Busted Tune-Ups

I’ve been playing music for a long time. For the bulk of those years, I always imagined that playing covers for money would make me feel icky. Quite the opposite has turned out to be true.

Since moving back to my hometown of Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, boredom proved to be thick. No live music scene (not nightly, at least), and very few like-minded musicians around me … I missed having Mike & Dust from the band around for rehearsals (I still do) as well. To keep myself occupied during downtime between demos, and the ever-frustrating attempt to scrape funds together for records and tours, I needed to be on stage doing something… Why not try to play some covers? Why not play songs that I grew up listening to?

My friend Brooks Jamison & I took a very long walk up a mountain and decided we’d put something together; With the help of Mike Sumpter, Jason Barber and Matt Henn, the Busted Tune-Ups was born. A name of necessity; one of little thought.

We got together, picked some songs, and over the course of a couple of months, we had 32 songs to play
at local clubs on Vancouver Island. Everything from Van Morrison to Pearl Jam to Kings of Leon and back.
The Doors are bookended by the Tragically Hip and the Raconteurs. Tom Petty is surrounded by City & Colour and the Who. Artistic integrity aside, it’s an evening of exercise and fun. The one and only show we’ve played so far made me feel like I was 16 years old again - playing in my first battle of the bands at my high school. There’s something to be said about re-discovering why you played music in the first place, and not worrying about what A&R rep is in the room, or where to put the merch table, or what producer are we going to use on this, and so on and so on…

If I can apply the same enthusiasm and youthful ‘I don’t give a shit’ attitude on my own career, then I will have accomplished something. The Tune-Ups might not know it, but they’ve rejuvenated me in a way that only screaming Helter Skelter could.