Nihao,
I'm back in Canada after a whirlwind week in China. Karaoke-ing with Peaches till 5 am at a dive bar in Qingdao may have been the highlight, though walking along the Great Wall whilst sipping Tsingtao beers with my guitar player/Gold & Youth comrade Murrray McKenzie and Geoff Dembicki of Vancouver's Peace also ranked amongst the best days ever. What a delight to travel so far from your homeland yet still be surrounded by Canadians! The Inter City Music Festival I took part in took place on the Golden Beach in Qingdao and was really fun. I played to about 400 people in the sweltering heat. I have never sweated on stage that much in my life. LIFE.
At karaoke, Peaches and I belted out "No Limit" by 2 Unlimited and got to talking about Pussy Riot. If you aren't familiar with what's going on with the Pussy Riot situation well, I suggest you discover google and educate yourself. Anyway, as we both felt quite passionately about it, she was kind enough to give me a copy Free Pussy Riot, a protest song about the situation, and I am very happy to announce I will be debuting it on my show today. You can check out the music video here, featuring guest appearances by Hives, Lykke Li, Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Mike Snow, Margaret Cho and Kate Nash with footage of the Free Pussy Riot rally in Berlin.
We're very fortunate to live in a country that allows us freedom of speech with no strings attached.
Power to the ladies of Pussy Riot and the teaches of Peaches.