FRED EAGLESMITH Fred Eaglesmith is a Canadian singer / songwriter / storyteller / comedian who reads books on nano-technology, likes machinery, and runs his farm entirely on wind and solar energy. And his band has their quirks, too. For the past decade, Fred and his free-spirited troop of modern-day troubadours have worn a zig-zag trail across North America, with trips to Europe and Australia recently added to their quixotic adventures. The miles winding away through the night beneath the wheels of their battered bus bear the mark of their passing. In their rearview mirror are scenes of rabid Fredheads whooping and whistling for the raw, driving country soul scorching the stage. Audiences laughing until their sides ache at the hilarious personal tales Fred weaves into his show. Newly converted fans stunned into silence as the balladeer shares poignant tales of aching loss — or grinning at his tongue-in-cheek take on the human condition. Fred Eaglesmith is unstuck in time. His stage show hearkens back to an earlier era of country and roots music when entertainers would spin tales and spout one-liners between tightly crafted tunes. Yet Fred’s songs — and his stories — are carved from keen observations of the modern world and how it affects Everyman. Across the continent, a growing number of Fredheads surge into roadhouses, honky tonks, old churches and high-ticket theaters to revel in the experience that is a Fred Eaglesmith concert. Fred has broken all the rules on his way to becoming a Juno award-winning and critically acclaimed artist. He has done so consciously, purposely, and fully aware of the price tag attached. "We’re out of the music business now," he says. "We don’t want to win any awards, I don’t want a publicist, we don’t need critics reviewing the music. I went into a record store the other day, and my CDs weren’t in there. And I was glad." Fred doesn’t have a repertoire of radio hits. What he does have is better. On any given night, from Ontario to Texas, he could perform entire sets from requests for his original tunes called out by the audience. "I've never had to compromise — not that I would," Fred says. "My fans recognize the integrity in the music, and they would detect any crack in the wall and call me on it." Fred was raised on a series of farms in southern Ontario by an extremely religious father. He recalls his childhood as being in one of two places, either working the farm or driving to church. His father lost the farm, and by age sixteen Fred had left home, hopped freight trains out west and made his way back east to the farms of Ontario. After pursuing music in his younger years, Fred settled down and started a business that flourished beyond his dreams. Then the bottom fell out, and Fred went back to music to pay the mortgage. He landed a publishing deal in Nashville with Bluewater Music and returned with enough to catch up the payments on his farm. Then he hit the road. And the road has never been the same since. He owns his own CDs and has started a new record company — AML, A Major Label — not only for his own music but to give a leg up to talented young artists. When he’s not writing songs (which he does every day), Fred’s active mind is constantly coming up with new concert ideas and new merchandise ideas, building his thriving business to the level of success that suits him. Fred has had 30 or 40 cuts by minor artists, plus major cuts by The Cowboy Junkies, Chris Knight, Dar Williams, Kasey Chambers and James King. Film director Martin Scorsese has used his songs, as have various others including James Caan in his movie Viva Los Nowhere. At the core of all this activity is a quiet truth that Fred keeps front and center in his mind. It’s all about the fans. He connects with them, on stage and off. It’s a connection that rings with honesty. When Fredheads say they "get religion" at an Eaglesmith show, it’s that core honesty that brings.