Ahead of country music star Corb Lund’s headliner appearance at Homestand ’23 on Sep. 9 in Ross Wells Ballpark in Moose Jaw, he chatted with MooseJawToday.com about his new album, COVID downtime, and his first starring film role.
“We have a new album we just recorded, coming out in a couple of months, actually, and it’s called El Viejo, which means ‘the old one,’” Lund explained.
Lund has been touring with his band as Corb Lund and The Hurtin’ Albertans since 2005. Together they have released 10 studio albums, which have gathered many Juno and Canadian Country Music Association nominations and wins. El Viejo will be their 11th and is, in part, a tribute to legendary Canadian country-folk musician Ian Tyson, who died in Dec. 2022 at 89.
“I’ve been wanting to do an all-acoustic record for a while, and I put a lot more work than usual into these songs. I think it’s one of our better records,” Lund said. “We recorded it a couple of months ago in my living room. We didn’t use anything electric, it’s all mandolins and banjos and stuff like that. And it’s named after the title track, El Viejo, and dedicated to Ian Tyson.
“He was a very famous Canadian songwriter, he wrote ‘Four Strong Winds’ and ‘Someday Soon’ and he was a very good friend of the band, so that’s who we named the record after.”
Lund said that with so much material to draw on from his career, it gets tougher all the time to know what to put into his concert sets. Nevertheless, there will likely be a few new singles from El Viejo heard at Homestand ’23. He anticipates the full release will be available in February 2024.
Tickets to Homestand ’23 are available from the River Street Promotions (RSP) website at www.riverstreetpromotions.com.
RSP is a locally founded non-profit organization bringing top Canadian musical talent to Moose Jaw to raise money for youth mental health. All proceeds from the concert go to a fund supporting mental wellness events, programming, and projects in the Prairie South and Holy Trinity Catholic School divisions, and in other schools across south Saskatchewan.
Appearing alongside Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans for Homestand ’23 will be the Mike Plume Band, Lindi Ortega, and Jordyn Pollard.
“Mike Plume will be playing the show, too, he’s an old friend and one of my favourite songwriters,” Lund said. “And Lindi Ortega, I know her well, too, so this concert will be a lot of fun. Saskatchewan has been really good to us over the years.
“I haven’t spent a lot of time in Moose Jaw outside playing there, but that’s kind of the story of my life. We’re from Alberta, so that’s probably the band’s strongest area of support, but I think Saskatchewan has always been a close second. Even before my country career, with my rock band Smalls, we played a lot in Saskatchewan and in small Saskatchewan towns.”
Coping with COVID
Unlike many other artists, Lund said he found the COVID-forced break from touring to be a relaxing and much-needed break.
He’s been touring since high school, he said, and would never have voluntarily taken a year or two off on his own.
“Aside from the financial aspects and the divisions that it’s created in our society, COVID was really a gift for me,” Lund said thoughtfully. “I did so much musical reflection, I focused on my writing and my technique, and I read a lot, caught up on a bunch of things, and I really advanced my musicianship. It was kind of a happy accident.
“In my line of work, you put so much energy out externally, getting your work out there and talking to people, so it’s important to spend some energy and time internally, going inside and developing yourself. … Ever since, I’ve enjoyed playing more than ever.”
Filming Guitar Lessons in High Level, Alberta
In 2022, Lund ventured into movie-making, appearing with co-stars Kaden Noskiye and Conway Kootenay in the Aaron James film Guitar Lessons. James is famous for his 2005 film Hank Williams First Nation.
Guitar Lessons tells the story of a 15-year-old Métis boy who, after inheriting a guitar from the father he never knew, seeks out Lund’s character to learn how to play. Lund plays an irascible oilfield contractor who only gradually comes around to the idea of being a mentor.
“It was fun,” Lund laughed. “I’d never acted at that level before. I’ve done little bit parts, but I’d never done a lead role before, so Aaron had to really twist my arm to get me to do it. I got to know Conway [Kootenay] pretty well, and Kaden [Noskiye], who played the kid. And the whole community was awesome.
“My understanding is that the town asked him to do the movie, so they were really helpful, and it was a cool collaboration, even between, I guess the European community and the Cree community up there. It was about 50/50, probably half Indigenous folks in the crew, the cast, the production, the funding, everything.”
Lund isn’t sure about pursuing more film roles — he sees himself first and foremost as a musician and has too many goals around being a musician to let himself get overly distracted by another path.
“I’ve already got what feels like five lifetimes worth of goals in music, so that’s primarily how I see myself,” he noted. “I think live theatre would actually be more fun than a movie, actually. A movie is like a record: You make it, and then there’s six months or a year before you get any feedback or hear anything. Whereas with live shows or live theatre, you get to feed off that energy instantaneously. So, that’s something I’ve dabbled in, and I’d love to do more of.”
Lund is looking forward to a fall/winter touring season from the Prairies to Ontario before heading to the States. His tour will end in Las Vegas in December. The tour is a mix of smaller, solo acoustic performances and larger venues with The Hurtin’ Albertans.
Follow Corb Lund and his band on their website at www.corblund.com for merch, tour dates and tickets, and fresh news, and don’t miss them in Moose Jaw on Sep. 9.
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