Bob Lanois and his ‘shack’ — the documentary
It's just an abandoned shack" in the woods, the way that the grotto at Lourdes is just a hole in the rock.
OK, that's an exaggeration, but certain places, because of the special energy they once embodied, become shrines or shrinelike.
That might be too big a claim for the late Rob Lanois' handsome dark wood cabin with the metal roof where he recorded some truly memorable music, with the likes of his brother, Grammy winner Daniel Lanois, Canadian music legend Bruce Cockburn, Tom Wilson and many others.
But, Dave Conlon doesn't think so and neither do I and I don't think you will either if you're any kind of follower of this city's rich musical lore.
Dave, who lives in Burlington, runs a fascinating website called FreakTography, which features photography and videos that he posts from his urban explorations, chiefly of abandoned houses, buildings, churches, prisons, hospitals, factories and more. Not just here but in places as far flung as Detroit and Gary, Indiana, and all over the world.
It's my side hustle," says Dave, whose day job is with a marketing firm.
For all his travels he's had, some of his best successes right here at home, and there has only ever been one find, in all his 10 years of doing this, that has set him off on a longer trail than his normal 10 or 15 minute videos and photo galleries. That one, which he found following up on a tip, is only a short drive away from where he lives.
Yes, Bob Lanois' cabin.
As he does with so many of his subjects, Dave researched it exhaustively. He could not let go of any of what he found - the history, the character, the happy/sad texture of the place and the people who inhabited it, most especially its owner, Bob Lanois. So, as he processed what he had, what emerged was nothing less than a 106 minute documentary.
Bob Lanois' Cabin in the Woods" is Dave's first long piece ever and it's rookie-of-the-year good, a remarkably sure, informative, attractively shot and well-paced maiden voyage into documentary.
I had to tell more of a story than I usually do," says Dave. There's the fascinating story about the shack itself," but then there's the whole story of the Lanois brothers, the culture and the musicians orbiting around them and Bob's achievements and tragedies, including his near fatal motorcycle accident in 2012.
For a novice, the prospect of doing justice to the story was intimidating - he knew it would mean having to interview some people who loomed large, almost mythically, in his thinking, great figures from the history of not just Hamilton music, but international music. Tom Wilson, Daniel Lanois, Bob Doige, Edgar Breau.
Amazingly, they all said yes," Dave recalls. They were all so gracious with their time, perhaps a testament to how deeply they feel about Bob Lanois but also to Dave's sensitive and respectful approach. In all his work, he refuses to trespass or violate people's privacy and there's a disclaimer on his site that if anyone is triggered or , he will remove it.
Most importantly for the documentary project, Dave approached Bob's widow, Margot Peters, and got her blessing for the project.
The story that scrolls out from the opening credits is centred around the shed that Bob Lanois found in his quest to become grounded" and have a place of his own in nature, away from everything.
Through that shed, which he enlarged and built into a proper cabin with great acoustics, everything else flows. The story of the Lanois brothers, how they went from recording music in their mother's basement to forming, with Bob Doige, Grant Avenue Studios, how those studios became a hive of music activity that attracted musicians from all over.
The story of how Bob and Daniel formed relationships with everyone from Tom Wilson to stars like U2 and Emmylou Harris, whose albums Daniel produced, on his way to winning 15 Grammy nominations and seven wins, often with Bob's help at sound engineering (at which he was a virtuoso), photography, film and other creative touches.
Bob was also an excellent harmonica player, and made wonderful music with it, much of it in his cabin with Tom Wilson and his brother Daniel, on records like Snake Road" and The Shack Recordings."
Bob remained, all through his life, a questing soul, with a philosophical, lyrically expressive and sensitive bent, coexisting with an exacting gravity and passion for quality, for the best work. His quest led him everywhere from India to his French-Canadian roots to his little castle in the trees.
He died in 2021 and left behind great music, admiring friends and a wonderful legacy, which Dave has captured.
I feel I know him even though I never met him," says Dave.
Lanois' cabin in the woods recently sold.
The documentary can be viewed on YouTube.
Jeff Mahoney is a Hamilton-based reporter and columnist covering culture and lifestyle stories, commentary and humour for The Spectator.jmahoney@thespec.com