Ross Neilsen Global Domination Information Page

IT'S SEXY TIME!

2010-04-08T10:02:00.003-03:00

Hello all,

Well - It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.....GOOD NEWS......

The new website is up and running right now!!!! We are still smoothing a few things out but for the most part it's pretty functional. You can also listen to the entire album on line right there AND ther eare two free dowloads of our live albums. So what are you waiting for? head on over and check it out. Let us know what you think!!

WWW.ROSSNEILSEN.COM

Now the sad news.....due to the format of the new website it kinda makes ole blogspot, right here, unnecessary. SO.....unless I can't access the inner workings of the website, It's unlikely that there will be much action from this blog from here on in. Oh, wait, no, no, don't get upset I know you love it, and I love it too! Think of it this way, I'm not moving to a new Province, or even a new city....Just a new apartment.....You'll get all you're blog needs met and be able to read about our ludicrous exploits all across Canada, right at WWW.ROSSNEILSEN.COM as we tour this great land in support of our new member of the Bastard disco-graphic family - REDEMPTION.

As the next two weeks fly by our press machine will be activated....What's that you say? Well, if you can't stand to hear my voice or grow easily tiresome of looking at my handsome mug then you'll want to stay inside, not read the paper and rarely turn on the radio/tv or open the paper. We're about to head into full PR swing for our April 24th CD release at The Delta Hotel (7.30) and that means we'll be exhausting every option we have to be able to spread the word!!!!

I must agree, even though I like the sound of my own voice and do swoon a wee tiny bit when passing the mirror, even I can grow tired of the press machine. So I can relate, and apologize in advance, if, every time you turn around I'm there yammering about our new record etc!

The best thing to do is Join us in our plight for sonic domination!!! Spread the word! Rejoice y'all! It's time to ROCK!!!

In seriousness, thanks for all your support lately, means a lot to us! We hope we meet your expectations and then blow them away! See ya over at www.rossneilsen

Ross & the Bastards

Coolest bunny on the block

2010-04-05T19:42:00.000-03:00

Mr Solid!
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Does your drummer make delicious beer?

2010-04-04T23:34:00.001-03:00

Dear Singer Songwriters.... does your drummer make delicious beer? What's that? oh, you don't have a drummer? Pity.......Mmmmm beer.
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Going Postal

2010-03-31T11:49:00.002-03:00

Yesterday was one of those days that straight up kicked my ass. Not much went right until after supper. The day time was filled with frustration after frustration. Now that I'm into a new day I thought y'all might enjoy a story from yesterday.

Earlier this month I mailed out a cheque to CMRRA. These folks are the organization you pay when you record someone else's material on your record. We re-cut Commit a Crime for the new album REDEMPTION so I had to pay a small fee. While in Toronto I mailed the cheque thinking it would go right through as the CMRRA office is in Toronto as well. No brainer right? stamp...in the mail away it goes. Well I have been watching my bank account to make sure I know when the cheque goes through. It hadn't. I thought that was weird.

Yerterday wen I checked my mail I noticed a familiar looking envelope in my PO Box. It was the check I mailed IN Toronto TO a Toronto business. It had a rubber stamp on it that let me know I had places insufficient postage on my letter. I owed them another .65 cents!!!! WTF?????

ARE YOU KIDDING ME CANADA POST?

They mailed the letter all the way back to NB from Toronto for another 65 cents? WOW. HELLOOOOO - this is the department of redundancy Department calling Canada Post. You guys are ridiculous.

This little event blows my mind. I don't understand how a company can be so adamant about 65 cents to the point where they spend the $$$ on sending it 1400kms!!! Way to go Canada Post. You guys Suck.

Love

1095 Days Ago.........

2010-03-28T15:27:00.003-03:00

.........I was just finishing my fist solo tour of Ontario. I played a some of the same venues this past tour. Over the past three years I've been very fortunate to become real good friends with a lot of the people who run the joints I work at. This makes my life so much easier. Folks like Steve in Picton, Jay in Toronto, Ian, Andrew and Mike, also Torontonians, Geoff in Tofino....But it doesn't stop there....I have also met people at shows or in my travels who have become amazing friends. These people also make life easier. Folks like Allison in Collingwood, Uncle Pat and Aunt Denise in Trenton, Jo and family in PEI. Again there is more....folks who run their own dreams in whatever business they provide the public have aided me time and time again. Folks like Jamie and Randall at 6Colour Copy, Randy at Trius, Gary from the Mountain Chicken, Kevy from the Herring, Carter from TradRoots, and many many many more awesome folks like them.

Being able to travel and play music is a real dream come true for me and if it weren't for a cast of aids a mile long I would never be able to pull it off. Friends, bar owners, fellow musicianeers all over the country make it possible by giving me gigs, food, shelter and all kinds of other unmentionable things.

I have seen the Country coast to coast (many times). I have journeyed to mystical places of legendary proportions that I once only read about and thought, "Man that would be a cool place to hang". I have pulled myself up out of chaos time and time again to stand on the wood, grass, dirt, cement, flatbed truck - behind my microphone to sing/hide/entertain/lie/tell truths I would never tell anywhere else - and it is all because of the amazing support I have from the most incredible team of people, all laying it on the line to help in some way.

I like to remind myself this time every year to say thanks to you all. I get real nostalgic when I tour Ontario this time of year all by my lonesome cause that's sort of where it all began. I had just quit my last 'real job' three years ago when I did my first trek up there. So it's easy to remember who makes it all happen for me when I travel through those parts and catch up with all the great peeps.

This past year has been the best yet, but also the most challenging, in many ways. I have been presented (and created) many great opportunities/difficulties and have done my best to capitalize/overcome on them. I had to be creative financially and have learned many hard, valuable, lessons along the way. I keep these experiences with me always so that I may have insight into my next challenges/opportunities when they appear.

2010 has already been incredible between the Mississippi trip, Olympics and another successful solo trek. If 2010 is going to top itself over these first three months then I await with great anticipation. Really, I feel like a kid peeking around the corner on xmas morning to see what could be there for me. Whatever it is, no matter how difficult to assemble, I know that I will rock the shit out of it. Why? Because I have YOU to help me. Thanks for being there.

Ross

Holiday!

2010-03-27T03:21:00.000-03:00

Do you have a holiday named after you?

March 26 is Ross Neilsen day in donaldston pei.

Just saying.
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2010-03-23T10:25:00.002-03:00

Well the Ontario portion of my solo trek has come and gone. I had a great last week. On Tuesday night I got to go out and se my old pal Jordan John. Jordans trio is smoking. Prakash John on Bass and Al Cross on Drums. Legendary. Jordan is one of those guys who is great at everything and somehow manages to be a real decent human being at the same time. I met these cats on my first trip into Ontario and it was a pleasure to catch up.

My last Toronto show was at a joint called Highway 61. Lots of fun on a Wednesday night. Good peeps and AMAZING ribs! On Thursday we made our way up to the beautiful area of Collingwood. It was a great day for driving. This little solo show was thrown together by Frank McNulty and the Collingwood Blues Society. We had lots of bums in chairs at the Art Gallery and I had a real blast recounting stories from the Mississippi trip. What a place to sing in too! Great sound!

After catching up with Allison, our go to gal in Cwood we went back to my friends Romney Getty and Craig Smith's place. These two are immensely talented musicians in their own right and aside from that, just real good people. Like all good rockers they know a thing or two about the rules of RocknRoll......if you need a guide line here is a good book for you to read..

We crashed at their place and in the AM We were treated to some early mixes of Craig's new record. It kicks ass. I can't wait to pick up a copy in the late summer/early fall. Earlier in the week I had heard of Dan Achen's passing. dan was a fixture in Canadian Rock with the band Junkhouse and had gone on to operate a really cool studio in a church in Hamilton. He died form a heart attack while playing hockey. He was only 51. It's a real bummer. I was extra sad to realize that Dan had been producing Craig's latest efforts and the two were very close friends. It reminded me (as my solo tour into Ontario always does) how closely everything is connected. My heart goes out to everyone in the steel town area as I believe the funeral is today.

After some Breakky with Craig and Romney we hit the road for my next house concert in Penetang. Saw this Sign on the way out of town....seems like good advice?

The concert here was another hook up form Frank McNulty. I had connected with Deb to perform at here and her hubby's house warming party. Turned out when I got there that Deb and hubby Paul, run a couple festivals. After chatting I realized I, in fact, new Paul from a conference in Toronto a few years back. Again, how closely it's all connected. The concert was fun and somewhere we got video and audio recorded. My sound guy was a chap named Scott Cooper. It turns out hat Scott works with Rob Szabo lots and is in fact mixing my other pal, Ian Sherwood's, new record. Connected. Closely.

Saturday we had a leisurely drive to Gananoque to play at the Stonewater Pub. A tiny quaint lil place. Another show come and gone. In the morning we enjoyed a killer breakfast at a local spot and then hit the highway for the long trek home. In Quebec there was an amazing sunset. I could barely stay on the road trying to check it out. Here's a couple pics.

Well this week is the last three shows for the solo tour. Wolfville, Thursday, PEI friday and Hampton, NB on Saturday. Really looking forward to all three shows. After that it is time to fire up the rocknroll machine of awesomeness that is the Sufferin' Bastards. The new cd. Redemption is being manufactured and on April 24th we will host a big release party in the governor's Room at the Delta. Stay tuned for more info about that. Also I couldn't wait, I sent "Afflicted" the first tune from the record to the fox today. That means you can request it NOW!

Call 'em - 506.452.2377

See ya soon

Ross

Happy Easter?!

2010-03-21T14:05:00.000-03:00

Hey tim hortons, Donnie Darko called and he wants his bunny back.
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DAMN!

2010-03-16T01:02:00.005-03:00

I'll tell ya, sometimes when i come to Toronto I get my musical mind melted on a Monday night. Last time I think it was the Sisters Euclid, who may be the craziest band ever in their genre, whatever it is. This time it was a night of oldy timey, bluegrassjazzcountry sort of thing. We decided we had best go to Oakville to the Moonshine Cafe to see JP Cormier. We should have known by the evening sky that it would be awesome!

Awesome is an understatement. I've seen JP before and he kicks ass, takes names and probably strikes fear in the heart of stringed instruments everywhere. This time was extra awesome as he had Mike and Bill Elliot from Cape Breton with him. Mike and Bill are bad ass mofo's in their own right and the three of them together was simply awesome.

JP easily moves from guitar to mandolin to fiddle and I'm sure whatever else he desires. Bill held it down on guitar and Mike walked the shit outta his bass. I was so stunned it didn't occur to me to get a video till the end.....I got a full verse out of each instrument. Dunno which tune it is and ya can't see shit but the boys can be heard ripping it up!

Here is JP on Mandolin.

Bill rips one out *guitar trivia....Bill was playing a Crosby, made in Lockport NS. Tehse guitars weee made famous by recent ECMA winners The Hupman Brothers:

And then it's Mike's turn:

What incredible talent! Felt very honored to have been there. Big thanks to my good friend John for the ticket and for bringing JP in to perform. AWESOME!

Espanola House Concert

2010-03-15T14:19:00.005-03:00

Saturday I was on the road again with a long haul out of Toronto up to Espanola. I'm familiar with the area as it is passed on our Sufferin' Bastard tours of Canada. Once I got out of toronto it was absolutely beautiful driving weather. Sunny, about 17 degrees. Full on window down, trucker tan stuff! Even the Hella Hula Hottie was digging it!

I must admit that once I had left hwy 69 for hwy 17 around Sudbury I was kinda missing the Bastards a lil as it has been almost two months of no band. I love the solo shows cause they are so different from the band, but folks I do love the band shows and I do look forward to firing the RocknRoll machine of Awesomeness up again in April. Fortunately in the mean time I haawesome shows like the one I did on Saturday to tide me over....

It's an old school idea....a bunch of folks hanging at the host house. They bring their own booze. The listen. They are generally really awesome folks who just want to get down like james brown on a seerdee night.....The performer is set up in the corner. In this case sans PA system. We rock, we roll, we tell tales, we laugh, we cry. It is a house concert!!!!

This is by far my favorite way to dole out the goods. It is so intimate and the folks are there to see music not buy beer. Thats not to say some folks don't get their drink on but for hte most part it is a big time "listening" crowd. I'm not saying I don't like to rock a bar but this kind of show is a different animal.

This may not have been my first house concert but it might have been my first show where I didn't have a mic to sing into and at first I was all like...."What am I gonna hide behind?"....well the answer is simply that there was no hiding. It was all there out in the open.

Brian and Kim Hunt hosted a real fun night for performer and listeners alike. I want to thank them and all who came out to the show all the way up there in Espanola. I had an amazing time. The highlight of the whole night for me was the group harmonies on the last tune. "Helpless" by neil young never sounded so sweet if I may say so myself. I look forward to doing it again. A HUGE thanks must go to the one and only Amy Mangan for introducing me to Kim. Thanks Amy. Here is a pic of me and the awesome hosts!

CMdubya week in TRANNA

2010-03-12T16:02:00.006-04:00

Hi there. Had a big day yesterday. Got up early (for me) and hit the Royal York in doontoon ToronTOE. I was attending an celebrity interview with Slash. Slash being one of my biggest guitar influences I decided I must go. He would be interviewed by John Roberts and Kyra Phillips, both of CNN. *side note - this was extra fun for me because when I was a kid, John Roberts went as J.D. Roberts and was a VJ on Muchmusic. J.D. hosted the "Power Hour" segment. The Power Hour played heavy rock and metal. I lived for this show. So, as you can imagine it was all sort of like watching an old clip from the past. Of course slash is the only one who looks like he always did as "John Roberts" is as clean cut looking as they come. Anywho....

John gave a pretty good interview although it was based heavily on slashes book but I'm a fan so it was fine by me. I wasn't the only fan, Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor was giddy like a school girl. It was super funny. She was obviously star struck by ol Slash. Here is a pic of the Royal York Ballroom....Fancy!

After the interview I hit up a social media workshop. It was really good. It was hosted by Ariel Hyatt a PR guru. Really interesting panel and learned a bunch. Now to start figuring out how to apply it.

After the workshop I went home to grab my gear for my shows that night. First stop: Czehoski on Queen West. This was my CMW showcase or as I have been saying Canadian Music Week Week....CMW week.....Here's the venue.
Sound check was quick and easy with the two tech that were there. This is Angus. He was the head sound man.

In the end it all worked well and I was real happy with it. The folks at the bar seemed to enjoy it. I met a blues dude from Michigan. He said I was the only blues act at the festival. I sold a bunch of discs and met some great peeps. Thanks to Brian Thompson at Thorny Bleeder Records for the hook up!

I had risotto at the Czehoski. It was pretty good. Could have used more Chorizo though. These were the fellas that whipped it up. Funny looking dudes.

After my set at Czehoski I split for The Press Club on Dundas. I love this bar. It's one of the gigs I have where you end up being great friends with everyone who goes there and works there. Much like the Local on Roncesvales, The Press Club is a very chill fun atmosphere. The bartender Ian is a musician as well and has a cool band called Milk Run. They just put out a five song EP. You should buy one. Why look everyone......there's Ian now.....We had an epic night of fun in music. Jammed a little bit with Ian's Drummer Greg and a bass player named Matt? Maybe? Even got ol' Ian Phelps up to rock the axe on Rockin' in The Free World.

I look forward to chilling today as I have to drive to Espanola tomorrow for a house concert. It's a long drive. Should be a nice drive though if the weathers good! Looking forward to the house concert!

Ok....I gotta go get my gear at the Club. Talk to ya soon.

Holy Moley

2010-03-09T17:41:00.003-04:00

Check this shit out.....it's a pamphlet that was shown to me for a good laugh.....it's crazy....This is real honest to goodness religious paraphernalia!! The date on the back says 1990, as well as how much it costs to order some for yourself....just in case you feel the need to 'educate' our yout's.

The Cover

The inside story about "Samantha" and "Alexandra"

The "message" on back.

After I stopped laughing we thought for a moment.....which little girl on the cover is the disease ridden, pregnant slut? Hard to tell eh?

Then it came to me....I wondered if Mel Digiacomo (the credited photographer) and "The Image Bank, Canada" (where the photo is credited to be found) know that the pic he took of what are probably two normal-ish teen-ish girls is on the front of some hard core religious pamphlet that depicts one of his subjects as a disease ridden, knocked up slut.

Way to go Life Cycle Books,

Box 1008,

Niagara Falls,

NY, 14304-1008

Life Cycle Books,

1149 Bellamy Rd. N.

Unit 20,

Toronto, ON M1H 1H7 http://www.lifecyclebooks.com/usa/contact_us.asp

Ole hey-sus would be proud.

Ontariooooooooooooo

2010-03-07T16:48:00.003-04:00

So the first week of solo tour 2010 is done. Good times as per usual. Played the Local on Ronces in Toronto Friday night. I love this joint. It's so laid back and usually full of nice peeps. Got to catchup with some friends and had a fun time performing. I was super stoked to have my friend Ian Sherwood come out and play sax on a couple tunes too! Ian is a killer songwriter and it's always a treat to get a chance to play with him. We haven't crossed paths for some time so it was fortuitous (did I just use that word in a sentence?) that he happened to be up here recording his new record.

Yesterday I shared an afternoon with Aaron Griggs at the Moonshine Cafe. Aaron is a great finger style blues-y guitar guy. Good times all around. A small but appreciative crowd. It's always nice to catch up with my old friend John who owns the joint.

With the evening off I don't think I have to tell you what I would get into.....but i will......

I was lucky enough to have a night off and even more lucky that my old friend Sean Donaldson is house sitting in Oakville. So after my gig I went over and we had steak dinner with proscuitto wrapped asparagus, baked potato and greek salad. Serious dinner! Of course we got into the beer and wine and flammables too. I usually only see Sean at shows so it was great to hav a night to catch up. Sean also has one of the most ridiculous music collections of anyone I know so we spent the night going through the ipod checking out great tunes. Highlights for me were DJ q-bert (just sick) and Donny Hathaway's live album. If you haven't heard Donny you gotta check it out. AMAZING old school soul. He pumped a couple albums out then died sadly. A real talent. I can't believe I've never heard him before. And of course who couldn't count the Reverend Horton Heat as a highlight. Brian Setzer - you wish!

Here is a pic of our party animal, Chico the dog. He's a wee little thing. Acts and looks pretty tough but really he just wants to party too!

We topped our morning off with a nasty Smitty's breakfast to counteract all that good food we ate last night. I also had my first Toronto Star sighting. Ole Pinball Clements, owner of the Toronto Argonauts and former football sensation. He didn't seem to recognize me though.

Well it's chill time now. A beautiful sunny day might get me out for a walk thought. OH! I also want to say good luck to all my friends at the ECMA's tonight. I wish you could ALL win. What a talent pool we have there in the east eh?

Tomorrow I'm gonna go register for Canadian Music Week and try and track down my hero Slash!!! Then I'm gonna spend the night at the Glenn Gould watching my good pal Matt Andersen rip it up. Have a happy monday all.

talk soon

Long may you run

2010-03-05T04:23:00.000-04:00

I think I was home for 42 hours. Long enough to say hi, do some laundry and repack. I realized that I've been home a total of three weeks-ish this year. That can take its toll. Gotta be careful about keeping your brain plugged in right. Its easy to let work slip. Don't worry though....I'm on the job!

First couple shows on the solo tour were fun. Both towns\gigs have a similar laid back vibe AND good food. Nice to see old friends again too.

The Past few days Neil Young has been on my mind. He sneaks to the surface a few times a year and it seems more prevalent lately. Must be the Olympic fever draining off. Anyhow.
Few things make me happier than watching\listening to Neil Young.

One of those things though, is watching Neil Young with my uncle Pat. We watched the PBS documentary tonight. Of course I can't remember what it's called but I CAN tell you it was awesome. If you like Neil, you should check it out. If you don't like Neil you'll freaking hate it....but...you should watch it anyway 'cause it will give you a whole bunch more reasons to go on about how you can't stand Neil young.

MB

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Pearson

2010-02-28T18:21:00.000-04:00

Is there something going on on the tele?
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olympics: NFLD Dayze ....educational photo booth

2010-02-28T05:33:00.003-04:00

My Favorite story of the whole two weeks......

It's Friday past...we've already had a fantastic day what with seeing the art gallery, and getting a guided tour by a local....we hop the water bus to Granville Island to check on our cheques. It's Newfoundland Day at the Pavillion. Awesome. While in the upper room where they do the food tastings we are waiting to see about final payment. I notice acouple gals in some 'weird' uniform. They look like 'bobbies'. Hard not to talk to a gal in uniform wha?

Also in the room is one of those "stand in front of the fake icebergs and get yer photo taken" thingys. well Mike "white tiger" Dixon and I are all over that shit. I think....may as well ask these gals to get in the photo too! Here is a recount of our convo as I recollect it.....

Ross - "So, what are you gals all dolled up for today?"

Gal - "We're part of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulatory."

Ross - "The Wha?"

Mike Dixon - "The NFLD provincial police...Rossy"

Ross - long pause......."you ladies are officers of the law?"

Gal - "yes. This is our dress uniform. We are police officers".

Ross - "Where's yer weapons?"

Gal - "We don't wear them in our dress uniforms."

Ross - reality sinking in...."SO, you girls are police officers in NFLD, and these are your dress uniforms?"

Gal - "Thats Right."

Ross - "ok then. well. I didn't realize that NFLD had their own provincial police force. It's all RCMP'd up in NB. I'm glad I didn't say anything stupid then. I bet you gals haven't been hit on once today eh?"

Gals - much laughter and shaking of the head coupled with rolling of the eyes.

Mike Dixon - "You idiot."

Ross - leaving, feeling right smrt. "Well I didn't know what they were. They look like bobbies."

Yup.....so just to be clear...NFLD still has a provincial police force. Not just RCMP like in NB.

Never know what you'll learn when you go to the 'Lympics.

NB here I come......

Wonderous invention!

2010-02-28T01:47:00.000-04:00

Mr. Beyond modeling the bacon flavoured toothpick!
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Sweet sassy molassy

2010-02-28T01:44:00.000-04:00

Read it and rejoice!
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olympics: Days blur together: Fear & Loathing in Vancouver

2010-02-27T20:03:00.003-04:00

So Thursday night I got to reconnect with my old Friend Gord Robert who I know from back in the Kelowna days. We went to the Yale and saw Wide Mouth Mason. WWM is probably the band I have seen the most in my life or very close anyway....the show was alright. I was a bit underwhelmed. They played well for the most part but it was just short of spectacular. I had to consider that this is a band that now plays less than 50 shows a year and when I saw them they played 200 plus shows a year. Either way it was good to catch up with old friends.

Friday we hit the Art Gallery where there was a Divinci Exhibit. We met Gord outside and hopped in line steeling ourselves for the hour plus wait in the rain sans umbrelly. As soon as we got in line a man asked us how many in our party and then gave us VIP tix to the front of the line!!! SCORE! The art was incredible. It blew my mind. I can't grasp that he was doing this shit 400 years before it was released to public and that most of his inventions and theories were 200 years ahead of their time. All in all a great time a the gallery. Really really cool. Couldn't get any divinci pics but here are some others....

this weird dinosaur thing is made from lawn chairs.
This made me miss the Bastards.

We then got a short guided tour of downtown from Gord before heading across the bay to pick up cheques and find banks. Here is a short Video of the Zipline in robson square. The folks lined up for this string at 5.30AM !

After banking we ventured to commercial drive to hook up with my very dear old friend and his fiance Mike and Lucy. We went out to watch the hockey game and make some friends in the local bars. On our way we were strolling and thought nothing much of the water stream that was pouring onto the sidewalk. As Mike Dixon looked up thought (just in time) we realized the stream was steaming, yellow and smelled like pee. There was a dude standing on his roof peeing onto the sidewalk very casually. He was at least nice enough to pinch it off as we got closer and walked around. After the game we hit Falconetties. A neat little bar with a weird live band. Lots of folks in there and most of them were having a great time. Some were having to good of a time and were (ahem) asked not to stand on the seats and tables. oops.

Catching the late night train is always funny as there are lots of characters and people passed out everywhere.

Here is a rare hot of the PEI White Tiger. Stand back folks. This thing is WILD!

Today is my last day on Granville island and I can't wait to get home tomorrow. It's been great here but I miss home. It has been a long two weeks but a good one. The weather has been nice and I've had a great time in Vancouver. I got to play to thousands of people over the last two weeks and I must thank Darcy Campbell bringing me out here. It has been a real blast!

Well I'm off to nap before my last set in Vancouver for this trip.....

Olympics: Day ....i'm not sure anymore

2010-02-25T20:18:00.002-04:00

Hey all

Yesterday was awesome! Got ot go sit on the blue line at the USA/Swiss Game. USA won but it was still real exciting to watch. All the late nights have pretty much taken the party out of my sails though and even though I wanted to get down to the ACH to see Chris Kirby, once I was in my amazing hotel room it was hard to get out.

Tonight me and a few of the other folks are gonna try and go see Wide Mouth Mason who are performing at the Yale. I'm a big fan so I'm looking forward to it all. I think we even have VIP tix but we'll see when we get there!

The weather has switched back to lovely here and I'm starting to get bummed that I have to leave Vancouver VERY soon. Mind you I am SUPER STOKED to get home to family friends and loved ones!!!!! Won't be much of a visit though as I am home for 48 hours before I have to hop in Rub and set out on my solo tour of Ontario. No rest for the wicked.

In other news the album "Redemption" is slowly coming together. The liner notes will be finished this weekend and Mastering and Artwork will be complete the following weekend. We are getting so excited to release it and take it across Canada in the Spring. It's also looking like there will be a 'special release' event in Fredericton on April 24th. This will be before the official release date but Fredericton deserves it what with all the support the area has shown us. We wanted to get it to you guys first! Stay tuned for more detail on that.

I'm off to adventure through the airport to try and find good eats before I head out tonight. Wish me luck, airport food ain't so grand....

Stay Tuned,

Boo

2010-02-24T18:15:00.000-04:00

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Two minutes

2010-02-24T18:12:00.000-04:00

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Usa swiss intermission

2010-02-24T17:32:00.000-04:00

The zamboni has pimp rims!
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Usa \swiss

2010-02-24T17:00:00.000-04:00

5 seats from penalty box! Row 2!
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Correction

2010-02-24T16:53:00.000-04:00

Its USA swiss not slovakia!
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Usa\slovakia

2010-02-24T16:49:00.000-04:00

Second row!
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olympics: Day 11 or 12???

2010-02-24T01:11:00.002-04:00

Wow. I barely know what day it is anymore. Usually I know because I play on the weekends typically so it's easy to know when sunday/monday hit. This playing through the week is really screwing me up....

Last night was so awesome. Matt Andersen decided to perform an electric set to compete with the party crowd at the backstage lounge at the Atlantic House so he recruited Mike Carrol, Brian Bourne and myself to help him rock it up. What a great time. So much fun. Afterwards we grabbed the acoustics and hung out in the theatre dressing rooms and jammed with Jessica Rhaye and had some late night bevies. I do believe a full bottle of jagr was consumed in minutes. Amazing people to hang with and play with. I don't get to do that too much anymore with a lot of my musical friends as travel interferes with that so its nice to be in a place like this with folks popping in for a few days here and there.

Needless to say 11am set came early today. When our driver (the awesome Dave from pei) picked us up we also had to stop to get the lovely Catherine Maclellan but her flight was late so we had to wait. This allowed me to miss my first set of the day outside so I had a little head down time in the rehearsal hall before my afternoon set inside. The evening set was a special function upstairs. A hobnob thrown by NB for NB day at the pavilion. Lots of Moosehead, Covered Bridge chips and even Ganongs candy. While these sets are typically "corporate" feeling (no one listening) it wasn't so bad. I sold a good amount of CDs and ran into a bunch of Frederictonians.

I am fairly burnt out now though so I opted to not hang out at the lounge tonight. I'm back at the ole Fairmont in my robe. About to crawl onto the ole king size bed here and stare at the tube. Might do the same all day tomorrow too. Could be room service involved. A true day of rest. Stay tuned......

Olympics: Day 9, 10

2010-02-22T19:39:00.002-04:00

I have been relocated. Exiled to the airport. I will live in the airport for the next week. Fortunately I will live in the FAIRMONT hotel in the airport! check the video!

Zebra ranch

2010-02-21T17:26:00.001-04:00

A month past our sessions I still think about the zebra ranch and what we did there, every single day.

Our connection with the people we met there is beyond deep. It is eternal. Music aside we will forever be connected. Something happened there beyond making a record. I can't speak for the bastards but it definitely changed me. I learned things musical and cosmic. I have come to the realization recently that I will be going back there many times over the course of my life, for reasons musical and other.

Here is a link to a great interview with the first lady of the ranch. Mary Lindsay Dickinson. A couple generous nods to the suffering bastards in there too.
http://www.swampland.com/posts/view/title:a_report_from_the_zebra_ranch_studios_an_interview_with_mary_lindsay_dickinson
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Olympics: Day 8

2010-02-20T23:12:00.003-04:00

I just realized I might be off on my olympic day count. oh well....

day off today. a real beauty too! Strolled downtown to the ole sacred heart tattoo parlour as you may know if you saw the pic from my previous post....

I saw these trees with blossoms.....amazing. Spring in February.

I've been thinking about a small piece that would represent my roots as an east coaster for sometime and then jus tbefore I left home for Vancouver it hit me. Simple and to the point....

Sacred heart

2010-02-20T17:13:00.000-04:00

Nelson n granville. My new 'friend' Chris hold . He likes to stab me.

506 y'all
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Olympics: Day 7

2010-02-20T03:07:00.003-04:00

Hi foks,

great day playing in the sun today. Lots of families out and about which is hilarious for me as the little kids really seem to like my tunes and aren't afraid to boogie!!! I sold some Cds and made a little "guitar case" cash to boot! Not too Shabby!

So as promised, a little history of the awesome hotel I am in. The Sylvia Hotel. Located at Beach Ave and Gilford. Right across the road from English Bay. Very scenic. As I mentioned before I can see the ocean from my bed! Awesome. What I didn't mention was.....

The Sylvia was built in 1912 by a Seattle fellow. Named after his daughter it was an apartment building first but eventually turned into a hotel. In 1954 Vancouvers very first cocktail bar was opened in the Sylvia. It was the tallest building in Vancouver until 1958 and it's slogan was 'dine in the sky'.

The Gilford st. side of the hotel is COVERED in Virginia Creeper where I have witnessed a half dozen raccons creeping around up high on the third and fourth floors!

The hotel is quaint and has really nice staff who make sure you get what you need. Being here for two weeks, I of course wanted a fridge and kettle etc so I could have a few groceries and what not. Sure enought the front desk provided. A fridge was soon delivered to the room and I soon was making the best coffee in Vancouver with my aero press and kettle!

It was rumoured to me recently that Errol Flynn had actually died here. With a little research I'm not so sure that is true although there does seem to be a link to the then Manager Art Cameron who was at the party where Flynn may have actually passed....Truth? Fiction? Who knows...

olympics: Day 6

2010-02-18T21:13:00.007-04:00

Hi all. MAN! Another amazingly sunny day here in Vancouver. My good friend Keith Mullins and I ventured over to the Vancouver Aquarium today . It was so nice we decided to walk as it's only a couple clicks from my hotel. Incredible walk! Check the views!

big ass bridge to the west side(?)

a bunch of VERY cool Totem poles!

Say, is that an octopus on your head?

cayman! snap!
The sign for this little guy said the "chicken" of the frog world
RIBBIT!

Keith & Ross in their "happy" Picture

Here are some Video's

Ok so that was our aquarium trip. We topped it all off with a little Sushi feed! Delish!

Back to work tomorrow.

Olympics: Day 5

2010-02-18T01:27:00.002-04:00

What a day. Beautiful and sunny although a lil cool. I had three funs sets down at the Atlantic House. One inside and two out. Actually sold some CDs today and made a couple bucks in the old guitar case to boot! The highlights of my day were eating at my fav place in the Granville market...(the market here is unreal) and then during my last set there were a couple little kids (2 years old) busting a move like there was no tomorrow. So hilarious I could barely sing I was laughing so hard. Too cute. ( oh yeah, it didn't hurt my ego getting a compliment from Lennie Gallant either.)

Taking it real easy tonight to I can rest up. I play four sets tomorrow (I think, not that I have my schedule yet) so it will be a long day. I just got back from the grocery store and found a decent sushi spot on the way....I don't know why I haven't been taking advantage of all the sushi here. So good and SO cheap!!!

I'll try and get some good pics tomorrow for y'all. Also I may offer up a little history lesson on the hotel I'm staying in. It's pretty cool. Gotta go change my guitar strings now.....Stay tuned.

PS.....I saw someone mowing their lawn today!!!! Feb 18 2010 !!!!

Olympics: Day 4

2010-02-17T06:46:00.005-04:00

Just had a great day off is all....this is what it looked like....

I spent the first half working in my hotel room then ventured out to catch up with my friend and Tofino radio personality Geoff Johnson at the Swiss house to watch the hockey game. Good times for sure. Here's a pic of Geoff...
Here is Geoff's autistic friend Captain Kirk...

We wandered downtown for a bit and then parted ways. I got briefly lost but made it home with blackberry help.....here is a video of downtown craziness.....

On my way in to the hotel I hooked up with mike dixon, some grass mountain hobos and the lovely Amelia Curran. We hit the Hobos room for some late night pops and were soon joined by my good friend KEith Mullins. We had a nice time exchanging songs and jamming. I wish I had pics or video but I was busy playing geetar or clapping and singing or whatever.....So much fun.

Back to work in the AM...if you can call it that.....

Ross

Olympics: Day 3

2010-02-16T05:13:00.003-04:00

Today was a day off. I needed it. This is a video entry so if yer a facebooker, best pop on over to www.rossneilsen.blogspot.com and see what it's all about.....y'all know the vid's dont make it to FB right?

werd.

Hallelujah!

2010-02-16T00:09:00.000-04:00

They got more!
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Olympics: Day 2

2010-02-15T07:15:00.001-04:00

Well it was just another day at work....except today wasn't rainy n cloudy like yesterday. It was better all round. They decided to move the 'acoustic' stuff upstairs to the room where they have the food tasting. this is better in many ways...PA, many people and it is actually apparent you are with the atlantic house....here is a pic of my view from the 'food tasting room'....pretty awesome gig....here is a view from the one side of the room....

And the other side....

I met up with one of the other performers that is doing the same thing as me and it turned out to be Mike Dixon from PEI. Great Blues player who I've not been in touch with for a long time so it will be fun to catch up and jam a bit while we're here.

I've also really been enjoying the market on Granville Island...so much good food for decent prices! All in all a great day at work. Tonight I had a great time. Chris Colepaugh and Lynn Daigle were in town to play with the lovely and talented Samantha Robichaud. Needless to say I was excited to play with my old friend and rock n roll mentor Chris Colepaugh. We really haven't had time to hang since the first Hullaballoo a couple years back so we had a good time catching up. I played him some of the mixes from the new record and we had some cold ones to help with the reminiscing. I was extra lucky to catch Tim Chiasson from PEIas well as the Grass Mountain Hobos at the atlantic house kitchen party. They are certainly an xrated sot of fun when in the van and a rocking left bluegrass, deliverer of great times when not in the van...

What a time. Craziness everywhere. Colepaugh and I had a lot of fun hanging with Tim's band Morning fold in a near by bar while they killed time before some of them flew back to PEI at a really silly hour of something to the tune of 8am......enjoy the flight boys. I hope its a safe one and that you don't get extra security attention due to your particularly 'fragrant' style of mouth wash....

I also got to spend a lil time with good friend and mentor Thom Swift. We got to witness a huge family of raccoons scale the walls of our hotel. Perhaps I can grab some video of this for us all to see tomorrow....it was all very amusing until I realized my window was open where they were frolicking.

Really all in all it was a great day. It's hard to believe that I'm out here to perform and that the Olympics are really happening. when you are in a bar and the Canadian team wins gold like today for mogul competition, it really is moving and I feel really honored to be part of it all!!! truly spectacular to be here to take it all in. More good times afoot. stay tuned....

Ross

Last one!

2010-02-14T16:27:00.000-04:00

Last pics blonde in Vancouver and its mine!
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Good morning

2010-02-14T13:32:00.000-04:00

Just another day on the job!
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Olympics: Day One

2010-02-13T23:08:00.005-04:00

Well it was just as i suspected. A little wet, but way warmer than NB. "front door" gig is awesome. There is a PA. The 'acoustic' gig at the back of the building is less awesome than the front but is still worth being here to be part of it all. All in all a good start. Lots of crazyness. Organizers are running everywhere! good fun. Here's some pics for ya!

My workplace for the next two weeks.

They make totem poles right here!
My view during my last set of the day!
More last set view awesomeness!
a lil video action for you!

We're off to grab dinner and then hit the Yale to catch the one and only David Gogo. Talk to you tomorrow!

Flying in Blind

2010-02-13T13:30:00.004-04:00

Its always a bummer when you arrive at night and can't see shit. It does however make the morning that much more awesome. I could see the ocean from in my bed. awesome.

Time to go get ready for work. Hehehehe.

Ho.lee.shit

2010-02-13T04:11:00.000-04:00

Its madness here people.
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Customer service is alive and well

2010-02-12T16:20:00.001-04:00

Well what do you know. Customer service is alive and well and its living in Vancouver at rufus' guitar shop.

In a week of incredible high stress, Chuck Baker at Rufus' guitar shop a saviour. Because I only received my itinerary for the Olympics today I was unable to make plan to pick up two guitars that Yamaha Canada music is gratiously supplying while I'm in Vancouver.

I just found out I perform tomorrow earlier than would allow me to safely pick up my guitars. I called Chuck to see if he would be able to courier them to my hotel. Not only did he sat that was fine but that he would bring them over his self. Amazing. I can't believe there are still people like Chuck in this world. Lord love you Chuck.

Did I mention that Chuck doesn't stand to make one cent of of me from these guitars and he is STILL delivering!

So if you are in Vancouver make sure you stop in to rufus' guitars at 2621 alma st in van. www.rufusguitarshop.com
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Up up and away

2010-02-12T11:26:00.001-04:00

So I'm about to board for my flight to Vancouver for the Olympics. I'm happy to see the plane has jets not propellers. Also happy to NOT see a lot of other musicians as that many artists on one plane gives me the willies.

I'm assured my itinerary is about to arrive at my phone any second and that there WILL be someone to pick me up in Vancouver upon arrival. Stress levels are high but I'm coping. I look forward to my 3ish hour layover in Toronto. Gin anyone?

Stay tuned

MB
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Radiators, Solo Tours and Showcases

2010-02-05T13:52:00.002-04:00

Hey all

Well it's been a real busy week. I've been furiously booking our CD release tour, lining up PR for it and the release and getting track sequences done for mastering. Oh, and figuring out artwork. The artwork has been agreed on for the album. It is going to be titled "Redemption". Lots of play on words going on here folks. think about it. So far the stuff Rob Scullion at Scholl Defining Image has shown us has been kick ass. We're going with an old school 'record' kind of look with the packaging with a killer pic from our Mississippi trip taken by Bruce Devlin.

Well, as the title of this blog indicates ole Ruby as a new radiator in her. Fortunately it blew on the last day of the warranty so it saved me a few bucks. Something else has already gone wrong with the heater switch though, getting it looked at monday AM. Should be warranty as well. I guess she took me seriously when I told her if she got us through that last Canadian tour and back from Mississippi she wouldn't owe me anything. Time to search out a new Bastard mobile and retire Ruby to the grocery van.

Most of the dates for my solo tour in March are up on www.myspace.com/rossneilsen check em out and spread the word for me if you can. I'm REALLY looking forward to some solo stuff and the two weeks at the Olympics will be a great practice run for the tour. I will miss the Bastards but it will be nice to have some alone time in Ruby again. I'm reminded of the almost two years i spent living out of her traveling around. The Cons of that (no closet to put anything no regular place to go home to) are gone as I have an Apt not so it's all PRO's now!!!! Lot's of think time!

While I am in Ontario the Canadian Music Week Conference will be going down in Toronto. I usually don't take part but this year my Distribution Label has landed me a showcase. We're just waiting to see if we can include the bastards and have a sort of 'preview' of the new record. Fingers Crossed! Slash (formerly of Velvet Revolver & Guns n Roses) will be there too! I'm gonna do my best to track him down as he is one of my biggest influences for guitar!

Most of april we'll be hanging about Fredericton getting ready for the fourth National tour in May/June. Really looking forward to the release of 'Redemption'. Can't wait to see how people react to its rawness! Tentative release date will be May 4th. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes as planned and it gets out then! In the mean time Early Grave is available at all retail outlets. f they don't have it in stock please make them order it through Universal/Thorny Bleeder Records.

Yesterday I was at my pal, Ethan Young-Lai's (of the most incredibly awesome band Sleepy Driver) House. Ethan is a bit of a producing whiz and he is working on the new record by Mark Roberts, another great friend and fellow New Maryland-ite. I was lucky enough to be asked to put some harmony vocals on a couple tunes. The tunes sound great. A real mix of John Prine and John Hiatt. Look forward to that stuff coming out this year folks!

I'm going to enjoy a rare friday night off tonight and hit the movies! Tomorrow we rock the Thirsty Boot Lounge at Crabbe Mountain again. 3-7pm. Great fun is had here folks, even if you are not skiing. So get on out!!! Moday we will be performing at the Snooty Fox at 10.30pm. I think this is our last Fredericton performance for quite some time so come on down and have a pint with us ok?

Thats all for now, see ya soon

Good Things Come....

2010-01-31T18:18:00.002-04:00

Man! We passed some SERIOUS tests this weekend. Thursday night we picked up a couple extra shows down in St. Andrews at The Red Herring. This meant some driving Saturday as we were already booked for a matinee at Crabbe Mountains Thirsty Boot Lounge, but hey we're used to van time.

After I got my haircut on Friday I noticed that Ruby was blowing cold air out of her heater. I topped her up with fluid hoping that was the issue. Later when I went to pick up Shawn en route to St. A I noticed the same issue again. I took a peek under her skirt and saw that there was rad fluid all over. Not good. We obviously couldn't take her to St. A. Normally I would be pissed bt I told her long ago that if she got us through the last tour and then to Mississippi and back she wouldn't owe me a thing. So....we went into "find a vehicle mode". After exhausting all rental car spots for a van we resolved to take Karl AND Shawns car. So we made the switcheroo and loaded up and hit the road for St. Andrews.

Remember Friday> It was storming badly. About two thirds of the way there Shawn and I hit a couple bad drifts which sent us spinning backwards into the ditch. We hit pretty solid but there was no damage save a flat tire. I texted the bar to update them and then a truck stopped and if you've ever been to Charlotte County then you know how this story goes...he had chains and pulled us out. We were literally in and out of the ditch within 10 minutes. MAJOR thanks to those folks who stopped to help! We arrived late but still rocked out a couple strong sets. Then Shawn had to wrestle with his spare tire for the trip home in the early AM. Once changed we loaded up the vehicles and went to crash out right around 3.30am. We were back on the road by 8am to get up to Fredtown and find a different vehicle situation before we headed out to Crabbe. I stopped by my pal Randy Wheatons lot, Trius Trucks on Bishop Drive, hoping that he would be open. He wasn't. Just as I was leaving I noticed someone come out of the building. It was Randy. Turns out he lives upstairs. I told him the situation and before I knew it he had hooked me up with a little van AND sent Ruby over to his garage for a closer look by a professional. AWESOME!

We rocked Crabbe and then loaded up and headed right back to St. A for another go. By this time my 'cough' which feels like Bronchitis was in full effect. I used the rest of my voice on Saturday night and now I'm enjoying a painful squeak. Great!

Anyway, through all these tests we ended up getting our mastering session moved up two weeks, thats good news! This means the new album might, just might come out when we want it to!!!!! As if that wasn't good enough, during my last set break at Crabbe I received an email confirming my invitation to perform at the Atlantic House on Granville Island in Vancouver fo r the good ole Olympics! This is a tremendous opportunity and as a result I cancelled all my previously booked gigs so I can go. Normally I would NEVER do such a thing but this is really is a great gig so I reluctantly called each spot to sheepishly cancel. Fortunately when you mention the Olympics EVERYONE seems to get excited and all the gigs I cancelled wished me well. I thank them all for their understanding!

So there you have it. When faced with times of trouble keep your head up and follow your gut and you will be rewarded. We could have threw in the towel on friday but I believe by persevering it helped line up some other great opportunities! Positivity breeds positivity folks!

I can't believe it's only the end of JAnuary and music has already taken me to Mississippi for a new record, Memphis for a weekend of good times with great friends and now in less than two weeks I head to Vancouver for two weeks. Lots to do before I go though....gotta finalize artwork for the new record, do some taxes and tidy up loose ends, then its off to the left coast! I can only imagine what else is in store for us this year. Bring it on 2010!

Mississippi Trip Vol 20: Home Sweet Hooooommmeeee

2010-01-26T19:12:00.002-04:00

WOW. I just woke up from a great nap! I had a dream that I went down to Mississippi with the Bastards to make a record and then hung out in Claksdale. Then We jumped to Memphis and hung out there for a few days soaking up the musical history where ever we went!

Of course I know it wasn't a dream....I pinched myself.....but right now it sure feels that way. It all went by in such a blur. Looking back through the photos I'm reminded of some of the greatest moments in my life. I'm still absorbing it all and filing the great memories of new people we have met that make up the pieces of the puzzle that is our future. Australia, New York, Florida to Tulsa, Mississippi to Memphis, we have made new connections that will take us down all kinds of new paths over the next few years.

Yesterday we drove hard. 18 hours. Right through the night. Other than heavy rain and bad fog and a real bad food experience at Chateau Westboro, an italian restaurant with incredible rude staff, it was a safe trip.

I'm home now and the adventure is over. Sort of. Now I'm busy booking tours, lining up a mastering session for our new album and thinking hard about artwork and liner notes. Always lots to do.

I know the real exciting stuff might seem over but I will be continuing to post regular updates on the ole blog here so I hope you all hang with me and subscribe so you get the videos. If you want to see a bunch of pictures from the trip head on over to our Facebook Fan Page HERE.

Stay tuned

Ross

Mississippi Trip Vol 19: Goodbye Memphis, On the road again

2010-01-25T04:54:00.002-04:00

Well we're back on the road trying to get home. We miss NB and all of our friends and family, even though we had a great time. Today was not a great travel day. We sat in Ruby for about 13 hours. Two thirds of the trip today was torrential downpour. We're hoping tomorrow will be better as we are gonna drive until we can't.

Our last night in Memphis was low key but fun just the same. After a few days on Beale we were all a little burnt out on its touristy, street hustling mania. All in all we had a great time in Memphis. The high light was getting to hang with good friends, Steve, Miles, Matt & Jeff. Because we travel so much we don't always get quality time with some of our other musicianeer friends and to have a few days in a place like Memphis was worth so much to us.

We're holed up in a hotel in Winchester Virginia for a nap before we rock the asphalt tomorrow. Gotta get some Z's. Can't wait to get home and see y'all.

Here is a couple of pics from our last meal in Memphis. Some kick ass O rings. Friends from Carleton County will understand when I say Betty Broad - You gots some competition!!!

Mississippi Trip Vol 18: Elvis has left the building

2010-01-23T21:21:00.003-04:00

Today we enjoyed the last of our touristy sight seeing. We stopped by the Orpheum theatre to cheer on Matt Andersen to victory in the solo category and then we hit Legendary Sun Studio. It was very cool with the exception of the size of the tour and the temperature.....too many people, way too hot in there. The tour obviously focused around Elvis and we would have liked some more johnny cash and Sam Philips but all in all it was pretty cool to walk through the building where rocknroll is considered to have been born!

X Marks the spot! This is where Elvis stood. apparently.

Here is a bit of video from the studio floor. Pretty cool man. LOADS of history in that little room. Still exactly (more or less) like it was a waaaay back then. Very, Very Cool!

We here at the Bastard Empire would like to extend a huge congrats to our great friend and brilliant performer Matt Andersen. MAtt beat out more than 80 other musicians in the solo category at the 2010 International Blues Challenge. We are REAL proud of him. Much love brother.

Mississippi Trip Vol 17: Not a Weiner

2010-01-23T04:06:00.003-04:00

Well we played our last gig in Memphis tonight. That means we are not advancing to the finals. We did however lay down another smattering of Bastard Blues Rock all over the our club on Beale. I thought we were true to ourselves and did what we do well. All in all the IBC has been super awesome. We met some great musicians and now have friends in New Jersey, New York, Tulsa, Pensacola and a few other places. That my friends is what it's all about. (oh yeah, and i got to meet and be interviewed by Bekka Bramlett today, Daughter of Bonnie & Delaney Bramlett. Don't know who that is? Google them)

Since we now have tomorrow off we'll try to make the best of it by checking out Sun studio and the human rights museum if we can fit it all in. We'll also head to the Orpheum Theatre to support our good friend, Matt Andersen, who move into the finals for solo and duo category.

This has been a real crazy way to finish off a huge, life altering trip into the heart of American blues music. Many, Many thanks to all the people who have extended their hospitality and educated us on the music that spawned here so many years ago. Huge thanks to the Dickinson Family, Alvin Hart, Rat, Red, Guy and crew at the shack up. Bruce Devlin for being here to take some great photos of it all. Truly awesome.

I know some of you will feel sad for us but don't worry your lil heads. We came to the south and made a great record and had some really REALLY good times. The only thing we're sad about is that our trip is coming to an end......

Don't go running away though....the trip's not over just yet, and that means more updates......

Ross

Mississippi Trip Vol 16: Stax of fun!

2010-01-22T14:57:00.003-04:00

Hey Y'all

Great day was had yesterday. Started out with an awesome breakfast from Polly's on Beale and then we headed for the legendary Stax Museum. This place was so cool. What an amazing and heartbreaking story. The short movie at the start of the tour had us all a little misty. The Otis Redding footage blew my mind. By the time we got done we were chomping at the bit to play. The had the wah pedal used of Shaft in there and they actually had Isaac Hayes' Cadillac. PIMPMOBILE!!!!! Check the Video!

You have to be at the venue you play at the start of the night and stay until you play so we grabbed a bite and checked out some other bands. The Venue is Called Bues City Cafe and is a pretty good medium sized club. Looks real good with people packed in there and the folks that were there were real responsive. Great Crowd. We hit the stage like an Atom Bomb and delivered a real strong introduction to Ross Neilsen & The Sufferin Bastards. We had a LOT of comments and people seemed to really dig our brand of blues.

A couple of other acts we dug were Jeremy Wallace Trio from New Jeresy. These guys were kind of a Tom Waits meets Howlin Wolf outfit. Really Cool. The other band that really stood out was The Dustin Pittsley Band from Tulsa. Nice guys and great players.

Today I'm taking it low key. Just caught a bit of Colin Linden's songwriter workshop and now I'm about to have a nap and then a couple interviews before I have to head over to our venue. We play second to last tonight and it's gonna be hard to sit and wait so long.....we'll find a way to get energized for our set though. we always do!

I hope all is well where ever you are and you are enjoying these updates. We sure appreciate you keeping in touch.

Ross

Mississippi Trip Vol 15: Memphis in the mean time

2010-01-21T05:08:00.007-04:00

Well we had a fun time playing at Red's Juke last night. Brucie got some footage but i'll have to post it another time cause I didn't get it from him yet. When we got back to the shack up we really got down. Tequila, Wine and Beers celebrated the great times we had in Clarksdale. In the morning it was a different story. A bus group that were arriving for a blues camp showed early so we had to get it together real quick and split. I was real proud at all the fellas in the band as well as Brucie D for getting shit together while I basically just walked around and belly ached. Thanks boys!

Here is a late night pic of the fellas sitting round the Robert Clay Shack late night for y'all:

Now we're in Memphis and ole Mizzip is behind (rather south) of us. What a time she showed us. Unbelievable really. Our hotel is right across the street from the historic Peabody. Had a great catch up session with East coast friends Matt Andersen, Miles Gallagher and Jeff Liberty as well as Ottawa superstar Steve Marriner (Monkey Junk the band). Good start to it all really. We are gonna try for the Stax museum today but we'll see how the registration goes for IBC. We are READY to rock the dust off of Memphis. Thinking of the late great Jim Dickinson a lot up here. Can't wait to unleash on the windy city.

Werd Up

Mississippi Trip Vol 14: Just for a laugh

2010-01-19T19:41:00.004-04:00

Well the last few days have been a very good kind of intense with meeting all kinds of great people and seeing some of the craziest landscape out there. Having said all that I decided to put a post up of just random shit. Some of it may only be funny to us but I know SOME of you out there love the stupid shit we do.....Hope you get a laugh. Lots more where this came from.

Here is one of my fav shots that Bruce Devlin has taken this week. The ole Cop car from Blues Brothers.

We have seen a lot of pimped out cars here in clarksdale. Some are outrageous. This one was kinda tame but very cool.

We had a rehearsal at the juke joint chapel here (they have a stage with a PA system in the main building. We thought, why not!) at the Shack up Inn compound to keep the cobwebs off our fingers. I used my heavy duty amp.......

If you know me VERY well then you probably know i LOVE LOVE LOVE american RED hot dogs. They are delicious. We got crafty with em.

......and Tequila

Don't forget we have loads of pics at our facebook fan page.... here

Mississippi Trip Vol 13: Watermelon Slim at Red's Juke Joint.

2010-01-19T00:58:00.005-04:00

*This is update Four of Four today. If you're just tuning in scroll down!

Dude is whack! He has a total thing going on. Super nice to us and we appreciated him letting us sit in...He used his sock for a pop sheild aka windsock. on his microphone....that's when you'd put it over the mic if it was shocking you or something like that. Slim took it off his foot, put it on the mic, did the show, put it back on his foot. DANG! Crazy MoFo!!!

Red's is a crazy lil place that looks like nothing you've ever seen. its wild. A real honest to goodness Juke. Red has been real nice to us over the last couple so big thanks to him. I think we're playing there Tuesday night which will be a good warm up for the IBC on Thursday.

Our new pal from Australia, Dan Dinnen was there for a jam too! Good times. I had to upload the video of us playing with Slim on Youtube cause it's way too long to put on here. please check it out, I haven't uploaded to youtube before so I hope this works! LINK IS BELOW. Here's the pic ......

Here is the Video Link

PS....If you're wondering where Slim is in this video......he's the dude crawling on the floor!

Mississippi Trip Vol 12: Died And Went To Blues Heaven

2010-01-18T19:43:00.011-04:00

*This is the third of four new posts today. If you're just tuning in scroll down! Or check out ALL the photos at our facebook fan page

The Shack Up Inn. I don't even know what to say about it. They boast the title of world's oldest B & B (breakfast n beer). It is on the historic Hopson Plantation. The first mechanized cotton harvest. It's cooler than words can descirbe... Here's the pics n Vid

Juke Joint Chapel. Shot by Bruce Devlin

Our Porch. shot by Bruce Devlin

Our shack.

Main building (this is half of it) includes the office some rooms and the Juke Joint Chapel.

Shawn and a rusty old truck. shot by Bruce Devlin!

Sippi Sunset

Gans comes out laughing in disbelief at this cool place we have found.

A Tour of The Robert Clay Shack. He drove tractor and had seven sons.

Mississippi Trip Vol 11: Riverside Motel, Clarksdale MS

2010-01-18T15:56:00.004-04:00

This place is unreal. The proprietors name is Rat. He has been there since his mom bought it in the early 40's. Ike Turner cut the demo to rocking 88 in the basement. Muddy stayed here. Bessie Smith died here when it was a hospital in the late 30's. JFK Jr stayed here when he wanted to be left alone. Rat insists that this is now our home away from home. No check out time. When you leave you put your key in the room door. Thats how he knows you split. his stories were crazy. We saw Levon Helm's name in the guest book. If you are in Clarksdale YOU GOTTA STAY HERE!!!!

Us with Rat on the front step. Bruce Devlin photography. Thanks Brucie!

This is the room Bessie Smith died in. Crazy story. Apparently she was in a car accident. The fellow who stopped to help her got her in his car and THEY were in another accident. She ended up at this mercy house but died of too Much blood loss, Truth, Fiction?

I found the room John Lee Hooker stayed in and had to try and gather him up. Rat said "you be careful, you might wake him up".

Mississippi Trip Vol 10: The Crossroads

2010-01-18T14:35:00.007-04:00

So, it's a little depressing to realize that the crossroads are a tourist trap taken on by every little town near clarksdale. We drove old highway 61 (original, not the four lane) looking for what could be the crossroads. I of course had plans to play a tune there. Realizing the disney-fied nature of them now sure took that wind out of my sail. We did have some fun looking though. From a surprise plantation of casinos to the "real" crossroads in clarksdale.....enjoy some video

Mississippi Trip Vol 9: No Internet

2010-01-18T03:06:00.002-04:00

So for the last few days I haven't really had any good internet connections that would allow me to up load pics n vids. Tonight is no different. I'm hoping tomorrow I will be able to find a connection in town so i can upload the new stuff. They will blow your minds.

Yesterday (Saturday) we hit the road out of Hernando after some laundry and an oil change for Ruby. We hit Highway 61 and headed south. We stopped at a museum in Tunica for a minute or two and realized here that every little town claimed to be "The blues town" in this area and that every crossroads was 'the crossroads'. We searched the old highway and come across dozens of crossroads. We drove through some of the most depressing areas as well. Truely another world.

We rolled into Clarksdale around 6pm and had a bite at the local BBQ "Abe's". REALLY good pork sandwich. Abe's is located right at "the crossroads", highway 49 & 61 intersection. Commonly accepted as the real crossroads. After supper we went to The riverside motel to check in for the night. Everyone has stayed here. Muddy, Levon Helm (saw his name in the guestbook), Pops & Mavis Staples, JFK Jr, John Lee Hooker, Sam Cooke, Ike Turner and this is also where Bessie Smith died. Crazy history. The owner "Rat" is a super cool old dude who knows all the history. Stay tuned for pics n vids in the next day or two. After hanging for a bit we went to "Red's". Red's is the local juke. I mean real deal no BS juke joint. There was a dude named Harmonica Bean playing and it was only moments before Karl was up to join him and then later I got up and played a tune with him. We also met a cat named Dan who is from Australia. Dan is also here to compete in the IBC in the solo category. After a while we hit the road for The Ground Zero Blues club owned by Morgan Freeman. It was cool and a nice club but very touristy/frat boy. The tunes were less that impressionable but we had fun regardless. After a few beers we went back to the Riverside Motel to hang late night. Unbelievable place. Rat was so cool.

Today we got up and grabbed some eats then packed up to head out to the Shack up Inn where we'll be for the next few days. This place is indescribable. It really is a blues lovers heaven. I won't even try as words don't cut it. Again, stay tuned for Pics n Vids. They are awesome.

Tonight we went back to Red's as we were told Watermelon Slim would be performing and we should jam with him. We arrived late but everyone was happy to see us. Seems we'd made an impression the night before and Watermelon said after a tune..."Y'all must be the Canadians". Well is wasn't long and we had set up some gear to accompany him for a set. The aussie was there too and we all had a fun time. What a night. Looks like Monday night we'll play at the Hall here at the Shack Up and then tuesday we'll load into Red's to warm up for Memphis. Look out.

So hang tight for images...I'll get em up tomorrow. Just wanted to say hey and that we are having a stupidly fun time. Stay tuned.....

Mississippi Trip Vol 8: Post production downs

2010-01-16T01:57:00.004-04:00

Today was long. But it was also extremely productive. The ranch was getting some heating apparatus worked on so Mary Lindsay was hanging about the studio with Lightning the dog. This gave me some much wanted chat time with Mary. What a gal. She was really digging the tunes. Her and lightning the dog hung out for an hour or so while we mixed a couple tunes. She is a SPECIAL person. These sessions would never have happened without her. She is amazing.

It was a furious work pace today. We mixed eight tunes and by we I mean the amazing Kevin Houston. A solid dude and a killer engineer. He was like our secret weapon making this record. We got to see Cody play the electric washboard (woogieboard). So cool. We had a lot of fun mixing. We're all bummed that the process is over but we're over the moon at having rocked out, recorded and mixed over 13 tunes in five days. VERY proud of the Bastards.

Now we're chilling at the hotel room having a low key celebration. maybe tomorrow we'll get crazy. for now we're burnt out and happy to chill. Thanks for reading the posts and We hope you've enjoyed the pics n videos. The party isn't done yet though, tomorrow we head to Clarksdale in the delta, to chase ghosts and hang for a few days. You can bet there will be more adventures. Stay tuned friends, in the meantime here are some more pics of a few of the secrets to our success and also included is one Video of us tracking 'For the Last Time'. I'm pretty sure that is the solo and those are the vocals that made the cut. Enjoy and thanks again for checking out the blog.

The southern belle herself. Mary Lindsay wit Lightening the dog.

The studio dog - Lightening. He's awesome!
RL Burnside on the wall providing some much used Mojo!
Mental Excersice: Don't think of a Zebra.

Mississippi Trip Vol 7: One more day

2010-01-15T01:01:00.003-04:00

Hey all

Well we spent today in mixdown. We completed five tunes with seven more to finish tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a long one. Aside from having to mix seven tunes we will also most likely have to cut two tunes. This is going to be real hard because right now we love em all so much! It will also be our last day at The Zebra Ranch Studio. It has been a monumental five days that I won't soon forget. So many awesome memories. I extend a huge thanks to Mary Lindsay Dickinson for being so instrumental in getting us down here to record. This is the real deal here folks. Real people in every way. They really do smell the roses down here. I'll miss them terribly.

In other news: tonight the one and only Brucey Devlin arrived safe and sound in memphis and we picked him up to bring him on an adventure with us for the next ten days. Should be fun. Bruce is also a fine photographer and he surely has his camera device with him. I also gave an interview with Brian Thompson from Thorny Bleeder records. I believe he'll be posting that shortly on the Bleeder Blog. Check it out!

Well here are a few pics of some of the secrets to our success this week.......

I guess this one is pretty self explanatory.

The Ghost Rider. A sure sign of good luck considering our band Logo.

Our team. Producer Cody Dickinson and genius engineer, Kevin Houston.

The best Microphone ever. I am in LOVE with this baby.

Thanks for reading all. More good times ahead. Stay tuned!

Ross

Mississippi Trip Vol 6: Well that was quick

2010-01-13T23:38:00.002-04:00

Today we didn't have anyone drop in so we relied on the talent in the room. We knocked out a brand new tune tentatively titled 'Hot Little Pistol', and then started overdubbing the few things we needed to. Cody laid down some great piano and rhodes parts on a few tunes and then we set up to mix. This takes a little time so we took the night off and had a great big steak dinner to celebrate our parts being done in three days. We go back in to mix hard tomorrow and Friday. What a great experience it has been recording here. Things are approached differently and the more laid back atmosphere has been real beneficial. We have kept much of what was recorded as a band live off the floor, including a lot of vocals, ALL guitar parts and solos. Thats just how they do it there. Totally awesome. Here's some video.....

Mississippi Trip Vol 5: Full Circle

2010-01-13T00:52:00.003-04:00

Fice years ago I opened a show for Alvin Youngblood Hart in Fredericton. It had a big impact on me and Alvin was super cool. This was my first "bonafide" solo opener for a 'heavy' blues guy. Five years later I'm in Mississippi recording my album and Alvin pops by to lay a badass lead on my song 'Badlands'. Awesome. It was great to catch up. Alvin Showed up right after our producer Cody's brother Luther popped in. Luther is the singer/guitarist for North Mississippi Allstars and the lead guitar player for the Black Crowes. He almost made us cry with the slide shit he put on "She Ain't You". Just unreal. Amazing day. Tracking is pretty much done. Tomorrow we polish her up with some overdubs and then its mixing. If you are reading this on the facebook link you should come here to my blogpage because there are a couple vids. The second is Us listening back to some of Luthers slide mastery on She Ain't You.....bad quality video, we didn't really get any pics either because we were all sort of in shock. Good times.

Later,

Ross

Mississippi Trip Vol 4: Time to go to work

2010-01-11T23:47:00.003-04:00

Just a short note today as it was a long day and I'm beat. We got out to the ranch around 9.45am after securing a little breakfast in Hernando. Kevin Houston, our engineer was setting up and we hung out while it was all getting plugged in. We were only there for a bit when some of the Burnside family (as in R freaking L) showed up for a quick hang. We met Dexter Burnside and RL's youngest son, the severely talented, Gary Burnside. A couple other folks who's names we missed. Funny hang. very chilled out. A good 'vibe' setter for the day. Unfortunately I had gone upstairs to grab a Harmony guitar I saw laying there all lonely like, I thought she may want to be played, Anyway, before I got back downstairs Gary and the fella's had split before I could strap a guitbox on him. Oh well. He'll be around most of the week.

We tracked hard all day. We ended up getting seven tunes in there. Long ass day but so productive. We only broke for and hour to go eat some BBQ. Delish! Then it was back to the studio to cut a mellow tune called "She Ain't You". More of the same tomorrow with lots of giving 'er and much tracking. More guests planned for tomorrow and you can bet we're gonna get them to strap up a geetar too! Stay tuned. In the meantime here's a couple pics.....

Our weapons of rocknroll destruction. Reso, Cherry Sherry, Green Hornet, a Harmony I found upstairs, T-bird and the P-bass.

Gansarelli in the Drum room aka the rock room.
Checking out playback under the watchful eye of the creature with glowing eyes. Painted by wrestling great 'The King' Jerry Lawler.
Gans and I in Jim's office checking out all the things to look at and getting the vibe.

Mississippi Trip Vol 3: My head's in Mississippi

2010-01-10T21:48:00.006-04:00

Ok. We got up and got out of our nasty hotel around 10am. We boosted a fella in the parking lot who's car died on account of the cold. We hit the road trusting that our food supplier, Cracker Barrel, would only be moments away. Sure enough we find one on the highway. A solid Breakky of Grits, eggs, two kinds of sausage, hash browns, bacon, saucy apples and biscuits. all under ten bucks! Wooohooooo! here's a pic....

After breakfast we head to Memphis. after we find our way back from a brief detour we head straight to Elvis Presley Boulevard. We decide the $100 that it would cost us to tour the house and grounds is way too much and are satisfied with pics over the wall. Biggest friggin' nativity scene I have ever scene. Disgusting. Here are some pics for you..

After Graceland we check into our hotel in Hernando. Then its off to Zebra Ranch Studio to load in and meet Mary and Cody Dickinson. The house is amazing. Nearly all the decor is Zebra themed. We have a good chat and head out to the studio to load in. It is exactly what I want out of it. Jim's vibe is intense on the whole grounds. After some chatting with Cody we realize that we are on the same page and everyone is excited for an epic week of recording. After we load in we head back to the house for stew and apple pie. It's all very delish and Mary is a great host and regals us with tales of life with Jim. An amazing time. I wish I could properly describe it but I'm still stunned. It was the most sureal hours of my life. Karl sat in the same chair that Bob Dylan sat in when he came to visit.....We are acutely aware that there is something special going on for us right now and are trying not to look it right in the eye. Sessions start tomorrow for what will surely be one of the most awesome musical experiences of our lives to date.

Stay tuned,

Mississippi Trip Vol 2: I'm going to Jackson....

2010-01-10T03:19:00.008-04:00

Today was a long day of driving. We decided to push hard so that tomorrow will be a short drive enabling us some brain dead/relax time to mentally prepare for the very intense five days that will follow. Saw some cool stuff today. Passed Roanoke VA, Nashville TN, we're currently pulled off of "music highway". No am not making that up. Thats what it's called. All very surreal.

We also ate at Cracker Barrel. There is one about every 25 miles. For real!It was alright and quite cheap! Karl and I had chicken and dumplings with veggies, Shawn had catfish as he usually does when it's available....

Ten years ago (actually a little more) when I met Shawn at my friends house (he was playing in my buddy's band) I never would have thought we'd be cruising by Nashville on our way to Mississippi to make a record. About the same amount of time ago I worked at Tony's Music Box with Karl. I again, never would have thought we would be in a band together traveling south to make a record. Crazy surreal day. Awesome. This artsy pic is Ruby's rear. Waht you can't really see is that beyond her ass is Nashville.

Tomorrow we head to Mississppi via Memphis. If it isn't to pricey we're gonna stop in at Graceland and see how the King lived. After that its focus time for a week of hardcore work. I can't wait! That blurry green sign says MEMPHIS!!!!!

Two things have been concerning me....1. my throat is STILL sore. Cross your fingers for me that tomorrow is a better throat day. 2. the further south we go, the colder and snowier it gets. Thats messed up. Don't believe me? Here's a video....

talk soon

Mississippi trip vol1: Border crossings, large dogs and eight states

2010-01-08T22:34:00.002-04:00

Well, well, well, my first ever blog entry from the USA!

Yesterday (Thursday) we left Fredericton and head up river to Carleton County and my Mommy's house. We stopped to see Moms and have a little snack to build up our energy for our first Music related border crossing. To say we were nervous was an understatement. We did however have all of our paperwork done perfectly, we were clean shaven and had our "yes sirs" down pat! The man at the desk inside confused us a little when he said what we were asking for needed to be done in Woodstock/Houlton and that the B1 visa we were asking for was really a work Visa not a Showcase Visa. We soon realized that he was not the most knowledge-able officer in the room. While we answered their questions about Merchandise and how long we'd be gone and if we made money etc. etc. The three of us couldn't help notice the metal bench with handcuffs dangling off of it.... A little unnerving to say the least. In the end after we answered their questions they let us go in about five minutes. Didn't search any of us and didn't even LOOK at our Union letter of reference which cost us an outrageous amount of $$$ considering the boys joined the union and there are some fees involved. In the end though, better safe than sorry. It was a great border experience all in all and after their doggy sniffed us we were free to have fun in the USA!!!

The drive was fairly uneventful and no bad weather was had. We did have a hard time finding a good roadside spot to eat that wasn't boxed chain fast food store crap! I did get a delicious red hot dog into me near the turn off for Skowhegan! Yum!! We hit our friends, Greg and Colleen's, house around 7.30 and they immediately showered us with beer wine and pasta for supper. What great host! We feel like the luckiest band out there on the roads what with all the great hospitality people provide for us! We had a nice time and fun playing with Gwen their Great Dane. Here's a video of the little pup.

This AM we hit the road after breakfast for a long drive to the Red Roof Inn in Winchester Virginia. We hit eight states in a little over eight hours today. Needless to say we are happy to be chilling in the hotel room. It's unusually cold here and it's amusing to see the locals running everywhere and swearing about the cold!

The cold I've been fighting seems to be lingering but I'm confident that I will be fine on Monday when we fire up the studio and get things rolling. Cross your fingers for me.

Tennessee tomorrow!!!

Talk to you soon.

Our Distributor's Anniversary Present: Free Tunes

2010-01-04T14:54:00.002-04:00

Hey folks here is a note from our distributor.....some free tunes for ya! Download it and pass it on to your friends!

To celebrate the the 1 Year Anniversary of The Bleeder Blog, Thorny Bleeder Records has just released the second volume of their Free Album Download series, entitled Get Thorny 2. It features over one hour of new music from seventeen independent Canadian artists.

Thorny Bleeder Records is based in Vancouver BC, home to the 2010 Winter Olympics. They embrace file sharing and encourage their fans to engage with them and their artists on social media sites. They're a new type of independent record label for a new era in music, helping to bridge the gap between fan, artist, management, and label.

Get Thorny 2 features new music from Columbia, Ross Neilsen, Black Hat Villain, Stars Of Boulevard, TV Heart Attack, Whitfield, Burning Borders, Burn Hollywood Burn, Isle Of Thieves, The Rebellion, Floodlight, Run The Red Light, The BaDD HaBBits, The Painted Birds, Scott Valentine Presents, Cory Woodward and the British Columbians.

You can download Get Thorny 2 for free directly from their website here:

http://www.thornybleeder.com/index_files/now_available_free_album_download_get_thorny_2.html

The label has also planted the download on numerous bit torrent trackers, but they need more seeders. So this is a call to all torrent freaks to download the new Get Thorny 2 torrent and keep the seed alive!

Your support keeps the music coming, let's keep the music alive!

Enjoy all!

Ross

Year in Review aka Procrastinating

2009-12-30T15:29:00.003-04:00

Well I'm just sitting here procrastinating. I've got a million tiny things that need my attention over the next week. It's hard for me to look back (ever) and even more so with the amazing things that January is dangling in front of me. A week from today I leave for Mississippi with the Amazing Sufferin Bastards to make an epic record in a most awesome place with some really, really cool people. If that wasn't stealing enough of my attention I can't help but think about what a crazy time we'll have on the way home when we stop in Memphis to perform on Beale Street and more importantly hanging out in one of the most musically significant cities in the world with friends like Matt Andersen, Steve Marriner and Keith Hallett. Sounds like BBQ'd trouble to me!

To put off the meanial little tasks I have like wrting out all the lyrics to my songs and documenting my gear by serial number, I've been reading top 10 lists of 2009...you know, Albums, shows, movies....I was gonna write one. Then I realized a lot of the albums I was blown away by in 2009 were released before then, ie: Consolers of the Lonely by The Raconteurs and Faith Cola by Sisters Euclid....2008 and 2006 respectively....thats not to say there wasn't a pile of awesome music released this year...I'm sure if I went through my itunes I would find some stuff but lets be honest folks, I listen to a PILE of tunes...to whittle it down would be tough.

So instead I thought I would just touch on some of the high points of 2009. I toured a lot and met a lot of folks and saw a lot of good music and I just can't fit it all in here so these are the 'best of'' for me.

So these things come to mind as totally awesome moments:

- Preforming at The Capital Theatre in Moncton

- Securing the late great Jim Dickinson to record our new album at Zebra Ranch. The thought ofsomeone who played with the people he did liking my songs almost makes me cry every time I think about it.

- Seeing Neil Young at Harbor Station. Simply amazing. Neil has it more than any other artist. An inspiration for sure.

- Sister's Euclid. Saw 'em twice. Once in the late winter, my first time, and again with the bastards at one of their last performances at The Orbit Room. Sick Sick Sick. If you haven't seen them, seek them out. They will change your life.

- Visiting Tofino for the first time ever. Majestic.

- Watching The Black Crowes from backstage in Fredericton.

- Having Cody Dickinson from the North Mississippi All-stars (one of my fav bands) offer to take over the recording only days after the passing of his father.

- Having supper sitting beside Los Lobos at the Delta then going to see them open their show with 'There goes the neighborhood". Thanks Brent!

- The most amazing weekend of performing at Blues on Whyte in Edmonton.

- Getting Nominated for the Maple Blues Best New Artist.

- Halloween in Tofino. WOW.

- I'm sure I am forgetting a lot of fun times I had but these ones definitly stand out in my mind....

The best memory I have of '09 is the way our community (and folks from a far) rallied behind us to help us raise money to go to Mississippi and record aour new album. It blew my mind how much support folks gave us. Can't wait to deliver the best album of material (so far) to all your ears. Thanks so much all!

Now I must prepare for a crazy weekend. New Years Day Levee at Dolans Pub 2-6 and then our full on show Friday and Saturday night. starting at 10pm. This is our last weekend of fundraising before we split next week so I hope to see y'all out at Dolan's.

We're gonna rock 2010 in hard!!!

before I go here is a promo clip for our Mississippi trip. It was graciously put together by Robb Lepper at Certified Media Group for Hip e Bikes. Check it....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXeUez10VVA

Best to you all in 2010. It's gonna be a gooder.

Ross

7\11 Don'ts

2009-12-27T22:49:00.003-04:00

1. No toilet seat contact. Ever.
2. NOT checking yer sandwich expiry date.
3. Eat anything that comes out of a pump.
4. Eat meat in a cheese bread.
5. A la Joel Leblanc (hot toddy, Joel leblanc quartette) "I would not eat a hot dog".

Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Top Five Things to Eat at 7/11 Whilst on Tour.

2009-12-11T15:22:00.002-04:00

Ok, I know everything in this store is not made of anything decent nutrition wise BUT......late at night when you're strolling home from good times, there it is.......gleeming like a beacon in the night. How could you resist? you are, after all a little hungry and you KNOW you need something to soak up the hops n barley in your belly.

so here it is, my personal fav's:

1. Jalepeno and Cheese Taquito. Few things at the ole sebun elebun compare. AND there is no meat in it if you are the squeamish kind who must know if everything has been properly cooked.

2. Chicken and Cheese Taquito: A close second to the J & C Taquito. It must be noted that there are a couple kinds of Taquito's with chicken and cheese in them....I have tried them all. They are all pretty much the same and in a pinch any will do the trick!

3. The Smokey. oh yeah. Big ole hot dog. a personal favorite of Karl Bastard.

4. Mini eggs. Not just any mini eggs. CADBURY mini eggs. One of the finest chocolate treats of the 21st century without question.

5. Sausage Cheese Bread Stick. I don't know what the real name of this disgusting treat is but it is essentially a pepperoni stick INSIDE of a cheese bread stick thingy. YEAH BABY! they make a delicious marriage! HAd my first one in Calgary. They aren't found in EVERY 7/11 though. dunno why not cause they kick ass. If you are feeling crazy try heating it up in the microwave. Yup. I know. Wicked.

Well there you have it folks. I'm pretty sure you'll see the numbers 7 & 11 in another upcoming blog so stay tuned......

Beercan chicken pt deux

2009-12-08T19:40:00.000-04:00

Questions?
-ummm what is That blackened part on top!?!
-very keen observation. Congratulations. That my young grasshopper is bacon!
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Beer can chicken

2009-12-08T17:57:00.000-04:00

One for the chicken one for me!
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Top Five Gigs on the Canadian Tour

2009-12-08T17:05:00.002-04:00

Well, i put some thought into it....here it is....in no particular order.....these shows all just stand out in my head as real fun ones....

1. Blues on Whyte, Edmonton Saturday night: This show was off the hook. packed full of people who were ready to rock! One of the most memorable shows of my career.

2. Weigh West Marina, Tofino: Tofino is the most amazing place without having a gig there. Playing in Tofino makes it even MORE awesome. The fact that this was a Halloween show just blows it off the hook!

3. Mikey's Juke Joint, Calgary: This little roadhouse really knows how to treat a band. We always have a bunch of Maritimers there as well which never hurts the party atmosphere!

4. The Press Club, Toronto: I think every single person there except the bartender and owners were from Fredericton or at least NB. Not too shabby for a wednesday!

5. The Local, Toronto: I can't say it enough. I love this place. The people here are awesome. Not like being in Toronto at all!

Well there you have it. Of course there were other fun ones but for whatever reason I'm still thinking of these shows! Thanks to all who made it out to shows all over Canada. Can't wait to see you all in the Spring/Summer with our new album!

Yes I'm still here

2009-12-04T16:11:00.002-04:00

Hi there,

well i've been home a week. Life hasn't slowed down any thats for sure. We've played a few shows. I took one whole day off work and then starting Monday I went right back at it. I've been busy working on my solo tour which starts at the end of February this year. I've also been busy getting things in order for our New Years shows. What's That you ask? Well, we're hosting the first ever New Year's Day Levee at Dolan's Pub. This is going to be an afternoon (starts @2pm) of jamming and drinking! We'll be inviting all of our musical friends to come take part in our extravaganza! We'll also be performing our full show Friday and Saturday night. Cover for the jam is a suggested $5 buck donation. This will be the last weekend of Fundraising before owe leave for Mississippi on the 7th. We hope folks come out and shake the New Year cobwebs out!

Over the past few days I've been reminiscing about our two month tour and how awesome it was. Over the next few days I'll be posting some top fives from the tour. Here's one to get you started......

TOP 5 Meals: (these go in no particular order of fav because they were all awesome)

1. Thanks giving dinner at the Whittaker's. KILLER!

2. Ham dinner at our Edmonton Compound. Thanks Lyn!

3. Dinner at 100 Georges in North Bay. Great food here. Weird vibe or not.

4. BBQ'd Fajita's in Calgary. Thanks Michelle and Jon

5. The Shark Club. Great pub food and ( . Y . ) as big as yer head!

off to Sussex now to rock!

later.

out on the road, late at night...

2009-11-26T04:35:00.000-04:00

I've just finished my first or two diving shifts. I am now in Rubys lounge. Save for the occasional bit of light flashing by, Its dark. Very dark. You can hardly see and inch in front of your face. Hendrix blares in the background. Caffeine shooting through my veins. I want sleep.

We re in a Sea of road tractors. They are everywhere. They remind me of geese. One behind another, taking turns in each others drag. Taking turns at point.

This area of Ruby is like two hours of solitude. Rocked to sleep by the motion and sound of travel. Caffeine Is winning for now. I know there is conversation not too far away but I can't hear it. I'm thinking about our last gig on the road. It was tonight. Bittersweet. We re driving straight through to fredericton now. 12 hours. I'd better try and get a nap. Its gonna be a mindbender. Least we ll get to see the sunrise....

Can I get you any thing sweet?

2009-11-22T05:11:00.006-04:00

So we're at a cafe/bakery downtown North Bay. We are looking for coffee. we order three coffees. At the last minute I had to order a brownie as well. I think Shawn Ordered a tart of some kind. No surprise there....I split the store before Gans gets his order in.

I go outside and learn that the coffee at the bakery/cafe is shit. Basically brown water. Fail. I'm bummed. Shawn comes bursting out of the shop laughing hysterically. Shawn says the lady, that made the shitty coffee, says to Gans..."Anything sweet for you"? Gans replies..." I'll have two gingerbread men". WTF WTF WTF??????????? I lose it. Hilarious.

Even more hilarious was his cute little gingerbread man. Maybe you had to be there.

A few minutes later I try the brownie. FAIL. I was furious. It burns me when you by a brownie at a freaking bakery and it taste like a month old brownie dipped in water. Horrible. Way to go store. Your window says "bakery/cafe" yet both those things are bad. Give it up. It's not hard to make a decent brownie. I'm not talking like I need a "Karl's niece Tory" (aka best brownie ever) brownie here. Just something reasonably good.

For the record Karl's sweet little gingerman treats weren't too good and Shawn's tart was also not good. all round fail.

Anyway the great part is I got a pic of Gans's frosted friends....what ARE they doing?

Pay Before You Pump.

2009-11-09T02:37:00.002-04:00

No. I don't want to. I want to gas up then come in the store. I want to buy something from you. I want to look and see every different kind of chips you have. I want to see if you sell Dad's Root Beer. I want to see what kind of plastic sandwiches you have. I want to spend money in your store. Don't you see the Gas mogul that is pimping you out is actually not so secretly putting you out of business. Soon there will only be electronic fueling stations with no employee. Like they have in Northern Ontario. Swipe. Pump. Go. If you make me pay at the pump, not only does it make me angry but it also keeps me from coming into the store to buy something. I know you don't make any money on gas. I know you NEED me to buy something. I WANT to. But you are making it difficult. Why? Are you scared of me? Do you want my money but not want to have to deal with me? Well you can't. It's a package deal man.

I started noticing this happening more and more, quit some time ago. When it's late they would keep the door locked and buzz you in. This wasn't so bad i guess. Then I noticed you paid right there at the pump. Did you think I was going to steal the gas? Really? Then I noticed at one place you couldn't even go in the store. Well I just played a show and I'm hungry. I want to eat something but I want to look around the store and see what's looking good. Will you tell me every kind of chips that you have? Won't that be annoying? Will you look at the expiration date on the egg salad sandwich? Will you tell me which taquitos look the freshest? What if I have to pee? Do you want me to pee on your building?

You want me to pay at the pump but I don't have my bank card on me. You want me to go inside and guess how much gas I need. Then go back out and pump. Then come back in and get refunded the overage. I pay at the pump then mr. machine says go inside to get your reciept? Are you trying to make me go crazy? I try to pay at the pump and it won't work so I go inside. I grab a drink and some chocolate. I say "I'll also want $30 in gas." You say, "Just go pump then pay after"....?....the machine clearly says pay BEFORE you pump. Do you want me to snap? Is that what is going on? Do you want me to go to jail? Cause when I do snap that is probably what will happen. I don't want to go to jail. I want to gas up then come in and look around.

What happened to the old days? When people talked to people. When there was customer service. When people gave a shit about things. Are they gone forever? Are there any companies out there that still provide good service? It seems to be a rarity. It's a bummer. Why is it ok to not be nice to a customer? When did this happen? It's a sad, mad world.

Defining the Nationality of Art

2009-11-07T18:24:00.004-04:00

"What creates Canadian culture are the artists that create IN Canada. Art and culture are are essential resources that must be protected. It is up to us to share that idea so that it resounds daily in our communities."

This is a quote I read recently. It is from Jean-Daniel Lafond. Husband to our Governor General. It is an excerpt from a keynote speech delivered at this years CAPACOA Conference in Calgary, Alberta.

Before I start I will preface this rant by saying that I hope some context is lost on his meaning by my NOT having heard the rest of the speech. I will also say that having been a recipient of a few grants from our Government I do not want this to be misconstrued as me being against these departments. I value them immensely and believe that they are under funded and an integral part of the arts in Canada. It is their program definitions that i believe are missing the mark.

So.....I think I can maybe, sorta see that this statement is intended as a call to arms for Canada's artist, lovers of art and culture in general. BUT, my initial reaction to it is one of offense. I base my offense mostly on the use of the word "IN" in the quote.

We are heading to Mississippi to record in January. The project will be recorded in its entirety in the USA. Does this negate the fact that the art - the songs - were created by a Canadian in Canada? If so does this negate the impact that artists like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have had on Canadian Culture? Does art have a Nationality? Should it? Doesn't it soil the very idea of Art to be cutting it up into demanding categories like this? If a Canadian film maker produces a Documentary in other parts of the world does that mean the project is not Canadian? If foreign artist come to create in Canada, what does that make their work? It's confusing at best.

I have found it frustrating that our Provincial and Federal funders of the Arts are qualifying what is Canadian and what isn't. I find it amusing that most of these groups are sitting on the fence when handing out cash to support artists. They deem that as long as "X" amount, or percentage, of the project is completed in Canada then they are eligible to apply for funding, much like what His Excellency is saying. Again I don't want you to think I am belly aching because I don't have funding. I researched potential funding and after realizing if we did this recording ALL in Mississippi we wouldn't be eligible for funding we STILL decided that it was the right thing to do for our careers, and more importantly to get the very best documentation of our Art that we can. We know that the people we will work with down there are some of the best at what we are reaching for. (Not to mention there is an intrinsic connection between our cultures and the roots music they produce.) To suggest we should compromise and NOT create in this perfect environment so that we may make a Canadian album is ridiculous. Would you ask Picasso to use YOUR paintbrushes when he knows he can do a better job with his? Would you say, "hey don't create that piece over there where you are totally inspired. Do it over here so we can claim ownership. So what if it sacrifices the Piece". When we come home and manufacture our CD in Canada, employing Canadian companies, will it be viewed as NON Canadian? Will the Provincial or Federally funded album that has 25% of it recorded in Canada be MORE Canadian than mine? The very thought of this makes my blood boil a wee little bit. I am a PROUD Canadian, who is influenced constantly by my Country's events and landscapes. To have my own country tell me that the art this Canadian created will not be viewed relevant to Canadian Culture is hurtful.

The real difficult pill for me to swallow is that His Excellency's opinions are well documented on Nationalism and Separatism. Again not an expert, and I know nobody is an angel, but there are some contradictory elements here to his past and this statement from his speech. Do a little research and see what you find out.

It's difficult for me to make this entry. It's sensitive. Certainly in this business that I am in you don't want to offend the wrong team...BUT... in the end I believe I am not alone in these thought patterns. I know I will take some flak for it for sure. I know I'm spewing out my rant without knowing all the facts on every detail....I know that you can't please everyone all the time and shouldn't worry about it....I also know that if people spent as much time appreciating art as they do trying to define and corner it we might be in a better place. Most importantly I know that National Pride is something you instill in yourself which also means it can't be taken away without your consent. Not by anything.

Writing a song in another country doesn't make it less Canadian. Recording it in another country doesn't mean it is less Canadian. I am a Canadian. I create and perform art for a living. Separate the two? Why ?

Guns don't kill people, people with mustaches kill people.

2009-11-04T17:47:00.004-04:00

The title of this blog was came to us as we were enjoying breakfast at our fav little diner just outside of Parksville BC. We overheard the table of construction workers say it. Needless to say we thought it was pretty funny. We thought we'd send you these for your enjoyment!

MAPLE BLUES NOMINATION!

2009-10-30T19:25:00.002-03:00

We here at the Bastards camp are pretty effing pleased to tell the globe that we have been nominated for Best New Artist at The Maple Blues Awards!

We're really stoked about this as it is an unsolicited nod to our hard work and dedication to glodal domination! We wanna thank the Maple Blues Folks for being willing to support the genre in the way it has. Blues is found in a lot of different sounds these days and for them to acknowledge us this way indicates that we are indeed carving the right path through the universe. We will continue to deliver the goods in every little corner of the globe.

If you'd like to help us bring home the 'hunk of wood' you can web on over to

www.mapleblues.ca

this award is given out based on voting folks so log in, hand over you email and PRESTO, they send you a password that gives you the almighty power of giving us your much desired vote! Oh yeah baby! All of our work is made possible by you folks. Thank you and we loves y'all!!!!!

Ross & The Bastards

PS....feel free to tell a friend!

Open letter to Shawn Graham

2009-10-30T17:37:00.000-03:00

Dude.

WTF ?

Sincerely,

Ross Neilsen

Give me a Break

2009-10-27T21:08:00.018-03:00

Well. Here we are in Kelowna. Hanging out at our favorite (?) downtown coffee shop, Blendz. We have long suspected that Blednz was a Starbucks in disguise and today I intended on finding out. So I asked. They swore that in NO WAY was it a starbucks. They informed us that it is a Candian franchise (even gave us a nice lesson on what a franchise is.....douchebag) and that they loathed SB's. We're still skeptical because it has the same font for their name and the menu is the same....the employee demographic is pretty close....and as Shawn noted, "they make a shaken ice tea, just like SB". So there you have it. We still sorta, kinda think that it is a SB for hippies......here is their version of a Macchiato. If you've ever had one of these drinks for real you'll know that this ain't it! It was good though.

Edmonton was something else. We had a pretty laid back week all in all. Got some work done, ran errands ate good food. Rocked out! Friday I rocked a little too hard though. Cherry Sherry, my number one axe, and I got in a skuffle. By the end of Cortez The Killer she ended up with a broken neck....She tried hard to take me out by piercing my hand with her low E string but in the end my brief moment of insanity was too much for her. Now she's out of commission and I have activated Number two....The Green Hornet. Ole GH did a great job and I'm looking forward to getting to know her better over the coming shows. Lets all have a moment for Cherry Sherry shall we?

The last show in Edmonton was unreal. killer crowd and they were eating every note up! One of the best gigs I've enjoyed over the last year! Thanks to everyone at Blues on Whyte for the good times! While in Edmonton the real monumental event was Ruby (our van) turning 300 000. We have had some crazy times with her and we would be no where without her. Literally. Thanks old Gal. Here is a video of the event....

We left Edmonton Sunday to trek the 10 hour drive to Karl bastard's folks place in Winfield. After my driving shift I hopped into the back seat for a great nap. I awoke to the distinct sound of wheels in slush. It was dark and snowing like mad. Shawn didn't look like he was having any fun at all driving and we quickly decided to get a room in the next town, Blue River (no Elvis sightings). We hit the pub for some eats and to unwind a bit from the stress of the snow drive. We racked up the biggest bar bill yet in the shortest time. Fairly impressive really. After the pub closed we went back to the room to hang. In the morning we awoke foggy headed and got our shit together. no one was impressed at all by what we saw outside. More snow. A lot of it....

We took it nice and slow and managed to get to Kelowna in one piece. We had a good dinner and hang with the Gans clan. Always entertaining stories here folks! As it turns out they were headed to Edmonton today so now we have the Villa to ourselves....PARTY AT MOM N DADS! .....I looked forward to this morning as one of my favorite things to do on tour is stand on Art and D's deck and look down the lake while I have my morning coffee. Here it is.......

Now were about to hit the store to grab our fixins for supper. Looking like hot turkey sandwiches! One of my top two favorite sandwiches! then a relaxing evening as we mentally prepare to drive the Coquihalla highway tomorrow. We know its snow covered so we're budgeting a few extra hours for safety! After that we'll be on Vancouver Island all week. Did a quick interview for the Halloween gig in Tofino. Its shaping up to be an epic night there!

Stay tuned for more adventure and don't forget....to all the facebookers go to www.rossneilsen.blogspot.com to see the videos. Subscribe to the blog to get all the juicy tour details! Going to leave you with a pic I took this afternoon on the way into Kelowna.

Awesomeness! Every day is an amazing gift. We try to never forget about all the little beauties there are and we try and always take a minute to enjoy them. I suggest you do the same.

Ross

Titties, Clinics and the elusive Alberta Snake Mouth

2009-10-22T16:20:00.011-03:00

WOW. what a day we had yesterday. A friend of mine is in a Burlesque review and they were doing a show at NAIT (no this is not that place between your pink parts, it's an educational facility in Edmonton) in the late afternoon. So after our patented bastards breakfast......

......we headed out for a cross town Edmonton adventure. The review was good in the sense that the girls had their stuff down. nice routines and lots of titty tassles! It was unfortunate, however, that who ever was running the tech side of things repeatedly dropped the ball and the dude that was MC'ing was awful. I will say, though, that once those things get straightened out they will have a kick ass show as the girls are top notch! way to go Hook'em Review! I' know I'll be back!!! Unfortunately I didn't get any pics for you as I was too busy oogling.

After that titillating experience we busted down to the south end and got a half hour of the guitar clinic that our pal Grady Johnson was putting on. We had a good brief chat and he applauded our "lateness due to titty excuse". We had intended on heckling a bit but my question got hijacked by the wang in front of me.....We did hear some very cool studio tricks though. Lots of info to ponder. Grady was playing a block away from us on Whyte Ave so Gordie slapped us on the list so we could sneak in for a quick tune or two between our sets. They sounded kick ass as usual. thanks to Gordie for the hook up. They are touring Canada right now in support of their new record and I suggest you check em out.

After the clinic we went back to Whyte ave to grab a quick bite and then load back into Blues on Whyte for a hump day show. We grabbed a bite at the Elephant & Castle across the street. Beef dip wa ok but the salad was shitty wilty lettuce. We did get to run into a dude we met last time we were here though. Seems he's relocated to Edmonton permanently and actually runs the kitchen at the restaurant that gave us the shitty salad. (yes, thats right folks. We eat salad on the road.) After our meal we hit the stage ........

and rocked out another wednesday night. The crowd keeps getting a little larger each night as we work for the weekend when it will be packed. Had lots of fun and ALMOST killed my self climbing over chairs and tables whilst rocking a solo on Mailman Blues. Sooner or later I know I'll fall on one of these adventures but it ain't happened yet!!!

Karl got to drive our compound manager, Jeeem's Charger home as Jeeem had too many pops to drive. Here is Jeem.....

.....As Shawn and I were on the way home we realized that Ruby was about 15km from turning 300 000. Amazing. We were going to drive around for a bit until she rolled but thought it wasn't right that Karl Bastards wasn't with us so we went straight home. She'll roll today fo' sho'. Seems like just yesterday when I got Ruby and she had a measly 137 000 KM on her. Two years later she's been all over this great land and we have to raise a glass to her because she is the real thing that keeps us doing what we do. Her face might be a little smashed up and maybe she makes the odd noise or two when you're humming along but she still gets us there. We love you Ruby......

After we got home we encountered a rare Albertan Snake Mouth at the compound and there were a couple attacks. somehow we managed to get a video of it. These things are rare but extremely aggressive. If you see one you can bet your head will hurt in the morning. Here's the Video.....

Well we just finished an amazing breaky. This time we upped the anty with the addition of Perogies. A fine decision if I do say so my self........

Soon we're off to see the movie Zombieland. This is a big step for me. Up until recently I was afeared of Zombie's so to be able to confront my fear and see this flick is pretty awesome. I'd say I'm growing as a human being. After movie time it's a bison roast dinner, coutesy of Karl Bastard's sister, before we head back to Blues on Whyte to rip another piece of them. I hope fall is treating everyone well and that fluffy white stuff isn't bringing y'all down.

talk soon

PS....If you are reading this on Face book feel free to come on over to www.rossneilsen.blogspot.com I don't think you can see the video on FB. feel free to subscribe so you can get some chuckles added to your life at our expense.

I went to crazy town, I shook the Crazy down

2009-10-20T21:28:00.006-03:00

Well it's no secret that in our line of work you get to meet some real gems. Some of you who know me well will also know that, for some reason, I seem to be a magnet for strange people to approach me on the street, in bars or where ever. It seems that hasn't changed on this tour either.

Last blog entry we were about to rock Bud's on Broadway. This place is awesome. It's like a mini Blues on Whyte in Edmonton. Sketchy old blues bar. I love em like this. Its always entertaining and you never know what you'll get. Straight outta the gates there was a friendly crazy guy. All chatty and shit. I don't think the bastards would disagree if I said I have a higher tolerance for these type of folks. It's always interesting for a little bit. Certainly, after a while it can be taxing to be civil but I do enjoy the conversation for a bit anyway....

After sound check we loaded into the Band house. Initially we thought that this was number two for disgusting places to sleep while on the road.....i'll elaborate on that in a bit. Anyway we had fun shows there to modest crowds. The staff were real awesome and we had a good time having pops with 'em. We also got to go see 'it might get loud'. This is a documentary about the electric guitar with Jack White, Jimmy Page, and The Edge. It was super awesome. Even Karl loved it!! Needless to say the show that night was extra inspired.

Here is a pic of us being billed incorrectly.

As an aside, and this has nothing to do with Bud's- we really had and awesome time there,

I'm not sure why this happens so much but it does. I know some peeps are afraid to bill The Sufferin Bastards for whatever reasons and some folks just can't be bothered to spell my name correctly and sometimes thats just the way it goes....but...when your name is billed correctly in one spot, last name spelled wrong in another, one saying & The Sufferin Bastards while another says Ross Neilsen Band, I can't help but laugh. It doesn't take much to check, but I guess people assume it's the more common spelling.

On the weekend past we hit Weyburn and Medicine Hat. Weyburn is a small town in the middle of nowhere. We played a Joint called Pump jack's Saloon. Troy, the owner was super awesome and seemed to really dig the band. He also fed us some killer Rib-Eye steaks. We were in heaven. After the show we hit a wine store and then went to the hotel. The hotel reminded us a lot of 'The Voy' in North Bay. Different walls but they seemed to have the same secrets behind em. The floors even sounded the same. Our pal Andrew hipped us to the fact that there use to be a Mental Institutethere up until the 70's. Here they apparently we're "innovators" in Lobotomy and LSD experimenting. We all agreed a field trip to the Institute would be in order. We were pretty bummed to hear they demolished the building some years back. Imagine the secrets that blew up with that building. They were doing this crazy shit back in the mid Nineteen Hundreds! Had to have been messing around in ways they shouldn't have been!

I slept almost the whole way to Medicine Hat. It was awesome. We rolled into The Ottoman Lounge and had some great burgers! We played two vicious sets to a tiny, tiny crowd. This is such a great room. They serve a tasty Mohito as well. Sean Davis is the fella that looks after the joint. He's a good guy and a great host. After the show we enjoyed some late night pops at his place. There were a lot of Rusty Nails making morning hard to get along with. Here's a pic....

Fortunately we enjoyed some mimosa's with our patented Bastards Breakfast. After a quick load out of our gear into the club (spiced up by some crazy guy stopping by to chat with us) we were back on the road to Edmonton. Here is a fuzzy pic of the Heavens.....(and a Truck).....

We arrived safe and sound at The Edmonton Bastards Villa. Great to see our Villa manager Jim again. We love his place cause it's got a full kitchen and a natural gas BBQ. Very cozy indeed. Jim's tolerance at us being in the house are amazing and we certainly appreciate it!

Monday we loaded into Blues on Whyte for the first of 6 back to back nights. This place is the original crazy town and there is rarely a dull moment. Right away a friendly walking talking piece of crazy came right over and got the conversation going right away! Good sign.

This was typically the number one nasty accom on tour for us but i gotta say, walking down the hall to my room it not only smelled like mister clean but there was a vacuum in the hall! My room was spotless and I almost considered laying down on the bed! Shawn's room seemed to be haunted as the TV was on.......So I think we now officially move Bud's up to number one...BUT.....Don't get me wrong folks....I'm not complaining. It's all part of the charm of each of these places!

Anyway, Today we all had a pile of errands to get through and I must say, we took the west end by storm. Got all our errands completed and then some. We had a lovely Bastards dinner created by Karl Bastard. Peanut Coconut Currie. here's a pic........

Now we prepare to head out for night two of fun (i mean work) in Edmonton. I'll try and get some pics of some of the "friends" we meet. Stay tuned!

Ross

Gobble Gobble

2009-10-14T15:44:00.005-03:00

Well its a snowy Wednesday in Saskatchewan. We are gearing up to head north to the Stoon for two shows at buds on broadway. I'm excited about it because ONE: we got double booked there last tour and didnt get to play. TWO: a lot of guitarists that have had an influence on me have made a mark in that room. Should be fun.

The past few days have been pretty nice. We had a good run in Ontario for the first leg of the tour. The highlights for the GTA run of shows was definitely the Press Club. For a midweek show we sure had a great time. There were a bunch of Fredericton folks there and we rocked em hard. Good times all round. On friday we drove to Collingwood to perform at JD's bar and grill. I have performed here a few times over the last two years. This was to be the last night for JD's as the next day they closed their doors. We were pretty honored to be the last act and we celebrated by having our pal Aaron Garner sit in the second set with us and rip up some nice blues licks!

The next day we started the first of three back to back eight (+) hour drives. Northern Ontario is a confusing landscape. Beautiful lakes, awesome sunsets and mind sucking long ass drives. The first on the list was Loplops in the Soo. Not a huge turnout but way better than the last time we were there for sure! Good people here.

After The Soo it was another long haul to our old arch nemesis Thunder Bay. Its no secret that there isn't much we like about Thunder bay. The one thing we do like though is Sheila Rock, her mom Tina and The Apollo Bar. While there is not a lot of support in the town for the bar it IS and awesome place to rock. A great sound system, nice sound guy and some of the best home cooking out there. Ths time there was a band from Calgary called Friendo. We had an amusing conversation with Henry, their drummer, about how and what we eat on the road. His eyes got really wide with amazement when we said we travel with a coleman stove and make sandwiches as well as lots of other great creations when the kitchen space is there. Their guitar player, Nicole drew us an amazing cartoon while we were performing. It's quite amusing.

After we rocked The Apollo and crashed we were up and at em bright and early. Even though this was our first day off in nine back to back shows we had a very good reason. My cousin, Kristin's cooking. Every time we tour she serves up one of the most amazing meals. This time was no exception. A full on Turkey dindin with all the fixins! Hell yeah. We were also happy to get there earlier than our usual late night arrival and looked forward to a good nights sleep. What we did instead was beverage until the wee hours came and went. Also a fairly normal occurrence when we get to hang with family from afar. So a huge thanks to those fine folks in Stonewall for making us feel so at home. Truly good times.

Well we're off to load up ruby and get her out in the snow. Wish her luck. Saskatchewan, we wish YOU luck. The bastards are in town.

No KD Here folks.

2009-10-08T15:17:00.008-03:00

One thing that is good about waiting until your 'mature' years to venture into rocknroll is that you are infinitely wiser than most of the other mamby pamby bands on the road.

A lot of people ask us about eating and sleeping arrangements on the road. As for eating, we take it VERY, VERY seriously. The three of us are all righteous kitcheneers in our own rights and when out together well, it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to know we can really throw down. As a result of this we put lots of thought in our eating time. Maybe some of you followed last tour's blog and you realized that we take breakfast as serious as a steak dinner. Yes, those ARE Mimosa's.

When we are trapped in the confines of Ruby's belly we enjoy soup and sandwiches mostly. Which as it turns out is a mid day favorite for the three of us. Hard to beat a S&S. When we have the time and resources we like to have nice meals. Last night Karl Bastards whipped up a coconut curry that was delicious! Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to snap a pic of it......I have just been pondering what I what I will step up with when my turn comes..... just the other day for a measly $8 each we bought grocery for two supers, two breakfast and one roast for pulled pork sandwiches. Shawn, as it turns out is a master pork chef. Today we enjoyed some of the finest slow cooked pulled pork sandwiches known to man. to make them even better they were bathed in the best BBQ sauce this side of the sun. We have a connection in Trenton, who shall remain nameless, who makes this stuff and I am dead serious in saying it is the best!

The other awesome thing about food in road life is that people often think you don't eat so they make shit for you! This might be our favorite part! We think thanksgiving is going to be pretty lucrative in the old food dept. One of our fav stops is in Hogtown (toronto) where Karl Bastards niece lives. Tory is a fabulous chef and often fills us up with the most decadent brownies ever. This time we not only got brownies but also got Key Lime squares. If any of you know us well, you'll know that we are Key Lime connoisseurs and these squares rock! Thanks Tory!

We also have with us this time a coleman stove for lunch breaks and evening cooking at hotels/wal-marts. We have yet to bust it out but when we do I'll be sure to document it for y'all!

So there you have it folks. Not your average band cookery, we know. We are quite proud of our skills and never shy of flaunting them. So remember if you give us some floor space to barter with the Bastards cooking skills! Like our Rock, you won't be dissapointed.

on the road again!

2009-10-05T19:39:00.003-03:00

Well we're three days into our eight week tour and it's started off beautifully. Saturday we jumped in the ole van (ruby) and headed out for Ottawa. We made it nicely and had a fun show. The drive was stunning. The leaves are at peak color change and the rolling valleys of them blew me away! like someone spilled all the paint cans.

Huge thanks to Newman and shock for putting us up in O-town. Sudnay morning we hit the road for one of my favorite places. Picton. Way down by the lakes it is a beautiful, laid back town filled with fine folks. I started playing here a few years back and became fast friends with many people there including Steve, the owner. This time was the first time for the bastards to visit and they were a hit. We also recorded the show for hopeful release as Volume 2 of the "What you need" series. We had a lot of fun playing the acoustic show. Lets hope the recording hold up!

After the show we went to my Uncle Pats in trenton to hang for the night. I had the great opportunity to play a couple of AMAZING guitars. Uncle P has been commissioned to sell these instruments for someone. They are a 1961 Chet Atkins Gretch and a 1972 White Falcon Gretch!!!! These guitars were unreal! Never played anything like the "Chet". It sucked every last point of stress out of my body while I played it. An experience I won't soon forget, if ever.

We have made it to Hogtown (Tdot) and are now unwinding with a steam whistle! Karl is preparing a pasta feed with meat sauce!!! then we head downtown to Mitzi's Sister to rock the walls down. I hope they are ready.

I spoke with a nice gal from CBC Saskatoon today as well to promo our shows at Bud on Broadway in next week. Looking forward to this joint. A lot of my influences have played there over the years. We got double booked there last tour and I was super disappointed so I'm looking forward to finally getting in there.......But first we need to take care of Ontario

There you go folks. We're alive and kicking. Just thought you should know! We'll talk soon.

how rich do we need to be? and who the f*ck is bill?

2009-09-25T13:43:00.002-03:00

Ok, so It's been a while. I was involved heavily in the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival last week so I was pretty tied up. I performed 17 sets of music in five days. It was fun but I'm still pretty wiped out. So thats what I was doing and why I've neglected y'all. Sorry!

So I'm walking down the street yesterday and a friend stops to chat and mentions something called Bill C-51. Ever heard of it? I sure as shit hadn't. Now I don't pretend to understand politics or even really follow it for that matter so I am also not going to pretend I really understand what I'm talking about here (google it and read for yourself and see if it makes any sense to you) but here goes:

From my less than enjoyable read on the bill (why cant they just write these in lay mans term so we understand, oh right they don't want us to understand) I gathered that it has been a while since our food and health act has been revised. I also gathered that they are trying to revamp what is and isn't prescription/therapeutic medicine and who should have the say in what is and isn't. In a nutshell my friend mentioned that they were trying to make a lot of natural and therapeutic remedies unavailable or over the counter and there could be offenses involved in using these and dispensing them in the future.

It seems to me that this may be an attack on two fronts. One - an attempt to get some drugs off our streets. You know the kinds that you can cook in your own home? I'm not talking pot here folks. Do I agree with that? Sure do.

Two - It also looks like a major cash grab from the pharmaceutical companies. I mean come on, if they are going to dictate what is and isn't deemed prescription who do you think is going to benefit from that? Old Mrs Hubbard on the corner who eats her hippie concoction to feel better? the Garlic farmerer down the street? the blueberry farm? After all, these things are all "therapeutic" right? Well it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to know that pharmaceutical companies will rake in millions more in a deal like this. This is an industry that already doles out incentives to Doctors and Government to peddle their products. What's that? Don't believe me? Ever gone to the doctor to find he ALREADY had your prescription written out before you got there? I know folks who have gone in for routine check up only to have their Doc suggest they need antidepressants because other family members were on them. This to me is peddling folks. And Who wins there? Pharmaceutical companies......again I dont know if I'm on the mark here or not. The read was really confusing....

You know what wasn't confusing? Section 23. Thats the part where they say an "agent" representing the Health Minister can enter your home and go through your things if he suspects there may be items in the house that are contraband. Does that worry anyone but me?

No warrant required? Thats a little scary isn't it? Now I don't have anything to hide but I value my privacy and right to that privacy above all things. I would do much to protect that right.As I said I don't really follow or know much about politics but any Bill that allows my government to enter my home without proper channelling is big brother, USA style fear mongering bullshit. This Bill was already squashed once but now my friend on the street insinuated that it was going to me voted on again....anyone know if that's true?

Ever wonder why we don't hear about these Bills? Pretty obvious isn't it? They spend all their time distracting us with H1N1 so we get scarred shitless about the flu and in the mean time things like C51 are slipping through the cracks. Yes, I know I sound like a conspirey theorist here. No, I haven't lost my mind. But in a day and age when little Timmy can't have a fucking peanut butter sandwich at school things have really gotten messed up and are getting worse. I'm not saying there aren't good politics out there I'm not saying it's all fear mongering but these few things are undeniably that. If the country had a nickel for everytime H1N1 was reported on we'd be debt free. If Bill c-51 had been mentioned that many times in the media I wonder what people would have said about it?

I guess we should all pay a little more attention to what is going on. If the Government sneaks a Bill like that through, that my friends IS the beginning of the end. We may as well take the doors right off our homes because the lock on the sure won't mean shit. I'd sit in my favorite chair and polish my shotgun but I gave it away when they were passing THAT Bill.

Rotten Ronnie

2009-09-14T18:29:00.002-03:00

Who is Macdonalds trying to fool?

Now I watched Super Size Me and was disturbed like most. Recently I read an article on a Cheeseburger that hasn't changed its look in four years! no mold, nothin! Scary shit. Google it I dare ya! You'd think after reading all this crap and seeing all this stuff about the Mcnasty that is Macdonald's, that I would NEVER EVER eat that shit again. For a while I didn't. I sure did eat Wendy's, DQ A & W and Burger King though. Then last night was dying for something nasty. I was going to use it medicinally, of course, for my self inflicted ALE-ments. It occurred to me that none of these places are good or good for you. There is no fast food Utopia! I know that when I eat there, I will pay with a sore belly etc.......but I do it anyway. Why, I just can't say. Chalk it up to moments of weakness or maybe it's because so many of my memories involve that greasy freaky non real "food" that comes from god knows where.

So, as I'm standing in Mcdick's last night (can't do drive through as my window won't go down) I was looking around at the decor. It was weird. No Rondal McDonald. No Mayor McCheese. Certainly no Grimace and perhaps saddest of all, no Hamburglar. What the hell? Where was I? Instead of all the images the little kiddies love there were posters and murals of scenes that were straight outta freedom 55. One wall had a retiree couple frolicking in the beach on the sand. Another had a father and son at the park. What the fuck is that all about? Do they really think this is making a difference in marketing? There are MILLIONS of people just like me who know that McD's is vile science made, non-food that isn't fit to feed a starving rat, BUT STILL EAT IT ANYWAY. I already feel bad enough about myself eating this shit. I don't need some ridiculous marketing campaign staring at me when I go in there. Jesus, I remember the day chicken nuggets were served up on a super cool little sword as you walked in the door cause they wanted to see if they'd sell. I ALWAYS buy my mcnuggets. Delicious little non chicken turds of death they are!!! You had me at five!

So come on McDick, Let us live like the old days. We know you serve shit but we buy it anyway. Save yourself a bazillion bucks in BS advertising and bring back that freaky deaky little clown. Bring back that over weight purple thing and the dude who has a cheeseburger for a head. What happened to you. We don't believe your freedom 55 bullshit. We KNOW this food is crap but we don't care. It's not like someone ATE Mayor McCheese....They just killed him off. Stuffed him in a closet somewhere where he should be a moldy study of some freakish kind of world curing penicillin but he's not even doing that. He's just sitting there in that dark wondering when Rotten Ronaldo is coming by to annoy the shit out of him. Well guess what McCheese. you're on your own pal. No one is coming for you. They are busy frolicking on the beach and at the park where life is grand and everyone is eating healthy salads from Mc'D's!

Give me play land, Give me crappy birthday cakes that make delicious memories for kids all over. How can the fucking happy meal even be Happy....is it even still called that? It's probably called a "we dress this shit up so your parents think its not so bad for you meal" and its all a waste of their money. Parents KNOW it's bad. They also KNOW it makes fat little johnny and rolly pole-y Sally happier than just about anything. I mean come on, most parents let their kids watch TV, listen to shit music and play video games that are not so secretly ruining the globe....go ahead, let em have a Mclard sandwich. Sooner or later it will happen.

Lets all just have a little dose of honesty shall we. Not everything we do in life is good for you. Isn't there still a choice? Make your choices and live with the consequences. I'm not mad today because I ate McDonalds. I'm mad because they are lying to me. They aren't letting me have the real McDonalds. They are trying to dress their shit up. It all looks the same on the TP roll folks, I know who you are. I know what you are. So do millions. And you know what? I'll still drop a ten sheet there a few times a year to get my fix. And I'll live with the fact that I could have made a better judgement that day.

You ain't fooling no one Ronnie. face it man. You can lie to yourself but you can't lie to me. I've been with you for too long. I know you. You should be ashamed. Pfffft.

HELP! I need somebody....

2009-09-11T22:27:00.004-03:00

No, it's not my long awaited beatles bash blog, Not yet anyway....

It's quite a day today. As I swig the last mitful of the days minutes away I have been putting off this post by watching Cocksucker Blues, The Rolling Stones explicit unreleased documentary. WOW. It' quite the show. Rock AND Roll.

I have been thinking all day about what I would write as I knew I would inevitably post today to help me a little bit. This day has such significance. It dwarfs other days. There have been some big days in my life. Birth. The day I got my first electric guitar. The day my mom took me to see Stevie Ray Vaughan (thanks mom), the day I got married, the day I got divorced, the day I turned thirty, Many, Many Many other awsome days. ALL insignificant compared to today. I have multiple memories of this date. There are a few things I remember VIVIDLY about this date. I've told the tale before and I'm gonna tell it again. For myself.

Monday night. Mexis, 2001. As per usual I played Monday night at Mexis. I only remember it being myself and one Randy Cable. Mondays were a sure bet for a free, good drunk. Marg's were still tasty back then and I believe the tequila shots were still reasonably cheap. We were keen to finish this particular Monday in good timing as The Burt Neilsen (no relation) Band. or someone, was at The Cellar Pub and we wanted to see them (aka mexis was dead as a result). We finished earlier than usual and headed up the hill to catch the last set. I don't remember what the band sounded like or if there were a lot of people there. I DO remember that we, I, got hideously drunk.

Believe it or not there have only been a couple days in my life that I remember being inexplicably late for work and this next morning was one of them. I awoke around 12.30 am with a start. I jumped up and called work (mexi's). I told my boss that I would be in immediately (I may be slightly off with the time). I dressed and booked it out he door. As I was walking to work I was going over in my head what I would say, other than 'sorry'. I walked in and immediately went over to my boss to talk to him. He listened to me apologize and say whatever I said. When finished he asked if I had seen the TV today? I thought, 'thats weird'. "no." I said. He then gestured towards it. I looked over and for the first time noticed Joey standing there STARING at the TV. I walked over and looked up. I couldn't believe it. Crazy images. Scary and strange. The most monumental news day of the world in my life. I couldn't have imagined that it would ever take a back seat to the same goddamned date.

2005. I'm at home in St. Andrews. I dream about the phone ringing. It's a strange sleep. I awake with a message on my answer machine. It's no surprise. Even though I knew what was coming on the sad day of Sept 11, 2005 it didn't make it any smaller. The day before I had performed at Falls Brook Centre. As I went to the van I saw I had a message on my phone. It was my friend and employer at the time. He said I needed to get to the DECH asap as someone had called saying things were not good. We jumped in the van and made a b-line for the hospital.

The waiting room is full and I know every person there. it's heavy. I sort of remember some folks trying to keep it light but it was impossible. We get the story straight and realize this is the critical moment. Our friend had fought long and hard. An amazing fight. Intense. But the battle was almost over. We waited for our turn to go in and say whatever you could think to say. I didn't say goodbye. I said, "see you tomorrow", as we were going to head home to St A to sleep in our bed instead of on the chair. All the usual pleasantries were exchanged. 'There is nothing you can do here', it's ok, go get some rest' and the like. All good and true advice. I remember joking with him when we visited. He gave me the finger I think. It seemed like maybe that it wasn't gonna be so bad. But that was just his way of taking it easy on us.

He left in a most beautiful scene of love in the middle of the night. Amazing. The only image that is more powerful to me than the image I have of his passing (and I wasn't even there for that) is holding my fathers hand as he went. Nothing else compares.

In his life he drove me fucking nuts. As I'm sure I did to him. But he was brilliant. An amazing writer. Prolific, and good. Dangerous combo. As I analyze my own success and failures it's really funny to think that things would not be as they are for me if his story hadn't unfolded the way it did. Odd. During the last year of his life the design our friendship took was awesome. It was like all the pain in the ass years hadn't been for nothing. I know true friendship. I am lucky to know it. I hope you know it too.

In a day and age where the comedy, tragedy and ill communication of our lives is just a facebook headline I am strangely pleased to say that a select group of friends' FB status's today, had no mention of the most news worthy day of my whole life. Nowhere in their cyber lives did it say anything about terrorist attacks. It was littered, though, with comments of staring at boobs, having a coke, having a beer, listening to tunes, ALL things Randy Cable loved to do. THAT to me is the truth of how awesome he was and how his life impacted others. Try not to get angry at me for saying that, I don't mean it poorly to people who sufferwd loss back in 2001. Like him or not, I'm just saying that for some, he transcends tragedy. That my friends is a good thing. Sweet glow indeed. Cheers fuck face, you are missed.

www.randycable.com

Good is Good? Try something new, you may like it.

2009-09-10T12:47:00.003-03:00

Many many years ago I worked at a record store in Kelowna. The kind of big box multi purchase store. you could buy a cd, dvd, car stereo and big screen all at the same time. Although these stores are not really much fun to be in or work at this one was an exception. It was a good job for me for a couple years. It allowed me to explore many styles of music and the store had a staff that was genuinely passionate about tunes. Kind of fun for a while.

While working here we had the opportunity to have a few artists (many of which are now huge stars) stop by for "in-store" performances. One of these artists was Matthew Good. I believe at the time he was fairly popular in the west but I also think it was just before he hit it huge nationally. My memory of this is as follows: Fairly underwhelmed by the tunes and not impressed by the artists attitude. While I never turned the station when many of his hits were on the airwaves it was never really something that I would never buy either. It wasn't necessarily bad but I never really thought it was great either. As for his attitude...who knows. There are a myriad of things that happen on the road that can irritate and I'm sure playing a record store when you should be sleeping could be one of them.

Fast forward many years. Matthew Good Band disbands. Matthew Good has a, sort of, public health episode. Matthew Good (seemingly) no longer gives a fuck what the record industry desires from him and decides to make music for the sake of creating (this is my outsiders look, i certainly don't claim this is what went on). Around this time he sets out on a solo tour and hits up Fredericton NB. My friend is the promoter and lands me a couple free tix. I go out of curiosity. What happened at that show is what I want to happen EVERY SINGLE TIME I go to a music show, but rarely does. Matt Good blew me away. Just him, an acoustic, a very simple light show and maybe, a bottle of vino. His rapport with the audience was amazing. He was witty and was able to express poignant views on the globe without slipping into rant/rave territory. A fine line for sure. The delivery of the tunes were amazing, both the older ones I recognized and the new ones. I left a Matt Good fan.

Now I still have yet to buy an album, is there a live one from that tour? But I still tell people about that show an how amazing it was to be surprised like that. Currently I am streaming his new album , Vancouver, on his website and I like it. It still has that familiar sound and nice melodies but doesn't seem to be geared toward any desire of commercial domination (although I'll be surprised if it doesn't). I find the tunes and writing to actually be interesting which seems to be a stretch these days as there is an awful lot of what I would describe as SHIT out there.

Most often I am listening to blues in some derivative or another but I am a music LOVER so I can find things I like in all genres. I don't know what kind of music Mr. Good would call this and I don't know what I consider it either but I do like the sound of it. Of course if I had a heart it would have a soft spot in it for artist who do what they want and continually turn their ass to the big companies. I wish more artists realized the power they have in this day and age of recording and performing. Chances are if you don't feel like you can tell the record bigwig to fuck off, you won't be around in two years. check this article for a great rant about the same topic...

The times they are a changing for sure and if I were a record mogul I think I'd be looking for my gold watch and take the early retirement plan. Anyone who thinks I'm wrong....well we'll have to revisit this debate in five years when the only artists who are able to make a living will be the ones who can actually go out and take it to the people and perform. Very few of my fav bands are on the airwave these days but they all make a good living because they do it 'old school' and go out and tour their asses off after they make a record. I hope Mr. Good Is in this category (I think he is). I'm more than curious to catch a band show of this album and see how he delivers it live. Nicely done Mr. Good. Carry on.

GOAL! GOAL! GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-09-07T19:51:00.003-03:00

If you know me, then you know I am a driven person. I enjoy setting goals and a REALLY enjoy attaining my goals. Its not always that easy of course. I set a lot of goals, and timelines for these goals, that I don't always meet. I try not to get discouraged and press on, knowing that meeting you goal late is way freakin' better than not at all!!! One of my favorite tools of goal attainment is the list. oh yeah baby. I effin' LOVE to make a list. There is something very satisfying about crossing shit of that list knowing that its done. Completed. Finito. know what I mean? Now again I feel that it is important to stress that I don't necessarily always finish EVERY little detail of my list and some things have been on my list for a god damn long time....BUT...its the act of writing it out that counts for something. Like saying your goals out loud so you can here yourself say it. It's motivating. At least for me.

As the above video mentioned, we hit our mark of $3000. Now is no time to stop folks. we are a third of the way there. time to kick it. Slip it from fourth into fifth, go for it. Get down.

You know?

So on that note, I am happy to reveal our next Promo....This will kick off later this week (as long as I get the Tickets by then). So listen up......here it is.......suspense........

We here at The Bastards Empire are printing up 100 tickets. These tickets will sell for ten measly bucks each. When the tickets are gone we will have a draw. The first name drawn out of the hat will WIN AN ACOUSTIC HOUSE CONCERT from yours truly and the Sufferin' Bastards. Second prize, or as i love to say, THE BOOBIE PRIZE, will be the discography and a RN & SB hat!

Our hope is that if it happens on a good timeline that this house concert will kick off our third national tour (we leave Oct 3rd). How cool would that be? a bunch of your close friends gathered at your house to have a soiree, with music and laughs provided by us!?! Imagine the sound of all your friends voices saying to you over and over, "man, that was the best party!". sound good? well then you'll want to run down to TONY's MUSIC BOX this Thursday or Friday and SNATCH up a ticket or three.

A few other notes of interest:

Next week is Harvest Jazz n Blues. There are still tix left for our Bud light tent show on Friday night with Moreland & Arbuckle and Original P. I'll send out a note with our hectic schedule this time next week.

Also, our fall tour dates wil be up on all sites by the end of the weekso check that out too!

Stay tuned cause you know we always have something up our sleeve.

Hey guess what!?!

After I sign off here I get to go cross something off my list. you know what it is?

Today's cross off was titled, "tell the folks how much you love em and thank them for making this all possible"! We love y'all! Y'all rock!

werd to yer mammies,

Something old, Something new

2009-09-03T19:16:00.002-03:00

It may come as no surprise to folks but I think about music a lot. All day. Most nights too. Some may describe me as obsessed. Maybe to a fault? I'm ok with it though. I think a lot about what it is about a song that turns our crank? What is it about a particular melody or chord group that effects us internally, cerebrally?

I also think about fans a lot. Especially from the perspective of BEING a fan of music but also from a perspective of performing music from time to time. I wonder what it is that hits people so uniquely that they will be a fan for life. I guess we all look and want something different in music, knowingly or unknowingly. It's cool how a tune can turn one person into a devoted fan but the person standing next to them isn't moved at all. Fascinating and awesome is music and its powers.

Recently i got a computer back from a friend and they had loaded it up with their favorite tunes. Now while i don't enjoy all of that persons selections, there are a few I have been enjoying immensely. Lately the band on there I have been enjoying for the last week or so has been Phish. Now I'm not a stranger to the band by any means. I have enjoyed them live a few times and, somewhere, have the majority of their studio catalogue. The thing about Phish (and most of my fav bands) is that in the Studio they are good but live, they are amazing. These four people are MASTERS of their instruments. When together they really seem to know how to make the four instruments work together. Feeding off of one another, communicating in some secret(?) language. The real win in getting back my computer was that there is now LOADS of live shows on it from Phish! So I have been in there deep listening and remembering. I haven't really listened to them in about seven years I'd say. I have been asking myself over and over, Why I stopped? Its a mystery. I don't know. I guess I burnt out on them back then. But now? I am reminded daily how great of a band they were live as I listen to these shows.

Since I have started listening to them again I have seen them popping back up on my radar. A blog I read sometimes, mentioned them. A friend in Ontario has them on his FB page all the time....and now as I was just inspecting my myspace page I see they have a new album coming out. What does all this mean? I don't know. maybe nothing. Maybe the Cosmos wants me to get back in touch with their music for some reason. Maybe it's cause I'm older and their tunes remind me of a wild time in my twenties. Whatever the reason is I'm enjoying it. My favorite era in early to mid nineties. Full of soaring guitar solo's and weird whacky songs. Beautiful.

I know this ramble has been all about Phish but really it makes me think about ALL of my go-to bands and what it is about their music that owns me? what is it about a band that you can gobble them up for a while and then not listen to it again for years and years but its still as exciting as it once was? I certainly haven't found the answers. I sure do keep looking though.

Would it kill you to be nice?

2009-08-31T21:12:00.003-03:00

Hey there,

Just wondering a simple little question today. Is it that hard to be nice? I know sometimes it seems hard to be nice when someone isn't complying with your required intelligence level for communication and I am guilty like everyone but some places seem harder than others to illicit a nice response or interaction with someone. Whether its on the phone or in a store or on a city sidewalk it sure seems tough to get peeps to be nice.

I'll tell you one place where it isn't too difficult though....In the country. Now by country I mean rural area. maybe its because you depend on your neighbor if shit hits the fan or because you can't just go to the store when you run out of toilet paper.....I dunno. But I can tell you in my experience it seems easier to have a pleasant interaction with someone in the country than on the street.

Sure there's an initial assessment on what the f@ck you are doing on their property but after a quick explanation things are usually very cordial. Im thinking of all this because today I was out in Taymouth with the phenomenal Bruce Devlin scouting for a location so we can shoot some press pics for the band. We were trying to find out who owned a particular gravel pit so we can ask permission to use it. I know some peeps might say "why not just go ahead and use it"? well I'll tell you....1. they might need to work there when we are there and 2. although country folk are nice, i myself was raised in the country and know you don't just go tramping around someone's property without askin'.

Anyhow, we met a fella on the side of the road who's name was Luke. Very nice chap. After assessing that we weren't casing the area he had no problem telling us who owned the pit up the road and then also didn't mind taking us across the road and down to the river where his grandfather has an old gravel pit that is no longer in use. Not only did he give us the tour but he was kind enough to give us permission to use it at our leisure. Thanks Luke. Mighty kind.

Would this happen in the city? I can't say for sure it wouldn't but people sure do seem more content to be about themselves don't they. Now here in the maritimes this isn't as bad as say in a larger metropolitan area but it still happens. So i'm imploring folks to go out of their way to be a little kinder to each other and note the difference it makes in your day. I spent my whole youth trying to get out of a rural New Brunswick and spent my twenties living in cities all across Canada. Now that my hair is not just brown I find myself longing more and more for the country life and its friendly atmosphere. Maybe thats old age setting in early or maybe its just me having a more difficult time adjusting to people's shockingly unfriendly demeanor. I know everyone has a bad day and we can't all shoot rainbows out of our asses all the time but since i have tried to be nicer to folks (i really believe my miserable demeanor was killing me) iI have enjoyed a much happier quality of life.

so go ahead, I dare you to try and be nice to everyone you meet. Now these things should be eased into so you don't snap but try and hour or an afternoon first then up it to a day, hell go for a week. I warn you it isn't easy but it CAN be done. And as silly as i sound here, it IS rewarding. Be nice people, i dare ya!

Genius and the Evil Empire

2009-08-28T15:15:00.003-03:00

Today i did two things that if asked ten years ago i would have said i would never do.

1) I voluntarily, happily, went to starbucks for a coffee

2) I voluntarily and happily bought a greed day cd

Now, i know these two things to some people might not seem strange at all. If you know me at all, though, you'll know that up until our last canadian tour i loathed starbucks (evil empire) and up until last year thought Green Day was a ridiculous pop/punk band of little significance.

Explain please!

1) Not too long ago i would have categorized Starbucks in the "Evil Empire" slot of my busy little brain. Not only did i not understand why there needed to be one on every corner of the world but i couldn't stand having to jump through hoops to order a simple coffee. Honestly some of the things people order when i'm in line make me think they had to go get a degree just to pronounce the words.....a half-decaf-soy-frappawhat-the-fuck-was-that?

If i was a Starbucks employee i'd probably have a heart attack just writing the test (i assume there is a test to know all these fancy assed coffee thing-a-ma- jigs).

I gotta say though on our last tour when we were in Edmonton it was soooo blazing hot that we thought, "hey, lets grab some air conditioning and an ice tea". well when starbucks is your only option, thats what you have to do. We each grabbed an ice tea, mine was the fruity passion flavour while the bastards grabbed a black unsweetened i believe (what's that tell y'all about us?). Maybe the heat had gotten to us, maybe it was the eight weeks on the road who knows....what ever the reason those ice teas were fucking delicious. So good, in fact, when we went to the grocery store, we each got another at the conveniently located starbucks kiosk right there in the Safeway grocery store. How convenient. Evil? Empire? Maybe a little but we were starting to crack.

One thing the Bastards and i love and covet in life, especially while on tour, is a real good, strong, tasty cup of coffee. far too often when traveling you get the "brown water" treatment. Let me tell you, at 3am after a long day of driving and gigging this can instantly cause the rage and certainly cause you to take notes of any shitty little Esso's in Saskatchewan that repeatedly serve the "brown water" with pride. So on this note i have also started to enjoy the starbucks blend as it is just what we like, a strong, coffee flavored coffee. i spend money at all the coffee places here in fredericton and with the exception of Jonnie Java's (best coffee ever!) downtown at Paradise Imports i find starbucks to have the most consistent cup of joe.

Now i know a lot of peeps out there are going to put on their high pitched voices and say "but starbucks is evil they do bad things in business and they squash the little guy" etc, etc.

I hope at this point people realize that most of our favorite companies that sell our "must have products", somewhere, deep in the organization, probably spend their money on something that may be ethically questionable to you. Just like some people like different things than you, and chose to make different choices in life. So i guess tolerance and being less judgmental are the things to really search for in ourselves and in others. its all too easy to make a blind judgement on people, music, and yes even little things like coffee. I think in fact it might have something to do with being lazy. instead of researching or taking the time to listen to someone's view we just automatically tune them out or deem them "wrong" as soon as we realize that their views are different than ours because we can't be bothered to take the time to hear them out. I know I am certainly guilty of this a lot of the time. I recognize it though and do try to make an effort to change it in myself, and i confess, it sure ain't easy!

On that note.......

here comes the segue....

cue the tunes.....

DA DA DAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

that last point leads me to my explanation of number 2).........

I bought a Green Day cd. What the fuck? Over the last year when i heard the radio (the radio is in love with Green Day) blasting a tune from 'American Idiot' it struck me how different it was from the normal top 40, radio rock, Nickelback-y, kinda tunes. Although its undeniable in its pop content it also has a depth to it. From catchy melodies and nice simple chord progressions to complex lyrics about important social issues? What? Is this the same band that put out 'Dookie'? Is this the same band that was banned from Fredericton because Billy Joe performed a tune buck nekid at the Aitken Centre? Could these faux punk/pop stars have something to say? I decided I would start listening harder. Sure enough the reviews I read all hailed them and very few had anything bad to say about the Genius of Green Day. Here was a band that had previously made their mark in radio with POP hits, writing tunes about the current political climate on our continent. I can't think of one other band that has the radio support that Green Day has, that writes tunes that are the seemingly perfect balance of pop, punk and lyrically relevant.

When their latest album came out I realized it followed the same format as American Idiot. I again thought the same thing, cleverly conceptualized rock and roll. but was it punk? hmmmm.

I went as far as renting a DVD, 'Bullet in a Bible', from the American Idiot tour. Great live show, rabid fans and some good coherent snippets about the concept of the album and how it differed from their previous work. All that aside what struck me most about the DVD was their attitude while performing these "pop" tunes. It was without question undeniably Punk.

Oh wait, I can hear all your high whiney voices coming back on again, "Green Day is NOT punk" etc etc.....I'm not hear to debate your opinion of Green Day or even Punk Rock (see explanation #1), BUT, MY opinion of punk, or RocknRoll or whatever you want to use for a descriptive term is this.....

While there is a Genre called Punk and a Genre called Rock i think these are different than what i am talking about. I'm talking about an attitude, a way of life. Punk is not a style of music, Rock n Roll is not a style of music. I believe these to be descriptive words of individuals who have a specific state of mind. You might even go as far as saying Punk Rock and Rock n Roll are the same thing or at least BORN from one another. Like blues and Country or insert you two fav descriptive pigeon holing words here. Everyone is really caught up in being able to categorize music. Usually the first question people ask is "what kind of music is it?" What would the world be like if we all subscribed to Ray Charles theory of music? Two Categories: Good Music and Bad Music. I can usually find a good band i like to "rock" out to in any genre of music. I think thats what brother Ray, the genius, was talking about wasn't it? I think Green Day is currently as relevant as any band that shook the seams was, whether we're talking about Dylan in the 60's or the Clash in the 70's.

So maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge? look around. If you look hard enough you might just stumble on something you like. I know I'm trying harder not to dismiss a band just because they are stuffed into a genre i wouldn't normally listen to.

So, does Genius live next door to the Evil Empire or are they in fact roomies? which of these words apply to you seems to be determined by how you art or product is accepted or perceived by the public. Is Chad Kroeger (Nickelback) one or the other? Is he both? He's smart enough to have multiple tunes in the top ten in an age when record companies don't allow one artist to rule it like that. This ain't the old days of the Beatles folks.....but ole Chad was smart enough to figure out how to do that anyway. The Genius, Ray Charles was one of the first artists to negotiate his contract so he OWNED his master outright. For the day and age it was amazing. Brother Ray started his own evil empire.

Genius? Evil? I guess these things depend on your view of business don't they. Does Success mean you're Evil? Even if you've made a point to be as nice to everyone you can, you still won't be able to win over everyone all the time.

I for one, am ok with that. Are you?

I'm going to watch Purple Rain now and try to remember why i started playing guitar.

Ross AKA Master Bastard,

head of my own Evil Empire, and proud of it.

Join us before it's too late!

blues, bottles and blogs

2009-08-27T19:12:00.000-03:00

hi all

well i am getting caught up on some things today and one of the things on my list was to start a more permanent style blog. Soooooo, here it is. you'll be able to interact with me a little more frequently here and there will be all kinds of photos, videos and all things related to my musical endeavors.

as some of y'all know, we are headed to mississippi in january 2010 to record a new record. we were super excited when the infamous memphis music guru Jim dickinson agreed to have us visit his Zebra Ranch studios to record. sadly Jim went to the great gig in the sky a couple weeks ago. this news saddened us in many ways. we were upset that our hopes to work with him were ripped away and even more stricken for his family. after a day or two I was contacted by Mary Dickinson, Jim's wife. Mary encouraged us to come down as planned and also mentioned that her son Cody was interested in producing the album. since we are all fans of thenorth mississippi allstars and various other projects Cody has been involved in, it was a pretty easy decision to go with him as producer. we are super stoked to have Cody on board. we feel that keeping it in the family not only keeps Jims legacy alive at the Zebra Ranch but will also maintain our idea for the original vibe of the record. So we are happy to say that all goes forward as planned. We look forward to having our project be part of the trend of ass kicking albums that come out of the ranch.

so our fundraising continues. our mega bottle drive (four months) is in full swing. There are satellite bottle drives in PEI, Moncton, Saint John, and Toronto even! Very Cool!

if you dont know what the hell i'm talkin' about visit this link BOTTLE DRIVE in the mean time here is a lil video marking our progress in fundraising:

We will be having a few other fundraisers in the coming months between national tours and xmas so keep in touch and be on the lookout for fun things like an acoustic house concert lottery!

Whats this you ask? well, let me tell you....we are printing up 100 tickets, and if you live in the fredericton area or you are on our tour schedule you could win an acoustic performance by yours truly and the Sufferin Bastards right in your living room!!!! Tickets are going to be ten bucks and we'll be releasing where you can buy them next week. Big thanks to our friend Michelle Colford for this idea. you rock michelle!!! stay tuned for more info!

and dont forget, if you want to donate to our cause or pre-pay for an album you can! just send the $$$ to:

Ross Neilsen

PO BOX 31

570 Queen St.

Fredericton NB

E3B 4Y9

in other items of note the new live album is almost done and we are onschedule to release it at this years Harvest jazz n Blues fest where we'll be rocking the town no less than seven times so get on out and find yerself a copy. they are ten bucks, limited to 500 copies and you can ONLY get em at a show. It's called What You Need Vol. 1 and was recorded last year at Dolan's Pub during the Harvest fest. hope ya ike it.

The dates for our October, November national tour will be up soon so be sure to check the website

So me and the bastards are off to Nackawick this friday to rock bobby's rec room. if yer in the area you'd best stop in and get some on ya! if you are in our area on the ole interweb be sure to join our fan page here looking forward to hearing from you. see ya out there

Ross