Sean Hogan will be bringing his unique mix of country and roots rock to the Century Theatre on March 14 as part of his Stay-cation Winter-capades tour.
He also plays the Olds Legion on March 16.
"Essentially, they're gonna get me playing many of the songs I've released and have had good success with over the years at country radio in Canada, plus a few classic country songs and it looks like one or two Irish tunes as well, gettin' ready for St. Patrick's Day,î he said.
Hogan said upon playing Tracks Pub in Olds in 2011, a member of the legion asked him if he would be interested in playing at the legion at some point in the future.
"I was getting ready to head out on my tour Ö this year Ö so I called the legion and they said, ëyou know what, we'd love to see if maybe we could bring you in,' so that's how this show came about,î he said.
After a string of successful album releases following his 1996 debut, in 2011 he released Phoenix, a genre-defying album that Hogan felt would rejuvenate him musically. While touring that year and readying Phoenix for release, a chronic sore throat turned into a diagnosis of Stage 4 oral pharyngeal cancer.
"I had extensive radiation treatment and therapy in the fall of 2011 and a year ago (March 2) I was looked at again after all this treatment and they said ëyou're cancer free.' Very much humbled and grateful,'' said the Campbell River, B.C.-based artist.
Hogan said going through that experience has made him take stock of his life and why he is in the music business.
"When you're a performer in this business, there's a lot of pressure on staying Ö out there and always coming up with hits. There's a tremendous amount of expectation from the industry to always one-up your last, but people in the industry sometimes forget that music is also an art and you have to do what comes natural while you're exploring your own talent, and you may not be in vogue with everything that's going on at any one time,î he said.
"Getting diagnosed with cancer definitely puts it all in perspective,î he said.
While his vocal chords were left intact, saliva glands were removed, which means he has a much drier voice than previously.
"I'm doing what I love to do. I love writing songs,î he said.
Musically, Hogan was influenced in his early years by listening to Motown artists and classical music, but a job in the mid-1980s at a radio station in his hometown of Sarnia, Ont. turned him on to country and artists such as George Strait and Randy Travis. Later, he studied jazz at Humber College in Toronto.
"All these styles kind of stew up inside you. That middle ground (between country and rock) was something that really felt like home to me,î he said.
The Innisfail show starts at 7:30 p.m.
"Getting diagnosed with cancer definitely puts it all in perspective."Sean Hogansinger-songwriter
