Jordan - As we entered Canada, I'd like to think we were optimistic. We naively thought we could just bop on over to Ottawa from New York without a hitch. We were introduced to cold reality fairly early on when we encountered a fairly gruff Customs agent who didn't seem to be feeling our style. This set a standard of unease that would stick with me for the rest of the trip. Shortly afterwards, we lost all connection to the outside world as our phones lost all connection to service. It may sound like some sort of "first world problem" joke, but not being able to call or text anyone in America had a profound effect on the way we experienced this trip. Our phones became unresponsive and the signs switched from measuring distance in miles to measuring distance in kilometers. It felt like we were the last survivors of some shipwreck in uncharted waters...except with a lot more Tim Horton's.

Heath - "I call...and call again." Truer words have never been written by me. When you're living on a budget...crossing that border is the beginning of life away from everyone you know and love. it is the beginning of doubt that they will truly understand and hope that they might. There's a popular story about Oscar Wilde disembarking a ship that brought him from England to the USA. The government agent asked if he had anything to declare, and he replied, "I have nothing to declare except my genius." That's how I felt when this agent just completely destroyed my self esteem while I was already emotionally preparing for distance to make my life miserable while in Canada. I was immediately defensive, and wish I had declared something real. That was the jumping off point for the song.

Isaac - This stretch of shows in Canada came towards the end of a long run on the road for Jordan & I. The weeks leading up to it were a mixed bag of great opportunities & disheartening letdowns that each contributed to me being at my most mentally exhausted. One of the few sources of fuel to keep going was the anticipation of finally taking FREE DAPS into another country. It was a cool next step for us. We reached the border with short-lived optimism as we were detained, questioned, & taxed on our goods before being dismissed into the Great White North. It was a cold reminder that no part of this journey would be easy. Not that it should be, yet somehow we as people assume we know when we've worked hard enough to be beyond it. It hit me how little control I have over my rewards, if any, for my toil. In that moment I also struggled with the idea of patriotism- being loyal to a place you didn't choose to be born in and furthermore, hassling those who want to visit your land simply because they weren't as lucky as you to be undeservingly born there. I don't care where I'm from, I just wanna share my music.