Celebrating a Canadian icon Sally Cole
Whiskey Jack to perform ‘Stories & Songs of Stompin’ Tom’ on July 1 in Skinners Pond
The music of Stompin’ Tom Connors has always filled me with a sense of wonder.
I saw him perform live at Convocation Hall in Sackville N.B., when I was really young. Why is he so tall? I wondered. And how did he manage to write all those songs?
I also remembering singing along to “Bud the Spud” and “The Ketchup Song”, and watching in amazement as Connors’ powerful, rhythmic stomping seemed like it would turn a piece of plywood into a pile of sawdust.
So, when I heard that Whiskey Jack was performing “The Stories & Songs of Stompin’ Tom” on July 1 as part of second annual Stompin’ Tom Festival in Skinners Pond, I figured it was a great opportunity to rekindle my youthful fondness with the music and chat with band frontman Duncan Fremlin. I wanted to learn more about his years on stage with Stompin’ Tom and maybe learn a little more about the Canadian icon.
Turns out Connors had a reputation for sawing wood.
In the early days he used to be able to wear through an eighth of an inch piece of rough plywood at every show.
“He used to wear cleats on his boots, so the sawdust would fly in the middle of the songs. Later on, he still wore the cleats, but he couldn’t go through a board every night,” says Fremlin, who is writing book about Whiskey Jack’s years with “the Stomper”.
It’s one of the many tales that concertgoers will hear at the festival.
Another one is about the different faces of Connors.
“There was Tom at home: Tom the dad and the husband - the guy sitting around the living room, watching television. Then there was Stompin’ Tom.”
In many ways they were two
entirely different people.
“When he was on stage he would use a Maritime dialect. He was determined to make sure fans knew that fame had not gone to his head.”
But, in other ways, they were exactly the same.
“He wore his hat all the time, whether he was sitting at the kitchen table having breakfast or performing on stage,” says Fremlin, adding the band will be performing songs from the Stompin’ Tom Songbook.
The show, which also stars Douglas John Cameron, Randy Morrison, Eric Jackson, Dave Carruthers and Cindy Church, is not only a portrait of Whiskey Jack’s years on stage with Connors. It also includes anecdotes and songs from their years as cast members on CBC’s Tommy Hunter Show.
“It’s going to be a great concert featuring audio clips from the band’s many years with these two Canadian giants.”
But, of the two, Connors’ legacy is the strongest.
“Tom was an amazing guy. I toured with him and I’ve known these songs for years.
“But, the more we explore them, the more we take them to the fans, the more impressed we are with his catalogue of material. And the more excited we are about what’s going to happen to the Tom legacy in the years to come.”