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Tim Hicks says he’s primed to bring party to summer’s Gone Country concert in Cloverdale

‘It sounds like a fantastic event,’ the Niagara Falls-raised artist says of annual benefit show
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Tim Hicks hits the stage in Cloverdale on July 22 as headliner of the annual Gone Country benefit concert. (photo: submitted/Bmazurphotography.com)

The song titles on Tim Hicks’ new album shed light on the kind of party he’ll bring to Cloverdale this summer.

The Niagara Falls-born country-rocker has released a six-track live album featuring the songs “Shake These Walls,” “Hell Raisin’ Good Time,” “Her Comes the Thunder,” “Stronger Beer” and others.

Hicks’ party-starting music sounds like a perfect fit for the annual Gone Country benefit concert, which returns to the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre on July 22.

With good-time vibes, a serious effort is made during the event to raise money for cancer-related causes.

In a phone interview last week, Hicks said he is aware of the country concert’s history in Cloverdale in recent years.

“It sounds like a fantastic event,” he told the Now-Leader. “Anytime I can help out with something like that, I’m down to do it. As artists we’re given these platforms and really big speakers to talk through, so we may as well do it for a good cause, so I’m excited to come out there and play.”

Hicks will headline this year’s Gone Country show with support from Jojo Mason, Karen Lee Batten, Me and Mae, Dave Hartney, Danielle Marie and DJ Jaxon Hawks.

The Tim Hicks Live album arrived as a digital-only release on May 29, via Open Road Recordings.

A road warrior, Hicks said he’s proud of his first live record, one that materialized without much pre-planning.

“What’s funny about it, there’s a recurring theme in my career where the coolest things happen by accident, and this is no exception,” Hicks explained.

“With this one, the boys (in the band) and I always record our shows as a means of us critiquing ourselves, to find out what’s working and what isn’t, because when you’re standing on that stage making all that noise, the details kind of fly by really quickly,” he added. “So after the fact, we like to sit back and listen to our sets. As we got into our tour, in January, we listened and thought, ‘Gee, this sounds pretty good,’ and that got us thinking about doing something with them, for people to hear the live songs.”

Most of the songs were recorded on a particularly good Sunday night in Sudbury.

“I think what happened that night was it was done in tandem with CMT, who were filming us to do a special,” Hicks said. “And any time there’s a film crew around, my band loves to show off, you know, and because there were people watching and a camera crew there, everyone’s performance elevated that much more, and we got some really magical moments on tape that night. So although we had 15 shows of audio to choose from (for the record), the majority of the album does come from that Sudbury gig, because there was something in the air that we managed to get down on the computer, you know.”

Hicks and his longtime band have brought the heat on stage for the past several years, and their hard work has resulted in platinum sales, Juno Award nominations and a CCMA Rising Star award in 2014.

One revealing moment on the new live album comes at the end of “Stronger Beer,” when Hicks yells out, “Nobody up here wants to a build a wall,” followed by an “O Canada” riff on the guitar.

“Listen, they begged me to edit that out, but I said, ‘No friggin’ way, that’s going on the record.’” Hicks revealed with a laugh. “I think anytime there’s a possibility of controversy, the money people get a little nervous, but part of my whole thing is a bit of humour, and no 37-year-old man is singing ‘Hell Raisin’ Good Time’ while being 100 per cent serious about it. I mean, my tongue’s in my cheek for at least half of my show.”

With his hit song “Stronger Beer,” he said, it’s all about having a laugh about the differences that exist between Canada and America.

“It’s kind of self-deprecating in a way, but still we’re proud Canadians,” Hicks said. “And with that line on the (live) record, I was saying those kinds of things on the entire tour, and I made some Canadian political commentary along the way, too, but none of that made the record. But you know what, I was pleased that it’s on there. Another line I had was, ‘We don’t want to build a wall in Canada, unless you’re Kevin O’Leary, and we’re keeping on eye on him,’ that kind of thing, throughout the tour.”

For Hicks, the entire musical ride is about entertainment. “That’s where it begins and ends with me,” he said. “Our show is designed for people to come for an hour, or 75 minutes or 90, whatever it is, and forget about the day and the baloney going on in their lives, so I try to make it as entertaining and funny and involved as I can, you know.”

The Gone Country concert, now in its fifth year, is founded and organized by twin brothers Chris and Jamie Ruscheinski, who this year set a fundraising goal of $366,000. The event venue in Cloverdale has space for close to 5,000 spectators, and tickets are currently priced at $46.99 via twinscancerfundraising.com, with a Team 10 Pack available for $399. Donations are also welcomed.

“We wanted Tim Hicks this year because we are big fans, and we know he brings a ton of energy to the stage,” Jamie Ruscheinski told the Now-Leader. “He has countless sing-alongs that the entire Gone Country crowd will be into.

“Our supporters have been asking us to bring him for years, but we just couldn’t make the dates happen,” he added. “He draws a huge crowd, which will help us raise even more money for the new Canuck House Children’s Hospice in Abbotsford. With the raised funds from Gone Country, we plan to outfit four of the new children’s bedrooms with specialized furniture, electronics and beds to accommodate the children and their families during their stay there. We are very excited that this year we are on track for our very first sell out.”

tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com



Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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