June 2012, i boarded a VIA with 11 bands, a doc film crew, CBC radio 3, a bushel of photographers, a handful of fans and me as onboard community Svengali – complete a Bob Marley/Hunter Thompson inspired medical kit. Across the lands we bounded, each band performing acoustically in the glass act-deco caboose in car, they played a showcase in the “activity” car, then a rousing full rocking set at the Gladstone in Toronto for CBC Radio 3 NXNE showcase.

Along the way, we made 4 whistlestop performances which all featured lateness, weirdness and rampaging small towns before escaping back to the diplomatic immunity of the train. In those 4-1/2 days, we knew we were in a magic situation and no one wanted to miss a moment. “Every Night” we’d holler after another show where we packed in, climbing the train walls for a view of Adaline Sings, The Matinee, Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party, Jean-Paul Maurice, Bear Mountain, Sidney York, Portage and Main, Shred Kelly and more – always blown away by the variety and quality.

You probably know i made a 6or7 part podcast series  – tracking the trek and Green Couch are crafting a Tracks on Tracks documentary… which i think should be 10 hours long. I gathered all my paper-y bits and pieces and made another of my commemorative story boards AKA “static montage” with CDs, stickers, snaps, stubs, postcards and even a pic from my keynote address at NXNE Interactive about social media in crisis and revolutions. With John Biehler’s help, here is the static montage, hopefully in a size you can zoom in and catch each detail. Tag it up, wallpaper it, share it. Enjoy and let’s go again!