Shaun Newman Podcast - #295 - 0Stella

Episode Date: July 29, 2022

Liz Pomeroy aka 0Stella is an Irish Canadian recording artist who is doing a cross country tour via peddle bike.  Let me know what you think Text me 587-217-8500 Support here:⁠ https://www.patreon.com/ShaunNewmanPodcast⁠

This is Brian Pectford. This is Julie Pinesse. This is Zubi. Hi, it's James Scha. This is Cabey Richards. Hey, everybody. This is Paul Brandt, and you're listening to the Sean Newman podcast. I wish I had my sister's strength to wait.

Deep blue innocence of all the saints, but you came to me like a tie. My flowing hair was heaven to behold. Taken for the sins that never would unfold. secret hidden from a light of day. You got me, you got me, you got me, you got me, you got me hanging I know. Welcome to the podcast, folks, happy Friday. How's that for a start to a Friday we're off and rolling at the end of the podcast. O'Sdella busted out the guitar and laid it down, which I thought.

I thought why not start it out with that? How better to start a Friday than a little tune right at the hop. Anyways, before we get on to OSTella and today's episode, let's get on to our episode sponsors. Stephen Barber and the team over at Upstream Data. They've got creative solutions for you when it comes to vented, flared natural gas and upstream oil and gas facilities. Or you can just hook up some of their cool tech,

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Wade can get you hooked up. Just give me a call today, 7808, 5025. Now, let's get on in that tail of the tape, brought to you by Hancock Petroleum. For the past 80 years, they've been an industry leader in bulk fuels, lubricants, methadol, and chemo. delivering to your farm commercial or oil field locations for more information visit them at Hancock Petroleum.ca.ca. She's an Irish-Canadian artist who's doing a cross-canada tour via pedal bike. I'm talking about Ostella. So buckle up. Here we go. This is Ostella and welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. Welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. I wonder how many times I'm going to have to do this. I'm joined today by Liz Palmeroy.

or the artist known as Estella. Nice to have you in studio. Hey, John. Does that work? That suffices. Thank you so much. Well, how you've been? It's been a few months since I last seen you.

I'm good. I've been cycling across the country like a mad woman on an album tour and learning a lot as I go. And it's an amazing way to see Canada as an immigrant I've never seen. I mean, like, geez, I've talked to so many people across. the country that haven't seen half of Canada either. But what way to like experience the country so slowly and intimately? It's great. Yeah, I can attest to that because obviously like I was saying back in 2006,

that's how we got to see the country was biking. We went east to west, so we hit the prevailing wind. It was, that sucked. But overall, the experience was like unbelievable. How did you feel hitting the Rockies at the end? Like, I'm going to make him my bitch kind of thing? Fair enough. How did you feel hitting him at the start?

Like I wanted to die. But it was good training, knowing that I was going to bust out the rest of the country, no bother. So it's good. Yeah, well, let's give, for the listener, Estella. Am I calling you Estella? Am I calling you Liz? Oh, Stella's good. Okay.

It's funny. I call twos, twos all the time, and he's got a real name. and so I don't know why Estella and Liz. Anyway, I'll call you Estella. That's fine. For the average listener, as I always do, what's your background? You mentioned you're an immigrant. What is the lead-up to the artist known as Estella?

I'm Irish. I grew up in Dublin, been in bands my whole life, and came over to Canada to visit a family member and met a musician along the way as the story goes. long story short um i ended up uh starting a band in calgary um around twenty eleven or twelve and that ran for about four years and we played like south by south west and did lots of fun things and then i decided i wanted to go solo and actually learn like formal music for a change so i applied to grant mckeon and edmonton and kind of bluffed my way out of a job with my boss

and told him I'd already been accepted to Grant McEwen before I think I'd even know auditioned. And yeah, got into Grant and went solo like a year later after graduating and I've just been doing the O'Sdella project ever since. And the name O'Sdella is spelled with a zero at the start because I stand for a zero waste and sustainability and that kind of thing. But the name itself was taken from a PJ Harvey song oh, Stella, but I jammed it together into one word because I like one word names.

Yeah, that's long and the short of it. Okay, well, there's a couple of questions that popped to mind. One is, how's it been being by yourself, like, solo? Have you enjoyed that? I've loved it. It's been really daunting because I didn't ever play an instrument before I went solo. I was, like, sang melodies and wrote lyrics over the rest of the band jamming. I had to learn an instrument really, really quick, actually.

I think I had just graduated from McEwen, took the summer off to arrange some strings and stuff for things. And coming up to the end of the summer, I got tagged by two separate people on Facebook because there was a venue down in Calgary looking for, like, more entrance for a singer-songwriter competition that they were running and they had like a few openings left. And a bunch of people tagged me in there like, come on, we're sick of listening. to you, whinge about going solo and ever pulling the trigger. So I got like put up against a wall. And so I got in touch with the booker. And I was like, right, well, what's your latest possible date?

And he was like, 30 days from now. I was like, done. So I had to learn how to play guitar and write 30 days. Yeah. And write 30 minutes worth of original music, learn how to play and sing at the same time and do a cover and all of that. So obviously needless to say the show was rotten. But it was like the flame under my ass. to get moving on this solo expedition. And then I just hit open mics like four or five times a week for the next six months. And then my brother was getting married in Ireland. That December we went home and the night before our return flight, it got put to me again.

And again, sick of listening to you say that you're going to bring home a Canadian band or burlesque troupe or whatever, all the things I've been in over the 15 years have been in Canada. and always something happens like a drummer gets a hernia or someone doesn't have a passport or whatever whatever you know and so they were like yeah times come pick a return date to Ireland because you're doing a tour this year I'm like deal okay so six months later with no website with hardly any original music written we just booked return flight for the following July that I was going to do like a two week stint in Ireland and the UK and so I got back in January and started a flurry of like putting a website together, putting demos together, emailing bookers with absolutely no press

or anything like that. Just like, again, just baptism of fire and went home to do two weeks worth of touring, which involved bed bugs, car bombs and a possible heart attack. It was good fun. Did you say car bombs or car bombs? Petrol bombs. Sorry, excuse me, they were petrol bombs, not car bombs. I don't know what that means. So petrol bombs are like, you know, if you get like a glass bottle and you fill it with explosive and then you put a rag in it and you light it on fire and then you like a molotov doctor yeah that kind of thing like yeah petrol bomb i think that's what it is what do you what do you mean that that is it doesn't seem like it's pretty standard no not really no um well one of the dates on the tour was in dairy in northern ireland and there's the

orange order march every every year and the orange order march um kind of like break out west of anyone is a musician watching, it's like it moves host city every year. So sometimes it's Belfast, sometimes it's Derry, sometimes there's other cities. And so my show up in Derry was Friday the 13th of July and the march always happens on the 12th. And normally they're very peaceful ever since the Troubles quieted down and stuff. And it's just an opportunity for them to parade and stand up for what they stand for. And my dad had just been released from a hospital, having been given the all clear for not needing to get stent in his heart that weekend. And he was like, I'm fit to drive you to Derry. Let's go. I'm like, okay, fine. The whole

time I'm like, turn into him, has your heart? Has a chest? Are you okay? And he's like, yeah, I'm fine. And so meanwhile, I'm getting texts from like friends in Dublin being like, mind yourself going up there today now. I'm like, why? and I figure it out. And sure enough, the night before, everything had kicked off at that march. So there was petrol bombs being thrown. There was full on riots and all this.

And like kids as young as eight being involved in the riots and stuff. And so anyway, so we arrive up in town and we check into our hotel. And the hotel's like five minutes away from the venue. So we're like, obviously drop the bags and walk over to the thing and see the city as we go. And the receptionist was like, no walking no no get a taxi straight to the venue and straight back do not hang around because they had like they had loads of people booked in the hotel hotels through the town and everything that weekend I think for lots of matches that were happening and everybody cancelled people were flying over from the UK

they heard what was happening everyone cancelled they lost like I don't know how much money that weekend but it was pretty wild and like the first thing that we saw when we came into town was all of the the police trucks, which are like jeeps, but they've got like the mesh on the windows and the skirts for barbed wire, I guess, in front of their tires, you know, front and back. And I was like, oh gosh, yeah, like things are really serious around here. And we remarked on them to the receptionist. And she's like, no, no, no, those are just our regular police cars. Oh, perfect. Cool. So yeah, so anyway, the taxi driver filled us in in the five minutes. He had to drop us to the. the venue on everything that went on the night before and that was pretty much the long and the

short of it yeah it was pretty wild how was the venue that night was it the venue was killer it was so good um it was just like full of indie bands from around town and uh it was jammers too um yeah it was fantastic great vibe like after they were done throwing their their petro bombs outside they they just rolled in had a couple pints listened to some music and and left well i doubt the musicians were at that they were probably on a a whole different schedule. How's the, how's, you know, immigrating from Ireland to Canada and especially the last couple years?

Like, how many, how many years ago did you immigrate? I've been here 15 years. Okay, 15 years. Yeah. So it's been long enough. Yeah. How has the last two years played out, like being here in Canada and then having family over there and like, you know, everybody talks?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's been pretty pretty. hard, not going to lie. Borders closed down just last October 2. So we generally see each other once every two years anyway, so more or less still fit that mold. But it's been hard like, you know, not being able to go and see your family, especially when my brother is having his kids for the first time and stuff like that. Like they're the first grandkids in the family. So yeah, tough watching

them grow on Zoom and stuff. But I think we're on the other side of it. So onwards and upwards, Yeah. Well, now back to this idea of biking across Canada. A, kudos to it, because I'm like, that's being a guy who's done it before. It's no small feat. Of course, we got James Topp right now who is literally walking across the country, like the guy is a machine. But regardless, to bike it, especially pulling a little trailer and all your stuff and rolling across, how has been, you know, like hitting all, like I assume it has to be one of the coolest experiences ever

because the difference between even us to you would be, A, I wasn't seeking out people to go play for and finding all these little venues. I was hopping into like libraries and little pubs and, you know, like, back then, using the internet in the library so you could send off an email and let everybody know you're all right. And then, of course, you know, testing out the different beverages at the local establishments across the country. What's it been like in so far, you know, Western Canada for you? It's been, it's been sublime. Like, there's been a lot of moments where, yeah, I'm just saying, wow, wow, wow.

It's cycle through mountain ranges. Like, it's incredible. And then just the difference from, like, it was initially really, really comforting to be back in BC because it's so lush and green and it's like being in Ireland, you know, so that felt amazing. The only stinger is that there's bears in the brush, you know, so like you're kind of like calling round corners waiting for a bear to maybe jump out at you. And the minute I crossed the border into Alberta and everything just opens up, I immediately felt like ecstatic to be back in Alberta, but also, you know, somewhat misguidedly, instantly safe. You know, I was like, hooray, at least

least if there's a threat, I can see it coming now, you know? And I, like, strolled into the first campsite and I was all, like, delighted about the fact I wasn't going to have to babysit my food anymore. And the first sign I saw when I got into the campsite was like a thing of a grizzly bear. Like, you're still in bear, wouldn't you? I'm like, oh, fuck, I know I am. I guess I had to go look after all that. But it's been really amazing. I think I'm really extra thankful that I'm doing it this side of the pandemic, too, because I'm getting to see a part of the country. I would never have seen before. For instance, I was in a town and I was just minding my own business, busking, singing some

songs and the town had just been filming a car commercial earlier that weekend. So there was still film crew around town. And one of these lads came by, he reads my trailer and he's like, going cross country, are you? I was like, yeah? He's like, well, you tell Justin for me that like enough bullshit, blah, blah, or will end up on his lawn? And I was like,

mm-hmm, sure. I'll let him know when I see him. And then I was like, cool, like grand interaction and all that. And again, later on, I was crossing the green and he was in the middle of it. And he yelled right across the field on me, don't forget to tell JT for me. Cool, sure, okay. So there's been an entire scope of people. And it's been really amazing, like especially like,

It's funny coming through BC a couple of towns. They all seem to have like the same theme in common with each other. Every story in the space of about four days coming at me from people involved a heart. So like this first lady I met, I was kind of dragging my ass getting out of town one morning. And I pulled into this little shop for a coffee. And this lady comes out, the shop owner because she's like intrigued by the rig and stuff. And she's like, oh gosh, what are you doing? and we get talking and she tells me that she has always had like a bum heart and so she was on like

heart medication her whole life she was on pacemakers her whole life and she gets to say age 49 and her body just starts swelling because her heart's dying right and the doctors are like look unless we can find a heart you know you've had a good innings that's kind of it and just by chance then they found a donor and I guess the young man was unconscious, like brain dead or whatever, and the mum happened to know that he wanted to donate his organs, so she just made the call. She got his heart just in time. And so she always refers to him in her heart, like, by name.

You know, she's like, oh, me and him, like, two things together. And it's incredible. She showed me photographs of, like, her old heart that got taken out of her next to, like, a generic healthy heart on the operating table in front of her. and like her heart is like 50% the size of a normal heart and black and covered and, you know, fatty deposits and actually frayed like at the, the, you know, arteries and stuff like that, like tattered, tattered next to this like cute little juicy, you know, healthy heart. And then there was a picture of her holding her old heart like all like, you know, back to normal healthy weight and stuff.

So just incredible stuff. And then she was like just just thrilled by the fact that I'm cycling across the country for the fact that I'm making use of like a healthy functioning body. So she was just stoked for me like just like pushing on and using a body I was given that's working and all kinds of things like that. And like 20 minutes later I went over a bridge and then it was hair raising and there was like semis coming by and the crosswomeness.

coming over the river. I had to like unhook my cleats and just like, you know, one leg at across the bridge because you weren't allowed to stop every time a semi came by because you'd come off your bike otherwise. So I get to the other side of the bridge and I'm like, whew, filming my little documentary, you know. And I get to the next town and I'm busking and this English couple come up to me and they're like, they read my sign and they're like, you're going across Canada. That's brilliant. We're back to. finish our across Canada trip. So in 2018, I think they were here and they were doing the same thing. They were cycling across the country and they were going across that exact same bridge

and he keeled over unconscious and was bleeding from the head. She turns around and she sees her husband in the middle of this bridge and it shuts down the whole bridge and she's having a panic attack because they're in the middle of Canada with all their possessions and a husband she's convinced has just died on a bridge in front of her and not knowing. what to do, you know. And just then a guy, a couple of trucks back gets out and he comes up to her and he's like, look, you can dump your bikes in the back of my truck and you can come back to my family's farm while you figure your shit out. And she's like, okay, fine. So ultimately, here they are again, talking to me on their trip back to Canada to come visit that family that

she stayed with while he was recovering in hospital from a condition that should have killed him on the spot that day on the bridge. And he didn't. And they didn't. And they'd, and they'd, come back to celebrate his birthday with the family and to finish off the trip in a little camper van because she was still like PTSD from cycling. So baby steps back into the cycling thing. But like fucking incredible stories like that, you know, that just and the kindness that I'm sure you experienced that cycling across. Like it's either, you know, I want to think that it's just inherent in all of us and it would be there regardless. But also I know lots of people are just like, you know, living through us, like, you know, vicariously living through us.

But like the level of generosity is just wild. And it's such a antidote to everything that's happened in the last two years to be out on a bike, especially as a musician. And you probably know too, you've spent probably the last two years in front of a computer screen having square eyes and like a headache right there from staring. at a screen for 12 hours a day, right? And like your arm's gone numb and your butt's killing you and all this. And just to be outside smelling the country and like taking in the countryside at a pace that makes sense to your body is incredible. It's so good. Yeah. Every time I hear people

talk about a different province. They're a bunch of idiot and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You wait until you get to like Ontario and stuff like that. Because right, oh, West, we hate out east. And some of the nicest, most considerate people ever met came from the east. Like, it's just unbelievable. And you can find that kindness across Canada. Like, I'm sure you can find it in lots of other countries as well, but Canada is just like

it's, and I can just imagine now with the freedom convoy going and everything, like everybody's on like red alert for somebody who's who's going across and track it and your story is so cool because i mean like who doesn't like it you're doing what now you're going to play a little a little tune here all right all right let's let's you know let's kick it off here what do you call it bussum is that what you're busking busking that's what is that you stand on the side of the road yeah you're rolling into the town and all you do is oh that's not all i do but yeah that's a good way to like spread word that you're in town for sure. Hmm. Interesting. Busking. I've never heard that term before. That must be an Irish term. No, I mean, uh, or I don't know what. I don't know what. Like every,

like loads of musicians will do it. If you go down like White Avenue in the summertime, you'll find loads of busking musicians. Fiddle players, drumers, singer-songwriters, they're all out in the street. It's elevated begging. Essentially, it's begging with a skill. But you're out there, everybody and like that's like the culture of busking is second to none in Dublin every day you walk down Grafton Street which is the main walking street in Dublin there's buskers of all kinds there's like traveler kids who are like I don't know if you know travelers in Ireland they're like uh um itinerants or gypsies like kind of anyway so they have their whole own culture and own language and everything as well all I can think of a snack

natural. That's exactly it. That's exactly it. Like digs? Hmm? You like digs. Oh, you mean dogs. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. So like their kids will be out busking and, um, and then like incredible musicians. For instance, like on Christmas Eve, um, there's a band in Ireland called the Frames. And if anyone's seen the commitments, the guitarist in the commitments is a young Glenn Hansard. and he went on to have a band called the Frames. And they basically were like this alternative rock band that blew up and then got huge in Australia, I think. Anyway, I spent my teenage years living off of their shows, love them so much.

But Glenn, like, you know, sharpened his skills as a performer busking because you watch what kinds of songs people react to. So you know what songs of yours that you've written are any good. and you know how to build like a really convincing, enjoyable, entertaining cover set too by the covers that people come closer to you and stick around for and give you money for and all that kind of stuff. Then back in the day before amplification and little like busking amps were a thing, like you'd be like dealing with the din of people going up and down the street and you would have to compete with that. And so that would teach you, you know, projection and, you know, crowd interaction and all the other skills that come with it. And interestingly, a lot of the time security personnel of shops up and down the high street will often turn to buskers and ask them for information on like shoplifters and stuff

like that because we're watching the whole time. We know what's going on on the street and stuff and we can tell them like what just happened or where a person went and stuff like that. So it's an incredible way to spend the day and to like learn people and build your skills while you're at it and make some money. That was one of the things actually about lockdown. I had no change left ever. I was never out busking.

I would go to pay for something. I'm like, where's all my change? What? I haven't been busking for two years. That's why. So you get bored? You're just like, you know what, honey? I'm going to go do some busking.

I'll be down on the street rocking out. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's how people meet bandmates. That's how you get gigs. That's how people get discovered. People just make a little YouTube video of some bus card that they found,

then they blow up on YouTube or they get a record deal. Oh, yeah. I think, I literally live under a rock. Oh, man. Yeah, just go walking down Main Street in a big city anyway. First time you ever busk, were you like, this is intimidating? Or were you like, this is the most alive I've ever been? I really liked the anonymity of it.

Because the double-edged sword of busking is that unless you're any good, people won't give a fuck. and they'll walk past you. And that's, that's a big lesson in humility because you get up there and you're like, yeah, the bees knees, they're going to fucking love this. Here we go. And it's just crickets. Even worse still, it's everybody else's conversation because they don't care, they can't hear you, or they just don't want to listen. And there's no money in your guitar case and it's freezing cold. And you've been there for three hours. You're like, oh, better go home and practice then. So, yeah. The first time I did it, I kind of,

even remember the first time I did it. And it's so funny too because growing up in Dublin and like walking amongst that culture. And the thing is the weird thing about growing up in Ireland is that like everyone's a musician, right? Like practically everyone plays an instrument or can play a song or whatever. And while I grew up in a household that loved music, nobody played an instrument. I did the instrument thing for, you know, a couple of years during school, but nothing ever stuck. But we definitely weren't the kind of family to like jam or get together and have sessions in our house, which was kind of common with Irish families. And so I always grew up like watching other musicians, putting them on a massive pedestal being like, oh, I want to be you. How do I be you?

And it was so dumb too, because like I'll be out in the pub having a great conversation with somebody. I'm like, this person's brilliant. La la la la la. And then the minute they mentioned their musician, I'm like choked up. I can't talk to them. They're way up here on this pedestal. And then, yeah, can't do it. So anyway, my point was that I always wanted to go busking when I was in my first band when I was 16 years old. But my two bandmates were too embarrassed. They're like, what if someone sees us?

But you're 16, right? Like, you care what people think. So we never did that. So I think, you know what? I think it was Canada when I first went busking, in fact. So it kind of made easier because you're kind of buzzing on that whole, I'm in another country vibe, you know, so you're open to anything. And, yeah, yeah, I'm pretty sure I started busking in Canada. Have you ever hit, like, I don't know what it would be, like the zone where you're just like,

you're just jamming. And it's just, you got people stand everywhere throwing money at it because you just like, it's your night. Have you had like a perfect night? On a busking night, you mean? Yeah. No. No, that's not true. Sometimes I have. That's true. but yeah they're pretty nice when they happen actually but not in a long time yeah yeah not in a long time thanks COVID I was wondering she's not from Ireland so I apologize in advance but like Adele is from England your neck at the woods I just you know coming from you know if I mean we we talk about Justin Bieber as being a great Canadian artist artist, yet he's, you know, he's further away than Adele would have been from you.

Anyways, are you like, oh, Adele's great? Are you like, no, that's not my cup of tea? Oh, I love her. Oh, man. Yeah, incredible. Incredible songwriter, incredible voice. Yeah, there's nothing to not like about her. Okay, fair enough.

Now, going across Canada, I'm back to you. I got to think for a woman who's self-taught herself the guitar and how to sing and everything else and you write your own songs, are you just like every night writing songs? No. No. That sounds ideal. That's really what I should be doing, but I'm fucking tired. That's fair.

You know, I've got lots of, like, I've got lots of ideas, like, starting to percolate in the background while I'm cycling. That's great, honesty. I'm fucking tired. true and I just wrote a record too so like I'm out promoting a record so I'm kind of in that headspace while keeping the net open for stuff that comes by I feel like um what will probably happen on this trip is that my phone will fill as usual full of voice memos of ideas of stuff um and I'm also keeping like a voice memo uh tour diary where I'm just like speaking my day into my phone and yeah I reckon that'll be really cool it'll be really cool to go back through I know I can't

wait yeah yeah so I reckon like lots of phrases will come out of that and um I find um October onwards through the first three months of winter always my kind of writing period I feel really um motivated to to to work then basically because it's you don't want to go outside really I love like digging in the garden and stuff and cycling and stuff so all summer disappears to that kind activity. So on this trip where, how long is it going to take, like how long do you think it's getting, you know, you started relatively two, well, almost two months ago. Yeah. So you got a, you know, you got the death country of Ontario where it never ends. I think, you know, when I, I think back, it took us 69 days, 11 days of those were days off, so 58. And of the 58, I feel like 18 of

them were Ontario or something silly like that. It just was never ending. I'd say. Um, When are you planning, when do you think you're going to, like, when are you timing it for? Do you have a time? Or you just kind of seeing how it plays out? I'm giving myself until the end of September to finish it up. Okay. So I think that's doable. I'd really like to be done by then because I'm planning on it offloading all my shoulder

weather gear in Edmonton right now. So I'd hate to get to the other side of the country and be like, damn, I really need that thermal right now. That's in Edmonton, you know? So, yeah, I think that's. doable though we'll see and you mentioned you're married yes so you're married husband coming with you at all or he's like have fun uh send me a post car yeah he's he's back working uh in alberta having a heart attack but i've got like a garment in reach so i i send out bleeps like every every night to let everyone know

that i got to my place safe so that's at least keeping the heart heart attacks at bay yeah it's it's an interesting, you know, nowadays it's like, I don't know, I was just earlier this spring. I was, I rode, I don't know, what, kids got to essentially, so a little less than 20K. And people are like, you did what? Like, because nowadays, with everyone texting is probably the biggest thing, right? You know, everybody worries you're going to get sideswiped on the old, on the old bike. But I don't know. I always think if it's going to happen, it's going to happen too. So I don't if the big guy wants you to go, he's going to let you go and there's not much you can really say about it. Oh yeah, I'm not going to sit at home and not cycle for fear I get hit by a car. Like, I'm going out.

Absolutely. And the other thing I was curious about, are you, like, since you're playing gigs is kind of here or there everywhere, are you doing a straight line or are you like zigzagging all over the place? No, like Alberta's turned into a total spaghetti noodle for sure. Everything else was planned to be a straight line. So yeah, mostly, and now I'm in Lloydminster, so I'm going to come down through Saskatoon. But then hopefully, yeah, just mostly keep a straight line up through, you know, Toronto and then up Montreal and out to Fredererton. So as straight as they come, kind of, you know. On your website, you would written one of your records, or was it this record? You'll have to clarify this for me. It was written for a family member.

Yeah. Is it this record, or was it a? different record. So pendulum state is like the main full record which is coming out until 2023. Okay. And that

some songs on that have been written for that family member and that record was built to mimic the shape of an pendulum swing like the arc of a pendulum back and forth. So it gets it starts out quiet and it builds to a loud

and then it goes out soft again. And then same thing thematically, like it's like softer stuff and then it gets more agro, angsty in the center and there's like a keystone song right in the center that pretty much like summarizes everything that's going on in the record.

And so I've split the record down the center, more or less. So the first half is called Free Fall, which is the one that's coming out this October and then Skyward will come out next October and then the following month

the full pendulum state album will come out with that keystone song included because that keystone song is not on either side of the record so it's like just for just for pendulum state that's kind of a cool uh there's a lot of thought put into it yeah yeah i don't know i don't know just a thought i had was like this one i'm going to do um it's funny because a lot of my um um seeds for ideas come just from writing grants for myself because I need to sound like I know what I'm doing, you know? So I'm just like, yes, and this album will be called pendulum state and it will be about these things and this will be how I do it. And then I spend a month writing it and then I submit it and I hear three months later that

I didn't get the money and then I'm like, ah, fuck. And then I get on with my life, but unbeknownst to me that seed has started internally. and then all the answers just start emerging over time. I'm like, oh, there's that thing I need and that thing and that thing. And holy shit, look, I've made the thing I said I would. But, you know, I don't know. I love it. It's so organic.

And yeah, this record, I think, really needed to happen. Because 2019, after I brought my EP out, which was little yes, little no. I went to Toronto for about two and a half months or so. to do Canada's music incubator, which is like an entrepreneurial course for musicians to learn how to make a sustainable living. And while I was there, my drinking just went to a whole new level that I hadn't hit in a while. And ended up having to make a phone call to Unison, which is, you know, like a benevolent fund basically set up for musicians. So if they fall on hard times, there's like, you know, a bundle of money there. They can, you know, request to help pay bills or whatever.

But similarly, there's also a second arm that puts you in touch with help that you need, like if it's mental help or anything like that. So I made a phone call in Toronto one morning. And yeah, they just got the wheels turning. And then when I got back to Edmonton, I was able to get treatment and help myself and stuff. And I had a family member that was, she's nine years old sorry she's nine years younger than me

and she actually is the reason I came to Canada in the first place when she was I had just graduated university in 2006 and had done a long cycle with my dad to Argentina and then she had come home to Ireland

to visit and I made a pinky promise with her that I would come to Canada because none of our family had been to Canada ever and I promised her I would show up in Canada before her 13th birthday, which was that November. So I showed up and I met the Canadian along the way and all that shit. So anyway, so despite the fact that she's nine years, my junior, she and I have had a fairly similar, you know, trajectory through life. And she was going through it really hard in 2020 because she was living by herself. She was fully isolated for,

at least nine months of that year. And she just hit rock button. She hadn't been held by anybody, no hugs from friends, nothing. And she had been doing great and just erupted on herself. And I got a phone call one November morning in Calgary from her, saying that she'd just been, you know, let out of hospital and stuff and she was in a bad way.

So I felt pretty powerless to do anything. So all I could do was ask her, to phone me tomorrow and the next day and the next day and let me know that she was still around and still doing okay and stuff and in exchange I'd have a song written for her each day and so we just did that for a few weeks or a month or whatever and the beauty of that was that it became this cathartic thing of just getting out of my own way and just writing and writing and writing and getting really prolific and as a result of that this little channel opened up and I got some songs out of it that were really unexpected and tender and just hit on themes that I would never,

you know, consciously go to of like motherhood and, you know, nurturing and stuff like that. So I have one song on there about like anti-bullying and stuff like that. So anyway, yeah, a lot of those songs came out at that period of time. So yeah, they formed just like a nice balance to the more kind of turbulent stuff that's on the record. And then also, like during 2020, fortunately, I had just signed up to a course in February of 2020 to learn how to write music for TV and film and synchronization. And so that was a six-month-long course that kept me really busy and learning how to write to briefs instead of like from your artist's heart, you know. And it was a good thing because otherwise sitting in the middle of 2020, it would have been like, another day staring up by four walls fuck my life you know so you know no one wants to hear that and so um

the kind of music we ended up having to write was like really upbeat stuff that makes you want to like buy the next new iPhone or like nikes or whatever you know so it's basically like give me your money what way can i package it to have you have a good time to give me your money you know like So I ended up writing a lot of really fun songs that focused on like better times, you know, like dancing in gay clubs in Soho in London and stuff. And so there's those on the record. And then there's this other like nurturing stuff. And then there's this fully fucking aggressive shit and struggling with like abandonment issues about me emigrating from Ireland and dealing with all that kind of stuff.

So yeah, it just turned into this big like melting pot of loads of ideas and this pendulum just seemed to fit. that whole thing. That's a lot. Yeah, it's a loss. You know, like, I don't mean the bad way. I just mean like, you know, your family members struggling with everything through 2020. I just go, man, I hear that and I go, I wonder how many more people would fully be like, I get that. Like, I get that, right?

Here out in Lloyd Minster, I hope, majority of us still got to, I don't know, there was some crazy times in there though. One of the things that I always say, I say it again, is this podcast became a real lifeline, right? Because I got to talk to people every single week. And I got little kids and my family's all here.

And no matter, for the most part, as crazy as it got, I still had a group of people I was seeing pretty regular. And I don't think, you know, the bigger the city, the less I believe that happened. Like I think it, you know, like I had

cake, king on here, the paramedic from North Amiton, she was talking about going out to go back and, you know, they were had curfew and, you know, they were pulling people out of the houses and like, you're just like, like, that isn't that far ago. Like, that's, you know, a few months ago and that was happening, right? Like, that's within the calendar a year. And, you know, you fast forward and you go, what has that done to society? And it probably hasn't been good. No. No. I think, I think this, these last two years of like, caused tears and scars that we're not going to stop seeing for like the next 20 or 40 years.

Like we've fucked up with everything. Like it's it's dark and not enough people have a voice over what they went through for sure. Not at all. Yeah. And I mean like, yeah. Like it's funny because you hear comedians joke about like, or musicians too. I just sat an open mic the other night and this wood musician was like, oh, you know, it's great to be back and all. But I mean, I'm an introvert. So I was happy the last

two years, you know, but all my extrovert friends, they were finding it rough, you know. And that's a really good synopsis of everything, even though it's super jovial. You know, like, I know lots of people that are just antisocial in general, you know, and they surely did. didn't leave their apartments. And, you know, some of them were great. Some of them came through it. And then I know others didn't. So, and like, yeah, a couple of musician friends as well.

They, yeah, I know friends and bands that had band members because they were session players, right? Like the songwriters, I feel, and producers maybe because they always had projects to keep them busy. But the songwriters, I think, probably came out the healthiest. of all the musicians because they were able to articulate and they were able to just put their thoughts down in some kind of medium. But it's the session players and, you know, the sound engineers at live shows and all the people in the industry that, you know, your average Joe wouldn't know about or see. I think they were the hardest hit because they didn't have any other outlet, you know. Yeah. Yeah.

It's pretty epic the whole mess. But again, like, you've got such incredible torment and sadness and trauma out of the whole thing. And on top of that, then you have all this dark bitterness that's getting stirred into the pot and everyone's trying to separate and divide everybody and pit that one person against this other person and the politicians doing the same thing. So that's why I called my tour, there is no other. Because there's no fucking other. Like, we're all the same.

And I'm so sick of this pitting against and like listening to stuff coming out on Facebook today over what's going down in the States over decisions being made down there. And I just, oh, I'm so sick of the pick a team and stick with it mentality because it leaves no room for growth for anybody, you know? And that, that pendulum swings, right? If you're like, if you're solidly on this one side over here and you're fighting to get your way, so it's this way for you. when you're in power, well, sorry, man, like, when you get that instated and power swings back over the other way, it's going to be, you know, wielded against you too, because you're on the other end of it now. Like, everyone's so myopic, so myopic. So myopic. So that's what I want to kind of focus on. And that's why I'm staying out of venues so that I, well, I mean, in fairness,

a year ago, venues, I didn't really see that it was my places in our. artist to say you can enjoy my music, but you can't today. Not my job. So I wanted to stay out of that. So that's why I focused on like house concerts and pop up shows and doing shows at like local business and stuff like that and workshops and presentations on bike packing, encourage people to get outside a bit more and off their bloody foams and stuff, you know. And it's been amazing actually because the amount of times that I've had run-ins with people already on the 12th, where I'm reacting in a certain way. And then an alarm bell will go off in my head and be like,

bitch, you're on a tour, you named there is no other. And you're throwing around prejudices already, like in your judging people. And you don't even realize you are. Because now you're receiving information that's contradicting all your first impressions. I'm like, oh, yeah, I'll just shut up then. And just listen. Just listen. So, yeah.

And I'm really excited to see what else Canada has in store. me because I don't think I'm done with my lessons and I just want to hear other people's experiences and stories. No, I think you're in for a real treat because every province is going to teach you something a little bit new. There's always fun stories and fun things to see across every province in this country. It's a great country. How much fun has it been getting to belt it out again, you know, and have people not afraid

to come around you and like, you know, for a me. musician for a lot of things, even for podcasting, right? Like this is a thousand times better than doing this via Zoom, right? Like, could have done it via Zoom three months ago, right? We could have. Totally. Wouldn't have the same feel to it. You certainly wouldn't have been biking Canada at that point.

But for musicians, like, I mean, your whole thing is to play in front of a crowd. You know, it's kind of like comedians. Like, the whole thing is to do it in front of crowd. You're not going to do it to a screen. I mean, people did it to a screen. And I mean, it was a way to kind of connect. But how much fun or how, like, I don't know what the word is, maybe fulfilling or something along that lines,

has it been to get around people, feel that energy, you know, going back and forth, get them driving with everything, you know, rock it out, you know, whether it's on the side of the road or in the backyard or at a little venue, how has that been for you? It's been amazing. Like, I know what you mean because, you know, when first lockdown started, about a month or two into it I went on my first Instagram live

and I was giddy as all hell because I was just excited to be performing to a little box on a tripod I'm like here we go and wait 14 seconds for reaction I'm getting a reaction that's great you know and then that wears off and then one of the last live shows that I did

through 2020 I did three that really stick with me two of them I had to do in a mask and sing for two hours in a mask didn't love that and then the other one you had to sing for two hours

in a mask at a venue right before everything shut down again before Christmas you know that that one really I had an elderly woman tell me at church they weren't allowed to sing and I was like

I don't know I don't know the poetic way to say this because there is a poetic way but like singing is like there's no way singing should be outlawed is all right there's so much happiness and meaning in a song

I don't know how better to say it than that, right? Like, there's some way somebody can say it poetically. And for an older woman, probably 60, 70-ish, to say, yeah, we're not, you know, like, the only people allowed to sing at church are, uh, and a choir as long as they're back behind, like, plastic glass ball on. I'm like, like, what are we doing? Like, we are, we are so far off the beaten path right now to outlaw singing, whether

it was in a church or wherever else. I'm just like, singing gives a lot of meaning to life, like songs. do. Oh, they do. They do, of course. Like, like, one of the greatest powers of songs is to give a voice to somebody else that doesn't have the language to put what they're feeling into words, right? That's basically a purpose of a song. That's why we share them. That's why we resonate with songs. And I know what you mean just, and there was a lot of double standards in amongst those rules as well. And in the live music industry, like, it was awful watching friends who were bookers and venue owners and stuff trying to decipher the language in all of those, um, you know,

requirements and stuff that would change on the fly without any notification, you know, and they're just trying to do their job, just trying to do the best they can and keep a roof over their heads. And then, and then we talk about people who are antisocial, right? Lots of people, their only mode of socializing is going out to live music venues and they might be the person that stands there and doesn't talk to anybody, but that's how they interact in the world. They take it in and they hear what you say. And, you know, and so that was taken from them. There's, there's, I told this story a couple of podcasts ago.

So I'll say it again. It was, it was a, it was a year ago. It was May 2021. We were prepping for bike for breakfast. And at Fourth Mirning Brewing, we had a, uh, open mic night. which hadn't happened in because at that time you weren't allowed to sing. And we had it out on the parking lot so we could kind of skirt the rules, you know. But the cops show, I remember the cops rolled in while we were setting up.

And I walked over because I'm like, you know what, I'm not going to hide from the cops. I kind of want to know what they're going to say. And so I was talking to them because at that time you're only supposed to have like, I don't know, four people to a table maybe and only so many people were supposed to fit and whatever. So we were having it all outdoors and the cops looked at me. He goes, well, from where I sit, you're in the parking lot. That's the city's domain. Have fun.

I ain't going to be back. He's like, I have bigger fish to worry about it. I'm like, that's really cool. And then we had the open mic night. I hadn't heard live music now. It had been a full year. Like, it had been close to a full year. You know, May, certainly through the winter, I hadn't heard any live music.

And it had just been a long, a long stretch. I mean, geez, we ended up going another year. So, like, that's the crazy thing. But going back there, I remember people just talking about how good for the soul it was and how happy and there was just kind of like a lightness to the night. And we were breaking the rules, but not like, now you look back. I'm just like, we were all outdoors, like socially distanced. I'm laughing at myself as I say this.

Like, people were just, there was nothing wrong with it. It was so good for people, right? And we lost that for two years. years. Like, honestly, I mean, sure, we had a little break last summer. Like, oh, yeah, we had, we had a break. You had a break. But, like, for two years, like, music is powerful. And I brought this same thing up. Darrell Sutter, the coach of the Calgary Flames, said there's three ways to bring people together. Church, music, and then sports. And I think he's bang on, right? Like, whether one speak to him or not, music is just, like, I don't know, it's so cool. Yeah. Well, you

you know, it's interesting that you say that because I remember, um, firstly being really excited at my first like live show back with a full band as well, which was like last summer. And, uh, just ecstatic. And you know, you come off your stage and you're giddy, you're giddy. And you're right. Like, you're watching everybody else and you can see people's faces smiling. And there is a like a giddiness in the air, not even lightness, just like pure school ground giddiness, you know. Um, but. But, But yeah, I think you start taking the weird thing was that like you start taking the humanity out of the situation when you start pulling away things like that. And I remember being really frustrated by the double standardness of it because some churches

were allowed to happen. But for people who are like, you know, unorthodox or didn't have, you know, a religion, music is their religion. One could argue, you know. And similarly, sports could be somebody else's religion. And, yeah, to cherry pick who can and who cannot. Makes no sense and does nothing but stir people the wrong way. Like, you're not doing anything to help.

So, yeah, I was really glad to see things come back. And it's really special to be able to play for people again now. Well, not to sound too corny, but like the beauty in life, people find it in different ways, right? And for a lot of people, well, just music. Music is, I mean, I love all music. I got a very eclectic mix where it goes from all ends of the earth. I feel like I'm brought up Adele, but another one I'm thinking from over that way, and I actually don't know where Florence is from.

Florence is from. Florence, Welsh, yeah. Florence in the Machine, like I really, really enjoy that band. But I say that, and then I also like, I don't know, like Kid Rock to Coldplay to, you know, I just had Paul Brandt on the show, right, a little bit. the country, right? Yeah. Like, I just, I'm all over the place because I really enjoy good music. Like, good music is like, you can't beat it.

It, uh, well, once again, it's, it, um, brings people together. And I, I really agree with what Daryl Souta said when he said, I was like, that's bang on, right? Because a good song, a good, uh, mont, well, CBC or I guess, uh, Sportsnet now, Rogers, hometown, not hometown hockey. Rogers, what is it? Folks, I can't even think right now. But, um, their montages,

for the playoffs where they have, you know, the images of guys scoring goals and whatever and play a song. Half the time, it's not a song you would expect to be mixed with hockey, but it's so good. And it's like hair raising, right? Yeah. It's like, man, that's good. That's cool. And I don't know.

Yeah, you're right. For a chunk of time there, we allowed or whatever it was, they took a lot of humanity away. And that really, you know, it's one of the things I talked about from being in Ottawa when the convoy was there was the level of humanity. there was unbelievable. Like you didn't realize how much you missed seeing people smile of all things. Oh, I know. Like just like, wow. Yeah.

I remember a couple of people I met there just talking about, you got a great smile. You should show it more. And you're like, yeah, isn't that the truth, right? Yeah. But that goes for everyone. Everybody's got a great smile. And we hit them for two years. Yeah, totally.

Or for a full year, I guess. Yeah, yeah. And that was the thing was that like, you know, you go out for your, permitted walks in the first bit of lockdown before the masks came in. And the thing that I noted was how European everything suddenly felt. Because when you're out on a walk and you pass by somebody, suddenly they were all smiles and there was like eye contact and glad and greetings, you know, where I don't normally experience that much coming over to North America.

You know, it's not really that common. And for a period of time, everyone was buzzing and just loving life because they're out in the fresh air and seeing people and then all of a sudden it was like locked away behind masks you know and yeah to get that back was it was amazing um yeah such a funny thing yeah glad to be at the end of it well um before i let you out of here i always ask at the end well i've been asking i shouldn't say i always ask i've uh i've switched it multiple different times throughout the course of time crude master has never changed but it's the final five brought to you by crude master and it's it's he's words. If you're going to stand behind a cause

that you think is right, then stand behind it, absolutely. What's one thing, Ostella, stands behind? Aside from sustainability and... Well, it can be sustainability. That's... Yeah, for sure. I mean, it's in your name.

It is, it is. And, like, I think the danger with things like this is that they're so politicized, and the minute you, as I say, you know, pick aside, then you're home clearer with, you know, a certain bunch of people. But, yeah, I think it's more important not just to wave a flag around, but to actually make some changes and try and, you know, live by what you're standing for.

So that's kind of the point of this whole thing. And then also is, I would have to say there is no other because this tour especially has proven to me that like even if you think you're at complete post, or opposite ends of the spectrum, uh, from a person that there's always going to be something common between you that you have to be able to find in common with each other. Like, it's impossible to find someone that you have nothing in common with. And ultimately, like, that would be the coolest thing for me actually would be to find that like my music, for instance, is something to bring people together. Yeah, to like enemies had in common or something. That would just tickle me

pink. That would be so fun. When you, well, the second part of that, like, yeah, that's super cool. Well, once again, was talking with Nick von Dubbs about what we want out of our podcast, right? And I was saying, when you start listening to so many podcasts and you start turning up the speeds because you want to get through them faster instead of listening to two hours, you want it to be an hour, and whatever. I said, I want to get to the point where you have to slow it down because the guests coming on have so much meat

and you don't want to miss parts, right? Or you can go fast, fast, fast, but you have the slow parts because it happens to me, like lots, you know. I talk about different people that I enjoy listening to. And also, you know, I've got to rewind that. And then you've got to slow it down because you're like, I really got to hear that again because it's a deep thought. I like that.

And I really like that. For music, yeah, to have to bring people. people together. That's a powerful, a powerful talent of music. The sustainability one, I'm curious about, and I should have maybe asked about this an hour ago. What is it, what is the sustainability portion of this mean to you specifically? Like, what do you mean by zero waste? Well, zero waste is a bit of a misnomer because it was a really popular kind of label about four years ago. And even the zero-wasters started moving away from it because it's so, you know, all or nothing that it's very intimidating to people, right?

When you hear of that concept, you're like, oh, God, I have to throw out all my plastic, including my tripod and do it with sticks. You know, like, it's completely unreasonable. But it's just easier to label it that. For me, it's just, it's basically like borrowing your friend's car. you're not going to hand it back to him trashed. If you're a really good friend, you might hand it back having been slightly polished, you know, or something or you empty this ashtray.

Like, it's just being respectful to where you're living and the spaces around you. And at the very least, just like opening your mind up to the possibility that what you're used to may not be the best way or there could just be an alternative way to leave less of a damaging mark on the planet or just live more harmoniously with the planet. That's really it. It's to like view it more as a partner instead of an inanimate shelf we're living upon. You know what I mean? I do, but I am curious to hear more, just a little bit more, because I'm, I'm thinking here.

There's two things that I don't know if the podcast is broached since I started. One is anything to do with sustainability. And it's been a topic that I've been curious about. And two, I'm staring at a guitar and I'm going, I wonder if she's going to bust it out for me at some point because I've never had anyone play anything in the studio. So one is I'm going to have to get you to do that before you leave as well. But I guess I'm thinking, I don't know what I'm thinking actually.

The sustainability thing is interesting. to me. It's how do you convince people that it isn't all or nothing to slide, you know, to get closer to harmonious, but not where there's a marsher. Thank you. Yeah, totally. Because when you talk about zero, you're like, everybody learned that was pretty extreme. It's like, yeah, and that's how it gets framed. Yeah, exactly right. Yeah. Because a simple, probably really dumb one, But I'll do the dumb one, right? I thought it was really smart when grocery stores started selling, like, uh, um, cloth bags so that people could just bring their own bags.

But that took, you know, you think about that. That took probably like five years for it to slowly gain steam to now when you go to, I don't know, I don't know, probably most of the grocery stores. I don't even know if they have plastic anymore. I mean, I think it might just be all gone. There might be some paper bags there. But like, majority of them are like, everybody knows to bring your own bags down. And I'm like,

overall, does anyone think that's a bad thing? I don't think so. I think that's actually a really good thing. Think of all the plastic bags you used to have. And what'd you do with them, right? Like, oh, like you remember looking out the car window as a kid in the 80s and all you see in the winter are plastic bags in the trees, no leaves, you know? Like, certainly in Ireland, that's one memory that I definitely have. Well, um, to answer your question, there are still plastic bags in the supermarket. And I had a really good conversation with a green party member up in Prince George a couple of years ago because she goes around town knocking on people's doors asking them like have you joined the green party and the

minute they hear green party they think zero waste and that's intimidating and all this kind of things so she kind of goes door to door in her community to educate people to being like it doesn't mean like never eat red meat again it's just like what can you change a day one tiny little thing and for her own situation, like she lives with her grandmother who has OCD. So to come home from the grocery store with fabric bags doesn't work for her grandmother. So she gets flack every time she's in her local grocers, getting plastic bags for her groceries because everyone in town knows her. And they're like, oh, you're going.

She's like, no, you don't know my situation, right? So she's dealing with something else at home that she has to do that. And similarly going to like the outright banning of plastic straws. I mean, we all got on that boat because, like, you know, we all saw the video with the turtle with his, the straw up his nose. And, um, but then there's also the, um, community living with like physical disabilities that they actually need straws. If they go into Starbucks, they can't actually drink their drink any other way and they'll need a plastic straw because it will just disintegrate before they've finished off their drink if they're using paper. Right. So, um, it's, it's such an oxymoron that I'm. I'm oh, Stella, zero Stella, zero waste because nothing is an all or nothing solution, right?

Because there's a lot of different people we have to satisfy and accommodate, you know. And even the concept of like moving away from petrol and, you know, fossil fuels. For instance, like, you know, the first and only song I wrote about this was called Wide Wake. And I brought it to an open mic in Edmonton and played the first edit of it. and it was very soapboxy. And so I was playing it to an open mic environment full of Edmontonians, who are all Albertans. And I'm like, da, down with fossil fuels.

You know? It went down like a lead balloon, you know? Boo. Yeah. So, like, it was a really good lesson in how soapboxing does not work. And it opened my eyes because, like, nobody's isolated from any of this. Like, we're all beneficiaries over. it somewhere down the chain, you know? So really, yeah, it's just how can you make a small,

small change that can, and you can look at it two ways. Will it benefit the planet or will it actually benefit your pocket? Like, do you have to drive your car to the place down the road that you could walk there in 20 minutes? Well, you talk about benefiting your your pocket. The other thing it does is it benefits your waistline and everything else, your mental health. I, uh, when I quit my job, but Baker. I didn't have a vehicle, so I had to start biking everywhere. And when I was in Finland, when I signed my contract, I didn't get given a vehicle. I got given a pedal bike. But it was awesome because the bike pass were as good, if not better, than the roadways. I just wish, it's one thing living in this part of the country is, A, we don't get, we get what, four months, roughly, where

where it's like you could physically do it. And so, you know, you go as a city, do you build the infrastructure so people can bike everywhere? I don't have the right answer because it's like, well, I don't know. But like not only the pocketbook, but like mental health, physical health, getting outside and like actually taking, you know, in Lloyd particular, biking across the city if you hit the right pass, 20 minutes maybe. I don't know.

Like maybe I'm, maybe it's a touch more. that I can't see it be much more than that like I'd say 20 minutes and maybe even less right and you can be across the city for the most part it just doesn't have great bike pass you got to be you got to pick and choose but getting outside and enjoying you know being outside and disconnected from a lot of you know physical movement like after being stuck where we've been stuck physical movement man like everybody's missed that this past winter like was the longest fucking winter that I think I've ever experienced It just wouldn't relent. We had minus 40 for what felt like, you know, two, three weeks in a row, followed by, like, just the longest, darkest days.

Oh, I never, you know, it's like I never want to go back there ever again, right? But going to your, do you have to drive your vehicle everywhere? The side benefits of, the answer is no, you do not. But the side benefits of getting a little bit out of your comfort zone is mental health, money. you might find that you enjoy hopping back on the bike. Like being on the bike is, it's a ton of fun going about it that way. Oh yeah.

And it's so sociable as well. You know, like the amount of conversations I've had on this trip and just as a cyclist around town with people as you're passing by, you know, is great. You can't do that in your little metal bubble,

you know? People think I'm weird when I roll down the window to ask someone a question in the car next. me, but like it'd be so much easier if we were on bicycles. But yeah, yeah, so much easier. The thing that cracks me up about living over here, though, is that like anytime I'm in a new area and I'm not sure of where I'm at and I go into a shop or something, I'm like, oh, I'm looking for this place. Is it far? And they're like, oh yeah, it's like a five minute drive. I'm like, no, but like to walk it, I'm on foot. And they're like, oh, God, yeah, no, I wouldn't walk that. It's like a good,

good 25 minutes. Thanks, I'll give it a go. It's just such a different. perspective, you know, because Canadians will, like, drive for 13 hours, whereas Europeans are like, well, we should, that's going to take three days to get there, you know, but to walk 20 minutes. Yeah, we don't want to do that. It is a strange thought, isn't it? Because literally, Canada is such a giant, you know, well, here, you know, my wife's parents, Minneapolis, right? So a giant city. And where we went to college is about three and a half hours. Ah, it's just too far. And I mean, where we're living right now to get to the city is like a solid two-hour drive and we'll do that and back in a day it's just like it's just what it is like you just do that here because you really

have no choice this is the entire country it's giant you want to drive across it all right let's go you know get in the vehicle and in a way we go but you're right you want to walk how far it's like well it's not it's not that far yeah it's going to take us a little bit of time but i mean get out and enjoy the sun oh totally yeah and actually going back to your cycling thing there was a a survey done of level of satisfaction and mental health and everything amongst people commuting to work. And they found that at the top level, it was cyclists. They got into work because you were more or less within a couple of moments able to accurately, you know, predict when you'd arrive in work and time it out accordingly. Behind them were people who walked to work for very same reasons.

And they're coming in jacked on like endorphins, you know, you've already done your exercise. for the day. And then behind them, I believe we're drivers and behind them were public transit users, you know? Really? Yeah, because, I guess because you're at the behest of the of the schedules and if something gets cancelled. I may have that backwards now. That's a bit of a caveat. I don't, I never mind public transit. Yeah, I mean too. Yeah. If I can't cycle, I'll use public transit. Maybe not Edmonton ones if you're going to get like bedbugs. It's kind of sketch. But I used it for the first two years as in Edmonton's fine.

Yeah, I've never been bothered by public transit. Here in Lloyd, we don't have public transit, right? Like, it's not at all. At all. Wow. Like, you have cabs. Yeah. And their border city connects is for people like elderly and disabled.

So there's that. But there's no like town bus. That's why. Yeah. Wow. So it's and you go like there's that's why I come back to like I don't want to rag on the city because here we have our are, you know, they have the issues to deal with. But like as a guy riding a bike, there's not, it's not as bad as I'm making it out to be, but at the same time it's not like I want to drive down Highway 16 because I really don't. Like that isn't my cup of tea. at all to be going down there. Now, is it as bad as I make it out? I don't know, but you're getting all the traffic from Saskatoon to Emmington going through, and there's no bike lane or anything, and I'm not saying they should make a bike lane.

I'm just pointing out the fact that... Well, I'll just say that they should make a bike lane for you then. They should have a bike lane, mine. At the very least, like, just like a piece of painted road. I tell you what, with the amount of bikers that are like constantly, It's like it's a growing thing, right? Like tons of people are biking, especially, you know, it's funny with the electric bikes now being a huge thing. Like you're seeing more and more people do it.

It's probably a matter of time before they have to really take a look at it, right? That's true. Yeah, because some of those things go really fast. Like they're like moped speed, you know. Some of them you can take the governor off. I know. I'm like, well, isn't just like a motorbike then? Pretty much.

Because I mean, like, I don't know. I must be a pierce when it comes to biking. You know, and then those, isn't there like an actual license you need for a motorbike? So then there's people unlicensed driving the equivalent. Let's not get into the semantics here. I feel like we're talking COVID rules. Oh, yeah, pish-pash. Now, if somebody wants to support, follow along, find you, where do they go to do that?

Oestella.com with a zero. So zero-estella.com. And there's two buttons you'll find. There's one for a tour and then there's one for new releases. So if it's all tour-specific stuff, just click that one. And then there's a whole thing on how you can donate money or become a tour sponsor or book me for a house concert or, you know. So if somebody hears this out and like, let's go Manitoba.

Sure. And they're like, wait a second, we can book you in and you can come right to our house and rock a gig there. You'll do that? Absolutely. Yeah. If it's feasible, I mean, if you're 500 kilometers away from the beaten path. No, I want you to ride the 500K.

Okay, but I'll charge you a trip fee for sure. 500 kilometers, two ways. But no, truly like, yeah, I'm going to come to your show or to your house and play a show. So yeah, it's just a question of like timing and when I get there and stuff. So generally, yeah, people reach out and they express interest and then I'll confirm with them about two weeks out because it's more accurate from then. And then they can start putting the word out there with friends and family. And for the listener, what I'll do is I'll put the website in the show notes. That way, all they got to do is just click down and, you know, Spotify, Apple, whatever.

And boom, they can go right to your website. Appreciate you coming in and doing this. I wish you the best of luck across Canada. And hopefully, I'll get to follow along and see where you end up and how long it takes you and everything else. Thanks, millions of show notes. A pleasure. Now, are you going to at least bust out the guitar? Do I get, do I?

Oh, I can. I just have it with me generally. I wasn't expecting to, but I can do that. Would you like a song? Yes. I want what you want. Whatever you want to, whatever you want to bust out here. That's a slick guitar.

Yeah, this is a carbon fiber guitar that I bought specifically for this trip because I wanted something that wasn't, something non-wood that wouldn't react to weather. And the amount of humidity that we've had as well, I'm really glad I have a metal guitar and not a wood one that's, going to be warping. This song is called linen. I wrote it inspired by an interview, in fact, that I heard when I was 16. My dad was driving me to school. I went to a Sacred Heart school for 14 years, all girls, in Ireland, which was a riot.

So anyway, we were rocking up to school one morning, and this lady can. came on the radio and she was being interviewed. She was one of the last remaining residents of the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland. And if you're not familiar with the Magdalene Laundries, they're like Ireland's version of the residential schools here. And the last Magdalene Laundry closed within the last, within a year of the last residential schools in Canada. So ours were just for women, designed for fallen women in the community, prostitutes and anyone pregnant out of wedlock. And so this lady I was listening to being interviewed, grew up in the adjoining orphanage for all the kids of the mothers that were brought in to be,

you know, serve their penance. And so this little girl was growing up in the orphanage and she had a best friend who was a boy in the orphanage. And unbeknownst to her, the nuns were looking at her being like, she's going to be just like her mother if we don't do something. So all of a sudden, this little boy lost his best friend out of nowhere because she'd been put into the lone herself for having done nothing. And tragically, the little boy ended up having a job as a delivery boy for the clean linens that she was preparing within the building, never knowing she was inside there. And so the interviewer asked her that morning, she was like, well, did you ever find your friend again? She's like, no. And so the interviewer said, well, you know what, this is being

broadcast nationally this morning. Hopefully maybe you might reconnect. And I thought nothing more of that interview until 2018 and sat down to write a song. I was trying to write a Queens of the Stone Age song, but I just taught myself how to play guitar like nine months before that, so I only had four chords and you can't do much of a Queens of Stone Age song with four chords. So this memory just bubbled up out of nowhere. So I wrote a song kind of as an ode to them for the relationship they could have maybe had as like a secret rendezvous at the very least. But this is all about not losing sight of the one thing that Puzzie through the darkest of times. This is Lennon.

I wish I had my sister strength to wait. Deep blue innocence of all the saints, but you came to me like a tidal wave. My flowing hair was heaven to behold, taken for the sins that never would unfold. A secret hidden from a light of light. day. You got me, you got me, you got me, you got me, you got me, you got me hanging on, oh, please I'm good as I can be, all these years I should have got a name for me, but I'll keep dreaming

till I fade, oh, you got me, you got me, you got me, but you love, then and kiss is all around. I think I have maybe the coolest job on the planet. I mean, that's seriously. Thank you so much for making Lloyd a stop and making me one of your stops. I appreciate that. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure being here.