Del Barber’s folky country songs have been compared to those of the late greats of songwriting history.
The Manitoban has five critically acclaimed studio albums under his belt and has picked up nominations for JUNO Awards, Western Canada Music Awards and Canadian Folk Music Awards.
He talked outdoor inspiration, farm life and personal growth with Fuchsia Dragon.
51°µÍø: Where are you in the world? Are you on tour already?
Del: I am in Whitehorse in the Yukon. I played a show here last night and am going home for a week off, then the tour really starts and I’m going to be pretty well gone until Christmas. It’s going to be about 25 to 30 dates and more are dates always getting added.
Fitz: So take me back to where this all began. When and how did you start with the music?
Del: I never really intended to be a musician. I didn’t sit down and decide to become a touring musician. It just sort of trickled into existence or a career. It just was this slow-moving stream that just kept going out, then suddenly I was dropped out of university playing shows, then it was paying the rent, then the mortgage, then I’m looking back like, ‘How did this happen?’
I just kept walking in one direction. I never really thought it was up to me, the people kept telling me to keep doing this and coming to see me and that was it. Maybe people value the stories I’m telling and it is ultimately up to them what kind of things I make.
Fitz: Who were your influences growing up?
Del: For the most part I’m never really sure anymore. I feel more influenced by the landscape, especially Manitoba and western Manitoba. I feel that has always been magnetic to me and I have always been writing about that. Musically, I have been influenced by John Prime and always try to listen to as many songwriters and takes on the world as I can. I am more influenced by outdoor activities than anything. I love to fish and hunt and hike and ride bikes. I am more influenced by outdoors than any songwriter or artist.
Fitz: Does your music reflect your music taste?
Del: Yes. Some people make music nothing like what they like. I think I really, for the most part, am making music based on the music I listen to. I try to involve myself in the centre of the heart of Americana, what the heartbeat is of that. I really love classic old country and listen to that as much as anything but as much as I try I can never sound like that.
It’s just the idea to try to be yourself in front of the microphone. It is hard to know when you are being insincere. Sometimes you have conversations with someone and have that weird feeling that you don’t know why you said things you said and thinking about arts like that with the microphone, know who you are and how you want to sound.
Fitz: Tell me a little about the new album
Del: The new album is called Easy Keeper, a term that comes from the farm. I live on a farm with my wife and baby daughter and that’s a term to describe a horse or cow that has given more to you than you give to it. People and animals in this world are an absolute pleasure to be around that never take. These are the people that inspire me. They are the opposite of high maintenance. It’s the kind of person I want to be. The album is a collection of stories using the metaphor of the farm term. It’s going through things with joy that you might not necessarily love doing. I don’t think it’s celebrated much in our society.
Fitz: How have you grown as an artist?
Del: The hope is that I’ve grown. I just want to get better at the craft. It is just putting in time and doing the work. Ultimately I can reflect, I think I have grown and become a more direct writer, more accessible, trying to be less poetic and vague. That’s how I would mark my change in age.
Fitz: What’s your favourite thing about being a musician?
Del: I love it all. The first thing that comes to mind is I think of Jasper and I haven’t come to play for a decade and there are a few places in the world I have been able to develop really meaningful friendships, more like family, and Jasper is one of those places. I feel like I have a second family in Jasper. There are people I call when things are not going so well and people I call to celebrate things. That is the biggest gift of being a touring artist - having a way to really fall in love with people. I feel like I get to be a better person because of places. Especially Jasper, I feel like I have a real relationship and it’s something I value so much.
Fitz: What can we expect from your show in Jasper?
Del: Something I have been doing at the Legion, bringing in some friends and playing songs and giving people a show. I do a storytelling show in theatres and can rock out and people get whatever they want. Usually in Jasper people seem to want to party. I am really looking forward to coming back and seeing my friends.
