Episode 020 : Great Lake Swimmers
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The first time I heard Great Lake Swimmers was on a Starbucks' Hear Music compliation CD as I was cleaning the dishes after dinner one night. "Moving Pictures, Silent Films" closed out the CD, but it was so stark and beautiful and engaging, I listened, then went back, then listened again, then went back, then listened, again, then...you know, it was one of those moments.
Tony Dekker recorded its eponymous "Great Lake Swimmers" disc alone in an abandoned grain silo outside Port Colborne in Southern Ontario, Canada, near where Dekker grew up. Complete with the audible sound of crickets and a very natural reverb, the debut is a riveting piece of work that has garnered comparisons to Neil Young, Nick Drake, Red House Painters, Iron and Wine, and Will Olham. I also hear a bit of Jeff Buckley in his quieter moments.
Great Lake Swimmers were voted Favourite Folk/Roots Artist at the 2004 Canadian Independent Music Awards and over the last two years they've taken their live shows across Canada, the US, and Europe.
Great Lake Swimmers second CD, "Bodies and Minds," was recorded in a church in rural, southern Ontario, but this time out, Dekker has recruited the help of a handful of Canadian musicians to help flesh out the still-sparse sound. The band includes Sandro Perri (of Polmo Polpo) on lap steel, Erik Arneson on banjo, Almog Ben-David on Wurlitzer piano, and Colin Huebert on drums.
On-stage and off, Dekker doesn't seem to me to be someone who has been sitting in his bedroom aspiring to be a rock star. Instead, his manner and delivery confirm that he is someone who is simply meant to do this: putting intense lyrics to paper and delivering them in a way that makes you feel he's letting you in some very personal moments, whether they are his or not.
As the band took the stage at Pa's Lounge in Somerville, Massachusetts, the chatting audience suddenly grew silent and Great Lake Swimmers slid into the opening track from "Bodies and Minds." The performance was a memorable one and the audience, sprawled across the floor of the big room, hung on the band's every sound...
I had a chance to interview Dekker before his Pa's performance. In the spirit of his past recording spaces, the interview took place in a big, echoey room: I guess it was meant to be.
During my conversation with Dekker, we discussed:
* how he's chosen the locations to record in--and whether he'll ever record in an actual studio
* who some of his favorite novelists are and how they have influenced his lyric writing
* how it's been to go from a local singer/songwriter to world-wide touring musician in such a short period of time
Photo by Adrian C. Fish
Music featured in the interview from Great Lake Swimmers includes:
1) Various Stages (Bodies and Minds) (in preview)
2) I Will Never See The Sun (Great Lake Swimmers)
3) This is not Like Home (Great Lake Swimmers)
4) Moving Pictures, Silent Films (Great Lake Swimmers)
5) I Could Be Nothing (Bodies and Minds)
6) When it Flows (Bodies and Minds)
7) Bodies and Minds (Bodies and Minds)
8) I Saw You in the Wild (Bodies and Minds)
9) To Leave it Behind (Bodies and Minds)
10) Song for the Angels (Bodies and Minds)
11) Falling into the Sky (Bodies and Minds)
If you like this interview, give a listen to the Well-Rounded Radio Interview with Josh Ritter and Joe Pernice.
Great Lake Swimmers on Weewerk Records and Misra Records; find your copy via Maple Music, Miles of Music, Yahoo's comparison chart, and Fargo Store in Europe. Bodies and Minds available in US on October 11th.
Tony recommends Picastro.
Well-Rounded Radio recommends BuyBlue.
