So Toronto was off the chain as you heard from Danny. Personally, I think we were a little more loose (if that’s possible) north of the border because we were in another country. Seems like Canada is so close, so you might not think its a big difference from the U.S. if you haven’t been there, but it is.Some of the cliches are true. Canadians are much more laid back than us. They are much less affected by all the craziness we surround ourselves with in the States. In short, I think the love flows a little easier up there. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud to be an American, I just think we could learn something from O’ Canada.
So anyway, we had a great time at the Much Music Awards…once again it rained on our performance. I think we’re gonna start worrying if it doesn’t rain on show days now. It’s always fun to be around other bands and artists, hanging out, checking out the different vibes. Rihanna is stunn-ing. Sum 41, who are the favorite sons of Canada, wore vintage New Kids t-shirts. They saw an interview we did the day before where I said that they were gonna be our back up band because we didn’t have our band. They got the joke. Their reaction was very Canadian to me. (Wow, I think I might move there. No Sa!)
So check it…we are leaving sound check and this girl stops Jordan and says, “will you take a picture with my dog?” And Jordan obliges her. As the girl is taking the shot, she says, “Jordan, over here. Over here!” So Jordan’s like, “I’m looking.” And she says, “no, I’m talking to the dog. His name is Jordan.” AAHGADOOJH!!!! She named her dog after her fave New Kid. Not the craziest thing we’ve ever heard, but worthy of notice.
SO THEN… I’m at a party that night before the show and I meet two sisters. One points out that her sister was a huge fan of mine and so she named her hamster after me. Strange, but again at this point, we’ve kinda heard it all. But then it went over the top when I bumped into them later and the sister said, “Oh, when little Joey died, it was baaaad, real bad. She was….” And before she could go into the details of her sister’s trauma of losing her little hampster Joe, the other mortified sister cut her off abruptly and pulled her away. I wasn’t sure if she was embarrassed because she was talking about something personal or that it was kind of morbid to say I had died? Naming your pets after your favorite New Kids, is that a Toronto thing?
-JM
