Ernie Dufour
The Beatles have been the idolized figures and sounds from the very
beginning as I was very young, before I could only try to figure out what was
going on. My farther plays Old time country covers on the weekend at parties
with his friends. He had an amazing guitar picker friend who is passed on now, by
the name of Gilmond Boyd.
Gilly showed me some old time styles like Guitar Boogie, Hank Snow
Lead breaks, and musicianship. I took what he showed me and I would run off to
the cabin with my guitar, and begin to play and sing whatever I could or was capable
of doing at the time then I would hurry up and try to record it! I am still the
same way today.
At a modern stand point I
play around now and then at private parties of friends invites when asked. I
steadily work my craft dazed and confused. (Led)
I never really tried to play for no one. In a public sense, I don’t
even know why I play guitar and sing. I grew up on an Island in Honey Harbour, Ontario,
Canada now I hide in Ontario.
I moved into my sleeping cabin,
which really was a bedroom from a cottage. So I moved into that when I was 10
years of age. I was using my dad’s tube Traynor amp the one with the flowers on
the grill. Fender Telecaster electric guitar, and I was off to listen and to and
try to play along with Deep Purple “Smoke on the Water” and also Kiss. The only
two band 8 track tapes I had at that time.
My Brother`s showed me a great deal on the guitar, I was always
attracted to Hank Williams, because my mother would always listed him when she
was in the mood. My Father I taught me a great deal on the guitar too. He would play 100`s country songs with only
three chords. I never realized the different combinations on each chord till
then amazing to me
.
My parents were very popular.
I saw a lot of shit man! Fights, sex, drugs, booze, and of course lots of
music, fiddle players, banjo and acoustic guitar players.
I have three brothers and one sister. They are all very dear to me;
I lost one brother Steven Dufour on Christmas Eve day in year of 1986. He was killed
on his snow machine, hit by an airboat, for those of you who don’t know what an
airboat is, it`s basically a boat and with a airplane engine mounted on it. We
used the as source of transportation to get across bad ice conditions, in the
off season. When there was not enough ice safe to travel on with snow machines.
I was behind my brother that
day! I was with my brother in-law; we all decided to travel together, because
it was a dangerous time of year to travel. My brother`s in-law snowmobile
broken down the day before, so I decided to help him fix it, while by brother
went to the store and mail.
We left and half way on the ride my brother in-law noticed we forgot
the part we needed to repair the snowmobile. So we turned around and we headed
back to my parents house at the island.
By the time we got back to the house my brother was already hit and was
gone.
I always remember what he told me the night before; he said that I
was getting quite good on the blues picking.
I never played guitar like that again!
The family was never the same either. I started drinking and smoking pot
at age of 9, life long battle for me. It got worse after my brother`s death.
I really didn’t give a shit, till I had my son Steven Dufour then
things mattered,
A lot less of music at that point.
And a little more being human, but as Steven grew the music grew along
with him, still growing.
I believe in things and some things I don’t. We are all different
and see things differently, I try not to judge no one, and rarely stand up for
myself, till only recently. Since I was raised up on an island, there were no
other kids around, so I made up songs and played guitar. It continues the same
today.
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