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The Co-Dependents
Fri, Jan 24
St. Basil's Cultural Centre
"I'm from the Joe Strummer school of music," Tim Leacock says. "I may not have the best chops in the world, but I bring a lot of passion to the stage and I definitely believe in the 'turn it up and get out there' theory of performance."
And Leacock has been turning it up out there for over 20 yers; first with The Burners, then Jane Hawley, Beautiful Joe and National Dust. Now, the native son of Olds, Alberta - who was raised in Calgary - will be part of a highly anticipated appearance by the Co-Dependents this Friday. Leacock, along with fellow Co-D's Billy Cowsill, Steve Pineo and Ross Watson have been riding a wave of popularity across Alberta since the release of their hugely successful disc, Live Recording Event, in 2001. According to Leacock, "We've sold over 3500 copies of the album in Alberta [and] we were on the Top Ten at Megatunes [Calgary's definitive roots music outlet] for over six months. Fifty-five weeks later, we were back in the top ten as people [bought] Christmas gifts."
The story behind the Co-Dependents goes back a number of years. "I met Billy Cowsill when I was with the Burners about 15 years ago," Leacock says. "Billy produced the Burners record and we've been buddies ever since. We'd share couch space. When Billy was in Calgary with the Blue Flames he'd flop at my place and I'd do the same in Vancouver. He's a musical mentor of sorts for me. We started working as a duo, Steve (Pineo) began sitting in occasionally and then Ross (Watson) joined in. It was sort of an organic progression."
Back when Cowsill and Leacock were working as a duo, the idea was always to make a record, but as usual money was a factor. "We're musicians, not businessmen", says Leacock. "But then we met a fellow by the name of Abe Epp. He's a builder in Calgary and a huge music fan. He told us we should make a record, and when we started to make excuses, he just asked, 'What will it take?"
With Epp providing the financial backing, the group was soon recording at the Mecca Cafe, just west of Calgary.
"We were lucky enough to get Miles Wilkinson up from Nashville to record the album and I can't give him enough credit for capturing the energy of our live show on tape." Mixed at Beta Sound in Edmonton, the recording has become a solid regional hit. Now, the group is looking ahead to recording in the near future. "We'd like it to be half live, half studio, featuring some more original material."
When asked to explain the popularity of the Co-Dependents, Leacock is at a bit of a loss, "There've been lots of projects that I've worked on that came and went like a fart in the wind, but this seems to have a life of its own. [Radio station] CKUA has helped out immeasurably in that, but really it comes down to basics. We've all been doing this long enough as individuals and collectively to have a reputation. Billy likes to say 'It's music by dead guys with a few originals thrown in,' but it goes deeper than that. We're not slick, but we know how to play and we enjoy playing together; that always comes across to the audience and we always win over the crowd."
The fact the group features impeccable vocal harmonies, playing and great showmanshp might explain it. Material ranging from originals to Dylan to Hank Williams with stops in the Mississippi Delta courtesy of Arthur Crudup and Otis Blackwell might explain it. And indefinable quality that makes the sum of its parts greater than the contributions of the individuals involved may be closer to the truth. Whatever it is, it's the real thing - make sure you catch it.
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