Storyteller and Bard
In 2014, I released my collection of creepy stories called “Did You Hear That?”. Previously, CDBaby carried the CD, but when they made structural changes to that site, my album got dropped. Meh.
So instead, I have placed a digital copy of the CD on Bandcamp where you can purchase the individual tracks ($2) or the whole CD for $10.
This holiday season, give the gift of story to your friends and family with the COVID-friendly, freshly sanitized for your protection, digital copy of the CD!
I am pleased to announce that I have been booked as an official Guide for Montreal’s Haunted Tours. My first haunted tour will be of Griffintown on September 29th, 2017. I will also be giving haunted tours of the Mountain in October.
My haunted tour schedule is as follows (list will be updated as needed):
If you want to book a haunted walk, visit the Haunted Montreal website and book your spot, but do it quickly because there are a limited number of tickets available per tour!
If you cannot make any of the dates listed on the site, but you still want a private tour with me, you can contact Haunted Montreal with requested dates and if I’m available, we can make it work. Send an email to info@hauntedmontreal.com.
UPDATE: The Montreal Gazette did a report on the Haunted Walk featuring yours truly as the tour guide! You can watch the video reporting piece by clicking here.
This year at the Bloomsday Festival (Montreal, Quebec), I was asked to co-host (with Donovan King) an evening of Irish poetry and stories down at bar Kaffein on Bishop street. It’s not every day I get described as “magnificent”.
From an article about the event:
Now if the rest of the festival is equal to Tuesday’s event, An Irish Story (An scéal na hÉireann), which was billed as an evening of storytelling and poetry, hosted by Donovan King and the magnificent John David Hickey, who thrilled all those in attendance with his great stories (modern adaptations of traditional Irish folklore and legends), then everyone is in for a treat.
— Luc Archambault, June 2017
— https://www.westmountmag.ca/festival-bloomsday-montreal/
My friends down at the Mountain Ancestors ADF Grove are actively supporting our brothers and sisters who are defending Standing Rock. The folks up there need chainsaws: their Elders up there are getting cold and they can’t process the firewood fast enough with the tools they have. Now, we need to get winter clothes and winter lodgings together, as the cold descends.
Please consider making a donation to help them keep the Standing Rock Elders safe!
Here’s what this ADF Grove posted recently on their Facebook page:
Greetings, All! This is a #CallToAction with #FreeStuff for you!
As many of you know, our Casey McCarthy is heading to Standing Rock to bring some much-needed winter supplies to the Water Protectors. They are in need of supplies for the winter, and we need your help to get them!
Fellow ADF-member and celebrated Storyteller JD Hobbes is offering a free download of his album, a collection sure to entertain story-lovers of all ages, for all donations over $50. Click on his name for more information and some cool video clips.
Make your donation at MountainAncestors.org under Services.
Join us in supporting the Water Protectors during this time of unrest and uncertainty. #WaterIsLife
I am proud to support this cause and I hope you will join me. It is up to us to decide how this story will be told to future generations.
This year (2015), we lost two great storytellers. One was my dear friend Jack Nissenson who passed on June 24th. He was being treated for health complications at St. Mary’s hospital when he passed unexpectedly in his sleep. He was 82. This is a recording of the last story he performed in front of an audience.
The other was my friend Brother Bear (Frère Ours) who died suddenly in his sleep in August. He wasn’t a close friend, but we traveled in similar circles and performed together. He was a gentle bon vivant and a brilliant storyteller.
Unfortunately, I could not attend his funeral, but it was recorded and posted on his Facebook page.
A video homage was made of him telling stories, playing music, and singing songs. It represents him pretty well.
Google Calendar rules my life. I was reviewing it today and I suddenly realized I’ve got a ton of gigs coming up (well a ton for me, which is generally more than one).
I’m leaving this here more as a reminder for myself, but if anyone of you would like to join me at these events, I would love to see you there. Yes, you. Don’t look over your shoulder… I’m talking to you. Right now.
DONE: February 11th, 8pm: Voix de Ville (as Professor Taelstrum)
DONE: February 18th, 7pm: Slamtastique Story Slam (as the host)
DONE: February 28th, 7pm: 10 Hours for a Spoken World (as part of the Nuit Blanche)
DONE: March 14th, 8pm: Did You Hear That? CD Launch in Ottawa
DONE: March 15th, 3pm: Telling a couple of Irish stories at Cafe Mariposa for Irish Brunch
DONE: March 15th, 8:30pm: Socks Off Armando (featured teller for an Improv troupe)
DONE: March 20th, 8pm: Tales o’the Green at the Yellow Door Coffeehouse
DONE: March 22nd, 4pm: Driving Out the Snakes III (as the host and seanachi)
March 25th, 7pm: Slamtastique Story Slam (website)
It’s finally the day that has been months, if not years, in the making. Welcome to the digital launch of the much anticipated follow-up CD to The Bard’s New Hat!
JD Hickey’s newest CD “Did you Hear That?” is ready and features some of the Bard’s the creepiest stories (join us at the Facebook event)! Get ready to turn out the lights and listen to these tales! Then turn all the lights back on and quiver in your bed, praying that the sun will return to banish the darkness!
The stories include:
Here’s what you can get:
1. “Did You Hear That?”: $12 (8 stories + 2 bonus tracks)
2. “Did you Hear That the Bard Has a New Hat?”: $20 which includes:
There are three ways you can purchase your digital download. Be sure to give me your email address so that I can send you the URL so that you can download the CD!
Once I receive your payment, I will email you a link to the ZIP file that contains the tracks. This path will be active for a couple of days, so you must download the file before it expires. Please let me know when you receive the files and do not share this path with anyone else.
Woohoo! I get my own Pirate Testimonial on International Talk Like Pirate Day!
Also, who knew that pirates could be so immature? Hickey. *snort*
Like my Facebook Fan Page! Arrrr!
So this year, I decided to move my storytelling website to its own webhost. I’ve been wrangling with the HTML and moving the site over, but it’s turning out to be a real hassle. I may have to recreate the posts manually, so this might take some time. Please be patient.
The cool thing is that you don’t have to update your bookmarks! For the past couple of years, www.johndavidhickey.ca has been referring off to another site. I just didn’t want people to get confused between the two sites (documentia.ca is my business site).
And by quiet, I mean I’ve been so busy, I can’t even speak.
Actually, that’s not entirely true. I had a few gigs booked until July before my calendar cleared out. It’s odd to get storytelling gigs in the Summer; storytelling is more of a Fall/Winter/Spring activity.
So I know I told a few people about taking over from Mike Burns’ gig at Hurley’s Pub, but unfortunately, it fell through. After 20 years of Irish tales, the pub owners decided to end the tradition on Mike’s retirement. I realized that this was a possibility, but I hoped I could sell them on the idea anyways. I failed. Drat.
Oh well… This just means I can focus more on hosting the Slamtastique events this season (or 3rd year!). I think I will prepare one story to tell per event so I can get some decent recordings for the next CD. I thought I had enough recordings for the new CD, but I’m realizing the audio quality just isn’t there. With the Bard’s New Hat CD, the audio quality was all over the place, so I’m striving to a deliver a higher quality product this time.
In this coming year, I’m going to focus on getting gigs at Festivals, so I need to prepare my press kit and send it everywhere and anywhere. Maybe I’ll end up playing in a venue near you!