The Lethbridge show is cancelled. We've just received word that the show in Lethbridge won't be happening this Thursday. It appears the club is having problems with licences and stuff. We're in the process of re-scheduling so keep an eye on the tourdates for updates.

June 24, 2004

We here at Chixdiggit are looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow at the Black Swan. It's gonna be a good time (my birthday is always a good time:). In lieu of presents, I will be accepting drinks.

In case you've missed it, here's the info:

Friday – June 25, 2004
The Black Swan (short walk from Southland station)
10455 Southport Rd S.W. (next to Superstore)
Calgary, AB
Ph: 403-271-8776
Tickets available at the club

Also, along with the other fabulous merch, we'll have Chixdiggit hoodies available at the show. They're black with the Chix logo in red and white. If you can't make it to the show and you want to reserve one, drop me an email .

See ya'll tomorrow,

Signed, KJ

June 17, 2004

After a whole bunch of complaints about us not having one, our new guestbook is up and going. You can get to it here for now. We'll see how this one works and hopefully it doesn't conk out after a couple of weeks like all the other ones. If you have a better guestbook idea, drop me a line.

Signed, KJ

June 11, 2004

Second part of the tour diary is up. Check it out here or in the photo section here. If you've already read the first part, scroll down to the bottom and follow the link.

We'd also like to express our condolencies to the Calgary Flames for coming so close to the cup but coming up a little short. Better luck next year.

June 1, 2004

Talkin' 'bout birthdays...

It's Jason Hirsch's birthday today! Happy Birthday Jason!

Why is the couch darker in that one spot? Here's a photo of the birthday boy just moments after peeing on an unsuspecting (and blurred out for his protection) sleeping guy. Jason's sorry BTW!

Ok, so, I've been a little slow with the tour diary here. Just want to make sure I don't forget anything. The first part is up now so check it out.

Some of you may know the City of Calgary is a little bit crazy right now. For those who don't, the Calgary Flames are in the Stanley Cup finals. It's a pretty big deal here. Our neighbourhood has turned into a spawning ground for hosers from all over Canada and the U.S.A.. Where we live is now called the "red mile". Chants of "shirts off for Kiprusoff" and "show your gutter for Daryl Sutter" have been keeping me up nights. Of course, I've been right in there chanting along. If you like public nudity, this is the place to be.

June 25, which just happens to be MY birthday, is gonna be the date for our next show. Good news Calgary! We're playing the Black Swan in the city's south. Come on down and help us bring in the summertime right!

Talk to you soon,
KJ

April 29, 2004

We're back and we made it back in one piece. The tour was amazing. We all had a great time the whole time! It was great to see our old friends and make lots of new ones. We all can't wait till we go back.

I'm just getting the PG-13 version of tour diary put together. It should be ready in a few days or so. Tonnes of pics too. Keep an eye here and you'll get all the dirty laun-der-ee (including exclusive pics of Jason's sleep-walking pee break!).

Thanks Europe!
Love,
KJ

March 28, 2004

Well we're back online again after another virus wiped out the ol' hard drive. Thanks to all who emailed wondering what the hell was going on and if we were all ok. Right now, I'm just getting ready to head to the airport. With a little luck, we should all be in Vienna on Wednesday afternoon.

There's a couple of things to update you all on. Last minute circumstances have Mark staying back home on this tour. It sucks. Our good friend and long time roadie Cute Kevin has had a few days to learn all the songs so he'll be ready to go. Well, he better anyway. Mark will be at home getting ready for the shows we have planned for when we get home and missing us a whole bunch. We'll be missing him too.

I'll be doing a tour diary while we're gone and hopefully we can put it up on the web while we're out. I'll figure it out when we get there.

The web board is still down. We have somebody checking to see what's wrong. Hopefully we'll have that going soon.

See ya in the old country,
Love,
KJ

October 26, 2003

Hello, it's been a long, long while (actually it's been never because it's my first time writing on this thing). Time we got off our lazy asses and gave you guys a BAND update, so here you go…

First off, I'll be taking over the updates from here on in. Mike's got a whole lot on his plate right now with his work, school and his new marriage (congratulations Mike and Jenny!). I have some big shoes to fill. Also, there hasn't been much to update, until now.

We've been back at the axes, practicing and getting ready for some show action and working out some of the songs I've half written during our long hiatus. Our booking agent James is hard at work and we should be back on a stage near you starting in January. We'll keep you posted.

Love, KJ

February 15th, 2003

While out walking my dog this morning, I spotted something interesting in the back yard of our neighbours. They usually have several couches in the back alley, a stove, some mysterious boxes and recently a fridge and a floodlight on the balcony, which was put there while my hoser neighbours speculated on how this would affect their summer drinking... "This is going to be awesome"...

You can see that fridge on the first balcony, facing inwards, so no-one steals their President's Choice (tm) beer. Other things to note: The truck up on 2 milk crates and an entire bedroom suite on the top floor balcony.

Walk with me, as we approach the building. We can get a better view now... there's a bike on the balcony, there's at least one car in the parking lot that has registered licence plates. I can count three fridges.

Wow these people are just what I suspected: Chixdiggit fans! Other noteworthy mentionables: Ignition Screen (he used to print our t-shirts), The Von Zippers, The Smugglers, Huevos Rancheros and some snowboard decals. Click the fridge picture for a closer look.

Mike E

January 30, 2003

Okay it's been several months since the last update. Yikes, that's a frightening picture! The chix guys have all been very busy. Everybody will sooner or later get a chance to say what they have been up to, but I don't like speaking for others, so here's my (abbreviated) post:

I'm in school, doing masters degree through UBC in Educational Technology. I'll be Mike E, BA, MET one day. I've started a small company that creates content for on-line training.

But what does this mean to you? Nothing, except that after moving our website servers around I've now got a new forum where the web board used to be. I don't know how to use it, but you web-savvy folk should have no trouble.

Click the guestbook or message board buttons to get in.

Oct 28, 2002

Mike Eggermont made famous by local TV channel. Click the image for details.

Sept 23, 2002

"Totaled" for X-Box and Playstation is now in stores. The soundtrack has 2 chix songs on it. Chupacabra and Ohio. Go buy or rent it and let us know how the game is!

August 30, 2002 Long awaited update

Okay it's been a while. Who's to blame... well, to be honest, the webmaster now has a puppy... so that makes him the master of puppy... not to be confused for the master of puppets.

We had a couple of gigs last month. Remember reading about the street party in Toronto? Well, the same friendly cigarette and beer people tried to launch that event in Calgary. It rained all day, and in Calgary summer fashion, there was a snow warning. 3 City blocks were reserved for this massive promotional and beer drinking thing. On one end were 2 bored looking police officers, and on the other end was Chixdiggit. In between there were about 30 spectators who happened upon this poorly advertised event. They were probably on their way from one Calgary hotspot to another only to be met by chain link fences, a few kegs and Chixdiggit. It was pretty awesome though. Beer logos were projected on the storm clouds like batman's call for a kegger. The sing alongs did not need microphones because the cavernous downtown street had the accoustics of a concert hall that night.

One week later, a more popular event: Snowjam. We've played it 4 years in a row now. It's a good time. Snow trucked in from the mountains (unfortunately no snowfall warning on this day) for a snowboard jump ramp on our city's new Millenium Skateboard park.

We didn't make it out to North Battleford. Our sincere apologies to the organizers. The show was booked well in advance, but miscommunication within the band caused a scheduling conflict that could not be resolved once it was discovered.

Oh, and the guestbook is down. This is not the fault of the web guy or the puppy. This is I.T. guy territory, and even our server administrator can't figure this one out. We've attempted to run a different guestbook, but to no avail. Hopefully we can have it back up soon.

July 10, 2002. Weekend at Scott's.

We just got home from 4 days out in Toronto where we had the pleasure to play 3 shows and see all our old roadies in one place. We arrived in Toronto on the redeye from Calgary early on thursday morning. A kid dressed like Kid Rock had been pulling on Mike's seat all night long, whenever he needed to get up. There should really be a message along with the safety instructions to instruct people to be courteous to one another. The lady who decided to sleep with her head forward against the back of Dave's chair would have to be told not to punch his chair whenever he shifted in his seat. I guess it must have been long enough since 9-11 that we can complain about cheap flights that arrive safely again.

Scott is our accountant friend who you may have read about in the halloween tour of '98. He does taxes for bands (not ours... I plead the fifth). He also loves rock and roll enough not to become involved in it himself. But he makes a great spectator. We stayed at his beautiful condo in downtown Toronto. In the picture above, Scott is in the green shirt. We're in the alley behind his place, in search of some breakfast.

Dave and Mark were taken by the Pink Floyd inspired stage that would appear behind us like a halo of extreme sports clips.

The reason 5,000 people gathered on John and Richmond Streets in downtown Toronto: To watch people change tires. Either that or to eat some buffalo wings at Hooters. Thanks to Hooters for the new frisbee for Mike's new puppy.

After Chixdiggit rocked T.O. the audience rushed to the stage to watch these ladies blow bubbles.

Dave and KJ are enjoying a beer at a Portuguese social club in Kensington Market. Chixdiggit was about the hit the stage at the Presto Club. We were told that Presto was secretly sponsored by Nike. That's kind of a funny coincidence, seeing as that earlier that week we had been asked for our shoe sizes and had been sent a catalogue. They almost fooled us!

The Three Roadies. L-R Kevin, Scott and Chris. All these young men enjoy success in their respective careers in Aids research, Accounting and Graphic Design. These three men couldn't be more different from one another but they share one beautiful thing. They endured the hours, weeks, months of abuse at the hands of Mike, Mark, Dave and KJ. Actually Dave would have been in this picture too if he hadn't given in so easily and became our drummer. Perhaps he too would now enjoy a great career. Instead he owns a recording studio.

This is the venue "Home" in Hamilton. A three story entertainment complex that litterally has the best Hamilton has to offer. Despite a free Jeff Healey concert a few blocks away, this little venue packed them in nicely and provided to the kids of Steel Town the sounds of Chixdiggit and the Gruesomes. If the Jehova's witnesses hadn't booked all the hotels in Hamilton this day would have been perfect. But luckily Toronto wasn't far, and classsic rock radio played Guns 'n Roses all the way home.

"Home" in Hamilton.

And a great photo taken by KJ Jansen. Humidity in Ontario does amazing things with Dave's hair.

Well, that was our little vacation to Ontario. We were flown back to calgary safely by Tango Air where we paid $1 for coffee and $1 for a cookie.

We've got a few shows coming up in Calgary in August. See you then!

June 2, 2002 Those of you wondering where we are playing next: here's the skinny of the season. We were asked to play a festival in Quebec, with Misconduct and a few other bands. We got on the phone, to see if we were available for that weekend, and by the time we told them we were, the had given the show to the voodoo glow skulls. We had planned a stop in Toronto on the way so that's off too. Next plan This one is funnier. A festival in Sudbury with Swollen Members and Bif Naked. How come every time we play a beig show, bif naked is there? Anyway. We said "sure" and were then told they booked Holly McNarland instead. Holly McNarland? I mean we understand Voodoo glow skulls. But Holly McNarland? That's not even ballpark. So anyway. as the offers come in, we evaluate them one by one, and hopefully we won't be so indecisive next time. We will be playing here and there during the summer. Meanwhile... have you had a chance to get the FUBAR soundtrack yet?

May 26, 2002 Fubar now in selected theatres. Soundtrack in stores. Also: a 360 panorama in Young Dave's Sundae Sound recording studio here. Also check out the Riff Randells who accompanied us on our 2000 Canadian tour. KJ and Mike have put out their record on Delmonico records and the band is set to hit the road in a week or so. CDs will be available off-stage and in record stores in a short while.

May 16, 2002 Out next week:

Also available: Fubar: The Soundtrack featuring Sum 41, Sloan, Chixdiggit, Creeper, Treble Charger, Gob, NoMeansNo, English Teeth, and more... (link to follow)

April 21, 2002 Lethbridge was a good time, and our openers The Cranston Foundation who came along from Calgary were amazing.

April 17, 2002 Calgary. Bermuda Shorts day at the U of C. Lots of people through sunshine and snow. A few pictures from after our set. .

April 9, 2002 Calgary, Recording for the FUBAR soundtrack at Dave Alcock's SUNDAE SOUND.

Dave, KJ and Mark

So hot tonight!

Mark

Dave at the controls, Mark in the wings.

March 28, 2002 Lethbridge has been rescheduled for Fri April 19, 2002 at the Edge. Cranston Foundation opens. Also we have just confirmed an outdoor show on April 16th at the U of C for Bermuda Shorts Day. We're on around 2.30pm rain or shine.

March 17, 2002, Just announced: We've been asked to provide a track for the accompanying soundtrack to this summer's release of the indie movie "FUBAR". The movie follows the lives of two Canadian hosers. It's brilliant. Check out the website and trailers. The soundtrack will be released on Aquarius records and will feature bands like Treble Charger, the English Teeth and Creeper.

Did we mention that Dave now runs his own studio?

February 7, 2002 Exciting times, exciting times. It's been brought to my attention that www.justconcerts.com has footage from the March 2001 Canadian Music Week CBC showcase in Toronto. It's all chopped up into 2 minute segments, but the video is pretty crisp. We're sorry it's in Real Video, so you have to download the most irritating plugin of them all. Best of luck to Lindsay Alcock on her trip to the Olympics. Canada has already won GOLD in the spectator sport of Bridge. The defeated Poland in a gruelling coffee-soaked card-playing marathon.

About a month ago, KJ did a search on Ebay for Groovie Ghoulies stuff, and found that someone is peddling original paintings by KEPI. His stuff is awesome! just do a search for "groovie ghoulies" and see if there's anything else available.

January 17, 2002 Happy New Year. Guess what... We've started working on our new record! We're at Dave Alcock's new Sundae Sound recording studio, jammin' out with the headphones on, just like in that Rush video. We're playing a few shows here and there, to keep our fingers warm during the Calgary winter. Keep your eyes peeled for further announcements.

Oh yeah... one further announcement: Congratulations to Dave's sister Lindsay. She's going to the Winter Olympics ®. She does "skeleton"... head first one-lady-luge. She's currently the 3rd best in the world. Pretty soon she won't be known as Dave's sister, but Dave will be Lindsay's brother.

http://www.iprimus.ca/~slider/LindsayA.html

December 10, 2001 Calgary, AB. Good news for those of you that have been waiting for your mail order items. We have finally been able to ship off your orders. Your patience has been greatly appreciated. With a little luck the shipments will reach destinations in Switzerland, Holland, Japan, the US and Canada before Christmas.

Dave Alcock's studio is looking good. He's already got the first band in there to break in the new room. Work has also started on the new website for the studio. News and a link will be available from this page ASAP.

December 3, 2001 Calgary, AB If you've been wondering what we've been up to, it's probably about time we tell you something new. We've been taking a pretty easy year, doing the odd trip out east, and playing locally a fair bit. Plans to go to California this summer were botched when our work permits did not arrive on time, despite the 3 month notice we had given the US Immigration and Naturalization Service. It was a bummer, because we had already made some plans for the Fall, and it meant that we wouldn't be hitting the States at all this year.

But meanwhile there was some exciting stuff going on. Dave has been working at a recording studio since we recorded our first album in 1996. A few months ago, after a long period of planning, Dave announced to us that he was in the process of purchasing that studio (Sundae Sound).

We'll be recording our 4th album there this winter.

February 21, 2006 We knew it was only a matter of time before we heard from someone who knew a victim of the events of September 11, 2001. Our sincerest regrets to all the families involved. Our friend Mark Sperling has allowed me to post his letter to me.

September 10, 2001 The Riff Randells are in the studio with Dave at the buttons to record their new EP. The six tracks will be available on Delmonico Records in a few months, more information will be posted here as it becomes available.

This Saturday is a good time to get a little preview as the Riff Randells play at the Metro in Calgary in support of Thousand Sticks. Interested in the show? No line-up for people who identify themselves at the front of the line as being there for the live music. See you there.

August 27, No band news today, but mike did manage to get 4 words in one go at scrabble. Point at the picture to see it. Not that many points, but quite a feat anyway.

Old news:

August 2001. Hi everybody. Biggest update today is that our guestbook and web board are working again. Sorry it took so long.

A little report of our weekend in Wairwright and Nojack. (who knew that one day Chixdiggit would travel to Nojack, AB)

Wainwright was super fun. Great hospitality, awesome crowd, great big stage with a catwalk and everything. Hot day the next day, walked around wainwright, putting some of our hard earned cash back into the community. A slow trip to Nojack. A few yard sales, dinner in Edmonton, and then we arrive at the mosquito infested hamlet of Nojack. Everything is looking good at this point. We've been witnessing some spectacular lightning, but the weather is not too bad. The rave area looks cool, the band area a bit deserted. We check in, look around a bit and then take off to our hotel so we can shotgun some beers (PC Ice Brewed - can you drink them any other way?) without swarms of mosquitos attacking us. At 1am we return to the site and unload our gear into a little tent behind the stage. Tricky Woo is playing but I don't recognize them from the last time we saw them 3 years ago. They have more hair. On their head and in their music.

Then it starts raining like crazy. The stage is covered, but not enough to prevent a 1" puddle from forming all over the stage, over all the cables, wires etc. Tricky Woo get's pulled from the stage after they get shocked multiple times. At this point there were about 5 people watching. Everyone else is probably off their rocker in the rave area. The increased metabolism that comes with raving is keeping them warm for now.

We wait for our cue to load up, but we're told it's too dangerous to play. And hour later things still haven't let up. Then the rain stops and the crew begins to try to mop up the stage. A half hour goes by and it starts to look like it might happen. We wait longer and are told it might go on if it stays dry for another 15 minutes.

Then it starts raining again, and chixdiggit goes home.

To those of you that were bummed out by the whole deal, let us assure you we were too. We spoke with the promotor and we came to the conclusion that there was nothing that could have been done. It didn't rain in Drumheller where the rave was supposed to take place. He lost that venue last minute, and did a great job re-organizing the whole event. All the bands drove to the new location, many people that attended had to drive the extra 3 hours. To the one place in Alberta where it rained that night.

We're playing a bunch of shows around alberta this fall, so hopefully one of them is close enough for you to attend.

Chixdiggit.

Pictures from Snowjam at Olympic Plaza in Calgary,

We have to cancel our US trip. The US immigration and Naturalization (INS) Department has a new policy under which each band member has to pay US$1000 and $1500 for roadies in order to get work permits within 35 days.

We applied for our permits on May 28th, approx 47 days ago. The American Federation of Musicians, through which we have obtained our work permits for the last 6 years without hassle, has informed us that the INS maintains they're backlogged with applications and that they have not responded to inquiry in the last two weeks.

At this point if the papers were to come in, we are no longer able to process the approval forms through our local American Consulate because they do not take appointments until after September.

We have pursued every avenue of recourse known to us, and have been stonewalled at every turn. Our permits will be processed at some point, but no longer in time for the 1 week West Coast tour we have booked. We will attempts to rebook the tour at a later date.

Our apologies for the inconvenience.

Mike Eggermont
Chixdiggit

printed below is the front page of Canada's "National Post" newspaper. The story couldn't have been timed better.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Agency calls for open border
Congestion costs business: 'We should push it as far as we can,' chief advisor concludes

Alan Toulin
National Post
OTTAWA - Canada's chief advisor on border issues with the United States has urged Ottawa to push for an opening up of the border between the two nations.

In an end-of-term interview with the National Post, George Haynal added his name to the growing list of senior mandarins and diplomats urging Ottawa and Washington to increase cross-border integration.

''We should push it as far as we can,'' said Mr. Haynal, who co-chairs the Canada-United States Partnership (CUSP), an advisory group reporting directly to Jean ChrÈtien and George W. Bush.

Mr. Haynal, who is also assistant deputy minister (Americas) for the Department of Foreign Affairs, warned that businesses are being hurt by the potential for border gridlock. He said there is no time to waste for a full debate on border reforms.

Mr. Haynal's comments mirror recent calls by David Zussman, a close ChrÈtien advisor, and Paul Cellucci, the recently appointed U.S. ambassador to Canada, for a debate on a ''NAFTA-plus'' deal based on harmonization of policies on border controls, law enforcement, energy, the environment and immigration.

Mr. Haynal said citizens of both countries need to be made comfortable with border reforms.

''If the politics of it are not handled right, you are really dealing with a pretty elemental issue, which is people's sense of their own security and I guess that would be the word sovereignty that would express that.''

Since NAFTA was implemented in 1994, the volume of trade has increased at an average rate of 13% a year. More than US$1.2-billion in goods cross the border every day.

Mr. Cellucci has suggested a European Union-style ''perimeter'' which would allow Canada, the United States and Mexico to jointly manage North America's external border entry points while largely dismantling internal borders.

''We have to talk about being more consistent. We don't want Canadian citizens or U.S. citizens to be spending three or four hours trying to cross the border,'' Mr. Cellucci said this month.

''No one wants to go down that road. If we don't want to go down that road we need to use technology and some more consistent policies to make it more convenient.''

In April, Michael Kergin, the Canadian ambassador to the United States, said the costs to business of an overloaded border system are mounting.

''Seven years after NAFTA, tariffs are way down, but the costs associated with crossing the border are rising. The average non-tariff border cost can represent approximately 5% of the final invoice price of a given product. More trade-sensitive industries calculate the cost as high as 10-13%,'' Mr. Kergin told the Detroit Economic Club.

''Should we not align Canadian and U.S. customs and immigration rules to the greatest extent possible?'' he asked. He said the job "would have to be accompanied by improving controls to keep undesirable elements away from our common North American space. That is, our external borders.''

Mr. Haynal, who is finishing a three-year term as the Canadian co-chair of CUSP, said pressure is growing too rapidly on the border for today's customs and immigration controls and physical infrastructure to handle.

CUSP is a consultative and advisory organization created in 1999 by Jean ChrÈtien and Bill Clinton, then the U.S. president. It has called for policy harmonization on visa requirements, immigration policies, security operations and other issues. For example, U.S. border guards are armed while Canada's are not.

''We do share an extraordinarily high level of comity between the U.S. and Canada, but there are significant differences,'' Mr. Haynal observed.

The perimeter idea has received wide endorsement from Canadian and U.S. business interests, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association (CME), the Canadian Trucking Alliance and the CanAM Border Trade Alliance.

The bulk of Canada-U.S. trade occurs at a small number of border crossing points, mainly in Ontario.

Overall traffic has increased to 45,000 vehicles a day from 36,000 a day in 1996, and each year 200 million two-way travellers cross the border.

''Traffic volumes are up at the border, but our capacity to deal with this expansion in trade has changed little in the past 20 years,'' said Jayson Myers, CME senior vice-president.

Current attempts to increase co-operation include a joint task force on border policing and identification cards that ease crossings for frequent users.

Robert Keyes, Canadian Chamber of Commerce vice-president (international division), said these attempts are not enough to handle the traffic growth.

''I think everybody is well aware of the problems but we're trying perhaps to do a lot of things through Band-Aids and tinkering."

Jim Phillips, executive director of the CanAM Border Trade Alliance, a consortium of Canadian and U.S. businesses based in Lewiston, N.Y., believes a great deal of pressure can be relieved by a few administrative reforms.

''Physical infrastructure is less of a problem right now than actually the administrative barriers. At any given time, 50% of the existing primary lanes on the U.S.-Canada border are not open. They are closed because of the lack of staff. Canada needs more staff and the U.S. needs much more staff,'' he said.

''Just think about this -- if there was gridlock at the border, and the Canadian economy was unable to move its goods through the border. For Canada, 45% of your GDP and one-third of your jobs is dependent on sales to the U.S. If you start having four- and five-hour delays ... pretty soon the entire Canadian economy would grind to a halt.''

reprinted from the National Post without permission.

The Canada Kicks 2001 event was a good time, nice weather. Next year the event will include Janet Jackson, the promotors told me. All opening bands will have to pay $10,000 to play, in order to get this great chance of exposure, and to help fund the big ticket headliner. We thought they were kidding, but they weren't so we probably won't play the event next year. My guess is it won't happen. Not so many indie bands with $10,000 to give to these guys.

Couple of pictures from the Canada Kicks event at Milennium Park, courtesy of Jan.

The west coast trip is all booked and confirmed, with the last open day, between Portland and San Diego conveniently booked in Sacramento. Thanks to Shuggie, Nate, Lisa and the Ghoulies for helping out. With so many friends, we managed to be our own booking agent on this one.

Mark O'Flaherty has purchased his first car. It's a 1977 Lincoln Continental Mark V, and it hauls ass. The vehicle reportedly cost just under $0.22 canadian per pound, which at current market prices is cheaper than sand. And more mobile!

The Australian dates have been postponed. Although to those in Australia this may be a bummer, we're quite used to this happening. When we made it out to Oz the first time, it was already our 3rd attempt. There is an incredible amount of work and synchronization required to pull off a tour like that, and if everything doesn't fall into place perfectly, we simply call it off and try again.

Our next attempt at an Oz tour will be in November in support of the new cd from our friends Mach Pelican.

(European and Canadian tour diaries are linked from the photo page)

Thanks to all people that attended our 10 year anniversary show at MacEwan Hall in Calgary.

A special thanks to Greg Curtis, Craig Evans, Knucklehead, Downway, Huevos Rancheros, The Hextalls.

The First Review is in! From http://www.primalchaosonline.com

Chixdiggit! - From Scene to Shining Scene written by Wendy Van Dusen

When I first put this CD on, the very first song hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt a lump in my throat, my knees felt weak, goosebumps appeared all over my body. I think it was love. Chixdiggit! is one of the coolest bands I’ve heard in many many months. A mixture of a pure pop-punk sound that reigns from the camp of Groovie Ghoulies, Descendants, Screeching Weasel, and NoFx.

Ok, I’m already in love just from the songs. So, of course I take the CD to work so I can have something very cool to listen to while I’m working. I pop the CD in my computer and what a great surprise! There is a CDRom feature with short movies as well as media bios of the members. This CD is excellent. My favorite tracks are Melissa Louise, Going to the Peelers?, and Folks are Gone.

For the love of Jesus, please get this CD. The official release is August 22nd. So stay home and save your change so you can buy a copy of From Scene To Shining Scene. I hope it has the same affect on you as it did on me.

Details of the Chixdiggit 1st annual Pub Crawl in Calgary (below ad)

• Start: August 26, 2000 7PM at the Ship and Anchor pub, 17 ave SW between 4th and 5th street.
• Tickets include bus ride by certified drivers to 6 of Calgary's finest drinking establishments.
• At the venues you will enjoy VIP entrance privileges and drink specials.
• One of the stops features live music on a downtown rooftop, followed by a short set of new material by Chixdiggit.
• Last stop on the pub crawl is the Night Gallery where the Ex-boyfriends and the Smelters warm up the stage for Chixdiggit.
• Pub crawl Tickets include a free T-Shirt ($15 value), entrance to the Night Gallery ($10 value) and the bus.
• Tickets $30 at Purr, Blue Light Special (17 ave SW between 8th and 9th street next to Megatunes) and Sloth Records. (4th Street SW and 13 Ave. tel- 265 6585)

Not interested in bussing around Calgary with Chixdiggit: Tickets for the Night Gallery advance $10, door $12.

Not old enough? Please forgive us. We're planning for a big all ages show with very special guests after the first round of touring.

Chixdiggit Pub Crawl! (posted July 31) Just announced: On August 26 Chixdiggit is hosting their first annual pub crawl in Calgary, AB.. The event, hosted by the Embassy, the Night Gallery and a score of hoser bars will feature the fine bus drivers from Bust Loose Holidays and live performances by your favourite Calgary bands. Please stay tuned for more information. Chixdiggit expects tickets for the Night Gallery and the Pub Crawl to go on sale later this week. Pub crawl tickets will be limited to 75 persons. Must be 18 to come along for the ride.

For you youngsters out there, Chixdiggit is also working on an all ages show in Calgary at the Mac Ewan Ballroom. This show is tentatively scheduled for October 6.

Teen Idols not likely to be admitted into Canada. Chixdiggit investigates the options. (July 22) Teen Idol Phillip has informed us of the following situation:

The Canada thing is another story. We would like to play Canada, but when we tried to go there on the Swingin' Utters tour we ran into a little trouble. The border guards found Heather's prescription pain medicine from a prior dental surgery and claimed it was "cocaine". They also found my switchblade and they confiscated studded wristbands and belts as "weapons". We were put under arrest, charged expensive "penalty fees", and turned away from the border. They pronounced us "unsafe" for Canadian citizens and told us that we weren't allowed to return to Canada until the year 2004, and only then if we had cleared our entry with some kind of committee.

Chixdiggit Booking agent James Maclean has since informed us that he "Just got off phone with immigration guy at Airport that will precheck names in computer. Two guys in Teen Idols won't get in unless they go to a Canadian Consulate in the US and try to get authorization and even then they might be denied."

Chixdiggit is currently in contact with other acts to potentially come along for the tour.

Teen Idols rumoured to join Chixdiggit on Canadian Tour. (July 18) Today chixdiggit.com staff writer Mike Eggermont contacted label mate Heather of the Teen Idols regarding their tour plans for the fall. A potential deal was struck, which would see the Teen Idols perform on the majority of the Canadian leg of Chixdiggit's 2000 World Tour. The tour is scheduled to head eastbound from Calgary around late August. The West coast of Canada won't see Chixdiggit until they return from Europe in December when they are on their way to California.

Smugglers grace Calgary with presence. (July 15) Last night the Smugglers from Vancouver played the Night Gallery, accompanied by the Fluf Girls Burlesque show. The show was great and we got a chance to reunite with our old friends. Today we took them boating down the Elbow river in Calgary where 3 of 5 smugglers got a chance to unwind from their busy 3 day tour of Alberta.

Here we see Grant Smuggler testing some Alberta Lumber before the short drive to the entry point in the river. The fine folks of Calgary are issued an open invitation to join Chixdiggit on the Elbow for a rafting Party. Please express your interest on the Message Board and we'll plan a day in the near future to do a little rafting.

Live show from the Fireside Bowl in Chicago on Supersphere.com in Real Video. (look for link on left band-menu)

KJ, Mark and Mike spend day in park. Mark came up with idea for 360 degree photography which will revolutionize the web. click image for panorama shot. For Licencing opportunities, please contact Mark's agent, KJ.

Brave Calgary youth face rain, mud at Kawasaki Concert.

Despite a completely rained out Motocross event on June 24, Kawasaki made sure the rock show went as scheduled, in a tent on slightly higher, less muddy grounds at the Wild Rose Motocross park. Thanks to Kawasaki and the people that made it in and out of the flooded parking lot for a good time.

As you can see, the sun did eventually come out.

Chixdiggit returns from Milwaukee and Chicago in time for Kawasaki Motocross gig. Rain ensures mud bath like woodstock.

Chicago and Milwaukee were great fun. Chixdiggit enjoyed the hospitality provided by all the friendly mid-westerners we encountered. To cap off an already great little trip, Mark won a game of "jump the pegs" by leaving only one peg standing on the game provided at the Waukeegan Cracker Barrel Restaurant. When attempting to match Mark's wits, Dave, Mike and KJ all left at least 4 pegs standing, almost a mathematical improbability of 1:10,000.

(re-enactment)

Chixdiggit would like to thank the organizers of DV8 for a great event. (july 30)

Click any image for larger size.

Chixdiggit kicks off promotional tour for "From Scene to Shining Scene" Cd at Mrs. Hall-Bereta's Grade 1 Class

June 6, Calgary Alberta. Today Chixdiggit bassist Mike Eggermont visited a grade school in Calgary in order to speak about the August 22 release of the brand new Chixdiggit full length cd "From Scene to Shining Scene". After the class was told of the upcoming release, Mike was asked "why are you here?" and told that "my dad plays guitar too."

Click photo to enlarge

KJ Jansen to play solo performance on June 9 at the Night Gallery in Calgary, in support of Huevos Rancheros' CD Release Party. KJ has reported to staff writer Mike Eggermont that this is in no way indicative of the solo career KJ has planned for his approaching mid-life crisis.

Followup story: KJ plays packed house, entertains crowd with previews of the songs "Spanish Fever" and "My Dad vs P.M." After the show KJ was overheard saying "I think I want to be back in Chixdiggit".

Mark O'Flaherty, who had been appointed to be the new singer under the Chixdiggit Emergency Act, is considering stepping down to let KJ lead the band on stage once again.

Most up to date items are on the front page.

Interview with KJ in Dragster:

Tell me about your worst gig ever?

Having to play after Jay from Frenzal Rhomb stole the show by breaking his arm. The ultimate stage trick. Speaking...

more...

More News from Brazil:

Entrevista com o Mike, baixista do Chixdiggit, banda canadense que faz um som gostoso de se ouvir, um punk melódico.

Whiplash: Bem, quando a banda começou? E por que foi escolhido um nome como esse, Chixdiggit (pode ser uma pergunta estúpida mas não tenho idéia do que significa Chixdiggit)?

Mike: A banda começou como uma brincadeira, em 1991. Nós queríamos nos divertir com outras bandas. O nome Chixdiggit significa "As Garotas gostam disso"; é uma expressão usada por todos os "caras legais". O X no nome foi um jeito de soar mais heavy metal; como nós nunca fomos bons o suficiente para tocar metal, acabamos soando como um som punk.

More...

Insider Information leaked to Brazil Press:

Sexta, 26/05/2000 -Chixdiggit Mensagem enviada à 01:11 por sdl A ótima banda canadense Chixdiggit, que dividiu o palco com os brasileiros do Carbona, em 98, no Canada, acabou no mês passado a gravação do seu 3° álbum, "From Scene To Shining Scene", a ser lançado pela Honest Don's Records em meado de Agosto, deste ano. Para quem não conhece o som do grupo aqui vai uma mp3: "Grunge Baby". -http://www.zonapunk.cjb.net/

05/07/2000 BC TOUR AND REPUBLIK CLOSES Looks like we owe you all a bit of an update. First of all, BC was a blast. we played for the staff of the private resort at Island Lake Lodge, courtesy of our photographer Mark Gallup. Lots of sun, great food, awesome accomodations and a ton of new friends. Our celebrity photo page will soon show you that Barney Bentall, legend on the Canadian rock scene, graced the party with his presence. He was a bit apprehensive about posing with us in the photo after he was informed that his photo would end up next to Ron Jeremy and Regis Philbin. Luckily the Joan Jett photo turned things around. Turns out they're old friends. How cool is that?

Next show was in Surrey, BC. This is the home of the Canadian version of "C.O.P.S.", To Serve and Protect... Well, in Canada nothing much ever happens crime wise (with the exception of some serial killers in Ontario), and this show captures the extent to which our Police must serach to find a crime. Passed out bums get taken to jail so their cans of Molson Canadian beer won't be stolen from them. A car used for a joyride was opened. Upon finding 6 empty root beer cans in the trunk a bewildered officer stated that "they must have had quite a party".

So we arrive at the show, a little early because Mike accidently started driving at 6 in the morning instead of the scheduled 9am departure from our overnight camping spot. The club seems nice, no sign of camera crews anywhere. Not even Police for that matter. Huevos Rancheros arrive, and we quickly check out the strip club next door where the cast of To Serve and Protect are getting ready for the night's performance. By the looks of it there'll be plenty of drinking and driving on next week's episode.

The show turned out great. Although removed from Vancouver by about 50 kilometers (multiply by about .63 to get your mileage on that) there were plenty of friends and fans from the big city on hand. The police had their hands full with the neighbours, so our debut for canadian real life crime drama must be postponed.

Victoria the next day. In a conservative hotel lobby is a big poster with "Chixdiggit + Huevos Rancheros: Partyville!" on the event board. At the far end of the hotel is a strip club that removes the brass pole from the stage when the bands start. The hotel rooms are upstairs next to the strippers, but they pretty much keep to themselves. When we arrive at the club to load in the equipment a talented young woman is tying her nipples into a knot. We know she'll be a tough act to follow.

The town is full of sailors from an American navy ship docked in Victoria Harbour. They're in their off duty gear, and they all look like 18 year old hip hop kids. The USA is protected from invasion by a Navy that dresses like 'N SYNCH. The show is great. Between Huevos and ourselves and the Hi Fi Ramblers, the place is packed with rock fans. Victoria has always been great, and nudged it up a notch once again.

Nanaimo is a bit of a weird place. We can't exacly figure out what it is. When we arrive a band from Toronto is playing. They're called Polvo, a traditional band, perhaps Greek, but I'm not sure. They have a guy on a banjo looking instrument who puts Eddie Van Halen to shame. Awesome band. Huevos and us put on a good show, perhaps a bit slow to catch on to the show because of the rough night before. Maybe because the next morning one of the two vehicles was going to leave for Whistler so we can get in some boarding before the next show.

Whistler is always great. You never play to the same people twice because nobody seems to live there long enough. The hill was great, a little slushy. The roped off area with the great snow was the path that seemed less travelled, so Mike chooses it and finds himself inventing the new extreme sport of gravel boarding.

A good and drunk audience at the Boot pub entertains us, and we celebrate another night on tour sampling 3 lbs of Mark's Bacon Diet. "The grease from the bacon sticks to the natural grease in your body. We all know how slippery Bacon is, so it all just runs right out. Weight loss is inevitable."

The entire Delta Hotel smells like bacon.

Next day we decide not to go riding. Early in the morning the snow is not slushy yet, and we have to set up equipment on the huge outdoor stage for the Sims World Snowboarding Cup. This is our 2nd time on this stage, and we're pumped. Lots of sun, a town square full of people fresh off the hill and a hospitality suite where we can eat sandwiches so we don't get our own hotel rooms dirty, god forbid.

Heavy corporate promotion going on, and KJ is asked to race an audience member on a nintendo on the big screen behind the drums. The kid wins, but I think KJ let him. We're all upset. Nintendo in the van would have been great. That 10 year old boy didn't deserve it.

A nice drive home the next day. We leave 3 hours before Huevos, and they pass us about 30 minutes before we get back to Calgary. They're in a little rented minivan, we're in our little bus with all the equipment they borrowed from us. We're such martyrs.

A week at home, normal life. Then we play the last night ever at the Republik Nightclub. Victor Choy, the owner, has invited a bunch of Calgary bands that used to headline the place in her glory, and asked if we would play. By midnight the place has already been partying for several hours. Jam packed, more people than the Republik has held in a while now it seemed.

When we first started playing at the Westward Club, we always looked at the Republik as the place where you play when you've really made it. Only about a month after that Victor Choy phoned us to ask if we would play there sometime. We couldn't believe our luck. The place was always great to us. We opened for Calgary's Parkades, for the Juice Monkeys, the Cadillac Tramps, Huevos, Forbidden Dimension, the Bay City Rollers and then started headlining the place. A quick count tells us that we've played 23 shows there. That's 4% of our total touring life as a band. The bar always supplied us with free drinks, cheap drinks, and promo drinks. They had great bands and great dance nights.

The demise of the Republik is explained by Victor. The alternative scene becomes mainstream. Now everybody is alternative, so subdivisions start forming. Goth-Punk, Rock-Pop, Punk-Ska... and nobody goes to the show of the other little niche groups. So instead of 500 people who love rock, the club suddenly has 150 people who love "Speed Core" and that doesn't fill the bar. The Dance scene diversified in the same manner. House-Acid-Jungle-Drum-n-Bass and all variations of those types of identifiers.

The friday night at the Republik once again reunited all those people. Huevos (instrumental riff raff), the Mants (Garage), Downway (Skate punk), Interstellar Root Cellar (Funk), Field Day (Feel Good Punk of the Apocalypse), LazaBlasra (Pop) and Chixdiggit (recently described as goofball core) all had their fans there and they all held hands and sang "I wanna hump you" like a 90's Kumbaya.

We want to bid Victor a farewell. Not that we won't see him anymore, he owns 20 nightclubs and half the real estate in the city. But we'll miss making a deal with him. Honest and stingy, he taught us a lot about a good haggle.

04/22/2000 Just got home from a week in BC, it was a great time. More details soon.

04/07/2000 Tonight is the last night in the studio. The CD is now completed. This weekend we put the finishing touches on the album artwork, and then we take a week off to play shows and snowboard in BC. As soon as we have submitted all the materials for the album to Honest Don's, we'll get a release date. With the release date in hand we can start booking our touring season.

04/04/2000 Last week of recording. Last night KJ put down the vocals for song 9, and Mark did some signature noodling on the track to finish it too. Today 2 more vocal tracks, then the last one tomorrow. The album will be mastered in Calgary on Thursday and Friday, and once that's finished, we complete the artwork by dropping in the song names and (yes) lyrics. We're including a cd-rom on this cd, and that's entering the authoring process this week also. Most of the content is ready, we just need to make it all work. Next week a little snowboarding and some shows in BC.

03/25/2000 Initial studio session has now ended. In 7 days we go back in to finish a few vocals and to master the cd. How is it so far? We think it sounds awesome. A few people might recognize a song or two from our live show, but on the whole it's all brand new material.

03/23/2000 Tonight the mixdown of track 8 is in progress. So far we're looking at 12 songs for the new album. Tomorrow night we take a few hours out of the studio to play a student party at the U of A in Edmonton. Back to Calgary after the show, and the last day of the initial recording session Friday. A little over a week out of the studio after that, to clear the ears so we can then listen to the whole album fresh. At that point perhaps some minor tweaking with sounds and mastering. The album art is all in place except for the song order. We're all pretty excited about album 3. We keep resetting the boundaries of what makes us a "real" band. It used to be "make a record"... but then we finished that and still didn't feel like a real band. Then... stickers. That was pretty good. Real bands have stickers. Real bands have 3 records? We're not sure. If anybody wants to help us figure it out, please email us.

Chixdiggit celebrated the 9th aniversary of their First Live Show on March 9th. Three albums, international touring and close to 600 live shows under their belt is all that Chixdiggit has to show for these years. When Contacted by Chixdiggit.com staff writers, Original Chixdiggit member Mark O'Flaherty commented "I was pretty drunk".

Chixdiggit Interview on Much Music (Much West) on Sunday 12 March.

Recovering from a murderous schedule that included 2 rental cars, 7 flights, 1 hottub party and two shows. Noisepop in San Francisco was a blast. We got to see our friends the Fastbacks, the Ghoulies, Peter Parker, Me First, Peter Ellenby (our press photo guy) and a quick run-in with Fat Mike and the honest don's folk. The show was sold out, the food was great, and the hot tob party at Jeff's was only marred by the absense of Mark, who decided to sleep off the afternoon party in the comfort of our car. San Diego very cool too. Drunk Ted, a reunion of pre-grunge "olive lawn" and of course, our San Diego favourites, the Dragons. Almost sold out, on a monday night. Not bad San Diego! After the show a drive to LA, then flights to San Francisco, Vancouver, Kelowna and finally Calgary. Now it's Dave's job to get everybody back in shape for the remainder of the recording.

...By the time Calgary's favorite sons Chixdiggit took to the tiny stage, the crowd was ready to go crazy. No Chixdiggit song lasts longer than three minutes, and lead singer KJ Jansen uses that to his advantage, rolling out a string of one-line dedications for each song. "This one goes out to me," he quipped more than once, "because I just moved out of my parents house! Yeah! Give me some love!" Jansen's antics could have become too much had it not been for his and the entire band's complete lack of ego... -excerpt from
http://wallofsound.go.com/news/stories/noisepop030600.html

...Winding Down On Sunday, the Bottom of the Hill played host to opening sets by the Get-Go and Peter Parker, before local kids Me First kicked things into a more rocking gear for Calgary, Alberta's ambassadors of goof-core, Chixdiggit! The foursome opened with a string of pogo-friendly old favorites, including "Henry Rollins Is No Fun" and "Where's Your Mom?" After jokingly passing a hat for money to hire a limousine for the Fastbacks' Warnick, they launched back into their set with a blistering cover of Cheap Trick's "Surrender" and debuted "My Dad Versus Paul McCartney..." -excerpt from http://www.sonicnet.com/news/archive/story.jhtml?id=621738

Hi, we just got back from Vancouver last night. Thanks to the Smugglers, Donnas, Thee Goblins and the Black Halos for a great show and great hospitality. The Commodore Ballroom was jam-packed CBC Radio recorded the show for most bands involved and will be airing the performances over the next few months. A listing in Exclaim Magazine in Canada will provide the dates. CBC broadcasts via the internet, and as soon as we know the air date, we will post it so you can listen in to it with us. Much Music was on hand to shoot the Smugglers-Chixdiggit street hockey match. For the Canadian visitors on the site: Tune in to Music West in the near future for the score and the skinny.

Back in the studio right now. Track 10 has been recorded, and everything is beginning to take real shape. TTFN.

Day 10... The first of the guitar solos are now in production. A brief moment of distraction came when we found out that the Casbah in San Diego has asked us to come down for a show following the Noisepop show. We're looking into the price of flights, to see if we can work it out.

Day 7... Discovered great value in Costco's 6 Terryaki Chicken Bowl box. At $13.40 Canadian, 6 of these wholesome meals are a great deal. They remind us of the terryaki bowl that Jack in the Box in Seattle used to serve us (the same JITB that poisoned those people about 5 years ago... but that was beef, not chicken).

Day 5... Mostly spent on 2 bass tracks. Why does it take 4 hours to play a 2 minute song? Well, because we value our leasure time. Right now Mark is on his way to the studio with 2 bowl of Ramen from Cafe de Tokyo. Mmmm... noodles. Must eat. KJ is on his way too. When we all get here we'll sit around and listen to bass solos, and pehaps Mike will punch up another track before midnight. Dave must be going nuts. Having to listen to that stuff over and over... boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom Aaaaaargh! Later tonight we'll set up for another super-jam, the fruits of which will be the latest songs on the new album.

Day 4...Well into the drum tracks. We've been working hard, so much so that we haven't even been able to go see the lunch show at the Bodyshoppe. Hopefully our schedule will open up a little once most of the bed tracks are done. Everyone's in a great mood, except Mike, who is practicing his bass playing. He now remembers why the guys have been urging him to do this for all the years in the band. "But we have a good website!" responded Mike to allegations that he has been rather slack in the rehearsal department.

When asked for commentary about the activities in the studio, KJ Jansen replied "no... I'm okay".

Day 1 at Sundae Sound, Calgary Alberta. Happy Valentines day everyone! Today we set up our stuff at the studio. Dave did boring drum sound stuff, and KJ, Mark and I picked up some rented gear. We haven't put anything on tape yet, we're mostly just making sure everything sounds good. Initial work has already started on the cover art, with our help from Transworld Snowboarding photographer Mark Gallup.

So far we have only booked 2 shows, Vancouver on the 25th this month and San Francisco on March 5th. In April we'll be at the Island Lake Lodge for the season closer at the cat-skiing lodge. Also a show in Whistler. We're expecting to do a few odd shows to rehearse the new material for tour.

We will spend a long time on the road this year. Last year we only played two US shows; Detroit and New York City, this year we'll be sure to return to the midwest, California and the North Eastern states. We'll be back in Australia, Europe and of course, Canada also.

Poptopia Loses Round In Battle of Festivals Organizer says rival Noise Pop event caused him to cancel

James Sullivan, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, January 18, 2000 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This year's Poptopia, the second San Francisco installment of the Los Angeles pop-rock festival, has been canceled. Local promoter Paul Kopf says a dispute with the producers of Noise Pop, the 8- year-old San Francisco festival, led to the cancellation. Poptopia was set to take place February 1-5 at various local venues. This year's Noise Pop is scheduled for March 1-5. When Noise Pop organizer Jordan Kurland questioned three bands that were planning to play both festivals -- Seattle's Fastbacks, Calgary's Chixdiggit and Sacramento's Groovie Ghoulies --the groups backed out of the Poptopia kickoff set for February 1 at the Great American Music Hall. ``He really took our ace card,'' said Kopf, a schoolteacher, musician and relative newcomer to concert promotion. ``We tried to head this off last year,'' said Noise Pop founder Kevin Arnold. ``We said, `It doesn't make sense to do (the festivals) during the same month.' And they agreed, essentially.'' Music Hall talent buyer Lisa O'Hara said that as far as she knows, the Fastbacks-Chixdiggit show fell apart because one of the bands became unavailable. ``I did ask Noise Pop to let all the bands play both festivals,''