By Allan Wishart, Prince George Free Press

The first year back for the Merritt Mountain Music Festival was a rough one.

After taking 2010 off, the festival saw lower attendance than in previous years, as well as the cancellation of Saturday’s headliner, Montgomery Gentry, due to transportation issues.

That, however, didn’t stop the artists who did perform from having a good time, and most of them brought that uptempo mood into the media barn before their shows. Here are some snippets of what the artists had to say.

Thursday

Marion Weston and James Lee Harris Jr. get the honour of being the first artists on the mainstage for Mountainfest 2011. Marion admits that their show isn’t the most carefully planned: “People can expect to see a lot of unpredictability on stage. There are some songs he’ll try to get out of playing.”

For singer-songwriter Mike Gouchie, it’s easy to pinpoint how he got into country music, and why he likes to keep it classic: “My father played Merle (Haggard), Hank Williams Jr. and Hank Snow all the time at home. Then I had the chance to tour recently with George Jones. It was overwhelming to be able to stand at the side of the stage while he was performing and watch a legend.”

Crystal Shawanda isn’t a believer in writing songs in a hurry. “I’ve got some lyrics that were written a million years ago,” the Canadian singer says. “I try not to rush stuff. I’m a perfectionist.”

When Joe Nichols is asked to name a non-country artist he would want to do a duet with, his answer is immediate. “Chad Kroeger of Nickelback. Chad’s a good friend of mine, and he’s so rock and I’m so country, it would be interesting.” What makes it interesting for fans of Nichols’ show Thursday is Kroeger showing up and joining him onstage for a song.

Friday

It hardly seems possible that Bobbi Smith is a 14-year veteran of the industry, but it is. Some things haven’t changed though. “I’d record Sweetwater (her first hit) again in a minute. We still do it in the show.” And she does. The voice is fuller than when she recorded it as an 11-year-old, but the sound is still great.

Smith also knows how to make use of modern technology when it comes to writing songs. “I wrote a song in 15 minutes a while ago. I was at work, so I phoned my home phone number and sang the song into the answering machine so I wouldn’t forget it.”

Aaron Pritchtt’s band knows they have to be ready for anything when the show starts. “I used a set list for a limited time, then I just decided to play what it seemed the crowd wanted to. I try to confuse the band in as many ways as possible.”

Pritchett is not like a lot of the singer-songwriters at Merritt this weekend, who are always on the watch for song ideas. “I try to write only when necessary. When we’re getting ready to put an album together, I’ll start writing.”

Saturday

First up on stage is something different for Mountainfest: a collection of singer-songwriters who had taken part in a series of song circles each day. Six of them come into the interview barn. Ron Irving says songwriter get-togethers aren’t as hectic as some people believe. “There’s a lot of silence in the room,” he said. “Someone will play part of a song and say, ‘This is where I got stuck,’ and usually there’s silence for a few minutes. Then everybody gets a different idea at the same time and starts playing them.”

Damian Marshall figured out early in his singing career where his strength was. “I started singing when I was about 18. A buddy talked me into coming to a karaoke bar, and I thought, ‘If he can get up there, so can I.” I sang a few 80s pop-rock songs without much reaction, but when I did a Randy Travis song, everybody perked up.”

Cole Armour is only 12 years old, but he’s already got the signs of a star – except for when it comes to writing songs. “I’ve tried writing songs, but so far I haven’t finished anything.”

Armour gets a standing ovation after doing an encore. The song he chooses for his encore? Nessum Dorma, from the opera Turandot. It’s probably the first operatic piece done at Mountainfest – and definitely the first to get a standing ovation.

While most of the songwriters talk about looking for a hook to write the rest of the song around, Ridley Bent goes in kind of the reverse direction. “A lot of times, I’ll go with the story I’m telling, and I’ll find the hook line comes out of that.” Bent says writing story songs also helps in another way. “When you reach the end of the story, the song’s over. It’s that simple.”

Sunday

AJ Woodworth had a lot of musical influences growing up. “I grew up listening to country, but I was really influenced by the Rolling Stones, the Band, Elvis Presley. This thing I found was I wanted to listen to them and see what they did, but I knew I wanted to create my own sound.”

Jetty Road is a band from Australia. They played a concert in Prince Edward Island on Friday, then played Merritt on Sunday. So did they know what they were getting themselves into? Depends on who you talk to. Paula Bowman says, “We’re used to it. Australia is a pretty big continent.” But guitarist Simon Ross says they realized this trip was different. “When we passed the five-hour mark in the air and we were into the third movie, we knew it was a long trip.”

Cathy-Anne McClintock says how she writes depends on the situation. “If I’m writing by myself, it’s usually based on an inspiration I got. But I like co-writing with someone by appointment, because you end up pushing each other on things.”

Ray Price turned 85 in January. The legendary singer isn’t as spry as he used to be, but his mind is still sharp. Asked who in current country is most like him, he says, “I live on my ranch in Texas. I haven’t been to Nashville in years, and I don’t listen to new country, so I don’t know any of the artists.”

Price put out his first record in 1948. He’s sung a lot of songs, and says the key is simple. “The song has to be relevant and it has to touch people.” His choice for the favourite song of his? “I’m Still Not Over You. Willie (Nelson) wrote that one when he was with my band.”

Crystal Gayle says she listened to a lot of different kinds of music growing up. “Loretta Lynn (her older sister); Patsy Cline; Peter, Paul and Mary; Billie Holliday; Brenda Lee. I loved all the different styles of music.”

She is also one of the first artists to come to Mountainfest who can claim The Muppet Show as a career credit. “I loved being invited to do the Muppet Show. Unfortunately, Miss Piggy refused to work with me, so I didn’t get the chance to sing with her.”