Bringing his own style to Yellowknife
Glen Vienneau
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 15/00) - One glance at his right hand and an oversized ring of Muddy Waters is all it takes to give away his source of inspiration.
"Buddy Waters is the man," said veteran guitarist Ray Lemelin of B.C.
As the hardcore Lemelin fans know, when he hits the stage throughout the month at The Cave Club, a little bit of the legendary Buddy Waters still lives.
But, it does not make him a blues man, he said.
"I didn't grow up in the south, I wasn't influenced by that. I'm influenced by the sounds, the phrasing, the influence like what I call the flavour of the music," said Lemelin.
His connection with the blues has a unique meaning for the 44-year-old French Canadian.
"People think of blues and think of some distraught man sitting on the porch with a old, beat up guitar, a jug of wine and the dog, it's not like that at all.
"In the same breath, you can be hurting and crying, but rejoice because everything is going to be alright. That's what the blues is about and you can do that with dignity,"
"When I go somewhere, I make someone dance and forget their stuff."
It is a more modern and fun feel of blues he hopes take with him in the studio when he starts recording his third CD on Dec. 4.
But writing songs and lyrics for his upcoming CD is not all he has been doing since his last visit to Yellowknife about a year ago.
Besides writing poetry, he has expanded into writing a pilot for a TV show and writing a short story which he hopes one day turns into a play. But the time came to get out to find that enthusiasm he enjoys in fans such as those in Yellowknife.
"The only difference between you and me is that your dancing and I'm making you dance."
The friends Lemelin has met here have made Yellowknife more like a home for him; friends and bar staff who have made coming here easier to say "yes."
And doing a Yellowknife gig also meant playing with other local musicians such as bandmates Pat Braden on bass and John Telgen on drums.
"I met some musicians here that I totally enjoy playing with as much as I do anywhere in this country. They get a chance to hit the stage and to play with someone that they don't get to play with usually."
