GhostBoy entertained Canora audiences of all ages in two concerts at the Canora Composite School (CCS) on October 23, presented by the Canora Arts Council as part of the 2018/19 Stars for Saskatchewan Concert Series.
An afternoon concert for CCS and CJES (Canora Junior Elementary School) students was followed by an evening show which was open to the general public, attendance was about 50, which was down from concerts during the previous season. After the show the comment was heard that “the performance was deserving of a much bigger audience.”
Calgary-based GhostBoy founders Denis Dufresne (vocals, fiddle, acoustic guitar) and Aaron Young (vocals and acoustic guitar) were joined on stage by Craig Bignell (vocals and drums.)
Dufresne and Young write much of their own music, which has been described as, “70s acoustic country with a modern flavour.”
Dufresne said they like to compare themselves to iconic artists such as Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Glen Campbell, who emphasized the live performance as much as the quality of the songs.
GhostBoy has experience playing in front of some extremely large crowds, including “Thrill on the Hill” on Canada Day in front of around 100,000 people. However, smaller audiences have a completely different appeal for group members.
“We enjoy performing in small towns such as Canora,” said Dufresne. “People want to be entertained in a community setting. It’s more intimate and we can connect with the audience and feed off each other.”
He said the group likes to perform for students in a school environment.
“In a small town the kids have fewer distractions and it’s sometimes easier for them to find their passion, whether it’s hockey or music or something else,” he said.
During the afternoon show, Dufresne compared practising music to doing homework. He asked the students, “What happens when you don’t do your homework?” and got a brief but emphatic answer, “You fail.”
He said the members of GhostBoy face the same challenge. In order to prevent failure, excel at what they do and continue to get paid for their work, they have to practise their music.
Dufresne said he remembers being extremely lazy as a kid, and didn’t like to practise at all.
“Today I’m so grateful Mom and Dad made sure I practised,” he said. “As I continued to work at it, I got good at it.”
One of the original songs the group played in Canora was Star, which Dufresne wrote about his grandfather, who lived to the age of 99 years and 7 months. Dufresne said, “Grandpa wasn’t especially well known, but he was a star to his family and friends.”
In addition to their original music, GhostBoy members like to play covers of old songs made famous by other artists and then turn them into something new.
In Canora, they honoured their good friend, the late Gord Downie, with an acoustic version of The Tragically Hip’s Ahead by a Century.
GhostBoy performed Lovers in a Dangerous Time originally written by Canadian music icon Bruce Cockburn and later recorded by Barenaked Ladies. This was one of the songs performed by Young at Cockburn’s 2017 induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The group played The Devil Went Down to Georgia, a song which Dufresne said he first heard at the age of four and was inspired to learn to play the fiddle because “I knew I had to learn how to play this song.”
GhostBoy went on to play the hard rock classic Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses, but with Dufresne’s fiddle giving it a unique sound.
Young is originally from Prince Albert, while Dufresne grew up in Medicine Hat, Alta., but has family across the border in Shaunavon.
They met about 20 years ago and spent the next five years or so touring the world as part of the group Barrage, which played world instrumental music. Dufresne said it was similar to music you might hear in stage shows such as Riverdance.
At that point the two musicians went their separate ways. But then, 15 years later, unknown to each other, the two of them moved to Calgary, about three blocks from each other.
It didn’t take long until they were getting together and practising their music. The pair posted videos of their practices online. Dufresne said the strong reaction to the posts from a variety of sources convinced them to pursue their music further.
“For instance, k.d. lang, an award-winning artist originally from Alberta, saw our performance of her song Constant Craving and asked us to record it, so we did,” he said.
Dufresne said the name GhostBoy was inspired by working with other musical acts.
“For Aaron and myself, our day jobs are playing as musicians for really well known acts,” he said. “When we’re playing with a superstar such as Shawn Mendes, the crowd tends to be so focused on him and not even notice us, so that’s how we came up with GhostBoy.”
Dufresne said he would love to see students from the Canora area who are interested in music to pursue it as a career, and encourages them to “Stick to your guns, and follow your passion. It’s like anything else. If you work hard and you believe, you will achieve.”
GhostBoy is presently touring the prairies in support of its brand new album Vinyl, which is a throwback to the members’ 70s roots and their passion for vinyl records.
Anyone interested in the music of GhostBoy is encouraged to visit ghostboymusic.com.
GhostBoy’s visit to Canora was the first in the 2018/19 Canora Arts Council Stars for Saskatchewan Concert Series.
The next performers in the series will be Pretty Archie, a group which mixes Americana, bluegrass, country and the blues to create its own unique sound, and will perform in Canora on November 20.
