Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted on this blog. You could definitely say I've lost my way more than once in this creative journey that started back in December 2008. I'll update you, it's been nearly 4 years since my last post and so much has changed even since then. Covid swept the world, all the momentum I had built up to that point was washed away, I used to spend 150 days a year on the road, sometimes more than that, and like many millions of people life changed within a few months as the world quickly ground to a halt. Post Covid, I've struggled to find my way creatively, work wise, burnt out, got massively depressed because 10 years on the road and then nothing, 4 years of Covid era madness, people forget who you are and a new flock rises up and people were keeping closer to home. Everything changed in my life.
Now, I'm trying to figure out who I am still, where I want to go and what I want to do. In that time I wrote a new book of poetry/prose, formed a band and toured for the first time in years but this purely driven by sheer will to get back out there and perform. I changed my practice creatively and slowed down on art workshops because I was totally burnt out. Music is back in my life in a big way, my band is called "Horse Funeral Band," and we started on, I shit you not, 420 or April 20th in 2023. We wrote about 8 - 10 songs and went into Doug Perry's recording studio on June 19th, 2023 and recorded 6 songs, live off the floor, mixed, mastered in 5 hours. Then I hit the road and started touring June 26 until sometime at the end of November 2023, all totalled at least 50 shows in 4 or 5 provinces, ranging from dive bars, big clubs, festivals, house parties and everything in between.
I shakily found my voice and am still developing a style, which I'd say is dark, solitary confessional acoustic songwriter. My voice is very baritone, so it's been a journey and fun, scary, exhausting, creative and everything in between. This past year, I toured a lot less, because I'm in my 50's and being on the road that much was pretty exhausting; we've mainly done festivals and gigs in Alberta and the lower mainland. The expense of touring has really gotten magnified, gas is so expensive, food is more expensive, accommodations, merch, hell, it's all a different world now. I'm working on a plan, new music, new recordings and booking shows for next year and will have a better idea of what's going on and how to do it. Without further ado, here's the bandcamp page for us:
https://horsefuneral1.bandcamp.com/album/new-songs
That's all I'm going to post for tonight, I'll return tomorrow with more news, creative projects and information about the past 4 years.
Kukstemc, thanks for tuning in all these years,
Chris Bose.
