Carrying a lone guitar slung over his shoulder, Don Gammie, 42, walked in LB’s Pub for a night of jamming and walked out with an independent recording deal made on a handshake.
There were no big bucks or hefty advances. But for the alt-country singer, it was a dream come true – one that resulted in an album and one of his songs reaching radio stations across Canada.
“For me, it’s already gone farther than I thought it would. It would be great if more radio stations started playing it,” said Gammie in a telephone interview during his lunch break as a senior design draftsman for an Edmonton engineering firm.
The father of two preteen boys calls himself a “campfire” singer-songwriter, a man who fiddles with tunes in his basement and plays mainly for family and friends. A music career never entered his mind.
But destiny sent him barreling in a different direction after receiving an invitation to the Winstock Music Festival at Winfield, Alta. Impressed with Gammie’s bold, raspy pipes, several musicians suggested he check out LB’s Pub Open Jam nights.
Record producer Laurence Pugh was playing lead guitar the night Gammie walked into Darrell Barr’s Tuesday Night Open Jam.
“The second he opened his mouth, everyone went ‘Holy, cow. Can this guy sing.’ He has this natural tone everyone wishes they had,” Pugh said.
After the second set, Pugh was so impressed with Gammie’s powerful singing chops, he invited the wide-eyed newbie to record a couple of tunes at his home studio.
“I’d never focused completely on my singing and here I was – little old me – who had never been in a studio recording with professional musicians who thought this old hat,” Gammie said.
The initial heartbreak ballad Something Has Changed and the rock country Stand For You slowly grew into an eight-track album Drive Away released on Oct. 15.
The title track, one of Gammie’s compositions, creates a dark mood that is made more personable with Dobro and steel guitar.
“It’s a song about addictions. Lawrence said we needed one more song and this came pretty easily,” said Gammie. He added that the song was not a part of his experience, but rather how the muses inspired him.
The first single release is This Beer Ain’t Gonna Drink Itself, a party song about boys at the bar procrastinating about going home.
“He sings a lot of songs about whiskey and drinking. That’s kind of funny ’cause he’s not a drinker,” chuckled Pugh.
When Gammie sings, his bourbon-soaked voice carries the sound of long-lived experience and authenticity. Part of it comes from his childhood upbringing.
As a child he grew up in Lucknow, Ont., during fall and winter. Through spring and summer, he lived in the Yukon.
His father was a manager in the mines and his mother was a tour guide for Parks Canada.
“I never felt uprooted. In looking back, I had friends in both places and I looked forward to seeing them.”
After graduation, Gammie attended Fanshaw College and received a two-year diploma in civil engineering. At the time, the program included a two-term work experience program that brought him to Alberta.
As an eight-year-old, Gammie took guitar lessons but did not enjoy the experience.
“I liked the guitar. It was the music they had me play that was boring – stupid little songs like Kumbaya.”
But at 15, he was given an electric guitar and in no time was hooked on AC/DC rock riffs.
“But I went back to the acoustic guitar. It was more conducive to singing.”
Today, listeners compare Gammie’s alt-country singing chops to Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan. Since the momentum in his career, Gammie has paired up with Ray Blackmore (bass) and Travis Thornton, both of Blackwater Crude to form a band.
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, he returns to the LB’s open stage with Pugh. No cover.
