I was born and raised in Saskatchewan, for which I am most and mostly grateful. I moved to Hamilton, Ontario to attend university and master foosball and bridge, and then to Toronto to complete a doctorate (and slipped noticeably in bridge and foosball skills). Yes I know many folks think of bridge as a sucky game (while foosball is mostly an acceptable competitive drinking game) but as time wasters go, bridge works very well.

While growing up in Saskatoon, I tried to make a few bucks by delivering a weekly newspaper. Anyone who has tramped outdoors on Saskatchewan February mornings will recognize that toes and fingers shouldn’t be taken for granted. One of my deliveries was to the Anderson household where the parents of Joni Mitchell lived. Joni (way too familiar, aren’t I?) was by that point already a bit of a legend. She opened the door one morning, surprising me. I guess she was back for a visit. Although purely fortuitous, I believe that the fact she couldn’t pay me, didn’t know when her parents would be back and didn’t invite me in to get warm, in any event inspired me to a musical career. Well she did smile at me – warming and inspirational indeed.

Actually, it was a high school dance that hooked me, musically speaking. The band was The Mozart Group. Hair down to their waists and looking like they came from any place but where they came from, they were the Brown brothers (Larry on lead and Gary on rhythm), Gord Stobbe (Hofner bass), Jack Lenz (B3) and I can’t recall the drummer. They were playing Chain, Chain, Chain as I walked into the gym with my friend and band mate George Tennent — I can still hear the soaring falsetto harmonies and cavernous Motown groove. I think what struck me most was that there were no limits to what these guys could do — they were Prairie boys playing music that would turn heads in any club any place in the world.

I try and write that way – no limits. And most importantly, no clichés. I’m not always capable of that, but that’s what I try and do.