Hal Brolund has been a bluesman for years now, but his music has evolved and changed over the years too.
"My background is a long tale of trial and error," said Brolund who will perform at 5th Avenue Cup & Saucer with the Dr. Pinkham's Medicine Show next Wednesday (July 7). "In the late 80s, I explored the band-in-a-box sequence shows with a partner and we played the hits in small town lounges and beer parlours all over Manitoba and North Western Ontario.
"Then in the 90s I took a more original approach to music and began to develop the style that is more familiar to my audience now. I took up slide guitar in 1993 and ukulele in 1995.
"By early 2000 I was touring pretty regularly all over Canada in coffee places, bars and festivals."Now Brolund, long known as Manitoba Hal is evolving again.
"I lived in Winnipeg for 25 years but recently moved to Shelburne, Nova Scotia. I live in a century old house about two blocks from the ocean. I am renovating the house and playing music and enjoying the laid back culture of an east coast fishing town," he said.
As for the root of his roots music, Brolund said pinpointing the interest is not easy.
"I don't know if I can say what drew me to music exactly," he said. "I've always been moved by a good song and an awesome guitarist. I remember living in Clearbrook, B.C. in 1983 sitting with a friend as he played his acoustic guitar along with a record. I suddenly had this flash and heard this voice in my head that said 'That is what you will do with your life'. I knew then that I would play music the rest of my days. I was 18 at that time and I've been on this journey ever since."
From that point on, Brolund has drawn from a variety of musicians in defining his own style."My musical influences are pretty varied," he said. "I like a lot of old blues recordings. Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson, Robert Johnson, Son House, Taj Mahal. But I also listen to singer/songwriters like Stephen Fearing and Paul Thorn.
"I grew up listening to pop radio, old country and heavy rock. AC/DC, Kiss, Bon Jovi you name it, I've probably listened to it at one time or another.
"Lately I've been soaking up Hawaiian music and great Novelty acts like the Hoosier Hot Shots."The result is a roots/blues sound for Brolund.
"I mostly play blues influenced roots music," he said. "I try to distill a band experience down to a solo guitar or ukulele. I've also been using modern technology to create a 'virtual band' on stage with looping effects. I will play a groove, add a faux bass line and then play over the top giving the impression of a whole band."
It's a style and sound defined over a quarter of a century.
"I've been playing music for over 25 years now and have been on stages with Dr John, James Hill, Colin Linden, David Essig, Ken Hamm, Big Dave McLean," he said. "A personal highlight was meeting BB King in 1998 backstage in Winnipeg. He is the only musical hero that I was unable to speak to. I stammered like a star struck kid. Not my proudest moment but it still sends a chill down my spine when I think of shaking his hand."
Recently Brolund has released his newest recoding 'Little Box of Sadness'.
"Writing a CD takes me some time," he said. "I used to churn out songs but as I get older it takes me longer and longer to have something to say. But when I start writing it just starts coming. I carry a notebook around with me and I collect song ideas and lines and then after some period of time which varies all the time, a song will begin to pop out. When that starts happening the song can come quickly or take it's time.
"On this record I have one song where the verses came out quickly and it took another year to find the chorus."
The music though must come from life to feel right.
"I get inspired by ordinary tales of human interaction," said Brolund. "I look for the heroism in falling in love even though you are flawed. I like to explore extreme emotions without trying to embrace them and then tell the story in which those emotions occur."
The CD was recorded on Protection Island, BC with David Essig, and at Brolund's home studio in Winnipeg in 2007 and 2008.
The resulting 'Little Box of Sadness' is a disk Brolund is proud of.
"I am very happy with this record," he said. "It was released in 2008 and has sold well over the internet to audiences all over the world.
"My favorite cut is the traditional 'Somebody On Your Bond'. The track features myself and David Essig playing a guitar duet that is reminiscent of Maybelle Carter. The ukulele carries the melody on that track and it's just awesome and sweet."
Brolund is joined by Allison Brown and Leah Morise on the Dr. Pinkham's Medicine Show.
