Reknowned studio musician strikes it out solo
He’s done background work with Delirium Run DMC’s D and Wild Strawberries. He put in 12 years of touring and recording with Sarah McLachlan. But with his 2008 debut LP the rootsy sprawling Brass and Gold go-to session man Sean Ashby declared that he was going his own route.
But for the Toronto-via-Vancouver musician it wasn’t always about his trusty guitar. As it turns out his career began in his basement where as a teen he drew comics in an attempt to develop as an artist.
“I was going to make an animated movie with a guitarist so I took guitar lessons to make it more believable” says Ashby. “I was good right away. I always wanted to be good at something — I played hockey for nine years and I was a crappy goalie.”
He quickly gained notoriety in his teens and he was soon given his own space at his high school so he could practice at all hours. And that room is where Ashby developed his renowned guitar and lap steel abilities.
“I used to play guitar in high school while everybody else was going on dates” says Ashby.
But his dedication has paid off — perhaps more than an occasional trip to Makeout Point. After 230 shows in 18 months in support of Brass Ashby has shaken his reputation as a studio musician. In fact he’s returned with his sophomore album 24 Hours of Daylight and yet another tour to support it.
“My day job was playing for these other people” says Ashby of his extensive session work. “There’s no time to play with anybody else. If Tom Waits asked me to play I’d make it work. But now there’s no time to do session work. Now is the time to move on to the next step of my music.”
For now that next step is Daylight. Due to wintry road conditions Ashby took a long break from touring to record his new songs. A self-produced album he elected for simplicity with plenty of tracks using single takes and minimal overdubbing.
It took him two weeks to record with his vocals and guitar tracks only taking four days to complete. His decision to produce his own album he says was an easy one.
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“Producers don’t feel happy until they change everything” said Ashby. “More artists should just produce their own music. When producers are involved there are too many cooks in the kitchen. If you’re painting a picture you don’t want three other people coming up and putting their brush strokes on it because they think it needs more orange. I want to see a Picasso not a Picasso and 14 managers.”
Shiny new album in hand Ashby has already been on the road for two months with plans to take a break this winter. He’s played to a three-person coffeeshop audience and in front of 300-person outdoor festivals but no matter the size of the show Ashby is just glad to introduce his songs to fresh ears.
As for his performance Ashby promises he’ll be coming off the Ironwood stage covered in sweat. He has no pretensions about his music — he says he’ll reward the crowd with familiar material spanning his entire catalogue.
“I do have a bit of a name to go on” says Ashby pointing out his time spent with McLachlan. “But I’ve never been afraid to do hard work and I’m working hard to get my work out there.”
