2 News WWW.PGCITIZEN.CA | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 201 5 SUBMITTED PHOTO Grand opening Northland Dodge celebrated their opening on Thursday with a VIP event. More than 100 people toured the newly built 61,000 square foot dealership along Highway 16 West. Dean Brody letting it ‘fall where it will’ Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca Content to have left the Nashville music machine behind, content to focus his career in Canada, content to be artistically responsible only to himself, Dean Brody may be the most ironic country music star there is. The twist on his story is, he got more success by leaving the Music Row machine than by staying inside the hitmaker system. None of Brody’s decisions were made in anger, only for the love for the simple family life in his home country. From that small-scale base of creative freedom, he keeps pumping out extraordinary song after extraordinary song. What sets Brody’s material apart is, the lyrics are never just about the party he went to or the girl he was fixated on. The lyrics are never boxed into the bed of a pickup truck or limply bottled at the bottom of a cold beer. He is one of the few modern country stars who insists on telling stories, on building a song on emotional tension and story arch. Brody writes himself into a peer group alongside the likes of Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert or Paul Brandt and it is Brandt with whom he is roaring across Canada right now on their co-headliner Road Trip Tour (along with Jess Moskaluke) which comes to Prince George on Tuesday night. Brody has the farthest to come, among the three on the bill. Moskaluke is from Saskatchewan and Brandt is from Alberta while Brody and his family live in Nova Scotia these days, but he is a B.C. resident by birth and raising. Most of his youth was spent in the Kootenay town of Jaffray, and some time in the Okanagan, but he was born in Smithers and still remembers toddler impressions like that of his dad and uncle dressing out a moose in the family garage. It was the kind of upbringing that might well spark a born storyteller’s imagination. “I like to put myself in other people’s shoes and write from their perspective, not just write about myself all the time,” Brody said. The most fertile proof is in songs BRODY like Dirt where he outlines the life of a person through the human relationship with soil; or Another Man’s Gold where he discusses how some things get discarded by some only to find value for another; or Mountain Man where he comically tries to calm his romantic interest’s fears while lost on a hike by explaining he knows how to handle survival skills. The funniest part of that song (humour is a frequent tactic in Brody’s work) is how true it probably is. That, and it contains the most Canuck of rhyming couplets: “baby don’t panic, I know how to cook bannock.” His song Canadian Girls was loaded in maple syrup moments like that. You’d think that might alienate the country hotbed audiences of the United States but on the contrary, folks eat Brody’s stuff up no matter where they’re from. “Me and Paul are not afraid to sing about Canadian things,” Brody said. “That’s one difference for sure (compared to his time living in Nashville’s shallower pool of acceptable songwriting material). We don’t worry about making Canadian references. You write what you like, and let it fall where it will. I wasn’t thinking too much about American listeners when we wrote Canadian Girls, I was thinking about us. We hear about California girls in songs all the time; if an Australian band came and sang about Australian girls you’d probably be OK with it.” In Canada, Brody is also able to collaborate more widely than the Nashville formula usually allows. He has done acclaimed work with Maritime Celtic band Great Big Sea (the good-times anthem It’s Friday), fellow new-country standout George Canyon, and alt-country rising star Lindi Ortega who joins the Road Trip Tour for some of their dates (Moskaluke subs in on part of the tour, as does Madeline Merlo and Whitney Rose). “We have some amazing female artists on the road with us, so I’m really excited about a show that has three dimensions to it,” Brody said. “I think of myself going to a show, seeing three artists and all the production elements Paul and I are talking about. I’m going to do a chainsaw solo, as long as I can start it, and if it doesn’t work I’ll do an antler solo - so there’ll be a surprise or two as well.” Brody is looking especially forward to the Prince George gig because his brother lives in the general area and gets to attend Tuesday’s concert. Brody said that tour date had extra red circles around it on his own calendar. Get tickets at Studio 2880, the CN Centre Box Office or online at the Ticketmaster website. TODAY'S WEATHER DETAILS Today Tomorrow Monday Tuesday Wednesday The World Today we will see sunny skies with a high temperature of 11”. Southwest wind 15 km/h. Expect partly cloudy skies tonight with an overnight low of 6*. Southwest wind 15 km/h Almanac Yesterday's high/low 13/0 Normal high/low............14/2 Record high..........27 in 1943 Record low...........-8 in 1984 Thursday precipitation 0.5 mm Month to date..........42.2 mm Avg.. month to date 43.7 mm Year to date ,.,..403,5 mm Avg., year to date 419.7 mm Sun & Moon Sunrise today.........7:05 a.m. Sunset tonight 6:59 p.m. Moonrise today 6:25 p.m. Moonset today ........5:01 a.m. Full Last New First 9/27 10/4 10/12 10/20 UV Index ............................... ii. I CL2: Lav. 3-5: Moderate. 6-7. Hgh, S 10 \fery High. 11 +: Extreme Exposure Today Tomorrow © © Cold Front Stillkninry Frrnii Warm Fmm Low Pressure High Pressure British Columbia Today Tomorrow Citv Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx 100 Mile House 11/3 s 14/3 s Burns Lake 10/4 pc 15/3 pc Cache Creek 16/4 s 17/4 s Clearwater 15/3 s 15/5 s Cranbrook 18/4 pc 17/4 s Fort Nelson 10/0 pc 8/0 s Fort St. John 10/1 s 10/2 pc Hope 17/7 s 20/6 s Kelowna 17/5 s 17/5 s Lillooet 12/2 s 15/2 s Mackenzie 8/6 cl 12/6 cl Today Tomorrow Citv Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx McBride 6/1 s 8/1 pc Merritt 19/3 s 20/3 s Prince Rupert 12/11 ra 14/10 ra Revelstoke 16/3 s 15/6 s Terrace 10/8 cl 13/10 cl Trail 20/7 s 19/7 s Valemount 12/3 s 12/4 pc Vancouver 15/8 s 17/10 s Victoria 14/7 s 15/11 s Williams Lake 13/3 s 15/3 s Quesnel 13/5 s 14/4 s Canada Today Tomorrow Today Tomorrow Citv Hi/Lo W* Hi/Lo Wx Citv Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx Niagara Falts 22/15 s 23/16 s Banff 11/2 s 12/1 s Ottawa 19/9 s 23/14 s Brandon 26/15 s 18/8 s Quebec City 15/6 s 21/11 s Calgary 15/2 pc 16/2 s Regina 23/6 s 18/5 s 14/8 17/14 s Saint John 15/8 s 16/13 s Edmonton 13/4 pc 12/4 pc Saskatoon 17/4 pc 16/3 s St. John’s 10/5 pc 10/9 s Halifax 15/8 s 17/13 s Swift Current 20/5 s 18/4 s Jasper 11/3 s 10/0 pc Toronto 20/15 s 21/17 s Lethbridge 19/6 pc 19/4 s Whitehorse 5/0 sn 7/2 pc Moncton 14/5 s 19/12 s Winnipeg 27/16 s 19/8 pc Montreal 18/9 s 23/14 s Yellowknife 7/2 s 5/-2 pc Citv Hi/Lo Wx Hi/Lo Wx Acapulco 30/25 t 30/26 t Amsterdam 15/9 s 16/9 s Athens 23/20 ra 25/19 pc Atlanta 23/18 ra 24/18 cl Barbados 31/27 s 32/27 s Beijing 26/15 s 26/17 s Berlin 17/7 s 16/7 pc Cairo 37/23 s 35/23 c! Cancun 30/25 t 27/25 t Dublin 16/8 s 16/8 pc Havana 31/25 t 31/25 t Hong Kong 29/26 t 28/27 pc Honolulu 28/25 cl 28/25 pc Las Vegas 37/26 cl 37/25 s London 16/9 s 16/9 pc Los Angeles 35/22 s 32/20 s Madrid 28/15 PC 27/15 s Mazatlan 31/26 t 30/25 t Miami 30/26 t 30/26 t Moscow 24/13 s 20/12 cl Munich 16/8 pc 15/5 s New York 22/16 cl 21/17 cl Paris 18/11 pc 19/9 s Phoenix 39/26 s 38/26 s Reno 31/14 pc 30/13 ci Rome 25/16 pc 24/16 s San Francisco 22/15 s 20/14 cl Seattle 16/9 pc 15/9 s Sydney 16/13 pc 17/13 pc Tokyo 25/21 pc 25/20 pc Air Quality Readings from 4:30 p.m. yesterday. Area PM TRS S02 Downtown 14 0 4 College Hts. 7 - 1 BCR Ind. 12 - - Good 0 - 25; Fair 26 - 50; Poor 51 - 100; Very Poor 100+. horoscopes ASTROLOGICAL FORECAST By Omar Saturday, September 26 2015 BIRTHDAY GAL: Actress Linda Hamilton was born in Salisbury, Md., on this date in 1956.This birthday gal made her mark in film as Sarah Connor in "The Terminator" franchise. Other film work includes roles in "Bad Behavior,""Dante's Peak"and"Beauty and the Beast." More recently,she's had recurring roles on "Defiance"and "Chuck," and appearances on episodes of "Lost Girl"and "Weeds." Hamilton starred in the 2014TV movie"Ber-muda Tentacles." ARIES (March 21-Aprii 19):You're quite likely to come to a riveting realization this weekend. Someone you thought was ignoring you is actually very understanding. There's a friend in the wings willing to bail you out of any situation. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Look at what the other guy plays before you play your own card.Your competitiveness is low, but selfdiscipline and inner wisdom are high. Focus on making harmonious alliances a reality this weekend. GEMINI (May 21-June 20):You prefer to escape into fantasy, but will be happier if you focus on the practical world. Concentrate on areas where you can physically see results and put your most cherished plans and dreams into action. CANCER (June 21 -July 22): Develop an inner sense of peace and tranquility as the weekend unfolds.Tai chi,yoga,or Pilates could strengthen your mind and body.You'll have the best chance of success by using gentle persuasion. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You don't judge a book by its cover. You haven't always received trustworthy advice from others, so over time you've learned to rely upon your own judgment. Be thorough, patient and practical when making decisions. VIRGO (Aug.23-Sept. 22): Extravagance and extras are exciting. A significant someone might go to extremes or expect too much. Social contacts might expect that you keep your pinkie held extra high while sipping tea. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Like the ocean, romance can be very deep or very shallow, depending upon where you choose to cast your net. Spend quality time with someone already close to your heart, or make a concerted effort to meet someone new, SCORPIO (Oct.23-Nov.21): Selfless actions often go unrewarded, although your determination to succeed in the material world continues to bring satisfaction.You can connect with others in a way that transcends space, distance,or time. SAGITTARIUS {Nov.22-Dec.21): Moody loners quickly tire of self- imposed isolation. You don't need to be tall, dark and handsome to cast a spell over a certain someone. Seek adventures of the amorous kind before the weekend is over. CAPRICORN (Dec.22-Jan.19):Go for the gold.The power of your convictions is more powerful than a locomotive. You aren't likely to lose out or get lost if you head down a path you know in your heart is the right one. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You might not have as much money as you'd like, but you're piling up good deeds on the heavenly scoreboard. Where your piggy bank is concerned, it's smart to focus on reliability and constancy. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Singles are sure to mingle. Calculate your moves to make someone's heart beat a little faster. Future romance, family and career success depend upon your ability to commit yourself without reservations. IF SEPTEMBER 26 IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: You'll be able to relax and take some time to smell the proverbial roses between now and the end of the year. The upcoming 6-8 weeks can bring opportunities to successfully launch pet projects and important personal plans.That's when you can begin something that can bring lasting happiness, such as buying a new home, making a significant career decision, or entering into a long-term romantic commitment. Remain alert during April for an angelic helping hand, an opportunity to make a crucial change, or wise advice that could greatly benefit your future. R0020947915