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News :: All 2004 News Postings
December 2, 2004 The second half of November was busy for us. We visited Ottawa, Toronto, Buffalo, NY, Halifax and St. John's NFLD. It was great to get back to the Maritimes -a trip long overdue and plenty of fun, even in Halifax's brief November monsoon which threatened to blow us into a wet, cold ditch at one point. We helped celebrate the Grey Cup again this year, and though our Leos lost the parties were top-notch. In December, our main focus is on a Christmas show on Sunday, 19 December. We will perform at the Media Club in downtown Vancouver and will give all of the proceeds to the BC Children's Hospital. There will only be 150 tickets sold, and they are going fast! Get them at Ticket Master. Tickets: $20.00 + s/c at all Ticketmaster outlets. Charge By Phone 604-280-4444l. Order on-line at www.ticketmaster.ca The show is kindly being sponsored by our friends at Jack FM. Thanks, Jack! Please come celebrate Xmas with us while we all support BC Children's Hospital. Appearing as opening act that evening will be the infamous 'CroonToons', featuring Doug Elliott and Steven Drake (formerly of 'The Odds') and our own Vince Ditrich. This is a twisted bunch of weirdos, masquerading as entertainers. Get there early, if you dare. 2005 is beginning to look like fun. We will be doing a series of shows to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, for starters - please check back for dates, ticket and venue information, etc. In the early part of the year John Mann will be acting in another motion picture. The long-awaited return of virtuoso guitarist Oscar Lopez ('Come Back, Oscar!!') is on the way, with shows being booked through 2005. Hugh is looking forward to stretching out those Latinesque bass chops behind the indomitable fire that is Lopez... Finally, our dear friend, broadcaster and journalist David Grierson passed away last month. We will miss him dearly. Vince Ditrich has been asked to act as Musical Director for his Memorial Concert, tentatively scheduled for 11 December in Victoria. As with all these developing shows and projects, there will be details posted as soon as they are confirmed. Merry Xmas and thanks for a great year, SotW August 18, 2004 What's this? A revamped website, a new album ... what are these lads up to? After keeping their performances as a group somewhat beneath the radar for about six years, SotW has been hearing the phrase, "Thank you for getting back together, recording and touring again!" ,from many a soul. Having given up on explaining that they have been active and together since 1983, despite efforts to take some time off after their Warner Canada commitments came to an end with the recording and delivery of the album "Weights and Measures," they have been adopting the prevalent misconcept and heralding their "reunion" shows for the past year and a half. Using a form of advanced statistical analysis, Spirit of the West has determined 2004 to be their "20th anniversary" year. The album "Star Trails", now released through the fine auspices of Maple Music, and the next number of months of gadding about performing their now-trademark shows of high-energy thoughtful folk punk jazzy prog pop (usually including the long-standing chanson mainstay of high-energy full-living people across this tumultuous globe, "Home For A Rest") are in commemoration of this milestone of 20 years. Look for more exciting and otherwise news on these here pages as developments unfold with the promotion and publicity of the Star Trails album. Plans are afoot as well for a video section in the website, sound clips from Star Trails, expanded bandmember pages, a retooled discussion group, and a comprehensive photo gallery... Thanks to all the band's fans, both longstanding and new, for your interest and participation! Best Wishes, SotW June 30, 2004 Star Trails has been released! Order at MapleMusic.com June 22, 2004 Join Spirit of the West for a rare in-store performance at Sam’s on Yonge Street in Toronto at noon on Wednesday, July 21. They'll be performing songs from their new album "Star Trails" and of course featuring a number of old favourites, too. Get your copy of Star Trails autographed after the concert…Giveaways, posters, meet & greet... Sam The Record Man June 7, 2004 We have now officially completed and shipped off to the factory the master for our new studio album! In the fashion of all SotW albums to date, it has been named by Geoffrey Kelly, aptly, "Star Trails" and will be available in stores on or near the end of the first week of July. Look for it in your local favourite shop in Canada, distributed by MapleMusic/Universal, and internationally online through the MapleMusic webstore. Links are pending, and will be available on this site. CD's will of course be available at our shows just as soon as we have some copies to sell. The process of recording and mixing the album took place over five months and in a handful of studio locations and writing retreats on Vancouver Island and in Vancouver/North Vancouver. Steven Drake mixed the album at Greenhouse studio B in Vancouver, in a marathon mix week and a half. The result is very modern sounding, and the songs are perhaps the finest melding of the writing foursome's musical talents and complimentary abilities in many years. Lyrics are from the pens of John Mann and Geoffrey Kelly, and feature many aspects of that duo's intellectual and humourous twists and turns that SotW fans have come to rely upon for their semantic sustainance. Overall, the band has finally managed to capture a significant essence of our live performance energy on record, something we have wanted to accomplish for many years! We look forward to seeing you at our shows and appearances over the summer, and wish everybody the very best! SotW February 4, 2004 SotW is 8-12ths the way into a new studio album! The Proclaimers are opening the Commodore shows! SotW's original Turtle rumoured to be restored as official logo!
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