L to R: Joe Meekums, Adam Bowman, Colleen Hodgson, Lisa Hodgson, Stephen, GH
in St. George’s Concert Hall, Bristol, UK.
When I started out with The Stickpeople a million years ago, I had a soundman, Leslie Charbon. He was a part of the band. It was a luxury, something I learned when I started touring without him. Every night became a crapshoot, and chances were that the more competent the person sounded over the phone in the days/weeks leading up to landing at their venue, the bigger the gamble when it came to showtime and the more disappointed I would be. Sometimes it would feel like yelling into the wind for two hours.
As the band has grown for the Nights of Grief & Mystery, it has become clear that we need a sound person, so for this tour we bit the bullet and hired Joe Meekums. I had long forgotten the impact on stage of knowing that shit was being handled out front, that we had a co-conspirator out there with a vested interest in helping us get to where we so deeply want to go every Night we do this.
I am (we are) indebted to Joe (quite literally) for being reminded that the words, lyrics, melodies, grace notes, subtleties, silences and roars are all worth being heard out there in the rooms we play.
Thank you, Joe.
Gregory Hoskins 
So nice to hear people being acknowledged for their input. We are not islands, we are not ‘the shiz’, things happen in relation to others, we create things with others and because of others – something they did or didn’t do touched us, something in us was touched by some/one/thing else. We are not one but we are connected. We are a long line of connection – hoping to be heard, hoping to offer something…..lol I hope you are paying Joe while being indebted to him/her!