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“It’s important to be responsible stewards of the land and that spans a lot of different ideas from a lot of different people. I think it is important to be responsible with what we have been given.” – Paul Brandt
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Check out this and more feature articles in the current issue of DUC’s Conservator magazine (PDF, 2.09MB)
Big country, big heart
Oak Hammock Marsh, Man., August, 2010 – Canadian country music superstar Paul Brandt found time recently to meet with Ducks Unlimited Canada’s (DUC) Conservator magazine to have his career, conservation experiences and growing love for the outdoors profiled.
Twice in recent years, Brandt has generously donated his time and talent as part of a waterfowling package auctioned off at the Calgary Ducks Unlimited Canada dinner event. All monies raised for the hunts – which were both co-ordinated by Lloyd Derry, now DUC’s national planned giving manager – were put back toward DUC’s conservation efforts. Both times, Brandt picked up his guitar and entertained the happy group of DUC supporters with an unplugged performance that made the occasion truly memorable.
For his part, on the heels of his performance at the Vancouver Olympics and with a new music compilation and a steady summer concert season ahead of him, Brandt is a busy man. Not only does two-year-old son Joe keep Brandt and wife Liz hopping, Brandt is in the process of registering his personal charitable organization called “priceles$.”, working on a new music project comprised of two albums worth of material (working title, “Now”), planning a national tour for fall 2011, and developing a television show for Country Music Television Canada.
Q) Your performance at the Olympics was enjoyed by Canadians from all walks of life. Tell us why you are a proud Canadian.
A) It was really exciting to be part of what was going on at the Olympics and be part of the national pride. Vancouver was hosting and they had made it about Canada in a huge way. I thought that was really smart to bring all the unique aspects of Canada into the Olympics. We got to be there as part of the Alberta Showcase and I performed at the medal ceremonies at GM Place and to be in front of an audience that big was a really exciting time for me and the guys in the band. It was a huge honour to be part of it and really fun.
Q) What are your thoughts on Canada’s great outdoor areas?
A) I’ve had the incredible opportunity to travel across all of Canada and see just about every different aspect of the outdoors from being way up north fishing to hiking in the Yukon, northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba. One of my favourite areas is right here in Alberta near the Crowsnest Pass. For Canadians, to be able to live in a place where you can travel 20 minutes in any direction and not see another person is incredible, and I have learned that in my international travels. This is one of the reasons I came back to Canada. The more I travelled and saw different things around the world, the more I realized it wasn’t because I was from here and biased, it is because this is really the best place in the world to live.
Q) Most Canadians have heard “Alberta Bound” and most of us have seen the video, which features Alberta’s beautiful landscapes and the people who live there. Tell us about your thoughts behind that video as it pertains to our natural areas in Alberta.
A) The song “Alberta Bound” came to me after a trip home to Alberta when I was living in Nashville. And I was thinking about all the things I love about this place. It was one of those crazy spring days we have here where it was dumping snow and giant snowflakes were falling. I was sitting next to a fireplace strumming my guitar and the words for “Alberta Bound” just came to me. I never would have dreamed that song would become the anthem it is.
Q) How did you become aware of DUC?
A) I had a piece of property west of Cochrane and at the time we were dreaming of living out there. There were some wetlands and springs at the bottom of the property and I wanted a little bit of advice on what would be the best thing to do. So, I called DUC and met with Lloyd. We walked the property and talked about our mutual passions for the outdoors. This meeting eventually evolved into a duck hunting trip. And we have had a lot of fun with that, raising money for Ducks by auctioning off that trip. I always felt that I got the better of that deal as it was pretty cool to get to meet some of these guys that were as passionate about hunting and fishing as I was. And I got to learn a lot on those trips by being out there with people who did those things much more than I did. It was really a lot of fun and it has been a great partnership over the years.
Q) Do you support conservation groups such as DUC? If so, why?
A) It’s not something honestly that I have spent a lot of time thinking about. It’s important to be responsible stewards of the land and that spans a lot of different ideas from a lot of different people. I think that it is important to be responsible with what we have been given.
Q) As a father, how important to you is the conservation of our natural habitats such as wetlands for your children and their children?
A) As a father now, with my young son running around, and thinking about being able to enjoy the outdoors with him as he gets older, I think it’s important to teach things that will help people keep their roots grounded. It’s how to take advantage of the resources we have, those are things that we are losing more and more in our modern society. Those things are becoming a lot more important to me and I think that the relationship that I have had with Ducks Unlimited is something that I have spent a lot more time thinking about since my son came along. I really applaud their efforts in trying to keep the link to people to become responsible stewards.
Q) Country music fans have a long tradition of being perceived as being close to the outdoor world and very down-to-earth souls. Can you explain how this closeness to the land that your audiences bring to the table motivates you?
A) Yeah, I think maybe in a different way than a lot of other country artists. As our world is moving more and more quickly, it has made things get a lot smaller. People talk about the global village and how easy it is to jump on a plane and you fly for 14 hours and you are on the other side of the world. It’s amazing that the world has become that small. The more I think about that, the more that I think about the roots of country music. It has always been about helping your neighbour out and supporting the people around you that are in your community. Our community now has become a lot bigger and it is easier to reach around the world than ever before. It used to be, yeah, let’s head out to a country fair and have fun. But now we can do things that can change the world. I think what I love most about being a country artist is country fans seem to get that. They understand that it is important to look up every once in a while, look at the people around you, and pitch in and help
Q) You have said you enjoy waterfowling and fishing. What are some of your favourite memories?
A) I have had some really great opportunities to have fun with a couple of television fishing shows. We did the Bob Izumi show for instance, and I really enjoyed that opportunity. I have also had the good fortune to fish in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan where I caught my biggest pike on a fly rod. I also have done some great trout fishing at Fortress Lake on the other side of the mountains in B.C. that I did with The Canadian Fly Fisher Magazine and Flymax Films.
As far as duck and bird hunting, my favourite memory was bringing my mom along to one of the DUC hunts. It was something she had always wanted to do, be out on a hunt, and the opportunity was there. I remember getting ready for it and she was like a little kid. We were going to the different sporting goods stores in Calgary getting what she needed and got her all set up. It was just a little bit surreal looking out across and seeing mom hunting with us. She still talks about it quite a bit. I had a wonderful time and it is a really great memory.
Q) Are these outdoor pastimes part of your youth? If so, can you explain? If not, can you tell us how you began to waterfowl or fish?
A) The outdoors for me was more going on trips with my uncle. My uncle has always been the guy that moved us into that area. He is a butcher by trade and so he knew all about field dressing the meat and he taught us all that. I always found that standing there on a stream with my uncle fishing and just getting to talk, or sometimes not talking at all, sometimes as a teenager, was a really great experience to have.
Q) Tell me your favourite outdoor story.
A) I think it was one of those trips with my uncle and my dad. A friend had an old cabin just west of Sundrie that they gave us the keys to. We went out late fall to do some fishing and bird hunting and got out there and it started to dump snow. We were in this cabin with no heat and we literally had to stay up and feed the fire, it was that cold. We had shot a couple of grouse that day and had dressed them and cooked them over the fire. The next day, we went to do a little fishing but the river had started to freeze up. We were standing there and I looked across the river and there were these wild horses across the water. To be there in that moment, watch the snow and to hear something across the way in the bushes and see a wild stallion staring back ... it left an image in my head I will never forget. I feel very blessed to have had some of those experiences.
Q) Anything to add?
A) I am looking forward to getting out into the public eye again. I have a few exciting things on the go. It has been really nice for me to be able to share what I do with my family. We are heading out on the road in the fall of 2011 and we will take my family as well as a grandmother or two to help with the babysitting!
For more information, contact:
Duncan Morrison, d_morrison@ducks.ca
National Marketing and Communications
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Tel: 204-467-3202
