Meet The Crew.

This, so far, has not been an easy tour. It's big, nay, it's huge. There's a lot of crap, and the problem is, there's not enough crew people to deal with it all. But on the lighting end, there's enough crew people if all they dealt with was the lighting gear. Instead they've been forced into other roles, mostly setting up curtains and set pieces, normally a carpenters job.

They work their butts off all day with little to no breaks to do anything. I've never seen them in catering. But they must be eating.

So here's my tribute to my very awesome lighting crew. The gear on the other hand... Another blog maybe.

This is Jeff. He's the lighting crew chief. His forte is politics. He's a competent lighting tech, but he's definitely my "go to" guy when it comes to getting things sorted out.



This is Emily. I haven't had much contact with her so far on this tour, since she was doing day shift at rehearsals while I was on the night shift. But I know for a fact she's a hard worker. In New York a couple of days ago, she was in her harness up 30' in the air hanging on a truss trying to get some of the bi-parting drapes to work, FOR THREE HOURS. Not a fun day. She sounds like another favorite crew person of mine, Desirae "Wheels". Are all women lighting techs supposed to have raspy voices?



Say hello to Jason. He's another hard worker, and I got to see it every night because he was on the night shift with me. When ever a light broke down, he was in his harness up in the rig fixing it. He's also a huge hockey fan. And like me, he's not a fan of specific teams or players, but really a fan of the sport.



And this is Kevin. As far as I'm concerned, the hero of the bunch. It's only his second tour and he's on probably the hardest gig anyone can have on a lighting crew. He's the dimmer guy. He has to run all the cables that get plugged into all the lights and power. Not to mention, he's also the "techo-weenie" on the crew who knows all the ins and outs of all the different electronic gear. So if something breaks or acts up, it's up to Kevin to sort it out. He's running around from the moment the load in starts to the moment the load out ends. And during rehearsals, he was, more often than not, the stand in when ever we needed to see a body on camera or in the light, as displayed in the above picture.

And he does it all with a smile on his face and the calmness of a Hindu cow. Kudos to him.

There you have it, my crew for the fall 2009 Maxwell arena tour. All Canadians. All the time.

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The Worlds Most Expensive Deodorant

I can't remember if I wrote in my blog or not (somehow I remember doing so) but I changed deodorants a few months back on the recommendation by Hurley of TV show "Lost" fame (Jorge Garcia) on his blog. I now use this salt crystal stick that you wet and rub. It's not an antiperspirant, just a deodorant. I still sweat but no stink.

It's considered and "all natural" kind of thing, and the easiest place for me to find it was Whole Foods. Granted they are usually more expensive your standard Right Guard, or Old Spice, but they seem to last for a very long time... sorta.

I'm guessing there's a downfall to having to wet a salt crystal. In that, if it is never dried properly, or is in humidity, it eventually softens and breaks. As was the case in Toronto. I had purchased one that was on a screw shaft, like your standard deodorant. Turn the knob at the bottom and the product moves up. Well, I think it had been humid for quite some time in the bottom of the stick because I went to turn the screw to drive it up, and it didn't move. Instead, little flakes of crystal, that should have been clinging to the shaft, fell into the bottom of the stick. So, in my infinite wisdom, I shook the stick hoping to lock some part of the salt crystal onto the screw shaft, instead the crystal shot out across the room, bounced of the wall and smashed into three pieces in the sink.

Needless to say, I needed a new one. I got online to see if Whole Foods is in Canada. Thankfully it is, and there is one on the edge of downtown Toronto. I asked one of my crew members who lives in Toronto how far the Whole Foods was from my hotel. He said about a 45 minute walk one direction. I did have that kind of time. We'd be programming overnight until 6 in the morning and then my day was spent sleeping before returning to the studio for another over night session. I had maybe an hour and a half, if I got up and went straight out the door.

So, to save time, I took a cab to Whole Foods. With tip, $15.oo Canadian. I bought the only salt crystal deodorant stick they had (different design) for $8.99 Canadian. In an effort to save money, and get in some exercise, I power walked back to the hotel, which took me 45 minutes.

So here it isThe $23.99 Canadian, natural and organic, salt crystal deodorant. That's $22.98 American. Pretty expensive for a deodorant.

I think this one will last me a little longer since there is no screw shaft mechanism, it's just a salt crystal shoved in a screw base with a plastic screw top. Plus, I leave the top off every chance I get to make sure it stays dry and solid. Unlike my pits, which, on a work day, are damp, but odor free.

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A Coin In Every Pocket.

I think my favorite coin in the world is the English Pound. It’s a thick, heavy coin. It makes a very unique kind of thud when dropped on the counter or bar, and it will stand on it’s edge without a problem.

I like the idea of getting rid of the dollar bill and replacing it with the dollar coin. That’s the way it is here in Canada, no dollar bills, only dollar coins. The coin is called the “loonie” because of the Loon pressed on it. They also have the “toonie”, which is a two dollar coin.

While I like the dollar and two dollar coins, there is a drawback; The jingling and the jangling when they are loose in you pocket. Normally not a big deal when you walk around, but I think the loonie and the toonie make a very specific sound that pan handlers around the city can hear and they insist on hitting you up for change. Can’t say, “No, I don’t have any.” Since I don’t have a coin wallet with me, I’ve been putting one coin in each of my pockets to cut down on the noise. I’ve also been experimenting with different coins in combination in each pocket to see what makes the least noise. I’ve determined that putting the loonie and the toonie together make the most noise.

Hopefully, in the next week or so, I can get rid of all these coins. I can’t exchange them. Maybe I’ll just send them to my brother, he too, likes coins.

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