Juno award winning singer-songwriter Danny Michel is looking forward to going back to Belize in November to record his new CD and helping out his new charity “The Ocean Academy.”
But in the meantime, he is looking forward to beginning his latest tour, which brings him to the Slice, Oct. 5 with Samantha Savage Smith. For the moment he is just looking fo
rward to visiting the horse track in Winnipeg.
“It’s been nice and relaxing, and I have a couple hours to kill, so I thought I’d go to the track and watch the horses,” he said as his GPS system points him in the right direction.
But when he’s not on the road or writing songs he’s been working on his new charity — raising money for the Danny Michel Ocean Academy Fund , a school which enrols 59 students in four grades plus runs adult night classes and ESL classes.
“Most kids drop out after Grade 8 because it costs $1,000 U.S to go, that’s $2,000 Belize. So if a family has three kids, it costs them $6,000. And if kids don’t go to school it leads to a whole different set of problems,” Michel said.
He has frequently been visiting Belize over the past decade and has forges relationships with the people as he recorded his last CD, “Sunset Sea” there and even featured some of the kids he is helping in one of his music videos.
“ The school came to me and asked me to do a fund-raising concert, so I said why don’t I do you one better,” he said.
In only two weeks, his charity, featuring a variety of auction items such as music memorabilia, music festival passes, clothing and even a guitar lesson from Luke Doucet, has already raised $11,552.02.
“It’s really amazing. It’s only been two weeks and the music community, people like Blue Rodeo , Stuart Maclean and Luke Doucet have been really generous,” he said.
He will be recording the new CD in Belize in November with some local musicians, kind of like Paul Simon did during his “Graceland” era.
“People say that a lot. But hopefully people are still allowed to do that,” Michel laughed.
While Paul Simon is an influence, it is not the reason why he is recording with Belize musicians.
“I’m influenced by great songwriters like Dylan, Roy Orbison, John Prine. They were great songwriters and still are. And the older I get, the more I realize how great they are,” he continued.
Michel also released a live CD, “Live in Winnipeg,” which was released about the same time as “Sunset Sea,” so he is enjoying playing the music from them both, though he will be playing a couple new songs.
“It will be Live in Winnipeg, live in Winnipeg,” he said of his Winnipeg show after he is done at the horse track.
But he is looking forward to returning to Lethbridge.
“I love Lethbridge and I love the Slice. I can’t wait to see everybody again. I’m looking forward to having a good time.
Up and coming Calgary songwriter Samantha Savage Smith is also on the bill.
Tickets for the Oct. 5 show cost $20.
