Journal

fiddle photo by Ximena Griscti

Ideals, hard work, community, love, music. Put ‘em together and whaddaya got? Well, something very good, that’s for sure. Something needed.

I had the privilege of participating in a new programme set up by the Shelter Valley Folk Festival to bring artists into schools in some of the smaller communities of Northumberland County, Ontario. I headed out to Campbellford, 2 hours North East of Toronto, and ended up in the generous hands of the hosts of the Shelter Valley Festival, who took me around, offered me an abundance of local treats, and shared their inspiring stories and sites. They illustrated a commitment to community and the work of providing more of the good stuff in life for all!

I visited two schools in the region, playing and chatting with kids in grades five to eight, many on the verge of entering their teens. These are people at the beginning of really seeing the world with critical faculties fully engaged. At Warkworth I sang the song “Apocalypse Lullaby”, which brought out some serious philosophical discussion. I had wanted to address the recent earthquake in Haiti, and to suggest that while the tragedy is massive, the coming together of people in a spirit of helping each other is beautiful and hopeful, that this type of love proliferation is a common occurrence when difficulty and hardship arises.

And so after the song, one of the kids asked me what I thought about the predictions associated with 2012. I was very grateful to have been asked that. People have been terrified of imminent end times for at least the last two thousand years. Cultivating fear has always been a tool used by those wanting power to control populations. But as far as I’m concerned, we’re entering a new era of unfolding love, compassion and broad understanding, and the more of us who facilitate this kind of awareness, the more resistant we can be to the destructive aspects of the society we live in.

I know how it feels to be a kid with annihilation on the brain. When I was a kid the common nightmare was the nuclear bomb. We were collectively scared, experiencing an undercurrent of despair and helplessness. The propaganda worked, and the feeling was awful. So when I saw an ad for the latest Hollywood flick on 2012 I got angry. Fear for profit. There it is again. Such huge efforts made to create this panic of end times. So manipulative.

And so I was not surprised to run into the deep concern of these kids. I started rambling some explanation of pre-Columbian prophetic interpretation, but ended up realizing my basic message was this: Look at where we are! Look around at how good it is! Enjoy this life, enjoy the love that people give you, love them back. No, I do not believe it’s the end of the world and I’m not going to spend my precious time here being afraid.

There were cheers and clapping, not least from the teachers who are undoubtedly faced with the need to dispel panic on a regular basis.

Times are intense. The violence of our culture is incredibly disturbing. But if something is to be cultivated, let it be that we are all capable of kindness, that we are all in a position to apply our incredible human capacities towards the good of all beings. It starts and it lives as a calm state of caring and enjoying and activating, within ourselves and within our evolving communities.

Much thanks to the Shelter Valley crew for their inspiring dedication to creating spaces in which to experience life in all its complexity and beauty. This is positively powerful work.
photo by Chris Oberacker-Lisenchuk

.Brampton Live in Cumbria, photo, Rebecca Kemp
A big pond it is. I'm glad I'll be there for more than a weekend this time, my short trip in the summer was a tease, though a quality tease it was, Cumbria being so gosh darn pretty. And Ireland, can't wait. Like many a Canadian, I've got blood ties... Always an interesting sensation treading the various grounds where roots have been dug up.

I was about to head out on a Western Canada tour with the Sirens of Song, which I was really looking forward to. I was not happy to be put in the position of having to leave the tour. It was a real lesson in the power of money: Business interests over moral integrity. A week before hitting the road I was informed that a certain organization would be sponsoring the tour. I could not even sleep at night in the quest to gather information on them. What I was finding out made it impossible for me to go. By being on the tour I would have, by default, been associated with this organization. If one is to support any type of organization with ones heart and soul, ones music, their activity needs to be considered top to bottom, inside out. And even though I communicated my position, the choice of the presenter was to keep the money from the problematic evangelical aid organization and ditch one of the four faces of the tour. It was not fair to me or any of the artists to have to make that choice. The public has been told it's for personal reasons that I'm not there. I don't see it as personal. It's certainly a protest. It's about awareness. And it is political.

I urge everyone to think deeply before succumbing to manipulative advertising that tries to offer simplistic solutions to problems that have no easy answer. I urge everyone to look at the fine print and understand the implications of the ideology behind the organization. I urge everyone to support local, grassroots organizations, where people within communities are at the helm of transformation. People in your community need your help to overcome the residue of centuries of injustice and environmental degradation. Do give, do act, but act with knowledge.

We want peace in the world. We want justice. We know that there is enough to go around. Finding the answers requires engagement. It requires research. It requires work. The issues are complex and we need to try to understand them from all perspectives. The dominant perspectives have the money and the persuasive power. We have to listen a little harder, dig a little deeper to hear the other perspectives, the ones that are going to offer the most promising, most egalitarian solutions.

Heading out on the road again, this time I’m prepping for a massive continental road trip which will include a bit of a holiday in the South Western U.S., a territory I’ve been waiting to feel under my feet for a very long time.

photo by Ximena GrisctiBefore I leave I’m cramming to finish segment #1 of a soundtrack for a feature length experimental documentary by Tamara Vukov. It requires me to tap into the Slavic paternal roots and the groovy beats as well as a bit of punk rock outrage. I’ve been practicing accordion like crazy and playing with many wires, pedals, nobs and plug-ins.

It’s been a good winter, full of love and delicious food. I’m excited to hit the road again though. It’s going to be a massive trek this time…. Usually I fly the long distance and rent a vehicle for a specific geographical area, but this time my companion and I will traverse the entire continent coast to coast, up and down and around, in a mini-van. The shows are still emerging daily so the listings will continually be updated. I’ll be blogging and twittering my way through so do stay in touch.

So, I got to go to the south of France to play a showcase for a bunch of industry types as they Bloody Cannessloshed back the guinness at an Irish Pub. Such a strange world it is, hey? Obama was getting inaugerated. Radical. The last of my 2 showcases I tried playing Devil's Paintbrush Road on the Mandolin without a pick, and by the end of the set my guitar was a veritable Jackson Pollock of blood splatterings. I felt very rock and roll.

A bit of self expression, Cannes styleI decided, since the Ontario Media Development Corporation had spotted the cash for my ticket over (thanks to my record label being in Ontario) I might as well splurge on a lot of really great southern french cuisine. One thing that really stood out was the delightful use of pears in deserts. MMMmmm. Good with chocolate. Friends I ate well. And wow, are the old hilly streets of Cannes ever beautiful. So is the ocean, and the island a short ferry ride away where the monks hang out making chocolate and wine and spirits... not a bad life I think. I went over with Peter Katz, fellow Canadian songster, and we marvelled at the ocean and the bright windy day and a ruined castle of which we explored every inch.

California CoastNovember was an amazing tour of the west coast of the USA, complete with jaw-dropping coastal roads and breath-taking mountain ranges, as well as some incredibly sweet solo shows, just me up there and the gentle and groovy audiences who showed up, from Seattle to Portland to L.A. to Berkeley, and so many lovely stops along the way. All in all it's been a wonderful fall, from the U.K./Europe trek with the band to the solo tour through gorgeous California, accompanied by Jess the spiritually aligned road manager and agent.B.A., photo: Ximena Griscti

I just got back from a trip to Argentina and Uruguay. Wow. My perception of the word "resilience"
has exploded.

As tour plans slowly map themselves out for the coming year I invite you to stay in touch and
hope to see you around!

UK Europe ‘08

We covered lots of ground my friends, the three of us, Tony and Jérémie and I.Ilfracomb

Highlights? Arriving in Ilfracomb after driving hours through traffic and floods, to witness the rocking world beat of Trasglobal Underground vibrating through the ancient seaside town. Funny to see the real people up there after owning a record for a good 15 years. Walking down the steep steps on the rocky cliff to the ocean late at night, staring, listening, smelling the sea beneath the haunted night sky, feeling the cool rocks and touching the water.

The rowdy gaggle of Manchesterians hooting in the corner at the Selby gig.

The familiar faces, the return to places. Carlisle.
The Curving staircase and the sheep on the hill behind our B&B in Uley. The green rolling forests and fields and the setting sky, the calming beer in the parking lot with new friends as I skipped out after an ear blowing soundcheck.

All the mossy rocks and slate roofs.
All the woody pubs.
The stellar cups of tea and the delicious English breakfasts.
The flowers in the dressing room left by Rebecca in Norwich.

Eastern Europe: The taste of Halousky with Brynza. (It’s kinda like gnocchi but more randomly shaped, in a sheep cheese sauce… like a Slovak version of mac and cheese… but smoky and flavourful).

My dad, at the last minute, deciding to come and join us for the Slovakia trek.
My adorable little tiny relative Peter, tapping along to the music in Liptovsky Mikulas, displaying his new sneakers to me from the front row.

The audience in Banska Bystrica demanding another soft and sentimental song instead of an upbeat one.

Budapest, sipping fruit tea with honey out of a big red clay mug, soft antique lines cracking through the glaze in an establishment that felt like a pantry, shelves full of beautiful jars of pickled things, rustic enamel pots and ancient bottles.

The train ride from Vienna to Zurich, the alps, oh my god.

The taste of chocolate in Switzerland. My old friend Elaine and I, re-united, her taking us under her wing, showing us around, the bubble bath she drew, the first home cooked meal in a month, the Riesling Michael, her partner, opened.Nuit Blanche

Paris. In the morning, the most delicious café au lait I have ever tasted, sitting in the Étoile de Montmartre. I would return to Paris just for that.
The steaming pot of Moules Provençale. The delightful way absinthe was served up after the show at Les Taulieres, water poured from a little ceramic jug, strained through a sugar cube. The evenings, the way friends gathered to eat, drink and laugh.

You know, it’s a strange life, to go away from a sense of home, leaving things behind, human relations packed into little moments, the physicality of hauling stuff everywhere, the cramped up state of constant travel, the anxiety of finding ones way every day, of setting off to go… But you know, Elaine said it well for me when I delighted in her sharing of the good things in life – There is so much to enjoy and this life is so precious.
Budapest, photo by Milan Chvostek