Ana Egge turned “Bad Blood,” into something good. She has some friends in high places. She is friends with Serena Ryder and Ron Sexsmith who connected her with Steve Earle, who produced her seventh CD, “Bad Blood” which is about her parents’ battles with mental illness.
Earle also plays on one of the songs and sings harmony vocals on two others.
“I think he’s amazing. He was working on one of Ron Sexsmith’s records, ‘Blue Boy’ back in 2000, which was when I met Steve. So I knew it would be amazing to work with him,” she enthused.
“ He is so talented. It was amazing to work with somebody who is a very complicated person. He’s so full of energy and is so enthusiastic. Just to sit and listen to all of his stories was amazing,” she said.
She plays the Geomatic Attic, June 9 with her band, guitarist/ bassist John Kengla and drummer Michael Thompson, both from Regina.
“ They play in Serena Ryder’s band,” Egge said adding she is excited to get together with them again.
“She’s great, I don’t even know how I met her. She came to one of my shows or someone gave her one of my CDs. Now she’s just about to break in America,” she enthused, taking a brief break at home between tours before flying to Austin, Texas for more shows.
She spent 10 years being raised on her parents’ farm near Estevan, Saskatchewan right on the border, but has been living in Brooklyn, New York for 10 years.
Egge’s new CD “Bad Blood,” was inspired with her parents’ bout with mental illness.
“It’s so frustrating. I spent a lot of time being angry about it. It’s very difficult to understand. So these songs are about dealing with it, about loving them and hating the disease. It could be depressing, but it’s actually very upbeat, catchy and uplifting,” she said
“ It can take me years to write a song. Some go back two years, she said.
She took a lot of time to write the songs. One of them, “Motorcycle,” is an older song which she revamped,” she said.
“It had a very different flavour. It was a very laid back, but I wanted to pump it up more and make it more driving.
She is excited about coming back to Canada.
“ I try to get back there a couple times a year,” she sad, adding this tour has four Canadian dates.
“ I love just being in Canada. Audiences are just so receptive especially in the west,” she said.
“ We’ll be playing the new CD and some new songs I haven’t recorded yet. And some old hits written by me and by other people,” she continued.
The show begins at 8 p.m. sharp, June 9 at the Geomatic Attic. Tickets are $30 in advance, $32.50 at the door.
