The song remains the same
After musical hiatus, success returns for folk pioneer Joanne Crabtree
After more than a decade away from the entertainment business, Seton Village area musician Joanne Crabtree is enjoying a musical renaissance.
Crabtree was a pioneer in Canada's early folk rock scene, performing both solo shows and with the folk-rock band Hard and Soft. Her solo career stretched from 1960 to 1966 and during that time, "back when it was a novelty to be a girl with a guitar," she said, Crabtree became well known in coffee houses, college and university campuses and hot music venues such as Yorkville's famous Riverboat.
Her music took her on tour, with tours taking her to gigs across Canada and the British Isles. It was after one such tour that she found her style of music was losing traction back home.
"I got back and found that the folk scene was no longer happening," she said. "I did one bar gig and I quit."
She took up with Hard and Soft and stayed somewhat active in her band until 1978, but other more important life changes reduced her commitment to her musical career once her solo run ended.
"I was never the sort of person who could focus on a career and raise kids so once I had a family, I stepped away from it," she said.
Crabtree also devoted herself to becoming a psychotherapist, helping to earn a good living while dedicating herself to being a good mother.
As is the case with many talented performers, though she was effectively out of the music scene, she never lost her passion for playing. In 1990, with her kids grown, Crabtree decided she had spent long enough away from her former career.
"I wasn't feeling any itch around performing but there was definitely a lack of music, so I called a friend and started performing with lots of other musicians."
One such collaboration, with longtime musician Paul Mills, has led to a long and fruitful second career in music. The duo bonded over Tin Pan Alley-era parlour music and have worked closely together since 2000, first with Mills producing Crabtree's work and later as a duo.
While the key to their success is their music, the pair have a unique rapport that adds to their stage presence and keeps their shows light and entertaining above and beyond their tuneful performances.
"People think of us as funny," Crabtree said. "Because we work so closely together and we both have strong personalities, we get on each other's nerves and the audience seems to feed off that."
Of course, any tension between the two is hardly problematic - they have a mutual respect and often play up the apparent bickering for kicks while adding plenty of other humour to their shows.
"We wouldn't do this if there was ever any real tension," she said.
The fun the duo shares is evident on Crabtree and Mills' first album, Flight of Fancy. The eclectic collection of songs, touching on a variety of genres, was released in 2006 and the pair are already working on a new album.
In the meantime, they continue to play local venues, including an upcoming performance on Friday, Aug. 15 at 1 p.m. at Roy Thomson Hall as part of the Chartwell's Seniors' Jubilee. For more information on the show, or for tickets, visit www.roythomson.com or call 416-872-4255.
