Joey Payeur
Taw Connors said it best.
“You could never fill the man’s shoes,” said the son of legendary Canadian singer, Stompin’ Tom Connors.
“There’s only one Stompin’ Tom,” he noted. “I’m proud to be his son.
“I’m his No. 1 fan.”
The younger Connors, who played a rousing two-hour plus concert at the Couchiching multi-use facility on Saturday, goes by the nickname “The Canadian Stompper.”
The second ‘p’ is not a typo, but his own signature as he played just his second show ever after beginning his tribute journey a few days earlier in Thunder Bay.
It was a chance meeting with a mentally-ill patient at a seniors’ home he played at that inspired Taw to go on the road and play his father’s songs, plus a few of his own originals.
“I needed a sign and that was it,” recalled Taw, who believed the patient mistook him for his father as he proceeded to speak at length about how important Stompin’ Tom was to him.
“Each person is entitled to their own opinion,” he added. “I know my father’s got a lot of fans out there and a lot of people who love his music.
“I couldn’t see any other person performing these songs for the Canadian people but myself.
“Again, I don’t want to fill his shoes, but be someone to pay tribute to him and keep the songs alive for the country,” he reiterated.
Taw showed the same heart as his father when he visited the house of concert organizer Dave Bruyere’s 88-year-old mother less than an hour before the show and played her a few songs since she wasn’t well enough to attend the concert in person.
“He would have wanted people to do that; to carry the torch,” he reasoned.
“I was born his son and I have the same vocal train,” he added. “You ain’t going to get much closer than his son.”
Taw weaved Stompin’ Tom’s life story throughout his show—speaking about his father’s humble beginnings of being sent to an orphanage after his single mother was arrested for travelling illegally with her child all the way through to his extensive exploits as a performer.
“I’m out there trying to do my best to respect him and the Canadian people,” said Taw, whose stage backdrop includes a huge Canadian flag and a cardboard cut-out of Stompin’ Tom peering over his left shoulder like a black-hatted guardian angel.
“I’ve got everything riding on this and there won’t be any regrets after.”
Taw, who lives in the Greenstone area with his wife and two daughters, has his own CD, “The Ode From The Road,” which easily could be mistaken for any Stompin’ Tom album of the past.
“I’m interested in the same themes as my father,” he noted.
“My idea of writing songs is to write them all about the Canadian people and the country, as well.”
Taw’s simultaneous pride in his own work and where he comes from was evident when he finished the show with a one-song encore of “Ya We’re Country Strong,” with the third verse referring specifically to Stompin’ Tom.
But there still was plenty of time before that for him to trot out many of his father’s beloved standards, including “Margo’s Cargo,” “Sudbury Saturday Night,” and what might be Canada’s unofficial national anthem, “The Hockey Song.”
“I do 33 songs during a show and I don’t think I know many artists who do more than 15 or 20 in a night,” said Taw, who professed to like all kinds of music.
“You can’t leave one out.”
Taw was warmly received by those on hand Saturday—many coming up to him after the show to share their memories of Stompin’ Tom.
“From what I know, he just wanted to be Stompin’ Tom,” he remarked.
“He just thought of himself as a regular Canadian, nothing special.
“He just related to everyone, and stood up for the country and its people so the rest of the world could know who Canadians are,” he added.
