It seems like months since my whirlwind tour of the Northwest… oh wait, it has been months.

It’s been a hot, syrupy summer in Topanga Canyon. My time has been divided between the following: (1.) Enjoying the energy of having a new baby on the way, (2.) Getting the flu and being knocked out for a week or something, (3.) remembering how to draw (see picture above), (4.) working on my mobile recording/performing rig, and (5.) preparing my acoustic EP, Sparks, for release.

We had some pre-release CDs available for sale on the tour, and there’s been some very positive feedback… but when Jon Rezin & I returned to LA, we decided we had no choice but to go all out and re-mix the EP from scratch, send it to the best mastering engineer we know, and do some tweaks on the artwork – in other words, get it ready for Prime Time (that would be your iPod or car stereo). After all that extra effort, the difference is… pretty huge! Those of you who bought CDs on the road, you MUST contact me for a free digital copy and hear the difference.

And the rest of you guys? All I can say is, make sure you’re signed up for my mailing list — there will be seriously cool rewards in the next few days. (Cool enough to reduce the temperature by a few degrees this weekend?? Only time will tell…)

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Even though I haven’t been able to write about every show on the tour, they’ve all been great. Even on days when illness or lack of energy had me dreading the performance, there was always something that woke me up and made it easy to give 100%. I’ve never gone out and played this much without the feedback and interplay of other musicians, but even on my own with an acoustic guitar, the music seems to have a life of its own.

The show Saturday night was very cozy, at a home that felt like a real community hub in Philomath, Oregon. We had a good turnout. I was happy to see a lot of friends there, and we ended up singing together late into the night. The whole experience of rushing through Oregon is difficult for me, because I literally want to spend days in each area – getting to know people, getting lost in nature etc. – but this tour is more of a whirlwind, just laying the groundwork for for future visits. Eugene, Beaverton, Ashland, Vancouver, and Bellingham will all be down the road.

Sunday’s show in Medford, close to the California border, was the last one of this leg. Once again, awesome hospitality and a nice full room… and we sat and sang afterwards again. I’m impressed with the efforts of hosts to bring their community together around music this way, and it bodes well for future tours. Bigger & better!

Today, we’ll head back home for a few days of downtime, and then go up to the Bay Area for a couple of shows on the weekend. I’m ready to chill out a bit, and not have anywhere to go. I’m sure by Saturday I’ll be ready to rock again.

The basic reality has set in though: this is the lifestyle of a performer, as opposed to a producer, writer etc. Travel is the norm, and my musical family is expanding every day. I’m sure there will be times when I’m craving a more stable environment, but for the forseeable future, I belong to the road!

Onwards….

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - –

Tonight’s show was in Hood River, Oregon, in the inspiring and fabulous Columbia Gorge. Outside the big living room window of the Hannigan residence was a perfect sunset view of Mt. Hood, which looks like what should be under ‘mountain’ in the dictionary. I felt like I was about to watch a Paramount Picture.

Mt. Hood is a good metaphor for tonight, because this gig represents the peak of the tour… the Gorge is one of my favorite spots on Earth, a lot of the people here are like family to me, and my hosts, the Hannigans, have done a fantastic job putting it all together. It also doubled as a send-off party as their family prepares to move to Brazil in a few weeks.

I know I’ve said this before, but my heart is still in Oregon. I don’t miss the constant drizzle, but what you get in return is unbelievable: gushing waterfalls, crazy ferns, green clovers, yellow moons, orange stars, blue diamonds… oh no, wait, that’s Ireland.

Anyway, I simply need to be up here more often. I feel like my whole biorhythm just clicks into sync. Can’t wait too see the mountain lit from the East in the morning, and check out the breakfast situation in town.

Onwards!

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Tuesday night’s gig was what I call a whole ‘nother thing. I got off my flight from New Orleans and we drove straight from Seattle to Portland, getting there just in time for the show at Burdigala Wine Bar. I was introduced by phone a few weeks ago to the owner, Didier Sudre, by my friend Yohannes, who felt he and I were going to get along famously. Well, I could tell that was true as soon as I walked in the door. Didier welcomed us warmly and made us feel very much at home, and he had my posters all over the bar, inside and out. Gotta love it.

I did my acoustic set, followed by something special that I haven’t done in ages: an open, free-form jam session with a couple of great instrumental improvisers. On piano and organ (with a real Leslie speaker!) was Brian Harris, who I’ve gigged with before and is always awesome, and on bass, his friend and bandmate Gary Fountaine, a longtime fixture on the Portland music scene.

The acoustic set went really well, and I told a few more stories than usual (it was a wine bar, after all!) to a very attentive and good-humored crowd. But I was impatient to grab that electric guitar, which I haven’t touched in over a month, and plug in. So the second set was the real treat for me.

We started out by playing literally whatever came to us – no songs, no formal structure, etc. – just letting the music write itself and trusting the moment. These are musicians who really listen and trust each other, and what resulted was a very open, ambient soundscape that evolved effortlessly. I was inspired to sing some wordless melodies, recite some verse – a quote from Bahá’u'lláh’s Hidden Words – and even write a few bits of songs on the spot, in real time.

We couldn’t do that all night though, so some blues made it in there, and a couple of de-standardized standards. But I think everyone, myself included, was most turned on by the improvised stuff. There’s something cool about being there at the moment something is created.

At the end of the night, a party atmosphere took over, so we did the right thing and played ‘Groove Me’ by King Floyd. All in all, probably the most diverse set of music I’ve played in my life! Can’t wait to come back up and do this again – next time, with drums.

Onwards!
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

Photo By Caeli Lohr

It’s been a surreal 32 hours. Flying out to New Orleans at midnight from the middle of a tour, meeting a whole group of Kelly’s best friends and learning a choral arrangement with them right off the plane… soundchecking, playing the opening set, watching Imogen’s amazing show and singing the choral piece in the middle of it… getting to sleep at 2AM and getting up at 5:30 to fly back to the Northwest.

One of the strangest parts is how long I feel I’ve known all these people. It feels like we did a whole tour, not one gig… yet I barely learned everyone’s names. They all did a killer job onstage last night, especially MJ Cyr who opened up the show with me and knocked us all out with her song ‘Afterglow.’ What a song – beautiful. You are onto something there, MJ.

By the way, the highlight for me may have been the ovation I received for my solo during MJ’s song – an iPhone solo. She talked me into playing an improvised synth part on an app called BeBot, sliding my finger on the iPhone screen to move the pitch around. It sounded like a cross between a Theremin and a distorted guitar. The crowd loved it.

I always forget how much I love the South. People are unbelievably responsive here; you couldn’t dream up a better environment for a musician. I felt like they were on my team last night before I played a note, and when I started digging in it was just awesome. The audience felt like an enormous vibrating drum… and they were there to see someone else!

By the way, I’m at a coffee place in the airport, and they have a ‘soft rock’ radio station blasting. In the last 25 minutes I’ve heard ‘Summer Of ’69,’ ‘Easy Lover’ and ‘Livin’ On A Prayer.’ I feel like I’m in a donut shop in Alberta, not New Orleans (adding even more to the sleep-deprived weirdness of the moment). I’m definitely ready to zone out on the plane.

It’s hard to come down here and not have time to explore and soak it all in. For me this place is Disneyland for the soul. But the bottom line is: we rocked the House of Blues, and my host Carl Fravel served me both jambalaya and red beans & rice. Check, check and check!

Onwards…

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

My peoples, you’re not gonna believe this. After today’s house concert in Olympia, I’m taking a redeye to New Orleans… to open for none other than the lovely and brilliant Imogen Heap.

As most sentient beings know, Ms. Heap is one of the signs of life in the music scene today. Her producion and writing talents are awesome, her voice is gorgeous, and she is a no-compromise artiste who keeps a very close relationship with her fans around the world. I’ve been a fan since Frou Frou, and I listened to her new album ‘Ellipse’ for the first time while going through a car wash. What else can I say?

I can say this: “I get to open her show tomorrow!” That, and perform in Imogen’s actual set, singing her song ‘Earth’ with an ad-hoc choir comprised of a few good friends, @Kelly Snook and @Christopher Faizi among them. It all happens tomorrow night at the New Orleans House of Blues, which I haven’t played since my days with WAR in the ’90s.

What an honor to make first contact with Planet Imogen. And what an insane couple of days this is going to be. Just to give you an idea: I leave for Chicago around midnight tonight, change planes at God-knows-when, and arrive in New Orleans at 10 AM. I will then put 4 Altoids in my mouth, go and learn Kelly Snook’s new arrangement of ‘Earth,’ and play the show. By 2pm the next day, I’ll be back in Seattle, driving down to Portland for a gig at Burdigala Wine Bar.

How this will all come together – and what kind of shape my voice will be in by then – is a mystery right now, but in 48 hours I’ll be back in the RV with the gang. This is my life!

Onwards…

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Photo By Jon Rezin

The tour has been in the Seattle area for a few days now – Redmond, Georgetown and Vashon Island. It’s good to be among the evergreens and more of my wonderful Northwest folks.

The first gig was rough; I caught a pretty bad head cold a few hours before the show (nice!) and it really started to kick in as I began to play. Fortunately the positive energy in the room won out in the end, and everyone seemed to have a good time despite the less-than-polished performance. The Steiners, who have hosted me for a house concert before, were gracious as always – and this time they filled me up with natural remedies on my way out.

After that somewhat humbling experience, I prepared for the next show by trying not to do much of anything for a day. It worked. Between that and all the homeopathic, herbal and vitamin remedies I blasted myself with, I felt fine by the time we got to the venue.

And what a venue! The Georgetown Ballroom is a huge old brick garage, converted into an event space by someone who furnishes movie sets. You can imagine. The whole place feels like it’s made for a photo shoot or a music video… or a concert.

Rainn Wilson came down (that’s Dwight from the Office for those of you just joining us), and after being mobbed by a bunch of guys in an Escalade out front, he came in and gave me a little introduction before I went on. He’s a good dude, Rainn. Even tweeted about my show to his 2 million followers: “SEATTLE-ITES, come see one of my best friends @jbeckl work his Canadian freak magic on your earbones.” And sure enough, I did meet a few who came in on his recommendation. Thanks, man!

That show was much tighter. I felt less sick and more centered, and got really into it. Met lots of good people and ate well next door at Calamity Jane’s – I’ll be back to both of those spots! Thanks so much to Justice Beitzel, who books the Ballroom, for taking a chance on blocking out a Friday night for li’l ol’ me.

Last night was Vashon Island, a lushly treed place in the Puget Sound that required us to take a beautiful 20-minute ferry ride. I played in the home of a big Santana fan, so I told a few stories about those days. It was a great crowd, and the hospitality was outstanding… this is what it’s all about, exploring and making friends out here in this wide world…

Onwards!

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

So you may be thinking: “Tour? But you don’t even have a CD out!” Well… this tour is part of the pre-launch of my new acoustic EP, Sparks. The only place to get one before then is out here on the tour - we’re travelling with the few existing pre-release copies.

Reflecting the stripped-down shows I’ll be doing all summer, Sparks has a very organic, close-up vibe. I recorded 3 originals and 3 covers, including something I originally did with Santana and a bluesy tweak on an old ’80s gem. Check out the album cover below. Look out for major changes to the site over the coming weeks, and come out to one of the shows and grab a pre-release copy of the CD. Cheers!

Photo By Bobby Aazami of OurFavoriteDay.com

I have a mean crush on Portland. I never felt as firmly planted in native soil as when I lived up here for 2 years (sorry Canada!), and I still want to tell people it’s where I live. The culture here is a rare mix of down-to-earth and ultra-progressive, and the natural beauty of the area is so intense, full of moss and ferns and rushing water… you can’t beat it. It’s not the most diverse place ever, and it rains like mad, but there is something in me that just says yes to this part of the world.

We spent Memorial Day weekend up in Washington, near the north side of the mighty Columbia River. This is where they have a retreat every year where young people come from all around the region, sleep in tents, sing a whole lot and study the Bahá’í Writings. I’ve gone to it for 4 years running now, and it’s become part of my spiritual regimen to be around these awesome kids whenever I can.

Now that it’s over, we switch over to Tour Mode. The first shows are Thursday and Friday night in Seattle, and I’m ready to get started. Today we take care of last preparations and details, and do some essential Portland stuff like walking around in the drizzle and drinking really really really good coffee. Our good friends Jane & Kent Dolan have allowed us to park the RV outside their house and use their shower, so all is well….

Fun RV facts:
This 1988 RV gets 7.5 miles to the gallon.
A leak in the black water tank gets you fined up to $5000. (Hasn’t happened.)
A lot of RV parks won’t let you dump’n'go unless you pay for the whole night.
You can park an RV more places than it would seem.
Few places where you can park are actually level.
Being level is good when you are eating or sleeping.

Onwards!

They say that if it’s really something good, it won’t be easy. Well, this whole thing must be Awesome.

We got set back a whole day by generator problems on the RV, and then we had a scare when the whole vehicle was filled with a noxious burning smell. After pulling over to have it checked out (with no success), Jon realized that it was just a tiny fuse that burned out. This rendered us without AC until we find a replacement fuse, but that’s OK. Missing the first night of the retreat in the Gorge, though, is a drag.

Before the tour started, we ran into so many hangups it started to become a running joke. Things got so bottlenecked at the end that Jon actually stayed up the entire last night getting the EP ready to send off to print. At around 72 hours with zero sleep, your head starts to take on the look of a strange potato, an Jon’s was no exception. This happens sometimes in the music biz; I have lots of memories of sunrises I should not have been awake to see… but not the night before driving 1,000 miles. (He has slept since… a bit.)

And even before all that, the various financial, logistical and schedule-related problems that delayed the beginning of our project, the details of which I will mercifully spare you, started to resemble those dreams where you’re running as fast as you can in 5 ft. of water. I wonder if my wife feels like she married one of those amateur inventor guys – ‘When I finish this Cold Fusion reactor…’

But this seems to be the way of things. I watched a talk by a dying professor who said this (paraphrasing, sorry): “The barriers are not there to stop you. The barriers are there to filter out all but those who really want it.”

Well, whatever it is, we really really want it. ‘It’ isn’t the same ‘it’ that I wanted when I was 20 (well, some of it wouldn’t be bad), but as we get more and more focused on reaching people with this music, a few barriers are no match for JB and the Next Movement team.