Here we are, December 2nd:
Well, it's been a couple weeks and lot and not a lot has happened. I'm mixing and mastering some older songs, demos and found recordings of various jams and live shows from the past few years. It's cold here in Kamloops, BC, I'm older and a little wiser, maybe, but definitely wearier.
Hearing some of these songs for the first time in years really takes me back to those shards of memories, smashed and scattered across the fragmented pavement of my mind. As I've gotten older, these slices of time are harder to put back together, I struggle sometimes recalling the places and faces, the gear and everything in between on some of these songs. A hazy blur of steamy hot summer Kamloops nights, frigid snowstorm walks contemplating life and death, the end of relationships, missing my kids, missing the stage and the applause of the audience. The endless ribbon across the country that I have travelled on all my life, growing up moving constantly never finding my place, then finding my voice and the guitar which lead to touring and performing through the late 80's, 90's and a break in the action until 2003 when I got my first book deal and hit the road again from that year until present.
People think I have a bad memory and I do, but when you're living so fast and unrelentingly across the land while others remain halted in a glacial pace of life, same thing day in and out, it's inevitable that in those smeared blur of time and memories moments are lost. My kid's mum asked me incredulously about some of the things I don't remember and to her, they were moments not necessarily significant or anything, but just the fact that I couldn't recall the people and places that to her were so simple to picture while I struggled to put names to faces and places.
When you're in the same town, same job, for years at a time, life is predictable, you know who you'll see at the coffee shop, the grocery store, school or whatever. I reminded her that I've been on the road for years and years, meeting hundreds of people, performing hundreds of shows, always on the move by plane, bus, train, boat and even hitchhiking all over Canada and the world. As I get older, it gets a little tougher, but my resolve is to see this through and leave, to continue to tour and perform even as I approach my 60's. I'll just have to be smarter about it haha, which is something I have been noting. When, where and how to tour as an independent artist is something I'm keenly aware of and taking note of experiences from last year's 50 odd shows in 5 months and 5 provinces compared to this years much slower dozen or shows in BC and Alberta.
The purpose of mixing and mastering both old and new songs is to have an online catalogue of songs that suit Horse Funeral Band, but also to help get bookings for 2025. As well to show a lengthy history of songwriting and performing. Last year, I had to figure out how to sing and play guitar, as well as be frontman, I did shows both sober and drunk, some were good, some were not, but it was what I had to go through to learn to find my voice, my singing style and performance confidence. It wasn't easy. I usually am the rhythm guitarist, comfortable hiding in my corner of the stage, now I've had to lead the stage and various ad hoc bands while touring with pickup musicians and old friends. It was worth it.
Now, onto further adventures and I hope to see you down this road that is infinitely wide and without direction
Chris.
ps: here's some song art from recently released singles on our website: https://horsefuneral1.bandcamp.com/album/new-songs
