Cat Jahnke Mews

10/10/07 – Hillcrest Hotel, Revelstoke

I’ve come to discover that habits define relationships more often than one would like to believe. Think of an aunt or a cousin who has known you your whole life. How well do they really know you? Do they know how you’d react in a stressful situation? (Do they know that you sometimes say naughty words?)

Think, even, of a friend that you meet for coffee on a regular basis. Do they know what qualities you’d ultimately seek in a mate or does their knowledge of your personal preferences extend no further than “double cream, no sugar”? In my experience, it frequently takes a near catastrophe to break that surface.

Tonight I played a show at the Hillcrest Hotel in their gorgeous lounge. There was a full table of jubilant and feisty adults sitting close to my post. I sensed a playfulness that I could use to my advantage and told the story of the “free hugs” to warm up the crowd (and to warm me up too – it was COLD in there!). When I invited members of the audience to pass around some hugs, I was met with an immediate wall. It turns out that this was a group of co-workers with a routine of jollity that did not stretch beyond a two foot space bubble.

I’d been thinking about this post for a while now, and this situation happened to bring it home for me. There are the people who just seem to “get” you from day one. Then there are the people who remember your birthday but not your middle name. Then there are the people who will love you unreservedly despite a critical void in the questionnaire.

But how do you start filling in those gaps? Must there be an upset? Is there a secret formula for getting down to the nitty-gritty? Couldn’t it all start with a hug?

10/9/07 – Mad Trappers, Golden

I wish one could barf out bad feelings as easily as one could barf out bad Chinese food. I also wish I didn’t have a lifelong phobia of barfing. That would make everything a whole lot easier.

But it’s never so simple. There’s no off-switch for hurt feelings or frustration or rage or guilt. There’s no sugar to help that medicine go down except carefully chosen words and the passage of sand through the hourglass. And sometimes even those can’t fix the problem.

I guess only time will tell…
___________________

I passed a pensive day driving my favorite drive. The No. 1 highway between Calgary and Golden is one of the most beautiful stretches I’ve ever seen: the mountains, the wildlife, the streams that look so inviting but which I know from experience are bone-numbingly frigid. It always seems to pass too quickly.

At Mad Trappers tonight there were so many familiar faces in the crowd, there were people standing on chairs to express their fondness for a song, there was a creepy dog in the car next to us, staring at me while I blogged and Darren unpacked the gear. Who could ask for anything more?

10/8/07 – Day Off, Calgary

Well, this was the busiest day off in Cat Jahnke “Day Off” history. I burned more calories in ten hours than I’d burned in the last month. I did my best to be calm, cool and collected while I got my photo taken, and I think I succeeded by complaining about other things as a distraction (being cold, bummy knee, stupid hair). There was really no need for concern however because I was in very good hands.

Rod Hiebert of Memory Makers Photography out here in Calgary worked his magic with what God gave me, and I’m eager to see the results. We’ve got actions shots, we’ve got experimental lighting, we’ve got casual Cat. It was a real treat to work with a photographer who had ideas and gave instructions and wasn’t put off by my timidity around cameras. (I have no qualms about making faces while singing in front of a thousand people, but ask me to do the same thing in front of a lens and I’m shy. What?)

They each had a solid argument…

10/7/07 – Day Off, Calgary

My life is like the earth shrunk down to the size of a ping pong ball: smooth. There could be huge mountains and valleys of inconvenience, turmoil and even downright misery, but, in the grand scheme of things, there’s very little I could honestly complain about.

Then I hear about the Canadian Food Grains Bank and wonder how personally we should take Thanksgiving. There is so much in my little bubble of a life to be grateful for and I feel ironically guilty for having the opportunity to be so grateful! When even the farmers, ESPECIALLY the farmers, are starving in other countries, or are being taken advantage of right here in Canada, I feel like there’s no amount of gratitude that could pay for my standard of living.

And so my appreciation seems petty. I don’t even have to be concerned with injustices that would touch my life today. I can worry about wildlife habitats being underfunded, I can worry about the sale of resources that should be available to everyone for free, I can worry about the environment, the potential for war, the family unit. All of this worry is made possible because I have so much leisure time that isn’t spent worrying about getting fed, being sheltered, staying alive.

Thank you for a delicious brunch buffet brought to us by some generous parents, thank you for an outlaw exploration of the airplane hangar where all rockstar dreams come true, thank you for an amazing family Thanksgiving dinner in the middle of our tour away from home, and most of all thanks for an educational evening learning about the Canadian Food Grains Bank and how much I have to be thankful for.

Bon Voyage!

It’s even louder when you turn it on…

Hangar Rage

Before the Bounty

10/6/07 – Quincy Marie’s, Airdrie

Tonight was my last show in the Calgary area during this tour. It feels inaccurate to define this past week as part of my “tour”. It’s more like I’ve temporarily moved to Alberta and I’m just gigging. And I even get Thanksgiving Sunday and Monday off! That’s not nearly uncomfortable enough to validate my “Road Warrior” badge.

This cushy situation is coming to an end on Tuesday, when the real character-building mountain-driving begins.

All week I’ve been meaning to get a picture of this field of Wal-Mart cargo trucks; it is seriously acres and acres of 24-hour/day movement. This was my last chance and it proves that we need a new camera. How could I have let this photo opportunity pass me by? And not only should it depict the grotesquely large fleet of consumption transporters, but I actually had a clear shot of Big Foot. Well, I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. It MIGHT have been just a plain old werewolf… Either being equally as frightening as my intended subject matter.

The best (and loudest!) midnight snack

10/5/07 – Gitter’s Pub, High River

I’m not one to believe in hocus pocus. At least I don’t think so… I like to think that my faith in the humongous order is complemented by a mere tolerance for the strangely coincidental. For example, during my fifteen minute expedition into the wilds of the Sun Ridge mall today, I happened to run into my new friend from the Rocky View School Division. Weird? Yes. Fateful? Not yet.

So check this out: I didn’t sleep very well last night but I did remember my dream, which is pretty unusual to begin with. Then while I’m schmoozing with the crowd at Gitter’s Pub this evening, I realize that the woman I’m speaking with was in my dream. “But you had long blond hair”, I tell her. “I just got it cut and dyed”, she says. ???!

What does this mean? Does this mean anything? Should I be hiring existential investigators to help me find the meaning of life or to help me accept that there isn’t one? Was I simply projecting similarities post-emptively?

Then comes the greater question: why? What do I gain from manufacturing such a fluke? Why can’t I just tolerate this strange coincidence? Does hocus pocus have a hold on me?

Do you think we’d get a Chinook while in AB? Nope. We bring hail. It has actually been 15 degrees warmer back home in Winterpeg! (Peep the vantage point: I must have grown a full inch! I’m almost as tall as the patio furniture!) – click the image to watch the video.

10/4/07 – Quincy Marie’s, Airdrie

I have a new supporter and he’s really tall.

Me and Brian Jackson from the Rocky View School Division

I am honored when folks tell me that they have enjoyed the words I offer in my songs. It fascinates me to hear what meaning was gleaned, and I am even more intrigued when the significance differs from what I had intended. For that reason I rarely offer my own specific muse.

It is most likely selfishness then that was the main thrill when I learned that a few of my songs might be discussed in a classroom setting. Of course I’m excited that Canadian content music is being brought into schools as a learning tool. Of course I’m excited that music in general is still cherished. (I remember hearing Celine Dion’s “Incognito” – in my French immersion classes!) Of course I’m excited that a whole new generation of young songwriters will be coming up to crowd the already competitive independent music scene!

Thanks so much for your support Ralph McCall School!

The new manifestation of Quincy Marie’s vegetable torte. Dee-licious!

10/3/07 – Redstone, Red Deer

Oh – My – Goodness! I’ve been spoiled. I’ve yet to see Big Night, but the climax of the film seems to be in line with what I’m feeling now. I’ll never have asparagus like that again!

The last supper…

The last dessert…

Close-up of delicious!

10/2/07 – Day off, Calgary

Stop the presses and mark your calendars: Darren and I made plans to meet at a restaurant for lunch and it worked out!! We didn’t get lost, there were no plan Bs, and no one was fired. That’s a good lunch date in my books!

It’s kind of strange having sushi for breakfast, but I can never refuse a good avocado roll. Well, unless it’s after I’ve been making them for the last 2 hours, at which point I’ve lost my appetite for sushi entirely… But you can still eat it!

Cat-brand sushi!

Side note: My first taste of sushi was in San Francisco and I hated it. I’d been a vegetarian for several years by then, and it just tasted like fish. I was terrified that I was cheating on my morals. Now I can’t get enough, as long as I’ve got a glass, some ice, and a can of ginger ale to wash it all down.

10/1/07 – Ironwood, Calgary

As a singer/songwriter, I do my best to be approachable. I want people to relate to my music and so I want people to relate to me. One of the benefits of having a roadie along for the ride is that I can spend my time after a show meeting and talking with folks, instead of packing up.

Despite the weight that I place on interacting with supporters, I’m sure they all understand that there is a level of intimacy that can never be attained in a five minute, post-performance, venue’s-closing-in-half-an-hour, kind of conversation. My brain may be scattered because I can’t eat my dinner until after I play. My attention might be interrupted by CD sales or gear inventory. BUT I STILL TRY TO BE ME!

I have a huge problem with talk for the sake of talk, for strategic flattery, for false confidences. If you want to be genuine, I’m grateful for kind words. If you want to tease, I’ll laugh at your sugary insincerity. But don’t try to sell me dishonesty; there’s no bang for the buck.

Anyways, it was another good night at the Ironwood: familiar faces to sing to and AMAZING food (holy cow their soup is killer!). I got a kick out of the colored lights.

At the Ironwood