Stoolshed

Sharon: if you still have those gitch you are in danger. Run. Hide. Get yourself tested. And don't post them on Ebay. If sent across the border you'll be redflagged for life.

Gentlemonkey: the ribs are doing better. I keep irritating it by playing hockey, but I can finaly sleep on both sides now.n But remember, if you ever knock your girlfriend up (haha) look out, because when those hormones kick in, they can break your bones (like ribs) with blunt objects...

Hey there, for those of you that didn't know it, me and my partner had a little baby girl about 3 and a half months ago.

But before in utero became pop-out-io, we took some pictures to commemorate the occasion. Being as both me and my girlfriend come from farms in small ass rural communities, we wanted to do them up nice and proper...(Bouche, you've already seen these...)

These are the first set. There's another set to be posted soon.

Ciao, Stephen

www.stephenfranke.ca

I couldn't agree more. Normally I hate Hollywood dramas because the points they're trying to drive home seem redundant and shallow, especially after some of the things many of us on this board have injested.

BUT, I hadn't enjoyed a movie of that nature as much since Magnolia. Wow. A movie that makes you feel AND think.

What's the directors name again?

Actually, we CAN blaim the gov't. To be exact, Brian Mulroney and NAFTA. Canadian gas should not be affected by world (read: bush) prices because we produce daily more than we can use. BUT, we're bound by NAFTA to give piles of it to the States. In fact, we ship between 1-1.5 million barrels to them every day.

As long as Alberta would sell it to the rest of canada at below world prices. Or we could just trade them for class and civility. Ha ha

After a summer of shows, we're back with a show in our hometown!

Friday September 23rd, 2005

Steamer's Pub, Victoria BC

w/ Vancouver's Five Alarm Funk

Come early and join in the festivities cause it's good to be home!

As well, for those Albertans on this here page, upcoming shows include:

Thursday October 6th, 2005: Calgary, Liberty Lounge, Mount Royal College

Friday October 7th, 2005: Canmore Hotel, Canmore AB

Saturday October 8th, 2005: Sidetrack Cafe, Edmonton AB

See you soon, Stephen

I hear the CD sounds great! Way to go, and congratulations guys...good to see things moving along.

Have a good show. I won't be there, but that's only because I'm as far west as I could git myself in canada. Argh, canada's too long...

Hello fellow Cavernites! Yes, yet another band with a tour that winds it's way to the east coast through Ontario for the end of August...

As is our summer ritual, we'll be passing through towns near you starting in less than a week. Every where we go, there we are. If you're at all near one of our shows, please stop by, say hello, check out some music and above all else, pray for our souls as we ravage the Canadian landscape.

For more info, to sign our email list, or to leave us a message, go to: www.stephenfranke.ca. Or better yet, come see us...did we mention that?

Thursday August 18th, Guelph, ON, Manhattan’s Jazz club

Friday August 19th, Toronto ON, Gypsy Co-op, 815 Queen West, Heineken Jazz Series w/ Vanderpark

Saturday August 20th, Ottawa, ON, Irene’s Pub (855 Bank St.)

Monday August 22nd, Fredericton, NB, The Jester’s Court

Tuesday August 23rd, Saint John, NB, Studio 112

Wednesday August 24th, Halifax, NS, Stage Nine

Thursday August 25th, Antigonish, NS, Piper’s Pub

Fri-Sun August 26th-28th, Antigonish NS, Evolve Festival ( www.evolvefestival.com )

Friday Sept 2nd, Come Together Music Festival (southern Ontario: www.cometogethermusicfest.ca )

Saturday Sept 3rd, Vancouver, BC, Upstream Entertainment’s Spearhead After-party: The Media Club

Sunday Sept 4th, Cumberland, BC, Cumberland Village Works Music Festival, including Spearhead, Joel Kroecker ( www.cumberlandvillageworks.com )

Ciao, Stephen

stephen @ stephenfranke.ca

I thought I'd put in my two cents worth.

I've crossed the border and done tours/shows in the States on 3 occasions. Two with another band, and recently we played Seattle's Folklife Festival with SF & NFTT. Starting in October, we're playing shows periodically down the west coast of the USA, focusing on Seattle, Olympia, Bellingham, Portland, Eugene, Arcata and San Fran. I'm just getting contracts and paperwork in place with the help of copacetic clubs that are giving me contracts. To qualify my opinions based on what's been written on this subject, I will add: We've applied for 15-20 grants, received 4, are currently distributed by Warner Bros., and yes, I am holding a debt for multiple thousands of dollars for our project, like many student loans. Fortunately, with hard and constant work, after 2.5 years, this project is beginning to break even, like a regular business.

The main reason bands do not cross into the USA is because currently to play gigs, you have to have contracts in place, after which time you can apply for a work visa (p2 form). The P2 costs $200 everytime you apply, and as long as your first (entry) gig is 90-100 days away. This is the amount of time required by american officials to process your application. If you would like it fast-tracked, you can pay $1000 (all theses amounts are in american $) and they'll do it in 30 dcays.It is good for up to a year, provided you have a gig every 30 days, but here's the catch: find me a bar/pub/club/festival that'll book a canadian act more than 4 months ahead. Therefore, generally, it's virtually impossible to do your paperwork for more than 2 months at a time, tops. If you're caught playing in the states, even with a valid p2 form 'blanketed' (referring to getting a gig a month like a house gig from a club that'll give you some contracts as a favour, so your paperwork seems to be good for a long period) on a day not listed on the original document ( and nowadays, every border crossing has these dates on database), you'll be blacklisted from entry for probably 15 years. Bad call.

So, to summarize, it's virtually impossible to book shows there farther than 2 months on the P2 form, which must be submitted 90-100 days before the first gig. Or, if you're rich, pay $1000 every 4 months for quick paperwork.

It's a misnomer (sp?) that clubs won't book Canadian acts. I have contracts in place from various places, and many clubs are sympathetic. The problem is that you have to be incredibly organized to get everything right. For example, it's now july 5th, and I'm doing booking as far ahead as next december. This can be so frustrating because so much can change between now and then, but it's so far the only way. In the meantime, the AF of M (the American Federation of Musicians - also the canadian union; of which you have to be a yearly member to cross into the USA as well, at $120 a year, initial signup fee of $85) is working to have the time shortened, but they've been working on it for 4 years. Blame Bush. It used to be 30 days max., the fast track was 10-14 days, and cost $180.

As far as the High Sierra discussion, while promoters have good ideas, it sounds like noone has contacted High Sierra, because I have. I've talked to them about how to get in, which is why we're starting all our west coast usa tour dates. The only, and I repeat, the ONLY way an unsigned (to a major) canadian band will play there is if they first tour down to northern california and play gigs where a representative can come out and here you. They will definitely come out, but there is zero chance of bands being accepted without having toured the area at least. Even then the odds are tiny unless you have a unique angle. The festival gets thousands of applications a year just from american bands, many of which spend a couple of years crashing it by setting up and playing for free in the grounds, to get people's interest, and show they're working to the organizers.

The bottom line is, just like canada, where the biggest festivals are the hardest to get into (winnipeg folk fest, edmonton folkfest, Calgary folkfest, Montreal Jazzfest, Toronto Jazzfest, etc.) and take years of applying, so are the american festivals.

Finding an american label would be a great start. Otherwise, I suggest bands become union members, and start doing repeat gigs at american cities close by, by redoing their p2 visa forms way ahead and every 2-3 months until they have a list of venues that will book them way ahead.

I also know all the loopholes and what does/doesn't work, and what the odds are. If any bands need help figuring this shit out, send me an email at: stephen@stephenfranke.ca and I'll answer any questions. In the meantime, I'll be busy trying to get my paperwork done and sent in by July 14th for our first gig in Bellingham on Oct 12th, 2005.

As far as the arguement about bands charging $10 suddenly, it's because they can and must. A hard working band is worth it. It's virtually impossible to get a good paying job when leaving for tour every few months, so getting paid decently at gigs makes it so bands can pay the bills and keep it up, not because they're trying to bank. While we still try to keep our ticket prices down, usually these days we're at $8 when in east of alberta, because we incur such high expenses when touring 5000-7500 kilometres away.

My two cents.

Hey, it's Friday and I'm in Sudbury.

Just wanted to say we had a blast in Hamilton, meeting a lot of the board members face to face and having Scofield open my mind on thew guitar.

We played in Guelph the next night at a little jazz club called Manhattan's, with a nice baby grand piano and it was the jazziest and most different show we've ever played.

We're hoping to keep the creative musical vibes of the last few nights going at the Gladstone, and it's our last night in Ontario for a while, so hopefully we can see a bunch of you out...

Ciao fer now,

Stephen

By the way, this show is in the newly refurbished ballroom of the Gladstone. It's an awesome room with a kickass sound system, right beside the Drake hotel. We picked it because of the room, so it should be great to play!

Well, I'll tell you what I know: We're actually hoping the liquor license thing will be worked out, but if not, we'll do one of two things, depending on what people want us to do:

Either we'll do a set, then Jacob twotwo will do a set while we set up gear downstairs for our last set to be in the licensed place, from 1-2am, or:

We say f@@k it, hope everyone coming doesn't mind bringing flasks and doobies, etc (though I shouldn't be the one saying that) and keep the night the way it is. This is my favourite idea, because I like Dekcuf, and just want to play an uninterupted night of music for everyone, as we really like Ottawa.

Either way, we're coming to play. Let's hope for the best, being the restoration of the license, and please ask people to still come out, because for us the most important part is that we get to come and play to people that want to listen...

See y'all very soon,

Stephen

Well, it's short notice, but with the help of Caroline in Peterborough, we've found a gig. We'll be at:

The Spill Cafe

Wednesday April 13th

George st.

Show from 8pm-10pm

Some bodies in the room on this short notice would be great, so those in the area: please spread the word!!!

Greetings Fellow Earthlings,

We just wanted to pass on the word of some shows we have coming up. If you're around, please come out and support the music. We come a long way from home to do this thing we do and it's always so nice to make these shows mean something. Anyways, here's the dates:

Tuesday April 12th, 2005: Kingston ON, The Elixir w/ Jim Byrnes and Zubot & Dawson

Wed April 13th, 2005 : Peterborough ON, TBA (a coffee house gig, but duuh, I don’t know the name. I’ll post it tomorrow on the site)

Thurs April 14th, 2005: Montreal, QC, Upstairs Jazz Club , 1254 Mackay st), early show from 8-midnight

Sat April 16th, 2005: Ottawa ON, Café Dekcuf, w/ ottawa’s own ‘Jacob Two-Two’

Wed April 20th, 2005: Hamilton ON, Club 77, backing up the legendary John Scofield

Thurs April 21st, 2005: London ON, Fanshawe College: Lunch hour show

Thurs April 21st, 2005: Guelph ON, Manhattan’s Jazz Club, early show, music from 8-midnight

Fri April 22nd, 2005: Sudbury ON, guess where…The Townehouse

Sat April 23rd, 2005: Toronto ON, The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen st. W w/ High Plains Drifter, music from 10pm-1am

(A show in Victoria BC: Friday April 29th, 2005: Victoria BC, Hermann’s Jazz Club, 753 View st. Early show, from 8-midnight)

Ciao, Stephen

www.stephenfranke.ca

Flying in tomorrow, gettin into Tdot at 10pm, then gonna get a drink and find a good bed. Or a party. What are you doing tomorrow ( or should I say thursday night?)

Stephen

So, maybe this is a bit redundant because we posted our dates on an earlier message, but hey! CBC! Our heroes of the revolution...

CBC's Fresh Air is doing a half hour segment on our band this Saturday morning at 8.30am (if any of you are up).

Secondly, we're schmoozing our way over to Clinton's for our CMW showcase set Saturday night at 11pm, so come on down.

Nanu Nanu

-Stephen

A correction on Jay's post for Stephen Franke & Noises from the Toolshed:

We're playing Clinton's at 11pm, but on the Saturday, not the Friday...

Ooops, you're right. Baba's Lounge. I get it confused, mainly because everytime I leave my house to go down there I remember it's 7500 kilometres away...

And by the way, damn the owners and damn the players for taking my hockey. Damn them for taking the Jets and the Nordiques. Damn them for giving 3 teams to California and two to Florida because they can collect revenue in american $, driving up player salaries so canadian teams can't sign more than one star or afford to keep up.

Peace,

Stephen

Hey there, a quick note from out here in Victoria...

We're flying into Toronto for the weekend of March 3-6th to do a bit of schmoozing for Canada Music Week 2005, an in-studio bit with CBC's Fresh Air and a showcase with some new songs on Saturday March 5th at Clinton's from 11pm-12. It's a short set, but we're trying to look important to all the industry types, so anyone who's interested, please come and support the music.

Also, here's our upcoming Maritime dates . Hope to see and meet some of the board folk!

March 10th Nova Scotia: TBA

March 11th Halifax NS: The Attic

March 12th Antigonish NS: Chuggles w/Grand theft bus

March 15th Charlottetown PEI: Bubba's

March 16th Sackville NB: George's Roadhouse

March 17th Saint John NB: Studio 112 w/ Vorcza Trio

March 18th Fredericton NB: The Cellar (UNB)

March 19th Moncton NB: Manhattan's

Thanks for supporting the music as you always do and we'll see you soon over there eh...

Stephen

Thanks ya'all for the help! I've got a list of new venues, and even some pictures of them to boot, so we're in the process of making things happen.

And Marge, if you check out our website, you see that we're indeed doing other ontario shows including TORONTO, the apparent center of the galaxy Ontario (anyone see Whale Music?), once on March 5th for a short set for Canada Music Week 2005, and a real show on Saturday April 23rd at the Gladstone Hotel. No show at the Rex this time, but we've picked the Gladstone as a new venue to try out. It seems to be a pretty neat place to play.

Anyways, I'll be posting all the March dates on this forum soon, so...

Also, we'll be in Toronto On march 4th, doing CBC's Fresh Air in the day, and hanging out at night. Maybe we can do a wee bit of partying?

Ciao, Stephen

Hey y'all from Stephen Franke and the west coast. We're coming through Ontario on a tour in April (Brian Hamilton has graciously given us an opening slot for John Scofield in Hamilton and we're doing a few shows around it).

BUT, booking Peterborough is a mystery to us. Impossible. Is there anyone who lives there and can help us book a show there on either April 13, 14, or 15th? 13th or 14th preferred...

If so, please send me an email at 'stephen@stephenfranke.ca' and we'll be forever indebted.

See you all in a little while, Stephen.

At Sam's on Yonge St eh? How much were they charging for the CD? I can tell you that as an independent label/distributor going up against all the major label bastards, I'm glad Sam's stocking it. Curious how much though...Most people have to order it in, and then it's like 16-18 bucks or something.

Anyways, see y'all tomorrow. Remember: Martin Tielli's an alien, the good kind. Randy Bachman's an alien, the bad kind. I can tell, although I'm sure they both smell bad, but I'm one to talk.

First off, we’d like to thank everyone we met in our august travels for the great times. We made an unbelievable amount of new friends and got to hang with old friends. The maritimes rocked our world, and now we’ve recovered a little and are heading out on the road again for a few more shows in Ontario and Quebec. We hope to see you because we love to play music and we love to play for people.

In other quick notes, we were nominated for ‘Outstanding Instrumental Recording’ at the Western Canada Music Awards, and had a blast in Calgary doing a showcase there. We’ve decided to start playing more of the upbeat jazz clubs in cities, especially the ones with pianos, so if you know a good room for us, please let us know. Input of all sorts is always appreciated.

Lastly, sorry to anyone who emailed me last week. Our website and database crashed hard, and all correspondence sent to me never arrived. BUT, it’s all back up and running.

Oh yeah, we’re giving away a pair of tickets for our show closest to you, and a CD to the first person to correctly tells us what Madonna song we reference on our album. If you know, email us or post your answer on the forum on our website.

Our october schedule:

Sunday Oct 10th Victoria Legends w/ Antibalas

Thurs Oct 14th Toronto El Mocambo w/ The Slip

Friday Oct 15th Hamilton Pepper Jack’s w/ The Slip

Saturday Oct 16th Sudbury Townhouse Tavern

Sunday Oct 17th Toronto The Rex Jazz Club (194 Queen st W) Afternoon show: 3.30-6pm, doors at 3, www.tojazzseries.com.

Wednesday Oct 20th Hamilton Pepperjack’s

Thursday Oct 21st Guelph Jimmy Jazz

Friday Oct 22nd Kingston The Grad Club w/ Dan Curtis & the Knees (from Luther Wright & the Wrongs)

Saturday Oct 23rd Ottawa Café Dekcuf w/ Chonga & The Crowd

Sunday Oct 24th Montreal Quai des Brumes (4481 St. Denis) show from 9-12

Saturday Oct 30th Vancouver The Fairview Pub w/ Slammin Jack

See you on the road…

Ciao, Stephen

www.stephenfranke.ca

Randy randy Bachman...I just can't say anything good about him. I think the globe and mail said it best by giving him 1 out of 5 for his ' A Jazz thing' album, after which the writer was criticized for going easy on him. For any of you that respect him, please go listen to it. It's easily my least liked album in the world. And I'm not alone. There are pages of message boards out there slagging the mormon. On the album he has the nerve to sing overtop of a lenny breau recording (summertime) of solo guitar, and try and follow the melody line with his horrible crooning. Then he has the nerve to list Lenny Breau in the credits as a guest. One of the worlds's best ever guitarists, been dead for over 20 years now, and Randy lists him as a guest on his new album. It's not funny Randy, just pathetic.

Maybe I'm just jaded because I live in Victoria, and I hear about him so much because of his living close to me. Randy Bachman to me is a walking publicity stunt. I can't respect his crappy rock, I can't respect his stomach stapling, I can't respect his PR stunts like getting 1000 guitarist in vancouver to play the takin care of business riff all at the same time, and I can't take his butchery of jazz.

You won't often see me dis another artist on a messageboard, but Randy?

For the record. Losing weight by stomach stapling is equivalent to drinking non-alcoholic beer. At the benefit, the Barenaked Ladies were on stage making fun of 'b-b-b-baby, you aint seen nothing yet', when Randy came out singing behind them all serious. Hamming it up had to stop immediately. He meant that song you know. Funny.

Hey y'all, we're happy to be back on the east coast, starting almost right away!

Here's the upcoming dates, hope we can see you at one of them.

All of you from Toronto, check out the Rex show, which is Sat aug 21st from noon til 3pm, all you can eat brunch buffet $10. Recover from your Jimmy Swift hangover in style...

Thurs Aug 19th - Guelph The Trasheteria w/ Blue Quarter

Fri Aug 20th – Toronto The Elmocambo w/ The Jimmy Swift Band

Sat Aug 21st – Toronto The Rex (194 Queen st. W) IMPORTANT: This show is from Noon til 3pm, all you can eat Brunch $10. Come join us, should be a blast!

Sat Aug 21st – Montreal Le Swimming w/ Tala

Sun Aug 22nd – St. John Studio 112

Mon Aug 23rd – Fredericton Macphail’s

Tues Aug 24th - Charlottetown Bubba’s w/ a host of local bands

Wed Aug 25th – Antigonish Chuggles w/ Alexander, and his band who we’re about to meet. We’re expecting great things.

Thurs Aug 26th - Halifax The Attic w/ Blue Quarter, Threat from Outer Space and New Shady Groove

Fri, Sat, Sun Aug 27th – Evolve 5 Antigonish Y’all know who the bands are, if you don’t, check it out at www.evolvefestival.com

Thanks, and keep supporting Canadian music.

Humbly and obnoxiously yours,

Stephen Franke

I clicked. I thought it was funny. But then again, I long ago removed the filter and shut off switch which stopped my brain from seeing all subject matter. And if there's ever any lingering guilt, I go to church and become absolved by weirdos.