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We invaded their homes, their sanctuaries, their private spaces. We knocked on their doors, interrupted their work, muddied their floors, drank their booze and coerced free CDs from them (music should be free, after all; discuss amongst yourselves). To their credit, they graciously invited us inside, knowing not what they did. It was sweet. And sour. Mostly sweet.
They being the singers and songwriters and producers and sessionists, the shredders and grinders, weirdos and funsters, prima donnas and proteges, mad dogs and Calgarians, the elder statesmen, the salt of the earth, the wunderkinds--such punks, what with their iPhones and tight jeans, uncalled-for precocity and staggering musicality.
Although hardly a revelation, what compelled us most was the living, breathing, self-replicating microcosm of extremely talented, driven and humble working stiffs. The Feists have left, but they begat "an impressive amount of potential," according to Chris Vail, rocker, plugger, diviner. "There are so many bands that are almost awesome, just missing one little piece of the puzzle, all on the verge of being 'Calgary's answer to blank.'"
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Tom Phillips Steve Pineo & Kit Johnson
Home Boys (Left to Right): Songwriters' songwriters Phillips, Pineo and Johnson don't always know when to fold 'em in Phillips' basement rec space, which he proudly calls the "Man Room."
Distinctions: With five albums and years of headlining gigs across the province under his belt buckle, singer/songwriter Phillips (and his six-piece band, the Men of Constant Sorrow) is a Calgary institution, known for his sincere and original take on honky-tonk, country and folk ballads. Pineo is a national musical treasure (yeah, we said treasure) who moves seamlessly between roots, blues and country. A former bandmate of the late great Billy Cowsill in the Co-Dependants, he's also penned hit songs for Prairie Oyster and Paul Brandt (including "Canadian Man"), and is currently a member of the Joe Defendents with Ross Watson, Tim Leacock and Kit Johnson. Johnson, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and hired gun extraordinaire, has toured with a mix of famed Canadian musicians, like Murray McLaughlan, David Wilcox and George Fox; and he's produced albums for Pineo and Phillips, among others.
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Cam Penner, Ralph Boyd Johnson & Tim Leacock
Home Boys (Left to Right): Penner, Johnson and Leacock-- songwriters' songwriters from the folk-country-roots-rock milieu. (Just don't say milieu to their faces.)
Distinction: Penner, 33, is the kid in the group by some 10 years or so. The itinerant "prairie soul" has written and sung old country, rock 'n' roll and Americana-style roots for more than a decade, and has opened for and shared stages with the likes of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Lyle Lovett and John Prine. Leacock (or "Dutchie" to his friends), formerly of local legends The Co-Dependents and National Dust, is Calgary's go-to guy when it comes to lending his considerable singing, songwriting, mandolin, guitar and harmonica talents to dozens of local bands over the years, including Beautiful Joe and The Burners, The Steve Pineo Trio and Tom Phillips and the Men of Constant Sorrow. These days, Leacock's in the Joe Defendants, and Dutchie and the Doughnuts. As for Johnson--well, we'll let him tell his story...
Ralph on Ralph: "Grew up in a foster home, quit school at 16. Went to work in the coal mines, threw my back out. Ended up in jail for nine months in that old Lethbridge jail, where they used to hang guys in the yard. Ended up in the hard-rock mines of Thunder Bay. Didn't start making music till I was about 20. No education and no trade, I did jobs nobody else would do. I wrote songs to save my life--I needed an outlet."
The Late, Great Billy Cowsill: "There's a lot of people mentored by him," says Leacock of the Co-Dependent's legendary frontman. "There's no successor--it takes a lot of us to add up to the pieces of the puzzle that was Billy.
Basically, everyone still carries that torch. He showed us this is worth doing." Adds Johnson: "I loved Bill so much, and he loved me." His upcoming May release, titled 1723 9th Street S.W., refers to the red-brick house he used to live in with Cowsill. "It was like living in Sing Sing."
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Best Fly-On-The-Wall Moment: When Johnson grabs a guitar and sings a new roots 'n' gospel number, "By the Hand," which he dedicates to Billy Cowsill, Back Alley Joe and other fallen friends. "I know the hard land well..."
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