It’s been a slightly different story every day. Last night one of my sinuses became infected causing vertigo and the worst headache I’ve ever had. It has also affected my hearing. I did some research and found that the risk of flying with a severe sinus infection is a ruptured ear drum, which is not a risk I can take. Ruptured eardrums hurt and take a long time to heal and as a “musician” I kinda need my eardrums.

I feel awful in my systems and awful in my heart that I’m going to miss seeing my friends in Winnipeg and Saskatoon this weekend, but I promise I’ll make it up real soon. We are working on re-scheduling the shows as we speak. I’ll double down on the jams and dance moves for you.

Buck

Lovers,

Slowly, but surely, I’m covering ground…

In recent weeks I’ve played shows around the Canadian province of Ontario and the states of the American west coast and south-west. Good times were had and beautiful memories were forged. Next, I’ll be heading to my old stomping grounds of the Canadian east coast with shows in Halifax (the city where I was born) and Moncton at the end of April. I want my friends and lovers in Charlottetown and St. John’s to know that I haven’t forgotten about you and I’ll be back soon. In the middle of May, I head west. First stop: Winnipeg. I’ve had some of the best shows of my life at the Pyramid Cabaret and I’m ready for more. Then I’ll be stopping by the indie hip hop stronghold of Saskatoon for a cup of proverbial coffee. Toon Town has never let me down. Then, the following weekend I’ll be visiting Vancouver, which has been like a home-away-from-home for me for as long as I can remember. Calgary, you’re next. Important chapters of my life have been written in Calgary and I’m ready to write another.

Here are all the dates we have confirmed so far. I can’t wait to see your face and to have my picture taken with you.

Fri Apr 27 – Halifax – Reflections Cabaret
Sat Apr 28 – Moncton – Frye Festival – Capitol Theatre
Fri May 11 – Winnipeg – Pyramid Cabaret
Sat May 12 – Saskatoon – Amigos
Fri May 18 – Vancouver – Venue
Sat May 19 – Calgary – Hifi Club

More US dates will be announced soon. A little further down the road, I’ve got designs on dancing my ass across Europe again and it’s just about time to get back to Australia too. Who knows where else I might show up this year? I hope to see some places I’ve never seen before.

So be good, stay tough and I’ll see you soon.

Buck

Dec 26 – Toronto, ON – The Drake with GrandTheft
Jan 28 – Wakefield, QC – The Black Sheep Inn
Jan 29 – Wakefield, QC – The Black Sheep Inn (matinee)
Feb 2 – Waterloo, ON – Starlight
Feb 3 – Hamilton, ON – Casbah
Feb 4 – London, ON – Call The Office
Feb 16 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom with The Coup and Busdriver
Feb 17 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern with Busdriver, Metal Chocolates and Sadistik
Feb 18 – Bend, OR - Bend Winterfest
Feb 19 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s with Kristoff Krane and Busdriver
Feb 21 – San Diego, CA – The Casbah with Kristoff Krane and Illuminauts
Feb 22 – Los Angeles, CA – The Satellite with Kristoff Krane and Marnie Herald
Feb 23 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Rm w/ Kristoff Krane
Feb 24 – Scottsdale, AZ – Chasers with Kristoff Krane
Feb 25 – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad with Kristoff Krane
Mar 2 – Kingston, ON – The Grad Club
Mar 3 – Kingston, ON – The Grad Club

There will be old songs, new songs, obscure songs, dance moves, stories, show and tell, a super-deluxe merchandise table area and god-knows-what-else. Come see the legendary Buck 65! Bring your hugs, kisses, loved ones, children, pens, cameras, baked goods and early birthday presents! Let’s spend some quality time.

See you soon,

Buck

Lovers,

On Tuesday, November 22nd, a new EP called ‘Ostranenie’ is released. It’s part four in the 20 Odd Years series. Part five is slightly behind schedule, but it’s coming. This EP – like the three that preceded it – contains four songs. It breaks down like this:

- “Dolores” is a song inspired by the woman pictured above. Her name is Dolores Costello. She was an actress in the silent era and was Drew Barrymore’s grandmother. I was moved by her beautiful sad face and it’s pretty much as simple as that. I recorded this song with Dean Nelson who worked as Beck’s right hand man for a bunch of years until fairly recently. He’s super-amazing. A real wizard. He even had a beard when we worked on this song. This song also features the lovely voice of Miss Marnie Herald and was co-written by the mighty Ron Sexsmith!

- “Joey Bats” is a song about Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista. He’s a great hitter, but his real super-power is the ability to grow a full mountain-beard in a mere 24 hours.

- “Days Go By” is another duet with Jenn Grant. I’m starting to lose track of how many songs we’ve made together. For my money, she has one of the greatest singing voices in the world today. On the topic of duets with Jenn, let me add quickly that a video for our cover of “Who By Fire” is almost done. Jenn Grant can’t grow a beard.

- “Legendary” is my new theme song. I’m addicted to this song. It makes me feel sleazy and tough when I listen to it. I hope it makes you feel the same way.

In other news, the US dates I postponed back in August will be made up very soon. Be on the lookout for an announcement about that. I can’t wait. It’s going to be great. I can’t wait for us to put our arms around each other again.

Please pray for Mr. Dibbs, even if you’re not religious. He’s sick. He’s one of the most important people in the world to me. I love him as a human being and I think he’s the greatest DJ/turntablist ever.

Thanks for checking in.

See you soon.

Buck

I apologize for my recent silence. I’ve been spending some important time in a hole. I’m crawling out now.

Right off the bat I have to tell you about a big show I have coming up in my old stomping grounds. I’ll be playing with the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra in Halifax on November 20. The show starts at 7 PM. It’s at the World Trade and Convention Center and tickets are $20. I guess they’ll have the room arranged in tables and each table seats 10 people. But if you’re a lonesome person, or a romantic couple, you’re welcome to come and sit down. This thing is going to be a fundraiser and there’s going to be a silent auction and stuff. You can get tickets here.

What else can I tell you?

- I’m writing a book.
- 20 Odd Years Vol. 4 will be out shortly. You’ll be able to get it on iTunes. I’m hoping to press up some 7″s too.
- I’m working on re-booking the US dates I canceled a few months ago.
- There will be some more Canadian dates soon too.

That’s it for now. The rest will be in the book.

Talk soon.

Buck

We are hoping to get them re-scheduled very soon and will be posting
info as soon as we have it.

All advance ticket purchasers can return their tickets for a refund at
the point of purchase.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Buck 65 Mgmt

There are very limited quantities available of the deluxe Grand Slam & Home Run bundles. This is your last chance to pick these up while supplies last.

Enter Pincode cdnb65701 at check out for your 25% discount.

Grand Slam bundle includes: “20 Odd Years” CD, Vinyl + Autographed Baseball + Mug + Baseball Hat + Cotton Bag (Regular $59.99 now $44.99 with discount)

Home Run bundle includes: “20 Odd Years” CD, Autographed Baseball + Baseball Hat (Regular $39.99 now $29.99 with discount)

Also, available “20 Odd Years” Vinyl, CD, Digital download, E.P.’s and 7 inches.

Go get ‘em!

American Lovers,

I’m coming to visit. Here’s the first few dates of my U.S. summer tour:

July 21 – Arlington, VA – IOTA Cafe
July 22 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
July 23 – Wilmington, DE – World Cafe Live
July 24 – Boston, MA – The Middle East

Lots more to come. Soon.

I promise I’ll work my ass off for you and show you some things you’ve never seen before. I have some new stuff to play for you and I’ll be dipping deep into the well also. I really hope to see you. I’ll have a well-stocked merch table and as always, hugs and kisses are free. Before you come to the show, ask your father (or grandfather, if he’s still around) if he has any old baseball cards hidden away somewhere collecting dust. I want them. But whether or not we exchange any gifts, I’ll make sure to make it a night that will change your life. Let’s do something beautiful together.

Also, after 550 days of prolific and history-making Twitpic use, I’ve started to use the new Twitter built-in photo attachment feature. It’s the end of an era. But you can always visit the old museum, here.

I finished some new songs this week including a new one with Jenn Grant, which I believe takes the cake as the prettiest thing ever made. You’ll hear it soon. I think it’s called “Time Goes By”. Prepare to faint.

OK. More news soon.

Buck

I’ve always had too much going on in my head. And I’ve always had two ways to deal with it all: when I chose to spend time with my thoughts, I always turned to music as a way to work through it; and when I didn’t want to think about stuff, I always turned to baseball. That’s pretty much my life in a nutshell.

But a funny thing has happened in my life: at this point, the huge place music holds in my life is pretty uncomplicated (believe it or not) and the baseball part fills me with agony and torment.

I’ll come back to the music and the latest on that front in a minute. But first let me tell you about the way baseball is affecting my life these days…

I am so deeply invested in baseball as a fan that when my favorite team or player loses or performs badly, it fills me with an honest-to-goodness despair that sometimes I have a hard time shaking. A loss for my team can turn a great day into a terrible one and put me in a bad mood that might last for days. I try to let it go and tell myself that it’s just a game and that there are more important things in the world, but I can’t do it. I lay awake at night thinking about it. I mutter to myself as I walk around my city.

Baseball has also provided me with a hobby in the form of collecting baseball cards. You’d think that something like that would provide me with a simple pleasure, but no. The problem is the people. The hobby attracts the worst, most selfish assholes in the world and as much as I’d like to avoid these poisonous people, it’s inevitable. I can’t escape. They find me in shops, online and on eBay. You see, there are two kinds of collectors:

1. People like me, who collect favorite players and cards that are interesting and/or beautiful. Take for example, this card from the 2011 Topps series:

This card probably isn’t worth the cardboard it’s printed on, but I think it’s a work of art and Bronson Arroyo is a great pitcher. I love it and I’m happy to have it in my collection.

2. The other kind of collector is the guy who don’t seem to give a shit about the game and it’s glorious history and covets anything that is rare and might be worth money. It makes me barf.

The problem is, sometimes cards of my favorite players or cards I think are beautiful are also rare and valuable. And so to try to make these cards part of my collection means having to deal with the assholes who hoard them. Sigh! This also brings legitimate anguish into my life also.

My next problem is that I found out last week that my childhood hero, Gary Carter is gravely ill. He’s been diagnosed with glioblastoma, which is a form of cancer that affects the brain and central nervous system. I really love this man and this news troubles me in a profound way. It’s hard to express what Gary Carter has meant to me in my life. He’s my hero! I met him when I was 12 years old and he was the greatest guy you could imagine. Here we are together:

I’m very sad and worried about Gary Carter. But I’m trying to stay positive. He’s still only 57 years old and having been a professional athlete his whole life, obviously he’s very strong. But still… Glioblastoma sounds very scary to me.

It used to be that if the professional game or its attendant hobbies got me down, my love of the game was never diminished because nothing could take away the pleasure of playing the game myself – even just a simple game of catch in the back yard and I was in heaven. But now I don’t even have that. After years of abuse, injury and bad coaches, my right shoulder is destroyed. I can’t throw anymore. To try fills me with horrible pain. At its worst, I can’t even lift a bed sheet off myself without the pain bringing tears to my eyes.

I used to take some solace in my memories. I was scouted by the Yankees when I was 16. I was really good. I could throw a baseball 90 miles per hour and with deadly accuracy. I appreciate that I was able to do something extraordinary. I had a lot of fun throwing a baseball and wowing people for a lot of years.

Not being able to do the thing that gave me so much joy and satisfaction for so long is hard enough. But now I’m at a point in my life where I’m starting to think about starting a family of my own and I want to be able to play catch with my kid some day. I can’t stand the thought of not being able to do that. So I’ve made a big decision…

My right shoulder is ruined and doctors seem to be unable or unwilling to fix it. Maybe it’s because of my age. Maybe they would try harder if I was 20 years old. So, left to my own devices and considering that I have two arms, I’ve decided to re-invent myself – as a left-hander. I’ve begun to teach myself to throw with my left hand. It’s hard. It’s frustrating. It’s humiliating. But I’m an extremely determined person. Everything I’ve ever gotten out of life was through stubborn determination and this will be no different. I’ll keep you up to date on my progress. But I can already tell you that after just a few days of work, I’m advancing rapidly. My wife pointed out that this may have an interesting affect on my creativity as well. That would be a plus. I am using new parts of my brain, so we’ll see…

So now I plan to spend a bit less time pouring over box scores and price guides and more time throwing a ball against the wall of the school across the street from where I live.

Now, as promised, the music news…

In the next week I’ll be announcing the details of a US tour. I’ll be hitting the interstates this summer. Stay tuned.

I’ll be playing a bunch of festivals in Canada in the coming months: the Montreal Jazz Festival; the Canada Day show in Toronto with The Tragically Hip, Weezer, Hey Rosetta! and Broken Social Scene; the Ottawa Blues Fest; Festival D’Ete De Quebec; the Vancouver Folk Music Festival; and the Wolf Island Music Festival. All the details are up on the “SHOWS” page now. I’ll also be playing an in-store at the Lomography Gallery Store on Queen Street in Toronto on July 2nd. It’s a free show, but you gotta RSVP. There’s details about that on the “SHOWS” page too. Take a look.

20 Odd Years Vol. 4 is in the works, almost done and coming soon. More details to come. Vol. 5 will follow shortly after.

I’ll get back to you with the US dates and a left-handed progress report in a few days.

Be good.

Buck