JJ’s Pub (Lizard Lounge) – Edmonton, Alberta – October 22nd 2005

I got a call about 5 days prior to this gig from my friend Cindy. She informs me that she needs a band to close a Saturday night gig with her band Her Alibi at JJ’s Pub (Now the Lizard Lounge). She says she’ll score us $100 bucks. Well we’re not that interested to say the least but since we figure it’s a paid practice and we’ll be helping out a friend we agree to do it. We get to JJ’s at about 10:00 and start loading in gear (no sound check).

The gear gets loaded in and we proceed to grab some beer and listen to Cindy’s retro hard rock band play. The bar is pretty dead, it’s late at night and the majority of the people there are drunk playing VLT’s. The only people watching were the men staring at Cindy’s…. you get the picture. I could tell this was going to be an excellent gig. There’s nothing better than playing for people who are paying no attention to you.

Her Alibi tears down and we start hauling our gear on stage to get setup. Out of left field some people actually show up to see us play, which is pretty cool, but they still weren’t loud enough to drowned out the guy asking Cindy to bring her T&A back on stage. JJ’s Pub is fun!

All in all it was quite the experience; the sound at JJ’s Pub I must admit was pretty sweet and the staff was nice.

Happy and Fulfilled,
Shane Lamotte

Sidetrack Cafe – Edmonton, Alberta – October 18th 2005

It was great knowing that the Sidetrack wanted us to come back and play for them again. We must have made a good impression because not only did they invite us back, they called us to come out and open for a signed act. Tin Foil Phoenix from Winnipeg, a band signed to 604 Records. There would be two openers this evening, one of them being us and the other Superseed (winner of the BEARs song writing competition) from Sherwood Park, Alberta.

I left work early and made my way down to the Sidetrack for sound check. Same as before but this time I had a guitar tech Ryan Paluck. He did an excellent job and tuned up all my guitars with supreme accuracy. We were the first band to go on and the time was creeping up, so we picked up our shit and jumped on stage.

There were about 75 people in the crowd, and for some odd reason, none of them had come to see Tin Foil Phoenix or Superseed. It was our fans who had come out to support us once again. We played some new songs and kept our set heavy and hard. I looked around to see my guitar tech taking tequila shots and wondered how the rest of the evening was going to pan out.

Once we finished we quickly hauled our gear off stage and watched as 75 people became 35. Puffing a quick cigarette outside I went back in to watch Superseed. Since I was driving I was sensible and only had a couple of drinks. Now Ryan, the guitar tech, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. I’ve never seen one man hug our bass player so many times in one night; must have been the Tequila.

Superseed ended there set, and on came Tin Foil Phoenix the signed headlining act. At this point in time the 35 turned into 15 people left. That includes the members of the bands. They put on a good show for the few people that got to see them and I think most were to drunk to care. But the show ended, and it was time to go home and call it a night.

We got into the car, Ryan, Jenny and I and began to drive home. Jenny and I were in the front and Ryan was in the back drunk as hell not making any sense talking to himself and burping very loudly. Then out of no where (well I guess it came from some where) 5/6ths of the way home Ryan opens the car door and proceeds to unleash projectile vomit all over the road and into the car. I pull over and let him finish, laughing hysterically because I realize that he didn’t get any puke in the car, just allover himself, his shoes, his shirt, and his pants.

We make it to our humble abode and Ryan falls out of the back door and stumbles his way into the house, where he proceeds to walk to his room and pass out in his puke covered close. God I love being in a band.

Happy and Fulfilled,
Shane Lamotte

Sidetrack Café – CD Release Party – Edmonton, Alberta – August 30th 2005

Walking into the empty Sidetrack Café at 3:00PM for sound check with no one in sight but the sound guy and the rest of the band: it was kind of weird knowing that the bar was (hopefully) going to be packed full of people in 6 hours. It was also kind of weird to be in a bar before it opened. Our openers, Hazeldean, arrived after we had finished with our sound check and took their turn with the sound tech.

The band went to Red Robin for some good eats and to kill time before the show. With a stack of CDs in the bag with me and knowing that we had already sold around 60 tickets I felt pretty confident as we headed back to the Sidetrack. People were begining to trickle in and Hazeldean was about to hit the stage by the time we got back. Slowly more and more people entered the building. My cell phone began to ring off the hook as people wanted me to bring more and more tickets to the door to sell to them.

Show time. With over 125 in the crowd, including a slew of people I never expected to show up, we started our set. The bar made sure we had alcohol at arms length and as we played the drinking continued. We started to play our title track “Living Illuion” and I got the crowd going. There were over 75 people directly in front of the stage dancing and rocking out. It was awesome.

After our first set we went to the green room and the owner of the Sidetrack came out and told us that he thought we were doing an amazing job. The Sidetrack is one of the best venues in the city of Edmonton by far, so this meant a lot to us. After a couple smokes and another beer we were back on stage. My drunken hysterics kept the crowd going between songs and we were almost done for the night. As the crowd died down and slowly dwindled away, we played “For Whom the Bells Toll” during which I forgot the lyrics and slurred my way through to the end.

The Sidetrack Café treated us really well, awarded us for our efforts and kept us drunk and happy. It was an amazing show. Special thanks to all of you who made that night possible.

Happy and Fulfilled,
Shane Lamotte

Heart of the City Festival – Edmonton, Alberta – June 11th 2005

We made our way into downtown Edmonton, to the Giovanni Caboto Park, and it began to feel slightly creepy. It wasn’t that we were about to play our first show, no, but because we were driving through downtown Edmonton. Some one would joke later that they were scared they we were going to get jumped. Although I must admit, once we got on stage and I realized that the two months of practicing finally paid off, the tension drained away and was replaced by ecstasy. It didn’t matter where we were as long as we were playing live.

Lots of Edmonton friends came out to support us but there were faces in the audience that I hadn’t seen for years. We had friends come down from Fort Nelson, a 10 hour trek, and friends from Vancouver Island, a whole day’s journey. Even my Mom flew in from the Island to show her support and convinced Grandma to come along. Now there are some fans!

The whole process was an excellent opportunity for the band. We got to play with many great artists and made some new friends with other local bands. The event also landed us an interview on the independent radio station CJSR 88.5. It was used to promote the festival and it also featured the first time a Living Illusion song was ever played on the radio. It was a great experience for us overall.

Special thanks have to go to Terri Rambold the event coordinator, Greg the man running the show, and Corey Johnson for video recording our live performance. It was a wonderful event and we look forward to playing again next year. Keep up the great work.

Happy and Fulfilled,
Shane Lamotte