Just Us Folk

As strange as it may seem, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown was at first a positive time for singer-songwriter John Wort Hannam. At that time, he had a number of unfinished songs. The unplanned time off the road meant he could hone them to a finished form. Those songs were the basis of 2021’s The Long Haul.

The album gave John three Canadian Folk Music Award nominations. He subsequently won for Contemporary Album of the Year and Solo Artist of the Year.

“As soon as that album was done, I thought I was done for a while,” he said.

“I thought that maybe I had nothing else to say. I went three years without writing anything.”

Just trying to write another song resulted in something that seemed forced.

A few years ago, John heard fellow singer-songwriter Keven Welch talk about the three stages of writing. First, there’s the gathering stage, where you see and experience a variety of things. Next comes the forming stage, where the songs are written. Finally there’s the presentation stage, where the songs are recorded or performed.

“I realized that during the back half of COVID, there wasn’t the ability for me to do the gathering,” he said. “Once we started travelling again, the songs started coming back again.”

Driving is a big songwriting catalyst for John. Travelling from gig to gig allows him to process songs in his subconscious. It’s like driving from Montreal to Toronto, and once you get there, you have no recollection of going past Oshawa.

“If I’m sitting at a table trying to write a song and I’m stuck, sometimes just getting up and walking around the block will get things going again,” John said.

Returning to songwriting after a three-year span has resulted songs that are slightly different from what he’s created in the past.

“I still feel like I’m writing John Wort Hannam songs but my bass player, Jason Valleau, has said lately that I’m doing interesting stuff and using chord changes I’ve never used before,” John said.

One thing John has been trying to achieve, is the ability to write songs about any topic. Sad, lonesome songs are in just about every songwriter’s wheelhouse. Writing a positive, comedic song is more difficult.

Some of those songs can be found on John’s latest album, Brave The Hive, which was released in June.

The album was financed through a crowdfunding campaign on his website. The initial goal of $20,000 was surpassed to a final total of over $27,000. It wasn’t the first time John has seen great support from his fanbase.

Like many performers during COVID, John performed online to stay connected to his audience. While it wasn’t the same as an in-person gig, there was financial support.

“Like many artists, I did the ‘tip jar’ thing,” he said.

“So many times I was overwhelmed the next day to see there was enough for a mortgage payment there. People were extremely generous. I don’t take that for granted.”

In putting together Brave The Hive, John was looking for a different sound from his previous work. What he wanted was a record that best represented what he does live. Go to a John Wort Hannam concert and you’ll see three friends standing close to a single microphone with only a guitar, a fiddle and a standup bass.

“When someone asks at a concert for the record that sounds like what they just heard, I can say, ‘This does,’” he said.

After having three albums produced by Steve Dawson, Brave The Hive was self-produced with Jason Valleau and guitarist Aaron Young.

John has performed with Scott Duncan for more than 20 years, and with Jason for 10 years. It stands to reason they had some input into the new songs.

“It maybe is as simple as them pointing out I’m singing the chorus too many times, or that a song needs a bridge,” he said.

John also feels the need to maintain a high level of musicianship on his guitar because Scott and Jason are such skilled players on theirs. In the end, the important thing for John is not necessarily musical ability but camaraderie.

“The hang is just as important as what’s on stage,” he said. “You spend an hour or two on stage and then there’s another 22 hours where you’re eating and sleeping and driving together. So you need to get along.”

For more on John Wort Hannam and Brave The Hive, go to https://www.johnworthannam.com