According to the Skydiggers' website, “Chemistry, passion, energy and evolution are a few words that come to mind when Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson talk about 25 years together in Skydiggers.”
The band, founded 25 years ago in the beverage room of the Spadina Hotel in
“There’ll be Christmas songs, there’ll be Skydiggers songs,” Maize begins, “there’ll be covers. There’ll be some old songs and some new songs. It will be a Skydiggers show with a little bit of Christmas brought to the people of
As the weather gets cold, Finlayson adds, Skydiggers are very likely to feature a number of tracks from their newest CD, Warmth of the Sun, with another warm title, Slow Burning Fire, which Maize says “probably gets the most shout-outs.”
Maize points up why there has been no word “the” ahead of the title of the band for several years now. According to the band’s website, “Maize deeply appreciates the contributions of every artist who has played with the Skydiggers over the years, ‘We realize how fortunate we are to be part of a community… and so everybody is a Skydigger – past, present and future'.”
The bands with whom the band has played include 54-40, Cowboy Junkies, and not incidentally, the Tragically Hip. While a special tribute to the Hip is not planned for the
Skydiggers promise their treatment of a holiday chestnut.
“Good King Wenceslas would probably be our favourite (Christmas song),” according to Finlayson. “It’s a song with a message about looking after those less fortunate than oneself, not only at Christmas but throughout the year. We like that message.”
Maize says Skydiggers look forward avidly to playing a room like Mavricks.
“We also once played a New Year’s Eve outside in
A Skydiggers Christmas rocks Mavricks, 46 Dunlop St. W., Friday, Dec. 15. Show time is 9 p.m. For more information, please click here.
