Advertisement

Music

Maple Leaf Forever guitars

The famed and felled silver maple tree on Laing Avenue in Leslieville that inspired Alexander Muir’s unofficial Canadian anthem, The Maple Leaf Forever, in 1867 is getting tons of new leases on life. Its wood has been repurposed for myriad creative projects, including two recently completed guitars whose design and construction were overseen by producer and Blue Rodeo/Jim Cuddy guitarist Colin Cripps.

Cripps pitched the idea to Toronto-Danforth MP Craig Scott of using some of the wood to make two “custodial” guitars. “We couldn’t just use the wood to make a guitar and sell it,” says Cripps over the phone. “It had to be part of an ongoing trust. So every year, a new person gets to use one of them. I’m using the acoustic for the first year, and Paul [Langlois from the Tragically Hip] has the electric. In a year’s time, some City Hall people and I will pick the next candidates, and on they will go.”

David Fox built the acoustic, modelled after a 1944 Gibson J-45, and Tom Bartlett built the electric.

Cripps performs with C & C Surf Factory, an electrified surf-rock side project that doesn’t require the services of the Maple Leaf acoustic, at the Cameron House (408 Queen West) on Saturday (April 18). See listing.

carlag@nowtoronto.com | @carlagillis

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.