The song titles on Tim Hicks鈥� new album shed light on the kind of party he鈥檒l bring to Cloverdale this summer.
The Niagara Falls-born country-rocker has released a six-track live album featuring the songs 鈥淪hake These Walls,鈥� 鈥淗ell Raisin鈥� Good Time,鈥� 鈥淗er Comes the Thunder,鈥� 鈥淪tronger Beer鈥� and others.
Hicks鈥� party-starting music sounds like a perfect fit for the annual , which returns to the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre on July 22.
With good-time vibes, a serious effort is made during the event to raise money for cancer-related causes.
In a phone interview last week, Hicks said he is aware of the country concert鈥檚 history in Cloverdale in recent years.
鈥淚t sounds like a fantastic event,鈥� he told the Now-Leader. 鈥淎nytime I can help out with something like that, I鈥檓 down to do it. As artists we鈥檙e given these platforms and really big speakers to talk through, so we may as well do it for a good cause, so I鈥檓 excited to come out there and play.鈥�
Hicks will headline this year鈥檚 Gone Country show with support from Jojo Mason, Karen Lee Batten, Me and Mae, Dave Hartney, Danielle Marie and DJ Jaxon Hawks.
The album arrived as a digital-only release on May 29, via Open Road Recordings.
A road warrior, Hicks said he鈥檚 proud of his first live record, one that materialized without much pre-planning.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 funny about it, there鈥檚 a recurring theme in my career where the coolest things happen by accident, and this is no exception,鈥� Hicks explained.
鈥淲ith this one, the boys (in the band) and I always record our shows as a means of us critiquing ourselves, to find out what鈥檚 working and what isn鈥檛, because when you鈥檙e standing on that stage making all that noise, the details kind of fly by really quickly,鈥� he added. 鈥淪o after the fact, we like to sit back and listen to our sets. As we got into our tour, in January, we listened and thought, 鈥楪ee, this sounds pretty good,鈥� and that got us thinking about doing something with them, for people to hear the live songs.鈥�
Most of the songs were recorded on a particularly good Sunday night in Sudbury.
鈥淚 think what happened that night was it was done in tandem with CMT, who were filming us to do a special,鈥� Hicks said. 鈥淎nd any time there鈥檚 a film crew around, my band loves to show off, you know, and because there were people watching and a camera crew there, everyone鈥檚 performance elevated that much more, and we got some really magical moments on tape that night. So although we had 15 shows of audio to choose from (for the record), the majority of the album does come from that Sudbury gig, because there was something in the air that we managed to get down on the computer, you know.鈥�
Hicks and his longtime band have brought the heat on stage for the past several years, and their hard work has resulted in platinum sales, Juno Award nominations and a CCMA Rising Star award in 2014.
One revealing moment on the new live album comes at the end of 鈥淪tronger Beer,鈥� when Hicks yells out, 鈥淣obody up here wants to a build a wall,鈥� followed by an 鈥淥 Canada鈥� riff on the guitar.
鈥淟isten, they begged me to edit that out, but I said, 鈥楴o friggin鈥� way, that鈥檚 going on the record.鈥欌�� Hicks revealed with a laugh. 鈥淚 think anytime there鈥檚 a possibility of controversy, the money people get a little nervous, but part of my whole thing is a bit of humour, and no 37-year-old man is singing 鈥楬ell Raisin鈥� Good Time鈥� while being 100 per cent serious about it. I mean, my tongue鈥檚 in my cheek for at least half of my show.鈥�
With his hit song 鈥淪tronger Beer,鈥� he said, it鈥檚 all about having a laugh about the differences that exist between Canada and America.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of self-deprecating in a way, but still we鈥檙e proud Canadians,鈥� Hicks said. 鈥淎nd with that line on the (live) record, I was saying those kinds of things on the entire tour, and I made some Canadian political commentary along the way, too, but none of that made the record. But you know what, I was pleased that it鈥檚 on there. Another line I had was, 鈥榃e don鈥檛 want to build a wall in Canada, unless you鈥檙e , and we鈥檙e keeping on eye on him,鈥� that kind of thing, throughout the tour.鈥�
For Hicks, the entire musical ride is about entertainment. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where it begins and ends with me,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur show is designed for people to come for an hour, or 75 minutes or 90, whatever it is, and forget about the day and the baloney going on in their lives, so I try to make it as entertaining and funny and involved as I can, you know.鈥�
The , now in its fifth year, is founded and organized by twin brothers Chris and Jamie Ruscheinski, who this year set a fundraising goal of $366,000. The event venue in Cloverdale has space for close to 5,000 spectators, and , with a Team 10 Pack available for $399. Donations are also welcomed.
鈥淲e wanted Tim Hicks this year because we are big fans, and we know he brings a ton of energy to the stage,鈥� Jamie Ruscheinski told the Now-Leader. 鈥淗e has countless sing-alongs that the entire Gone Country crowd will be into.
鈥淥ur supporters have been asking us to bring him for years, but we just couldn鈥檛 make the dates happen,鈥� he added. 鈥淗e draws a huge crowd, which will help us raise even more money for the new Canuck House Children鈥檚 Hospice in Abbotsford. With the raised funds from Gone Country, we plan to outfit four of the new children鈥檚 bedrooms with specialized furniture, electronics and beds to accommodate the children and their families during their stay there. We are very excited that this year we are on track for our very first sell out.鈥�
