So we’ve been playing a few shows on the prairie. Going well. Good response. Lots of little things to work out that we never knew we had to work out, but then you play the songs to an audience as opposed to your couch, and you realize there’s a couple things to sort out. Had a big show in Calgary (hometown), so lots of friends and family came out. That was great. This may be just us or maybe it’s a universal thing, but it seems playing to your friends and family is both the best and worst thing. Best in the sense that you could fart in a hat on stage and they’d give you a standing ovation; worst in the sense that it is terrifying. They know you. You’ll see them again. A crowd of strangers, if they hate your stuff, it’s no biggie, you’ll never see them again. But you have the eat thanksgiving dinner with your family and friends. And that can be an awkward conversation: “So, Matt, you guys really suck. Really bad songs. Would you like some more perogies?” “Thanks Uncle Bob. Why don’t you shove those perogies up your fat…” “Matt!” “Sorry Mom.” Really, our entire future of family gatherings hangs in the balance of that one show.

Great moment in Lethbridge (small town, never played in before, nice folks): some guy in the bar was just blitzed, and while we’re setting up he walks up to the stage and says “Hey, if you fuck up, you just keep fucking going.” In spite of his drunken audacity, and the slurring, I couldn’t really knock his logic. That’s what you got to do, both on stage and in life… But then he just kept yelling it at us, and it lost a little of it’s je ne se qua. Then we played “Disconnect” and he stood up and said “Well, hold on there, did you hear that shit? That was a fucking good song. Do it again.” That really meant a lot. Encore’s are always flattering.

We did the local morning show in Calgary (hometown) the other day. Once again, more pressure than you would normally be feeling. Not because of any industry or career pressures, but because the girl you had a crush on in 8th grade who broke your heart and for whom you swore you would be a huge success one day just to rub it in her face, may be watching, and if you mess up, she’ll feel justified in dumping your sorry ass, but if you do well, you can point into the camera at the end of the song and yell “That’s for you Susan!!! I don’t need your love!!!! I’m better than you!! I’M ON TV!!!”… Hypothetically and metaphorically speaking, of course.

Great show in Edmonton last night. Cool little venue: Axis Cafe. It’s a cafe, but downstairs, they’ve renovated it into a great room. It’s new, so if you live in Edmonton, go out and see some shows there. Awesome. Now back home to Vancouver for a big show at The Media Club. That will be cool. And then – total world domination… well… It sounds great, but now that I’ve typed it, it also sounds like so much work. And how do you sustain it once you get it? I don’t think people like to be dominated on a global level for a long stretch of time, without some kind of uprising. Maybe we’ll just settle for partial world domination. Yeah, that’s better. Next stop – Partial World Domination!

Peace out!
m@