Bumpkin bop

>> Representing the roots with the Be Good Tanyas

by LORRAINE CARPENTER

Vancouver's Be Good Tanyas have come a long way from playing thrift-shop gigs for clothes and busking outside the Lilith Fair. Now it's Stateside radio play, Rolling Stone coverage, Sarah Harmer tours and a Nettwerk deal. With their warmth, simplicity and ease, it follows that the trio's fusion of classic country, folk and gospel on their album Blue Horse (originals with a trad cover or two) should gain a broad appeal. The Mirror spoke to guitarist/vocalist Frazey Ford about the roots revival, her Montreal past, and that odd moniker.



Mirror: So where'd the band name come from?

Frazey Ford: It's from a song called "Be Good Tanya" by this hobo kid from San Francisco, a friend of the band. It's about not doing what your parents want you to do, just running away and being a musician. It's something we all went through at different periods. What's interesting about being a musician is that everyone thinks you're a bum until they hear you on the radio or see your name in the paper. Then they're like, "Oh, we're so glad you followed your dreams."

M: So you were in a band in Montreal?

FF: Yeah, it was an experimental, improv trip hop band with some francophone guys in the east end of town. I loved Montreal, but I was really broke living in Mile-End and my boyfriend was in B.C., so I went back to go tree planting and lost contact with my band. But I called them when I was in Montreal a couple of days ago and it was a funny coincidence. They were actually sitting around listening to looped tapes of my voice, which they're still using! And they're coming to the show. I'm really excited.

M: Do you associate yourself with Vancouver's country-folk scene?

FF: There's a strong roots scene there, but our connections came more from living in rural areas like the Kootenays in B.C., where everybody plays guitar and has all-night jams. There's also lots of draft dodgers, so there's a huge folk scene. That's really where Trish [Klein] and I were trained, and Sam [Parton] was part of a huge underground network of folk musicians in the States.

M: Do you see a growing trend towards roots music in general?

FF: I think there's always been a large roots scene, it's just that the mainstream has decided to adopt it right now. There's a bunch of things I saw happening, one of them was that album Daniel Lanois did with Emmylou Harris. I grew up singing country music with my mom and listening to Emmylou Harris, but suddenly all my friends got into it. Also, I think the Buena Vista Social Club album opened people's ears to acoustic instruments and layering that's not in traditional rock format, and it was the other end of the spectrum from electronica and dance music.

M: And Moby scored big bringing the two together.

FF: Definitely. If you keep digging back further and further to the purer form of what you're into, you're always going to come back to blues, gospel and traditional country. To me, that music is the strongest because it's the source, so the fact that people are appreciating it just seems natural.

With Iz Cox at Cabaret on Friday, Nov. 30, 9pm, $10