New UkeeTube Surf Video! Pros and Joes Session 1

 I produced a surf video for UkeeTube that was released today. Featuring local talent from Tofino and Ucluelet. Have a look! Thanks to Ukee Poke, Buell Canada, Water's Edge Suites and Judy Gray Realty for getting in on the fun

UkeeTube!

Lately production energy has been focused on a project called UkeeTube. Sort of digital multimedia love-letter to my home through output to YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and too a much lesser extent TikTok. Mini documentaries of local events, photos of the scenery and wildlife and other such things. Give it a scan and, if you need similar content for some reason drop me a line.

Ukee Kids Videos

 Lately there have been some great community events in Ucluelet featuring the local youth. Given the whole COVID thing the local glee club weren't able to have their usual in-person perfoemance so we shat a music video of them performing Katy Perry's "Only Love" instead;

Also, Ucluelet's soap box derby was last week and I whipped up a little dramatic video for it witht he help of some local sponsors!

Hope you enjoy it. We've got a couple more weeks of music gigs left this season then productions will shift back to primarily video stuff so stay tuned!

New Lance LaPointe Music Video

I made a music video with our friend and sometimes collaborator Lance LaPointe recently for his new tune "June Buzz"

Check it out!

Trust Me? Series 2 Director's Cut

 During COVID I started a Zoom based comedy series taking advantage of my assortment of somewhat famous friends' downtime. We haven't realeased anything for a while but here's the Director's Cut of the second series, released from December to March of last winter. Featuring Earl from The Steadies (and Wide Mouth Mason) and actor Jeremy Crittenden

Lothar Myck - Journey of the Slug Music Video

Lothar Myck in a 15 year old progressive rock and synthwave musician in Ucluelet. Recently we worked together to produce this music video. Hope you like it

UkeeTube!

 I've set up a social media brand called Ukee Tube to highlight the community I live in and as a vehicle to share my portfolio and experiments. You can find it on most social media platforms as @UkeeTube. Here's are a few of the UkeeTube videos I've made recently.

If you have ideas for Ucluelet or Tofino related content let me know. Cheers, Geoff

Squids, Panel Discussion and Music

 With COVID restrictions lifting, gigs are back and I suspect more of my personal creative time will be shifting back to music. I've invested in some new audio recording gear and plan to record some demos and possibly an album in the coming months. Meanwhile, Tara and I have returned to our regular gig at Black Rock Resort in Ucluelet on Thursday nights and other bookings are coming in... It feels good to get back to making music for people.

Recently I've been pumping out a bit of a mix of videos. The Tofino Arts Council provided some grant funding for a number of local artists to create projects with the them of "My First Pandemic." I chatted with some of them a few months ago to make this video;

I've also been having fun with a GoPro on the end of a painter's pole and come up with these 2 bits

Thanks for watching! Let me know if you need anything fun made

PRAS Meet a Member Video Series

 Recently I've been working on a project featuring the artist-members of the Pacific Rim Arts Society. They're celebrating 50 years and decided that telling some of that story through the journeys of their members would be a great way to bring them together at a time when coming together isn't easy. Here are a few of the videos. You can find the whole playlist, which will grow in the coming weeks, here.

New Uncle Geoffsky Surf Video - Long Beach January 23, 2021

Shot some surf action the other day and some guys from a new shaping company wanted to sponsor it! Check out West Coast Shapes Ucluelet on you favourist social media platform and check out the video, here!

 

Virtual Chesterman Beach Vacation

Spent the afternoon on Chesterman Beach, yesterday. Was hoping to shoot some surf footage but there weren't a lot of people in the water, still had a lovely time... If you want a taste of it, here you go! 

Storm Chasing Video Trilogy

I pur together 3 videos over the last few days documenting the massive low pressure system that hit near Tofino and Ucluelet during the first week of January. This is the second act, the storm itself. In YouTube you'll be able to see the playlist that features a relaxing setset from the night before the storm and some higher quality footage from the day after the storm when the wind and rain had passed. If you could hit that subscribe button at the end of the video I'd really appreciate it

 

Tofino Locals Surf Video

 I've been trying my hand at shooting surfers lately and caught a lot of talented folks out on Chesterman Beach in Tofino yesterday. I quickly whipped it together into this. Hope you like it!

Another Ucluelet Sunset

 I live a block from one of the best places in the world to watch the sunset. I can't help but want to share. Here's last night's in 4K and 800% speed so you can sneak in a Ukee sunset whenever you need one

Ucluelet Sunset

Shot the sunset this evening in 4K, thought I would share

In other news, Trust Me? Series 2 will start on Monday. 

Thanks, Geoff

shIft Introduction

I've been planning to add interviews to my output for a while. I was the morning host of a commercial radio station for 6 years or so and during that time I found I loved interviewing people. It's an exciting process full of surprises, quick thinking and one of the most amazing ways to learn when you have a fascinating topic to discuss.

With things in our world in the greatest state of flux I've seen in my life I figured that would be a good thing to talk to people about. COVID, political and cultural shifts, the climate crisis and countless other personal drama are playing out and interacting. Each one of is is coping with these things in different ways, some are adapting and thriving, leaving the old patterns that were destroyed behind while others don't have that luxury. So far I've lined up some actors, musicians, comedians and actors to talk about this sort of stuff but I'm also hoping to talk to mothers, retirees, recent graduates and others who are facing large-scale personal changes along-side the more global ones.

 If you'd like to have a chat send me an email; ballisticpig@gmail.com.

Trust Me? Series 1 Director's Cut

 Tonight at 8:15PT on YouTube we premier the director's cut of series one of Trust Me? Hope you can check it out. It will be available to stream on Facebook and YouTube afterwards, of course

Cheers, Geoff

Trust Me Hallowe'en Special?

 My web-media petri dish program Trust Me? is premiering an 82 minute cut of their Hallowe'en Special tonight at 7pm on Facebook and 7:15 on YouTube. The videos are embedded at the Trust Me? website if you want to check it out.

Heard Amid The Guns video series

 I recently began working with author Jacqueline Carmichael to produce a series of videos featuring various writers, actors and other interesting folks reading from her new book; Heard Amid The Guns: True Stories form the Western Front. We've added some period appropriate production and they're starting the trickle out into the wild. You can watch them on YouTube, below

Liminality

It's a time of change, and this website is no different. In response to the changing world and the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the live entertainment industry I'm transitioning into more digital media for the time being. 

Projects are primarily web-based video productions like the comedy web series Trust Me? (which you can visit at www.trustmeshow.ca or all over social media) and other projects like a series of videos based on readings from the book Heard Amid The Guns by Jacqueline Carmichael.  

The website will change to reflect these endeavors and more as I find time, for now check out some videos from Trust Me?

Thanks for checking in, Geoff

Revival, Renewal & Other Needlessly Dramatic Laguage

The Ballistic Pig website hasn't gotten much attention lately, perhaps that will change. For now I've cleaned it up a bit and intend to use it to focus on my creative adventures more than the working band portion of my musical output. 

A recent project I've recorded is this ode to those who have lost a loved one to mental illness... a heavy tune that means a lot to me.

On a lighter note there will still be updates from the wedding/event band portion of my life.  Tara and I have been spending some time in the studio, lately. Here's a demo of an 80s classic we whipped up the other day;

New Ballistic Pig/ Tofino Wedding Band Demo!

Hi Team! We've got a great new.... the current Ballistic Pig/ Tofino Wedding Band Lineup recorded one of our gigs at The Duncan Showroom last week and I hacked it into a short demo video... Check it out, share it and let us know what you think!

Ballistic Pig Febrary 24, 2018 at The Tofino Legion

Hi Team, just a quick update. We'll be playing our first public, full band gig with our new drummer Lexie Miller on February 24th at The Tofino Legion. Hope you can make it out.

Fall Update!

Hi friends, guess it's been awhile since we updated the old website. Summer has passed and we had a great time playing events of all sorts. The full band played a ton of weddings and other great events. We even got to hit the road a bit and play some gigs in the lower mainland recently.
Anyway, we're slowing down a bit now... The next full band Ballistic Pig gig we have scheduled is Mom Prom at the ANAF hall in Ucluelet. Here are the details.

Of course Monday night jam night at The Tofino Legion continues, as does the open mic at Ukee Dogs in Ucluelet on Wednesday nights. You can also continue to catch Geoff's solo sets Wednesday afternoons at Long Beach Lodge. For other gigs check out the calendar to the right of every page of the website.

Hopefully this winter will be fruitful with plans to add a rockabilly inspired act, a more elaborate duo set and some recording projects to the mix now that we have a little time.  Stay tuned.

Finally, Geoff has taken over a more active role booking events for the ANAF veteran's hall in Ucluelet, hopefully you'll come and check out one of the upcoming shows (or perform one). You can email him at ballisticpig@gmail.com if you have an idea for an event there.

Cheers, Geoff

We're playing Otalith!

It's true, we're more about the private parties and weddings but this year we've been asked to play a set at Ucluelet's wonderful Otalith festival! So On the Saturday afternoon you'll be able to catch Geoff and Tara (with a little help from their friends) playing song from his 2016 Vancouver Island Music Awards nominated album "Women and Losin''

It's kinda fuzzy but Geoff's name is down on the bottom right along with some other great local talent

If you want to practice singing along to the tunes you can stream them here:


Of course life goes on with weddings, fun parties and other gigs including jam nights. Monday nights at The Tofino Legion and Wednesday nights at The Eagle's Nest in Ucluelet come jam out some tunes with a bunch of local talent.
See you around, friends

Full band May 27th at ANAF Hall in Ucluelet

Coming up on May 27 we're playing a rare public show at the ANAF in Ucluelet.

We don't break the full band out for "bar gigs" very often but thought it would be a blast to rock out for our friends before we disappear into a summer of weddings and other private event bookings. Hope you can make it!

Hippy New Year from Ballistic Piggyland

Happy New Year everyone. We spent New Year's Eve playing for the good folks at The Wickaninnish Inn. Thanks to Charles and the team for having us, we're really looking forward to the weddings we have booked there this summer it sounds like we'll be back there from NYE 2018!

Speaking of "being back" Tofino's Monday night jam returns on Monday January 9th but is moving to The Tofino Legion while Jack's is closed for renovations. If it goes off at the new venue we may keep it there so come on out and support!

We also had a great time Christmas Eve singing for the folks at Middle Beach Lodge, we had one-time Glass Tiger backup vocalist Miranda Moore to join us so she's now an honorary Pig!

With that we get back into the groove of our musical life on the coast; Tara and Geoff have a duo performance at Jamie's in Tofino on the 10th and Geoff (and guests?) start regular Wednesday afternoons at Long Beach Lodge on January 11th. Every other Thursday starting January 19th Geoff will be playing at Black Rock Resort in Ucluelet, on the Thursdays he's not there other great local and Island talent will be playing.

So the holiday break was short, and that's just fine with us! Here's to rockin' 2017 and beyond

Opening for The Steadies August 18th at The ANAF in Ucluelet

Hi folks, sorry we haven't posted for a while. Wedding gig season and moving to a new house have eaten up quite a bit of internetting time.

Anyway, this coming Thursday, August 18th we'll be opening for out friends The Steadies at The ANAF Veteran's Club Hall in Ucluelet. Here's a new tune from those lovely devils... Hope you can make it

For The Purple One

We played Jack's last night and pulled out a half dozen Prince songs. We set the stage lights to purple and I rested my copy of the Purple Rain album against Liam's kick drum so that His Purpleness would be dancing with us all night long. I've ended most of my solo sets with Purple Rain for a couple years now... We've got a bootleg recording of the band playing it from last night so I thought I'd share.

Thanks for the music Prince.

Geoff Johnson's Solo Album Women & Losin' Nominated For A Vanouver Island Music Award!

Geoff's self produced album Women & Losin' has been nominated for a Vancouver Island Music Award! Look a half-dozen names down on the list in this post from the VIMAs Facebook page.

Names of the great talent and nominees for 12th annual VIMAs!She Could be TroubleUrsula FoxLance LapointLincoln...
Posted by Vancouver Island Music Awards on Thursday, March 31, 2016

If you want to hear what all the fuss is about you can stream it here (and buy it at your chosen downloady place)

Ballistic Pig Full Band Videos

Hi folks. We've got some exciting news. After lolly-gagging forever we've finally got some decent video of the band playing. Last New Year's Eve we played at The Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet and Daz, our one-time bassist and leader of our sister band Garvies took some video. We hacked it up and tried be clean the audio up a bit and here are the results


Hope you like it! -Geoff

Happy New Year!

Hi folks, here's a way overdue update from Ballistic Pig land! As the December parties have wound down and a number of the local venues have closed for seasonal maintenance the local gigs have slowed down leaving room for fun projects like new albums and new bands.

The Ballistic Pig rock band has become a smaller part of the empire as Gef Zeppelin gigs, solo cocktail party sets and jazz-soul gigs with Tara have become more common. The rock band is still kicking though, we had a lovely New Year's Eve show at Black Rock and are already booked for next NYE so the band will keep kicking.  Meanwhile Geoff is working with a few other island musicians on a couple new projects, hopefully details will be available, soon.

Since the acoustic duo and trio shows are becoming more popular we intend to record an album of standards in the coming months to highlight Tara's voice. Also Geoff is going to record an album of acoustic Led Zeppelin covers he plans to call Swine Song to accompany his Gef Zeppelin project. Daz is hard at work setting the stage for a Garvies album and if time, inspiration and finances allow an album of original songs from Geoff may be in the works as well.

The beginning of a new year is a great time to reflect on the people who made 2015 so awesome for the Ballistic Pig family;

First off, a big thanks to all the musicians we've played with and shared stages with. From 1 time jams to recurring member, acts we've played with at local events, digital collaborators and more. One of the greatest thing about the music biz as we see it is that your competitors are also your allies, you inspire and motivate each-other to work harder, do better and explore new avenues. Without our musical colleagues lots of that inspiration would be a lot harder to find.

Secondly, but no less essential has been the venues and promoters. From event planners to bar manager, fellow road warriors and fans there are a lot of people that put faith in us to throw a good party and, without a place to play we'd probably just be nuisances to our neighbours playing in our homes.

Finally, I hesitate to use the term "fans" as it doesn't imply the mutual respect that we share with the people that come to our shows or refer their friends, clients and complete strangers to us. Your faith in our music is what makes it all work.

I really hope that in 2016 Ballistic Pig will continue to meet more great folks like the ones that have made 2015 so fulfilling. Happy New Year and thanks for listening.

-Geoff

New Weddings Website

We've just launched a new website to focus on the wedding and corporate events side of our adventure. Please visit it here: www.tofinoweddingband.com

Busy busy!

Hi folks, haven't need very diligent with the blog lately.... so much stuff going on;

First off, my solo album Women and Losin' is now all over the Internet from iTunes to Amazon to CD Baby and many places in between so check it out, stream it, download it, whatever and let me know what you think. If you're reading the blog on the full version of the website there's a little player to the right where you can check it out.

Also, we've been playing lots of gigs! In addition to the usual Monday jam at Jack's in Tofino and my Thursday's at Black Rock we brought to full band on a mini tour over this passed weekend: Friday night we played at Wolf In The Fog as part of the Tofino Salt Water Classic charity fishing derby and Saturday we hopped in the Jeep and drove ot Bamfield to play their 32nd annual fundraising BBQ and dance... We are now all madly in love with Bamfield by the way... thanks for having us! Special thanks to Paul at Pirate Tours for a very unique and memorable tour around on his funky boat. Drummer Joel's lady took some pictures of the gig I'll post later but for now here are a few visuals

Poster from last week at Wolf In The Fog

Carina and Natalia check out Paul's Boat

Also, on July 2. Julian, visiting from the UK got up and sang a few songs with me at my solo gig at Black Rock. While I played the solo to Purple Rain he went and proposed to his ladyfriend, Liz!

Also, big thanks to Lance LaPointe for having me out to Port Alberni to sit in with his band on Canada Day!

Pretty good things happening in Ballistic Pig land lately and more to come.

Coming up this week:
-I return to Black Rock on Thursday evening for a solo set.
-I'll be playing a set of the tunes from Women and Losin' on Friday night at the Ucluelet Night Market. Daz will also play a set of his Garvies originals. I think we're on from 5-7pm
-A couple wedding ceremonies, too.

Hope to see you at a gig, soon.
-Geoff

Advance Edition of Geoff's New Album, Women & Losin' now available!

Well folks, here it is; Geoff's Adult-Contemporary album Women & Losin' is now available to stream and download! You'll also be able to pick it up at gigs. Hopefully a small CD release tour will happen in the fall along with an edition of the album with a few more tracks.

Album Update!

Hi folks. I'm sure you're all wondering how my DIY ego-project album, Women & Losin' is coming. It probably keeps you up at night, sweating and feverish with anticipation (read with heavy sarcasm). Well I've got about half of the tracks pretty much done and the rest well on the way. I'm hoping to have the bulk of it in the can by the end of the weekend. The newest finished track is called Other Side, I found this one particularly challenging to record because it kept coming across as something a boy band might record and, while I'd love it if a big time boy band did record it (and send me their big boy-band royalty checks) I didn't want it to sound like that on my album. So I kept it simple and even a little rough. Tell me what you think.

Here's another one that popped out of the studio in the last couple days. Kind of a country meets Motown thing.... Really preachy with an odd prog-rock break in the middle.


Speaking of recording the new Ballistic Pig rock band lineup is hoping to record a few demos this weekend in hopes of not missing out on the 2015 wedding season. Stay tuned for those recordings to hit the interwebs, soon.

Lastly, I'm playing solo at The Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet tonight starting at 7:30, hope you can make it!

-Geoff

Ballistic Pig Rock Band Returns! Acoustic Pig at Jamie's on April 28th

Great News! We've secured a new rhythm section for the Ballistic Pig Rock Band and will be unveiling it with an Acoustic Pig gig at Jamie's Rainforest Inn on Tuesday April 28th. Hopefully we'll be able to record some demos in short order and be able to start booking some events this summer. Anyway, meet the new players:

This is Carina Mach, our new bassist. Very talented, highly trained and super pleasant to be around. She's been coming to Tofino for years but made the choice to stick around for a while so we're putting her to work.

Long time Tofitian and multi-instrumentalist Joel Gray has been playing in various bands in the region for years. We'll mostly be working him as a drummer but there's a good chance his accordian, harmonica, mandolin, guitar and bass playing will come in handy, as well.

Hope to see you at Jamie's on the 28th to meet the new team!

The Zeppelin Has Launched, The Rock Band is Reviving!

Thanks to everyone in the "standing room only" crowd at Jamie's last week for the launch of Gef Zeppelin. The turn out and response to the music was great and we're looking forward to taking it on the road next week. Gef Zeppelin will be playing a showcase gig for Riversong Guitars at Rainforest Music in Bowser on Saturday April 18th in the early afternoon. If perchance you're in the Comox Valley area and looking to book some entertainment for a public or private event (even a house party) let us know by email at ballisticpig@gmail.com

Gef Zeppelin also has a private engagement on April 21st in Tofino and will be playing at Char's Landing in Port Alberni on May 1st. 

In other news the Ballistic Pig rock band will be rehearsing a new rhythm section soon hoping to get a set of motown, classic rock and dance tunes for weddings and events this summer. The duo and trio shows are all ready to go but the full dance band has been on hiatus for a while and we've missed it.

I keep working on recording original music as well, hopefully an album's worth will be completed in a couple weeks. Here are the first few tracks from it:

Sell your beats online at ReverbNation.com

Jam night continues every Monday at Jack's in Tofino and Geoff solo at Black Rock continues on Thursdays, as well... For other gigs and things check the calendar on the right or the "Shows" page. Thanks all, Geoff

Gef Zeppelin Tuesday April 7th at Jamie's Rainforest Inn

This coming Tuesday will mark the first "real" gig of the new acoustic Led Zeppelin tribute project dubbed Gef Zeppelin. We've got a few other bookings around the insland in April and May but this will sort of be the local sneak peek. Show starts at 9 at Jamie's Rainforest Inn, it's all-ages and admission is free so I hope to see you there. Here are a couple demos recorded a while back

Free Electronic Press Kits from ReverbNation.com

After that there will be a duo show at The Wickaninnish Inn's Driftwood cafe on Thursday April 9th with Tara and Geoff playing jazzy standards, soul tunes and some classic rock. Show goes from 6:30 to 8:30, it's also free to attend and all-ages.

In other news, work on Geoff's album continues. One of the first tracks is available to stream (or purchase), here:

Hope you dig it and hope to see you at a show, soon.

First Track of Geoff Johnson's Upcoming Album Women & Losin'

Well folks, here's what might well be the first finished track off of my upcoming album Women & Losin. I've putting off completing the album in part because I want every performance to be perfect but, given that I'm recording it in my own studio with an infinite amount of time I'm getting a little carried away with the nitpicking so.... In all it's imperfection here's a tune I wrote a few years ago and did just finished mixing and mastering called Young Man. Hopefully the rest of the album will be done in the coming weeks (also I'll probably let my inner-critic get the best of me an re-record and remix this one, too)


In other news I'm playing a solo, cover set Saturday March 28th at the ANAF in Ucluelet. Hope to see you there!

Trio Demos!!

We recorded some demos of the trio today... sort of. Geoff plays both bass and guitar on these track so they're a little different when played live with Andrew on guitar but you'll definitely get the idea. Here they are for your listening pleasure




Check em out and share em around.

PS, Gef Zeppelin demos AND GIGS coming in the next few weeks!

It's The Website's Birthday

Happy Birthday www.ballisticpig.com. It's been a fun couple years. We've got an exciting summer coming up with plenty of weddings, the launch of Gef Zeppelin, the 1 man Led Zeppelin tribute and more. I'm also considering managing some other local musicians and other oppurtunities. While the website is being retooled to reflect these things it might be a little sketchy. If you have any questions just shoot me an email; ballisticpig@gmail.com or call (250) 266 2400.

Thanks, Geoff

Website Being Updated

Hi Folks, we're doing some work on the website to make it a little easier to navigate and such.. Until it's done it might be a bit of a mess. Please be patient.

Tofino Saltwater Classic Theme Song

I've been the MC, sound guy and some other stuff for a local charity fishing derby for a few years now and I thought I might as well write and record a little theme song for them



Have an event, business or project that needs a tune? Get in touch; ballisticpig@gmail.com

Happy Valentines Day!!

Tara and I had a lovely evening playing unplugged to a splendid audience last night at The Wickaninnish Inn, we're back there on April 19th (possibly solo, duo or trio... we'll see). With Valentine's Day tomorrow I'll be playing an hour of acoustic, instrumental music at Middle Beach Lodge for the cocktail hour before Valentine's Dinner. They have a great dining room there and I can't wait to play there more as this year's wedding season picks up.

Speaking of wedding season, we're getting a lot of bookings coming in this time of year. Thanks to anyone who has been referring us. It means a lot to have this opportunity to make a living through music and it's a great feeling to be asked to be a part of people's special day.

Also, here's a hint of a new project in the works, A solo- acoustic Led Zeppelin tribute...

 Well folks, see you out and about, soon.

-Geoff

Happy New Year (Better Late Than Never)

Happy New Year, all. Sorry for the gap in blog posts but I've been a busy boy, recording tracks for the upcoming album, playing some fun shows, booking weddings for this coming summer and more.

We had a great time with the jazz trio playing in the dining room at Black Rock on New Year's Eve and we're back at Black Rock on Saturday Jan 17 for their 6th anniversary and local appreciation party. We're also working on a Valentine's Day show... more on that when we sort it out. All our gigs are on the calendar unit to the right (or HERE if you're on the mobile site).

In other news; The album is coming along. I had intended for it do be very much country and jazz based but the first few songs that are getting close to completion are a bit more rock than anticipated. I'm still hoping to have it ready to go some time in March or April with a small CD release tour in the Alberni-Clayoquot area.

Also, I've just learned that the handsome and talented devils at Riversong Guitars are making me a ukulele. I've been a big fan of Riversong since I bought one of their guitars a few years ago and I suspect that their quality craftsmanship will lead to a ukulele I will love just as much.

Finally, The 4 piece rock band is on hiatus for the moment with drummer Nick away working and planning an extended trip to Europe. We'll let you know what develops with the rock band incarnation of Ballistic Pig, meanwhile we're excited to focus on the album, solo show and that jazz trio. Jam night at Jack's continues though so don't worry local music types.

That's it for now, teasers from the album and another interesting project announcement coming soon.

Thanks for reading, hope to see you at a show, soon - Geoff

Merry Christmas From The Coast

I had an hour or so this afternoon while Tara was at work so I wrote a Christmas song. Happy Holidays to West Coasters everywhere!

Merry Christmas

Tara and I are playing a Jamie's Rainforest Inn tonight and the swing-jazz-country-soul trio is a Black Rock on New Year's Eve (also jam night on the 29th) so I hope to see you over the Holidays.

-Geoff

Late December Gigs

Well, 2014 is wrapping up and we're staying busy in Ballistic Pig land. Last Saturday's gig playing Christmas tunes at Ucluelet's ANAF hall was a blast!  Coming up on the live music front I've got my usual solo set this Thursday, December 18th at Black Rock starting at 7:30. Then it's down to Jack's for Friday the 19th and Saturday the 20th for more solo fun (Tara and Andrew might show up to play some of the Jazzy- Christmasy stuff). Monday, as usual is jam night at Jack's then Tuesday, December 23rd I'll be playing at Jamie's Rainforest Inn starting at 9. So, if you're looking for something to do around the Holidays in Tofino and Ucluelet you know where to go.

After Christmas jam night will be happening on December 29th and the jazz trio is playing at Black Rock for New Year's Eve, as well.

Hope to see you at a gig or 2 over the holidays!

Classy Christmas Party at ANAF in Ucluelet Saturday December 13th

Looking forward to bringing the "Jazz" trio to Ucluelet's ANAF hall to play their Classy Christmas Party tomorrow! The folks at The Westerly News were kind enough to publish this bit about our lovely vocalist, Tara;

Here are the details about the evening if you haven't already got your ticket

We've got about 10 holiday classics we'll be playing as well as another dozen or so jazz and soul standard and modern vocal gems. Hope to see you there, Geoff

Live Music Around The Holidays in Tofino and Ucluelet

Well folks, it's early December and Christmas parties are starting to become pretty common. I played the Son Bird party last night, thanks to Chris and the team for a really fun night of singalong classic rock, some carols and great requests. The Ballistic Pig musical family has quite a lot going on over the holiday season. In addition to the usual jam nights on Mondays at Jack's in Tofino and Thursday evenings at The Black Rock we've got a couple gigs with the Down By Law "Jazz" Trio and some other fun. Here it is in chronological order;

Christmas party at the ANAF in Ucluelet, December 13th

Solo(?) weekend at Jack's December 19th and 20th

I'm also playing what might be a solo set (or a trio set) at Jamie's Rainforest Inn on December 23rd and Down By Law will be the dinner time entertainment for Black Rock's New Year's Eve festivities accompanying an EIGHT COURSE DINNER!

We're still always keen to play more gigs though so if you need some live music for your holiday party or what have you drop us an email; ballisticpig@gmail.com

Thanks, Geoff

Soundtrack Fun

A couple months ago I got a call from a local film-maker who was looking for an affordable way to get a soundtrack for a film she was working on with short notice. A few hours later I sent her the first draft of her custom score. Here's how it turned out in the end:

Getting a custom score from me allowed us to customizing the timing of musical events to moments in the film, she was able to "proof" the music so we could make changes to the arrangement based on her vision. Finally, it cost a fraction of the price she was quoted to license the original song she had considered using, originally.
If you've got a project that needs that final musical touch drop me an email at ballisticpig@gmail.com

Thanks folks, Geoff

Early Solo Gig at Jack's November 21, 22

So due to some booking errors I get to share the stage at Jack's this weekend with a some talented folks. Here's an updated version of the poster;

This is good news because it means that folks who have to go to bed early can come see my set AND I get to stick around for the fun, myself. So come down for dinner and stick around for some fun tunes!

Solo Acoustic Gigs in November, Jazz Trio Christmas Gigs in December?

Hi folks, the beat goes on in Ballistic Pig land. I'm back to my solo, acoustic Thursday night spot at The Black Rock in Ucluelet every Thursday until Christmas so come on by for that. I'll also be playing a few special event there in the coming weeks like their Movember party and other fun.
For Tofino folks I'll be pulling out my more aggressive solo set on November 21, and 22 at Jack's.

The jazz band is also getting together tonight to work on some Christmas music to try to keep busy in December, get in touch now if you want to book us for your party: ballisticpig@gmail.com

Speaking of parties, thanks to everyone who came to the "soft" reopening of the ANAF hall last Friday! Turns out it wasn't very soft at all, as we had a full houce dancing all night. Big shout out to Misty Reid for opening things up for us and Marty Kukler for taking some rocking photos! 

Also, thanks to the folks who joined us for the Jazz Trio gig at The Wickaninnish Inn recently

 That's about it for now. See you at a gig, soon!

-Geoff

Rock Band af ANAF in Ucluelet Tonight

We're playing at Ucluelet's ANAF tonight with guest Misty Reid, formerly of Vancouver indie rockers The Yoko Casionos, here are the details;

Should be a blast of a night. Last time we played the ANAF it was a full house, hopefully we'll see some of you there

Jazz Trio Set Thursday November 6th at The Wickaninnish Inn

Hi friends, with Halloween behind us things are probably going to get a little quieter in Ballistic Pig Land for a while. We've got gigs but the rock band portion of the fun likely won't see much action until spring.

We've got a gig with the "jazz" trio on Thursday though, we'll be playing a 100% unplugged show in The Driftwood Cafe and The Wickaninnish Inn starting at 6:30. It's a small venue with no cover and I've played a number of solo sets in there that always fill up so if you're interested in checking it out come early. After this gig we're going to put together a set of Christmas tunes for the trio so if you have an event of house party or an event for Christmas give us a call.

The quieter times in the coming months will also, hopefully allow me to do the tracking of my album. There has been a lot of rewriting and other pre-production going on and I suspect the actually recording will be done in December and January.

Thanks for a summer season of great gigs and tons of local support, see you at a show, soon.

Hallowe'en in Tofino at Jack's with Ballistic Pig and Jagermeister

One of our favourite nights of the year at one of our favourite venues surrounded by the "medicinal" beverage that has led to many of the questionable but very fun decision we've made coming up. On October 31st it's Halloween at Jack's with Jagermeister and Ballistic Pig!!!!

Can't wait, hope to see you there!

The Pig Rig: Geoff's Full-Size 5-string Upright Bass

When the jazz-country-soul trio idea was first coming together a few months ago I thought it would be great to do it with an upright bass. After short consideration I had talked myself out of it for a variety of reasons; I'd never played one before, they're expensive, they're awkward to travel with and store, and I'm usually a five string bass player and I figured bouncing back and forth would be hard on my head. While discussing this with a friend he noted that a local guy was selling a 5-string upright bass IN TOFINO... so this happened!

Frankie, as I've come to call her, isn't the fanciest bass around but she's a workhorse. The previous owner played her all through his classical training before finding a higher quality instrument upon graduation so she's paid her dues. Playing the upright has really given me a new perspective on music. You can hear her when our Jazz Trio gets together (Next confirmed gig is November 6th at The Wickaninnish Inn)

Busy October!

At the time of this post the Ballistic Pig family of musical adventures had 22 gigs booked in October. This coming week is a nice sampling of the many different adventures we've been on;

Monday: Jam night at Jack's in Tofino with the rock band 9pm-close
Tuesday: Geoff solo at Jamie's in Tofino 9pm-11 (or 12?)

Wednesday: Jazz Trio at Black Rock in Ucluelet 7:30 - 10:30ish
Thursday: Geoff solo at Black Rock in Ucluelet 7:30 - 10:30ish
Friday: Geoff solo after steak night at The Tofino Legion 8pm-?


I've also wrapped up a soundtrack project that will be released on October 27, more on that soon.
Hope to see you out this week friends!
-Thanks, Geoff

Thanksgiving Sunday in Tofino it's Turkey v Pig

I'm playing a solo set at Jack's this Sunday night so if you've got a big dinner planned and you're wondering what to do after... now you know!

In other news it's been a fun couple weeks playing a variety of gigs from bars to wedding ceremonies, fancy dinners to charity BBQs. Thanks to everyone who came to the public shows and the event planners who booked us. This is truly the best job, ever. The Jazz Trio will be playing Jamie's Rainforest Inn on Tuesday, October 14 starting at 9... Hope to see you there, as well.

Party on, Geoff

Somewhere Over The Rainbow and Christmas Parties

For a wedding next summer a couple wanted this one for the processional. Here's a little (poor audio quality) version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow) for you;

Post by Ballistic Pig - Tofino's Party Band.

In other news, The Down By Law (jazz band spinoff) team have started putting together a set of Christmas songs for your parties this winter. Lastly, We've got a ton of gigs coming up in the first half of October! Full band, jazz band , duo and solo in Tofino and Ucluelet. Check the "Shows" page if you're on mobile or the little calendar thing on the right it's your on the full website.

Thanks for visiting friends... See you at a gig, soon!

October Gigs. Your Parties? An Album!

While the West Coast Slows down into "off-season" mode here in Ballistic Pig land we're still going hard. At this point we have sixteen gigs booked in October spread across private events, fundraisers, Hallowe'en parties, jam nights and more! A healthy mix of musical fun for sure. Check for bookings on the right (or the "shows" page if you're on mobile).

I had a great time playing my solo party set at Schooner the other evening for The Pacific Sands' staff party. If you're looking for musical entertainment to liven up your next corporate event or Christmas party drop us an email at ballisticpig@gmail.com

In other news I've decided to take whatever free time I might end up with this winter to record an original album with hopes on having it available in the spring, more on that as it develops. Currently I'm digging through tunes I wrote over the last 15 years and seeing what's salvageable.

Down By Law

The Jazz/ Old-School Country  Trio has now been named. We've opted for Down By Law, a slang term from the jazz world that sort of means to have "paid your dues". Mostly we thought it sounded cool. We've played a few private functions as Down By Law but our first public gigs as it stands right now will be at Jamie's Rainforest Inn on October 14th and at The Wickaninnish Inn on November 6.

Other shows in the near future include my usual solo gigs most Thursday's at The Black Rock Oceanfront Resort and our first full-on Ballistic Pig rock and roll show in Tofino since August at Jack's on October 3rd and 4th.

In other West Coast music news, it was a blast having Jay Bowcott and Brady Enslen at the jam last night. They're on tour from Alberta, here's a player with some tunes from Jay's new album and more.

If you're reading this on Sept 16, 2014 they are playing at Jamie's Rainforest Inn tonight starting at 8.

Jam night next Monday will be stellar, too. With reggae-rockers, The Steadies in town for some jamming and a special acoustic gig at Jamie's. Their new album can be heard on their website; www.thesteadies.ca

That's about it for now. See you folks at a gig, soon.  -Geoff

Weddings, Corporate Events, Golf Tournamnents, Charity Dinners, Staff Parties and More

Summer, at least the peak of the tourist season may be behind us in Tofino and Ucluelet but in Ballistic Pig land there's still lots to do. For myself it's been solo acoustic guitar for wedding ceremonies. Playing a few weddings a week for the last while has been a ton of fun and I really look forward to more! We also unleashed the (still un-named) jazz trio last Friday at The Wickaninnish Inn Pro-Am golf tournament with great success. There are other great dinner party events on the horizon, staff parties and other fun things so we're keeping busy with the more acoustic side of the Ballistic Pig family.

Hopefully Daz will have his hand fixed up and we'll be ready to get the rock band back on the stage, soon. In the mean time hope to see you at The Black Rock Oceanfront Resort for my usual Thursday Night set, tomorrow starting at 7:30.

Thanks, Geoff

Jazz Band Coming Soon

Geoff and Tara have been working with local jazz guitar and piano player Andrew Giesbrecht lately to put together a set of jazzy tunes great for fancy dinner parties, weddings, classy events and such that will feature upright bass! So, here's a little photo summing up our musical offerings based on which instrument Geoff will be playing. (Kamloops BC made Riversong acoustic for solo sets, Fender USA Deluxe Stratocaster for full-band Ballistic Pig fun and a 5-string upright bass for the yet unnamed jazz band)

So your job is to help us name the jazz band. Bonus points if you can work a "Pig" angle in while still keeping it classy enough to put on wedding invitations or whatever.  Any ideas can be posted as comments below or emailed to ballisticpig@gmail.com

Gig-wise Geoff is playing a solo set at Blackrock tomorrow evening (Thursday August 21, 7:30, no cover)

Finally, many thanks to the folks at The ANAF in Ucluelet, both staff and dancers. We had a blast playing there on Friday and hope to come back soon.  Big thanks to Rachel for opening the party up with an acoustic set, as well.

Tara Lightnin' and Ballistic Pig Friday August 15 at Ucluelet's ANAF

We're pleased to be playing a new (to us) venue next Friday, Ucluelet's insanely charming Army, Navy, Air Force Veteran's Club. Here's the poster

We're working on some ideas for an opening act as well so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, Geoff and Tara are playing at The Tofino Village Green Market this Saturday. Come get some free, outdoor tunes!

Tin Wis Gig on Hiatus

Just a "heads up" that my solo Sunday night gig at Tin Wis is on hiatus until further notice. Hopefully live music will be back, better than ever at The Tin Wis once their new patio is set up. Until then check out the solo show most Thursdays at Black Rock and other gigs, full band and otherwise, listed in the "Pig Gigs" section of the website.

Ukee Days After Party at Official's in Ucluelet

Been a while since the last update. We've been playing a lot and summer on the west coast is usually a busy time. Anyway, we're really excited to say that we're going to be providing the rock madness for the Ukee Days After Party at Official's!!

So make plans to get up to some silliness with us in a couple weeks.

We're also playing Jack's this weekend and I've got a handful of acoustic solo gigs, too so check the "pig-gigs" listing here on the page.

See you guys at a show soon.

-Geoff

Happy Canada Day

Hey kids, we're in Ucluelet playing The Canadian Princess Resort on the deck of the boat this evening from 6:30 to 8:30... Hope you can come by. Oh yeah, Happy Canada Day

Lot's of other gigs coming up in July so stay tuned!

-Geoff

Firday June 20 Tara Lightnin' and Ballistic Pig at Jack's

Just a quick post letting you know we're playing a full night of rock fun at Jack's Pub in Tofino this Friday. Hope you can make it!

 

 

Speaking of Jack's we're hosting jam night tonight as usual. Hope to see you there

Geoff Solo Thursdays at Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet

Starting tomorrow I'll be playing my solo acoustic set at Ucluelet's The Black Rock most Thursdays starting at 7:30. It's a lovely resort they've got down there and I've been fortunate to play there a number of times over the years. I'm really looking forward to getting to know the crew and clientelle down there better.  I'm also planning to incorporate local and touring musical guests into these shows to keep them fresh.

The music takes place in their Float Lounge so it's 19+ but there is no cover charge and always great food, drink and service.  Check out Black Rock's website here: http://www.blackrockresort.com/

Black Rock's Float Lounge

 



Hope to see some of you folks in Float tomorrow and Tuesday's to come. -Geoff

Guest Entertainer This Sunday at The Tin Wis: Candace Dawne Bastien

Hi Folks, on June 8 I've got my usual Sunday acoustic show at The Best Western Tin Wis resort and I'll have a guest drop in for the 8-9 set.  A Tofino local singer-songwriter Candace has a set of quirky originals and covers. I tried to find some demos online but didn't have much luck so I guess you'll have to come out to hear them.

Candace

 Next week (June 15th) I'll have local jazz and country guitarist Andrew Giesbecht join me from 8-9 as well, so make some father's day reservations at The Tin Wis.

In other news, I begin my solo residency at The Black Rock Oceanfront Resort on Thursday, June 12.  Nearly every Thursday I'll be down there with fun, classic acoustic covers. I'll also be joined by local and touring artists so plan to attend if you can... I'll keep you posted here regarding guests and whatnot.

As far as the full Tara Lighnin' and Ballistic Pig thing goes we have a lot of gigs coming up. We're playing almost every weekend from late June through July including June 20, 27, 28 at Jack's in Tofino and Official's over the Ukee Days weekend in late July. Check the "Shows" calendar for details.

Thanks for reading. Hope to see you at a show, soon.

Gettin' Lucky, Goin' To Ukee!!

We've added a bit more current Top 40 stuff to our set recently and we're looking forward to busting it out on May 31st at Official's in Ucluelet. (don't worry we still play a ton of classics, too.) Here's a video from the audiece at a jam night a few weeks back when we played Daft Punk's "Get Lucky"

Post by Benjamin Shirley.

Thanks, Ben for shooting the vid. If you've got photos or video of the band we'd love to see it. Feel free to post it on the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BallisticPig or email stuff to ballisticpig@gmail.com. Tara and I are in Ukee Thurday, May 22nd to play for the Vancouver Island Porsche Owner's Club and the 3 piece band is back in Ukee on May 31 to play at Official's.

I've also got my usual acoustic sets on Sunday evenings at Tin Wis and a solo set for the Tofino Village Green's Market from noon to 2 on May 31st. Full schedule on our "shows" page

Hope to see you out and about! -Geoff

Quick Update

Not a lot of posts lately, sorry Pig Fans. I've been busy with solo acoustic gigs these last few weeks. Sunday's at Tin Wis, last Thursday at The Wickaninnish Inn and our recent 2 night stand at The Blue Marlin Inn were all a blast. Jam nights have also been really picking back up with the summer coming!

We're also doing some "rebranding" and will be referring to our full-band gigs with Tara as follows

Ballistic Pig will refer to the 3 piece band of myself, Nick and Daz... I'll use my name real name for the mellower solo gigs and the Acoustic Pig moniker for the pub style solo gigs.... Confused yet?

Anyway, We've got a ton of shows of all sorts coming up on the next couple months in Tofino and Ucluelet so check the schedule and get ready to party!

Thanks,   -Geoff

Upcoming Gigs For Late April, Early May 2014

Well, Tara's got some day job commitments coming up that will take her away from the band for a week or so. As a result our next few gigs will feature much less female vocal talent and a lot longer guitar solos and jamming. I've got a "solo" set this weekend at Jack's;

However, I suspect the rhythm pigs, Nick and Daz will show up so we can practice our "Tara Free" set because we'll be playing without her on May 2nd and 3rd at The Blue Marlin Inn in Port Alberni.  There's a small chance that ex-piggy Chester Hamm and some Port Alberni music friends will drop in on this gigs to play a few tunes, as well.

Of course, while all that's going on I'll also be playing my mellower acoustic jazz, blues and classic rock set every Sunday night at The Tin Wis starting at 6.

I'll also be bringing the unplugged set to The Wickaninnish Inn's Driftwood Café on May 8th (hopefully with Tara to help on the vocals), this will likely be my last Driftwood Café show for a while as, starting in June I'll be playing nearly every Thursday at The Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet.

So, it's getting pretty busy in the Ballistic Pig camp as summer approaches... Weekends are booked pretty solid through July and there are a lot of tentative bookings in place so if you need music for something be sure to drop us a line: ballisticpig@gmail.com

Thanks, Geoff