Catch the intimacy of Colin Slack and his restrained, yet compelling acoustic fingerstyle guitar mastery. He has been playing the Monday Musical Residency at The Cove and his final one of the month is this coming Monday, May 27 from 5-8 pm. Come in and lend an ear! web link

Q: I remember the first time you played here, it was a slow but cozy winter night. Then, you started to play some fingerstyle guitar that really drew in the ears of the room. Who was your true inspiration to play that way?

Colin Slack: Fingerstyle guitar. When I started to learn to play guitar I played an acoustic. It was an older Yamaha with a wide neck and strings that seemed very high at the time. I would sit on the front step at my parents' house and try to play by ear. As memory serves, I was doing Neil Young songs, someone I really like. I was and remain a large fan of James Taylor as well. His style is predicated on finger picking, done to support the stories he weaves into the songs. Playing that evening at the Cove it was a small crowd or persons who seemed to appreciate the music. I find it always is. I had been writing new material and took the chance to play some. The songs are done without a pick. They give you (me) a chance to really connect with the guitar and to allow the instrument to kind of sing for itself. I think that speaks to people. I know it does to me.

Q: You have a great past record called "Reasonable Secrets" and you are working on a new one called Unshakeable Hope" which features your brand of songwriting. What is your process for writing tunes? Do you centre it around a guitar hook?

Colin: Songwriting. I am not a prolific writer. For me, songs revolve around lyrics. I keep a pad of paper in my car. If something is on my mind I gravitate to the car or go for a walk. I find that I am struck by things. I tend to write confessional songs, be they on experiences I have had or that others I have encountered either on a personal level or through the workplace. Once I've sketched a lyric out I get away from people and sit with a guitar. Melodies present themselves. I don't really know how it happens. I feel very blessed to be able to write. Having an audience respond positively to a song and take the time to chat about to me about it is a privilege. I have met so many people over the years that way and I cherish those encounters. The title track form the album I am working on is UnShakeable Hope. Like so many others, I experience times which can feel difficult. I'm sure we all do. I've encountered people who, perhaps against the odds, possess an unflagging ability to find hope. They hang onto that hope, share it with others and move forward. Life is a gift. Sharing it, alongside a sense of hope, I think is important.

Q: It seems like you have really asserted yourself back into the music scene? Where did that sense of urgency come from? I envy you, as for me, it's a question of having more time.

Colin: Asserting myself back in the music scene. I used to play gigs frequently either as a solo performer, a member of a duo or with a full band. I enjoyed all of those times. I stepped back from working with a band in an effort to spend more time with our family and also as I was working full time in the Health Care sector running Not-For-Profit Charitable organizations. Recently I have stepped away from work after a 30 plus year career. I wanted to focus on recording my new LP and to get out and play. I am very much enjoying it, and the schedule has been quite busy. I feel like I have people in my corner and they are encouraging.

Q: Working with guys like Jeff Callery and John Wilberforce is really fun! Always positive and love please an audience. What are some things you have learned from them?

Colin: Jeff Callery and John Wilberforce. I met this pair in High School, and have remained close with them since. I played at Jeff's Wedding in the Church and we connected a lot. John played bass on my first LP, Reasonable Secrets. Each of them have taught me different things. John is a very solid player and also an inventive one. He provides options and suggestions and I find that essential. Jeff has done lots in that respect too. I think the most important thing he has done has encouraged me to remain true to myself. This is particularly true around lyrics. They are both positive people and great to have as friends.

Q: You must have some stories of the opening slots when you performed with the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Doc Walker and Paul Langlois. What led to those opportunities and what did you take away from those experiences?

Colin: Performance stories. Opening for Bruce Cockburn was a thrill for me. I am an enormous fan. I consider him to be one of the Country's premier poets. I was incredibly nervous meeting him backstage. He was welcoming and kind. He asked us to sit down and chat which we did. As he is a born again Christian I anticipated he would be a bit dour and restrained. I was shocked as he used a lot of, um, colourful language. He was talking about visiting war torn areas with Princess Diana and seeing mine fields that stretched for miles. He was passionate about peace, and certainly communicated the need for people to quit whining about petty matters when others were in more dire straits.

Doc Walker was also a thrill! As they were about to do their sound check, I overheard the guitar player mentioning how the sound tech guy really must have cleaned his amp up as it was spotless. It was my amp. I told him to go ahead and use it. He apologized and decided to use his own. Doc Walker is a country band. I thought Doc would warm up doing some country flavoured lick. He played songs from the Jazz/Progressive Band Phish. I think my jaw hit the floor. The whole band was incredible. They watched from the sidelines and cheered us on. These opening slots happened at the Festival of the Islands in Joel Stone Park (Gananoque). The Cockburn show had an estimated crowd of 12,000. Doc Walker would have been slightly smaller but not much. The experiences gave me encouragement to take a chance but the real take away was to follow your heart and play with passion.

Q: Seems like you are in a position to continue staying committed to writing constantly now. I would think that is pretty liberating! What is the next stop on the musical journey for you?

Colin: Next stop. Maybe the Moon, especially if it's made of cheese. I am working towards completing UnShakeable Hope. Once it's complete I would like to release it and showcase it. I'm also hoping to expand by doing work with others. I've appeared on other people's recordings and I think it would be great to do more of that. I will be doing some shows as a duet with Jeff Callery over the summer and I would love to sit in with other musicians too. I don't get a chance to play electric very often and I miss that. Having access to a pool of musicians who like different styles of music and are open to trying things has really helped me over the years. Having some more time to write and be creative is great and I appreciate that more than I can say. Posted: May 21, 2024 Originally Published: May 21, 2024