Faber Drive’s Andrew Stricko Reminisces

May 10th, 2010

andrew1

When you’ve been on the road for two months and you get a chance to go home for two nights, what do you do? How about sleep in, spend the afternoon with a friend, then sit in your kitchen gallivanting on YouTube, twitter, and checking emails that are utterly pointless? For me, that is how I’ve spent my day off at home thus far.

I’ve gone from Victoria to St. John’s, from happy to rattled, and from venue to venue in the past six weeks. With a few more weeks left to go, it is hard to tell the difference between what happened yesterday from what happened a month ago. Our country is massive, diverse, and amazing. There is something about seeing two oceans, the Rocky Mountains, lighthouses, and parliament buildings all in one trip that makes you step back and think about what you’re doing. I’ve been playing music professionally for about five years now and in that time I’ve seen a lot of crazy things, been to a million cities, and never lost the longing I have for my own bed. It is pretty rad waking up in a hotel room every morning as opposed to a gross, hot van full of dudes.

We’re some of the luckiest people in the world. When I was fourteen years old and started my first band I never thought I’d be playing show after show, meeting amazing people, and better yet making a living from something I have so much love for. When everything starts happening you never get a chance to take it in. As time goes on, the craziness of the lifestyle becomes more familiar than spending all day in bed or sitting on your patio with your friends. For me it is bittersweet. I’m the kind of person who lives and breaths music, as well as seeing my family and friends every day. I’m thankful that I don’t have to wake up at seven every morning and take the bus to a job I don’t enjoy. Sometimes I wonder what that would be like to do again. I’m so grateful to get to play music, travel, and create amazing memories that I’ll never forget with people who are just as unsure of what lies ahead as myself.

The beauty of it is that it doesn’t matter what comes next. We as musicians sacrifice just as much as every one who has to push forward to achieve what they want. We aren’t super human. We’re no cooler than the person in the front row of our show and we’re certainly not delusional. It is that DIY attitude in me that I try so hard to hold on to. I’ve never been much for the glamour and the glitz. It is crazy for me to be writing something that will be posted in a place that I used to visit to stay in touch with the music world and to see new videos from the bands that helped get me here. It is crazy. That is the best way I can describe it.

So, as I trek along for a few more weeks leaving Ontario behind and heading back to my second home Vancouver, I just want to continue to make these days everything that they can be. Sharing this tour with Jesse Labelle and his band, The New Cities, The Latency, and These Kids Wear Crowns will continue to be extremely fun and humbling. There is nothing like crossing an entire country with a more fun group of people than this. Maybe I’m still young and maybe I’m naive, but who cares. Life is only as fun as you make it and that is something you can agree with me on whether it’s now or later. Don’t let something pass you by because you’re concerned about tomorrow.

Stay tuned! There is still three more weeks of this thing I call my job. Nostalgia aside, Toronto you were a party. Seeing so many familiar faces made my entire tour. See you soon west coast!

Tags: Andrew Stricko, Faber Drive