My recent interview with Cowboy Junkies bassist Alan Anton began badly. But in the easygoing way common to all bassists I’ve met, Anton didn’t seem fazed. In fact, he was so laid back it was like having a conversation while one of their songs is playing. Can’t be done.
As Anton deadpanned his answers, I attempted to glean from him the answer to the mystery that is the band’s mesmerizing sound. And as we chatted, I had a possible glimpse at why the secret behind the band’s longevity might just be in the accommodating habits of their bass player. So be a fly on the wall for this awkward, hilarious, and occasionally revealing conversation.
So how would you describe the Blue Rodeo sound? Oh, god, I knew I was going to do that!
(Laughing) No, I get it.
How would you describe the Cowboy Junkies sound? Is there a formula the band uses to produce that easygoing vibe?
The sound is unintended; it just happens.
A happy accident?
Yeah, it’s always amazing when things just do that.
Hmm. Do you still use the Calrec, or Ambisonic mic? Does it contribute in some way, add to the echo, that sense of longing effect?
We did try it but it didn’t work on the third album. We used it for the first two albums, it captured what we were at the time, but now things are more complicated with our sound.
You have kept your garage band freshness in some ways, that jam-session thing
True, like we’re all just getting together to play.
Hmm. Did you have a moment when you were all playing together back in the beginning and suddenly knewŃthere, that’s it, that’s the sound?
We did, actually. There was a third brother on guitar [the group is made up of one Anton and three members of the Timmins family, sound was full. But he left. When we got together without him, that was our moment, when we knew.
What made you choose the bass guitar? What influenced you?
I like everything about the bass, completely, it’s hard to explain. It has a lot to do with what I listen to, when I play I look for a sound that I like . . . but other players play well, I don’t.
Oh, I’m sure that’s not I mean Oh, okay. Let’s see I’m surprised to find you living here, in Sooke. I assumed you were all in Toronto. How did you end up here?
We all lived in Toronto, but then my wife and I had a child with allergies, a friend recommended the coast, and Sooke specifically, and the weather is better here, so we decided to move.
I’m floored. I mean, how do you practice? Not by Skype, surely.
No, by plane. Yeah, by plane. I go there.
Okay. What has held you all together for so long and with such a long commute for you?
Personal friendship is the biggest thing, also the fact we’re really happy with what we’re making together.
Cowboy Junkies
Thursday, April 25
Alix Goolden Hall
cowboyjunkies.com