Being an artist entails many responsibilities. For Tom Wilson, the most important one is to open the door wide open for those who come after him.
“Creating art is a life enhancing experience — not only for the person creating it but hopefully for the people who witness it,” he told CBC Hamilton on Thursday, as McMaster University formally announced the Hamilton musician, artist and storyteller is donating his archive to the McMaster library.
The collection includes items from his life such as his notebooks, where he often recorded his thoughts, wrote songs and drafted lyrics.
Other items in the collection are paintings, The Florida Razors’ vinyl recording Beat Music from 1986, as well as notes and annotated galley proofs of Wilson’s memoir Beautiful Scars.
Wilson said he hopes the donation will pave the way for other artists in Hamilton who feel they aren’t worthy of making it in the arts scene.
“Artists are the only people on the planet who want to create something that wasn’t there yesterday,” he said. “I always thought it was a worthy trade.”
Wilson, who built his career in Hamilton and credits the city for much of his musical inspiration, has been part of several bands over the past four decades.
Those include The Florida Razors, for several years in the 1980s. He moved on to be part of Junkhouse in 1989 until 1997.
In 1996, Wilson and his bandmates formed Blackie and the Rodeo Kings which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2020. He’s also part of Lee Harvey Osmond, which formed in 2009 and continues to make music.
Collectively, the groups have received multiple Juno Awards, including Best Roots & Traditional Album — Group, as well as Recording Package of the Year. With his groups, Wilson has recorded more than 18 albums.
A proud Hamiltonian
Donating his archive means a lot to Wilson, who was born and raised in Hamilton, especially because of the significance of its place.
“There’s definitely that familiarity and that breath-in-your-face that Hamilton gives me. It still inspires me, there’s still a lot of depth in this city that hasn’t been explored for me.”
Although he’s remained in the city his entire life, Wilson has found growth and passion through the projects he’s created here.
“I’m 62 years old and I only see myself moving forward and I’ve already evolved in my ideas with how I create,” he said. “I still live here in Hamilton and I still walk the same streets I’ve been walking for almost 62 years.
“I don’t find it as much of a destination as I find it a home,” he said. “Hamilton is always a part of me.”
The donation of Wilson’s archives is one of several ways he is giving back to the community. He is also organizing two evenings of music at McMaster University this weekend in support of a that he has launched.
His home is also explored in his memoir Beautiful Scars, which grapples with the secrets of his identity and reclaiming his Indigenous roots.
“The blood memory that runs through me of my reserve… and my Mohawk world is a big part of that,” he said.
“It means a lot to my community back home… I don’t know how many of my ancestors had their archives put in a university.”
A growing collection for McMaster
The McMaster University Library is no stranger to archives from musicians.
According to McMaster librarian Vivian Lewis, the library collects “quite extensively” in the area of Canadian music. Ottawa songwriter Bruce Cockburn donated his notebooks, musical arrangements, gold records, letters, scrapbooks, around 1,000 recordings and guitars in 2013.
The collection donated in 2014 by Ian Thomas, from Dundas, Ont., includes personal writings, sheet music, photos, clippings and contracts.
With the library acquiring Wilson’s archive, Lewis said it’ll add depth to the university’s collection, especially through Beautiful Scars.
“It’s a go-to book for anyone in Hamilton, even if you’re not naturally a music fan. It’s an important piece,” she said.
Collections like these are important to libraries, said Lewis.
“It’s a decision that they make. They want to share their materials, and allow their materials to be used. Not just sitting in their basement and hoping that maybe some grandchild will be interested,” she said.
“They know that their material has value for a broader audience.”
Library-goers and Wilson fans can stop by the library and request the material and the archivist will bring it to view in the meeting room.
At some point, the library hopes his work will be digitized for people who cannot visit in person.
“We’ve been interested in Tom for some time,” Lewis added. “We’ve been in conversation with him for years.”
An aspect of the archive that Lewis thinks might be most interesting is Wilson’s notebooks.
She said people looking for musical archives might gravitate to those kinds of pieces first. She pointed out that it brings people closer to the musician’s thought process.
“They want to track the development of a piece, and where it’s gone,” she said. “I’m really excited for that.”
Reference-www.cbc.ca