When Gord Bamford was 19 years old he walked into a bank thinking about his future.
“I went to the bank numerous times and finally I got a line of credit,” he says. “That’s how I kicked everything off.”
Bamford, now 37, was seeking a financial boost to help in his pursuit for a career in music, when the bank set him up with a credit line.
“I guess I need to thank my financial analyst for taking a chance,” he says. “It’s kind of rare for a bank to invest money in a country singer.”
Earlier this month Bamford performed alongside country music legend Reba McEntire at the Abbottsford Entertainment and Sports Centre.
“It’s pretty exciting when you get a chance to play with Reba,” Bamford says. “I had a couple of opportunities to play with Reba in the summer and she had asked if I would be interested in playing some more shows if she came back through Canada. Obviously it was an immediate yes for me.”
Tieing in with the dates Bamford has released his latest album, Country Junkie, on Sony Music Canada.
“I really challenged myself vocally on this record,” Bamford says. “I cut songs in different keys and it has given the album lots of depth and it just punches really well.”
Although Country Junkie is Bamford’s sixth album, it is only his second with Sony Music.
“There is some different stuff that long-time Gord Bamford listeners hopefully don’t get turned off from it, but it is not that far out of the box from what I’ve done before.”
“I really believe it is the best album I’ve ever done,” he adds.
The Alberta-based country singer says he tries to write songs that country music fans can connect with.
“We try to write songs that are simple and that do connect with the listener,” he says. “Whether it be having a good time, to family stuff, to love songs. It’s just simple songs that people can relate too.”
Bamford was born in Traralgon, Australia and moved to Lacombe, Alta., with his mother when he was five years old. As a child he had aspirations of becoming a pro athlete, playing hockey and baseball during his high school years.
“Honestly, I never really had the intention of being at where I am today, but I can tell you I haven’t been more happy. I played music just for fun and started singing when I was young.”
In 1994, Bamford placed first in a local radio contest called Search for the Stars in Alberta, and won a recording session in a professional studio. Bamford then began to play in bars and clubs before taking a break from music.
“I played the club scene for a lot of years and my family thought I should get a real job, so I went back to the farm.”
The country singer then dabbled in some electrical work and drove a concrete truck.
“It still wasn’t what I wanted to do,” he says. “So I gave it another shot and the rest is kind of history since then.”
That’s when Bamford went into a local bank and was able to walk away with a respectable line of credit.
“You don’t want to regret things as you move on in life,” he says.
Starting out in the Canadian country music scene was no easy task for the singer. Bamford says he realized early on that he was going to need help from his friends in order to have any long-term success.
“It’s not an easy business. You battle the politics and things. For me doing this on my own; it was all through hard lessons learned and people that come and go, who you think are there for your best interests but they aren’t,” Bamford explains. “The only way I was going to have success was if I found some of my good friends to come help me. Today, I have my best friend as a business partner and manager and he controls our companies. He bleeds Gord Bamford.”
Since receiving a helping hand from the bank and his friends, Bamford has gone on to receive countless award nominations, which includes two Juno nominations. In late September, Bamford took home five Canadian Country Association Awards, including Songwriter of the Year, Album of the Year and Single of the Year.
“It’s awesome,” he says. “It feels great. I am very humbled by it but I never measure my success on awards. I measure my success on growth and ticket sales and people buying your music and making a difference in people’s lives.”
The Lacombe, Alta., resident has opened for the likes of Tim McGraw and Kenny Rogers.
“I’ve met some great people and worked with some of the best people in the country genre,” he says.
Bamford has also made connections with some professional athletes. Toronto Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia appeared in Bamford’s music video for “Is it Friday Yet?”
“I met J.P. in Hamilton at the Country Music Awards,” Bamford says. “As a big baseball guy myself I had a chance to meet him. He is a huge country music fan and we kind of just hit it off and became friends.”
Arencibia and Bamford have maintained a solid friendship, occasionally hunting together.
“He’s a great guy and has great values. Obviously he’s doing pretty well right now, he’s engaged to Kim Perry of The Band Perry. He was wanting that to happen for quite some time, so I’m happy for him.”
Six years ago, Bamford founded the Gord Bamford Foundation. The organization originally began as a golf tournament, but has since blossomed into something much bigger.
“I started that with a bunch of buddies with the idea of a golf tournament in my hometown of Lacombe, Alberta,” he says. “We started this golf tournament and put it together and hoped that everybody was going to show up.”
The Gord Bamford Foundation aims to give back to youth in small communities across Canada. The foundation works with a variety of charities, such as the Big Brothers Big Sisters, Make A Wish Foundation and Ronald McDonald House and has raised over $1.5 million in six years.
“Everything that has really been part of my life I’m starting to give back to,” Bamford says. “Everything that we give back to has impacted my life in some sort of way. Having three children of my own, the children are our future and it is very important. It’s been pretty rewarding to light up those kid’s faces.”
Bamford’s foundation is currently donating over $100,000 to children’s hospitals across Canada, including making donations at Jeneece Place in Victoria and at BC Children’s Hospital. Bamford explains that he has seen first-hand just how powerful music can be for kids.
“In Edmonton there was a young man whose chances were not good and I’ve seen the impact of what music does and what kind of therapy it is for kids,” he says. “Since that day it’s been life changing for me and this young man is now in college taking a degree in music and his whole life has changed. It’s probably one of the most rewarding and best things I’ve been a part of.”
For more information on Gord Bamford visit www.gordbamford.com or follow @GordBamford on Twitter.
