Pat Temple’s latest album of original work came out nearly 15 years after his last, but he hasn’t been resting on his laurels musically.
His latest, Day For Day, released in 2015, is the Ontario musician’s first since the compilation album Hi Lo Silver and the first album of originals since One Song at a Time in 2000 — which Temple is planning on re-releasing on vinyl soon.
One Song at a Time, recorded in 1999, was captured in analog, which is becoming somewhat of a rarity these days.
“It’s a real gem of an album. I kind of got in on the last of the whole reel-to-reel, two-inch tape recording scene. People are still doing it, but it’s not very often you get to do that anymore,” Temple said. “I’ll have analog on analog right there. A lot of people are making vinyl now, but they’re recording on computers, digitally, but they just put it out on vinyl. It sounds pretty good, but it’s not the same as if you do the whole thing analog.”
Temple compares the difference to that of film and digital video, with a richer authentic quality and more depth of field in film.
“I can hear that in recordings, that the music doesn’t have the depth of field, front to back, we try to work on that,” Temple said.
He has done a lot of producing for other musicians as well in between albums, he works with the Derangers out of Winnipeg, douglas watson from chicago.
“After One Song at a Time I was touring non-stop at that point and I realized that I was living out of a suitcase for many years and wanted to settle down,” Temple said.
He bought some property in rural Ontario, noting that after escaping the city life he's never going back, and for a while played locally, joining in as a side-man at shows from time to time. Eventually, Temple was back in the studio as a recording artist, looking to make himself a birthday present.
“I wanted to put something out for my 60th birthday and I kind of gathered it up to do that and everybody said ‘well, you got to get out and tour that,’ so now I’m out touring it and having a ball,” Temple said. “I’m really enjoying the travelling and meeting lots of people it’s been fun.”
He never stopped writing, so there was no shortage of material to put together on Day For Day.
“I just didn’t go about recording anything or putting anything out during that time. I was producing other people’s music. It takes a lot of energy and effort to put a record out, to do something nice,” Temple said. “That album, Day For Day, I have 14 different players on it.”
Musical friends, acquaintances around the Ontario music scene, fill out the album including two fiddle players and a long lost trombone playing friend who recently reemerged after living in Europe.
“I kind of focused my songs to who was going to be on each session,” Temple said.
A jug band out of Peterborough, Ont. also feature on the Day For Day.
“There’s three sort of sessions on (the album). Trombone/clarinet the dixie influenced session, the twin fiddles session and the jug band session,” Temple said. “There’s an actual guy playing the jug, which is really a funny instrument, but man can he ever play the jug.”
He’s currently touring with two bandmates 30 years his junior.
“They drive me around and take care of me, I’m like the bad dad,” Temple laughed. “It’s kind of funny.”
Pat Temple comes to the Dream Café June 25 (Saturday) and tickets are $22 and available by calling 250-490-9012 or visiting www.thedreamcafe.ca.