`Shaken to the core': Reflections on Burnstick's Made of Sin
Burnstick
When: May 5-17
Where: Various locations/venues in B.C.
Tickets and info: Homeroutes.ca Award-winning duo Burnstick is made up of Plains-cree Weissenborn lap slide guitarist Jason Burnstick and francophone Métis singer/songwriter and guitarist Nadia Burnstick.
Crafting bluesy, potent tales of traditional and modern life, the duo's 2019 album Kîyânaw (Cree: Us) and Canadian Folk Music Award-winning song Some Kind of Hell established the group as an innovative Indigenous act that is active in live and recorded music as well as TV and film projects.
The latest album from the duo is titled Made of Sin and drops on May 24. In advance of that release, Burnstick are on tour in B.C. performing in numerous locations on a Homeroutes' house concert tour.
Jason, a former criminal justice worker in the Lower Mainland, was once a regular at blues jams in such late, lamented Vancouver venues as the Railway Club and the Yale before he moved to Manitoba, eventually forming this family band. He discussed the making of the new record and what goes into Burnstick's signature sound:
Q You stepped away from solo work for a time before forming Burnstick didn't you?
A Yes and no, as I did work in film and TV for a few years. But I did have a throat surgery that took me about three years to recover from. Then I met my wife and we started doing stuff and we started with our Juno-nominated debut in 2019.
Q The 100-year-old Weissenborn guitars you play are quite unique. What made you decide to specialize on such a rare instrument?
A When I first heard the way slide sounded on a Weissenborn, there was something about the instrument that put me into another projection. It's a bigger, warmer and full-bodied sound than a dobro or any other lap steel-style guitar. These instruments are very special things.
Q You've released Closer from the new album Made of Sin as the second single. Tell me about the tune.
A Nadia and I wrote that about our son and how it felt when he came into the world and what a beautiful moment that was and how you would do anything for your child, including letting them go out in the world on their own.
Q Burnstick seems to have a sound that is quite distinctive from both of your solo work. How did you arrive at that?
A We jammed right off the floor the first time and rocking some melodies, and it very quickly became clear that we had found our own thing together which sounds very different from both of our individual styles. It's also great to be in a group together, because the loneliness that comes with touring on your own or another artist is gone.
Q Made of Sin is a pretty metal title for a folk group isn't it?
A It came out of being shaken to the core at the news of the 215 unmarked graves discovered in Kamloops and being a Sixties Scoop survivor as well and trying to put it into words.
It tries to follow the stages in life where you take on a sense of responsibility and then arrive at the understanding that it isn't yours to take. The first verse is about being told you are made
of sin, the second about believing that we are made of sin and, finally, the realization that they are made of sin.