by MW Cook

you know how people have a list of things they want to do before they die? I’ve crossed off like, four of them this summer!

So, how did the road-trip go? In the words of the east-coasters “Oh my crazy it was great!” We drove down to NY, had a wonderful time the whole way down, commenting on American customs and driving habits. We arrived at the concert in plenty of time and found a row of seats right up near the front, durn near perfect! We saw these fine people:



Play an AMAZING show! I can’t think of enough describing words at this point. Even though a few technical things were a bit screwy, they did a killer job! At this point of the story, I’d be satisfied with saying goodnight and driving home, having been to such a wonderful event. But, as providence would have it, the best was yet to come.

As Cliff finished his beautiful encore (acoustic version of “‘Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus”), I thought outloud “What are the odds of them coming back out and giving us a chance to talk to them?” The reply was “Not good”. Suddenly, we noticed band members coming out to take down their own stuff! All of a sudden a phrase popped in my head – “You’ll regret the cool things you didn’t do more than the stupid things you did do.” With that we went to the stage, dodged the security guards a bit and we all got a chance to talk with Cliff Young, the leader figure of Caedmon’s Call. At this point of the story, I’d be satisfied with saying goodnight and driving home, having been to such a wonderful event and meeting a wonderful man. But, as providence would have it, the best was yet to come.

Andy Mack then approached Cliff as I was finishing my talk and said the words that chanced the night: “Hey Cliff, could we get a Canadian road-trip picture with you?” To which Cliff responded, “You’re all from Canada? You want the rest of the band? Follow me!” It took a few seconds for the five of us to realize what had just happened, but once we figured it out we followed Cliff to the back room where the rest of the band was hanging out. So, we all got to hang with Caedmon’s Call for about ten minutes! Check out the picture:

Woo hoo! So let’s see, from left to right starting on the bottom row: Garett / percussion, Todd, Me, Luke (Road-trippers) top row: Josh / keyboard and organ, Danielle / vocals, AndyMack, MattyMack (More Road-trippers), Jeff / bass, Andrew / lead guitars, vocals, and Cliff / rhythm guitar and vocals.

Totally wicked-cool! We chatted, and it turns out that they’re real people! Cool beans!

That’s the road-trip in a nut-shell. I highly recommend this band to anyone who hasen’t hear of them. They kick more butt than a Jet-Li action flick.

So, I’m off to the great, white north of Temagami later on today. It’s gonna be great, a weekend canoe trip in October. Brr, what are we, crazy? On we go! Talk to ya’ll later!

The Cook