On the way to the Highland Pub, we got lost about five times and had to ask for directions.  The venue is a bit difficult to find for people who don’t go to Simon Fraser University.  My friends got lost as well, so that’s proof that I’m not just bad with directions.

When I finally found my way inside, I was greeted by the other artists and band members who were working on a sound check.  The lead singer of Makeshift Innocence, Jesse James, tossed me a shaker and so I shook along to the beat of a song (at the end of the show, I actually joined them on stage and did the same).  I think I impressed him with my sweet shaker skills.  And he and the band impressed me with their humble greetings.  It’s so nice to work with people that are easy to get along with.

My friends arrived not knowing that the show was going to cost anything (to be honest, I didn’t know it was going to cost anything either), and they didn’t have any cash on them, so I had to pay for them to get it.  Not a great start… I was losing money already.  They bought a pitcher of beer and shared it with me, so that helped.

There wasn’t a great turn out at the show.  I think there were a number of reasons for that: it was Monday night (many students were probably studying), it was snowing, the venue was hard to find for outsiders, and all of the acts were fairly unknown.  The people that did show up really seemed to like the music though.

My set went fantastically well.  I think it was the first time I didn’t really make any actual mistakes.  I could have still done better with some details (stage presence, etc), but I thought it was a great show.  I had Alicia Krueger sing with me, so of course it went well (she always makes me sound better than I really am).

Makeshift Innocence and the other opening acts did really well too.  They all had a bit of reggae flavor, which was cool.  It made me want to go relax in the sun.  Speaking of relax… I really need to get to bed.  It’s been a long day (I just got back from the show before I started writing this).

It’s day one of my week-long hunt for gigs.  I haven’t have a lot of time, so I decided to just look online rather than going out to places.  I searched myspace for semi-well-known Vancouver artists such as “Said the Whale”, “Hey Ocean”, “Mother Mother”, and “Dan Mangan” .  I sent them a message asking to be an opening act for them sometime.  Dan Mangan replied saying that my music sounds good and it could be a possibility in the future (I don’t think he’s playing in Vancouver any time soon).  I haven’t heard from the others yet.

I eventually realized that it would help to be asking to open for artists who are actually playing in Vancouver sometime soon.  So I looked up all the upcoming shows in town and started sending out messages.  This was taking a really long time and many of the artists were actually DJs, cover bands, metal, or electronica (none of which would fit well with indie-folk).  So I limited my search to folk music and continued messaging artists.  I made sure to listen to them a bit and compliment them on their music.

I was surprised to see four replys (not including Dan Mangan’s) within an hour… all possitive!  One of the bands said they could add another date to their tour if I can book the venue for us.  The other three said that I could open for them.  So there you have it -  four prospective gigs, all from just a couple hours’ work.  Not too shabby.  If I can keep this up, I’ll be touring in no time.

Well I gotta get ready for my show tonight.  It’s at 8pm at SFU’s Highland pub.  Hope to see you there.

I don’t remember how it happened, but one year while in college my friends appointed me with a special status (or a title, or a catch phrase… I don’t really know what to call it).  Whenever they saw me, they would shout: “Jeff Hawker is on the prowl!”  I think the reasoning for it is that I was single at that time (in between multiple break ups with the same girl… buy my album to hear more about it!).  My friends assumed that if I was single, I must be out roaming the streets trying to find a new girlfriend.  I thought their routine declaration of “Jeff Hawker is on the prowl” was pretty funny, but it wasn’t very accurate.  I wasn’t really hunting around for a new relationship.  In fact, I never really hunt for anything.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about how there were two major types of tribal people in early humanity: hunter-gatherers and farmers (I think there’s a fancier name for it).  Metaphorically speaking, I must be part of the farming tribe because it is really hard for me to hunt down whatever I want or need.  For example, I hate looking for jobs.  There’s something that just rubs me the wrong way about going around to prospective employers and telling them how great I am.  I also dislike trying to find a new apartment.  Shopping around to find the place with the best combination of location, price, size, and aesthetic is just not my cup of tea.  I guess it might even be a similar situation when it comes to girls.  Yesterday, my friend Tony said that he would love to have a girlfriend, but he doesn’t want to put in the work to get one.  I can relate to that.  Relationships are tough.  And if you’ve heard my album, you know I’ve had some bad experiences.  But I do want to change.  I hope I come to realize the value of the “hunt.”  And I guess that’s what it comes down to.  I need to get used to hunting because most of the major things that I want aren’t just going to come to me.

Well… currently I’m on the hunt for gigs.  I need to play more concerts.  And what I’ve realized is that booking shows is challenging.  Venues often don’t reply to emails or respond to calls.  And when I go in person they just tell me to send an email or call.  It’s a vicious cycle.  Perhaps I should dedicate this whole week to contacting venues as well as other artists in order to find places to play.  So there you have it… Jeff Hawker is on the prowl.  I’ll keep you updated on this venture.

Actually, I have a gig tomorrow night at Simon Fraser University’s Highland pub at 8pm.  Check out the event on Facebook or Myspace.  I hope to see you there.