PLAIN FOLK

by Les Pearson
John Jones Sends a Considered Message to BATUS

Last Friday, August 12, BATUS Park officially opened in downtown Medicine Hat. The Park is a small echo of home for hundreds of squadies who annually train at Suffield. It is their island of peace in the heart of our city.

No one can miss the teens training at BATUS when they wander the Mall or attend movies. And, yes—like young people everywhere—they occasionally brawl at bars and laugh raucously on night streets. They are young.

Look in their faces and see just how young. They are kids like those in our high schools. Their lives stretch before them. Yet often, after training, they are off to Iraq where life is hot, harsh, and hostile. Not to mention short.

These thoughts trouble my interview with John Jones, lead singer of Oysterband, in Canmore this summer.

I admit to standing in awe of this British folk group. Four years ago, Oysterband, The Arrogant Worms, and Eileen Lafferty led a workshop crowd in a rousing chorus of I Fought the Law. It was festival magic. And it was John’s idea.

Since then, the band’s CD, Here I Stand (1999) has resonated in our household. Like many other folk fans, I was thrilled to see this folk-rock group return to Canmore’s line-up. I gobbled up their new DVD and latest CD, Is your love worth fighting for? (2002),

At first, John talks about the intervening years. Oysterband was BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winner this year. They have added a new member, James O’Grady and the wail of his uillean pipes. And they have been busy.

Our talk turns to war and peace. John had voiced opposition to the war in Iraq on the main stage. Now he speaks stridently.

The war was a mistake. “You cannot invade another country without a pay-back.” He draws a direct line between the Iraq “crusade” and the bombings in London—even if Tony Blair does not.

However, John’s opposition is guarded. “It (the war) has to be resisted with care.” He refuses to side with terrorists and people who kill indiscriminately.

He sees his role as a musician clearly. Musicians are truth tellers. “ The television networks, Rupert Murdoch, the press, the papers…they are not telling the real story.” Music can “crystallize” truths. I remember CNN and a line from an Oysterband song, “The more we hear, the less we know.”

I mention BATUS. John has not heard of the base. I ask what he would say to the squadies in Medicine Hat on a Saturday night. He speaks reverently of loyalty to the regiment, to the corporal and officers. But there’s another loyalty. It is “…a loyalty to the land, a loyalty to yourself.” He urges young soldiers to think for themselves.

Will anyone miss Speaker’s Corner? It was where local peace demonstrations were held. For John Jones, BATUS Park may be a good place for them to continue.