Marcel spoke with us about how he continues to hone his songwriting chops and shares some of his most memorable highlights from the last 14 years playing at Harvest Sun.
You’re a singer/songwriter and started out when you were a teenager. How has your skillset and songwriting continued to grow since then?
I think one of the things that helped my songwriting was when I joined this group called the Manitoba Independent Songwriters Circle. It’s a group of like-minded people of varying backgrounds and varying skill levels. The idea behind the group is, there would be 8 to 10 people, and everyone would bring a copy of their song lyrics to give to each of the people there. You would perform your song, without any preamble or anything. The idea was people would critique your song or give suggestions. The next person would play their song, and then you got a chance to critique theirs. I found it very helpful in a lot of ways. It made me think about song structure and things to watch for. Still, I think of myself as a bit of a lazy songwriter, where I’m one of those people who wait for some inspiration to hit. A lot of the time it’s just noodling on the guitar or banjo, or it’s a phrasing I like that I will hang on to. Sometimes a lyric will come along with that, and that’s where things start.
I’ve been [writing] for a long time, so things like the song circle and just doing it for a long time is what has helped develop my songwriting to the point where it’s at right now.
A lot of times when people get to the point where they are performing and doing festivals as much as you do, they start to write for the audience. Do find that you’ve started doing that?
At this point, it’s probably a little bit of both. I like to think about what I’m writing. I’ve come to realize it’s not just me playing guitar and singing a song. If I’m going to be doing that just for myself, I might as well do it in my living room. If I’m doing it for a festival, the songwriters' workshop, or a tweener set, I think it needs to be entertaining as well. Whether it’s the lyrical structure of the song, the combination of the lyrics and music, or the in-between song bantering, it’s not about being there and expecting everyone to just fall for you. I think you have to present yourself as enjoyable to watch and be entertaining.
I have been thinking about that a little bit because collaborations can so easily happen there because everything is so close. The beauty of a small festival and a one-stage festival is at some point, or another everybody that’s performing is going to meet in the backstage area, and that’s where things can happen. I don’t know if I can specifically say I would love to have this performer do something with me, other than Al Simmons. Al Simmons is a masterful entertainer, and he’s a props genius. He’s also a great harmonica player and a great musician. There’s a couple of songs that I’m thinking of doing, where I can say, ‘Hey Al, I’m doing this thing, it’s in this key, you want to play the harmonica?’
There are some songs I’ve written that I love having harmony, especially female harmony, and that might be a spontaneous thing, where at any point backstage I can say, ‘hey would you want to sing on this song?’ There isn’t a particular person I can say right now, but there are certainly lots to choose from.
You mentioned before that you’ve been at Harvest Sun since the very start. What are some of your favourite moments from the last 14 years?
There’s so many. Playing with Bill Bourne was definitely a highlight of mine. There are other things that I love about it that aren’t even music related. One of the things that I love to do is pick at least one night, where after everything is over, go for a walk through the town. It’s a very small town, so when it’s over it’s dead quiet out there, and I love just walking through the town. I’ll stand underneath a street light and wait and watch for bats to fly around.
The campfire situation at night is wonderful too. It’s nice and quiet. People can sit around a campfire and share songs.
There was one year where there was this huge storm that passed through. We could see it coming, but we were hoping it wasn’t going to hit. It did, and it closed everything down. While that storm was going on, myself, Rob Waddell and Jake Bell, we all happened to be standing in the field behind the main stage. We just stood there in this intense storm, leaning into the wind. It was pouring, and we just felt the power of nature. That was a highlight.
Catch at Marcel Desilets The Harvest Sun Music Festival in Kelwood, MB - August 16 -18th.
Follow Marcel on Facebook, on his website, and Instagram.
Be sure to check out @harvestsunmusicfest on Instagram on June 12th, as Marcel takes over our account for the day!
Janet Adamana is the Founder/Editor-In-Chief of Sound, Phrase & Fury Magazine - a Winnipeg-based digital publication dedicated to promoting independent artists and industry professionals from all over the world. More than just about inciting hype, she interviews/writes to capture an artists’ essence and their greatest passions to ignite meaningful connections between fans and really great bands.