Canyon's
feet on ground as career soars skyward
By
FREE PRESS STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
For
Canadian country music's entertainer of the year, George Canyon,
the key to continued success is staying grounded.
The
36-year-old Nova Scotia native acknowledges his career has
been on a thrilling ride since he claimed the runner-up spot
at the televised singing competition Nashville Star in 2004.
But he knows that star could fade as quickly as it took off.
"TV
is a very powerful medium, it can definitely skyrocket a career
overnight," Canyon says. "It's like anything in
this business, you have to stay grounded and remember that
you're making music for a living."
Canyon
may be staying grounded, but his career has been soaring since
his appearance on Star. His tour to support his latest album,
Somebody Wrote Love (Universal), brings Canyon to the 2006
Western Fair's grandstand on Wednesday. Before he hits the
McDonald's Grandstand stage, Canyon will have played the Canadian
Country Music Association Awards on Monday in Saint John,
N.B.
Other
2006 grandstand performers who play the fair after Monday's
CBC-TV CCMA gala at 8 p.m. include Great Big Sea (here Thursday
night) and The Road Hammers (here on Sept. 15). Pop rock's
Gary Lewis & the Playboys have the opening show at the
grandstand tonight. While the 1960s chart-topper is nowhere
near the CCMAs, Lewis did just perform on the famous telethon
hosted by his father, Jerry Lewis, and has more than a dozen
top 40 hits.
Canyon
is up for a wagonload of CCMAs this year, going head-to-head
with The Road Hammers in a few of them, including the Kraft
Cheez Whiz Fans' Choice Award. Canadian country group The
Wilkinsons, which opens for Canyon, is also contending for
CCMA honours. Amanda Wilkinson has four nominations.
Canyon
has garnered 15 awards in less than two years, including the
fan-voted CCMA for entertainer of the year and a Juno for
country recording of the year for his debut album, One Good
Friend. That album was certified gold in 2005. He's sold out
shows, opened for superstar Tim McGraw and played the Grand
Ole Opry many times.
"We
definitely have been really blessed," Canyon says. "Myself
and my wife, we just kind of stand back from it all and say,
'You know what, we're going to make the music we feel we need
to make and stand behind the morals and (religious) beliefs
that we have.' "
Canyon
is his name as a performer. He's better known on his home
turf of Pictou County, N.S., as Fred Lays Jr. The singer spent
14 years trying for a break in music before Star, which made
Canyon's name among country fans on both sides of the border.
Canyon
says he learned more about himself as an artist during the
creation of his latest album. He made his vocals the focal
point in every song.
"I
think with this album we sort of zoomed right in on who I
am as an artist and used my voice as the underlying factor
that ties all this material together."
Canyon
lives on a ranch south of Calgary with his wife and two children,
and a number of songs on the new album are dedicated to them,
including one for his young daughter Madi, titled Madi's Song
(The Man She Thinks I Am).
"It's
really right from the heart," he says. "A lot of
this material is right from the heart."
He
says his daughter just sat and listened the first time he
played the demo of the song to her. She now sits quietly near
his side when Canyon performs the song onstage.
"It's
kind of neat to see her affected like that by a song,"
Canyon says. "And it's something she'll always have of
me. Even when I leave this earth she'll have that to remember
me by."
Canyon
says he sometimes gets emotional onstage when performing the
ballad I Want You to Live.
Based
on a true story shared by some of his friends, the song is
about a young woman whose husband kisses her and her children
goodbye one morning and is killed in a car accident.
Canyon,
a former police officer, says the song took on special meaning
for him in 2005 when four RCMP officers were killed in a raid
on a suspected marijuana grow op. Canyon says he also thinks
of Canada's Armed Forces fighting in Afghanistan. He performed
for the troops there in May.
"I
can hardly get through it some nights," he says. "It's
took on a whole new meaning."
GRANDSTAND
Most
performances at the McDonald's Grandstand are free with admission
to the fair. Prices of four ticketed concerts include admission
to the fair. Prices do not include applicable service charges.
Call
519-438-7203 or check www.westernfair.com or ticketmaster.ca,
or call 519-488-1012.
GRANDSTAND
LINEUP
Tonight,
7:30 p.m. -- Gary Lewis & the Playboys, $20
Tomorrow,
11:45 a.m. -- Warriors' Day Parade; Dodge Rodeo, 7 p.m.
Sunday,
1 p.m. -- Dodge Rodeo; Demolition Derby, 7 p.m.
Monday,
7:30 p.m. -- Monster Trucks
Tuesday,
7:30 p.m. -- Imperial Stunt Drivers
Wednesday,
7:30 p.m. -- George Canyon, The Wilkinsons, $30
Thursday,
1 p.m. -- Geritol Follies; Great Big Sea, 7:30 p.m., $38 (standing
room tickets only)
Friday,
Sept. 15, 7:30 p.m. -- The Road Hammers, $25.
Saturday,
Sept. 16 -- 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. -- Extreme Motocross
Sunday,
Sept. 17 -- 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., Extreme Motocross; Demolition
Derby championship, 6 p.m.
MORE
FAIR MUSIC
What:
A selected guide to venues other than the grandstand at the
2006 Western Fair.
Dixie
Flyers -- The long-running London bluegrass group returns
to the fair for the first time in years. Anne Eadie Park stage,
today, 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Monday, 6 p.m., Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Shelly
Rastin -- The London country singer plays the 19-and-up Porky's
Midway Pub & Grill, Saturday, 8 p.m. Other performers
at the midway site include London band After the Lounge with
the Hype Girlz, Tuesday, 8 p.m., and tribute acts. The Hot
Tub Hippies are there tonight at 8 p.m.
Youth
Talent Search -- After quarter- and semifinal sessions during
the fair, the final competition in the search -- which encourages
young entertainers in many disciplines, including dance and
music -- is on closing night. It goes Sunday, Sept. 17, 8
p.m., at the Anne Eadie venue. Eadie, a longtime fair staffer
who retired recently, continues to be involved with the talent
search, one of her favourite projects.
Call
519-438-7203 or check www.westernfair.com for more details.
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