Fiddler, resurrected?

Ashley MacIsaac rises from the ashes

by MATTHEW HAYS

Ashley MacIsaac sounds exhausted on the other end of the line. Talking from a Toronto hotel room, he's ranting, raspy-voiced, about a lawsuit he's launching against the Ottawa Citizen. One of their critics, as it turns out, just didn't get the irony in a spiel MacIsaac went off on during a May 1 concert in the capital city. Gags about SARS and the Asian women who allegedly spread it - or so went MacIsaac's venting - just didn't go over so well. Ashley was back in the shit again.

And on this particular phone call, he wasn't doing such a good job of defending himself. "I'm looking for vindication," he explains. "I'm very upset about what the Citizen wrote. They can come to my show and see something positive. They were looking for something negative. The things I was saying that night were clearly defamatory. But I've got the intelligence of a comedian."

Talking to MacIsaac about yet another scandal can't help but feel terrifically sad. It was but seven years ago, in late '96, when the young Cape Breton fiddler appeared capable of no wrong. Discovered by Philip Glass and a number of east coast noteworthies, all of whom vacationed in Nova Scotia, MacIsaac was Canada's youngest, sexiest, most-rapidly-rising star. But with the notoriety, came the press, and MacIsaac had a penchant for saying the wrong things at the wrong time to the wrong people.

It was right about that time that I was getting my foot in the door of The Advocate, America's leading gay and lesbian magazine. I pitched Ashley as a story; they didn't bite, until Melissa Etheridge announced MacIsaac would be the opening act for her '96–'97 tour. A phone call later and I was on my way to New York for a lengthy interview with the man himself.

The truth pours out

And during that interview, I did ask MacIsaac about all the rumours. In particular, his penchant for pee. Ashley, as it turns out, loves to have men piss on him. He discussed that with me. And that rumour about a 15-year-old boyfriend? I didn't have to bother to ask; he was right there in the room with us, eager to get his name in the article.

That was about the beginning of the end of it for poor, dear Ashley. Directly after that interview, he ventured back to Toronto where he spoke with a wide-eyed Maclean's reporter. That whitebread Canadian institution was going to put MacIsaac on their honour roll, but upon hearing about urine and the forthcoming Advocate piece, promptly booted him off their A-list and instead wrote a piece admonishing him for his wacky ways.

Not a bad way to start out, actually. A seriously nasty scandal can do wonders for a young career - you know, that desperate old cliché about being a bad boy. Sadly, MacIsaac's antics didn't quite stop though. He ran head first into mess after mess after mess. He had what appeared to be a breakdown on stage at a New Year's event (one he was headlining); there was crack use, fallings out with seemingly countless managers, agents and labels and personal bankruptcy.

But in the grand career arc, as seen in movies like Raging Bull and Boogie Nights, MacIsaac managed to get it all mixed up, like a Godard movie. MacIsaac managed to hit rock bottom before ever attaining true superstardom.

Rise up

He's trying to pull up his tartan socks (yet) again, this year releasing a new self-titled album (from Decca Records, and it's actually quite good) and an autobiography which hopes to explain all his woes away (Fiddling With Disaster: Clearing the Past, Warwick Books, $18.95). In the book, MacIsaac proclaims himself a largely misunderstood visionary.

He may be right, but after spending so much time courting the press with his fiddler savant act, MacIsaac's got a lot to get over. Essentially, MacIsaac has become Canada's own Elizabeth Taylor; his talent for juicy scandal, his ability to generate saucy headlines, has superseded any artistic talents he may or may not have. For at least a decade or so, he'll be known as the piss tank who likes to make inappropriate racist jokes (and later claim they were ironic) while angering audiences who gathered to see him fiddle.

In light of such a bizarre media career, does MacIsaac have any regrets? "I have no regrets, none whatsoever," he insists. "I'm a pretty good guy." Calling his book "a great bit of fiction," MacIsaac's most eager to talk about his pending lawsuit against the Citizen (the paper had no comment on the incident). "When I performed in Ottawa, I was trying to put on a hardcore performance, like the seedier ones I'd seen in New York in the early '90s. I wanted to show people a darker side, a different one. I wanted to show people, even ones with that upper snootiness, that they too are not beyond racism."

MacIsaac claims that the charges of racism have meant that some far-right groups in the U.S. are now championing him on their Web sites. "Now I've got these freaks who support this kind of shit writing about me, misinterpreting who I am. How's that for sick? It's not a fucking simple thing when a fucking national newspaper says this of me, that I'm making light of racism. This country's made up of all kinds of people." MacIsaac expresses anxiety that his shows may attract the wrong kind of people (i.e. neo-Nazi skinheads) and that he may require additional security when touring.

MacIsaac's voice shifts to a lower octave, ever more gravelly, as he goes on. "I'm sick and tired of being labelled a fucking loser. The media take too many liberties. They sell too many newspapers with this crap. I've made more millions than most people will have in 10 lifetimes. I won't open my mouth to the media anymore, it's not worth it.

"Am I racist? Anyone who knows me knows that can't be true. This country is made up of all sorts of people; we're all welcome. I'm very proud to be gay, that's why I do these gay pride events across the continent.

"Was I being racist in what I said? Anyone working on TV for the past 25 years would see that it was cutting edge. Look at Dennis Miller. I sell papers, that's all. That's why they write the things that they do. They should be more concerned with actual journalism and avoid the malicious stuff.

"Where did it ever get them?"

Ashley MacIsaac will perform at the Scène du Parc (Place émilie-Gamelin) on Sunday, Aug. 3, at approximately 7:30pm (showtime may vary; please check the schedule available on site for precise time)