April 19-21, 2012

Dan Ball picks up an AC/DC bass guitar chart-book:

“Man, this thing sure is thin.”

Hey there, friends!

Just checking in with a quick update from our part of the world, which happens to entail Highway 97 North in beautiful British Columbia, a smell only Dan’s foot fungus could make and well-stocked arsenal of inside, not-so colourful jokes.

We spent a day in Abbotsford after the first day on-site at Jobfest, exploring the sights of the city and the amenities the Ramada Plaza had to offer, which thankfully included many trips to the gym (Cody’s trying to get ‘sexy pecs’), the hotTUB and Chris and Aaron’s room (a couple of our new Jobfest friends) to watch hockey and jam on some very old acoustic guitars with some interesting stories behind them. We even went to the nearest Wal-Mart and triple-dog-dared Dan Ball to get some Dr. Scholl’s (anti-biotic, hopefully) foot-spray. It is doing the trick… for now. I don’t need to contact an exorcist quite yet.

The next morning, we got walkie-talkies (actually, thanks to our tour manager Daisy) and finally got our caravan of two giant Ford pick-ups hauling our the stage and power generator (Mama Bear and Fleet Fox), a giant Penske truck which houses everything from our sound equipment and Jobfest merchandise to our pots and pans and computers (Papa Bear), and finally, our beloved “Van Halen,” still trucking along like a tired champion that should have been retired years ago, purring like a kitten, givin’er like a majestic steed on all those miles of open road, closing the distances we take for granted. We made it there in 6 hours with only minor engine problems, which were quickly solved (ELECTRONICS…’shakes head’…) and a friendly soccer game at a truck-stop on the outskirts of Kamloops. And yes, Tyson’s team lost.

And tonight we reside in Burns Lake, after a quick stop in Quesnel, Dan Ball’s hometown (he had a date…OOOOOOOH) and Prince George’s Long and Mcquade where Cody annoyed the shit out of everyone for an hour while waiting for us to buy guitar provisions. The drive was absolutely beautiful and it was nice to finally get on the road and start this lovely convoy of the strange, musical, and fantastic.

See you in Prince Rupert tomorrow for unruly hockey hangz!

Love Jeff, and those other roustabouts