If John and Vicki Cranfield were beach people, this story would end right here.
Fortunately for local live music fans, the Peterborough couple likes to explore when on vacation.
Such was the case during a trip to historic St. Augustine, Florida in early 2015.
It was there, in that city’s quaint downtown, that their senses were first awakened to the sounds and sights of singer, guitarist, and songwriter Dewey Via (pronounced Vi). So impressed was Cranfield that he invited Via — urged would be more precise — to bring his abundant talent to Canada for the first time.
In September of that same year, before a packed Nexicom Studio at Showplace Performance Centre, Via headlined at venue’s former Elite Blues Series. Now, three years to the day, Via returns to the same space on Tuesday, September 11th. Tickets to the 8 p.m. show cost $30 at the box office or online at www.showplace.org.
VIDEO: “Soliciting The Affections (Of My ‘Ole Lady)” – Dewey Via
“John and Vicki were repeat visitors (to the Mi Casa Café) and we struck up a friendship,” recalls Via, 55, of making the Cranfields’ acquaintance.
“They really liked the music. John kept at it … ‘Why don’t you come to Canada?’ He was involved at that time with the blues thing at Showplace. I also went to Midland and did a performance there. We have a pretty good following from up that way that comes to St. Augustine every year. We’ve made a lot of good friends from there, so it’s nice when can go back up and have a good time hanging out with everybody.”
Cranfield says curiosity brought him and his wife to the Mia Casa Café, but a deep appreciation of Via’s talent and onstage persona has brought them back every year since.
“We wandered around St. Augustine and kept hearing his name,” says Cranfield.
“Walking down the street one day by this pub, we heard this amazing voice and guitar and went in. He’s very talented but he’s passionate too. I’ve never seen him just deliver a song with no passion. There’s a saying down there when people are talking about him, that he should do an album called Better Than. Every time he does a cover, he puts his own twist on it or he combines it with another song and everyone comes up and says ‘That was better than the original.'”
A native of Virginia, Via was a plumber before trading in his toolbox for a guitar case full time. Soon enough, St. Augustine, with its bustling live music scene, beckoned.
“I did my family thing and career earlier and decided in my later years I want to try and play music,” says Via.
VIDEO: “Wake Me Up” – Dewey Via
“I’m not trying to be a star or anything. I want to make a decent living at it and we do okay. St. Augustine is a good place to be able to do that. There’s this cool vibe here. It’s akin to living near a theme park without really living near a theme park. It’s the nation’s oldest city, so we draw a huge number of tourists every day of every year. A lot of them come for the music and the art.”
Describing his music as “organic,” Via says his talent “comes from inside,” adding “I don’t use any gadgets or anything. I might run a little delay on the board once in awhile but that’s about it. I try to keep it interesting for myself and the audience.”
A typical set sees Via serve up a wide mix of genres.
“I’m doing some Lionel Ritchie and bluegrass tunes and a Bill Withers song and then a John Prine song … Americana I would say. But I also do The Beatles, The Who, stuff like that. I also do a fair amount of original material. I just released a double album that I recorded about a year or so ago with The Moses Creek Band, a live project. I prefer live stuff. That’s what people really want to hear. They come to buy an album and they say, ‘Hey man, we want to hear what you do here.’
According to Cranfield, the plan was to bring Via back to Peterborough last year but Via’s wife Tara — they married in June prior to his first Peterborough visit — was in the midst of battling breast cancer.
Via says she’s doing “really well” now” and, as a talented artist herself, remains the creative anchor of his merchandising.
Along with his Nexicom Studio show, Via will perform a gig at the Publican House Brewery and play at the wedding of the Cranfields’ daughter Kim. As well, he’ll head to Midland again for a gig there. In between, he’ll indulge his passion of fishing. Last time here, he got out on Chandos Lake.
“I was surprised how much the countryside up your way looks like Virginia,” says Via.
“The people were amazingly nice and respectful of the music. In Canada, it seems, the audience is quiet. They don’t want anybody talking while you’re playing. That’s so different from here.”
VIDEO: “Sleeping on the Floor” – Dewey Via
There’s another difference, notes Cranfield, and it bothers him to no end.
“It’s the same situation as here, in that musicians don’t get paid by the bars,” Cranfield says.
“What we noticed down there is Dewey has a big tip jar. Most nights it’s full. Not just ones, but twenties, tens, fives. That’s how he’s making his living. We go to the Black Horse and nobody tips. It’s just not done in Canada. I don’t know why that is.
“You go for dinner, a couple of beers, so you’re willing to pay for that but you don’t pay for the music. I think it’s a sad statement. If I’m there for three hours or even an hour listening to somebody play, I should be paying him. The Americans just do that. Musicians here are playing for fun basically.”
VIDEO: “Small Town” – Dewey Via
His trek north aside, Via says his St. Augustine performance schedule — he plays four shows weekly at the Mi Casa Café and one at a sports bar — suits him just fine.
“I get a lot of advice about going on the road and doing this and that but it would have to be awfully appealing,” he says.
“I enjoy my job and being here. I get to see so many different faces. We meet a lot of friends here. I drive five minutes to work. It gives me the opportunity to fish a couple of days a week. I am pretty blessed.
“I was a plumber for a long time and that’s great work. I loved it but I wanted to try and do this. It wasn’t easy at first. I had to keep my day job for a long time, but I eventually got to where I could just do this.”
Now working on another solo CD release — he says it will “probably” be a live project again — he and wife Tara may hit the road at some point and “maybe flip over across the pond” to Europe. Wherever his music takes him, be it St. Augustine or Peterborough or Midland or points as yet unknown, the opportunity to bring his music to people is something he says he’ll never take for granted.
“It’s always humbling,” says Via. “My job is to make people happy. I don’t do politics or religion or anything in my show.”
“You come to a show and we’re going to make music and have a good time, have a few drinks and relax and leave the world behind for awhile. I see all the smiles when I’m playing. That’s a huge reward right there. They’re here (in St. Augustine) on vacation to enjoy themselves. My job is to help them do that. It’s very gratifying.”
“I could push and press but I really have no delusions about being a star. I’m just here to entertain people and that’s what I do. I’m looking forward to doing it as long as I can.”
And if the Cranfields continue to bring their friend back home with them, is Canadian citizenship a possibility?
“Who knows? It’d sure be easier to get across the border.”
For more information on Dewey Via, visit www.deweyvia.com. To check out Showplace’s full fall and winter lineup and for ticket details, visit www.showplace.org.
