Stephen Fearing is one of those artists that people hear at one point and remark on how good sounding he is; both his voice and his instrumentation. They promise themselves to check him out at a later point but then promptly forget to. This promise is only remembered upon hearing Fearing again. This is unfortunate for the career of Fearing who, by the excellent quality of his work, should be far more popular than he is. But I think that this is, perhaps, more telling of the music industry than of his craft.I first hear Stephen's music at the Winnipeg Folk Festival back in the days when Joyce and I felt unencumbered enough to spend the long weekend sitting on tarps in the rain, eating bagels with cream cheese and cucumber slices, smoking American cigarettes, and bobbing our heads as we listed to some pretty amazing international folk music. I followed him around from stage to stage, trying to get as close to the front as possible to watch his hands. I would occasionally close my eyes to be haunted by his voice.
I heard him for the second time not long after when he opened for Bruce Cockburn. What a night that was. Two infectious artists in one night. It would be hard to choose who infected me more that evening. It was after this reminder that I was determined not to let his name slip from my memory.
Tonight I am listening, once again, to his fingers slide buttery over the strings and produce in me a feeling so strong that I want to call it holy. Set apart.
Some of you have had feelings similar to this.
7 comments:
I'll be checking him out! I love folk music too! :) There really is nothing like listening to live music. I close my eyes too for a few moments to take it all in. So alive!
I hope you do. I've just picked up a couple of his older CDs from ebay for $6.00 each. Great stuff.
Your first paragraph describes me exactly. I still promise to get some of his music to listen to while I paint.
My own Stephen Fearing story: I was introduced to his music by a friend whose boyfriend was a musician buddy of his in the Okanagan. I think I even went to a Vancouver gig with her once in the '80s. The name rang a bell. Eventually I made the connection: his sister Jane was my friend and taught me how to skip rope. Then the Fearing parents split and their mother took them off to live in Ireland. I remember Stephen and his bike.
Sorry, no Bruce Cockburn stories. :)
Andrea: Welcome back...I've missed you.
Your Fearing story is very cool. If your story was mine, I'd email him and say, "hey...remember me? How about we have lunch, and maybe I could play backup on your next gig?"
I have a rich fantasy life.
I love it. Funny thing is, I've just picked up the guitar in the past week and have been attempting to make sense of the instrument. It's addicting...
Never heard of him, I am ashamed to say but will be looking him up very soon!
Andrea: I hope the learning goes well for you. I have been approached by several adults this season who have asked me to give them lessons. This is the first year in a long time where I will have no students...I've decided that I need a break from it. I want to start a casual "jamming" group where guitar wannabes get together twice a month, drink whiskey, and play some tunes just for the hell of it. Sounds a lot more fun to me than lessons for kids that don't practise.
Cream: No shame necessary. There are so many fantastic artists in this fine world. It's impossible to keep up with them all...and why should we even try?
You're a good man already, Cream.
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