Abandonment Issues: Bon Voyage Motel

Bon voyage is a french phrase meaning good journey, or have a good trip. Fitting name for a highway side motel, especially now that it is in the latter days of its existence.

Travelers once pulled off highway 115 in Clarington, midway through their own journeys, in search of a temporary resting place. For decades, the small rooms played host to a parade of sightseers and tourists, commuters and drifters. Each room complete with the basic necessities, a washroom, bed, fridge and stove, some of which are still present, but are merely rusting and decaying decorations at this point, stripped of their functionality. Children once played in the grassy field out back, which is now overgrown, and the rear walls are blanketed with a carpet of thick vines. This area is now silent, but for the whizzing of cars racing by on the highway out front, passing this old place by like a Pharcyde chorus. Children's toys litter the floors of some of the rooms, never to be played with again. Nowadays, mould is the only living thing inhabiting these rooms, and small critters come and go just as people used to do. Wallpaper and paint are sagging like the skin of an aging woman. The colour is fading from the upholstered chairs and floral drapes. Void of the activity that once bustled, the Bon Voyage has seen its best days, and its journey is coming to an end. It is aging rapidly and falling apart. With no monetary value, the motel has been abandoned and is no longer cared for. It is a senior citizen now, and after years of giving sustenance to its owners and shelter to passers by, no one stops by to visit anymore. It has been deemed worthless, and left to rot and decompose all alone. The doors that once opened wide and welcomed travelers are now bolted shut. The OFFICE sign has fallen, and rests on the cracked sidewalk outside of Room 4. The rooms are void of human activity these days, just as the signs have been removed from the large metal posts that once encased them.

No one ever stops at the Bon Voyage Motel anymore, they just continue on their good journeys.

Sign of the times


Bon Voyage Bon Voyage


OFFICE


The office is now closed


Red light district


The tree that grew from concrete


4


12


Sign language


Please be seated


The silence is deafening


MO


Purple rain


Bed frame side table


No one ever plays with me anymore


Water bottle dreams


Shed some light on the subject


No one gives a shit


Green with envy


Pinky and the drain


Poop dreams


NO VACANCIES


Please kick me


Bon Voyage Caillou


Shitty deal


No rest for the wicked


After a long day of exploring, we said Bon Voyage to the Bon Voyage, just as we had done at several other locations on this day. And like many others had done for decades, we exited our room, entered our vehicle, and continued on our good journey.

***UPDATE***
October 13th, 2014

The old Bon Voyage Motel has escaped the fate of demolition and has recently been repurposed as a sales centre for Boatland Canada.

click here to check out all of jerm & ninja IX's ABANDONMENT ISSUES

Abandonment Issues: Sandyhook Houses

The fog is thick in the air. Dallas stares.
I assure her that no one is there, and no one cares.
And so we park and embark on a little walk,
and we talk about our plans should we get caught by neighbours or cops.
I say this lots...
"Anticipate a stop, be respectful, they'll reciprocate it, watch."

We meander up the overgrown driveway,
on Sandyhook Road, a couple miles from the highway.
Our camera's shutter, with dropped jaws we pause.
We stutter oohs and utter ahhs.
Outbuildings in a state of collapse.
A dated black Dodge never made its maiden voyage, it's trapped...
in a farmer's field and trashed. Now my heart can feel the black.
I hope the house isn't sealed out back.

Once inside, I crack a smile and light a cigar.
I forget about day to day struggles and how life is hard.
I get a sense of impending pleasure through my camera's lens.
We indulge in decay, not a sentence is said.
Put my finger on the pulse. The floor is mulch.
The ceilings bulging and the assaulting odor is repulsive.

The inhabitants are long gone, to who knows where.
Standing at the second story window where I stare...
out at the forest in a daze like its not even there.

And then we're gone.
My shins still tickling from the long grassy overgrown lawn.

The fog is thick in the air. Dallas says "Jerm dude, we're almost there."
This second house stands before us, and from the forest...
in behind it we hear the crickets sing the chorus.
So very early early in the morning, this is our soundtrack to exploring.

I cranked the pump repeatedly and couldn't believe it.
Water poured like the falls at the Niagara gorge.

Once inside, we snapped photos and swatted at flies.
We traversed the house like I've done in this verse.
Wooden boards covered the windows behind the curtains.
I quit drinking, now decay is my glass of bourbon.

Sandyhook House 1



































Sandyhook House 2





















Thank you for stopping by. Please be sure to check out my brand spanking new website, where you can see all of my urban exploration and street art exploits, listen to my music, and buy my new album and tee shirts!

click here to check out all of jerm & ninja IX's ABANDONMENT ISSUES

Official release of Jerm Warfare

Today, May 1st, 2012, is the official release date for my debut album Jerm Warfare! To celebrate this, every 9th CD order processed from jerm-IX.ca before midnight ET tonight will be packaged with a free Jerm Warfare tee shirt!

Digital downloads of Jerm Warfare are available at MicReach Records and iTunes.

Jerm Warfare is quite dark, it is comprised of ten underground hip hop songs that take the listener on a journey through my past and into the present. The theme of Jerm Warfare runs throughout, playing out as an introspective audio autobiography of a man battling self, in an attempt to become a better person today than he was yesterday. The songs were produced by Metty The Dert Merchant of Sweatshop Union and Mark Nazemi for Solid Bass Productions. Many of my street art scrolls were sourced directly from these song lyrics. My heart and soul went into this record, and it is truly a part of me. I wouldn't be the man I am today if not for releasing these dark thoughts and deep secrets into these songs.

Here are the first two singles.

   Glass House by jerm_IX

   Everything I Touch by jerm_IX



And here is a breakdown of the songs.

1. Reborn
The album's opening track Reborn is a third person account of jerm's personal history, from early childhood into his teenage years, reflecting on feelings of self hatred and thoughts of suicide.

2. Religious Inexperience
Religious Inexperience is a fast paced lyrical rant rife with sarcasm and angst, focusing on a lack of understanding of religion and spirituality.

3. Inner Sniper Rifle Type Device
Originally titled Jerm Warfare, Inner Sniper Rifle Type Device is an aggressive battle with self. In this track jerm uses metaphors to go to war with himself, in an attempt to kill off detrimental parts of Jeremiah and become a better man today than he was yesterday.

4. I Never Finish What I Star
We are all one. We are all made up of the same organic material and we are all interconnected. The actions of one affect the outcome for all. We share the same energy. In this song, jerm reiterates that connection by implying that he was a long list of historical figures in past lives, with both positive and negative impacts on our world. He then brings us to the modern day, sharing what it has been like to live as jerm IX.

5. National Anthem
National Anthem is dedicated to the Native peoples of North America. It is an apologetic song about white guilt and an acknowledgement of the realities of post colonization still affecting Native communities to this day.

6. Everything I Touch
Originally titled Jerm Warfare 2, Everything I Touch is the passionate and aggressive follow up to Inner Sniper Rifle Type Device, continuing the battle with self.

7. Still Sick
Over a thumping beat, MIC-Ill Castro of Sunz of Sunz and jerm IX take contrasting approaches on Still Sick, to convey just how sick they really are.

8. Take It Apart & Play With The Parts
A straight 5 minute rant accompanies a fast paced drum and bass beat and showcases jerm's wordplay and lyrical abilities. This track is all over the map, but at times touches on some deeply personal issues.

9. Glass House
With a softer vocal delivery, jerm continues the journey of Jerm Warfare over a mesmorizing piano riff, leaving behind the themes of war and battling self in favour of shedding layers of unwanted skin and embarking on a new quest of self discovery.

10. Maybe
Maybe is the albums closing track, a resurrection of the opening song Reborn. After releasing and letting go in the songs that came before it, jerm came back to this beat with a fresh perspective, closing the album on something that is very new to him, a positive note. The future is a blank page.



Order today for your chance to snag a free Jerm Warfare tee shirt.



Many thanks to those of you that pre-ordered the album, and to those of you that continue to show support. I can't thank you enough. Videos are now in the works for a couple of the tracks, which is very exciting. The future is a blank page.