The Jackalopes convened for a rare appearance at Balthazar on Davie Street to help celebrate Rand Irwin's retirement from lifeguarding at English Bay. You can read Pete McMartin's article about Rand, a true gentleman who adapted to the continuing changes to lifeguarding at Vancouver's many beaches over a 40 year period.

Canadian performing songwriter Craig Jacks took some time during his visit late last year to The Bahamas for diplomacy. After finalizing his performances at the 2006 Nassau Songwriters Festival featuring America's top performing songwriters, Mr. Jacks had breakfast with the Honorable Frank Watson, former deputy prime minister of The Bahamas and a few of his friends. Mr. Watson had commented favorably on Vancouver during his brief stay in 2006 while setting sail to Alaska. The two men agreed that Mr. Watson should return for an extended visit to Vancouver as Mr. Jack's guest.

Photo: Jonathan Simms

New Years Day reunited the Vancouver Police Department and Vancouver Life Guards in their annual joint task force to supervise safety for the participants and spectators at the 2007 Polar Bear Swim held at English Bay, This mutual effort has been ongoing for the past two decades. The day is long for the group with setting up equipment, organizing the teams, policing the revelers, reinvigorating the overexposed and closing the facility long after the swim spectacular was concluded. This year the group took time to introduce to local; children the equipment on site provided by the Parks Board, an overview of the planning of safety and other important facets of their essential services. At the conclusion of the briefing, head lifeguard, singer/songwriter Craig Jacks, lent song to the occasion as the children, police and lifeguards posed for the press to celebrate their time.

A Passage to Whistler...without brakes or a vocal mike...

Johnny Wack, Hefe, Parry: Trio of Doom

Spences Bridge, B.C. Our recent power-trio at the Log Cabin Pub was received warmly by the folks up here in Spences Bridge. This pub is tres cool, as it features more posters from the Epic film "Easy Rider" than we have ever seen. First thing that comes to mind is when Dennis Hopper shouts from out of the jail cell:

"Parading without a permit? You gotta be kidding! I mean do you know who this IS man? THIS is Captain America! I'm Billy! Hey we're headliners baby! We played every fair in this part of the country... I mean for top dollar too!!!"

We also derived a lot of our energy in part from the last-minute discovery that we had forgotten microphones, which seem to be an important element of our concert...

Some fast action by El Hefe, well, to be honest, a quick break and enter at our friend Daryl's home in Ashcroft found a pristine Shure 58 ready to quickly mount and we were good to go! Good thing too, as I was fully prepared to do a three hour long rendition of Derek Smalls' "Jazz Odyssey". Another opportunity lost...

Former Rigalato Dan "madman" Parry was a storm of energy on the stage, helping both Hefe and Wack stay upright through three torchy sets of Country flavoured psychedelic rock.

Our hosts Laurie and John were very accomodating considering we had left half our brains back in Vancouver, but even more wonderful was the crowd of folks who embraced us all like old friends who never left town. The dance floor with thick with happy grins all night.

I think none of us shall forget the sound of the brakes failing while racing downhill towards Whistler the next day, or for that matter, Hefe's proclamation: "Never Cry ShitWolf!!"

Hefe and Company At Point Roberts Fest

The band tries to look cool but the mood was hot with a side of Roadhouse!

Point Roberts, WA The Jackalopes gave a respectable, yet slightly restrained show at the Music Festival this past Sunday, sharing the stage with Bottleneck, Circus of Flames and Bocephus King. New guitarist Richard Baker (Doug and the Slugs) was on hand to bring his great country rock licks to our Roadhouse blend alongside the guitars of Johnny and Hefe, the show managed to leave a great impression on the crowd, who were themselves sweltering from the midday sun.