We
Have a Grand Canyon Coming
Hamilton Spectator File Photo
By Graham Rockingham
The Hamilton Spectator
(Oct 10, 2006)
When Canadian country star George Canyon needed a drunken
fool to perform in his latest video, he called on his old
buddy, Mike Smith, better known to Trailer Park Boys fans
as Bubbles.
And
when Bubbles needed a Dudley Do-Right type to perform in a
few episodes of the Trailer Park Boys, he also knew whom to
call -- George Canyon.
Smith,
with his Coke-bottle glasses and foul-mouthed friends, and
Canyon, with his wholesome good looks and god-bless-you demeanour,
have a lot more in common than you might think. They both
grew up in Pictou, N.S.
"Back
home we actually competed against one another in a battle
of the bands," Canyon said in a recent interview. "That
was back when I was 16. I think he was a couple of years younger
than me."
In
the video for Canyon's single, Drinkin' Thinkin', Smith plays
a noisy drunk at a Canyon concert who forces his way onstage
to help the award- winning country singer with vocals.
"We
needed a character to play this role, and he was perfect,"
Canyon says. "It turned out that they wanted to get me
to act on the final few episodes of the season on the Trailer
Park Boys, and I needed him for the video, so it worked out
well. We just finished shooting. I play an American forest
ranger."
Canyon
performed Drinkin' Thinkin' last month on the televised Canadian
Country Music Awards. Canyon walked away with two major awards
-- Male Artist of the Year and Single of the Year, for Somebody
Wrote Love.
Canyon,
who lives with his wife, Jennifer, and two children on a ranch
in Alberta, admits Drinkin' Thinkin' isn't a typical song
selection for him.
"We
saw the title, and I said 'No, I'm not going to cut that,
I don't do drinking songs,'" said Canyon, an occasional
wine drinker. "Then Jenn and I listened to the song itself
and started laughing. It's poking fun at drinking too much,
not promoting it ... so we decided to cut it and, lo and behold,
it's a single."
The
Trailer Park Boys was also out of character for Canyon. "The
show is an adult show, and to be honest, Ricky has a potty
mouth there," he explained. "But once I was there
and acting with them, I quickly realized that Ricky is more
poetic than you would think. It almost becomes not cursing
but poetry with him, and offscreen they're just awesome."
Smith
isn't the only old friend from Pictou County with whom Canyon
still chums around. Singer- songwriter Dave Gunning, who holds
a guest spot on the current Canyon tour, which comes to Hamilton
Oct. 14, is another hometown friend.
"Dave
and I played in bands together and did some pub work. I played
bass while he sang, and he played bass for me while I sang.
Now he's on the show as a special guest. It's just such a
treat to have him with me again."
Then
there's J.D. Fortune, the lead singer for INXS who went to
West Pictou High School with Canyon. Ironically, both Canyon
and Fortune came to fame through TV talent contests -- Canyon
through his second-place finish on Nashville Star, and Fortune
through Rock Star, INXS.
"J.D.
was a couple of grades behind me, but we were actually in
the same variety concerts together," Canyon says. "I
know him as Jason. I acted with him in a musical called Grease."
Aaron
Harris, the Canadian Press
Bubbles (Michael Smith) of the Trailer Park Boys has done
a Canyon video.
grockingham@thespec.com
905-526-3331
Showtime
What:
George Canyon, with Dave Gunning and Gord Bamford
When:
Saturday, Oct. 14
Where:
Dofasco Centre for the Arts, 190 King William St.
Tickets:
$41.50 at the Dofasco Centre box office, 905-522-7529
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