halifax halifax halifax

It's been five years since I've last been in Halifax.

My first time in Halifax was over ten years ago. I was a teenager on a school trip, part of an exchange we did with a high school in Nova Scotia. They spent one week in Ottawa, seeing the sights, and then we spent a week over there. I remember running through downtown Halifax with my friends, going through the shops and restaurants and making note to myself to come back here.

The next time I visited Halifax, it was with my old band, while on an East coast tour.  I walked through the same streets downtown and some of the same shops. It was a memorable trip.  One night when we performed, the whole bar loved us and barely let us leave. On another night, someone in the audience threw something at us, probably because we were not a metal band. On the third night...I don't remember what happened on the last performance. It was probably something in between. But afterwards, we went for late night donairs, ran up the Citadel, and ate them while looking down at the city. Afterwards, we stayed up all night, walking throughout the city and talking.

Halifax always seems to be a magical experience, and I was glad to be back.

On the first night, my parents went to the casino. I didn't have any cash, so my mom gave me five dollars. I turned them into quarters and then tried my hand on the slot machines. On my first try, I won ten dollars. Hmmm. I could keep going, but for some reason I lost interest. I gave the money back to my mom. She got a pretty good return on her initial investment, I thought. My brother-in-law found a voucher for 30 cents, so we all kind of profited that night.

This is the only photo I took in the casino

Afterwards, we decided to check out a local band, the Mellotones at Bearly's. They were awesome. The dance floor was filled with dancing women and this big white guy with a shirt that said GANGSTER RAP MADE ME TO IT. He was losing his mind dancing. There were more Canadian tuxedos on that floor than I had ever seen in my life. I now want to buy an electronic clarinet.

There was an Outdoor Cat Film Festival happening at the Citadel, featuring a live performance by Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys.  That sounded pretty intriguing, but I wasn't sure if it was worth climbing back up that hill.

Visiting the public gardens

Cool trees

In other news, my band Scary Bear Soundtrack just released our new album today! It's a collaboration with our friend Avid Napper, an Ontario indie musician, and it's full of songs about the Arctic and life in general. You can listen to it and download it here.

Peggy's Cove

Five years ago, when the band I used to be in was doing an east coast tour, we stopped in Peggy's Cove. I remember being completely overwhelmed by its beauty. We played on the rocks for hours, mesmerized by the waves.

I don't know why I didn't take any photos back then.

When my family made the trek out east again this summer and stopped in Halifax, the one thing I insisted we see was Peggy's Cove. I knew I had to go back there.  I couldn't even explain why we had to.  The beauty of Peggy's Cove is beyond what I can describe with words, and I am a writer.

Somewhere along the way, a roadside sign read SHOTGUN & DINNER $60.  I was really curious about it but we did not stop.

Near the Welcome sign in the parking lot, a man was selling birds, but not real birds to my slight disappointment, as they were works of art made out of metal and stone.

The beauty of Peggy's Cove is a little surprising, given the rather barren landscape. There are no large trees here due to the lack of topsoil, and rain washing away what topsoil there is.  The salty air blown in from the ocean doesn't help either.  What does grow well here? Carnivorous plants.  This is all on the first sign when you enter the village.

But despite all this, the entire place is breathtaking.

Ice cream in a magical place

harbour of heartbreak

i am writing here solely because i'm too tired and lazy to get up to find my tax law textbook, which is what i should be doing. i've got about seven of my bandmates strewn all around me in this room on the floors and couches, still sleeping peacefully. i've worn the same shirt for about three days now and i'm starting to run out of underwear but i can't be bothered to spend the money on laundry. i can justify this because i am a rock star.

tonight is our last night in halifax. after we play our show at gus's pub we're immediately piling into the band vans and driving overnight to montreal, where we are playing tomorrow. i'm not looking forward to the drive. not only am i reluctant to leave this beautiful city and the ocean, but the drive out to the east coast on our way was not pleasant. i can't really sleep in the van because it is against principles of physics to find a comfortable position that won't make your neck feel like it's been wrung through a dryer. so i kind of just sit awake all night feeling cranky and tired and claustrophobic about being in a tight enclosed space with too many other people (as great as they are, of course). soon i get so tired that my body makes an executive decision (without consulting me) and launches into a full REM cycle even while i'm still awake, so i start hallucinating. i sit and hope that nobody notices, and especially that the driver is not having the same problems of dreaming while awake.

but whatever. the montreal show is going to be great. we're playing at a venue totally close to Schwartz's and my stomach growls just thinking about it - screw the vegetarians in my band. just kidding.

last night after we played at Reflections, ryan and i made the foolish decision to run up the halifax citadel and have a pretty view of the city. it's a pretty huge hill and i was out of breath pretty fast but i pretended i was not a totally pathetic loser. like my europe trip i was hoping that this trip would enable me to lose weight but i don't think that's happening, especially with all the mandatory alcohol consumption that comes with touring. so far i've been drinking about a bottle of wine a day. i thought that was good for you but then i realized the doctors prescribe one glass a day. oh well. i've been getting to know Nova Scotia's local wineries pretty well, especially Jost. i'll just call my bad habits a cultural education in indigenous culinary arts.

not looking forward to ultimately going home to my pile of textbooks and real life. on the other hand, i have been missing korean food pretty bad. for now i'll just have to console myself by sitting on a halifax harbour and facing the atlantic ocean while reading about tax law.

i love halifax

tuesday we play another show at Gus's Pub, and then we drive immediately all night montreal for our major show there the next day.

we went to peggy's cove this afternoon...it was amazing. why have i never gone there before? i just sat on the bluffs and contemplated life. didn't even bring my tax law textbook. so much going on....so little internet time...i'll update when i come back.

a broken man on a halifax pier

well, i certainly didn't expect to be hanging out at the gay bar in fredericton, but here i am.

also, i may just move to halifax.