Thursday, September 15th, 2011

The Peak Performance Project pushes on with the weekly showcases at The Red Room on Richards in Vancouver, and now it has come to ours, featuring a few great bands in which we share this endeavor with, “Current Swell,” “Avairis,” and “Fields of Green.” This was the second showcase in the concert series and we couldn’t have been more excited. A program such as this only exists because of the kind hearts and brilliant minds of people who believe in the music and are willing to teach us the way, to support us crazy bands into our futures. We really can’t thank The Peak, Jim Pattison, and MusicBC enough for all they have done for us, as well as all of the other Peak Performers. Here’s a recap of the day’s event:

9:30 am, Victoria, My house

I wake up to my alarm and am terrified by it, but accept the fact that the day I have will be one to remember always. I get ready quickly and the boys pick me up in van. To my surprise, our pals Matt Goud and Vince Vaccaro have joined us on our trek to Vancouver. I am quite happy about this as we drive to the ferry terminal. We talk about plans we have for the next year, surfing, booking shows. We listen to Sleigh Bells and I play air guitar. The ferry is always a nuisance, the only means to bridge the gap from the island to the mainland other than flight, but with friends like these joining us, does it really matter? On the ferry, Vince tells us of his travels down under, how amazing it was to be in his element and make so many great new friends and how he plans to revisit. I am captivated by his stories, as I always am. Vince Vaccaro is the greatest. He is wild, confident and oh boy, with his newly acquired mane and beard, definite eye-candy.

2:00 pm, downtown Vancouver

On the way into the city, we stop in Delta to “see to the van” as it has been a little ornery lately. While Tyson and Dan tend to it, I play Vince and Matt an acoustic rendition of our song “Reaction.” They sing along and Matt teaches me in turn, his song “Energy.” I am dazzled. We continue and drop Matt off downtown as he is in town on business. We head to The Peak and Tamara Stanners greets us warmly, like family. As much as I will try in this lifetime to match her enthusiasm, I will always be lacking. She is invincible. We chat on the radio with James Sutton for awhile about the evening’s showcase, our new album and the video following our new single “Reaction.” Carly joins us and Tamara and Dan Ball leave to buy amenities for an activity at The Peak called “Beer Club.” The two come back with some top choices and Dan proceeds to give us a brief, yet stern history on the ales, lagers and IPAs that have been purchased, what a champ. To this day, I am impressed with his knowledge.

5:30 The Red Room on Richards.

We arrive for soundcheck and Cody Beer is there, shiny and exhuberant as always, holding down the fort, a good friend and drummer. We listen to Current Swell set up for awhile as we load into the club. Steve, their manager, has a bull-horn and insists on yelling at the band through it to make them hurry up. It is annoying as all hell, but highly entertaining. Our check is solid, and Sven is there to back us up every step of the way. We step out for a bit and go to Chill Winston’s down the street for dinner with Current Swell. I eat duck tacos and go into a trance for about an hour. It feels great to be in this city tonight.

9:00 pm

The show begins with “Avairis” from Vctoria, a 70’s style rock band who apparently plays at The Fernwood Inn weekly, a block from my house and I’ve never seen them. That will change. They play a great set, which includes solid harmonies, harmonica and banjo, to an enthusiastic crowd. They are followed by “Fields of Green,” one of my personal favorites in this project. They are young and extremely creative and talented. I fall in love with them all over again as they play their tremendous progressive rock songs. There’s something about Kelowna that produces insanely gifted bands. We do, and I quote, “the worst interview ever” with James Sutton (his words) but it is stupid fun. There is talk about Duff from Avairis’ mustache, the PPP bootcamp being boss and a high-kick competition in which Dan is the victor. Tyson also fell over in the process, but surprisingly enough, it didn’t make it into the video.I was worried for his hip.

11:30pm

We run into our pal Scott Johnson backstage before we go on and I get a pep-talk from him and Vince Vaccaro. Scott tells me “Don’t f***k up, whatever you do,” and Vince simply tells me to treat the performance as if I was paddling into a wave on a surfboard and to “HAMMER IT!” I don’t surf, but I try to imagine this as I walk on stage. Showtime. Our friends and fans make up the crowd and we feel right at home. They sing along and do an amazing job at it. I am so grateful. The set goes smoothly and our “Vancouver 125” song goes over well. Laura Smith from “Rococode” joins us with vocals for “Reaction” and later Vince joins us for the finale on “Closer.” We have the best time in a really long time and are full of adrenaline, like we should be. We definitely won’t sleep tonight.

12:30

Current Swell closes the show with a set so incredible that can literally feel the energy they give off. I’ve just recently become a fan of these boys, but will now be for a long time after this. They play close to their hearts and it is amazing. Ghosty Boy is a dream. The night goes on until 3:00 am and we end up crashing at our pal Christine’s house where she gives us pizza, gatorade and a shower. Dan and I awkwardly hang out on her tiny balcony and talk about what a challenge playing slide-guitar is. We barely get to sleep before we are up again at 7:30 to play an acoustic set in Victoria at the University. We are busy and we love it.

– Love, Acres