|
Entry #: 04
Date:
April 2, 2008
By:
the brains of the operation...
that's right, the bass player
Where:
From a cafe in Ottawa
Once upon a
time there was a Canadian band that rarely played in Canada.
They loved playing in their country and missed performing for
friends and fans. People kept writing into to the website
asking, "When are you coming to Toronto?" The band kept
searching for an answer. On a beautiful March 13 day the answer
arrived. Searson will be playing in Toronto at Fionn MacCools.
Friends, family and fans gathered where they spent the night
happily ever after.
There were so
many familiar faces in Toronto I felt like I knew the entire
bar. This made for one huge party. Dancing and drinks we're
flowing. The high school crew were even performing strategic bar
dancing competitions over a pint that left the crowd in
suspense. I haven't seen moves like that since Lakeside in the
Quebec. We we're excited just to play a prime pub. We use to
perform this circuit of pubs all the time ccross Ontario and we
became addicted to their food. The entire trip down we discussed
what we would eat off the menu. It was a good thing we fueled up
for the show a lot of energy was spent.
That night we
crashed at our grandparents in Oshawa. In the morning we woke up
to fresh coffee, homemade french toast and sausages. We we're
piled into the car by noon and driving off to the Thousand
Island Border Crossing.
Watertown has
become a St. Pat's Searson tour tradition. We always look
forward to the party on the 11 floor. These people do it up all
weekend long and we were there for the kick-off. Everyone
dressed in green, with a pint in hand, dancing to the music.
Andrew the new guitar player was even a little nervous to
perform to a bigger room. This was only his fourth show and the
other three we're all bar shows. As luck would have it he fell
in love with the stage and crowd, he blew us all away with his
playing. A highlight of the night for me was performing one of
our new songs, Go To That place. This is a number we wrote in
support of our troops. Watertown has a base, there was a lot of
friends and family supporting their troops out in full force
that night.
Fredonia, NY
has a beautifully restored opera house that was more than a
simple a treat to play. My sisters and I kept commenting how it
reminded us of an opera house from a classic musical, Calamity
Jane with Doris Day. Colleen was so excited, I thought she might
perform one of the numbers from the movie. People we're
traveling from all over to attend, even a bus load from Buffalo
made it. We were very touched by the effort people made to see
us perform. Erin was in heaven all night. She had the joy of
performing on a restored 1918 Steinway the hall provided. I was
a little afraid that she might try and steal it at the end of
the night. We would all be her accomplices since she would need
our help stuffing it into the trailer.
This is the
part of the tour where life became a little more difficult. We
had misjudged the distance to Hanover, PA. The band was going to
have to leave by 4:30 am to be on time at the theatre for load
in. Before we went to bed that night Erin, being the smart red
head that she is checked map quest again just to be sure of our
route. She made an interesting discovery. We actually had to
leave by 3:30 am. Everyone had to sleep fast to enjoy their two
hours of sleep. The only upside was the Tim Horton's next door.
We all got a coffee and a chance to win a prize in the Roll UP
the Rim contest. Everyone in the car won something but me. Don't
feel bad for all the years this contest has run I've never even
won a free coffee. My Tim Horton's karma is way off.
We arrived in
time for load in. It was another beautiful theatre, we we're
becoming quite spoiled on this tour. Wouldn't you know they had
another baby grand piano. It even had the huge bench to go with
it. Us girls had flashbacks to competing in the Kiwanis music
festivals. There was a time when we were too little and weak to
move the bench before we could sit and play the piano.
As luck would
have it we had to hit the road right after the show. Andrew had
to work Monday morning. We're lucky to have such a dedicated
guy! We stopped at the hotel so everyone could shower. We didn't
want to be a moving stench of B.O. back to Canada. Everyone
arrived alive by 7 am. I caught up on my sleep, than I went out
to celebrate St. Pat's with friends. This is the first time
since I was nine years old I wasn't working on March 17.
...............................................................................................................
Entry #: 03
Date:
February 11/2008
By:
the Stellar Bass Player
Where:
my Ottawa Apartment
Friday was an
early morning start, with blizzards and banking to do before
Syracuse. Erin began the trip by filling the tires with air,
only to discover that we needed new tires. The mechanic told us
there was no way we would make it to Syracuse, Erin informed him
how we just made it back from Omaha. Thank our lucky stars that
we made it home safely and the van and trailer were good to go
for
the next trip.
We made it to
Kitty Hoynes by afternoon unloaded our gear and setup. As always
it was a fun night in Syracuse. Good people, good food, great
drinks and the music wasn't bad either! What made the weekend
extra interesting was Kitty Hoynes hosting a fiddle fest
weekend. Saturday afternoon Colleen did a fiddle workshop. Some
people brought their fiddles and played, while others just sat
and listened. She performed a number of Old Tyme fiddle tunes.
This is the music we grew up learning from the Ottawa Valley,
not to mention my Grandpa requests every Christmas. Colleen also
taught those with a fiddle in hand a set from our Live CD,
Glengarry's Home to Me. It's traditional tunes, the first one
being written by our old neighbour. Many people stayed right
from the workshop to the show that night.
It was packed Saturday night, there was no where to go but to
stay on stage.
After the show
we had a sit down with David and his staff. David even surprised
us with with a new Crown Royal Drink we had not discovered yet.
He also spoiled us with a box filled with tasty treats from the
local chocolate shop. My favourites were the chocolate covered
raspberries and the chocolate covered oreos. We were also
inspired by the musical stylings of a staff member who performed
a few numbers of his potato rap.
By the time we
hit the bed that night, it was time to shake off the covers and
head back to Canada. Luckily we only drove through a blizzard
for about 45 minutes. We made it home safe and sound. Now just
to rest up for next weekend, Mid-Winter, see you there!
...............................................................................................................
Entry #: 02
Date: February 11, 2008
By: Erin
Where:
In the studio,
Listening to: Colleen record her fiddle parts on a new
song
After our
shows in Omaha we headed back to Galena for a few days. Monday
night we were treated to an amazing dinner from Fred at Fried
Green Tomatoes. Cocktails, several appetizers (including the
best escargot I’ve ever had), bottle of wine, soup, salad,
bottle of wine, seafood pasta, bottle of wine and a dazzling
array of the best desserts we’ve had in a long time. Colleen’s
favourite was the chocolate brownie explosion. We all enjoyed
having a night off, thanks for the hospitality Fred! Tuesday
included catching up on some work, Colleen and I jammed and
wrote some tunes for the next album, and watching Wayne’s World,
Wayne’s World!
Wednesday we were on the road early and arrived in West
Lafayette in the afternoon, set up, sound check, dinner and a
quick nap before the show. Nine Irish was packed, it was great
to be back. Thanks Katie and Andrew for the large box of candy
you brought the band….it’s a permanent fixture in the van.
Thursday we arrived in Fishers, IN and had a great evening
sponsored by Jameson and Kilkenny. Lots of musicians out this
night and it was great to catch up with everyone. We got some
cool photos with a gentleman who had a Colts Superbowl ring –
photos should be up shortly. It started freezing rain early on
this night, so we had to a good start on the drive the next day.
Haven’t seen that many cars and transports in the ditch in a
long time, but true to our Canadian upbringing we handled to
snowy road conditions like pros.
We were back
for our second performance at Ballydoyle in Downers Grove. It
was great to get back here and I thought it was a great night.
There was Irish Dancers before the show and they did a great
job. As always, Phil toasted the band before the show and then
we were off! Our new friend John baked an astounding amount of
cookies for the band – death by chocolate, skor bits, toffee
shortbread (my favourite), white chocolate macadamia and sugar
cookies. There was so many cookies surprisingly some even made
it home for friends and family to try as well! Thanks John!
After a few short hours of sleep Saturday morning, we headed to
Cleveland for the final concert of the trip. We have not been to
Cleveland in a long time and we really appreciated the great
turn out as we only booked this show a few weeks before we left
on this tour. There were lots of kids dancing throughout the
show and it turned into a really fun night. Thanks to Pat and
Kevin for the great hospitality as well. We were all pretty
anxious to get home after all the driving on this trip so we
packed up that night and were back on the road to home by 12:30
a.m. and 10 or so short hours later we were home!
...............................................................................................................
Entry #: 01
Date: February 5, 2008
Road diary!
Road diary! By Colleen! Colleen!
This is definitely my favourite part of the job.
Well I’ve got
a lot to recap over this past week. The plan was to start out
early from Ottawa around 7am. Well of course there had to be a
blizzard that day and we didn’t actually leave home until around
9:30. It was a little scary to see tons of cars, transports, and
yes tractors in the ditch all the way to the states. Tuesday was
a complete driving day. We arrived in Dayton, Ohio. Wednesday we
played at the Dublin Pub. It was great to see so many people out
on a weekday night, and at a place that we have never played.
Obviously we fell in love right away when the owner told us it
was tradition to have a shot of Jameson before the show…..he
really had to twist my arm for that one!
Thursday was
another great experience at the Irish Cottage in Galena, IL!
Played to a packed house, and there was many familiar faces in
the crowd. It was a couple of friends’ b-days ( including
heathers on the 26th!) needless to say there were some great
shots of some boys in kilts and a few “scandalous” party pics
after the show (eh Erin and Heather?). (fat man in a little
coat!)
Friday and
Saturday was in Omaha, Nebraska at The Dubliner. This place is
awesome for live music. It’s in the basement of a building
downtown. Always packed, always full of drunks!! My kind of mix.
We were staying at a casino just across the river called
Harrah’s. Lots of buffet food. Adam had some bad luck on the
gambling floor, but it could have been hell of a lot worse. The
second night we decided to go on the town and explore! Explore!
So we ended up at a very high established place called Surie’s.
Let me tell you there must have been some of the most beautiful
people in Omaha there. You know it’s a popular spot when there
is a guy selling street meat (hotdogs) for 8 dollars apiece.
Wow, looking back at what I have written I’ve realized that all
I do talk about is booze and food. So anyways, on to Sunday!!
We had a few
days off and decided to spend the down time in Galena. Basil,
and Jack definitely held up there end by showing us girls what
their town has to offer. One of their close buddies owns Fried
Green Tomato, an authentic Italian eatery. Let’s see: we had
bruschetta, escargot, stuffed mushrooms, bread and oil, and
crabcakes. Then it was the soup course, the salad course, then
our pasta course. DESSERT.. oh man the best pecan pie, best
brownie, coffee ice cream, cheesecake and apple pie.. mmm mmm…
The next day
was another day off… Erin and I had a little jam session, a
small practice then we all watched Wayne’s World. That’s it for
me…. I Believe that big red is taking over road diary for the
second half of the trip….West Lafayette, Fisher’s, Downer’s
Grove, Cleveland… you know we are going to get into trouble
somewhere along the way.
Later
Colleen
...............................................................................................................
^
BACK TO TOP
»
2007 Road Diary »
2006 Road Diary »
2004-2005 Road Diary
...............................................................................................................
 *
Join The Searson Mailing List
* Join
Searson's Volunteer Network
*
Tell
a friend about this website
|
