Bob Wiseman

Biography

Most Blue Rodeo fans know Bob best as the original keyboard wizard for the band. Bob played on their first four albums, deciding to go solo just before Lost Together was released in 1992.

Bob released a few solo CDs while he was with Blue Rodeo, becoming even more prolific since leaving the band. His music is hard to pigeonhole since he has recorded music varying from folk-jazz to avant-garde rock and on to political pop. Bob's talents and range of styles is well appreciated by fans of Blue Rodeo's first four albums. His solos on songs such as "Diamond Mine" have indelibly stamped a benchmark for talents in psychedelia.

This multi-talented singer-songwriter plays numerous instruments including guitar and harmonica although he is principally a piano and accordion player. He has been known to experiment with his keyboards using coins between piano strings, for example, to produce different sounds and expand the minds of his listeners. Also, he has been seen using elbows, beer bottles, teeth and the off-and-on switches to further his cause in that department to great and wildly popular success!

He has co-written, produced and played on records for a wide variety of artists ranging from the Barenaked Ladies to Mendelson Joe, as well as scoring music for many television & film projects. Bob also produced Ron Sexsmith's album Grand Opera Lane. Since 2000, Bob has recorded a number of movies on super 8 and video and they form the backdrop for his solo shows.

Always up for a challenge, Bob's latest CD, Themes and Variations (2006), is the next chapter in the interesting career of this talented and artistic free-spirit. Although he doesn't care to admit it, Bob has a great recipe for miso soup which can be found on his website.

Sources: Bob Wiseman's official website

Relationship to Blue Rodeo

Bob has collaborated with Blue Rodeo, and many of Blue Rodeo's collaborators! Here are some examples:

Bob was an original member of Blue Rodeo.
Bob met Greg & Jim through his brother, Howard, who was their roommate when they lived in New York.
One of Bob's bands, Binder Specialists, featured Randy Curnew, who now plays drums with the Swallows (Glenn Milchem's band).
He contributed to Pine Ridge: An Open Letter to Allan Rock. On this CD, Greg Keelor contributed the song "Pine Ridge," and Jim Cuddy did the song "Smoking Gun," both performed by Blue Rodeo. This CD was offered as a collective prayer, a message to their Minister of Justice, whom they believed could play an important role in liberating Leonard Peltier, who was unjustly imprisoned for two consecutive life sentences.
He has been a guest performer with Wilco (Bob Egan's former band), and Ron Sexsmith (another one degree artist).
Both Greg and Bob performed at Boys Do Girls at Hugh's Room in Toronto in January 2002.
He reunited with the original five members of Blue Rodeo for their first DVD, and performed with them at the DVD release party on November 17, 2004 held at Lee's Palace.

Quotes

"That's a Bob Wiseman show. Pure, unadulterated bliss." - Terminal City Magazine, Vancouver

"... a legendary 'difficult artist,' an instinctive genius so broadly talented he could apparently only be acknowledged in alleyway whispers." - Puncture Magazine #32, Portland

"Bobby was the younger brother of a friend of ours and we just ended up jamming with him a few times. His influences were quite different, as he was more into the improv school of music and jazz, and he brought a whole new musical avenue to what we were doing." - Greg Keelor, Blue Rodeo

Last Updated

February 2007

Special Thanks To