On June 6, venerable Canadian folk-rockers Spirit of the West take the Massey Hall stage for the first time in their 30-plus years of making groundbreaking Celtic-infused music. And it is going to be a historic show for fans and friends who are curious about how many more opportunities might be available to sing and dance their way through such incredible tunes as “Home for a Rest,” “Save This House” and “Political.”
Last year, the news broke that singer and one of the band’s founders John Mann had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. And, although he’ll be there front and centre, he has a teleprompter in place just in case. We caught up with SOTW drummer Vince Ditrich to talk about the band’s plans and just how far they’ve come.
So, big show at Massey Hall, have you guys played there?
June 6, D-Day. It’s our first time at Massey Hall, so we’re pretty excited. It’s a legendary venue. I’m surprised we haven’t done it. We’ve played every other imaginable venue in Toronto. It’s our opportunity and we’re going to take it.
How is everything going with John Mann? How is he and how is his condition impacting the band moving forward?
Well, we’ve relieved him of his guitar-playing duties, so Matthew Harder is on guitar, and John is our frontman, and he does need to read the lyrics now. It’s just the nature of the beast, you know.
Are you guys basically playing shows now almost with the idea that you won’t be back?
I don’t want to shut the door. We’re just going to be together, play and just be appreciated for what we love doing best. We want to be able to play with John as long as John is OK to play. If he’s not, then we have to stop.
What has been one of your highlights since joining the band?
I’ve made some friends through the years that I’ll treasure forever. We’ve travelled to some great places. I’ve always enjoyed being an unofficial national ambassador while touring Europe. We also spent a month in southern England in the personal recording studio of Martin Barre, the groundbreaking guitarist from Jethro Tull.
I remember watching you at the Kee to Bala in Muskoka, and the crowd was dancing so hard the floor broke. Remember that one?
It was New Year’s Eve, and Steve Wiley, the owner or manager, had to crawl underneath in the goose sh*t and shore up the floor with blocks of wood. We also broke the floor in Quebec City — that was almost a complete catastrophe. We were playing on the second floor, and the club owner came up and said we had to stop because the floor was going to collapse onto the restaurant below. We get a lot of that. A lot of doors and windows opening from the swooshing air. It happened so frequently, we started to see if we could make the floor break.
How do you want the band to be remembered?
After 35 years, we’ve become a family of families. We’re all extremely close: the wives, the kids, the husbands are so connected. It’s an incredibly important aspect of my life personally.
