Written by Christine Skorepa
Citizen staff
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Thursday, 29 October 2009 |
George Canyon.
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George Canyon, award-winning singer, will be opening for legendary country artist Alan Jackson Nov. 16 at CN Centre.
"If a song doesn't mean anything to me - other than if it makes me laugh like Drinkin' Thinkin' - but if it doesn't mean anything then I just go, well that's just not my kind of song," said Canyon. "I need to feel it when I'm singing it to deliver it properly."
His family is the most important thing in his life, he said.
"My kids and my wife are my whole world and I can't live without them," Canyon said. "So my music is really representative of them."
Canyon is sitting in his vehicle talking on his cell phone during the interview. He comes into his driveway in Calgary and shouts out the window - "I love you honey. I'm just doing an interview and then I'll be right in."
Then he begins talking into the phone again.
"I'm literally going to hang up the phone with you, kiss my wife, kiss the kids and get right back on the phone again," he laughed. "My family is so understanding. I would never be able to do this without that kind of understanding."
Traditionally after a show Canyon will spend a couple of hours signing autographs and talking to fans.
"We've been criticized by other artists for doing this because they don't -- and I understand why," said Canyon. "You're on the road and you're just beat coming into the day and then to go spend two more hours talking to people -- some people find it tiring. Of course, I love doing it because I love talking to people."
Recently he posted an apology on his website blog because he was not able to meet the fans after a show in Meaford, Ontario because of a situation brought on by his diabetes, a condition he's had since he was 14 years old.
"I had an issue for the first time with a line from an insulin pump," Canyon explained. "I didn't discover the problem until about one o'clock in the morning and the last thing I wanted to do was miss the autograph signing. If you've ever had the flu and then put that with a hangover and you're starting to feel what it is to have really high blood sugar. And that was the problem, the insulin wasn't getting into me and that was the first time in two years I missed an autograph signing."
Canyon co-writes a lot of his music and has partnered with one artist in particular whose name might surprise his fans.
"I'm a big fan of Nickelback and an ex-manager of mine is buddies with Chad Kroeger and hooked us up," said Canyon. "We just hit it off. Great music is great music, it doesn't matter what the genre. I had met Chad at the Junos backstage and he came up to me and told me he was a fan of what I do and I told him that I was a fan of what he did and it's worked out pretty good," said Canyon. Kroeger and singer songwriter Richard Marx helped Canyon with tracks on his latest CD What I Do.
So what does the future hold for you?
"Whatever the good Lord has planned and I'm dead serious about that," said Canyon. "For over five years now I've just been grateful for every day and He has surrounded me with incredible people that do incredible work. Really, I just stand back and smile and enjoy what I've been blessed with."
Canyon has worked with Alan Jackson before just never on tour.
"We're excited it about it," said Canyon. "This is someone who I bow down to and pay homage to and I only dream of having a career like Alan Jackson's. He stays true to who Alan Jackson is, you know? From the beginning until now his music has not faltered. It's like George Strait for me -- it's always been -- you know that's Alan Jackson, you know he's going to deliver, you know the song is going to be awesome and we're just so excited to tour with him."
Canyon looks at country music legends like Jackson and hopes to be in their league one day.
"I hope some day that when I'm dead and gone people will look back on my music like they look back on Johnny Cash. But (wait a beat) that's really reachin'!"
Canyon does a cover of Ring of Fire and the video is pretty impressive.
"Aw, that was fun," Canyon said. "I was on a 26-foot high platform in the air strapped by wires to a crane that was above me so I wouldn't fall and that was napalm they were launching behind me. It was fun."
At the show fans won't get the full concert experience with Canyon as he only gets between 30 and 40 minutes to open the show.
"My fan base knows I like to talk and I love to tell stories and visit and I'm not really going to get to do that a lot," said Canyon. "I won't get a lot of time and I want to make certain we're playing Never Do Better Than You, I Want You To Live and Drinkin' Thinkin' and Somebody Wrote Love and Betty's Buns and Let It Out and so the challenge for me is how to put all those songs into a 30-minute show. So there won't be a lot of talking but there'll be an awful lot of music."
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 October 2009 )
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