Singer-Songwriter Will Gillespie announces the release of the first single, “Butch Burns”, from his upcoming album “Mine! True Stories & Legends of the Porcupine Gold Rush”.
Each of the songs on the "MINE! True Stories & Legends of the Porcupine Gold Rush" album celebrates the life of an unsung hero behind the local legends of the Porcupine Gold Rush, which happened in Northern Ontario in 1909 and is written in a historical musical style of the period.
The real-life Butch Burns was a kind of local folk hero. The song “Butch Burns” captures the feeling of being with the bootlegger-bandit in his boat, narrowly escaping the police as he leads them on a merry chase through the rustic back woods and rivers of Northern Ontario. The driving, thumping bass line on the piano and the sliding, ascending riffs on the dobro sound like Butch’s motor boat engine revving into high speed, bounding over waves. “Butch Burns” recalls a distant time and place with a sense of fun, excitement and adventure.
Featured on this track along with Gillespie (vocals, guitar, harmonica, percussion) are local Hamiltonian musicians Chris Cracknell (piano), Mike McCurlie (mandolin) and Ryan Barwin (dobro). The album was mastered at Barwin’s Hazy Grove recording studio in Hamilton, Ontario with graphic design by Jason Diesbourg.