On the eve of White Ash Falls’s Canadian tour, front man Andy Bishop is spending the precious moments he has left at home in Vancouver, cuddling with his dog.

“Yeah, it’s pretty key - I’ve got to bank all (these moments). I think I’m going to get a little picture of her and put it in my guitar case, so I can open it up and feel like I’m at home.”

A former bassist for Yukon Blonde and front man for psych-rock act Red Cedar, Bishop is a seasoned pro when it comes to touring, having netted many hours crammed in a van with a bunch of other dudes traveling cross-country.

This time around Bishop is touring in support of White Ash Falls’s debut disc, By The River Bend, which was released on Light Organ Records in September 2012.

The record, his first undertaking as a solo artist and under this current moniker, is a lush, alt-country affair that invokes nostalgia - think of the sounds heard cruising down the highway in the dead of night, tuning the dials from one fuzzed-out AM radio station to the next.

“When I was younger, I really got into a lot of early ‘60s folk and blues,” he says. “My grandma really got me into a lot of Hank Williams and Patsy Cline.”

The folk-country artist realizes that his hybrid genre of choice is no new mélange, with current big name acts Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers having amassed rave reviews for similar takes on the genre that Uncle Tupelo helped create in the early ‘90s. 

“I’ve recorded but never really released these kind of folk records at home with friends for the last 15 years or so, so it’s something I’ve always kind of done,” Bishop says.

“I think it’s really cool now that whatever you want to call this type of music, it’s becoming more popular; it’s seen a bit of resurgence. I think I’m pretty lucky to be doing what I’m doing right now.”

With only one previous tour as White Ash Falls under his belt, Bishop looks forward to introducing audiences to his solo project anew.

“It was really cool to see the music be so well received at those shows. In past bands, I’ve played more kind of psych rock, maybe less groove-able type tunes that you would play and people maybe wouldn’t get it as quickly. With these tunes it’s been really nice, because people seem to really be drawn to it.”

People are also (quite understandably) drawn to Bishop’s remarkable beard.

“They’ll be some people out there telling you it’s a bad idea (to grow a beard) but it’s a filter for good people,” he jokes.

“It keeps the good people in and the bad people away ... so let it happen.”

Published in Volume 67, Number 23 of The Uniter (March 14, 2013)