Fred J. Eaglesmith was born as he sings in Indian Motorcycles, "in the springtime of the '57 Chevy. ”Growing up on a series of farms in southern Ontario, a son of nine children born into a farming family, Eaglesmith recalls spending his childhood in two places: working on the farm, or going to church.
He started writing and playing music, influenced by Elvis and the sounds of roots music drifting intoOntario from far-away radio stations. By age sixteen, Eaglesmith had left home, hopped freight trains out west and made his way back east to the farms ofOntario.
His songs are populated with people he has been and has known: tried-but-true blue-collar guys, tired cowboys, young boys in love, bare-knuckled farmers, heartbreakingly good women, beautifully badwomen, lonesome good guys, bravura bad guys and Friday-night criminals. Say Eaglesmith, "I think the bottom of the barrel is where the answers are." In Eaglesmith's sure hands, a song about a dreamless small-town snowplough driver is a song about you.
Eaglesmith's songs have been covered by a steadily growing list of artists: The Cowboy Junkies, Chris Knight, Dar Williams, Kasey Chambers, among others, and James King. Film director Martin Scorsese has used his songs, as have others including James Caan in his movie "Viva Los Nowhere." Fred has also had feature roles in several film productions.
Eaglesmith won a Juno Award for Best Roots and Traditional Album -Solo, is a winner of the Canadian Independent Music Award and was a finalist in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition for his song, "Alcohol and Pills." Three tribute albums featuring covers of Eaglesmith's work have been recorded, and Fred and regularly scores on critics' top ten lists on both sides of the border, inEurope and inAustralia, and onAmericana charts.
Whether you are a "Fredhead," or more of a fan of50 Cent, if you enjoy music at all (and a good laugh), Fred Eaglesmith is not to be missed.-The Courier Online
Since first hitting the road in 1996, Fred Eaglesmith and his amazingly versatile band have received critical acclaim from almost every major and minor newspaper inCanada and theUS. Eaglesmithis also accompanied by one of the most devoted fan bases since The Grateful Dead. "Fredheads" faithfully trek thousands of miles to participate in one of Fred's fests, and to hear the outstanding alt-country and roots artists who share bills with Eaglesmith.
A Fred Eaglesmith show features a mix of passionate, funny and moving music, ridiculously on-target comedy and commentary, honest tears and poignant observations all at once. Eaglesmith's views on affairs --current ones as well as those of the heart - are hilarious, uproarious, and provocative, as are his plainspoken Zen observations. As one reviewer said, "It takes a jaded soul to leave a Fred Eaglesmith show unaffected."
Fred Eaglesmith