>>PREVIEW
PETUNIA
Thursday, July 13
Broken City
I like Tuesdays. There’s a number of reasons why. It’s not Monday for one. New albums come out on Tuesday. There’s that song by the Rolling Stones that’s not bad. And even historically, Tuesday’s pretty cool. It’s considered the most unlucky of days being named after Mars, the Roman god of war – Black Tuesday of 1929 proved that. But mainly I like Tuesdays because it was a Tuesday night I first saw Petunia.
Bizarre, humorous, brilliant – words are not enough when attempting to describe the man Petunia and his music. Let’s start with the name.
"I made movies for Cinerforum Cinema when it was still being run out of the first floor of a house in Toronto," says Petunia. "There I was introduced eventually to the woman who would teach me to play and sing and name me Petunia – Sheila Gostick. I owe her 20 per cent of everything I make. Which is still zero at this point... maybe 20 records down the road things'll be making money. I doubt it, though."
It’s obvious that Petunia isn’t in it for the money. It may be a little romantic but wandering the country, playing between 100 and 150 shows a year in bars, churches, kitchens, street corners and subway stations sounds like a bona fide adventure, and when describing the music he plays Petunia simply states "Action-Adventure."
It is the road that colours his music collaborations from Fredericton to Vancouver. In Calgary, Petunia will be taking the stage with guitarist Lance Loree of The Alien Rebels and upright bassist Mike McCafferty – both musicians Petunia thinks highly of.
"I tour solo and hook up with different bands all over the country," says Petunia. "But, in Alberta I tour mostly as a trio for the moment. They got character (McCafferty and Loree). They got soul. Aside from technical ability which is the bare minimum in a musician, I think nothing matters more than character and style (soul)."
It’s this stripped-down, unpretentious manner that has given Petunia a sort of cult-like following. But regardless of his fanbase, Petunia doesn’t measure the merit of a musician by monetary gain.
"I think most people have the illusion that you must be financially successful to be a successful artist," muses Petunia. "The only successful artist I know is one who is full time. It doesn't matter that you have no home or money. What matters is that you are doing what you want to do with your life. After all, soon we'll all be dead. And on our deathbeds – if we have one– we might be wondering what could have been. Not me."
That’s for certain, as there’s few musical genres Petunia hasn’t touched – from country, twang and rockabilly to jazz, blues, folk and bluegrass. But regardless of his musical melding, it’s his voice – particularly the yodelling that puts Petunia in a class of his own. With every show he’s making converts.
"All sorts of folks from all sorts of musical backgrounds come out to the shows," says Petunia. "All ages nine to 90 just like the song says... if I had (to) describe what I do (onstage), I'd wager that half of them wouldn't have come. And yet, so many people come up and say, "Wow, I love it. What is it? I didn't think this kind of music existed!" |
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