Sean Burns likes life on the road as a musician.
"I've played in about 20 of the United States and in every Province except Newfoundland," said the folk/country artist who will perform at 5th Avenue Cup & Saucer in Yorkton tonight (Aug. 18). "For me, being on the road, there are bizarre highlights.
"For example, right before this Tour began we met a guy in a bar in Oshawa. We got to talking and he told us he was from Brandon, Manitoba and I mentioned we were playing there and were stuck for a place to stay for that night and the three nights prior to the gig. He phoned his mother and set us up to crash with his folks for a few days. They treated us like family and it was a great few days break before we got back to work.
"Stuff like that is the real highlight for me. "Drinking a case of beer in Amherst, Nova Scotia as a band just so we could get the free baseball hat - and then fighting over who got the hat tour highlights for sure.
"We've got to play some great places that host some great acts so that in itself is pretty cool."Burns grew up in Oshawa, Ont. which remains his base.
"I'm the king of the couch crashing circuit. I have spent the majority of the last eight-years coming and going, traveling for gigs and such, and spending lots of time staying in Toronto as well," he said.
For Burns, music wasn't his first choice, even if it was in his blood.
"My father is a guitar player and I rejected the idea of following in his footsteps for a lot of years," he said. "When I got to high school a lot of kids were playing guitar or drums or whatever - I figured that I could play as badly as them in no time. So, I started playing bass so I could jam with friends and it just kind of went from there.
"My Dad taught me some stuff and taught me some chords on the guitar and then left me on my own with it."
Once into music, Burns said he found influences in many styles.
"My influences are all over the map really," he said. "Mainly singer-songwriter type of stuff; Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Elvis Costello. Those would the biggies for me."
The tour, which includes Yorkton in support of a new album Burns said, was a huge project.
"Well, this new record consumed my life for almost a year," he said. "These songs started flowing out in the spring and summer of last year and then I had some partially done songs I completed in that time. "We went into the studio in October and then finished up in February (I was away gigging in between)."Burns said his muse tends to be life.
"The songs are all based on true events or situations I had been encountering. I'd come up with a line and write it down or text it to myself and then run with the idea. They write themselves after a while, but I have to shuffle through the notes/texts at times."
The CD was recorded at 'Zoo Studio' in Toronto, which Burns said was "a great place run by a man named Ralph MacDonald. He's a fantastic musician and producer, and also a very close family friend. He really kicked my butt and really got inside the material."
Burns said recording allowed him to create a bigger sound for his music.
"Often times on stage we're a three or four piece band. Depending on budget and travel restraints," he said. "So, we incorporated a lot more sounds on the record; lots of background vocals, organ and piano, mandolin, saxophone, trumpet, banjo, pedal steel guitar, 12-String electric guitar, and even a didgeridoo on one track."
On stage it's different.
"Whereas for the most part it's guitar-bass-drums (on stage)," he said. "We do a lot of stripped down shows with an acoustic guitar and a small little drum kit. It's a great change for us and works really well in the coffee shops and cafes we stop at."
The fuller sound on the recording has paid off, said Burns.
"I'm very happy with it. The first CD we recorded was done in about two weeks. This one we really took our time on and worked harder on arrangements and grooves and really getting closer to the material," he said.
