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INTERVIEW
WITH THE CALGARY HERALD, APRIL 29, 2004
CALGARIAN HUS RISING IN RANKS OF
TROUBADOURS
Heath McCoy, Calgary Herald (April 29, 2004)
Hit the highways of Western Canada and you’ll find them,
strumming their guitars and singing their songs in every bar,
honky-tonk and roots festival down the line.
They are Alberta’s
cowboy troubadours; storytellers, purveyors of the province’s
rugged country and western heritage. The sons of Ian Tyson,
you might call them.
Tom Phillips, Corb Lund, Matt Masters, Dave McCann. There
are some fine names atop the list and, since arrived in
Calgary a little more than one year ago, Tim Hus has slowly
been climbing his way into their ranks.
Hus’s new disc, Alberta Crude, which will be released
Saturday at Merlot, further solidifies his place in the
lineage. |
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The disc, recorded with Hus’s Rocky Mountain Band, finds
the Nelson, B.C.-born songwriter singing old-school western
tunes about oil booms, whiskey runners, forest fires, truck
drivers, bullriders, fortune seekers and, of course, travelling
guitar-pickers with cowboy hats.
It’s a well-crafted, warm, genuinely rootsy recording
that was made as a tribute to Alberta’s centennial, which
the province will be celebrating next year.
Hus, 26, became enthralled with the cowboy mystique, oddly enough,
when he was working on boats in Nanaimo, B.C., studying fishery.
He began performing in local bars, eventually taking time off
work so he could play. This led to a gig in Germany, where Hus’s
mother lives, singing in Canadian pavilions at trade fairs and
exhibitions.
Hus was hooked and, when he came back to Canada, he decided
to pursue his singing cowboy dreams.
“I ended
up in Calgary,” Hus says, “because my theory was,
if you wanna be a big country star, you go to Nashville. If
you wanna be a Canadian cowboy singer, you come to Calgary,
it bein’ Cowtown and all.”
And Hus comes by the western Canadian tales of which he sings
honestly.
“I could sing you a song about Alabama
and how I miss it, but I’ve never been there,” he
says.
“I like writing songs about hockey and
snowmobiles.
“I grew up rurally… My old
man was a trucker and he worked for the CPR. Him and his friends
would spend their time talking about vintage tractors…
My brother worked on the oil rights… I try to write honest
stuff about the things I know.
”If that’s
his mission, Hus feels like he’s doing a fine job. He
received that affirmation last year when one of his heroes,
Stompin’ Tom Connors, gave the thumbs-up to Man With The
Black Hat, a song off his last album, Songs of West Canada.
The tune was written as a tribute to “The Stomper”
— in fact, it went on to appear on the Calgary-produced
Stompin’ Tom tribute album, BYOP: Bring Your Own Plywood
— and Hus took it upon himself to send Connors a copy.
Connors wrote the songwriter a letter expressing his appreciation,
for both the tribute and for Hus’s work.
“I’ve
also liked what Stompin’ Tom did,” Hus says. “To
me, he’s Canada’s Johnny Cash, a travelling folk
singer. I learned a lot from his records… When he wrote
me back saying he liked my work, it was a proud moment.”
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Tim Hus Music Copyright 2008
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