Imagine playing a piece of Canadian history
Country singer Jason Barry touring with one-of-a-kind guitar
ST. CLEMENTS — Saved from the mulch pile, a historic slab of maple wood from the tree that inspired Canada’s unofficial national anthem is about to embark on a cross-country tour.
The wood, refashioned into a one-of-a-kind acoustic guitar, will travel by train with St. Clements’ Jason Barry as the musician tours Canada with country star Dean Brody starting later this month.
The instrument is one of many creations salvaged from a giant silver maple — said to have inspired Alexander Muir to write “The Maple Leaf Forever” in 1867 — which was knocked down in a 2013 windstorm in Toronto.
But Barry, who received the guitar from Blue Rodeo’s Colin Cripps, said he wants it to be a living, breathing instrument, not an untouchable heritage artifact.
“I want people to see it, take pictures of it, and play it. Let’s get some spirit into this thing,” said Barry, an award-winning producer, songwriter and musician in the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. “I want people to try it, put it in their hands and play a couple of chords. I’d love to see it touched by somebody from coast to coast. I think that’s what it was designed for.”
The idea is it will be passed on to a different musician each year, but will forever remain part of the public trust. An electric guitar made from the same tree is currently in the hands of the Tragically Hip’s Paul Langlois.
Barry will play it as much a possible. It will have a prominent spot in songs performed during an upcoming cross-country tour — played on the train in a converted rail car that doubles as a stage, all part of a celebration of Canada’s 150th year since Confederation.
Barry also plans to record some music with it, and play it regularly in his Waterloo recording studio, Barrytone Studios. Session musicians are always dropping by, and there will be a lot of people who will want to put their hands on it, he said.
“I want it to live on forever. It’s basically my guitar for now, so it’ll just be hanging around. It’ll be in the house, and in the studio.”
Next in line to care for the guitar is Toronto singer-songwriter Royal Wood, but Barry admits it’ll be hard it pass it on. As a musician, a guitar this rare and this tied to his country’s past is a pretty special thing.
“I may have a hard time giving it back,” he said. “It’s surreal. I imagine it’s like when someone wins the lottery. You’re not quite sure if you can believe it or not. To me, it’s that significant.”
The guitar, with its red sides, pale front, maple leaf design on the neck and a $10 coin built into the back, is a work or art. After taking it to his own luthier to tweak it a bit, it also plays beautifully, Barry said.
“I had people tell me, ‘Oh I heard it’s not very playable’ So when I got it in my hands, I was surprised. It plays great. And it’s lovely to look at,” he said. “It’s a beautiful piece.”
The Miramichi-raised, St. Clements-based musician has toured the world and produced and recorded some of Canada’s largest country music acts, from Michelle Wright to Terri Clark.
Barry’s music career is all the more remarkable considering he was deaf until the age of five, when he had a surgery to repair his hearing. The first sound he heard was the ticking of the clock on the wall, he said, then he heard his mother’s voice.
With the world of sound finally opened up to him, Barry fell in love with music.
“My whole family was musical, and I was surrounded by it growing up,” he said. “Once I got a guitar in my hand, it just never left.”