Groundhog Day

Currently in Newcastle England where i feel i have been at least 100 times before. That maybe a tad exaggerated, but honestly sometimes this life i live feels like groundhog day..
especially when the weather is the same in each city you goto...
Grey, rainy, and overall dreary....Welcome to the UK!

What an Experience

I can officially say i have been a part of a production team putting on a show in a stadium. If you follow my site you know that we just performed to 98,000 people over two nights in Dublin Ireland at the brand new Aviva Stadium. We were the first act to perform in the newly opened venue and two of only 15 shows that the city will allow the venue to hold over a five year time period. The stadium is smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood and therefore the agreement between the venue and the city was that there could only be 15 concerts over a five year timeline. We have now finished the first two.
Check out some of these clips for a glimpse into the experience....

This is Fu**ed Up!

Anyone interested in a Stadium???

The Aviva Stadium is Dubin's newest sports complex and venue to some of the worlds biggest touring acts.
http://www.avivastadium.ie/

I can safely say that the shows coming up here on Friday and Saturday will be the biggest i have ever done.....
here are a few pictures from the day that was today....set up day number one...












Can you sense the excitement team audio has upon arriving to the start of load in during a downpour!!











































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...I am beginning to think she really is going to follow me everywhere on this tour.....not a bad venue for your first one i must say!!!

An Introduction....

So my fellow readers and those that just stop by once in awhile to stalk my site. I would like to take a moment to introduce you to my new friend and travel companion Norma the lucky Irish Lady Leprechaun.

















Now Norma has come into my life via my mom and is apparently going to travel the world with me like those mysterious garden gnomes who become so famous for their globetrotting and mysterious photos! I didn't think twice about her joining along side of me as she really takes up no room at all and is quite quiet while around me.
In fact i found her to be quite good company during a recent stopover at the Frankfurt airport while all my other tour companions were stretched out on benches catching up on some sleep while awaiting our connecting flight to Dublin.



















Finally after a ten hour flight, a five hour layover, followed by another 2 hour flight, we reached our destination of Dublin Ireland and our much needed hotel for the night. Just like me, Norma hit the bed hard and enjoyed a good nights rest and the opportunity to kick jet lag in the ass!!!


Now as many of you know my days are quite busy and I sometimes forget to pull out my camera when i should be taking photos. I am not making any promises, but i sure intend on documenting both mine and Norma's travels as we embark on this new tour leg covering the United Kingdom and Europe....
Enjoy!

Great Work Emmet!!

My good buddy Emmet took over for me mixing the band Jets Overhead. I should actually say he took over and then surpassed me!! I love the video element he brings to the table ....check it out!



Here is my favorite band that i have never seen live yet due to scheduling differences...
Go Graham Go! ...again Emmet is at the helm


And of course my favorite Vancouver band The Yoko Casionos....nobody drums like the one and only Juice!! miss ya!

Golf Anyone?

Kind of makes me want to take up golfing....if only for the beer cart girls...haha...

HEY! TEACHER! Leave Us kids Alone....

Those of you who are familiar with the city of Toronto are probably more than aware of the reputation "Regent Park" has throughout the city. It is the inner city neighborhood comprised solely of social housing , and who's occupants are almost all below that of the national poverty level. However for a three night run at Toronto's Air Canada Center, the Regent Park Youth Choir were asked by one Roger Waters himself to sing back up in one of Pink Floyd's most famous songs...Another Brick in the Wall part 2. I just happened to come across the story on the CBC and could not help but share a smile with the young kids so full of excitement and nerves previous to the first show. One of the little girls said that anything with a 19 in front of it is considered olden times as she was born in 2000. i must admit i got quite the kick out of that comment...especially because The Wall was released in 1979.
Please click on the link for the full story and have a gander at the youtube clip i found.
enjoy!

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/860620--regent-park-kids-to-sing-backup-for-pink-floyd-anthem?bn=1

These clips make Craigers laugh

Home!

Well after 84 days in the Foothills Hospital as a result of a brain aneurysm or subarachnoid hemorrhage, my mom has been officially discharged and is back home living her life. After all that we have been through this is pretty amazing news to say the least. Not only is she home, but she is as independent as always and will continue to gain strength as each day passes.
Again thank you to everyone who ever thought about us, prayed for us, or sent positive vibes. They all added up to help us to get where we are today!
I am home helping with the transition back into the house, and i must say i make a pretty good transition nurse!!

check check check it out...

i love this music blog site because it has both a great name and is full of great music....

http://www.whyfukkwhenyoucandance.com/

Truth?

Nine years ago today the world stood in shock as the twin towers in NYC fell to the ground. The victims of an apparent terrorist attack brought on by planes crashing into them. Now as the years have passed and conspiracies have grown, i know i have come to my own conclusions about what happened. But have you? Or have you just continued to buy the story that unskilled pilots with box cutters managed to take over the planes and then steer them towards the towers. After which the buildings became the only two steel structures in the history of the world to crash completely down to the ground because of fires. I know these fires were fueled by jet fuel, but apparently the same jet fuel was not hot enough to burn desks or bookshelfs over at the pentagon. In all honesty it doesn't take a rocket scientist to look over the facts and raise questions about the official release of events at the WTC. What we have been told, and what we are supposed to believe is what happened is really something that can only continue for so long. The Bush administration and official 911 committee did a stellar job in only discussing what they wanted to discuss. They were able to shove aside any questions of controversy and close the books on the investigation when they decided all had been done that needed to be done. It is actually a bit of a slap in the face to us that we are supposed to believe the findings of the 911 committee and carry on our lives in a state of fear over future terrorist attacks. The only terrorists we need to worry about are that of our own governments and the men who we do not know exist who really control everything.

Check out the following links if you have any interest in discovering facts about 911 that we are not supposed to know...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHiuaGJ46zo

The above link is to the movie Zeitgeist , which i believe is a powerful movie we should all see. If you are not interested in the first bit, skip forward to the second segment on 911. The 3rd segment, the men behind the curtain , is astonishing!

http://www.wtc7.net/

the above link is on WTC building 7. A mere 8 hours after the south tower fell building 7 also fell to the ground. No plane had come into contact with building seven , yet it fell in the exact same way as the other two towers. I am no expert in controlled demolition, but i dont think one needs to be to view the collapse of all three buildings and raise some serious questions regarding internal demolition

http://www2.ae911truth.org/11rfa911.php


I would say that the real tragedy in the events of 9/11 is that we are supposed to be naive enough to believe the official story of what happened. I say this with no disrespect to the victims families, but seriously now people, one day the truth will be revealed.

Live in Squamish

After returning home from tour, and a whopping 3 days of rest. I decided that the best thing i could do with my time would be to hike up to Squamish BC and work the labor day weekend Live in Squamish festival.
http://www.liveatsquamish.com/

Now there were two deciding factors in my decision to come up and take care of mainstage monitors during my downtime from tour. One of the reasons was that it would be a good way to spend some time with my good friend Derek who hired me for the Olympics and who always makes me laugh my head off.
The other deciding factor was really the one that had me jump at the chance , and that is that on Saturday night our headliner is none other than 80s iconic genre bending new wave artist Devo! "Hey Craigers would you be interested in taking care of monitors up in Squamish early sept for a festival run with acts such as Devo?" Hell Ya!!! - was my answer....

check out the following youtube clicks and prepare for a future posting that will include me wearing my own personal energy dome!!!!

Sorta cheesy, but i like cheese

I have actually been somewhat into this band for awhile now. A possible guilty pleasure perhaps, but i like nonetheless...

Dublin's finest....apart from U2 (although i am not a big fan)

The Script