Originally Published: 2008-09-07

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The spontaneous feel of the record mirrors the way it was recorded. “I did a lot of this recording myself,” he explains. “Then when I got the band in we’d do a lot of quick takes and quick pieces, and none of us would be sure if it would be any good. But I kept a lot of the original stuff and sent it over to [producer] Scott Merritt, and I let him edit it. So instead of making sure the parts were all perfect when they were played, I just made sure they sounded like they were believable. Then I let the editor have it after that, as opposed to the other way around - ‘that take’s not good enough. Do it again.’ Then you lose the feel. So a lot of this record is really off the cuff. First time, first pass, and there are mistakes I kept in.”
Eaglesmith’s empathy with his characters is something he takes pride in. “I was trying to give them some credibility. I was trying to say these people are just as passionate as anyone else and they deserve their day in the sun, just like everyone else. Again, it was off the cuff,” he recalls.
Despite the theme of Tinderbox, Eaglesmith terms himself a non-believer. “I was raised a Christian in southern Ontario. It was very agricultural, very cultish, and with walls around the community, and I haven’t been a Christian for a long time. I had to really look at Christianity harder here, and this is not a Christian record.”
Over the course of a career now spanning three decades, Fred Eaglesmith has found his songs becoming coveted by other artists. American country superstar Toby Keith is a big fan and has recorded his tunes, but Eaglesmith is equally pleased when totally unknown bands play his songs.
“I’ve had 75 songs covered. That’s a tremendous amount, but it was not often from major artists. If you took all the artists around the world that play my songs, in the clubs, there are thousands. I was in Lubbock, Texas, last year, and a guy said ‘there are 14 bands in town tonight, and all of them play your songs.’ That was sort of my dream as a kid, that I would write songs like Hank Williams, songs that people would sing. I think I wanted that more than fame. It’s all about staying the course. This is what I’ll always do.”

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