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Climbing
Canyon maintains modesty
Andrew Matte
CanWest News Service
George Canyon doesn't take his success for granted.
George Canyon sure sounds earnest when he talks about his current
success on the charts and his fast-increasing collection of music
awards.
If
cliches become cliches because they're true, then Canyon's overnight
success and love/hate relationship with the country music business
resulted only because of his own natural desire to write, record
and perform country music.
And
if the Okotoks resident is a Canadian country music star, or perhaps
is about to become one, then he speaks like a man who never aimed
for financial success, but rather pursued music only because he
was moved to create for reasons more personal.
"It's
a business, but the good thing about it is that it's also a passion
and a hobby. So no matter what happens to the business, God willing,
I'll still be able to sing and play," he says.
The
irony in his "star" status is not lost on Canyon, who's
touring in support of his new CD, Somebody Wrote Love, a collection
of songs that are getting spun on country radio and whose videos
are also enjoying air-time on country video stations.
Just
this week, Canyon took home two significant Canadian Country Music
Awards -- single of the year (for Somebody Wrote Love) and male
artist of the year.
But
during a phone interview from a Halifax hotel room, he's interrupted
by a call -- Canyon forgot his medication (he's a type-one diabetic)
in his mom's vehicle, so he's arranging to have it shipped back
to him by bus.
"Three
years ago, I didn't think things could get much busier . . . but,
my gosh, now I'm going hard. It's just crazy," he says.
It
wasn't that long ago that Canyon was slugging it out on weeknights
and weekends on the club circuit, performing to beer-swilling
audiences and wondering whether any real success would come his
way. Too many disappointments came before he decided to quit the
business -- twice -- and got called back by the elusive industry.
"And
literally within two weeks after that, the good Lord pulled me
back in. I'm a little hard-headed sometimes, so maybe the first
time I didn't listen," he says.
Canyon
didn't become Randy Travis overnight, but rather than remain despondent,
stewing over how he
wasn't
moving millions of CDs, he decided to take solace in the knowledge
that he was a working singer-songwriter.
"I
learned finally to be content with the artist I was and the life
that I was leading and the gifts that I had been given,"
he says, adding that the death of his father three years ago to
cancer helped him put his own life into a clearer focus.
"When
my father passed away, that was a big slap in the face. But it
taught me a lot of things," Canyon says. "He was a strong
man. I know for a fact that he is up there watching over me and
my family and having a good old time."
He
also acknowledges his own spirituality has helped not just buoy
his spirits when his luck was down, but also ease his mind when
he found it busy with worry.
"They
say that God doesn't make things happen until he thinks you're
ready for them. I wonder sometimes if things didn't happen because
he didn't think I was ready. I know that I am blessed. I know
where I came from and how I got here."
It's
unclear whether God played a role in Canyon's reunion with Bubbles
of Trailer Park Boys fame. The lovable shopping cart thief appears
in Canyon's video for the song Drinkin' Thinkin -- a coup to those
who adore Canada's cult comedy heroes, or a questionable celebrity
endorsement to others.
It
turns out Mike Smith (the actor behind the thick glasses) is an
old Maritime school chum who approached Canyon to swap favours
-- Bubbles appears in his video and Canyon just recorded a Boys
episode for broadcast this fall.
"It's
funny, because that is one circle I never would have imagined
would have come around to me again," he says. "There
were times on the set where I laughed so hard I didn't think I
could stand any more."
Spotlight
George
Canyon performs Monday, 7:30 p.m., at the Jubilee and Wednesday
at the Red Deer Memorial Centre.
©
The Calgary Herald 2006
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