We had so much fun at Horace Phair VI that we couldn’t keep still. (Especially Scruffy Bigbass, who had a claustrophobic call of the wild in the middle of past-midnight highway construction in the vicinity of Everett.)

This year, for HPVII, with under half as many Planks on board, things were a little more sedate for us…

though Nite Brite, The Pathogens and Oven Mitts were quite literally rocking the block while everyone else drank their head off with a pint of the homebrew Budd Dwyer ale on tap.

Then our timing belt broke in Olympia on the way back, but that’s  a whole ‘nuther story (and a happy departure to a Planks tradition of strewing dead automobiles across the West Coast.)  Do you have your copy of our HPVII mix yet?

…

A week later, we hunkered down with Whiskey Jar to wish our mutual friend Wyoming Johnny a very happy birthday, and tonight, Saturday October 25th, we are letting our online following (all other locals have already made up their minds about attending this regardless of our participation) know that, following a seasonal squash-mangling, we will be logging an appearance (an earful at least) at tonight’s Parade of Lost Souls, from six to nine pm in the Black Zone (at the intersection of William and Maclean, for the living.)

Tomorrow night, Sunday Oct 26th, we take to Cafe Montmartre (4362 Main Street at E 28th Avenue) to join roots showman Petunia in a brief opening set around 8 pm… to be followed by a drunken pumpkin-carving contest.

And as for Hallowe’en?  Do keep posted… we have a special surprise in store.

In honour of four years now of service and due diligence, an unlikely trio of Creaking Planks once again find themselves at the Horace Phair (: Know Your Ancient Grains, and Go Straight To The Foreskin) with music to share.  Though our Video In sessions of this Spring are tantalizingly not quite ready for prime time, we like the idea of leaving little bits of ourselves behind (“have you ever seen a leper / drinking Dr. Pepper?”) as memorabilia even after we stop playing live and mosey along.  So, although there are no demo CDs this time around, we have compiled a virtual mix (originally conceived of, a bit too late, as a muxtape) to commemorate our times here in different configurations, consisting of live recordings of various Planks performances at various venues over our long and storied history.  They may not be our sharpest-ever takes on these tunes (only those within microphone range), but despite the occasional blue notes there are inspired passages here on some Planks rarities largely unheard on prior recordings and give an impression of breadth beyond the steamroller of our contemporary “power set” (also represented here), documenting our varying energies and confidence levels as we’ve matured as performers (and not, for instance, as humourists.) Here’s the track listing:

• 1. Snazzy Portland (from the Solstice show in Victoria Feb 1st, 2008)
• 2. Sandwich Artist (from our Thundering Word Heard feature at Cafe Montmartre Oct 21st, 2007)
• 3. Re: Your Brains (from the Travis + Rowan PAVI session in the Spring of 2008)
• 4. Insane in the Membrane (from our Cafe Montmartre night Nov 7th, 2007)
• 5. Never Give A Puppy For Christmas (Solstice)
• 6. I Saw Polly In A Porny (from our set at the Penthouse Aug 10th, 2008)
• 7. Man Cougar / Lousy Lover (Penthouse… all run together)
• 8. Taking My Oyster For Walkies (Solstice)
• 9. Blown Away (A night of sad songs 2 at Blim April 23rd, 2005 — our first show with Blackbox!)
• 10. Love Cats … and the Song of the Count intro bonus! (Penthouse)
• 11. Osasa (Solstice)
• 12. Numbers and Names (Penthouse)
• 13. Closer / American Wedding (Penthouse)
• 14. Shakespeare’s Got a Gun (Solstice)
• 15. O Superman (Montmartre)
• 16. Happy Birthday / Volga Boatmen medley (Solstice)

Here you go! As Douglas Adams might have said, share and enjoy.

The Planks are buffing their splinters for a filthy, filthy return to the Railway Club (579 Dunsmuir Street at Seymour, upstairs) for the third time in two month (and the second time this week! a big change of pace from the nearly two-years’ gap prior!)  Hopefully things will be almost-but-not-quite as off-the-hook as last week’s show, at which we took the stage of the sold-out Railway Club an hour late (Geoff Berner was well in his element — some kind of formaldehyde, I think — and on top of his game can halt a 10-piece band in its tracks with a well-timed anecdote!) well after 1 am.  An hour later they didn’t want to let us leave the stage, though we’d exhausted the set.  Roar! Finally, the crowds were beaten back by urging them to become members of Co-op radio and to revisit us six mere days later… at this occasion!

This time we’re all playing our hearts out to celebrate the launch of issue #7 of Memewar Magazine, with its focus on censorship (The Song Of The Count: censored!) and obscenity.  (And really, what could be more obscene than a nerd on a squeezebox plaintively crooning songs about explicit matters of sexuality?) Also in the upcoming issue you may find an advertisement for our upcoming album release! (No, this isn’t it.) Other performances will include the Girls on Top burlesque troop (there are two words that don’t go together well!), an erotic poetry slam courtesy of R.C. Weslowski, C.J. Leon, Fernando Raguero and Jane “Break Your Freak” Panek with accompaniment from her companion (hm, or not!)  There will be guest readings from the issue, possibly recited by acclaimed pottymouths Elaine Miller and Nathaniel Wolfe, and more musical performances from Bells Clanging and the Barcelona Chair, who will be surrounding our 11:15-starting set like a splinter sandwich.The show starts at 8:30 pm (your $10 admission gets you a complementary copy of the magazine!) and further boasts “more Cereal Junkies” (?!) and naughty prizes!

(And then we’re off to HPVII!)