NASHVILLE, TN. (Top40 Charts/
David Baxter Official Website) - It's taken
David Baxter more than 30 years, but he's finally recorded and released his debut album. Known as one of the city's most in-demand electric guitarists, he's made an acoustic album - featuring his own voice and his own songs.
"I set out to make a Willie Nelson record, basically, but I had to make do with the singer I had," he says.
Day & Age is a collection of a dozen country-edged songs of love and loss. The CD was recorded with some of Toronto's best (and best-known) acoustic musicians: Justin Rutledge (guitar, vocals, harmonica), Treasa Levasseur (accordion, piano, vocals) and Brian Kobayakawa (bass), all of whom will play with him when he launches the CD at a special concert at the Dakota Tavern on Thursday January 21.
Also on the show is Paul Reddick, the blues-based harmonica player and singer, who's just returned from a European tour - for which Baxter was his supporting guitarist.
Baxter has been a professional player since 1975, when he earned his first break as a member of the legendary Toronto band David Wilcox and the Teddy Bears. In the late '70s he was a member of the seminal Toronto punk new wave band The Sharks, two members of which went on to found Blue Rodeo. In the '80s, he shared considerable success (and a Juno Award) with his then-wife Sherry Kean and in 1990 Baxter began a collaboration with country singer Lori Yates, with whom he still plays; he also produced her latest album, Minerva.
As a touring player, he's constantly on the road with Rutledge, Yates and Levasseur, and recently returned from a European tour as a duo with Paul Reddick. Closer to home in Toronto, his guitar is heard every week on the soundtrack to the CTV series, Degrassi: The Next Generation, and he's played on dozens of recording sessions as a sideman.
The album is all-acoustic, which may surprise some who are familiar with Baxter's signature electric guitar style. "It's how I play and sing at home," he says. "It wasn't easy to finally step up to the microphone as a singer, but these players are all my friends. It was a very supportive environment for a 'new' singer."
Who: DAVID BAXTER with Treasa Levasseur, Justin Rutledge, Brian Kobayakawa, with special guest PAUL REDDICK with Darcy Yates, David Baxter and Christine Bougie.
Why: The launch of Day & Age, David Baxter's debut CD
When: Thursday, January 22, 9 p.m.
Where: The Dakota Tavern, 249 Ossingt0on @ Dundas St. W
How much: $10 at door
