With songs that extol the virtuous beauty of Canada’s natural landscape, odes to the colourfully unique characters of the nation’s past and present, and a true passion for telling stories about their home and native land, Trent Severn has become an important emotional and cultural touchstone for all those who love the nation atop the North American continent.
Continuing the deeply poetic legacy of true ‘red and white’ pioneering troubadours such as Stompin’ Tom Connors, Ian and Sylvia Tyson and Gordon Lightfoot, the eminently talented southern Ontario trio planted their Maple Leaf flag deeply in the firmament of the Canadian roots music scene with the release of their self-titled debut album in 2012. Through regular touring in communities of all sizes, they continue to win over fans from coast to coast with their bracingly authentic acoustic-based, story-centred brand of music that can best be described as ‘Canadiana’ as pure as maple syrup.
The two-time Canadian Folk Music Award-nominated Trent Severn was founded on a remarkable creative kinship between three well-established musician/songwriters: Emm Gryner, Dayna Manning and Laura C. Bates. As individuals, they have carved out varied and well-respected careers, each with their own loyal and growing fan bases. They came together out of a shared desired to work with one another and by their common affinity for all that makes Canada special.
Their second album, Trillium, due out on October 9, sees Gryner, Manning and Bates even more fully embracing their ‘Canadian History and Harmony’ vibe with 10 new, beautifully crafted, profoundly evocative songs that are at times wistful, melancholic, contemplative, joyous but always thoughtful.
What binds them all together is a strength of spirit that comes from not just the spiritual sturdiness that the members of Trent Severn draw from their Canadian identity and that of its landscape and people, but also by their superior songwriting skills, their lush, darkly sweet vocal harmonies, deftly layered onto unmistakably memorable melodies. The songs of Trent Severn can’t help but touch your heart, stir your soul and inspire a feeling of community.
“I know I felt a little bit of pressure this time. Once I saw what the first record became and how it came together I was really proud of it and really thought that we accomplished what we set out to do and did the material justice. There’s a different perspective when you’ve done something, see it integrated into the live show and turn out so nice. So it really was a challenge, for me, to make sure we have the right songs to continue on that path and really complement the first record,” said Manning.
“And another thing that was different this time around was that we had the luxury of seeing what worked at shows. We would watch and see what connected with the audience and what sorts of things engaged them. That impacted how we approached the songs and even the instrumentation we used on the songs,” added Gryner.
Manning produced the album, which also fits in with the band’s commitment to being a truly grass-roots DIY outfit, free from the encumbrances of outside industry influence and the compulsion to pull into lockstep with what the ‘tastemakers’ say is hip.
“I have been doing a bit of production over the years: I have produced commercials and have produced promos for radio stations and different things, including songs for my own albums. But this was actually my first full-length album and I felt I was ready to do it – I knew I could do us justice,” she said.
“We knew that Dayna could do this really well and she did. We all knew it would work out and the result is amazing. We’re so happy with how the album turned out,” Gryner said.
A common theme in Trent Severn’s music is a longing for and appreciation of home – whether it’s one’s home country, province or the small communities in which the band members now live.
“I made the move back to Ontario recently and, really, the whole album has an Ontario thread to it. There is something to be said for coming home after living elsewhere for a number of years. I lived out west for a while and came back to my hometown. I finally bought a house in my hometown and I feel like I live in paradise every day. That theme of going away, growing up and experiencing live in different places is very present on this album,” she said.
“The seed for the song Take Me Back was planted when I was living and working in Fort St. John B.C. and then later at one of our gigs Laura and I were sitting on the patio waiting for sound check sipping beers and the idea came up again. By the end of the night we had worked up some material and then got together later and worked on the concept of our failed attempts at living in other places and shipped it off to Gryner and she put her spin on it and knocked it out of the park.”
“Dayna and I have both done that. In St. Marys, where I live, there are people who are just dying to get out but I think it’s the most amazing place, and that’s after living in Montreal, L.A. and New York. We all see the beauty and appreciate different things in the smaller places that are the real heartbeat of Canada,” Gryner added.
An appreciation for the little details and interesting stories that exist in every community across the breadth of the land is also at the heart of Trent Severn’s entire musical ethos. Much in the way Stompin’ Tom immortalized Sudbury, Tillsonburg and individuals like Bud the Spud, and Big Joe Mufferaw, Manning, Gryner and Bates also choose to celebrate the scenery, folklore and personalities that inhabit the communities that make Canada tick.
“We love to hear the observations from our audience and they will write to us about what their experience is. And that’s why this band is so interesting to be part of. And that feeds our desire to write more and more songs that tell the real-life stories of Canada,” said Gryner.
“And the other thing is our ears are always open, even just going to the gas station. One line in the song Goodbye Sadness from the new record was inspired when I stopped for gas at the Esso in St. Marys and the attendant said, ‘yep, frost bites or fly bites … it’s one or the other.’ And I worked that into the song.”
“I get thinking about things like the pancakes at a little eatery in Thunder Bay, reading the memorial to the miners in Cobalt, across from the theatre. We thrive on that stuff and getting to experience those things in everyone’s hometown. We feel we are really lucky to get the opportunity to do that and it infuses our music with wonderful, real-life moments,” said Manning.
She also pointed to the song Haliburton High which was inspired by a long drive through cottage country and trying to annoy her fellow traveller by singing every blue road sign along the journey. It turned into one of the most atmospheric and almost symphonic pieces on Trillium and will no doubt be a concert favourite for many years to come.
And there is nothing truly more ‘Canadiana’ than a well-spun railway yarn – something that has not really been a part of “That’s Laura’s baby. Her sister travels all over the world hopping trains. So Laura wanted to honour that and also touch on the history of the train in Canada. I thought she knocked it out of the park. She really did it in a class way and not a hokey way,” said Manning.
For Manning, the most personal song on Trillium is King of the Background, a touching and heartfelt tribute to fellow Stratford, Ontario native Richard Manuel, of the legendary roots-rock group The Band.
“I wanted to do a song about Richard because he is so important to everyone around us. He learned to sing in a Baptist church
here in town with his brothers and I learned to sing in a Presbyterian church in town as well. We all knew of Richard through our fathers; when he committed suicide in 1986 our friends’ dads were his pallbearers,” she explained.
“In the song I wanted to touch upon what it must be like to be as talented and amazing as he was and have to share the stage with Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Bob Dylan and Ronnie Hawkins. He was just so far down the list in terms of notoriety but yet so integral to The Band and absolutely ran the background for that scene that they painted. I wanted to give him a real honourable tribute in an artistic way.”
Gryner believes that Trent Severn is more than a band – it is a conduit for an exchange of ideas, stories and memories. She, Manning and Bates want to build an almost collaborative relationship with their audience.
“We want to be part of the legacy left behind by the Lightfoot, Tyson and Stompin’ Tom. We take it really seriously and we really love our country and want to share that with our audience and we want our audience to share their love and their stories with us,” Manning said in agreement.
“We started with the notion of starting a band that focused on great harmonies and playing stripped-back, acoustic music that we enjoyed. As we toured the first album, we found that the people would bring something to the shows. I know it sounds cheeseball, but it’s like we are growing with the audience and we are taking whatever they have to give us and turning it into something too. I am always surprised at how our songs impact people,” said Gryner.
“I would like this to be a people’s band where the audience almost has a say in the music.”
With songs about trains, small town charms, unique Canadian personalities, a tribute to the iconic Canadian film Fly Away Home (co-written by ultra-light enthusiast, artist and filmmaker Bill Lishman) and, yes even a song about the sweet spring nectar maple syrup (Stealin’ Syrup) Trillium sees Trent Severn hitting their stride as musicians, songwriters and harbingers of all that is good, great and beautiful about the land that we all call home.
For more information on the band, or to download/order Trillium, visit www.trentsevernband.ca or visit them on Facebook.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
