Cycling Celebrity

Artist and musician Kurt Swinghammer’s history of urban cycling

Kurt Swinghammer – the award-winning songwriter, producer and visual artist – doesn’t own a car. Living in a Toronto neighbourhood west of downtown, he uses two wheels to get around town. He’s been riding bikes since he could walk. The artist moved to Canada’s largest city in 1984, at a time when there weren’t many other urban cyclists.

“Many times – especially at night – you would be the only bike on the road,” Swinghammer recalled. “In the creative arts community, we are often early adopters of things. Using a bicycle to get around then was not the hip thing. It was a necessity. For me, cycling is the most fun way to get around, the healthiest, and the best for the environment. It’s also efficient and cheap.

“I find jumping on a bike invigorating,” he added. “To get across town – in terms of the time – you often beat the

unbearable car traffic.”

Recently, the artist treated himself to a new, more solid ride to help navigate Toronto’s urban landscape and to make him feel safer among the sea of cars. It’s a German-made machine designed for both small, flat cities and large locales marked by urban sprawl: the Fahrradmanufaktur T-100 Step-through. The T-100 includes a dynamo lighting system that turns on automatically when you pedal, and even has a capacitor to keep the lights burning on stored energy when stopped.

“I wanted to get a bike that puts me i n an upright position,” Swinghammer explained. “It’s a fantastic machine. I’m thrilled with it. The tires are wide enough to deal with city streets and the streetcar tracks. Everything is perfect.”

Swinghammer’s list of accomplishments in the arts is extensive. During more than 30 years, he has composed scores for films and television, including David Suzuki’s Thenatureofthings; he co-wrote Lori Cul len’s a l bum Sexsmith Swinghammers ongs with Ron Sexsmith; in 2012, he was the first artist in residence at the National Music Centre in Calgary; he was once a guest art instructor at the National Ballet School of Canada; and, he even illustrated the children’s book Mystompingrounds:thesongsof Stompintomconnors back in 1992.

Does Swinghammer find inspiration for his artistic endeavours when he’s on his bike, as many creative types do? “I don’t ride seeking inspiration or to try and find ideas,” he said. “It’s really just a part of my life and always has been. Coming up with ideas and solving creative problems is something I do in my studio, not that you can control where and when ideas come.

“Cycling is a great way to see the city and some of the newer bike lanes give you a view that normally isn’t available. For example, there is one lane that goes right along the railway tracks, so you get a different industrial observation of the city.”

These days, in between seeing the city’s undiscovered sides on a bike, Swinghammer is keeping busy with several new projects. From creating a new art studio in his building, which will function both as a gallery and a performance space for i ntimate house concerts, to a regular weekly gig with his band, Communism, the artist shows no signs of slowing down his pace of work. Swinghammer is also writing tunes with Sexsmith for a forthcoming project, and he has finished another solo record set for release soon. “It’s a concept album about Pierre Trudeau, Barbra Streisand and Liona Boyd,” he said. “Just a fun satire on that situation – exploring the dynamics of complicated relationships.”