A Free Man

Since becoming a parent, actually since I knew I was to become a parent, I’ve been planning my strategy to avoid spending the next several years listening to The Wiggles. In addition to exposing my baby boy to my favorites, I’ve been checking out the occasional “kids” compilation by “adult” artists. Last autumn, my partner bought me Nettwerk’s “For The Kids Three” which featured tracks by Moby, Over the Rhine, The Barenaked Ladies, Of Montreal and others. This was a great compilation both because it was full of clever and well-played kids music and because it introduced me to the Great Lake Swimmers.

Great Lake Swimmers is the vehicle for Toronto based singer-songwriter Tony Dekker’s pastoral folk-tinged music. They released a self-titled debut in 2003 and followed this up with two more records for Toronto’s weewerk. Last summer, Great Lake Swimmers released their big league debut “Ongiara”, on Nettwerk. On the latest record Dekker was joined by Erik Arnesen on guitar and banjo and Colin Huebert on percussion. “Ongiara” is full haunting, lyrical and seductively textured acoustic music.

Tony Dekker joined A Free Man on the virtual couch recently to answer a few questions about Great Lake Swimmers.

AFM: I’ve got to kind of abashedly admit that I first heard your music on a compilation called “For The Kids 3″. “See You On The Moon” was one of my favorite tracks off of that compilation and encouraged me to check out more of your music. How’d you get involved with that project?

TD: I was invited to contribute a children’s song to a compilation for a Toronto record label, and so wrote one & recorded it in an afternoon. It originally came out on Paperbag Records, on a compilation which they named “See You On The Moon!: Songs For Kids Of All Ages” after the song I wrote for it. That compilation also had Allan Sparhawk, and Sufjan Stevens on it, among others. The song was later picked up for the “For The Kids” series.

AFM: You grew up in Wainfleet, Ontario not far from my old hometown on the American side of the river. I think that the banks of the Niagara River are a beautiful part of the world. I get a really pastoral feeling from your music, particularly the most recent record “Ongiara”. How much of your inspiration is rooted in nature?

TD: I feel very much inspired by the natural world. I think there is an inherent mystery and spirituality in it, and I think it merits further investigation through song.

AFM: I love the string interaction between you and Erik Arnesen on the banjo on the latest record. I know that Great Lake Swimmers started out as a solo project. How long has that collaboration been going on and is it going to continue? Do you prefer to work alone or with the other players?

TD: I started playing with Erik some time in 2004. With the various incarnations of the band, we attempted to rearrange the songs, especially from the first album, for playing live. Leading up to the recording Bodies And Minds, we already had a good number of shows behind us, so continuing that lineup for that record was pretty natural. The interaction has gotten a lot more intuitive the more we’ve played together, and I think that has really come through on Ongiara. Writing is a pretty solitary act for me, but I like collaborating with people when I have something to start the conversation. Erik is definitely a core member of the GLS camp and I expect that our collaboration will continue until we are old and shriveled.

AFM: On your myspace page a fan asks: “When are you coming to Australia? Please, please please?” As someone who’s currently undergoing an Antipodean emigration I’d love to know the answer to that question.

TD: Unfortunately I don’t have the answer to that right now. I would very much like to come back, but there are no plans in the near future. If someone reads this and wants to book a tour for us, I am all ears.

AFM: There are a lot of great bands coming out of Canada these days - particularly Vancouver and Montreal. From Toronto, well certainly Feist, but who else should we be paying attention to from Toronto and environs?

TD: Timber Timbre, Sandro Perri, Picastro, Basia Bulat, Ohbijou, and The Burning Hell, to name a few, are all from Toronto & area and I like them a lot.

AFM: I see that you recently covered Neil Diamond’s “Song Sung Blue” and did an instrumental score for the film of the same name. How was the experience of scoring a soundtrack? Do you have any spiritual connection with Diamond?

TD: Doing the soundtrack for “Song Sung Blue” was extremely gratifying from a creative standpoint. I was able to exercise a certain part of my brain that I wouldn’t normally use on my own material. There was a bit more freedom there to enhance the mood of particular scenes in a non-obtrusive way, instead of creating a mood from scratch. I was a fan of Neil Diamond before working on the film, but the documentary has definitely given me a wider perspective and a deeper appreciation of his work. It’s also given me a nudge to dig deeper into his catalogue, which is monolithic.

AFM: Thinking about the kids again - sorry, recent father so the nippers are on my brain - you recently played for a kid’s show on CBC. How did that go? How do kids respond to your music? Who’s a better audience - kids or “adults”?

TD: For the CBC show, we weren’t actually playing to an audience, at least not one directly in front of us. But generally speaking, kids can be an alright audience, except that it’s hard to keep their attention even in the best of situations. To try to win them over with quiet folk songs can be somewhat challenging. The children’s song was fun to write & record, but my main concern is with my other work, which is more suited to an adult audience, I suppose. And if it helps to put your kids to sleep, all the better.

AFM: Fantasy time - from what guitarist (living or dead) would you most like a lesson?

TD: Dead: John Fahey (RIP). Alive: Thurston Moore. As I try to imagine what a guitar lesson from either of these two would be like, it makes my mind itchy.

AFM: “Ongiara” came out just about a year ago and I noticed that there’s a gap in your touring schedule. Does that mean can we expect the next record from Great Lake Swimmers soon?

TD: I’m taking some time right now to focus on writing and making demos. We’ll see what it yields; hopefully, more songs.

AFM: Bonus - Of these three, who is the best musical representative of Canada - Joni Mitchell, The Cowboy Junkies or Rufus Wainwright?

TD: My instinct says Cowboy Junkies. But I’m also a big Joni Mitchell fan. And Rufus Wainwright, he’s pretty great too. So, all of the above. How Canadian is that?

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Just the right amount of Canadian. Thanks to Tony for taking the time to talk to us. Check out “Your Rocky Spine” from the Great Lake Swimmers latest LP. If you like it, the beautiful “Ongiara” is available from , eMusic and Amazon.

 

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