Bushpilots band

To all of those garage bands and music lovers here in Fort Frances who have dreams of playing huge concerts and festivals to hundreds of thousands of screaming fans—don’t lose the dream.
Instead take former local musician Tom Gillon as an example.
Gillon was born and raised in Fort Frances and started playing guitar when he was only seven years old. Today he is one part of a four-piece band that shares a stage with music “heroes” like James Taylor, The Tragically Hip, Steely Dan, and many more .
His brother, Geoff, was constantly playing rock-n-roll in the basement of his family home when he was young, and Gillon really developed a taste for it.
By the time he was 17, he was playing in local band Shooz with friends Arden Bruyere, Vic Armit, and Donny Swift. At this point, he was dedicated to his music and was ready to make it a career.
But after he really got into the lifestyle, he realized that it was not one that could really sustain him fully so he opted to continue his Grade 13 education and move on to university and start a “real career.”
He went off to Winnipeg to the University of Manitoba to get a BA and MA but just couldn’t leave music completely behind—it always seemed to call him back. So amidst his burgeoning academic career he made friends with some American students and dabbled in a band called The Tinmen, cut an album, and received a healthy dose of college radio airplay on U.S. stations.
After that small success he moved to Kingston so he could get his Ph.D. at Queen’s University. All of the homework didn’t get in the way of being an opening act for Juno Award-winning, prolific Canadian artist Colin James in the meantime though.
Upon successful completion of his Ph.D. he was browsing in a music store when he came upon an advertisement calling for talented musicians to form a new band. He made a call and found himself in a band called The Bushpilots and there he remains to this day.
He does not consider himself a professional musician, nor do his other band-mates, but there is no denying that they are all living the rock star dream, following their passion and holding a dedicated hobby.
Gillon currently works as a senior policy analyst with the Department of Foreign Affairs —not your typical job for the lead guitarist of a band, but it is his official job title nonetheless.
Rocking out to Neil Young/Bruce Springsteen/Steve Earle-inspired roots rock, Gillon is a great example of what dedication, hard-work, and raw guitar-wielding skill can get you—no matter where you come from or which industry connections you may not have to start.
Just this past weekend, this policy analyst found himself playing alongside more than 250 bands including such acts as The Black Crows, Wyclef Jean, Sean Paul, Zappa does Zappa, Great Big Sea, Snoop Dogg, Feist, Donna Summer, Don MacLean, and many, many more all during the 12-day “Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest”—the seventh largest festival in the world.
After submitting an application and giving an audition, the committee raved about their rootsy, yet edgy sound and signed them to the bill immediately. And all of this is only the beginning.
The Bushpilots have released two albums to date and have played a lot of rocking shows alongside some legendary heroes and are looking to go for a long time.
But even with all of the commitments he holds between his high-end career and his part in the advancing band, Gillon still finds time to escape back to his real roots in Fort Frances every year for a two-week stay on Rainy Lake.