Kendel, Van, Chip, John and Elvis go a ridin' down the highway
Imagine you are driving along an interstate, pouring down rain, strong gusts of wind blowing the car around as you navigate the swaying semi’s and tailgators in poor visibility.
Heading north on the Vancouver Island Highway, you approach a shiny new blue tour bus. As you slowly glide past you are filled with a sense of wonder; wondering who the precious cargo could possibly be? In your imagination you picture an amazing scene. Kendel Carson, Van Morrison, Chip Taylor, John Platania and Elvis Costello, all together on the bus ‘in the round’, singing, laughing and trying out new material.
Soon the tour bus disappears out of sight in your rear view mirror, and you reflect. Was it really them? The magical thought subsides as you are drawn back to the current song playing on your Bose speakers and you congratulate yourself on compiling such a great road trip playlist, and how well the songs all segue together. Your music is helping you enjoy the drive as time just slips by.
Finding the right songs that fit together well is an art form in itself, for those with the ability. For me it's harder to achieve but even if I produce a mish mash, there is always a theme tying the music together has so far, always turned out enjoyable. I heard a catchy song on the Paul Gambacchini show on BBC radio, about trucks. I was driving through central London at the time, and when I got to wherever it was I was going, I tried to find the song online but had no success. I didn’t know Paul, but decided to send him an email anyway, asking the name of the song and artist? Graciously he replied. ‘I Like Trucks’ by Kendel Carson. Kendel is an accomplished fiddle player, singer-songwriter and recording artist, and has played with a wide variety of artists including John Prine, Alan Doyle, Matt Mays and Adam Baldwin.
The song was on her 2007 debut album ‘Rear View Mirror Tears’, released on Train Wreck Records, which Q Magazine ranked as one of the ‘Top 5 Roots Albums of the Year’. I was still in London, at Gaby’s Deli on Charing Cross road, enjoying a delicious salt beef sandwich. Gaby’s was delightful, and right in the middle of London’s theatreland, and populated with every day guys and gals, and those who would ‘tread the boards’ of the nearby stages. It was a legend. Sadly years later, after a long battle, it was swallowed up by big boys in London real estate. On this occasion, having finished my lunch, I set off to find a copy of the CD in the nearby record stores of the Berwick street and Poland street area of Soho. No joy,
OK, no problem I thought, as Kendel is from Canada, and I was flying to the United States via Toronto the following week. I had never been to Toronto before so decided to change my ticket to allow an overnight stay, and an opportunity to visit Sam the Record Man, which I believe may have been one of the largest record stores in Canada at the time. They would surely have a copy, how could they not?
The top floor was dedicated to country music, Kendel’s music crosses several genres including Americana, Folk and Alternative Country. I was in the right place. I approached an older gentleman, confidently going about his business behind the counter. This is the guy I thought to myself, he’ll help me here. Nope. He’d never heard of Kendel Carson, the album or the song. Maybe not even roots or country music, or even Canada itself?
This is BS I said to myself, as I was headed down the escalators. Back on the street thinking ‘now what’, I noticed an independent record store on the other side. The proprietor welcomed me as I walked in, and wished me a good day as I walked out, sixty seconds later with the CD.
‘I Like Trucks’ to me, is very much in the vein of Redneck Woman by Gretchen Wilson. I often include them both back to back on playlists. On the long road trips we take, behind the wheel, cruising at seventy-five or eighty, in a state of flow, through wind and rain, listening to the stories contained in the lyrics is a constant source of calming that seems to accelerate the passage of time.
So the next time you see a tour bus, you might ponder; who? Kendel plays extensively with Chip Taylor, and has played with Elvis Costello and John Platania, a guitarist, played for Van Morrison on Moondance and with the Caledonia Soul Orchestra. Would they all be on the bus traveling together? Not a chance. But as you see that tour bus disappear in your rear view mirror, you might just think, who are those guys?
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