I had a dream while on tour one night this winter  that I was sitting in a big empty room on a very comfortable couch, and all these solo artists came and performed for me in this room with only one floodlight. They would play all their variety of funky instruments then they would stop, look up and say ” well what did you think?” I woke up; I must have been somewhere on some couch in Germany or Netherlands. It was only the next morning that I remembered that in all of the craziness of being on tour, I had forgotten that I began plans to do a little festival that would be dedicated only to one-man bands before I left to Europe. Having discovered the beauty of being one myself, I wanted to explore the possibility of bringing many  one man bands together.I returned to montreal at the end of March with a newfound drive and energy ready to jump into another project as oppose to slump back into a pseudo-tour depression.

As I write this first post since returning to Montreal over a month ago (my apologies to you all but you know it’s for good reason!), my left hand is literally completely seized up, almost at carpal tunnel syndrome status. I have been typing like MAD. I’ve been on the computer non-stop and now I’m actually  typing with one hand for the most part due to the pain in my right hand (no Its not masturbation!! . Now I’m on the streets, on the phones, at meetings, at gathering, at rehearsals at home, at work (tour managing for shakespeare in the park this summer) , running like a chicken with its head cut off. Since I returned form this Europe trip I decided that I would follow on the heels of this dream I had. I decided I would make this One Man Band Festival happen, and happening it is! You see, ever since I started recording, touring and performing as a solo act, the world has opened up to me. I toured all over the world, and have had incredible experiences. As a one man show, I realized I could tour and record inexpensively. I could actually etch out a living as an artist, retain all creative integrity over my projects, explore new dimensions in music, push sonic boundaries and still produce amazing music! I’m sure many if not all solo artists have had similar experiences.

Because of this fact,  I would not only make this fest happen but I would devote any and all my time to making it as successful as it can be, pouring mind, heart soul time energy and of course my money into it. I think Montreal (a beaming light for music) and the world is ready for the one-man band phenomena to explode! Since I started organizing this it has grown from one night show to a three-night event with over 20 artists, form all over the country. It’s still indie in many senses, we have a staff, we have co-productions, we have volunteers, we have t-shirts, we have a channel, but I see the huge potential there is for the one man band festival for the years to come. I plan to get artists like Andrew bird, like Joseph Arthur, like Rich Aucoin, Like Tune Yards, like That One Guy and Owen Pallet aka Final fantasy on the bill.

Here’s the premise. It’s a three day festival and its absolutely amazing! It is exclusive to one man bands, meaning if there is more than one artist in this band, you are not eligible to play. Of course there is a good contingency of French artists like King Bochek and Magnanime as well as one women bands which have hugely impressed me like Lederhosen Lucil, Cocobeurre, Jenn Mierau,  and many more. Since I started booking, the response has been tremendous! Now I get emails and phone calls daily from  one man bands wanting to be on the fest. It’s inspiring me to continue for next year and to make it an even more mega event for then. This one has 3 days 20 artists, 5 venues, and workshops on the realities of touring solo, on how to wear many different hats as an artist, on looping and on the ethics of the one-man band. It’s not just for convenience. Contrary to popular belief, the one man band is not a new phenomena either. One man bands/solo artists have been performing this way now for centuries as buskers, wandering minstrels and troubadours could be seen on the streets of Paris in the 13th century playing drums flutes, tambourines, accordeons and luttes all at the same time. Its amazing that in 800 years we’re still doing the same with everything from banging on beat up suitcases to looping MIDI trigger pads. The instruments have changed but the spirit remains the same.

In the meantime, I live leave some info for this fest below are all the links and the facebook invites for it as well. There are some pics of the artists as well as some press its already garnering. Thank you so much for your support, I feel the love and I admire the interest and energy you bring to new ideas! till next post before the fest!

Click to view slideshow.

Well, back in London now, I’ve been here for a few days, soaking in the last days of this long journey. I took the Eurostar from Bruges back to London after a bus back from Scandinavia after the last shows. It was 24 hours of travel in total and has brought me to my final destination, which was also my first stop, London. In the last 62 days, I have played and travelled in 12 countries, tread over  15000 km, performed thirty five shows (I added an extra one in London at the Jamboree in east London, where I played a low key acoustic set). I sculpted a mind-blowing set, met hundreds of new friends and acquaintances, made  new connections, found newfound joy and rejuvenation. It was Sunny yesterday so I went on a beautiful bike ride yesterday with wonderful Lisa whom I will miss and hope to see in Montreal soon. We biked through the canals and waterlocks, from Limehouse through the Mile End all the way up to Victoria Park where we had breakfast and a walkabout. Lisa turned me onto William Hill, which is essentially a betting or gambling shop where you make quick bets on horses and dogs. My first bet was one pound on a dog, but we later found out the race was virtual, not real! Our second race was real but we lost anyway!

The past weekend was really great, really relaxed and consisted of strolls through London my London family Sharri, Eyal and Maya as well as with the lovely Lisa Baum. It began with fancy dinner at Boisdale watching a Jazz band, courtesy of her workplace, then taking the clipper boat on the Thames and going to Greenwich, in the east end, a beautiful little sub town/borough that has a strong naval/nautical history. Have you ever heard of Greenwich Mean Time? There is a line there where that time starts, it’s the beginning point that was first operated here at the royal observatory (also where the planet Uranus was discovered). Its a gorgeous observatory on a hill overlooking all of London. We shopped and walked around the markets, then to the park, then a walk back through a tunnel that goes under the Thames in the underground foot path and finally back through Canary Wharf. It was so relaxing and wonderful. I greatly enjoyed myself.

So many experiences happened to me in the last two months it’s hard to even try to encapsulate it. The Passenger Tour of 2012 was by all standards a complete success, despite the pains of travel, stresses and change of plans. I managed to play all the places Id wanted to and even add a few dates. I was able to accomplish my goal to perfect the set to a point where people are all engaged and invested in the show. I wanted to see the world, to see Europe, a vast and varied mix bag of culture, food, human activity and hustle bustle and I did just that, I did it by land too where the layout is now imprinted in my mind.

People often ask me what was my favourite place of all, and that is really impossible to answer because every place is so different, every show, every experience, everyone was so different, it’s hard to answer the same thing each time. Certainly there were better and worse moments but when I boil it all down, I would play all these places again, and then some. That is to say I WILL play all these places again. I have to say some of my favourite moments were, spending time in London, my second home away from home and bar none one of my favourite cities on earth, other favourites were playing so much music, which has kept me going and sane and thirdly, visiting and reconnecting with old friends from all over which has been amazing as I have found Montreal friends in almost all the reaches of Europe, UK and Scandinavia.

The Passenger Tour for me was more than just a music tour. It was an adventure in self-discovery. I feel in many ways that my life is both blessed and cursed. Blessed because I get to travel and experience so many new things, people, culture, environments, food, music, architecture etc; that it provides a constant state of rejuvenation, a constant new-ness that is so good for the soul. Cursed because it always resets everything to zero when I return, I always feel like Im starting again from the ground up, like I have to rebuild everything again, find work, pay bills, re-engage routine and everyday life. But the payoff is that travelling, especially touring, gives me inspiration and new energy to take on life’s challenges, to tackle my future musical and life projects with ‘Chutzpah’ and candour. I’m looking forward to coming back home in a way and rekindling the fire for all those things. I’m looking forward to spring in Montreal. I heard it was a mild winter and hope spring will be as nice as it is here in London.

Now at Lisa’s Flat in Limehouse with a beautiful view of the Thames, I pack my bags and get ready to close the chapter of this tour. Looking out the window at the beautiful skyline and river i feel sad to leave. I’m leaving on a jet plane back to Montreal today; don’t know when Ill be back again, but hopefully it’ll be soon. I feel sad to leave this place, it is an amazing city, an amazing continent. But I’m happy to return to some semblance of routine.

I feel so grateful for all the circumstances that made this tour a success. So much could have gone wrong you know? So much could have been a disaster! But it didn’t happen, and I have the universe, to thank for that. I have all you lovely people who took me into their homes and treated me like family even if I was a stranger to thank. I have all my amazing and eager audiences from the tip of Scotland to the eastern most reaches of Prague to thank.  You were all beautiful to play for and I hope I will see you on stage again next time I come through. I have all the musicians, promoters, bookers, bartenders and barmaids, all the soundmen/women, all the opening bands and all the musicians who participated in making all these great shows. I thank all my old friends and all my new friends along this journey. I thank the amazing people in the media, the journalists, the bloggers, the facebookers, the online TV hosts, the college radio DJ’s and finally the music journalists/ interviewers for their generous kind and supportive words in print which helped insure this was a great tour and the shows were well-attended. Your support, your passion for music is what makes this thing go round and round and I have infinite gratitude’s for that. I give thanks to all the Couchsurfing hosts and non-host couch surfing friends I met along the way, that website is such a gift, and their generosity was spellbinding. I also give thanks to all the bus drivers, train conductors, fairy captains, taxi drivers and airplane pilots who took me from place to place. Without them one could never have connected all these insane and ambitious geographical dots. It was an honour to be their Passenger. I give thanks to my little Guardian Angels of Sound who watch over me when I put myself out there. I often would put my faith in their hands and they never let me down.

Finally last but not least, I want to thank you internauts, home anchors, close and extended family, Montreal friends, new internet friends, new fans and most importantly readers and supporters of my travel blog for reading, for enjoying and following these adventures. I hope the stories on this tour have given you something positive to latch onto. Be it inspiration, new ideas, tips on how ‘not’ to travel new perspectives etc etc, I hope it has served some purpose. For me it was important to take pictures and write as much as possible to document this unique musical journey and essentially to ‘take you along for the ride’.  This life is a highway, it is a journey laced by musical nostalgia, by musical emotion, life is music and this was my message from the get go, it would have been a shame to hoard all these amazing experiences just for myself, so I wanted to share them with all my other fellow passengers.

We are all passengers in our own lives. We think we may be in the driver’s seat but really it’s not in our control, so we MUST take every moment, every NOW to just look out and enjoy the scenery because it will never be the same again. This tour is about creating meaning in our lives, it was about trying to fulfill my dreams, trying to manifest a happier me, a happier us! It was never about playing guitar and pretending to be some cool rock star that tours and makes music for cold hard cash or the adoration of fans and the stroking of egos. When that becomes the case, then I will stop and manifest a new dream!

I’ll see you soon Montreal, open up those tulips for me when I get back! Get my Olympico coffee ready and bring on the sunshine!

Ps: In keeping with tradition, I will not be blogging for a few weeks after this last tour. Ill need some time to readjust to life and to repossess my apartment, to reacquaint myself with my cat and to hang out with friends. But keep checking back often and there will certainly be more thoughts painted on this canvas. There will also be many more shows and festivals coming up this summer across Canada for The Jon Cohen Experimental as well as another tour in the works for next year and many other projects including my first festival exclusive only to one man bands this May!

I will keep you posted as the journey continues.

With so much love…

Jon Cohen

Click to view slideshow.