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[Cover of Bring Their Tunes CD by the Celtic Chaos]

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[Ryan McMahon is seated in his home studio on Zoom]

[Ryan McMahon] I’ve been a performing, recording artist for 20-plus years. Born in Chemainus and raised in Ladysmith, and once I got to about the age of 15, being a musician was about the only thing I ever wanted to do.

[Music “Tell me what you’re after, tell me what you want” ]

[R.M] Anyway, so you show up at grade eight and you look around and you try to find your tribe, kind of, you know, you try to find like-minded people and, you kind of float for a few years. But, I think by the time I got to about grade 10, there was this band of guys that were in grade 12 two years ahead, and they were in a band called “I’m Not Frank”, and it was Dustin Young, Mike Rogerson and Dylan Baker.

And, the grunge era was the flavour of the year of that era. You know like the ripped jeans and the bad sweaters. Let’s dress as much like Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder as possible. And they dressed the part, they looked the part and they were kind of, they were kind of bad. You know?

And I just I saw those three guys and I’m like and they’re playing, like I mean, they would play Jimmy Hendricks “Voodoo Child” at battle of the bands in the gymnasium. And, they would play it like note for note, flawlessly. Like they were all really, really talented musicians.

And I wanted to be them so bad.

Then fast forward, a couple years later I was, you know, touring in Canada with two of them. They they were in my band. And, Mike Rogerson kind of took me under his wing in Vancouver and recorded my first couple records at a studio called Baker Street.

So, I mean those those guys absolutely were a huge influence early. And then even Lorcan Byrne who was my age, he rolled out of bed writing great songs.

[Slide show of photographs showing Ryan playing at various venues, plus a photo of Ryan and Burton Cummings singer with the Guess Who.]

[R.M.] All of my travels and my experiences overseas in Denmark, Germany, Canada, or the United States gave me fuel. Writing fuel.

And yeah, during COVID, I recorded a song here. Right here, in my garage studio called “Are You Alright”.

[Music Video “Are You Alright”]

Tell me what you’re after, tell me what you want,

Full feeder for the birds in the winter, worry gone.

The kid is learning Hendricks, in the white vanilla ways.

Crammin’ riffs under his lid, to keep forever days.

Are you all right?

Are you digging your aggressively domesticated life?

Are you alright?

Does your mother understand why you love me up so tight?

The creditors called, “Thank you for your payment”.

And the neighbours on the lawn making like we’re famous.

Power wash the rust off the song you used to slay,

And sing it to the crowd, while they talk about their day.

Are you alright?,

Are you digging your aggressively domesticated life?

Are you. Alright?

Or are your dreams in the fire as the smoke circles the sky?

Right on!

Renovate, paint, wake up and do some more.

While the 737s laying just outside your door.

Everything you knew and all the things you miss,

We could climb up our complaints just to see the view again.

Are you alright?

Are you digging your aggressively domesticated life?

Are you all right?

Or do you roll out of your bed and ask why? Heavens why?

[End video]

[R.M.] And, there was a part of the song where I had the horns come in and the gang vocals come in. And I thought well, I don’t have any trained singers or anybody to sing these gang vocals for me. So I called on the kids and whoever was home. I said come on in. Come on. I need you to do this “bahd ahd bahd ahd” part. And everybody came in and sang on that.

So I mean it’s still the family business for sure, whenever possible.

[Music]

[Slide show of family photographs]

[R.M.] And their grandkids can listen to them sing on these songs, too you know.

[Music]

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[Rob Johnston interviews Jazz Singer Lynne McNeil aka “The Christmas Lady”]

[Music]

[A man and a woman are looking at CDS] CD player

[Lynne McNeil] Now, this is, we didn’t do no rehearsal. This is everything straight. First time through.

[Music]

Under a blanket of blue,

just you and I beneath the stars,

wrapped in the arms of sweet romance,

the night is ours.

[Rob Johnston] Bring back memories?

[L.M.] Well, it does. This is such a lovely tune. These tunes are well, this is the only thing I’ve ever done that I selected all of the tunes.

I finished that in 2013. It’s a ways ago now, in 2013.

[R.J.] And this is the…

[L.M.] That’s my the first one, the Christmas Lady, yeah…

[R.J.] The one that has the credit to your dog. And this one here, what’s unique about this one?

[L.M.] Well, I always wanted to make a record with Don Thompson, because he is, I mean, they just threw away the mould. This guy can do anything. I’m just so in awe of his phenomenal musicianship and, he happens to be a very good friend of mine

[Colour photo collage on fridge with photo of Don Thompson]

[Lynne sits at her piano in the living room. Rob Johnson sits across from her.]

[R.J.] You developed the nickname or persona of…

[L.M.] “The Christmas Lady”

[R.J.] “The Christmas Lady”; How did that come up?

[L.M.] It was my very first CD called “The Christmas Lady”. It took me 7even years. I recorded five hours every Friday. It’s the one I sang 1,100 vocal tracks on. I did all the arranging, all the writing, all the playing.

I started with no sound at all. And, we have all of that sound appearing, coming from one person. But, it was difficult. It’s got that multi-tracking stuff. All those parts were very hard to sing. And, I remember, Thursday night I wouldn’t sleep at all. I’d be terrified that I wasn’t going to be up to the job of being down there for five hours the next day.

Ron Czar was the owner of the studio and my engineer. And he’d… I’d be banging up the stairs, (with my first, Holly was my first Westy and she was on the CD itself she’s named as the executive producer) and I would bang up the stairs with a sleigh bell, assorted Christmas paraphernalia, and he’d always yell, “Here comes the Christmas lady.” It seemed the obvious thing finally to call the album.

And the name has stuck. My favourite song in the whole world has always been “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. Hugh Martin who was a pen pal of mine, by the way, wrote the tune, yeah. He, in a letter he wrote to me, said he was glad he lived long enough to have the honour of hearing someone do his tune the way I had done it.

{Music] I love you. There’s nothing to hide. It’s better than burning inside. I love you, no use to pretend. There I’ve said it again. I’ve said it now, what more can I say? Believe me, there’s just…

[Slide show of photographs showing Lynne McNeil performing on various shows.]

[L.M.] All told, I was in Dal Richards band for 48 years, at the time that I retired when I was 68 years old.

[R.J.] One of your favourite commercials you did, how did that go?

Well, and, that was an accident. I was at Manta Sound doing something else, I’ve long since forgotten what that was. Hagood (Hardy) was across the hall in another studio doing a commercial for Bell Canada. It was, and, it was a guy that he had hired, and I’m just leaving, and I said. “I’ll see you tonight, boss,” because we were working at one of the hotels around. He said he said (he always called me McNut) said “McNut,” he said, “Come in here and just put this on, so the client can hear what a woman sounds like”. And it was, what was that? “Near You”, was the first one, and then we did “Anytime” and “Are You Lonesome Tonight”.

As it turns out, it took me, what, 5 minutes. They ran it for 15 years. I made tons of money. I used to tell the audience when I was playing and singing, I said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we don’t like to flaunt egos, I said, but, I actually had a little bigger hit on this tune than Elvis’ “Are You Lonesome Tonight” because it was the Bell Telephone commercial, right!

So what is it that fascinates me? Well, if you put Christmas together with music. It’s the reason why I always… my CD player in my 23-year-old Honda doesn’t work anymore, but there was always a Christmas CD in it, always.

[Lynne gives a treat to her dog]

But I have my fifth West Highland Terrier puppy. I put my money where my mouth is, his papers read, the name to be “Christmas Eve” and it has been shortened to Chrissy K for Chris Kringle.

[Lynne sits at the piano]

It’s a feeling. There’s a, it’s all to do with when I was a kid. The snow, the lights, I don’t know what. I, I can’t explain it. I love it singly probably better than anything else.

[Snow-globe Christmas decorations]

My biological father, Jack Sedon and my mother, Norma McNeil were married on Christmas Eve, and I have to say, I didn’t know that for most of my life. It’s something I found out about in the last 20 years.

My family was not large, but they were truly delightful. They were.

[Lynne sits at the piano]

They must have a lot to do with my great love of Christmas. I don’t know how I could ever pay anybody back for that. I wish I could. If I could give a gift to the world, I’d give everybody that feeling.

[Lynne and Rob dancing slowly]

[Music: It would be so tragic if you were not here to share my dear covered with Heaven above…]

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[Red Robinson] Hi there, This is Red Robinson with the all-new Canadian Bandstand show presenting the new sounds of the West Coast’s most vibrant bands, the Viscounts with Skip Hansen and Little Laverne…

[Music and photo of Red Robinson and his fans looking on]

Also featuring the DeVilles with Wayne Gust. See and dance to the most fabulous prize package of entertainment to come your way since 1958,

[Photo of Ladysmith Aggie Hall]

of icons and the DeVilles in person in the Agricultural Hall and Ladysmith with an All-Star dancing show.

[Man standing inside the Agricultural Hall]

[Rob Johnson] One of the outstanding features of the hall in its history is the fact that in the early 60’s, Red Robinson, a famous disc jockey and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

[Photo of Red Robinson and his fans looking on]

used to have travelling rock and roll shows, and he would bring them to Ladysmith.

[Photo of Mural depicting a collage of Jerry Lee Lewis, Red Robinson, Buddy Knox, Red Robinson, Bobby Curtola, Conway Twitty, and Roy Orbison, hanging on the wall of Aggie Hall]

On that wall is a mural of some of the rock and roll stars that performed on this stage: Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Conway Twitty, and The Everly Brothers.

[Music and photo of Bobby Curtola] Bobby Curtola Corinna Corinna]

[Music and video snip of Roy Orbison] Roy Orbison Only The Lonely]

[Music and video clip of Conway Twitty] Conway Twitty It’s Only Make Believe]

[R.J.] One of the stories that Red Robinson told me about the dances here in Ladysmith. Jerry Lee Lewis was famous for his piano playing.

[Music and video clip of Jerry Lee Lewis playing Shake Baby Shake Oh Shake Baby Shake]

[R.J.] When he came here, he went up onto the stage behind me and he played the piano there. The piano was so out of tune, he pushed it off the stage, and he said I’m not playing this piece of junk.

[Photo of Jerry Lee Lewis]

And that night, the patrons at the dance here in Ladysmith got to see Jerry Lewis playing guitar all night because he wouldn’t play the piano.

The other story that I found personally interesting was that he also said that when Roy Orbison appeared here.

[Photo of Roy Orbison]

It was the first time in the history of Canada that they had to have police dogs at a rock and roll dance. Over the years at the various dances on the island here, rivalries have developed between guys from Nanaimo and Ladysmith and Duncan, and quite often they would take it out at the dances, so they had police dogs to maintain order here.

[Rob Johnston walking in front of Aggie Hall]

Well, there are numerous stories about funny events within the Aggie Hall, and as I say, one of the ones was the number of people who would try to sneak in there with alcohol because all the dances were booze-free. One thing that used to happen at these dances is that they’d also bring in raw eggs, and they would throw them at each other. So I heard the story about how when some guys from Duncan were coming in, they were met at the door, and they were patted down quite vigorously, and as a result, all the eggs in their pockets were smashed.

[R.R] Aggie Hall in Ladysmith with an All-Star dancing show Saturday night, May 13th from 8:30 to 12 midnight, be there

[Music and photo montage of Ladysmith Aggie Hall]

[R.R.] Another Jaguar Presentation!

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Three men are sitting at a table in the Ladysmith Legion Hall. They have memorabilia and photos from a group called The Saints.

(Music)

[Rob Johnson] Why did you choose the name The Saints? Because you weren’t Saints.

[Art Dowswell] Well, we thought we were. We thought we were all pretty good, so we decided on the Saints. Right.

[Bob DeClark] Yeah. I think part of the influence back then was Bill Haley and the Comets. And one of their popular songs with the teenagers was When the Saints Go Rocking In and so that became our theme song, and it became our name. And so I played the drums, Art played the guitar, and David Bird played the piano. Merv Mawson was the trumpet player, and Gerald McGovern was the sax player.

[Colour photo showing five members of the Saints on Stage in the 1950s.]

[B.D.] Art and I were driving down here today, I said to him, “You know Art, I wouldn’t trade those years for anything. I think we were so lucky to just enter the rock and roll scene when we did with the guys that we had in the Saints and our high school friends. And it just turned out to be probably some of the best four or five years of your life.

[Photograph showing their record that was made at C-FUN radio station, plus a CD version.]

[B.D.] Ladysmith had, and I think Chemainus was included in the area, they had a Teen Town Association back then and so teenagers got together to just have a good time. And music and dancing turned out for us, turned out to be a way that we could provide some fun and entertainment.

[Black & white photo showing The Saints members holding instruments.]

[R.J.] You’re talk about it being clean-cut organization through Teen Town that had to have an effect upon that generation.

[A.D.] Pretty much yeah. They had an interest, they had something to do. Yeah, they weren’t just wandering around willy-nilly. They had a focus.

[R.J.] Because the dances were the key thing and then they had things like Teen Town baseball teams and stuff.

[A.D.] And the conventions and stuff like that, you know, so you all work to that common goal, eh.

[Newspaper Clipping showing The Saints performing at Teen Town Convention in Penticton, BC]

[A photo montage of The Saints performing.]

[A.D.] Three or four carloads of us left from Nanaimo, drove up for Friday night and the Saturday night bash. They had a huge Hall rented, and the place was just absolutely packed. The participants in the in the convention, they all just, when we started to play, they just all rushed up towards the hall or to the towards the stage, and we thought, we’re doing something wrong. We’re checking to see if our fly was undone or whatever, you know. And they were just so enthralled with the music. And the next night was even better.

[A slow pan showing the interior of the Ladysmith Legion Hall.].

[B.D.] This hall here is where we used to play, not every Friday, I don’t think, but probably at least two or three Fridays a month for the Teen Town Association, and always packed. Always a full house. And I got to say, no trouble. I can’t recall ever having any difficulty at our dances.

[A.D.] We would play here on Friday nights for Teen Town, and Saturday nights we’d head up to Nanaimo and play at Branch 10. Both places had stairs going up, and it was awful packing the gear up and down all the time, but we handled it. And Nanaimo had a really good Teen Town organization as did Ladysmith, so we enjoyed our time there, but it was a little more rough crowd up there.

[A series of black & white photos showing The Saints performing on stage, David Bird playing piano, Gerry McGovern (sax), Art Dowsell (guitar) and Merv Mawson (trumpet), and Bob DeClark on drums.]

[B.D.] We still have friends that we met from Nanaimo. Some of them married our friends, and you know, it was a great opportunity for us to branch out, and you know, get to be known a little further abroad with the Teen Town people in Nanaimo.

[Art points to a photo of himself with a guitar and David Bird on an accordion, at the front door of a house in the mid-1950s.]

[A.D.] This is how we got started. This guy here, Mervin,  David and I came to my parents’ house in Saltair, and we didn’t have a piano. I think I mentioned this before, but I had an accordion. I was taking accordion lessons at that time by correspondence, so I said to David, “Well, let’s have a practice at my house.” And he says, “You’ve got a piano?” And I said, “Nope, but I have an accordion. Well, we’ll make it work. So we came out and sat on the back of my dad’s car and played music, and practiced in the driveway.

[Photo of Merv, Art and David playing instruments while leaning on the back of a car.]

[B.D.] I think I told you at the beginning, I wouldn’t change those years for anything.

[Music]

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[Elder George Harris] My name is George Harris. I am from Stz’uminus First Nation. My traditional name is Whul’qul latza, and that comes from my great-great-grandfather.

[Music]

This Stz’uminus anthem song is a song that I had in my mind for a long time. But in 2010, Pearl Harris, my sister-in-law, phoned and asked me if I would go with her to attend a meeting with the Town Council, and I think the Sports and Rec were there too. And what they were getting ready for was the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay that was coming through town, coming through Ladysmith. They were kind of in a situation where they were looking for a traditional song to be sung for the Olympic Torch Relay, and they were struggling with that, and trying to figure out who can they can get in short notice, and I put my hand up, and they asked me, “What is it, George?” And I said, “I got a song,” and they asked me, what song?”Well, you never heard it before, because I never sing it to anybody,” I said. So they asked me if I would attend another meeting the next day, and this meeting that were attending was in Ladysmith. But the next meeting, the next day, was in the Health Unit in Stz’uminus, and right after the language class. And it was eight o’clock, and I walked in, and I thought, oh wow, it’s just going to be a few people. There were lots of people there, our traditional speaker was there, the Chief was there, his wife, the counsellors and their wives, and other people that were there for the language class were there too. So they asked me to sing the song, and I sang it, and our Speaker got very emotional, saying that he said that no one’s going to wonder who we are now, Stz’uminus. No one’s going to wonder who we are when we sing this song. and this song that has been adopted by Stz’uminus as the anthem song, the Stz’uminus song.

And it’s been sung everywhere, in the States, for Tribal Journeys, and in the Mainland, and here, and pretty much everywhere. I even sing it because I belong to a National Leaders Working Group for Correctional Services Canada. I sang it back east in Moncton, New Brunswick, so it’s been everywhere, and I’m really proud to be able to contribute that song to our people. The little kids. It really really makes me proud when they sing it at school as their anthem song. And they sing it quite a few times in, you know, at the school.

I like singing. I got hundreds of songs in my mind, and lots of them are songs that other Nations and other people own, and some other songs are just mine. I sing it just for me. And I did introduce another song. It’s called the Celebration Honour Song, and we’re singing that in public quite a bit, out in different events and different social gatherings, and traditional gatherings.

Yeah, I am one that follows, and the sacred inheritance from our ancestors. And I do honour and respect what I get from them, and I know that the Stz’uminus anthem song came because of my traditional teachings, what we call Snu’y’uh, our teachings, that’s the laws of our Coast Salish Nation or Stz’uminus Nation. So I can say, yes, it does, it does come from our ancestors.

I guess all I want to say is that more of this, what we’re doing now, is good for our Nations, Stz’uminus, and us, also the general public, to have a greater and better understanding of who we are as Stz’uminus people. You know, we got the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, we have the Truth and Reconciliation. I always kind of say I haven’t felt anything yet that feels like reconciliation for me. But I’m living a good life. I’m really honoured with my respect to my family, they follow the traditional way of life.

I want to explain a drum. This drum is called Journey to Reclaiming your Spirit, and it’s the design we used for a healing gathering we had at Penelakut Nation, about 10 -12 years ago, thereabouts. It was a two-day healing gathering, and it’s for us, and we’re on that healing journey, us, as Indigenous people, on, you know, because of the life we went through. I’m a Residential School survivor.

[Music]

[George Harris sings in Hul‘qumi‘num and drums]

Hul’qumi’num:

(hiikwut yuwen)

lhnimulh qweylh stz’uminus mustimuxw

lhnimulh qweylh stz’uminus mustimuxw

ah siem nu siye’yu

English:

(chant)

We are the Stz’uminus People

We are the Stz’uminus People

Oh, my respected friend

[G.H.] That’s the Stz’uminus anthem song. We are Stz’uminus people, and it says “ah siem nu siye’yu” that means all my respected friends

[Music]

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Five actors on stage performing “The Apes of BC” from the Play “Good Timber” created by the ensemble and music director Tobin Stokes. Directed by Ross Desprez. Produced by The Other Guys Theatre Company. The play was inspired by the logger poetry of Robert E. Swanson, known as “The Bard of the Woods”. The Apes of B.C. poem was written by Seattle Red.

[Ross Deprez] Wake up ya big ape! ooh oo oo

[monkey sound]

[Slide show of early logging photographs plays behind the performer on stage.]

[R.D.] In Africa is where you’ll find the monkey ape and gibbon (ooh), but in B.C., we have the kind that fairly takes the ribbon.

The hair grows thick upon his face, his hide is full of fleas, he makes his home most any place among the tall fir trees.

No use for brains, he doesn’t think, socially he’s a joke, he works in the rain and buys strong drink and nearly always broke.

In Africa is where you’ll find the monkey ape and gibbon (wooh), but in B.C., we have the kind that fairly takes the ribbon. [End Chorus]

Now, some folks think this is not true, no apes haunt B.C.

Well, the only thing you have to do is try the woods and see.

Just go and take a little walk among the fallen trees and watch them dig a choker hole while on their hands and knees.

In Africa is where you’ll find the monkey ape and gibbon (wooh), but in B.C., we have the kind that fairly takes the ribbon.

And when they get the choker set, the big ape gives a yell (Heyo!)

Then the little apes dash through weeds like demons out of hell.

Sometimes they do not holler, and they break the haywire junk

Then they gather round the hooker and curse the whistle punk,

In Africa, you’ll find the monkey ape and gibbon (Wooh uh hooh), but in B.C., we have the kind that fairly takes the ribbon.

And when at last the road is done and the riggings at the pole

Big Ape hollers “strawline,” and the squirrel hunts his hole.

And then he stands just full of schtuss as excited as can be,

Just wears and tears and shouts abuse to the apes around the tree.

In Africa, you’ll find monkey ape and gibbon, but in B.C., we have the kind that fairly takes the ribbon.

The strawline whistles through the brush, and the big ape gives a roar (aah ah aah)

Two apes are injured in the rush they send to camp for more.

The riggin’ ape is at the rear, stands by to holler “Hie”

Then he dangles in to change the gear as the haulback whistles by… here we go!

In Africa, you’ll find the monkey ape and gibbon (wooh), but in B.C., we have the kind that fairly takes the ribbon.

In Africa, you’ll find the monkey ape and gibbon, but in B.C., we have the kind that fairly takes the ribbon.

that fairly takes the ribbon

that fairly takes the ribbon, (wha ee ooh!)

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[Music]

[Slide show of photographs of Joseph Mairs, his cenotaph, tombstones of deceased miners, miners working in mineshafts, and striking miners are shown throughout the song]

[C.F.] High on a hillside overlooking Ladysmith Harbour, where they loaded a million tons of coal.

Lies the grave of a young man, just 22 years old. And may God have mercy on his soul.

He lies surrounded by dozens of the more than 600 who died in the dangerous Island mines.

Sons and fathers gone forever, memories dimmed but not forgotten in the slow and bitter unwinding of the time.

So sleep on my brothers, in the rock of ages. You died for a million tons of coal.

And sleep on my heroes, you are not forgotten and may God have mercy on your souls.

He died in prison. In that fortress called Okala, a place of tears and blood and stone. He died for freedom, for safety and a good life, and he died for a million tons of coal.

[Musical interlude]

[C.F.] Well, they are not forgotten, oh, these heroes of the coal mines. They lived and died for rights that we now own. In gas-filled mines and on picket lines, with danger at every hand. Catching a glimpse of Galilee, but never reaching the Promised Land.

You can fill in the mine, you can build on the graves. But, you can’t kill the spirit that this Island made.

And there’s a lot of coal miners still waiting to be paid. On Vancouver Island.

[Applause]

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