That was then and this is now, and now is right where Russell deCarle wants to be.
Fifty years ago in Toronto, the singer and then bass player hooked up with guitarists Keith Glass and Dennis Delorme to form Prairie Oyster — a union that lasted four years before each went their separate ways.
Reunited in 1982 with the addition of fiddler John Allen, keyboardist Joan Besen, and drummer Bruce Moffat, Prairie Oyster subsequently hit its stride commercially, recording eight albums that spawned 10 hit singles, and collecting six Juno Awards and 11 Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMAs) on its way to its 2008 induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
A remarkable run indeed, the significance of which isn’t lost on the 70-year-old deCarle. But as a solo artist since 2010, he’s thrilled to now be “telling my own story,” the next chapter of which he will share at the recently reopened Gordon Best Theatre in downtown Peterborough on Saturday, November 23rd — his first appearance in Peterborough since a February 2019 show at Market Hall.
Ticket to the 7:30 pm show, which features Lotus Wight as the opener, cost $30 in advance or $35 at the door. To order advance tickets online, visit thegordonbest.com.
deCarle has recorded four solo albums since 2012, the latest being The End of the Road.
VIDEO: “Mean Streak” – Russell deCarle
“People say ‘Oh my God, is there something you need to tell us,” says deCarle in reference to the album’s ominous-sounding title.
“It was first song I wrote during the pandemic lockdown,” he says of the title track. “That was the longest I had been home in 49 years. I live in a great spot (the Janetville area) and got a lot of work done around here, but I found myself writing a lot more. I wrote that whole album during that time. That song is actually a celebration of where I live.”
“It is a great place to be creative. If you run out of ideas, there’s no end to the work here. I can clear my head cutting wood or grading my road. I just finished a head gasket on a tractor.”
deCarle is looking forward to the Gordon Best show for a few reasons.
“It the coolest, most under-used venue in Peterborough,” he says of the space, which owner Jerome Ackhurst first opened in 1997 above The Only Café and is now under new management. “I’ve always loved going there and catching stuff … such a nice intimate venue.”
Joining deCarle will be guitarist Steve Briggs and bassist Russ Boswell.
“In 2004, I got a life-changing call from an agent who wanted me to open a tour for Merle Haggard. He said I could bring another player with me and I thought ‘I’ll try Steve’. I liked his playing and I had met him a couple of times. I called him and he took the gig, and we’ve played together ever since.”
Boswell, meanwhile, has performed on most of deCarle’s records.
“He’s a great player and singer who’s played with tons of people. The players I get to work with … I’m surrounded by greatness truly.”
As for what audiences can expect from the trio’s performance at the Gordon Best, deCarle says “it’s really organic.”
“Steve and I, from the first time we played together, have an innate groove together. Everyone says it’s so easy to play with us because we have that and really know where the other is going. And we keep it interesting for ourselves. There’s lots of soloing and we don’t use a set list, so that keeps us interested. I have a large body of original material but I also do some covers that I love to do. It’s always a trip for us and, as a result, the audience picks up on that energy.”
As further testament to Prairie Oyster being well in his rear-view mirror, deCarle says the songs the band remains known for won’t be prominent, but he’ll feature a few songs “in that style.”
“I don’t think it’s fair to the band to do a bunch of Prairie Oyster stuff,” he says, adding “I feel like I’ve really grown musically since then.”
VIDEO: “Goodbye, So Long, Hello” (Russell deCarle / Willie B. Bennett) – Prairie Oyster
“One of my first major (solo) gigs, I was playing at a community centre in Bragg Creek, Alberta. I was pretty nervous — ‘I’ve got a full house here. What if these people are expecting me to do all Oyster material?’ I did my thing. There was a big lineup after the show. People were just happy they came out to see me. It made feel so good and kind of re-affirmed for me what I was doing. I’ve big boots to fill. There’s a real legacy there and that’s never lost on me. I’m really proud of what we did.”
deCarle is equally excited that multi-instrumentalist Lotus Wight is opening the Gordon Best show.
“Just a wonderful human being,” assesses deCarle. “When he asked me if he could open the show, I said ‘Man, absolutely.’ I jumped at the chance. What a great addition. It’ll really add to the vibe of the evening.”
Not unlike most recording artists who tour, deCarle likes doing both for different reasons.
“It’s always exciting to see songs come alive,” he says of the studio experience. “I’ll go into the studio usually with a pretty good idea of the arrangement or maybe what I expect the end result will be. I’m always blown away by the players I get to use, and by my engineer L. Stu Young. It’s always better than I could have imagined.”
“But songs are organic. They grown and they change as we play them live. I feel like we’re just now getting the essence of the new songs; we’re just getting comfortable with those. They’re starting to take on their own life, which is also very exciting for me.”
deCarle adds recording does provide its own satisfying moments, much of that due to his laying down tracks with the same musicians who play with him live.
“We’re pals. We have a lot of fun. It’s not like we play it really safe in the studio. We surprise each other and excite each other in the studio, as we also do live.”
Now, self-assesses deCarle, he’s “singing better, playing better, writing better songs” than he ever has. Considering the volume of acclaimed work that has preceded this stage of his music career, that’s quite a statement.
“And having more fun than ever I’ve had,” he says, adding he has no plans to stop performing live.
“I’m sure there’ll come a time, maybe, but at this point I’m looking forward to starting to book a bunch of stuff for next year. I love being on the road; love touring and love performing more than I ever have. My health is good, my energy is up there.”
Will 2025 bring him back to Peterborough?
“I hope so. I won’t leave it for five years next time. Our first Prairie Oyster gigs were in Peterborough. Dennis (Delorme) was living in Peterborough and that’s where Keith (Glass) and I met him. We played the American House and the King George, places like that. I have a long, long history with that town.”
