BACK TO THE BLUES
Silljer rediscovers his love for the genre 30 years into his career
Regina's Dan Silljer is very much in tune with his own musical history.
After exploring various genres during a 30-year career, the veteran performer has learned to embrace the fact that all roads lead back to the blues.
“I want to do a blues album — something rooted in the style of music that got me interested in music,” Silljer said before his appearance Friday night at the Exchange for Day 2 of the 2024 Regina Mid-winter Blues Festival.
“Over the years, my tastes changed. I started to move away from my roots in blues. I've never done a blues album so to pay homage to that (genre) and go back and actually record a blues album, I figured it would be kind of a fitting thing to do.”
Silljer spent many years touring with his own band in addition to riding shotgun for seven-time Juno winner Serena Ryder as well as Regina's own Juno recipient, Jason Plumb, who was frontman of the Waltons in the 1990s. Silljer also used to host a jam night at Bart's On Broad that attracted local blues artists and some bigger names, including the late Jeff Healey, a legendary Canadian singer-guitarist.
“He came in there one night when I was hosting and got up onstage and played, had a great time,” said Silljer, 50, who also opened a local show for Healey at The Pump.
“It was a real treat getting to play with him because I learned how to play guitar playing along to his music. He was an inspiration for me to pick up a guitar. I remember seeing him in the movie Road House, hearing him play and just being blown away. He was a great guy and a fantastic musician.”
Despite Silljer's passion for music, he walked away from life on the road about 10 years ago — right after the release of his lone studio album, Foolish Heart.
At the time, it was important to be with his newborn son rather than continue pursuing a rock 'n' roll fantasy.
“Between the touring and stuff, it took me away (from home a lot),” he said. “Now my son is 12. He's old enough that he doesn't need me as a much.”
Silljer's new album is expected to be a tribute to some of his greatest mentors, including old friend George Taylor, a well-known blues man who died in 2021.
Silljer also wants to recognize the contributions of his parents, Garry and Linda, both of whom are former musicians who still live in Regina.
“I remember singing along to the music my parents listened to,” he said. “My dad played guitar and harmonica and sang. He did a little bit of work in bands around town. My mom was a singer. She loved gospel music. As far back as I can remember, music was always around the house. Every Friday we used to sit around and my dad would play guitar and my folks would sing. My dad had a deep love of blues and jazz. I still have the (Sonny Terry and Brownie Mcghee) record that my dad had from the '70s.”
Silljer also followed his dad's footsteps in choosing an instrument.
“My love of guitar extends all the way back to when I was like five years old. I had a little blue plastic guitar that I loved to horse around on,” recalled Silljer, who tried his hand with a real guitar at 14 but quit after about a month. “I'm a lefty so everything is backwards to me musically. My dad was a righty and when I tried to play guitar right-handed it was terrible. It just didn't click so I gave up on it early. I let the dream die and one day for my 18th or 19th birthday my folks bought me a guitar. The rest is history.”
Looking back on his career, Silljer remembers a time when he wanted to distance himself from his musical foundation.
At one point, he consciously fought to break free of the blues-guitar stigma.
“I hesitate to call it a stigma but it kind of is when you're trying to expand a little creatively,” he noted. “People kind of pigeonhole you. Now, I look back and think, `It's where my roots are.' ”
The same goes for a lot of popular music, especially within the rock genre. Blues-influenced icons like Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan are among the legends who inspired Silljer and so many others.
“There's a tremendous appreciation in most musicians for the blues.…” he said. “There are great rock guys (today) who have a very fantastic blues sound. That blues flair breathes into their style and gives them a little more grease in the pan.
“You feel more comfortable expressing yourself (as a performer) when you have that style of music as a pillar.”
Though Regina is arguably more of a country music town, there are still plenty of diehard blues followers in the city.
They just need a place to show it. “There have been some clubs (here) that closed that were great staples in the blues scene, but I think that's kind of the way it has been everywhere,” added Silljer, noting that events like the Mid-winter Blues Festival are more critical than ever.
There are great rock guys (today) who have a very fantastic blues sound. That blues flair breathes into their style and gives them a little more grease in the pan.
“Blues festivals and jazz festivals across the world have become hijacked by pop music and music that is completely unrelated (in style) ... Maybe it's because of a waning audience, I don't know. But I think to have a blues festival that actually is a blues festival is really important. Something that is a blues festival in spirit and in sound is absolutely essential to keep this style of music alive.”