This year I’ve written/started a pile of hard rock songs. I was a gigging musician before getting serious about fiction writing, and not having a live band up and running is killing me. Is it the on-stage adrenalin I miss, or the free beer?  Whichever, school and writing are driving the bus but I have been jamming sporadically with members of Cowpuncher and the Mad Bombers Society and my old County Reeves drummer Chuck Gould. It’s basically four not-young guys attempting to stave off a mid-life crisis, summon that last remaining teaspoon of testosterone, and replicate our fave Swedish rock bands like the Hellacopters, Graveyard etc. Our songs so far are a swirling mix of Kiss, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, AC/DC and some SoCal punk . I imagine we’ll be on stage by 2039 at this rate.

See the guy to the left of me (I’m the shouting bastard) in the above pic? That’s Agriculture Club/County Reeves co-frontman and longtime creative partner Colin Johnston. He’s assembled a new band called The Hard Luck Ramblers, with a few other guys from our old bands. If you miss the roots/honky tonk/alt-country music I used to make with him, this band is awesome and will fill that gap in your life, no problem. They are truly one of my favourite Calgary bands right now. Book them.