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If Calgary's roots scene ever had a sacred house, a good arguement could be made for the three-storey, red-brick abode on 9th Street in the city's southwest.
A decade ago, it was the living space of Calgary-based singer/songwriter Ralph Boyd Johnson and numerous other musicians, including Johnson's mentor and friend, the legendary Billy Cowsill.
"It's a point of musical history in Calgary," explains Johnson, sippin a beer at one of his favourite musical haunts, Mikey's Juke Joint. "Bill Cowsill lived and died in the house. He died in the back of the house."
So it's not surprising that Cowsill, one-time 1960s teen heartthrob of the family band that The Partridge Family was modelled after, haunts much of 1723 9 Street SW, Johnson's stunning sophomore disc that pays tribute to his years spent at the house.
Two of the songs - The Legend of Wild Billy C and Bill's Pills - are about Cowsill directly. It also includes the singer/songwriter's final two co-writes - Adios Santa Rosa and Foot of the Throne - and a version of Cowsill's own Vagabond. The album is dedicated to him with a reverent "Thanks Billy for the Music, the Schoolin' and the HEART" quote on the back cover.
Cowsill died in 2006 at the age of 58, firmly established as one of Western Canada's most iconic roots musicians through stints with The Blue Shadows and The Co-Dependents. But in his final years he was at the centre of a makeshift musical community made up of characters with great names like Back Alley John, Mickey Joy and James H. that would hang out, drink and occasionally scrap at 1723 9th Street.
"This particular record is about what was happening in that era," Johnson says. "I was just very fortunate to be there and to be able to get some co-writes with Billy. It was just a magical time."
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But the songs were actually completed six years ago. They were shelved at least partially due to Johnson's sadness over the death of his friend.
"At first when Bill passed away, I just kind of clammed up a bit," he said. "People would come up to you and ask, 'How are you?' because we were all close. You'd have to reassure them you were OK and then ask, 'Well, how are you?'. I wasn't into that. It took too much energy. I didn't play music for a few years. Then time just slipped away."
But Johnson thinks the time is right to let the music loose to the world and is planning a series of CD release parties with the Inner City Outlaws. It's his first ablum since 2002's Dying to Go, which was produced by Cowsill.
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