A promising Northwest Canada tour was reduced, rapidly, to a three date vacation including shows in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. We played our Edmonton show, had a good time with some friends and prepped for the road. We had a lot to look forward to, despite our lack of dates. Calgary was our first out-of-town show and we'd heard a lot of great buzz on various social networking sites regarding our band and Vancouver promised to be an extremely memorable show, which will be addressed further on. We loaded up early on the Tuesday and piled in to the van, eager to get on our way. As we exited the city we realized how much time we'd really get to spend in the other cities and that floored us. It became clear that maybe we'd benefited from the other dates not working out. We had a tape deck adaptor to run our iPods and it refused to work. It was a quiet start and totally irritating trying to get the music going but, after enough fiddling and roughhousing with the dash, it kicked in. The speakers on the left side of the van still didn't work, but we weren't complaining.

We made it to Calgary, despite some rough winds attacking our trailer, relatively quickly. Ready to get things underway we arrived at the venue rather early. The New Black is a great venue close to the city's core and across the river from the Calgary Zoo. They operate as a recording studio that doubles as an all ages venue and take great care of the space. As one might expect, we made some new friends in the city and got the chance to see some old ones. The show itself was a lot of fun and a complete wake up call to the fact that Calgary's hardcore scene is actually really organized, passionate and, when we played, booming. Our friend Rodney (Cold Craving) was kind enough to offer us his house to crash in after the show and we absorbed as much sleep and relaxation as possible. The Canadian Rocky Mountains can be the most unforgiving, malicious, dangerous place in the world and we were all aware of what we'd have to conquer the next day. We consider our '91 Astro Van to be a part of the band and it really performed well for us throughout this entire endeavour. From pulling a trailer for more than 2,500 kilometres to handling most of what the mountain's winter weather could throw our way, it really did its job.

Josh was born in Vancouver and hadn't been back since and Ryan had never driven through the mountains. Robbie and Andrew were fairly familiar with the drive but their familiarity with it didn't tarnish the view at all. The first hundred kilometres, or so, were wonderful and uneventful. It was relaxing and a great sight. Eventually we needed a bathroom break so we stopped. Ryan was promptly attacked by the outhouse stall door. It swung shut hard as he entered and took a chunk of flesh out of the back of his ankle near his Achilles tendon. He raged for a minute, got over it and jumped in to the Van. As we climbed through the rocky path, carefully keeping our speed down to maintain control over the trailer and to combat the already vicious winds, the weather started to change. This would be some of the worst conditions we'd have to deal with throughout the entire trip.

The snow was thick on the ground, the ice was firm underneath and we were completely snow-blind in places. We maintained a speed of between 50 and 80 kilometres per hour for the majority of the run and every stop felt like a landmark as though we were climbing these mountains on foot. We learned, at the end of this ordeal, that these conditions were exceptionally bad and that we weren't just imagining things. Eventually, due to Robbie's careful driving and a lot of patience, we made it to Kamloops. We hit up a Denny's and decided that we should just sleep there. It was dark and if the mountains continued to show us bad weather we could get in to some serious trouble. We sought out the cheapest motel and called around the city until we found the Thriftlodge. Thriftlodge was your average looking motel only inside its office there's a man named Freddy. From the van it looked like Freddy was giving Robbie a hard time so Ryan went in to investigate. It turns out that Freddy made the observation that we were a band and decided to give us an insane deal on the rooms. Freddy was a nice guy but he had a really strange way of showing it. When the transaction was done he came out to the van. He looked at Andrew and said, “Fuck you, fuck you!” He promptly informed him that it was a term of endearment. He looked at Josh and added, “Shut up, go to sleep!” To which Josh replied, uncomfortably, “You too, man.” He gave us two rooms with two beds for fifty bucks. He only requested that we give him some of our T-shirts and, for that, he gave each of us a leather skull cap. It was like a biker christmas exchange.

We took our necessary belongings to our respective rooms and hit the mattresses hard. Andrew proceeded to do some serious bed dives before getting tired and taking a shower. Robbie and Ryan had been inspecting their beds for bed bugs. It was never confirmed whether or not the bugs they did find dead in the cracks of the bed frame were actually bed bugs but they chose to take the safe route and bunk with Josh and Andrew as they had metal frames and no sign of any bugs. Everyone had showered by this point and everyone felt great. We set our alarms for 6:00AM and made sure we were up and out of there with enough time to make it to Vancouver during the day.

We carried on the next day through the remainder of the mountains. The weather got progressively better and the world warmed up. We arrived in Vancouver and the van doors opened. We stopped in at our friends James and Chad's apartment and then proceeded to the house we'd be staying in for the next three days. Glenda, as it's known, is the sister house to Brenda, which is Andrew's home in Edmonton. The residents are former inhabitants of Brenda, good friends and could not have been more hospitable. Amanda, Steve and Graham made better tour guides than we would have thought possible. The area is beautiful, the food is amazing and we really got a taste of the way a city should work. Colin, a new-found righteous friend, and Amanda broke their World Of Warcraft night to cater to our touristy needs and we appreciated it. The Vancouver adventure began with us heading downtown to shop and explore. We took transit and left the van at the house, which proved to be the right choice. The transit really works well in Vancouver. We had no problem with it the entire time. In this first experience with it, however, we met a drunk man who regaled us with his poorly done Elvis impersonations. In the end we realized that even the winos in Vancouver are more entertaining and friendly than the ones in Edmonton.

We hit up Taco Del Mar and shopped a bit, not buying a whole lot, before James met up with us and we went back to Glenda. Chad and Hunter, our friends and the show's promoters, hung out for a bit before they stole Colin to do some last minute, late night show promotion. Chad lost his bus pass that night while postering and was not stoked. We left Glenda again to grab dinner. James and Amanda were the guides and led us to a restaurant called Foundation. We had been advised to expect poor customer service and and careless staff but what we were met with was awesome rap, which may have been a little too loud but it added to the atmosphere regardless, prompt and considerate servers and some of the most delicious food we'd ever had. Ringleader highly recommends Foundation. We exited the restaurant expecting a brutal cold and a rush of wind and, to our surprise, that the sun had set and it was still warm. It was January fourth and it was warm at almost midnight. Edmonton couldn't have felt further away and we didn't mind.

We made our way, quickly and easily on the functional transit, back to Glenda. Amanda, who might be the best host in the world, made sure we were comfortable and we all went to sleep. The next morning was relaxing and, at the same time, full of anticipation. Amanda made us coffee and we discussed where we'd go for breakfast. Graham had to go to school so Steve and Amanda took us to what we've all agreed is the best place to get breakfast in the world. Bandidas on Commercial and 12 Avenue is, on its own, a good enough reason to drive from Edmonton to Vancouver. Catering to vegans and omnivores alike, this place is outstanding and will not leave you disappointed. Steve parted ways with us for a while and we continued our exploration of the city. We walked down commercial and hit up a few stores before heading back to Glenda to get ready for the show.

We relaxed for a bit while Amanda and Colin baked the vegan goods for the charity bake sale. Katina, a good friend, James' sister and yet another former Edmontonian, was also busy at home baking up a storm. The bake sale was by donation but it really contributed a lot more than one might think. Either Colin, Katina and Amanda are exceptional bakers or people really did care about the cause. It's likely a combination of both. Glenda filled up with people briefly and it was finally time to head to the show. We piled in the van with Chad and James only to discover that our van's fans weren't running. We were extremely concerned about driving through the cold, wintery mountains in the coming days but that could wait. The alley behind The Red Gate was littered with what are often referred to as “City Trolls”. City Trolls like to raid your vehicle and steal everything inside it. Hooked on the top of a chain link fence, hanging half open and empty, was someone's large travel suitcase, which likely held a lot of personal belongings. It served as an ominous warning to pay close attention to the van.

We loaded in quickly through the back door and Josh set up his drums. The Red Gate is a fantastic place to hold shows. It's an art space so, naturally, there's a ton of interesting, eye-catching art everywhere inside. Andrew explored the place while the rest of the band made a quick food run and, only minutes after they returned, were met with police who had arrived to shut the show down with the argument that there had been noise complaints. This was appalling to everyone in attendance as Greg Bennick of Trial had graciously given us the opportunity to turn this ordinary show in to a contributor to the 100 Shows For Haiti benefit, a project stemming from the bigger organization One Hundred For Haiti, which Greg is very involved with. This show was very important to all of us and that's exactly why we did it regardless of the police intervention. With military precision the bands packed their gear, and raced to a communal jam space dubbed Garbage Mountain. The name is quite misleading; the space was very clean. With the same kind of coordination and organization all of the other participants in that night's activities also arrived shortly after. The distance between the two locations wasn't enormous but, surprisingly, more people showed up than had been at The Red Gate.

We found out after we arrived at home that the noise complaint was legitimate but it had nothing to do with our show, which would be frustrating if the change in plans wasn't so fortunate for all of us. The benefit was able to collect more money for the cause and we even pocketed a little extra gas money as there was no formal venue to pay that night. Garbage Mountain was free and between the door fee and the bake sale donations a lot was earned.

The space reserved for bands to play was very compact and this suited us just fine. No stage, no ridiculous light show and everyone knew what they were there for. Jelly Boys, Tongue Tied and Tempest, especially Tempest, raged hard and the whole show was a lot of fun. It was our turn and the room was still packed. Tons of our friends from Edmonton, now residents of Vancouver, had come out to the show and it really made us feel at home. We played our set, which we condensed to five songs, because we had a surprise for the room that only a handful of people knew about. At the end of our set we invited Greg Bennick to the “stage”.

He spoke about the benefit, the origin of the effort and what we had done that night to contribute. He, as one would expect, concisely captured the essence of what hardcore and punkrock really is and reminded the room of why we love this music and why we participate in it. Against all odds, with a number of serious obstacles in our way, we, collectively, not only made the show happen but we did it to help others. One of the major points he made that night was that this community, often classified as outcasts or freaks, is capable of making a difference and that we can't let anyone, the police or otherwise, stand in the way of that progress. He then proceeded to reveal the secret. “This song's called In The Balance.”

The room went berserk. The waves of human bodies crashing in all directions, scrambling for the microphone, raging and moshing in a space half the size of an average garage. It was savage and, at the same time, completely united and positive. Though we are not in the business of deifying people or bands, it needs to be said that this night, this set, this song, was one of the most memorable, important experiences in our lives, at least in the band. We'll never forget it.

After the room had cleared and it was just the bands and a few friends we talked to Greg for a while and he informed us that, oddly enough, we had participated in a strange anomaly. The bands up until that point that he had played with doing Trial covers had, chronologically, covered the songs in the order they were arranged on the album “Are These Our Lives?” We asked him to play In The Balance as the lyrics made sense to us in relation to the event and, as it turns out, that was the next song on the list. This was a very strange coincidence we were happy to be a part of.

We gathered up our gear, still reeling from the experience, and Steve and Graham caught a ride with us back to Glenda. We hung out for a while before going to sleep and reluctantly prepared for our impending departure from Vancouver the next morning. We woke and lazily gathered our things, cleaned up our sleeping situations and Graham joined us for a delicious Bandidas breakfast before we left the city. It was, once again, mind blowing. We said our goodbyes to Graham and began our trek back home. We had heard there was a blizzard and really rough conditions on the Coquihalla but we had to risk it. It turned out to be much more than we bargained for.

We left Vancouver taking photos and final glances at the city we'd fallen in love with. The roads grew more and more icy and dangerous and our speed decreased. Robbie, white knuckled and forward hunched, guided us safely through mile after mile of increasingly risky conditions. Finally, the weather caught up with us. We came across a completely unsuspecting stretch of road with a sheet of black ice stretching at least a kilometre. We lost control and Robbie struggled with keeping us on the road. He did a great job of it but the ice was too slick and our momentum was too great. The front left fender connected with the meridian. The trailer shot to the right and towed our van a full 180 degrees before the corner of the trailer made its connection. We halted in that position. Everyone confirmed one another's health and safety and promptly filed out of the van to inspect the damage. The tires were inflated, the engine was still running and the headlights were intact. The fender was warped but the bumper did its job. Robbie tried to pull the van around, attempting a u-turn on the two lane stretch of highway, when headlights emerged from around the corner. With around fifteen to twenty seconds of visibility before these vehicles would reach us there was a serious risk of this turning in to a pileup, especially with the conditions of the road. As we attempted to turn around we lost friction and remained perpendicular to the oncoming traffic, which had now reached us and stopped. As we slipped and fell on the ice in our futile attempts to push and pull the van while Robbie accelerated, the van continued to slide toward the traffic. None of the other drivers attempted to help us. Ryan, Josh and Andrew finally, in an act of pure fear and adrenaline, lifted the back end of the trailer and walked with it as Robbie pulled around. We managed to reach the side of the road, out of the way of traffic, though not out of danger, and the traffic proceeded past us. Two people, after we had moved to a less dangerous location, left their vehicles to aid us in our effort, likely out of frustration with our taking up both lanes. We had done it on our own and jumped back in the van filled with a thick mixture of emotion.

The mountain air was still rather warm. It was only around 6:00PM but it was dark and the snow was falling pretty thick. Andrew went to see if the truck driver in front of the van, who had pulled over to apply the chains to the tires, needed any help and had any advice. He knew the route pretty well and suggested that we could expect the snow plows and sand trucks to arrive soon. Shortly after, we all helped a guy in a Hyundai try to exit the area. He didn't fare so well and decided to wait it out like we did. Eventually he hung out in our van for a while before he got restless and tried to leave again. Distracted by our conversation we didn't notice him actually successfully conquer that stretch of road. Ahead of us, all of the vehicles that had been pulled over to prepare for the conditions had left with him. It was just us left on the side of the road as cars whizzed past. Some of the drivers were so careless that they nearly caused more accidents as they accelerated through the area. Only Josh was receiving a signal on his cellphone so Ryan decided to take our powerful flashlight and go for a walk to see if he could pick a signal up on his. He returned after having a cigarette and a long walk without ever finding a signal. What he found, instead, was that the road ahead was virtually ice free. If we could get past our death trap we might be able to continue on without issue. We all decided to make a formation outside of the van and hold it on track as Robbie drove. Ryan, the strongest of the group, pushed the van forward at the passenger side door while also keeping it on track, Andrew positioned himself next to the rear axle and held the van in line and Josh kept the trailer from swaying. Once the van had clearly gained traction all three piled in and we were on their way again.

The conditions stayed as terrifying and unpredictable as before. We eventually came across a crashed pickup truck that had crossed the ditch and was nearly entering the lane travelling in the opposite direction. Next to it were a few people crowded around a body. We pulled over, jumped out and rushed to see if we could help. It turned out that the people already on the scene were very experienced in first aid and had already began covering the victim with blankets and were keeping him awake, aware and safe. We did what we could to help by donating a sleeping bag and tracking down his cell phone in the wreckage before we left it to those who were clearly better equipped to help the man. From that point on the roads gradually improved. After hours of driving through snow-covered roads the ground cleared up and the lines were visible again. That, however, didn't help the sheer darkness we faced. Even with our high-beams on we could barely see thirty feet in front of us. We made it through a large part of it before stopping at a gas station. We all jumped back in the van and Ryan took the driving duty. This would be the final technical issue the van would throw at us. The van and trailer's lights would not turn on. This meant no display lights inside and no high functioning driving lights outside. Ryan would, for the next three hours, use the hazard lights to notify the rest of the drivers on the road of our existence. When Robbie and Ryan finally swapped again, Robbie, frustrated with the conditions, fiddled with the light switch until it sparked back to life. It turns out, it is a common problem in Astro Vans of that year. From that point on we were in the clear and, as we drew closer to Edmonton, the temperature dropped. We finally arrived at Robbie's house, unloaded all of the gear and began to cope with everything we had just experienced. The risks we took were well worth the reward and we would do it all again in a heartbeat.


Amanda, Steve, Graham, James, Hunter, Chad, Colin, Katina, Greg, Rodney, Calgary hardcore, Vancouver hardcore and luck, thank you.