PREVIEW
KENT McALISTER
With Fred Eaglesmith
Tuesday, July 11
Ranchman’s
Singer-songwriter Kent McAlister has a knack for preserving the pure sound of his addictive roots music while living in the metro jungle of Vancouver. He keeps his sweet sound refreshed, close to the landscape and close to the heart by playing smaller towns dotting the Prairies and mountains about 200 nights a year. When he spoke to Fast Forward a few weeks ago, he was enjoying dawn in Revelstoke while getting ready to play Black Diamond the same evening.
Since Memory Replacer, a fine album featuring music that goes down like the easy-smoked flavour of expensive bourbon, came out a couple of years ago, McAlister and his band have hauled amps and cords in and out of hundreds of places in a ritual well-known to bands in the first 10 years of their careers. But it’s what needs to be taken care of behind the scenes, the everyday business part of playing music for a living, that is the most draining. These gigs and details mean the band’s second album is written but not yet completely recorded – the road always beckons. Still, some high points stand out, like opening for Johnny Cash’s backing band a few months ago in Calgary.
"We had the opportunity to open up for the Tennessee Three. It’s moments like that that verify this is why I slave at this. There’s moments where it’s overwhelming and you are at home and you’re on the phone and sending e-mails and going and doing photocopies and you go to bed and say, ‘Why am I doing this?’
"You forget that you are supposed to be writing songs and being creative. And you get to meet those guys after reading about them in Johnny Cash’s autobiography, well, that makes it all worth it," McAlister says.
Of course the standout moments become indelible, but what about the hum of tires and the sight of so many stage loading doors? "Every audience is different. Granted, it’s kind of weird for a band at our point because it goes in waves when it’s crazy and packed and we feel all this hard work’s finally paid off, and then there will be a night that’s quieter.
"But even then there are 40 or 50 people there really digging it. There’s always a different vibe to feed off every night." |
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