As 2010 comes to an end, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite posts of the year by our guest editors.
When Margo Timmins strolled up to the microphone in her low-cut black cocktail dress, wrapped in a scarlet shawl, with a rusty shock of hair draped over one eye a la Veronica Lake, even if you’d never seen Cowboy Junkies before, there was no mistaking her star power at the Villa Montalvo’s Garden Theatre in the summer of ’09. Timmins and two of her brothers, Michael on guitar and Peter on drums, along with bassist Alan Anton, have been doing the slow boil as Cowboy Junkies since 1985. As its name implies, the Toronto-based quartet specializes in quiet, ultra-slow tunes that might sound comforting to strung-out cowpokes hunkered down around a campfire after a long day rounding up stray dogies. Cowboy Junkies will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with Margo.
Alan Anton: When people ask, “What’s it like to be in a band for 25 years?” I say, “What’s it like not to be in a band for 25 years?” I can’t imagine. “And with all original members,” they say. “How many bands can say that?” Well I put together a list: Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, Slayer, U2, ZZ Top. That’s all I got so far. Reunions don’t count. The next question is usually, “How long are you guys gonna keep going?” Well, I’ve sketched out a probable schedule for the next 25 years:
2011-2015
Band exhausted after releasing and touring four albums in 18 months, fulfilling its promise to fans and media. Fans and media completely oblivious to this numerical achievement. After the president uses his Internet Kill Switch to thwart a massive cyber attack, the world goes offlin, and CD sales skyrocket. The band re-releases the four albums under different titles, sales are brisk, and band takes break from touring.
2016-2020
Internet is back, band hits road to make money. Releases Trinity Revisited Revisited and plays “Sweet Jane” at every show.
2021-2025
Release quadruple live album Dude, Where’s My Tourbus?, but it contains only 10 songs because everybody forgets to stop. Time off for surgical procedures.
2026-2030
Promising to “bring the show to the fans,” the band plays nursing homes all over North America and Europe, often doing two shows a night for the same crowd, who couldn’t remember the first show. This proves to be a lucrative strategy.
2031-2035
Most fans are dead. The band, suffering from arthritis, takes up playing synths. They do to “Trans-Europe Express” what they did to “Sweet Jane,” a huge hit with the eight-to-nine-year old crowd, most of whom have never heard of the band. A follow-up cover of “Popcorn” fares poorly. Rumors of the band breaking up turn out to be false.
