Corin Raymond has been one of my most frequent guests on For the Sake of the Song, appearing as a solo singer-songwriter, as 1/2 of the Undesirables and with his frequent touring partner, Jonathan Byrd. About 18 months ago, Corin co-wrote a silly country song with Rob Vaarmeyer from Winnepeg which features Canadian Tire money. The song struck a chord with his audiences and soon he found people giving him Canadian Tire Money at his performances. THEN, he discovered that his record producer accepts Canadian Tire money and the Great Canadian Tire Caper of 2012 was on. Corin set out to pay for the production costs of his live album, Paper Nickels, entirely with Canadian Tire money.
Corin’s quixotic quest caught the imagination of Canadians and of the media around the world. To date, he has collected over $6200 in Canadian Tire money– over 32,000 bills. And he has collected the stories about Canadian Tire money that people have shared with him during this crazy caper. On January 22 and 23, 2013, Corin Raymond and the Sundowners will officially release Paper Nickels. Then they are setting out on a Canadian tour in throughout January and February. Dates and details of the tour can be found on Corin’s site, dontspendithoney.com.
Paper Nickels is a compilation of Corin’s favorite songs written across Canada (and the USA) by some of the best songwriters you may never have heard of (but thankfully Corin has). The Sundowners are on fire on this record. It is what country and folk music should be, soulful, hurting and haunting. Included with the CD is a beautiful 144 page book wherein Corin recounts the crazy journey to gather his hoard of CT$$ and shares the stories he has gathered along the way. All in all, it is a talisman of Canadiana containing songs and stories from across our vast nation.
Corin is still collecting Canadian Tire Money. His production costs for Paper Nickels are about 7333 and he has currently amassed about $6200 in CT$. You can help out Corin by searching for Canadian Tire Money in your closets and sock drawers, and sending it to:
Corin Raymond 39 Oxford St., Toronto, ON M5T 1N8
You can also head on over to his website, dontspendithoney.com for great stories, tour information, and to purchase Corin’s albums, or concert tickets.
One bit of sad news. Above is a picture of Hutch (David Hutchings), a popular sound man in our area, taken in 2006 at the Mundys Bay Folk Society. Hutch loved live music, and always made everyone sound fantastic. Sadly, he passed away this week. Hutch was all about live music, so in the memory of Hutch and to support indepenent Canadian music, , I am paying Corin and extra ten bucks above the $30 cost of paper nickels.
If you knew Hutch, and wish to help his wife Dorthea in this time of need, there has been a bank account set up for donations. The account is at the National Bank in Midland, account number 3156695. The
account was set up in the name of Carol Brady, in trust for Dorothea Herron. Carol Brady is Dorothea’s niece. There is also talk of a celebration of Hutch’s life on February 24, but I have no further details.
Finally: In January 2012, right at the beginning of the Canadian Tire Caper, I recorded a cover of Don`t Spend it Honey at my songwriter`s DIY getaway weekend, which Corin acknowledged as the first cover of the song. Enjoy.
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