Beverly was filled up and we
headed to the Erin Feis in Peoria, IL. We arrived at our hotel
with time to spare for the whirlpool. Dressed in our finest
black clothes we stopped at subway for dinner. The decision of
what to eat is growing more difficult with each stop. The band
is getting a little tired of the sandwich stop, but it beats the
supersize! We arrived at the Feis located on the water which
made for a beautiful setting. The show went over without a
hitch. We converted people to the Searson fan club and even ran
into a few veterans who traveled a ways to catch the show.
The van pulled away at 8 am with a
quick stop at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and bagels. We were
headed to the Highland Games in Davenport. At 11am we knew we
made it when we heard bagpipes in the air. After getting our
gear unloaded and organized backstage we set out for the
hospitality tent. We had our fill of chicken salad sandwiches
and fruit. Colleen even filled up extra on the dill pickles. The
dessert choices were endless from cakes, cookies, cupcakes and
brownies. If any of us were on a diet you’d never have known.
With our bodies fueled up we took the stage for a high energy
set. The crowd was awesome, we weren’t sure they were going to
let us get off the stage, but we had to make way for the band
following us. We completed the day with two sets at the ceilidh.
The dance floor was filled with people showing off their best
moves in hopes of winning Searson CDs. One young girl impressed
us by never missing a song and performing her Highland dancing
all night on the dance floor. By the end of the night the band
was exhausted. Our bodies were groaning in pain when we were
lifting out or equipment. We had a great first time at this
event. We met lots of friendly, helpful people. We look forward
to the next time our paths cross.
At 6am we met at the continental
breakfast. We filled up on waffles, cereal and yogurt than
quickly loaded our suitcases into the trailer to head back to
Canada. Thus far the trip has been completed without a hitch. No
blown tires or trouble at the border, knock on wood the rest of
the trip is smooth sailing. We’re still on the 402 inching
closer to the 401. It’s 4:30 pm and we hope to be at the farm by
midnight. With 2 days at home to catch up on laundry, phone
calls and paper work. There may even be enough time to make it
to fiddle park in Pembroke!
Cheers
Heather
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Entry#: 24
Date: Thursday, August 25 (11:41 pm)
By: Erin, from Pembroke, ON
This month has flown by, I can’t believe we are almost into
September now! I think that everyone in the band feels like
we’ve been in this ongoing race for the last 3 months. I don’t
think that I have ever spent so much time in that van before. We
are dreaming of the day when we can travel in something with at
least a little more space. If anyone is interested in sponsoring
an awesome band with a huge van, we would definitely love that!
This weekend began with a trip to
Hunter Mountain, NY. We added an extra two hours onto our trip
because of another accident on the 401 (not us, thank god!). So
we all strolled around the 401 for a few hours, spied on people,
and looked for any good food in other people’s cars. Once that
was cleared up, we arrived in Albany, NY around 11 p.m. and were
all disappointed because we missed out on some hot tub time.
After a drink in the hotel lobby, everyone settled in for the
night, because we knew we had a long weekend of playing ahead of
us. We have never been to the Hunter Mnt. Festival, and it was
extremely well run and organized, which we love. The sound guys
were great and the audiences were amazing. Great big stage to
play on both days. There was about 5000 people there on
Saturday, and another 8500 on Sunday. Big thanks to one guy in
particular for keeping our thirst quenched all Saturday with
some great beer. I know he got into trouble Saturday night for
keeping us supplied, so we appreciate it buddy! We met so many
great people this weekend, and it was refreshing to play
somewhere new, and have the crowd enjoy our original music!
Thanks for the support. The festival ended a little differently
than usual.
They had 41 pipe bands march down
the bottom part of the mountain, all playing together, and it
was pretty cool looking. Sunday night we left the grounds at
around 8 p.m. We started heading down the mountain, and that’s
when our troubles began. As some of you know, we travel with a
pretty heavily loaded van and trailer, and it just couldn’t
handle that steep decline, even though we just had new brakes
installed on the trailer. Our front two tires started smoking so
hard that we pulled over to the side of the mountain, and waited
about 45 minutes for the brakes to cool, while throwing water on
the brakes. We weren’t sure if we even had any brakes left, so
after a kind police officer waited with us for awhile, we tested
the brakes, and they were working well enough for us to continue
home. We arrived back home around 5 p.m. and got exactly two
hours of sleep before we were up and at it again. Big thanks for
the help from Brendon this weekend with the countless hours of
driving, and all of the merch sales on the weekend!
Monday morning we headed to
Ottawa, ON (yes, we were actually playing in Canada again) where
we played at the Ottawa Exhibition on the SuperEx stage. More
importantly, we were beginning the first day of recording our
SEARSON LIVE CD! We were extremely excited. We had lots of help
from producer Jordon Zadorozny and Brian as engineer. We had an
absolute blast having the talented Richard Irwin join us on
drums for the three days of recording. It was our first time
playing live with drums, and it definitely won’t be our last. We
spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday driving back and forth from
home to Ottawa, which we didn’t mind at all since we got to
sleep in our own beds. We did three 45 min. sets a day, so it
went by really quickly, since we only had about 15 min. breaks.
As I sit here typing, we are leaving again in exactly 2 hours
and 20 minutes. I have two suitcases sitting on my floor that I
haven’t unpacked from the last two road trips, and haven’t begun
to pack for the next trip to Iowa and Illinois this weekend. The
LIVE CD should be released around February 2006, we’ll keep you
posted! Cheers to everyone hope all is well!
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Entry#: 23
Date: Monday, August 15, 2005
By: Jamie
As I type this, we are officially
back across the Canadian boarder and only about seven and a-half
hours from home (if all goes to plan ofcourse). We have just
completed our longest journey yet…Montana!
When Colleen left off we were
finishing up our three night stay in Galena, IL and heading off
to Fargo, ND. A long drive on Wednesday (about 8 or 9 hours)
allowed us just the right amount of time for a bite to eat, set
up, sound check and quick change before our very well-received
performance at the Great Northern Restaurant and Brewery. We
were all very unsure of what type of crowd would show up, as it
was our first time in North Dakota, but after one of the FINEST
dining experiences we’ve had on the road so far…we were ready
for just about anything. Our server was an absolute treat, and I
must say that we all appreciated the light entertainment after
such a long trip. We really didn’t mean to confuse the poor
girl, but I guess Celtic bands can be very intimidating at
times. I only wish I could go into more detail, but that would
be cruel. We were however, delighted by the evening’s turn-out,
with many enthusiastic music lovers. After reading the local
entertainment paper we were informed that Fargo has many
talented musicians that play in various local bands such as the
Thursday night band called “Stabb Stabb Cut Kill.”
Saddened that we were missing
their show, we left Fargo on Thursday morning with a 12 hour
drive ahead of us to Butte, Montana. This was one of the most
scenic trips that I personally have been on. Although I have
vowed never to do that particular drive again, I am very glad
that the opportunity did presented itself.
Arriving in Butte about 9pm
(Mountain time), we were helped to our rooms (Five rooms!!!) and
then headed down to the hotel bar where the festival organizers
held a reception for all those involved in the festival.
Although we arrived somewhat late, I think we still managed to
meet every single person at the function…the people of Butte are
SO friendly!! With food, drinks and great conversation we felt
so very much welcomed in the Big Sky Country.
This hospitality extended over the
course of a weekend that tuned out to be unexpectedly
challenging for all those involved. On Friday afternoon we were
scheduled to take the stage at about 4pm. Just before 4pm, Butte
made national news as the temperature dropped 20 degrees F in 30
minutes! Talk about bad timing…it was freezing. We watched as
the dark clouds rolled in and the rain came down leaving
everyone very disappointed that the performances would have to
be cancelled for the evening. We did however do our best to
entertain those still in the mood for some Canadian Celtic, as
we pulled out our instruments and found an indoor location to
play an acoustic set.
Saturday, although still extremely
cold and overcast, turned out to be just grand. The stage was
moved inside permanently just incase, and we performed two sets
for an awesome crowd. For the first time ever, we received 3
standing ovations within 45 minutes! Although I was early to bed
on Saturday night, to my understanding the evening performances
by Solstice and the Black Brothers was great, as was the after
party…sorry I missed it!
Sunday was a day of mixed
feelings…relieved to be going home for a few days of rest but
dreading the 36 hour drive to get there. ‘Trucker-Mike’got us
off to a great start however, pulling off a 12 hour stint, and
before we knew it we were driving-on into the night. Although we
had originally planned to stop for a snooze somewhere, our
decision not to will enable us to be home tonight and we are
very glad for that. We are also glad that Erin is no longer sick
(after having a slight bout of stomach illness while driving
this morning); and that Colleen did not get a speeding ticket
(after being pulled over – for her first time – in Michigan this
morning); and that the police officer did not notice that none
of our trailer lights were working when he pulled us over (which
we had fixed shortly after at a garage). Seems as though we’ve
dodged all the bullets so far….but we’re not quite home
yet….STAY TUNED
Jamie
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Entry#: 22
By: Colleen
After a long weekend in Montreal
we returned home for a quick nap, and then we sauntered to our
Grandparents’ garage to start work on our LIVE cd. We’re going
to be recording it at the Ottawa Ex at the end of August with a
good friend of ours, Richard Erwin. He’s the reigning champ of
drummers extraordinaire, and he’s all ours! With two days of
rehearsals behind us we were off to Detroit. Of course no trip
would be complete without first stopping at memere and pepere’s
house for some tasty French toast.
With the arrival of Searson in
Livonia MI, we were ready to work/party. Did we ever! There was
another Canadian band at the festival (shocker!), some boys from
our old stompin’ ground; Quagmyre. It was great to catch up and
reveal some shocking stories from our past! The shows were
great, but that’s just a side point. The food that was served
was unbelievable! I’m talking about any kind of cheese, fruit,
and meat you could possibly want… don’t get me started on the
desserts… the beer garden was boisterous as usual and we met a
lot of people. Some crazy, (wanting to marry Heather) others
insane (wanting Mike) but all came for a great time and that’s
what they got.
We ended the weekend by playing at
the Claddagh Irish Pub just down the street from the festival.
Met some more Canadian boys in a pipe band, and saw two separate
wedding parties at the bar that night. All in all, it was a
really fast weekend and we were in no mood to sit around. So the
band packed up and went to Iowa…
Dubuque, Iowa – The Busted Lift…
The bar was an awesome find! The club was in the basement of an
old building, and it was the first gig that searson played at
where we had two rappers open up for us. After a little trouble
with the sound system, the rest of the night was history.
Galena, Illinois- we were to only
play at the Irish cottage for one night, but we loved the place
so much that it turned into a two nighter’. There were Irish
dancers and a hell of a lot of people. It was a great way to
start the week off. From there we headed to Fargo, North Dakota
(yes, thee Fargo!).. more on that from Jamie………
Colleen
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Entry: 21
Date: August 8, 2005
By: Heather,
1:30 pm western time from a hotel in Galena
Thursday we were in the van
leaving the farm by 12pm headed to Syracuse. We were prepared
for a wrestling match, but sadly David was on vacation! After a
quick setup at Kitty Hoynes and great food as always we headed
to the hotel to get dressed and ready for a night of music. We
were sure what the crowds would be like being summer and all,
but Syracuse pulled through as always and gave us a great time.
We even had a blast from the past, a fellow Pembroke girl
Tanya Verch. She was quite the dancer back in the day and even
judged us girls in competitions while we still competed. That
night are home was the Marx hotel with everyone's fav
shower. They sport the awesome walk-in shower with a sunflower
head!
Friday morning with coffee in tow,
a quick trip to the bank(where Mike found they gave out free
hotdogs) we were headed to Utica to a new festival for us.
Before the festival we had everyone's least favorite thing to do
the dreaded photo shoot. No one like's the way you look in
pictures; at least we're better musicians than models! The
festival was a great time. There were lots of great bands,
boasting a strong Canadian contingency and well organized
event which made our job much easier. After an opening night on
the traditional stage we were ready for a drink and catching up
with friends at the event. That Canadian contingency I
mentioned had a great hotel party around some crown royal!
Saturday was a jam packed day. We
performed two great sets at the Utica festival and took a
couple wagon rides. Alright the wagon rides were just me,
i guess you just can't take the farm girl out of me. Met alot of
great people and look forward to meeting you all again.
When we finished our last set we quickly packed up and headed
back to Syracuse to perform at the St. Patrick's festival.
We arrived just in time to setup, but we ran into a
problem. No power! Now you can't put on a "Kick Ass Celtic"
Searson show with out a little Hydro! Luckily the technician
were close at hand and had us up and running. By the end of the
night we were all pretty dead tired and couldn't wait to fall
into bed at the Marx. Well everyone in the band was sawing logs,
Erin and I had the joy of being on the party floor. There was
music pumping, were talking about pictures shaking on the wall
in our room loud. After attempts to fall asleep failed, and we
weren't enjoying the drunk vistors knocking on our door
confusing us with other rooms. We broke down and called security
hoping to salvage a few hours, but not too much success. When
Erin and i left early in the morning we broke out the only
retaliation we could think of, we stole all the do not disturb
signs off the doors on our floor!
Headed back to Canada to the
Montreal Highland games! We had not been here for a few years,
and as always it was a big party under the tent. With Salty Dog
rounding out the entertainment we shared some great sets on the
stage and had a good jam together. That night the party moved to
Hurley's Irish pub. As tired as we were we made it through the
night, although by the end the dancing became a little more work
than usual.
Monday morning we woke really
early to head near home to Deep River for the town celebration.
In between the Tug of war and the dance schools we
performed our set. Now if we thought the dancing was tough the
night before we didn't even know what pain meant. I think our
bodies were so worn out from lack of sleep it was a good thing
we were headed home to sleep in our own beds. We made it home in
one piece but were too tired to make dinner, even though we were
craving homemade food, it was East Side Mario's to the rescue!
Than believe it was an early night to bed!
Cheers till next time
Heather
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Entry:
20
Date: July 26, 2005
By: Jamie
Being at home for the past two
weeks has been a real treat for all of us girls + Mike. We’ve
enjoyed many blisteringly hot and humid days of summer and are
all quite pleased with the turnout of the shows we did manage to
book in our native area.
Before I tell you about those
shows however, I would like to mention the absolutely
spectacular time we had in Albany, NY on July 13th. Who knew
that a Celtic festival (which was held on Wednesday!) would turn
out to be so truly ideal. If ever a band were to describe the
perfect show, this would be it! A massive stage with tones of
great help, great sound, great crowd, great location, great
food, great hotel and a great response to our music……we were
living the life in Albany, NY.
After having both Friday and
Saturday off (WOW, that’s rare), we headed to Almonte - a small
village approximately 1 hour south/east of our home town – for a
Sunday afternoon Celtic Festival. When we left home it really
looked cloudy, but we managed to beat the rain. The crowd in
Almonte was excellent, and we were all quite pleased to see some
old friends from our ‘fidd’lin past’! We also met some new
friends from Kansas City – a band named the Elders. They were
great to chat with and we really enjoyed the first few songs
they played until the rain started pouring down. We left before
the weather cleared and were glad to be home nice and early for
family visits and such.
Almost another whole week went by
before our last show which was again, very close to home, in the
good’ ol village of Palmer Rapids. Now in our area, if you’ve
never heard of the Palmer Rapids Twin Music Festival, then
you’ve been living under a big rock or something. This festival
is famous for it’s lively atmosphere, as tons of drunk’in camper
folk walk about and enjoy the all day festivities held between a
country and bluegrass stages. Big bands from all around are
invited to partake in this three-day event, and we were so
fortunate to perform there this year. What a blast!!
As the long weekend approaches, we
gear up for shows in Syracuse, Utica and Montreal. We’re all
fired up and ready for the adventures of August.
Stay Tuned!!
Jamie
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Entry: 19
Date: July 11, 2005
By: Erin
After loading up the van with our
usual food & drinks, musical equipment etc…we were off to Cape
May, NJ. We left close to 10 a.m. and after having no hassles
crossing the border (thank god!) and picking up product we drove
straight through and arrived around 9 p.m. Everyone was going a
little stir crazy by the time we arrived and so it was great to
stretch our legs and walk around this beautiful town. Heather &
I had picked up some wine at the duty free and Cape May is the
place to be when you want to sit on a porch, drink wine, and
watch the people going by. Thursday morning we all had a little
down time. The last time we played in Cape May, Barry the owner
of the jewelry store Kaleidoscope had given all of us girls’
jewelry after the show, because he enjoyed the music so much.
Barry had invited us to come back and pick out some more jewelry
to wear for the show that evening, and being girls and all, we
couldn’t turn him down. He definitely knew how to make this band
happy! Thanks Barry!
Heather & I took a couple of hours
in the afternoon and handed out pamphlets to the concert that
evening to innocent bystanders everywhere. Heather especially
loved the man who told her that he hated Celtic music and hated
Canadians, so she ripped that flyer out of his hand and
continued politely on her way, like any good Canadian would do
:).
Load-in and sound check took place between 3-5:30 p.m. in this
beautiful concert hall beside the ocean. There was a summer camp
full of kids at the back of the hall waiting to be picked up and
I think it made all of us thankful that we didn’t have to watch
40 screaming kids all summer long. After 10 time-outs, I’d give
up trying to.
After a quick bit to eat, and
quick change of clothes, it was back to the hall for the
concert. There was a very receptive audience and John did a
great job on the sound, which made for a smooth, successful
evening. We are starting to recognize a lot of familiar faces
every time we come back to this area, and appreciate everyone’s
support.
We ended up driving ahead to
Philadelphia that night, to get ahead of the tropical storm
heading our way, and arrived around 2 a.m. exhausted and ready
for bed.
The next morning we headed up to
New York State, and come to think of it, I can’t remember the
name of the town our hotel was in, but I do remember that it was
a very long drive because of two major accidents and a few spur
of the moment detours that took a little longer than expected.
We arrived around 8:30 p.m. and although tired, we were ready to
do something that evening since we had some time off! After
stocking up on some dinner at the Walmart Super Center and
stuffing our purses and coats, us girls proceeded to the new Tom
Cruise movie ‘War of the Worlds’. There was some entertaining
scenes, but not much plot, and we were all dissatisfied with the
ending. Oh well, haven’t been to a movie in awhile and it was
nice to relax.
The next morning we were up at
7:15 a.m., had some not-so-exciting continental breakfast and we
were off to Letchworth State Park for a beautiful, hot day in
this gorgeous park. Everything went smoothly again, sound was
great, and everyone very helpful. This was a highland games and
the whole day went without a hitch. We played four sets
throughout the day, and had a big jam session at the end with
some of the other musicians there. It was great to see some
friends out and a big thanks to Mike Letters for helping us sell
product all day! As soon as we were finished we packed up,
showered and changed at the hotel, grabbed some supper and
headed back to Canada. We were anxious to get back and
determined to be home by 1:00 a.m. After stopping at the storage
area, we were excited to be making such good time. Heather
pulled back onto the 81 North, and right about then is when one
of the tires blew on the trailer….just our luck! Things were
going way too well this trip. After unloading all the equipment
along the side of the highway, and putting on the spare, we
loaded the trailer back up and we on the road again in half an
hour….not too shabby! We still managed to get home close to 1
a.m. and the rest of us were back in Pembroke by 1:45 a.m.
Pretty successful trip, we’re heading out again in a few days to
New York state again, and Jamie will keep you all posted on the
next adventure!
Cheers,
Erin
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Entry: 18
Date: June 27, 2005…0300 hrs
By: Colleen
After a good 24 hrs. at home of
doing laundry and taking a quick trip to the local bar, we hit
the road again on to Syracuse. We played for two nights at the
famous Kitty Hoynes. Crowds we’re great as usual. Mike is
ecstatic that he has found a new wrestling partner on the
eastern seaboard, since leaving Ohio. (Can you smell what the
Rock is cooking?) We took a bet over pudding and rye, and our
money is on the American. (Sorry Mike).
Isn’t it funny how traffic jams
put everyone in a great mood? What should have been a five hour
drive was really six and a half. By the time we showed up in
Toms River, Searson was pretty brain dead. Our Bruce Springsteen
fan didn’t let us down. He showed up with twenty people and a
whole lot of Mardi gras beads. SEARSON ROCKED THE JOINT OUT!!
We don’t have to worry about going
hungry in the car anymore when stuck in traffic. Heather bought
a huge purse for the sole purpose of getting our hands on loads
of food at the continental breakfasts. It’s pretty funny to
watch a bunch of girls from Canada stealing cheerios, thinking
that it’s the crime of the century. But, a girl’s gotta eat, and
we love to do that!
Another beautiful day in Ocean
City, a whopping 93 degrees and we are stuck in traffic. (Story
of our lives lately). It’s worth the wait when we arrive at the
music pier; salt water taffy, fudge and lots of guys at the
beach. It was a quick concert, but always fun. Two Irish
dancers, Casey-Ann and Cailine came up and told us about a soft
shoe routine they put together for Car Song. What an honour!
They did such a great job. It was awesome to see other dancers
perform. It was the first time in a week we sort of had the
night off, by that I mean we only had to use half of our own
sound system and we were out of the venue by 12:30 am.
The final day of our trek led us
to the New Jersey Irish festival in Holmdale. It was great to
see so many people from Tom’s River out. But God, it was bloody
hot!!!!!.. We were out in the blazing heat from 9:30 to 3:00 pm,
and the temperature was a monstrous 102F (that’s 39 Celsius for
you non-americans). Show was fun despite the fact, and the
ceilidh dancers really brought the entertainment to new heights.
We packed up and got in the car
for a stinky, smelly, sweaty, exhaustive 10hr. drive home.
(There was nowhere to shower at the festival) It’ll be nice to
have a bit of a break at home for a few days, gonna hit the
Wilno tavern and the cottage. Canada day we are playing in our
home town… so there should be some great stories in the next
entry by one of the red-heads….
Colleen
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Entry: 17
Date: June ? (It’s dark; I’m in the van and someone’s
feet smell)
By: Heather
Once upon a time there was a
tornado warning, and of course we had to drive through the
storm.
Deciding we might be a little
saner if we left a day early for Indianapolis we set out
Tuesday. Five hours were shaved off the drive by crashing at our
cousin’s in Waterloo. Beverly stood the test and plowed through
the raging rain. Tornados can’t stop Searson!
No sleeping in, too much ground to
cover the next day. We arrived at the Claddagh Pub with the help
of good old map quest. After sound checking and a good dinner we
were at the hotel to get ready for the night. Being our first
time at this location we weren’t sure what the crowd would be
like. We were greeted by familiar faces and the enthusiasm of
the F1 fans and racers. The Formula one racers see home as
little as we do. There was some road warrior bonding going on.
It was a great party in the pub that night; if you weren’t there
you missed a good one! If you were there you probably came out
the next night for a repeat of food, beer and Searson. Big
thanks to our sponsor BASS beer and Claddagh for having us.
Breakfast at the grocery store and
Starbucks coffee, to start the day. Besides the morning coffee
fill, we picked up Alanis’ release of the acoustic version of
her Jagged Little Pill album. Starbucks, Morrisette and
all roads lead to Ohio.
Our first time at the Irish Fest
in Euclid and we had a great time. The location is perfect with
lots of trees and fresh air. The Canadian Contingency was strong
that weekend with many a band from the Great White North. With
the day of playing behind us we were shuttled off to Mick’s Pub
where the party continued. Terry from the Fenians joined us for
the car ride. We even traded jewelry, bracelets to be exact for
the night. This became our custom for the weekend, it helped us
play better. Whenever we ran into each other we’d inspect each
other’s arms to see what we could trade. We made it to the pub
only to discover they had the Canadian pick, Crown Royal! The
Town Pants were displaying they’re abilities to perform Jamie
and Colleen fiddling impressions. Although Colleen didn’t pull
through in the arm wrestling competition, Mike surprised all
(especially the Town Pants and The Peelers) with his WWF skills.
Father’s Day in Euclid consisted
of sleeping in, swimming (Erin claims she went for a run),
Mexican Food and the Indiana Jones marathon. We performed our
last show at the festival that evening and bid all farewell. We
rose early the next morning in hopes of making it home by dinner
time. After sailing through customs it was home to our own beds.
Home for two sleeps, one day and four loads of laundry.
Heather
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Entry
#: 16
By: Jamie
Date: June 7, 2005
Hello Everyone! Great to be back
on the road for another strong line-up of shows. Thanks to all
of you who came out to support our CD release shows and we
really hope that you enjoy listening to the new CD as much as we
enjoyed recording it!
The tour began with a long day, as
we packed the van early and set off for St. James Gate in
Maplewood, NJ. Thankfully, our anticipated hold-up at the
boarder didn’t happen, and so we made pretty good time
considering our lengthy drive. For once we managed to pick a day
without rain to visit the beautiful, quaint town of Maplewood.
Although we were all pretty tired from the trip down, we had an
excellent night, and a great crowd as always…we would like to
send out a congrats to John Jr. at St. James on the arrival of
his first son on the day of our show.
Thursday was an easy day with an
extremely short trip to McIntyres Pub in Tom’s River, NJ. We
left our hotel no later than check out and enjoyed a beautiful
sunny day, not to mention a great hotel with the best
complimentary chocolate-chip cookies I have ever had…nice touch.
The show was a success and we were happy to see many faces
return to the Pub for a repeat, full-on Searson experience…we
will be back to Tom’s River at the end of this month and we look
forward to seeing you all again.
Friday afternoon was yet another short trip to Brittingham’s, in
Layfayette Hill, PA. As always, our friends Bill and Karen
warmly welcomed us as we proceeded to invade their home for the
weekend. We always look forward to our stays with them because
of their great stories and wonderful smelling sheets (thanks
Karen!). Before dinner, we enjoyed a little girly time in front
of the TV, as Oprah had a special episode on finding the “right
bra” (these are the times when we feel most sorry for Mike!) Out
of all the shows we’ve done at Brittingham’s, this was our
favorite. Although it’s a longer night, the time really seemed
to fly by, and the crowd was very appreciative.
Saturday was an early morning
stint as we trucked off to Fair Hill, Maryland for a full day of
bagpipes and everything that is traditional Scottish. We set up
shop in an old barn-like building and began performing at 10:30
am. By the end of the day, we had performed six sets. During our
breaks we were joined by one of the best Scottish square dance
teachers in the Eastern US…she was absolutely phenomenal! We
really enjoyed ourselves at the Games and were glad to recognize
some great faces in the crowd – especially those who stayed for
the entire day. The weather couldn’t have been better, and we
truly enjoyed working normal hours (9am-5pm), having the night
off and eating pizza on the porch back at Bill and Karen’s.
Sunday we heading back to Maryland for a visit with Pat Garby at
Mrs. Oleary’s in Gaithersburg. As always, our night there was a
highlight of the trip with a full house and nearly unbeatable, 3
encore crowd (very flattering).
Aside from the show was the motel
room. A story clearly comes to mind now as I remember heading
off to bed before the rest, falling asleep and awakening an hour
later to the girl’s in utter disgust of the many bugs infesting
the room around me as well as the bathroom. I almost crawl out
of my skin at the thought. So here we are in our pajamas,
lugging our instruments and suitcases up to the next floor at
2am.
Monday was a day of rest for the
Searson clan. We had arranged to crash in the Pocono’s - at the
cottage that has been so generously offered to us on numerous
occasions now. Before making it there however, we decided to
take the opportunity to “apply” for Social Security (part of a
process that Canadian musicians must follow in order to receive
tax id). Well that was an experience!! I think we were only in
there for about 3 hours, but it seemed like an eternity! Sitting
on a hard cement floor doesn’t help. Luckily, our immaturity as
always, kept us giggling, and the time passed without any
serious injury. We were disappointed however that we missed our
Oprah show, with her special guest Tom Cruise – we were quite
excited for that. Oh well, we enjoyed some delicious Chinese
food and a plethora of snacks while doing laundry and relaxing
on our Monday night off.
Tuesday was an interesting afternoon as we first completed a
flawless drive into Manhattan (great navigation by Erin Searson/
great driving by Mike Searson), and then proceeded to perform at
The Full Shilling (just off of Wall Street) from 5pm-7:30pm. We
enjoyed a wonderful turn-out and we were very glad to be back
visiting Marty – one of New York’s finest pub-owners and
definitely the most hospitable of men. Besides that, the Full
Shilling has some of the best dining we have ever experienced in
our Irish pub travels – we hope to be back soon.
Wednesday we checked in to the
same hotel as Billy Idol, as we prepared for a night in Reading,
PA at the Ugly Oyster. Apparently Billy was in town a night
early for his concert on Thursday in Reading. Although we did
not meet “the man” himself, Colleen did manage to schmooze with
the head production manager for the afternoon and invite them to
the show that night. A delightful crowd, as always, filled the
Ugly Oyster as the show came to a satisfying end - following an
eventful evening, and one that this band will always remember;)
Thursday we headed back down to
Maryland, yet again, for a show at our favorite Bethesda pub,
Flannagan’s. Another long night was ahead of us, but we were
prepared. We enjoyed our best crowd yet in Bethesda – we were
pleased to see some dedicated fans make it out for a night of
fun with Searson, especially those who brave down a flight of
stairs with a foot cast – thanks Dan and Mitzi!
Friday we headed to Cape May, NJ
for a relaxing visit with friends and a night off. The weather
was absolutely gorgeous, and for the first time this year I
enjoyed the beach…finally summer!
Saturday wasn’t so nice, as our show was unfortunately rained
out. The Cape May Festival, which was a success during the day
was to be followed by a kick-ass Searson show, but as the
weather man predicted, 5pm brought thunder and lightning which
left us with soaking wet electrical equipment…shock anyone??
Sunday, the last day of the tour,
turned out to be a great day for the Jack Frost Festival in the
Pocono Mountains, PA. Although the rain had followed us from the
south, we managed to get our set in during the one hour of
sunshine. We had a great visit with our fellow Canadian
musicians – Enter the Haggis – a great bunch of guys and one
hell of a band. We really enjoyed their set, along with the many
other great bands who preformed at the Festival. We hope to be
back to Jack Frost next year!
All-in-all it was a great tour and we were happy to be back on
the road to promote our brand new CD “Follow”. It won’t be long
before we’re back down again and in the New Jersey area. Hope to
see you all out, and check out the tour section for our upcoming
dates. Till then, tak’er easy!
Jamie
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Entry
#: 15
By: Erin
Date: May 4, 2005
After
a great holiday, we are officially back on the road! We started
off with a CD release in one of our favourite Canadian cities,
Montreal. Two nights there definitely whipped us back into
shape. Saturday was the best night, packed house, and the crowd
was there to have a good time, which we love.
We
left the following Tuesday for Warrenton, VA and slept at
some riends of ours. They have been great to us, always
welcoming us with open arms, and treating us with some great
hospitality. We had an early start on Wednesday night, which we
love. We met another band there called Trasna and it's always
great hearing stories from other bands and learning about all
the places they've played as well. Another woman in the crowd
gave us her manuscript for book she had just written, and was
going in to see about getting it published….best of luck! Most
of us are avid readers in the van, so I'm looking forward to
reading it.
Thursday
morning, we left at 8 a.m. and headed down to Anderson, SC. I
really liked the stage set up at Corbett McGee's because we
actually playing to the audience. It was a dinner and show deal,
and we had a great welcome, especially since it was our first
time there.
Friday we headed down to Savannah, GA and we were all pretty
excited since none of us have been there before. After load in
and sound check we had a good 5 hours to walk around and check
out the city. After a great seafood dinner, we all just walked
around, checked out the amazing historic houses, parks, and cool
shops.
Things
get started pretty late in Savannah, and at around 12:30 a.m.
Finnegan's Wake was packed full of people! We even did a bit
extra step dancing because people kept bringing more people back
to see us. We tore down the equipment and loaded up, leaving
Savannah at 2:30 a.m. Colleen was the hard core driver, and got
us to Forsyth, GA by 6:00 a.m. We got exactly 2 hours of sleep
and then were up and at it again, at the Culloden Games for 10
a.m. show. Hurricane warnings were in effect all day, and the
morning was cancelled because it poured rain non-stop. We
decided to head back to the hotel to catch a little sleep while
we waited for the rain to stop. Meanwhile, it had rained so much
that our van and trailer was completely stuck in what had turned
into mud. Us girls tried to push the trailer out, and we're
pretty strong, but we still couldn't mange, although we did get
some good photos (coming soon in photo gallery!) A kind
gentleman from Clan Donald towed us out. The afternoon was saved
and we did our show and then followed that up in the evening for
a Ceilidh with Seven Nations. Everyone took turns pulling out
some pretty old songs and we just had a big jam session.
Sunday
was a beautiful day, all the shows went well and we ended the
games with another jam along with 7N. We had a great time
playing with those guys, and we're looking forward to doing it
again this summer.
Monday morning we left GA at 7 a.m. and drove straight home. The
game plan was that if everyone in the band drove for a tank of
gas, it would get us home, and it worked! Us girls arrived back
at our apartments at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, completely worn
out, but home sweet home! I finished up with a phone interview
with a radio station in Vancouver, BC and had a great discussion
about the new CD. Thanks for playing our music, we can't wait to
play out there! We're heading down to the U.S. again shortly, so
come on out!
Cheers,
Erin
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Entry
#: 14
By: Heather
Date: March 20, 2005
We
survived St. Pat's, but barely! Hopefully everyone had a fun
filled day. We we're in Toronto and began the day at Finn's on
University. The beer was flowing in the business district, with
many suits up dancing. After 3 sets here we headed to another
Finn on St. Claire. We were greeted with a line up out the door
and everyone ready to hear some Irish music. I was especially
excited to see Benny D a friend for university that made it out
to the party. By the end of the sixth set of the day we were
pretty wiped and glad to be going to bed.
The
next morning we woke up at the grandparents to an amazing
breakfast of french toast (my favorite meal) to refuel us for
the trip to Syracuse. We were pleasantly surprised to see all
the people who made it out Friday night, otherwise known as
recovery day for a few. Friday after the show we all relaxed and
shared a few drinks with the bartenders. Saturday night was the
cd release party at Kitty Hoynes. The place was packed and with
alot of new faces as well as old. We had a great night and
enjoyed ourselves with such an enthusiastic crowd. The only
downfall of the night was that Colleen couldn't make the show.
Sadly she has the flu again and spent the night hanging out in
the hotel.
We
drove the five hours home on Sunday to begin our holidays.
Everyone's travelling all over the countryside to visit friends
and family on a much deserved vacation. After the short break
we'll be hitting the road again promoting the new cd and getting
ready for the summer festivals.
Cheers,
Heather
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Entry#:
13
By: Heather & Colleen
Date: March 16, 2005
Well
we went back to one of the first bars we ever started playing at
for a "pre St. Pats" party at the diddley in Douglas
Ont. It was great to see so many familiar faces out from home.
We had a great jam session with the fiddlers from Chichester.
Then the following Friday we played at the museum in Smith
Falls, Ont. It was great to finally play there, after canceling
in February show due to the flue. The place was so nice and
intimate, the second audience had Q & A with SEARSON and
found out our many secrets.
The
next night was our first experience at the Watertown Irish
Festival. Lucky for us our hotel was right across the street
from us. We had a quick dinner from subway before playing in the
beer garden. The crowd was hyperactive, and quite a group of
partyers. Many a good dancers too! Despite some sound troubles,
the show was a success!
We
were up early the next morning to head to T.O. for our final
show of the week. It was a great warm-up for us, because this is
where our first show for St. Pat's will be. The staff is
definitely prepared for the party!
Happy
Paddy's Day everyone! Hopefully we'll see some of you there!
Heather
and Colleen
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Entry#:
12
By: Jamie
Date: February 28th, 2005
I'd
have to say that the last two weeks on the road was a real
reminder of why we've chosen the path we have. Cool cities,
smiling faces, great food and great fun. Cheers! When we left
off, we were driving home from PHILI, where we had played the
Saturday night at Finnegan's Wake. Quite tired and almost
delirious, we arrived home with just enough time to repack,
reorganize and for me, to remind my parents that yes, their long
lost daughter still exists. We headed out early Wednesday
morning without much trouble, and thankfully Heather was feeling
herself again. even able to drive half the trip. Great to have
her back in action!
We
arrived in Maplewood, New Jersey around 6:30pm and resumed our
typical glamorous life on the road, which always seems to
involve unloading in the rain and changing in the bathrooms of
the pub. The show went smoothly however - no equipment problems
(bonus) and a great mix of both new and old Searson enthusiasts.
We were also graced with the presence of a Manhattan bar owner,
Marty, of the Full Shilling who invited us to play at his
establishment on our Monday off. Perfect timing for both he and
us, as we had reserved our favorite cottage in the Poconos for
the weekend. Not a far drive from downtown New York.
We
enjoyed a great night in Maplewood and as always, looked forward
to the best continental breakfast in town. We headed for A Piece
of Ireland in Delaware on Thursday afternoon. The weather was
warm and we were happy to hear that the evenings show had been
fully reserved. A big thanks goes out to all those who joined us
on stage that evening. >From an Irish dancer to a bodhran
player to a singer/guitar player to a server who lost a bet and
had to make a speech. We had a riot and the night flew by. We
must also thank our Piece of Ireland photographer, who sat front
row center and got some great shots that will be up on the site
very soon. A sincere apology goes out to all of the very cool
and very beautiful people, who tried to get in but could not,
due to presale tickets. We will be back to the area soon. so
please keep a look out.
Friday
we headed for new territory. Tom's River, New Jersey - home of
McIntyres Pub where get this. you have to walk through the
liquor store to get in. AWESOME! Booze central. I 'm sure we'll
be making our way back to Tom's River as we had a very fun night
and met a bunch of cool and crazy people. We even met a man who
used to live up in our neck of the woods (Eganville/Pembroke,
ON). This just does not happen too often. Having moved many
times since, it was pleasing to hear that he misses Ontario and
plans to move back some day. It really is beautiful here at
home. Our hotel rooms in Tom's River were amazing and what made
it even better was the fact that we had three rooms instead of
our usual two. Trust me, when you spend every minute of every
day with the same people, getting your own bed is like a mini
vacation.
Everyone
was in very good spirits on Saturday morning as we headed off to
Philadelphia, home of our good friends Bill and Karen Reid.
Since we didn't have to work Saturday night they were kind
enough to let us stay with them, yet again. We decided that
because of our intrusion into their home, the least we could do
was to cook them dinner. We stopped at a grocery store to pick
up a few things, and instantly became five-year-olds when we saw
the carts that had a big red "car" attached to the
front. Although we couldn't fit in (obviously), it didn't stop
us all from trying. I think Colleen came the closest, with only
an arm and a leg hanging out the side windows. It's really is
easy to loose touch with civilization when you sit in a van most
of the day.
So
we had a great night off at Bill and Karen's - consumed a
ridiculous amount of everything and slept as if we were back at
home. Cheers to their hospitality!
Sunday
we headed for the Poconos, cottage country, the best place for
real downtime. Although it didn't seem like much, as we had a
lot of rehearsing to do once we got there. Anxious to perfect
our new material for stage. "band geeks, band geeks!"
(sometimes). We did enjoy the evening however, with a little
Grammy action on the tube. Many great performances I thought,
but my favorite was definitely Green Day.
Our
show on Monday was in the afternoon Manhattan (Wall Street
area), so we left extra early with the expectation of delay. Our
expectations were certainly met, as we circled the streets
countless times. Imagining it with a car is one thing, but with
a van and trailer..oh man.that sucked! An hour and a half drive
turned into three and a half hours, and we were lucky to get
five minutes parked to unload before the "parking
police" were screaming at us to move it. In utter panic,
brave Erin attempted to move the van two feet forward to let a
truck go by, and ran into a pole. Funny now, but at the time it
was sheer chaos. No damage done though. hahaha! After all was
said and done, Valentines Day Monday in Manhattan at the Full
Shilling was not too bad at all. We made great new friends with
Marty and his wife and we anticipate a repeat performance. Marty
loves stepdancing!!
Tuesday
we headed for Gaithersburg, Maryland. We were a tad bit late
leaving the cottage due to unanticipated laundry difficulties,
but we made it just in time to set up, change and start playing.
The crowd at Mrs. O'Leary's was definitely our best yet. We
always look forward to the enthusiasm in Gaithersburg.a snowball
effect of sorts. Everybody tells their friends to come out, and
the party keeps gett'in better. One other addition to our show
there is the stage set-up. Without a doubt it is the smallest
area that the band plays. How on earth we manage to fit five
bodies and a piano up there is beyond me. I think that image
alone is sheer entertainment, and I swear the stage gets smaller
every time we play there!
Wednesday
was a quick trip down the road to Warrenton, Virginia. Now
Warrenton is familiar - and unforgettable - territory to us
because we had the pleasure of staying in the most beautiful
home there last May when we were on tour. Unfortunately our
hosts were out of town for the week, but they kindly offered us
their fully equipped and totally awesome pool house for the
night. Molly's Irish Pub in the quaint downtown core of
Warrenton was the spot to be, and we certainly enjoyed our early
night show and look forward to going back. When we arrived back
at the pool house it was still early. For once we got to have a
real "movie night," and after a very democratic system
of voting, decided on Dodgeball - gotta love Ben Stiller.
Thursday
night we returned back to the White Horse pub in Virginia Beach
where we were greeted by familiar faces. Known for bringing in
live entertainment, the White Horse has seen numerous well-known
bands come through, many of which have covered the stage wall
with their autographed pictures. Regulars of the pub are
therefore, very much music enthusiasts and we always love to
hear their stories of the different bands who have traveled to
Virginia Beach. Great to be back.
Friday
arrived after much anticipation as we returned to the Phili area
(King of Prussia) for the Midwinter Irish and Scottish Festival.
We had numerous reasons to be in good spirits Friday morning,
considering it was an early shift. First off, we were happy to
going somewhere and staying there for more than one night;
secondly we were excited to finally see some bands perform that
we hear so much about in our ravels; Bill and Karen who
organize the festival are always a treat to work with; and last,
but certainly not least, our NEW CD was shipped and waiting for
us to arrive!!! This was the day we had been imagining for the
last six months and finally it had arrived. We played Friday
night to a great crowd and then sat back to enjoy the Jim Kelly
Band and Seven Nations. We've had the pleasure of meeting these
guys in our travels before, so we knew we were in for some fun.
After all was said and done we found our way to the hotel party
and shared stories with Seven Nations who, believe me, have a
lot to tell! Hilarious.
Saturday
was yet another full day. We played two sets and experienced the
high energy and talent of the many other phenomenal bands. We
thoroughly enjoyed meeting and listening to Grada.a band from
Ireland that was just finishing up their first tour of the U.S.;
Brother, who's intensity in their music and stage presence is
very intriguing, and definitely one of a kind (I love the DIDGE);
and Gaelic Storm - with their spirited personalities, their
music and crowd appeal is really no surprise.
We
were pleased many of our own supporters out for the weekend as
well. In the last year we've met so many people who first saw us
at Midwinter, and hopefully the word continues to spread.
Another reason why we were so excited to have our new CD
available for the weekend, and we hope that you all enjoy it!
We
would like to thank Mitzy and Dan for taking care of us in the
sales and spiced rum department. You guys are the best stalkers
ever! I was introduced to Mead on Saturday evening for the first
time (not bad at'all). Thanks to Tom and Derek for that, and a
big thanks to our CR support that we so graciously drink in true
Canadian spirit. In all respects, the weekend at Midwinter was
totally cool...it even ended off on a high note for us, when
just before we left Kirk from 7N, Colleen and I were invited to
jam a tune with Brother for their last number.amazing. The drive
home on Sunday wasn't too bad and we've all been enjoying our
down-time over the last five days. Yesterday (Sunday) we made a
quick trip to Syracuse for an afternoon fundraiser at Kitty
Hoynes. They had a fantastic turn-out and excitement rose to the
very end when a fight broke out between two women right in front
of the stage.that was sorta funny.
Today
we're meeting with our videographer to go over some live footage
that was taken at a concert we did last month, so keep on the
look out for clips of our show on the internet. I'd like to wish
everyone a Happy St. Pat's. We'll be playing our hearts out in
Toronto, so come out if you're in the neighborhood. we'd love to
see you. Until then, be good and stay tuned for more Searson
adventure next week (I think we have a special guest writing the
diary. Should be interesting!)
-
Jamie
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Entry#:
11
By: Colleen
Date: February 6, 2005
Tuesday
We wake up, and Heather is extremely sick. She can't get in the
van. So we take the long drive down to Scranton to play at The
Bog. We were later getting there, so us girls changed in the
van. Once the show starts, about the third number in, the piano
comes crashing to the ground, mikes guitar breaks down, and his
guitar strap broke, and the mandolin also breaks down. Jamie and
myself are over our sickness, but mike is pretty sick now. Our
first show without a bass player.
Wednesday
Drive to Reading, PA to play at The Ugly Oyster. We get to the
hotel, extremely tired. Mike parks the van, and 15 mins. later
we get a phone call from Mike saying that the trailer is stuck
in the parking garage, it's wedged under a beam. After unloading
the trailer, we let the air out of the tires, unload the equipment
from it and figure out the best way to unlodge it, all the while
wishing someone had majored in physics. After 45 mins. we got it
loose, and took it to get some air in the tires. After that we
had about 20 mins. down time till the show. We played to a
packed house without a bass player again.
Thursday
Pittsburg, The Harp and Fiddle. long drive, we set up, and ran
out of time again so we changed in the bar. Show was fun again!
Hope fully they're ready for us again at the Pittsburg Irish
Fest.
Friday
Woke up to find that our windshield had a huge crack across the
middle of it. What did we do? Kept driving. We get to
Fredericksburg, VA and play at the Colonial Inn Tavern. Mike's
still sick, and it was a long drive. We got there, and for the
first time all week, we had an hour to ourselves. Had a great
show, felt more like a concert setting than a bar. They sure
love our "kick ass celtic" t-shirts, they cleaned us
out!
Saturday
Wake up and drive to Philadelphia. Have a quick drink with one
of our favourite hosts. We head to Finnigan's Wake and only get
lost once on the way to the bar. Set up, then we do our
"thing". At first we weren't sure how the show would
go over since we were playing at a dance club, but i guess our
Canadian Charm was good enough! Finally, all packed up and ready
to go. Around 2:30 am we're in the middle of a traffic jam of
Eagles fans ready for the big game tomorrow. What could we do
but sit and watch the action around us. Hands down the best guy
we saw was wearing a belt where the buckle had a flashing sign
that read "All you honeys... I'm a hustla...." that
kept repeating over and over. Bed was such a treat at 4 am that
night.
Sunday
home. We left this morning around 11:30am and showed up at the
farm by 8:30pm, and us girls pulled into Pembroke around 10:00.
With everything that went wrong this week I can honestly say
that you could never do this unless you absolutely love it.
-
Colleen
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Entry:
#10
By: Heather
Date: January 31, 2005
We
made it to Michigan through quite a snowstorm. The only joy on
the road was passing the Oscar Myer wiener mobile on the
highway. You can't miss it, with it's bright yellow and orange
colorings. We had a great finally show of the Claddagh pub tour.
Thanks so much to Dave for setting the show up and to Strongbow
for sponsoring the tour. When we finally made it to bad that
night we were all exhausted. Although we woke up for a bit when
we discovered that the wiener mobile had caught up with us and
was staying in our hotel. (check out pictures of the big hotdog
to come!)
Monday
we found ourselves alive and well back home in Pembroke. We were
playing a benefit concert that night for the Tsunami Relief. The
show was lots of since we we're joined on stage by Ceol Mhath a
great celtic act from the area. The veteran on fiddle Brian
Hebert, who was also Jamie's fiddle teacher. Searson and Brian
filled the hall with a great rendition of The Devil Went Down to
Georgia! Bob's Music in Pembroke did a fantastic job of the
sound and lighting. And a big thanks goes out to Dan McGary for
organizing everything. All the money was donated to UNICEF and
we we're all glad to help out with a good cause.
Tuesday
We heard the final mix of our cd! We are so excited to share it
with everyone. It turned out awesome! The graphics we're
finalized. My friend Dan from elementary school has been working
tirelessly to come up with amazing art work for the album. The
whole package should be out hopefully by the end of February so
stay tuned.
The
next two days we spent doing shows in Toronto. It was great to
see everyone again, especially all the friends from the valley
who made it out. Friday was a sad day for SEARSON. A couple
members of the band came down with a bad case of the flu and we
ended up having to reschedule our show in Smith Falls. We hated
having to do this and apologize to everyone this inconvienced.
We look forward to coming there and performing a great show when
everyone is healthy!
Maynooth
Celtic Festival was a great party. Warm welcome, great food,
music and dancing! It was like a large kitchen party that would
go all night if it was allowed.
We
ended the week on Sunday doing another fundraiser in our
hometown of Eganville. The forces of the valley joined together
for an afternoon of music to help raise funds for Emilie
Joinette who is waiting for a lung transplant in Toronto. We
also learnt a lot about Canada's organ donation system and how
they are in need of people to give organs. The important thing
to do is fill out you organ donation card and speak with your
family about your wishes.
We
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