Canadian country artist Blake Berglund blames his music career on his mom鈥攖he woman who forced him into piano lessons at the age of three and kept him there until he completed Grade 9 in the Royal Conservatory of Music.
What she probably didn鈥檛 expect, though, was that her son, a classically trained pianist, would end up rippin鈥� it up in a metal band for the better part of his youth.
鈥淎nd it wasn鈥檛 just that I was playing in a metal band, either,鈥� he said on the phone from Medicine Hat, 鈥淚 quit my dental degree to do so. That was like a double whammy.
鈥淔or lack of better words, I think my parents were extremely disappointed.鈥�
Berglund, who was named Roots Artist of the Year at the Saskatchewan Country Music Awards in April, spent a decade in that band, continuing to disappoint his parents, before his bandmates decided to head back to school.
鈥淭hen I was like, 鈥業 gotta do something,鈥� so I started writing acoustic songs and the more of these attempted emo songs that came out, the more they sounded like Ian Tyson than Dallas Green, so I was like, 鈥榃ell, maybe this is country.鈥� I never really planned on doing country music, it just kind of came out with that influence, probably because I grew up on a lot of George Strait.鈥�
With that change of genre came not only a new career, but also the support and approval of his family.
鈥淪lowly my parents came around. I think I proved to them that it wasn鈥檛 just, 鈥楬ey, I want to run around the country and have fun and drink and party and womanize and all that crazy stuff you do in a rock 鈥榥鈥� roll band.鈥�
鈥淥nce they saw I was working hard and going door to door selling the CDs and making the phone calls and staying on the road 200 days a year, they went from questioning what I was doing to being hands down, no questions asked, my biggest supporters.鈥�
In fact, his mom, who retired two years ago, drives to any show within 400 kilometres of the family farm in Kennedy, Sask.
鈥淧art of her retired life is following me around, which is pretty awesome.
鈥淎nd both my parents will be coming up to the shows in Jasper,鈥� said Berglund of his two upcoming shows at the Jasper Legion and his gig at the Jasper Heritage Rodeo dance on Saturday night. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a 20 hour drive or something crazy, but it鈥檚 awesome. I鈥檓 excited.鈥�
Berglund, who will be performing with his band Van Sized Vultures, is playing two back-to-back shows at the Legion in order to record a live album. The performance will be recorded both nights. 鈥淎nd then we鈥檒l take the best of two nights and put them into one album.鈥�
He said he chose to record the album in Jasper because the Legion is a venue with a great reputation for attracting engaged crowds and for having a willingness to try new things.
鈥淵ou鈥檇 be surprised, talking to venues about doing things that are out of the box, they want to be so safe, but the Legion鈥檚 not like that. They鈥檙e up for a risk.
鈥淛asper has a reputation for caring. It鈥檚 becoming, if it isn鈥檛 already, a very credible spot and a dire spot to stop.鈥�
To get an idea of what Berglund will be playing during his triple-header this week, visit blakeberglund.com for a free download of his latest album, Coyote.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
