Wednesday, August 12th/09, Calgary Warped Tour And before anyone asks, we did not get to play Warped Tour this year, although we worked hard and busted our ass, it just didn’t happen for us this year, it’s a bummer, but we came to hang out with our friends anyways, who were fortunate enough to snag a spot on the West 49 stage, and have a good ole’time watching some sweet bands and shamelessly self-promoting the shit out of Acres of Lions, the product of the weasel and the actions of a large predatory animal, or something, all in one. Lewis and I must have spent hours handing out fliers, an attempt to saturate the area with our name and have it stick in at least a few people’s heads. We >> read more

Tuesday, August 11/09, Burnsy O’Flanagan’s, Leduc AB I’m a big fan of Coffee, even on facebook, perhaps you’ve heard of this magical beverage. It’s a crutch I have, and I’m not afraid to admit it. I drink it most days on tour, whenever we stop at a gas station, although it’s usually pretty bad, it’s still there for me to consume. I try to avoid Starbucks if I can, but hey, it’s cheap and they’re everywhere and the dude who puts a million of them in 4 city blocks was probably on to something, sickening, but effective. When we play at a venue in a bigger city, it’s great. There’s usually alot of great coffee bars and cafes and such and I don’t have to go to Starbucks. We’ve had >> read more

Monday, August 10/09, Avenue Theater, Edmonton AB This is where I mention that Mapping The Escape is made up of a great bunch of dudes, the kind of dudes you could bring home to mom and dad. Handsome, talented, smart, funny, sensitive, sexy, all good things, and they are nerds in the most amazing of ways. They write incredible songs, and the care that they put into their stage performance is nothing short of immaculate, although meticulous, the end result is worth the effort. They also enjoy Star Trek and other great nerdy things to long lengths, which is fine by us, considering Lewis and I quote Star Wars on an hourly basis (that’s right, there’s a war on between universes) Actually, Clark and Dan had a conversation tonight about >> read more

Sunday, August 9/09, West Edmonton Mall AB If only they’d look closer… Things I have found over years of pestering people about my band, interupting conversations, meals, making them late for whatever errand, are the diverse reactions to having 2 or 3, or even all 4 of us, our clearly out-of-town garb, demeanor and lingo, approach them with ipods out of the seemingly regular blue. Almost all of the time, we look pretty haggard and desperate (and we are) and we feel bad for disturbing such tranquility, but like most of the population, we gotta make a living somehow. Whether it be peddling cheap cd’s and music online, shirts, promoting the evening’s and future events, it is all relevant. Most people are unassuming and easy-going, don’t usually mind being asked >> read more

Saturday, August 8th/09, GCFB’S, St. Albert AB Camping rules. The whole process, the tents, the fire, the vulnerable foliage, the wildlife, it’s pretty amazing to me. Most of the time there’s swimming or fishing involved, and lots of partying, hard. For some reason, we have this compulsion to go to the nearest outdoor gear store, spend hefty dollars, drive out to the middle of nowhere, or sometimes collectively to places they have dubbed “campgrounds,” light a fire in the middle of a severely flammable area of the world and drink a small village’s worth of alcohol, pass out under the stars. The next morning you probably feel pretty haggard, eat breakfast or something, but that’s the point. It is very reminiscent of a tour. I’ve always enjoyed camping, the time >> read more