Robert Connely Farr Conjures Up the Spirits and Sounds of His Hometown Heroes with Shake It Featuring “Lefty”
The traditions and soul-deep connections of the blues are handed down and passed along like precious artistic gifts. When you’re an artist who grew up in a place that spawned several musical legends of the genre, you can’t help but be born into that ongoing legacy.
Bolton, Mississippi-born, Vancouver, BC-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Robert Connely Farr builds on the influences of his hometown blues heroes with his bold and blistering new album Shake It and the featured single, “Lefty.”
A perfect encapsulation of the mix of bone-deep skills and a sense of wild abandon that permeates all nine tracks on Shake It, “Lefty” throws down a guttural guitar shuffle that aims its thump directly for the center of the chest. When Farr sings “C’mon Lefty take me to the limit” in his gravel road baritone, you know you’re in for a raucous ride through a night of defiant, devil-may-care rebellion.
The full-throttle blues rock of “Lefty” and the album’s title track Shake It, both written by Farr, contain all the grit and fire of a man that’s dodged more than a few bullets. The album’s six tracks, written or co-written by Farr, and three carefully chosen covers by home state heroes Charley Patton, Tommy McLennan, and Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, respond to Farr’s unexpected 2019 cancer diagnosis, emergency surgery, and recovery shortly after celebrating prestigious Maple Blues Awards nominations for Songwriter and New Artist of the Year.
“In the wake of my cancer surgery, I fell hard into this Charley Patton book,” recalls Farr. “I’d never known much about Patton, ironic as I grew up walking the same streets he did as a young man. I felt a lot of similarities to aspects of his life – leaving home but always missing it, troubles with liquor, not fitting in, but always about the song… always about the song. ‘Screamin’ & Hollerin’ hit me like a ton of bricks – that song kicks the album off.”
After an inspiring trip back to Mississippi to Jimmy “Duck” Holmes’ Bentonia Blues Festival, Farr and his band had already begun recording what would become his epic, 16-track 2020 release “Country Supper” when his cancer diagnosis temporarily derailed everything. After recovering from surgery, Farr and his band dove back into finishing the project that would score sustained buzz from critics and fans alike garnered glowing reviews, and receive numerous placements on ‘Best of 2020’ lists. Country Supper left the door wide open for this year’s leaner, meaner, but no less epic, follow-up Shake It.
Recorded at Vancouver’s legendary Hipposonic Studios and co-produced by Farr and his two core band mates, drummer Jay Bundy Johnson and bassist Tom Hillifer, Shake It delivers a soundscape ranging from slow burn to full-on earthquake. Riding along with his long-time rhythm section “The Dirty Dirty,” Farr’s grit-soaked voice and howling guitar paint images of swamps packed with catfish while spirits dance in the sky.
“We recorded in Vancouver in the same room AC/DC, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi all worked in,” notes Farr. “We kept the team small for this one and felt strongly about making this ourselves. For the better part of 15 years, they are the only guys I play with.”
Listen to “Lefty” below, and learn more about Robert Connely Farr via our mini-interview.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
I’m Robert Connely Farr from Bolton, Mississippi – the hometown of legends like Charley Patton & the Mississippi Sheiks. It’s a small town (exit 27 on I- 20) of maybe a thousand people halfway between Jackson and Vicksburg. The town is so small it doesn’t even have a red light. But it does have some damn good ribs at the truck stop!
What’s it like being a musician in Vancouver?
I pretty much started my musical journey in the coffee shop scene in Vancouver around 2009. A few East Vancouver songwriters blew me away and encouraged me to song write and record. Jon Wood (FlopHouse JR – now in TOR) was one of those, and we ended up making a few albums together under the moniker Mississippi Live & the Dirty Dirty w/ Jay Bundy Johnson (Herald Nix / Blue Shadows) and Ben Yardley (La Chinga). Mac Pontiac was a close friend of mine – rest in peace – and a huge encouragement. We played the Railway a bunch and the Wise Hall. Our first-ever show was at the old Cobalt. It’s been such an incredible journey to be inspired by so many local songwriters and musicians on their own journeys.
You were born in Mississippi, so why the move to Canada?
The truth is I met a girl – drove west on Interstate 20 until Los Angeles, hung a right, and went as far as I could go (well, not to Lund, but you know what I mean!). In 2008, I finished my architectural studies at Auburn University and a 2+ year stint at their Rural Studio. I traveled to Vancouver for a weekend trip; the rest was history. Went home, packed my bags, and took off.
Who was the first artist to knock you out?
Jimmy Duck Homes, hands down. I went home to see my father in 2017 – his leukemia had come back bad, and it was an emergency trip home. (He’s doing pretty good now). One day while home, he and I took a ride over to Vicksburg and then up to Clarksdale (I had never been), had some catfish, and then drove back home through Yazoo City and then Bentonia – where we stopped by Jimmy Duck Holmes juke joint the Blue Front Café to snap a pic (I’d been photographing it for years). Anyway, the front door was open. I walked in, and Jimmy was behind the counter – the only other person there was my dad. We started chatting, and Jimmy sat down and played us the most haunting song I had ever heard – Devil Got My Woman. Later that week, Jimmy gave me my first lesson, and I have been going home to see him ever since. He’s an incredible teacher and friend. He lives to give the Bentonia Style of the Delta Blues away, to run his juke joint, and provide a place for people to come be together and enjoy music. He never misses a chance to teach/encourage. I remember calling him to tell him I had cancer. He paused for a minute and then said, “you ain’t dead yet” – I love it. There’s not another like him.
What’s the one album by a Canadian artist that everyone should have in their collection?
The Blue Shadows – On The Floor of Heaven – yall that is pure dee Canadian Gold!!!
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