Old Crow's Ketch Secor likes listening to the Be Good Tanyas and whoever died last week

When I interview musicians I often ask what they've been listening to in their spare time, and sometimes it leads to an interesting response.

When I called up Ketch Secor of the Old Crow Medicine Show last week to chat in advance of his band's appearance at the Orpheum Theatre this Sunday (September 28), the query resulted in a plug for one of Vancouver's top alt-country/Americana acts.

"You know, when I'm up in British Columbia," replies Secor, "when I think about that music scene, I really like the Be Good Tanyas. They're a wonderful group. And I like a lot of the openers that we bring out with us, who we'll hand-pick, because we're excited about them. I produced a record by Pokey LaFarge about a year ago, and that's been a good record for him, and I'm proud of his work.

"But mostly what I listen to is whoever died last week, which—in this era in time, that'll keep ya on your toes. There's so many people that have been mainstays of the North American sound that are gone or goin'." 

(I get the feeling Secor might be referring to the likes of Phil Everly, Pete Seeger, and Johnny Winter, all of whom left us this year.)

For more from Secor—including how he got inspired to write a song from a 1993 Peanuts comic—see the story in this week's Georgia Straight. Read it on paper for that old-school Peanuts vibe.