Boxcar Dan and the Vagabond Strangers

Not since the days of Hee Haw have I seen so many hillbillies in the same room. In a stark contrast from the much classier “Fascinating Ladies” opening night I attended the previous week I left my polished shoes at home and strapped on my duct-taped flip-flops n’ wooly socks, threw on me Lumber Jack shirt, & fixed my hair up all fancy with Crisco to head into town and hang out with some of the local trash. (Gotta love goin’ back to yer roots.)

Last Friday The Guild hosted a special video launch for the new video “The Way We Do’er”. Fans were encouraged to show up dressed up like rednecks, hobos, and carnies for this event which was also a fundraiser for the Red Rock‘n Roller Derby who provided some of their athletic ladies on wheels to cameo in this extremely well produced music video. Not only was the majority of this crowd of over 70 hoosiers & rollers skaters dressed for the occasion but there was also carnival fun & games along with some specially minted money provided by the Bank of Boxcar Dan.

I don’t make a lot of predictions but I can’t say I’d be shocked to see Boxcar Dan & The Vagabond Strangers http://www.reverbnation.com/#!/boxcardanandthevagabondstrangers as household names this time next year, and not only in PEI either. (Look for that trademark pig logo in your LCC, too.)

Primo banjo pick’r “Kentucky Slim” did a round of hilarious introductions as I arrived midway through the set of this colorfully ragtag country-fried band. Following that was a tearful ode to bass vocalist & Founding Father of PEI Hoboism, “Cornbread” & his beloved 18-wheeler in the “The Wreck of the Edna Fitzgerald” which brought back memories of an old song by the legendary Gordon Lightfoot (sorry, I can’t quite put my finger on the title;). After that they pulled down the screen and released the exceptionally well-made brand new video for the first time ever!

The Legacy
I originally met ol’ Boxcar last year at David Skinner’s Lucas-Raine Recordings. I couldn’t quite fathom why this group of rather talented musicians including guitarist Matt Harper, drummer Jon Holmes (who I’ve seen playing some really complex stuff with the ultra-classy Count & the Cuban Cocktail), and other members of the Charlottetown band Fugato (Jon, Mark Steele (vox & guitar) Devin Stevenson (vox & guitar) Peter MacDonald (bass) were spending their time & money in a recording studio with material that seemed like such a load of bollocks. The track were working on that night was called “When the Bender Ends” which pokes fun at the (hopefully) occasional night out on the bottle that just seems to drag on for days. They took shots at wasted pogey cheques, deadbeat dads, and some of the various methods of throwing your life down the toilet.

Last Wednesday I coaxed Boxcar Dan out of his backwoods shack or wherever he’s livin’ these days for a drink to get a little preview about what to expect from the video launch as well as hear about how things have been going with the band. “When we started out, things wasn’t serious.” He said between swigs, “then we did some shows with Donnie Dumphy & the boys and things really started a-catchin’ on.”

They’re currently working on a 15-20 song album chalk-full of ditties ‘bout them there “shilly shitchiashins” that are far from mainstream but undeniably fun and catchy!

The Dream Team
I have to admit I was absolutely stunned at the quality of this video. It really goes to show that you don’t need to go to Hollywood anymore to get professional results. IMAC helped provide funding for this thing. Jemima Sutherland, Ben Rayner (both in Tons of Money), and Graham Putnam (The Popalopalots) made some appearances. Funny & talented Jason Rogerson, (Sketch 22) who recently had a video called “Lucky 7” featured at The Atlantic Film Festival was the director along with Adam Perry behind the camera. Harmony Wagner (also with Sketch 22) of Periscope Pictures did a fantastic job as producer. Rob Moses from Ponderings was also working behind the scenes. The video included some beautiful shots of from various Island locations including The Brackley Drive-In & The Al!bi (check out the Contest for a $50 gift certificate!) where owner Chris Coupland was kind enough to host an ‘open’ video shoot last month.

This one’s a riot! Despite the mildly mature (???) lyrics I’m sure you’ll love it…
- ONRPEI.ca