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In
the world of contemporary pop music, where “extended careers” and
“timeless bodies of work” are not commonplace, Jason Plumb is an
exception. From hit singles and memorable album tracks with The
Waltons and solo albums to soundtracks and theme songs, Plumb has
consistently created music that has been embraced by Canadian
audiences and acclaimed by the industry and his peers.
An
artist of considerable depth, the Saskatchewan-based singer and
songwriter has over the course of the past twenty years delivered
an impressive body of work that continues to present fresh and
exciting chapters, as is the case with his new release Wide Open
Music. Plumb calls the album “my first compilation of sorts”. This
new disc features the commissioned pieces, new tunes, and some of
his best work from his days fronting Juno award-winning band, the
Waltons.
His
journey has set this artist in a place where today he is at the top
of his game, and experiencing the best of all possible worlds when
it comes to making music. “I consider myself lucky for a number of
reasons,” muses Plumb from his home base in Regina, Saskatchewan,
where he gathered and recorded the material for this new release.
Wide Open Music is a set of songs that are connected by his love
for his home province, while offering up a broad view of what is
and what inhabits Saskatchewan. It’s a recording that also puts a
focus on Plumb as a leader of an exceptionally tight and talented
band, appropriately dubbed The Willing.
“That I’ve been able to survive this long is something
I don’t take for granted and I realize that it has been my
composing that has allowed me to stay in music,” says the artist,
who in the space of a week can turn his focus from a soundtrack for
a film, or writing a tune for a television series, to hunkering
down with his band The Willing. With The Willing, Plumb sees a
group of musicians who have all the artistic variables in place to
build upon the loyal grassroots following that has made Jason Plumb
one of the most credible Canadian artists, prairie variety or
otherwise, of the last two decades.
“I
stopped gauging success by album sales a long time ago, because of
all the types of projects that keep me engaged and challenged. But
I do like to perform and that’s where I live to be, this band is
gung ho to get in front of live audiences,” says the man who has
brilliantly combined what he sees as a “early found love for simple
country music” with his “love for British pop music.” For Plumb, it
is not a stretch to go from listening to a classic Steve Earle disc
to turning up the volume on an XTC album. Those influences can be
found in varying degrees on recent works that he has recorded in
his home province.
Commissioned by the Saskatchewan Roughriders to write a
theme song for the beloved Canadian football team, Plumb presented
Regina with the perfectly titled “Paint The Whole World Green”. The
song has become an anthem in the community, and when Paint The
World Green produced an accompanying video, the tune attracted
almost 175,000 viewers on Youtube. The song spawned Plumb
appearances on national television, including a spot on CTV’s
Canada AM. As momentum built, Saskatchewan Tourism also entered the
picture, requesting a song promoting the province. Before long the
idea of producing a thematic album of songs about Saskatchewan
presented itself to Plumb.
“I’ve been writing about this province for a long time.
Because I didn’t own any of the Master recordings to Waltons’ back
catalogue, we re-cut, re-invented and re-discovered some of that
material,” says the singer-songwriter, whose powerhouse voice is a
great ace up his sleeve. “My instrument has matured, and I’ve
always strived to get better as a singer, “ states Plumb, who can
have complete command of an audience with only his voice, guitar
and songs.
Hundreds of hours of recent concert footage with The
Willing is set to be released in varying formats, including live
performances that can be found on Wide Open Music.
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