Safe Inside The Heart Of A Lyon

SAFE INSIDE THE HEART OF A LYON

For anyone who has been paying attention to local music for the last decade and a half, many names have come and gone. One has remained ubiquitous with our fair city's scene the entire time: Shannon Lyon. Beginning with the formation of his first real band in 1989, Strange Days, Lyon has been steadily building a fanbase and taking those fans on many different rides through his musical inspirations and incarnations. Strange Days took Lyon on his first national tour and gave him his first taste of the wanderlust that would guide his travels, (musical and otherwise), through to the present day. He has never stopped moving, never stopped evolving, and he has never turned his back on the scene that originally bore him. Today Lyon is surely locked away in his rehearsal space with his old friends, The World Record Players, smoothing the edges, (or maybe fraying them, depending on his mood), off of his newest album, Safe Inside, his tenth full-length record in as many years.

"We're just in the middle of a few Southern Ontario shows," explains Lyon of his current endeavours with the World Record Players, (Jason Schneider on bass, Jeff Cowell on drums, and new re-recruit Mike Alviano on guitar). "We're rehearsing new songs for a summer recording and welcoming our fourth member, (Alviano), back to the band. We have plans to record a rock 'n' roll album this summer and plans to release three albums in 2006."

Ambitious plans to say the least, but Lyon's got a lot of help. The World Record Players are his go-to guys. Schneider has been on the scene for years, playing with Lyon, occasionally fronting the W.R.P., and writing about damn near every band to come from this town. If you've ever been to Sherwood Music and had a question about percussion, Cowell is the guy you talked to. You may have even seen him behind the traps for old school local rock stars the Groove Daddys. Alviano is a brilliant singer-songwriter in his own right, having released several critically acclaimed Springsteenian opuses since his days playing guitar in Lyon's late 90's incarnation, the Shannon Lyon Pop Explosion. Over the years Lyon has played with many side-men, collaborated with the cream of Canada's musical crop, but, just as he always comes home to Kitchener, he always goes back to his band.

"The World Record Players have been my rock 'n' roll band for almost a decade now," says Lyon. "There's an unspoken, symbiotic musical relationship that we share. We shape songs and ride through them, giving them lots of room to experiment with, which keeps things fresh. It's essentially about the interaction between musicians, the interaction between the song and the artist, the interaction between the musician and the history of music, and then about the development of the song from beginning to end which, for me, holds no limitations."

The World Record Players and Kitchener aren't the only mistresses that Lyon cannot escape. A few years back, a fellow songwriter suggested to Lyon that he take his music to Europe, specifically Holland. With hardly a question in his mind, he packed up his Gretsch and made the trek. What he discovered in the hills, history, and stone streets of the Dutch melted his weathered, yellow heart. Not only were the Dutch instantly more receptive to Lyon's foggy, dust-bowl growl and troubadour's tales, but it plugged him into an entire European network of fans. Since his initial foray, Lyon has secured a European record deal, toured in countless countries, and makes annual, lengthy jaunts abroad to continue expanding his growing cult.

"It's amazing travelling through Europe," he says. "It's a second home for me. It just so happens that I found a larger and more interested audience in Europe than here in Canada. There's not much for me to do here in Canada and I have to keep moving and touring if I'm going to afford the luxury of playing music for a living. I've developed a really great relationship with my European label, (Inbetweens Records), which allows me to make records the way I want to make them, and tour when I want, or need, to tour."

It was during his last Dutch foray that Lyon recorded his newest collection, Safe Inside. With a handful of guest musicians, Lyon holed himself up in a 16th Century farm house in the south of Holland, and set about crafting the ten warm odes to loneliness and love that would comprise the record. Lyon didn't helm the project alone mind you. He also brought along an old friend, BJ Baartmans, to oversee the workings and play a little guitar.

"I love recording with BJ," Lyon gushes. "He's a great producer and a great musician. He toured with me as a my side guitar player last April in Holland and at the end of the tour we decided to lay down some tracks at Leon's Farm which turned into an album. I had to fly back to Canada so we shared files over the internet and mixed the album that way."

Safe Inside will not disappoint Lyon's fans. Full of the stark, sad, hopeful ruminations that he's become loved for, it should also ensure some new die-hards. Third track, "Lonely Like That" is a bouncy, fun betrayal of it's title and could stand as a hit single. "Hallelujah" is a rolling, rocking, Steve Earle styled expression of gratitude to the life he has. It's a moving listen, one that truly lends its audience a window into Lyon's heart, and his unique perspective on the soul of the world. It's a refreshing addition to the Lyon catalogue, but at the end of the day, not really so far a cry from the amps-to-eleven hard rock he was making seventeen years ago.

"I never stopped making rock 'n' roll albums," he insists. "I've always been very interested in country music though. My earliest childhood memories of being turned onto music were all country and western artists like Freddy Fender and Johnny Cash. It wasn't until my early teens that I discovered bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols. I'm excited about a lot of artists these days, but you really have to sift through the mediocrity to find something lifting. Artists like Will Oldham keep things exciting and I'm still following Neil Young's journey. Our friend Sarah Hallman out of Ottawa has finished a really beautiful album. I hope that one comes out soon."

Safe Inside will be formally released to his extended local family this Saturday, February 25th, at the Starlight in Waterloo, "The Starlight is carrying the torch these days," says Lyon, "and they sell out shows constantly which is a testament of hope for the future of live music." I'm sure it won't be the last time you can see him in this town, but this time you should make the effort. Give him a pat on the back, maybe a gin and tonic, and thank him for always coming home and ensuring our community remains as rich as it is. Tickets are $11 in advance. The Mike Erb Band opens. www.shannonlyon.com

(originally published February, 2006. Echo Weekly. Kitchener.)