There‘s no moss on Vancouver roots musician Petunia.

  He plays Lethbridge quite a bit, most recently for New Year’s Eve at the Slice.
 He returns to the Slice, April 29 with long time collaborator Nathan Godfrey.

 In addition to a lot of touring, Petunia recorded the follow up to last year’s CD “Dead Bird on the Highway” in Nanton with producer Steve Loree and has embarked on an acting career.

“I’ve been in Portland rehearsing for  new movie called the Musicianer about a singer in the 1920s who does not age. We start filming it in June,” said Petunia, having lunch in Vancouver, noting it will only take seven days to shoot his part.
“I’m only in half of it. I wrote a song for it and they‘re using some of my music in it.

He is excited to work with film maker/ writer /musician Beth Harrington, who also used to play with Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers.
“She also  did a  movie called  the Winding Stream about Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Johnny idolized her mother Maybelle Cash. Before that she did a movie about women in Rockabilly about women like Wanda Jackson, so it’s like she’s been researching this movie for the past 20 years,” Petunia enthused.

“The movie starts in the 1920s,” Petunia said, adding he doesn’t want to spoil anything by saying what happens.

“But basically, I’m playing myself. I’m really excited about it. It’s going to be fun.”
He is also looking forward to touring with Nathan Godfrey again.

 

“We’re going down to Los Angeles in May then back up to the Yukon then we’re going to Winnipeg and driving down to Tennessee,” he said.
Petunia spent a few Days in January recording the new CD with Steve Loree.

“He’s awesome. He really gets what we‘re doing,” Petunia enthused.

 Petunia is also involved in a Storyhive voter driven video competition.
 If he wins, he will make a video for  a new song  to appear on the new CD, “Ugliest Bitterest Coldest Dreariest Place I’ve Ever Seen with director Laura Combden.
“We’ve made a few Storyhive videos,” he said, noting the last one was for  his song “Mercy,” based on the dancing plague of 1518. It won Petunia $30,000.
 Storyhive is a community powered funding program from Telus, which gives production grants for B.C. and Albertan artists to make their videos.
 The community votes determine which project gets fundings and distribution on Optik Local through Telus Optik TV on Demand. Voting begins on April 24.
 Petunia plays the Slice, April 29 at 9 p.m. there i a $10 cover.