Behind The Curtain: David Wilcox

To the uninitiated reader: it makes sense to explain the purpose and the process of “Behind The Curtain”. In each edition, this article strives to bring readers something enterprising about the featured artist; something that provides deeper insight, but has yet to be put ‘on the record’. The artists featured here are ones who possess a strong, well-documented professional record that can be easily accessed - and it is strongly encouraged for readers to seek out more information via other means. The biographical content in this column is provided to justify the investigation for this particular feature; it is impossible to provide a complete bio within the confines of a column. The method for each edition almost always follows the same process: after years of research, the curiosities that have yet to be quelled about the artist in question are investigated by going straight to the source. What readers find here is the information and insight that results from having a direct conversation with the featured artist, which provides something more about the artists at the core of the Canadian Blues Collective.

For this edition of “Behind The Curtain”, the artist of interest is singer, songwriter, guitarist and dynamic frontman, David Wilcox. Although warmly welcomed as a member the Canadian Blues Collective, it is safe to say that Wilcox has been embraced by multiple genres throughout the course of his professional career (which spans over half a century, and is still going strong). He’s been identified as Rock, Blues, Folk, Americana, R&B – and other genres - over the years, however; it’s a fair and true statement to say that his music is not confined to any one genre in particular, but rather, his music transcends categories and labels. When examining the music industry as a whole, it is not typical for an artist to find commercial success comparable to Wilcox’s without a “clear cut” genre classification; this is especially true when one considers the fact that Wilcox has been, by my own observation, releasing music without the confines of genre labels for roughly half a century. It is this observation that served as inspiration for years of study, and a direct conversation with David Wilcox; gaining insight about that intangible “thing” that’s seemingly threaded throughout his career can only be found by looking within his bio.

When examining his career, it’s important to acknowledge what is considered to be the beginning of his documented professional record: in 1970, at the age of 21, Wilcox replaced Amos Garrett on electric guitar, serving as guitarist for the Ian Tyson show, a national television program (originally named Nashville North, aired on CTV), where he backed artists such as Anne Murray, Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich, and more. This portion of Wilcox’s bio certainly marks an identifiable beginning to his professional career in music, however; knowing what he was doing musically prior to the Ian Tyson show creates the first curiosity. Prior to replacing Amos Garrett and performing on national television, Wilcox fits an entirely different description as an almost exclusively acoustic guitarist who was steeped in the Toronto Yorkville Folk scene. Objectively, that’s a substantial contrast, and it makes sense to find out, from Wilcox, if being on the Ian Tyson show was a transformative part of his career:

“I am seventy-five now, and it would be one of the top two or three transformative moments of my life. I started out on the Folk scene, and played in Bluegrass bands, and in the bars, and when I was about 20, I had a friend who had a pawn ticket on a Fender Telecaster; he was going to lose this guitar, so I bought it, and that was my first electric guitar. Shortly after that, I tracked down Ian Tyson’s phone number, and wrangled an audition, and I got the job. It was a bit intimidating because up until that point, I really hadn’t played much electric guitar, and I was on stage with some seriously good players, and now I was making what, at the time, was an awful lot of money to me. Being on television was fabulous too, because even if you only get two seconds of airtime, people notice. Through my time on the Ian Tyson show, I learned a lot, being on stage with musicians that were older and more experienced than me. I was also discovering that the electric guitar was really fun and interesting…it was most definitely transformative.”

Another portion of Wilcox’s career worth investigating is a part that isn’t written as a landmark in his biography. The first full length recording (“Out of the Woods”) under his own name was recorded two full years before it was picked up and released by a label. Given what is on record about the music industry at the time (this pre-dates the DIY era, Disco was prevalent, record companies had major clout, commercial tastes are changing quickly) and Wilcox’s music (hard to categorize by genre, it’s his first solo record), it’s arguably quite remarkable to be picked up by a record label two years post recording. Knowing if pursuit, discovery, luck, – or something else – is at the core of this portion of David Wilcox’s career will provide readers with deeper insight about him as an artist. Wilcox offers:

“I pursued it. Disco was what was big at the time, and nobody wanted the music that I was playing. I approached lots of labels and asked them to listen – some, I’m sure did, and some I’m sure didn’t. Eventually, a small label signed it, and it did well. It sold its twenty-five thousand copies, so it convinced a bigger label to sign us.”

For reader’s reference, “Out of the Woods” features recognizable songs such as “That Hypnotizin’ Boogie”, “Do The Bearcat” and “Bad Apple”, and became Wilcox’s first record to reach gold status.

Another thing to consider while looking beyond the press release and bio is David Wilcox’s solo career, as a whole. As someone who has been a professional musician for decades, Wilcox has seen the landscape of the music industry change in almost every way during the course of his career. When asked what he thinks is a main contributing factor in a musician's professional longevity, he says:

“With respect to contributing factors in anyone’s longevity, I think the main one is to provide something that is unique from anyone else. If an artist has a quality that is unique unto them, that will keep their longevity.”

This portion of the conversation also clarifies some of Wilcox’s thoughts about the music industry with respect to whether it’s easier or harder for an artist today. Although he’s been framed as someone who thinks it’s easier for artists to navigate the music industry today, Wilcox takes the opportunity to set the record straight:

“I’ve been misquoted as saying that it’s easier for artists today; I don’t think it’s easier, but there was a time when just a few record companies were the ones who had a lot of control over which artist’s music got heard – or promoted. I personally know a lot of artists, who I won’t name, who are just fabulous musicians, and every bit as deserving as people who got picked up and promoted by a record company. Today, it’s not easier, but it’s not just a few people at a few companies deciding what gets heard and promoted.”

Although the conversation with David Wilcox ventured to other places, there is enough put on the record here to draw a conclusion about what intangible “thing” is seemingly woven throughout his career. From the purchase of a telecaster via a pawn ticket, to the Ian Tyson show, to pursuing a record label for two years, to playing music that is arguably without genre classification, there is one intangible quality that is present throughout….

Objectively, the common thread is summarized in one word: pursuit.

As is the case with all instalments of this column, there is much more to know about David Wilcox that cannot be covered within the confines of this particular forum. The objective in this feature has been to investigate and discover something more about Wilcox that offers readers insight into how the intangible aligns with his documented career. As this edition of “Behind the Curtain” draws to a close, I trust that readers of all varieties have gained something more about the artist of mention, and it inspires further invesyigation. Every artist featured in this column has a biographical foundation that cannot be covered here, so it is always encouraged to find out about the music and career that substantiates the credibility in these conversations. This article can be found each month as a regular contribution via the Sound Café with the intention of providing a deeper insight into the Canadian Blues artists who are at the core of the Blues music Collective.

Touring blues musician, Erin McCallum's formal post-secondary education was in media studies (news, radio), graduating from Humber College in Ontario, she went on to be mentored by Canadian News Hall of Fame inductee, Robert Holiday, and she is a regularly published writer in music and investigative journalism, having focused on music for the last six years. Erin has an exclusive monthly column in The Sound Cafe featuring musicians and industry professionals from across Canada who work predominantly in the Blues & Roots genres.

Erin McCallum. Big Voice. Big Sound.

www.erinmccallum.com

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