Buckman Coe will be combining a lot of soul with a little bit of blues and a touch of folk when he makes his first visit to Lethbridge, March 24 at the Owl Acoustic Lounge.
He is touring for five weeks on the re-release of his CD “By The Mountain’s Feet.’
“It was released last year. It was my first solo record,” said Coe from Vancouver.
The CD sounds like it came right out of the late ’60s, early ’70s folk scene, with touches of soul and a little bit of Canned Heat.
“My music is totally soul music and a lot of folk. Though I’m more into the lighter folk sensibility, there is almost less Celtic influences with banjos and more Americana,” Coe said of his music.
“But it changes a lot,” he continued.
He is excited about the upcoming five week tour on the repackaged CD. “The first one was a soft release. This one is more professional. We’re actually going on tour for it,” he said. The new CD features the same music, but with new cover art and liner notes.
He will be playing his way across the country with several different musicians. The Lethbridge stop will include bassist Michael Rush who plays the gigs up to Regina and drummer Adam Parent.
“I’m very lucky I ’ve got to know a lot of people all across the country,” he said adding he has met a lot of fellow musicians who are eager to play with him by going to festivals and conferences like the recent Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis a few week ago.
“The Canadian music scene really is like a fraternity,” he said.
“I was just in Memphis for the Folk Alliance and was surprised at how strong the Canadian contingent was down there. I was really quite proud of all the Canadian musicians playing there,” he said.
“I’m inspired by a lot of things. The music on the Cd is very hopeful,” he said.
While he noted most of the songs are happy, there are darker, more serious moments like “The Apocalypse is Not Guaranteed” and “Paranoia.”
“They’re kind of reminiscent of Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On?’. They’re very optimistic sounding, but they also comment on society, but they aren’t angry songs,” he continued. He said ‘Paranoia’ is not only about American foreign policy in the post 9-11 world, but it also examines the panic and worry resulting from living in a constant climate of fear.
“Hopefully they can inspire change while creating a positive mood,” he continued.
“As much as I like lighter songs, I also listen to a lot of darker stuff like Radiohead and some of Jeff Buckley’s songs,” he said.
He hasn’t played Lethbridge before, so he is looking forward to playing with his band, while playing guitar as well as some accordion and ukulele.
He hasn’t been to Lethbridge for a few years, but has an aunt and uncle who live here and cousins he used to visit.
“I think they’re all away at university now, but my auntie and uncle are still there,” he said.
He noted he will be playing to the crowd, if they are a listening audience, he will be playing slower, more introspective songs, however if they are there to rock, he will react accordingly.
“I like to see an audience grooving so I’ll vary my concert accordingly. The songs have a really nice vibe. I want to keep things really beautiful,” he said.
“There are really nice harmonies and really nice vocals,” he continued.
