Blazing out of Kansas, Mike West of Truckstop Honeymoon says some of the coolest people he knows are in Canberra. In fact, according to one of his friends, there are precisely 300 cool people in this town.
"If you get 50 percent of them to come out, you've got a good night," West says.
Having toured with his wife, Katie West, for the past 13 years, the banjo and guitar player says their bluegrass, music hall jazz and good old rock'n'roll is all about touching what's true.
"It's about saying things that are real, that I think a lot of other people can share," West says.
People share a commonality that can be brought together through art. "If I just told you what happened to me today," he says, "even though you are not me and we don't have a bunch of stuff in common, we live in different parts of the world, we have different jobs, different cultures ... But if I just tell you, exactly what happened to me today, honesty, without dressing it up, without trying to be clever with it, you'll get it. You'll get it, you'll feel it."
This uncomplicated honesty permeates everything this duo does.
"It's that belief that you'll get out there and you'll say what you feel to be true, as ugly, as awkward as it may be, with a faith that people will understand it and have something to bring to it."
It is an approach that translates to the pair crossing a range of emotional territories in their performances, from the humorous and light hearted, to poignant and heart achingly touching.
"In my feeling of it, all that stuff comes from the same place. The funny stuff comes from stuff that is too sad to talk about. Which is why there is lots of funny songs about relationships. In the thick of it, it's dire and miserable. When it's bad, it's a bad feeling. But out of it, when you get a perspective on it, it's hilarious. And it's a comedy and an emotion you can share with people," he says.
"The sadder, the more obviously poignant stuff, it really comes from the same place and relates to the same experiences. It's just a kind of way of expressing the moment. So for me there isn't this big line between funny and sad. It's like an end point. You can say what happened and according to how you time it and how you phrase it is whether it's funny or gut wrenchingly sad. It's just phrasing and time."
A mostly self-taught musician, who by the time he met his wife was playing 280 shows a year over six nights a week, every week of the year, West says meeting Katie had a significant impact on his musical career.
"It was huge. Katie is quite a bit younger than I am. I was approaching 40 and had already been playing music, touring, for a living for many, many years, and I didn't think that I was going to have a family or any of that sort of stuff. I just made my little art, and that was enough, you know. And she showed up and everything changed."
Truckstop Honeymoon will light up the stage with their special brand of art at The Famous Spiegeltent this month.
Truckstop Honeymoon
Where: The Famous Spiegeltent, Civic Square
When: Friday, February 26, 10.30pm
Tickets: $30-$35 + bf from canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
