Whiteboy Slim at the Scotties

Singin’ the blues in small town Sask

Dat hair doe…oh wait… / Ali Lauren Photography

So, apparently Moose Jaw, SK has actually produced some good musicians. I know, I know…shocking.

Evidently, Blues artist Whiteboy Slim, whose real name is actually Maurice Richard Libby, hails from this lovely town.

“Moose Jaw is kind of a weird breeding ground for musicians,” states Slim.

Ain’t that the truth. I never would’ve thought good ol’ MJ could produce such talent, but I guess I’m not right all the time. Slim actually enjoys performing in small towns and in Saskatchewan’s cities, such as Chamberlin, Regina, Saskatoon, and Moose Jaw.

In fact, Moose Jaw will be welcoming Whiteboy Slim to the stage to perform at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts this month (for those of you who are not cultured, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts is basically a Canadian women’s curling tournament filled with pure awesomeness).

“I have heard and seen a little bit with my own eyes that curlers tend to love to party,” Slim says. “So I think we’re just looking forward to a really good party.”

The man is right. Curlers = partiers. Trust me, I know this from experience.

Whiteboy Slim will play on Feb. 18 at 10:00 p.m. at Mosaic Place, meaning that he will likely not have a whole lot of Valentine’s Day downtime to eat chocolate, ‘cause he’ll be rehearsing for his Scotties show.

Since Slim will perform the day after Mardi Gras, he states, “We’re doing a bunch of New Orleans tunes, so there’s all sorts of heartbroken love songs…[Also] I’m writing a tune for the new CD called “Valentine Blues” that I will debut on the 18th.”

Ah yes. Some post-Valentine’s Day heartbreak tunes. You can’t get much better than that.

This new CD that Whiteboy Slim speaks of is definitely in the works, but doesn’t have a set title yet. So keep your ears and eyes open for this new CD, which is likely to be released at the beginning of June.

Along with this new album on the horizon, Slim has lots more to look forward to, including a possible deal with a label in the U.S. and a tour to the U.S. around late summer early fall.

Now, I’m sure many of you, as am I, are dying to know how Whiteboy Slim got the name Whiteboy Slim. Well, the tale behind the title goes a little something like this: a couple years ago, Slim took about a year off from the music scene to write a book about the history of Moose Jaw with a friend.

During this hiatus, Whiteboy Slim got wind of a band in Toronto called Automatic Slim and promptly googled the name when he started playing again.

“I googled Automatic Slim, and there were [about] 5 bands internationally with that name, so I had to change the name so we didn’t get lost in the sea of Automatic Slims,” states Slim.

Brilliant move bro. *I applaud*

Slim continues, stating, “I was in this chat room on a Blues website, and there was this conversation going on about how it couldn’t be authentic if a white boy was playing Blues. I got really pissed off at that because I’d been playing Blues since I was 15 or 16 years old…so right at the spur of the moment I just said I’m going to call myself Whiteboy Slim, and to hell to anybody who says it can’t be done.”

Boom! Spoken like a true Blues champion.

For those of you who love curling and Blues, check out Whiteboy Slim in Moose Jaw on Feb. 18. And, for those of you keeners out there who love Blues in the springtime when everything is soaked and half-dead, Slim will be making an appearance in Regina on Apr. 27 at Bushwakker’s to perform, hand out some give-aways, and preview some songs from his up-and-coming new album. Whip out your pens and mark your calendars, people!