You’d think doing the same old songs – classic ones, mind you, but songs that have been around a long time – would wear on Rich Dodson and his mates in the Stampeders.
But after nearly 50 years as part of the Canadian music scene, Dodson says, 'no way.'
“It’s still buzzy,” Dodson tells BarrieToday, using a term he employs a lot these days. “I’m feeling 23 again, and we’ll keep playing as long as my health holds.”
In fact, Dodson will be 70 next year (age is all a state of mind). Dobson, along with bass player Ronnie King and drummer Kim Berly will be bringing that positive mindset to the stage of the Georgian Theatre in Barrie on Friday, November 25. They want to have both the young and old alike dancing in the aisles.
To borrow a corny phrase, the tunes have provided the soundtrack to three generations – “Oh, My Lady,” “Carry Me,” “Monday Morning Choo-Choo,” "Wild Eyes" and the one that started it all in the early 70s . . . “Sweet City Woman.” It seems everyone knows that one, even if they don’t always know who first sang it.
And the memories of when that song first hit the airwaves are still fresh for Dodson, who recalled coming back from a gig in Kingston at 2 a.m.
“We heard the call letters . . . WABC in New York, and heard our song, and we all got out of the car and jumped around like idiots.” The Stampeders had made it on North American radio, and would continue to be played for most of the next decade.
Rich can't decide which of those songs he likes best, displaying the same kind of fatherly pride in all of them.
“They’re all our babies . . . ‘Wild Eyes’ and ‘Carry Me’, they’re all pretty buzzy, especially the part about going ‘back to Birmingham.’ They put us in the company of guys we admire, like The Band and Neil Young.”
While Dodson hesitates about naming a particular artist of today he admires, he does say he finds the Canadian music scene “pretty healthy." With the Internet, a young band can bust out and promote their recordings, not limited by the whim of the record label.
He is gratified to find more bands adopting the high-tech approach and, as a result, “there are an amazing number of (good) acts."
“I still like Gordie Lightfoot. I’m buzzed from everything he does.”
Not only did the Internet help revive the Stampeders, Dodson believes, it’s helped launch and power the career of his daughter Holly, “keyboard player, singer-songwriter, producer, Pro-Tools wizard,” who fronts a band called Parallels, currently on a tour of Europe, with Moscow as one of the highlight stops.
Rich, Kim and Ronnie enjoy touring, but especially in southern Ontario, which they’re doing this month, finishing in Owen Sound on Nov. 28.
“It’s great to be able to do a whole tour of Ontario on just two tanks of gas,” Rich jokes.
But the prospect of coming back to Barrie has the Stampeders feeling – you guessed it – buzzy!
“That’s a nice little location you’ve got by the lake, and we feel a special energy coming from the crowd in Barrie. It’s a town that’s fun to put on our list. We look for any excuse to play there. Whole families turn out to see us."
Indeed, the band members are frequent guests at Kempenfest during summers past.
By the time the Stampeders get to the first chorus of the first song, everyone will likely be singing along.
The show starts at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25.
If you’d like to be singing with them, click here.
