Bruce Innes Home Page

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"Bruce Innes was in town last week and we had time for a quick visit over coffee. He always amazes me with his enthusiasm for the music business. I've known him for many years and he is like this cheerleader for everything to do with music. I think that's why he has so many good friends in the business and those friendships seem to span all the working generations of musicians and entertainers. He was good friends with John Denver, is close with Ian Tyson, and was a great friend of the Kingston Trio¹s Dave Guard before he passed away, and yet he seems to have a legion of young performer friends, as well. A couple of years ago he produced the Western Music Association album of the year for up and coming star, Brenn Hill, and last year he produced a very nice disc for extraordinary Las Vegas singer Jilla Web, and completed an extraordinary folk album for his dear friend Beth Pederson, with guitar wizard, Nina Gerber.

I first made note of Innes when I read Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, the Gonzo style narrative by Hunter S. Thompson. As an aspiring writer, I was fascinated with Thompson's account of he and Innes trying to buy a chimpanzee at Circus Circus. I discovered years later in a conversation with Bruce that he had met Hunter in Butte, Montana and they had become close friends. Bruce had a folk group then, The Big Sky Singers, and recorded an album for Dot Records in Los Angeles that same year. Innes is a gifted acoustic guitarist and plays piano in a simple, funky style, reminiscent of Johnny Mercer with a touch of Dr. John thrown in for good measure. Most of all, he can really sing and play the blues. He did a stint with the legendary Josh White when he was very young, and I think that shaped his music forever. He is also a terrific songwriter. He penned the classic Jack Daniels, You Lied To Me Again for Ray Stevens, a while back, and if you get a chance to see Bruce in person, you will be astounded by his humorous, insightful songs.

Some say that years on the road can sap a performer's enthusiasm and, eventually, the spark goes out. The reverse seems to be true with Bruce. He first started traveling the world when he hooked up with Los Angeles Dodger's shortstop, Maury Wills. Wills had broken Ty Cobb's base stealing record and was in huge demand for appearances during the off season. Bruce told me that Maury Wills was a decent singer and banjo player and all I did was write a few humorous baseball songs for him and we hit the road. They played arenas, big night clubs, and showrooms all over this country and the Orient. Bruce followed that experience by returning to his native Canada and forming one of the first internationally successful Canadian groups, The Original Caste. With their international hits One Tin Soldier and Mr. Monday as calling cards, The Original Caste toured The United States, Canada, and the Orient for several years. Bruce, with two children and divorced from his first wife, eventually married the niece of Lowell Observatory astronomers Vesto and Melvin Slipher, Wanda Slipher,( Phi Beta Kappa - Indiana University), and they settled in Spokane, Washington to raise John (Hamilton College '96) and Claire (Dickinson College '99).

I met Bruce at Emerald Sound Studios here in town, several years ago. He was producing a national jingle that he had written for Sign Pro and was using Suzy Ragsdale on vocals. He was open, friendly, completely tuned in to the production, and polite enough to grant an interview to a young journalist. I was fascinated to learn that he had written songs for country artists Ray Stevens and Mickey Gilley, as well as all the pop material he had written for The Original Caste and others. Over the last several years Bruce has invited me to several sessions at Emerald, and it is always a joy to watch him in action, whether it's a new effort by a young artist or a national campaign for a huge retailer. Where you really want to catch him, though, is in person, on stage. He is the consummate entertainer. He currently resides in Sun Valley, Idaho, but I wouldn't bet against him moving to town one of these years. I would be all for that."

Evan McPherson
Nashville, TN
April, 2004

"The Original Caste is always my first choice when guests request musical entertainment. They are outstanding"

Kate Wood, Sun Valley Resort, Sun Valley Idaho

"Wonderful songs like 'Sweet Chicago' from my friend Bruce Innes"

Hunter S Thompson writing in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"

"Good songs and great arrangements"

The New York Times

Images
	The Original Caste logo on black
	The Original Caste logo on white