Ben Caplan back in Ontario on residency tour
Halifax songwriter Ben Caplan roared his way through a set at Van Gogh’s Ear just last November, but his present Ontario tour sees him in the middle of a Guelph residency, something that started last Thursday at the Jimmy Jazz.
Two performances remain before Caplan leaves Guelph for any extended period of any foreseeable future, but just as some of the gypsy-inspired anthems on In the Time of the Great Remembering (the latest album Caplan has released) suggest, Caplan is not one to settle down. While he lives out his residency in Guelph, Caplan is also in the middle of a four show Hamilton residency, and even has some dates in Toronto and New York City tossed in the middle of it all.
“[Playing in the U.S. is] something I’m really excited about,” Caplan told the Ontarion over the phone, his deep voice filtering through his notoriously heavy beard. “Especially to be playing in New York City.”
With all the travelling required between performances, it’s still what Caplan is calling his greenest tour yet.
“I’m not driving around to all of the gigs, I’m just using public transportation,” Caplan said.
But don’t let the beard, the quick return to Ontario, and the environmental inclinations fool you: Caplan is no responsibility-shrugging hippy of impulsive transience. Caplan, who does all of his own booking and management, is in Ontario with business and enterprise on his mind.
Stating that he and his band, the Casual Smokers, will be in the studio later this month, Caplan saw his time in the province as an opportunity to shuffle some performances amongst the precision-demanding studio hours.
“I’m just working on getting some stuff sorted out with my upcoming European tours and getting started on my next record, and I figured if I’ve gotta spend all that time in Ontario, I might as well play a bunch of shows as I’m wont to do.”
The tour is sponsored in part by Canadian magazine, Exclaim!, a partnership that Caplan initiated when he realized he would be heading back to Ontario. This is the first time that Caplan has received backing of this kind on any musical endeavour, and the present tour also marks Caplan’s premiere musical forays into the United States.
Caplan performs Jan. 12 at the Jimmy Jazz, and at Van Gogh’s Ear on Jan. 29.
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