The iconic country music group the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band recently performed in Bonnyville with a sold-out, crowd-pleasing performance.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is known as a catalyst in country music for shaping country rock and American roots music, breaking new grounds in music history.
The group has a number of multi-platinum and gold records and owe much of their success to some of their greatest hits, Mr. Bojangles and Fishin' in the Dark. After nearly half a century, the band is still going strong and touring internationally.
“We're within 10 days of finishing our 90-day tour this year,” said Jimmie Fadden, drum/harmonica/vocals for Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, while in Bonnyville on Oct. 18.
He said the band loves touring and going “where the people are,” in order to spread their music to all their fans. Canada, especially Alberta, is one of their favourite places to perform.
“Canada has some of the best audiences we've ever played for. There's something about Canadian audiences and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band that clicks. There's something there that connects,” said Fadden. “We've played in most places we can play in Alberta.”
He said the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is no stranger to Alberta, having cut one of the band's records in Red Deer.
With such a successful career under their belt already, the band has many songs to pick from when deciding a tour set. Fadden said songs that tell a story and connect with the band are the ones that make it to their set list.
“Mr. Bojangles is a type of song that fits into the realm of our music. It's a story-teller song,” he said, stating it's his favourite to perform. “There's a connection to it. We have to have some kind of emotional connection to what we do and that's a part of how it gets into the set.”
He said no matter how many times he plays the song, it never gets old.
“I'll tell you, I still enjoy playing Mr. Bojangles. After all these years, it's still fun to find myself in the song, feeling a certain way about the song and how nuanced it is,” said Fadden.
“Every song is a little bit like playing a baseball game; you have hits, runs and errors within the context of the song. And sometimes the audience doesn't catch them or you do a little something that's a little special to you that maybe doesn't translate.
“As a musician, you sort of keep an internal game going about how your performance is. So it's never boring. It doesn't matter how many times I play something, it's always a little different.”
He said the band also plays songs from throughout their career, stringing together a story in itself – the story of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's career and success.
“What we've tried to do in our set is to include enough way points throughout our career to kind of stitch the whole thing together thematically. So you kind of get an overview of some of the high points, musically, that we've hit that are memorable for their composition and Dirt Band style.”
Of course, there are some songs Fadden said the band couldn't leave a stage without performing.
“There are songs that are pretty much expected. Mr. Bojangles being one of them, Fishin' in the Dark being another. And in Alberta, Cadillac Ranch being another one.”
He said though there is not a mould one can use to produce a classic or a major hit song like Mr. Bojangles or Fishin' in the Dark, he said Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has always been successful with story-telling songs.
“We're a much better story-teller band than we are a love-song band. It just seems that it's more about something we relate to, good imagery and story line. It's always been a home-mark of the songs that we've chosen to record,” said Fadden.
Fishin' in the Dark, which was released in 1987, is a song many people still know all the words to today. Being so memorable 25 years after it's release date landed the song the title of “Top 100 Country Music Songs” this past June, which Fadden said was “a great feeling” for the band.
“That was interesting in the respect that it was a Dirt Band natural for us. And the fact that it connected so readily was a great feeling,” he said.
He said the band had a number of top five country music hits in the 80s but that song “just seemed to have a little more resonance.
“It seemed to have a broader appeal. You can never tell how something is going to connect to an audience, there's no way that being premeditated in any way is going to get you there. You can kind of put yourself in the ballpark with a good shot, but the audience ultimately is the arbitrator of what they really, really, really, really like.”
He said sometimes the band will think, “Well, it's just sort of a silly little song,” but then it turns out to be a great hit.
“There's really no way of knowing but Fishin' in the Dark is fun. It has good imagery, people relate to it. It's about a pretty simple concept of a guy and his girlfriend having a good time out in the great wide open.”
Still, he doesn't know exactly what it takes to write a classic country song but said an interesting story and strong music is a good start.
“I don't know what it takes. I think it takes good words and good music but they have to fit together in a way that they are natural and in the way they feel. They have to be easily assimilated,” he said.
“I think people like them when they can internalize a song a little easier, you know, when they can hear the lyric and get it, without having to get too far into it.”
