Scandinavian Tour 2014

Apr 3, 2014 - Today we leave Ottawa for a 3 week tour of Scandinavia!

Apr 4, 2014 - It is 1pm here in Denmark, and we just checked into our hotel in Copenhagen. We've been travelling since about 3:30pm yestderday.

The flight was actually alright - for the the first time ever I was on one of those planes that has a screen in every seat. The hardest decision I faced all night was whether to re-watch Cool Runnings or Being John Malchovich.

We flew to Toronto, and then to Copenhagen, and somewhere along the way Air Canada misplaced my bass.

Right now, I'm a bit too tired to worry about that, though. Time to nap before our gig tonight. I just hope I don't fall out of bed...

Apr 5, 2014 - Last night the staff at the Mojo Blues Bar very kindly provided me with a bass. Unfortunately, it was a six string. I never fully realized before last night just how HUGE the neck on a six string bass is.

Just as I was trying to figure out how I would play an entire show on it, they were able to track down another bass. A local bassist, who I never met, whose name I don't even know, lent me his bass for the show. So whoever you are, mystery bassist, thanks!

The show was really fun. The club was full, and everyone really dug the music.

This morning I woke up to a phone call from Air Canada. They found my bass, and they even delivered it right to the hotel. It was a sweet reunion. Let's never be apart again!

This evening we played a show in Fredericia.

Very nice venue and stage!

Apr 6, 2014 - We took a ferry from Denmark to Norway. And then stayed in this funny looking hotel:

Although it looks like a shoebox, it was actually perfectly nice on the inside.

While tracking down some dinner, we found this - the most fancy McDonalds ever created. Fancy or not, we decided against eating there.

Apr 7, 2014 - We drove the rest of the way to Stavangar today, and the drive was so beautiful!

We will spend the next four nights in Stravangar right in the middle of the city in our own 60's style apartment.

The view from our balcony.

Tomorrow night we will play at Ovenpaa (the third building down).

Nice view from the venue.

Apr 8, 2014 - Stavangar is an interesting city. It is very tourist-y with little shops everywhere. It's too bad everything here is SO expensive (at least compared to what I am used to in Canada). Here are a few things to give you an idea...

A chocolate bar will cost you about $5-6(Canadian)
A bottle of beer in a bar is $14
A meal at McDonalds is nearly $20....

You get the idea. But, the best part of Stavangar is totally free! This fantastic park is just about the best public park I have ever seen; everything in it is made from discarded ship things.

I'm pretty sure these orange bouncy balls used to be buoys.

I'm not sure what this used to be, but now it's just for crawling through.

Part of it is also a skate park

I have a feeling the jagged metal edges and questionable safety would never be allowed in Ottawa, but a girl can dream, right?

Our show at Ovenpaa tonight went well...

As JW was describing our surprise at the comparatively high prices of things in Stravangar, a guy from the audience ran out and bought him a bag of chips and a coke!

Apr 9, 2014 - We played in nearby Sandnes tonight.

Another nice view from the venue! (Plus the tour-mobile!)

Apr 10, 2014 - It is our last day in Stavangar, so I decided to do a bit more exploring.

Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for a long drive to Hamar, Norway.

Apr 11, 2014 - The drive through Norway was amazing again.

And we drove through a lot of mountains...

Which reminded me a lot of...

And made me worry a bit about...

It was also very windy and narrow. In Canada, we are pretty used to our luxuriously wide roads, with lines clearly marking each lane.

These roads would have a hard time passing as sidewalks in Canada.

And this was for traffic in two directions!

We made a roadside stop, and I think all the twists and turns went to our tour manager Ray's head... hehe.

The club in Hamar had an excellent stage.

The turn out for the show was good too.

Apr 12, 2014 - We are in Oslo, the capital of Norway, to play at Buckley's.

The architecture in Oslo is pretty interesting.

The architecture of the inside of the club was interesting too. There were random beams and bench seating on different levels.

Apr 13, 2014 - We didn't have long to explore Oslo, but now we are in Karlstad, Sweden for three nights.

The drive here was nice too, and we made a quick roadside stop to enjoy the scenery.

And I somehow caught this nice little moment...

Can you feel the bromance?

Tonight we played for the Karlstad Blues club in a venue that kind of had a living room vibe.

I can safely say that I have never played on a stage with so many chandeliers before.

We had a great show there! Maybe the chandeliers helped?

Apr 15, 2014 - We have had a relaxing two days off in Karlstad. It's a very cute city with interesting buildings, and statues.

It had been a nice time here, but I am looking forward to moving on tomorrow and playing some more music!

Apr 16, 2014 - Our drive out of Karlstad was once again very nice, and of course, more roadside shenanigans.

We arrived in Norrkoeping to perform at a theatre style venue called Crescendo.

When we arrived they had set up quite a few chairs, and by the time we were ready to perform, they were all full.

The audience was very attentive, as they often are in theatres, which meant we could try out some different ideas, like playing so quiet the volume on the bass and guitar were almost off.

Apr 17, 2014 - We performed at Josef's House of Blues in Eskilstuna tonight.

A few highlights from this evening include an awesome Taco bar dinner, a very friendly club owner/staff, and playing in a city with the word "tuna" in its name.

Also, these cool old instruments on the walls of the club.

We tried out some of our new tunes tonight, which we will be recording very soon in Nashville, TN! Learn more about our upcoming album!

Apr 18, 2014 - We just arrived in Stockholm, and based on the view from my hotel room, I think this is going to be a fun city to check out...

Now off to see the sights!

Apr 19, 2014 - We had a fantastic day hanging out in Stockholm today! Since we had a couple of gigs get cancelled at the last minute, we decided to head out and play on the street.

Busking was really fun - we gathered a couple of nice crowds and even sold some CDs.