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Posted on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 : 5:09 a.m.

Cowboy Junkies coming to The Ark for a sold-out show

By Kevin Ransom

CowboyJunkies_ChrisBuck.jpg

Cowboy Junkies

Chris Buck

Most rock fans who were of age in 1988-’89 can still recall what a fuss the media made at the time over Margo Timmins, the singer for the Cowboy Junkies — after her murmuring, hypnotic vocals on the band’s “The Trinity Session” album brought out some of the worst instincts of the “celebrity press” — and, in some cases, the rock press.

Timmins’ hushed vocals were so sultry and seductive, and created such an aura of mystery, that several mags went way overboard in trying to hype the image of Timmins as a sex symbol. “Plus, our record company at the time was really trying to sell the notion of me as this ‘mysterious’ figure,” says Timmins, who joins her bandmates at The Ark for a sold-out show on Monday, Oct. 5.

“I never really liked that, because in truth, I’m not a shy person; I’m actually quite friendly, and very comfortable introducing myself to strangers. But the label was convinced they needed to perpetuate this image of me as this dark, aloof girl, who no one was allowed to talk to. It was pretty ridiculous, actually,” she recalls with a laugh.

And don’t even get Timmins started on the whole sex-symbol thing. “I was totally uncomfortable with that, because that just isn’t me,” she recalls during a recent phone interview. “In my everyday life and onstage, I wore long skirts and loose-fitting shirts — but you wouldn’t believe the skimpy outfits some of those magazines wanted me to wear at those photo shoots.”

One such shoot, which Timmins now recalls as hilarious — although it didn’t seem so funny at the time — was one she did for People magazine’s “Most Beautiful People” issue. “They wanted me to pose almost nude, holding these (strategically placed) flowers… “I told ‘em, ‘You’ve got to be kidding!,” she says, laughing. “I guess they thought I was pretty uptight.”

But, being a good soldier, and knowing that the photo shoots were good exposure for what was then a relatively unknown band, she went ahead and did most of the shoots, even though she wasn’t wild about the idea — but refused to budge when it came to wearing revealing ensembles. “The guys in the band said, ‘You know, you don’t have to do these.’ But I figured, I shouldn’t turn it down, because it ultimately helped people discover the music.”

Looking back, “The Trinity Session” was a game-changer on some levels, because the Junkies’ meditative variations on country/folk/blues were dropped into the pop-music scene at a time when big, layered, arena-pop productions were still all the rage.

“Remember, in 1988, the impact of the whole (Michael Jackson) ‘Thriller’ phenomenon was still pretty much in force,” says Timmins. “There was so much pop music at the time that was so over-produced. So when we released that record, I think it helped remind people that music could be subtle and still have an emotional impact.”

Indeed. The band’s languid, atmospheric interpretations of songs like Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane,” “Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight” — highlighted by Timmins’ haunting, almost whispery vocal performances — stirred a lot of hearts, minds, and, as previously noted, libidos.

Watch the Cowboy Junkies music video for "Sweet Jane":

And it indeed inspired a generation of folk-rock, alt-country and indie-rock artists — a few of whom were fairly stoked when they were invited to participate in the “Trinity Revisited” recording released in ’08 on both CD and DVD. For that project — which commemorated the 20th anniversary of the original “Trinity” album — the group reassembled at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto, where they had recorded the original “The Trinity Session” disc, and rerecorded the songs with guest artists Ryan Adams, Natalie Merchant and Vic Chesnutt.

Listen to “Trinity Revisited”:

“They were all really enthusiastic about participating, and talked about how pumped up they were to play and sing these songs, and had stories about how the original album affected them,” says Timmins with some pride. “It was really a great experience. They all really brought a lot to the project.”

Looking back, Timmins explains the initial inspiration for the group’s now-signature, languorous sound.

“We were all just very laid-back people,” says Timmins, who, along with her bandmate brothers, guitarist Michael and drummer Pete — plus bassist Alan Anton — grew up in Montreal but later relocated to Toronto, where they still live. “And when we first got together to make music, it was obvious that I had a very quiet singing voice, so the guys had to turn down their instruments in order for my voice to be heard, and they found they liked the sound they got when they turned down.

“Plus, Pete was a pretty new drummer at the time, so he really couldn’t play a lot of the big rolls and fills back then — which he is great at now, and which can sometimes get irritating — and you can print that,” she adds, with a laugh.

“And, out of all of us kids, I was never the one who wanted to be famous; my siblings did. When I was a kid, I was the one who wanted to stay at home and make the beds and get married and have six kids like my mom did. So I just wasn’t very comfortable onstage — it was like I didn’t feel like I had the ‘right’ to be a singer or something.

“John Prine helped me change my thinking on that (when the group went out on tour with Prine in 1990 — a tour that that came to the Royal Oak Music Theater). He told me to just have fun, that it was ‘okay for me to be a singer,’ to go out and relax, and if you fall down, who cares?’ That was a big turning point for me.”

Since that nascent period, Timmins has obviously grown more comfortable onstage, and can belt out a song in full-throated fashion if called upon — a talent that has tracked nicely with the band’s evolution. The Junkies’ sound became more expansive over the years, as Michael Timmins turned up his guitar much more often than he did in the early days, and the tempos also picked up at times — like, say, on their ’96 effort, “Lay It Down,” or on their ’07 disc, “At The End of Paths Taken” (the group’s latest album of new material).

“I think that also comes from us just becoming more proficient — being better musicians, and me being a better singer, due to having done it now for so many years.”

The band is presently at work on a new album, but Timmins can’t really say how far along they are. “The songs are all written, and we’ve recorded a bunch of them, but I don’t know if we’re ‘finished’ with them yet,” she says. “That’s the nice thing about having our own studio now. We can go back in and tinker with them, and try out new ideas — or completely re-record them if we want, giving them all-new arrangements if we feel like it.”

That’s why Timmins hesitates to describe the music on the new album, “because a lot of it could change. And Michael was living in China for four months, playing a lot with some of the musicians in the village where he was staying, so he brought back a lot of new, different musical ideas” — music with various Asian influences, says Timmins.

“Now,” she adds, giving her brother a good-natured ribbing and laughing again, “whether they’re good ideas — well, that remains to be seen.” PREVIEW Cowboy Junkies Who: Now-veteran band that initially turned heads with its quiet, atmospheric sound in the late 1980s. What: Languid, hypnotic brand of country/folk/blues, featuring Margo Timmins’ hushed, murmuring vocals. When: Monday, 8 p.m. Where: The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor How much: $35 (Sold out) Details: 734-761-1451 or The Ark web site.

Kevin Ransom is a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com.

Comments

Kevin Ransom

Tue, Sep 29, 2009 : 3:08 p.m.

Thanks, Bell. Yeah, an intimate room like the Ark is perfect for the Junkies' sound.

bellhelmet

Tue, Sep 29, 2009 : 11:23 a.m.

Good story. GREAT video! Would be a cool show to see at the Ark.