While in Ottawa with Paul Brandt’s “Journey Tour,” Canadian brother band High Valley joined Timeout with the Twins for a chat about remaining true to their roots, their journey becoming one of the most recognizable Canadian country musical acts and a creepy doll named “Saruh” that eerily appears on the “Journey Tour” performers’ tour buses.
Of course, those audiences are loyal, often times rabid ones. How do you see that translating to people who come out to see you perform?
Andy: Ah, that’s exactly what we are searching for! This project over 4 years is continually building a loyal fan-base, and that rabid reaction is a very elusive thing, but when we DO get it, you can instantly see the reaction on the faces of the band. I actually laugh out loud and raise my fist in triumph. And in that regard, Ottawa has shown us the most knowledgeable Springsteen fans we’ve come across. I’ve actually had 2 chances to be silent on “Thunder Road” for the lines “have a little faith, there’s magic in the night, you ain’t a beauty but hey you’re alright”, as the audience took over for me. Ottawa fans were also the first to chant that soccer-match rally of “Ooh-OH oh oh…” before we launch back into the closing of “Badlands”. They react surprisingly and positively to rarities like “Roulette” or “Growing Up” and when this reaction happens, you can bet we see it.
Glen: The whole reason I perform is to make people happy. If I see them enjoying the music and having a good time, I know we have done our duty in providing them an escape—however fleeting—from everyday life and the hardships, struggles, and conflicts it can bring. This gives me an indescribable feeling of joy and delight. It’s goose-bump-making when we get cheers as they recognize Roy’s beautiful and engaging introductions to songs like “She’s the One”, “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”, and “Backstreets”. And when we hit the end of the sax solo in “Jungleland”, the cheering and applause for our sax man is nothing short of thunderous. The intense gratification we get from drawing them into the music and seeing their enjoyment and appreciation is rewarding and humbling. I hope and pray that we never lose that.
On the other side of things, what do you most enjoy about performing his music?
Andy: That’s an easy question for me.
I personally love becoming completely and irrevocably ensconced in the songs, and I would say it’s the same for every other musician in the group.
Some songs give my tongue an incredible work-out though, for example “Blinded by the Light” and “Roulette”…Christ it’s hard to not stumble over those lyrics. But the whole experience fulfills me. We often pass the 3 hour mark, but I think these guys would hang me if I made them go further. At one Ottawa show, we played 4 hours. I heard it from the band all the way home!
Finally, if you could chat with Bruce personally for just ten minutes what do you think you’d talk to him / ask him?
Glen: As a songwriter myself, I would love to chat to him about his lyric writing and harmonic/melodic choices. Song lyrics often come out of real experiences and observation of the human condition, but the question is always: how did the experience get turned into lyrics?
Andy: I would simply love to tell him that, in all the years I’ve been playing, there is one thing that has stood out in my mind. There was a girl, Angie, who used to show up most nights when my band was playing, LOTS of times when we were out of town, she would just show up by surprise. Most times I wouldn’t know she was in the audience, but during the performance, as I meandered back from mugging with another member, at the foot of my mic stand, there would be a rye and coke. She knew what I liked and once I saw that drink, I would start to really search the audience for her and finally see her, point to her and she would always blow a kiss. This happened often, and I asked her once about it. She said that she appreciated how I made her feel when I played her favourite songs, especially when she had had a hard week, and she had wanted to do something to let me know I was appreciated. Probably the nicest thing any audience member has ever done. It made me feel like I was getting the job done, at least REALLY connecting with someone in that manner. I have appreciated it all my life. I will never forget it. Then I would like to buy Bruce a drink and tell him the same thing about how his music makes me feel.
We posted about an upcoming local show a few years ago. Angie was the first to respond and buy a ticket, as was often the case. However, about a month before the show, Angie was killed in a car accident. At her viewing, I was introduced to her mom for the first time, and she covered up a gasp and her eyes filled with tears. She said, “Oh- you’re the one Angie always used to go hear sing!” She then asked if I would sing something at her funeral. I would have done so in a heart-beat except I was going to be away with family at that moment. Instead, we invited her whole family out to the show which we performed in Angie’s honor, where I sang a farewell tribute to her whole family: “Land of Hope and Dreams”, with a four foot portrait of Angie pinned up to the wall behind the stage. During the song’s intro, I told the story of Angie and what she always did to make sure I knew she was there. It was a little secret between us that was revealed to her loved ones for the first time. I poured my heart out in that song and was probably the most emotional I’ve ever been on stage. About half-way through that first set that night, a young woman walked up to the stage during a song…and placed a rye and coke at the foot of my mic stand. It was a beloved cousin of Angie, paying HER respects in the most beautiful way I could imagine. Just an incredible moment for me…and cherished.
Thank you for sharing that touching story. His music sure touches these deep places in us, lifts us up. What do you feel is the message Bruce’s songs most convey?
Andy: Redemption and belief in yourself. Just look at the final lyrics in all those classic songs and their last lines: “It’s a town full of losers and I’m pulling out of here to win.” “I wanna spit in the face of these Badlands.” “Tramps like us, baby we were born to run.” “Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun. Oh, but Mama, that’s where the fun is.” “Listen to your junkman- he’s singing.” “Everything that dies some day comes back.” The theme is forever recurring. That’s the power of a song.
Glen: And hope. Hope for a better life, a better future, a better self.
The struggle is real, but it is attainable.
LAST OF THE DUKE STREET KINGS (With Special Guest John Ian)
LIVE on Elgin / 220 Elgin st. 2nd Floor
February 23rd Doors at 8:00pm | Showtime at 9:00pm $12 Advanced | $15 at the door
