| Poetry, Stories, Song Blend as One with
Francey
By Mario Raspanti
Scottish-born Canadian David Francey has long held an appreciation for
music and poetry. Born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1954, he and his family
immigrated to Toronto when he was 12. Francey learned to see the value
and quality that music and poetry can hold, even at a young age, a passion
he learned through his family. Over the past five years, Francey has shared
his love for these these arts as a performer around the United States,
Canada and, most recently, back in Scotland.
"We always sang. We sang in the car, in the church. My father was a
factory worker and he was big Robert Burns fan. He could recite Burns any
time. So I had this idea that poetry has value. I always have," Francey
recalled on a Milwaukee stopover.
He and guitarist Shane Simpson performed a chilly Sunday afternoon,
at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center (ICHC), 2133 W. Wisconsin Ave.
The appearance marked his third performance in the city. The two previous
shows were held at Kathy Schultz's Whitefish Bay home. Schultz, who operates
a booking service under Kathy Schultz Productions, also organized this
program, much to the delight of fans.
Generations ago, the church was home to the Grand Avenue Congregational
Church. Built in the 1880s, it is now on the National Register of Historic
Places. Francey’s concert was held in the parlor where upwards of 90 people
pulled up chairs for his performance.
Among the crowd was a group from Madison and members of Frogwater, a
Milwaukee-based bluegrass and Celtic ensemble. Judy Rose, who recently
retired from her position as host of the Simply Folk program at
Wisconsin Public Radio, also attended. The program is based in Madison,
but broadcast around the state on WHAD 90.7 FM.
"She played us in Wisconsin, before anyone else," Francey said of Rose.
For the singer, the past five years have been anything but normal. Over
that span, Francey has won two Juno awards, the Canadian equivalent to
a Grammy, in the Roots and Traditional Album of the year category. The
first came in 2002, for Far End of Summer, and the second in 2004,
for Skating Rink. Although he didn't win, his fourth and most recent
album, Waking Hour, was nominated last year.
Prior to winning his first Juno, the large majority of his time was
spent as a construction worker. The transition from construction to performer
was a decision that he and his wife, Beth, made after traveling, playing,
and exhausting themselves on weekends, while working during the week. Once
word spread regarding his performances, and the stress of traveling so
much impinged upon his family, they decided he should move into performing
full time.
Storytelling has been a major part of his performances since he began
singing for crowds. On this occasion, he shared what was behind many of
the songs from Waking Hour, as well as other collections. At one
point, he mentioned that he had an untitled CD and a live album in the
works, adding that both would be out this summer with any luck.
"The stories came about because I was a construction worker. My first
show was to a crowd of 104 and they were going nuts. In between songs,
I felt like they would go crazy if I didn't say something. So I would tell
how I came to write the songs. So bear me, if you will," he later joked
to the crowd, as he thanked them for coming out.
He and Simpson very graciously assumed the stage, sharing stories about
each song. Like the tales, the songs were narrative, reflecting his enchantment
with Canada and traditional Scottish folk music. Before going into construction,
he hitchhiked across Canada, worked in the Toronto train yards, in the
Yukon bush and around the St. Lawrence Seaway.
These experiences, along with his current home in the Eastern Townships,
were the subjects of his songs. That was a while ago. Since then, he had
crisscrossed Canada, appearing at all of the major Canada folk festivals,
and played throughout the United States.
"There's some commonality there that goes beyond borders. I love playing
and telling stories here. I've led a pretty normal life, except for this
part of it," Francey said.
Since he began performing regularly, Francey has recorded and toured
with such musicians as Dave Clarke, the lead guitarist on Francey's early
albums: Torn Screen Door, Far End of Summer and Skating
Rink. Clarke toured for a few years with Francey before moving to California
to pursue other interests and take a break from the road. Guitarist Terry
Tufts joined with Francey for a while, before mutually parting ways and
tackling other projects.
Regarding his current musical partner, Francey said, "I asked around
a bit, and the first name everybody said was Shane Simpson. He showed up
having learned all of the songs. He was fantastic. He knew everything already."
Before joining Francey on tour, Simpson was busy playing in the James
Cohen Caravan and with the jazz-grass duo, Wild Rice.
"I was teaching and a student brought in a CD and asked me if we could
figure out some of the cords. And it was great. And that was the first
time I heard David Francey play," Simpson said. "Your job as a guitarist
is to arrange. It's up to you to interpret or arrange things to fit in
the songs. David has everything in mind, very specific in his head. It's
amazing. I've never seen that before. It's like its already written and
recorded."
Simpson has recorded three albums of his own in the singer-song writer
vein and a jazz CD, Wild Rice, with the duo of the same name, which
he described as a kind of tip-of-the-hat to bluegrass. He began touring
with Francey in November, 2004.
After their recent spate of Midwestern gigs, Francey and Simpson were
heading out for a seven-week tour of Australia.
 
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