A special duet with Don Stevenson from influential 1960's San Francisco band, Moby Grape.
HALFWAY 'TIL GONE
Friendship and music bring together Canadian songwriter Jerry Leger and iconic music veteran Don Stevenson, on new single “Halfway ‘Til Gone”
"If you look closely at some of the photos from my Moby Grape days, I look a lot like Jerry. He is definitely from the same vibe and all about the music. 'Halfway 'Til Gone' has that Leger feeling and hanging out with him and Tim Bovaconti at Tim's Garage studio making music is my idea of fun." - Don Stevenson, founding member of legendary San Francisco band Moby Grape.
There’s an almost 45-year age difference between music veteran Don Stevenson (of iconic 60s west-coast American band Moby Grape) and Canadian critically-acclaimed songwriter Jerry Leger. But they have more in common than one might think. Besides the remarkable resemblance between 35-year-old Leger and photos of Don Stevenson from his Moby Grape days, the two are both accomplished songwriters and singers as well as passionate music fans. It was that passion that led Leger to becoming a huge fan of Moby Grape, collecting their records on vinyl. The band’s self-titled album (featuring Stevenson’s controversial middle finger on the cover's 1st pressing) was listed on Rolling Stone's "100 best debut albums of all time", as well as their "500 best albums of all time".
Don Stevenson was the drummer of Moby Grape, as well as one of the vocalists and principal songwriters. The band was part of the famous 1960's San Francisco scene that included names like Grateful Dead, Sly & The Family Stone, Big Brother and the Holding Company (the Janis Joplin-fronted band) and more. They played on bills with all of those groups as well as with Jimi Hendrix Experience, 13th Floor Elevators, and The Byrds. One memorable gig of theirs was a slot in the legendary Monterey Pop Festival.
Another founding member of “The Grape” was late Canadian Skip Spence, whose one solo album became a beloved cult record for artists such as Tom Waits and Beck. Moby Grape itself has influenced a slew of high-profile acts such as Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, Wilco and Neil Young. While Neil went south, all these years later Don Stevenson has relocated north to Toronto and even attained his Canadian citizenship.
Leger recalls, “A few years back, I heard from my buddy Tim Bovaconti that Don was now living in Toronto and that he had played with him. I had become a Moby Grape fan some years before after Tim played me their iconic first record. I was very excited to catch Don’s next show. When I finally got to see him play, I was first struck by how great and pure he still sounded after all these years; and then by what a great guy he was. I admire that he’s still playing music with the same passion and love that he had for it at my age. We talked, and the more we talked we found we spoke the same language and dug a lot of the same music!”
Jerry Leger has released over a dozen critically acclaimed albums since 2005, including the recent Time Out For Tomorrow (2019), produced by Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies and released on that band’s label, Latent Recordings. Time Out For Tomorrow was acclaimed by such publications as Rolling Stone in Europe, Uncut, American Songwriter, and by fellow accomplished Canadian songwriters Doug Paisley and Ron Sexsmith, the latter of whom declared Leger “the real deal". In addition to headlining dates all over North America and Europe, Leger has opened for acts such as Dawes, Justin Townes Earle, Tift Merritt, the late Jesse Winchester, Jim Cuddy, and The Sadies.
Leger and Stevenson became fast friends, and now, a recording duo.
Leger: “I had this heartbreak song floating around and I wanted to do it with a kind of Everly Brothers feel. I thought Don and I could sing it really nicely together, and thankfully he dug the tune and was into the idea. I thought it would be perfect and comfortable to do it at Tim's studio with Tim producing. Tim is also one of the best musicians, singers and guys I know. He added harmonies and most of the instrumentation. I thought it would be cool for him to play the drums with a consistent rumble all the way through as a foundation, like on a Roy Orbison record. It was also like something Jeff Tweedy and Wilco would do, since I know we have a similar record collection.”
With the help of their mutual friend Tim Bovaconti, whose age fits right between the generations of the other two, the single was recorded with ease. Owner of his own studio “Tim’s Garage”, Bovaconti has a long history with Leger, having played with him live many times and produced or co-produced his first 6 albums. Bovaconti is an extremely gifted musician himself with a long resume of backing up legends like Leonard Cohen, Ray Davies, Jerry Lee Lewis and more. He’s currently a member of Burton Cummings’ band, and spent many years in Ron Sexsmith’s band as well.
The resulting song, “Halfway ‘Til Gone”, has an appealingly nostalgic feel that’s aided by the Everly Brothers-style earworm of a melody, Don Stevenson’s haunting harmonies, and lyrics of a love gone wrong. Both Leger and Stevenson are at their vocal bests on this track, singing from the heart. The song begs to be played on repeat. And how does it feel for Leger to have recorded with Don? “It’s a real honour.”
Laura Proctor
lyrics
HALFWAY 'TIL GONE (Leger)
IT'S BEEN TWO NIGHTS TOO LONG
AND I'M JUST NOW WALKING HOME
I HOPE I DON'T WAKE YOU UP
TO SEE MY TIRED SAD EYES
BUT IT'S NO BIG SURPRISE
I'M HALFWAY TIL GONE
THE LIES I HEARD CAME TRUE
BUT WHAT DO THEY REALLY PROVE
YOU WERE FAKING A SMILE
ALL THE WHILE YOU KNEW
WHAT YOU'D PUT ME THROUGH
I'M HALFWAY TIL GONE
(HALFWAY TIL GONE)
DOES HE WALTZ YOU TO AND FRO
(HALFWAY TIL GONE)
DID YOUR FRIENDS ALREADY KNOW
YOU WERE TRACKING IN THE MUD
SNEAKING IN FROM A ROOM OF LOVE
WE GREW APART IN OUR HEARTS
WHATEVER YOU SAY
I AIN'T LOOKING TO BLAME
I'M HALWAY TIL GONE
(HALFWAY TIL GONE)
DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP OVER IT
(HALFWAY TIL GONE)
YOU CAN'T ALWAYS BE INNOCENT
DON'T KNOW HOW TO SAY GOODBYE
WOULDN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO TRY
JUST BLOW A KISS
DISAPPEAR LIKE A SHADOW IN LIGHT
DESPERATE TO HIDE
HALFWAY TIL GONE
NO BIG SURPRISE
HALFWAY TIL GONE
HALFWAY TIL GONE
credits
released August 6, 2020
A Tim Bovaconti production.
Written by Jerry Leger, Leger Music (SOCAN).
Jerry Leger - vocals/guitar
Don Stevenson - vocals
Tim Bovaconti - guitar/bass/drums/percussion/vocals
Recorded and mixed by Tim Bovaconti at "Tim's Garage", Toronto, Canada
Mastered by James Paul, The Rogue, Toronto, Canada
Artwork by Dmitry Bondarenko
singer/songwriter from Toronto, Canada. Jerry Leger has been called “one of Canada’s best” by Exclaim, a “gifted
storyteller” by The Toronto Star and "One of the best Canadian songwriters" by Rolling Stone.
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