I Can Only Look Ahead                   January 1, 2008

Don’t be fooled into thinking France is all good taste.  The holiday decorations in the countryside are some of the tackiest I’ve ever witnessed.  It’s hard to see in this photo but there’s a nice garbage can lid with a brick on top of it adorning the festive fountain. Somehow it makes it that much more charming, but not in ways I would have ever expected.

I’ll get to finishing up that tour diary later...or then again I won’t.  I've got some sort of nasty head cold that will only let me look ahead. Let’s leave it that it was a really exhausting but thoroughly enjoyable trip.  L.A., San Francisco, Portland and Seattle - fun shows all.  Playing with Steve Wynn, Scott McCaughey and Linda Pitmon in Portland and The Tripwires in Seattle. We can’t wait to go back, and to the US in general.  A whole new audience is discovering Eric’s records, and thanks to us playing together, they hear me too. And vice versa. I get such a kick out of playing my favorite Wreckless Eric songs and my old favorite songs too, and I love debuting the new songs we’ve worked up together.

Some people seem puzzled at first about what we’re going to do, some wonder what we’re doing on the same bill, not realizing that we’re playing together. One long-haired guy in Seattle admonished  me before the show: “Don’t get me wrong, I like songwriters okay, but I need to see a band.” “That’s alright,” I said, “We are a band.” He took his place near the stage with a very skeptical look on his face and it was great to wipe that smirk away and see it replaced with the classic Seattle hair-thrash and a beatific smile.  And I was smiling right back.

So here's me, sick but happy.  Wishing you all sorts of unexpected good things this year.