Gord Bamford is one of Canada's country gentlemen and as a good ambassador he is sharing his limelight with a visitor from America.
When Bamford rolls his Certified Country Tour across the nation this spring he will have a co-headliner alongside him. A familiar name on country radio and music video television is Joe Nichols, but Nichols has never built inroads into the frosty north.
Bamford is giving him the full Canuck press from here to Halifax and even half an hour later in Newfoundland.
The string of concerts got underway this week in southern Alberta, and Nichols already ran into some cultural consternation.
"We tried to play a little golf and damn near got frostbite. For us Texas and Tennessee guys it was a bit much, but we powered through," he told The Citizen with a laugh, calling from a warmer location prior to their Red Deer gig. They'll be in Prince George on Tuesday night along with Washboard Union and Jesse Mast.
He has done some festival shows in Canada, one-off performance events, but never a full tour on maple soil. He is already spotting some difference, and his expertise is of course in music.
"I like the music up here. I hadn't heard much of it, sadly, and been just getting introduced to it. So far I've been impressed. From what I can gather there is a little less of a pop feel to the country music up here, a little more straightforward. Not too different, though. It's right on par with the States as far as I can tell. There's a lot of good ones (stars like Bamford scoring hits in the States) come out of Canada, so keep 'em comin'."
He said he will be scouting the Canadian catalogue for some good songs he could use for his own future albums. He's not one of those stars who preciously writes his own material, he said.
He is a singer, musician, performer, not a composer. Too many artists sabotage their own potential by refusing to relinquish songwriting control, he said.
"I've always been of the opinion that long-term careers are built on great songs," he said, and it weakens an album when you ignore the composition professionals out there who love to write songs but don't want to be the one to invest the time and money in recording, touring and marketing.
He's certainly shown audiences exactly what he means by that. He's been one of the biggest names in the industry, at times. He's been nominated for three Grammy Awards over the years, which itself is a mind-boggling accomplishment. He's produced eight albums, put 14 songs into the Billboard Top 40 country chart, and hit No. 1 with several songs, notably Brokenheartsville and Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off, but many others as well. Sunny And 75 and Yeah hit top spot in the past two years, proving how current his momentum is.
Nichols is also applauded for some of his personal accomplishments. He has battled back from spells of addiction, his Cree ancestry has made him an aboriginal success story, and being a dad makes all the awards and gold records look like cold leftovers.
A brand new album is almost set for release, so expect to hear some new material at CN Centre when Joe Nichols takes the P.G. stage for the first time.
