Ryan Marchant will wax nostalgic about his Red Deer childhood when he performs an intimate acoustic concert on March 5 at The Matchbox — along with fellow singer/songwriter Paeton Cameron.
Marchant’s original tunes contain rock ’n’ roll and folk influences and are often drawn from his life.
The local guitarist, who teaches at 53rd Street Music and plays in the local rock bands Oldbury and The KlamDaggers, has written introspective solo material, including the song McLevin Cres. about the Morrisroe street he grew up on.
“Basically, the first 12 years of my life were spent there and I had a good childhood, so it’s a pretty positive song.”
Another of his tunes, S.I.P, was written about a musician who wakes up with no sense of identity.
“He goes about trying to find out who he was,” added Marchant, who attended Red Deer College’s music program and once toured Canada as a backup musician for former classmate Theresa Sokyrka.
Cameron is a former Notre Dame High School student who has also mined his life experiences for his folk songs.
Man With No Home is a bluesy tune Cameron wrote about his feelings when his live-in girlfriend moved out, while Winds of Revolution is a reggae song he penned out of frustration after watching the TV news one night. “It was something about another crisis in the Middle East. . . .”
Marchant and Cameron, who plays with the band Fields of Green, are looking forward to performing at the intimate concert venue.
Each plan to do solo sets with acoustic guitars. They might even play together — “we haven’t decided yet,” said Marchant, who feels their original music shares a rootsy rock feel and would be a good fit.
The musicians like performing at The Matchbox because, unlike at bars, all of the audience’s focus is on the music. Cameron said, “It puts additional pressure on you because you can’t screw up — there are 100 very open ears listening to every word.”
But that kind of rapt attention is also a reward for songwriters who want their lyrics to be heard.
Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert are $20 from The Matchbox, 403-341-6500. Doors open at 7 p.m.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com