FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
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| MUSIC Tom Russell with guests Some folks can be romantic about cowboy culture and the Old West. Me, I've met very few real cowboys. The only images I have of the Wild West include oil company executives donning bolo ties and eating beef on a bun, the ever-cheerful Young Canadians trying to square dance (which may or may not be a pleasant image, depending on your point of view) and overpriced corn dogs. (Then there are memories of wedgies, administered by burly guys in 80-pound cowboy hats at my rural high school, but really, that's something I should probably keep between myself and my therapist.) Right now we're right in the middle of Year of the Cowboy here in Calgary, but I'm not really sure what that means to us in 1998. I guess it probably makes a handy marketing tool, representing one-half of a yin-yang city struggling with both rural and cosmopolitan identities. During a recent telephone conversation from his home outside of El Paso, singer/songwriter Tom Russell offered a definition of "Western spirit" that contrasts somewhat with the commercialized aspects of our Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. "To me, growing up with people like my brother, who became a cowboy and rode bulls in the rodeo, it was an outsider spirit that involved seeking a link with the West - the soil and the livestock," he explains. "Some of the guys I grew up with in the '60s were really old-time characters who couldn't fit in anywhere else so they became cowboys, living on a spread outside of LA and not going to town but once a year. It's sort of that outsider spirit and knowledge of the old ways." Fitting in well with his own definition, Russell considers himself somewhat of an outsider, particularly when it comes to the music industry and the songs he writes. His placement outside of the scene is reflected in his choice of subjects and his sources of musical inspiration. "I got out of New York a year ago, after getting fed up with the so-called scene with a capital 'S'," he explains. After moving to a desert farming valley near the Mexican border, Russell not only rediscovered the West, but also Mexican culture and the music of Northern Mexico. "The stories of outlaws and what is happening among blue collar people are real evident in this (Mexican) music, but not evident in our country music," he observes. "Country music turned away from the little guy and the outsider about 10 years ago; as they did that, they pushed away people like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard and George Jones, who sang for these people. "So I've rediscovered what I was looking for in Mexican music." Despite a self-described sarcastic sense of humor, many of Russell's songs contain dark imagery. Stories of struggle and loss often take center stage in his lyrics, further placing Russell as a musical outsider when contrasted with the rosy world of modern country pop. "A lot of people wouldn't touch dark songs, but I think the important thing is if it is well written and if it is crafted and inspired enough, then it is going to raise the hair on somebody's neck. "People are shocked by unhappy endings, especially in America. But if the story is well written, it is like watching a story or a drama." Many of Russell's vivid tales of struggle and adventure are on his latest release, Song of the West: The Cowboy Collection. This compilation of both old and new songs is a comprehensive look at some of the characters of the West, outsiders and all. Next time you're eating a corn dog at the sheep petting exhibition, turn to these stories for a genuine look at the history of the West. |
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