The Chinook

Although it's set to go away tomorrow, we are still in the embrace of a Chinook wind which is melting the snow and giving a false sense that the winter is on the wane. Gigs in Red Deer and Sherwood Park last month were exercises in patience, outerwear and winter driving. I played a charming little gig last week for TALES (The Alberta League Encouraging Storytelling) plus Friday and Saturday at the Blues Can here in Calgary, then a "Blue Monday" at the National Music Centre (Cantos) with the new house band I helped them to recruit.

My Immigration card will be here on the 2nd of March (nice, sense I fly to Mexico on the 6th and it's hard getting back into Canada without it). Cat-sitting is arranged, now the only hitch could be changing planes in Phoenix with only a 50 minute layover. If you find someone in a good mood sometimes they'll check your luggage through to its' final destination (I've had it happen) which would be nice. Last time I came back from this same festival my guitar was lost at LAX (I eventually got it back - lucky !) and I had to proceed on to Victoria with a spare instrument and no deodorant.

Tuesdays at Mikey's Juke Joint continue to be a very fun solo gig (I was hired to do "a couple of Tuesdays" three years ago). If you're in Calgary on a Tuesday night when I'm not on the road, that's where you'll find me. This is the longest I've been off the road in a long time, since mid-August with only a few nights out-of-town. I'm enjoying the time at home but part of me (the road-dog part) is anxious to do some touring again. Next month will take care of that...check the calendar for March/April and you'll see what I mean !