The Black Sheep and the family
Cormac Rea
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Bryson: Keeping his balloon off the ground
photo: Ben Welland
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Singer/songwriter Jim Bryson may sometimes play in the big leagues, but keeps growing his roots close to home
What a banner year 2009 was for Jim Bryson. After developing something akin to hidden-treasure status following years of gigs supporting the likes of Kathleen Edwards, Sarah Harmer and The Weakerthans, Bryson can add supergroup The Tragically Hip to his ever-growing list of admirers after joining the Kingston legends as a tour musician since mid-April. Such good news, while certainly appreciated locally, was likely also greeted with little surprise in the Cap, where Bryson's reputation as a musician of note has been ironclad for many a year - perhaps even a decade? Yes, in fact, a decade is accurate (it's true, my team of crack researchers left no stone unturned). Look no further than the evidence: Bryson's hugely popular holiday gig at Wakefield's Black Sheep Inn celebrates 10 big ones in 2K9.
"It's going to be like the old cliché: time goes by...," says Bryson, reached over the phone from his Stittsville home. "I remember before, going to the Black Sheep a number of times to see people perform, always thinking, 'Man, how great would it be to play a show here?' And - whew! - 10 years!"
"There was no rhyme or reason behind it in the first place, it was just an opportunity to play a show, but it's become its own little monster. There were even years when we used to run buses to get the Saturday night crowd up and at it - there were a lot of hijinks along the way."
Opened this year by the outstanding talent of Boston's Dave Godowsky ("I told him this gig is like The Amazing Race
- half of his job is just to find it"), the annual Christmas bash is already colouring outside the usual lines; to accommodate demand, a second performance has been scheduled for Sunday afternoon with Ottawa's Jill Zmud in attendance ("Jill has just put out the greatest record - and it's her first record!"). "It's sort of 'Here's where you were versus here's where you are' [with the two dates]," adds Bryson, chuckling. "They say it's a good sign, but there are less and less people that I know coming out now on the Saturday. The Sunday is generally when friends come, because a lot of my friends have kids now. It's become the Sunday afternoon family hang, with lots of kids yelling at me. It's like we're doing songs wearing rubber noses on Sundays!"
Ironically, the weekend's two dates may yet represent the shortest tour on record for, well, a record. Bryson's most recent production, Live at the First Baptist Church - released on Kelp Records in the spring - has been a relatively ghostly entity.
"In a way, this is the first show we've played as a band since that record came out - I should be hyping that!" Bryson says. "This show is sort of 'Here's the record' - six months late!' To be honest, First Baptist was just meant to be a document of an evening that we enjoyed and I just wanted to make it very low-key, very under-the-table. What it is, is what it was meant to be. It was not meant to be a record to put out and put a push on."
Bryson can easily be forgiven for any promotional profligacy with Live at the First Baptist Church. After all, playing for The Hip on tour is an all-consuming affair, especially given the fleeting reality of the opportunity.
"Only on one other occasion have they had a sideman," reveals Bryson, "so that was neat. Touring with The Hip is different; the thing is the amount of people on tour - an entire entourage. They're definitely like a family and have been together for so long, though they were nothing but amazing to me the whole time."
"But there was definitely an aspect of opening a new window. Even though I was familiar with The Tragically Hip, I didn't own many Hip records; the only record I had was Phantom Power. I needed to learn, like, 80 songs before we started the tour. It was great because I discovered a lot of gems of theirs that I didn't know existed, and there were a couple songs that I even requested! I would say, 'I heard this song on this record - do you guys ever play it?' And they would say, 'No, but we will!' So they learned it..."
With his roadwork finished and a six-month-old daughter now in his life, Bryson's next steps as a musician will likely resemble the duality of the two Black Sheep gigs this month - a mix of "Here's where you were" with "Here's where you are." With an escape to a rural Manitoba cabin in the works for January, to record with old friends The Weakerthans, Bryson is temporarily philosophical about the future.
"I recorded an album in August," he reveals "At the Hip studio. And I will re-record some of those in Manitoba, so hopefully I will have a lot of good music to sift through in the end."
"It's a different set of parameters; new things are exciting, change is exciting. It's all a fun big part of the balloon - you just don't want it to touch the ground!"
Balloons and rubber noses, eh? So is it the kid show circuit next for Bryson?
"No," Bryson adds most emphatically. And the interview ends...
Jim Bryson
At the Black Sheep Inn
w/ Dave Godowsky, Dec. 19, 8:30 p.m.
w/ Jill Zmud, Dec. 20, 4 p.m.
