Music: {allcanada} Roots rocker Jen Lane keeps cold

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

{allcanada} Roots rocker Jen Lane keeps cold

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Roots country singer and songwriter Jen Lane doesn't mind living on the prairies, even though the Saskatoon native claims the reason is because it's winter six months a year.

"Long winters make for good songwriters," Lane said during a tour stopover in Montreal. "Because there's nothing else to do."

She's joking of course, although her third album For the Night does indeed sound like she spent a lot of dark, cold nights getting the 12 tunes on the disc just right.

Produced by The Odds Steven Drake with John Antoniuk on guitars, Sam Cartweight on drums, John Ellis on pedal and Simon Kendall on piano, For the Night is an alt-country album that thinks it's a classic country album with 12 gorgeously sad, brokenhearted laments about falling in, and falling out of love including The Lonely Cricket, Lie To Me, Tough Love and Sad Sad Song. It's potent stuff. I love the line on Tough Love that seems to sum up the whole album. "Turning whiskey into tears."

Apparently, writing songs isn't the only thing Lane does on long winter evenings.

"The most important part of the job is the art, not the business," Lane said. "A songwriter has to do whatever they can to make the best song they can. After 10 years in the business, it's fun to see the progress I've made."

It's funny to hear the self-deprecating Lane say that, only because in the 10 years she's been writing and recording, she's become a skilled songwriter and masterful live performer, good reasons to check her out at the Bluebird North Songwriters Circle at the Live Lounge on Thursday, Dec. 2.

On her recent tour of eastern Canada, the 26-year-old Lane had The Tragically Hip's Johnny Fay and Kevin King from The Grapes of Wrath playing in her band.

"Writing songs is like therapy," she said, laughing. It's clear that whatever inspired the sweetly melancholic mood of the album is now long in the past. Nevertheless, Lane's songs still get you right in your gut when you listen to them.

"I feel better after I write a song. I feel like I shared it with someone else. It's nice when someone says a song touched them and they can relate to it."

It seems as if Lane's been writing music most of her life. Actually, she has, releasing her first album "Jen Lane" when she was 16, earning a Prairie Music Award nomination a year later. She claims she was born musical because her mother played music on headphones on her pregnant belly while little Jennifer was still in utero.

"Thank goodness, my parents have good taste in music."

After all, it's important to find ways to make long winter nights fun.