life in the catacombs

Vacuity on London Tonight

2011-04-28T15:04:00.001-04:00

Here is the video from our appearance on London Tonight with Jeff Leeson.

Eff Winter

2011-02-10T15:07:00.003-05:00

RQ PRESENTS “THE EFF WINTER PARTY” @ THE MUSEUM AFTER DARK
featuring : VACUITY & LITTLE MUSHROOM CATERING
ON FRIDAY FEBRUARY 18

8pm - midnight
$4 to get in.
$4 beers / $5 wine

You can check out the new Searching for Tom exhibit from 7pm -8pm for a discounted rate of $12/person.

Looking forward to it folks!

g.

Album progress

2010-12-14T13:03:00.003-05:00

I thought I would check in here and give a quick update.

The album is currently out of our hands. This is not to imply that we are done. Hahaha. Wouldn't that be nice?

Taylor has taken the stems back to the lab to do some tweaking. When he can finish, we will be doing some additional recording. Then it is mixing, mastering and manufacturing.

We are working on behind the scenes on organization to facilitate the album when it is completed.

If you are really hurting for a Vacuity fix, why not download our cover of 'Last Christmas' from CD Baby?

More soon.

g.

Emac. Day 3.

2010-10-14T23:06:00.002-04:00

It was more difficult to get out of bed this morning. Coffee coffee coffee. A quick breakfast and we're piled back into the van. More coffee at the studio.

Warm up with a way too slow version of Tamer Than Anything and then dig into We're Golden and We Own the Moon. Wanted to recut We're Golden based on Grady's comments from day 1, "Great song boys, but is it supposed to sound so limp dicked." His words, not mine. :)

And he was right. Really happy we recut that one.

Ran through We Own the Moon a few times as well. More hunch based. I'm glad we made time for it, but I can't tell.

Break for lunch. Delicious lasagna and soup courtesy of the very cool Mary Lou. This morning she was telling me that there is a buried chinese emperor surrounded by a moat of mercury. Radical.

After lunch we made use of the grand piano. I'm a pretty light player but the trick was to be gentle. I'm used to bashing the old upright beater we have here in kw. Different beasts with different habits. Both positively useful. We then thickened and touched up some of Rob's guitars - which sound awesome - and called the session a wrap.

Awesome.

g.

Emac. Day 2.

2010-10-14T02:16:00.004-04:00

This morning started off wonderfully. We're staying with a friend and her family while we're in London recording. They have been so wonderfully hospitable toward us - we cannot possibly thank them enough. This morning Doug made us crepes. We didn't mention it to Taylor for fear of breeding crepe envy. We don't want that energy on the album. Envy of delicious breakfast foods is a terrible evil.

Upon arrival at the studio we dove into one of the trickier songs - Ghosts in the Pavement. I almost lost it for a bit. Studio performances can easily get stale. It is so unnatural. I had a minor fit, resulting in a short break. Obviously we needed fresh pots. Taylor was ever accommodating and proceeded to rearrange things so that I was able to play without wanting to smash things.

Andrew arrived shortly after Ghosts and we dug into the remaining tracks. There was a slight obsession with mallets on the drums and some very nice hi hat work. Impromptu dances and many many pots of coffee were consumed.

The rest of the day was a whirlwind. We have now recorded all 11 songs. Tomorrow will be touch ups and any BIG overdubs we need or want. Then its home to our studio to do overdubs.

Doug had a pile of puzzles ready for us when we returned to his place. You know those crazy mind game things? Untangle the impossible steel mess, navigate the ball bearing through the plastic three dimensional maze of nightmares. Great stuff, reminds me of being younger, staying with my Dad. He was all over that stuff. I was a brat, but I'm glad he kept me away from the TV now. They don't call it 'programming' for nothing.

I am about to collapse. Time to get some rest.

Peace.

g.

Emac Day 1

2010-10-12T11:16:00.017-04:00

Earlier today we piled into our wonderfully decrepit van. Overloaded with musical equipment, coffee and sleepy humans we drove to London. We are recording bed tracks for our next album at Emac Studios.

In the past we have taken a mostly DIY approach when it comes to recording and mixing albums. The masterful Tod Cutler (he mixed Come On Get Real) being the one major exception to that.

For the capturing and taming of this next album we have enlisted the skills of Taylor Kernohan and Andrew Lopez. Almost a year ago, we were introduced to these two fine gentlemen. The chemistry was instantaneous. We have been working with them on the songs since.

I can remember passing out on the laundry room floor of Rob's old basement while we were working on The Middle Ground. I was working nights and we were doing early morning sessions in the 'Water Heater Room'.

Earlier today, Rob was reminiscing of sleeping in Paul's folk's garage while he was tracking vocals for At the Command of the Blanket Sky. I can also remember recording guitar for Tamer Than Anything in the same garage - middle of the suburbs, middle of the day - guitar just booming. Totally awkward, yet somehow totally awesome. Young mothers hold their newborns closer. Bichon Frise head tilts in confusion. Emeri and I would sneak in at night while Paul's parents were sleeping and record shakers and tambourines. Maybe the odd guitar feedback loop in Cm. One time Paul recorded a tree. Don't ask how. Its a trade secret. I guess the point is - we're stepping it up recording quality wise with this album.

I am excited to share these songs with people. It has been far too long in the making. And for those of you who've been sticking with us - thank you for your patience. I hope you can stick around a little longer. I know I've lost the path several times. I always find it again though. Or it finds me.

Nervous to fuck these songs up. Excited to get them just right.

g.

Steel Rails Sessions

2010-09-30T02:36:00.005-04:00

This past weekend we were invited to be part of a moving art exhibit orchestrated by Hilary from RQ Magazine.

There were a whole ton of great installations that were happening on a train running from Waterloo to St. Jacobs featuring: CAFKA, KWAG, Aaron Bartley, MFX Partners, Uptown 21, Deadbeatblast and KW Symphony.

We played music for the passengers when they arrived at the rail depot.

Later the train was attacked by zombies.

Ramy Nassar from Bright Lights Photography took these photographs. You can check out the full gallery here: Bright Lights Photography.

What a blast!

Peace.

g.

KOI Fest 2010

2010-09-19T19:11:00.001-04:00

The first KOI Fest was a blast.

Check out a whole slew of pictures here:

KOI Fest Photos by Vampire Beats

Thanks for the photos Melissa.

Vacuity

Rock. A. Thon.

2010-09-11T19:04:00.005-04:00

Thanks for a fantastic evening at Maxwell's last night KW. It seems we are not alone in our excitement for the release of THE BLACK HOUR. Stick with us. Things are picking up.

If you missed us at Maxwell's - you're in luck! Vacuity will be performing at the annual charity concert, Rock-A-Thon, to support Grand River Hospital on Monday, September 13, 2010, on main campus of Wilfrid Laurier University. Vacuity will be performing at 3pm in the amphitheater at the center of the campus.

Come one, come all!

g.

listen to our whole album

2010-08-13T00:14:00.005-04:00

We have been doing the last bit of pre-production on our upcoming album. We are working with two producers: Taylor Kernohan and Andrew Lopez. The plan, as it currently stands, is to head to London and record bed tracks of the album with these two gentlemen at Emac Recording Studios. We're pretty stoked.

In the meantime, we're trying to have all of the album material ready for a show we're doing in Waterloo on September 10th at Maxwell's Music House. Hope to see many of you there!

Yours,

Vacuity

error

2010-07-23T04:42:00.003-04:00

in case the title of the last post confused anyone who helped out with the WLU case study - the title is lyrics from a song and in the picture we had just finished working on the song. it is not vacuity demanding you re-write the reports.

the reports are very interesting to read so far.

many thanks

greg

re-write the report its not what we wanted it to say

2010-07-21T16:49:00.003-04:00

writing.

wake up. go back to sleep.

2010-07-02T15:50:00.005-04:00

image courtesy of Blade Diary

Howdy friends,

Last weekend, Toronto had the misfortune of hosting the G20 summit. The exact number of dollars spent on security alone ranges from 600 million to 1 billion plus. I'm not sure why there is such a range. When I use money to purchase something I always get a receipt that tells me how much I paid. Right down to the penny.

The Toronto police held a press conference to showcase the arsenal of threatening weapons confiscated. A few days later it was reported that many of these items had no connection whatsoever to the G20. This includes one of the most menacing items displayed: a crossbow and several arrows. The police claimed the arrowheads had been modified to be soaked in gasoline and start fires. Indeed they had been modified and for far more fantastical purposes. The tips had been cut off, replaced with a segment of pool noodle and wrapped in socks. Any apprentice Archer will know this gives a +2 damage in live action role playing games which is exactly what they were intended for. A good number of the items confiscated are not even considered weapons. Obviously, the police being true ninjas from the same discipline as Chuck Norris, recognize that everything is a weapon.

A secret law/temporary measure was passed for the duration of the summit. It applied to anyone within 5 meters of the gigantic security fence erected around the core of the downtown. If you were asked for identification, for any reason, and failed to pony up, for any reason, you were arrested, taken to a film stage building and kept in a cage. The conditions, widely debated, are almost certainly below what you would find in a regular prison. Days later Bill Blair, Toronto Chief of Police admits that he 'made up the law' to serve his own purposes. Information about this is still unfolding. Why are people arguing about detainment center conditions when innocent people are being illegally arrested and held against their will in cages?

So without mention of tactical Black Bloc hoodlums smashing corporate storefronts (just more of the pot calling the kettle black?), protesters not complying with police orders that were or were not issued, police cruisers intentionally or unintentionally abandoned and set ablaze for the sake of spectacle, we have still created a profoundly disturbing unfolding of events.

I'm a skeptical bastard. I can't help it. There is a lot of conflicting information surrounding these events. When it comes to conflicting information surrounding the authorities and rulers of our country (a.k.a. the people with all the power and all the guns, tanks, sound canons, etc) I think we are best to to be overly skeptical. Overuse of dissent must be better than overuse of force. Power has very bizarre effects on people. Even Gandalf from Lord of the Rings (pretty much the most radical Wizard to ever be fictionalized) wouldn't touch the Ring of Power when Frodo offered it to him.

Its easy to forget that we have things like the weekend, holidays and even my ability to post something like this on the internet because people kicked and screamed and bitched and fought (some even died) for them.

Canadians will be all to familiar with the new HST tax that has just come into effect. When the government attempted to impose this tax on our native communities they refused. Many of our major road/rail transportation systems run through the reserves we have set aside for our native population. (The slow cultural genocide of Canada's native community is a whole other shameful debacle brought to you by the same institution). With a threat to shut down this shipping network the government were forced to withdraw their tax on the native population. Wouldn't it be nice if we all had a voice as loud as that? Many people protest this new tax - especially given the nature of the economic crisis - nevertheless, the bill passes and we continue to pay into these institutions that don't serve us. It is the same with the G20. The people protest. The government builds a fake lake. No voice. No meaningful forum for debate.

If you're feeling at all ambitious, do some independent research into the cause of the global economic crisis, the emerging energy crisis, the state of the environment and the nature of government. You can reach your own conclusions but I'm certain they will be very different than what you presume. Where does all that money everyone wants so bad even come from?

Be watchful!

Greg

2010-06-24T15:15:00.002-04:00

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to let everyone know (at the last minute possible) that we'll be playing a FREE show at Wilf's Pub in Laurier at 9pm tonight.

Come one, come all, see you there??

P.S Thanks to 10 Dollar Haircut for one of many awkward shots of us from NXNE

NxNE / QR Album

2010-06-16T15:23:00.003-04:00

QR coding is a type of barcode that can be scanned by mobile cameras. Upon scanning it takes the user to a hyperlink. We have generated a code for each song from 'Blanket Sky'. We will be handing out free buttons and throwing some of these codes up on the projector throughout our set this Friday at The Piston for NxNE. It will be a spectacle!

I have had a lot of widespread reaction to these little codes. Ranging from, 'What the heck is that?" to, 'Yeah EVERYBODY knows what it is." I'm not too sure what the general understanding is, however if it is anything like 'Pop Punk' - we're way ahead of our time. ;)

Here are the details for our NxNE showcase:

Friday, June 18th, 10pm
The Piston
937 Bloor Street West

Hope to see many of you there!

Greg

PS - Master Groves if this is coming through the filters - welcome back!

Always on the weekend

2010-06-01T14:53:00.005-04:00

Vacuity had a pretty busy weekend.

Saturday night we crammed ourselves and a number bodies into Maxwell's Music House in Waterloo. We came to share some new material from our upcoming album and to help Paul Maxwell celebrate his club's 2nd anniversary.

Big thanks to Paul Maxwell for having us out, Sexdwarf for kicking the night off proper, and to all those in attendance. What a spectacular evening.

Here are some pictures, courtesy of Ramy Nassar of Bright Lights Photography:

The rest of the gallery can be viewed here.

Vacuity specializes in wake performances. We were the last band to play live to air on 100.3 and now the last band to perform at Art Bar. The crowd helped us close the night off with a gigantic dance along to 'We Own the Moon'. And we certainly all owned it Sunday evening.

I've only had the pleasure of knowing Bryan and Art Bar casually for a few years. Judging from the amount of support out Sunday night - many people feel the same fondness toward the place as myself.

Thank you Bryan for all the great times.

NxNE is next. Stick around. It's gonna get hot.

Greg

Rogers TV

2010-05-25T23:54:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow morning Rob and I will be on Rogers Cable. We will be playing a song or two acoustically. Apparently we are on at 11am.

Greg.

VACUITY + SEXDWARF SHOW

2010-05-14T15:01:00.005-04:00

We are performing at Maxwell's 2nd Anniversary. Our good friends SEXDWARF will be joining us. Hey - they're working on an album too! I am stoked for its arrival.

Saturday, May 29th
Maxwell's Music House, Waterloo
VACUITY
SEXDWARF
Cover $7
Doors 9pm

We will be working at least a few new songs into our set.

Hope to see you there!

Greg

we'll get there; you'll see

2010-04-21T18:00:00.006-04:00

Howdy.

We've been working on a new album. It's taking a really long time. We really want to get it just right.

Some of the songs are like seeds - you can give them water and light but they still need time.

We are aiming for late July to record in this really cool space. After that there will be a few weeks of overdubs and then mixing. Looking like a fall/winter release.

I'm not sure how we're going to format the whole thing. There will most certainly be a free download. I like what Joey Comeau from A Softer World says in this interview (its near the bottom if you're in a hurry) about putting books online for free.

I will now take a few questions. From myself.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, you over there good sir.

Me: Record? Haven't you been recording already?

Yes we have. I guess we are always recording. Its part of the process. I could upload a sketch take of almost every song on the album AT THIS VERY MOMENT. You gotta trust us though - it will be better to wait.

Next question... ah yes, the handsome fellow back there.

Me: When will Vacuity be performing live next?

We will be performing in KW shortly. And I'm pretty sure we're doing something in Toronto around the same time, or shortly thereabouts. I will post up the firm information the moment it manifests.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

For now I'm working on a grant application, and getting ready for our rehearsal schedule to pick back up in a couple weeks.

Will. Keep. You. Informed.

Glee!

still.....working.

2010-04-05T15:50:00.002-04:00

we are still working on our next release. in the meantime we will be playing a number of shows in the coming months.

your patience is much appreciated. stay tuned!

g.

haze turns into steam

2010-02-17T19:32:00.002-05:00

the tour photo updates have been put on hold. the band and i are making an effort to get some new music completed and 'shipped' as soon as possible. to me, this is energy better spent.

if a window of time reveals itself to me, inspiration strikes, or nostalgia ambushes I may upload a larger batch of them.

stay. tuned.

peace.

greg

C'est What?

2010-02-10T01:28:00.003-05:00

You have not been forgotten. We have been busy recording. M82 let us borrow his Rhodes Piano for a fortnight.

This just in! Our friends SANDMAN VIPER COMMAND from Burlington have invited us to perform a set of music at C'est What in Toronto on February 16th. It is FREE to all.

Hope to see you out!

Greg

photo updates #51-60

2010-01-26T03:56:00.000-05:00

picasa

flickr

g.

photo updates #46-50

2010-01-23T13:43:00.001-05:00

picasa

flickr

thanks for viewing!

greg

photo updates #41-45

2010-01-20T23:21:00.001-05:00

Here are the Kill the Format photo updates:

Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vacuity/sets/72157623252991712/

Picasa
http://picasaweb.google.com/vacuity.vacuity/KillTheFormatSpringTour2009#

deliveries location

2010-01-19T17:04:00.003-05:00

Hello folks.

Been a crazy weekend. I have been helping Jamie work on a short film which is set to a piece of music I composed a while back. Emeri is starring in it. Here is a shot from location.

This one isn't location but I thought it was funny:

And here are the Picasa updates: Kill the Format tour shots #35-40.

Have a good day.

Greg

photo updates

2010-01-18T02:13:00.001-05:00

Photo updates!

sorry i missed the last two days.

GReg

Vacuity and The Nights Below at The Boathouse

2010-01-15T00:58:00.002-05:00

Hello.

Yeah, so we have a Boathouse show... technically today and yes we dropped the ball on telling you all. BUT! If you can make it tomorrow, you will be very pleased.

Why you ask? Well for one: we are playing with The Nights Below (great local band) and B: we are playing at The Boathouse (great local venue)
and I am going to throw in an AND!... We are playing some stuff that we haven't played live in a while.

Which songs you ask? What's the tuneage going to be? The track sitch?
Well now...if I go and tell you, you might not come out and shame on you for asking!

So if you want to get all 3 of these things at once... you best be coming to The Boathouse tonight.

FYI: no idea what the cover is... I swear... 100 bucks?
and that ball keeps bouncing...
p.

Vacuity Picasa

2010-01-13T02:14:00.008-05:00

In grade 10 i took a photography class. My dad bought me a Minolta SLR camera for the course. i achieved a dazzling grade of 7%. Dad was understandably pissed about that. he had spent time shopping to find a good camera for a good price. i still have that camera and even brought it along on the tour (have still yet to get the film developed though).

the past while some people have been asking/nagging/reminding me to post our pictures online in an album format. lately the guys in the band (not pointing any fingers ROB) :) also asked me to pass along the photographs i took on our Kill the Format tour last spring.

And so with due haste and no promises of abundant visual spectacle I give you:

Vacuity: Picasa

I will be posting 5 photographs a day from the kill the format tour we did last spring.

at a glance there are almost 700 images. it should be quite the trip. I passed a lot of road time and captured some interesting moments. I shot these with a Canon digital SLR that my Dad gave me for christmas (an out of the blue but very well loved gift) a few years back. funny how that all plays out when viewed in retrospect.

anyways, it'll give us something to look at while those Vacuity fuckers finish their album. sheeesh.

greg

tuesday rehearsal

2010-01-13T02:06:00.002-05:00

greg

writing on friday nights

2010-01-10T15:17:00.000-05:00

what doesn't kill you...

2010-01-04T16:57:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone.

Thanks for all the positive feedback on our Christmas cover. It was a lot of fun to get together and work on.

New Years Eve we played a show at Art Bar in Kitchener. We kicked off the set with a cover of The Beatles 'Free as a Bird' right at midnight. It's neat that we all spent the first few moments of the year together, in that musical space.

There was a table of interlopers right in front of our performance area who were hassling us while we setup. I bit my tongue then, but it'll be immortalized here: You guys are assholes. Next time I see you I'm gonna kick you.

The whole band has been in this weird fucking headspace limbo since we returned from our tour last spring. Trying to figure out what to do next (besides put a little piece of ourselves into a record and share it with people). Trying to balance the music with the day gig, trying not to get sucked into the machine and lose sight of why we're here doing this together.

The tour we did has killed better bands than Vacuity. And although it wasn't able to kill Vacuity, it did make us sick and confused. When you come back from a near death experience you tend to question the way you were. And I think maybe we've been doing that.

Anyways. We're gonna stick around. Stay tuned.

g.

Last Christmas vidya

2009-12-24T17:05:00.000-05:00

Audio: Vacuity - Last Christmas.mp3

Last Christmas

2009-12-23T03:13:00.004-05:00

Here we have a done a recording of 'Last Christmas' by George Michael.

Vacuity - Last Christmas.mp3

I don't know if I ever imagined writing that sentence, but who could have known?

We had fun.

Happy holidays.

Peace.

g.

#32

2009-12-22T15:17:00.002-05:00

Toronto photographer extraordinaire, Pete Nema, has ranked Blanket Sky #32 in his top 50 albums of the decade. It is really amazing to see our album among so many other excellent artists.

I ran into Pete at the XM Satellite Radio Christmas party a few nights ago. He has an interesting project kicking off in the new year that I'm quite excited to check out.

Vacuity will be getting together at Art Bar in Kitchener for a brief set of music to bring in the new year. Tickets/admission are $10. This includes food and champagne at midnight.

We also have a special Christmas present for you all. Check back in a day or two and I will have it posted. Just in time for the holidays.

Peace.

g

Re-Org.

2009-12-16T19:58:00.003-05:00

A big re-org and a few "come to Jesus" meetings later Vacuity seems ready for the winter hibernation lock down that is needed to get this record done and out.

Right now I am listening to Greg set some different tones for We Own the Moon while waiting for my feet to warm in my winter ready Chucks...

I was checking out our ATCOTBS downloads the other day and realized that we are really close to hitting the 1000 mark. Not too bad for just slapping it up there and seeing what happens.
The few things that I learned while doing this was, for 1: People like music. 2: People like it to be free. and 3: If it's something they like, they will pass it along.

Thanks for passing it along and thanks if you continue to do so... we would love to hit a thousand before the New Year.

I wish everyone good luck with the Holidays.
Stay sane.
p.

pleasant undertow

2009-12-03T21:50:00.003-05:00

i know that if i leave now for the studio I "condemn" myself to less than 3 hours of sleep. i've been doing this all week. like a dog chewing his stitches. that's when you make time for a proper sleep. now, i'm well rested and ready to do it all over again.

this is my favorite part. the magnetic hum. the invisible gravity. the worst part is that just cos you work really hard doesn't guarantee you come out with anything good.

nothing to do but hug yourself and let it take you under. focus the good on the bad.

g.

shooting sinking relics

2009-11-27T16:57:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned earlier in the week, we have been furiously hammering away at our epk. Last night we shot a live performance of a acoustic sort of arrangement we have for a song called 'Sinking Relics'.

The shoot began at 8pm and ran until about 3am. M82 even dropped in to keep us company!

I'm headed over to the studio to mix down the take of relics. I've been thinking about pulling all the blanket sky audio down from our myspace and putting up live/alt versions of the songs we're working on for this next release. We will see.

g.

you light yours - we'll light ours

2009-11-24T23:34:00.005-05:00

this past week we've shifted from tracking our new album instrument by instrument and moved more toward a song by song approach. It's more touchy feeley and for myself personally, eye on the prize.

we're also working furiously toward the completion of an epk. we've never done one of those proper and its about time. it has me thinking about transparency - should we be revealing the entrails of vacuity or crafting what we would like people to perceive as vacuity? a mashup? personally i like things that are very much real. call a spade a spade and all that. if you want to put it inside a nice frame or dress it in a blazer - that's okay - but it keep it genuine. otherwise it reeks of falseness.

this brings me to another arena of thinking though. it has to do with attitude. first let me clarify a few of my beliefs in this department.

1) you need to believe something is possible for it to become a part of your (possible) future. obviously this doesn't apply to things like contracting a disease (H1N1 anyone?). But for something like creating an infrastructure where you can pay your bills via the art you put together it applies in a very real way.

2) having said that - believing in something is not all it takes to bring an idea to fruition. necessary, but not even close.

I recently read a book titled, 'Empire of Illusion' by Chris Hedges. In one chapter, Hedges tears apart the world of positive pop psychology. The negative effects of living in a fantasy world are revealed.

I mention all this because I've always found art to be a way of expressing ideas (profound!). The ideas that interest me and inspire a lot of the things we deal with in our songs aren't always the best party ideas. And somehow entertainment has been largely marginalized as an unconditional "good time". But literacy requires self reflection. Doubt and scrutiny pave the way toward improvement. often the things with no voice are the most in need of a voice. we make music for literate people. If you buy into something like celebrity culture, I hope we can still make you dance, obviously keep listening if you please, but really... we might not be connecting.

I work (as part time as I can) for a corporation that boasts about how much they donate to charities yet pay their employees the minimum amount required by law. A law created by a government that operates in the shadow of business. Meanwhile as good consumers we're encouraged to purchase products (mostly future landfill plot junk), often manufactured under much crueler labouring conditions than 'minimum wage' in a first world country. If you want to critically discuss these types of behaviour you are breaking the illusion. You've got a bad attitude. (imagine the Savage from Huxley's 'Brave New World'.)

anyways, im digressing here which is what happens once i get going. the point i want to make is that I get anxiety as being branded as negative just by proxy. but i dont think vacuity would have been creating music together for this long if there weren't a whole lot of positive in it. for us and for you.

when i get thinking about an epk, i get worried about framing it so it doesn't look bitter. goddamn, the best moments of my life mostly involve this band, but i refuse to put on a shit eating grin and say to the camera, "Everything is alright! One day everyone on earth will be rich and famous. No one will be forgotten. All our troubles will wish wash away."

we're living in truly disturbing times. and as our friends over in the free press camp say - kick at the darkness until it bleeds light.

at the end of every day.
comes the night.

and we own the moon.

g.

Robot Surgery

2009-11-20T13:24:00.014-05:00

Hey there,

I thought somebody might appreciate a post about the near heart attack experience of completely ripping your mac laptop apart and trying to remember where all the little screws went afterwards when putting it back together... run on sentence?

Step 1:

Make sure you have some sort of container for the screws from each part of the computer that you are removing... LABEL each container appropriately. I could only find 4 bowls to use... and I also did not label them. Big mistake.

Oh look! there's my modem, DC-DC board and keyboard turned upside down!

Step 2:

Ensure you have a 'static free' surface to place important vulnerable parts onto... such as a drum stool.

Shown here are the top tray from the casing with the trackpad, logic board, heatsink, and my hard drive!

Maybe I should point out that prior to this step it would be a good idea to back-up all of your important files... such as any files you may use in your live show/recording samples etc... I did not see the relevance to this and love living on the edge so I threw caution to the wind and said, I dare you to static shock my HD.

I'm blogging from the little guy right now, so far so good. All files in place.

The goal of this entire robot-surgery project was to free my brother's CD that was jammed inside of the optical drive in my mac... it has resided inside of Mr. Mactop's belly for nearly a year now. I was afraid to take it apart for obvious reasons, but decided to face my fear with aid from our video artist Jamie Usas, who had taken apart his Mac to replace the screen in the past.

Seen here is the 12" Powerbook completely gutted except for the Optical Drive... the smell of triumph was tickling our nostrils.

Step 3:

Take a break. Ensure your throat is well moistened with your favourite poison. Rye was the closest thing available to us at the time.

Seen here: Jamie muggin' it and Mactop's bigger brother with the .pdf guide on ripping out Apple intestines. (Step 0.1)

Step 4:

Put it back together. Properly. Pay very close attention to what size screw went where and this is where the labeled bowls come in handy.

In this photograph: The leftovers.

Hint: If you have any leftovers, you have made a mistake.

Needless to say, next week Jamie and I have a date with the mac laptops again.

There is a dimple on the underside of my laptop from a screw that must have been 15 mm when it only required one of the 13.5 mm ones. And the RAM plate on the bottom is slightly lifted due to another screw that was too long in the wrong spot.

Oh and keep track of all the 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 6, 7.5, 10, 12, and 13 mm ones as well... Fuck.

My brother's CD was removed successfully. Sorry it took so long Matt.

- Emeri

the new authentic

2009-11-19T04:46:00.005-05:00

Our show at Maxwells in Waterloo was a blast! Images combined with text yield better viewing results. Once I get my hand on some photos from the night, I'll be sure to post them. Big thanks to everyone who made it out. It was most excellent to play for a hometown crowd.

The band is currently immersed in an interesting juggling act of recording, maintaining a live presence and working out what we'd like to try to do with this next album over the course of the next year. I must say, it is a very exciting time. We're teaming up with some wonderful new people and I think the results will be quite... authentic? :p

yours,

g.

maxwells rehearsals

2009-11-11T03:34:00.002-05:00

today a friend of ours (thanks Jason!) cc'd us in an email he had sent out to a bunch of his friends, inviting them to our show with Trap Tiger this Thursday at Maxwells in Waterloo. if you're planning on coming out and want to let some people know, cc us and we'll add you + a friend to the guestlist.

many thanks. hope to see you there.

g.

5th of november

2009-11-06T21:07:00.003-05:00

last night we met up at the studio. the intention was to do an inpromtu/stripped down live off the floor video performance of the 5th of november to celebrate guy fawkes day.

our video recorder - my digital camera - which has provided us with 95% of the picture/video we post is almost dead. the lens sputters and coughs when i turn it on, fully charged batteries are 'drained' and wonky mechanical noises are frequent. it's been a good run, but i fear my canon powershot is headed for the giant electronics landfill in China. where the mercury in the circuit board will poison the groundwater for generations to come. Hello disposable everything. Chuck Norris would approve. Have you ever seen how every piece of military hardware he uses is completely disposable? when it runs out of bullets or grenades - just throw it away.

so instead we were only able to record the audio. afterwards, we were like... hmm, it kinda sounds like an outake from the record, but here it is:

The 5th of November (live off the floor nov 05.09).mp3

g.

devil's night in waterloo

2009-11-01T22:55:00.002-05:00

Friday night Rob and I played through a few renditions of some of the songs we are working on these days. My inexperience with the tightening of floor tom legs, a laptop crash and the worst mic clip in history were working against us. All said and done, it was a fun time. After our set, good friends Sex Dwarf brought down the house. Where were you?

This week we will begin rehearsal for our show at Maxwells (in Waterloo on November 12th). My well loved camera is in its death thralls, but I'll try to capture some of the moments that ensue.

Next year - Devil's Night in Detroit.

g.

every page we turn

2009-10-30T15:51:00.002-04:00

here is a video of Rob and I performing a song called 'sinking relics'. and yes, that is a sweet VACUITY pumpkin carved by Paul. It took him until 8am.

Rob and I will be doing a set of songs with stripped down arrangements (kinda like this) tonight at Maxwells in Waterloo to raise money for CAAT (which is more than just a very large cat).

g.

monday morning

2009-10-26T04:44:00.003-04:00

france pizno 430am

g.

review from music emissions

2009-10-24T00:49:00.002-04:00

Below is a review of blanket sky from music emissions:

"Managing to have definitive sound in a cookie cutter genre isn’t easy. A raspy vocalist and grungy guitars are just some of their unique quality. I think we’ve only just now begun to hear of what should be a prosperous recording career for Vacuity. Fans of Jimmy Gnecco and Ours should flock immediately."

It's not too late to vote for us over at music emissions.

Hope to see some of you tomorrow night in London.

g.

you'll never play in this town again!

2009-10-22T17:23:00.005-04:00

This Saturday we will be sharing the stage at Call the Office with a band from Regina called The Library Voices.

and for those of you on the homefront:

We have paired up with another band from KW called Trap Tiger for an evening of entertainment at Maxwell's Music House in Waterloo. We want to explode this place with people, so mark it down and set aside your favorite outfit.

Cheers.

g.

ps - stole the top poster image from M82. Brilliant image. Cheers Mike.

more north house

2009-10-18T02:44:00.003-04:00

'Beckoning' has been featured to a time lapse video showing the construction of the North House for the 2009 Solar Decathlon in DC.

g.

through the crowd

2009-10-17T14:54:00.006-04:00

Last night we were invited to provide quieter acoustic-esque arrangements of our music to accompany a fashion/design show put together by Liz Stolper and her team at JBU/Pink Elephant Group.

There were a lot of pretty models, sporting neat, trendy clothing. Some excellent paintings by local artist and our friend, Brianna Harvey, and also Kevin Suess who plays in a band called Trap Tiger. We are putting together a show with them which will be announced this week.

With only two rehearsals under our collective belt, we muscled through a really fun set of new songs and old songs rediscovered. Big thanks to all of those who offered kind words, hi fives and handshakes - it is amazing for us to know that you like what we love to do.

g.

instrumental mixes

2009-10-13T22:01:00.005-04:00

Here are the mixes that were provided to accompany the Solar North House video we linked to a little while back. Our visuals friend, Jamie, is in DC right now working on team Ontario/BC entry. Ideas like this are amazing and keep me ever excited for the future. It's nice to see people steering things in a positive direction.

A number of people have been asking me about obtaining these instrumental mixes. Here they are. (right click 'save as...')

Beckoning (inst mix)
The 5th of November (inst mix)
All Aboard

Enjoy.

g.

welcome to the real world

2009-10-08T03:43:00.003-04:00

late night on a rooftop in the city. some feeling of grandeur being up high above everything else. I feel guilty cos it's probably some subconscious ego complex, but some days you gotta give in, indulge. if you don't, someone else will just do it for you.

in between discussions of infinite smallness and infinite largeness, Emeri and i cut some drums for a song we have called 'we own the moon'. a while back, Rob showed us a demo of the song - if i remember correctly one of us wasn't sure it was something we should develop - had a kind of country swing not usual(?) for us. we wrote it, toured with it, came home, changed it, recorded it, decided we liked it better how it was and now have just re-recorded it. sometimes that's the way it goes with vacuity.

is between albums a transition period for everyone who makes music? or is it just some bands? is it just me? always feels like a bizarre period. I'm really looking forward to adding another piece to our body of work. there are so many fascinating aspects to creating music and setting it out into the world - the arrangement of sound in time and the cause and effect that has on emotions is just one infinitely small tip of the infinitely large iceberg.

stick around and we'll try to make something great.

g.

free lunch debrief (with no mention of lunch)

2009-10-01T17:40:00.005-04:00

Yesterday afternoon we played some music for Kitchener downtown employee appreciation day. Thanks again to the KDBIA for asking us to provide some music. That's what we do. Our set began right as the construction workers had their lunch. Who knew you could play a form of hacky sack with a safety helmet?

The exposure to the harsh, unforgiving elements has left me with an annoyingly awful cold. I will be spending most of my time asleep until it passes. Then we will be getting back to recording. Its funny, because we always try and try and try to stay away from live shows so we can focus on recording. Every time we do this it becomes more and more difficult to turn down the shows that are always popping up. I think this is a good thing. It feels like a good thing?

Peace.

g.

candle live from starlight

2009-09-28T22:37:00.001-04:00

New semi-untitled song we're working on for our next album.

it's a candle in the dark
you light yours - we'll light ours
and as faces emerge from the flame
the light will spread making it's way

and i know you can't leave
but i know you can hear me

please write it down in case we should survive the fires

*thanks for the filming cassie

free lunch

2009-09-28T02:51:00.007-04:00

At least road is spelled correctly. Now is it spelled or spelt? If 30 seconds of searching on the internet can't answer it, there is surely no answer. Welcome to the future - it doesn't matter if you like it, just try to keep up with it.

We are playing a free outdoor show in downtown Kitchener this Wednesday to help celebrate downtown employee appreciation day. There is music and stores and free lunch involved. You know you are appreciated when you are given free lunch. It's is a bit like saying, "Friend, we don't want you to starve, please have some delicious lunch, on us."

King St. will be shut down between Queen and Ontario. There will be a stage setup in front of Theatre & Co. Will Currie and the Country French will be joining us. Since it is all about downtown, appreciation and lunch - we will be starting things off at 11:15.

Downtown is a place that is changing a lot these days. You should come and check it out.

Hope to see you there!

g.

ps - we are not providing free lunch guys! it's for the downtown employees.

(we still really appreciate you though!)

Solar North House

2009-09-22T20:05:00.007-04:00

We have some music featured in a video made for Team Ontario/BC entry into the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon competition. An instrumental live off the floor take of 5th of November and another piece called 'all aboard' that is floating around in the collective consciousness until it finds a place.

You can check out the video below:

Thanks Jamie!

g.

this Saturday in TO

2009-09-22T18:29:00.003-04:00

I drag myself out of bed at 3pm with no motivation whatsoever. What's going on here??

We're very happy to be part of yet another stacked bill, this Saturday (sorry Pete), September 26th at El Mocambo in Toronto.

We are samiched in between two most excellent bands - Final Flash and Ketch Harbour Wolves.

Next Wednesday we are playing a cool outdoor show in downtown Kitchener. I will pony up details for that after Saturday!

Cheers.

g.

Who loves Ponies?

2009-09-18T03:57:00.006-04:00

Had a blast sharing the stage with Sex Dwarf and Spirits at Starlight in Waterloo tonight. After a few months time tucked away in the studio, it was amazing to get on stage at a right proper club again. I can't thank you all enough for lending us your ears tonight.

Gushing sentiments aside, werd around the bar was that a bunch of people paid to get in after we had already done our thing. Well guys, I'm sorry that you missed it - but you got to see Sex Dwarf AND Spirits and you know what they say - two out of three ain't bad. If that was your last/only ten dollars and you are seriously crushed, I feel for you though. The economy and such... I don't have ten dollars...

Email us and I'll send you something, or you can get in next time for free? Or something! ...Ponies?

Time for me to be unconscious for about 12 hours.

g.

361 time machine and Starlight tonight

2009-09-17T17:03:00.002-04:00

We played a show at our old home on Victoria Street this past Sunday. What a blast. A bunch of musical people/a band called The Sauce are now living in there. Very cool guys, super fun night.

Tonight we are kicking off Spirits CD Release at Starlight in Waterloo. Our good friends and masters of groove and grime, Sex Dwarf are samiched right in the middle. I believe a crisp purple note of Canadian currency will get you past the door guardian - but they will accept a wrinkled bill too.

It's an early start for us. We'll be on around 830-9.

Hope to see you there!

g.

2009-09-13T18:21:00.005-04:00

This episode is a feature on one of our favourite and probably most peculiar venue's that we had the pleasure of performing at on our KILL the FORMAT tour earlier last spring. The Big Lebowski fans unite! This place's dance floor/stage floor was made up of old bowling lane wood and the owner even installed a full length, recreational bowling alley in the back of the venue. No auto ball-return though, shucks. If you're ever in the vicinity of Enderby, B.C. we highly recommend the Crispy Chicken Salad at Lorenzo's.

- E

Tamer than Anything purgatory

2009-09-11T04:25:00.000-04:00

As promised:

We've received a lot of good feedback about these. We're going to be doing some new songs in alternate arrangements over the next couple weeks.

Enjoy.

g.

beckoning acoustic

2009-09-10T04:26:00.002-04:00

A while back I posted a video of us playing our song The Raft. Here is Beckoning from that same night. I will post Tamer than Anything tomorrow.

and here is the raft for anyone who missed it:

night.

g.

rule #1: don't mix your politiks with your art.

2009-09-08T23:54:00.002-04:00

this is the stuff that keeps me up at night.

Why Free-Market Capitalism Will Follow Communism Into the Trash-heap of History.

Part two and three are worth reading too.

g.

Who Loves Horses?

2009-09-04T22:14:00.004-04:00

The show with Sex Dwarf and Spirits at Starlight is less than two weeks away.

The band will be getting together to rehearse this week. After a brief post-tour hiatus from playing shows I know we're all 'ants-in-the-pants' to play a gig. I hope you all can make it out.

Doors are at 8pm. We are kicking things off at 830. Come on folks. LET'S DO THIS.

g.

PS - if you've got a second and want to help out - vote for Blanket Sky over at Emission. Kudos!

fan photo from Elkford, BC

2009-09-02T02:03:00.003-04:00

We played two nights in Elkford courtesy of the lovely JP. Great little town. Fantastic pizza next to the venue.

Not sure if this is from $2 highball night. Even a modest tab goes too far when the drinks are that cheap.

Thanks Nikki.

g

a new song live

2009-08-28T04:13:00.003-04:00

This is a song we've been playing since March. We've done it a bunch of ways now, but this is where we're working toward taking it for the album.

Filmed March 20th at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo. We did a bit of music after a very informative lecture from Marc Kielburger of 'Free the Children'.

The first bit of video is from sound check. Jamie Usas (visuals) just happened to be filming. The audio in it's entirety is from a zoom h2 in the audience. Near the beginning you can hear someone ask, "Should I be videotaping?" The answer is, "Yes." No big deal though because the way it worked out you can imagine that the first bit of video is from the past, but the audio is happening right before your ears! Sensory time travel ladies and gentlemen.

:) We still love you April.

g

2009-08-20T13:21:00.001-04:00

Thought you guys would like this...

p.

haze transforms into steam

2009-08-18T01:01:00.004-04:00

I try and try to keep up on this thing but am super easily distracted. I don't think I'd get anything done if there weren't 3 other people in this band.

We've been recording away. last two weeks haven't been super productive. The wind is picking up and we'll be sailing along in no time. I was just listening to a song of ours from 1998. Wow.

In other EXCITING news... we will be playing with SPIRITS and SEXDWARF at STARLIGHT on SEPTEMBER 17th. Clear your schedules ladies and gentlemen because for $10 it does not get any better! This is going to be an excellent night. Working on my sales pitch - how's it coming?

I have sent out the digital carrier pigeon to collect the details, but have not yet heard back. If/when the details come in I will share them with you. I'm pretty sure it's an early start. 8pmish?

Well. I hope everyone is enjoying the swelter here in KW. Can't wait to get this record to you all.

Cheers.

g.

Ps - I thought this was a pretty cool article. especially about the type of people who seek power/control over others

Studya Vidya 01

2009-08-03T18:58:00.003-04:00

here's another little bit of random video. recording some acoustic guitar, me trying to figure out a melody on accordion (not the easiest instrument to figure something out on) Emeri reviewing a drum take and Emeri and I working out some details for a drum part.

These poorly chopped up videos aren't going to replace our "Onward, Downward" series. We just don't have a lot of time to be editing mini movies at the moment. I hope you enjoy this stuff, stay tuned for more.

Cheers.

g.

more words from the studio

2009-07-28T19:08:00.006-04:00

We celebrated Emeri's birthday on Monday with a cherry fritter and some slurpies courtesy of Hilary and Paul.

We are making good progress on drum/bed tracks. Emeri is committing some great takes to 'tape'. Right now I'm really into multiple drum kits/beats happening at once and there'll be some of that in there. It's amixing nightmare, but totally worth it.

Here is a short video clip of what we were working on today.

g

2009-07-21T16:26:00.003-04:00

Drums... drums... drums. Not a whole lot to say but drums. Emeri is starting us off for the next Vacuity album. Weird to say that... the next Vacuity album, I guess there will be a lot of these "albums". You would think that I would be use to making records by now... but I am not. It's different every time.

We'll have some quick little snippets of the new tunes soon enough... stay in touch and check back. Sorry we have been dropping the ball on updates etc. Lots going on, business to music... crazy.

Looking forward to hearing what you guys think, stay tuned.
Thanks
p.

video talk. recording talk.

2009-07-17T00:58:00.004-04:00

This past week we met up with our good friend and visual collaborator Jamie Usas. The subject of discussion was music videos and the creation of them. He has some really great ideas that we're all quite looking forward to working with him on. If you've been with us for a while now, you might recall a time when we were shooting a video for 'The 5th of November'. While Jamie was in Rome and we were on our fall tour out west his hard drive containing all of the footage was stolen from his desk. Needless to say, that video is not going to reach completion. That is a tragic shame given that the shots I took during production look pretty promising.

Emeri and I have spent a number of afternoons working on drums and computer beats for a song of ours that we are currently calling, 'Farsight'. For a while it was looking like this one wouldn't make the cut. At this point I cannot say how many tracks will be on our next release. People believe me - I am pushing for an album of at least 10, but if the magic isn't there, it could be an EP of 5-6. Not sure, too soon to tell, to early to try and say.

Maybe some video clips and audio snippets next post. I will try.

Best,

g.

IRIS birthday.... Piano

2009-07-07T23:32:00.005-04:00

Saturday night we played a show at Maxwell's Music House for Carrie and Todd - I.R.I.S. -one year birthday celebration. KW/Hamilton band Spirits headlined the evening. It would be a modest statement to say it was a most excellent night.

We first met Carrie in my shitty old apartment back in 2004. We were just releasing our first record, 'The Middle Ground'. Now here we are 2 albums later and onto number 4.

Oh the places you'll go! A back alley almost as far west as the roads of this country go. Across the parking lot a door opens. A slice of light brightens the pavement. The day's warmth lingers, or is it the cigarette Longevity John - the promoter/owner - is smoking that is making my head light? Suddenly a flood of miniature furrballs pours from the doorway. 14 dogs surround me. I reach for my camera, but the moment has passed.

On Sunday - after moving a van full of gear for the IRIS show - we drove to Walkerton to pick up a piano for our studio. It needs a tune, and a little bit of love, but we're happy to have it aboard. Even if it did break all of our backs. What studio is complete without a piano?

We're going to go make a new album now. Stay tuned for lotsa bits and bites until it's ready for you.

Cheers!

g.

SURPRISE SHOW!!!

2009-07-03T23:46:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone,

Tomorrow night we will be performing at Maxwell's Music House in Waterloo.

Carrie and Todd from IRIS asked us to perform as a part of their 1 year birthday celebration. We love birthdays and 1 Year for anything music related in this town is worth celebrating! Hi fives Carrie and Todd!

We will be opening the evening at 10pm. Afterward you will be delighted by a performance from SPIRITS.

This is not an evening to be missed.

See you there?

g.

snag grab catch (in the title)

2009-06-18T00:19:00.005-04:00

We have been recording demos and doing something that feels like 'pre-production' thought I'm not sure what that means in the land where you pay per the hour to record :).

The last few weeks. High moments and low moments, but I'm excited about our new music. Behind the scenes we are going to be organizing a really cool string of shows to support this next release. We're going to be working closely with Jamie to bring the visual aspect of the set to new places. Also scheming on ways to really roll with the Kill The Format campaign.

Why offer your music for free?

g

Onward, Downward: Episode XI

2009-06-10T20:30:00.003-04:00

Hello,

I've prepared another video for everyone to watch.

You might be thinking, "This particular episode has taken him so LONG to complete!?!"

Yes.

Enjoy.

- Emeri

2009-06-09T02:34:00.025-04:00

I was looking over some shots from the road tonight that I took randomly around the Coast.
Hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them.

We had some great times on this tour... sigh. Back to the studio...
p.

studio move

2009-05-26T19:43:00.002-04:00

Just back from a meeting at our new studio. we're preparing to record some new songs and to release something in September. Not sure what at this point, but I'm hoping/expecting these things to reveal themselves in time.

g

turn the page

2009-05-24T15:52:00.003-04:00

Last night our good friends in The Free Press helped us officially close up another chapter in Vacuity history. A big warm thank you to everyone who has been involved in any aspect of this trek during the last year and a half. Ups and downs and lefts and rights.

It's been a pleasure sharing our efforts from 'At the Command of the Blanket Sky'. If you haven't downloaded the album yet, please do so right here.

We are moving into a new recording space this week. Stay tuned.

g.

We're baaaack

2009-05-21T22:02:00.011-04:00

I've been delaying this blog intentionally. Trying to write up something witty or profound to say about the tour. The magic sentence to sum it up perfectly. But it's not happening and it's not happening and it's not happening. I try some more and it still doesn't happen. I conclude that such a sentence does not exist.

We've been back for almost two weeks now. I've had enough time to process most of the experiences. There was a feeling of undoing along the road this time. We were righting many a wrong from the tour in the fall. Justice being dished out the back of a flat black short bus. Something sinister, something grieving. We managed to survive 6 pretty intense weeks, 30 some odd shows and a lot of kilometers. There were some great shows and we met and shared the stage with many a great person. Massive thank you to all of our friends who put us up on the road.

This Saturday is our tour finale at El Mocambo. We'll be playing a longer set, which is fun for us, and hopefully good for you too. The talented Jamie Usas will be joining us. Our good friends in The Free Press will be performing. They never disappoint so bring your dancing shoes. $8. Doors at 9pm.

g.

cheeseburgers and tequila

2009-05-18T19:44:00.004-04:00

Below is the interview we did with Amped Up TV back in Winnipeg. One of the highlight evenings of the tour no doubt.

Check out Amped Up TV here.

cheers.

g.

carrot chasers

2009-05-07T20:17:00.004-04:00

motivation and inspiration have eluded me the last few days. the days have been fine - slightly boring at worst. Nothing a good book cannot fight off. I've been fully immersed in a book my sister gave me a while back, 'Confessions of an Economic Hitman' by John Perkins. A first hand account of how the author convinced many developing nations to accept massive loans based on falsified economic predictions. The loans come with strict terms that funnel the money right back into the US. That synopsis does the book no justice. I wish I could hold a straight thought these days.

the gypsy caravan has setup a camp in a big box plaza. semi discreet at best, but we don't care. last night we didn't end up playing night one at the apollo. we had some vehicle problems and arrived late. we were lucky to be welcomed with open arms by sheila, tina and alex. a home cooked meal is a very welcome change at this point. on top of the food, the band that was playing, Flowers of Hell, were amazing. trumpet, flute, saw, guitar, bass, drums, synth, sequencer. It was mind blowing.

as for the vehicles problems, nothing Paul and his sidekick/hold this here person Emeri could not handle. The starter was replaced quickly and Atlas came back to life.

We are headed home very soon. This tour set a lot of things right from our tour in the fall. we learned a lot, met some very cool people and had a blast. However, 6 weeks of living off shitty food, bad sleeping arrangements and a lot lot lot of stimulation wears a person out. The band is tired. Last tour we were so tired, we started getting sloppy. That hasn't happened on this tour, but with everyday that goes by I can see us fading. It's normal and natural. Time for us to retreat into the studio (notice I did not say disappear) and work in a quiet and controlled environment for a while. recharge if you will. my mind moves faster than I can keep up with. I get bored easily so a change is welcome. talk to me 2 weeks into recording and I'll be ready to tour again but that is just the way it goes. we all chase after our own carrots I suppose.

I'm looking forward to tonight. We haven't played since Saturday. We were joking, for too many reasons to list here, that everywhere we go a black thunder cloud follows us around. When we get on stage is pretty much the only time the sun comes out. Feeling sorry for ourselves. Another sign it's time for a break from the road.

I will do my best to post some of our adventures from here until we get home. We have a lot of km to cover... who knows what will happen?

g.

Deer eater

2009-05-05T10:00:00.002-04:00

After the show at Clancy's in Brandon we went to a house party. Did some jamming, played ping-pong, drank JD. Retired to Thor for the night.

Rob's shoes are ready to fall off his feet. Thor's battery was dead again - quick boost. Bumped into some of the people from the party the night before. They gave us a crash course on the unicycle and then we hit the road.

Our ultimate destination is Thunder Bay for two nights at The Apollo. We're taking our time through this stretch and decided Kenora was enough of a trek for the bus convoy. We could perhaps rename Thor and Atlas - Yin and Yang.

Night driving is highly dangerous in this part of Ontario. You are pretty much certain to hit something. As the evening gave way to night, deer flooded the sides of the highway. I must have counted at least 30 along the last 200km to Kenora. Just as we entered the city limits I passed a deer backed against a large rock wall. I noticed it tense up as Paul and I whizzed by in Atlas. At the last second I saw it dash. Behind us Thor slowed down, but it was already too late. Bambi's larger, older aunt was crushed under Thor's massive chasis. The only trace was hair matted into the tire treads and a single streak of blood. Our license plate holder was slightly damaged.

We pushed on to a 24 hour fueling station to sleep for the night. Today we have splurged for a hotel. Laundry, shower, pool, sleep. It always shocks me how large northern ontario is. We drove almost 500km yesterday and we still have over 500km to go to Thunder Bay.

Crazy. Peace.

g.

Thor was on fire

2009-05-04T16:17:00.007-04:00

Woke up in Saskatoon how many days ago? Eyes blind from the brightness, stumbled across the street. You have aquired coffee: add +1 to strength and intelligence. Load Atlas. Clockwork. Thor has a dead battery again. Boost. Drive to Swift Current. No PA at the venue. A few gentlemen try to cut us a deal, pay them for a PA or let them "jam out" on our stuff. No thanks. Bar owner takes care of everything, PA shows up. Quick jaunt next door for a sketch buffet. Pizza crust and dried out unidentified meat substance. Wet salad. Yum.

Drink beer and play for 30 VLT machines. I thought bands made big money in the casinos? Very drunk man from Kitchener entertains us with stories from his past. We must still be on the path. I can hear the rats shuffling inside the walls when I lay down to sleep.

Wake up, hit the road early for Brandon, Manitoba. Electrical fire breaks out in Thor. Emeri is excited to finally use the fire extinguisher we have been carrying for all these miles, but it proves to be unnecessary.

Arrive in Brandon. The bus convoy is still intact. Now what day is it? I'm not so sure myself. A shower would be nice though. Play a decent show with no fear of being stabbed afterwards. Dan, the man behind the soundboard for the evening, really likes our music. Invites us to a house party afterwards. At a house owned by a band. I get to be the stranger at the band house after so many times on the other end at our place on Victoria Street. Neat reminder of that period of my life/Vacuity's life. Lotsa cool people there. Favorite moment was Emeri getting on the drums and Paul on the bass, two other gentlemen playing guitars. Everyone at the party, drawn by the music, finds their way downstairs to listen.

Currently holed up in Kenora, Ontario. Another post tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

g.

Lydia's

2009-05-01T14:13:00.008-04:00

head is pounding. brain wants to escape from cruel body. last night was awesome. maybe too awesome? sleeping in a room with nude silhouettes painted on every wall and nothing else but beds pushed together. i sleep on the matress, it doesn't bother me. outside a trumpeter molests his instrument. trucks drive past. and cars. the city fills up with smog and noise. at 6am last night we ventured out into the city to find food. it was like a late night at mel's back home. the city was a husked tomb. sun just climbing into the sky. walking across a bridge I could have been in a very lucid dream. a gull called out. light seeped around the edges of the clouds in the sky. the only sound was our footsteps echoing through the canyons the skyscrapers created. today it's back in the bus, then 4 sets in a city called Swift Current. 4 sets of original music is always a trick to muster.

if the beer flows the band will flow and we can flow all the way to brandon tomorrow night. drown any misery in alcohol. wash away problems with highballers. Paul is always the last one out of bed. last born. he eats pickled eggs. back to the travelling bus fleet. throw my stuff back in a bag. on to the next drink. onward, downward.

we are sold out of cds.

g

Saskatoon Moon II

2009-04-30T20:32:00.005-04:00

picked up our old tour bus - Thor - today. He made the trek from Lloydminster to Saskatoon. Still reeks like diesel and vibrates like an earthquake. I can't help but feel aggravated everytime I so much as glance at the foul beast, then I can't help but feel that my hateful attitude will cause him to break again. Cross fingers. Hope for best.

We stopped into 90.5 CFCR for an interview at 2pm. Some of you tuned in, which is awesome.

Tonight we're playing at a very cool venue called Lydia's. We've been looking forward to another stop in Saskatoon since we left. Great city.

I'm going to grab a nap before we soundcheck.

g.

the answer must be at the bottom of this one

2009-04-29T04:37:00.003-04:00

We played an 'unannounced' show in Elkford tonight. John-Paul booked us on our way out and was kind enough to put us up again on our way back through. Diamond in the rough that guy. I am helping him find a bar for his jazzmaster. I needed one for my Jag and our guitar wizard, Ryan, found one for me. Now I can actually play that guitar. Good design Fender!

Tomorrow it's back into Atlas for a vibrating 10-12 hour drive. Can't wait. Lately we've been jamming on two harmonicas an acoustic guitar and a few of the nose flutes Longevity John gave us back in Duncan. It helps to pass the time.

It's safe to say we're all a bit sick of eating anything on a bun, pizza and subs. I am starting to feel normal only after at least one set and a few drinks. A detox upon home arrival seems to be in the cards. I don't typically drink much, but this tour has been an alcoholic binge.

In all honesty it's been an amazing ride so far. I cannot wait to share our experiences and music with everyone back home at our El Mocambo homecoming show on May 23rd.

Forgive me I've taken a few days away from the camera. I think I'm just upset after deleting the pictures from the Kooteney Pass.

Tomorrow: The ressurection of THOR. We will update Twitter as often as possible.

Cheers.

g.

everywhere we go...

2009-04-28T04:23:00.004-04:00

"How could you tell?"

"To be honest sir, you just had that musk about you."

"We also travel in a pack."

"And a black bus."

"Agreed, but mostly the smell."

After sunny Salt Spring we began the venture home. Hours later, it was a shock to be standing on 1700 meters of a mountain seemingly trapped in eternal winter. If it were an adventure movie, the sequence would be foreshadowing certain doom on the long journey home. Phew. Good thing it isn't an adventure movie.

During our first pass through Elkford I forgot my hat. Tonight, on our way back through I retrieved it. We are playing another show here tomorrow night.

Wednesday we return to Lloydminster to retrieve Thor - our last tour bus.

We've realized everything is going in reverse. We are going to return to Kitchener and none of this will have happened. From now on the story is: We went into the future to get Atlas.

I'm on to you.

Insane ramblings after a 16 hour journey today.

Cheers to Atlas for pulling us through.

g.

have a nice day

2009-04-27T14:30:00.000-04:00

onward, downward: episode x - kill the format pt. 2

2009-04-26T05:23:00.003-04:00

hello everyone...

sitting on the stairs at moby's marine pub on salt spring island right now....

beautiful.

im sure greg will post something that will attempt to show you the sheer beauty that encompasses the islands.

victoria is a neat place as well... look it up... or better yet... visit it.

there is a new video available for your viewing pleasure...

i hope you enjoy it....

take care of yourselves,

- Emeri

we dig it out

2009-04-25T16:01:00.003-04:00

Wake up in Atlas. Stiff neck. Sore joints. I'm young so fuck it. Last night was a drunken parade at Moby's. Minus the occasional shitfaced dick bag, the crowd was very cool and quite receptive. I really like to chat with people - it's one of the best parts of touring. However, there is a massive difference between having a chat with someone and being talked at by drunk people. After a while, being a verbal punching bag starts to wear on you.

As of Monday we are two weeks away from our scheduled return. It is strange to think that we spent five weeks getting here and are going to return in two. Especially considering that we still have a good handful of shows on the trip home. This coming Wednesday we are returning to Lloydminster to pickup THOR. A final attempt to bring him home and salvage something from that train wreck of an idea.

Last night I had a chance to play some piano outside of a performance context. It was nice. Creativity is a strange beast. I hit two notes I've hit a hundred times before but this time they struck me just right. No time to work it out, but make a mental note and hope that you can get back to it when the timing is right. Slippery beast no doubt.

Today we will wander around on the island. It should be packed tonight. It should be empty tonight.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

g.

reality has ended

2009-04-24T23:05:00.003-04:00

I have gazed into the eye of the void and it is fluffy.

g.

I am an island

2009-04-22T20:50:00.005-04:00

Hello. We've all been well. How have you been?

Yesterday we crossed a small strip of ocean and landed ourselves on Vancouver Island. We explored Victoria and the surrounding area for a few hours. I took a trip down a foggy memory lane and then we hunted for laundry facilities. Second time doing laundry into the trip. We were all at slightly varying degrees of laundry yearning. It is excellent to have clean clothes to wear. It adds just enough respect to the traveling gypsy lifestyle to keep you from being arrested. What a beautiful island though. Why live somewhere else? Rob tells me that a quick Google search revealed Victoria as the second most affordable city - in terms of rent - in Canada. Ottawa was first. I did not take as many pictures as I hoped because I wanted to experience the place, not document it.

Emeri was not sick whatsoever on the ferry ride. It was a really cool voyage and is indeed quite the way to travel. It has been years since I have traveled on a boat of such massive proportions and the sun and wind and water made the time fly past - almost too fast.

Last night parked Atlas just outside of Victoria's Inner Harbour, drank beer and went exploring. We ended up way out on a windy pier, in the pitch black. I did not bring my camera along for our nightly explorations but there were some prime photo ops.

Today we had lunch on the docks. We then piled into Atlas and Paul drove us to Nanaimo. We loaded in to The Cambie and are currently just chilling out in our delapitated room. Bunk beds again. We're agreed to do a guitars only set tonight.

Paul and Rob are pillow fighting. Atlas suffered a graffiti attack in Vancouver.

Thanks for reading.

g.

The Railway Club

2009-04-21T14:09:00.002-04:00

It was pretty awesome to play in a room that had one of those little electric trains running all over the place.

The crowd was super into it and we met a lot of cool musicians/new friends from Vancouver.

Great night.

This afternoon we are headed to Victoria. Laundry and some sight seeing are in the cards. When I was much younger I lived in Victoria for a few years. It will be neat to see how my memory stacks up against time.

g.

Hope, we've been here before

2009-04-20T01:39:00.003-04:00

Awake groggy headed in Scotch Creek. Pack bags, head downstairs, pack bus, drink coffee.

Quick lunch in tiny town called Chase. Drive to Hope for propane. Notice leak in Atlas' coolant line. Paul and Emeri get hands dirty while Rob and I squeegee bus clean. Arrive safely in Langley and eat fantastic lasagna. Say hello to friends Ryan, Corina and Oakley.

Sleep. Shower. Show.

Hello Vancouver. Islands, get ready.

g.

Scotch Creek

2009-04-19T13:12:00.002-04:00

Last night we played a small town in BC called Scotch Creek. During load in Emeri and Paul tripped over a TV cable and disconnected the UFC game. Uh oh.

It was a blast. We had a pretty awesome time hanging out with the owners/management. Two good sets, hot tub and steaks. We are surely living the high life now.

Enough of rural BC though. I do love it, but it's time to descend toward Vancouver.

g.

report from Lorenzo's

2009-04-18T13:59:00.004-04:00

We have come to the midway point. Soon we will be heading out to the coast. Last night we had a show at a very unique place called Lorenzo's Cafe. It is just outside of a small town in BC called Enderby.

The building is an old one room school house converted into a venue/restaurant/apartment. The floor is made from old bowling lanes, there is a ladder you climb onto a closet, up another ladder out into the sky. It is a very cool place. You see so much of the same depressing infrastructure along the road that a new place is very refreshing.

The stage was even set into the ground, which created a really cool vibe. It is more like we are offering our music up to people, asking them to look in and take a listen as opposed to the typical, we are above the crowd, preaching our music down at them. I liked it.

Our stay in Kelowna was quite fun as well. The Minstrel Cafe was a very cool place. It was built around a giant tree that is from the settler's time. Perhaps not the best club for a full out rock show, but we had a good time and people were receptive which is most important. Big thanks to Kaitlyn for letting us stay at her place. That is her dog, Levon, above.

Time to throw my belongings back into a bag and get back onto the bus.

g.

Kelowna bound

2009-04-15T14:03:00.003-04:00

Paul has fixed Atlas. Three cheers for Muffler Tape. Last night we watched movies and wandered the streets at night drinking local beers from the Nelson Brewing Company.

Kelowna here we come.

g.

the uniter, winnipeg

2009-04-15T02:20:00.001-04:00

Been meaning to post this but only had a hardcopy until now.

Thanks a lot Samuel!

Music for nothing and the Hits for Free

cheers.

g.

2009-04-14T15:31:00.005-04:00

We've disappeared into the mountains. Internet communication seems silly when surrounded by such splendid beauty. I can spend time lining up shots behind the lens, or I can actually be here, breathe in the fresh air and wander the streets drinking coffee.

Off day number one is always refreshing. Day two can go either way. Day three the itch to move on starts begging to be scratched. The newest Doves album will help keep me content today. They don't ever miss a beat.

After 2 nights in Atlas we checked into a motel today. Good call. We have a kitchen and a bathroom and all those normal amenities. Paul is going to crawl beneath Atlas and attempt to reconnect the exhaust. I have faith in him. As I've said before, he is relentless. It might be part duct tape, part chewing gum, but if it runs I will not complain.

The show at The Royal here in Nelson was awesome. Mr. Feeley and the Touch tore it up for a good hour before we hit the stage. Super tight, very impressive works. We had a small audience, but they were listening and that always goes so much further. Our music isn't really, 'rock out and get drunk while you try to get laid' bar music so tuning in does help. For us and you. The circle is completed.

Apparently a visit to the hot springs is in the cards today. Given the current chill outside, the idea doesn't appeal to me greatly, but I'll tag along for the experience.

Time. For. More. Coffee.

g.