Local boy makes good: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra hosts Canadian singer Ian Thomas next weekend.

With Thanksgiving well underway this weekend, I'll look ahead to next weekend and touch on a concert coming up in the new Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra season.  Entitled A Life in Song:  Ian Thomas and the HPO, proud Hamiltonian Thomas and his band will perform with the HPO conducted by Darcy Hepner.

The concert will premiere his work A Life in Song with live orchestra, and it's only fitting to be taking place in Hamilton, where Thomas has lived and worked for many years.  The music offers audiences a rich cross-section of Thomas' life as a singer-songwriter from the 1970s to today.

We all know some of the great hits Ian had back in the 70s; hits like Painted Ladies, Long Long Way, Pilot, Hold On and Right Before Your Eyes.  What won't be familiar will be the arrangements.  This will be Thomas hits in formal dress if you will, or at least a tuxedo jacket paired with blue jeans and sneakers.

I had a chance to talk to Ian earlier this week by phone and email, and I asked him about the new work, A Life in Song.  He describes it as a "cross-section of my songs from 45 years of writing."  Yikes! I thought, has it really been that long?  "Well" he continues, " the tell-tale signs of dated arrangements and vintage production are gone."

Yes, we all remember those songs in the original form, really a product of the age they were written in.  But the arrangements indeed belie their age; now with better production values at his disposal and the ability to reflect on life since those days long ago, the old songs take on a sheen today like newly burnished gems.

But Ian, I asked, you've got a lot of life left in you; what else would you like to do with your life you have not already done?  He replied "Actually I am feeling, at this age, not to be presumptuous about how much time I have left.  I do have three books in the works and as crazy as it sounds, after months of writing for orchestra I want to set my amp at 11, plug in my guitar and write some serious rock 'n' roll.  I have often felt the same way after many a film score.  My brother said once that creativity is as much an affliction as a talent.  I think that rings true.  Even when I am trying to relax, I still write.  It's like breathing, it's how I howl at the moon and all I will ever know."

Makes sense to me.

I asked Ian about growing up in Hamilton, a city that has undergone massive changes over the years, and what to his way of thinking defines Hamilton today.  He said "Hamilton has always been very multi-cultural, in part because it has a higher influx of immigration than many (other) cities in Canada.  This has often meant that culture in the city was quite scattered.  But it seems in the last decade, there has been a migration to Hamilton of so many artists and musicians seeking cheaper housing.  This has resulted in the art crawls and an awakening in the arts community at large...It is wonderful to see this happening on many fronts."

Anyone who worked in Canadian radio back in the early 70s like I did remembers the push to make Canadian content more mainstream for radio listeners by instituting the M-A-P-L logo and classification on recordings of the day.   M-A-P-L, or simply "Maple" referred to the parts of a recording that would actually qualify as Canadian content, and two of the four categories had to be Canadian in order for the song to be classified as Canadian content.  M stood for music; A for artist; P for production and L for lyrics.  If only one was present after a particular date, the song would not be considered Canadian content.

The concept did have its detractors, of course, with many of them citing Canadian content regulations being thrust down broadcasters' and the public's collective throats in this way was not the solution to the problem.

Ian has a different perspective on the debate, of course, being a Canadian singer/songwriter who made his mark in the 70s and beyond:  "Can-Con quite simply fed my family" he said, adding "One could make a living, albeit a comparatively meagre one, from Canadian radio play.  I know my family lived on airplay residuals for a time.  I am so grateful to (Pierre) Juneau and the government of the day.  Canada soon began to be proud of their 'own', without the stamp of approval from the USA first.  Now we even have bands who are huge in Canada and do nothing much in the USA at all."

All that being the case, I asked Ian what he would most like to be remembered for.  He quickly offered "As a good Canadian songwriter, grateful for all this incredible land we live in has given me.  Canada has offered me a wonderful life and a safe environment of moderation from which to observe the world and sing about it."

Sounds like Ian plans to sing about Painted Ladies living life Right Before Your Eyes for a long time yet.

For tickets to the concert A Life in Song:  Ian Thomas and the HPO next Saturday evening, October 17th at Hamilton Place, call the box office at 905-526-7756 or go online to www.hpo.org.

In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

October 10th, 2015.