I have a dream. Every New Years Day there is a very popular polar bear swim at 2:30pm down in English Bay and I imagine getting all superheated in the sauna and stepping out steaming and casually walking into the ocean, no problem. What a hit the saunatruck would be at event like this!

The problem is we're never awake or in any shape to drive a big truck at 2:30pm on January 1. Typically on a New Years day we've just gone to bed around noon, and the sauna is still hot and probably in use by a few leftover revelers. We actually did have it parked by the ocean one year, 2002 I believe, and I was standing in the ocean on New Years Day (at like 230am, not pm), but we never make it out to that polar bear swim.

This year is no exception. And like all new year's days, we will be celebrating with a sweat. It's also a sunday, which we also traditionally celebrate with a sweat. It's also the Saunasessions 11th anniversary, which we will celebrate with a sweat. That's three celebrations and three sweats, all in one evening.

We'll be at our current location, the Hammock Residency, 1923 Gravely st, alley entrance. The box will be hot from 6pm-12. I have heard that Orkestar Slivovica is also having a super jam party next door, so since we're all down for a good time this should be a new years day to (try to) remember. And if you can't make the swim at least get in a good polar bear shower.

I hope you can wake up, come down and join us.

Ok the two nights at the Two Kings 10 year sauna sweatacular were dope, but we've got one more: we're going back to Spanish Banks tonight for another beach mission. Maybe you were there for the epic acid Laser Zepplin after party circa 2005? Maybe you biked in for our Spanish banks ice trilogy in December 2009? Or maybe you just heard how amazing it is to stand sipping cider steaming naked in the moonlight on the beach in winter with an epic view of Vancouver and the north shore mountains. You can't rent beachfront moments like this in this city, you just have to own it. Like tonight. Second-to-last parking lot at Spanish Banks, 8 till late.

So 10 years ago we had this idea to build a sauna in a truck and drive it up to the Intention festival for new years eve. That sunday we had a few peeps over for a sweat. We did it again the next week. And every week since. 10 sweaty years. This saturday, Jan 1, and this sunday Jan 2 we'll be trying to figure out what happened and celebrating all those buckets of persperation. Bring some tunes, some tea, any old sauna party photos, and of course, bring a towel. 2Kings estate, 4093 Dumphries, basically on Kingsway just east of Knight st, across from the Rona, 8 till late.

OK that may have been the most epic saunasession ever (or at least "one of the. . ."). KLC was closing down the Creation Station in Whistler and we went up there to heat it up. The tension started building when the truck (of course) broke down before we even started moving, but you know we're dope so we got that shit operational. Were we doing gung fu cha styles on a stove in the cab during a rainstorm on the way up? Oh yea. Epic sweats for two days in whistler jumping in the river at Function Junction? Check. 2 days of dressup with hot peeps and limitless wardrobe? Freestyling for 16 hours with a mic feed live from the sauna? Rapping in a real fucking bear's face? Ride back to Van with CP and Professor Prawns and a blown transmission with only two gears? Fuck yaaaah.

So don't come to my house in East Van Sunday night cause I'm in Whister closing out KLC's infamous Creation Station (at Function Junction) in some serious saunasession style. You know the deets, bring a towel! What I hear is that Prawnsie and CP will be out too so you know there's gonna be something freestyle serious

I'm completely stoked about our recent summer sessions! We made it through the heat for some low-key saunasessions with help from PBS, CP and Unity crew. Epic freestyles! Last night we slayed 'em with the freestyle bike at the PNE and Deuce Lite HQ.

Check out some details (like the premiere of the freestyle bike and our night with CP) over at Professor Prawns Presents.

The cold nights are back and we know you need to sweat! We got some dope locations lined up, so get ready for fall sauna season!

We just rolled the truck back from Squamish! Holy fuck, Basscoast!

The police were so stoked about the saunatruck they insisted we get a tow from Lions Bay up to Squamish after we hung out with them for an hour or two on the highway. By the time we got to the festival our special agents had our riverfront site marked out ready for 4 days of sweaty nights and icewater plunges. The truck was made for this. We were made for this.

Woodhead slayed the Slay Bay for his signature 4am set
http://saunasessions.ca/mp3/Woodhead-Bass-Coast-Project-July25-10.mp3

01. Redlight feat. Roses Gabor - Stupid
02. Sony - Sugar Rush
03. Suncylcle - No More Feat. Mavado (Redlight & Toddla T Remix)
04. DJ Zinc - Killa Sound feat No Lay
05. Footsteps - Tip Toe
06. Jack Beats - Out Of Body
07. Drop The Lime - Set Me Free (Harvard Bass remix)
08. Warrior One - Bad Like Jimmy Cliff
09. MJ Cole Feat. Serocee - AO (Mj's Open Your Gob Dubb)
10. Spoonface - Wine Pon Dem
11. The Partysquad - Murderer
12. Malente & ManroX - Spend Ur Cash
13. Neighbour and Spilt Milk - Get With This (Sofalumpkins remix)
14. Crookers - Put Your Hands On Me (Solo Remix)
15. Bobby & Klein - Get That Bass
16. Roska - In Your Handbag
17. Zombie Disco Squad - Vie
18. Buraka Som Sistema - Yah! (feat_Petty)
19. NB Funky - Nutz
20. Gregor Salto - Just For Fun

Big thanks to the Basscoast girls and crew!

It's been 6 months of awesome sunday nights here at One Two One Studios, and this sunday is the last time we heat it up on Heatley street! So when you're done with Saturday night, and calling your Dad, and all the CarFree Vancouver festivities and BBQs on sunday, then it's time for one more saunasession. Doesn't matter what you've got to do first, we'll be here after.

We've been cooking up East Van something serious these last few months at Saunasessions HQ on Heatley. Only 3 sessions left in our residency at OneTwoOne Studios so come down while while we still have the luxury of 6 couches, a dance studio and the tree bar. This sunday we're up for another late night jam like last week when we blistered up woodhead's fingers pretty good, but I think he's OK now. Thanks to our all-star players! Who was that guy on the bongos till 530am?

We can't call it "Sauna Olympics" because they made that illegal. So the Vancouver Sauna Champions Invitational 2010 kicked off tonight with some demonstration qualifying heats. Our first event, the casual form sauna sitting was a thilling event with Megan "Sauna Hero" McAneeley representing Thunder Bay besting all contenders. For sauna freestyle we had some amazing players in a exhibition round, with Khari Wendell McClelland emerging as the judges favourite. Get ready for the next set of heats . . .

We had a bit of an open house here at the new space on saturday, but the real action is at the after-after-afterparty on sunday night.

Gregory treated us to some mixes off his iPhaser while he installed some new lighting fixtures, then Dunks showed up and dropped this mellow set to take us into the AM:
http://www.saunasessions.ca/mp3/Dunks-saunasessions-Jan-17-2010.mp3

Definately post-sauna.

We just finished a little inaugural warming of our new heatley headquarters. We got the truck duck-taped to the loading bay to keep out that sketchy breeze. We have sectionals. We ate some tacos. Woodhead brought in the decks old school style with protoge Dj Brenda who doesn't give a shit what you think and she has a python. So watch out.

I think, it's possible, that Woodhead recorded a set or two sometime during the night. Maybe check back for that one.

Saunacrew just finished an epic 3-sweat tour of Victoria starting with the castle on NYE in Metchosin, jam sess in Sooke and a 2 night double header in Fernwood in Victoria. I can hear your question already: What kind of bathroom do they have in a vancouver island castle? Heated floors, jacuzzi tubs, double headed showers and supermodels. We like island life. We will be back.

We just finished a trilogy of special Spanish Banks missions with the saunatruck. If you are unfamiliar with the experience of steaming naked on the beach at -8c in December sipping hot mulled cider and admiring a gorgeous view of the north shore mountains and downtown Vancouver, we may yet be back there in January, and you may yet get your chance.

More trilogies! We had a triplet of old school sunday night jam sessions including the all synth jam, I think we had like 10 synths going here. I don't know how we fit it in this place but the next week we had 2 simultaneous jams going - acoustic folk jam in the kitchen and amped freestyle in the livingroom. The soundclash was a bit much till everyone in the kitchen hit the sauna.

Starting in January we're going to be at the new saunsessions HQ at the (as yet unnamed) place in Railtown on Sundays so don't freak out the new residents of the old sauna house by walking in their back door on some cold sunday night. This new place is big (4x!) and amazing (5x!) and I'm really excited to put the heat back in Heatley Ave.

So there's just one more session for 2009, and probably the last at the georgia house. We're going to close it out bigtime! See you tonight!

A little mid-week special session to welcome back Prawns to Vancouver after a 2-year leave got really serious. So much tea, chocolate and reefer that we had Woodhead busting his gut all night. We were all really impressed with our cleverness at the time, but maybe it was the moment. Just to give you an idea, Prawns was so high he put lapsang suchong in the tiequanyin pot. At least we hatched some new plans to sweat down at spanish banks, so stay tuned. . .