Happy Canada Day! Just an update on The Book. I have now completed two drafts and am currently going through a third edit, so hopefully publishing will begin shortly. I imagine it will finally be available sometime in the fall.

I have decided to go the self publishing route through one of the online print on demand publishers such as Author House, iuniverse, Lulu. Anyone have any experience, opinions or suggestions on this?

Email me if you can advise.

Thanks!

My friends over at One Week Job has made a few much anticipated announcements recently.

Sean’s book will be available on April 10 in Canada and May 4 in the US. Preorder information can be found on the website.

In addition to the book, Ian‘s documentary film will be release shortly as well. Below is the new trailer for it.

And for those of you who want to participate in a One Week Job of your own, The One Week Job Program has been launched to allow 3 participants to experience 8 difference jobs each.

Check out the links, read the book, watch the film, and join the program. It’s certainly exciting times for the One Week Job project. Way to go Sean, Ian and crew!

In 2002, I bussed 36 hours down to Southern California for a week of sun and fun at Hermosa Beach. The following year, I flew even further south to Baja, Mexico, just outside of Cabo San Lucas, where I surfed and got sick for 10 days. 2004 brought me overseas for the first time, as I backpacked around Australia for a few months, riding waves and visiting some friends. Then in 2005, I bought a van with 2 complete strangers and drove across Canada for a month and I haven’t really returned from this ride yet, as my travels have just exploded from there.

As each year went by in the second half of the decade, my trips became more frequent, more extravagant, and less logically. But the fun level has continue to rise, so I keep doing it. Around this time every year, I spend some time to look back with fond memories and do a year end review, which I started doing in 2006. And everytime, just when I thought it could not get any better than the previous year, it does. This year is no exception. 2009 continues this pattern and even further exceeds the year I had in 2008.

For the first time, I managed to go a full year without working, which allowed me to freely throw darts on a map to determine my next destination. And even when it all seem to go to shits in the middle of it all, everything worked out the way it should have, as it usual does. Karma is a powerful force and it has taken good care of me over the years. Thanks to this, things are even brighter for me now and I am happier that I have ever been. In fact, 2009 was so grand that I decided to do a video review of it all for the first time. So this is a look back at the extraordinary year that I had. Enjoy!

Here are some stats from the year:

TRAVEL
-43 days in Hawaii
-14 days in Hong Kong
-5 days in Macau
-3 days in Bangkok
-25 days in Nepal
-10 days on the road driving to New York
-70 days in Montreal
-7 days in Croatia
-2 days in Munich
-4 days in Italy
-5 days in the UK
-2 days in Toronto
-7 days in New York
-4 days in Wisonsin
-6 days in Los Angeles
-15 days in Seattle
-5 days in Philly
-133 days in Vancouver
-5 days in New Orleans

TOP SHOWS OF THE YEAR
1. Nine Inch Nails at Webster’s Hall in New York Aug 23
2. Pearl Jam at The Spectrum in Philly Oct 30
3. Nine Inch Nails at Wiltern in Los Angeles Sep 10
4. Pearl Jam at GM Place in Vancouver Sep 25
5. Pearl Jam at The Spectrum in Philly Oct 31

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
-347 consecutive days without working (Oct 30, 2008 to Oct 12, 2009)
-Beach day everyday in Hawaii, sometimes twice a day
-Sunset Surf Sessions on boards bought from Costco
-Spam Musubi
-Behind The Van mockumentary and Pearl Jam Lip Synch Videos
-Family in Hong Kong and food in Bangkok
-Getting my ass kicked for an hour at a Muay Thai Boxing class
-3 weeks on the Himilayas Mountains
-Mount Everest
-Flight To Mars benefit show at the Showbox in Seattle
-Sasquatch Festival: The Family and the Flabongo
-Across America Roadtrip
-Chicago Deep Dish
-Cubs game at Wrigley Field
-Summer in Montreal
-1 month as a Poutine Chef
-Schwartz’s Montreal Smoke Meat
-Croatia
-Il Palio di Siena
-Tom and Ingrid’s Wedding in Wisconsin
-The Dream Tour consisting of 7 Nine Inch Nails Shows and 9 Pearl Jam Shows
-Pearl Jam Europe shows
-The Amazing Race to Manchester (Video pending)
-Friends in London
-Nine Inch Nails Wave Good Bye Tour in New York and Los Angeles
-The Downward Spiral at Webster’s Hall
-38 songs played over 3:30 hours at the final NIN show ever
-Ventura, CA
-Backspacer Week in Seattle
-101 uniques songs out of 135 played in total over 4 Pearl Jam shows in Philly
-42 songs played at nearly 4 hours for the final show at the Spectrum
-Philly Cheesesteaks
-Flyers game in Philly
-Snow White
-Neil Young at Ambleside Beach
-Cold Water Classic in Tofino (Coldest Surf Comp in the world)
-Two Thanksgivings
-The Pixies and Mudhoney in the same night
-The Eddie was ON
-New Orleans

LOWLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
-The Z is Dead
-Getting screwed by Avis Rental Cars and Carrentals.com in Croatia
-Getting fucked by Ryanair
-The food in Italy
-Having to book brand new flights 3 separate times for the final NIN show in Los Angeles
-Wave goodbye to Nine Inch Nails
-Not having any time to finish The Book

2010 WATCH IT GO TO FIRE
-New Years
-My 30th Birthday in February
-Winter Olympics in Vancouver Feb 12 to 28
-Back to London
-Malta for Keith & Lara’s Wedding
-Hungary for Dora & Toru’s Wedding
-My Brother’s wedding in Vancouver
-Rock Werchter Festival
-Portugal

2009 has been wonderful. See you all in 2010. It will be the best year yet!

Happy Holidays from Jason Leung on Vimeo.

Check out this short documentary about the Seattle music scene that aired on television in Norway. It features mainly older interviews but they must have sent their camera crew to Seattle in late September when we were there because the Van is in the video at the 1:55 and 6:30 minute mark. Thanks to my Norwegian friends Stian for alerting me about it and Pin for recording it and sending me the DVD!

Check out my friend Laura’s Photography Blog.

There’s some great photography happening on this page, along with some helpful information on camera equipment, insightful interviews with photographers, and everything else that makes Laura Ward so wonderful!

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Around this time three years ago, we were suffering through dehydration and frying our bodies from the heat in the open fields of the Gorge Amphitheater, but loving every moment of it. The extreme warmth not only came from the sun up above but also from the friendships that were created through an amazing journey. Here, we checked off the final show of the 2006 US tour, and with it, the final show of the Touring Van. This was the last time that everyone really saw each other.

Fast forward to the present. Everyone has continued on with their own individual lives and many things have happened since, but the friendships remain strong. Watch the “Behind The Van” video in the fun section of this site for a not so true but humourous view on what has transpired. However, even though we are all in different places now, we will converge once again for a little reunion soon.

On Oct 30 and 31, Pearl Jam will be playing at the old Spectrum in Philly. These will be the final two out of four consecutive shows from the band, the last events ever held at this historic arena before it is torn down the following day, and this will also be the site of the Touring Van reunion. The van itself won’t be there, but the important components that make up the van will be there in full Halloween costumes. Confirmed in attendance will be Jason, Stefan, Cali Joe, Kasie, Venassa, Tatiana, Dana, Tamara, and Phil.

Look for us at the tailgate party. Everyone better be wearing a costume for the Halloween show!

So the last 2 weeks has been exciting for me with tour announcements from my 2 bands: Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails. With a presale going on pretty much every day, it has also been a nightmare trying to secure tickets to these shows, many of which are in the exclusive category, so they were hard to get. Nonetheless, I was successful in scoring tickets and my August and September is now setup with, what can only be described as, my dream tour.

Highlights of this tour include the intimate 1500 capacity Pearl Jam gig at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, a venue which I lived next to and attended many shows at during my time in the UK. The other major highlight will be the Nine Inch Nails show at the 600 capacity Echoplex in Los Angeles, this, the final Nine Inch Nail show ever as stated by Trent Reznor. Being able to purchase this ticket was like winning the lottery. So after all the smoke has cleared, this is what my tour looks like as of now.

Aug 11 – Pearl Jam at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, UK
Aug 17 – Pearl Jam at MEN Arena in Manchester, UK
Aug 18 – Pearl Jam at O2 Arena in London, UK
Aug 21 – Pearl Jam at Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, ON
Aug 23 – Nine Inch Nails at Websters Hall in New York, NY
Aug 25 – Nine Inch Nails at Terminal 5 in New York, NY
Aug 26 – Nine Inch Nails iat Terminal 5 n New York, NY
Sep 6 – Nine Inch Nails at The Echoplex in Los Angeles, CA (FINAL NIN SHOW EVER)
Sep 21 – Pearl Jam in at Key Arena in Seattle, WA
Sep 22 – Pearl Jam in at Key Arena in Seattle, WA
Oct 30 – Pearl Jam in at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA

The Z is Dead! My beloved car of close to 10 years and my only real possession remaining (other than the Van, but technically I don’t fully own all of that). The Nissan 300zx was and always will be my favourite car. It was a pleasure to own it and a dream to drive it. It had a name, Natalie. And most of my money was spent on her before I started travelling.

I upgraded her performance with a cold air intake, a stainless steal exhaust system, and aggresive sounding mufflers.

I improved the way it sounded with an expensive stereo system consisting of a powerful amplifier, booming subwoofer, crystal clean sounding speakers, and a dvd player.

I even made it look better with a suede interior and a new front fascia, winning it awards at car shows.

The car was very well taken care of, but it has not been driven much over the last 3 years since I’ve been taking on planes, trains, and vans instead. However, coming home this year I was excited to pull the car out of storage and take it for a cross country drive for my summer move out east. The road trip was phenomenal, driving on empty highways over the rockies, through the farmlands, and around the lakes.

But when I got to the east coast for the home stretch, I got hit just outside of Philly. I was probably in the blindspot of the car to my left so the front of the Z was clipped by the car coming into my lane, sending me spinning towards the rail. I surprisingly missed contacting any traffic spinning over a lane and hit the rail numerous times causing severe damage to both the front and the rear of the car. TInside of the car remained intact, so I miraculously escaped the accident without a scratch, as the Z crumbled to save me. I am ok, but the car is as good as done.

To say that I am a little sad is an understatement and no amount of insurance payment will be able to make up for this loss. But I am so very thankful for being alive and well. Maybe this was a way for the Z to tell me to move on, and so I will. I might be done with cars for a little while.  Although it was probably secretly jealous of the van, the Z will always be remembered!