MIA SHEARD r e p t i l i a n

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Recording the New Album "Anemone" @ Chemical Sound, Toronto

Live 16.02.02 @ The Rivoli, Toronto

Another Maplemusic "Radio Monday" @ Ted's Wrecking Yard

Rock For Women 12.07.01 @ Grand Theatre, Kingston

Harbourfront 2001

Recording r e p t i l i a n

Tuge Tour 2000

Q. What is a Tuge?
A. A Tuge is what a drunk man from Hamilton, Ontario hears when told the name Sheard. "Mia who?", he asks. "Mia Sheard". "Mia Tuge?", he asks again. "No, Mia Sheard". "Mia TUGE?"

Touring is something people should only do in tiny countries. However, Canada offered beautiful landscapes, wildlife and friendly faces. Really. Vancouver is a little rough around the edges, it's true. And there is no escaping snow in Edmonton, and American hunters are omnipresent in Ontario. But goshdarnit, people are dang friendly in Canada. Thanks, you wacky Canucks! Thanks for yer hospitality, Howard and Gayle. Thank you for the warm beds and delicious meals, Mr. & Mrs. Granville Martin. Thanks for the free lift to the towing pound, Mr. Towtruckdriver in Calgary. Thank you Darlaine at The Muse, John at Thursdays, Adam at The Apollo Bar & Grill, and The West End Cultural Centre, for the free meals. Thanks to the Carleton Hotel in Winnipeg for keeping my amplifier safe until I returned there on the leg home. Thanks for doing my laundry, Chris. Thanks for driving, Ryan.Thank you everybody who made the effort to come out and see us play!

The best part about touring is having the opportunity to re-unite with friends. Ryan scored the most points for having the most friends in every province across Canada willing to drive an hour or more to see him play. While this helped boost audience attendance, it also helped perpetuate the legend of the insobrietous drummer. Thankfully, unlike drummers before him, Ryan didn't choke on his own vomit.

This evening, another legendary drummer, Vince Ditrich, a native of B.C., makes the trek to Queen's Pub in Nanaimo to see us play. While he doesn't rack up as many mileage points as some of Ryan's friends, he does, however, leave a Thanksgiving dinner with his family. For that he gets a warm hug from me. Vince was in the process of finishing his first solo cd at that time. It should be close to completion by now. You can visit Spirit of the West's website here.

Tuge Solo Tour 2001
I think Paul Bellows (see "links") summed up touring solo perfectly when he said to me, in Edmonton, before our gig at the Sidetrack, "If you have a good show, you feel like you've cheated death. If you have a bad show, you feel you've cheated the club." I'd say I deaked the Grim Reaper a few times on this tour, and ran running from a couple venues. This, often lonely, balancing act of insanity was made possible -- and fun -- by the following goddesses: Shauna de Cartier, Tanya & Christie, The Fabulous Babes, Christine Fellows, Rachel Stone, Keri McTighe, Debbie Giesbrecht, Howard (token God who stopped the bus I was on, Hollywood style, to get my mic to me) and Gayle. Thank you.