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PAGE 4 CanewS SPRING 2006 SPRING 2006 CanewS PAGE 5Songs of the Paddleby Dwayne JamesIf you’ve ever been on a canoetrip where there was a campfireand a guitar, then you alreadyknow full well that folk music andcanoeing is a match made in, well,Algonquin.The producers of the two CDvolumes of Canoesongs are fullyaware of this connection as well,and have taken this relationship toits logical end by compiling animpressive collection of musicdrawing from, and inspired by, thecanoe experience. The launchparty for Volume 2 of Canoesongson April 8 th at the Canoe Museumcaps a labour of love that actuallyspans several years.As author James Raffan tellsthe story, the idea for a compilationof canoe-themed music came tohim many years ago (at the time,he was thinking about a vinyl record),but he didn’t have the abilityor the know-how to execute it. So,the idea stuck with him over theyears, and became more and more prominentin his mind every time he would hear a songabout a canoe.As luck would have it, one day he wasintroduced to preeminent Canadian musicproducer Paul Mills at a party, and he told PaulJames Raffan and Paul Millsall about his canoe music idea. Althoughnothing came of it immediately, Paulremembered James when the two happened tomeet again several years later (James positsthat their first meeting likely stood out in Paul’smemory because of the fact that JamesThe Canoesongs performers from left to right: James Raffan, Paul Mills, René Archibald, David Archibald, Lorraine McDonald, Dave Hadfield, Shelley Posen, NancyWhite, Jerry Vandiver, Bob Johnston.happened to be carrying a life-sized cardboardcut-out of Dolly Parton at the time—I guess itreally is important in the music business to beseen with the right people). Paul asked ifanything had ever come of the idea, and whenit was clear that nothing had, the two decided togo into business together. They formedPortage Productions, and started discussingwhat songs to include on the CD. Jamesalready had a list in mind (he had after all beenformulating it for years), but there was one bigproblem—there were too many songs tochoose from. Right from the start, it was clearthat more than one release was needed to dothe theme justice, so they decided to take achance, and call this CD CanoesongsVolume I, and began to solicit suggestions forthe next compilation even as the first one wasgoing out the door in spring of 2004.This search for future material was aided nodoubt by the fact that Volume I quickly becamea hit! Not only did it sell well, but there were somany requests for the sheet music to the songs,that a companion song book for both Volumesis slated to be published this fall by OFC Publicationsin Ottawa.For Volume 2, James and Paul gatheredmore songs from many of the same artists whomade the first CD such a success, and includeda few more. They gathered materialfrom many different regions in Canada, andsought to embrace several different musicalvariations as well (Although it was decided thatthe songs had to have “folk” roots, this fact wasa matter of some consternation especiallywhen it came to the discussion over whether toinclude Gordon Lightfoot’s Canary Yellow Canoe.Considering Lightfoot’s status as a Canadianfolk music legend, the inclusion shouldhave been a given if it weren’t for the fact thatthe song was decidedly, and uncharacteristicallyfor Lightfoot, too “rock and roll”). Althoughthe two producers had a lot of pre-existing materialto choose from, 8 of the 14 tracks on Volume2 were actually recorded specifically for itsrelease (five of them in Paul’s Millstream studioin Toronto).So, on April 8 th , James and Paul brought ahandful of performers to the museum for Volume2’s release party. The event was very wellattended, and the museum was quite literallyfilled to the rafters with over two hundred audiencemembers spilling over from the seats andonto the steps that lead up to the Grand Portageand beyond.The performers for the evening includedDave Hadfield (who works for Air Canada inbetween musical gigs), Lorraine McDonald(who is actually credited for introducing Jamesand Paul), David Archibald (who sang a verytouching duet with his daughter), Jerry Vandiver(a well known song-writer from Nashvillewho had heard about the compilation andwanted to contribute), Shelley Posen (a curatorfrom the Museum of Civilization whoseamusing song about first experiences in a canoewas the breakaway hit of the first release),and Nancy White (well known for her morecomical fare, White turned poignant with hertouching portrait to Pierre Trudeau in Volume 1,but returned to slightly more identifiable territorywith her highly amusing contribution to Volume2).The concert was hosted by James who introducedeach performer, gave alittle back-story on them, and keptthings light. Paul showed his versatilityas a musician and modestlyplayed a variety of stringed instrumentsto support the singers. Theperformance was interrupted for theawarding of door prizes (generouslydonated by both the Hudson’s BayCompany and Andy Convery atEcho Paddles) and the presentationof a financial contribution from PortageProductions in the form of acombination guitar/paddle with acheque affixed to its back. Afterwards,all of the performers gatheredon stage for a rousing singalongwith the audience of someclassic Canadian camp fire songs.Now, how about some numbers to give youan idea of what this project as a whole hasmeant for the museum? Revenue from concertadmissions along with the donation from PortageProductions approached $4,000, meaningthat the total money raised so far by the projectis over $7,000!! Thank you James and Paul,and everyone else at Portage Productions forthe incredible effort!You’re no doubt wondering: will there be athird volume? Well, according to www.canoesongs.com,James and Paul are still looking forideas, so take that as a good sign!