Skip to content

Long-time folkie to grace Canmore stage

Tubby Fats Original All-Star Downtown Syncopated Big Rock Jug Band… Is that not one of the best names for a folk band you’ve ever heard? Very 1960s. You can almost feel the Flower Power emanating.

Tubby Fats Original All-Star Downtown Syncopated Big Rock Jug Band…

Is that not one of the best names for a folk band you’ve ever heard? Very 1960s. You can almost feel the Flower Power emanating.

At the heart of that band was Ken Whiteley, who has been all over the Canadian landscape since that time and who plays the Canmore Folk Music Festival, Aug. 1.

The festival runs July 30 through Aug. 1 at Centennial Park in Canmore.

Whiteley and his brother Chris started that band in 1965, the year Ken took out his musician union card and never looked back – at the age of 14.

Since then, Whiteley has been involved in all manner of things musical – from roots to gospel, from children’s music to the blues from touring to recording and producing for others.

In fact, in reading over Whiteley’s bio, it’s surprising he can make time for a set at the Canmore festival, let alone take in a few workshops. No doubt that’s why his trip west from Ontario includes only the Canmore festival, another in Yellowknife as well as the Calgary Folk Music Festival.

Whiteley, a multi-instrumentalist himself (guitar, mandolin, steel, etc.), will be joined by another, Winnipeg’s Daniel Koulack on bass.

“I’ve toured with Daniel before,” said Whiteley. “He’s very versatile and a great all-round player. And string bass allows you to do more with the sound; you can rock harder, dig deeper, it’s a more harmonic underpinning with the acoustic format.”

The sound, in Whiteley’s case, has been woven into 27 of his own albums over the years, along with more than 80 as a producer. All that body of work has resulted in far too many awards and nominations to be listed here.

His most recent effort, Ken’s Unreleased Gems, followed 2010’s bluesy Another Day’s Journey, on which bluesman and friend Guy Davis sat in in return for Whiteley’s efforts on Davis albums. Whiteley appeared with Davis at The Banff Centre several years ago.

“And right now, I’m thinking about my next project,” he said. “It’ll probably be something stripped down. My record two years ago was decidedly bluesy, but as a musician I don’t make a distinction and don’t really cater to people’s desire to pigeonhole a recording.

“I do think a recording should have some kind of concept running through it, though.”

In the case of Another Day’s Journey, journey is a theme, with songs about Whiteley’s journey through music, a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Urge for Going”, a song about a journey, and with Guy Davis, Maria Muldaur and sacred steel guitar man Chuck Campbell adding vignettes of their journeys.

“I remember when Joni first played in 1965,” said Whiteley. “She was Joni Anderson then. And one of the songs on the album is a sacred steel song that was written on my birthday, so that goes back to when my journey began.”

Music, for Whiteley, is also the way he connects. “It’s such a beautiful way to connect with people. I like to get people singing along and get the spirit going. With sacred steel, there are a lot of ways to get people going and with the blues, it can be introspective, or rock out.”

In putting pen to paper for songwriting, Whiteley has used many pens on many papers over the years. When nearing a recording project, “my work is more structured. But the rest of the time, song ideas can come moment by moment, instant by instant. Sometimes you let them go, sometimes you scribble them down. Sometimes you jot them down, then much later go back and work on them.

“But you don’t want to lose them, so you usually need to put your ideas down on paper. I have many notation systems.”

Some of those notes have even been jotted down while taking in folk festivals; one of Whiteley’s passions. And it’s not just about the gig itself and time on stage.

“One of my favourite things at festivals are the workshops, I love that aspect. One of the reasons I love festivals is the opportunity to interact with other artists. You can meet new and old friends and there’s just a flow and energy you don’t find anywhere else.

“And you never know what will happen at a festival. You play in good weather or bad and there are great moments like when there’s thunder, the mics are turned off and you sing a capella.”

Later in the summer, Whiteley will take in other festivals in eastern Canada, including Kitchener, Owen Sound and a yoga ashram in Quebec.

“I still try to get as many gigs as I can,” he said. “Being a folk music legend, and two dollars, will get you a cup of coffee, so I work as much as I can to pay the bills.”

And when not touring or making festival appearances, Whiteley remains busy with producing and recording with others. Back in the day, he was in on the creation of Borealis Records, but is no longer directly involved; particularly because the administrative end of the things is not that interesting.

But working with other artists is simply an extension of his musical interests. “In film, a producer is the money guy and a director has the artistic part, but in music, the producer works with the recording.

“When working with an artist, it’s their recording, but I think the producer’s job is to have a clear vision and help the artist with that vision. And usually, an album is a stretch for an artist, and you help with the stretch; to challenge them and help them succeed.”


Rocky Mountain Outlook

About the Author: Rocky Mountain Outlook

The Rocky Mountain Outlook is Bow Valley's No. 1 source for local news and events.
Read more



Comments

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks