Although Greg MacPherson has released four albums, to him his new CD feels like a debut.

“I found my voice over the past five years – as a producer, as a writer, as a lyricist, as a singer,” MacPherson said of Mr. Invitation, which came out on March 30. “I was thinking about calling myself something (other than Greg MacPherson) because I felt like this is what I’ve been striving for my whole artistic career. I feel like this is the first record, really.”

Released through Smallman Records, Mr. Invitation is MacPherson’s first release since 2005’s Night Flares.

He recorded it at Prairie Recording Company with Cam Loeppky and Shawn Dealey, known for their work with Novillero and The Weakerthans. Long-time MacPherson collaborators Mike Germain, Ryan Ahoff, Steve Bates and Jason Tait served as the backing band.

“I think my live band is excellent,” he said. “Our performances are energetic and the songs live and breathe on the stage, (but) the records haven’t always captured that live energy. It took me until more recently to really realize how to do that.”

“I wanted things to sound a certain way (on Mr. Invitation), and at the end of the recording, they did – or better, in some cases,” he added. “You have these intentions going in. To see them realized is pretty satisfying.”

A lot has changed for MacPherson since Night Flares was released. He settled down in Winnipeg after living without a fixed address for a time, got married and started a new job with a neighbourhood renewal corporation in the West End.

While he remains proud of Night Flares, he finds it dark and cynical in retrospect.

“(Mr. Invitation) has a little more depth – there’s a wider spectrum of feelings,” he said. “It’s cheerful, it’s angry, it’s dangerous, it’s hopeful.

“This record isn’t cynical at all … This (record) is about organizing and taking a chance in life, and making something exciting and better.”

Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, MacPherson has moved 37 times in his life and lived in seven different provinces. He first moved to Winnipeg in the early ’90s, releasing his debut CD, Balanced on a Pin, in 1999.

He’s always been a compelling performer whose intensity and socially conscious lyrics demand your attention.

Mr. Invitation is no different. Songs like First Class and Outside Edge are upbeat rockers, while the closing ballad Visitor is a haunting summation of Winnipeg life that finds MacPherson at his most vulnerable.

“The (music) that actually moves me and changes my life, that I live for, that stuff needs to be heartfelt and come from somewhere real,” he said. “Sincerity is something that people appreciate when they come to see a show. I’ll give you everything I’ve got at a show … (But) I need to tell the absolute truth and feel it personally before I can translate that into something exciting.”

Read more from this interview in Aaron Epp’s latest blog entry: “More music to come from Greg MacPherson.”

Published in Volume 64, Number 25 of The Uniter (April 1, 2010)

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