Photo: Corb Lund is coming to Lloydminster soon.
By Katie Ryan
The cowboy who penned that popular song – “Long gone to Saskatchewan” – will be arriving in the Border City soon.
Country singer, Corb Lund is making his way to the Vic Juba Theatre after performing multiple times for the Olympics. Lund has been involved with the Olympics since its Torch crossed over into Wild Rose Country.
“I played four torch relay shows in Alberta when the torch came through. Yeah, in Airdrie, Drumheller, Taber and Red Deer. Then a few nights ago we played down in Vancouver, downtown at the big outside stage for 7,000 people. It was really, really awesome. Quite moving, actually,” said Lund over the phone from Whistler, before he performed for the third and final time in B.C. last Friday for the Olympics.
Along with many other Canadian artists, Lund was selected to strum along to the beat of the Olympic fervor that has captured the nation. Performing with the Cultural Olympiad during the Games, has translated into a handful of outdoor festive party gigs in Vancouver, Surrey and Whistler.
“It’s pretty neat actually. I went into it thinking, yeah okay, it will be a cool gig, but I didn’t expect to be this. It’s hard to explain, there is a really cool community spirit out here for this thing (Olympics). It’s being run really well and the cops are behaving,” Lund said with a chuckle.
“There is lots of security, but everyone has been really nice and it has been really great. People really, I don’t know – it feels really warm, not just temperature wise. The vibe is great.”
Lund and his band, The Hurtin’ Albertans, are enjoying every minute and opportunity the Games are giving them, that is, before they hit the road again to continue touring in support of their latest offering, Losin’ Lately Gambler.
“I am really happy to be here. The shows here have been off the hook. I didn’t know if it would be people who knew us or just random people, but everybody knew every word, it’s been great,” said Lund, who has six albums under his belt and has garnered more than 20 awards, including Canadian Country Music Association’s 2009 Roots Artist of the Year award.
Although the Southern Alberta boy admits he was a “rodeo kid,” he’s been following the Olympics and how Canada is competing.
“I like the hockey and I like biathlon too, I like the shooting. But I’m getting pretty worried about these Russians (hockey team),” said Lund, who was able to catch the Norway versus Canada hockey game, but had to forgo his tickets to the Canada and Swiss game to work on a recording project.
Following their Olympic sojourn, Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans will have a homecoming of sorts.
“We did our major album release tour in October and November and we wanted to wait until the end to play Edmonton, Lloyd and a couple of other shows, like Fort Macleod,” said the award-winning artist whose Jack London-esque yarns about down-and-out cowboys, whiskey and ranching appeal to roughnecks, bikers, bankers and ranch hands alike.
“It’s absolutely a homecoming, Edmonton is very much home for me.”
The fourth-generation Albertan who comes from a long line of cowboys and ranchers will stroll on to the Vic Juba Theatre stage on Saturday, in support of the Lloydminster AAA Bantam Female Hockey.
“That’s what they tell me,” he said of his fundraiser concert, admitting he played in more rodeos than rinks growing up. “But, I watched Gretzky as much as the next guy. I also played football and baseball. I am happy to help, if it helps. It’s good for us too, so it will be fun. I think youth sports is really, really good for people.”
While Lund’s country roots run deep, he wasn’t always crafting songs like “Devil’s Best Dress” and “This is My Prairie.” Before he hooked up with his Hurtin’ Albertans – bassist Kurt Clesia, drummer Brady Valgardson and guitarist-banjoist Grant Siemens – he was rocking hard with the aggressive indie rock Edmonton punk band, the Smalls, from 1989 to 2001.
Lund said while there’s no truth to the rumours of a reunion currently circulating, he doesn’t discount them entirely.
“There’s not much to clarify, we’ve been talking about it for a few years, but you never know. One of these days we might do it, it’s just a matter of getting everyone together and scheduling it, you know,” he said.
If they were to reunite however, Lund said he would have a lot of practice time ahead of him to learn his parts again.
“That stuff is kind of complicated, right. It’s not like ACDC songs, it was pretty complex,” he said with a laugh. “It’ll take me awhile to sit down and learn the parts again. But, yeah, it would be doable for sure.”
While he might be known as the poster child, or rather cowboy, for the under-belly of country music, Lund wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I am on the scruffy side of things. It’s kind of funny because I am kind of an outsider. I mean, I am really happy that I get played on country radio, but it’s obvious to everyone that my stuff is a little different and doesn’t exactly fit in with the stuff that is normally on the radio,” explained Lund. “The irony of it is that even though my stuff is kind of rough around the edges and old fashioned, it’s actually got more rural content in it than most of the stuff on the radio, as far as actual rural themes in the lyrics.”
Spitting out singles isn’t how Lund plays his hand in the music industry.
“I am just trying to write songs that make me happy and reach people,” said Lund. “I hear my Saskatchewan song is doing alright over there and I like that one.”