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Have a Wonderful Holiday Season!
December 23rd, 2010
Thanks to all the people and businesses who supported our big Salvation Army fundraiser the other night in Kingston, Ontario. Zappas Lounge was packed with smiling faces and the entertainment was great. We managed to rock out some Weeping Tile hits after the level of energy in the room had been driven up by stellar performances by the fabulous Slaves of Spanky, the unpredictable Deck the Halls with Balls & Kelly, Kingstons good time girls (and boy) Pelt, Sticky, Emily Fennell, the Hackappellas and of course Sarah Harmer and yours truly with Wrongs guitar whiz Dan Curtis. We raised over $8,500 for the local emergency relief fund of the Sally ann which provides basic social services to individuals and families in need in our community. I toured the new facility which was very active with volunteers packaging up food for the holidays for over 2,200 local families. On top of a food bank and a program for children they also have a comfortable drop in room that is being outfitted with showers and laundry facilities for those who live on the streets and in local shelters. They have an extensive system involving a trained staff with integrated connections to other social services to help people find the support they need for a wide range of issues including addiction and mental health, financial shortcomings and abuse. These issues will affect all of us at some point in our lives either directly or indirectly. Public awareness of the needs of our community makes a big difference for organizations such as the Sally ann and the local Partners in Mission food bank in delivering support. It is important to note that the Salvation army and other faith based organizations deliver or coordinate the majority of social services in Canada. Regardless of ones religious beliefs (or lack thereof) we must acknowledge that we live in the shelter of one another in this life and it is important to maintain a strong sense of compassion and an awareness of those less fortunate in our communities and beyond. All my love to you & yours for the holidays and 2011. LwHoliday season begins and our Sally Ann Benefit is a go-er!!
November 27th, 2010
Hey folks, it is officially happening again. The 16th annual Salvation Army Emergency Relief Fund Benefit Show. This year at Zappas Lounge in Kingston on December 21st at 8pm. Tickets at the club or Zap Records and available online at: www.maplemusic.com and search Weeping Tile or Salvaton army to find the tickets. All-ages good times. Featuring Sarah Harmer, LW, Sticky, Pelt, The Hackapellas, Slaves of Spanky, Emily Fennell and Deck the Halls with Balls & Kelly (featuring the Git) plus even more acts! We are even gonna rip out some ole Weeping Tile classics from back in ye day with Grant Ethier (of 13 Engines fame) sitting in on the drums as Cam Giroux is working for Santa up in the north pole. I will be up that way at the end of Jan with some Wrongs (see tour dates!) And we contributed a nice version of White Chritmas to the Hungry for Christmas cd put out by the Partners in Mission Foodbank in Kingston. It features Sarah Harmer, Spencer Evans, Sam Allison (of Sheesham & Lotus) and Chris Brown. You can order them at: http://www.kingstonfoodbank.net/hungry-for-christmas-2And the Winter Begins...
November 25th, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving America! I am heading to New York City for 4 shows starting December 1st at Cafe Steinhof in Brooklyn and continuing through the weekend. The big show is Friday the 3rd at the Rodeo Bar, New Yorks longest running honkytonk. Conveniently for me a good number of the Wrongs live in the city so the line up includes Megan Palmer on fiddle and vocals, Jason Mercer on Bass and Bruce Martin of the Tom Tom Club & Jack Grace Band fame on drums and vocals. yargy bargyNovember always seemed to me the Norway of the year.
November 1st, 2010
"November comes And November goes, With the last red berries And the first white snows. With night coming early, And dawn coming late, And ice in the bucket And frost by the gate. The fires burn And the kettles sing, And earth sinks to rest Until next spring." - Elizabeth Coatsworth. With that turn of phrase and a head full of great memories from a weekend of Halloween revelry we add a layer of clothing and baton down the hatches. Good time for live music though. Most touring bands are doing just that right now while the schools and clubs are rocking and the race is on to get’er done before the snowy roads get too diabolical. Not that February doesn’t see the highways full of white knuckled drummers behind the wheels of sketchy vans, an hour late for soundcheck in North Overshoe, Ontario. We are rocking around a bit with the Jack Grace Band and Carolyn Mark later in the month and heading to Nyc for shows and Christmas shopping at the turn of December. And other great things being created and planned! stay tuned up!!Me & the Jeezer down by the schoolyard
September 26th, 2010
Greetings my children. I speak with such benevolence due to my recent advancement up the spiritual ladder. Yes, I am now a certified ordained member of the clergy of The Church of Spiritual Humanism. The good Reverend Luther Wright at your service for weddings, funerals and alt-country/roots gigs. Or all at once, we can put the fun back in funeral and the ding back in weddings! I will be putting together a nice package deal (payable in Canadian tire money, foot rubs or home made jam). Oh, and what else? Ya! I am recording a new record in between blessings. As well, to ready for the coming Christmas season, I contributed a nice version of White Christmas with the help of my Kingston peeps Sarah Harmer, Spencer Evans, Chris Brown and Sam Allison (of Shesham & Lotus fame). It will be on the local food bank fund-raiser disc and when it is ready I will tell you where to purchase a bunch of copies for gift giving. In closing I would like to quote my mom, who was a nurse and would know this: "If you burn yer ass yer just gonna have to sit on the blisters." xoAdieu mes amis, summer is over
August 29th, 2010
August has done us solid in central Canada. Lots of sunshine and warm nights. To end it up I crossed the southern part of the province to play with The Rizdales at their cd release show in their hometown of London. And a nice end of summer wedding up on Georgian Bay where my friend Sarah and I sang The Land of Milk and Honey as part of the ceremony. Currently recording a version of White Christmas for the food bank charity cd. My nieghbour thinks it is odd that I am blaring holiday music mid summer but that is how we roll these days in Adolphustown. I will be keeping the mics plugged in to tackle my new recording project. I am so excited as I have the honour and thrill of being chosen (over so many other skilled producers!) to record a wonderful, local songwriter who has a veritable plethora of brilliant songs. It is actually me, but the facts are the same and we are not going to disappoint me. Or you, either...Summer lovin
August 1st, 2010
Hello summer! Wha happened? Seems like I just got back from tour but it has been 5 weeks of summer fun, mostly writing and picking on the banjo out in the country. Played some fun weekend shows and have started the recording process but mostly swimming, biking, and sipping cool bevies by the water whenever possible. Got some sun on my scottish canadian hide and am looking forward to another month of much the same. We play a local festival in Verona this weekend and then head to p.e.i. for some secret adventure involving recording, beaches and lobster (x beer ÷ barbecue!). The end of summer I will be joining my favourite Canadian husband & wife band, The Rizdales for a couple big shows to celebrate their cd release. I think I will get a haircut and a clean shave...Homeward bound!
June 12th, 2010
Holy moly what an epic journey it has been! Our last shows in Colorado were super fun as we added some of Jacks old buddies onto the bill and got to stay with very wonderful folks at their lovely homes. Boulder is really a nice town and the Boulder Theater where we played is one of those grand old venues. Winding down at Gibbs ranch house for the last two days was perfect. Roosters and chickens poked around in the yard and the horses grazed in the back forty. Some great fans came out too as I seem to have a few die hards scattered about America. Playing music with Jack & Daria Grace and Bruce Martin is a real treat and I cannot wait to show them off at this years Elphin Roots Fest (June 26). As I write this I am sitting in Buffalo after a crazy day of flying. I am just a bus, a train and a car ride from home sweet home. Five weeks away can only mean that my lawn is a wild field and the one house plant I have managed to keep alive all these years is likely dead. But hey, its summer and I am going swimming!!!!Turning the corner and heading home
June 8th, 2010
The west coast of America is an old friend that welcomes us back every time with open arms. We ended the Canadian portion of the tour and I separated from the cell to stay an extra night in Victoria to dine with my ole Kingston peeps Matter and Lisa who had me, Carolyn and Mitch over for barbecue, wine and stimulating conversation laced with our unique brand of prison town wit. The next morning my head was as foggy as the bay when I caught the Victoria clipper that sails out of Vic harbour to downtown Seattle. Nice calm trip though. Seattle and Eugene and Sacramento were fine shows that lead us to the San Fran weekendorama. I stayed the night in Sac with my ole hommie Kelly and took the Amtrak down into the city to meet the missus at a downtown hotel where we ventured forth in search of adventure and good timez. We hung off the sides of the cable car through town, walked the piers looking at the ocean, bridges and Alcatraz, and eventually met the band for cocktails at House of Prime Rib (we went on to the Ton Yong Thai for the best meal ever!). Our first bay area gig was up in Fairfax and meant that we stayed at our friend Jules awesome home. A family of deer grazed on the grass under our window and the flowers and air smelled so fresh and lush. The weather was perfect for a day trip to Stinson beach along hwy one and was just the right thing to warm our bones before our big San Francisco show at Cafe du Nord. It was a fantastic night of music and the love and laughs did not stop until late late. Breakfast at a swell cafe and we were on our way east where two days of driving gets us to Colorado for the last 3 shows of the 28 shows in 32 days. As the tour finishes...West Coasty
June 1st, 2010
Greetings from the open seas where I am riding the Clipper ferry from Victoria to Seattle. We shoot down the coast now and back through Colorado to wind it all up. The Canadian shows were spectacular! Everyone loves The Jack Grace Band and each show was super good. The gulf islands were everything we had dreamed of as Carolyn Mark joined the show as well as Mitch Anderson. Two nights in Victoria also rocked but I am tired man. Whew! It will be 11,111 km traveled by the time I get back. Then I am starting a new record of hits!Saskahoochie
May 20th, 2010
Okay, I am over Venus losing in the final in Madrid. Look, they did win the doubles and are now ranked second and as well Venus moved up to number two (Serena is of course currently ranked number one). If they win in doubles at the French Open which starts next week, they will be number one in doubles and the ranking queens of tennis. Come on people, give me a YAR! Oh yeah, the tour is splendalicious as well . We are in Saskatoon now at the fabulous Senator Hotel. Oldest hotel in the city where we have booked into since the Weeping Tile days back in nineteen-ninety-none-of-your-business. The local paper listed us their top pick with the suggestion that if you do not have tickets for the Tom Petty concert then we were your best bet. Hey, I will take that. Looking forward to playing Shuyler Jansens song Jealous Girl here in his hometown tonight. We played on the radio today too where Jack Grace wowed them with his Brooklyn wit and charm. Yar!!Ahhhhhh!
May 16th, 2010
So I am in Chicago playing a couple of great shows in the middle of our big ass north american tour but now I really just wanna go home. Okay, it is a reality. Venus Williams just lost in the final in Madrid to the hard hitting Rezai from France. As it is I will not talk to anyone for the whole day, maybe the rest of the tour...Let the games begin!
May 11th, 2010
Alrighty then. Day 5 of the tour and here we are in New York City where this cool weather is vibing my jive man. Super good times playing with the Jack Grace Band as the Wrongs. Looking forward to the west coast and showing these folks the Canadian rockies. First though we are scooting across the mid west with Megan Palmer on fiddle up to the Chicago dates. And the prairies in Canada were booked for us by Shuyler Jansen my ole buddy and one of my favourite songwriters of all time. Why this guy is not huge and famous bewilders me. His album Todays Remains is an actual masterpiece. I mean it. If the first song, Pegasus, does not blow your mind I strongly suggest you see a doctor about a personality transplant because you are dull as dish water if that shit dinna move you. What was i saying before that rant? Oh yeah, Canada. Carolyn Mark took care of our western needs and is joining the posse for the B.C. shows that includes a slew of island visits. Never played Saturna island before so that will be fun. Gotta run to our last Nyc gig now so keep checking in for stories of the road and send your peeps out to any shows you see at www.lutherwright.com/tourdates.phpMy biggest influence
April 17th, 2010
It is true. When I saw this as a young lad I knew what I wanted to do... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuOsB4psC9E&feature=relatedPrison Farm Article from McGill Daily Press
March 28th, 2010
Hi, check out this informative article: http://mcgilldaily.com/articles/29637The Ides of March
March 16th, 2010
Why, hello! I have finally made it home after two weeks more music and adventure in New York City where we did everything everywhere and played many shows. The Yukon experience still rings in my head though. There is only so many places one can be at once and I try to accelerate that factor but end up feeling pretty melancholy by the end of the day so I have to stop now for a bit, collect my strength to do it all again. The lake is still frozen over in front of where I live but two beautiful white swans just flew by announcing the change in seasons. Geese are also honking by overhead at regular intervals. The remnants of last years corn on the nearby fields must make this particular area a popular travel destination with our honky buddies. (I wonder why white people are called honkys? I will google it later.) New York highlights were lead by our gig at The Ear Inn. It is an old pub on Spring Street in the lower west side that has survived from the early 1800s through years of development and change. Jack Grace has had a regular gig there for ten years now and like so much else, he shared it with us. Teddy Kumpel joined the band on lead guitar for Hill Country and a last minute Banjo Jims gig and man, can he ever play! The Rodeo Bar gig was a zoo on a friday and full of characters both young and old. Mitch Anderson brought the house down with the Hockey Song by Stompin Tom Conners. He and Jason Mercer saw the Rangers beat Philly at Madison Square Gardens before our last show in Brooklyn at Superfine. That area under the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges called Dumbo rules! Old cobblestone streets and converted warehouses. Jan Bell and the folks there treat us so super fine. Next up is a local show with Sarah Harmer, Fred Penner, Chris Brown and more as part of an informative event regarding the federal governments plans to close the prison farms. Kingston has two working prison farms which by all accounts provide actual rehabilitation through farm work. As well they produce foodstuffs for all the area prisons and local food banks. The herds of cows are an old line too and pump out 2,000 litres of milk per day. I will put up info links later. Ciao for now!New York and all
March 8th, 2010
Greetings from New York City! For the 2nd year in a row I was here during the Billy Jean King Cup that takes place at Madison Square Gardens and this year Venus Williams won. She is on a winning streak, god love her (I sure do). Hmmm, it has been a long road down from the Yukon via Vancouver but that is how this crazy game called rock and roll is played. We had a fantabulous show in the now former olympic city to display our northern chops before heading back to Onsquario for a brief but mighty rejigging of the relationshipness. All is well on ye home front but damn, I miss my mom. Tivoli, Ny started off this current run of shows and we have added fiddler Megan to the mix of our already tight team of experts. The musical up shot is that she sings, solos and smells better than Jason and I. Jack Grace is also now at the helm as nyc is his turf (in contrast to my northern sphere of influence). We play a slew of shows here and around before the road eventually leads me back to my private life at an undisclosed location where plans are afoot to record a new album. Yup, new and I am gonna do it. Right on. Well, remember to hold the door for older people and check your rear view mirror for unwanted attention. I will be back soon with updates from the land of the free!Stage Two of ye Tour
February 26th, 2010
Holy wowzers! We are on the plane now from Vancouver to Toronto where we continue on by land to Nyc and the next weeks of music and fun. Our last western show was a smash hit what with Carolyn Mark and Pigby at the Wise Hall in Vangroovy. Such a beautiful sounding room to sing in. We started the night off which allowed us to enjoy the others music and mingle with our posse of sweet friends. All in all we are certainly happy to be heading towards our loved ones but melancholy about leaving all this adventure behind. The Yukon will resonate in our consciousness indefinitely as it is prone to do. Vancouver hosts so many transplanted Kingstonians that it feels like a second home. And with the olympics going strong it is more vibrant than ever. How the city survives the economic death star that is the Olympics remains to be seen. Watch how Greece fares in the next little while to get an idea what we may in for. The little country that could is reeling from hosting the games. See http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2010/02/17/OlympicEconomy/index.htmlYukon update 3
February 20th, 2010
What a good time we had in Old Crow, Yukon! We flew up from Dawson City after a packed show there. Nice to return to Dawson after so many years and to play for such great folks. Old Crow is a fly in community of the Vuntut Gwichin people, which means people of the lakes. They have been in the area for thousands of years and we were so lucky to go there and get a small sense of the depth of their connection to the land. And play music of course. Everyone was very welcoming and we were met by our host Dorothy Frost who was also hosting a biologist named Ann who had arrived to help facilitate a meeting of researchers taking place just as we leave. They are coming up to share their findings and research about a variety of environmental issues affecting the north and specifically the area north of Old Crow that contains a slew of lakes rich in fish and critters that provides food for the community. Caribou is also a dietary mainstay in the north as well and we have eaten our fair share. The community is thriving in Old Crow according to our wonderful host. There is something going on every night it seems. The love shown towards the children and elders is something we could learn from in our settler culture. There was much laughter wherever we went. We played a show at the centre and an afternoon show at the school. We went for a great hike up the mountain on the edge of town one afternoon to get a birds eye view of the porcupine river and surrounding area. The temperature was a balmy 24 below celsius and we were actually sweating by the time we turned around to head back. Our last night there we tagged along to a dinner and presentation hosted by parks Canada. They are working with various levels of government and the community to develop strategies for the Vuntut national park which is north of the Old Crow flats where all the lakes are. Ann explained to us how they believe the lakes are formed and how global warming is causing rapid changes in the area. We are just descending back into Dawson City over the white, stark mountains along the mighty Yukon River. We have the night off for me to show Jason the sites and nightlife. We will hit Diamond Tooth Gerties for some gambling and then the Pit, the popular tavern to imbibe with the locals. Everyone up here refers to us simply as the musicians. Old Crow is truly one of the best place music has taken me.Yukon tour update 2
February 13th, 2010
We have been in the Yukon for 12 days now and are onto another show today south of Whitehorse. We played in Teslin last night at the first nations band centre and college. Our wonderful hosts Birgit and Doug are pioneer folks with a some home schooled, dynamo kids in a log cabin. Everyone we have stayed and played for is equally as gracious and fascinating. Yolande and Rich in Haines Junction have a big home with a view of the St Elias mountain range. And their two daughters are at 6 and 10 already showing signs of great musical talent. The youngest opened the show with a banjo song that brought the house down. Our show the next night at the Hardy house in Whitehorse started a similar way with the granddaughter doing a piano song. How cute is that? When all is said and done we will have driven all the major roads in the Yukon. Every house we stay at is as different as the people in them. Such is the glory of this tour. A delightful opportunity to connect with people and have a proper visit. This land is vast and breath taking. And we are enjoying what the locals call a very mild winter. Average temperatures being around 8 below celsius. Our 2nd last stop is up in Old Crow, the most northerly settlement in the territory. Up there it is colder for sure but it will justify us lugging around our big snow goose parkas. Our main man Steve Gedrose at Music Yukon has been a star what with helping us navigate the not so complex community and generally being a real mench. We base ourselves out of the office apartment and are able to use the interweb to keep the future approaching at a feasible rate. Went dogsledding today. What a rush that was. Almost lost it a few times but my team were good. So much more to write about but we gotta go play our 6th show in as many days.Yukon tour update
February 5th, 2010
Greetings from the Yukon Territories where we are playing all over on our 3 week tour. We go from Watson Lake in the south east to Haines Junction in the southwest all the way up to Old Crow, the most northerly settlement in the Yukon. It is really beautiful up here and the people are swell. Cold though eh. But then again it was 28 below in Wakefield Quebec the other day for dragonfest so welcome to Canadadia. Jason insists on doing most of the driving so I am left to my own devices on the passenger side. That includes much rambling on and fidgeting. Also I am making a movie of our adventures on my little camera. The tour ends up here with a weekend in Dawson City where we are staying and playing at Bombay Peggys, the renovated brothel that I lived in back in 1985 when it was a condemned building on a swamp by the ferry to cross the Yukon river. That is where I started playing music for real. It is also where I stepped on a nail and was on crutches when my love of two years told me she was leaving me to go to Mexico and think about life. Even though I had it coming I wept like the broken man I was while riding on the crappy bike that I used to get around with my bum foot. I rode along side her bus as it pulled out of town and can still see her beautiful face in the window of the greyhound. Such saddness I had never known. Returning home that day I was sure I would suffocate as the air had become lead. Each breath went towards another moan and my heart begged for an end. I went in to work at the Midnight Sun Hotel that night but could not stop weeping so my boss told me to leave. I guess the customers were getting uncomfortable with their pathetic wretch of a waiter. Mercifully my kindly british friend Graham insisted that I come and stay with him and the lovely Jocelyn Mcdowell until I got my shit together and I will never forgot them for that. It is pretty tough to have a broken heart, no running water or electricity and a bum foot all at the same time, eh. But that was a long long time ago now...Happy New Year