MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Summer 2020

37 words :: Drew McIvor // illustration :: Dave Barnes I couldn’t have been more than 14 years old. It was the first summer I was more or less allowed to disappear for a couple of nights, provided I had bug spray and a tent and didn’t swim after dark. My cousins and I plus a couple of their soccer buddies would wait in line hoping to grab one of the last car-camping sites in the Albion Hills, Hockley Valley or anywhere near Loretto, Ontario. We were all young aspiring musicians—junior in talent, senior in ambition—but at that age none of us could really carry a song. So cassettes would have to do. We didn’t mind; we all had boom boxes. (Mine was a Pulsar dual cassette AM/FM portable stereo system.) We’d play soccer next to the lake all day, under-hydrated and over- sunned—it was the eighties and half of us were still choosing coconut oil over sunscreen. After we noshed on hot dogs and marshmallows, the summer sun set in preparation for our “smoke show”. First things first, cue up a sure crowd pleaser—Van Halen (the pre-Hagar days were all gold). And if that didn’t impress, the holy grail of summer rock—AC/DC. Next, a sweet campfire with a few premium logs “borrowed” from dad’s garage. Finally, three armfuls of wet leaves from the nearby forest thrown directly on top creating volcanic billows of smoke and then … BOOM! Nino would leap through the smoke, air guitar firmly in hand, legs spread in a daffy or a Pete Townsend mule kick. The smoke show had begun. From all directions we’d launch through the smoke wailing mock solos from empty hands in perfect sync to “Back in Black”, “Hot for Teacher”, “More than a Feeling”, or “Whole Lotta Love”. A night at the opera it was not, but we had the night sky, a glowing fire, a killer soundtrack and the best buddies you could ask for. That was camping. At least it was for me in the 1980s. THE SMOKE SHOW The evolution of music under the stars As Neil Young reminds us, “Rock ’n’ roll is here to stay”, so we find new ways to gather, to breathe in inspiration and exhale creative expression. MUSIC