David Gogo comes on strong with two new tracks from his latest album Silver Cup — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
“All of my life has been the same, and I ain’t never, never gonna change,” the Nanaimo singer-guitarist and Canadian blues veteran sings over his slide guitar on Never Gonna Change, one of two new offerings from his just-released 16th album. The other cut, the title track Silver Cup, is even more personal.
“The title track was inspired by an antique cup made in the 1800s that was passed down to me from my 95-year-old grandmother,” Gogo reveals. “The cup once belonged to my great, great, great uncle James McKay, who was a Métis builder of Canada. McKay was originally a trapper and guide, but eventually was involved in the negotiations of Treaties 1 through 5 and held several positions with the newly formed Province of Manitoba, including dealings with Louis Riel.”
Gogo is a six-time Juno nominee artist who has been hailed as Guitarist of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards three times. He was named Musician of the Year at the West Coast Music Awards, won Blues Recording of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards, and received the Great Canadian Blues Award for his lifetime contribution to the blues in Canada.
Silver Cup is an acoustic affair recorded at home with longtime friend Steve Marriner producing and playing on the project. The COVID pandemic and shutdown of live music gave Gogo time to reflect on his life, heritage and career — and his new songs reflect this.
“These have been difficult times for all of us, and the music industry in particular has taken a severe beating,” Gogo says. “Despite the uncertainties, I felt that the one thing that I could focus on was to stay creative. Having spent my adult life playing on the road, I took the lockdown as an opportunity to woodshed and get back to the roots of what made me the artist that I am today.
“I was listening to my vinyl albums, going down rabbit holes on the Internet, reading biographies of musicians, and playing my many guitars and just feeling the energy of so much great music. At first I was just writing without any blinders on. I wasn’t sure what would be next for me, but that was OK. Eventually I realized that it was time for a rootsy, down-home recording that I could tour solo, as a duo, or with the band. Whatever the situation called for. The idea of recording at home with all my beautiful instruments really appealed to me.
“Of course, there are a lot of blues to fill your shoes. Steve and I had fun getting the sounds we were looking for out of the vintage acoustic instruments on hand, and we even wrote a couple of songs together. I can’t wait for things to get back to normal so I can hit the road with these new songs. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy listening to this album as much as we enjoyed making it!”
Listen to Never Gonna Change & Silver Cup above, hear the full album below, read more about Silver Cup HERE, watch my interview with David Gogo HERE, and keep up with him at his website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
