Two years later…
A year later I’m still traveling with WICKED, playing drums to filled houses across North America. I’m very fortunate to be able to meet great musicians in each town, and play with them in our orchestra for the show.
Professionally, I’m grateful for the help I’ve been getting with SABIAN, which everybody knows is simply the best cymbal out there. I’m also happy to end months of testing heads to their limits to find a hands down winner! I put a set of AQUARIAN response 2s on the kit and was simply amazed at their tone and durability. I thank them for making me part of their roster!
This Aquarian is an AQUARIAN artist. Sweet.
The jury is out on sticks thus far… although…
The journey continues throughout North America! I am presently in Saskatoon, SK in a sweet castle of a hotel (Delta Bessborough) after a string of great engagements in western Canada. I’ll look forward to Austin and Nashville coming up in the fall, but first, a few weeks vacation in my homeland of Newfoundland!
I’ll see you all on the road!
I’m Back!
Hellooo all and thank-you for being interested in what’s going on! As of August, I have finally got my back straightened out. With the patients and unbelievable understanding of my bosses, I am back on tour with Wicked. Right now I’m in Tulsa, Oklahoma Playing in a great hall, the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, which I can see out my hotel window. Some highlight cities so far? Minneapolis is a beautiful city with a city wide bike rental program called Nice Ride. Great music there. I just missed Hey Rosetta at the 7th Street entry, but managed to meet up afterwards for a drink with Josh ‘the slammin-bass player’ Ward. Memphis was a real treat. I FINALLY got to stock up on gear and pick a new china cymbal at MEMPHIS DRUM SHOP. That’s where I got some of the best help ever in a drum shop. Thanks to Myron Wilson for being so patient with me. If your reading this, the SABIAN paragon ROCKS! That’s the 3rd china cymbal I’ve replaced in 6 months of playing. Incredibly, I have not broken one set of sticks.
The score so far is:
SABIAN china cymbal – 0
Vic Firth extreme 5Bs – 3
To be fair, I’ve played SABIAN all my life and have NEVER broken a cymbal until WICKED. What can I say? This show is china heavy!
Here is a list of some of the next tour cities:
11/17 – 11/28 Tulsa, OK
12/1 – 12/12 Kalamazoo, MI
12/15 – 1/1/11 Indianapolis
1/5 – 1/23/11 Tucson, AZ
1/26 – 2/13 Albuquerque, NM
2/16 – 3/06 San Antonio, TX
3/9 – 4/3 Costa Mesa, CA
4/6 – 4/17 Fresno, CA
4/20 – 5/1 Eugene, OR
5/4 – 5/15 Boise, ID
5/18 – 5/29 Spokane, WA
6/1 – 6/26 Vancouver, BC
6/29 – 7/17 Calgary, AB
7/20 – 8/7 Edmonton, AB
8/10 – 8/21 Saskatoon, SK
8/24 – 9/4 Winnipeg, MB
2010… not so wicked.
It’s been a while since I have updated and, as some of you know, for good reason. Not much has been happening! I’ve been off the road since May trying to heal a disc herniation with crazy sciatica. The plan for now, is to get back on the road August 2nd (thanks to the best employers ever!). I have been receiving lots of moral support and well wishes, without which, this would be unbearable. Thank-you to everybody!
I apologize to any friends I was to meet in various U.S. cities, I’m sure we will catch up on the next pass.
I have been in Newfoundland since the start of this injury, and will probably spend the duration of the rehabilitation here. Here’s to a great 2010 for all of you! I hope that I will be playing for you again before the year is out.
All the best.
A Wicked 2009…
Hello all from New York City!
I am at the halfway mark of rehearsing with the munchkinland tour of Wicked in NYC. We will be moving to Ft. Myer’s Florida on Feb 21st to proceed with two weeks of teching then to open the show March 12th.
Being in NYC seems normal somehow. I love being here. My colleagues are great people and a wealth of talent and experience. I keep finding myself thinking, thank-you.
Enough of that. Here are the confirmed dates so far:
March 12-29 Fort Myers, FL
March 30-April 19 Birmingham, AL
April 20-May 10 Jacksonville, FL
May 11-May 31 Norfolk, VA
June 1-Jun 21 Indianapolis, IN
June 22-July-12 Memphis, TN
July 13-Aug 9 Tulsa, OK
Aug 10-Aug 30 Austin, TX
More to come so stay tuned!
Winter…
Man! It’s been a while. The summer production of Stompin Tom was a blast. We especially had a great time hanging out making new friends in Prince Edward Island at the Mack. The cast, the crew, and all the folks from the orchestra, band, other casts and the Confederation Centre were just incredible. It was an honor. Thank-you very much!
It’s been a whiz-bang Fall with returning to Toronto Dance Theatre and the school as their accompanist, while playing in Crow’s Theatre and Mamilian Diving Reflex’s production of [boxhead] at the Buddies in Bad Times. I also had a blast playing drums and trading fours with Richard Stoltzman on clarinet as part of the K-W Symphony. What a player!
I am presently packing up my apartment in Toronto, preparing to head on the road for one year. From the last week of February 2009 until the same time 2010, I will be the drummer for the second national tour of Wicked. I’m finishing my last engagements with Esprit KWS and TDT before heading back to Newfoundland to practice until the tour starts.
spring.
Here’s the plan for the next 8 months. Come visit!
April 21 – May 31 Drayton Festival Theatre, Drayton, Ontario
June 4 - June 22 King’s Wharf Theatre, Penetanguishene, Ontario
June 23 – Sept 20th David Mackenzie Theatre (The Mack), Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Sept 22 – Mid November Prep begins for the hit smash wiz bang theatre show by Darren O’Donnell
Boxhead, Toronto, Ontario
fall in Toronto….
The ballad of Stompin’ Tom had a great run in Blyth. It was great to be back where we first played the show. My sincere thank-yous to the AMAZING cast and both crews this summer. It was an honour. Check out the pics!
In other news, this fall I’ll be taking over as the main accompanist at the Toronto Dance Theatre! I’m looking forward to collaborating on some great classes.
a new era?
Today I received my new Macbook pro! Let the games begin! I no longer have excuses not to update this sight regularly, although until I get back to Toronto and access my pictures on my other mac, the flickr photo site will have to wait for the Fabulous 1000 Island photos that I took. So for now, I’ll start posting Newfoundland photos.
The 1000 Islands Playhouse production of the Ballad of Stompin’ Tom was a great success and a fantastic time. Thanks to all the staff, crew and cast for a fabulous experience! We got to stay at “the compound” a forested area with various cabins located on a finger of land that dips into the beautiful St. Lawrence seaway, complete with private dock and sandy beach. Witnessing springtime in such a setting, surrounded with beauty, wonderful people and contributing to a great show was truely a breathtaking experience.
Now I find myself in Newfoundland, hanging with great friends and looking forward to seeing more. Next week I head to Stephenville to visit my family and then back to St. John’s for my fathers 70th birthday celebration and a gig playing the finale of Festival 500.
I’ll be back in Toronto July 16th, ready to play for the Toronto Dance Theatre’s summer school program, the National Ballet School, and attending the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival with The Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan.
Enjoy the pictures as the next three weeks brings forth more and more tales from Newfoundland. The pictures from 1000 island playhouse will surely be posted about the third week of July…. stay tuned!
the scheduling is…
(thanks to Kevin Fox for the Stompin’ Tom pic!)
The prep work is almost finished, but I know the schedule looks like:
April 23 – June 10th: 1000 Islands Playhouse, Ballad of Stompin Tom, Gananoque
(If you want to come up, and have a great time! The theatre info is HERE. The town info is HERE)
June 12 – 24th: St. John’s, Newfoundland
June 24 – 25th: Corner Brook, Newfoundland
June 25 – 29th: Stephenville, Newfoundland
June 30 – July 15th: St. John’s, Newfoundland
July 15 – Aug 19th: Toronto, Ontario
Aug 20 – Sept 22nd: Blyth Festival, Blyth, Ontario
Blyth Festival information is HERE.
Keep checkin in here for blog updates, or especially in the photos section, which I refresh more frequently.
prep work in full swing…
whew! I survived a trip to NYC.
That wasn’t very hard considering I had such a great host, reunited with great friends, and met tons of new ones. With a rocky start behind me (hangover the first day… like I said, I had a great host… who likes Guinness and single malt) got to sit in the pit and watch NYC’s finest drummers drive the bus of 4 great broadway shows. Matt Vander Ende of Wicked, Larry Lelli of The Producers, then Sean McDaniel of Spamalot, and Gary Seligson of Tarzan. Then I also got to watch Andy Jones (yeah…cool, Andy you have the same name as a famous Newfoundlander) bring Wicked’s percussion book to life. It’s hard to believe what a great sound and energy these guys bring to the stage. Thanks to everyone for letting me watch.
Right now is the transition time. I’m prepping for my three months away from Toronto, leaving the smog behind. I’m taking my new Trek bike to Gananoque 1000 Island playhouse April 23 – June 9, to play and MD the show, “Ballad of Stompin’ Tom. If you get a chance come out and see it! It’s a great show with killer performances from great people. Be sure to drop a line if you do. From June 12 – July 15, I plan on traveling through the tropical island of Newfoundland.
