Ever wonder if the television or radio personality you tune into on a regular basis is really as sincere as they appear to be over the airwaves?
This reporter pondered that notion, too, on the way to interview Stuart McLean of The Vinyl Caf茅 fame and the entourage of musical guests that accompanied him on a recent bus tour of the west. Among the Saskatchewan dates was a March 13 show in Prince Albert where a few familiar Northeast neighbours were spotted in the audience.
Arriving in Prince Albert during the soundcheck allowed for an opportunity to meet the people who would grace the stage and work their magic later that evening before a sold out house.
鈥淲e鈥檝e actually never been to Saskatchewan before, so it's been amazing,鈥� said Sheila Carabine of the duet Dala. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking out the window of the bus, taking it all in! Our friends back in Toronto are always emailing us, saying they're really envious of us, being out on the road!鈥�
鈥淚 listen [to the聽Vinyl Caf茅]聽sometimes. The music always sounds great to me and the stories always sound lame 鈥� they never sound good enough... When I listen, I'll listen as far as the story and then just turn off the story. Usually, I don't like my delivery 鈥� I never seem to get it right.鈥�
Stuart McLean
As McLean previously explained, he first encountered Dala when the ladies were busking on a Toronto street while the radio show host was out on a bicycle jaunt.
鈥�Amanda [Walther, the other half of the group] is a huge Vinyl Caf茅 fan and has been for her whole life,鈥� Carabine said. 鈥淲hen this guy rode by on a bike, then came back and said, 鈥業鈥檓 Stuart, I have a radio show on CBC,鈥� she almost passed out!鈥�
鈥淚 was completely silent 鈥� Sheila had to carry on the conversation 鈥� I was just in shock!鈥� added Walther.
鈥淔our years later, here we are,鈥� Carabine continued. 鈥淗is stories are just really moving.鈥�
When asked if they would return to Saskatchewan, Walther noted her interest.
鈥淲e鈥檇 like to,鈥� she said. 鈥淗opefully sometime next year when we can book our own tour.鈥�
The next performer The Review encountered was Vinyl Caf茅 bassist Dennis Pendrith, a rather shy and humble character who has recorded and toured with several notable names on the Canadian music scene 鈥� when he's not touring with McLean or jamming with his bandmates in the Bebop Cowboys.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great bunch of people and I look forward to it 鈥� always enjoy it,鈥� said the eight-year veteran of the Vinyl Caf茅. 鈥淵ou get to meet people all over the country.鈥�
Merchandiser and sound effects technician Ted Dekker noted he prefers hitting the road on a bus rather than the time he spent with the Mr. Dressup crew, taking the tickle trunk on the road 鈥� and traveling across the country with four people in a van. When he鈥檚 not selling McLean鈥檚 CDs and books, Dekker makes appearances on stage when the show turns to a hilarious old time radio show project.
鈥淚 do sound effects for a radio drama and perhaps not the correct ones,鈥� Dekker said. 鈥淎nything really to get Stuart's goat! It was all his idea, so it's all good 鈥� it鈥檚 very fun.鈥�
鈥淎nd I get to squirt him with water once in awhile and still have a job the next day.鈥� he added.
Tickling the ivories for The Vinyl Caf茅 over the past decade is John Sheard, a man with an impressive list of recording, production and composition credits on his resume. Despite all the elbow-rubbing he's done over the years, Sheard still has time to chat about the tour.
鈥淪o much of traveling is personalities,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can go onstage with just about anybody that's good 鈥� people are going to enjoy them, you鈥檙e going to enjoy playing with them, but it's those 10 hour bus rides and we arrive at the hall at 4 p.m. and don鈥檛 leave until 11.鈥�
He credited McLean for using the show to help give Canadian artists an added boost they might not otherwise attain.
鈥淭his is one of the most fun, pleasant tours we've been on as far as our musical act,鈥� he said, obviously suggesting that everyone is indeed getting along.
Also on the tour was Danny Michel, who cherished the fact that the food and hotels are much better on this tour than when he's out on his own. When asked about any shows along the way in particular that stood out, he replied, 鈥淭hey're all cool.鈥�
鈥淭he last one's going to be fun because we鈥檙e playing in Fargo, N.D.," he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting when Stuart plays down there because he鈥檚 trying to get a larger audience. When those shows go well, it鈥檚 really a fun time.鈥�
In touring with his band for over 15 years, Michel has seen plenty of Saskatchewan, and will be hitting the road again as the Vinyl Caf茅 tour wraps up. He'll be promoting his new recording Feather, Fur and Fin, which was released on March 26.
鈥淚t's the first indie record I've done since 2007 and it's really wacky and artsy, adventuous and crazy 鈥� all over the map," he said. 鈥淚t's actually like more of my earlier records.鈥�
After a quick break for supper, The Review managed to catch up with the star of the Vinyl Caf茅 show as he enjoyed a dish of apple crisp and ice cream.
At the forefront of his thoughts was the upcoming live audience recording of the show in Winkler and Winnipeg, Man.
鈥淯sually when we go on a tour, we spend the first week or two learning about the show,鈥� he explained. 鈥淥nce we get on the road, it becomes a collaboration with the audience 鈥� 聽it鈥檚 their turn to get their hands on the stories and to let me know what works and what doesn't work.鈥�
McLean is perhaps the most critical of his show, noting that he does not like how the stories sound on the air.
鈥淚 listen sometimes. The music always sounds great to me and the stories always sound lame 鈥� they never sound good enough,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I listen, I'll listen as far as the story and then just turn off the story. Usually, I don't like my delivery 鈥� I never seem to get it right.鈥�
That might be a bewildering statement to fans of the show, who would argue that McLean's unique delivery adds to the stories more than hinders.
鈥淚t鈥檚 wanting to do better; knowing that you can do better that keeps you engaged,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is my work 鈥� I'm the only guy in the country who can't listen to the Vinyl Caf茅. Everybody else can listen to it, I could never experience it the way others do.鈥�
鈥淚t's not for me, it鈥檚 for others,鈥� he concluded.
After the tour wraps up, McLean is planning a cross-country train journey to record a show along the way.
鈥淚 just love the train,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t opened the country. If it wasn鈥檛 for trains, this country wouldn鈥檛 exist. The railroad helped give birth to the nation.鈥�
鈥淩iding across the country on a train puts you in touch with the country in a way that flying never would,鈥� he continued. 鈥淚t's a way to touch the past; the soul of the country, who we once were and the things that form who we are today.鈥�
A trip to Prince Edward Island is also in the works with McLean visiting Georgetown.
鈥�Michael Smith [a television chef] is going to cook for us and teach me how to hypnotize a lobster,鈥� McLean said.
After that, he鈥檚 putting pen to paper once again with three main projects under consideration.
鈥淚 have a book of collected essays of the last 10 years that I've done on the show,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚 want to turn one of the stories into a children's book and I'll have another book of Vinyl Caf茅 蝉迟辞谤颈别蝉.鈥�
As I sat in the mezzanine, watching the people file into the John G. and Olive Diefenbaker Theatre of the E. A. Rawlinson Centre and waiting for McLean鈥檚 show to begin, the statement that opened this article came to mind. Then McLean took the stage and welcomed the audience to the Vinyl Caf茅, and my question was answered.
Indeed, these performers were as genuine as they appeared on the stage that night.
