Joël Fafard, accomplished musician from Roberts Creek, has released a new CD and DVD package, Fowl Mood, that was made here on the Sunshine Coast. He will be celebrating the release at the Heritage Playhouse this Saturday, March 12. Many of the tunes are original compositions and they have a down home, roots, echoes-of-Appalachia feel to them. They feature twangy slide guitar work and the sound of Fafard’s husky voice.
He’s Canadian, growing up in southern Saskatchewan, but has a fondness for the music of the deep south. “I don’t see borders as a musician,” he said, “and in the time of early Appalachian music there was no observed border. Gabriel Dumont used to straddle whichever side of the border suited him. A wonderful part of Saskatchewan heritage is Métis fiddle music, which shares the same Celtic roots as Appalachian music, so really it was around my whole life. I also saw John Lee Hooker perform when I was 12, and that probably messed up my DNA a little.”
Some of the tracks that stand out are Grinnin’ in Your Face – though not a Fafard composition, it has a blues edge to it and Fafard performs it with some attitude. Rock My World is more upbeat. No fowl or foul mood there but the kind of rhythm that earned him a Western Canadian Music Award. On this album, he focused on the two resonator guitars – a custom made 1929 Dobro copy made by luthier Joseph Yanuziello and a steel body National Style O with a 1930s design. They both have the right tone for the music.
He recorded the album with David J. Taylor in Sechelt at the Purple House and the DVD was filmed in the forest of Wilson Creek. He had never really loved music videos, but then when YouTube came along, people started posting live performances. He saw recording a new album as an opportunity to catch the performances on video along with great audio quality. The day after they finished recording, David and Joël packed up the audio gear, met with photographer Mark Benson and recording engineer Clarence Deis in the forest where Deis had built a music hut, and they set up again.
Other Coast folks contributed too, including Megan Mansbridge, who drew the fierce fowl for the CD cover’s artwork. Fans will know she has a fondness for chickens that blends perfectly with the farmhouse atmosphere created on the recording. (Cluck Old Hen was Fafard’s previous album.)
“This is the first time I have stayed home to make a record,” he said, “and I am very pleased with the results.”
Having a DVD along with the CD is a bonus. You can watch him play in front of the fire in a woodshed. You can practically smell the wood smoke and will hanker for a jug of moonshine.
The concert is at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons on Saturday, March 12 with doors opening at 7 p.m., music at 7:30. Advance tickets are $20 at MELOmania and Gaia’s Fair Trade or $25 at the door. You can also buy them online at www.Share-There.com where you can offer or arrange for a ride to the theatre. You can buy the album at the concert or order it from CDBaby.com or if you only want the music portion, try iTunes.
