Paul Tessier
For The Morning Star
Roots-music troubadour and multiple Juno Award-winner Bill Bourne grew up with music.
乌鸦传媒淚 remember so many times falling asleep upstairs in our farmhouse,乌鸦传媒� Bourne said. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檇 be in my bed in and I could hear the music downstairs. That memory is still very comforting to me. That乌鸦传媒檚 something I乌鸦传媒檒l always remember.乌鸦传媒�
He乌鸦传媒檒l be playing some of that down-home, roots-based music live for the Vernon Folk-Roots Music Society Saturday, Nov. 18 at the Spitfire Lounge of the Army, Navy and Airforce Club.
Bourne grew up in a very musical family on a farm near Red Deer, Alta, and fondly remembers lots of music in the house.
乌鸦传媒淢y mom and dad had a band when I was a little kid. They were pretty busy of course with the farming, but they乌鸦传媒檇 always somehow find time to play music. Weekends would come along 乌鸦传媒� especially in the winter months 乌鸦传媒� people would come over and pretty soon there乌鸦传媒檇 be all this music. As kids, it was kind of cool because we got to do stuff they wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 let us do normally, because they were busy playing music,乌鸦传媒� Bourne said with a hearty laugh.
At the age of 11, his uncle dropped off his clarinet.
乌鸦传媒淚 put that thing together and started playing it immediately. I loved it but then a couple of years later, I started hanging out with some guys at school who wanted to start a band. The clarinet didn乌鸦传媒檛 work with guitars. They said, 乌鸦传媒楾hat乌鸦传媒檚 crazy. What乌鸦传媒檚 with this clarinet? Get that thing out of here.乌鸦传媒� That sort of put a damper on the clarinet playing so I started playing guitar.乌鸦传媒�
He then naturally gravitated the songwriters like Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. He played in bands throughout high school and got his ticket as a licensed diesel mechanic. He was working as a mechanic for about a year when he got into the music business.
乌鸦传媒淚 quit my job, took my guitar and went to see a booking agent and auditioned,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淭hey put me to work right away, playing in bars in northern Alberta.乌鸦传媒�
It proved to be a quick learning experience.
乌鸦传媒淲hen all of a sudden your living depends on your music 乌鸦传媒� you learn a lot in a hurry,乌鸦传媒� Bourne said. 乌鸦传媒淚t ends up being really good for your playing.乌鸦传媒�
The booking agent wanted him to know 50 top 40 country songs and get a Rhythm Ace or electronic drummer.
乌鸦传媒淚 never did get a Rhythm Ace,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚 made a pact with myself when I quit my job as a mechanic that I was only going to play music that I really wanted to play. I wasn乌鸦传媒檛 going to let anybody tell me what to play. I乌鸦传媒檓 glad I made that pact with myself because that way I was able to pursue the music that I liked best. I sort of understood from the very beginning that the greatest asset you have as an artist is your own uniqueness.乌鸦传媒�
It was around then that he started writing songs 乌鸦传媒� a process he finds to be both an art and spiritual in nature.
乌鸦传媒淎s a songwriter, I can sit down and write lyrics all day,乌鸦传媒� Bourne said. 乌鸦传媒淏ut every once in a while, all of a sudden, something seems to take over my body and a song will come up that blows everything else away. That to me is art. You can premeditate to a certain degree what you乌鸦传媒檙e going to write about but when this phenomenon 乌鸦传媒� this sort of inspired moment occurs 乌鸦传媒� that乌鸦传媒檚 what really gets my attention.
乌鸦传媒淪o, as an artist, if you乌鸦传媒檙e fortunate enough to have those inspired moments occur and you manage to capture them, what happens is that there乌鸦传媒檚 a uniqueness that comes out 乌鸦传媒� a unique perspective. There乌鸦传媒檚 a real potency to those moments,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淲ithout those songs, it乌鸦传媒檚 much more difficult to be unique. But to me, sometimes I feel like I can乌鸦传媒檛 really claim authorship to those songs because it乌鸦传媒檚 like it came from another place.乌鸦传媒�
Over the years, he乌鸦传媒檚 been nominated for eight Juno Awards and has won three Junos, including Best Roots Recording in 1991 for Dance and Celebrate.
He乌鸦传媒檚 collaborated with all sorts of folks, including the Tannahill Weavers and Alan McLeod, Shannon Johnson, Wykham Porteous, Madagascar Slim and others. Along the way, he乌鸦传媒檚 noticed a common thread running through the themes of most great songwriters.
乌鸦传媒淭he message is consistently about universal love,乌鸦传媒� Bourne said. 乌鸦传媒淭hose inspired moments, which give life to those inspired songs, almost always have that underlying, powerful message.乌鸦传媒�
Although the message on Saturday, Nov. 18 might be about universal love and other themes, expect his show to be joyous and even raucous.
乌鸦传媒淢y music is essentially based on dance rhythms. Lately, I乌鸦传媒檝e taken to playing some blues on banjo, which I乌鸦传媒檓 really getting into. I also play the stomp-box a lot because I like to play music that乌鸦传媒檚 uptempo and very danceable. If people want to get up, shake a leg and sing along, that乌鸦传媒檚 definitely fine by me.乌鸦传媒�
Bill Bourne will be performing many of his inspired songs for the Vernon Folk-Roots Music Society Saturday, Nov. 18 at the Spitfire Lounge of the Army, Navy and Airforce Club. Show time is 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are $25 and are available through The Ticket Seller, 250-549-7469, , the Bean Scene Coffee House and at the door if available.
