By Max Mertens
Before he began his interview with Luke Doucet Friday afternoon, Nels Cline had one question for the Toronto audience that had gathered to listen to the conversation.
“Are you guys all guitar nerds?” he asked the room, jokingly.
The Wilco guitarist was just one of the big names at this year’s second annual Sleepwalk Guitar Festival, organized by Doucet with help from Six Shooter Records founder Shauna de Cartier, which took place over three days at the Great Hall on Queen Street West. From the title of festival — which takes its name from the 1959 steel guitar instrumental “Sleep Walk” — to the lineup, there’s no doubt Sleepwalk was created by and for aficionados of acoustic guitars, Telecasters and everything in between. For those less knowledgeable about the instrument, the weekend served as a worthy beginner’s education, with clinics, gear workshops and interviews.
The venue’s parlour was used for informal discussions between Doucet and his guests in events similar to the Polaris Prize record salons, where moderated Polaris jury members listen to nominated albums and discuss them in public. Whether it was Cline describing the minor details of his playing style or American country guitarist and singer Junior Brown speaking frankly on the state of the genre (“People that call themselves the ‘saviours of country’ are a turnoff”), there was no topic that was off bounds. Many of the talks began or ended with impromptu guitar jams with Doucet and his interviewees, which lent to the festival’s intimate vibe.
For Sunday’s interview with 2001 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee James Burton, the room was completely packed, as fans snapped pictures with their cellphones and some even recorded the conversation on their iPads (for those who weren’t able to attend the festival, the talks will be available to view on Sleepwalk’s website later). Casually dressed all in black and sporting a black ballcap, the 73-year-old guitarist was lively and warm, despite having flown in from Amsterdam several nights earlier.
Burton spoke about everything from playing on the famous country and western radio program Louisiana Hayride in the ‘50s, to not being given a songwriting credit on Dale Hawkins’s hit song “Susie Q” (“All I really cared about was playing my guitar”), to hanging out with Jimi Hendrix (“He played a lot of great country licks”) and appearing on Elvis Costello’s celebrity talk show with Bill Clinton and Elton John.
While people may have come for the clinics and conversations, they stayed for the performances, which featured axe slingers from Austin (Grammy Award-winning steel guitarist Cindy Cashdollar) to England (world-renowned picker Albert Lee). On Friday night, Nov. 2, Cline alternated between his acoustic and electric guitar for two improvisational pieces with harpist Zeena Parkins (who was featured on Björk’s 2011 album, Biophilia). Doucet took a break from playing congenial interviewer and master of ceremonies to strap on his Gretsch, and lead his band the White Falcon through a set of rollicking, country-rock tunes. Saturday night’s entertainment came courtesy of sets from Lee and Brown, with the only thing more impressive than the size of the latter’s 10-gallon hat being his “guit-steel,” a fusion of a 6-string Telecaster and lap steel guitar.
Toronto’s guitar community was also well represented, with a Sunday afternoon set from Kevin Breit and his band the Stretch Orchestra. A seasoned session musician and mainstay at College Street bar the Orbit Room, Breit told stories both humorous (his wife and children getting a menagerie of pets while he was away on tour) and tinged with sadness (he recounted losing family members when the Titanic sank before ending with a cover of a song the ship’s orchestra played as the passenger liner was going down).
The final event, on Sunday, Nov. 4, was billed as “James Burton & Friends,” which featured local and Canadian musicians, including Peter Elkas, Andy Kim and Doucet’s wife (and musical partner in Whitehorse), Melissa McClelland, performing songs by artists the veteran guitarist backed during his lengthy career.
“They picked these songs, don’t blame me,” joked Burton to the crowd. Highlights included NQ Arbuckle’s raspy take on the Monkees’ “Last Train to Clarksville” and a soulful rendition of “Heartbreak Hotel” from blues and jazz vocalist Shakura S’Aida. For the finale, all the singers joined Burton, Doucet and Lee for a sing-along to Graham Parsons’s “In My Hour of Darkness,” the perfect ending to a weekend full of guitar camaraderie, storytelling and great music.
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