Tuesday, August 5/09, The Road, BC

And the tour begins, like always, with a ferry-ride!

Yes, that’s right! We have paid our $66 Canadian dollars to cross a body of water, which has always been $112, but thanks to the spectacular summer sales, the greatest of promotional tools, we were spared the injustice and boarded on what was the most excellent ride to the mainland we have ever experienced (no, really) The ritual continues, the spritz to the cafeteria, the over-priced meal, the complaining about the over-priced meal, the half-conscious walk around the inner and outer decks, the search for something captivating, anything at all, and inevitably ending up in the van after setting a couple of car alarms off in the process. I don’t know why we even bother to go above deck anymore. It’s pretty much the same reaction I get when I enter any Wal-Mart, hostile and afraid. It is something that, despite our great dislike for it, we always look forward to, or try to anyway with the scenery, looking for something to resemble that last bastion of civilization before we throw ourselves into uncertainty, something that may or may not change us forever (like when you enter act 5 in Diablo 2) Like I have said before, it is the first and last stop of any tour we go on so we have to make the best of it, and I really, truly, have made amends with it… even if “making best of it” means me spazzing or a shared bitter rant of how many screaming children are allowed to run loose throughout the boat like fucking Lord of the Flies, we do what we have to do. I will say though, “The Spirit” threw us a bit of a curve today, with the addition of a presentation given on coastal ecosystems, the “how and where” the miracle of BC Ferries is conjured and a whole lot of other exciting info=tainment. There was also a brand new Star Wars Fighter console added to the arcade, something Lewis and I were so excited about that we lost our shit and I left my blackberry on it only to find it returned to me at the chief steward’s office, my faith in humanity restored, I thanked the man many times only to have him say “hehe, I almost called your parents!”

“Funny guy,” I said.

We arrived in Kamloops at about 10:00pm, at Aunt Shellie’s house (she’s actually our friend Marnie’s Auntie, but we like to call her ours too because we stay with her and Casper so often) and made full use of her enormous new swimming pool. The times we had been there before, the pool had not been filled, but we hung out around it pretending there was water anyway, basking in the beauty of the Beatles murals surrounding it. Seriously, amazing. We got to sleep early, resting for the drive to Edmonton the following morning and the end result being a show at The Taphouse in St.Albert with Mapping The Escape. Stoked.

Still, there is something so intoxicating about the ritual, the preparing for a tour, it has always calmed me in ways I never thought possible, knowing I will be gone on the road for a long period of time, meeting new people and running into old friends, sleeping less than half the time and driving all day to a show that I know will be great (debatable), no matter what, that whole big cliche, it is truth, it is absolute. And It is always consistent, not the shows of course (good heavens no!), but the time I will have and this life I share with the 3 other monstrosities in the van. It is probably the only thing I can count on, have faith in at this point in time, to make me feel right, feel balanced with the world. Knowing that this is what we started and this is what we continue to do. For this, we are often misunderstood, and we are okay with that. I don’t expect it to make sense, and alot of people would have to be the slightest bit crazy to long after months of living out of a van, telling off-colour jokes, making little money and often getting paid in alcohol, sleeping on hardwood floors… the common misconceptions of being a “rockstar” aren’t always what they are cracked up to be, in fact, there are times when it is real fucking hard, but that’s the point, and it’s enough.

I will be updating this almost every day, as often as I can, whenever I have internet access, so please, please keep checking back for updates… there will also be frequent videos and pictures… I want you to stay in touch with us and know what is going with us every minute we are out here. Everyone take care and we will hopefully see you soon, at a show, on the road or when we get home!

Love, Jeff, Dan, Tyson anbd Lewis (not necessarily in that order)