Jazz legend Charlie Parker was once spotted by friends listen to a country record – and they wondered why. The man called “Bird” shushed the naysayers by saying, “It’s the stories. Listen to the stories.”
Country music takes the lives of its practitioners and listeners and puts them into stories — and the most interesting songs are the ones that keep the listener hooked till the last note.
So it is with Corb Lund, who plays the Ranch Concert Hall in Barrie on Wednesday, Sept. 21, with his band, The Hurtin’ Albertans.
One of Lund's stories involves how a farmer got stuck in the muddy prairie soil and called on some of his friends to pull him out. The result is they all end up getting stuck. Out of that came the ditty “Truck Got Stuck” — which gets a lot of airplay in these parts.
“I was stuck on the prairie, out of cell range with a bunch of dumbass buddies for, like, 11 hours. I wrote the tune to make fun of them, sort of. Turns out it’s a universal theme! I will say I’m proud I got on country radio with an old-school Woody Guthrie style talking blues song, though. The style of the song is very old-fashioned. And a folk hero of mine, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott recorded a version of it with me.”
Slightly bigger problems have befallen Albertans in the past year, with the once-prosperous province stuck in a recession since the oil boom went somewhat bust and much of Fort McMurray going up in flames. Lund was proud to throw in his lot with Nickleback, Blue Rodeo and Ian Tyson for a benefit concert raising money and spirits.
“That was a proud moment. I think more important than raising money is just making people feel like someone remembers them and that they’re not alone in their tribulations.”
And, the sixth-generation Albertan adds, the province's problems will be solved, but diversification is the key.
“Putting all your economic eggs in one basket is never smart, whether it’s cod or oil or wheat or whatever. Honestly, we’ve needed to diversify our economy for decades. Lots of know-how and hard work out here could be applied to many different things. Maybe in the end it will be a good thing for the province.”
Lund, who has copped his share of Juno and Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMAs), mostly in the roots category, was weaned on the likes of Marty Robbins (“Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs”), the Statler Brothers, and Neil Diamond, mostly stuff his parents had in their record collections. Later, he got into the Eagles and Bob Seger, and some metal, too. But now he listens mostly to his songwriter friends.
“Hayes Carll, The Turnpike Troubadours, Tom Russell, Ian Tyson, Lindi Ortega, Ridley Bent, Geoff Berner. I’m lucky most of my friends are excellent songwriters.”
It was with Carll, incidentally, that Lund recorded “Bible on the Dash” in 2013, among a string of strong songs the Hurtin’ Albertans will be bringing with them to the Ranch next week, a place they feel right at home.
“I love playing honky-tonks, that’s a big one. We play theatres, festivals, jazz cafes, folk flops, biker bars, saloons, punk rock squats. I love them all, but I have a special spot in my heart for drunken honky-tonks. It’s my natural habitat.”
Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans play The Ranch Concert Hall, located at 56 Bayfield Street, on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The doors open at 8 p.m., with the show getting underway at 9 p.m.
