Just terrible. I mean I try to keep this going and do well for a while and then it’s like I dropped off the face of the earth for a while. My bad. Okay, here’s some highlights.
Sandbox #2
Our 2nd songwriter’s circle featured Wendell Ferguson and Suzie Vinnick. For these shows I was figuring that mostly we’d feature acts from the area (so they could go home after) but Suzie and Wendell were on a small tour and had a day free so it seemed too good to pass up. Didn’t get a great turnout this time though which was a bit of a drag but it was a really good night. 
Aren’t we a handsome lot?
It was an interesting mix of styles; Wendell’s a country guy, a tremendous picker on the guitar and loves puns and wordplay. I’m less of a punner, more into rock at heart and seem to like shocking people into laughing. Suzie has a soulful blues voice and can captivate a crowd with her singing and is no slouch on her guitar as well. I don’t think we really talked about the process much, instead it just became a show.
I’ve been going through a bit of a rough patch creatively. Not many new songs are coming out lately, getting several started at least and I’m not exactly thrilled with the quality. This coupled with a real lack of work for the Arrogant Worms, a loss of momentum for both the Soundcheck and Sandbox series of shows is adding to my general bummidness. That’s right bummidness. I’m kind of bummed. I feel like I need something good to happen again and hopefully that will be this week.
Rankin Inlet
Over the years, the Arrogant Worms have participated in many literacy events. I think I’ve blogged before that we find it difficult to do certain charity events; our smartass comedy style doesn’t always flow into a pitch for money to cure horrible diseases. However, literacy is a positive step for so many people and fits into what we do; plus we really like the people involved. So a couple of weeks ago I got an email from them asking if I was available this week to go to Rankin Inlet. Well, one thing I am these days is available. So this morning I’m typing from a hotel room in Winnipeg, awaiting this morning’s flight to Rankin Inlet. This will be my first trip to anywhere in Nunavut and really my first look at a truly remote community. The Worms played Whitehorse a few times but it’s a very well serviced city so other than the travel it doesn’t really have the feel of being isolated.
It should be interesting. It’ll be a bit of a system shock though; spring in my part of the country has been pretty late in coming this year but just this past week it started getting hot. Well according to the Weather Network, it’s presently minus 9 with some light snow. Different.
I’ll be with Connie Kaldor, Mike Stevens and Russell DeCarle, who have all done these trips before so have a good idea what to expect. I’m the newbie. As far as I know, I’ll be expected to go into a couple of schools, sing a couple of songs and maybe talk about songwriting a bit. There are a couple of group performances as well so we shall see! I brought my camera.
