ON STAGE
What: Harry Manx
Where: Alix Goolden Performance Hall, 907 Pandora Ave.
When: Friday, March 25, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $46.78 from or 250-386-5311
Harry Manx left home at 15 to join the music business, and has been in perpetual motion ever since.
The wheels did not stop spinning for Manx, 67, until the pandemic brought everything to a halt two years ago. The blues and roots musician used his down time to recharge, spiritually and creatively. “I’ve really enjoyed the time off,” Manx said from his home on Salt Spring Island.
“At first, you don’t know what to do with yourself, until you start to realize this is actually a great opportunity to hang out and relax and see what else is happening in life.”
The six-time Juno Award nominee has spent the majority of the pandemic at home with his wife, Najma, and son, Hector, though he found pockets where he could travel. He recently returned from Portugal, a place of refuge he has turned to throughout his career.
Manx, who was born on the Isle of Man in the United Kingdom, spent time in Portugal in December and January in a hut with no electricity, and could not have been happier. “I’ve always been on that spiritual journey of meditation. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m pretending to be a musician so I can fund that kind of lifestyle.”
Manx’s appearance Friday at the Alix Goolden Performance Hall is technically a solo performance, though the veteran performer, who spent more than a decade busking on the streets of Japan and Europe, has a few percussion tricks that will expand his sound considerably.
“Before I came to Canada, I was a street musician with a drum on my back for about 15 years. When I came here, I lost the drum, because I wanted to go professional. But people paid good money to see me work that hard.”
His tour through B.C. and Alberta, which continues into April, began with a March 19 performance in Edmonton at Dead Ends Live, a jam band music festival inspired by the Grateful Dead. Manx was initially surprised by the invitation (“I don’t follow that music,” he said), but he quickly aligned with the spirit of discovery for his gig alongside Grateful Dead associates Joe Craven and David Gans.
“One of the slogans that was going around at that event was: ‘Rehearsals are for cowards,’ ” Manx said with a laugh. “I like that idea.”
Manx said he’s adopting the same ethos for his upcoming tour. He plans to delve into songs from his back catalogue he hasn’t “paid too much attention to” in recent years, including Nine Summers Lost and Dew on Roses.
Musicians are always looking forward, he said. He’s eager to explore the past, if only for his upcoming dates.
“People in the music industry are chomping at the bit. By and large, we’ve been starving for a few years, so we’re more than ready to get back our and play for people. We’re all happy if we can get back out there and do it.”
