Arthur, Trent Community Paper

November 22, 2004
Meeting Ron Sexsmith... and Sarah Slean

sexsmith2Shy; modest; quiet, and slightly awkward. One wouldn�t think such adjectives would be associated with one of the greatest songwriters of our time.

Ron Sexsmith, the 40 year old troubadour originally from St. Catherines, Ontario, fits perfectly into these description -- not to mention he is extremely polite, grateful, and remarkably gifted. Sexsmith, who has steadily established a committed following has gone largely unnoticed in the music industry since his debut about a decade ago. His seventh studio album, Retriever, received rave reviews and has garnered some international radio play as well. In fact, Ron and his band just finished touring America and Europe, and are embarking on the second leg of their extensive Canadian tour, including a gig at the famed Gordon Best Theatre, where we managed to squeeze in an interview.

Arthur: How was Europe?
Ron Sexsmith: It was great, it�s one of those places we go every year or so, and we�ve been building it for a while. It�s getting to the point now -- kind of like Canada -- where we�re playing bigger places. It�s nice to go back and see that things are kind of happening a bit.

A: Now there seems to be a bit more of a Canadian base...
R.S.: Ya, that�s been happening since Blue Boy (2000) I mean, I�ve always had an alright crowd when I toured Canada, it�s just that I�ve noticed it on this tour especially we played the Commodore in Vancouver, which is a pretty big place, and just the turnout has been really good. That�s partly because I�ve been around for so long and people have heard about me, and partly because this album�s gotten a little more radio, a lot more radio actually, than any of my other records.

A: How are you guys playing?
R.S.: They�re really good musicians. I�m very lucky, they�re very versatile they all sing really well, and also we�ve been touring since May with this record, so you know, at this point, we�re really tight. We can pretty much play anything from any of the records.

A: Is it difficult to determine which tunes to play?
R.S.: It is. On the tour, whenever you have a new record you�re leaning heavily on those ones, but you�re always trying to find songs from the others that are going to compliment them.

A: Props on (new producer) Martin Terefe, I think the last two albums (Cobblestone Runway and Retriever) are really great -- they�re totally a different sound.
R.S.: He�s actually a big fan of (old producer) Mitchell Froom, and he especially liked my first two records. With this new one especially, that�s what he was going for. I like him, he�s a great guy, and it�s really loose in the studio. I never feel uptight or anything, it�s very spontaneous -- these two records we�ve made, I didn�t really know we were making records, that�s how loose it was.

A: How do you feel about the current sound of records that make it into the mainstream?
R.S.: I think in the 80�s, two things got really carried away -- separating everything (while recording it the studio), and spending days getting the �right� sound. For me, my favourite era of music recording was the 50�s. I love the way those records sound. They�re real performances, I love vocal and string sounds, and then things in the 80�s got really bright, shrill and slick. Consequently, I couldn�t get anything happening in the 80�s, you know, I was doing my thing, but it just wasn�t really what was happening. So the 90�s kind of came along and changed that, you would hear stuff that was a little more lo-fi but Tom Waits was doing some cool things in the 80�s, and now it�s kind of gone back to that sound again. Beck (Hansen) and Elliott (Smith) were doing great things, which sort of opened up things for someone like me. That�s why I�ve always tried to make records that weren�t chasing a certain trend, production-wise, and I owe a lot of that to Mitchell (Froom). It�s like we were in a little submarine, we didn�t know what was going on in the outside world, we were just trying to make music, trying to find a sound to call our own. And for our first record, people weren�t really on the fence about it. People either hated it, like my record company, or people just went nuts for it. It never sold a whole lot, but over time it�s sold pretty well, and it got me in the door.

Indeed it did since his first album, Ron has sold out numerous tours around the globe, and has earned the praise of countless fans and critics including famous followers -- Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Chris Martin, Elton John, Sara McLaughlin and Rod Stewart to name a few -- who brand him �the songwriter�s songwriter.� By the time he walked onto the stage of the Gordon Best on Friday night, the venue had filled up with people of all ages and walks of life, with one common denominator, the love of an acoustic guitar, a voice and a haunting melody. The love of music.

Ron and his band (bass, guitar and drums), though not the liveliest bunch of performers, tore through a few new numbers before delving into the deep catalogue of Beatles-tinged songs from all of his albums. About half way through the set, Ron sat down at the piano to serenade the crowd with Gold in Them Hills, a reassuring song of hope, and Tomorrow in Her Eyes, a John Lennon-style love song. After a few tunes with cello, and one with no mics (singing into the crowd with acoustics), the boys finished up their set with a number of ballads that warmed the mellow crowd -- half of whom were lounging on the floor.
Then came the encore, which showcased the beautiful Former Glory, along with a few other requests shouted out by fans (something Ron always pays attention to), before finishing up with the astonishing Riverbed -- performed by Ron on piano and vocals, and Tim (guitar), Don (drums), and Sarah Slean on beautiful harmonies. A fitting way to end the night -- slow but quietly stunning.

[b:7fa00f9f15]... and Sarah Slean[/b:7fa00f9f15]

For the second time this year, I managed to create the opportunity for myself to go on a photo mission for the Arthur, and take a bit of a break from writing. That�s a lie. I never seem to find a way out of writing. However, I did manage to take advantage of Ron and Sarah�s performances and snap off 36 b&w�s of their show. I was bent on getting a perfect shot of Ron, then Sarah, who I had never heard or seen before she stepped on stage. I thought I might change my objective a little; time to find the perfect shot of Sarah. I thought that if I could capture an image as good as her sound I might do the evening justice. Then I zoomed in and couldn�t decide what was going to stay in my memory the longest: Sarah�s stunning sound, or her subtle beauty. It made my task that much easier.

At that point I was also convinced that obtaining a CD of hers was in order and have since dedicated Night Bugs to a play list. I�ll likely also invest in Day One, her most recent album. The Gordon Best captured her sound, similar to Rufus Wainwright. However, containing energy like hers within four walls and in the confines of such an intimate stage required a responsive crowd. She got it. I�m sure I�m not the only person to leave the Gordon Best that night converted into a Sara Slean fan, awaiting her next visit to Peterborough.

Andrew Fox
Vinnie Heney

Filed under: Arts | Nov 22, 2004

Nice find Cam...a little dated :wink:

but nevertheless, nice to read, especially since it reviews the show in Peterborough last fall that was my first ever LIVE Slean show.

thanks for the memories...

...jim

[quote:1cec007cea]Nice find Cam...a little dated[/quote:1cec007cea]

All of that and I still dont get it.

^^^ oh, you'll get it, you stupid bastard.

...jim