Brock Press

Issue date: 11/17/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Bringing back a lost sense of musical sincerity, Ron Sexsmith has managed to build an impressive career while remaining grounded. Born in St. Catharines and now residing in Toronto, Sexsmith continues to make Niagara proud.
Often accompanied by an eclectic mix of instruments, Sexsmith has an uncanny ability to deliver a range of emotions, through a range of genres. He refers to his own sound as pop, though this is not to be confused with the pop that dominates radio waves.
"I've always just thought of it as pop music. I know that that sort of changes in some peoples minds, you know, pop music they think of Lady Gaga or whatever," said Sexsmith. "That's pop music too I suppose, but I'm a bit of a hybrid."
His music can be likened more to the raw '60s pop, where much of his inspiration is drawn from. The writing process tends to be a natural act, where he allows the song to grow and develop casually.
"In my music there'll be some things that are kind of country or some things that I can tell are really Kinks inspired, and I don't think about this when I write," said Sexsmith. "It's just, I'm a product of all my influences. Sometimes you have a song where the verses are like Gordon Lightfoot and the choruses are like The Beatles or something, you know, it's 'cause I'm a mutt basically."
Regardless of the links that he draws between his own playing and that of his heroes, he has developed an original sound. This uniqueness has always been his goal, and he refuses to be satisfied with anything less.
"The whole thing is about trying to come up with something that you can call your own, you know, so that people say, 'well that sounds like Ron Sexsmith'," he said.
He manages to achieve this originality, however, without resorting to gimmicks, like so many other musicians. These fake attitudes and personalities do not sit well with Sexsmith. What is important to him is the music, played as truthfully as possible.
"For me just to see someone like [Bob] Dylan stand up there with a guitar, you know, that's all I need, I don't need to see lamps and hydraulic lifts and all this kind of shit," said Sexsmith.
This simplicity allows the artist to deliver more emotion, which often builds a stronger connection with the fans. To Sexsmith, this is the reason that less unique artists have to build up the audience with clichés like "Make some noise". The noise comes naturally to fans that are moved by the music.

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