Local favourite John Bottomley takes to the Brew Pub stage this weekend for a free performance -his first of a series of shows he's nicknamed his "backyard Olympic gigs."
A Bowen Island resident, Bottomley's folksy tunes will be delivered in a solo show Saturday (Jan. 16) as part of his attempt to showcase Canadian talent as the big event begins to draw the hordes.
"There should be a lot of people around, and it should be fun," he said of the Olympics. "It's all a part of featuring local Canadian talent, so it is giving people from other lands a taste of what we have to offer."
Bottomley is also taking part in a series of shows for The Olympic Park stage performance. The dates are to be announced. And Feb. 23, Bottomley will take to The Arts Council stage as part of Whistler Live.
"It would be great to see you there if you are in this neck of the woods," he said.
Singer, writer, performer, poet, composer and artist, Bottomley describes his musical career as "something like Alice in wonderland."
He not only writes his own music and lyrics, but also has illustrated his books, posters and CD covers. His work shows a sense of contemplation and stillness combined with a comical inclination of the surreal.
He said his music is hard to peg.
"I try not to trap my music in any style since this can be very dangerous. My music is sometimes magical, sometimes exotic, but at other times, sinister.
"I call it imaginative songwriting. The styles I have dabbled in are rock, country, blues, folk, soul, jazz, hillbilly, pop as in popular, bluebeat, spoken word, Celtic, and a little bluegrass. I try to do what the poetry tells me to do."
The unique style has earned him acclaim throughout his career.
In 1990 he released his first solo recording called Library of the Sun. The follow up, Songs with the Ornamental Hermits, won him a Canadian Juno Award. He received a Socan songwriting award his first top 10 hits in Canada with the recording Blackberry.
The Brew Pub show will feature some of his latest songs and a wide variety of favourites from his catalogue.
"I'll also play a couple favourite songs I like of other songwriters," he said.
The show starts at 9:30 p.m.
