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Former Winnipegger Sings A New Song on Hot New CD
By Jeff Robson
Published in The Uniter, March 11, 2004
official website: http://newwinnipeg.com/uniter/

The upcoming months look very exciting for Winnipeg groups releasing new CDs. My favourite Winnipeg women, The Wailin’ Jennys and Nathan, will be releasing their first big label recordings soon, as will The Waking Eyes and Alana Levandoski. Combine that with next month’s release of the eagerly anticipated new disc by the D. Rangers, Greg Macpherson’s new one, and a bunch of others, and you’ve got yourself quite a line up of home-grown talent. But the first big release that we can call our own, quietly came out in February, and it’s by a guy who you may not even know was born and spent much of his life in Winnipeg.

With a big release on True North Records, and some high profile shows on the horizon, you’re about to hear much more about Joel Kroeker (he pronounces it Croaker, like a frog). True North is known for releasing some of Canada’s finest singer/songwriters, including Bruce Cockburn, Stephen Fearing, and Murray MacLauchlan, but Kroeker is a singer/songwriter who doesn’t quite fit the common mould. This is not our parents’ folky singer/songwriter stuff; instead, Kroeker’s music combines a lot of sonic elements into a much more updated sound. Sure, he still sings about love, loss, and life, but there’s a lot of energy and updated orchestration behind his songs. It’s a powerful sonic blend that, combined with his powerful lyrics, creates an interesting and unique sound for Kroeker.

Kroeker has spent much of his recent time co-writing with unexpected partners like former Metal Queen Lee Aaron and Brian Byrne of I Mother Earth. He’s also recorded with Randy Bachman for Kroeker’s new album, Melodrama, and Bachman’s new jazz album, Jazz Thing. Recently, I had a chance to chat with Kroeker; and I guess to get away from all of the demands that such a busy schedule places on him, he has to find unique places to hide from the world that wants and expects so much from him. He called me on his cell phone from the bathroom of a café called Loopy’s.

Jeff Robson: Hi Joel. Have you been making music for a long time?

Joel Kroeker: Yeah, but different kinds of music. The stuff I’m doing now, I’ve been doing for about 5 or 6 years. Before that, I was in a lot of rock bands and then I was at school. I did a composition degree at The University of Manitoba, I did a Bachelor of Music there, and then I did a masters in ethnomusicology, so I’ve been doing all kinds of different music for a while.

JR: You went to school for a long time just to become a rock star?

JK: Ha ha! Yeah, I figured that people would respect that and then I found out that nobody respects it at all! Nobody cares. I could have just skipped all of that and gone straight to the drinking and boozing, you know?

JR: It must be pretty exciting with the release of the new album on True North?
JK: Yeah, it’s very exciting. The immediacy of the response has been overwhelming.

JR: What kind of a response have you been getting and from whom?

JK: Most recently, we’re getting a lot of response from overseas. We’re obviously focusing on Canada, because the Canadian release just happened last week for the album, Melodrama. But some people went to MIDEM, the music conference in France and a bunch of the UK people and Italy, and a bunch of the big distributors out there are really excited about it. I wasn’t sure; different cultures have different aesthetics so you can’t really tell what they’re going to dig and what they’re not, but they were really excited about it. So it looks like we have some exciting possibilities over there as well.

JR: But the album is only being released in Canada so far?

JK: First it was released in Canada, then it looks like it’ll be either a world-wide release, or it will be released region by region, starting in the UK and Europe, and then in the U.S.

JR: I know that this album has been a while in the making.

JK: The writing, I’ve been doing for years and years. But I signed the deal with True North about a year ago, a year and a couple of months actually, and then we started recording last May. I was actually working with the producer, Danny Greenspoon, for a couple of months before that, just rearranging things and picking songs and all of that stuff, getting the musicians and all that. So it’s been a good 9 months putting together this record.

JR: How did you get hooked up with True North in the first place?

JK: Two years ago, I did some showcases in Toronto, and I played a bunch of showcases for Universal and my first lunch meeting was with Bernie Finkelstein, the president of True North. We didn’t even talk about music; we ended up talking about Middle East politics and all sorts of other stuff. Not that we agreed, we actually disagreed, but I had been living in Bethlehem in the West Bank, so we started talking about that stuff. We had a great talk and went away from it having not really talked about music. And then I ended up talking later on with the president of Universal, Randy Lennox, and the two of them got together and they liked the demo that I had. The two of them created this co-venture for me, and that’s sort of how it happened. It was really exciting.

JR: Is it intimidating having this big release now?

JK: Well, you know what, it’s not really intimidating. It might be sort of naïve and not knowing what I’m getting myself into, but it’s less intimidating and more like I’m just trying to be patient, because I tend to like things to happen really, really quickly. I’m very much excited about the possibilities, but when you’re dealing with big companies, things sort of slow down quite a bit. There’s a lot more administration that has to happen, especially internationally with all of this new stuff that’s going on. It’s more like just trying to be patient than being intimidated.

I feel like I’ve paid my dues in some respects. For the last 7 or 8 years I’ve been playing tons and tons of shows and booking myself, so it’s more of a relief to have other people helping me out. But the musicians we’ve got on the album are unbelievable, that may be where some intimidation came in. Having Randy Bachman come into the studio, and Kevin Breit from Norah Jones’ band, and George Koller from Peter Gabriel’s group, and all of that kind of stuff, those guys are heavy-hitters, and I admit I was kind of intimidated when they came into the studio.

JR: You must learn a lot from those guys.

JK: Absolutely, it’s been a huge learning curve for me.

JR: How much did they help to shape the songs; how much input did they have into making the songs what they are?

JK: We gave them pretty much free reign, aesthetically, because these guys are so good that they just come in and bang off great ideas, you know. But in terms of the arrangements, they were pretty solid when we went in there. I’d been working on the songs for a long time. The thing that they did really contribute was their own parts. I would suggest what I wanted them to do and give them the basic feel of the idea, but then someone like Kevin Breit would come in and give you something like 10 different great ideas and you could choose from them. In that way, they contributed a lot.

JR: Is there a lot of pressure on you to achieve certain goals with this record either from the record company or yourself?

JK: I don’t feel like they put a lot of pressure on me, it’s more like I tell them what I want to do and they give me the option and tell me how to do it. That’s the nice thing about being on a big label is that they’ve got all of these connections to all of these people. I still get to come up with ideas, except marketing, they’ve got a lot of ideas when it comes to marketing, but in terms of my own aesthetic and what I do music-wise, I tell them what direction I want to go and they give me different options. So it’s not a lot of pressure. I feel like I got a really good deal. And Bernie Finkelstein is really open to a lot of ideas; he’s very artist-friendly. He’s allowed me and the contract we have allows me almost total artistic freedom, so I feel very free in that way. It’s more like they give me help to express my vision in more of a wide-scale way, like getting the musicians I want and stuff.

JR: There are a whole lot of different sounds on this record; it’s not the typical True North singer/songwriter record.

JK: Yeah, you’re right. It goes in many different directions. I sort of think of this record as many different templates for my career. I could go in directions from here. I’m not sure where I’m going to go on the next album. I’m excited to go in a lot of different ways, so we’ll see what happens. I have been writing in a lot of different styles, doing film scoring and stuff, so that sort of showed up on this album. There’s a country shuffle and there’s rock tunes and there’s pop and there’s a cabaret sort of klezmer tune. So, yeah, I would say that I’m a singer/songwriter who writes in many different styles; it’s just what I do.

JR: Are you still attempting to find Joel Kroeker sound or does the Joel Kroeker sound kind of encompass all of these things?

JK: I like to think of it as my voice and my playing style are what gives it cohesion. But in terms of genre, I think most musicians play in many different styles, so I think that’s a pretty normal thing. I just managed to put it all on one album. It may be harder to market an album like that, because it’s not definitely this and it’s not focused the way that some albums are, where they can sort of promote them in one direction. But I guess that was sort of intentional, I really wanted to keep it wide open in that way, and I think that’s the way that a lot of artists are going these days; they’re trying to keep it as free and open as possible because they have a lot of different ideas and don’t want to be streamlined.

JR: You’re coming back to Winnipeg March 16 with Paul Kelly and then later on with Hawksley Workman.

JK: Yeah, a full tour across Canada with Hawksley.

JR: Do you play solo at those shows, or do you have a band?

JK: Yeah, those shows will be solo and then I’m going to come and do a headlining thing after that. I play acoustic, but I use an amp and get more of a rock sound. It’s a pretty heavy sound but it’s just me by myself with a guitar.

Joel Kroeker appears in Winnipeg on Tuesday, March 16 at The West End Cultural Centre, where he opens for one of Australia’s biggest stars, Paul Kelly. Tickets are $17 in advance at Ticketmaster and $20 at the door.

Kroeker will return to open for Hawksley Workman at The Burton Cummings Theatre on April 17. He is also scheduled to appear at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in July.

The new album Melodrama is in stores now. For more information, visit www.joelkroeker.com.

Matt Mays is Quickly Making a Name for Himself
By Jeff Robson
Published in The Uniter, March 18, 2004
official website: http://newwinnipeg.com/uniter/

In February of 2003, I went to see Kathleen Edwards in concert at The West End Cultural Centre. The opening act that night was a goofy, awkward young guy from Nova Scotia, named Matt Mays. Mays had recently left The Guthries, just as the band was getting all kinds of attention and rave reviews for the debut album, Off Windmill, largely due to the strength of Mays’ contributions. Even though that band had taken him on countless tours in Canada and abroad, when he stepped onstage at The West End, he seemed rather shy and nervous and out of place. He had trouble with his guitar, his harmonica, and as I recall, he may have even forgotten the words to a song or two.

I wasn’t entirely won over, so I didn’t buy one of the few copies of his debut solo CD that he was selling. Too bad, because I bet that disc would go for a few bucks on ebay these days. You see, that awkward acoustic singer/songwriter has managed to come into his own in a relatively short time, and is now getting all kinds of attention, since that self-titled CD was re-released by Warner Music Canada last fall.

Since then, of course, I picked up a copy of the disc to find out what I’d been missing. It seems that I’d been missing a lot; the disc’s 10 original songs are really strong and interesting, and show great promise for this up-and-coming artist. The songs range from the gloriously laid-back country twang of “Your Heart,” to the driving rhythm of “Lonely Highway Night.” It’s a pretty diverse disc, but most of the songs convey the alt.country twang and energy of The Guthries’ work.

Recently, though, Mays has assembled a new backing band called El Torpedo. The band packs a real sonic punch, and has transformed Mays’ laid back country songs into some loose, energetic jams that Neil Young and Crazy Horse would be proud to put their names to. That band was in town recently opening for Sam Roberts at The Burton Cummings Theatre, and the confident and energetic guy I saw on stage that night was an entirely different Matt Mays than the one I saw opening for Kathleen Edwards.

I had the opportunity to chat with Mays, just before he hit the road for another Canadian tour with his band and another exciting young Warner Music protégé, Matthew Barber.

Jeff Robson: Was it tough going solo after being in a band that was getting all kinds of press?

Matt Mays: Not really. I just knew that this was what I wanted to do and I felt so strongly about it that I didn’t even really care what came out of it. I just knew that was what I wanted to do.

I knew I wanted to be on my own, and to call my own shots and do my own thing and have complete control. I just knew that it was time and I needed that.

JR: With The Guthries and on your solo CD, I hear a strong country music influence. Did you grow up listening to a lot of country music?

MM: Not really, no. I usually just write sort of normal pop songs. It’s the country instruments that are on top of them. I don’t find it particularly country music; I just like pedal steel guitar, and things like that. It’s not necessarily something where I feel that it’s country music per se, but there is sort of a country feel on some of the songs.

JR: It seems to me that you’re moving away from the country a bit and more in a rock direction with El Torpedo.

MM: Yeah. I’d say that. I sort of go with the flow; I just get the group of guys together and we play. I don’t want to change or inhibit anything that comes out. We’ll play and whatever comes out comes out. It’s definitely been a little more rock oriented.

JR: I understand you’ve hired a pretty big time producer on your next record [Don Smith, who has worked with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, U2, The Rolling Stones, and The Tragically Hip.]

MM: He mostly started out as an engineer, but he’s been producing for the last 10 years or whatever. He’s great. He’s worked with so many awesome people. He’s top notch. I’m really looking forward to getting into the studio.

JR: It sounds like this is a real exciting time to be Matt Mays.

MM: I guess so, yeah. I don’t know. It doesn’t really feel all that different for me. I mean, we’re getting some better shows and I get to play in front of a few more people now but other than that, I don’t notice too much different. With the press and everything, I don’t usually read any of my reviews or anything; I try to stay out of that. I try to keep my head completely clear of it all.

JR: You’ve played in Winnipeg and done two very different shows, once opening for Kathleen Edwards solo and once with the band opening for Sam Roberts. I was surprised at how different you seemed on stage the second time. Do you feel more confident with a band behind you now, or have you really worked on developing a stage presence?

MM: I think solo shows are a lot different for me. I get a lot more nervous when I’m on my own. With the band, we were playing every night of the week and I knew that chances are we would put down a fairly tight show with that. But with that Kathleen show, it was my first solo show in a long time, and it was a good crowd. It was one of the first times that I’ve ever played to a bunch of people who were actually silent and listening. That gets sort of intimidating. But it’s totally two different vibes; with the band I feel a lot more comfortable, I think.

I think it’s fairly important [to be able to play two different types of show], mostly because I don’t really have a preference. I love playing the solo sets and I love playing the rock n’ roll set. It’s a nice change. Just when I start getting sick of losing my hearing every night, it’s nice to be able to go back to get into the songs and try to get the songs across to people. As soon as I start getting sick of that, it’s nice to get back with the band again and get some jams going and stuff. It’s nice to be able to go back and forth. I’ve got plans to venture into different styles of music as well. I like the way that once you get sick of something you move onto something else, which I think helps the longevity. It’s very important to keep a fresh mind if you want to stay creative your whole life.

JR: How long have you been writing songs?

MM: I guess about 8 years or something like that. I’ve been writing since I was about 16, I guess.

JR: How did you learn how to write a good song?

MM: Just by writing tons and tons and tons of songs. I’ve got bags and bags of four track tapes that I’ve made while writing songs. It’s just all crap. There’s so much bad stuff. It’s not just one of those things that you can sort of do; I found with me, it took a long time to learn how to get a song out. I don’t usually work on songs. When they come out, they’re out. If they don’t come out then they’re not worth saving. It was one of those things where I spent years trying to write songs, but the ones that I’ve always kept have been the ones that just sort of came out, you know?

That’s why I can’t really worry about writing songs. If they come out, they come out. And I know that I’ll always have songs coming out just because they always have. Sometimes I go two or three months without writing a song and I’ll get a little bit freaked out, and then all of a sudden I’ll write five in a week or whatever and they’ll all be keepers. It’s very sporadic.

JR: Do you feel more pressure to pump out great songs now?
MM: Not so much, really, no. I don’t usually get caught up in that. I try not to, anyways. I just like to write songs and I don’t think any of that business stuff should get in the way or will get in the way. I hope not, anyway. I’m just trying to keep it real. It’s important not to get caught up in all of that stuff.

JR: You’re from the Town of Dartmouth, and I hear a lot of references to it in your songs. It sounds like Dartmouth has a big impact on your music.

MM: I think quite a bit. I think Dartmouth is one of those places that takes a bit of heat simply because it’s on the opposite side of the harbour from Halifax. Nobody who wants to be cool or trendy lives in Dartmouth.

It’s laid back. I grew up here. I’ve been kickin’ it in Dartmouth since I was six years old or whatever. I’ve had so many great times here and there isn’t a corner in the whole town that I haven’t had an event happen on. Everywhere you look, I have a story to tell about the place or whatever. It’s just one of those things where I’ve grown to love it. I don’t think it’s one of those places that you come to and fall in love right away, but it is a great town. I’ve just grown to love it; I’ve had so many great times here. It’s home to me.

JR: The Maritimes, and Halifax especially seems to have a strong community of artists, kind of like Winnipeg does.

MM: It’s the same sort of vibe, I think. Winnipeg’s always had that reputation of having that great family-oriented music scene. I think that’s important. And Halifax and Dartmouth are like that too. There’s not many people, but there’s so many great bands for the amount of people. And in so many different genres as well. So many places it’s all one kind of music. I find the scene around here, there’s a bunch of different bands and they’re all completely different than one another; everybody’s doing their own thing. It’s great. Everybody’s really behind each other. There’s no competition here; everybody’s really happy to see each other do well. It’s really nice to come home to. Whereas I find in bigger cities like Toronto, everybody’s out to kill and the music scene seems to suffer because of it.

JR: As much as you love it at home, it seems like your focus is on touring these days?

MM: Yeah. It goes through stages. Lately we’ve been playing a lot and that’s what I love to do. The more I’m on the road, the happier I am. I’m really into it. We’re just touring and trying to get the songs really tight for when we go into the studio.

JR: When it comes time to do the second CD, what will you do differently this time?
MM: On the first one, I started playing everything myself, all of the instruments, and then I gradually got some other people into the studio. It was kind of like a patched up pair of jeans, you know. It’s cool; I’m pretty proud of that record. It sounds pretty live off the floor for having so many overdubs and stuff. “City of Lakes” is live on that record, which I’m glad about.

That’s what we’ll do more of on the next record is to record live off the floor to capture the feel of the band and get a feeling. We’re going to get the studio really comfortable and just roll tape forever and capture everything. We’ll just get to a point where we’re not realizing the tape is rolling anymore and we’ll just do our thing. We’re not the best musicians; it’s more about the feel and the vibe. We’re not out to capture any special take, we’ll just get one good take down, which is always nerve racking for me. I just really want to go in and try some different stuff and get Don to try to capture some good, honest sounds. We’ll just do our thing pretty much.

JR: Everywhere you go, it seems like your CD is really cheap, under $10 almost everywhere. Can you make any money selling them that cheap?
MM: Yeah. We worked it out with the record companies and it’s just one of those things we’re trying out. I’m not losing any of my cut from it. It’s an artist development sort of thing, where Warner’s not looking to make any money right now; we’re just getting it into more hands right now. I’m pretty keen on keeping it as affordable as I can. It’s really nice to know that my CD is only $8 across Canada, you know. And nobody’s is that cheap. I’m the only guy outside of the bargain bins that’s $8. That’s pretty awesome.

Catch Matt Mays and his band El Torpedo as they return to Winnipeg for a show with Matthew Barber at The Pyramid Cabaret on March 24. Tickets are $10 in advance at Into the Music and The Pyramid or $12 at the door.

www.mattmays.com

Martyn Joseph Makes Music that Matters
By Jeff Robson

At the 2002 Winnipeg Folk Festival, a Welsh performer who was then relatively unknown to Canadians, stepped forth, away from a makeshift stage outside of the CD tent and within the space of a few songs, he demanded attention from all who wandered by. Martyn Joseph is a quiet and unassuming performer, yet he speaks loudly and with great force through his powerful and emotional songs. He proved this again in February of last year when he first headlined a concert in Winnipeg, at the West End Cultural Centre. Fighting off illness in a voice that seemed sure to desert him, he poured every ounce of strength and honesty he could muster into his songs, and captivated that audience.

Sure, Joseph has got a powerful voice that commands attention and he’s got a charming stage presence, but it’s usually the personal lyrical content of his music that connects with people. This effective songwriting style came about in a rather unintentional way, Joseph says, “In all honesty, I don’t know how to do it any other way. If I can’t feel the damn thing, I can’t get my soul around the lyric and I can’t believe what I’m singing, then for me it’s just a waste of time. I’ve never sought to stand up and entertain people. We need entertainers and we need people to make our feet move and uplift us a bit, but for me, it was always about trying to make a difference in the best way I possibly could.

“And another thing takes place as I do that. There is something of a release for myself because the music to some extent is therapeutic for me, too. The guitar is a cheap psychiatrist and I’m able to release an awful lot of things that are inside of me by playing the gigs. And the great thing is that when folk write back and say ‘that made me feel like I wasn’t alone,’ or ‘that made me feel like you were writing about my life,’ or something as nice as that, like they do, then that becomes full circle and a great connection is made and it’s a great feeling.”

Even though he is so new to Canadian audiences, Joseph has been making music in the U.K. for quite some time. “I have been doing this going on about 20 years now believe it or not. But I wouldn’t say that I’d want you to listen to everything I’ve done over the past 20 years. I was signed to Sony Music in the early 90s over here. I actually toured with Celine Dion, I was opening up for her for about 2-3 months, believe it or not,” Joseph says.

Over the course of more than 15 albums in the U.K., Joseph has managed to make a name for himself and has toured with many notable stars like Dion, Chris De Burgh, and Suzanne Vega, to name but a few. But the majority of his previous albums have been much more orchestrated and fully produced albums. “When I recorded for Sony Music, they sometimes threw the kitchen sink and the kettle at me to try and make me sound like a pop artist, so we had everything from the Philharmonic Orchestra to Elton John’s drummer on there, and it sounded great, but I think something along the way was lost. Because I’ve usually performed solo over the years, I think to some extent people become quite confused by a record that has a ton of instrumentation on it as it were and they often say ‘I liked it, but it doesn’t sound like the guy I heard up on stage,’” he explains.

But on his new album, Whoever it Was that Brought Me Here Will Have to Take Me Home, Joseph chose to do things a little bit differently and present the simple beauty that we’ve come to know and love from him on stage. He says, “In recent years, my albums have become more acoustic, but what I did with this one was that I sang one-take performances. I might have sang a song twenty times, but it was only going to be that one performance, I wasn’t going to overdub anything to fix any bum notes or anything, it was going to sound like it did that one time. Of course, I did get some people in to sort of put a little bit of paint on top of it, but nothing very much, so the songs are kind of stripped back and bare. I think that in some ways it’s my most reflective record in a number of years because recently I’ve done a lot of the political stuff. And although this record does have political overtones, I think it’s a little more inward looking as well; there’s a little bit more soul searching going on. I think really, quite frankly, it’s a defining record for me. I think that if I look back and ask what I sound like, this might be the album I’d use.”

As for the use of album’s rather wordy title, Joseph explains, “I co-write songs with a poet friend of mine from Liverpool called Stuart Henderson. He came up with this phrase that he’d heard and we had a long discussion about our lives one night and about how we wrestled with questions and contradictions but we’re all doing our very best to kind of keep going, as it were. [The title] is kind of a surrendering to those questions; it’s a spiritual thing, I suppose, because whoever it was that brought me here is going to have to take me home. I’m doing my very best and I’m going to keep on, because really, at the end of the day, I can be pretty lost in the whole thing, so it’s kind of a surrendering thing, but it’s pretty positive too. It’s just saying that I believe in all of this stuff and I’m going to keep going. Hey, if anyone’s listening, I could do with some help.”

The album will be his first that is officially released in Canada, after licensing it to respected Canadian roots label, Jericho Beach. Along with that comes another round of touring Canada, which has become somewhat of a second home to Joseph. “I can’t believe it took so long to get to you guys, but it’s been such an enriched part of my life. I’ve made so many friends out there and my family’s come out with me and it’s fantastic, I love it. It’s everything I love about North American culture. It’s America without the crap. I love Canada.”

At a time in life where some performers are taking it easy and resting on their laurels, Martyn Joseph is instead working as hard as he ever has and making some of his best music. “The secret after 20 years is to keep it exciting and challenging. I think because the music, the themes, and the issues are all there, that’s what really keeps me going in a sense. I think that if I was out there singing ‘I love you baby, I want you baby’ type of songs, my passion might have left me about 15 years ago, but because one is kind of caught up in trying to make a little bit of a difference and singing songs that are based on things that you feel need to be said, then that provides its own passion.”

Catch Martyn Joseph and special guest Sam Baardman at the West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Avenue, on Friday, January 16 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $17 in advance at Ticketmaster or the West End, or $20 at the door.

For more information on Martyn Joseph, visit www.martynjoseph.com.

Minnikin’s Making It On Her Own
By Jeff Robson
Published in The Uniter, January 8, 2004
official website: http://newwinnipeg.com/uniter/

Halifax, Nova Scotia has gained a reputation as a great music city, largely due to some pretty successful pop/rock bands like Sloan and Joel Plaskett (and his lamented defunct band Thrush Hermit), not to mention those Nova Scotia pop music icons Anne Murray and Rita McNeil. But a few years ago a band of shaggy looking kids started making a name for themselves with a gorgeous sounding country band that fused classic sounds with pop, a bit of rock, folk, and other elements, which caught the ears of many people. The Guthries had immense potential and their praises were sung in Canada as well as in hip, influential magazines like Uncut and No Depression internationally. The band released 2 great CDs and toured Canada and the U.K., but they never managed to quite catch up with the hype and despite some very positive press and a CMT television special, most folks never heard of them and didn’t even know that they existed, never mind that they broke up this year.

When a band with so many talented elements falls apart, the members are usually quick to regroup and start out on something new. Such was the case in 2003 when former Guthries member Matt Mays appeared on the scene with a red-hot debut CD (Mays actually left the band almost a year before The Guthries split). One of the hallmarks of The Guthries’ sound was the soft lilting voice of Ruth Minnikin, who was also one of three songwriters leading the band (four when Mays was around). As Minnikin explains, that strength and talent base is also what led to the group’s demise, “It wasn’t nasty, it’s just tough with three songwriters when everybody’s got lots of music that they’re writing constantly. With the money involved, it’s just hard. We’d love to be able to do double albums, I think that might have worked a little bit better to get a lot of material out there.”

Minnikin, who is also a member of an internationally renowned pop band called The Heavy Blinkers, has now set out upon a solo career with the release of a simple home-made five song live EP which was recently released. Even though this is her first foray on her own, Minnikin says, “I definitely don’t feel like I’m starting over. Some of the songs on the EP, a bunch of the Guthries play on them and I wrote a couple of them as Guthries tunes that never got recorded. I don’t feel like I’ve moved on that drastically, I think that doing something solo is going to be totally different and I’m scared to death and happy as can be, but I think I’ll see the payoff a lot better.”

The new EP is a laid back collection of country tinged songs that puts her front and centre and it maintains the essence of what listeners may have come to know from her work with The Guthries, but it moves in new directions as well. Minnikin explains, “I don’t think a lot of Guthries fans will be completely interested in what I’m doing now. They may, and I really hope that they are, I mean I’m still the same person it’s not like I’ve morphed or anything, but obviously they’ll see that I won’t have five people around me and I won’t have the same huge sound, it’ll just be me trying to fill in the holes kind of thing. I think I’ve always had kind of a quieter guitar style anyway, it’s just with a band there’s more behind it. I think that I’m still playing the same kind of quiet guitar stuff that I did before, except now you hear more of it I guess.”

Now for Minnikin, the goal is to take the show on the road and work up some new material and see how things go. She says, “I’m really enjoying this simple homemade EP kind of idea. I think I’m going to stick with that. When I get home, maybe in March or something, I’ll try to do another seven songs or something for another EP and I want to carry on like that. I really like live recordings. This one was recorded all live, because for one it’s really cheap and also it’s more about the moment in time than the perfect moment on tape kind of thing. I’d like to do more of that with everybody together and playing together and do it quick.”

For the moment, Minnikin is planning to take things one step at a time and start small. Unlike much of the work she’s done with The Guthries and The Heavy Blinkers, this tour is being planned and run totally independently. She’s about to head out on her first solo tour of Western Canada with her friend and fellow independent singer/songwriter, Kate Maki.

Due to the do-it-yourself independent nature of the tour, the two have dubbed this the “Alone Together” tour. But Minnikin isn’t daunted by the thought of working without a support team, instead she says, “we’re doing the whole thing ourselves. We don’t have an agent, we don’t have a publicist, it’s just us. But we know that when we put the time in, it’s going to pay off. I don’t think that musicians see that if they have a manager or an agent because they don’t know exactly how much work goes into it and when something does go well for them, they don’t appreciate it as much and the value isn’t there. You have to just perservere if you want it.”

Knowing that it won’t be easy, Minnikin’s attitude is still remarkably upbeat. She simply says, “I don’t have any expectaitons. I’m just doing what makes me feel happy, that’s pretty much it. I’m not looking to make much money, just enjoy myself.” And surely, those that catch her live or purchase the EP will enjoy themselves too.

Catch Ruth Minnikin and Kate Maki live at The Collective Cabaret on Thursday January 8, 2004, with special guest, Nathan’s Keri McTighe.

Award-Winning Local Duo Releases New Disc
By Jeff Robson

Winnipeggers Renee Lamoureux and Keith Macpherson, better known as Easily Amused, are set to headline at The West End Cultural Centre on February 28. The concert will serve as a release party for the duo’s new disc, Simple Stuff. This new disc follows their first CD, Novice, which was released in 2001. It went on to sell upwards of 2000 copies independently. The new CD comes with higher expectations and immeasurable promise.

Lamoureux and Macpherson met in 1997, and quickly became friends. They were encouraged to try singing and writing together, and the musical connection was immediate. Originally, the plan was to perform as a band, instead of just as a duo. But, as Macpherson (a U of W Faculty of Education gaduate) explains, they’ve found greater strength in smaller numbers. He says, “I’m pretty happy being a duo. We started as a full band, but that was kind of not as good in a lot of ways. We’d have all kinds of different opinions on how things should be run and stuff. So luckily, or maybe not because we were sad at the time, but we turned into a duo. Our bass player got married and moved on that way and our drummer moved away to go to school. So it was sort of natural that we became a duo, and I think it was for the best. Naturally, the universe provided for us and I think it’s the best scenario where we’re at.”

Being a duo has allowed the strengths of the members to take the forefront. Lamoureux and Macpherson began performing seriously and regularly in 1998. Since then, they’ve worked hard to create a sound that presents the best of the individuals in one, strong, unified way. The two have very divergent vocal styles, but they blend together to form some very powerful harmonies. Lamoureux’s voice is definitely the more powerful of the two; she’s got a hard-hitting, soulful voice that can stand up with the best of the female belters. Macpherson, however, has a wonderfully mellow, laid back approach that makes a good companion for Lamoureux’s voice. Instead of competing voices, theirs blend together into a unique mix.

Both members are also talented songwriters. In this area, Macpherson likely has the advantage; he has an uncanny ability to create a lasting and memorable melodic hook. But Lamoureux is not to be faulted, her songs are among the group’s most popular, including their first single, “Superstar,” and the new album’s lead off single, “Simple Stuff.” Lyrically, both members write simple and honest songs about personal experiences and observations. They don’t aim to be pretentious and don’t write trying impress anyone. They make music that matters to them, and hope that it connects with listeners. And, judging by their ever growing fan-base and many positive reviews, they must be doing something right.

Novice was a strong introduction to the group and it opened many doors. It was produced in Winnipeg by singer/songwriter Rick Unruh. That CD is a very mellow, introspective, acoustically based record. By recording and performing primarily with two acoustic guitars and singing songs about love, life, and learning, the duo got tagged a “folk” act. It worked well for them; they were able to tour heavily, playing mostly coffee shops and small acoustic venues. They were also invited to play several Canadian folk festivals, including the prestigious Winnipeg Folk Festival. As they toured and word got out, the band’s reputation and audience began to grow. They were invited to play on national television, appearing on such shows as the Vicki Gabereau Show, Canada A.M., and Open Mike with Mike Bullard. They also forged a deal with a respected booking agent in the U.S., Wally’s World of Entertainment, which primarily deals with bookings on college campuses in The States. Easily Amused went on to a very hectic touring schedule, playing approximately 200 shows a year, primarily in the U.S..

Lamoureux explains that for her and Macpherson, making a name for themselves has been a challenge; “Well, it’s a really slow process, honestly. We probably have about 2500 people on our mailing list now; it’s slowly coming around. Right from the beginning, Keith and myself wanted to go the touring route. Now, I think it was a great idea because everybody’s trying to get a record deal or whatever, so we decided to do the opposite and go out there and build our own fan base and try to get the labels’ attention by doing all the work ourselves and maybe down the road who knows what will happen. You kind of feel more secure because you’re learning things yourself and you know what’s going on. So I think it’s definitely a smart way to do it.”

“Yeah,” echoes Macpherson, “I think looking back on all of our touring, I don’t think I’d change a lot, because it’s been such a great experience doing things ourselves up to this point. We’ve learned how to book tours, be our own agent, and do our own promotion.”

And somewhere along the line as a result of the constant touring, the simple folk duo developed a very high energy, interesting live show. It was borne out of necessity, while trying to win over uninterested college kids. The slower ballads of the first CD made way for a more energetic pop sound. The duo quickly began to outgrow the folk label and move onto something new as they worked out new upbeat material.

In 2002, the duo entered a couple of their new songs into an online competition hosted at music industry website www.canadian-music.com. The contest was sponsored by Warner Music Canada and others and was decided by a panel of industry professionals and an online voting component. Easily Amused won, and was named “Canada’s Best Online Indie Artist.” As part of the prize, Lamoureux and Macpherson got a lot of help planning and recording new material. That start led to the new CD, Simple Stuff, which was recorded last year in Toronto with producer Creighton Doane. The goal of this CD was to represent the duo’s newfound energy and vitality. As such, it’s a much more upbeat pop record, and along with that comes a better-produced sounding recording.

Macpherson explains the group’s sonic evolution this way, “I think we were going for more of a pop/rock thing this time around. Novice was produced in a way that it was a lot more folk-based, and we kind of wanted to change up the sound. I think there’s a lot of similarities between the two albums. Our songwriting still comes from the heart; I’d have to say. I wrote all of the new songs on this album just as passionately as I wrote the songs on Novice. I think for me, there’s more similarities than differences.”

But on stage, the two musicians have not changed their presentation; it’s still just the two singers with two acoustic guitars. And this allows their music to connect with different audiences, as Lamoureux explains; “I think what’s good about this album is that our music tends to reach a whole range of people. Having a more acoustic show would be more towards the folk audience, and then the CD being a bit more pop, it allows us to appeal to more people, but I think that people will really enjoy both sides of it.”

Fans of the first CD may be a bit surprised by this change of pace, but, as Macpherson explains, it’s a change designed to further spread their music. He says, “We did try to produce it to hit a larger number of people and increase our audience range. I think our first album was limited to more of a folk-listening audience and that was good at the time, but now we want to try to expand that and try to reach more people with our music. And part of doing that at this stage for us was to try to work on a record that was a little more appealing to everybody. Maybe it’ll cross over to different genres a little bit and stretch the boundaries.

“It was kind of fun songwriting that way too. We didn’t have to always write a story song or having to write a strictly pop song. There’s a lot of crossover on this album I think. I’m pretty happy with what we did with the production, but these songs can be stripped down acoustically, like we’ll do at our concert. I think it all comes down to the songs.”

And those songs convey a very simple and important message, as Macpherson says, “It’s really about positive energy, this CD, and I think that can spread quickly if it’s played and people are listening. I think what we’re trying to say on this album is that positivity is a good thing, and we’re trying to spread that around; you don’t hear that enough. It’s an important thing: positivity and not feeling alone.”

The CD release party for Simple Stuff will be held Saturday, February 28, 2004 at The West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Avenue. The show starts at 8:00 with opening acts Edouard Lamontagne and Hayley Gene. Tickets are $10 in advance at Ticketmaster and the West End and $13 at the door.

For more information, visit www.easilyamused.ca.

Local Trio Building on Strong Start
By Jeff Robson
Published in The Uniter, November 27, 2003
official website: http://newwinnipeg.com/uniter/

In the middle of January 2002, a trio of Winnipeg singer/songwriters got together for a one-time show at Sled Dog Music in Wolseley. The immediate interest in that show spawned a second night, and the interest in both nights would go on to spawn a very promising career that’s taken off over the past 22 months.

The three musicians who make up The Wailin’ Jennys had each previously worked hard to carve out their individual careers, each with different focuses, but all with promising success. Nicky Mehta has been singing and playing around Winnipeg since 1995. In 2001, she released a critically acclaimed solo CD called Weather Vane. It’s a collection of serious and thought provoking songs that are introspective and poetic and beautiful. Cara “Lovely” Luft was raised by professional folk singing parents, and has a great love and appreciation for traditional folk. She also harbours, what she calls “her inner rock child” which has helped make her a well-respected guitarist who once played England’s prestigious International Guitar Festival. And Ruth Moody spent four years touring the world as the lead singer for internationally renowned celtic band, Scruj MacDuhk. When that band broke up, she went on to release a solo CD called Blue Muse.

With such promising individual careers, there was no plan to form a band and start something else, the pieces just sort of fell into place, says Nicky Mehta, “I remember at the time, the person who helped us put our first show together, the owner of Sled Dog Music, John Sharples, I remember him saying, ‘I have a feeling this is going to go far,’ but I doubted it, because I had just released my album and we were all pretty much concerned with our own careers at that point, so we didn’t take it that seriously. But you just can’t ignore that kind of interest when it happens as quickly as it did. It was a real surprise and a gift that it happened. We decided to follow it and it’s led us to some pretty great places.”

What happened is that a magical on-stage chemistry was obvious to all in attendance at those shows, and there was demand for the trio almost immediately. The initial shows were a combination of original songs from each member, and some carefully selected covers. Each member brought songs that they’d like to do together, and they ranged from traditional folk songs to contemporary singer/songwriters to fun and goofy covers of classic rock songs. And no matter what the song, each was presented in such a fun and magical way that audiences responded quickly.

“We’ve always done our original material right from the get-go, and we’ve always tried to inject humour into the show. I don’t think we could do it any other way, it’s not like we consciously try to be funny, it’s just that that’s what we would want to see from other artists. We generally are having fun,” says Mehta, “For some reason, it seems to have caught on and people seem to like what we do so we’re really lucky to get the audiences we have.”

Those audiences quickly included ones at many Canadian folk festivals, including the prestigious Winnipeg Folk Festival, where the group played main stage on opening night, a tremendous feat for a group only a few months old. And things have carried along in that fashion ever since; The Wailin’ Jennys have been lucky enough to play almost every major Canadian folk festival, including a spot this year at the star-studded Edmonton Folk Festival.

It’s been a bit of an incredible ride, explains Mehta, “There’s been so many different kinds of highlights. I think meeting so many different people across the country and into the states and from abroad and musicians on the road, has been a really great thing. We played the Dawson City Folk Festival, which is up in the Yukon north of Whitehorse. And we were up there in the summer when there’s almost no night time, it’s constant sunlight. Things like that, I don’t know that I ever would have gone up there in my life if we hadn’t been invited to a festival up there. Those are the times when you think, ‘man, I’m so lucky to be doing this.’”

The Wailin’ Jennys released their debut EP a few short months after those first fateful concerts. The six song CD contained one original song from each member of the group, and three covers. It succeeded in getting a great deal and support from the CBC and campus and community radio. Just this month the group began recording a full-length follow up album, which will be released on Canadian roots label Jericho Beach. With label support, as well as strong management and booking agents in place, the group seems poised for even greater success in the future, and with that comes a stronger commitment from each of the members.

“The more time has gone by, the more you have invested in it, the more willing you are to see it through to whatever conclusion it has, whether that’s five years down the line or a year down the line or ten years down the line or whatever,” says Mehta, “I think now that [the group has] become a little bit more of an organized venture, it’s going to give us a little more time to go out and sing our own songs and play our own shows when we want to, but I think we’re all pretty jazzed about how it’s been going as a group. That’s going to be the focus, but I think we’ll dabble here and there with the solo stuff.”

The Wailin’ Jennys will headline their own show at The West End Cultural Centre for the first time on Friday, December 5. Opening the show will be singer/songwriter Dale Nikkel. Tickets are $14 in advance at Ticketmaster and the WECC, and $16 at the door.

For more information on The Wailin’ Jennys, visit www.thewailinjennys.com.

Geoff Berner’s One Lucky Jew – Or So He SaysBy Jeff Robson and Kristi Kolbauer
Published in The Uniter, November 27, 2003
official website: http://newwinnipeg.com/uniter/

I love listening to Geoff Berner and he’s one of my favourite live performers, but it’s tough interviewing the guy. Don’t get me wrong, he’s got lots to talk about; he’s a well renowned songwriter, his song “Light Enough To Travel” was a big hit for The Be Good Tanyas a couple of years ago, and he’s toured the world, opening for such diverse acts as Billy Bragg, D.O.A., and Carolyn Mark. His first full length CD, We Shall Not Flag or Fail, We Shall Go On to the End, is a critical and commercial success. This is kind of a strange thing, considering that Berner’s primary musical instrument is the accordion. He writes songs that are at times political, thought provoking, and beautiful, but through it all, he’s the funniest guy I know. You don’t interview Geoff Berner, you kind of just wind him up and let him go. Recently I had the chance to wind him up, and he certainly let go. He phoned me from a payphone at the general store in Twin Butte, Alberta.

Jeff Robson: How are things in Twin Butte?

GB: [The concert] was wonderful. You know, the whole town came out. The people of Twin Butte are living the life that they’ve decided to live and money is not the issue for them so they understand why we make music and stuff.

JR: It kind of sounds like you actually.

GB: Well, yeah, except of course now, I’m rich.

JR: Are ya?

GB: Yeah! I just found out that while I was away I got an $1100 SOCAN cheque.

JR: Really?

GB: I’m a rich man. You’ll see me in Winnipeg, I’ll be the guy smoking the Cuban cigar. I’m rich, I’m rich! But don’t even ask to borrow money off of me.

JR: Tell me about Geoff Berner.

GB: I play solo accordion and I sing songs that I made up. The odd time I sing songs that other people made up, but they are usually friends of mine. Unless of course, I get really drunk, then of course the stunt covers come out and all dignity goes out the window.

JR: I understand you’ve done a bunch of shows with the legendary Billy Bragg. That must have been a treat.

GB: Yeah, I played a bunch of shows with him, and his management people let me sleep in their office when I go to London. So you know, I’m rolling.

JR: Do you enjoy sleeping in offices?

GB: If you sleep in the t-shirt room, they also keep the photocopier there, and the hum of the photocopier, it’s like a white noise thing that blocks out the sound of London, you know, and it makes it easier to sleep. It’s pretty cool sleeping in the t-shirt room next to the photocopier because there’s like a gold record from pink Floyd there. It’s like, glamorous.

JR: Tell me about shows with Billy Bragg

GB: I had my dad’s politics ‘til I was about thirteen or fourteen and went with some friends to the Vancouver Folk Festival. It was Thatcher era, and they had all these anti-Thatcher, left wing, English political musicians there and the one that I sort of looked up to was Billy Bragg because he was like, he was punky, you know, he was a punk guy alone with an electric guitar. He was funny and he sang you know, love songs, and he also was very, very political and my whole world view changed that weekend. And since then, I’ve been, basically a raving socialist

JR: do you write politically themed stuff? Is there a message to your songs?

GB: Well you know, it’s a political act and a bad political act to separate politics from regular to-ing and fro-ing of life. You know, politics is in the fabric of life, and you shouldn’t like, try to cut it out. You know, it just goes in there. I see every one of my songs as political, even if it doesn’t mention the results of the last election, or if it doesn’t actually speak directly to the current scheme of distribution of wealth in my country or something like that.

JR: Really?

GB: Well yeah. Showing up for me is a political act. Because like, when musicians show up to play, it’s a political act because it’s like, screw that American Idol bullshit. That not music or culture. That’s just putting people down. That’s just making people feel bad for not being good enough and it’s just all about empty fame and it’s all about the consumerists’ suburban bullshit complex. And so, when I show up, I’m funny looking and I play the accordion and I don’t do the little trills that people on American Idol do. I sing stuff I made up, and it’s about specific things that happened in people’s lives and details and stuff. It’s a political act because I’m not just writing those stupid god damned “you” songs where there’s no specifics and it’s all for the lowest common denominator. Well let’s see what we could put in this song, well, we should put the word eye, and the look in your eye because everyone’s got eyes. Should we talk about uh, you know a particular street in someone’s hometown? No! Because like people might not relate to that and not buy it. Let’s talk about like, arms. Everybody’s got arms. In your arms, you know, and love and tonight. Everyone can relate to the concept of tonight.

JR: Where do you think your strength lies, as a songwriter or a performer?

GB: People just want to hang around with me because I’m rich! Now that’s what it is. It’s just like, people like hanging around me because they’re hoping they’ll get rich too. Because I just exude good fortune. And so that’s they key to my appeal. People just want that to rub off. In fact, I have a new song that I’m gonna throw at people that I didn’t play last time I was there. I’ve got a few new songs but I got a new song that’s going to be the title track of my next album. It’s autobiographical. It’s called, “Lucky God damned Jew.” People can look forward to that. And you know, that kind of good fortune and good feeling will just rub off on them and they’ll probably win the lottery the next day.

JR: Really?

GB: Yeah, It’s true. I had this great show the other day in Courtney, which is a small town on Vancouver Island and 45 people showed up and they paid like 12 bucks to get in! And it was just me! And I yelled at them and then I pulled the accordion back and forth and then they bought some CDs. But the thing is that I had had a fortune cookie at the Red Ruby, the Chinese and Canadian cuisine restaurant next to the venue, before the show that said “Your originality will be rewarded”. So you know, this program is working. I’m sort of like a Tony Robbins figure.

JR: You’re motivating me, that’s for sure.

GB: See? That’s what the key is, my Tony Robbins-like motivational speaker aspect. I don’t have as big teeth, but I’m going to buy some because I’m rich now.

JR: I hear you recently had a new baby, how many kids do you have?

GB: I’ve got three kids. The first two are already earning their keep and stuff like that. Joseph is only 9 weeks old so we haven’t put him to work yet. In BC we got new child labour laws. There are really no standards anymore, it’s just, uh, basically you have to have a note from your parents saying it’s okay to work. It used to be that the child labour protection officer who had to sign off on you working in a particular place, but they got rid of that.

JR: Have you started working on a new album yet?

GB: Well it’s mainly written but I also have another album that is already recorded but I don’t know if I’m going to put it out or how it’s going to work or what. It’s a Live in Oslo record.

JR: Why not put it out?

GB: Well I just have to find somebody to pay for it to come out.

JR: I’ll give you 20 bucks for a copy

GB: Well, that’s a good start. See, but like, it’s not recorded in Canada so FACTOR and all those other people, they won’t pay for like, grants and shit.

You need all that other money for like, the publicity and stuff so you can give a record a chance in life. You can’t just throw a record out on the street and say “Good luck, kid!” You got to give a record some tools to survive out in the world. A lot of people they do that, they just make a record and soon as the record is old enough to walk they just put it out on the street. But it doesn’t know how to feed itself, it doesn’t know how to print a resume or anything. You got to give your record a chance. So, I’m not putting the record out there in the cold until I know that I can give it the tools and the wisdom it needs to get by in this crazy world.

I have to pee. So I gotta go pee, and then continue the interview. I want to talk to you more so I’m going to call you after I pee.

For more information on Geoff Berner, visit www.geoffberner.com.

Blackie Sure Ain’t Singin’ the Blues
By Jeff Robson

Sometimes the most impressive success stories grow out of the most humble and unassuming beginnings, even if that story involves three highly successful and well-respected artists. Such was the case with Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, a trio of great Canadian musicians from very different musical universes. Tom Wilson is best known as the lead singer and songwriter for Junkhouse, a band that ruled the radio airwaves in the 90s and had huge success in Canada and around the world. Stephen Fearing is one of the biggest stars on the Canadian folk festival circuit, although he prefers not to be labelled a folk singer. And Colin Linden started playing and singing the blues decades ago when he was only a child, learning from the greats including Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters. But since then, he’s grown into so much more than a blues singer; he produces and appears on some of the biggest roots and blues recordings.

Colin Linden explains that the band was formed rather fortuitously and unexpectedly, “Well, really it was something that started with just a mutual love of Willie P. Bennett. My wife and I had the idea to do a tribute album to Willie. This was in November of 1995. The very same day, I got an email from Stephen Fearing saying, ‘hey, wouldn’t it be great to get together and play some Willie P. Bennett songs?’ We were just thinking that it would be cool to do something together. It was beyond coincidence that this ended up happening.

“I excitedly spoke with Stephen about it and we both thought it would be cool to do it more like under the auspices of a band than to do a tribute album with all different artists. We both knew Tom and knew that he was a very loud supporter of Willie’s music and a great guy. One phone call and Tom was in, and six weeks later we were in the studio.

“We thought we’d just make the record and that was it. But Bernie Finkelstein from True North Records heard about the record and he asked, ‘if I can get you a few gigs would you be interested in playing a bit to support the record?’ we all enjoyed each other’s company and liked playing together so we went ahead and did it. That turned into 8 months touring and we kind of fell in love with each other, even though we continued to do our own things, but it’s become a real ongoing thing for us all now.”

When the band formed and began playing, the reaction was even better than expected, even with the high expectations that a super-group naturally creates. But many questions remained: Would the band keep going? Would such busy musicians have time for this pet project? Who the heck is Blackie? And, for that matter, who the heck is Willie P. Bennett?

Bennett started writing songs in the late sixties, and released three great albums in the 70’s. In the 80s, he took a job as the mandolin/harmonica player for another great Canadian songwriter, Fred Eaglesmith. But even though he put his own career on hold, his songs lived on in the hearts of fans and fellow musicians. Linden explains Bennett’s appeal this way, “The thing I find about Willie’s music, is that in the same way as The Band, Willie’s music has a lot of elements of country and blues and folk and rock & roll, so it covers a lot of territory musically. He’s a great, honest, brilliant poet and an amazing musician. He’s just amazing songwriter and an artist of great integrity. He takes the music extremely seriously, but he doesn’t take himself so damn seriously. These are the things that make us love Willie as an individual, and they come through in the music.”

The first CD for Blackie & The Rodeo Kings (named after a Willie P. Bennett song) called High or Hurtin’, was released in 1996 to tremendous acclaim. It was nominated for a Juno award, and the brief string of tour dates was overwhelmingly successful. But the magic that the band found didn’t just come from great songs and great playing, there was also an immediate chemistry that the three musicians shared. Linden explains, “It’s kind of one of those things where if you feel a chemistry coming on between the players, it’s important to recognize that. With us, I don’t know if we can take a lot of credit for it, just when we sing together we create a certain sound. We like each other’s music so much and we’re fans of each other so we end up rubbing off on each other a bit musically. On certain songs we kind of sound like each other in some ways, and it was kind of at that point that it seemed like we were becoming more of a band, although on a personal level it’s felt like that for a long time.

“The things that are really important are the things that carry on, and that’s really based on the relationship that we have. We just love being in each other’s lives, and that’s really where the magic all comes from. And that’s really where the bar is set, if that doesn’t exist, the music really doesn’t matter.”

That bar got even higher as the trio released another successful recording in 1999, the double album, Kings of Love. That project contained Willie P. Bennett songs, but it also paid tribute to Fred Eaglesmith, Bruce Cockburn, Murray McLauchlan, and others. But the real change on that project was the move towards more original material. All three Rodeo Kings are successful songwriters on their own, so it seemed natural to bring original material into the mix if the band were going to continue. That worked out so well that the new CD, this year’s BARK, is all original, save for one Bennett song and one Cockburn song. Says Linden, “We know Willie’s stuff and we love him enough that we could do a whole other album of Willie’s tunes.We wanted the thrust of this album to be our own songs, but I’m sort of of the opinion that you don’t burn the bridge that brought you over. The fact that we have this love of Willie’s music is a great yardstick for everything that we want to do.”

Even with the wide variety of songwriters on the new CD, Linden explains how the three busy musicians were able to pull together a very cohesive sounding project, “We all kind of brought in a lot of different tunes over the last year and half or two years that we’ve collected with the idea that they would be good tunes for Blackie. Certainly with Tom and myself it was a little more like that, with Stephen it was a little different because we had all worked together on Stephen’s last record, That’s How I Walk. We all brought in a fair bit. Actually, Stephen and Tom write together a lot. Some of the best songs on the record, I think, “Stoned” and “Swinging From the Chains of Love,” those songs are ones that Stephen and Tom wrote together. I think that they’ve become a really formidable songwriting team.”

And all three Rodeo Kings keep coming together regularly to write, work, play, and enjoy each other’s company. But it gets more and more difficult all the time as each musician has active projects of his own. Fearing’s latest album was released in the U.S. on pre-eminent roots label, Rounder, and it gained him a whole new respect and following down south. Wilson has been doing select shows with Junkhouse after the recent release of a retrospective CD. And Linden has a hectic pace producing and appearing on others’ albums. He explains the dilemma, “Sometimes when other things are being waved in front of you, you wonder ‘what should I be doing here and what should I not be doing here?’ But, ultimately, I couldn’t imagine people being interested in having us play and me not doing it, it’s just too much fun doing it.”

Linden was even a part of the team that worked on O Brother Where Art Thou, and he appeared on the live album and in the movie, Down From the Mountain. This led him to yet another career move this year. “I have a role in the new Coen Brothers film called Intolerable Cruelty. I play a priest called Father Scott. He’s kind of a new agey priest, and I marry Catherine Zeta-Jones to Billy Bob Thorton. I play a couple of Simon and Garfunkel songs, which is kind of comedic just hearing me do that. I got to know Joel and Ethan Coen doing the film O Brother Where Art Thou, so that led to getting to know them. They just called me up out of the blue and asked ‘how’d you like to do an acting job?’

“It’s an interesting thing because both Stephen and Tom have acted also. At one point in time there was an independent film that just didn’t end up getting made that Stephen had a pretty major role in, and Tom has done some acting as well. We’re talking about doing sort of a male Charlie’s Angels movie with Charlie Ferguson, who is our front of house mixer and our good friend, he would be the Charlie role and we’re auditioning people for the Bosley role. I’d like to see it happen.”

But, movie dreams aside, the band just continues along as its members can make the time to work together. As Linden says, “It is sort of a matter of doing it day by day.” But with Canada already responding loudly and clearly, one has to wonder if our American neighbours will be the next to catch on. Linden says, “I think our record’s set to come out in February or March of 2004 and when we do that I’d really like to get out and play in America, because I live in Nashville, so it’s kind of home for me. It’s always a challenge when I’m down there working and I tell people that I’m going to tour in Canada for a month and it’s like me saying I’m going to Mars, people don’t hear your records on the radio down there and they don’t see us in magazines down there. Once the record comes out down there it’ll be great to get out more and connect some of the dots.”

For more information on Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, visit www.rodeokings.com.

Paul Thorn Converts New Followers Every Night
By Jeff Robson
Published in The Uniter, November 13, 2003
official website: http://newwinnipeg.com/uniter/

In 2002, one of the biggest hits at The Winnipeg Folk Festival was undoubtedly a guy named Paul Thorn. Thorn is a singer/songwriter who utilizes many different influences to create a fun and unique sound that, as he says, is rather hard to categorize, “I don’t know what it is. I’m influenced by gospel, I’m influenced by country, blues, and other stuff, and it’s sort of a mixture of all of it I think.” At the Folk Festival, it seemed that wherever he performed, he had audiences dancing, laughing, thinking, and feeling. His CDs were among the biggest sellers at our prestigious festival, and the reaction is similar pretty much wherever he goes, and Thorn visits a lot of places.

He was born the son of a devout Church of God minister in Tupelo, Mississippi. And much like Tupelo’s most famous son, Elvis Presley, Thorn has a magical natural gift for performance. It doesn’t take long before audiences are eating out of his hand. And Thorn explains that this skill naturally follows from his upbringing. “Being a minister’s son is probably the biggest influence in my life for how I learned about being an entertainer is because of my dad. A big part of being a minister is being able to hold a congregation’s attention and making them listen to what you’re doing. I picked up a lot of that skill from watching my dad be a preacher for all those years.”

And, having grown up watching those performances all his life, the skill came naturally to Thorn. But it’s still something that he’s constantly aware of and nurturing. He explains, “There’s a formula that I live by when I’m performing. The main thing is to try to always have fun when I’m performing and make sure that the audiences have fun. That’s my method right there.

“Everybody, no matter what the crowd, wants to have a good time, that’s why they left home and bought a ticket. And so I try to mix up my set, I do a few serious songs and some funny songs and if you make people have fun, it’ll work, whoever you’re playing for.”

That musical dichotomy is an essential part of Paul Thorn’s sound and philosophy. He’s got hilarious and fun songs like “I’d Rather Be a Hammer Than a Nail,” “Joanie, the Jehovah’s Witness Stripper,” and “Two Dogs in Heat,” which gets the audience howling along every time. But Thorn is also a master at creating some touching and often heartbreaking songs like “Angel Too Soon,” “I Have a Good Day,” and “Even Heroes Die,” a moving tribute to Elvis. He explains why he utilizes such different emotions in his music, “as human beings that’s what we are; we’ve got some funny stuff in our lives, and we’ve got some tragic sorrow in our lives. I try to touch, but not dwell, on all of it.”

But no matter what the specific emotion or subject matter, Paul Thorn songs always tell a great story. He says, “I’m definitely a storyteller and my songs are stories. Most of my songwriting mentors were actually country songwriters, even though I’m not a country artist. That’s the big thing that I do like about country music is most of the songs are story songs, they have a beginning, a middle, and an end. That’s where I got most of my storytelling from.”

It’s his performance skills that get the most recognition, but plenty of other performers and songwriters have acknowledged Thorn’s gift at songwriting as well. He’s been able to co-write songs with such notable artists as Jon Bon Jovi, Carole King, and Kim Richey. And other artists are beginning to cover his original songs as well, as he explains, “I have had a lot of other people cutting my songs. That gives me validation and I appreciate it but really, my greatest pleasure comes from performing. That’s where I get the most satisfaction.”

But that songwriting career is usually kept in the shadows of the music industry, and is only well known to those within the industry. Thorn says, “Most times when you hear a song, you don’t know who wrote it. The gullible public, when they hear an artist sing a song, because they don’t know and they’re not educated in the music business, they think that the artist wrote the song. Most of the time, the artist did not write the song. Most of the time nobody seems to know who the songwriter is.”

With great songs and immense talent, Thorn’s been able to not only foster and image as an amazing live performer, but he’s also released three studio albums and one live one. As he explains, putting together an album is another natural type of performance. “It comes together by songs that fit where I’m at in my life at the time and what I’m doing at the time. My last album, Mission Temple Fireworks Stand, that’s not exactly a gospel album but it’s got a lot of gospel influences on it and that whole album was put together to sort of pay homage to my upbringing as a minister’s son who eventually left the church and went out into the broader world. That’s what that album’s all about.”

It’s hard to believe that it was only five years ago that Thorn released his first album, and he only began performing for crowds shortly before that. His career got off to a rather humble start, but got a very fortunate boost early on, as he explains, “I was playing in, of all things, a pizza restaurant at night in Tupelo, Mississippi and Miles Copeland who manages Sting and The Police got one of my demo tapes and he liked it. He actually flew down to Tupelo, Mississippi and heard me playing in this pizza restaurant. They flew me out to Los Angeles and I got signed to A&M Records; that was in ’97. Since then, I’ve been a full time musician. Being a minister’s son, I wasn’t allowed to go to concerts growing up. So, the first concert I ever went to in my life was when I was opening up for Sting.”

But immediately being thrust in front of thousands of people wasn’t the least bit nerve wracking for this performer, he’d been appearing at his father’s revival meetings since the age of three. So, it didn’t bother him in the least to get on a music stage, “Well, to be quite honest, it really wasn’t overwhelming. Ever since I was three years old I’ve been in front of people singing because my dad’s a minister. I was actually ingrained all my life to be in front of people performing. Without sounding arrogant, I don’t mean it that way, I don’t see it as anything to get nervous about because it’s the only thing I ever did in my whole life.”

Even though that was Thorn’s first big musical break, it certainly wasn’t the first time he had performed in front of a crowd of thousands. As a young man, he developed a rather successful career as a professional boxer, of all things. At the peak of his career, Thorn was granted a fight with legendary fighter Roberto Duran. He says, “In 1987, I was the number 29 ranked middleweight in the world, and I fought Roberto Duran on national television. It was something. The thing was, I was a pretty good fighter, but I wasn’t a great fighter. I gave the best effort I could, but I just couldn’t win against someone like Roberto Duran because he just had too much talent and too much skill for me to deal with. I got stopped at the end of the sixth round because I had cuts over both of my eyes. But, to be honest, that was probably the one thing that really made me nervous. It’s a real nerve wracking thing sitting in a dressing room getting your hands taped and gloved up and knowing that you’re fixing to go out in front of a thousand people and fight somebody. That’s scary stuff.”

So, while he never managed to achieve major stardom as a boxer, it seems likely that his fight for the top of the music industry heap isn’t going to be as gruelling or painful. Thorn plans to go out and keep doing what he does best. As he says, that’s the only way for him, “I’ve never had a real giant publicity machine splashing me all over television and radio so I’ve had to build my following one person at a time by going out and performing.”

His schedule has been hectic, he plays night after night all over North America, but Canada is still a work in progress for him. He says, “Back in the States, that’s where I’ve got my biggest following. I really don’t have much of a following in Canada yet. Thankfully back in the states, there are places where I’m the headliner and that’s a great feeling. It seems like everything’s growing and so I ain’t got nothing to cry about.”

“I’m trying to build my career up to where I can afford to take my wife out to a nice restaurant like Cracker Barrel,” he jokes. Indeed, it seems that success has come fairly easily for Paul Thorn, but he’s going to keep working. He says, “Obviously, I’d like to become more successful just for my future and to take care of my family, but I by no means take for granted that I’ve had great success already and I’m very aware of that and I’m very thankful.”

And, like any good preacher or preacher’s son, after a wonderful conversation that completely won this interviewer over with his charm and wit, Thorn certainly was not about to forget his sales pitch, “If anybody’s interested in my music or knowing more about me, there’s always PaulThorn.com. Paul Thorn CDs do make excellent Christmas presents. If you don’t like the music, they make great coasters for your iced tea.”

And, like the man says, for more info visit www.paulthorn.com.

Waltons Front Man Has Promising New Future
By Jeff Robson
With Mike Neufeld and Terry Wilson

Published in The Uniter, November 6, 2003
official website: http://newwinnipeg.com/uniter/

In 1993, a fresh-faced young group from Saskatchewan released one of the most promising and accessible debut albums of the decade. Lik My Trakter by The Waltons, contained fabulously melodic and powerful pop tunes that had that wonderful ability to resonate with young and old fans alike. That year, the band embarked on a cross country tour with one of the country’s biggest bands, Barenaked Ladies, which put them in front of sold out audiences every night and made stars out of some unlikely lads from Regina. They went on to win the Best New Group Juno award and they managed to secure worldwide record contracts and tour all over the place. The sky truly seemed to be the limit for the band.

But their subsequent full length CDs Cock’s Crow and Empire Hotel, along with the Simple Brain EP, failed to gain much notice at all on a widespread level and they fell off of the public radar. They still went out and played their hearts out, gaining them a solid core of devoted fans that included many high profile musicians. But eventually, the band went its separate ways. Very recently, Waltons lead singer and songwriter Jason Plumb emerged with a new solo album, Under and Over. It contains some of the strongest and most accessible tunes he’s written since The Waltons’ debut, and it should go a long way toward establishing him as one of this country’s most renowned singer/songwriters.

Recently, Jason Plumb stopped in Winnipeg to play a quick solo show before moving on to Toronto to begin promoting the new release. The Uniter had the opportunity to sit down with Plumb and find out what he’s been up to all these years, and where he hopes to go with the new CD.

Q: So, what’s up with The Waltons, are you officially broken up?

A: We’re just laying low, I guess you could say. We’re all busy doing different things. Our bass player Keith is in Edmonton doing his PHD in astrophysics if you can believe that. He’s always been a bit of an egghead though, so it fits him. Our keyboardist Todd Lumley is still very musical, he’s off with Hawksley Workman and has been for a couple of years. Drummer Sean is in Toronto working for Maple Music. We still all talk, but I’m the only one that’s silly enough to get out there and play all the time for no money.

Q: Do you have a problem being known, at least initially, as “Jason Plumb of the Waltons?”

A: No, it’s not even something I’ve thought about. I’m proud of everything the Waltons did and what we achieved and all the recordings we released. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. But, just to sustain that project was getting to be really tough. For us to get out on the road we were losing like $1000 a day or something and so I thought it was time to try something new. I can always look fondly on the days with those guys. We had a good run; it was a good solid 10-12 years.

Q: Unfortunately, The Waltons will always be known in many people’s eyes for Lik My Trakter, but I thought the work was good all the way through. Was that album hard to live down, or what was the problem with the other ones?

A: I wish more people saw it that way. Most people that did buy or second and third albums did think the same way. It was just a media perception driven by the lack of work on the record company’s part that made it seem like we didn’t really do anything else. And I’ll admit, commercially, we didn’t. We went 80,000 to 30,000, to like 8,000 albums sold, and that’s not a very good sign. But at the same time, I thought our records got better by the same ratio. It proves the old saying that it doesn’t matter how good your record is, it’s going to sell what it’s going to sell. As a musician, all you can do is make your best record and hope that it gets in the right hands of the machine. But, you know, I don’t even feel that way anymore. I made this new record because the songs were there and it just felt good. For me, the machine is kind of dead and I’m doing it for different reasons now.

Q: What do you think was the real strength of that band?

A: Just thinking about the Waltons’ career, it was really driven by live performances. That’s how we sold records. We never had a single break the top 30 ever. I mean radio was all over us for about 15 minutes when we toured with the Barenaked Ladies. But, after that, we sustained it by playing live and playing a lot. The hours we spent just driving was incredible.

Q: The Waltons became known, on album anyway, as a pop band. But this album has some really rockin’ material, were you trying to get away from the pop thing?

A: Yeah, that’s why it’s called Under and Over because it’s under the decibel range and a bit over what people are used to hearing from me. And my band, The Willing, has two other guitar players who play beside me. So my two wingers can be these two rockin’ guys, but they’re still really subtle sometimes. There’s a lot more sonic power that’s coming out of us when we’re performing these songs live. But we’re very true to the album which is something that I’ve always believed in as well.

Q: At the same time, there’s also some very slow and mellow stuff on the album that works well. What prompted you to slow it down so much at times?

A: That was a conscious decision, actually. I had gone into this project thinking that I might make a rock record, because I never really have. But the producer [Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies] brought up the point that I can deliver ballads and slower tempo songs as good as anyone. And he kind of had to talk me into that, because I’ve got a lot of favourite balladeers, but he said why not capitalize on what you do well.

And the band I used on the record was one of the best pop bands going. I was going to use our old drummer Sean, but he broke his hand just before we began the pre-production. And I was going to play all of the guitars and the bass, but Ed pointed out that I had already done that. That’s basically what the demos were. So he came up with the great idea of getting this band from Ottawa called Starling. If you’re a pop music fan, they’re the real deal. If you like Queen or Radiohead, they’re that good. But at the same time, they can do roots really well. There’s a record by Jim Bryson and the Occasionals and that’s them playing on it. When I heard that, I thought that these Starling guys could be a great bunch of players for me. That was a good call, I think, to get a band involved, rather than get a bunch of studio guys, or worse yet myself playing bass and guitar.

Q: You worked with a pop band and a producer who’s a major pop star. Were you worried about this coming out too poppy, or is that a bad thing?

A: I’ve always considered myself to be a pop writer, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. My influences go back to XTC and Crowded House and all of these great pop writing bands. I was never worried about Ed making me into something I’m not, because he’s always been a fan of mine, and so it never even entered into my mind.

Q: A lot of your fellow musicians have noted you as a favourite songwriter. Do you see yourself more as a songwriter or a performer?

A: I’m starting to think of myself more as a songwriter first and foremost. Performing is something that I’ve been out of for 4 years or so. I’ve done the occasional thing, but for the most part I haven’t done it. That was one reason that I wanted to put out a record was because I really miss performing and travelling and playing for new people every night. But everybody keeps telling me that I’m a good songwriter, so I’m starting to believe it, but I don’t think that I ever will because then I’ll figure that I’ve arrived somehow. It took me a while to outgrow the security of having a band, because that’s all I’d ever known as a performer. But now, I’ve moved on and past that.

Q: Do you find that you can write differently now that it’s more for you than the band?

A: I think that in writing in the past for Waltons records, I knew what the Waltons were all about and there were certain barriers there that we didn’t necessarily put on ourselves, but that the listeners had expected of us. In going through writing these songs, even though a couple of them are old enough to have been Waltons songs, I was just writing for myself and it wasn’t for a record company. There was always that with The Waltons too, wondering whether we were we going to sell enough records and management was on our ass asking if were going to sell. So this has been about getting back to what it’s really all about for me, which is writing and singing and I hope that comes across on the record because that was the point.

Q: What is your plan for this CD?

A: I’m hoping to do 200 shows in support of this record, and maybe we’ll get some American people interested. I’ll just keep going until everybody pays attention. I really didn’t think that was possible until about three weeks ago when the band started doing a few dates in Alberta and I felt like I did in 1989 in that I think if we stick with it and keep going, I think it’ll happen. The only way I think I’m going to get out to people is to play all the time.

Q: But do you think you can ever achieve the same kind of success that you did ten years ago, or is this a different ballgame?

A: Even back then that wasn’t in my brain. I didn’t think that something like that would happen, our flavour just came around or something happened. Actually, I know that it was because Warner started pumping thousands and thousands of dollars on us a day. Anybody can be famous if you throw enough money at it.

I really don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m committed to going around and seeing that people hear this music, and the people at Maple Music are so fantastic. We’re already talking about another two records out of me. It’s a nurturing thing and there’s no pressure to do anything in particular. Any pressure that I feel is put on by myself to get out and play, because I’m not going to expect radio to sell these records.

Q: Do you feel like you’re starting over, or is this a new phase of the career you began with The Waltons?

A: I do feel like I’m starting over. I don’t know how many Waltons fans are out there, but I know that there were some that always wondered what went wrong and wondered why we weren’t putting out more records and what happened. I think that people that are out there, if they hear about me coming to town I don’t mind being “Jason Plumb of the Waltons.” I mean, who knows, The Waltons might even do another tour later on, I don’t have a clue. It’s all playing by ear.

Jason Plumb’s new CD is available in stores on Maple Music Recordings and from www.maplemusic.com. For more info on Jason, visit www.jasonplumb.com.

Sometimes Big Things Do Come From Small Packages
Nathan Wiley: From P.E.I. to National Popularity
By Jeff Robson
Published in The Uniter on October 30, 2003
official website: http://newwinnipeg.com/uniter/

In the fall of 2002, one of the most original and interesting songs to come out was a song called “Bottom Dollar Baby,” from a then unknown singer/songwriter named Nathan Wiley. The song’s slow, funky groove easily found an ear with radio programmers and audiences alike. The song’s video has also made it to medium rotation on MuchMoreMusic. Later, Wiley’s debut album, Bottom Dollar, was nominated for Chart Magazine’s Golden Toque award, for Best Canadian Album, and it made the top ten of the year for influential and much respected industry veteran and Canadian editor of Billboard Magazine, Larry Leblanc. This year, he won the East Coast Music Award for Alternative Artist of the Year, and was nominated for three others.

But he’s certainly a bit of an unlikely star. Wiley’s hometown of Summerside P.E.I. isn’t exactly known as a music industry hotspot, yet. But he really didn’t have to work hard at all to get his music heard outside of that small community. He explains, “When I recorded my CD, it just started making its way around. And it made its way over to Halifax, which is only about 3 1/2 hours away. Halifax is a pretty major musical hotspot.

“Music was always a hobby for me until I recorded the cd. I basically just wanted something to show for the year’s worth of playing. It kind of took off from there, which was kind of a surprise. It just made its way around. Someone would get it and get a copy to their friends and soon I started getting calls from all over Canada as people ended up with it. I didn’t really send very many out, it was just a real travelling record right off the top.”

With a quick and very positive response, Wiley couldn’t help but feel a little bit surprised at his burgeoning overnight success. “I was shocked. I thought I would just give it out as Christmas presents or something, so it was pretty bizarre to me when it started making its way across Canada,” he says.

The CD is not easy to describe. Whereas the first single was a slow, groovy soul/funk inspired number, others are more influenced by folk, jazz, and pop. But, again, even the sound and direction of the album were somewhat unintentional. Wiley explains, “I guess that’s just the way that I write. I listen to a lot of different styles, and I guess that just comes out when I write. Also, I really don’t want to be pegged down as an artist who does one style under one heading. I kind of like to do a little bit of everything in there. It keeps it interesting for me and everyone else as well.”

Whereas some artists may be a little bit reluctant to accept the label of overnight success, Wiley’s pretty comfortable in admitting that it hasn’t been much of a struggle to get ahead thus far. He says, “Things do seem to be coming fairly easily. The press has been really good to me with this first record. I think that really made a difference. I got a lot of great reviews. Plus we’re out playing a lot, but I think I’ve been really fortunate in a lot of ways.”

One of the most fortunate moments came when Wiley was chosen as a semi-finalist, and eventually the national grand prize winner of a contest sponsored by CBC Radio One’s weekly pop culture magazine, Definitely Not The Opera. It was a contest that he didn’t even intend to apply for. He says, “I think someone I know from the CBC kind of sent me the rules and kind of pushed me to join up. I sent out a CD and then kind of forgot all about it until they let me know that I was a finalist. I was pretty shocked; I certainly never expected that. I didn’t even expect to hear back, really. I just figured that they’d be inundated with so much music that I’d kind of get lost. But the CBC’s been really good to me in a lot of ways.” That’s certainly the truth, since not only was he the winner of the DNTO contest, Big Break, but he also was a finalist on the CBC national TV contest, The Great Canadian Music Dream. When asked how he got so lucky, Wiley jokes, “I bribed them well.”

With all of that success and acclaim, Wiley must be under a bit of pressure to produce a top-notch follow up. “I’m starting a new [album] in December, I believe,” he says. But with a very busy touring schedule, it hasn’t been easy to work on new material. “It’s been a little harder. I find I can’t write on the road, so I kind of have to do it in my down time while I’m at home. But being on the road so much, I’ve picked up a lot of little toys that help. I picked up a piano and a couple more guitars. And I’ve got a music room at home now, so that really helps. It gives me somewhere to go and sit down and write.”

But even as work begins on the follow up, there’s talk of releasing Bottom Dollar in the mighty American market. “We’re kind of working on the U.S. We did go down there in the summer to do the Strawberry Festival in Yosemite National Park in California. That went over really well, so I’m looking forward to getting down there more as well.”

In the meantime, however, he’ll continue to tour Canada relentlessly. He’s currently in the midst of a tour with hot Canadian singer/songwriter Danny Michel. He’s also toured and performed with notable Canadians like Sarah Slean, Sarah Harmer, Ron Sexsmith, and has played numerous times opening for Blue Rodeo. And, as he explains, touring with such established artists is more than just a great gig, it’s also a great learning opportunity for a young artist, “Mostly, what I really like to do is watch those guys and see how they handle themselves on stage. I think I still have a lot to learn as a performer. So, I do a set and then I go and sit down and watch the headlining band and what they’re saying to the audience and how they carry themselves. I’m just trying to really pick up on that lately.

“I love getting up to play, but I’m probably a little short on the conversation sometimes. But I’m learning. I usually keep it pretty short.”

You can’t really blame Wiley for learning as he goes, it turns out that performing is all new to him. He explains, “I’d never sang for an audience at all until after the CD was done. I wasn’t sure how to play the songs live, because the way I’d constructed them on the record was kind of piece-by-piece, so it was a lot of figuring out.”

And as he’s toured the country back and forth, he’s learned a lot about performing, and the songs have taken on a new life. He says, “The stuff from Bottom Dollar is a little different now just because I’ve been playing it for so long. The live show is basically kind of the record booted in the ass a little bit; it’s a little more high-volume and a little more rockin’. When I recorded the songs for the album, I’d never played any of them live. Once I got together with a band they started growing, and they’ve changed a lot. I just approach them differently. I really like artists that do a record and then go out and change things up a little bit for the live show.”

And obviously the results have been positive. The reviews for the live show have been great, and audiences all over have been taking note of Wiley’s great songs and interesting sounds. As an artist, he’s still at the very beginning of his career, but what a career it’s been so far. And, if he keeps it up, who knows what further heights he can hit if he keeps learning, growing, and performing. He’s an award winner, a critical darling, and a rising star. If he lives up to his true potential, I predict that some day P.E.I. will be known for more than just potatoes and Green Gables.

www.nathanwiley.com

All Sorts of Eaglesmith Fans Get Their Fill at Manitoba Concerts
By Jeff Robson
Published in The Uniter on October 23, 2003
official website: http://newwinnipeg.com/uniter/

“Well, I have two kinds of fans, you know. I have the FredHeads. The FredHeads are good fans to have. The FredHeads follow me around. People think they're white trash, but they're not, they're usually middle class to upper middle class white trash wannabes. And they live vicariously through me. They come to my show, and they're pretty glad that I don't get too famous, which kind of pisses me off, but they like to see me in the small venues. They go to my table and buy all of my stuff. I know they don't need it, sometimes they buy 5 or 6 copies, they think “oh, let's help Fred out, buy another friggin' CD,” and they put in a drawer and give it to somebody for Christmas or something. I like the FredHeads, you know. They're nice fans.

“Then I have this other guy, and he's called The Freddy. And The Freddy usually quits his job the Monday before I come to town. He takes his holiday pay straight to the liqour store. He cashes his cheque in exchange for all the booze he can buy. And he gets the small change in the small bottles, he doesn't want to waste any. Then he gets back in his pick-up truck and goes back to his house. He puts 6 of my CDs in his CD changer. He plays every one of my CDs while he's drinking in the back of the truck. Whenever one of the CDs is over, he goes and honks the horn, a ritual usually only reserved for when The Toronto Maple Leafs win. By the time I get to town, he's waiting in the parking lot and as soon as I step out of the bus, he's like “FREDDY! FREDDY!”

“After every syllable, I sing, he's like “FREDDY! YOU ROCK! FREDDY!” Then he passes out. Misses the entire show. Gets up for the encore. “FREDDY! FREDDY!” Then, just when the most beautiful woman is standing in the autograph line looking me over. She's thinking of taking me home and keeping me living in a manner I am not accostomed to living, for the rest of my life: wealthy, widowed, 26. He shoves her aside. He looks me in the eye amd says, “You changed my life, man. I just love you man.”

If you've ever seen Fred Eaglesmith live, chances are you've heard this story before. But, no matter how many times you've heard it, you probably laughed just the same. Eaglesmith is one of the funniest storytellers you'll ever run across. His between song banter is the stuff that legends are made of. He can go on and on about just about any topic with hilarious results. And you always kind of wonder just how much truth there is lurking behind some of his fabulously entertaining tales. Until this weekend, I thought that the Freddy story was just that. But Freddy and a few of his buddies showed up at The West End Cultural Centre on Saturday night, to crash the party at the Back Up The Mountain Bluegrass & Old Tyme Music Fest.

I know all about the FredHeads, because I'm one of them. We religiously attend Fred's shows when he comes to town, and often travel to see him in other places as well. Every year, there are entire weekends held in his honour in places like Bellows Falls Vermont and the annual Fred Eaglesmith charity picnic in Southern Ontario. Fredheads travel from miles around to attend these events. I know of people from around the U.S. who make the trip to Bellows Falls each year, and I have a friend in Victoria who's now a regular there.

I know this friend and so many others, through Fred's rabid online community of Fredheads. There are two main communities online, there's the more laid back and quiet Yahoo group, and the active list of passionate regulars on “the digest,” found at www.fredheads.org. It's a pretty diverse group of folks, but they've all come together around a common love of Fred and his music. The diversity makes for some rather interesting and often explosive exchanges, as people express their opinions and passions in rather vocal manners at times.

And the same is the case for the live concerts; a wide variety of people attend, and many of them react in very different ways. On Friday, October 17, some FredHead friends and I travelled to Pinawa, Manitoba, to catch Fred and his band in action. The Eastern Manitoba Concert Association books a series of concerts every year in Pinawa, which are held at the Pinawa Community Centre, which doubles as the high school gym/auditorium. By the looks of things, the whole town was out to attend the show, almost every seat in the gym was occupied, and the crowd spanned the ages from young children to senior citizens. Many of the kids fidgeted and fought nervously, oblivious to the music onstage and to those of us who were attempting to enjoy it. Many of the parents and grandparents looked bored or uninterested. But the majority of the crowd hung on Fred's every word, and rocked along with the band throughout both sets.

The first set was mostly bluegrass and comedy. In 45 minutes, Fred and the band only played 6 songs, but nobody could have been disappointed. The songs were great, and the stories between had many of us aching with laughter. After an intermission, where we filed down the hall to the school's home economics room for punch and baked goodies, the band got right down to business and played a music heavy set, featuring 10 songs that ranged from rock and roll, to country, to more bluegrass. There were songs about dogs, trains, tractors, women, and relationsips. For the most part, the crowd was very appreciative and respectful, and the evening was a big hit.

But in Winnipeg on Saturday night, Freddy would be the one to steal the show. This was to be an all bluegrass affair, complete with spiffy bluegrass suits and lacking in extra instrumentation like drums and steel guitar that were part of the previous night's show. The West End Cultural Centre was packed to capacity, and obviously many in the audience were enjoying trips to the bar, since the energy level in the crowd was a little higher than in Pinawa, and the noise level was greater, even though twice as many folks attended the previous night's show.

Early on in the night, a group of 4 or 5 very intoxicated young Freddies took to standing at the side of the stage and dancing in a manner unbecoming to their abilities and creating an unnecessary amount of noise and interruptions. At one point, about halfway through the show, Eaglesmith stopped and said, “I tell you what, boys, shut the fuck up, now.” They did, although they later moved to the other side of the stage in some logically distorted move designed to confuse Fred, I guess, only to resume the carrying on.

But the drunken boys could not take away from the magic happening onstage. The show, once again, was solid, and very well received. I was a bit worried at first, as the band started off both nights with the same three songs, but from there, there were almost no repeats. It's a rare performer that has such an extensive and impressive catalogue of material that he can put together countless numbers of drastically different setlists and not disappoint anyone by not playing “hits” or standards. For the FredHeads, every song's a classic, and the only way we could be disappointed is if Fred didn't come back for a whole year.

Fred Eaglesmith and his Flat Head Noodlers play over 250 shows a year, in big city concert halls, small town gymnasiums, and everywhere in between. It's a hard working and incredibly talented group of musicians that inspires fans of all ages and classes to become FredHeads. And, as we filed out of the West End, many of us stopped to pick up one of Eaglesmith's dazzling array of souvenirs, ranging from t-shirts and hats to tire gauges and frisbees to the ever growing collection of CDs that bear Fred Eaglesmith's name. Then, like good little FredHeads, we rushed home to write reviews or just check in with our friends on the digest, and start thinking of ways to pass off Fred Eagesmith items as Christmas gifts again this year.

www.fredeaglesmith.com

www.fredheads.org

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