To quote an April Wine song from 1978: He recorded a song that made us sing along, and he was on the road again Isn't it a pity, isn't it a shame No one ever warned the boy Rock n' roll is a vicious game Once upon a time being a “roadie" or crew member on a tour it was simply a guy tuning a guitar, or drum set, and then trying to keep back the groupies from jumping on the stage. Today, on a major tour, the world of the roadie, or crew member, is very different. Enter Brandon born and raised Barrie Roney. “Willis or Willy or The Tub” kind of stumbled into the role of a roadie about 15 years ago. Prior to that he had spent time working as a bartender for The Unwinder, doing cable television installations for Westman Communications Group, and selling hockey cards in the Mall back in the day when it was more fashionable.   BDNMB: Now Willy, for people that don’t know you, lets rattle off a list of acts you have worked with over the years? Barenaked Ladies Avril Tragically Hip Kiss Nine Inch Nails Bette Middler The Weeknd Prince Elton John Macklemore Tiesto Michael Buble Aerosmith Huge outdoor country and rock festivals.     BDNMB: And, your last gig was with the Bryan Adams tour of Western Canada, North Dakota and Minnesota.  Now lets talk about that tour, it was 5 shows in 5 days and included plenty of travel including stops in Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Brandon, Bismarck and Duluth. Doesn’t sound like much fun with zero chance for sleep. BARRIE - it was a lot of smaller venues...lots of labor with inexperience, so you don't have a chance to sneak away to go for a nap on the bus.   BDNMB: It appeared from feedback on Facebook, and this website, that it seemed like everyone thought Bryan Adams and the show itself was amazing. BARRIE - Adams has lots of hits, and he puts together a big show for these smaller venues... not many tours carry video and big screens.   BDNMB: Explain, what is your job on the tour? BARRIE - I work for a video company that provides video gear for bands on tour, and we do some corporate shows as well.   BDNMB: Explain a time-line of a typical day...of course problems will happen. BARRIE - Every building is different, but normally I start my day between 7 and 8 am and have a few hours off in the afternoon before the show starts. Following the show we have to rip it down and try to get on the road by midnight.   BDNMB: A common thing that I hear when I travel for work is “oh you are so lucky”...and I kind of think to myself, well it isn’t glamorous”. Would you tend to agree with that statement? BARRIE - To come extent I see lots of things, and now I have been to lots of places, so everything is starting to become the same old, same old.   BDNMB: How did you get your start in this business, didn’t your brother kind of help out? BARRIE - I had been laid off with the job I was working at the time. I went to to visit my brother, who lived in New York, because I had never been there before. He had worked in this industry since the early 80's and had built up a network within it. So when he met me at the baggage claim in New York his first words were. "We gotta hurry I got us tickets to see Conan O'Brien, tickets for the Rangers game and oh, yeah I got you a new job” Three weeks later I was on Avril Lavigne's first tour.   BDNMB: Best thing and worst thing about this business / job ? BARRIE - For me I would say the worst part is the travel and the amount of time away from home. The best part in some ways is the perks: free ticket to events, the places I've been, and the people I have met along the way.   BDNMB: Would you recommend this profession to friends or their kids? BARRIE - This job isn't for everyone. I would recommend it to someone younger with less responsibilities. There are long hours and sometimes you could be away from home for multiple months at a time. You live in close quarters with a group of people with little privacy at times. So if you can handle that then it could be the job for you.   BDNMB: Would you say that Michael Buble would be one of the most down to earth and cool guys to work for? BARRIE - I've worked with Michael on his tours since 2005. He is an absolute genuine guy. He takes care of his crew like no other. I would say he would be the top of my list for entertainers I have worked with. BDNMB:Dream Gig? BARRIE - One day I will do a tour with Iron Maiden and get to fly on ed force one.   YouTube clip of Backstage Secrets featuring Canada’s Rush https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdwOOuqV4xU    

  Here's a little tale of a sweet 6 year old. It seems grade 1 was getting on his nerves, so he thought he'd try out something different like not listening, for example. So I had an unexpected phone call from his teacher in the evening after the sweet angel was tucked into bed, for a friendly chat about "why the young boy had to STAY INSIDE for 1st recess that morning"........Funny, he hadn't mentioned a word about ANY OF it to me.....AND he'd been extra good that very night..... I wake him up the next morning and tell him to go straight to the table, sit down, And wait for me. In my most intense quiet psycho Mom voice. Full eye contact no blinking. Extremely unsettling. I walk out to the table and stand across from him, and continue with my intense scary psycho Mom stare. Expressionless. The stuff nightmares are made of. He is also no longer blinking at this point. Mouth open ever so slightly. Me: (in a whisper quiet monotone voice) "I talked with your teacher last night." (Dramatically long silent pause) "Anything you'd like to say about what happened at school yesterday? What do you have to say about this?" Grade 1 kid: (spoken slowly and pitch rising at the end): I'm sorry....for....saying the eff word....?" Serenity. NOW. Recently the youngest of the 2 was asking what I'd wish for if I could only have 1 wish. I said I really wasn't sure, but wondered what he'd wish for. He said he hoped I wouldn't die soon because I'm 40 and that's really old. Yours truly, Caley

Brandon Pride presents, "Winter Whiteout" at the Great Western Roadhouse on December 3rd from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am. Come out in support of Brandon Pride! Wearing white is not mandatory! Wear white colors if you can. The Great Western Roadhouse will generously donate all admission & proceeds from a drink special to support 2017's Pride Festival! Brandon Pride strives to create awareness and advocacy in promoting events in the community to encourage a safe, inclusive, and positive atmosphere for all. Buy your tickets in advance for $5 at Smitten, Sexuality Education Resource Centre Manitoba, SERC Brandon or by email at brandonmbpride@gmail.com OR you can purchase them at the door! You can also find Brandon Pride on Facebook.  

Average setlist for tour: Get Up! Tour            

Our quest for winter family fun took us to The Forks, Winnipeg just recently. It was the first warm winter day in January and the place was packed! It was really great to see so many people enjoying the free activities with their kids. If you've never been to The Forks, (officially the Red River Mutual Trail) to skate I can offer you a few tips. 1) Go early. At 10AM on weekends you will still find free parking but know that the parkade fills up quickly. After that you might find convenient meter parking, but that's $4 per two hours on your credit card or by coins. By 1pm on weekends, you'll be walking from parking lots as far as the baseball stadium. Free family programming/organized events are held Sundays 1:30-3:30pm. And the better the weather, the more people that are in attendance. 2) Bring your own equipment if you have it. (Skate rentals are $3 for children, or $5 for adults, subject to availability.) Also, bring a backpack to tote your boots in. Some people leave their boots in the warming huts or under benches where you put your skates on, but this seems high risk. Since we forgot a backpack that day, we opted to bury the boots (upside down) in the snowbank behind the warming hut. It was a creative and effective solution, masterminded by my son. Our boots were still there 2 hours later when we were done skating for the day. 3) Bring a stick and puck if you like. There are specific hockey areas and nets. 4) The ice is groomed, but it is also river ice (not indoor rink ice) and used by thousands of people. This means you should bring a helmet even if you think you are an accomplished skater.  You are at risk of catching a skate in chips, cracks, soft spots and random debris. Risk of falling is high. You can check out the reported ice conditions at The Forks website. (www.theforks.com) I have found the ice under the bridges to be particularly rough and hazardous.     5) There is more than just the river to skate on. There are iced sidewalk trails which lead you several kilometres around the park site, over bridges and down to the Esplanade Riel Bridge as well. In fact, I'll let you in on a secret. The ice in front of the Scotiabank Stage, or in the 'festival park' area is hardly used. It was in excellent condition and even had music for our skating enjoyment.  We were there nearly an hour and maybe a dozen people or so were in sight, as opposed to the thousands just on the other side of the buildings on the river. 6) The coffee shop in the Johnson Terminal, first floor has fantastic cappuccinos. I like mine with a shot of coconut syrup. And if you're lucky enough to get a seat in their sunny window, you will have an ideal view of the skating oval and main plaza. A perfect place to people watch and soak in the perfection that is in my opinion, one of the greatest public spaces in our province. 7) Making a weekend of it? Or why not make your own overnight stay-cation and book a room at the Inn at The Forks during the week? Rates are as low as $169 per night. The location and convenience gets 5 stars for sure. I'm a big fan.  You are also a hop and a skip out the front door to the Children's Museum. www.childrensmuseum.com Admission is $11 per person, regardless of age. And now, until January 31st admission to the neighbouring Canadian Museum for Human Rights (www.humanrights.ca) is just $5.  See for yourself why everyone is calling Winnipeg, one of the hottest destinations and calling The Forks a must-see attraction in 2017.  Check out these video clips of action from in, and around the forks.       View of the main skating area. Red River Mutual Trail       Best kept secret, crowd free skating location at The Forks.         (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});