Veda Hille

ok, i spent the morning putting together a little photo book for y’all. if you go here, on the projects page, you can see pictures of me and skye and martin and various euro/uk pals. including this fellow here.

in other news, i’ve been working all week with matthew mcfarlane at the cbc, putting together a pilot radio show. a simple idea really. me talking, songs playing. we have a great playlist. john southworth, el perro del mar, shaun driver, tom ze, the bittersweets, destroyer, neutral milk hotel, a little brecht of course, and a track off of the new calexico/iron + wine album. if i wasn’t so tired i’d link all those for you. but you’re all old enough to do google searches i’m sure.

also, the fits have a coupla gigs coming up. dec 2 with the wizards in Bob’s Lounge, at montmartre (not the one in france, the one in vancouver) and dec 10 at the theatre replacement christmas party. must get that christmas medley on the go…. (Continued)

howdy folks. gosh, i’ve gotten so accustomed to this blogging thing that taking a week off seems like a sin. i guess this is how it all starts. slave to the internet. i’ve been home recuperating from tour, which always takes longer than i want. but thankfully, when i wake up at 4am with jetlag i can lie in bed and think about the new record, which is a compelling and lengthy obsession. i have an incredible band for the show in vancouver in january: martin walton on bass, skye brooks on drums, peggy lee on cello, patsy klein on voice, jesse zubot on violin, and ak coope on clarinet. killer. worth flying out for, if anyone is feeling wealthy out there. it’ll be a premiere of the new songs with full ensemble, plus a reworked version of field study.

here’s one of the new songs for you, actually a song almost 2 years old but just now coming into its own. this recording was made at the hive (on barry’s birthday, as you will hear) with about 30 pals stuffed into the main room all singing and playing together. we added a few instruments later, and made this spirited version of lucklucky. (Continued)

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well people, the tour is hurtling to its close. two more shows, lancaster and then london, and then away back to canada i go. to write songs about ufos and practice buffy st marie with the cbc radio orchestra. and make christmas cookies!

lovely show in oxford last night, with a cosy crowd of 30 stuffed into the small and sophisticated bar at the phoenix. it did feel like a great living room party, with drunken bonhomie and all. and then the night before at the ccanw in exeter, i found my place! a shed in the woods near the moors, with birds around and excellent people. we got all caught up making plans for the future; more shows, maybe staging an opera on dartmoor…..anything could happen. it’s great to find these pockets of enthusiastic sanity all round the world.

when i get home next week i’ll post a bunch of tour photos. mostly of taxidermied animals (thanks chris and ulrike, most perceptive of hosts) and great food i’ve encountered. alright then, tea’s ready. ttfn. (Continued)

i am overdue for a shout out to my good friends matthew and rob, who have been generously hosting my stay in london. not only do they provide me with a quiet room, a great bed, and lots of entertaining conversation, but they also take me out for at least one fabulous night every time i blow through town. last night was no exception. after dropping in at the social and barcode (a sleek tres moderne bar in vauxhall that rob designed) we went to an incredible cabaret at area. definite shades of leigh bowery here folks. great acts from dickie beau, scottee, booby tuesday, and heidi licious. and to top off the evening, suppositori spelling performed a tribute to kiki durane (who was IN THE AUDIENCE!!!), the most knock down drag out version of total eclipse of the heart i’ve ever seen. and i’ve seen a few. if bonnie tyler had been present i think the world would have imploded. oh, it was so great. and now i am seized with the desire to make insane outfits out of cardboard, latex, and grease paint. ah well. two beautiful boys complimented me on My Look, which is currently Eccentric Canadian Wearing Caravan Farm Castoffs And New Campers. copy if you dare. (Continued)

one of my favorite things about being in the uk is that i am constantly asked “Are you alright?” “Alright then love?” “Are you ok?”. it is a standard greeting, but still i check myself every time and say “Yes, thanks. Are you alright?” The answer is usually affirmative and we both go on reassured. repetition breeds relief. (Continued)

forgot to say that i really enjoyed the jacek kulesza trio. (which is jacek himself playing everything he can get his hands on) last night at the show. he had ridden 30 hours in a bus to arrive at the 12bar, and his family in london was there singing along to everything. lovely. and he had one of the best shirts i’ve ever seen. (Continued)

happy day of the dead to you all. the time stamping blogs are all done for this tour, nothing but real time blogs from now on. so no podcasts or photos, just attempts at pithy observations. i was shocked to have someone at the 12bar last night address me as “darlingen”, proving that people are actually reading this and my new language of ‘germglish’ is taking off (see below). oh the power!

a sweet if quiet show in london last night. hard to compete with the chance to dress up as monsters and sexy ladies…but thanks to the woman who brought me a pumpkin, and to the small but dedicated crowd. and people really seem to love the soaplands song. you have my husband to thank, as he forces me to keep it on the set list. it has grown on me definitely, and like all the new stuff i’m itching to get into the studio and demonstrate all the sounds that accompany me in my head.

i did in fact make it to the imperial war museum, which used to be the hospital of bethlehem. a formidable place, full of dark and heavy things. i and my brother-in-law and nephew went through the holocaust exhibit, which was sobering of course. i prefer the holocaust museum in berlin, which manages to be inspiring in its honesty and daring and beauty. the acknowledgement of so many specific jewish people, the fearful elegance of the monument….they achieve a solemnity that doesn’t rely on bloody details.

day of the dead indeed. i didn’t intend to stray into war remembrances. and so now i saunter off into the sunlight. i’ll make a play for the tate. til next, dearlings. (Continued)