Hamilton-Based Alt-Folk Singer S.G. Sinnicks Releases Politically-Charged “Miss America 2.0”
Sometimes great art emerges from difficult times, either personally, socially, or politically. For Hamilton-based alternative folk singer S.G. Sinnicks, the tumultuous situation south of the Canadian border is what makes the excellent, pensive, and timely “Miss America 2.0” so poignant. For Sinnicks, the song is “equal parts love song and lament” from the standpoint “of a neutral observer.”
“I spent so many years playing and touring in the U.S. seeing the growing fractures in a society that is too important to fracture and the pain in my American-born wife, friends and family as it went downhill,” Sinnicks says of “Miss America 2.0.” “The title is a bit of a play on words. Both reflecting that I miss an America that used to value things like compassion and intelligence and using an aging beauty queen in her MISS AMERICA sash for her once beautiful country.”
“Miss America 2.0,” a remake of a song entitled “Miss America” Sinnicks wrote and released on his 2012 album The Last Irishman In Corktown, is a splendid revisiting of the original with Sinnicks describing the new single as “slower and more atmospheric.” Falling in a vein similar to the likes of Wilco, Tim Easton, Rod Picott, or John Prine with a mid-tempo roots seasoning throughout, “Miss America 2.0” features multi-instrumentalist Mike Boguski (piano, organ, accordion) fleshing out the extremely well-crafted track. And Sinnicks’ voice and incisive lyrics shine on the single which Sinnicks says “needed to be a little darker and sharper” than the previous version, mirroring the “world overall.”
Some know the prices and some folks know the amounts
But what do you do when a generation forgets how to count
Too many weapons and too short a fuse
Everybody’s working harder for the benefit of so very few
“Miss America 2.0” is the “first piece transformed” from Sinnicks rich discography and songbook, an idea where legacy material is retooled for new audiences. Or as Sinnicks says a “scaled-up re-release.” The musician feels the single speaks to a larger audience now in a world which survived a global pandemic but “pushed so many people who were already barely hanging on over the edge.” Sinnicks says the edgier, darker atmosphere “reflects the increasing anger and sadness we are feeling today.”
A video for “Miss America 2.0,” created by Peter Riddihough and starring Nora Hutchinson, was also made to visually drive home the message Sinnicks cleverly and thoughtfully executes almost effortlessly.
“Sometimes all I can do as a humble songwriter is call it as I see it and hope the message finds a home in the hearts and minds that it was intended for,” he says. “The song is written from the point of view of the helpless observer. I’m sure any Canadian watching American politics can relate.”
If “Miss America 2.0” is the first of a series of songs S.G. Sinnicks retools from his cherished catalog, Canadian, American, and international lovers of brilliant alt-folk music will be all the better and richer for it.
Hi, S.G.! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers?
Hello. I’m a singer/songwriter based in Hamilton Ontario and a recovering drummer. I started playing the pubs when I was 15 and after many years as a sideplayer, I started recording and releasing my own music in the late 90’s.
I’ve put out 4 full-length albums, a couple of EPs, and now singles under my own name. I honestly have no idea how many other things I have played on over the years. Scorpio. Don’t hold that against me.
“Miss America 2.0” revisits a song from your 2012 album The Last Irishman In Corktown. What prompted you to rework and release the track now?
The climate of the times. I usually wouldn’t look back like that but it seemed the right time to retool Miss America 2.0 for a more contemporary audience. The polarization of society isn’t just an American phenomenon and it seemed right to point it out again.
The imagery of an aging beauty queen in the title is powerful. What inspired you to use this metaphor for America?
Both myself and Peter Riddihough the filmmaker who did the video were looking for a visual that could encapsulate a uniquely American tradition that wouldn’t need much explanation and would translate well to video. The beauty Queen and the pageantry that is associated with it fit the bill. Whether it is a County Fair, Farm Show, or High School Prom, the tiara and sash is all you need to present. We were also fortunate to have the talent of Nora Hutchinson to play the queen as she is an award-winning visual artist and educator in her own right.
How did your experiences touring the U.S. and witnessing its societal changes influence your songwriting, especially in “Miss America 2.0”?
It influenced me a lot. I spend quite a few years touring with a Celtic band alongside my own gigs in 20-some-odd states for 200-odd days a year in the 2000s. This is alongside my American wife, friends, and some family. The America I had seen growing up in a border town was much different than the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic areas I toured. The changes over the years have been stark. So many of my musical influences and heroes were American and the tribal nature of these places has only increased.
Multi-instrumentalist Mike Boguski plays a significant role in shaping the song’s sound. How did his contributions elevate the track’s overall feel?
I’ve had the privilege of working with Mike for many years and he is one of the best in the business. He was able to weave the piano, organ, and accordion tracks to both pad and lead while never getting in the way perfectly and finishing the sound. It was always going to be a stark track without too much instrumentation so every note and part had to be effective. Mike got it off the bat as did Carl Jennings on bass and background vocals.
As a Canadian writing about American politics, do you feel an added responsibility as an outside observer? How do you hope your perspective resonates with both Canadian and American listeners?
Without question. As an outsider, you always run the risk of coming off as smug, ill-informed, or out to lunch. Someone will always find something to disagree about what you say and that’s fine. These days it’s about how the disagreement manifests itself. Context and intent seem to be a dying thing. Kind of what the tune is about in a way.
A lot of the issues in Miss America aren’t unique to the US. I see people stressed, tired, hurt, and confused in Canada, the UK, Ireland, and all over while looking for a time that makes sense where there isn’t so much noise, confusion, and anger. That’s the perspective I hope will resonate with any listener. That and I hope they like the song as a piece of music.
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