The Core Band

Lost Country came about the same way A Bakersfield Half-Dozen + We Gotta Lotta Truckin’ To Do did; with Grant Siemens & I spitballing ideas for a new project while on the road somewhere. Typically the discussion begins as one of those long Trans Canada Highway drives are in progress. This time, the idea was percolating and struck me in to full fruition while in the parking lot of the Mango Tree restaurant in Lethbridge, Alberta in September of 2021. Cut a record of fringe, “lost” Canadian Country/Honky-Tonk tunes from local legends and regional stars from the past. Yes! Now that’s something I felt destined to do. The real “a-ha!” moment was landing on the idea to hire a veteran band of players who all did their time in the trenches of the taverns, bars and honky-tonks in the 70’s-90’s.

I knew this had to be different than our records with the Lost Country band and was firm in the idea of having Mike & Paul Weber playing on it. Logistically, that meant making this thing outside of our Manitoba comfort zone and heading to Ontario where these cats were located. While I was rambling a mile a minute about the Weber’s et al, Grant suggested his friend and total badass, Chris Stringer (at Union Sound Company in Toronto) as the person to record this for us. Stringer has made a ton of high quality records across a wide range of genres and has an impressive list of accolades to his credit working with certified Canadian legends, CBC darlings and other Toronto area acts with hip clothes and complicated shoes. He’s a pleasure to be around and work with but best of all for me, he is a country music fan with a beautiful studio complete with piles of vintage instruments and gear that would be really “right for the party”. So the plan was set and the wheels began to take motion. 2 months later we found ourselves flying to Toronto with a core band (and special guests “The Singers” and “The Ringers”) of Honky-Tonk veterans in place to play and sing on what would become, Lost Country.

Let’s meet them now, shall we?

The star of the record is, Mike Weber on Pedal Steel. Mike spent 12 years playing steel and acting as musical director for Joe Firth & The Promised Land during the height of Joe’s success and quality. 6 nights a week, 50 weeks a year, every year. No joke. That’s a lot of stage hours. Throughout the course of his career, Mike would also back-up Don Gibson, Boxcar Willie, Al Cherney and brother, Paul Weber. When Mike left the band and left the road, he headed home back to the Kitchener, ON area where he’d run a bar of his own, distancing himself from the steel guitar only playing casually in the region, mostly at Paul’s, Commercial Tavern in Maryhill, ON. With time on his hands after selling his joint, Mike started seriously pickin’ again and we’re all lucky for it. He remains active on stages across Southern Ontario and at 70 years old now, is playing better than ever. In an age dominated by out of tune pedal steel (on records and on stages), Mike is a breath of fresh air and an inspiration to any aspiring steelist. Tone, tuning, a wealth of licks and a dynamite sense of humour. It was a pleasure to have him take the lead musically on my record. Beyond all of that, from 1981-1984, he and my late-Father were bandmates & roommates in the Promised Land, forging a brotherly bond and exceptional musical chemistry that would last until the very end of my Dad’s life.

On the Fender Bass, I had Mike’s younger brother, Paul Weber. Paul got his start on the road with Joe Firth & The Promised Land, a job he’d hold down from 1975-1981 before establishing himself as a Solo artist and building a great career in Country Music. Paul recorded for Boot Records, the Cardinal and The Great North American Phonodisc CO. He was a 3-time CCMA Award Nominee and a Juno Nominee who landed a dozen singles on Canadian hit charts. He’d tour extensively in Canada and abroad leading Paul Weber & Top Hand and wrote the Gene Watson hit, “She’s No Lady”. His rocky relationship with Joe Firth is well documented, but the two did go on to record a series of duets that are arguably some of the finest Canadian Country music cuts from the mid-1980’s. When Paul left the road, he purchased the Commercial Tavern in Maryhill, ON where he’d run the bar and the house band and provide a stage for traditional Country music acts. Local legends, regional stars and the cream of the Canadian crop would all perform at the Commercial Tavern. The Western swing Authority would get their start there and since moved on to widespread accolades of their own. Their 2018 album, Big Deal features a cut called This Old Bar; a song about the Commercial Tavern that features Paul Weber & Harold MacIntyre on vocals. With a bonafide Canadian Country music legend like Paul on the sessions, I couldn’t help but request he sing Joe Firth’s signature song, Me & The Old Promised Land with me as a duet. I don’t often break my ‘no-duets’ policy, but how could I not in this scenario. Paul remains overlooked by the industry and the fact that he’s not yet been named to the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame is nothing short of a disgrace. Having Mr. Weber sing a duet with me on my record will forever remain a career highlight for me. Paul has been kind, supportive and encouraging of my pursuits in Country music and I can’t thank him enough. The promo photos for the Lost Country album campaign were all shot at the Commercial Tavern. Thanks, Paul.

Deciding on a Drummer for, Lost Country took no time at all. I made the call to veteran Drummer, Sean O’Grady out in Hamilton, ON. Sean’s understanding and experience in traditional Country music is vast but he specializes in all forms of great American Roots music and is a true Musician - not just a drummer - if you know what I mean. He’s played with the best and the brightest in Country, Blues and R&B from up-and-comers to legends. He toured extensively in Tommy Hunter’s live band throughout the 90’s and his laundry list of recording credits includes a session with Gordon Lightfoot. I first saw Sean play in 1999 at The Corral in Oshawa, ON where I first joined the workforce, stocking beer fridges and doing dishes… cleaning up after party people and bad alcoholics. A real eye opener for a 15-16 year old kid. Best part of that room was that it was one of the last week-long gigs; a 5-nighter (Tuesday-Saturday). Bands from all over Southern Ontario would play the hits of the day (and sometimes of yesterday) on that job and it opened my eyes and ears to a lot of music and even more do’s & don’t’s. Sean was working with a band out of Hamilton called The Prairie Dawgs who were without question the slickest and most talented of the bands I saw on that stage. Soulful, musically proficient, authoritative; you could tell they were having fun making music together and the mutual respect among them was evident. Sean was/is a character with a big personality and I marvelled at how the staff would be so excited and happy to have him around for the week. In the early 2000’s at a benefit show at The Corral, my Dad was up there doing a set and Sean happened to be on the kit. The music turned to the bluesy side of things quickly and though I was too young and inexperienced to really understand the musical subtitles,  I remember my Dad raving about Sean’s incredible feel and meter. Luckily all those years later, I’d get to experience it for myself during the recording of, Lost Country. “Another shuffle?”. Yes, Sean, time for another shuffle.

I knew his name and of course of his stellar reputation but despite moving to Winnipeg in 2013, it wasn’t until early 2017 that I’d finally meet Grant Siemens. I guess it makes sense; I was still actively behaving like a piece of shit and with Grant being so busy on the Corb Lund job when he was home he wasn’t going out all that often. I’m happy we met when we did. A renowned Guitar picker and multi-instrumentalist, Grant has been working in Corb Lund & The Hurtin’ Albertans since 2003. He’s Produced or Co-Produced albums by Corb, Tom Russell, Del Barber, Romi Mayes, Andrina Turenne, Jess Reimer. He released his own record, Ridin’ The Riff in 2005 under the monicker, Matt Monsoon & The Riff Ryders. Throughout his career, G has performed live alongside Ian Tyson, Marty Stuart, Hayes Call, Tom Russell, Redd Volkaert, Brent Mason, Kenny Vaughan and many others. Grant lit a fire under my ass and brought a creditability to my show and recordings that I’d not had before. We got to work right away on what would become my first record with the Lost Country band, ‘Music for Taverns, Bars and Honky-Tonks’, produced by Grant and recorded in a cabin north of the city that his brother owned. With Lost Country, we’d go on to make 4 more albums (each of them recorded at the Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club); A Bakersfield Half-Dozen + We Gotta Lotta Truckin’ To Do, cut during non-operational hours and live recordings, A Night of Country Music (an Opry style show we hosted and would act as house band for) + Lo-Fi & Lonesome (the Soundtrack to ‘A Honky Tonkumentary Film’). Grant also played all over my 2020 solo record, It Takes Luck to Get The Best of Me and when he wasn’t busy with Lundy, he would be touring with me in Duo or Band configurations. Lots of miles, lots of scheming and a nice body of work to show for it all.  After the Taverns record, Grant would act as the de facto Producer on the other 4. By then, I was chiming in more and we’d have been almost co-producing, but myself and the musicians would always lean toward Grant to aproove the final calls. With Lost Country, I had a clearer vision than ever before and a strong desire to drive the bus. I’d lean on Grant still as his studio experience, ears and attention to arrangements are second-to-none but I was comfortable putting the final stamp on things in a way I hadn’t been before. Like so many times prior, having Grant there gave me an added confidence and he put his trust in me for this record. I mean, outside of the stories I told him, G didn’t know any of the musicians I hired to form the core band. The 5 of us had a great time tracking and Stringer kept things light and comfortable in the control room. The vibes were great, the laughs plenty and Lost Country is the most fun I’ve ever had making a record.

I look back fondly on those few days in late November/early December 2021 at Union Sound Company. We made a good record and had a great time. I’m very grateful for the experience.

What a core-band, hey? Glad to introduce you to them.

Next up, “The Singers” & “The Ringers”, but I have to go now and this is long enough as-is. We’ll chat later.

SB -
Monday, January 22, 2024
9:32 AM
Calgary, Alberta
Holiday Inn Express. Room 317