PRAIRIE GRASS, PRAIRIE SKY 30th ANNIVERSARY
The obvious interest in the 1975 album Prairie Grass, Prairie Sky to fans of Connie is that it features her first studio recordings of her career -- "Spring On The Prairies" (the first song she ever wrote, according to Connie herself on her television show) and another early effort, "Grandmother's Song".
But having had the good fortune of finding the record, I not only was treated to Connie's debut, but also to simply a great listen, which I'm pleased to share some of here. The songs may have a common theme of agriculture and prairie memories, but the music is timeless. If I didn't know this album was recorded 30 years ago, I might have thought it was from yesterday. I suppose that's the appeal of folk music...
'...and prairie folk music -- WOW!' , exclaims Roberta Nichol, whose wonderful voice graces five of the album's songs. Other musicians featured on PGPS include Rob Bryanton, Glenn Koudelka, Gary Amusch, Dave Mahood, Geoffrey Ursell, Georgina Betts-Arntz, perhaps an uncredited Rody Blancher and Gerry Golla, and the reigning national fingerpicking champ and recent "Wood River Hall" guest Bob Evans.
The project was the brainchild of Ursell's, who was looking to capture the special brand of folk music that was emanating from the prairies at that time. He enlisted the help of fellow guitarists Evans, Koudelka and Bryanton on bass, all from Regina. He also scoped out the city's three or four venues that made up the Regina Folk Club and managed to recruit some more local talent, including percussionist Arnusch, fiddler Mahood, vocalistists Betts and Nichol, and a recent college graduate who had just returned to her hometown, a guitarist and budding singer/songwriter named Connie Kaldor.
However, Regina in the mid 1970's was half the
population it is today, and the city was not nearly as developed. There
was no professional recording studio there to develop this project. Ursell
had found a modest setup at Collienwood Recording Studios in Esterhazy -- about
a three hour drive from Regina.
'So every day over the period of about ten days, I think, we'd drive out there in the morning, put in a day of recording, and then drive back to Regina that night. Got a bit tiring...' recalls Bob Evans. I suppose the musicians couldn't wait to get going after being cooped up on the road for three hours, which could explain the energy beaming from many of the songs.
Esterhazy was a small potash mining town, and the studio was actually in the basement of the engineer's house. The equipment was adequate, but the setup did cause some minor inconveniences, as Rob Bryanton recalls:
'...you would occasionally have to stop recording because the engineer's mom would need to come downstairs to get something out of the freezer or put something in the wash."
The results of the recording session yielded odes to
farming life
("Spring On The Prairies"; Koudelka's "John
Deere") nostalgic trips through history and childhood in the prairies (Koudelka's
"Wagon Train"; Ursell's "Bright-Red Geranium Waltz") songs
of love and reflection (Bryanton's "Let It Grow" & "Mountain
Song"; Evans' "Distant Friendships") and a few down-home country
dances (Evans' "Peasant Rag"; Ursell's "Boharm Breakdown")
Then, of course, there was Kaldor's first rendition of "Grandmother's Song", which Rob Bryanton watched her perform:
'Grandmother's Song is still a great piece of musical theatre! That cut was actually somewhat hard for us to record, as her extremely wide dynamic range was too much for the studio's vocal compressor, so the engineer had to manually adjust the record levels as she sang to avoid distortion.'
Indeed, you can hear a short lapse before Connie can be heard again after singing the climatic part of the song ("...I've a will, and I've decided I'm going to stay...")
The rest, as they say, is history. Well, maybe
not a very well-known history. The album was released locally and through
the tiny label of Caragana Records. However, Bryanton and Ursell both have
clean recordings of PGPS -- you never know if it may be released again. In
the meantime, we celebrate Saskatchewan's centennial as a province and the
album's own 30th anniversary with the offering of songs you'll find at the end
of this article.
Speaking of where they are now...
Bob Evans has continued to wow audiences with his
fingerpicking prowess, earning him the aforementioned national champion
title. He's just released his latest album The Voice In The Grain,
which is available at www.BobEvansGuitar.com.
He also continues to host his own radio show "Six Strings & A Million
Possibilities" on Regina Community Radio CJTR and at www.ctjr.ca
Sunday mornings at 10 local time (which is Mountain in the summer, Central in
the winter.) Bob and Connie recently teamed up again on "@ Wood River
Hall", performing the aforementioned rare live version of "Spring On
The Prairies."
Rob Bryanton is the head of Talking Dog Studios, a
very
successful audio post-production company responsible for the sound and
music of many Canadian television shows including "@ Wood River Hall"
and CTV's "Corner Gas", a comedy that takes place in Saskatchewan and
was the most popular Canadian-produced program last season (and was filmed right
next door to WRH at the Regina Soundstage.) His technical work has earned
him numerous Gemini nominations (Canada's TV / cinema award), but his passion
still lies with music, composing for hundreds of television shows and films, and
producing albums for Valdy and good friend Bob Evans.
Roberta Nichol continued her love for singing and
playing guitar for various artists into the 1990's, when she released a couple
of her own albums, including a performance with The Regina Symphony Orchestra, The
Prairie Alphabet Musicial Parade, a children's educational album which
perhaps foreshadowed 
her other passion, as she now teaches grade school in
Regina. But according to Roberta, music will never just be tossed by the waste side:
"...I always tend to have little tiny thoughts buzzing around,
or I'll wake up at night with a rather nice melody -- so I guess she's not dead
yet!' "
Geoffrey Ursell has lived all over Saskatchewan but now resides in Saskatoon, where's he's a professor of English. Since PGPS, he has leaned more towards authoring, having written numerous books and plays, which has earned him accolades such as The Persephone Theatre National Playwriting Award. He eventually founded his own publishing company, Coteau Books. As for television, Geoffrey created the children's series "Prairie Berry Pie", about a magical place housed in an old grain elevator! He continues to write, produce and compose.
Glenn Koudelka continued the musical route, releasing his
album "Painted Lines" soon after PGPS. He also contributed music
to "Toil And Trouble", a documentary
about the bloody labor-management
dispute involving miners of the Estevan-Bienfait coalfields.
Gary Arnusch has continued to provide percussion, notably for the aforementioned Glenn Koudelka album, "Painted Lines", as well as for jazz artists Alastair Kay and The Don Griffith Sextet. Currently he's a constructor contractor, but still manages gigs around Regina.
Georgina Betts has continued her singing career, performing with Gina Dean & Scoundrel, and the septet Lloyd Arntzen's Classic Jazz Band.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find much info about Dave Mahood. If anybody knows what he's been up to lately, please drop me a line.
Click on a link below to hear a selection from "Prairie Grass, Prairie Sky" with lyrics:
GRANDMOTHER'S SONG - Connie Kaldor
THE BRIGHT-RED GERANIUM WALTZ - Geoffrey Ursell with Roberta Nichol
DISTANT FRIENDSHIPS - Bob Evans
MOUNTAIN SONG - Rob Bryanton with Roberta Nichol and Georgina Betts
BOHARM BREAKDOWN - Geoffrey Ursell
Special thanks to Bob Evans, Connie Kaldor, Rob Bryanton and Roberta Nichol for their contributions to this section.