Spirited Voice from West

Vancouver's Linda McRae emerges as a honkytonk heroine

She may be a late bloomer as a solo artist, but Vancouver singer/songwriter Linda McRae has established herself as a premier talent in the roots music field. She enjoys plenty of peer respect, as will be shown at The Horseshoe Tavern on August 27. That is when Linda returns to Toronto as organizer of a high-calibre songwriters' evening.
She told Tandem in a recent interview that "I ran the series in Vancouver for a couple of years and this will be the third show I've done in Toronto." This edition features some notable talent from south of the border. McRae will be joined by ace producer Gurf Morlix, acclaimed Texan singer/songwriter Slaid Cleaves (look for him to do his appropriate tune, "Horseshoe Lounge"), Buffalo's Jim Whitford, and Rex Hobart.
Setting this evening apart from similar series is the fact that these artists have worked extensively with each other. Linda explains that "Everybody is friends and familiar with each others material. I am familiar with Gurf's material, as is Jim, and Gurf is familiar with mine, and Slaid's and Jim's, and then Jim plays with Rex. Because of that, there will be quite a bit more interaction here than with most songwriter events."
As Linda notes, the concept of singer/songwriters playing their songs acoustically in an intimate setting is not a new one. "That has always been a part of folk festival workshops, as they call them. Now a lot of other people, including pop and rock artists, have adopted the format. It does work very well. I believe that people are coming around to live music again. I think there's always a resurgence of people going to hear live music in reaction to all the "mechanized" music that is thrown at us."
Gurf Morlix is a central figure in the grouping of Linda's line-up. A fine singer/songwriter, he is best known as a producer and virtuoso guitarist for such roots music artists as Lucinda Williams and Robert Earl Keen. He has produced two albums for Slaid Cleaves, and he produced, mixed and mastered Linda McRae's second solo record, Cryin' Out Loud.
Linda and Gurf first met back in 1989. "It was at The Edmonton Folk festival in 1989, when he was playing with Lucinda Williams," she recalls. "That was the first folk festival I'd been to in my life. We hung out for the weekend and kept in touch over the years. When I played in Austin, I'd always stay with him."
McRae says that Gurf's name on her new record "has definitely helped to open some doors in places where I probably couldn't otherwise have even sent my album. People who'd never heard of me before have contacted me after hearing Gurf worked on the record. The internet is amazing for that sort of contact. I've had e-mails from guys with radio shows in Holland asking for the record."
Cryin' Out Loud came out independently last year, and deservedly received unanimous rave reviews here and in the U.S. It has recently been picked up for distribution via Universal Music Canada, and will hopefully receive further exposure.
To many Canadian music fans, Linda is still best known from her eight-year stint as a multi-instrumentalist member of the very popular Spirit of the West. The band notched two platinum and three gold records during that time, but Linda left the group in 1997 to concentrate on writing and singing her own material.
The following year, she released her solo debut, Flying Jenny. Produced by Colin Linden, it featured members of Blue Rodeo and The Tragically Hip, as well as Syd Straw and Morlix as guests. Cryin' Out Loud is an even stronger work. It is full of great honkytonk and hurtin' songs delivered via Linda's strong and pure voice and some very spirited playing from her band, Cheerful Lonesome.
The group includes former punk drummer Jon Card (DOA, SNFU), and Linda states that such a background isn't too surprising. "Vancouver had an incredible punk scene and now has an incredible roots scene. I think the fact that punk has very often figured in the musical histories of players now in alt-country makes total sense. Both musical styles are based on simplicity, honesty, reverence, and humour."
Cryin' Out Loud is on Black Hen/Universal. Linda McRae performs at Cafe May on August 23, as part of Songwriters Circle at The Horseshoe Tavern on Aug. 27, and at Holy Joe's on September 29 (with Michelle Rumball).

Publication Date: 2003-08-17
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3059