Saskatoon songwriter Jen Lane’s lucky number is 13.
Not only was her husband born on Friday the 13th, but she recorded a cover of Big Star’s “ Thirteen” on her fifth CD “This Life of Mine,” which she recorded in Kelowna.
She returns to Lethbridge to play the Slice, April 15 with Mercedes Fawns and Matthew Robinson in support of her fifth CD “ This Life of Mine” which she recorded in Kelowna.
Recording the CD turned out to be a serendipitous experience.
“We were planning to record in the United States, but the plans fell through then we stopped by Kelowna and a friends offered us this band house to stay in,” she said from Vancouver, where she and her band, husband John Antoniuk, drummer Nick Stecz, bassist Emer Hampton and the Deep Dark Woods’ Lucas Getz on steel guitar.
“ It was very pretty. Thirteen acres with alpacas. So I called and asked if could come back and record. And we could, so as soon as we finished the tour we came back,“ she said.
She placed a call to producer John Ellis and fortunately he was available to work as well.
“ It was a team effort. I couldn’t have done this with out everyone’s help, she said.
Unfortunately her grandpa passed away as she was beginning to record.
“I was going to come home, but I realized he would have kicked my ass if he had. He was a huge supporter of me and and artist and a sculptor. But his spirit was there,” she continued, noting the album isn’t directly about her grandfather.
But the title track “This Life of Mine” is a song I started writing about my great grandfather. I’d been working on it for years, but had never finished. I finished it (when her grandpa passed away), but never intended to make it the title track,” she said, adding none of the songs on her CD are directly about her grandpa.
“ But it was fitting,” she continued.
“ It was sad, of course, but it’s the natural order of things. And I felt fortunate to be surrounded by such beautiful people who were there for me and were so understanding,” she said.
In addition to her own songs, the CD also features a cover of “Thirteen,” a song by ’70s power-pop group Big Star.
“ My husband bought me a record player for Christmas and we played that song. Thirteen has always been a lucky number for us. my husband was born on a Friday the 13th,” she said, adding the message of the song appealed to her, though their version bears little similarity to the original.
“ Ours is stripped down a lot. But the bridge has a guitar solo that was too beautiful to not use,” she said.
The more bluegrass influenced “ First Day of Saskatchewan” is reminiscent of Little Miss Higgins.
“ I get that a lot and I consider it a compliment. I love her music, she said, adding it was written while her husband John Antoniuk was away on tour.
“ It’s a true story. I had foot and ankle reconstruction surgery and was sin a cast for 18 months. I was going a little shack wacky and wanted to go outside. So I opened the door and there was a snow drift up to my waist. I thought, well, I couldn’t do anything abut it, so I just went back inside and picked up my guitar an wrote the song,” she said, adding she enjoys experimenting with different musical styles.
“ I usually let my songs dictate where they want to go. I like to express myself in different styles. I play a mix of folk and old country music,” she summarized, noting the CD developed as they recorded it.
“ I would have been happy recording it more stripped down, there were so many beautiful instruments there, that we just wanted to play them. And we had so many great people to play them, she continued, counting producer John MacArthur Ellis among the talented people involved with the CD, who played a ton of the instruments on the album.
“ He played a lot of different instruments on the album. It’s exciting,” she said.
She has released two singles and two videos for “Shoes” and “Movin’ On.”
“ I was in Toronto and was thinking of shooting it in Saskatoon. But it was winter and a friend of mine was with me in Toronto and said ‘why not shoot it here.’ So we shot feet and explored all of the nooks and crannies in Toronto,” she said.
She has a busy year booked with several festivals scheduled as well as a showcase at Canadian Music Week in Toronto in addition to her current western Canada tour.
Jen Lane with Mercedes Fawns and Matthew Robinson play the Slice beginning at 9:30 p.m. There is a $10 cover for the show.
