Art Bergmann is a rarity. There are few artists, especially in the music business, that remain as true to their ideals as this punk. So, when he decided to mount something of a comeback in the last year, we were ready to get behind him. This is no shell of a performer looking to make a few bucks playing the casino circuit. He still wants you to sell the Beamer, turn your Rosedale home into a flop house for the city's most vulnerable or take up arms against the oppressors. And, with the recently released EP Songs Of The Underclass, he is back to putting out powerful music to bolster his case.
Bergmann, 61, is in town tonight to play a show at The Great Hall alongside Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers) and Two-Minute Miracles.
“It's been good so far,” says Bergmann, who has spent most of his time of late in small-town Alberta. “People have been very supportive and helpful. The music biz though, I can’t believe it, still dog eat dog. The hyenas are circling already. Other than that, the shows have been great, and there seems to be a real thirst for some kind of honest delivery of what people are thinking about these days.”
Bergmann made a name for himself as a singer and songwriter for West Coast punk band Young Canadians prior to embarking on a successful solo career. The fiery musician won a Juno Award for his 1995 album What Fresh Hell Is This?. His big mainstream hit is “Bound For Vegas” off his 1990 album Sexual Roulette. During his heyday, he also appeared in two Bruce McDonald films: Highway 61 and Hard Core Logo. But, he has been pretty much absent from the music scene in Canada since the mid-90s.
Much of that time was spent in Airdrie, Alberta, where he lives with his wife. But, Bergmann hasn't strayed far from his political ruminations.
“I’ve just kind of been going insane doing my readings and stuff, keeping up on the state of geopolitics in general,” he continues. “And I thought what can I do in the face of all this corruption, and cowardice. And I just say myself down and said, you can write a song sir. So that’s what I decided to do.”
Bergmann released Songs of the Underclass on Aug. 26 on Toronto’s Weewerk indie record label. This fall he has been making his way across the country playing shows on the west coast, Alberta and now Ontario. One listen to his politically charged songs such as “Company Store” and it is obvious that this guy has a lot to say even now.
Bergmann seems intent on keeping the momentum going and says he is hard at work on a new full-length album.
“I’ve been writing seriously for the past year,” he says. “People want a full album, I guess that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll keep writing and putting it out as it comes.”
Art Bergmann with Tony Dekker and Two-Minute Miracles, The Great Hall, tonight. Go!
