Like many people who travel to the Rockies to take in the sights, explore a little and see what the area has to offer, Dustin Jones has headed west for the first time.
Jones, along with the Rising Tide, rolls into Banff to play the Rose & Crown, Sunday (June 23). Jones (vocals, guitar) will be joined by the brothers Jaaskelainen, Sheldon (fiddle) and Marshall (upright bass) and Andrew McMullen (drums), who’s filling in for Mikey Hawdon.
The group hails from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. and offers a Celtic-infused blend of… Jones likes to let people figure things out for themselves, genre-wise.
Suffice to say, though, that on its Western Canada tour, Rising Tide is playing venues as diverse as pubs like the Rose, The Blues Can in Calgary, Dauphin, Manitoba’s Countryfest (with the likes of Carrie Underwood, Little Miss Higgins and The Sadies) and, when they get back to Toronto on July 5, will take part in the Vans Warped Tour (along with Billy Talent, Hey Ocean, Art of Shock, Beebs and Her Money Makers).
“It sounds a little twisted,” said Jones, “but the best thing is, we kind of cross genres with our sound. I don’t know what to call it. But the whole reason we’re heading west is because we got the gig in Dauphin and I figured it we’re out there we might as well take a couple of weeks and go further west.
“I’m looking forward to it. The brothers have been out there with The Wild Turkeys a couple of times and they said they love it and I hear it’s beautiful. I’ve been touring for 15 years and I’ve never been out west, it’s too far to drive, so this is a first for me.”
Jones, a former member of punkers Inner City Surfers, said that band was winding down a few years ago when he and his wife went to a Wild Turkeys (country) show. “I said ‘I like these guys (Jasskalainens), I’m taking them.’ We did some jamming, then started touring right away on the same circuit I used to have (hence the meshing of country and punk). We started playing some pubs, then, with my contacts, started going everywhere.”
Along with going everywhere, mostly in Ontario, but also to the Maritimes and the U.S. East Coast, Dustin Jones and the Rising Tide have crafted three albums, 2009’s self-titled effort, 2011’s Whiskey Will Be Our Sun, and last year’s, Dancing Our Demons Away.
Originally, most of the songs were penned by Jones, but as the band spends time together, everyone is getting more involved. I bring most of the songs to the table, but then everyone adds something. And with Sheldon’s fiddle, we find a lot of people love to stomp their feet.
“And when you have the brothers singing too, with a Beach Boys harmony thing, it’s pretty amazing. They’re amazing singers and musicians and come from a family where everybody is into music. I’m blessed to have them for sure. They also do their own thing as the Boot Hill Crooners. Playing with these boys is like having angels for singers.
“We’re all based in Sault Ste. Marie and I’ve got a record label going here. We’re trying to start an empire here in Sault Ste. Marie. We have a bunch of really good musicians who like to tour and play. Like most Canadian musicians, we do a fall circuit, then play bigger shows and festivals in summer and winter write songs and pop in and out to play.
“Last year, The Tide spent about seven months on the road. We all do this full-time.”
Along with drinking songs, Tide tunes range from the up-tempo “Alright” and the punky “A Day Will Come,” songs about life on the road, to the contemplative “Long Road Home” and sizzling fiddle on “Dancing Our Demons Away.”
