What inspires Ian Thomas as a songwriter is his view of the world.
Sometimes that means “looking out and seeing what idiots we are as a species,” he said.
But in other experiences, he’s come to see how noble humanity can be at times as well.
He had a serious view of that this past January when his son Jake was involved in a snowmobile accident and broke his back. He was left a paraplegic.
“The love and support that came down our way was just gabsmacking,” Thomas said, recalling how at one fundraiser concert, they packed a 700-seat theatre with people caring enough to help his family.
“Just when I’m ready to condemn our species to the ash heap, I see some wonderful notes of nobility,” he said. “I think there is cause for celebration.”
Next week Thomas will bring his songs to Pictou County as part of Lunch At Allen’s at the deCoste Entertainment Centre on Oct. 20. The musical powerhouse is comprised of Thomas and three other Canadian talents: Murray McLauchlan, Cindy Church and Marc Jordan
As individuals, they have written for or sung on over 25,000,000 CDs, penning hits for Josh Groban, Chicago, Bonnie Raitt, America, Santana, Cher and Rod Stewart, as well as McLauchlan’s “Farmer’s Song,” Jordan’s “Marina Del Rey” and Thomas’s “Painted Ladies,” just to name a few.
When they first sang together as a group Thomas said it was supposed to be for an eight-day tour only.
“Here we are 15 years later,” he said during a phone interview Friday about the group’s upcoming performance.
Having the opportunity to sing with three other lead singers is a totally different dynamic affording each the opportunity to sing both lead and backup during the shows.
“The first thing right off the bat is the level of singing is just fantastic,” he said. “It really doesn’t get any better than playing with some of your closest friends.”
During their shows they try to provide a cross section of music. They perform some of the songs that each is well known for as well as adding some more recently composed music.
“We always keep it fresh for ourselves. There’s some new stuff there. We find it seems to be as well received.”
Thomas said they love getting to tour the Maritimes are and happy be able to do this series.
He said they tend to get good crowds in the 500-700 seat theatres they typically perform in.
At this stage of his life, he said that he considers it a privilege that people still want to listen to him and laughs about how when he was younger he arrogantly expected an audience.
"When you get older, you realize how parasitic the performing industry is,” he said.
As a singer-songwriter, he said he loves being able to perform for a live audience.
“Generally speaking playing a piece of music in front of an audience brings an energy to the performance. It’s oddly interactive,” he said. “Some days the sum is bigger than the parts. It’s a bit of a drug.”
The audience often sings along when they play the old stuff.
Reserved seating tickets for Lunch At Allen’s are $47.50 (tax and facility fees included, service charges may apply), and are available from the deCoste. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.