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cheese

April 3rd – Sudbury, ON

Things I love: music, and cheese.

Sudbury had both.

The Fromagerie Elgin was my host, and I’m so thankful to have met such wonderful people, who in turn handed me a platter of cheese and pate. Some of the cheese was even from the Thunder Oaks Cheese Farm just outside Thunder Bay, so it was like a little taste of home.

Cheese and pate platter at Fromagerie Elgin - Sudbury, ON

The concert was presented by River and Sky, which is a wonderful festival and collective of talented and knowledgeable individuals, and I was honoured to have sat in on their meeting before the show began. They’ve got an excellent lineup that they’ll be unveiling in the near future, so please have a look at riverandsky.ca for more info coming soon.

Eric Clancy at Fromagerie Elgin - Sudbury, ON

Eric Clancy was the opening act, accompanied by Chantal for a few songs. What a singer, and songwriter. He had a beautiful voice for quiet folk songs, and lyrically far more mature than his 18 year old contemporaries. He’s recently recorded an album, so you’ll have to wait for that, but it’ll be worth it!

When I took to the stage, I battled with some ongoing technical difficulties, but saved the day by doing the second half of my set completely a cappella! That’s what some folks were looking for anyway, so I indulged them. That, and I even jumped up on the tables for the grand finale. Thanks Sudbury, for being a wonderful end to the Year of the Loop tour. I’ll see you in a few weeks for the NOMFA’s.

US Odyssey Part 13: Portland

Sometimes being a one-man-looper seems like a lonely gig. And it can be with no bandmates, etc.

Polar Bear at the Oregon Zoo – photo by Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)

That being said, it’s nice to belong to a community of people that truly are musically open-minded. Loopers-Delight is an online community of people that use all types of looping software and hardware. Through this, I’ve been able to pick the brains of people all around the world, learn improved techniques, bought a (hard-to-come-by) LP-1 and most recently; meet international loopers face-to-face. Ted Killian was grateful enough to offer up some accommodations in Medford, OR, and while we didn’t take him up on it, we met up at a Starbucks for a quick chat about loops and life on our way through the state.

photo by Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)

I’d heard a lot of great things about Portland, OR, but we didn’t do all too much sightseeing. We attempted to find a “Mystery House” off of the highway, but it ended up being closed for the season. Even then, it didn’t look all too impressive, so it was probably for the best. We did stop in at the Oregon Zoo to examine the open exhibits as we rushed along with only an hour to view the whole thing!

The Big Cheesus – photo by Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)

After watching other animals laze around and eat food, we figured we’d do the same. We found a place downtown called the Grilled Cheese with a double decker bus parked out front  that you sit in to eat – looked interesting enough! We took one look at the menu and realized all the items were variations on a theme. Especially the piece de resistance; the Big Cheesus. Imagine two grilled cheese sandwiches, one with sauteed onions, another with diced pickles. Then, place a burger with all the fixin’s in-between these two grilled cheeses, and voila, eat a delicious, cheesy mess. Shannon had the Baby Cheesus because she couldn’t handle the gospel truth of what is one of the best food inventions. Note: your liver will not agree.