Motel Matchbooks
Thirty days. One tour. A continent of dive bars, back rooms, sketchy motels, and stories that blur somewhere between insanity and legend.
Motel Matchbooks follows a Canadian songwriter chasing gigs across North America—through late-night highways, last-call confessions, questionable parking lots, and the strange, unforgettable characters that live just off the main road. It’s a world of cheap beer, broken strings, unexpected kindness, and the kind of chaos you only find when you refuse to go straight home.
Written with grit, humour, and a sharp outsider’s eye, this is more than a tour diary. It’s a reflection on music, survival, and the beautiful, unhinged rhythm of aging and life on the road.
If you’ve ever closed down a bar, chased a dream past reason, or found meaning somewhere between the miles—this story is for you.
It’s official — Motel Matchbooks is out in the world.
You can grab it on Amazon, Indigo online, or order it through your favourite local bookstore anywhere in the world via IngramSpark Distribution.
Thank you for supporting indie publishing—and this wild, beautiful story.
Wanna see some of the REAL pics, vids and references from the now legendary John Allaire Uphill… Both Ways North American Tour? You’re on the right page! Not too much explanation here. Gotta read the book!! But here’s some teasers!
Motel Matchbooks – The real story
Our story starts in Ottawa, walking a beautiful Beagle in Ottawa’s south end.
Shipping out Up Hill…Both Ways a day before leaving!
Here’s Cleveland. Having a beer, under-tipping servers!! Off to watch the Indians in a historic comeback.
“Benny” hugging a Cavs ball while LeBron was doing his thing! Then the “Happy Dog” before the onslaught! Grabbing a HUGE Red Stripe on the house.
Here are the videos from Cleveland!
The infamous “comeback” by the Cleveland Indians!
Motels… motels… and more motels… “Benny” mentions his “contract”… HA!
The Happy Dog in Cleveland… nice little accompaniment before the game let out and the shit hit the fan!
Cincinnati! “If you… if you ever wondered… wondered whatever became of me…
Here’s the faithful Dodge Magnum at the motel in Cincinnati. We always tried to park as close to our room as possible, to give us a running chance at stopping thieves!
Antics in the room. Chair dancing!
Surveying the scene.
Purple People Bridge from Cincy to Newport, Kentucky
Tour-sized beers in Kentucky!
Northside Tavern!
Benny on the board at the Northside in Cincy!
“Jimmy’s” set in Cincy!
“Magnets” was discovered as a hit!
The “Big Boy” complete with grits became a road staple!
Heading into Cincinnati!
Drinking in Newport, Kentucky with Lyle et al. And a few bridge antics…
The Northside Tavern… “Bourbon”… and White Castle burgers in the middle of the night…
Off to Nashville and the Bluebird!
Pulling the “Brother Neil” scam at the Nashville Hard Rock Cafe.
Hanging with John Prine at Tootsies
Benny teaches a street musician how to play Elvis! Jimmy stands back, waiting for a fight to break out…
Heading into the Bluebird Cafe for our set!
Hangin’ with Elvis!
A bit of reverence at the Ryman.
“Dental hygienists” in the room next to us…
The road to Nashville!
And the looooong drive to Virginia Beach to play as a feature at a Beatles-themed bar.
Abbey Road Pub in Virginia Beach, VA
Air Force jets rocketed over our heads during the sets.
Benny gets some stage time in shorts and flip flops!
A blurry “Jimmy Piston” playing to the crowd!
Some beach time in the dead of night
Getting to Virginia Beach! The longest single-day haul of the tour.
Then the Big Apple! Manhattan, New York City, NY!!
Benny is making friends in the big city!
Our friendly demeanor wore of at 169 Bar. “Hold my teeth!!”
New York attitude!
Chicken wings at 2 a.m. What could go wrong??
Collecting road case stickers and matchbooks along the way.
It was bound to happen… the meltdown in the Magnum…
LOVE playing NYC!!! But getting there can be a bitch!
169 Bar… we never actually got to play here… there was an (ahem) incident…
Hittin’ the streets!!
Fairfield, Connecticut, where there was yet another (ahem) incident…
Playing in the midday sun to the hippies of Fairfield!
Groovy Times Cafe … a club inside and art gallery inside a restaurant. Things went downhill in a hurry…
The noon crowd at the Groovy Times Cafe in Fairfield, Connecticut
Bridgeport, Connecticut at the Two Boots… an amazing pizza joint!
The neon flicker of the nightclub life.
Always fun to see your poster on the wall, so far away from home.
Two Boots boogie!
String Fingers Band takes the stage!
The millions of soundchecks… and then …. BONGO BENNY!!
Pittsburgh, PA and the world-famous Club Cafe!
Hanging out with famous people in the ‘burgh!
Up and down the hills of Pittsburgh with Bill Toms
Club Cafe joining Bill Toms and Hard Rain!
Storytelling at Club Cafe
Day 2 in Pittsburgh at The Leaf and Bean!
Then it was up the mountains to Thomas, West Virginia and The legendary Purple Fiddle! EVERYONE has played there!
The Purple Fiddle where the audience just sort of “materializes”…
$7 USD on a Wednesday!
Some of the merch we were carting around! Sold out of the vinyl once and had to call in reinforcements.
Heart of Gold on the Fiddle stage.
St. Eugene in the same kind of small town in Thomas, West Virginia
Leaving West Virginia (for the time-being)
With Benny temporarily gone, the videos dried up… but here’s some pictures.
World Cafe Live, Philadelphia
Asbury Park, New Jersey
The Famous Stone Pony
Playing The Saint in Asbury Park, NJ
The famous 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia. Playing with the amazing Mitch Easter!
Tampa Bay area and the Tip Top Tavern with the notorious Jesse James (RIP).
We rode around in former NFL quarterback Vinny Testaverde’s Benz, bulletproof windows and all!
Jell-O shots before the second set at The Tip Top. Again, what could go wrong??
Florida….
It wasn’t a long break, but it was enjoyable to sit on the beach (and get judged by the patrons of the resort, but whatever…)
A few shots from the second dalliance into Manhattan… this time Gizzy’s in theWest Village.
Playing harmonica with another touring act from Nebraska.
Our last stop on the American swing of the tour was at The Bluemoon Cafe in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Benny’s Back! And we’re hanging out in a hippy village with a crazy soundman!
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
The US Tour-ending party up in the mountains was EPIC!
Shepherdstown, West Virginia! Hippy central!
And finally, The Black Sheep in Wakefield, Quebec! What a hoot!
Thank you for wandering through the actual story of Motel Matchbooks, complete with video footage! If you haven’t read the book, please consider doing so! If you have, THANK YOU!! I hope you enjoyed the extra features here!
You can grab a copy of the book on Amazon, Indigo online, or order it through your favourite local bookstore anywhere in the world via IngramSpark Distribution.
A Highway North Publishing book!