Mouton Noir means Black Sheep in French

I played a show the other night at The Black Sheep near Ottawa in a small hamlet by the name of Wakefield, in beautiful Quebec. There were lots of people speaking French and everything was all cute like I was in Europe. I mean, it’s like Canada is a different country or something. The show was a hoot and my friends from the band Little Miss Higgins showed up because they had a night off and were playing the next night at the same venue. I’d met them a month ago at the Stan Rogers folk festival in Canso, near Cape Breton. You know- it's where my Aunt Roseanne and Uncle harry live! It’s crazy how much musicians travel and weave their way across North America. The last words I said to them before they left the folk festival were “what are you going to get me for Christmas?” We shared a dormitory in a a cabin and I was still asleep as they were leaving. So they showed up the other night with Christmas presents all wrapped up real purty like. The got me a vintage Gene Autry book and a blue bandana so I can join The Crips and some soap! They make their own soap! Or at least they get it packaged by some cool hippie soap makers in the Canadian Prairie. Christmas presents in August rock. I don’t know why more people don’t get me Christmas presents in August. Avoid the crowds and get all of the presents you plan on getting me early.

The other cool thing about that was the sign outside the window with my name on it. As you can see below, there was a spider dangling over my name like he knew I was Spider Boy. I loved that spider and got to talk with him/her for a spell.

Krainz Photography

The next night I went halfway across the country to Oakville, Ontario because my Canadian booking agent has a map of Canada on his wall in his office and thinks it’s actual size. I played The Moonshine Café and it only cost 5 dollars to get in to the show. 5 five cinco etc.... So I played for 3 hours to punish them for making it so cheap. If they had charged the proper 15 dollars I would have given them an hour and a half and let them go like a normal person. But instead I tortured them with an extra ninety minutes of continuous blabbering on and on and on. I wanted to stretch it to four hours but I ran out of gas. That’s a really cool venue and I hope to be back soon. The owners of The Moonshine are champs.

I finished the tour at The Irish Mountain Music concert series in the middle of nowhere outside of Meaford, Ontario. This is one of the most beautiful settings I’ve ever played. They had an outdoor stage in their backyard of this beautiful house with a great sound system and lawn seating. Good times.

I’m now sitting in an airport in Toronto waiting for my flight and hopefully making it back in time for Berkley Hart’s James Taylor tribute concert In Encinitas California. I’m supposed to perform 2 songs at 10 pm. I arrive at 8 ish so that gives me scant time to high tail it up to North County to sings some songs.

Cheers and stuff,
Steve