There’s a tone to the recording that really compliments what I am doing now. Big. Echo-y. Greasy. In fact, if I could describe the album in one word it would be greasy.
— Blake Berglund
Blake Berglund, now chair of the Saskatchewan Country Music Association which holds its annual awards in Yorkton this weekend, is also back with a new disc to promote.
“With the new album - like any other album - the style has changed based on the players involved,” said Berglund, now based in Regina, but growing up in Kennedy, SK.
“With ‘Jasper’, I have the band that I’ve played over 300 shows with - we’ve all grown and developed the songs together. It’s no longer just a solo project, even if my name is showcased in its title. We are consistently writing together and developing the sound - I’ve gone from pop punk to pseudo-metal/hard-rock to acoustic to a continued evolution of country music.”
Berglund said he wants to continue to evolve within the broad country genre.
“This progression will continue as I’m developing an interest in ‘sound-scaping’ and manipulating tones to develop sounds that haven’t been heard within the genre,’” he said. “I’m more influenced by producers now than songwriters. I know where I want to go as a writer, I have no idea where I’m headed as an artist - this excites the hell out of me.”
With ‘Jasper’ Berglund opted not to head to a studio.
“We stumbled on the idea of recording this album live,” he said. “It was initially an offer set forth by a beer company to record us and include the tracks in cases of beer. Sounds too good to be true? It was.
“Weeks leading up to the live recording they had “marketing budget cuts” - a couple (expletives) were shot around and the result was an independently funded and produced album recorded live at the Jasper Legion.”
Berglund said he dug into his files for some of the songs for the latest album, then sat down and wrote some new material too.
“It’s a collection of back catalogue and freshly written material - with the intent that it would act as a boot-leg-esque release; college radio gave us the momentum needed to see it as a recording that stands on its own,” he said. “It’s different than anything I’ve done previously and I’m very proud of that - especially sonically. There’s a tone to the recording that really compliments what I am doing now. Big. Echo-y. Greasy.
“In fact, if I could describe the album in one word it would be greasy.”
For Berglund the album continued a long association with the craft of country music.
“My ‘start’ in music is hazy as it began as a three-year-old being put in piano lessons in a parents effort to intervene developing ‘bad habits’ - I’d sit at the piano at a very young age and bang away at the keys,” he said. “It’s quite a beautiful thing to finally have come full circle with the instrument. My piano abilities lead to high school band, still a structured learning process complete with ‘homework’ and musical responsibilities.
“Creative freedom came with teaching myself guitar after hearing AC/DC’s Live at Donington Album - Thunderstruck’s opening riff of hammer-ons and pull-offs gives a beginner guitarist much confidence in their craft. I’ve yet to turn my back on that progression.
“I listened to a lot of what was coming out of Seattle in the 90’s - country wasn’t even on the radar; maybe Achy Breaky Heart, but only because my sisters learned the dance moves.
“The early professional stages of my career came with putting post-secondary education on hiatus and dedicating my time to writing, recording, and touring with a band called The New Weapon - my love of Country was a casual affair and a slow steady build.
“Unfortunately, even a little cliché, being the one to crank ‘Ring of Fire’ at bush parties and backroad affairs.
“I idolized songwriters like Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder, but it was my introduction to Willie Nelson that turned my world on its head - namely, his song ‘The Last Thing I Needed’. I became consumed with his song writing and soon understood that if I was to be a songwriter, Willie Nelson was the standard. That approach has yet to change.”
So Berglund became country committed.
“My love affair with the genre began at Willie and spread to an appreciation for the demands that the writing of country music required,” he said. “The mainstream industry lost sight of this. I continue to discover and appreciate artists that hold the values of what country music stands for at its core.
“As far as current style goes, I would hold myself among artists such as Hayes Carll, The Turnpike Troubadours, and Todd Snider - all progressive within the genre and holding artistry above all else.”
Not that country music performer in Saskatchewan means an easy road to fame and fortune, but Berglund remains dedicated to the trip.
“I appreciate your usage of the word ‘rich’ in the Facebook message - as you are correct, one cannot get rich financially playing within the borders of Saskatchewan, “ he said. “However I think a few of my peers are getting pretty (expletive) close.
“I continue to tour abroad because it’s as a part of the lifestyle as the music itself. I’m influenced more by other people’s lives than my own and the more people I come in contact with, the more proficient I can be in my writing. This works against my grunge rock influences but I’m drawn to the stories of others more so than what I’m doing/feeling on a day-to-day basis.
“The road also fuels my creativity in a way I cannot explain. With very minimal tangible rewards in the music industry, the act of moving forward (literally) in a van makes one feel like they are actually chasing something worthwhile.”
So Berglund keeps writing, recording and performing, with more of all three planned.
“We have many projects to be released following the push of Jasper - an EP recorded in Hamilton at Catherine North Studios, a series of songs recorded at Canterbury Music Co in Toronto, a song recorded with Quinton Blair (Steinbach, MB) under the supervision of Leeroy Stagger (Lethbridge, AB) and a 7” Vinyl with Belle Plaine,” he said.
Check out the new disk, and keep tabs on Berglund’s career at www.blakeberglund.com
