Still Stompin’ after eight years
Whiskey Jack brings their Stompin’ Tom tribute show to Annapolis Royal
For years throughout the 1990s and early-2000s, Duncan Fremlin and his band Whiskey Jack toured the country backing up Canadian legend Stompin’ Tom Connors as he entertained audiences with an iconic repertoire of tunes.
So, when the Bud the Spud songwriter passed away in 2013, it only seemed natural for Fremlin to keep the music going by paying homage to the Newfoundland troubadour with a tribute show.
“I thought, he’s not going to call me to bring the band up to the house ever again,” recalls Fremlin about Connors’s birthday party — which Whiskey Jack used to play annually. “So, I’m going to have to create my own birthday celebration, which I did and that has kind of organically morphed into eight years now.”
Since 2014, Fremlin and Whiskey Jack have been showcasing their tribute to Stompin’ Tom — not only on his birthday but all throughout the year.
Called The Stories and
Songs of Stompin’ Tom, Whiskey Jack presents an evening that celebrates and highlights updated versions of such classic hits as The Hockey Song and Gumboot Cloggeroo.
“Our show is fairly modern and energetic,” explains Fremlin of the show ¬— which is scheduled to take the stage at King’s Theatre in Annapolis Royal on Sept. 23. “He was a three-chord Johnny kind of guy, so in order for the music to be brought closer to the 21st century, I thought, let’s modernize some of this material.”
Fremlin insists the music still certainly retains the spirit of Stompin’ Tom. However, by adding instrumentation and modernizing the arrangements slightly, it highlights how potent and lasting Connors’s songwriting remains, even in 2022.
“The legacy of Tom is going to survive,” notes Fremlin, comparing Stompin’ Tom to iconic American folk music hero Woody Guthrie. “They still talk about him, they still sing his songs … because of the song (and) I think we still haven’t really explored the thousands of songs that (Connors) had written.”
Fremlin adds that while the show certainly covers Connors’s most popular songs, people can also expect to hear some rare gems. Among them is one of Fremlin’s favourites — a deep-cut from the 1970s titled My Last Farewell.
“I think that’s one of the songs that during his day could have been a hit song,” says Fremlin. “I think it really could have been, but again, the way Tom did it, it wasn’t ever going to make the airwaves.”
One of the reasons The Stories and Songs of Stompin’ Tom has been a success for nearly a decade is because of the incredible insight Fremlin is able to provide.
A friend of Stompin’ Tom’s since 1990, Fremlin says the tribute is especially unique because he shares intimate tales about his experiences as well as rare video clips featuring arguably Canada’s most iconic country music star.
“You don’t have be a Tom fan and you don’t have to be a country music fan,” says Fremlin. “But if you like to laugh and you like to sing along and hear nice melodies — I mean, the band has been on stage for almost 50 years, so we are pretty comfortable and, I like to think, we’re damn entertaining.” For more information on The Stories and Songs of Stompin’ Tom, visit: www. whiskeyjackmusic.com.