So it’s snowing like a fiend outside right now so I figured it was a good time to update this blog. We’ll hopefully be able to dig ourselves out so we can go play at Rancho Relaxo tonight for the Music City North College St. Festival.

   Alright so, there have been a few things that have been going on since last we spoke. First of all, we got our slot for Canadian Music Week. We’re at The Cameron House at 11pm on Wednesday March 20th. It’s looking like it’s going to be an amazing night of awesome music from all over the planet, so make sure you put it on your calendar.

  So remember when the boys and I played the Gladstone Hotel for my birthday back in October? Well we had such a blast that we’re doing it again on March 8th! It’s Boyes’ birthday the day before, Julie’s the day after, and Steve’s shortly after that, so we’re going to celebrate the anniversary of their escaping from their respective wombs the only way we know how; by playing a show and enjoying copious amounts of novelty drinks. Oh and it’s a FREE show!

   The next big thing would be that I am heading out on a solo tour of the east coast at the end of March! We play Murphy’s Pub in Oshawa on the 23rd of March and then I hit the road! I’m still filling in a few dates and confirming some details but some dates include Halifax, Moncton, Charlottetown, Montréal, Ottawa and Peterborough. I’m pretty pumped!! Stay tuned for more details.

   Alright, I think that’s all for now. I’m going to go make some tea and watch people try to do deal with the snow out my window. Until next time, stay sexy.

~Rory

P.S. For my picture this post I give you Julie (the wife) and I being bombarded by snow in our driveway!

First, as I’m sure most of you know, the next full band show is at the Gladstone Hotel on Friday October 19th at 9PM. It’s a free show AND it’s my birthday s come on out and party with us!


So, the original scheduled dates for the ‘first of many’ tour wrapped up in Kitchener Friday night at Lancaster House. I just wanted to say thank you to all of you made it out to one of the shows on the tour and everyone who housed/fed/put up with/hung out with/talked to me throughout the tour.  I met lots of new people, made a bunch of contacts and learned a few lessons. I can’t seem to go back to ‘normal’ life now though, I’ve kept booking shows further and further away. This Friday I’m in Ottawa and then Montreal on Saturday. I’ve been told that there’s a “cream or ointment” for the touring itch, but as of right now?  I love it and am going to continue to do it.

So I decided to compile a list of things I learned on tour for my own entertainment and so people looking to go on tour can learn from my mistakes or experiences:

1) People are going to ignore you – A large portion of the e-mails and phone calls you do when trying to book shows will go ignored. Do your best to get as much information as you can over the phone by asking open ended questions. A lot of people on the phone will ask you to just send them an e-mail, but e-mails are really easy to ignore. Just keep at it though, eventually you’ll get your dates booked up.

2) Buy a tuner – Seriously, you can buy a tuner for $15-$20. At one particular show I played one guitar player of a band said to the other, “Are you in tune?” to which the other said, “I don’t know, let’s tune to each other.” They then proceeded to air tune on stage, not to mention leaving the bass player out of this “tuning” party. I wish I was making this up. Some may call me a dick for saying this, but I had to endure 45 minutes of terribly tuned playing. So who’s the bigger dick? Just buy a tuner… please…

3) There are still people who love and support music, you just have to dig for them – It’s hard being a musician in Canada. Some people may say, “boohoo, you’re playing music for a living” to that, but it always seems that someone is going to try to exploit you for money, not want to pay you, not want to pay to listen to you and own your music for free. This makes it hard to do as a living and puts a stigma on independent musicians as poor people who need to get real jobs. There are still people who support you though! There were a few venues I played where the owners really wanted to support music and make sure I was treated well, not just make some money off me. It never fails that when you think a show is a bust, that some stranger will come up to you when you’re finished and tell you they loved your set, making you remember how much you love doing what you do.

4) Trail mix is awesome – That is all.

5) Give yourself plenty of time to get to a show – There was one particular show where the drive should’ve taken me 1 ½ hours and it ended up taking 3 ¼… Fortunately I had left really early.

6) Be friendly – Chat with the people at the shows. Whether it’s the crowd, the other musicians, or the staff at the venue. Don’t act like a big deal, talk to everyone. People treat you better and want you back if you’re nice to them.

7) Don’t think you’re a big deal unless you are – Don’t tell the show’s organizer you’re going to bring a whole bunch of people out because it’s your hometown, and bring two. Don’t call your two friends that you brought your fans. Don’t compare yourself to Hendrix unless you’re an amazing/ground breaking guitarist. You will piss off everyone around you including me and you don’t want to see me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry…

8) Don’t ever stop looking for more shows – Have a night off? Book another show. Hear about a venue in a town close by? Call for a show. The more contacts you have, the easier life is going to be the next time booking comes around.

9) Bring lots of extra strings – Those bastards always seem to break in the worst possible situations! (((fist shake)))

10) Don’t pay to play – This is reserved for high school bands that have no other ways of getting shows and those who don’t know any better. If someone wants you sell tickets for their show they should be giving you money from said ticket sales. Otherwise you end up paying someone for doing their work for them. People will try to make a buck off of you no matter what. There was a show where we were asked to sell tickets, but I said no and we were still put on the bill anyway. The show then, surprise surprise, ended up falling through. These types of shows and people are not professional, so don’t waste your time on them if you’re serious about what you’re doing.

11) Have fun – It took me a while to get this one down pat. Things go wrong, such is life. Even out of the worst situations, you have to see the good things. I played a show where there were very few people in the audience, but one of the people wrote a great review for the show in a magazine and another took my CD for his radio program. Make sure you are learning something from every experience and it will stay fun.

So that’s all I can think of for now, sorry about the lengthy entry, but I figured I was overdue for one. As for my usual funny picture, here is Spun reminding me why I don’t mess with him… I went with him because I wanted to live.

Until next time, take care, stayed tuned, and I’ll see you on the 19th!

~Rory

  You came back! Once again, welcome.

 Alright so this is something that’s been on my mind grapes for a while now. If you like something, support it. If you don’t, it will cease to exist.  My buddy Sean showed me a video of Billy Corgan (singer/guitar player/songwriter from “Smashing Pumpkins”) putting this idea and a few other important ones into words. Now usually I don’t like watching Mr. Corgan in interviews, and it makes me sad that he refuses to play his old tunes in concerts, but the dude seems to know what he’s talking about. That and “Zero” is one of my all time favourite tunes…

                                                                  Watch the video HERE


  Now, I’m not trying to be preachy, and I’m not saying, “HEY YOU! BUY MY SHIT!” because I am also guilty of this sometimes. I look for deals on CDs when I go to a store. I have passed on buying a CD I really wanted because I could get two in a combo pack for the same price, but that’s not helping the artist that I really like. In that moment it doesn’t hit me that he/she has to charge that much because they don’t have an endorsement deal with that new 17G cell phone, or some sport sneakers that they have no need for. I mean you’re a musician, who gives a shit how high you can jump*? Anyway, all I’m saying is; as a whole, we need to start supporting all these musicians, artists, etc. that we really like. Otherwise, they will cease to exist. We might not be as lucky as we were with “Arrested Development” coming back after being cancelled. Artists can’t eat your “likes” on Facebook.

  Alright, enough with my ranting. I’m sorry if I upset you. Next time I see you, I’ll give you a hug and I won’t tongue juice you. On a happier note, I found another fantastic picture of Boyes! So, a little back story… Most of RoRY went to Kingston for a show at Clark Hall Pub at Queen’s University, and our buddy Melcher graciously let us crash at his place for the evening. As we’re getting ready to turn in, we all start pulling out blankets and sleeping bags, and Boyes pulls this out of his bag. I love you buddy.

~R

*That totally made me picture that scene in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, where Chapelle asks for a timeout so he can pump up his sneakers. Aw man, *insert knee slap* classic!

Hello there, come in. Welcome to my insanity. Can I get you anything? A glass of champagne? Cold beer? Some brown M&M’s? Some dude had to commit double homicide with a pair of shoes for those.

Have a seat.

My name is Rory, and I am the lead singer and primary song writer for RoRY (you know them, you’ve been there). This blog will hopefully be a way for you to understand what goes on “behind the scenes” with us and understand a little more. I may go off on some random tangents about utter nothingness, but I’ll try to keep a lid on it. We’ll see…

The last four months have been exciting and crazy! Since the release of the EP “Closure” back on January 12th, we’ve been playing some crazy shows with a lot of great bands in some very cool places, sold way more CD's than we ever thought we would, found a sick drummer (thanks Steve), ate some ridiculous sandwiches (mostly just Boyes did in Kingston; I’ll see if I can find the picture), and hopefully made a few new fans along the way.

We’ve got a lot more in the works right now (i.e. a video, new songs, etc.), but you’ll have to wait just a little longer for those! We’re really excited to be opening up for our good buddies in Nerds With Guitars for their release show at Rancho Relaxo in Toronto, on Saturday May 19th. So if you haven’t had a chance to catch us live yet, this is one you’re not going to want miss.

Anyway, goodbye for now.

P.S. I found that picture, sorry Boyes. It's a burger, BLT, and grilled cheese all in one. And yes, he finished it.