If it weren't for his time as a Whistler ski bum, Andrew Collins might never have become the multi-award-winning musician he is today.
Just over two decades ago, he was living in Whistler, backcountry skiing by day and tuning skis at night.
"I lived in Whistler for three years and got really passionate about backcountry skiing and photography," Collins says. "I got really disciplined about this thing that was about personal fulfilment and exploring a beautiful place."
There was only one problem—summer.
During the snow-less season one year Collins took a job as the night security guard for a construction site. He had plenty of down time throughout his shift, so he decided to learn the mandolin to pass time.
"Having to be awake at a construction site where I could practice through the night, I practiced 40 hours a week," he says. "I started playing mandolin and it gave me all the same feelings skiing gave me. I'm a very one-track minded person."
He jammed with friends in Vancouver and played a few gigs there, but it didn't offer the kind of full-on music experience he was craving.
While he never thought he would return to his home city of Toronto, he soon realized it was the best place in Canada to pursue music. "Music brought me back to Toronto. That was 23 years ago," he says.
It might seem hard for Whistlerites to understand—especially smack-dab in the middle of ski season—but ultimately it was the right move. Collins quickly connected with the bluegrass community in that city and ended up on a faster upward trajectory than he ever imagined.
"I didn't realize how good my timing was," he says. "I moved back to Toronto at a time when bluegrass was really under the radar. Originally I was expecting to take some lessons [from people in the community] and have these great players to get to see play, but they took me into the community right away."
He began to play in bands like The Foggy Hogtown Boys and the Creaking Tree String Quartet. More recently, though, he started the Andrew Collins Trio. In that group he plays mandolin, fiddle, guitar, mandola, mandocello, and sings. Mike Mezzatesta also plays guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and mandola, while James McEleney rounds out their sound on bass, mandocello and on vocals.
That group is now his main project. The trio has released four albums, earned five JUNO nominations, and seven Canadian Folk Music Awards nominations—and won quite a few of those too.
"The first few years I was pretty busy with other projects," he says. "It was a very slow burn. The first half of our time together we didn't tour a ton. We didn't play a ton of gigs. Then the second album came out and it changed it into becoming more my main project. Now it's my only touring project these days."
While the group certainly delves into bluegrass territory—in pace, sound, and instruments—they're careful not to call themselves purely bluegrass. They also fall into acoustic/roots, folk, jazz, Celtic, and even classical genres too.
"It's funny, everyone that doesn't listen to bluegrass thinks we're a bluegrass band. Everyone who listens to bluegrass is like, 'That ain't bluegrass," Collins says with a laugh.
Most recently, the trio experimented with singing and released a double album—Tongue & Groove. Tongue features their vocal harmonies, and Groove includes their more typical instrumental tunes.
"We sing, but I definitely don't consider myself a singer first and foremost," Collins says. "I was wondering if one was going to sell much more than the other one, but most of the time ... people buy both together. It's been relatively equal. For me, it was a really fun project. I want us to be challenging ourselves and trying something new and not just be putting out the same album over and over again."
The trio is embarking on a cross-country tour with a stop in Whistler at the Maury Young Arts Centre as part of the Arts Whistler Live! series on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 6:30 p.m.
At 7 p.m. the group will host a pre-show session in which they demonstrate their instruments and talk about their music. The show starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 the day of the show.
Get them at showpass.com/andrew-collins-trio-whistler.
