Jim Byrnes and Mainstreet Muze (featuring Babe Gurr), Deep Cove Shaw Theatre, Jan. 19 and 20, 8 p.m. Tickets $35 available at firstimpressionstheatre.com or by calling 604-929-9456. First Impressions Theatre fundraiser.
Jim Byrnes, West Vancouver Memorial Library, Friday Night Concert Series, Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m. Free admission. For more information visit westvanlibrary.ca.
If you thought Jim Byrnes was about to slow down at age 68, guess again.
“This time of year, you go see your financial advisor at the bank and they say, ‘When are you planning to retire?’” the B.C. blues legend said last week.
“They’re talking to the wrong guy.”
A three-time Juno winner with numerous acting credits from stage and film is surely one of B.C.’s busiest entertainers. He wrapped up 2016 by once again portraying Scrooge in Bah! Humbug! -- the annual SFU Woodward’s take on A Christmas Carol – and had a clash of commitments in a first attempt at speaking with the North Shore News, tied up with some voiceover work.
All this while he’s in the middle of writing a new album that will become his fourth full-length release in the past six years.
Considering the schedule he keeps, it might be a bit of a surprise to learn that a trio of concerts on the North Shore Byrnes has scheduled for later this month – two nights at the Deep Cove Shaw Theatre and another at the West Vancouver Memorial Library – will be his first performances anywhere in 2017.
“I’m at a point now where I’m kind of learning to say ‘no,’ which is something I was never good at,” says Byrnes.
“I can pick and choose a little bit more because I am an old-age pensioner. But it’s a gift I was given and I’ve got to share it. To be able to sing and tell stories and touch people’s lives and emotions, it’s just so important to me, and I guess that’s what keeps me going.”
Rarely has Byrnes said “no” to First Impressions Theatre, for which the concerts next weekend will act as a fundraiser. He played a key role in attracting the funds to get the Deep Cove theatre built in the early 1990s and has been a regular fixture at the venue since, headlining numerous sold-out shows over the years.
Byrnes says it’s important for him to give back to the theatre scene because that’s where he got his start, studying to become a thespian as a university student.
“It’s a great place for actors to stretch out and learn their craft,” he says.
“Particularly in theatre … when the curtain rises or the lights come up, it’s magic to me. It always has been, and I want to spread the word on that and help them.”
That magic, Byrnes says, is especially important to capture and experience in an age when the way people consume their entertainment is increasingly isolated.
“These days, when everyone is sitting behind their computer and watching Netflix, I think it’s very important to keep people involved in a situation where they all come together as opposed to the alienation of sitting at home by yourself,” he says.
Byrnes loves the intimacy of the 130-seat hall, where he’ll be bringing just one other guitarist with him to perform as a duo.
“I like doing the stripped-down thing where you can talk about the songs and where they came from and really interact with the people,” he says.
“We always have such a good time, it’s such a nice, intimate setting and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Byrnes hints that he’ll have a bigger backing band with him for the library show later in the month. He didn’t, however, spill on whether the upcoming performances will feature any of the new material he’s got in the works.
Byrnes has been penning some new tunes for a follow-up to St. Louis Times, his 2014 album that was an ode to his hometown. When he and his longtime collaborator and producer Steve Dawson hit the studio in March, they’ll be looking just a little further south for inspiration.
“Guys like Arthur Alexander, James Carr, Percy Sledge – there’s a certain type of soul music that came out of the Muscle Shoals studio (in Alabama) and out of Memphis that I just love – we’re writing some stuff in that vein,” says Byrnes, describing the recordings to come as a mix of “flat-out blues” and “country soul.”
Three years between albums may feel like a long hiatus by his standards but Byrnes says he wanted to be sure he was ready to record something great.
“I could go into the studio tomorrow and I could record 12 songs and it would sound fine,” he says. “But I want to do something that’s more than fine, and something that really reflects where I am in my life today, reflects what’s happening and I want it to be very special.”
The trio of shows Byrnes has scheduled stand to be special as well. For the two nights in Deep Cove, he’ll be supported by guests Mainstreet Muze, featuring acclaimed songwriter Babe Gurr.
“Babe has got some really interesting stuff and she’s got a couple of great musicians with her,” says Byrnes. “So it will be a great night of music and storytelling.”
