Geoff Berner鈥檚 drinking is legendary so organizers of the annual ArtsWells Festival always scheduled a Sunday morning workshop of 10 accordions led by Berner as a cruel joke.
When Berner couldn鈥檛 make the festival in Wells, B.C. this summer, organizers scheduled a workshop of his songs led by accordionist Jack Garton and fiddler and songwriter Jeff Andrew.
鈥淚t was a big success,鈥� said Garton. 鈥淲e got to pull out some songs of his that nobody had heard in years鈥� We passed a bottle of whisky around in his honour and it was a good thing.鈥�
Now Garton, Andrew and Accordion Noir (a Co-op Radio show and annual accordion festival Berner helped found) are bringing the tribute event to East Vancouver鈥檚 WISE Hall, Feb. 6, with an event called Bernerland: The Songs of Geoff Berner.
鈥淲e all love him and his songs so much, at lot of people in Vancouver, especially in East Vancouver, where we all went to the same open mics and are part of the community of musicians and songwriters,鈥� Garton said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been having a rough time and it鈥檚 been a really hard year for Geoff Berner, so we thought, 鈥榃hat can we do to help out?鈥欌��
Berner鈥檚 dad died in September. His mom the year before, and his latest recording project has faced delays.
Ten artists and groups the musician has worked with and influenced will each cover three of their favourite Berner songs. The finale will see a super group perform a sing-along of 鈥淟ight Enough to Travel,鈥� a Berner song made popular by the Be Good Tanyas, along with his klezmer number about police brutality, 鈥淒alloy Polizei (F*** the Police).鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e been part of organizing the Tom Waits tribute night that happened at Caf茅 Deux Soleils many years in a row, I鈥檝e been part of Bob Dylan tribute nights and Neil Young tribute nights,鈥� Garton said on the phone from Galiano Island. 鈥淎nd Geoff is a songwriter that we all happen to know, who鈥檚 not dead and who lives locally, but his songs are great and they鈥檝e been the soundtrack to a lot of our lives, our parties and our festivals.鈥�
Those gathering to cover songs by, and tell stories about, Berner, at what鈥檚 reportedly his favourite venue, include Rae Spoon from Calgary, Jason Webley from Seattle聽 and Victoria鈥檚 Carolyn Mark and the New Best Friends, and Dave Lang and the Twin Oughtas. They鈥檒l perform Berner鈥檚 songs alongside Jack Garton and the Demon Squadron, E.S.L., Ford Pier, the Burnettes, the Creaking Planks and Andrew.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of a celebration, kind of a roast, kind of a tribute and hopefully something to give him a little boost,鈥� Garton said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been no real problem with choosing songs,鈥� Garton continued. 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 got a different Geoff.鈥�
Berner鈥檚 oeuvre includes country, klezmer, punk, political and portrait songs.
鈥淪ome people like the funny songs or the shocking songs and some people like the elegiac songs, because he can write a beautiful portrait song or narrative song, as well,鈥� Garton said. 鈥淕eoff is special. Most people would kill to have just one, one of those songs in their catalogue鈥� that would be like a major accomplishment, but he鈥檚 got albums full of them.鈥�
The Burnettes have selected songs from Berner鈥檚 鈥�90s punk band Terror of Tiny Town, Garton believes Pier is performing an early Berner song, 鈥淲e All Gotta Be a Prostitute Sometimes,鈥� and Garton鈥檚 band will bust out raucous and heavy renditions of ditties that include the title track from Berner鈥檚 2011 album, Victory Party.
So how does the guest of honour feel about his upcoming tribute night?
鈥淚鈥檓 a bit overwhelmed and nervous about it,鈥� Berner said. 鈥淏ut it does feel pretty good. It feels like getting some kind of Juno [Award] or something like that.鈥�
Berner, who also wrote the acclaimed 2013 novel , admits to feeling anxious about the stories people might tell.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 going to be some roasting,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an inexhaustible storehouse of embarrassing anecdotes that those people could come up with.鈥�
While salacious stories are sure to be part of the mix, Garton says every aspect of Berner is worth celebrating.
鈥淕eoff is special,鈥� repeated Garton, who was inspired to pick up the accordion by Berner. 鈥淎nybody who works with him knows that his talent in songwriting and his work ethic combined with a total not gives a f*** attitude is really rare... It鈥檚 worth celebrating. It鈥檚 worth imitating.鈥�
Tickets are $15 in advance at the WISE Hall Lounge or brownpapertickets.com, or $20 at the door. Proceeds from the event will go to WISH Drop-in Centre Society, which Berner selected. Doors 8 p.m. with the show starting at 9 p.m. at 1882 Adanac St.
