Snow can't ruin The Bastards' fun
Published Thursday November 5th, 2009
On The Road with Ross Neilsen and The Sufferin' Bastards - What You Need Tour Blog #4.
Following an eventful week in Edmonton, Ross Neilsen and the Sufferin' Bastards set out to tackle week four of their epic journey to the Pacific coast. And like every week so far, this one wasn't without its defining traits. This time "" snow.
On paper, week four looked like this:
Oct. 25 "" drive
Oct. 26 "" drive
Oct. 27 "" relax
Oct. 28 "" Nanaimo, BC
Oct. 29 "" Parksville, BC
Oct. 30 "" Courtney, BC
Oct. 31 "" Tofino, BC
"We made an attempt to drive to Kelowna where Karl's folks live," said Neilsen. "It started out great. As we were cruising into the mountains Shawn's I-pod was on shuffle and just as we entered the epic Rockies, Run to The Hills came on by Iron Maiden. It was awesome and we took this as a good sign.
"I took the first drive shift and once it was over I had a big nap in the backseat," he said. "Hours later, I awoke to the unmistakable sound of tires in slush. Confused, I sat up, took a look, and was shocked to see what looked like a fairly significant storm underway. Shawn didn't look like he was enjoying himself behind the wheel at all. That's when I suggested we find a hotel next town. Blue River is a tiny place but they had a reasonably cheap hotel that had a pub in it. Win win. We went to the pub to eat and drink off the bad vibes the weather had given us.
"In the morning we were pissed to find it was still snowing badly. We loaded up, grabbed breakfast and hit the snow covered road. The first hour or so was pretty hairy but the further south on highway 5 we went, the nicer it got. We made it to Kelowna safe and sound and went straight to Wentworth Music where there is a good luthier named Shilo. He did a little work on Cherry Sherry (my #1 axe) last tour and I wanted him to give fixing her neck a try. He said he could do it and could have it back to me when I returned from Vancouver Island. When we arrived at our Okanagan Villa we had an awesome dinner with Karl's folks and got caught up, telling tales and having laughs."
Karl Gans has been playing drums with Ross for the past five years. His parents live in the Okanagan Valley and their home and hospitality have become a major high-point each time the Bastards visit the west coast.
"I love waking up here," said Neilsen. "The deck overlooks the Okanagan Lake and it's a nice spot to enjoy your morning coffee. Incredibly peaceful. I am very thankful to have the opportunity to visit places like this. We made a bastard breakfast to celebrate. In the afternoon we went in town to do some internetting, run some errands, and get a few things for supper. It turns out that the town closes up around 6 p.m. so we just grabbed supper and some lunch supplies for Wednesday.
"Three days off is a lot and we were looking forward to hitting Vancouver Island to play a six night run. Sleep was elusive for all of us this night and it took some real work to get to bed. I think we were excited to be playing again after the days off and really excited to return to Vancouver Island.
"We got up real early to head for Vancouver," said Neilsen. "We allowed for a few extra safety hours in case the Coquihalla highway was bad with weather. As it turned out, the connecting highway was real snow covered but the rest was pretty manageable. There was one scene as we came around a turn that shot us out into a beautiful snow covered valley. Looked like a scene out of Narnia. It was very impressive and worth the little bit of white knuckling earlier in the drive."
The band played their first show in four days at The Queens Hotel in Nanaimo, British Columbia, over 1,200 km from their previous show at Blues on Whyte in Edmonton. It was a typical mid-week gig with a small but appreciative crowd.
"Not a lot of peeps out but the folks there seemed to enjoy," said Neilsen.
Thursday's show in Parksville was another low-key gig. A small crowd that seemed to enjoy the band. A pair of US servicemen took it upon themselves to show their appreciation by purchasing a number of drinks for their new musical heroes.
Friday's gig in Courtenay was well attended and the band sold plenty of CDs, but the real highlight of that day came in the form of an e-mail.
"I awoke on Friday to an e-mail stating I had been nominated for Best New Artist at the Maple Blues Awards. Pretty crazy," added Neilsen. "We were pretty blown away because we are not a traditional blues band yet still, there were people there willing to extend some credit in our direction. It was a real pleasant surprise. The awesome thing about the Maple Blues is that the nominations come unsolicited from a panel of industry experts. Very flattering and certainly bolstered our camp! We made a b-line for Courtenay BC and arrived early enough to hit a Starbucks so I could send some e-mails to let everyone know the good news."
Long before hitting the road for this tour, the band were excited to be playing a Halloween show in Tofino. Having visited the area last spring, the thought alone of returning to one of the country's most scenic land masses was excitement enough but playing to a sold-out crowd was definitely the icing on the cake.
"The best day of the year for so many reasons," said Neilsen. "It was Halloween and we were headed for Tofino for a show that promised to be a blast. We hit a local recommendation and had some eggs bennie (a Bastards favorite). The EB were ok, not amazing though. This is often the case. What we did enjoy was the Halloween candy they had in bowls around the restaurant. Chocolate bars and M & M's. We loaded up on the free Chocolate and then hit the local Wal-Mart for a Costume purchase.
"We had all agreed on zombies and got the appropriate make up. By the time we left Wal-Mart it was sort of sunny/nice-ish out. This only put a bigger smile on our faces as we were headed for Tofino, the most amazing place I've ever been in Canada. They've got surfers, rain forest, beaches, sea creatures, great people and the best key lime pie in all of Canada.
"The Halloween show sold out and the folks really represented," said Neilsen. "There were lots of great costumes including a pregnant woman with a stove on her upper body. Of course when you opened the oven door all you could see was big ole pregger belly! The costume was rounded out nicely with two butter knives under the faux burners. Classic! By the end of the night, it was agreed that we had all had an epic night of fun and rock 'n roll."
Stay tuned for more bastard action next week and remember to check out the band's Fredericton homecoming gig at the Picaroons Brewery, in Fredericton on November 28th. There are also a few house concert tickets left. They can be purchased at Tony's Music Box for the low price of $10 each. The draw will take place soon and the winner will get a bitchin' blues performance by the band in their very own home! For more information on Ross, check out his website at www.rossneilsen.com
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