Bet you weren't expecting to see anything else come up on the listings here anytime soon, were you? Our big, beautiful band has well and truly scattered -- you can find one member on Vancouver Island, another in California, one unreachable midway up their ascent of the ivory tower, another swamped in local politics. Can we all find the time to come together and play some frivolous songs for a small and confused audience at a coffee shop tomorrow afternoon? Less likely than ever... and to be fair, we were always unlikely!
After a dozen years in show business, you build a reputation, accumulate contacts, and a certain momentum continues ... if not propelling you forward, at least buoying you up. But after enough gig inquiries are declined due to being impossible to fulfill, the invitations will eventually slow to a trickle and then eventually stop indefinitely (at least, until the 20th anniversary reunion tour.)
This isn't to say that we're done as a band! But it is safe to say that our particular most recent configuration of the band is done as a band. 2019 should be a year of rebuilding, because we still have songs in our hearts with no other outlets. If you know of anyone who'd like to casually perform unlikely tunes in a guitarless* acoustic idiom for peanuts, please send them by our way.
In the meantime, two of three original Creaking Planks (Hell has not yet quite frozen over, the prerequisite for completing the circle with the third) have managed to arrange to coincide on stage for one night, this Friday, Feb 8th, to do their strange thing for a good cause. We've had to turn down two of these so far due to inevitable conflicts with our impossible schedules, so we're very fortunate that the third time seems to be doing the trick.
Salal and Cedar have set up an all-ages benefit concert to help support legal defense of the Wet’suwet’en struggle against the Coastal Gaslink pipeline under construction in their traditional territory without the consent of their hereditary chiefs. From 7:30 pm on (doors at 7) through likely well past 11 pm, there will be musical performances going on down at LanaLou's (362 Powell St. -- on unceded Coast Salish territory, land of the Squamish, Tsleil Waututh and Musqueam) also featuring:
- - the Celtic harp of Clarity,
- 2018 Accordion Noir Fest alumni and Creaking Plank acolytes, the folk-rockers of the Argyle Embargo,
- spoken word from Rudi Krause,
- morally centered pickin' tunes by Paul "Professor Banjo" Silveria,
- ripe fruit falling from Barbara Jackson and Earle Peach's Songtree,
- musical education from Jim Sanyshyn
Hopefully we'll have more to announce soon, even if it's just a practice schedule for the Planks Class of 2019.
* Steel guitar and dobro welcome!
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