Denise Donlon & Murray McLauchlan

By Jay Cooper Contributor,

Graphic Designer, & Musican

I had the chance to talk to a couple who are definitely classified as Canadian Royalty. Denise Donlon and Murray McLaughlan have a rich history in television and music. They have been coming to their cottage on Stoney Lake for the past 20 years.

A Taste of the Kawarthas (ATOTK): Jay Cooper here, good afternoon! Denise Donlon (DD) & Murray McLauchlan (MM): Hey Denise and Murray here.

ATOTK: I am thrilled to be chatting with Canadian Music Royalty today. DD: (she laughs) That might be a little high there to believe but we appreciate it.

ATOTK: Jeanne Beker has so many accomplishments and now were going times two for this issue. (laughs) DD: Jeanne is a dear friend and that’s why this happened.

ATOTK: Awards between you are … Murray - Eleven Juno Awards, 18 Albums, Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, The Order of Canada, Composer, Countless TV Shows, Actor, Pilot and still touring. DD: Hey you forgot the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement, for God’s sakes (they laugh) ATOTK: And Denise - The NewMusic, MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic, President of Sony Music Canada, Canadian Broadcasters Hall of Fame, Author and The Order of Canada. WOW! MM: And CBC!! (they laugh) DD: Yeah it’s been quite the adventure for both of us.

ATOTK: Times a ticking, kids, better get our there and do something with your lives. (they laugh) DD: Well that’s the thing about so many people when they get the Order of Canada. They say, Crap, now I have to go out and live up to it. (laughs)

ATOTK: You have a cottage on Stoney Lake here in the Kawarthas. MM: Yes, on Upper Stoney Lake.

ATOTK: What do you love about the area and how did you decide to have a place here? MM: My family has been on the lake for many, many years. Almost 50 years. We had a place owned by my brother down near Hells Gate. Actually, spitting distance from St. Peters on the Rock. When I first started going around with Denise, I thought it would be really cool to bring her up there and canoe her around and look at the stars. So we kind of started dating up there, and I’d put her on a mattress in the front of the canoe and she would sit on the bow and look at the reflection of the stars in the water while I was paddling away. DD: Well, it was not actually a mattress, more of a Personal Flotation Device. (laughs)

MM: Hey this is my story. You can edit your version later. (laughs) I like to make you look good. (they laugh) Ultimately, we ended up getting married at St Peters on the Rock Anglican Church. We had the reception at the old cottage. As often happens eventually, the family island compound had to go the way of all things. And we were upset; we really were, as we had a really strong attachment to the lake and to the area. By that point, we sort of languished for a few years. And for a brief period of time, we rented in the summer time from a friend who had a cottage on Clear Lake down by Young’s Point. And we looked and looked, but the intention was always to get a place back on the lake because of the attachment. Finally, we found a place that was a bit run down, and a bit of a wreck, but it had an incredible western view, incredible sunsets. And that was all we needed. DD: Yeah, it’s a very sweet island property, and we have been there for almost 20 years now. We really like the community. We are very fond of going into Lakefield and supporting local businesses. It’s a very welcoming, homey place. We don’t go there in the winter, as it is an island property. But as soon as the ice goes out, I’m like, “Murray! Come on lets get the water in!” (she laughs) MM: The important question is, when are YOU going to get the water in? (they laugh) DD: We have wonderful neighbours, and don’t take this the wrong way, but they’re not Jet Ski people either. (she laughs) MM: There are kind of two cultures on the lake and sometimes they collide a bit. One culture see’s the lake as one big swimming pool with big boats and stereo systems, and the other culture likes to canoe and sail and appreciate wild life, peace and quiet. Now, I’m not standing here with my pants up too high, (he laughs) but we just like to cottage. We use our boats to get back and forth from the shore. Boating is a utility thing not a form of recreation. We’re kayak people.

ATOTK: Yes, you’re in a perfect spot with Lakefield, and just west of you Buckhorn. DD: Yeah we go to all the local places and enjoy them. And of course, Murray has played in most of those places.

MM: You’re nothing if you haven’t had a corn dog at the Norwood Fair! (they laugh)

ATOTK: Both of you impacted my own musical journey in different ways. Murray, from watching you on TV in the early days still recording and touring. What was your musical journey like in those early years? MM: It was very different than the way it’s now, most certainly. When I was just getting started there wasn’t much of a music scene here. The general feeling was, you had to move to the United States. Which I did briefly in 1969 and I lived there for a year. The reason I came back to Canada was I got a phone call from a guy named Bernie Finklestein who was starting a record label called True North Records. He started to do a record with a guy named Bruce Cockburn and asked me if I wanted to put something together. So I flipped a coin and said sure why not. So I came back to Toronto and got an apartment in Kensington Market and we made a record. We were very fortunate, as two things were happening - one was the advent of FM radio. It wasn’t formatted like AM radio as it didn’t have charts, but had young guys that were spinning records and talking to insomniac university students who were cramming for exams and would play whatever they wanted to play, like a whole side of the record. And no distinction between Bruce Cockburn and the Rolling Stones records. Kids didn’t draw a line between what was coming out of Canada or the US. And the second reason, there was an emergence of nationalism going on in Canada. The feeling of why can’t we appreciate what we can do, why does it have to be from somewhere else. Also, at the time, the pop wave was singer songwriter and that’s what Bruce and I were. So we were able to gain some real traction in the media. I got the chance to get up and do some songs at a Neil Young warm up show for his ‘Tonight’s the Night’ Tour, and the folks in the crowd did back flips. It was noticed by Management and Neil and the next thing I knew I was on the tour. I got lucky in many respects and am truly grateful for it. Now that being said, you still have to put the work in. The 10,000 hours of work and I got better at what I do. I think my best days are ahead of me.

ATOTK: Denise, back in the day, I liked to take my lawn cutting money to the record store to buy a 45 or album and I would listen to it for weeks. But with NewMusic, MuchMusic and now Streaming Services, was it better when it was more simplistic? DD: So I’ll answer in two parts. When MuchMusic started (and I came aboard 2 years into it) videos were new. So the play list at MuchMusic was like the FM free styling was for Murray. So we would play the Tragically Hip next to Blue Rodeo next to Flock of Seagulls. And there was a boom of videos. We were getting 500 videos a week and just couldn’t play them all. Hence, Much More Music and specialty shows. But I think there isn’t one central place where there is a focused conversation about music anymore. There was supposed to be this golden age of music, which would offer everyone easy access to global markets. But the challenge is that as an independent artist you’re responsible for your own marketing, promotion and distribution, and expected to tweet every two hours hoping to build a fan base. I don’t want my artists spending their 10,000 hours on social media. I want them to focus on their craft. So the ‘golden age’ made artists into hustlers and I’m not sure that it serves the art. For emerging artists, it’s harder to make money at it now and it’s harder to have a career.

ATOTK: What would be your advice be to a young, aspiring Musician/Artist today? DD: Work on the art first. Lead with the art. Put your 10,000 hours into the art and then when you get a following continue with management, distribution and the rest of it. It’s hard. You’ll need help and people around you that believe in you. I’m not de-crying the advances of the music industry. Things change as they go. But it’s two decades with the illegal file sharing. We’ve been struggling to reinvent and there’s opportunities for some and others have to refigure how they’re going to work in this new economy. One of the challenges is there is a value gap for these artists, and the artists aren’t being compensated. I mean, if you had a hit on FM/AM radio, you could probably go out and buy a nice car. But the money people get for

ATOTK: Negativity aside, what do you love about the Music Industry now? MM: I still record with True North Records. I still put records out. I’m still doing what I do, and realizing that what I love about it is making music. And the rewarding thing to that is our son loves RUSH and the musicianship and people that can play and are not heavily synthesized. The thing I love about the music industry now is you can walk around with the universe on your phone with the access to choice. Now, at the cottage we have a giant wall of vinyl and a great record player. You put your headphones on at night and look at the artwork and read who played what. That’s pretty special. You know, it helped who we became and we found our tribes through music. So it’s the best of both worlds.

ATOTK: I will swim to this Island Cottage to see this wall and then I will swim back. I promise. (laughs)

ATOTK Best Gig you ever had? MM: The first night I ever played Massey Hall in Toronto. To be playing where I watched so many others as a ticket holder. And that was the first time my father, who was in the front row, had ever seen me perform. DD: I have a terrible memory so my best gig would have to be the most recent, which was the National Arts Centre for the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. It was Sandra Oh and the NAC Orchestra. And it was just phenomenal! Loved it to death.

ATOTK: Worst gig you ever had, like Spinal Tap Puppet Show bad?

MM: (laughs) Now this is going back to when dinosaurs walked the earth (laughs). There was a Spaghetti House in the University district of Toronto and my Agent/Manager got me a gig singing there. Basically singing to people talking, clinking glasses and chomping on spaghetti. And of course I was an insufferable prick and totally up my own backside about how important my art was. So I was telling people to shush and shut up. I have grown up since then. (he laughs)

ATOTK: You have a tour coming up, Murray. Tickets on the website. Any meet and greets? MM: Absolutely. We go out every night and meet people and kiss babies and sometimes sign strange body parts. (he laughs)

ATOTK: Thank you guys so very much for your time I will see you around the Kawarthas soon. DD & MM: Thanks Jay! You’re awesome!

ATOTK reached out to Bernie Finkelstein, founder of True North Records, to comment. Bernie’s personal and professional relationship with Murray McLauchlan goes back more than 50 years, and they continue to be friends to this day.

“He is an awesomely talented songwriter and performer. His appeal was immediate, and we did very well together. I’m a huge fan of Murray, I love him and he’s fantastic.”

Murray McLauchlan www.murraymclauchlan.com

Denise Donlon Twitter @donlin

For more interviews by Jay Cooper go to www.slitherproductions.com/Musicmag