And now I will do my best to relate the events of the past three weeks, in no particular order....
My parents came to visit in the second week with their friends George and Gail. We embarked on a couple of journeys....the first was to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls; none of us had ever been. For all the talk of it being prettier than the American side, I would have to disagree. It was very hard to see the falls due to the spray, and you are really looking across at the water falling from the American side. Also, I know everyone says that America is based on commerce, and that everything is expensive. However, on the American side, you don't have to pay to be shuttled from point to point. And, there are information booths, not just ticket counters. So, I would have to say that the trip I took with the boys and Rosie when we were in Buffalo was much more fullfilling. Eventhough it was 20 degrees.....
My second venture with my parents and their friends was to the CN Tower in downtown Toronto. Located next to the Rogers Center (formally the Sky Dome) where the Blue Jays play (more on that later), it gives an amazing view of the entirety of Toronto. I got some amazing pictures (see above) and we had a great time up there. We also headed to Casa Loma, a castle in the middle of downtown. Stunning architecture, furniture, decorations. Again, see the pictures above.
We welcomed 2 new cast members to our show, as I had referenced in my last blog. Eddie Clendening joined us as Elvis, and Katie Barton joined us as our new Dyanne understudy. A bunch of us got to see Eddie play a gig downtown....and let me tell you...that boy can pick. I sat in awe watching him play the what's what of rockabilly. Damn. And, we were lucky enough to watch Katie go on as Dyanne. She is an amazing performer, and a great addition to our team. In fact, every understudy went on at least once in Toronto. I had the pleasure of going on as Sam for two performances, and as Cash the following week. In fact, my second show as Sam was our 300th performance! It was an honor being onstage for that milestone! And, getting to perform definitely breaks up the monotony of being in a city for 3 weeks when you are an understudy.
We did a good amount of promotions in Toronto as well. I got to go on TV with Jam for the first time in a long while, and.....one of the highlights of tour.....me and the Thunderstudy boys were lucky enough to sing the National Anthem and Oh, Canada at a Toronto Blue Jays vs. Oakland A's game (see video below). Anytime I can mix music and baseball is a dream come true. And, this time, we were able to sit and watch the game after we sang, which made it even better. I may be a die hard Red Sox fan, but it was great to see a nail biter of a baseball game. And, at a place I never thought I would go.
Hmm. Trying to think of other highlights. Mostly, we were all ready to get a nice long break after Toronto. We got that wish.....we are off for 5 weeks before we head to our second and final international stop....Tokyo. I am excited and a bit nervous about being all the way over there....but I'm sure we will have a great time and see things that many of us will never see again. In this break, I am going to do my best to relax, get a lot better at guitar, learn a little Japanese, and hit the gym.
So, for now, I will be saying goodbye for a bit. But, please tune in in a few weeks for news from Tokyo......AND, perhaps in the next couple of weeks I will unvail my tour jacket with all of the pins I have collected these last 11 months, as well as my guitar case covered with stickers from the road. More news, and excitement to come. Enjoy the summer!
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