North By East West

Congradulations on behalf of everyone at NxEW to author and Rock Plaza Central front-man Chris Eaton (and Laura obviously). Chris recently put Rock Plaza Central on an indefinite hiatus from touring to get ready for fatherhood and now it's here. From Rock Plaza Central's Myspace Blog:

"my best creation yet
i figured, from the amount i've already mentioned it, that people might want to know: it's a boy! named Idris. born sunday night at 9pm after 7 hours of oxytocin iv and only a half hour of pushing. i actually nearly missed it because we thought it was progressing slowly and it was suggested i go grab something to eat. laura and the baby were both incredible. never been so proud. the first name is welsh. his great-great-grandfather's name (my grandmother's father. the one who isturning 100 in may.). pronounced EYE-dris. calling him Eider, mostly, like the duck. google the king eider. gorgeous creature. there was also a king idris of wales, possibly only legendary, who was a giant.

more from wiki:
Idris, King of Meirionydd (c. 560-632) (Latin: Idrus; English: Ider), also known as Idris Gawr ("Idris the Giant"), was a giant and astronomer of Welsh tradition, whose rock-hewn chair on the summit of Cadair Idris was supposed to mete out death, madness, or poetic inspiration to whoever spent a night upon it.

we've also called him, so far, Squeaker, Pato (spanish for duck), and The Poopsmith. actually, "Squeaker, Pato, and The Poopsmith" sounds like a great name for a song/album/story. last night, i tried to tell him one about Squeaker going to the moon to get his frends some roti and some nose-mittens (i was pretty tired), at a great store called Nose-Smitten (or maybe not soooo tired).

7 lbs 3 oz., which is spot on 50th percentile, with a gigantic 97th percentile eaton head. in fact, he already looks remarkably like me, possibly with laura's dimple.

home now. laura's asleep in bed. eider is sleeping in my arms. i'm in love.

chris"

And to Idris, a little advice from dad:

Rock Plaza Central - (Don't You Believe The Words Of) Handsome Men from josh lyon on Vimeo.

Labels: Rock Plaza Central

photo by Sebastian Politowicz / heart attack space cadet

Citing a variety of reasons: personal, professional and environmental Toronto's Rock Plaza Central has announced that they are indefinitely suspending any and all touring. They are, in fact, getting ready for their last show for 'a long time' as Chris Eaton prepares to become a father. A full explanation is on their Myspace blog and the whole thing is really worth reading, so to guard against the chance that you won't bother clicking the link it reads:

"The End of Touring

First of all, thanks for all of your support over the last three years or more. It's been a lovely few years, going from a band no one went to see at the Tranzac in ....Toronto.... to one that made a bunch of best of the decade lists for both our last CDs. We've toured the continent several times and played some huge places. And through touring, we’ve had the chance to meet so many people who said the music changed their lives. The last tour with the Weakerthans was, in particular, full of good times, sold out almost every night. Many of those experiences, as well as time just hanging out with all of my best friends, which I would never had had if I’d never left home, are among my most treasured.

However, I'm personally done with it. Many of you probably already know that Laura and I are expecting in February, but while missing her and the baby is a major factor, it is not the only reason and probably not the largest. While I have had many practical and philosophical issues with touring in the past (chiefly the environmental guilt of driving and flying so much, and the damage that sitting so much every day has done to my knees), it is my lack of productivity while traveling that has affected this decision the most. When I was in Grade 5, I started writing, became a social introvert, and really spent all of my free time making things. In high school, I rediscovered music and that was added to my compulsion to make things. I wrote the last three albums and two novels while working full-time jobs. Over the years, relationships have surely been killed by this obsession. I’m certain I’ve lost a few jobs. But really, when I’m not writing regularly (fiction or music), I’m not very happy. And because I can’t focus on the computer screen in the car, can’t even seem to read in the car any more, touring feels to me like a colossal waste of time when I’m accomplishing nothing. Sure, touring promotes bands and is the only way to make any money at this thing any more (see rant below), but all I can really think about is how much more music (and fiction, which I’m more into at the moment) I could make if I were at home. Shouldn’t that be the goal? To create more music? Can you imagine painters doing this, making twelve works and then not painting for another two years while they try to recreate the same paintings for people on the road every night?

It’s too bad that recorded music has become devalued so much that many bands feel the need to get out there to make ends meet. Although I’ve never done it myself, for years I have supported free downloading so more people can get access. Now I think this has led to even worse situations for many bands, and also makes us value the music we own less. Why can’t it work more like Etsy.com, where people purchase craft directly from the artist, removing the major labels that were always part of the problem? Really, $10-15 is nothing for the hours of enjoyment recorded music has brought me. Recorded music is worth something. And then, if someone wants to tour (and I know lots of people who love it and should obviously continue to do what they love), people should pay them to do that as well. It’s a separate job, and if someone loves it and wants to keep doing it, they should support it. Oh, rant, rant, rant…

This is not to say that we’ll never play again. I love playing music, at least the way we play music, which often feels like making new music all over again, anyway. But likely we’ll be cutting back to festivals here and there, maybe the occasional weekend trip to NY or Chicago. Maybe other short tours will even seem like fun and we’ll do them for the experience. But playing 100+ shows per year is done.

This may mean that fewer people get to see the live show, and that fewer people find out about us that way. But I hope people will continue to spread the word of what we’re doing, and that making more things for you to enjoy will fill that gap.

Thanks again to all of you. Without you, no one would probably know who we were anyway. You took a geeky band like us and made us your own. And we've fought the good fight together, trying to make the world a safer place for ears. And children. And children with ears. I apologize if you never got to see us live and wanted to, but this will be better for everyone, trust me.

So before the baby is here we're celebrating with one big hurrah at the Garrison (1197 Dundas West) on Jan 23. The original group of 7 will perform. Other bands will include Church & State and The Pining. It will be $10. There are advance tickets for sale at the usual places, and the first 100 people to arrive will get a free shirt, which is what remains of the last summer/fall tour. When they’re gone, they’re gone. If you can’t make the show and would like to order one first, I’ll also sell them for $10 plus shipping, which tends to be in the $5-7 range (order a CD for $10 and no additional shipping).

Facebook event is here if you would like to share: http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=246637571063&ref=ts"

Personally I feel fortunate to live in Toronto for a variety of reasons and now I have a new one. When Chris is ready to start playing live again, they are most likely to do it here. Perhaps we can talk them into getting a uStream channel and broadcasting the concerts, or at least recording them so they can be shared after the fact.

I should also remind you that, for those who are interested (and if you've read this far I'm guessing you are.) There are some free Rock Plaza Central shows that you can download for free from Archive.org.