Sil sit down with Steven Page and Chris Murphy on their latest Trans-Canada Highwaymen tour
On May 9, 2024, Canadian rock supergroup, Trans-Canada Highwaymen, are bringing their tour to the Burlington Performing Arts Centre as a part of a tour promoting their first release, Explosive Hits Vol.1. The album is centered around the group covering Canadian classics from 1969-1975. Steven Page (Ex-Barenaked Ladies), Chris Murphy (Sloan), Moe Berg (The Pursuit of Happiness) and Craig Northy (Odds) come together in this powerhouse of 90s CanRock legends.
The Silhouette had the opportunity to once again sit down with Page about his upcoming performance at BPAC, but this time, with the addition of Murphy.
While Explosive Hits Vol.1 was the first record the band has put out, they've been touring since 2017 in between the members' other projects.
When asked about the band's inception, Murphy looked to the lyrics of the Trans-Canada Highwaymen theme song that Page wrote for the band.
"[I]f I read it like a poem, that would answer your questions," Murphy said. "Craig and I were on the road, hoping our album would explode, but it didn't yet again. I got a call from Jim Milan for this idea for a band, like some CanRock highway man. He said he tried to book a show for me and Chris and Craig and Moe, we see what happens then. Just when things were looking bleak, look out flavour of the week, I'm out playing with my friends," continued Murphy.
The original concept for the shows was to have the four musicians recounting stories about gigs while performing a few songs from their careers.
"We thought, wouldn't it be fun if we were actually the band playing each other's songs, which kind of took it to the next step."
This dynamic approach to performance allowed the band members to step a little outside their comfort zones, often switching instruments and challenging the audience notions of their "traditional roles".
Chris Murphy, primarily known as the bassist in Sloan, found himself behind the drum kit for a significant portion of the set. Reflecting on this departure from his usual role, Murphy noted: "I play drums for most of the set . . . We each bring our material to this band and we're all kind of all over the place."
The fluidity in roles adds an element of surprise to their performances, delighting audiences who get to see a show that they weren't necessarily expecting.
The band's repertoire includes songs that many audience members would be familiar with. Barenaked Ladies songs like "Jane", "It's All Been Done" and "Brian Wilson", Sloan songs like "The Other Man" and "Rest Of My Life" as well as Odds and Pursuit of Happiness originals from Northy and Berg. Although Trans-Canada Highwaymen are performing songs from their past and current bands, the catch is that the songs must have been written by them.
Page emphasized the importance of audience familiarity with the material.
"I want the audience to feel like they can sing along with 95% of the show," he said.
The release of Explosive Hits Vol.1, featuring covers of iconic songs from 1969 to 1975, allowed the Trans-Canada Highwaymen to also perform a number of songs outside their typical set. The album showcases each member's unique interpretation of beloved Canadian classics.
"We each kind of chose ones that we love from that era . . . so you can see what our individual tastes are through the songs we chose," said Murphy.
Page explained that Explosive Hits Vol.1 was yet another project that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. While this would normally be a hindrance because they could not get into a studio together to physically record, the band found a unique solution.
"So a lot of what we did was we each of us, made the guide track for the other guys to play along with and replace parts and bring their own stuff to it. Each one kind of started with that singer's feel," said Page. "I think you can see what our individual tastes are or our styles are through the songs we chose."
Looking ahead, the prospect of Explosive Hits Vol.2 is very much on the table for Page and Murphy. While the band remains focused on their current tour, discussions about future projects, including additional albums, are already underway with a song list already currently being circulated amongst the band.
Both Murphy and Page shared what their favourite song to play from the current setlist is.
"I do get a big kick out of playing the drums. So I enjoy playing 'Rest Of My Life' . . . it's an audience favourite . . . it's [also] so much fun doing "Undun" with the extended scat solo," explained Page.
"Yeah, "Undun" is unbelievable. It's the hardest song. Steven has a hard job and all of us have a pretty hard job. It kicks ass . . . But, it's fun to melt faces playing "I'm An Adult Now" too," added Murphy.
Despite their pursuits outside the band, members of Trans-Canada Highwaymen find the super-group to be a fun musical outlet. Whether it's Chris Murphy's other band, Sloan, or Steven Page's solo projects, each member brings a wealth of experience and passion to the table.
Both artists confirmed that they are working on other projects at this time. Murphy confirmed to the Silhouette that the next Sloan record was in development.
"We're recording this Sloan record right now . . . just whenever people have time. Even the guy recording us doesn't have that much time, he's got a bunch of other things going on in his life and so we just do that whenever we can. But again, there's no rush . . . we're just going to do it whenever we feel like it," said Murphy.
"I am working on stuff for another record. I did a record 20 years ago with Steven Duffy called The Vanity Project. He and I have written a bunch of [Barenaked Ladies] songs together and songs for my solo career. So we're working on a follow up to that," said Page.
Page also told the Sil that he is working on another solo record, following his sixth record, Excelsior, as well as a holiday record and musical project with Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor. The artist continues to do his livestreamed "Live From Home" series, which started during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now with a 30-person live studio audience from Page's basement.
As the band continues to traverse the highways and byways of Canada, their music serves as a testament to the enduring power of friendship, laughter and the universal language of music.
Trans-Canada Highwaymen are playing the Burlington Performing Arts Centre on May 9, 2024. Tickets are now sold out. You can check out other BPAC shows on their website: burlingtonpac.ca. You can check out the band's other performances at their website: transcanadahighwaymen.ca
Sil sit down with Steven Page on first BPAC performance since COVID
On Nov. 13, the Steven Page Trio is once again performing at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre as part of an Ontario-wide tour. This performance marks approximately eighteen months since the trio’s last performance in Burlington — the group’s last show before the COVID-19 pandemic locked down Canada.
“It feels great . . . I think I might have maybe expected something — some deeper feeling that I was getting because it’s what I’ve done for 30 years and if you’re away from it, but [because] I’ve been doing the online shows through most of the pandemic, I kind of kept some of my chops up and I’m able to because they’re on Zoom,” said Steven Page, former frontman of Barenaked Ladies and Canadian Music Hall of Fame recipient.
Since April 2020, Page has been livestreaming weekly concerts from his basement. Selling tickets for a small price, the musician has been able to ensure fans still get a taste of live music in a safe way from home. To date, Page has livestreamed 74 shows with plans to do more in the future in between his in-person shows.
“When everything shut down and I watched a lot of musicians, my peers and also superstars and young people doing online streaming shows . . . at first I resisted it. I thought “I don’t know how interested I would be sitting here at this table with my guitar” and that they were often that kind of intimate “Hang out in the kitchen with Hugh Jackman” or something like that. I didn’t know if I wanted that, but people started to kind of expect if from everybody,” said Page.
Although Page was apprehensive at first, he became inspired by friend and Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Mangan’s company Side Door. In a pre-pandemic time, Side Door would organize concerts in peoples’ homes. Due to COVID-19, Side Door pivoted to organize livestreamed concerts. Page watched one of Mangan’s concerts and saw the opportunity to have a musician play to an audience, albeit virtually.
“I thought I’d try [performing] one and so you charge eight bucks a concert, it’s not a heck of a lot but I play two to two and a half hours. They’re long shows, but that’s how it ended up evolving and I think once I realized it was something that we could actually do as musicians that kept us in our jobs in a time when our jobs were impossible, it was pretty exciting,” said Page.
In 1991, Page rose to popularity with the release of “The Yellow Tape”, a demo tape created by Barenaked Ladies. Helmed by duo Ed Robertson and Page, the band was set to play Toronto City Hall’s New Year’s Eve party but were removed from the setlist due to controversy of the band’s name. Instead, BNL performed at McMaster University.
“I guess I remember it was one of those things that it didn’t register with us that much that we got kicked off the Toronto City Hall show. We were bummed about it, but we had other shows before too where people would be like “Oh I don’t want those guys” and sometimes it was about our name, sometimes it’s just that they didn’t like us or we didn’t draw well enough or whatever. So, we went and did the show at McMaster for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Eve is always fun and wild and that was that. But the whole publicity that came out of that thing later, happened after New Year’s. I think somebody at the [Toronto] Star caught wind of it and ended up putting it on the front page of the newspaper and that was a big part of how people got to know who Barenaked Ladies were back then. But we were kind of nonplussed and just happy to have the university gig,” said Page.
Just over 30 years later, Page is still performing, now with the Steven Page Trio comprised of Craig Northey on the guitar and Kevin Fox on the cello.
“The greatest thing for me at the beginning was reuniting with Craig Northey and Kevin Fox in my trio because we haven’t been able to be in the same room together like that, but after a few shows under our belts, now we can step back and go “Oh, we’re playing really well together”. You start to, I think, enjoy the things that you maybe took for granted pre-pandemic, just the little nuances musically or the moments together on stage, or the response from the audience,” explained Page.
Although provincial restrictions are slowly lifting, many live shows have yet to return with many still apprehensive to partake in an atmosphere with hundreds of people. Page shared why he thought now was the right time to return with Northey and Fox to the stage.
“You know I’ll be honest; I didn’t have any plans to be first out of the gate. It was not what we’re trying to do, but this tour of these shows, you often book a whole bunch of shows at once and it was supposed to happen in the fall of 2020 and of course it didn’t happen then. So, then they’re like “Well, let’s move it to March of 2021” because the whole industry kept trying to figure out when was live music going to happen again” said Page.
The show was moved to middle of November in hopes it would be safe to perform to a full audience. In July 2021, Page performed a few shows in the United States to a very welcoming audience; however, then the delta variant of COVID-19 became prevalent. Page has attempted to find a way to bring music to those who are comfortable to be in public settings as well as those who might not be comfortable yet.
“People got a lot more cautious, which was great — I’m happy for people to be cautious which is why, for instance with these shows, in Burlington, people can buy a streaming ticket if they’d rather have one in-person. Which I think is great, but we also have all the vaccine and mask precautions, so it makes it safe,” said Page.
Many know the sound of Page’s voice from hit songs like “If I Had a Million Dollars” or “One Week”. Although much of his set is comprised of songs from his solo adventures, Page shared his favourite song that never gets old to play.
“I’ve been lucky. I enjoy playing most of the songs all the time and I also have enough of a catalogue that I can skip one now and again, if I want to. But “Brian Wilson” is the one I usually close with and that one, it doesn’t get old. For me, it’s not about me singing my song or whatever else. For me it’s about hearing and seeing the audience bring whatever [memories] . . . and I love that. I love that people bringing their own memories of a song with them to this new place altogether and that’s what “Brian Wilson” is for me,” explained Page.
Reflecting on his career, Page had some advice for McMaster students, sharing one of his own experiences.
“You know, I’ll tell you about my own university experience. I went to York [University] and I dropped out in my fourth year and part of me still is like “I wish I had my degree” as if it would have mattered at all to my career path. But, I admit, I enjoyed doing the work and I enjoyed being a student, but I just jumped onto being an artist because it presented itself. I had an opportunity to go on the road and tour, so I was going to do it. I think young people now know so much better than my generation did that it’s okay to follow your instincts on something and do 15 different things and come back to it later. As opposed to having that singular track that we were brought up to believe. You go to school and you become a thing and that thing is who you are for the rest of your life. I’m a doctor, I’m a scientist, I’m a whatever. I think your generation understands much better and I think it’s awesome that you can do those things as long as you want to do them and then you can do something else,” said Page.
The Steven Page Trio will be performing at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre on Saturday, November 13, 2021. Tickets can be purchased for an in-person concert or livestreamed show.
