“Modern Man (Of The Past)”

Well you know he’s a real bad dancer and even worse romancer
But he’s easy on the eyes and always comes as advertised
He’s way more style over substance, got hang-ups in abundance
He’s a young man with promise with an old soul that’s dying

[Chorus]

Caught between now and then
Like a well told story: ain’t got no end
Alas – he’s just a modern man
Modern man of the past
He’s got nothing but confidence that someday he’ll be back again
Cause he’s seen this world and it ain’t what he wanna explore
He got friends with student loans, others fighting vertigo
Might’ve lost the plot but he just wants what he’s got

[Chorus]

Come on sweet darling let’s stick the landing
Take me back to when I longed for the future
And bring your sister

“Rouyn-Noranda”

We drew the short straw when it came to local drinking laws
Pooled our money, got a car and set our sights on the border
Jimmy had a plan, credit card from his old man and alibis drawn up for his future wife
Scotty had his license at least for one more night
[Chorus]
In Rouyn-Noranda
I betcha never heard of it have ya
Over the line over the border
In Rouyn-Noranda
Brushed up our French and into the night we went Scotty lost a shirt and gained a friend
Jimmy shot every shot: “Voulez-vouz coucher avec moi?”
All the rest of the cash went to false hope and betting on black
Scotty took the tub, me I took the bowl
There’s something about being young that never gets old
They hung on every word as I tried to clear up the blur for the boys and the cops to call it a wash
Turns out the car that Scotty bought was more of a rental
Maybe next time it’s Manitoba instead of Rouyn-Noranda

“A Bear In My Heart”

All this searching, the tides keep turning back to the shore
I don’t wanna search no more
Cause if the truth really did set you free I’m telling you baby
I’d be free by now
[Chorus]
Got a bird in my soul
And a bear in my heart and they both go on and on
There’s a man above the one you see does nothin’ but torture me
Still I wanna keep this job
So don’t you give me your same sweet simple advice
Just hang on for the ride
[Chorus]
When the bell rings let em shout and sing on the day of reckoning
Men are just still frames of our fathers names at the end of the day
So loud it’s silent tonight kings and queens take flight and me the rusted knight, just one more night
I’m not my muscle, I’m not my money
Just a piston and an engine that keeps on runnin’
[Chorus]

“Lasting On”

I don’t know what to say man I guess I’m just lasting on
And oftentimes I couldn’t even tell you if we’re in the beginnin’, middle or end of this dying song but I’m lasting on
I need my lies as much as the next guy you know love’s the only reason for the rest of the reasoning
Anyway I’m running out of metaphors I still think the world is far more acoustic than we give it credit for
Nobody knows where goodness goes once it’s bought and sold
[Chorus]
What’d I tell ya? Baby I’m lasting on
Tell the doctor baby I’m lasting on
Sunny days come in waves and all I try to do is just behave and keep lasting on
And yes there’s always a girl she didn’t last too long
Neither did I once she figured out my body could be compromised but I’ve never made a mistake I wouldn’t make twice, that’s right
Slice it up however you like the worst listeners are almost always the loudest singers but hey
Hopes a steady smoke, speaking of, who wants this last toke?
[Chorus]

“Get What We Deserve”

We’re gonna get what we deserve
I’m gonna get mine and baby you’ll get yours
First come, first served we’re gonna get what we deserve
It’s a labour of love all the dreams are dreamed up
Time keeps a tickin’, the cooks are out of the kitchen
We oughta lay down our swords
Get back to what we had before
I know what they say: “hey that’s amore” and “if this is true it’s to be continued”
We’re gonna get what we deserve
It’s a matter of when not if I’m sure
First come, first served we’re gonna get what we deserve
Don’t cha feel sometimes like love is just a dirty old rug?
Tying the room together like the sun at the dawn
Maybe it’s the singer, maybe it’s the song
Baby, baby are we giving up or are we giving in?
Tell me what’s happening, tell me how you’ve really been?
Cause living is costly and loving ain’t free
And the time I’ve wasted ain’t coming back to me
Maybe these are just empty words but
We’re gonna get what we deserve
I know what they say: “hey that’s amore” it might be a question of what we recall or maybe it’s nothing at all
We’re gonna get what we deserve
I’m gonna get mine and baby you’ll get yours
First come, first served
We’re gonna get what we deserve
Won’t be the last, sure weren’t the first
There ain’t no road back to where we were
You know, we’re gonna get what we deserve

“Wheel Well”

Couldn’t find my car she was buried in snow
Don’t know how I’m gonna make all the way back home
And I’m kicking myself like ice off a rear wheel well
Buddy plowed a bank by my doorway
Came for the apres stayed for days
And I’m kicking myself like ice off my rear wheel well
Got holes in the road, holes in my jeans
Knees in the breeze skatin’ down 17th
There’s a silver sedan spinnin’ off the hook
Burtman in line to give him a push
Can’t stop now the kick is good
Try to find my lane got no one to blame
Wipers out the window raining champagne
And I’m kicking myself like ice off a rear wheel well
Cowtown covered up and down the Bow
Home is home but I ain’t never going back to Ontario
Cause I’d be kicking myself like ice off my rear wheel well

“Comin’ On A Bit Strong”

I’m all pent up been looking for love
Someone to please me someone just to weather the storm before it comes along
I said I want you to stay when you got here at eight but
Ya comin’ on a bit strong
I got no luck I got no one
Just pseudo romances suitors who can carry a song til the break of dawn
I know I didn’t say no to your change of clothes but
Ya comin’ on a bit strong
And I can’t and I won’t lose control
But I can and I will separate the thrills, and the pills and the frills
Still I got no time I got no lines
Didn’t mean to deceive when I said I’d see you around hope you’re doing fine
I say it is what it is til you run out of licks but
Ya comin’ on a bit strong
Still I’ve had no sleep these past few weeks
It’s the end of the drought who said anything bout love
Who said anything about love?
Am I comin’ on a bit strong?

“Fools (co-written by Burton Wiebe of The Hot Pursuit)”

Sun glistens midday on the Bow light traffic new hope
On the same ol’ river filling up now on freshly melted snow
He emerges out of the cold from a cloud of secondhand smoke
Leans his guitar by the table still sticky in beer and Coke
Maggie lets out a sigh one hand on the tap the other on her side
And the boys from back home lighten their Friday load they’re out to sea before they even leave shore
They mix and mingle with the small-town singles til benches clear from far and near
But a bruise is no use compared to the choices we can’t unchoose
[Chorus]
This knifes still got an edge
We’re still the fools from back then
The world’s last supply of neon light shining here tonight night after night
Some claps, some laughs, some in time with and without reason or rhyme
He grabs Maggie by the arm like the wind to the calm in a look they can see from a far
Nothing matters but the fight and the love you can find on a Saturday night
[Chorus]

“Call It An Encore”

Fell for the city that moved me
Brought it all with me the things that blew me away in the first place
Gang of guitars, Sundays and weeknights
Where I’ve won where I’ve lost where I’ve gone for so long now I’m wasted
If hurtin’ were currency thinkin’ I’ve already made it
There’s a dive bar in heaven I’m sure that I’ve already played it
Forever more call it an encore
They put a speakeasy where we used to sell the specials
For a pot of Kokanee gold at the end of the rainbow
It’s getting late early what song are we gonna save? Whatever remains
If hurtin’ were currency baby I’ve already made it
There’s a dive bar in heaven I’m sure that I’ve already played it
“How do you want this done son” says the bar man I said “Ah, just put it all on one”
There’s nothing I’m gonna tell ya you haven’t heard before
Nothing I’m gonna show ya you haven’t seen
There’s no better way of living than livin’ right in it
Call it an encore

“Next Time I’m Home”

Northern lights dancing carefree green the same as we used to be
For days all night cold leather in my mother’s car trying to bring it back like it was
But long gone is a second act so tonight we’re playing the first one back
I had to get away from the cold I’ll see you next time, next time I’m home
Northern lights dancing carefree green just a few hours south of Moosonee
The only thing I know for sure is once it’s broken, it’ll always be
You’re somewhere on a frozen lake waiting for me to retake my place
But I had to get away from the cold I’ll see you next time, next time I’m home
Snow flies and so do I
Still I’m only who I am, yes I am only who I am
Under northern lights tonight for all of us to see still carefree and green
Be still my shuffling feet try to just sit here and breathe, try
Remember all the love we’ve been so lucky to see
Before we had to get away from the cold I’ll see you next time
I’m passing by Ontario when the snows melted and I’m rolling down my window
Next time, next time I’m home

“Show Me The Door (co-written with Aaron Archer)”

Finally found a way to get handsomely paid and I paid handsomely day after day after day
Like a prisoner who’s served his time I’ve gotten far too used to life on the inside
[Chorus]
Hey, hey won’t somebody show me the door
I got nowhere to go so just send me home
Oh won’t somebody, won’t somebody show me the door
Heard all about her rules of love night after night after night
Everybody just wants to belong but I’m a lost cause and she’s what I once was
[Chorus]

“You, Me & The Rockies (co-written with Aaron Archer)”

I can feel it in every second of sweet silence
Must be our wild love coming into its essence
I’m always in your shadow there’s still so much I’ll never know
[Chorus]
So hold on, hold on
Did I forget to tell you we’re already home?
You, me and the Rockies
Right where we’re supposed to be
Well it’s way too damn early in the morning all I can hear
You’re wide-awake singing and dancing by the bathroom mirror wiping the fog away clear
All I’m thinking lately is how nothing used to ever wake me
[Chorus]
I’m always in your shadow there’s still so much I wanna know
[Chorus]
Sure as the day is long ours have only just begun

“Sunshine Coast”

Someday I’m gonna go to the sunshine coast
Someday I’m gonna stand beneath those trees
Growing wild and old in Cathedral Grove
Girl named Martichenko on the sunshine coast
What she got I gotta get it caught
She the treasure of the trove in Cathedral Grove
Well now you know my money is tight, my steps are light
So I’m catching the next boat, ferry or flight
I’ll be fit for my crown when I touch down so keep it light and breezy
Cause it’s bound to be raining down
Bikinis and martinis on the sunshine coast
My brother on the dobro tuning down
Gonna blow those windows out when I’m come ‘round
Someday I’ll take this show to the sunshine coast
Someday I’m gonna fly
I’ll be the fire and the smoke in Cathedral Grove
Well now you know my money is tight my steps are light
So I’m catching the next boat, ferry or flight
I’ll be fit for my crown when I touch down somebody bring the aloe
Cause I’m bound to be burning out the day
I finally go to the sunshine coast
The day I finally stand beneath those trees
Growing wild and old in Cathedral Grove

“Local Girl (co-written with Burton Wiebe of The Hot Pursuit)”

I can tell by the way you write your sweet name in the sand
That you’ll always go wherever you go on intuition not some plan
And I’ve passed through this town many times before
Always the accent Aussie, Kiwi or somewhere in the U.K. girl from away
Another local girl from away
Well just like wildlife I always know I’m gonna see you on the road in my sights
But even I know never to get too close in the dark of night
Now it’s 3am and I got my head in the sand
Though this country’s not your own you make it feel like home
Local girl, enjoy your stay
Enjoy your stay my lovely local girl from away
Now I’m walking by the shore hoping less is just a little bit more
Wondering if she was the one I was waiting for
But I never overstay with any local girl from away
You wouldn’t want that anyway

“It’s All Forgiven”

I don’t like to stress about the mess that you left or the way you never seem to course correct, so I don’t
Your words only affirm that even clinical terms don’t change that you are what you do but I can’t stand hurting you, so I won’t
[Chorus]
So listen it’s all forgiven
Whatever you had to do to keep on livin’, it’s all forgiven
We were just kids and what you did really put me in a bind cause I knew I’d have to leave you behind, and I did
Maybe sitting quietly by was the real crime as I watched you overdo your time inside
[Chorus]
You were already bleeding when I cut you down to size
Now all I wanna do is make up for lost time
Pain is a credit card you can’t leave home without
Memories are compromised by the things we tell ourselves
So I’m sorry it took so long to sing your song
[Chorus]

“Western Flu”

Stole what I could steal then I was rolling on two wheels going just as fast as I was able
The beauty of the sky and the sunset in my eyes everything I saw was farm to table
She took me in the back said “Watch those tourist traps”
West Coast Swung her way onto my lap – hey how about that?
[Chorus]
Out with the old and in with the new
I must’ve caught the western flu
Once I got the itch you know I had to keep my wits about me past the point of no return
All I can say is some things are taught and some things just gotta be learned
Waking up early ‘round a quarter past noon
I’m breaking into the funhouse straight through the living room
[Chorus]
Came for the girl stayed for the women
Trying to ride the line between taken and given
This was a thing I always wanted to do
Might beg forgiveness in a year or two
[Chorus]
A Quiet Anything
You know when I get old I won’t wonder where the time goes
As I await that great escape time will remind me that it gives as much as it takes
[Chorus]
I didn’t know my song back then – so I sang it again
When the curtain falls I won’t have solved a quiet anything at all
I wanna give you this song as it was drawn to remember those looks that couldn’t last too long
Tomorrow you’ll see this will all just be a dance between strangers, a revolving marquee
I’m torn but I think we’re born with the same beliefs that we’re dying for
[Chorus]

All songs written by Neil Gunhold and Garrett Barbuto except where stated

The Band
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar: Garrett Barbuto
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar: Neil Gunhold
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar: Dane Neufeld
Bass Guitar: Dan Wilton
Drums: Nick Parker
Keyboard: Brandon Smith
Saxophone: Nick Sinclair
Saxophone: Kendra Martinussen