Back to the water by Rick Charbonneau

He spent much of his early summers near Foleyet where both sides of his ancestral family are from. They were trappers and guides, fisherman and foragers who smelled of woodsmoke and maple syrup. The sound of the accordion and piano around the wood stove are among his earliest memories. Rick's voice and guitar reflect upon that northern landscape and those who dwell there.

When he sings, “the sand hills are calling/how I love that melody” or “Seventeen lakes on his trap line/giant trees of birch and pine”, you realize this is not second hand information we are getting, but a witness to the mystic realm.

Rick's family moved on to Wawa in 1963 just as the Trans-Canada highway was linking the country together. But it was the lore and lure of Superior's haunted shore that made the deepest impression on him. He soon followed then Prime Minister Trudeau's advice for young Canadians to see their own country, as he traveled out to Vancouver. En route he honed his carpentry skills, helping construct geodesic domes for a youth hostel. That voyage of 1970's discovery eventually took him to London, Ontario. Here a busking night on the riverboat, Ticker Bell, led to the formation of the “Endangered Species”. This eclectic band took its cue from the times and it’s name, playing their music before it disappeared forever!

The magnetic pull of the north finally exerted itself however, bringing Rick to the Goulais River Valley in the 1980s. Living here under the powerful nearby influence of Lake Superior, Rick renewed his musical connection with the land and the water. With friends from the surrounding backcountry , he formed the band Permafrost giving his own songs a new pulse and verve.

Permafrost opened for the Iowa singer-songwriter, Greg Brown in Traverse City in 1993. Greg remains a strong influence as does Willie P. Bennet, Fred Eaglesmith and James Gordon who produced the 'Back to the Water' cd in Guelph.

The Rick Charbonneau Band has played at the Red Rock Folkfest in 2003 and the Batchewana Folk Festival in 2006. The 'Man-Who-Walks-By-Moonlight' cd is scheduled for a 2007 release.

He and his family operate a unique tourist oasis, Inn the Spruce(www.innthespruce.com) In addition to the splendid accommodations, guided fishing and nature expeditions, Ada's Cedar Room offers the perfect venue for house concerts and late night music jams.

It was at one of those soirees, I heard Rick comment:

“Music can take you to that sweet place, where other modes of transport just leave you off by the side of the road”

After listening to some of the newest releases, this can now be confirmed.

Average Customer Review: