When your stock in trade is traveling around the country telling stories for a living, guitar in hand, you spend a lot of time on the road — which is where a lot of stories for songs are found.
“I’ve been on the road since August. It’s been going well. It’s always nice be on the road when there’s a little interest in me doing my songs, so I can play back to back shows,” said Toronto based acoustic delta bluesman Doc MacLean from a tour stop in White Rock, B.C., estimating he plays 80-100 shows a year.
he was in lethbridge almost exactly a year ago with Winnipeg’s Big Dave McLean.
The current tour will bring him back to Lethbridge, Nov. 24 for a gig at the Slice.
“It good to be playing on my own, because I get to talk more. I get to tell more stories,” he continued adding he has been playing a lot of smaller rooms.
“So I can get really close to the audiences. It’s easier to connect with a smaller crowd,” he said, adding a lot of them even know all the words to his songs.
“We’re doing well. I’m quite pleased. We’ve got lots of young musicians coming to the shows and they know my stuff, which is kind of strange to see,” he said adding there have been a couple interesting shows, including one in Charlottetown, P.E.I for which numerous politicians from all over the world ended up at his show.
“You might have heard some of the stories before, but there might be some new ones,” he continued adding there will also be some new songs as he will be recording a new CD, the follow up to a 2006 live CD he recorded with Winnipeg acoustic bluesman Big Dave McLean.
“When I get a few days off, I can sift though all of these ideas. It will be an interesting album,” he said.
“The new songs have more of a social historical bent. I write a lot about people and the issues they face,” he described adding he has met a lot of interesting people on this stretch of the road.
“I had 100, mostly homeless women come to a show in Vancouver. I guess they could identify with the blues I’m singing about,” he said.
“ I enjoy my work a lot though it is very tiring. But you really get accustomed to it,” he said.
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