Mike Ford
MapleMusic Recording artist Mike Ford, one-fourth of multi-platinum Canadian folk-pop-vaudeville band Moxy Früvous, is following his muse. The direction? Coast to coast to coast. For the last four years Mike has been writing and collecting songs about various characters and events in Canadian history. He's been performing these songs as a special guest in schools across the country, and has answered insistent requests for a CD of these originals with the juno-nominated Canada Needs You (volume one). "It's a musical journey through our collective past," says Ford. "I love reading, learning, talking about aspects of this country's history. Lately, more than anything, I've been singing about it."
From immersion summers in Lac St. Jean to tree-planting stints in the forests of Vancouver Island and the B.C. interior, to nine years of near-constant touring with Moxy Früvous, Ford has seen a lot of this country. Along the way he's written a lot of songs. Canada Needs You (volume one) includes his unique originals about D'Arcy McGee, Louis Riel and Sir John A. Macdonald, among others. The album focuses on fascinating elements from Canada's history, pre 1900 (Volume Two will approach Canada in the 20th Century). The album is Ford's second solo work – a follow up to 2005's critically acclaimed "Stars Shone On Toronto", which featured musical homages to Jane Jacobs, Tooker Gomberg, the Blackout of '03 and other Toronto stories. Mike lives in east Toronto with his wife Therese and step-daughter Jacqueline, and is constantly touring Ontario schools with his history-inspired music. For more info, please visit www.mikeford.ca
Mike Ford - narrator
Piano & OrganWednesday, May 23, 2007
6:00-6:30 p.m.
Tickets $5