Just Us Folk

Throughout his 30-plus year career in the military, music has always been a part of Tim Isberg’s life. Whether he was deployed to the Middle East or in Afghanistan, Tim was able to connect with his fellow soldiers through music.

During his last tour in Afghanistan, he was part of a band that performed for the troops every couple of weeks. The equipment they had at their disposal wasn’t always the best but “The Band With No Name,” made up of Canadians and Americans, did their best to treat the men and women in the camp to an evening of rock, pop and country hits.

Another challenge for group was the availability of band members.

“Sometimes you had a female singer and sometimes you didn’t, and I don’t sing ‘Dancing Queen’ very well by myself!” Tim said.

Tim also started an open stage night as a way to determine who could play and sing. From this pool of talent various acts were created.

During his time in the Middle East, Tim was able to find a coffee shop, house concert or military camp where he could share his music. Once back in Canada he explored the possibilities of doing music full time once his days in the service were over.

“I was testing out the market a little bit, writing some songs, getting demos done and learning how the recording process works,” he said.

There were no doubts in Tim’s mind that a life in music was what he craved for his post-military life. He hated the prospect of looking in the mirror at age 75 and wishing he’d tried his hand at music. To that end, he embraced his musical journey in 2005. His first album, Tears Along The Road, was selected as one of the Top 25 favourite albums of 2015 by Music Canada.

But a return to more military duties meant music wasn’t a complete full-time endeavour until 2017. His 2019 album, Running On The Edge, was a Best Album of the Year nominee as selected by Country Music Alberta.

Tim’s latest album, Prairie Fire, came out last year to positive reviews. The album deals with a specific 30-year time span in Alberta’s history, from Confederation to the late 1890s.

Tim’s family history in the province goes back to 1877 when an ancestor was one of the first North West Mounted Police officers stationed to Fort McLeod. Tim’s grandmother (a white woman) went to a residential school on the Peigan reserve (Piikani Nation) and later in life taught Tim the Blackfoot language. Tim’s interest in history as he was growing up eventually led to a degree in Western Canadian History and Indigenous Studies. The experience was most enlightening.

“I thought I knew a lot about the subject, but I didn’t know how much I didn’t know,” he said.

Pretty soon Tim started writing songs about family history and the history of Alberta. But it wasn’t with the intention of creating an album. It was just for the purpose of writing a song about a certain subject.

“But one song led to another and then to another,” he said.

The songs on Prairie Fire deal with all aspects of Alberta’s history. From the coming of the transcontinental railway to the impact of white settlement on Indigenous peoples, Tim gives an honest account of what happened.

“You can’t really separate the good and bad of our history. We’ve earned what we have and we should own it,” he said.

A bonus for Tim in presenting these songs in concert is the opportunity to hear the family history of his audience members. Sometimes these stories intersect with each other to give a new dimension to what was known before.

The dream for Tim is to use the songs on Prairie Fire to be the basis for a musical play where actors will tell the story of this pivotal time in our history. Also in the works is a version of the show that’s geared towards students.

There’s a variety of military-based concerts Tim can present, from Remembrance Day shows to “Rwanda: Twenty-Five Years After.” That show was created in 2018 to mark twenty-five years since the Rwandan Massacre. Tim’s songs and stories are based on his deployment in the African country with General Roméo Dallaire.

“It isn’t a political lesson or a history lesson, it’s just my experiences,” he said.

Talking with audiences after a concert with Tim’s military-based songs can at times be awkward, but still rewarding.

“Someone will say they really related to the songs and have a little cry,” he said.

“So you give them a hug and you both feel better. I’m proud I can do that for them and share that emotion.”

For more on Tim Isberg and Prairie Fire, go to https://timisberg.com/index.html