First Leg of the Journey Eastward

 

Shelder dips her left foot into the Pacific Ocean. Stay tuned for
the equivalent photo when she gets to the Atlantic.

Greetings, Clamfolk! The first leg of my East My Friend tour has been a success! All three of my West Coast kick-off shows (Mayne Island, Victoria and Salt Spring Island) were packed and filled with some very magical energy. At the show in Victoria, at my favourite house, Point Street House, all my friends stood around me as I performed and sent vibes of positive blue energy to help protect me on my journey. I will miss the West Coast for reasons such as this.

On Sunday I woke up very early in my friend’s cabin on DuckCreek Farm on Salt Spring and headed for the first ferry out of Long Harbour. Here’s a photo of me on the ferry as we stopped at Mayne and I got to do one last wave goodbye to my homeland.

Shelder at Village Bay with Monty the Marmot

I’m holding Monty the Mayne School Marmot – a gift from the kids at the school, who will be tracking my progress as I head east. Monty has traveled all over the world (but I don’t think across Canada) so I have been tasked with taking him to the other coast and back to the school eventually. Hopefully he will be just as clean when he returns.

So my first destination on Sunday was Golden Ears Farm in Chase. I met up with my good friend Doug Koyama to convoy to Merritt. He was heading up to Forest Grove to do a house concert there, so we met three times on the way, before our highways diverged.

Shelder the Electric Clamfish with Doug Koyama in Merritt. Note
the DSB in the background, as well as Dennis the Cow on Doug's
shoulder.

It was nice to see a good friend before heading off into the world on my own. Or at least that’s how it felt, until I got to the farm and immediately saw a familiar face – a girl named Libby whom I had met once on Lasqueti and then again at ArtsWells. When I arrived at the farm, they were sawing the hair off a big pig that had recently been killed. They showed me the scalding bucket, which they used to help get the hair off. I didn’t help with this process, but kept checking in and got to see it hanging from a thing that looked like a large coat-hanger before it had its head chopped off and was sawed in half.. Sorry, no photos of that, unfortunately.

I performed at the farm at their beautiful yoga studio, mostly for all the weary farmers, as well as my friend Zippy and her friend Anne who drove out from Kamloops specifically for the show. It was quite a relaxed show, which was just fine with me, as I was pretty tired from waking up early and driving all day, as well as from doing 4 shows in a row already.

The pumpkin display at Golden Ears Farm in Chase.

 After I finished, I sat in the yoga studio sauna and had an excellent sleep before my long drive from Kamloops to Hinton. Some people might not think that that’s a very long drive, but for one person, it’s definitely a decent haul. I took numerous breaks though, the most notable being at Mt. Robson just before the Alberta border – here’s a photo of Dennis the Cow and Monty in front of the tallest peak in the rockies:

Monty and Dennis in front of Mt. Robson

I emerged onto the other side of the Rockies fairly tired, arriving at my friend Kathy’s house in Hinton to a tasty homecooked meal made by her husband. It’s amazing how generous people have been already, helping me in all sorts of ways as I make my way across the country playing accordion and singing.

Monty at the Albert/BC border

The drive from Hinton to Edmonton was fairly uneventful, although I did stop at a lovely little park in Edson to have a bite to eat and practice accordion (before my fingers got too cold) and also at the world’s largest dragonfly in Wabamun.

Monty in front of the world's largest dragonfly, Wabamun, AB

 I arrived at my aunt and uncle’s house in Edmonton and my parents couldn’t believe I was still in one piece. I rested up for a few hours before getting ready for my first Alberta show. As I drove to the show, I ended up getting quite lost and I think I ended up in the part of town where I used to live as a child. I recognized the complex where the video store used to be, which is now a yoga studio. Anyway, I pulled over and my phone re-routed me downtown. I honestly don’t think I’d be able to do this journey without the help of my laptop and iPhone (at least by myself). It’s a bit sad that I am so reliant on technology, but at least I’m using it for something good and not solely for posting pictures of stuffed marmots in front of landmarks.

I eventually got back on track and found Bohemia, where I was scheduled as the headliner act as part of their Acoustic Tuesday. I was reminded of  the old punk venues my sister and cousin used to go to when I was a kid in Edmonton (the kind of places I dreamed of going to when I got older, before we moved out to a small island in BC and I lost my desire to be part of the punk scene). I was the only performer who didn’t play guitar, so I think I stood out in that way (although it’s pretty normal to me because I’m the one doing it, I guess it is pretty unique to be playing accordion, glockenspiel, recorder, trumpet and reciting poetry). Perhaps some people might not like that, but so far the reception at my shows has been very welcoming and positive. There wasn’t a huge crowd at Bohemia, but those who were there were a great audience. It was also great to see my dad’s cousin and his wife, who ended up being the last ones to leave! Steve, who runs the place, was super friendly as well as all the other musicians that played throughout the evening. Last night was a perfect example of why I’m doing this trip – I met some great people, got to perform my music in an interesting venue and I even made more money than I expected!

Speaking of expectations for this tour, I don’t really have any, other than getting to all my organized gigs on time and eventually getting to St. John’s. And I suppose if something happens that prevents me from doing those things (like getting stuck in a snowdrift for 3 days or something) then I shouldn’t be too upset because it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Although it’d be nice to play to a packed house every night and make $200 from each show (or more!) I know that won’t be the case. I’m not trying to be pessimistic and belittle or devalue my art, but I do know the reality of being a touring musician, so I don’t want to have massive expectations and then be met with huge disappointments. I am doing this for the adventure and the experiences that will come out of it, but it is also my job and I am taking it very seriously as well. And really, I’m already amazed at how much I’ve done (since I’ve never done anything like this by myself before), so even if every show from now on is a complete bomb, I feel like it has already been a success.

Tonight I will be opening for my West Coast friends, Fish and Bird, who are also on a tour (to Winnipeg), releasing their fourth album, Something in the Ether. If you don’t know who they are, they are very worth checking out! We are playing at The Artery in downtown Edmonton, starting at 7:30pm. Here are my upcoming shows:

October 11 – d’Lish by Tish Café, Saskatoon (7:30pm), with Cityrat Songster

October 12 – The Artful Dodger, Regina (7:30pm), with Ryan Shotton

October 16 – The Neighbourhood Bookstore and Café (8pm), with Somebody Language.

I’ll plan to update this thing once a week or so, so do check in for updates. And if you know of anyone in the prairies, please let them know about my shows! Also, I’ll be speaking with Shakti Ma again tomorrow afternoon (Oct. 9) at 3pm on Salt Spring Radio, so if you like, you can tune in here: 

If you made it to the end of this post – thanks for reading and for being interested in my tour!

Cheers,

Shelder the Electric Clamfish