Blues artists look forward to returning to Perth
Posted Mar 4, 2010 By Chris Must
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EMC Entertainment - From the Mississippi crossroads where Delta blues legend Robert Johnson is supposed to have sold his soul to the Devil to the stage of Perth's Studio Theatre may seem like a long journey, but for Canadian roots and blues artist Suzie Vinnick they're just two more stops in a life on the road.
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Rick Fines and Suzie Vinnick, who have been collaborating on musical projects for the past 17 years, will be providing an evening of acoustic blues at The Studio Theatre in Perth March 13.
Vinnick will be playing with Rick Fines at the Studio Theatre Saturday, March 13. She recently spoke to the EMC from Kentucky, on the way back to Toronto from the Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis. The trip south included time to visit some landmarks from the early days of the blues, including that infamous crossroads, located at the intersection of Highways 61 and 49 near Clarksdale, Mississippi.
Saskatoon native Vinnick has been deeply involved in the blues since she was learning guitar at the age of 13 and loved the music of Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Vinnick recalled the only place she could go to play in public in Saskatoon was a blues bar called Bud's on Broadway. A restaurant by day and blues club by night, Bud's provided the venue for the young singer-songwriter to get involved in afternoon jam sessions. It was there that Vinnick got her first taste of stage performance and experience working live with other musicians. Some friends taught her "my first Jimi Hendrix tune," and the manager of the bar advised her to go to the library and check out the blues section. As a female blues vocalist she was inspired by a couple of albums by Koko Taylor.
"Slowly but surely I started building up a little bit of a repertoire," she said.
Vinnick met Tony D. in Saskatoon in 1990. The two were hired to play together by the late Back Alley John (John Carl David Wilson), an Ottawa-born blues singer, songwriter and harmonica player who relocated to Calgary in the late 1980s. When Tony D. returned to Ottawa, Vinnick decided to move there too, joining Tony's Cool Band. She contributed vocals and bass playing to Tony D.'s award-winning 1992 release 'Dig Deep'.
Vinnick first met current musical partner Rick Fines in 1993, noting that "Rick and I have had quite a run at it." According to the duo's website, Fines and Vinnick were introduced shortly after her move to Ottawa by Chopper McKinnon, host of CKCU Radio's Canadian Spaces, who thought that the two should meet, and pointed Fines to a club where Vinnick was playing. A member of Peterborough-based Jackson Delta for 15 years, Fines has also won several Maple Blues awards and received numerous nominations.
Over the years Fines and Vinnick have produced one album together - released in 2006 - and played on each other's solo projects. They are currently writing material for a new project.
Fines, who also spoke to the EMC from Niagara, where he has been teaching "Blues in the Schools" on an Ontario Arts Council placement, said he and Vinnick are great friends after working together for so many years. "We still have as much fun doing it as we did on the first day," he said.
Fines said he has been playing the blues professionally for close to 30 years. His interest in the music grew out of playing rock and roll with early bands. Starring with Neil Young and the Rolling Stones, Fines recognized the music was blues-influenced and wanted to dig deeper into the roots behind the music. He found that there was some "incredible musicianship" on some of those old records.
Fines released his first solo album in 1996, and five more solo CDs have followed. Today he says working with students is a good balance to life as a performer. "I get to do what I love doing," he said. "It's a good balance for me, sharing everything I know with those kids."
March 13's show in Perth will be an acoustic performance featuring "the oldies and goodies," Vinnick said. She will be playing some guitar, and will also bring her bass along.
"It'll be great coming back to Perth, it's a great town," said Vinnick. She recalled that her first appearance at the Stewart Park Festival was in 1992.
Fines said the show will include a lot of original songs as well as some favourites by other artists.
The Studio Theatre show will open at 8 p.m., and tickets are $21.50 in advance or $25 at the door. Tickets are available at Shadowfax in Perth or at Dawn's Closet in Smiths Falls, or by calling 1-800-518-2729. Proceeds of the show after expenses will be donated to the Walk for ALS.
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