Full Transcript for Dave Gunning Returns

comrades? 76 00:03:47,230 --> 00:03:47,909 And I 77 00:03:47,910 --> 00:03:50,070 Dave: would say that I, I definitely do. 78 00:03:50,070 --> 00:03:54,289 Like I, I'm, I'm kind of a mix of definitely, uh, I was a shy kid growing 79 00:03:54,289 --> 00:03:58,940 up and I, I, I do feel like an introvert a lot of the time, but, uh, at these 80 00:03:58,950 --> 00:04:02,860 festivals, this is where you find your like, like minded people where you fit in. 81 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:07,570 And, you know, maybe in school, I kind of was more of a wallflower hanging 82 00:04:07,570 --> 00:04:11,920 out with the quiet kids or, or the kids out back smoking or whatever. 83 00:04:12,229 --> 00:04:16,470 But at a, at a festival, it's like, it's like an episode of the Muppet Show. 84 00:04:16,550 --> 00:04:20,209 You know, everybody's like, wow, they're just like, like, like me. 85 00:04:22,180 --> 00:04:24,770 Shaun: Now, and you flew in directly for this festival, right? 86 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:26,850 Yeah, yeah, we were, we were in 87 00:04:26,870 --> 00:04:27,340 Dave: Alberta. 88 00:04:27,340 --> 00:04:29,760 I was at the Edmonton Folk Festival last week. 89 00:04:30,325 --> 00:04:34,295 So flew in for this a direct flight from Halifax, which is really nice nice 90 00:04:34,315 --> 00:04:39,685 and the so I'll head back on Monday And then I play a show Next week in Nova 91 00:04:39,685 --> 00:04:44,834 Scotia near my hometown, and then I'm off to Denmark to do six shows I think 92 00:04:44,835 --> 00:04:46,335 I'm gonna be over there for ten days. 93 00:04:46,344 --> 00:04:50,365 So Wow, so that'll be a big trip there Have you been there before this will 94 00:04:50,365 --> 00:04:55,205 be my third trip there, but this will be only my first time playing Shows 95 00:04:55,205 --> 00:04:56,374 that aren't part of the festival. 96 00:04:56,374 --> 00:05:00,544 Usually I go over and play the tuner festival And, uh, there was a fellow that 97 00:05:00,544 --> 00:05:05,984 saw me play there last, or a couple of years ago, and he spoke to me afterwards, 98 00:05:05,984 --> 00:05:09,254 and he has a little booking agency there, and he books four tours a year, 99 00:05:09,255 --> 00:05:13,365 and he, he, he booked, uh, booked me a little run of dates, so, pretty grateful. 100 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:14,420 Shaun: That's great. 101 00:05:14,420 --> 00:05:14,840 Yeah. 102 00:05:15,140 --> 00:05:18,320 Do you think that the festival scene has changed since before the pandemic 103 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:21,420 since this is the first time that I've seen you since the That was that like 104 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:27,240 that was August of 2019 and then the pandemic was in the spring of 2020 So, 105 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:31,499 uh, you know since 2019 Do you think the festival scene has changed now that you're 106 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:34,770 because it's really kind of kicked off again I feel like in the last year or so. 107 00:05:34,940 --> 00:05:40,265 Dave: I feel

like I don't know if it's my imagination or not, but I feel like the 108 00:05:40,265 --> 00:05:44,625 festivals that I've gone to so far this summer, there seems to be just fresh blood 109 00:05:44,905 --> 00:05:49,634 in attendance now, and more young people coming to the festivals now, and I'm not 110 00:05:49,634 --> 00:05:54,155 sure why that is, but it's a good sign. 111 00:05:54,895 --> 00:05:58,135 I think that because we need that, obviously we need, do you 112 00:05:58,135 --> 00:06:01,825 need young people coming to these festivals to keep them going and 113 00:06:01,825 --> 00:06:03,005 to keep the excitement going. 114 00:06:03,005 --> 00:06:07,514 And it seems to be the case when I look around, I'm seeing, wow, there's 115 00:06:07,515 --> 00:06:09,894 a lot of young people here this year. 116 00:06:09,915 --> 00:06:15,145 And, and, uh, and, and, uh, you know, I think in some ways, probably 117 00:06:15,145 --> 00:06:17,765 there's trying to get their wings under them again to the festivals. 118 00:06:17,765 --> 00:06:20,275 It's probably not real easy to kind of restart. 119 00:06:20,935 --> 00:06:25,575 Uh, but, but, uh, Yeah, yeah, this festival in particular. 120 00:06:25,575 --> 00:06:26,215 Have you had a chance 121 00:06:26,215 --> 00:06:27,085 Shaun: to walk around a little bit? 122 00:06:27,085 --> 00:06:28,125 I think you just got here, right? 123 00:06:28,125 --> 00:06:28,135 A 124 00:06:28,135 --> 00:06:28,465 Dave: little bit. 125 00:06:28,465 --> 00:06:32,748 I've been here for two or three hours and, um, walking around a little bit. 126 00:06:32,748 --> 00:06:36,459 And, uh, I haven't gone into the campground yet, into the woods there. 127 00:06:36,729 --> 00:06:38,590 But, uh, I might make my way there. 128 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:39,590 That's a whole other world. 129 00:06:39,620 --> 00:06:39,919 It is. 130 00:06:40,190 --> 00:06:40,270 Yeah. 131 00:06:40,650 --> 00:06:44,859 It's like all kinds of fairies and hobbits and things, wizards back there. 132 00:06:46,700 --> 00:06:47,530 They're all good witches. 133 00:06:47,549 --> 00:06:48,150 Yeah, that's right. 134 00:06:48,150 --> 00:06:48,440 Yeah. 135 00:06:48,639 --> 00:06:49,490 They cast a good spell. 136 00:06:50,739 --> 00:06:52,759 Shaun: And we're actually talking right before you're set with a 137 00:06:52,759 --> 00:06:55,020 JP Cormier, uh, right upstairs. 138 00:06:55,030 --> 00:06:56,739 We're right below the main stage here. 139 00:06:56,770 --> 00:06:57,219 That's right. 140 00:06:57,219 --> 00:06:57,560 So yeah. 141 00:06:57,599 --> 00:06:57,770 Dave: Yeah. 142 00:06:57,770 --> 00:06:59,419 Tomorrow night we're here at 5 45. 143 00:06:59,419 --> 00:06:59,870 Okay. 144 00:06:59,940 --> 00:07:00,419 Shaun: Yeah. 145 00:07:00,460 --> 00:07:00,929 Amazing. 146 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:01,440 Oh, that's right. 147 00:07:02,265 --> 00:07:04,995 In a little bit, you're playing over on the craft stage. 148 00:07:04,995 --> 00:07:05,295 The craft 149 00:07:05,295 --> 00:07:07,525 Dave: stage in about an hour, I think, yeah. 150 00:07:07,585 --> 00:07:08,655 Yeah, who are you playing with? 151 00:07:08,725 --> 00:07:12,154 Uh, well, um, Chris Matthews is, is, is part of it. 152 00:07:12,215 --> 00:07:12,495 Oh, perfect. 153 00:07:12,495 --> 00:07:15,855 I didn't see who else is playing there, but I know she's 154 00:07:15,855 --> 00:07:17,105 playing there and I love her. 155 00:07:17,275 --> 00:07:18,045 Yeah, she's a 156 00:07:18,075 --> 00:07:19,194 Shaun: past podcast guest, 157 00:07:19,194 --> 00:07:19,614 Dave: too. 158 00:07:20,050 --> 00:07:20,690 Fantastic. 159 00:07:20,690 --> 00:07:24,680 Yeah, I discovered her at the Kerrville Folk Festival a few years ago. 160 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:27,930 We were riding in the shuttle together and I thought, wow, what a 161 00:07:27,930 --> 00:07:29,820 sweet person this is and so smart. 162 00:07:29,820 --> 00:07:32,510 And I hope she's good because I really like her as a person. 163 00:07:32,510 --> 00:07:33,159 I saw her show. 164 00:07:33,170 --> 00:07:37,110 I was blown away and, um, That's around the time that we were, you 165 00:07:37,110 --> 00:07:40,510 know, fighting a really dirty bleach craft pulp mill and I'm in my hometown 166 00:07:40,510 --> 00:07:43,610 and she was singing all these great songs that kind of tied into that. 167 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,520 I found that I found her show quite a quite powerful. 168 00:07:47,130 --> 00:07:51,399 And so I'm looking forward to being on the stage with her today. 169 00:07:51,999 --> 00:07:52,339 Yeah. 170 00:07:52,340 --> 00:07:55,349 And how did you hook up with JP Cormier? 171 00:07:55,349 --> 00:07:56,600 JP and I met back in the 90s. 172 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:00,760 Um, I, I had a, a, a pub band back then with a fiddle player, and the fiddle 173 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:02,409 player canceled the night before show. 174 00:08:02,980 --> 00:08:06,909 And, uh, JP had just moved back from Nashville and he hadn't been playing 175 00:08:06,909 --> 00:08:08,860 out around too much locally at home. 176 00:08:08,860 --> 00:08:11,920 But, uh, he was, he was back in Chetty camp, I guess, and Cape 177 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:17,650 Breton and I phoned him and, uh, he, he took the gig and filled in, um, 178 00:08:17,650 --> 00:08:19,360 with my played fiddle with my band. 179 00:08:19,690 --> 00:08:21,760 And I was blown away by how good this guy was. 180 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,400 And he played the guitar and sang harmonies that night. 181 00:08:25,315 --> 00:08:28,875 And then, uh, about a year or so later, he played on my record, 182 00:08:28,945 --> 00:08:30,815 my, one of my first recordings. 183 00:08:31,235 --> 00:08:35,244 And then he did a recording called Another Morning. 184 00:08:35,674 --> 00:08:40,325 And I went out as his special guest on that tour, we traveled together. 185 00:08:40,724 --> 00:08:43,845 And then that fall, his bass player quit two weeks before the tour, so 186

00:08:43,845 --> 00:08:47,495 I took the gig as his bass player for his first cross Canada tour. 187 00:08:47,945 --> 00:08:50,124 But we've been working together on and off in different kinds of projects. 188 00:08:50,655 --> 00:08:55,965 Forms over the years and at one point he his marriage had split up and he 189 00:08:55,965 --> 00:08:59,025 moved to Pictou County to be close to me It was only like 15 minutes from 190 00:08:59,025 --> 00:09:02,724 my house So he was coming over every night and we were hanging out and he 191 00:09:02,724 --> 00:09:05,965 thought you know since we're hanging out Maybe we should be productive too. 192 00:09:06,514 --> 00:09:09,104 We start writing and recording one song per night. 193 00:09:09,484 --> 00:09:09,964 Oh cool. 194 00:09:10,004 --> 00:09:14,564 Just like okay Well, we had an album quickly and then we started touring 195 00:09:14,564 --> 00:09:16,035 it together as Gunning Cormier. 196 00:09:16,035 --> 00:09:16,345 So 197 00:09:17,095 --> 00:09:17,895 Shaun: Wow, that's great. 198 00:09:17,905 --> 00:09:18,485 It's fun. 199 00:09:18,485 --> 00:09:22,085 Yeah Now, are fiddle players and bass players typically unreliable? 200 00:09:22,105 --> 00:09:24,705 Is this, uh, some insight that I don't know about? 201 00:09:24,705 --> 00:09:26,135 Seems to be a bit of a theme there, 202 00:09:26,135 --> 00:09:26,675 Dave: I don't know. 203 00:09:26,675 --> 00:09:29,445 But, uh, yeah, they're really in demand. 204 00:09:30,015 --> 00:09:31,545 But, uh, I don't know. 205 00:09:31,545 --> 00:09:33,364 I think, um, J. 206 00:09:33,364 --> 00:09:33,624 P. 207 00:09:33,624 --> 00:09:40,465 and I have been through everything together, like over the years, 90s. 208 00:09:40,905 --> 00:09:43,305 And we're best friends. 209 00:09:43,725 --> 00:09:50,104 Um Yeah, I just I love getting to travel with him and and getting to work with 210 00:09:50,104 --> 00:09:54,104 him And he's just he's so talented and I can't wait for you guys to meet. 211 00:09:54,574 --> 00:09:58,524 Shaun: Oh, yeah, absolutely me, too Yeah, no, is it different when you're playing 212 00:09:58,645 --> 00:10:03,324 instead of playing solo playing with another person off on stage at a festival? 213 00:10:03,425 --> 00:10:08,370 Dave: Yeah, and the the challenge will for JP night JP plays a every 214 00:10:08,380 --> 00:10:09,569 stringed instrument pretty well. 215 00:10:09,569 --> 00:10:14,079 But when we do our Gunning Cormier show together, it's just two guitars and two 216 00:10:14,079 --> 00:10:15,939 vocals, two acoustic guitars, two vocals. 217 00:10:16,459 --> 00:10:19,390 So I sort of try to play some bass parts every now and then I try 218 00:10:19,390 --> 00:10:20,589 to free up the middle for him. 219 00:10:20,589 --> 00:10:22,139 He does a lot of picking and things too. 220 00:10:22,689 --> 00:10:26,130 Um, but the goal is always to try to blend our guitars together 221 00:10:26,550 --> 00:10:28,120 and to blend the vocals together. 222 00:10:28,620 --> 00:10:34,445 And it's, uh, we, we've, We've really focused on kind of coming together to 223 00:10:34,565 --> 00:10:38,685 create something that's, uh, not, not necessarily me or him, but it's kind 224 00:10:38,685 --> 00:10:40,745 of an us thing and it's pretty cool. 225 00:10:40,865 --> 00:10:41,295 Shaun: Yeah. 226 00:10:41,485 --> 00:10:44,875 Do you have any inspirations for a duo that are different from like your solo 227 00:10:44,875 --> 00:10:46,375 inspirations as a singer songwriter? 228 00:10:47,410 --> 00:10:51,910 Dave: Yeah, I mean, it changes how we write songs because we're writing songs, 229 00:10:51,910 --> 00:10:55,800 um, uh, with the duo show in mind. 230 00:10:55,870 --> 00:10:59,330 Um, so, and if we pick cover tunes, we're, we're, we're 231 00:10:59,540 --> 00:11:01,740 choosing songs that work together. 232 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,890 So we don't, we actually don't really do any of our own material in the show. 233 00:11:06,890 --> 00:11:10,430 It's, it's, we have our own Gunning Cormier show that's entirely 234 00:11:10,430 --> 00:11:11,770 different than Dave Gunning or J. 235 00:11:11,770 --> 00:11:11,920 P. 236 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:12,430 Cormier. 237 00:11:12,660 --> 00:11:13,110 Wow. 238 00:11:13,229 --> 00:11:13,589 Shaun: Yeah. 239 00:11:13,710 --> 00:11:13,920 Dave: That's 240 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:14,330 Shaun: awesome. 241 00:11:14,559 --> 00:11:15,030 That's awesome. 242 00:11:15,229 --> 00:11:17,960 And you had an album come out in the past year or so, right? 243 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,355 Dave: Yeah, I had um, Well, I had, uh, probably a couple since I've been here. 244 00:11:22,415 --> 00:11:24,905 Um, no, up against the sky had just come out when I was here. 245 00:11:24,925 --> 00:11:25,215 Yes. 246 00:11:25,295 --> 00:11:29,564 And the same storm has came out just, um, during the pandemic. 247 00:11:29,865 --> 00:11:36,274 And I wrote the same storm just, you know, um, you know, uh, basically the whole 248 00:11:36,295 --> 00:11:39,485 COVID thing, people said, well, we're all in the same boat, but it's like, Oh 249 00:11:39,485 --> 00:11:43,025 no, no, we're kind of all in our own, we're all in our own separate boats, but 250 00:11:43,025 --> 00:11:44,385 we're all in the same storm, you know? 251 00:11:45,005 --> 00:11:46,814 So I kind of inspired the song. 252 00:11:46,814 --> 00:11:48,875 So I wrote, I wrote sort of a happy. 253 00:11:49,795 --> 00:11:53,535 upbeat song about some of the, some of the good things that we experienced at 254 00:11:53,535 --> 00:11:55,395 home during the whole lockdown thing. 255 00:11:55,905 --> 00:11:58,985 Um, but anyway, yeah, The Same Storm is the, is, is my latest 256 00:11:58,985 --> 00:12:03,314 record and songs that I wrote kind of while I was, while we were home. 257 00:12:03,835 --> 00:12:04,485 Shaun: That's great. 258 00:12:04,685 --> 00:12:05,055 Dave: Yeah. 259 00:12:05,055 --> 00:12:06,615 And you said you're working on an album?

260 00:12:07,005 --> 00:12:07,745 Um, work? 261 00:12:07,795 --> 00:12:09,235 I'm writing right now. 262 00:12:09,265 --> 00:12:13,604 I, I, I produced a lot of records for other people in the last couple of years. 263 00:12:13,604 --> 00:12:16,365 I said yes to too many people and I, so I'd be traveling. 264 00:12:16,365 --> 00:12:18,444 I'd be on the road for three weeks or something. 265 00:12:18,444 --> 00:12:20,595 I'd come home and have to work every day in the studio. 266 00:12:21,155 --> 00:12:24,265 Um, and it's just, um, a lot of deadlines for people. 267 00:12:24,265 --> 00:12:26,185 They had to get their records out by certain dates. 268 00:12:27,545 --> 00:12:32,355 Managed to get everything done on time And I'm proud of the records that we've 269 00:12:32,465 --> 00:12:36,255 that I got to work on but uh but I'm gonna start saying no now for a couple years 270 00:12:36,255 --> 00:12:41,694 and try to free myself up to to get back at focusing on writing and Recording, 271 00:12:41,755 --> 00:12:45,545 you know songs that I'm working on So that's what I'm excited about right now 272 00:12:45,545 --> 00:12:49,990 is just to kind of get back at creating and writing and this Lots of stories and 273 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:53,650 things that I've heard over the over the while that I want to kind of get get at 274 00:12:53,839 --> 00:12:56,540 Shaun: yeah, absolutely Yeah, and probably your European tour will 275 00:12:56,540 --> 00:12:58,120 uh, maybe influence you as well. 276 00:12:58,130 --> 00:12:59,989 Yeah get inspiration when you're on tour. 277 00:13:00,420 --> 00:13:06,229 Dave: Oh, yeah yeah, the people you meet the stories you hear and and 278 00:13:06,230 --> 00:13:12,770 Everybody's lives and everybody's, you know kind of going through this journey 279 00:13:12,770 --> 00:13:21,480 and and And obviously I love hearing about You know, the stories from from 280 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:26,379 people in here, you know, and, uh, you know, like it's, I don't know. 281 00:13:26,379 --> 00:13:27,680 It's just enjoy. 282 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:29,579 Um, enjoy that. 283 00:13:29,579 --> 00:13:31,150 Denmark is a special place. 284 00:13:31,539 --> 00:13:36,499 I've only been there twice in the past, but but I find the 285 00:13:36,500 --> 00:13:40,900 audiences, um, just they're beautiful people to play music for. 286 00:13:41,380 --> 00:13:45,465 And, um, They love the stories. 287 00:13:45,625 --> 00:13:49,445 And I remember when the guy said, we're going to book you some dates over here. 288 00:13:49,995 --> 00:13:52,595 Uh, I said, well, what about the language barrier? 289 00:13:52,595 --> 00:13:53,725 He said, don't worry about that. 290 00:13:53,865 --> 00:13:57,414 They all understand English, and they love the stories, and they love the 291 00:13:57,414 --> 00:14:00,125 jokes, and just do what you do, you know. 292 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:02,000 Maybe slow it down 293 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,290 Shaun: a little, but that's great. 294 00:14:05,330 --> 00:14:09,090 Now, when you go over there, do you try to immerse yourself in the local culture? 295 00:14:09,090 --> 00:14:11,260 Do you pick up any local music or anything? 296 00:14:11,260 --> 00:14:12,429 Dave: Oh yeah, for sure. 297 00:14:12,449 --> 00:14:18,159 Um, I mean, the festivals are especially good for doing that, but I'm hoping 298 00:14:18,180 --> 00:14:22,039 on days off to, uh, I'll be traveling with some people that will know a 299 00:14:22,049 --> 00:14:26,610 lot of the local musicians and, um, there's some incredible, incredible 300 00:14:26,619 --> 00:14:28,990 fiddlers from over there and, uh, and I. 301 00:14:29,580 --> 00:14:32,180 And a great folk music scene over there. 302 00:14:33,050 --> 00:14:37,790 Um, so yeah, I'm hoping to get to see some of that. 303 00:14:37,790 --> 00:14:42,700 I won't have a ton of time to do, to, to travel around just to be a tourist, 304 00:14:42,700 --> 00:14:44,120 but I will have a few days off. 305 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:45,030 Shaun: Yeah. 306 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:46,019 That's awesome. 307 00:14:46,119 --> 00:14:46,419 Shaun (2): Yeah. 308 00:14:46,649 --> 00:14:47,364 Shaun: That's really great. 309 00:14:47,805 --> 00:14:50,895 Now you had mentioned twice during this podcast, uh, bass, uh, playing 310 00:14:50,895 --> 00:14:54,825 bass parts for when you're up there with JP and also filling in for bass. 311 00:14:55,025 --> 00:14:56,645 Uh, I didn't know that you played bass. 312 00:14:56,645 --> 00:14:57,534 Do you, how many instruments 313 00:14:57,535 --> 00:14:57,695 Dave: do you 314 00:14:57,695 --> 00:14:58,075 Shaun: play? 315 00:14:58,165 --> 00:15:01,935 Dave: Uh, well, I play, I play, um, lots of different instruments 316 00:15:01,935 --> 00:15:02,964 when I'm producing records. 317 00:15:02,964 --> 00:15:06,445 Like I'll play banjo or mandolin or bouzouki or guitars or 318 00:15:06,445 --> 00:15:08,015 bass or drums or keyboards. 319 00:15:08,235 --> 00:15:13,045 So like sometimes I'll play whatever I'll play, whatever is required for the 320 00:15:13,045 --> 00:15:14,644 songs that I might be helping produce. 321 00:15:15,290 --> 00:15:16,720 and then hire people to come in. 322 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:21,130 I don't play pedal steel or, or Hammond or anything, but I can do simple 323 00:15:21,130 --> 00:15:26,380 parts on organ and, and simple piano things, but, but I, um, otherwise 324 00:15:26,380 --> 00:15:28,740 hire, hire players to do parts. 325 00:15:29,189 --> 00:15:34,159 Um, but I did, I have toured as a bass player. 326 00:15:34,199 --> 00:15:40,000 Um, you know, I play upright bass and I play electric bass and, and, uh, 327 00:15:41,170 --> 00:15:44,785 with JP, I played electric bass and, um, There was an artist in the county. 328 00:15:45,530 --> 00:15:46,709 Name's Stompin Tom Connors. 329 00:15:46,709 --> 00:15:49,350 I played, uh, I played upright bass for Tom and played electric 330 00:15:49,350 --> 00:15:50,480 bass for JP

or other, but. 331 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:51,449 Shaun: Yeah, of course. 332 00:15:51,449 --> 00:15:54,560 I think our last chat we, we bonded about Stompin Tom. 333 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:55,099 Yeah, we talked about, that's right. 334 00:15:55,099 --> 00:15:56,140 Yeah, we talked about, I remember that now. 335 00:15:57,169 --> 00:15:59,349 Dave: Yeah, as soon as I mentioned it, I was like, yeah, we, it. 336 00:16:00,310 --> 00:16:02,659 Shaun: Okay, and you are the pride of Picktaw County. 337 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,089 Uh, the last time we also talked about the paper mill. 338 00:16:05,140 --> 00:16:06,040 Uh, so you have, uh, 339 00:16:07,450 --> 00:16:12,600 Dave: The paper mill has closed, so, um, I mean, um, it was a lot, a lot of work. 340 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:15,200 We, we spent, uh, close to 15 years on it. 341 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:17,029 Uh, we formed a group. 342 00:16:18,325 --> 00:16:20,555 We became quite knowledgeable about the mill. 343 00:16:20,555 --> 00:16:24,145 We had, um, a couple of pulp and paper experts on our group and two scientists 344 00:16:24,145 --> 00:16:25,515 that had worked with Environment Canada. 345 00:16:25,955 --> 00:16:29,095 And we attracted, um, some corporate folks and, uh, business 346 00:16:29,095 --> 00:16:30,345 people from the community. 347 00:16:30,814 --> 00:16:33,884 We, uh, my brother said, we're not going to be activists, we're going to 348 00:16:33,884 --> 00:16:37,304 be factivists, which is going to take a little longer, but it, it allowed 349 00:16:37,304 --> 00:16:39,125 us to gain trust from the government. 350 00:16:39,485 --> 00:16:43,264 So when, when we were meeting with them, so over, over a period of 351 00:16:43,265 --> 00:16:46,005 several years, we gained their trust. 352 00:16:46,585 --> 00:16:51,965 And we were able to, um, pressure the government, which empowered 353 00:16:51,965 --> 00:16:54,745 them to make the right decision. 354 00:16:55,435 --> 00:17:01,445 And the premier, um, when it came down to the wire, uh, the company, 355 00:17:01,445 --> 00:17:05,665 which is foreign owned, um, wanted an extension to continue dumping 356 00:17:05,665 --> 00:17:08,875 the effluent into the middle of Boat Harbor, which is right where our 357 00:17:08,875 --> 00:17:11,055 only First Nations community lives. 358 00:17:11,565 --> 00:17:17,359 And, um, the premier, uh, did not grant an extension to use Boat Harbor. 359 00:17:17,410 --> 00:17:20,629 He, he basically forced them to shut down. 360 00:17:20,859 --> 00:17:21,230 Wow. 361 00:17:21,290 --> 00:17:21,980 Um, and I, 362 00:17:21,990 --> 00:17:24,470 Shaun: from the pressure from the community and from you, I 363 00:17:24,470 --> 00:17:28,939 Dave: think, I think our group, like my role in the group was to meet with pulp 364 00:17:28,939 --> 00:17:36,139 and paper experts and translate the, the, uh, technical, uh, information into plain 365 00:17:36,139 --> 00:17:37,919 speak so that people could understand it. 366 00:17:38,379 --> 00:17:45,120 But, and, and we had to, we had to kind of keep their, identities hidden because 367 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:49,850 some of the people on our group were actively working in the industry and, 368 00:17:49,850 --> 00:17:54,420 um, one engineer in particular said, you know, if I talk to the media directly, 369 00:17:54,420 --> 00:17:56,670 I can lose my engineering certificate. 370 00:17:57,260 --> 00:17:59,710 It's, so he said, I need to remain anonymous. 371 00:17:59,710 --> 00:18:06,229 And so my role was to speak, uh, connect with media, connect with government, 372 00:18:06,229 --> 00:18:10,875 set up meetings and, and, um, put things into layman's terms and then 373 00:18:10,885 --> 00:18:15,064 have them re read the material to make sure that it was still accurate, 374 00:18:15,095 --> 00:18:18,965 scientifically accurate after I had translated it into plain speak. 375 00:18:19,004 --> 00:18:19,395 Yeah. 376 00:18:19,434 --> 00:18:21,635 It took, uh, hours and hours and hours. 377 00:18:21,635 --> 00:18:22,824 It was like a full time job. 378 00:18:23,595 --> 00:18:28,584 But, uh, yeah, and we, my brother and I kind of started the group way back. 379 00:18:29,494 --> 00:18:34,144 And by the end of it, we had a very large group of, of people 380 00:18:34,144 --> 00:18:35,904 that were, were helping out. 381 00:18:35,984 --> 00:18:36,394 And. 382 00:18:37,629 --> 00:18:41,520 it, it empowered, I think it helped empower the premier 383 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:42,419 to make the right decision. 384 00:18:42,610 --> 00:18:43,010 Shaun: Wow. 385 00:18:43,199 --> 00:18:43,889 Congratulations. 386 00:18:43,949 --> 00:18:44,209 Oh 387 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:44,560 Dave: gosh. 388 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:44,749 Yeah. 389 00:18:44,749 --> 00:18:47,350 It was, it was a learning experience for sure. 390 00:18:47,429 --> 00:18:47,770 Yeah. 391 00:18:48,539 --> 00:18:51,559 Shaun: Now, do you think that that has, this process has changed or influenced 392 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,909 your songwriting as far as being like a researcher and then fact finder? 393 00:18:54,939 --> 00:18:55,589 Oh my gosh. 394 00:18:55,610 --> 00:18:56,149 It, it's 395 00:18:56,159 --> 00:19:01,649 Dave: influenced it in terms of, uh, well, I, I, uh, I wrote these hands, which 396 00:19:01,649 --> 00:19:02,544 is one of my more personal favorites. 397 00:19:03,084 --> 00:19:06,425 well known songs after watching a Pete Seeger documentary. 398 00:19:06,435 --> 00:19:09,554 And it was right, we were in the thick of this thing, fighting it hard. 399 00:19:09,955 --> 00:19:12,485 And then I watched the Pete Seeger documentary and I was like, Oh my 400 00:19:12,485 --> 00:19:14,514 gosh, I've got nothing on that guy. 401 00:19:15,074 --> 00:19:17,195 You know, he fought the good fight his entire life. 402 00:19:17,205 --> 00:19:19,564 And I just, it actually brought me to tears and I wrote 403 00:19:19,564 --> 00:19:20,614 the song the next morning. 404

00:19:20,615 --> 00:19:24,584 And, uh, there's a bunch of other songs. 405 00:19:24,584 --> 00:19:29,154 At the time I, I wanted to, uh, I was worried that I wasn't going to write songs 406 00:19:29,184 --> 00:19:31,365 because I was, So busy with this issue. 407 00:19:31,985 --> 00:19:37,745 Um, but I guess passion fuels creativity and I was so passionate 408 00:19:37,745 --> 00:19:41,905 about this that it inspired my creativity to start writing songs. 409 00:19:41,905 --> 00:19:47,385 I wrote lots of songs inspired by the, by the issue and um, some of them on the 410 00:19:47,385 --> 00:19:50,925 nose, some of them not really, some of them, you know, you can tell, oh yeah, 411 00:19:50,925 --> 00:19:52,745 that's definitely inspired by the issue. 412 00:19:52,745 --> 00:19:58,459 But I mean, it was a long battle and my brother and I, Being in the thick of it, 413 00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:02,199 you know, early on the RCMP would reach out to us because they were worried about 414 00:20:02,199 --> 00:20:06,439 our safety telling us not to put pictures of our kids in social media and, and, you 415 00:20:06,439 --> 00:20:10,809 know, put security cameras in your, on your property and, uh, just be careful. 416 00:20:10,809 --> 00:20:12,749 And if you notice anything out of the ordinary, please 417 00:20:12,749 --> 00:20:13,929 reach out to us immediately. 418 00:20:14,309 --> 00:20:16,009 And they gave us their cell phone numbers. 419 00:20:16,009 --> 00:20:18,899 They said, you can call 911, but here's our cell phone numbers because 420 00:20:19,310 --> 00:20:19,439 Shaun (2): you 421 00:20:19,439 --> 00:20:22,439 Dave: guys are at the front of this and we're a little bit worried and we 422 00:20:22,439 --> 00:20:24,070 don't have a textbook example to go on. 423 00:20:24,669 --> 00:20:27,399 And I remember my brother saying, you know, have you noticed 424 00:20:27,399 --> 00:20:28,219 anything out of the ordinary? 425 00:20:28,219 --> 00:20:31,909 He said to the police and they said, well, you know, Matt, the 426 00:20:31,909 --> 00:20:33,779 RCMP, she said, well, why you ask? 427 00:20:33,779 --> 00:20:36,969 And he said, well, because you call the meeting, you keep, you keep calling me. 428 00:20:37,699 --> 00:20:41,649 But at one point, uh, the, uh, the company was owned by Asia pulp 429 00:20:41,649 --> 00:20:43,379 and paper for Indonesia, China. 430 00:20:43,919 --> 00:20:47,899 And, uh, so a big, uh, you know, the, I mean, if you trace it back far 431 00:20:47,899 --> 00:20:50,299 enough, it's basically the Chinese Mafia that owned the place, so. 432 00:20:50,299 --> 00:20:50,469 Oh. 433 00:20:51,459 --> 00:20:56,605 So, so they, we were a little bit, um, worried for a while until They proposed 434 00:20:56,635 --> 00:20:59,754 putting the effluent pipe out into the Northumberland Strait, which was 435 00:20:59,754 --> 00:21:01,075 going to affect the lobster fishery. 436 00:21:01,095 --> 00:21:04,524 And all the lobster fishermen stood up and said, no, no, you're not doing that. 437 00:21:05,075 --> 00:21:07,314 So all of a sudden 3000 lobster fishermen stood up. 438 00:21:07,325 --> 00:21:08,945 We figured, okay, we're okay now. 439 00:21:08,984 --> 00:21:09,384 Yeah. 440 00:21:10,504 --> 00:21:10,794 Shaun: Wow. 441 00:21:10,794 --> 00:21:11,304 That's amazing. 442 00:21:11,894 --> 00:21:12,764 Dave: That's really powerful. 443 00:21:12,774 --> 00:21:13,274 Yeah. 444 00:21:13,345 --> 00:21:13,605 Yeah. 445 00:21:13,605 --> 00:21:18,200 And, and I think, you know, That's part of what we're supposed 446 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:20,149 to do, I suppose, as folkies. 447 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:24,440 Like, I remember this older fellow in my community saying, you know, you're out 448 00:21:24,450 --> 00:21:28,489 preaching, you know, singing these songs about peace and love and the environment. 449 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:31,129 He said, make sure your own backyard is clean first. 450 00:21:31,510 --> 00:21:31,850 Yeah. 451 00:21:31,859 --> 00:21:33,039 Because you won't have credibility. 452 00:21:33,749 --> 00:21:34,129 Yeah. 453 00:21:34,129 --> 00:21:38,159 And he said, like, our community, your neighbors, your friends and family, 454 00:21:38,379 --> 00:21:40,700 and the First Nations community over there are being poisoned. 455 00:21:41,735 --> 00:21:43,844 So you, you have to fight here. 456 00:21:44,594 --> 00:21:45,925 So I'm glad I did. 457 00:21:46,155 --> 00:21:46,594 Yeah. 458 00:21:46,705 --> 00:21:47,534 Shaun: I'm glad it's over. 459 00:21:47,604 --> 00:21:48,354 Absolutely. 460 00:21:48,594 --> 00:21:49,054 Yeah. 461 00:21:49,374 --> 00:21:49,584 Yeah. 462 00:21:49,584 --> 00:21:50,245 That's amazing. 463 00:21:50,245 --> 00:21:50,475 Yeah. 464 00:21:50,694 --> 00:21:52,915 Now tell me a little bit about your songwriting process. 465 00:21:52,915 --> 00:21:57,724 Do you start with a idea in mind, like for, uh, for lyrics or given 466 00:21:57,724 --> 00:21:59,364 your producer background now? 467 00:21:59,634 --> 00:22:02,034 Do you have a fuller arrangement in mind? 468 00:22:02,084 --> 00:22:06,144 Dave: I definitely, my, my high beams don't work that well, but I can picture 469 00:22:06,144 --> 00:22:10,444 a full arrangement, but I just sort of chase it any way I can get it, you know, 470 00:22:10,464 --> 00:22:14,284 sometimes a title, sometimes a story, sometimes something on the guitar or. 471 00:22:14,439 --> 00:22:18,669 A little bit of music or a melody, but honestly it can happen any, any 472 00:22:18,919 --> 00:22:22,350 different number of ways and I just, I'll take it any way I can get it. 473 00:22:22,350 --> 00:22:26,009 You always think, you know, how did, how did I, how did I write that? 474 00:22:26,019 --> 00:22:27,600 I hope I can write another one someday. 475 00:22:28,679 --> 00:22:32,909 A friend of mine said, uh, any, maybe you heard this from, from somewhere else. 476 00:22:32,909 --> 00:22:36,340 I don't know, but Ron Hines, I remember I was at

a songwriter circle with Ron 477 00:22:36,799 --> 00:22:40,350 and somebody said, Hey Ron, like where, you know, how do you write your songs? 478 00:22:40,350 --> 00:22:42,479 And he says, I don't have, I don't have a clue. 479 00:22:42,499 --> 00:22:43,229 He says, if I knew where. 480 00:22:43,730 --> 00:22:46,120 Good songs came from my, from my move there. 481 00:22:47,810 --> 00:22:48,580 Shaun: Oh, that's amazing. 482 00:22:48,610 --> 00:22:48,860 Yeah. 483 00:22:48,930 --> 00:22:49,649 That's amazing. 484 00:22:49,649 --> 00:22:50,430 I like that a lot. 485 00:22:50,430 --> 00:22:51,319 Yeah. 486 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:54,960 So, uh, so tell me again, uh, you're going to be in Denmark coming up 487 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:58,689 and, um, are you going to be touring back in Canada or the United States 488 00:22:58,689 --> 00:23:02,010 anytime soon that maybe my, uh, my listeners could come check you out? 489 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:04,080 My stateside listeners. 490 00:23:04,139 --> 00:23:04,540 Yeah. 491 00:23:04,540 --> 00:23:04,810 We're going 492 00:23:04,810 --> 00:23:08,559 Dave: to be continuing to, to get there. 493 00:23:09,210 --> 00:23:12,600 to do shows here for sure in this region. 494 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,820 I don't know offhand when we're coming back. 495 00:23:15,210 --> 00:23:17,600 I, my work visa expires this weekend. 496 00:23:17,690 --> 00:23:18,080 Okay. 497 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:18,350 Yeah. 498 00:23:18,350 --> 00:23:23,259 So this is my last show on this visa and I'm reapplying now to, to get another one. 499 00:23:23,710 --> 00:23:28,879 And, uh, we'll, we've got some shows on the books, uh, that are a 500 00:23:28,879 --> 00:23:30,800 possibility if the visa comes through. 501 00:23:30,810 --> 00:23:31,889 So that's awesome. 502 00:23:31,899 --> 00:23:32,210 Yeah. 503 00:23:32,210 --> 00:23:32,530 Yeah. 504 00:23:32,530 --> 00:23:34,720 But the dates, we always put the dates on the website. 505 00:23:34,730 --> 00:23:35,240 Dave gunning. 506 00:23:35,389 --> 00:23:36,220 com is mine. 507 00:23:36,669 --> 00:23:37,700 And, uh, gunning. 508 00:23:38,014 --> 00:23:38,834 And Cormier. 509 00:23:38,864 --> 00:23:41,665 com is the shared website with, with JP. 510 00:23:41,804 --> 00:23:42,094 Shaun: Yeah. 511 00:23:42,094 --> 00:23:46,344 Any future collaborations or any other, uh, work with JP 512 00:23:46,344 --> 00:23:47,384 that you have in the works? 513 00:23:47,395 --> 00:23:49,955 Dave: Well, he he'd like to do another record together. 514 00:23:49,955 --> 00:23:54,024 He mentioned I, I, and I, I think we should, because it's, it's, it's fun. 515 00:23:54,044 --> 00:23:57,304 And, uh, so we, we might do a third record together. 516 00:23:57,364 --> 00:23:58,329 We've got two out now. 517 00:23:59,199 --> 00:24:04,030 And I'm working also with a great singer songwriter from home named Rose Morrison 518 00:24:04,090 --> 00:24:05,800 and she's an incredible fiddle player. 519 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,530 She

was a fiddler in a group called the Cotters years ago when she was quite 520 00:24:09,530 --> 00:24:14,929 young and she and I are starting to do some shows together and it's, it's 521 00:24:14,929 --> 00:24:16,790 a, it's a riot, it's a pile of fun. 522 00:24:16,810 --> 00:24:17,610 She's incredible. 523 00:24:18,929 --> 00:24:21,459 So, uh, we're looking forward to that. 524 00:24:21,469 --> 00:24:25,159 Rose actually just played at Carnegie Hall with Glenn Hansard for the tribute 525 00:24:25,159 --> 00:24:27,129 to Shane McGowan when he passed away. 526 00:24:27,300 --> 00:24:27,669 Oh, wow. 527 00:24:27,679 --> 00:24:27,850 They 528 00:24:27,850 --> 00:24:31,110 Dave: did, uh, Glenn sang Fairytale of New York, and he hired Rosie to 529 00:24:31,110 --> 00:24:32,149 come down and play fiddle with him. 530 00:24:32,209 --> 00:24:33,619 So, it's That's cool. 531 00:24:33,629 --> 00:24:34,499 She's that good. 532 00:24:34,499 --> 00:24:35,370 She's so good. 533 00:24:35,379 --> 00:24:41,169 And, and what a gem of a human, and great songwriter, singer, and So, I'm excited 534 00:24:41,169 --> 00:24:43,100 about working on some material with Rosie. 535 00:24:43,479 --> 00:24:45,300 Shaun: Yeah, does that give you a different opportunity to play 536 00:24:45,300 --> 00:24:47,729 like different types of music when you're playing with another guitar 537 00:24:47,729 --> 00:24:49,139 player versus a fiddle player? 538 00:24:49,409 --> 00:24:51,179 Dave: JP forces me to stretch out, of course. 539 00:24:51,179 --> 00:24:53,149 He's like one of the greatest guitar players in the world. 540 00:24:53,149 --> 00:24:53,750 I'm sure of it. 541 00:24:54,239 --> 00:24:57,159 And I mean, Chet Atkins was a fan of JP's. 542 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:58,189 Oh, wow. 543 00:24:58,659 --> 00:25:03,389 JP played banjo for Bill Monroe in the Grand Ole Opry when he was in his teens. 544 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:04,030 Oh, geez. 545 00:25:04,030 --> 00:25:04,469 Oh, yeah. 546 00:25:04,500 --> 00:25:04,860 Wow. 547 00:25:04,860 --> 00:25:07,159 He was played with Waylon Jennings and Marty Stewart. 548 00:25:07,489 --> 00:25:09,040 So the guy is a monster musician. 549 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:11,629 So he, you know, forces me to kind of. 550 00:25:12,155 --> 00:25:16,145 To bring it, you know, and Rosie forces me to bring it in a different way. 551 00:25:16,235 --> 00:25:20,105 Uh, Rosie and I have a Kind of from the scene camp. 552 00:25:20,175 --> 00:25:21,615 We we like dynamics. 553 00:25:21,615 --> 00:25:25,985 We like playing really softly and having those Sort of fragile moments and then 554 00:25:26,204 --> 00:25:30,014 these moments where it's a rush of energy and you're just giving it Yeah, like 555 00:25:30,014 --> 00:25:36,875 kind of rock and roll Yeah, and she she has that energy that that uh, that that 556 00:25:36,885 --> 00:25:39,705 forces me to You know Bring my A game. 557 00:25:40,435 --> 00:25:41,225 And are you jamming? 558 00:25:41,225 --> 00:25:42,135 Are you improvising? 559 00:25:42,135 --> 00:25:42,795 Oh yeah. 560 00:25:42,845 --> 00:25:43,105 Yeah. 561 00:25:43,145 --> 00:25:47,724 Because, uh, well, we are, uh, when we're playing tunes, she'll 562 00:25:47,725 --> 00:25:51,835 play fiddle tunes that I'm just following along the best I can. 563 00:25:51,845 --> 00:25:52,265 Yeah. 564 00:25:52,335 --> 00:25:55,024 And, uh, so that's definitely jam world. 565 00:25:55,135 --> 00:25:55,365 Yep. 566 00:25:55,395 --> 00:25:58,265 And then she will, she will play, she'll accompany me on my 567 00:25:58,265 --> 00:26:00,365 songs and come up with parts. 568 00:26:00,655 --> 00:26:03,925 And they're, you know, not really ever the same twice kind of things. 569 00:26:03,925 --> 00:26:04,445 Yeah. 570 00:26:04,495 --> 00:26:05,175 That's awesome. 571 00:26:05,175 --> 00:26:05,545 Yeah. 572 00:26:06,044 --> 00:26:07,735 Shaun: When you're playing with JP, is it straight ahead, 573 00:26:07,735 --> 00:26:08,745 the stuff off of the album? 574 00:26:08,745 --> 00:26:10,934 We sort of stick to the arrangements. 575 00:26:10,995 --> 00:26:11,354 Um, 576 00:26:11,364 --> 00:26:13,584 Dave: there's a little bit of jamming every now and then. 577 00:26:13,684 --> 00:26:16,094 Like the big moments where we're, enter that. 578 00:26:16,674 --> 00:26:17,485 This is kind of fun. 579 00:26:18,014 --> 00:26:21,584 But we stick, you know, to the arrangements to some degree. 580 00:26:22,045 --> 00:26:23,034 You know, in the songs. 581 00:26:23,589 --> 00:26:26,979 Shaun: Yeah, yeah, and does it change so like playing a festival like 582 00:26:26,989 --> 00:26:30,259 putting together a set list or trying to yeah as opposed to when you're 583 00:26:30,259 --> 00:26:32,159 Just doing the tour by ourselves. 584 00:26:32,209 --> 00:26:32,449 Dave: Yeah. 585 00:26:32,449 --> 00:26:35,949 Yeah when we're touring by ourselves It's it's straight ahead to you know, 250 586 00:26:35,949 --> 00:26:37,579 minute sets with a 20 minute intermission. 587 00:26:37,579 --> 00:26:42,909 Yeah at a festival say okay, well, we've got like a 60 minute set or whatever 588 00:26:43,429 --> 00:26:47,909 length the set is and we sort of look at the how can we You know, kind of showcase 589 00:26:47,909 --> 00:26:51,699 different things here and, and, uh, so we'll, we haven't actually figured out our 590 00:26:51,790 --> 00:26:53,500 set for tomorrow night, but we'll do that. 591 00:26:53,850 --> 00:26:54,000 Yeah. 592 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,587 Shaun: I was talking, I saw Shanna in a dress yesterday as she was 593 00:26:57,587 --> 00:26:59,709 putting together her set list, right? 594 00:26:59,709 --> 00:27:01,550 Which she, Oh, she's incredible. 595 00:27:01,550 --> 00:27:03,849 And she has a great, some great stories too. 596 00:27:03,859 --> 00:27:05,250 Dave: She's funny, funny, funny. 597 00:27:05,510 --> 00:27:08,039 And it brought me to tears with the song about her dad. 598 00:27:08,199 --> 00:27:08,839 Oh, yeah. 599

00:27:08,959 --> 00:27:09,499 Oh my God. 600 00:27:09,509 --> 00:27:09,729 Yeah. 601 00:27:09,729 --> 00:27:12,649 Shaun: She was playing on the craft stage just a little while ago. 602 00:27:12,659 --> 00:27:12,960 Yeah. 603 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:13,320 Dave: Yeah. 604 00:27:13,350 --> 00:27:15,600 It was, uh, she was an incredible. 605 00:27:16,039 --> 00:27:19,279 Shaun: But yeah, she was putting together her set list, um, right next 606 00:27:19,289 --> 00:27:21,189 to the camp stage over there yesterday. 607 00:27:21,189 --> 00:27:22,769 And she said, is this how you do it? 608 00:27:22,769 --> 00:27:23,699 And she goes, yeah, pretty much. 609 00:27:23,699 --> 00:27:27,319 I just try to wing it, you know, when I, uh, and is that what you're going to do? 610 00:27:27,340 --> 00:27:28,939 You're just going to kind of wing it 611 00:27:28,959 --> 00:27:29,590 Dave: for sure. 612 00:27:29,590 --> 00:27:29,889 Yeah. 613 00:27:29,889 --> 00:27:31,090 To a, to a certain degree. 614 00:27:31,090 --> 00:27:34,979 And yeah, you can, you know, sometimes you'll do a set list 615 00:27:35,039 --> 00:27:36,449 just to make yourself feel good. 616 00:27:36,509 --> 00:27:36,969 Yeah. 617 00:27:37,239 --> 00:27:38,840 Or to appease to a crowd, right? 618 00:27:38,860 --> 00:27:40,289 Like, you know, if you see a certain 619 00:27:40,289 --> 00:27:41,989 Shaun: demographic or, uh, 620 00:27:41,989 --> 00:27:42,209 Dave: hear 621 00:27:42,209 --> 00:27:43,340 Shaun: something from earlier in the day, 622 00:27:43,340 --> 00:27:43,809 Dave: maybe somebody 623 00:27:43,809 --> 00:27:45,649 Shaun: might shout something out or. 624 00:27:45,670 --> 00:27:49,029 Do you listen to those people when they shout out a song? 625 00:27:49,239 --> 00:27:49,509 Uh, 626 00:27:49,759 --> 00:27:50,840 Dave: sometimes, yeah. 627 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:52,519 Yeah, sometimes we will, yeah. 628 00:27:53,209 --> 00:27:54,209 Yeah, yeah. 629 00:27:54,349 --> 00:27:56,429 Shaun: Now what about when you're playing in the round over here? 630 00:27:56,489 --> 00:27:58,179 Uh, do you have an idea in mind? 631 00:27:58,179 --> 00:28:00,600 Or are you just going up and feeling off the energy? 632 00:28:00,679 --> 00:28:01,870 Dave: I'll look at what it's called. 633 00:28:02,929 --> 00:28:04,619 I'll look at what the title of the round is. 634 00:28:04,619 --> 00:28:05,939 And then I'll kind of go from there. 635 00:28:06,099 --> 00:28:07,509 I think it's called Topical Songs. 636 00:28:07,549 --> 00:28:08,609 I think you're correct, yeah. 637 00:28:08,609 --> 00:28:13,725 So, and, and uh, Chris and I come from the same I think John Flynn might 638 00:28:13,725 --> 00:28:15,054 Shaun: be the other person who's playing. 639 00:28:15,104 --> 00:28:15,405 Who is this? 640 00:28:15,405 --> 00:28:16,475 John Flynn maybe? 641 00:28:16,594 --> 00:28:17,874 Dave: Yes, it is. 642 00:28:18,604 --> 00:28:18,995 Yeah, yeah. 643 00:28:19,385 --> 00:28:20,925 Yeah, okay, that's gonna be amazing. 644

00:28:21,074 --> 00:28:22,454 Yeah, that's a really great line up. 645 00:28:22,465 --> 00:28:23,635 That's an amazing line up. 646 00:28:23,635 --> 00:28:24,645 Shit, I should go practice. 647 00:28:24,645 --> 00:28:26,460 Ha, ha, ha. 648 00:28:26,460 --> 00:28:28,274 Ha, ha, ha. 649 00:28:28,274 --> 00:28:28,685 Man. 650 00:28:29,235 --> 00:28:30,234 Yeah, that's gonna be awesome. 651 00:28:30,614 --> 00:28:34,995 So, yeah, I guess, I mean And those two writers, we've got lots in common. 652 00:28:35,344 --> 00:28:39,074 And maybe that's why we were put together on this stage, but we kind of write about 653 00:28:39,164 --> 00:28:44,024 social justice things, and we've got some common themes through our writing. 654 00:28:44,674 --> 00:28:46,924 So I would imagine that theme will kind of 655 00:28:47,404 --> 00:28:48,034 Shaun: pop up. 656 00:28:48,264 --> 00:28:48,864 That's awesome. 657 00:28:49,374 --> 00:28:51,844 Now you had mentioned, I think you played with Chris Matthews, or you 658 00:28:51,844 --> 00:28:53,574 met Chris Matthews on the shuttle. 659 00:28:53,725 --> 00:28:54,215 Yeah. 660 00:28:54,264 --> 00:28:55,485 And you played at a festival with her. 661 00:28:55,495 --> 00:28:57,114 Have you ever played with John before? 662 00:28:58,350 --> 00:28:59,129 Besides here. 663 00:28:59,139 --> 00:29:02,570 I think he was, uh, I think he played the Philadelphia Folk Festival in 2019. 664 00:29:02,570 --> 00:29:04,649 Dave: But we weren't on the same stage together. 665 00:29:04,649 --> 00:29:08,839 I don't think, uh, so no, this will be the first time that I'm actually getting 666 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:10,949 to meet him and be on the stage with him. 667 00:29:11,110 --> 00:29:11,659 Shaun: That's awesome. 668 00:29:11,669 --> 00:29:11,949 Yeah. 669 00:29:12,209 --> 00:29:14,949 Do you have any favorite like topical songs or, uh, you know, 670 00:29:14,969 --> 00:29:16,030 while we're on the subject? 671 00:29:16,090 --> 00:29:16,350 Well, 672 00:29:16,350 --> 00:29:17,239 Dave: I might, I don't know. 673 00:29:17,239 --> 00:29:21,629 I might to, I might do some of the ones that are related to the pulp 674 00:29:21,629 --> 00:29:29,100 mill issue, you know, um, and, uh, And because I was so involved with that 675 00:29:29,100 --> 00:29:33,720 issue and so outspoken about it, that issue, I, I get asked quite often now 676 00:29:33,780 --> 00:29:35,720 to get involved with other issues. 677 00:29:36,260 --> 00:29:41,570 And, um, you know, uh, there was a proposed gold mine going to go on 678 00:29:41,570 --> 00:29:43,059 a beautiful river in Nova Scotia. 679 00:29:43,060 --> 00:29:47,830 So, um, you know, I, I said, listen, I can't really get too deeply involved. 680 00:29:47,830 --> 00:29:52,475 Like, uh, you know, I'd like to know if I'm backed into the corner by an 681 00:29:52,534 --> 00:29:56,064 industry professional, I want to be able to talk my way out of it, you know, 682 00:29:56,064 --> 00:29:57,554 and I don't know enough about that. 683 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,590 To do it, but I knew enough about the pulp mill to do that. 684 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:01,090 Yeah. 685 00:30:01,139 --> 00:30:02,330 Well, cause you did your homework. 686 00:30:02,340 --> 00:30:03,419 Yeah, exactly. 687 00:30:03,419 --> 00:30:07,199 But I, but I did know enough about the goldmine issue to write a song. 688 00:30:07,659 --> 00:30:09,690 So I, you know, I wrote a song for them and 689 00:30:10,270 --> 00:30:10,360 Shaun: they 690 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:11,519 Dave: shot a video for it. 691 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:12,479 And, oh, that's great. 692 00:30:12,489 --> 00:30:13,480 And it helped a little bit. 693 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:15,480 I think maybe that's awesome. 694 00:30:15,490 --> 00:30:17,790 So maybe I'll try to dig that one out if I can remember it. 695 00:30:19,399 --> 00:30:19,960 Shaun: That's awesome. 696 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:20,180 Yeah. 697 00:30:20,180 --> 00:30:23,620 Do you have any other, uh, activists causes or, uh, you know, things that 698 00:30:23,620 --> 00:30:25,070 you're passionate about now that 699 00:30:25,070 --> 00:30:27,330 Dave: raise money right now? 700 00:30:27,370 --> 00:30:35,150 Um, I've helped start a school program to, um, called Little Free Stores and 701 00:30:35,150 --> 00:30:40,529 Schools, but what we're doing is we're, um, stocking a shell, shelves in schools 702 00:30:40,530 --> 00:30:46,009 in a discreet location so that the teachers can, one on one, take students 703 00:30:46,009 --> 00:30:49,380 that they know are hungry into this area. 704 00:30:49,780 --> 00:30:53,305 And, um, Ask them if they would like to take any food home for their family. 705 00:30:54,205 --> 00:30:56,915 And so it's basically a food bank, but it's distributed 706 00:30:56,925 --> 00:30:57,975 through the school system. 707 00:30:58,544 --> 00:31:01,915 And, uh, they can discreetly take the food home and backpacks or whatever. 708 00:31:01,915 --> 00:31:05,114 And they even have backpacks for them if they don't have one. 709 00:31:05,755 --> 00:31:08,734 So we we've got, we've raised over a hundred thousand dollars. 710 00:31:08,734 --> 00:31:10,375 We're trying to get to 200, 000 now. 711 00:31:10,505 --> 00:31:10,875 Wow. 712 00:31:10,885 --> 00:31:13,995 So it'll cost about 5, 000 per school. 713 00:31:14,005 --> 00:31:16,085 Something we're doing in my province in Nova Scotia. 714 00:31:16,764 --> 00:31:19,645 But, uh, yeah, it's, it's a, it's a cause that, uh, came up 715 00:31:19,645 --> 00:31:21,905 a friend of mine, Bruce Guthrow. 716 00:31:21,915 --> 00:31:24,065 He was wanting to do it and he was too sick. 717 00:31:24,445 --> 00:31:27,124 Uh, he, he just passed away actually last year. 718 00:31:27,215 --> 00:31:28,134 I'm sorry to hear that. 719 00:31:28,135 --> 00:31:28,824 Yeah, thanks. 720 00:31:28,824 --> 00:31:33,044 And, uh, he reached out to me, you know, and pitched the idea and I 721 00:31:33,044 --> 00:31:34,514 said, man, that's, that's

awesome. 722 00:31:34,514 --> 00:31:36,735 I, I, I definitely want to help if I can. 723 00:31:36,735 --> 00:31:39,875 And so I've been working with that organization to do that. 724 00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:41,970 So that's what I've been up to lately. 725 00:31:42,060 --> 00:31:42,490 That's great. 726 00:31:42,500 --> 00:31:44,050 Now, uh, what's the name of the organization? 727 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:46,139 Uh, it's called the Zero Hunger Fund. 728 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:46,430 Okay. 729 00:31:46,540 --> 00:31:50,450 And it's, uh, the Nova Scotia, uh, uh, The Rural Communities 730 00:31:50,460 --> 00:31:51,940 Foundation of Nova Scotia. 731 00:31:52,370 --> 00:31:54,459 And it's called Zero Hunger Fund. 732 00:31:54,580 --> 00:31:59,970 Um, but, uh, You know, it's getting, mostly getting support from other people 733 00:31:59,970 --> 00:32:03,970 in the province because it's, it's a, it's a Nova Scotia thing that we're 734 00:32:03,970 --> 00:32:07,140 doing, but at this, at this point, yeah. 735 00:32:07,330 --> 00:32:09,410 Shaun: If people want to go online, can they donate somewhere? 736 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:10,820 Dave: Oh, yeah, for sure. 737 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:17,189 Yeah, the Rural Communities Foundation of Nova Scotia, and, um, I should do 738 00:32:17,189 --> 00:32:23,689 a, uh, post maybe on social media here about it, um, soon, um, but it's just 739 00:32:23,690 --> 00:32:26,270 called the, uh, the Zero Hunger Fund. 740 00:32:26,639 --> 00:32:27,419 Yeah, great. 741 00:32:27,459 --> 00:32:30,250 Actually, I think that it's called the Dave Gunning Zero Hunger Fund. 742 00:32:30,479 --> 00:32:34,105 It was going to be called the Bruce Guthrow Zero Hunger Fund, and I Then 743 00:32:34,105 --> 00:32:36,835 they, they called it the Dave Gunning Zero Hunger Fund, which I felt a little 744 00:32:36,835 --> 00:32:39,955 bit weird about, but I guess that's how they direct people to it, so. 745 00:32:40,285 --> 00:32:42,625 Shaun: Well, I mean, you're, you're, you are the pride of Paw 746 00:32:42,625 --> 00:32:47,215 County and you are, gosh, you know, Canada's favorite son, so, oh gosh. 747 00:32:47,215 --> 00:32:47,275 Yeah. 748 00:32:47,275 --> 00:32:47,365 Well, 749 00:32:47,365 --> 00:32:50,875 Dave: we, uh, we, uh, I just played my hometown actually, not just. 750 00:32:51,930 --> 00:32:55,490 A couple of nights ago, right on the Pictou waterfront, and I've written 751 00:32:55,490 --> 00:32:59,020 so many songs about dead guys from Pictou over the years, that I don't 752 00:32:59,020 --> 00:33:00,659 get hired New Year's Eve much anymore. 753 00:33:00,990 --> 00:33:01,620 Happy New Year! 754 00:33:01,620 --> 00:33:03,589 Here's another song about a dead guy from Pictou. 755 00:33:05,099 --> 00:33:06,659 Shaun: Paying tribute to the legacies, right? 756 00:33:06,659 --> 00:33:07,424 Yeah, that's right. 757 00:33:07,735 --> 00:33:08,425 That's awesome. 758 00:33:08,735 --> 00:33:11,294 Well, Dave Gunning, I know that you have a set coming up soon. 759 00:33:11,294 --> 00:33:14,685 Was there anything that I didn't ask that you think that I should have asked here? 760 00:33:14,805 --> 00:33:15,945 Dave: Oh gosh, man. 761 00:33:16,115 --> 00:33:19,794 I love talking to you, and I'm glad you're doing this and back at her. 762 00:33:20,064 --> 00:33:20,494 Shaun: Yeah. 763 00:33:20,534 --> 00:33:20,885 Dave: Yeah. 764 00:33:20,894 --> 00:33:21,655 Shaun: Thank you so much. 765 00:33:21,655 --> 00:33:22,334 I appreciate that. 766 00:33:22,335 --> 00:33:23,354 It's always great talking to you. 767 00:33:23,354 --> 00:33:23,814 Love you, Sean. 768 00:33:23,874 --> 00:33:24,124 Bye. 769 00:33:24,384 --> 00:33:24,924 Love you, too. 770 00:33:24,925 --> 00:33:27,024 The last conversation that we had was one of the favorites. 771 00:33:27,024 --> 00:33:28,235 I know the fans loved it, too. 772 00:33:28,235 --> 00:33:31,299 So, I just appreciate your time and, uh, yeah, coming back. 773 00:33:31,340 --> 00:33:33,090 Come thank you for coming back to Philadelphia. 774 00:33:33,139 --> 00:33:34,840 Dave: I appreciate being back here. 775 00:33:34,879 --> 00:33:36,300 I'm not taking it for granted now. 776 00:33:36,300 --> 00:33:37,440 I don't think any of us are. 777 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:38,610 Shaun: Yeah, yeah, 778 00:33:38,659 --> 00:33:39,409 Dave: absolutely. 779 00:33:39,490 --> 00:33:39,859 Yeah. 780 00:33:39,859 --> 00:33:40,520 Thanks buddy. 781 00:33:40,590 --> 00:33:41,310 Thank you, Dave. 782 00:33:58,965 --> 00:34:02,175 I don't think anyone wants to hear a football slash soccer. 783 00:34:06,245 --> 00:34:08,075 Oh man, I'm stoked. 784 00:34:08,285 --> 00:34:11,885 I'm in the parking lot of a seven 11 in El Cajon, California. 785 00:34:23,495 --> 00:34:24,875 Man, these are great questions. 786 00:34:26,670 --> 00:34:31,565 , I think I, I, I think the an, the answers, the answers are probably better.