Astrid Young

Neil's sis Astrid Young is 17 years younger than her famous half-brother Neil but their passion for music makes for a strong bond, BRAD WHEELER writes

BRAD WHEELER

August 18, 2005

The half-sibling of rocker Neil and the full-daughter of the late author and sportswriter Scott pops into a candy-blue open-roofed roadster. Key into the ignition; sunglasses are on. Her ride is a 1992 Lotus Super Seven -- a minimalist machine designed to manoeuvre around a race track, and to do little else. With a wave of her hand -- bye-bye -- she's off and running, speeding away from the Front Street building where her father held a desk so many years earlier. The part-time singer-songwriter and musician had dropped by for this interview, and now she's off to take care of other business.

And that's how Astrid Young rolls.
Young spoke on a number of matters -- her music career, mostly, but also of her celebrated family members. On that front, it's been a troubling year. In the spring, Neil underwent surgery to address a brain aneurysm, and in June her father died at age 87. "It all happened at once," she says with a sigh, placing a cellphone and pack of cigarettes to her side as she sits down at a table. "Both situations were part and parcel of uncontrolled high blood pressure, and that runs on my father's side of the family." A series of strokes that began in 1997 had sent the acclaimed author of 1962's Scrubs on Skates into a downward spiral that included periods of dementia. Unable to put his thoughts to paper, he hadn't written for a few years. Still, he maintained his dignity, "right up to the end," according to his daughter. "He was happy, still had his sense of humour and was very robust physically."

Neil's recovery, on the other hand, seems to be full. After the hospital stay, the iconic Canadian returned to Nashville in May to resume work on A Prairie Wind, a country-flavoured album in the vein of 1992's Harvest Moon that's set to be released on Sept. 27. Tonight and tomorrow, Neil and Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) begin filming on a full-length concert movie, set at the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry. The performances are private -- the bulky filmmaking equipment would intrude upon audience sightlines to the point that selling tickets was out of the question.

"He's been working on that project for some time," Young says, scooting closer to her interviewer. "Tinnitus," she says, referring to a condition marked by ringing in the ears. "Both Neil and I suffer from it."

Ironically, she could probably blame Neil for her malady. It was her older brother who bought her a Fender amplifier for Christmas in the mid-seventies. "I tortured the neighbours with it for two years," she recalls. Raised in Toronto, she had studied classical music before joining local rock bands. In 1985, she took to the road, just as Neil had done years earlier, and landed in Los Angeles. There she bartended and pursued a musical career, signing up as a singer with a heavy-metal band, Sacred Child. In the nineties, she returned to Toronto where she formed the power-rock trio iST.

After the break-up of the group, Astrid headed to California's Napa Valley, where she performed solo-acoustic shows, recorded an album (Matinee) and involved herself seriously in the wine trade. A couple of years ago she returned to Toronto to be near her ailing father, and now she splits her time between a west-end loft and a farm in Prince Edward County. There, in addition to her musical endeavours, she works as a wine-maker's assistant.

It's easy to imagine that Astrid gets asked about Neil all the time, but her responses don't reveal any frustration. On the contrary, the short, bleached blonde is rather chipper, answering questions with marked enthusiasm, especially when it comes to her close bond with Neil.

"We know what the other person's thinking," she says, referring to a half-brother 17 years her elder. "It's a sixth sense, it's a genetic connection. I know what he's going to say before he says it, by the look in his eyes. I know what he wants."

She claims the two sit the same and stand the same, but they share little in the way of physical resemblance or personality traits -- though Astrid is petite, and the sleeveless faded denim jacket she sports suggests a biker-mama type. She has bright blue eyes, is vibrantly personable and laughs often -- chipmunk-like. (Reportedly, Neil is more reserved.)

Her black T-shirt is emblazoned with a logo, Bass Bitch Brand. It's the prototype for a line of fashion merchandise and trinkets that she's developing with her boyfriend. "Bass bitches have it all, and they're in demand," she says, poorly explaining the reason for such an extremely niche product line." She has a few other commercial prospects, and one wonders if her wealthy brother is propping her up at all. "He's helped me in the past, in small ways," Astrid answers. "If he wants to invest in so - The Globe and Mail