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“This month, usually I’m just hanging out trying to help out with the family Christmas tree farm,” says master guitarist and three-time Maple Blues Award winner David Gogo.
His family has been in Nanaimo since 1897, operating the 160-acre Gogo’s Christmas Tree Farm 15 minutes away from Harewood, Nanaimo.
David’s recently released vinyl is inspired by his 95-year-old grandmother’s gifted silver cup and his Nanaimo and Canadiana family history. He took a photo of the cup, then sent it to his friend, Grammy winner Eric Johnson, who said, “Oh, yeah, we’re gonna write a song.”
David’s late grandmother handed down her own banjo, gifting him an heirloom engraved silver cup that belonged to James McKay, the Métis politician and Hudson’s Bay Company clerk, inspiring Gogo’s latest album’s title track, “Silver Cup.”
“His [James McKay’s] mother was Cree. And he was a real Métis leader back in the day…and was an associate of Louis Riel. He was born in Alberta, but ended up being a big part of brokering the treaties that formed the Province of Manitoba.
“I read about him on the internet and was really intrigued. And in fact, I found a book written about him. And he was someone that just inspired me, despite the fact that he is actually a great, great, great uncle. As a person, he accomplished a lot.”
“Extension is one of the oldest communities on the Island. Michael Patrick is going to be my special guest. I’ll be guesting with his band at his annual Christmas fundraiser at the Queen’s on Dec. 15. It’s a fundraiser for Samaritan House at the Island Crisis Care Society. One hundred per cent of the proceeds are donated,” says Gogo.
Silver Cup vinyl and CDs are available at the farm. To purchase Extension Community Hall concert tickets message David Gogo’s Facebook page. More can be found on David Gogo’s website.
