Sean Burns Does It All

This week, the Dads sit down with Manitoba's own Sean Burns. He’s a sideman, a frontman and a radio man -- and he’s your new best friend. Sean has been playing bass and touring with one of Canada’s best underground country stars, Corb Lund, for years. He makes time for his own solo career as a songwriter and purveyor of classic country sounds as the frontman of Sean Burns and The Lost Country. And he’s also the evangelical lover of traditional real country music and as the host of the Boots & Saddle Show, your humble home of honky-tonk and beautiful country music by beautiful country music singers, he shares his takes on what make great country music every Tuesday on CKUW 95.9 FM in Winnipeg, and then on podcast services around the globe.

Throughout the show, they discuss the balancing act of being a touring musician with a deep passion for the music and being an engaged father to a young daughter. For Sean, it’s all about how the two worlds influence one another and finding the right balance as he navigates his life with his wife and kiddo.

Show Notes:

2:01 -- Sean Burn’s country music origin story.

6:14 -- Dave asks Sean a very easy question: What is the best country music album of all time? He has his opinions, and then he gets into how to define country music -- what is and what isn’t country. It’s not as divisive as you might think.

9:24 -- The planning process for the Boots and Saddle Show.

13:30 -- The Canadian Music Rules and how Sean breaks the laws -- because he’s an outlaw! But he has great reasons for it. And then Sean goes deep into the history and Canadian infrastructure of country music through the 20th Century.

21:07 -- Balancing the road and the home life: Sean loves being a road warrior and “dadding up,” but it’s a hard balance.

25:33 -- How all the different creative pursuits provide different fulfillment to Sean that makes him a better and more complete person, which in the end makes him a better dad too.

30:00 -- Sean is a true critic and delivers truth without being a jackass. It’s not an easy process but the key is to be honest and keep it about the music, not the people. In the end, it is about what he wants. He also has some strong words about 90s country and the people making it.

36:01 -- The clear divide between the road and the home comes down to the responsibilities we all have. But the road and the music influence the home life, which exposes the little one to a bit of the road. And that brings the kiddo into the music life -- and gets to meet some weirdos. Driven and independent folks, but weirdos all the same!

41:24 -- The Dad Life Sound Check -- Sean and the Dads share their songs of the moment.

Thank you for listening. The best way to support us is to subscribe to the show on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or whatever podcast platform you use. If you want to see new episodes and more content delivered straight to your email inbox, please subscribe to our newsletter: countrymusicdads.substack.com. You can find everything we do on our website: countrymusicdads.com. And we’d love to hear what you think, so send us comments, suggestions, friendly banter on Instagram @countrymusicdads, or via email countrymusicdads@gmail.com.

Mentioned in the Show:

• The Boots and Saddle Show
• Don Stickle aka DJ Salty Cracker of Both Kinds of Music
• Bryan Saunderson of Hurting For Real
• Skinny Dyck of Lethbridge, Alberta
• Discogs.com
• Duley Record in Winnipeg
• Several legacy Canadian country music labels, including Arch Records, Marathon Records, Paragon Records, Boot Records, Quality Records, Banff Records and Rodeo Records
• Tommy Detamore
• Andrina Turenne

References:

• Theme Music: “Dark Country Rock” by Moodmode
• “Nightlife” by Ray Price
• “Roll Truck Roll” by Red Simpson
• “Life is a Highway” by Tom Cochrane
• “Life is a Highway” by Rascal Flatts
• “Before She Made Me Crawl” by Sean Burns
• “Crazy Arms”
• “Pick Me Up On Your Way Down”
• “Invitation to the Blues”
• “Swinging Doors”
• “Old Men” by Corb Lund
• “Tomorrow’s Good Ol’ Days” by Jesse Daniel
• “Diamonds and Divorce Decrees” by Sunny Sweeney
• “For You & I” by Garrett T Capps
• “SIGNED, SOBER YOU” by HARDY
• “Cows Around” by Corb Lund