Dealio: (Almost) cross Canada Rock n Roll Train / Flashback and Preview

10 years ago, I was on a train going from Vancouver to Toronto with 10-ish rock ‘n’ roll bands, CBC Radio 3, mixed media documentary film crew and other free radicals + I was on board as Svengali-like guru ;) / advisor.  And finally, the documentary is coming out in chapter/band parts…, ergo:

Blurb:

In a rapid flash, Shred Kelly went from a broken-down van on the side of a mountain highway, to a tow truck then a rental racing the clock to Edmonton to hop aboard the train. Making it just in time to stumble into an epic dance party already in overdrive. Whew.

The jovial quintet then brought relentlessly positive vibes to the town of Melville, Saskatchewan with an early morning luggage car performance, serenading what-must’ve-been-90% of the prairie town’s denizens – complete with lawn chairs, big coffees, and/or tall cans – sliding open the box car to belt out a rousing tune about disaffection for crappy jobs. The beaming mayor expressed his sincere thanks as the train coterie danced alongside the locals.

Once the shock of their unlikely transport triathlon wore off, they settled into their groove of jamming with everyone, pulling out banjos, melodicas, mandolins and rocking with a rapt, packed train car with smiles as bright as an indie-rock Osmond family.

This episode features Tim Newton’s impressive assortment of toques and hats, Sage McBride leading sing-alongs like the grooviest community choir leader, plus Ian Page-Shiner on traps, Steve Polit on guitar, and Jordan Vlasschaert’s scene-stealing ‘stasche rounding out the roster as he shared the band’s ski-town friendliness by thanking the producers/directors/filmers/everyone involved on making this ridiculously awesome journey happen.

And so the VIA Rail Canadian train rolls on, backed by a free-wheeling soundtrack with community coalescing by the kilometre from Vancouver to Toronto – with an important lesson learned, “Whatever it takes, just make it to the station.”

by daveo for Green Couch

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