At the heart of the music created by the gloriously talented trio known as Trent Severn is a deep, abiding, heartfelt appreciation for Canada – its people, its landscapes, its stories. If there is a musical genre known as Canadiana, Trent Severn would be its epitome.
With their plaid lumberjack shirts, folksy charm, effervescent and thoroughly engaging stage performances, Emm Gryner, Dayna Manning and Lindsay Schindler have enchanted audiences from coast to coast in the Great White North, and have even begun to spread their politely patriotic sounds south of the border where, let`s face it, they need all the politeness and positivity they can get these days.
It is sublimely fitting that the band is releasing its third full length album, entitled Portage (again, how Canadian is that!?!?) on June 30, the day before Canada Day. It follows on the heels of their critically acclaimed 2012 self-titled debut, and lauded sophomore release, Trillium, which came out in 2015.
The songs on Portage, like those on Trillium and the debut album, are culled from each band member’s own experiences – encounters with Canadian culture, Canadian communities and the people who create that culture and those communities. The melodies are beautifully dynamic, the harmonies revelatory and refined, yet there is a typically Canadian underratedness to the production and presentation. Trent Severn’s songs are invitations to some great times, great stories , with some great friends. They make the listener laugh, tap their toes, embrace fond memories, as well as think and feel a range of emotions.
Trent Severn’s music is proudly patriotic but altogether lacking in jingoism, overly dramatic reverence, kitsch and hyperbole. It is about the little things in life that make Gryner, Manning and Schindler smile, and revere about Canada.
“It’s a celebration of so many aspects of our country but we’re not trying to hit people over the heads with it. It’s not done in a hokey, patronizing, touristy kind of way. Our songs are about the Canadian details. We love to tell the quirky little stories from our country that even many Canadians have not hear, all filtered through our experiences. And for this album in particular we are also detailing our experience of Canada’s music, especially that 1990s vibe, so we have all these nods to bands from that time who really made a mark on us as younger musicians and who we still believe have such an amazing legacy within our culture. So there are snippets and references to Spirit of the West, or Great Big Sea and even The Tragically Hip,” Manning explained from the studio in Stratford where she lives, and where she was putting the final touches on Portage.
“The song Sweethearts was definitely conceived and based around a Spirit of the West feel and Lads and Newfoundman were our versions of east coast, Maritime songs. We had a bunch of Newfoundlanders who were living in Stratford for the festival this year and they were a definite influence on us. And of course Lying in Bed Like Bryan Adams is a total homage to [former Barenaked Ladies member] Steven Page.”
Gryner has released nearly 20 solo albums since her debut in 1995, garnering a couple of Juno nominations. She spent a few years at the start of the 21st century as part of David Bowie’s band, and has subsequently collaborated with the likes of astronaut Chris Hadfield, guitar whiz Sean Kelly (Helix, Crash Kelly, Nelly Furtado). She has been publically name-checked by Furtado, Bowie and also legendary U2 frontman Bono, and toured with Ron Sexsmith, Rufus Wainright and other notables. For Portage, she found that inspiration for songs came from a truly diverse set of influences.
“With this album we have been feeling really inspired. One of our unwritten rules before was to not write any songs about feelings or relationships. But inevitably relationships are kind of woven into the Canadian experience anyways. A song like Winnipeg Whiteout, was a case of me wanting to know something about Winnipeg traditions and the Winnipeg Whiteout is a hockey tradition that started in the 1980s where everyone shows up to the arena dressed in white. It was just something special and unique to that city and I wanted to capture its essence,” she said.
“Other songs were inspired by people I met who stories kind of touched me over the years. You Are Enough was inspired by a fan of mine who lost his family in a fire in one of the First Nations communities. And then I feel with the addition of Lindsay it’s been amazing because she has this incredible awareness for neat little nuggets of Canadian history. She really dove into the story and legend of Wiarton Willie for Wake Up Willie, just figuring out how it began and came about. It’s such a small, fun little story, but she created these lyrics that make it out to be a real piece of Ontario folklore.”
Besides being a songwriter and performer of remarkable ability and poignancy, Manning has also become a producer and engineer of some note. She released three solo albums: Volume 1 on EMI Music Canada in 1997 at age 19, garnering a Juno nomination for Best New Artist. A second major label release, Shades, followed in 2002, while Folkyo came out in 2006 independently.
One of her favourite songs on Portage was actually inspired by the cover art for the album.
“The Jack Pine was just such a fun song to write. Our album cover was done by a guy named Scott McKowen, who is a very famous scratchboard artist from our town, and he did this beautiful piece with us portaging a canoe and it looks like a Group of Seven painting in the background. It was done really early in the process of writing the record and I looked at it and I wondered how can I write this album cover into the music?’ she said.
“I looked at this tree and wrote this song about all the trees that painters have captured over the years and then I thought about 2017 also being the 100th anniversary of Tom Thomson’s death this summer. So Jack Pine is written as if it’s a pine tree singing to Tom Thomson himself saying, ‘hey, I notice you here, I notice that you’re painting me and you’re making me feel pretty special.’ And I thought it was a unique perspective to take on the iconic way he painted trees, and on the mystery of his disappearance and his legacy as one of Canada’s greatest painters. I know a ton has been written about Tom Thomson but I just wanted to take it from another point of view.”
Trent Severn strayed from the upbeat Canadiana theme somewhat with the profound and evocative track Save Me. According to Manning, it’s a call to arms to protect not only Canadians natural environment, but that of the entire world.
“It is a little different for sure. Honestly, it’s about the wrath of Mother Nature that was kind of wanted to capture on this one. Maybe it’s less specifically Canadian that some of the other songs – more worldly – but it’s basically saying that the decisions of the world affect our environment right here where we are right now. And it’s the Earth speaking to humanity.”
The idea for what would become Trent Severn began was hatched in 2011 when Gryner, who lives in St. Marys, just 15 minutes down the road from Stratford, approached Manning with the idea of doing a roots-oriented project. Fiddle player Laura C. Bates soon joined the mix and the trio began writing, performing and recording together, to great popular and critical plaudits. Their debut album received regular airplay on CBC radio and was nominated for a pair of Canadian Folk Music Awards.
Since forming, they have also been featured in MacLean’s Magazine, the Harrowsmith Almanac as well as on CBC radio live.
Schindler joined the band in 2015 and has been a key creative contributor to Portage, not only for her prowess with the violin, but also for her lyrical abilities. She said she felt welcome immediately into the Trent Severn fold.
“I didn’t know them well beforehand but certainly met them in passing a few times and I really admired what they did individually and with Trent Severn. I was really blown away by what this band is doing and was inspired to do something like that, so when I had the opportunity to be a part of the group it was pretty amazing, and it’s still amazing,” said Schindler.
“I was really nervous about the songwriting part; I didn’t know quite how it would work, but I felt that my ideas and contributions were appreciated right away. I am pretty comfortable with writing lyrics and Emm and Dayna are really good at picking up when I can do and putting it to music. So it’s been a wonderful collaboration.”
Trent Severn is playing a few select dates in Ontario prior to the release of Portage, including at St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church in Napanee on Thursday, April 27, and at the Legion Hall in Newmarket on April 29. They’re at the Meaford Hall on May 3, the Aeolian Hall in London May 4, the Jeanne Gordon Theatre in Wallaceburg May 6 and at Knox Church in Stratford on May 13.
For more information on Trent Severn, or to pre-order a copy of Portage, visit www.trentsevernband.ca.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
