words from the road...

April 29, 2008 Hey friends, Just a little note to let you know that I'm turning my sails eastward again & heading back to Turtle Island. The time here on Taiwan Freemosa has been lovely, and all too short, which makes leaving bittersweet. It's been busy for sure... I managed to fit 15 shows into 30 days, in addition to all the running around & reconnecting that goes with a return visit to a place you love... The reception has been wonderful, CDs are selling well, and the trip has almost paid for itself. Wow. I even found a few crowds with the patience (or was it sobriety?) to sit & listen to the words of the songs. Double wow. We had loads of fun down at Spring Scream despite fleeing the stage mid-song like criminals during the Anglers set... It was great to see so many smiling, familiar faces at both shows. Over the next couple weeks I rounded the island by motorbike, hauling the Hobo Hifi, a guitar and a uke, and relying on couches. Played in Chungli, Donghai, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohisung, Pingtung, Hualien, and back in Taipei, for a rocking party at Bliss and an intimate night at Bobwundaye... Along the way I drove the Southern Cross-Island Highway alone & gaped at the dizzying views. Alita Rickards wrote a sweet little article (with a Bon Jovi-inspired title!) about the tour for the Taipei Times. You can check it out here. Last weekend it was out to Fulong by bike to visit some of the old crew... Had a sweet time out there but the bike didn't make it back. In fact it barely made it limping back to Fulong after I realized it wasn't going to get anywhere near Taipei. So I parked Symba by the Fulong train station, said a sad & uncertain farewell & thanks for all the rides, & hopped on a train. Got down to Taichung that night for a couple shows, the second of which was the Anglers only proper gig this time around, at the new & much-improved 89K. The people of Taichung rock our world. Thanks so much to everyone who came out, & to the intrepid few who made the trip from far away (Laura, The Doolittles & Changhua posse, Tom Leeming, Mark & Georgina, & all the Hsinchu kids). We played late into the night & the dancers still weren't ready to leave. Got up groggy the next morning for our bassman Roger's wedding, early o'clock at the Courthouse. He looked surprisingly vibrant and coherent considering the circumstances. Big ol' gongxi gongxis to Anita & Roger. Then it was up the hill to Boston Paul's Dakeng Refuge for a sunny Sunday afternoon chilling on the grass and digging Reniculous Lipz. I'm carrying a ball of warmth around inside me from this weekend. Thank you all. Particular thanks are also in order to Paul Chen, my old boss, & the only one I still call "boss", for all his help with everything, the lovely Anna for her tireless promotion & hat-carrying, Kimmy for always having a place for us (nevermind a tequila shot), Paddy for all his help in Taichung, Laura for all her help and encouragement, the boys in High Tide & Public Radio for their support up here, and everybody who came out to the shows. Here's to the grapevine! May it always grow strong! Tonight, Wed April 30, will be our last show, back at Bliss, 10pm-12:30 or so. Last Wednesday was a great party and I expect more of the same. I'll be starting things off with a quiet set of special tunes at 10pm, & the local family will jam to take the night out. Sure hope you northerners can make it. I'm off on the plane the next day, back to Vancouver Island and the west coast for a month, and then across Canada from there. Plans are already in the works for a return visit to Taiwan next spring... kinda hard to leave this place, and even harder to stay away. Viva Freemosa! & keep it free! Much love, talk soon, Scott

March 31, 2008 good friends, the road has a funny way of turning when you least expect it. at the eleventh hour, the Taipei trade office inexplicably decided to look kindly upon my second visa application. Having already become comfortable with the idea of sticking around, I twisted in the wind for a moment before pointing my sails again westward. I'm flying out late tonight and arriving bright and early Wednesday. I can feel the humidity's warm embrace already. I can smell the cabbie's betelnut already. ahh, Freemosa, it's been too long! A quick stop to jam with the boys (River Wednesday night, methinks) & then it's off to Spring Scream! I figure I'll dust Symba off and drive down early Thursday morning. The performance permit for the band isn't finalized yet but it looks like all our ducks are in a row. I'll be playing a solo set to promote the new album at 4:50 Friday on the Rock Stage, and then we'll be up with the band on Saturday at 7:50 on the Grass Stage, right between Militant Hippi & Red-I. Hard to express just how excited I am about all of that. I'll be on the island for a month, and I'm hoping to play wherever I can, with the band or alone, with help from the Hobo Hifi, which just barely fits into a backpack. So far, not much is booked besides 89K with the Anglers on April 26th. Please do get in touch soon if you'd like to bring us to your town. It's been a storied month on the road, although I haven't been so good about sending stories your way... All the shows have been sweet so far, and I've been running into people in the funniest places. A well- dressed older lady approached me at the show in Kelowna and asked "do you know this man?" before handing over a picture of Taichung's ubiquitous bassman Darren Jorde, decked out in a dress. Don't worry Darren, it wasn't the cops, it was your mom. Loads of fun in Vancouver, reconnecting with old friends and niceing up Cafe Deux Soleils with Jess Hill & Ghosts of the Highway. I finished up the tour with a wonderful show at Solstice Cafe in Victoria Saturday night with Meg O'Mally, and am now writing you from Granville Street, where I'm wiling away the time before the flight. Saturday night's show will actually be hearable online very soon, as Jeremiah from Bullfrog Music was kind enough to record the show... it'll be on http://www.bullfrogmusic.com/podcasts.htm soon enough. Speaking of kind folks, Kindah from Toronto entertainment mag AnE Vibe just wrote a glowing review of Long Way to Wander: http://www.anevibe.com/music-reviews/scott-cook-long-way-to-wander.html I have one more thing to mention for you Edmonton folks, who I miss loads already: Terry Morrison, one of the best and best-loved folksingers in our fair city, will be releasing her new record, Riches & Grace, this coming Sunday. I've had the record for awhile now & I can tell you it's really beautiful. The party's at the lovely old Freemasons Hall downtown at 10318 100 Ave. CBC radio will be recording the event for broadcast on 'Canada Live'. Performing with Terry will be some of e-town's best, including Mike Lent (bass), Mo Lefever (guitar), Graham Guest (piano), Bob Tildesley (trumpet), and Dwayne Hrynkiw (percussion). Terry will be doing a second set featuring some of her tunes from past and yet to come recordings which will feature John Gorham on bass, Chris Smith on guitar and Paul 'Duke' Paetz on percussion. Doors are 7pm, music 8pm. Tickets are $12, available at Blackbyrd Myoozik, Myhres Music or at the door. Please come out and celebrate with her. There will be a cash bar and snacks, & children are welcome too. And for those in Toronto, Trevor Mills is putting on a fundraiser for the Eaglewood Folk Festival the same night (Sunday the 6th) at Hugh's Room in Toronto. It's sure to be great. Details (and downloads of his music, including that great tune about the kid with the comic book) are on http://www.trevormills.com Freemosan massive, we'll be seeing you soon! Rock Stage 4:50 Friday, Grass Stage 7:50 Saturday. Or somewhere around the island, we'll root you out. Canadian peoples, see you in the summer! Big love, be well, Scott

March 21, 2008 Friends, Visa Denied. Thus came the ill tidings of Tuesday past. "According to international custom, we don't need to tell you the reason" was all the response she could muster to my questions. I couldn't help thinking of Geoff Berner's song "Traveler's Curse": "I regret now to inform you Who refuse to aid my plight, Bad luck will come to those who deny The travelers their rights. All of my pity upon you, All of my pity upon you, My luck can only get better, Yours is bound to be worse, Now I see it upon you: The Traveler's Curse. Who can deny your moral right To prosperity and order? You fell out of your mother's cunt On the correct side of the border. And your cuntfall gives you all of this And power over me today, But there are forces in this world That can take all of that away..." But gradually the bitter feelings subsided and I got around to looking for the silver lining in this particular dark cloud. On the bright side, I guess I'll be getting to know the west coast better, which can't be all that bad. I'm still going to make another try at re-applying in person in Vancouver, but I'm not holding my breath. Taiwan may just have to wait for next year, alas. Anyway, before you get bored & start scanning, I want to tell you about some shows coming up here in BC, & then a couple things coming up in Edmonton. First, the BC shows: -Saturday, March 22nd at Del Pollo in Aldergrove -Tuesday, March 25th at Cafe Deux Soleils in Vancouver -Friday, March 28th at the Dancing Bean in Chemainus -Saturday, March 29th at Solstice Cafe in Victoria I really hope you can help me spread word about those, particularly the Vancouver show. I'll be playing with Shayne Avec I Grec & Jeff "Shade Tree" Andrew, who are just beginning a cross-Canada hitch- hiking tour called "Ghosts of the Highway", and local opener Jess Hill. It's only $5 & it starts at 8pm. As for you Edmonton folks, there are two KILLER shows coming up that I really hope you can make it out for: This Saturday, March 22nd, our guitar player in the Long Weekends, Jesse Dee, is releasing his debut CD at the Velvet Underground. I've had the CD for awhile now and I must say it gets a lot of play in my van. It's really beautiful, a labor of love, and the radio has been liking it lately too. Two of the Hotplates (aka the shoo-wop girls), Megan Kemshead & Jacquie Boisvert, will be there to lend their dulcet harmonies, along with Jesse's star-studded band. Local boys Lovertine are opening the night & it's gonna be great. Get out & show Jesse some love! Next Saturday, March 29th, your presence is requested back at the Velvet Underground for another CD release, this time by my good friends & Taiwan compadres Jez & Dana of the Dana Wylie Band. This is going to be another amazing night. Joining them will be local musicians Cam Neufeld on fiddle, Mike Sadava on mandolin & Jason Kodie on accordion. These guys are all top-shelf players. Also flying in from England for the occasion will be their upright bass player, Nye Parsons, who's a wizard on the thing, & their friend Matthew Ord, who just happens to be one of the best guitar players in the world. You may think I'm exaggerating but I'm not, this guy is insane. Don't miss this show. As for me, life's been good. The shows so far have been wonderful & I'm happy to be back on the move. Our tour kickoff party at the Empress in Edmonton was a rager--the place was packed all night & everybody put in killer performances. Shayne Lazarowich, in particular, was on fire. Thank you, E-town peoples. I had a rough ride of it at Tippy Agogo's CD release a couple days later (equipment troubles) but the jam with Tip, Bill Bourne, Madagascar Slim, John Armstrong, Michelle Josef & Laurelle felt like sweet redemption... And Tip's record sounds great. From there it was off to Red Deer for Jesse's hometown CD release, which was sweet, and on to Twin Butte, where I rocked late into the night with the locals, taking a break mid-set to stand slack-jawed gazing at the Northern Lights... Then to Calgary for another show with Shayne at the Bar Named Sue, which is history after this weekend. It's a crying shame because it was really one of the most charming venues around, & probably the only real country bar in that faux-cowboy town. Then on to Lethbridge, where Jesse hosted me impeccably at the Slice, to Nanton for a wonderfully intimate show at the Main Street Cafe, and to Cochrane for my first folk club gig, opening for Come On In My Kitchen. The next night found me in Canmore sharing a show with my old school-mate Jon-Rae Fletcher, who is truly an amazing singer, oozing sincerity and nailing those high lonesome bluegrass harmonies with conviction. After that I had a couple days off in the Kootenays, mostly spent by the woodstove in Laura's little cabin on the hillside, lovely. Then to Penticton for a sweet and intimate show at Fibonacci's, and to Kelowna last night to play the Minstrel Cafe, which happens to be the first venue I played after setting out on my own in the van for the first time back in 2005. Lots has been learned since then. The most obvious difference is that money seems to be coming in rather than bleeding out these days, which is a welcome change, and bodes well for more visits from me to you in the future. So I guess things are on the up & up, visa troubles notwithstanding. In closing I want to say huge thanks to all of you for your support, and all the kind words that have shored up my belief in the music through the years. You don't even know how much it means to me. Hope all's well wherever you are. Be well, much love, Scott

February 25, 2008 Good people, After a wonderful winter here in Edmonton, I find myself on the doorstep of the open road once again. My tour kickoff party will be this Sunday, March 2nd, at the Empress Ale House on Whyte & 99th, where I'll be joined by The Long Weekends, fellow Freemosan Outlaw Shayne Lazarowich from Saskatoon, local ukulele maestro Maurice Jones, funky beatnik Jesse Dee and of course the shoo-wop girls everyone's talking about these days, Jacqueline Boisvert, Megan Kemshead & Lynett McKell. Mark my words, these lovely ladies will not only "doo-wop shoo -wop shoo-waaah", but also "ooo-waa-ooo" and even "scooby dooby, scooby doo-wop shoo-wah" their way into your hearts. Oh yes, even the scooby doo-wop shoo-wah, I kid you not. The party's free but I suggest you come early so you don't have to stand in line. I'll start things off with a solo set at 8:30pm (really), followed by a few songs each from our special guests, and a solo set from Shayne. Then we'll get back up there with the band & kick it into high gear to take the night out. There's no cover charge, the beer's delicious, the lines are clean, and the servers are charming... what more could you ask for? (besides Monday off, of course.) Also around town this week: tonight (Monday) at the Empress, the Wheat Pool, James Murdoch & more are playing a fundraiser to buy new jerseys for the GPHL team's run at the Exclaim Cup in Toronto. It's free, donations in the helmet. Oh yeah, and it's Brent Oliver's 33rd birthday. This Tuesday night at the Druid, I'll play a 40-min set as the featured guest before Chris Wynters' open stage, around 9pm. Some lucky punter will walk away with 20 free pints. Thursday night I'll be playing a solo set at King's College with local songwriter Ken Stead, and Simon Hoskyn from Vancouver, both very talented guys. All the details for those or any shows are on www.scottcook.net. Then Sunday night's our big party at the Empress. I know I already told you; this is a reminder :) The day after our party, Monday March 3rd, I hope all of you Albertans will find the time to vote. My last show before I leave will be Wednesday, March 5th, for Tippy Agogo's CD release at New City. Bill Bourne, Madagascar Slim, John Armstrong, Michelle Josef, and Tim Folkmann are also on the bill. You can be assured some wonderful and unfamiliar sonic territory will be charted. It's $12 at the door and it starts around 8:30pm. My Hobo Hifi & I will be opening the night with a special solo set around 9. The next day, Shayne & I are off on the road for a few shows in Alberta: Thu Mar 6 - Red Deer - The Vat (Shayne & Jesse Dee) Fri Mar 7 - Red Deer - Redstone Grill Sat Mar 8 - Twin Butte General Store Mon Mar 10 - Calgary - A Bar Named Sue Then Shayne's headed back to Saskatchewan & I'm carrying on: Thu Mar 13 - Lethbridge - The Slice Fri Mar 14 - Nanton - Main Street Cafe Sat Mar 15 - Cochrane - Cochrane Valley Folk Club, w/ Come On In My Kitchen Sun Mar 16 - Canmore - The Communitea, with Jon-Rae Fletcher Wed Mar 19 - Penticton - Fibonacci Cafe Thu Mar 20 - Kelowna - Minstrel Cafe Fri Mar 21 - (a glaring opening that I'd love to fill) Sat Mar 22 - Aldergrove - Del Pollo Tues Mar 25 - Vancouver - Cafe Deux Soleils w/ Ghosts of the Highway & Jess Hill Fri Mar 28 - Chemainus - The Dancing Bean Sat Mar 29 - Victoria - Solstice Cafe, supporting acts TBA If you live or have friends in any of these towns, I would really appreciate your help with spreading the word. And of course requests to your local radio station are always appreciated. At the end of March I'll hopefully be on the wing, headed to Taiwan. There are just the small matters of a plane ticket & a visa to sort out first. I'm planning to spend two months there & be back in Vancouver by the beginning of June. Our next Edmonton-area shows will be June 14th at the Black Dog, June 20-22 at the North Country Fair, and June 25 & 26 at O'Byrne's, then I'll be leaving in July for the east coast. Although I must admit to a little cabin fever over the past few months, it really has been a wonderful winter here in town, with only a half-assed freeze, and plenty of human warmth to make up for it. This city is positively bursting with music right now, as a trip by any of the great open stages around town (i.e. Little Flower, Hulbert's, Newcastle, O'Byrne's, the Druid, the Rose Bowl, etc.) will make abundantly clear. Friday's masquerade ball at Don's was historic--it's not often you get to see that level of talent in somebody's house. What's particularly nice for me is that I only got to know many of these people this year, and we've become fast friends and collaborateurs. Truly, these are great days, and I'm hugely grateful. There are two more things coming up in Edmonton that I'm going to miss, but want to tell you local folks about in hopes that you'll be able to attend: Jesse Dee will be releasing his debut CD March 22 at Velvet Underground. The disc sounds brilliant and this is sure to be an amazing show with his band and many more musical friends. If you haven't caught Jesse yet, take my word for it, he's the real deal. Funky, innovative, and oodles of talent. http://www.myspace.com/jessedeethree The next Saturday, March 29, my good friends in the Dana Wylie Band will be releasing their newest CD, also at the Velvet Underground, with all-star help from local musical giants Cam Neufeld on fiddle, Mike Sadava on mandolin and Jason Kodie on accordion, as well as their friends all the way from England, standup bass wiz Nye Parsons, and one of the finest guitarists in England or the world (seriously), Matthew Ord. If you like roots music, DO NOT miss this show. Really, it's gonna be amazing. http://www.myspace.com/danawylieband Hope you can mark both of those on your calendar. The last thing I'd like to share (for those still reading, I love you) is a picture I received by email recently. It may be good for a laugh for those of you who've given a good listen to track 10, the title track on Long Way to Wander. Raoul took it on our way to the bus station, right around the time I shot the picture that graces the cover of the album. Not only does it feature a very scruffy Raoul & me, but also several other things mentioned in the song: his handlebar moustache, the canopy of that little cage-like, sidecar-like contraption we were riding in, and the guitar I'd picked up in Chiang Mai, complete with the plastic Nike swoosh. Just so you know that every word on that record is true, here's proof. Alright, that brings this rambling rant to a close. Edmonton people, thank you so much for the warm welcome through the winter. Hope to see you this Sunday for my party before I ship out. People elsewhere, hope to see you along the way. All the best to you in all you do. Peace, big love, Scott (780) 695-3474 http://www.scottcook.net

January 31, 2008 Hey good people, I've been slaving over a hot computer altogether too much over the past month or two, but all the work is starting to pay off, I guess. Strangers are even calling me out of the blue, which I suppose must be a good sign. As an apparent consequence of all that desk-work, I have way too much news this month, & I sincerely hope I don't bore you with it. The first bunch of news is for Alberta folks. Taiwan peoples can scroll down until they see the name of their little island. Elsewhere peoples can scroll on past that. I'll try to make it shorter next month. ALBERTA NEWS: For those in Alberta, plenty of shows coming up in February: -This Friday & Saturday, February 1 & 2, I'll be filling in for a last- minute cancellation at the Early Stage Saloon in Stony Plain. It's a great spot, with an appreciative audience, & I'm really looking forward to it. Moses Gregg will be joining me on the bass for Saturday's show. No cover, music 8-12. -Next Thursday, February 7th, the inimitable Mr. C. R. Avery will grace the stage at the Rose Bowl on Jasper and 117th, and I hope, for your sake, that you don't miss it. He's a slam poet, keytar player, & general wierdo who can beatbox through a harmonica like no one else. He's on http://www.myspace.com/cravery -Friday, Feb 8 I'm at Fresh Start Bakery in Riverbend. It's mellow, & free; come on down. -Sunday, Feb 10, Souljah Fyah will drop their new CD, Truth Will Reveal, at On the Rocks in Edmonton, & your ever-lovin' Long Weekends are honored to be opening the show for them! The Calgary release party will be the night before, with openers Five Star Affair. I can't say enough good things about this band, really. If you love reggae music, don't miss it. Now here comes the *important* part: it costs $5 at the door, but you can get in for free if you bring an invite from me, or add your name to our guest list. In fact, that's the only way we Long Weekends are going to get paid at all, so please, if you're going, drop me an email & I'll put your name on our guest list. We have unlimited room on the list, so it's fine if you want to sign up friends, and even if you don't make it after all. If you think you'll go, email me at grooverevi...@gmail.com & I'll put you on the list. Then you just tell them that you're on our list at the door. You get in free & we get paid. Win-win, right? Otherwise, you pay the club $5 at the door, and we don't get none of it. -Saturday, Feb 16, I'll be playing in the garage(!) at a very small family-and-friends film festival in Armena, Alberta. It isn't far from town & it's open to the public. Details are on my site. -Friday, Feb 22 we're gonna have a crrrazy bush party at Don's place featuring The Red Deers, Boot Pony, & yours truly. Details coming soon on my page. -Tuesday, Feb 26, I'll be the featured guest before Chris Wynters' open stage at the Druid, which is always a good time. -Thursday, Feb 28, I'll be playing at King's College with Ken Stead & Simon Hoskyn. Show starts at 7pm & there's a $5 cover. At the end of the month, my good friend and fellow Freemosan Outlaw Shayne Lazarowich is coming out here from Saskatoon. This guy is a huge talent & I hope you all get a chance to see him. Our tour kickoff party is Sunday, March 2nd at the Empress Ale House, & it's gonna be historic. I'll be sticking around a couple more days, to open for Tippy Agogo's CD release on March 5, & then Shayne & I will be off for a few shows in southern Alberta. After that, I'm headed west to the coast, & from there (hopefully) to Taiwan for a couple months. If you think you can be of any help with booking or suggesting performance opportunities anywhere along the way, please have a look at my schedule so far & let me know what you're thinking. TAIWAN NEWS: For those on Taiwan, I want to let you know that my good buddy Shamik, beatboxer extraordinaire & all-around wonderful human being, will be landing in Taiwan mid-February, & will be rocking Beth's party at The Zoo in Taichung on Feb 16th. Check him out on http://www.myspace.com/teamshamik or just take my word for it that he is the bomb. Oh yeah, & my CDs are available at Mojo Coffee in aichung, the River in Jungli, & Bobwundaye in Taipei. Email me if you need directions to any of those places. I'm planning a trip for April-May, but the cash factor is still looking problematic. If anybody happens to have an extra $500 or so laying around, please do send it my way, I could really use it. More likely, if you know of someplace I should play while I'm in Taiwan, please do let me know. NEWS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY: Things have gone really well for the CD, which even hung around the national college & community radio charts for over a month... It's dropped off now but your requests are always appreciated, particularly when I'm coming to your town. Some nice things that have happened lately include: I was honored to have a song included in a little video that Bill Bourne, Aysha Wills, Tippy Agogo & John Armstrong made for their Vaudeville New Years party at the Roxy Theatre in Edmonton. If you're curious, you can check it out here. Ron Wilson had me in to CBC to take the "Edpod Challenge", where I implore local listeners to find room on their mp3 player for one of my songs. That can be heard here. And lastly, although I thought I was much too late in the year to make any 'best of' lists, Long Way to Wander did manage to sneak into Fish Griwkowsky's Best of '07 list, which made me feel all warm & kinda fuzzy inside... have a look here for more info. I also want to put in a little plug for two US presidential candidates who have been largely ignored by the mainstream media but have plenty of grassroots support... Despite their huge differences on domestic politics, they are good friends, and seem to me to be the only candidates championing the cause of peace & speaking the truth on TV. Which I guess is the reason they try to keep them off TV as much as possible. The two politicians I'm thinking of are Dennis Kucinich (my personal fave, a Democrat) & Ron Paul (a Republican). Look them up on Youtube & see what I mean. If you find yourself getting into the hang of watching movies on your computer, don't spend all your time plumbing the depths of inanity on Youtube. I've come across a site that has lots of great documentaries for free in streaming video: http://www.freedocumentaries.org And because politics is terribly depressing, a little something to bring joy to your life: Claire Jenkins, who I met out at the Eaglewood festival last summer, has put up a wonderful little video from the recording sessions for her newest album, Nid De Pie (crow's nest). They recorded all the songs live off the floor, in order, in a single day. It is truly magical. Check it out here. At last I'll bring this rambling rant to a close with a huge thanks to all of you, for your continued support, and for being the inspiring people that you are. Don't forget, Etown reggae heads get fed Sunday February 10th! Email me your full name & you're in, easy as that. Here's wishing you all the best in this untramelled new year. Be well, big love, Scott

January 2, 2008 Good people, Welcome to 2008. I hope it brings you the highest & best. Ask for it, exactly it, & you just might get it. I'm just glad to be here for another trip around the sun. Enjoy! love, always, s

December 25, 2007 Hey friends, Here's wishing you all a happy belated Solstice and a Merry Christmas, wherever you are. Huge thanks for all your support, especially to those who've requested my songs on whatever station they listen to. Long Way to Wander has just entered !earshot's national folk charts, which is really amazing to me. Every request helps, thanks. I just got back from a wonderful trip out to the SK, complete with lots of late-night jams with my Taiwan compadres Shayne Lazarowich & the Dana Wylie Band. They rule. A few shows coming up in Alberta this week: -Wed Jan 26 (that's tomorrow) I'll be guest hosting Little Flower Open Stage, 8-12. $2 cover, $2.50 beers. -Thurs Jan 27 I'll be jamming with the inimitable Tippy Agogo & Maigan van Giessen from Eshod Ibn Wyza at Wunderbar. $5 cover. -Sat Jan 29 at Gitter's Pub in High River. Yeehaw! No cover. -Sun Jan 30 at the Hose & Hound in Calgary, with surprise special guests. No cover for this one either. Hope to see all you Cowtowners out in force. As always, all the info for those shows is on www.scottcook.net. I'm in the process of booking a tour out to the coast in March. Stay tuned for details on that. Bring on 2008! Much love, Scott

December 11, 2007 Good friends, Thank you so much to all you wonderful people that made it out to the party on Saturday. I'm still riding high from the wonderful feeling. For those who weren't there, it was a full house, over 200 people, and all the performers did a stellar job. We videotaped some of it so hopefully I'll be posting something from that soon. The main thing, anyway, is thanks. It was a beautiful gathering thanks to all of you. I hope you all got to know each other a bit better. As much as I'd like to lay back on my laurels for now, it's time to redouble my efforts at getting this record out to the world. The CD's been getting airplay on CBC, CKUA, and CJSR, and should be playing on CJSW shortly. It's also in the hands of Magic 99 here in Edmonton. If you'd like to help out, you can! Call up the station you tune in to & request it. Tell them if you were at the CD release on Saturday. They want to hear from people in town about the music they're excited about. Amazingly enough, I looked at the Earshot charts today & saw that the record's charting on CJSR! It's in the #6 spot on their Folk/ Roots/Blues chart. A first for me, that actually has me feeling a little giddy. Let's push it on up there! For those around town, there are a few things coming up well worth checking out: Tomorrow, Wednesday Dec 12, Little Flower Open Stage will be hosting their annual Christmas Party at Fiddler's Roost. It's sure to be a lovely evening with lots of talent coming out of the woodwork. It runs 8-12, it's only $2 cover and beer is $2.50 as usual. Thursday, Dec 13, Travis Boa returns to host Mellow Gold at Leva Cappuccino Bar, 11053 86 Ave, 8-11 pm, no cover. Friday, Dec 14, the amazing David Ross MacDonald from Australia plays his fingerstyle compositions at Hulbert's, 7601-115 Street. It starts at 8pm and it's $7 at the door. Also Friday Dec 14, Backporch Swing is playing the Carrot, at 9351-118 ave. It starts at 8pm and it's $5 cover. They'll also be at the Early Stage Saloon in St. Albert on the 22nd. The Wheat Pool returns to O'Byrne's on Monday the 17th, and that same night, John Guliak will be playing his final farewell show at the Empress, Sue's new bar on Whyte and 99th. I'm gonna try to make both these shows because they're both great bands. Shortly thereafter, I'm off to the S.K. for four shows: the Freehouse on the 19th, Lyd's on the 20th, Biggar Majestic Theatre on the 21st & Borden Hotel on the 22nd. Then back home for Christmas, & hosting Little Flower on Boxing Day. Then down south for a show in High River Dec 29th, and at a new venue, the Hose & Hound in Calgary, on Dec 30th. All the details are on my news page. It'll be nice to get back on the road. Much love to you all, and again, huge gratitude for the heartwarming reception on Saturday night. Peace, Scott

December 5, 2007 Friends, I think all my ducks are finally in a row. Long Way to Wander is now available online, through Bullfrog Music in Canada or CD Baby in the States. CD Baby's temporarily sold out but more CDs are en route to them; if you type in your email address they'll notify you when it comes in. It's also available on iTunes if you're into that. They make great Christmas/Solstice/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus presents too. If you'd like to buy in bulk, you can order them directly from me for a lot less money. 4 for $40 or 8 for $70, & I'll pay the postage too. Send a check or money order to Scott Cook, 3 Meredian Road, Sherwood Park, AB, Canada T8A 0N5. For those on Taiwan, the CD will be available at a few out-of-the-way places that don't get visited enough: Bobwundaye in Taipei, Mojo Coffee in Taichung (230 Da Yeh Road), and the River in Jungli (18 Da Tong Road). Only 300 bones, my friends, because I love you. You can also get copies from my roving distributor Calvin aka MC Insatiable, just give him a call, 0916214401. If you need help finding any of those places, feel free to send me an email and ask. For those of you in Edmonton, don't go ordering one, just come on down to the Fiddler's Roost on Saturday and get one there, it'll be cheaper. Only $10 in fact, because I love all of you too. Reviews are starting to come in, and they've been very positive so far. Fish Griwkowsky, whose writing I've long admired but who I only met this past weekend, just wrote a nice review in Saturday's Edmonton Sun, which you can read here. And Francois Marchand wrote a great article in the Edmonton Journal's Ed Magazine, including a podcast with a couple songs on it, which you can check out here. Also watch for Eden Munro's interview with me in this week's Vue Weekly, which comes out in print tomorrow and on the web shortly thereafter. My CD is in the hands of CJSR, CBC and CKUA already, so feel free to call those stations any time and request it, I'd really appreciate it. I did an interview on Monday with Kristina on CJSR (thanks Kristina!), and will be doing another with Jay Hannley on Friday at 1pm, 88.5 on your FM dial. The wheels are turning. The party's looking to be a stomper. I want to remind everybody that the music really does start at 8pm, and it's going to go by quickly because each performer's only singing 3 songs. These are truly some of Edmonton's best performers, not to be missed. You know I never steer you wrong. Fellow Angler Tyler Dakin and I will be taking the first set at 8pm. Doors will open at 7 so there's some time to get settled in, have some eats and drinks, and talk a bit before the show starts. I'll get back up with the Long Weekends (Ty, Ian Stults and Moses Gregg, with help from our I-Threes Jacqueline Boisvert, Megan Kemshead and Laurelle Young) around 10:30 or so. Backporch Swing is up after us to take the night out with an old-time dance party. Oh, & for those who asked, Bernie said yes, kids ARE allowed at this event, as long as they're hanging with their folks & under control. I think he may need to extend the same proviso to cover some of the adults there too, ya rowdy bunch. I've recently added shows around Saskatchewan and Alberta toward the end of December. Have a look at the gig calendar on my main page for those. Well, that's all the news that is news for now. Hope to see all in the neighborhood at the party on Saturday. Bring your smiles and your dancing shoes. Peace, s

November 16, 2007 Friends, I'm finally letting it go. And like an anxious mother putting her kids on the school bus for the first time, I must admit to a little apprehension. But it's outweighed by an overwhelming feeling of relief at getting it off my hands, and into yours. It's been a long journey over roads & oceans from writing these songs (the oldest comes from way back in 2000) to finally releasing them to the world. Along the way, the greatest encouragement I've found has been in the various musical & creative communities I've encountered along the way, and the power that songs can have in our lives. My friends have written songs that have broken my heart, & remade it. So it's in that spirit that I've invited many of them to sing a few tunes each, open stage style--John Gorham & Terry Morrison, Patsy Amico & Brian Gregg, Jesse Dee, Travis Boa of the Red Deers, Trevor Tchir, local ukulele maestro Maurice Jones, Sall Gibson, and more to come. Around 10:30, my band the Long Weekends & I will take the stage to play my own tunes, including a couple new ones. I'm also going to play a few by songwriters I know who have been great inspirations to me, but just live too far away, including Steve Gates, Rae Spoon, & Corin Raymond, a lyric of whose inspired the name of the party. (As an aside, if you haven't already heard Corin, the man knows how to turn a phrase. Check him out.) After our set one of my favorite bands in town, Backporch Swing, will take the night out with an old-time dance party. The venue, Fiddler's Roost, couldn't be more right. A spacious room with old-fashioned decor, comfy booths & a dance floor, it once housed the City Media Club & now houses the Little Flower Open Stage on Wednesdays. Incidentally, it was also the venue for the Anglers' CD release back in 2003, & wasn't that a party? There will be free vegetarian eats and $2.50 beer and mixed drinks to help with the mingling. Please help out by forwarding this message to your friends, & posting it wherever possible. Even if you can't make it, I'm sure you know some people in Edmonton. Your support is invaluable. To rehash what's already a rambling rant: come on out, hear some great music, get to know some new friends, & dance the night away. I'd love to see you all. Oh yeah, & please remember to bring an extra $10 for a copy of the CD. It's only cheap because I want every one of you to have one. Many of the guest performers also have CDs available, so you might want to bring some extra dough along. Taiwan people, I'm arranging distribution there as we speak. I'll keep you posted. much love, s

October 18, 2007 Hey good people, I hope this finds you all flourishing. I'm currently in hiding in my suburban prairie fortress, working day in & day out at getting my album out, avoiding human contact and all the needless laughter and good times that go with it. That and jealously guarding my candy stash from the hordes of painted munchkins scouring the neighborhood. Nevertheless, I will be venturing out for two gigs in the near future: This Friday, Nov 2nd, I'll be emceeing, performing & running sound (ooh la la!) at the Global Visions Film Festival's kickoff party at Naked Cyber Cafe, 10354 Jasper Ave. The show runs 11pm-1am & I'll be jamming with the Hobo Hifi at midnight. Should be fun. Next Saturday, Nov 10th, I'll be playing 3 sets, 6-9pm, at Fresh Start Bakery, 484 Riverbend Square. It's a nice spot, with fine food, imported beers, and good fresh bread for sale. I will be digging deep in the songbook & it would be lovely to see any of you there. I also want to let you Edmonton folks know about a couple other shows coming up: this Saturday, Nov 3rd, Geoff Berner & Kris Demeanor will be at McDougall United, 8-10pm. If you haven't seen these guys yet, go check them out. You will not be disappointed, especially if you appreciate deadpan witty banter. This Sunday, Nov 4th Homefest is on at the Arts Barns, 2-7pm. A load of great performers local & otherwise are playing to raise funds for housing for the homeless as the weather cools down in town. www.homefest.ca & even more importantly, because you're less likely to have heard of it, next Friday, Nov 9th, the Dana Wylie Band will be playing at 7 street lofts. I had the opportunity to see the Red Deers there a couple weeks back and it is truly a perfect place to watch a show... A beautiful downtown loft apartment with a high ceiling and a great view, a big balcony for chilling on, a nice sound system, and a wonderful group of people in attendance. Everyone's quiet during the show so you can actually hear the words. Stephen & Zoe are very gracious hosts, and they even fix up a tasty spread. I really can't say enough good things about this place. As for the band, Dana & her boyfriend Jez are good friends of mine from Taiwan who play roots music with folk and jazz influences, on a variety of instruments. On this trip, they'll have their standup bass player from the UK along as well. They're finishing up a western tour & returning to Saskatchewan to cut a new album. Come on out & show them some love while they're in town! Dana writes very intricate, brilliant songs, and the band is great. You can hear a sample on their myspace, & you can see the loft on their myspace. If you want to come, you need to write to Stephen & reserve a place, because it can fill up quickly (it is, after all, only their living room)... His email is loftconcert at gmail. The show costs $15 & I assure you it's well worth it. Oh yeah, & bring along some wine too. While we're on the subject of things to check out online, there are a few more things I wanted to pass on to you... First, I finally put up my photos from North Country Fair. Never having been one to run around cheekily snapping photos, I finally decided to change my ways this year for the sake of all those good people in Taiwan who wished they could be at the Fair. I was going to put them into a page on my website, but the sheer idiot-proof ease of adding photos to Facebook convinced me otherwise. Maybe later. For now, they're on Facebook, & you can see them without joining, just click here. I also put up a bunch of new pictures from the rest of my ramblings this summer, that you can see here. There's one last thing I'd like to share with you... One of the groups that really blew me away at North Country this year (but for some reason escaped my camera lens) was Tons of Fun University (TOFU for acronym lovers) out of Vancouver: CR Avery, Shane Koyczan and Mike McGee. Each one's a powerhouse poet & performer in his own right, and together they are dynamite. Here's a video of Shane from a few years back at the Vancouver Poetry Festival. I love this poem. That's all for now, friends. I will be announcing the date for the CD release as soon as it's set. Much love to those on Ihla Freemosa, & elsewhere. Peace, Scott

September 18, 2007 hey good people, Well, it's been a storied couple of months on the road, all the way to Montreal & back, and I was amply glad to pull back into good old E-ville again last night. It looks like I'll be hanging around here for awhile, too. I look forward to slow walks in the crisp air, yellow leaves crunching underfoot. & to hanging out with all the good friends I haven't seen in ages. Three shows this week: -tonight, Tuesday Sept 18th, before Chris Wynters' open stage at the Druid. It starts around 9pm & there's no cover. As a special treat, the inimitable Mr. Tyler Dakin will be joining me on leads, & playing some of his own tunes. Come say hi to the guy, he's been so long away. -tomorrow, Wednesday the 19th, I'll be swapping songs with Chris Wynters at O'Byrne's on Whyte, 10-midnight. -and on Friday some special guests & I will be at Leva Cappuccino Bar, near the University, for an EARLY show, from 7:30-10pm. There's no cover for any of those shows, so even you pobrecitos can come. All the details are on my home page. I haven't been keeping up with my travelogue these past couple months, as the demands of driving and gigging (not to mention plentiful socializing & raising of glasses) have kept me off the computer. I'm in the process of catching up on things, though. Pictures & stories from this summer are coming soon, I promise. There's just so much to tell. I'm in the process of lining up a CD release for sometime in the next month or so, & will let you know when I have a date for that. I'm not going to spill any beans but I will say that it's going to be something really special. In the meantime, for those of you on this list, my CDs will be surreptitiously available to you in person, just cause I can't say no to you. But please, keep it on the down-low, alright? & for those far away, it'll be available worldwide very soon. In the meantime, I've put up an mp3 of 'fish jumpin' for you, absolutely free. Just right-click to download & save. Hope you enjoy. Many thanks for your support and interest in the ramblings of this rover, it keeps me going. Big love to you all, talk soon, Scott

July 20, 2007 hey good friends, Hope this finds you flourishing. After a pleasant month of hanging around town, busking for change, playing open stages, wiling away sunny evenings on the Black Dog's rooftop, and sweating over bookings in the mornings, the time has finally come to hit the road. Just a little trip, mind you, but on the road nonetheless. Tonight (Friday), for those of you in e-ville, & particularly those Freemosan expats among you, there will be something of a reunion... The lovely and talented Dana Wylie & her beau, the mythical Jez Hellard, onetime King of Taipei city (you know, before they had a mayor), and erstwhile guitar-slinger for now-defunct Taipei bluegrass revue Ass9, will be returning to Edmonton for a show at the Fresh Start Bakery, 484 Riverbend Square. The show starts at 6:30pm and it's free. I may even be able to give you a lift. After the show we'll likely be found carousing on the Southside. Gimme a ring if you wanna hang out. Tomorrow, I'm off to the Little Flower Open Stage's second annual "micro-festival", called Flower Fest, out by Seba Beach. It's only an hour west of town & tickets are only $25 for the weekend or $10 for a day. There are scheduled performances and also plenty of time for open stage. So if you're coming, get your three songs ready. First up on Saturday is the CONCERT AT THE END OF THE WORLD, or rather, at the end of a fifteen-minute hike in the woods, sometime around noon. Brian's low-key promo says it all: "In the event of rain, we will hold a tarp over the performers." I'll be playing 10pm Saturday night, backed by a fabulous scratch band, the first incarnation of the Long Weekends, consisting of Pascal on drums, Brian Gregg on guitar, and Scot Morgan on the bass. It's gonna be a howling good time. Info's on littleflower.ca. From Flower Fest I'm headed to the mountains. Looking forward to breathing the crisp air. I'll be playing the Downstream in Jasper Monday night and the Communitea in Canmore Thursday night. Probably hit the open stage at Zona's in Canmore on Wednesday night too. Then up through Nordegg to the Sasquatch Festival, July 27-29 (that's ALREADY next weekend!) in Easyford, near Drayton Valley. This fest is gonna be amazing. It will likely sell out so if you're coming, get your tickets now (a bargain at $40). It'll be my fourth time playing this humble festival, and take my word for it, it's wonderful. Thoroughly unpretentious, friendly, and fun, with three or four hundred of your closest friends. They even have a big potluck on Saturday. I'll be the singin' emcee Friday night. All the info's on brassmonkeyproductions.com. After that it's back to the city for a couple days, and a "soft release" for my CD, at a time & location to be announced. Finally! Just as it was beginning to look like a Sisyphean task, the CD is going to press at long last. If all goes well it should be in my hands (& yours) by Sasquatch. I'll let you know when I set up the release party. After that, a couple days around town & I'll be off on the road again, going farther this time. Here's the schedule in good ol' point form. As you'll notice, there are still lotsa gaping holes in it, which I'd appreciate any help with filling. 21 Jul Seba Beach Flower Fest 23 Jul Jasper Downstream Bar 26 Jul Canmore Communitea 27 Jul Easyford Sasquatch Gathering 31 Jul Edmonton Long Way to Wander "soft release", TBA 2 Aug Calgary A Bar Named Sue 4 Aug High River Gitter's Pub 5 Aug Creston, BC The Snoring Sasquatch 6-12 Aug Salmo, BC Shambles! not playin, just workin & hanging out... 14 Aug Saskatoon, SK Spadina Freehouse, w/ fellow Outlaw Shayne Lazarowich 17 Aug Aylmer, ON Fred Eaglesmith's Charity Picnic, w/ the Long Weekends 23 Aug Guelph, ON Jimmy Jazz w/ Jimi Maze aka Mr. James Lanbro! ........ Ontario, Montreal, Michigan, back across the prairies.... any help with bookings would be wonderful. 18 Sep Edmonton The Druid 19 Sep Edmonton O'Byrnes (w/ Chris Wynters) 21 Sep Edmonton Leva Cappuccino Bar ... and after that I'll be off to BC for a month or so. It's VERY good to be getting back on the road. Those of you around town that I haven't called, please forgive me. I lost everybody's numbers & I've just been running into people when I do. If I haven't run into you, you must just not be coming out enough. Heck, I run into Irish Mick nearly every day! Seriously, though, please do call if you wanna hang out either tonight or in a week & a half, when I'm back in town for a few days. To those swimming through the Taiwan summer, you are missed. Much love from this side of the big marble. Be kind to each other, & your crazy selves, Scott 780 695-3474 http://www.scottcook.net

April 12, 2007 hey friends, I hope this finds you well. It's been a long time since you heard from me last, and it isn't for lack of news, just for lack of time to tell you about it. I have been getting steadily busier, against my efforts & better judgement, & I sincerely apologize if you have written & I haven't responded. Write again, please, & I'll try to get back to you more promptly. The record is well underway (tho taking longer than expected to nail down at the end) and I have one track, "my grandma" up on the website for your listening pleasure. The whole album will likely be out here by mid-May, and in Canada come June. For those on the good isle of Taiwan, recently rechristened 'Freemosa', there is a lot of music coming up. We just had Spring Scream last weekend, & it was perhaps the best one so far. This year they moved to Shiaokenting, a sprawling resort with plenty of cabins including one known as 'Radio 3038' or 'Stage Roger', that was rocking all weekend long, night & day, with international musical mayhem. The quality of the acts was higher this year & there were more bands from out of country as well. As usual very little sleeping went on. This weekend begins our FREEMOSAN OUTLAWS HIGH N' LONESOME COWPOKE ROADSHOW, which is supposed to be a CD release but lacks a CD so far... Kinda reminds me of the last time we "released" a record. Some of the finest singer-songwriters on this rock have agreed to play: Ty, Shayne Lazarowich, Faye Blais, Mister Green, & Pat Reid & Nick Fothergill of the Black Lung Choir. We will be hitting nearly everywhere that's anywhere: Fri April 13 - the Calgary, Chiayi Sat April 14 - the Grooveyard, Taichung Fri April 27 - the River, Jungli Sat April 28 - Cocomo Pub, Hualien Sun April 29 - Ilan? Fri May 4 - The Black Dog, Kaohsiung Sat May 5 - Hud La Voos, Tainan Sun May 6 - May Jam, An Ping, Tainan (Anglers & Outlaws to be confirmed) Sun May 6 - the Armory, Tainan Sat May 12 - tba, Taipei Sun May 13 - tba, Taipei The weekend after that, May 19th, we Anglers, Militant Hippi, Faye & the Slacks, & loads more will be up in the mountains of Miaoli County at Yariv & Janet's place, Moonshine Hill, for an all-day benefit party to help out Jess & Dan's school & free clinic for street kids in Varanasi. Geoff, who had a big hand in setting this up, has recently been to visit the school & assures us both that they are doing great work and that they really need the money. Come on out & support a good cause. Jess & Dan's school will also likely be on the charity list for the Peacefest this year, which will be happening June 1st to 3rd at the same sweet spot in the Longtan mountains... Lots of bands have applied already and it looks like we'll have to make some tough decisions this year. Surely the music & vibes will be sublime as always. Circle up! Shortly afterwards I will be getting on a plane bound for Canada. It's been a year & a half already this time around & I sure do miss it. So far I'm booked at two of my favorite festivals anywhere, the North Country Fair & the Sasquatch Gathering, as a singin' emcee for both. I'm in the process of lining up more dates these days, & I may just make it all the way out east again this time around, we'll see. Well, gotta get some sleep, so I'm signing off. Wishing you all the best, & look forward to seeing you along the way. Peace, Scott

September 28, 2006 hey friends, I sure don’t annoy you with a lot of mail, do I? First off, for those here on jungly Naruwan, some Anglers gigs coming up… This Saturday, September 30th, we’re playing Daniel Pearl Day at Treasure Hill. This is a worldwide day of music in honor of reporter Daniel Pearl, who was taken hostage & killed in Pakistan in 2002. If you haven’t been to Treasure Hill yet, this is a good opportunity to check it out—a very cool, quiet little spot, originally squatted by vets from Chiang’s army, that’s about to be demolished in the name of old Progress. Loads of other bands are making the trip as well. Things kick off at 2pm and we’re on stage at 4. Tunes go all evening & it’s absolutely free. The next day, Sunday October 1st, we’ll be playing by the pond in downtown Longtan, 6pm-8. This is a well-loved old spot for those of us who’ve lived in Longtan, and it will be our pleasure to grace it with music for a couple hours. Oh yeah, & there’ll be a wee Peacefest meeting afterwards, somewhere conveniently pondside. The following weekend is a 3-day weekend for some and a 5-day weekend for others, which makes it a fortuitous occasion for a rock festival. The “Wild Scream” fest is happening all weekend, Oct 6th-10th, in Bei Bin & Nan Bin parks in Hualien. The fest starts around 5 each day so you have plenty of time to hit the beach while the sun shines. Loads of good bands are gonna be there. We’re on stage 3, Sunday at 9pm, followed by the Sound Clashes at 10. The next Saturday, Oct 14th, will find us back in Taipei at Bliss for the launch party for Pressed Volume 5. This is a magazine of expat writing and art that’s been going for a while now... The party will be bumping with lots of well-educated, good-looking folks, and you get a free copy of the book with 200 bones cover. Also appearing are Faye and the Slacks from Taichung. They play groovy folk and you should definitely come check them out while they’re in town. In the more distant future, Sunday October 29th we’re reportedly sharing the Huashan stage with the incredible Dirty Three from Australia. I’m having a hard time believing this one myself… Saturday November 4th we’re opening Blues Bash 3 at the Dream Community in Xizhi, and Saturday November 18th we’ll be back at our favorite spot, the Grooveyard in Taichung. As always, all the info’s on our website. More shows are being added regularly. For those of you back on Turtle Island or elsewhere around the globe, a hearty "ni hao!" from sunny Taipei. I recently realized that the last some of you heard, I was still planning on touring this summer… Well, events have turned, as they do, and I will be staying here till summer of 2007... I was especially bummed about missing Sasquatch, but for the first time, I decided to give Canada a pass & concentrate on the tasks at hand. Quite adult of me, innit? Foremost in my reckonings is a feeling that I just got here, and have lots to do, and chief among those tasks is getting my financial house in order. Besides, I'm not coming back to Canada without a new record, and that's gonna take awhile. I’ve already started work with Rob Jonkman of Wise Maneuvers, really one of the most technically-savvy dudes I know, & things are sounding promising. Last summer & fall's coast-to-coast vagrancy was very good for me personally, if not commercially. It was a longtime dream of mine to roam the land in a big ol’ pirate ship & it was wonderful to be living it out in such good company. Now I just gotta work on giving that dream real legs. I’m working at a new kindergarten in Taipei, and it’s requiring a lot of me but it’s worth it. For the first time, I actually feel good about my boss & the whole operation. I’ve got only one class with ten kids in it, and no co-teacher. My boss grew up in the States & he’s even younger than me; a forward-thinking dude who really cares about the kids & gives his teachers a lot of leeway. Such a change from the usual huge class sizes, emphasis on memorization and repetition, money-mindedness, authoritarianism, dishonesty, ostentatiousness and outright idiocy that characterizes the kindergarten racket here. Anyone who’s taught in Taiwan will know what I mean. Here’s a pic of my school, with snowman atop (& yes, since you asked, that is the world’s tallest building in the background), & a pic of my kids, strange little monkeys that they are. I began my fourth decade last month, celebrated in proper style with hao duo peng yo by a mountain stream in the middle of nowhere… Thanks to Captain Lynn, the longest-running Taiwan vet I know, for the locale & the xiaomijio. The last pic above is the spot, near Shuewunao… (yeah, I know, where’s that?) We’ve been spending a lot of time swimming in the mountain streams lately. Things are building here. The Peacefest went off sweetly, despite perhaps being a little too epic in scope... It was like a big ol' Anglers reunion with Crees back up on djembe & Mr. Adam Goring, fresh from Canada via Australia, joining us on congas. Some flicks are up already on the hopingforhoping site. I've also put up some new pics of what we've been up to lately here. Anglers be rockin as always, a little older & tighter, maybe a bit soberer, but makin up for it with sweatier... My new reggae project (still unnamed) has got me all excited too. There’ll be even more gear in the van next time you see it. Well, that’s the news. Many thanks for your support & belief; it's got us this far. And back atcha! Keep doing what you do best, and do it even better. Much love from the family here to the family there. Peace, courage, guidance, Scott

Thursday, July 17 hey friends, Wow, Peacefest was magic, if perhaps a little too epic. Huge thanks to all you beautiful people who made the trip out to savor freedom, good tunes, good food & good company with us. And a big "your loss!" to all those who didn't. You'll have a chance to right your wrong next year. This year's performances were truly amazing, despite stretching past sunrise both mornings (my bad). In fact, I think if there was any complaint it might've just been too much good music, cheap drinks, and good friends... I saw a stream of people fleeing Sunday morning, looking like they'd just remembered their weekday lives and resolved to get out before anyone passed them a beer. We'll try to keep things a little tighter and not rub everybody's faces in it so much next time around. But yeah, an amazing weekend of music, with loads of magic moments (many of which will be on the upcoming CD), and a fruitful meeting of minds from all over the island. Sunday afternoon had a perfect conclusion, with a short but mind-blowing set by our friends Round Midnight from Taichung, followed by a Dream Community samba drumdown in the rain... Jimmy (the teacher) had just arrived by plane only hours before. What folks were left danced hard & celebrated. The rain let off just long enough for people to get their wheels out before it really came down. The sound company's truck slipped off the road on the way out & we marched out en masse to push it back on. I narrowly escaped death or at least heavy damages when the hillside I was standing on gave way, landing me right square in the path of the sliding truck. Nice rush of adrenalin to follow of course. We spent the night in the temple, jamming, warm on the weekend's embers. It's all of our hope that this festival and movement will carry on here in Taiwan, even though many of us will inevitably leave... There's more to it than the music, & the money (100000nt this time, not bad)... it's a chance to educate each other about what's going on in our world and on our little island, an experiment in collective, consensus-based decision-making, and a chance for all of us who have so much to give something back. The ball is already rolling for next year & I'd encourage anyone who wants to be involved to get in touch now through the website. And again, thanks everybody, it means a lot. The following Saturday a bunch of us met up again at Da An Park in Taipei for Canada D'eh. I'd always wanted to play on that stage, so it was nice to finally do it, though I had a steady stream of sweat running off my nose the whole time. I started things off solo & acoustic, followed by Mister Green, Public Radio, the Muddy Basin Ramblers & Milk, who were dressed in a suitably patriotic mishmash of flags and hockey pads, cranking out rusty old Canadiana like "Takin Care of Business," "Everybody's Workin for the Weekend," even Rush's "Tom Sawyer"... Sitting barefoot on the hillside digging "New Orleans is Sinking," I was almost there for a second... but of course it was a lot hotter and there were a lot more Chinese people around. We zipped over to the Living Room afterward to open things up for Milk's CD release. The disc (their third, titled 3:0) is great but of course the drunken late-night antics were even better. All kinds of old chestnuts (some of which one might reckon better-left-un-dusted) were given the falsetto treatment to great effect. Only true fans remained by the end of the night. Even some of the band had left. Ahh, Milk, still the best band in Taiwan, though often misunderstood... Jubba's playing was a little subdued to say the least, as a recent bicycle accident has deprived him of the use of his right hand for the time being. We're going to take it easy for the next little while & get back into it once he's healed up. I'll be spending a lot of time around the house, working on tunes on the computer, & doing pre-production work for my upcoming solo album, which I should have out by the time I hit Canada next summer. Feels a little strange to be here now rather than there but hey, we've got good times aplenty here, & it goes without saying that the river of funds runs way deeper here in Taipaid. Those of you who are there, raise a toast for me when you feel so inclined, and breathe deep. Oh yeah, and check out our friends on pushforthecure.com and throw a couple bucks their way, or at least get out and ride with them when they come through your town. Big love everybody, s

Thursday, June 1 Hey good people, Long time no talk. Hope you're all flourishing. Happy dragon boat festival! I hope you all got your zhongze. First off, news for those of you in Taiwan... For starters, our huge thanks to the good people of Taichung who came out to our show on Saturday at the Grooveyard... You are lovely people & it was good food for our old souls to see all your smiling faces on the dancefloor. Much love! Huge thanks also to Roger & Patrick for hosting us sweetly. This Friday, June 2nd, we'll be opening up for Taipei's ska providers the Sound Clashes at Velvet Underground, B1, #50, Zhongxiao W Rd, Sec 1. We start around 10pm. 400 bones at the door gets you 2 free drinks. The Sound Clashes will also be hosting a regular wednesday night reggae jam at Bliss from this week on. Go out & support! The show we're really excited about is coming next weekend... Peacefest 2006 looks to be bigger & better than ever. It runs sunset Friday to sunset Sunday this year, so I hope you'll all bring your tents (or rent rooms if you like) & hang out all weekend in the mountains with us. The Anglers are playing Friday night at midnight, & Long Gone Sound will be rocking Sunday around noon. We'll also be participating in a workshop or two throughout the weekend... That's right, bona fide workshops, like you know from folk festivals at home. It's gonna be great. Ask anybody who was there last year. Peacefest veterans Milk will be making the trip again, along with loads more bands, including the Muddy Basin Ramblers (oldtime jug band), the Sound Clashes (9-piece ska band), Fluent (live hip hop) & loads more... Check the website for the whole list & all the info you may need to get up there. All the money goes to charitible peace work. For those at home, sorry for the long silence. Been busy, as usual. Some news: The new & improved scottcook.net is up & running... A little thin on content at the moment but more is coming soon. I've also set up a couple pages on myspace for me & the band, for those of you who are into that. I've just discovered it this year, & since then decided I better stay well clear of it for the most part, lest I waste ALL my time online... me & that wikipedia are bad enough together. I'm settled in back in Taiwan & enjoying a slower pace of life... found a good kindergarten here in Hsin Dian (a Taipei suburb) & surprised myself by signing a one-year contract. The original plan was only 6 months but hey, plans change. I've decided it's finally time to pay off my debt, which was what I came here to do in the first place. So 8:50 every morning finds me dancing to techno songs with 3-year olds. My personal favorites are "tidy up my life" & "choco-late!". Actually, considering what a good time I've had, doing whatever I wanted without a thought about money for the past 5 years, it seems a small price to pay. The only downside of all that is that this summer's tour will be much shorter than expected, but I'll be sure to take a spin around Alberta & perhaps out to the Kootenays (maybe with a band along), & stop in to hang with the good people at the Sasquatch Festival. My heart swells thinking about it. Summer in Canada is IT. I've been playing solo a bit around here, including a couple at Bliss in Taipei with ex-Incriminator Jason Grenier, also known as Mister Green... Ty & I also played as a duo for Valentine's & St. Patrick's at the new bar in Longtan, in front of Bai Nian Da Jeng, called Azul... real nice place, on 3 round floors. And we've made some noise around River of course, including a raging party to celebrate the bar's 7th birthday & the opening of a swanky new restaurant upstairs. We've also started jamming with a new bass player, Kinya, from Japan, & he's laying it down real good. He plays with a lot of other bands including Red-I & the Riddim Outlaws... we met when he sat in on bass for us at the Bob Marley Day party in Taipei last year. Jubba is back on the drums for us & it's sounding sweet. We had our first proper gig with the new combo down in Chiayi, at the wedding party of our new friends, Mark & Georgina... The party was at the enigmatically-named Calgary Bar, which is an old sawmill, where the Japanese would cut up the old growth trees they brought down from Ali Mountain, back when they occupied Taiwan. Some of the pulleys and works are still in the roof & the tables are halves of huge trees. The neighborhood around it's also old wooden houses, which I haven't seen much of in Taiwan; it looked like another country. We reckon that every single foreigner in Chiayi county was there, & the party was raging. Big love to all the dancers! We even tagged along to the after-party at the pagoda, & dug the local family sing-along. We'll be back sometime. In April we headed back down to Spring Scream... it was a blast & a great reunion. The last time I left there I was in pain & on my way to the grave; felt a little funny to be back. Ty won the perserverance award for making it down there despite his broken leg. (You guessed it, scooter crash.) A few weeks after that we were out to XiZhi (Ty's old stomping grounds) for a great party at the Dream Community, called the Global Rhythm Festival. David Chen & the Muddy Basin Ramblers, Fireflower, & the Sound Clashes all rocked, as did Ayaco's circus show... There was a big crowd of good people out, who lingered and jammed well past shut-down... a beautiful night. And last Friday we were back out at Azul in Longtan for the Peacefest pre-party. We decided to shake things up & drew names from a hat to come up & jam with whoever happened to be up there. It went til the wee hours & reminded me just how much I love Jungli people. Good people, there's one last thing that's been occupying a fair bit of my attention for the last few years & I hope you'll spend a little time looking into it too... I hate to mention politics in such pleasant company but this is important. There's a video & an essay that I think everyone should make time to check out, regardless of your political beliefs. I've spent countless hours reading on- & off-line & these are the clearest presentations I've found of the reasons why we ought to reconsider what happened on September 11th. Please click here to go to my politics page & have a look for yourself. Please write & tell me what you think about all this, because I'd love to know... & of course any criticisms or questions are most welcome. Ok, enough of that heavy stuff for now. Wishing for sunny skies over all of us. Strength, courage, & guidance. Keep love in your hearts, s

sunday january 22, 2006 hello from rainy taiwan! I had a couple beautiful warm days on arrival, & walked around a lot, rode around on the bike too, & dug the thick air, the tangled jungle, the familiar smells & words... but since then we've been bunkered in by constant rain. looks like my planned motorbike trip is gonna take some determination. yesterday I hooked up with tyler & crees by the pond, & caught up & jammed. paid papa's lover a visit for the delicious zha dofu & kong pao ji ding & bamboo shoots & all that good stuff... & then to River bar, where a happy reunion awaited. emma, emma & niamh are bidding us all adieu, & wow, has it ever been a slice! the bar was packed with old & new faces & the girls were sent off in style. we were joined by jubba, john, rob & nick from wise manoueuvers in a rocking jam. people getting rowdy. beautiful to see you all again. we'll be laying fairly low around here for awhile as we get things going again... will let you know when we're back at it. meantime I've gotta find some young minds to shape. or at least astound with new heights of absurdity & slapstick. laters, scott

sunday, january 8th, 2006! Edmonton, thanks for the love. last night's reggae party was a raging good time, & a sweet sendoff for me, as I'm headed back to Taiwan this coming saturday. it was really wonderful to see all your smiling faces & feel the love coming back from all of you. we had great musical help from brian gregg on guitar, original spangler liz estioko on vocals, our old homeboy vizion with an impromptu flow, jay carscadden on hand percussion, & sista j as the voice of the talking bear--"lively up yourselves!" souljah fyah & auresia & the constellation-ites both rocked out big time. nice to be in their musical company. sista j is playing the bass now too, & holds it down sweetly. mick sleeper was on the decks all night with a mix of old & new selections that kept the people dancing... where there was room to do so, of course--it was sold out, a packed house. glad to see there's so much support for reggae in this country town. maybe one day we can have a reggae fest of our own... back around the new year, we made a run down to the southern part of alberta for a few days... rejoined adam goring for a great show in banff, & partied with mike b, lynda & friends from calgary there... then to calgary for a couple days hanging around drinking with our taiwan friends there (B, Kid, you know who you are), a visit with alia & xiao ai (still her ridiculous self), and a friday night show at jackdaw's that was packed out & rowdy. huge thanks to everybody who came out, it was a really special night & it's great to see everybody getting to know each other. I spent new years dancing the night away with a horde of young & old albertans at tom & anne-marie's wedding in okotoks. the bird dance got a rewind. big steve & diane were even out; we went out for fireworks under the stars after the clock struck twelve. Another year coming round; sure it'll be bigger, hairier, better, deeper & stranger than the last. anyway, that's it for us here for now. I'll be back in july & we'll get things fired up again then. We've been very, very grateful for all the help & support & lovely dancing people we've seen here in Canada this time around. look forward to hanging out with all of you again. happy trails, s

wednesday, december 7, 2005 well hello there! first off, a huge thanks to all you lovely people who came out to the party at o'byrne's on thrusday. we had a great time & it was sweet to see so many familiar faces. red magic (shamik & crystal) & laurelle really warmed things up between sets, jay helped us out on hand drums, & lotsa beautiful people helped us out by getting down... more of a testament to our wonderful hometown crowd than to the songs; they're the same songs every time, but people don't always dance... glad we know such a funky bunch around here. We're enjoying the springtime weather around town... We'd been steeling ourselves for some real Farley Mowat-like conditions which never really materialized, although I sure whined like it. For awhile there I was wearing 10+ layers, shocked at the hardiness of the locals... Darryl & I are gainfully & glamorously employed, taking photos of kids on Santa's lap in the malls around Edmonton, every day til Christmas. I'm squeezing in a show at the Druid tomorrow night, with a little help from my friends... then putting my shoulder to the wheel for the real santa rush. once finished, darryl & I are celebrating our freedom with a little spin around alberta. calgary people, get ready! Hope you're all doing well, wherever you are... & hope those of you in Taiwan who may be wishing for a little dose of Christmas hoopla can take comfort in knowing that we're overdosing... & besides, your memories of the season are selective, & may be sweeter than the real thing anyway. Christmas is always whiter on the other side of the world, right? or something like that. peace on earth, goodwill to men & women, s

monday, oct 31 well, that's it. four months on the road has finally drawn to a close. got to my folks' place last night & slept til noon. revelling in the luxury of having a warm bed, shower, toilet, power outlet, internet, all that. and, considering the cold, glad to be inside rather than out. a couple weeks to recap: had a great time in lethbridge... corrie from tongue n' groove hosted me fabulously & dragged me around town partying afterward, which I really appreciated, tho I protested at first. & katherine & chris fed me wonderful spaghetti the following night, thanks friends. from there I was off towards the kootenays... took a couple days getting there; spent some time around the crowsnest pass, laying low & playing, & wrote a new song, 'long way to wander'... then to the kootenays for about a week, walking in the woods, digging the fall colours, playing guitar, & catching some music in town... Saw Katana at the CCR pub over on the east shore, & they were cooking. great to see all the good people out there too. Played at Estevan's royal jelly jam, & met some kind folks there. Tuesday night I was doubly ticketed, with two friends' having shows on the same night: Ityen of Koots Roots was presenting Sugar Minott & his entourage at Fluid, while Rae Spoon & Geoff Berner were playing a double-bill over at the Royal. Both shows were excellent, tho it had me wishing I could be in two places at once... Sugar got the place rocking with a grand tour of every reggae style under the sun. In the not-so-sweaty Royal, Geoff got us laughing with his new tune, 'don't play cards for money with corby lund'... from there to banff, where I rejoined the band for a weekend stint at the elk & oarsman. huge thanks to them for hosting. It was lots of fun to be playing with daz & adam again, & to revisit the heavier tunes. the crowd was really nice both nights... thanks to mike for bringing a crew from cowtown, & to joe splane, scott cranston, jane & janelle for making the trip from canmore. it was great to see all of you. & especially sweet to jam with joe on guitar & hear his new sanyang motorbike tribute. great to see those big ol' mountains too. saturday night we played to the visual accompaniment of fluffy snowflakes floating down outside... darryl reckons it was the kind of snowfall you see at the end of a mcauley caulkin movie. alas, summer's over, I've come to admit. hanging up the sandals for now. around here, we'll be playing a bit, & I'll be doing some recording for my solo record, which I hope to have out by the new year. decided to make a whole album to replace the goin up the river EP, rather than get another run made, now that it's sold out. those of you who have a copy, you now own a collector's item. so anyhow, I want to say huge thanks again to everybody who came out, wandered in, told their friends, listened, danced, bought records, bought beers, gave me something to laugh about, gave me directions, gave me advice, fed me, housed me, or supported the whole thing in any way this summer... it's been an epic journey & it was sweet to meet you all along the way. I'll be back around before long. also, a huge thanks to my folks, without whose help none of this would've happened. best wishes to you all through the winter. take care, s

monday, october 17 hey there good people, still on the road! I'm in cowcow, about to head outta town into the wide-open spaces of southern alberta... been here a couple days, hanging out with my sister, & seeing old friends... had a great show in nanton on friday... a small, but enthusiatic crowd, really wonderful people. big thanks to pamela of the main street cafe for hosting, & big thanks to all who came out. wild times in town here over the weekend... saw a horde of zombies dragging their decaying bodies down 17th ave as I drove into town on saturday--calgary's first ever zombie walk, hilarious. later that night they were supplanted by an even bigger horde of red-shirted guys, all a little excited, to say the least, that the flames put the oil down, 3-nothing. hooked up with taiwan compadres aj, the b, the kid, the dros, robin too... the daz bear & ang made it down from edmonton for the night too. dug the big full moon shining through the frosty air. partied in a 100 year old building scheduled for demolition this week... lotsa fun here in the big city. playing tonight in lethbridge, then making my way gradually towards the koots... I'd actually contemplated going home, as some shows fell through, & it is getting wintry, but the sight of those mountains & thoughts of the folks on the other side reminded me this road's not over yet, still got a few more turns left in it. hope you're all doing well & enjoying the season. big love, s

wednesday, october 12 hey friends, hope you are enjoying the season. beautiful sunny day in saskatoon... got up a little late this afternoon, after a rowdy night partying with those inimitable cracker cats & friends. played open stage at lydia's last night & had a lot of fun, the people were into it. will be playing tonight at the freehouse & expect more rowdy good times. finally getting around to winding my way home. it's been sweet to pass by the places I first found on my way out east back in august... stayed alongside lake of the woods again, in ontario, with a foot of snow on the ground this time around... & night before last, stayed out at the same sweet little campground in dundurn, SK, & dug the big sky, falling stars. had a good night at the freehouse in winnipeg, thanksgiving sunday... played for nobody but the sound man & the bartender in regina the following night; blame it on the holiday & the bitter cold. I sure didn't mind the paid practice anyway. looks like there'll be some new music coming from our way soon... might even have a new single out by this winter. I'll be sure to let you all know. make sure to have a slice of pumpkin pie. or two. talk soon, s

thursday, october 6th hey friends, long time no write. I'm in chilly northern minnesota, & headed further north, back to canada this afternoon... finally having to admit to myself that this long summer dream is coming to an end. this morning the van was frosty, the grass outside carpeted with leaves... still rocking the sandals, carrying them like a torch, but they've got thick wollen socks underneath now... played a feature spot at the open stage in duluth, MN, last night, at a sweet coffeeshop called beaners central... a very lively scene in duluth, tho maybe like edmonton, more musicians than fans... many thanks to Jason for inviting me. Great to meet so many kind folks & hear some good tunes. been getting an eyeful for the past couple days, driving through michigan, wisconsin & minnesota... the hillsides all painted with yellows, oranges, & deep reds, the skies fierce & ever-changing... I haven't seen the fall here in four years & it's truly a beautiful sight. had a good time in fredericton with the kind folks there... thanks to ashley, lori, ronnie & steven for the nice welcome, & to matt & the 3 amigos for the enthusiasm. from there I bade a fond farewell to the maritimes & cut back into the states... across maine, beautiful southern vermont, & upstate new york, digging the scenery & sampling the wide variety of opinions represented on talk radio, from limbaugh on the one extreme to national public radio (thank god for it!) on the other... crossed back into southern ontario for a show at JT's in st. thomas. nice people there. thanks joan & kim for the warm welcome, & go well, uncle herb. It was great to be back in that part of the world, to smell the forests & farmland along the #3, & dig the sunset over lake erie... then back across the border to detroit, where I had to empty my pockets & endure some inane questioning, & up through michigan to the sweet solace of my grandparents' farm. seven generations of our family there; amazing place. stayed a few days with them & then overnighted with my cousin (of "out there in the evening" fame) in northern michigan before making my way west. now headed back to the prairies, dreading the weather to come. feeling very grateful for all the kindness & welcome that's been extended to me all along this long rambling road. hope you're all settling into fall gracefully. take good care, s ps well, whaddayaknow! there it is! just sitting here about to send this & I saw it! snow, falling in the sunshine... you folks in taiwan, count your blessings. peace.

thursday, sept 22nd hey friends, my sincere thanks to anyone who's reading this... I sometimes feel like the late-night cjsr djs ("is there anybody out there?") when writing this, but some people assure me they're reading faithfully, so I'll keep posting. I'm in moncton, just stopping over on the way towards st. john... gonna camp in the woods outside town tonight, play guitar... one good thing that's come out of this trip is lots of that. practice, rinse, repeat. making strides, I think, inch by painful inch. like everything, the beautiful, effortless-looking play you see is the result of countless hours of grinding it out. david ross mcdonald, whose guitar playing strikes me as superhuman, affirmed the same: he'd spent a lot of time in his bedroom, crafting, practicing, screwing up over & over again. so keep at it, everybody, whatever it is. halifax was great. got to hang around one place long enough that I kinda felt at home. very good to see shali, of course, & hang with her roomates (I know I already mentioned it below, but I'll say so again: they're longboarding across canada next summer for breast cancer, & they need all the help they can get with raising money. they're on eastcoastlongboarding.com)... got to check out a couple shows, too. especially dug BA Johnston, who's really funny, & the perfect musical accompaniment to a night out in that oh-so young & drunken town... & one day had the fortune of walking into the harvest festival on spring garden road... Verbal Warning was laying down some sweet grooves & we were dancing on the grass in the middle of town, sweet. played a short-notice farewell show (I'm sentimental, I guess; staying in a place a week seems to merit a farewell show) at the economy shoe shop, & had fun. thanks very much to the folks who came out for that one, & to shal for her tireless organizing. Also to Rick & Kelly, who made a point of coming out to the second show on account of the first, despite getting the date wrong... :) since halifax I spent a night drinking with Johnny Eden in Moncton, a night on the coast at parlee beach, & last night in Sackville, visiting Danica & then hanging around after I blew a tire on the trusty rockpod. got it fixed up this morning & back on the road. shows in st. john & fredericton & then cutting down through the states; will probably write next from there. peace & blessings to you all. take care, s

friday september 16 hey friends, I'm writing from the library in wolfville, nova scotia... there's an indoor folk festival on here this weekend, deep roots music fest, which looks great... unfortunately I got limited funds, & a birthday party to attend anyway, so I won't be going... but did make it here to hear a talk just now, bob snider speaking about songwriting... funny enough, last night I slept in the bed that bob had slept in the night before... the hospitality room above the union street cafe in berwick. I even wrote the beginnings of a song, sitting by the open window, looking over the street below, 1am. musta been some muses' scent lingering in the room... the crowd at union street was wonderfully attentive & packed with talent. I almost wished they would start ignoring me or something; all the perked-up ears were making me nervous... vince, caleb, sally, heather & kate (sorry, dunno anybody's last names) were all amazing. It was truly a pleasure to share the evening with so many wonderful musicians, & to be so well hosted. this is the kind of venue that songwriters dream about, & who woulda thunk it'd be found in tiny berwick? thanks meagan for the invite, kate for the warm introductions, & brian for the impeccable sound. today I drove to harborville, on the bay of fundy, & dug the mist hanging over the water... yesterday I was on the opposite coast of nova scotia, where I finally sat down by the atlantic ocean, finally got a feeling for what a long way I've come... gonna be a long trip back too. just landed my first gig in the states; duluth, minnesota. been hanging a couple days in halifax with shali & co., & enjoying carlos' wicked cooking. really digging the city too. full of students & young, sometimes stupid, energy. & here, too, they like their drink. met some funny people wandering around. liane also happens to be out here, by a stroke of good luck. played ginger's night before last, to a small but really wonderful crowd. thanks amanda & mandy for driving into town, & to everybody else who came out. finally got to meet local singer rose cousins, whose work I've admired, & who you should all check out... three of the guys I'm staying with in town are going to skate across canada next summer, to raise money for breast cancer. they're on eastcoastlongboarding.com for now; anybody who can help with the fundraising, get in touch! hope you're all doing well. keep the home fires burnin, alright? s

sunday sept 11 an unhappy anniversary... Yesterday on the radio I hear Bush still trying to get mileage out of it by comparing the heroes of hurricane relief to the heroes of 9-11. Which heroes, the firefighters who died when they brought the building down? Those people were murdered & their killers have the audacity to beat their memory for PR. If you still haven't heard the news (you must be getting your news from television), it was an inside job. the wikipedia's a good place to start, & it's got loads of links at the bottom... I'm in fredericton, sitting in front of the old customs house building... my first time in the maritimes, & loving it so far. fredericton is a town with free wireless internet, provided by the city. it's also a town where a dude (not this dude) can plug in his amp & rock out ALL the hits, & I mean ALL the hits, on electric guitar from the steps of a historic building on queen st. til three in the morning & still not draw the heat! It's also a town quite fond of its drink, as I saw last night. played at the bugaboo creek pub & the crowd was cool, if a little liquored... walked down to the banks of the st. john river afterward & saw the sky overhead flickering with ghostly green flame... the northern lights again, huge this time, filling the sky. & the wind blowing dry & cold. the season is definitely changing; feeling it for a couple days now. guess I'll finally have to break down & buy some shoes; my slippers are getting a little impractical to say the least. had a sweet visit in montreal & even got to hang with pierre, our long-lost drummeur, up to his old tricks... He gave me some footage from spring scream monkey that I'll be putting up soon; watch for it. slept out by drummondville & woke up to find my phone missing... On a slim chance, drove back to where I'd gassed up, just outside of montreal, & asked... found! (that's twice on this trip; the last time was in toronto when it got picked up by a jamaican reggae producer & his beautiful friend... good people around, everywhere) but had to haul ass back down the road toward fredericton; cutting it mighty close on account of my detour... spun through quebec city & dug the old buildings. had to give les plains d'abraham a miss. then along the st. lawrence, north to new brunswick... passed by the wonderfully-named town of St. Louis-du-Ha!-Ha!... for an explanation of the name, or anything under the sun, see the wikipedia. & speaking of the wikipedia, it's even bigger than I thought... For instance, it has an article on the tiny town of Tumbler Ridge, BC, where my family lived awhile, & articles on singers like Corb Lund, Kinnie Starr, even k'naan... where's the anglers article, you ask? just waiting for one of you to write it... there's a scott cook page, but only for that rich scott cook, who founded Intuit. Methinks they need a disambiguation page to cut through all the confusion. headed towards halifax today. loving these little square white houses out here, & these friendly folks. hope your skies are sunny. peace, s

wednesday, sept 7 writing from alia's place in montreal... lovely city, lovely place, lovely dogs & lovely roomate michelle... good to see she found a good spot. I got here yesterday & was reunited with my canine love, xiao ai, who wriggled her backside in a show of enthusiasm... later met up with stephan (aka mc sputnik) & he wiggled his bum about the same... really nice to be in quebec, this other country within our own, it makes me love this country even more. I crossed over yesterday from ottawa, where I saw Pascal & Kate, & the parliament buildings, & on my way out, the falun gong practicioners in mock cells & torture scenes, preparing to welcome Hu when he comes on saturday... undoubtedly mr. martin will be a lot more polite & neglect to mention human rights while they're dining on xuei jiao together... actually Hu probably eats filet mignon these days, good proletarian that he is... I had a nice week in eastern ontario... met up with yoav at the tranzac club & we went for a few drinks, then wiled away the hours from our perch high up on a fire escape... the next day I was back to cherry beach for a picnic with katie & then out... slept by the lake in port perry, then to uxbridge the next day. nice crowd at sixty-six... swanky place, fine food. many thanks to ann & eric for hosting, & to the coffee shop manager for the jumpstart in the morning. then to peterborough to get a new battery, & to see mike & ann goede & their two kids, who I hadn't met yet... roan is a brilliant little guy; lots of fun hanging with him, & it reminded me how much I miss hanging out with my students. he drew me a map to halifax so I can't get lost. Played at the spill & had a great time. James is an excellent host & the PA is great. Went for beers at the Montreal House afterward... It used to be a men-only establishment up til a few years ago; real smalltown beer-hall charm & the same familiar glasses that you find at the Strat & Blues on whyte back home. Saw Lotus Wight & the ways of the world, local oldtime string band, awesome, & danced with the folks there. nice people in peterborough. the next night I was down in cobourg--beautiful town on the shores of lake erie--for a show at the human bean. Nice crowd & a nice place. Thanks to Dave for hosting & buying me a beer afterward. Spent a lot of time there on the beach; it looks like the ocean... Heard that the shelter valley folk festival was going on just down the road, & that raghu lokanathan was there... Hadn't seen him in a couple years so I endeavoured to find him. Barely got to talk with him before I had to head to Millbrook, a VERY small town outside peterborough... So small, in fact, that the bar & the video store are in the same building. Scotty Rabel called while I was setting up & filled me in on all the Taiwan news. Crazy to be talking to him from there. I played the Eagles that night, as I suspected I might; twice in fact. Quite a change of pace for me as a show but I had a lot of fun. Thanks to Don & Margaret for coming out from peterborough. the next morning I drove back to shelter valley to see raghu, & managed to catch the festival producer, Aengus Finnan, singing some heartbreaking songs... Good to see Raghu & John Wort Hannam, who was also there... It's a sweet little festival, only in its infancy, in a beautiful setting on a hillside overlooking lake erie... looks like it'll be around for a long time. sure liked eastern ontario; the rolling hills, the fields & forests, & the lakeshore. now digging the vibe here & regretting all the goofing off I did in french class. soon enough I'll be on the coast. hope you're all doing well, wherever you are. see ya, s

monday august 29 in toronto, writing from the bar of clinton's on bloor... gonna play the tranzac club tonight & then I'm off east. got to town on friday & was shocked to see parking for $25, flat rate... Of course that was as bad as it got, & the prices fell as I got further from front st... Was feeling a little overwhelmed though at the whole bustling hustle. Played the free times cafe, sharing the bill with donna ferra & samantha jones, and caught up with my old friend katie. the show went well & I was very thankful to peter for getting me in on it with such short notice. I spent all day saturday down at cherry beach, by the docks... I'd been getting mail from the Promise mailing list for years; I guess somebody took my address down when I was out in Toronto years back to play my drum n bass at a truly unforgettable party that my friends in why so ltd. organized on the bruce trail... I've often thought I should just unsubscribe from their list, being in taiwan & all, but reckoned that someday fortune might find me in montreal when they're throwing a party. I pulled into town yesterday & got online only to find mail from them, about a party on cherry beach, on the only free day I have here... figured that's what I stayed on that list for all these years. In the morning when I got down the park was full of ravers, come down there after the clubs let out, to chill & get back to normal... well, some of them never made it back to normal, cause by 3 or so there were two sound systems on the beach, both free parties... Reggae, soul, & african drumming at the one on the beach; house, breaks & dub at the other, which was the promise party, tucked away in the woods... They've been doing sundays there for years, which I found truly amazing... you sure wouldn't get away with anything like this out west. No permit, big beats, people drinking beer... a sure heat score in Alberta at least. Maybe the cops have more important things to do here. Anyway, it was wonderful to take it in, & meet the kind folks there... A little slice of eden. Sunlight slanting through the trees, kids running around, people juggling, standing on their heads, all that good stuff... great dub from the Reverend & breaks from Rollin Cash. unfortunately the other party (which was also rocking but maybe a little too close to the parking lot) drew the heat & they both got shut down by 11 or so... Only the 2nd or 3rd time it's been busted, which in itself is amazing... Amazing that such a cool thing could go on in the city, & amazing that it isn't bigger & rowdier than it is... maybe 200 people there tops. Thanks so much david & irving for doing something for free, building community, bringing people out to the woods. peace to nova & chris & all the kind folks I met--hope you aren't too hurting at work today. just got mail from alia in montreal, stoked to see her & my canine love xiao ai... Decided in the last couple days that I'm gonna go all the way east, gigs or no gigs... this is where the faith comes in. Hope you are all doing well, talk soon, s

friday august 26 a new record for this tour, set last night at the circus room in kitchener... played the whole night for $10 & change. my fault, I shoulda known crackheads got no money to spare. I wasn't too broken up about it or anything, just remembered how lucky I am, that I can wake up & leave here. which I'm doing right now. adios, crack alley. oh yeah, & rick, keep your head up, amigo, it's a hurting jungle out there. s

thursday august 25... hey friends, hope you're well. I haven't written in awhile, eh? been busy. I'm in steeltown, hamilton... first time here. Had a great show to open & close the open mic at pepper jack cafe last night. It's a lot of the old crowd from the Staircase Cafe (closed now), carried over to the other place... A really sweet venue, with a big wooden stage by the open windows & a big shady patio outside, walled in with brickwork--a garden oasis in the middle of downtown... & a really sweet scene there too. Most of the folks know each other & there was a nice family vibe, plenty of collaboration going on, lots of talent. big thanks to ken for inviting me, doug for the impeccable sound, & rob for hosting the stage & kindly hosting the after-party too. good people. yesterday morning I saw niagara falls for the first time with my good friend Cristina, dug the heavy mist raining up on us, & hypothesized about rainbows. before that I spent the weekend at Fred Eaglesmith's charity picnic, had a sweet time. Pascal came down from Ottawa (without a bass player, at the last minute) & we managed to finagle the services of one Mark "Worm" Sinkowski, who works at Fred's Hobo Store in Port Dover... Lots of fun laying the reggae on the country crowd, & they dug it too... House got up on harp & Durrie helped us out with congas. The weekend was excellent. I had little idea just how big a name Fred is around those parts, or around Texas, for that matter. People came from far & wide. With very little help from folk festivals, radio, etc., Fred has built up his own grassroots following, huge, like a Canadian country version of the Dead cult... A big family of wonderful people, most of them musicians themselves... There were amazing jams running late every night. the friday night was my 29th birthday, and a full moon too... I slipped away for awhile to sit on the banks of the creek & stare at it. A beautiful setting for the picnic, Springwater conservation area, with lily pads covering the water, big trees shading the people, moonlit nights... The music was consistently great. Standing out for me were Washboard Hank, funny as always, Carolyn Mark, absolutely hilarious, Slaid Cleaves from Texas, fellow Albertan Matt Masters (who's on a mission to play 100 gigs in Alberta this summer to mark the centennial), House Milner, & Gurf Morlix, who's a big-name producer and no less of a talent himself; he closed his set with an inspired & timely rendering of dylan's 'god on our side,' which I'd been digging on the way here... Of course Fred was awesome; funny ad lib from him & some beautiful textures going from the band. The lineup is stellar & includes Willie P. Bennett, who amazed us all on harp & slide mandolin & timeworn vocals... They travel around in a big old bus with 10 beds, support crew, a big circus pulling into town. When they're off the road, the bus is parked in front of Fred's house down by the water in Port Dover... On the thursday before the picnic I played in port dover, got introduced to some of the kind folks there (hey Pat, April, House, Liz, all!) & dug the little town on the shore of big lake Erie... Fred is well known & loved in Dover, & has his own store, the Hobo store, where they sell off old guitars, mandolins, accordians, used LPs, single guitar strings, cheap harmonicas, amps, and whatever else they pick up in junk shops along the way on their travels. Truly a hobo's delight. Setting up for