A lifelong singer and songwriter feels the pull between his passion and his livelihood

When Terry Brennan strums his guitar, the music seems to spill out of him B次元官网网址� tunes of love lost, love found and life lived.

HeB次元官网网址檚 an old-fashioned folk and roots musician who critics call a master craftsman of songs. He records on a simple home studio in Langford using tape cassettes. His Gibson J-200 guitar, once first love of his life, B次元官网网址渋s now my second,B次元官网网址� after his wife Kate.

For a guy who has hung out with Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash and who has written hundreds of songs, many to great acclaim, Brennan has found fame B次元官网网址� or at least commercial fame B次元官网网址� painfully elusive.

At 63, Brennan has been working gigs for 45 years, since the days of sneaking into clubs in Yorkville area of Toronto as a teenager. As a youth he was on a path toward high-level baseball, but folk and blues music of the late 1960s was his calling.

B次元官网网址淢y dad wanted me to play second base for the the New York Yankees,B次元官网网址� Brennan says laughing. B次元官网网址淚 was well on my way when Bob Dylan ruined all that.B次元官网网址�

Brennan moved to the West Coast in the late 1960s to seek out adventure, becoming a cowboy on a ranch in Merritt, and a miner in the Yukon. It was there in the north with a girlfriend he was shot at by a jealous estranged husband B次元官网网址� fine fodder for future songs. B次元官网网址淚 remember a crazy laugh in the night,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚 was lying in bed when bullets came through the wall.B次元官网网址�

He has always kept one foot in the folk and blues scene and the other at a regular, steady job. Being a vagabond starving artist didnB次元官网网址檛 sit well with the self-taught guitar player, who has been at everything from a restaurant manager to a handyman to a gardener.

ItB次元官网网址檚 a decision heB次元官网网址檚 wrestled with throughout his career as a singer and songwriter. With a voice and song writing sensibility somewhere between Dylan and Gordon Lightfoot, Brennan consistently won music writing contests in the 1990s and earned accolades as a performer, but he put more time and energy into crafting music than self promotion.

In the 1980s and 90s, he performed off and on at music festivals based on reputation and recommendations from other performers. These days the competition is fierce, plentiful and from around the world B次元官网网址� and folk fests are books years in advance.

B次元官网网址淵ou can make a good living between being a pop success and where IB次元官网网址檓 at,B次元官网网址� Brennan says. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not headed toward stardom. These days IB次元官网网址檝e got more modest goals.B次元官网网址�

Married and living in Langford for six years now, he works at GardenWorks in Colwood, but with the help of his wife as a promoter and manager, Brennan is tackling the Western Canada folk circuit with renewed energy.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been six years since IB次元官网网址檝e moved to Vancouver Island and IB次元官网网址檝e worked way more,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 better venues, better audiences. I like playing for audiences who really listen.B次元官网网址�

Beyond smaller venues around the Capital Region, this weekend he is performing at the Vancouver Island Exhibition in Nanaimo. Next year heB次元官网网址檚 aiming for folk fests in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. HeB次元官网网址檚 also performing with friend Roger Plant, a performer B次元官网网址渨ho completes the musical picture.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淔rom the get-go he fit in like butter and jam. WeB次元官网网址檝e still never rehearsed, itB次元官网网址檚 effortless,B次元官网网址� Brennan says. B次元官网网址淯sing my original songs and RogerB次元官网网址檚 fingers, weB次元官网网址檒l get some sweet gigs.B次元官网网址�

Playing his guitar and writing music B次元官网网址� Brennan has a repertoire of some 200 original songs and hundreds more of works in progress B次元官网网址� remains his passion. He still agonizes over every chorus and every word, although itB次元官网网址檚 easier to craft music when times are tough, not when he has a happy, stable home life.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e had a lot of sleepless nights over one word. IB次元官网网址檓 a stickler for a well written song B次元官网网址� it should sound like it fell out of the apple tree. They donB次元官网网址檛 have to be complicated, but they have a lot to say.

"You should never have to fight to know what a song is about. TheyB次元官网网址檙e about love lost, love found and about resolving things, a spiritual journey.B次元官网网址�

For more on Terry Brennan, see radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Terry-Brennan. He his perfoming at Saanich Music in the Park in Rudd Park, Aug. 23, 6 to 8 p.m. and at MattickB次元官网网址檚 Farm, Sept. 4, 1 to 3 p.m.

editor@goldstreamgazette.com