need the info....

I have heard the tales of FruCons over the ages and still don't know quite what happens there. Any info? Is it just a great big gathering of Furheads? Does the band play at these events? Are they always in Toronto? I'm intrested in attending one but havn't found any info on where or when... any info would be most helpful~

lots of fruheads get together and do stuff in toronto every february. you just missed this year's frucon last weekend. here are a couple old reviews, and here are pictures from last weekend's.

cool images... I should definetly take my camera... (that's the pro photographer in me jumping out... i think about going anywhere that I haven't been before and the first thing I think is how much film to take..)

Why can't I see these pictures?! ACK!

Just keep reading the wall archives, you'll find plenty of stories about the adventures that make up Frucon 6.  We're certain to have a Frucon 7, same location and same time (President's Day weekend)

god, i hope it's not the same time.. toronto + february = hell :)

Oh lord, the snowstorm made for a WONDERFUL adventure.  I think we have had this discussion before though.  The reasoning behind the choice of Frucon in February has to do with:

1.  A great way to split up the year into two big Fruhead gatherings down the middle:  Frucon and FRFF.

2.  Cheap hotel rates in Toronto in February

3.  President's Day weekend means Monday off for some people.

4.  Tradition.

Ok- so, what's FRFF? Toronto in Feb... cold, snowy... glad I drive diesel!

FRFF = Falcon Ridge Folk Festival aka The Happiest Place On Earth. :)

A couple of websites will give you info on it:  www.falconridgefolk.com and my own website dedicated to Camp Fruvous:  www.budgiedome.com

 

now I know what a BudgieDome is... wow. that's really cool! it makes me wish i could sing...

not being able to sing hasn't stopped anybody before!

it's true!

MOST of the people there can't!
;)

 

exactly! People seem to still be talking to me post-singalong ;)

True, but late fall would (a) give us a chance to have a double-frucon year, and (b) give a good amount of time after FRFF.

Plus, it was only a wonderful adventure because the snowstorm hit on the *leaving* part of FruCon. We'd all be saying something quite different if the storm had hit a few days earlier, and it *will* happen one of these years. :)

Are you thinking Labor day?

labor day maybe, but i was thinking later, as in october or something. but anytime when you can walk down the street and still be able to move your facial muscles afterwards gets bonus points in my book! :)

The best fall weekend would be Columbus Day weekend.  Just be sure to give yourself TONS of time getting there as traffic was horrendous last year as us EFO fans can vouch for.

Coumbus day isn't a real holiday. It is almost totally unobserved in the midwest. I think we need a legitimate long weekend.

Would this be held in Canada?

Because Columbus day in the US is Thanksgiving in Canada.

I dunno Josh, we have visited this question every year for 6 years and the decision is ALWAYS that frucon should be President's day weekend. It is cold and can snow, but there are a lot of good reasons for doing it at that time.

I can't think of one.

:(

I would have loved to go this year... but it's SUCH an inconvenient time of year.

 

Heh. Well you just missed it. (I was originally going to say that we all get naked in a big room full of pillows and a couple of bottles of massage oil while we play frutunes in the background, but seeing as how you are new here and you seem to have a legitimate question, I'll give you a legitmate answer)

Frucon has been held in Toronto on President's Day (US Holiday) weekend for the past 6 years. It is a chance for Fruvous fans to get to know each other and hang out.

The con has ranged in size from 300 people at Frucon 4 to about 23 people last weekend. Activities over the years have included sing alongs, open mic, game shows, question and answer panels, puzzles and games, video showings and a Raffle. There has also been movie nights, a pub crawl, several breakfasts, and attendance at other fru-related artists shows. Obviously the bigger cons have been more involved and the smaller ones more informal.

The band came to the first 3 cons, playing some rare tunes at cons 1 and 3. Murray and Jian were on a panel we had at con 4 and Jian came last year to con 5 and played Fruvous weakest link with us. This year was really small, so we didn't even bother telling them that we were having it.

When Fruvous was still touring they scheduled concerts in Toronto around the cons (their doing, not ours). There was a show the night of con 1, 3 shows the weekend of con 2, 2 shows the weekend of con 3, and the last show they ever played was the night of con 4.

Take a look at http://www.frucon.org for some more information and photos of con 5. I'll have pictures of con 6 posted somwhere online shortly.

is the band still together? I haven't found anything that says that they've split up, just that they're not touring right now.

as for the pillows and massage oil... well, that's another con altogether, isn't it?

"as for the pillows and massage oil... well, that's another con altogether, isn't it?"

Not really. Fruheads are a snuggly and incestuous bunch. :D

As for the band, they are "on hiatus". What that means is anyone's guess, but I don't see how anybody could have seen Mike on monday and not come away with the notion that it will be a while before we see any more Fruvous performances.

The band is on a hiatus - it's been 2 years since their last performance.  They've got their own projects going - Jian's got 2 shows on BBC and a solo EP, Mike is using music to teach Canadian History in schools, Murray is going on tour with Great Big Sea (check 'em out too), and Dave put out a solo CD.

Whether the band is still together - I'd prefer not to make any assumptions either way.    Of course, I hope they'll tour again, but knowing how much fun they're all having - and the great art they've been creating - has been comforting.

And the best thing is that the Fruheads are still going strong.  Who needs the lads anyway!?!

> And the best thing is that the Fruheads are still going strong. > Who needs the lads anyway!?!

exactly! FruCon = Fruhead Convention, not Fruvous Convention.

That pretty much does sum it up.  Frucon 6 could have easliy had NOTHING to do with the Frulads, other than them getting us to know each other in the first place.

random thought - make sure you check out dave and jian's solo CDs!

I have Jian's autograph... I got it at the Point in Bryn Mawr, PA. great concert and Jian is so nice!

I have jian's cd but not daves... I'll have to find that- does Borders have that? or should I go straight to amazon?

even amazon doesn't have dave's, let alone borders. but you can get it online here. it's fantastic, one of my favorite CDs.

Personaly, I think the band is together simply because they have not said otherwise. I think that when all is over and done with, they will at least say so, and I still think there will probably be one last show (of course, I also think they could do more touring and such in a number of years, but I don't want to speculate at all on that). They had been touring almost non-stop for most of a decade, if they take five years off, they'll still wind up with more mean touring time than most bands.

I can imagine that in a band where every member is entirely equal to the next member there would have to be a period of calm where they could explore their own musical styles and create for themselves a career outside of the shell of the band. I just hope that this hiatus doesn't lead them to far from each other and that they eventually find their ways back to the group and tour again- not for us because touring for your fans is a good way to break up a band- but for the fun of playing together.

Oh they ARE togther. They aren't mad at each other or anything. They all live in the same city and are in touch and still work together. They did the theme for the Steve Burgess segment on Jian's show. It isn't about there being a band called Moxy Fruvous. It is about whether they record or tour.

I know they're together... I just meant back to recording and touring. that's all~ ;)

AJ - how was Mike's performance? I'm dying to know.  I'm so jealous of you guys, I can't even tell you *g*  Did he happen to mention when his CD would be done?

The weather during last year's Con wasn't bad at all.  A little chilly, especially for waiting outside C'est What, but the singing of Arrogant Worm songs warmed us right up. ;-) As I recall, I didn't even do my coat up most of the time.

Mike's show was great. He kept stressing that what we saw was not his typical show, because the audience was larger and younger than he usually has, but nevertheless he was great. He told great stories and asked interesting questions. He kept them interested and got them to sing along on a bunch of songs. I learned something. I'd never heard of the Oak Island Mystery before.

 

There have been a few TV shows about that.  And here's a link to a site about the mystery....

http://www.activemind.com/Mysterious/Topics/OakIsland/

I don't think he's recorded anything for a CD yet, but he said he'll probably recording it in Matheson Studios (a.k.a. Dave's apartment).

He performed a few of his own songs, and a number of songs he's collected around Canada.  I've been earwormed with 2 of them for the last few days.

The Q and A session with the kids was amazing - he was definitely calling on those improv skills to answer some of the questions.  Some favorites: "Why don't you ever smile?" "Did you know your face turns red and blue when you sing?" and "When you said someone was cuckoo, did you mean mentally challenged?"  

Mike's best answer was to the question "How did you learn to sing so fast?": "Prrraaaaccctiiiccce iiinnnn thhheee showwerrrrr", with appropriate slow-mo scrubbing of the back motion.

Why *doesn't* he smile? ;-)

That *is* his smile!