Jayson Slack knew he wanted to be a musician from the age of five, when his grandfather gave him a guitar and showed him how to pick Johnny Cash tunes.
He had such a natural ear for music that when he started taking guitar lessons a few years later, he showed his teacher how to play Eddie Van Halen’s licks correctly.
In his Langley, BC, high school during the 1980s, he started a rock and roll band with his buddies. In the late 1990s, he fronted a heavy-metal band that recorded three albums, got some local radio airplay in BC and even opened for Tom Cochrane’s band. For 20 years, he earned a living as a singer-songwriter and musician in various bands in BC.
His current career choice of police officer didn’t happen until he turned 49, when he was one of the oldest recruits ever to successfully complete the rigorous training at the RCMP depot in Regina.
“I’ve always wanted to help people,” he said. “I was married and working in Saskatoon and I saw an RCMP recruitment ad. I thought I’d give it a shot.
“People thought I was nuts to tackle that course at that age, but my wife kept me going and encouraged me, and I prayed and dug deep inside. I told myself I wasn’t going to quit.
“There were guys who were 24 years old who couldn’t hack it and they dropped out. I even blew out my knee in one long-distance training run, but I limped to the finish line and showed them I could take it. If you make your mind up, you can make it through anything.”
Now, at age 54 and with five years of service with the Warman-Martensville RCMP detachment under his belt, Slack’s music is back in the spotlight with the release of ‘Unblind,’ an album of original material written, produced and performed (yes, all the instruments) by the artist. Available on Apple Music iTunes store and You Tube Music through his website (www.jaysonslack.com), the album is also available in a CD version.
Already well-known in the Saskatoon area for his stage performances with Ovide Pilon’s band, Slack’s renditions of Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings and the Beatles classics are uncannily true to the originals.
“I love performing,” said Slack in an interview. “Ovide’s band is great to work with, and they sell out every time. Live performances are the best because you can connect directly with the audience.”
But those who have seen him only on stage in his black leather Elvis suit might be surprised that he fits an RCMP uniform very nicely as well.
Slack’s duties as a special constable with the RCMP detachment include liaison with communities and schools in the Warman-Martensville RCMP detachment region. He’s responsible for helping residents establish and maintain their independent local Crime Watch networks, and working with young people at area schools.
“If I have a gig coming up I’m usually able to schedule my shifts to accommodate the shows,” said Slack. “I always get a little nervous and apprehensive but that disappears once we get going. I’m a different guy on stage.”
Slack said music has helped him in his RCMP liaison work connect with students at schools.
“I’ve mentored a couple of kids who have had problems at school,” he said. “Music can really change a kid’s life.
“One young man who had trouble focusing in school has turned out to be an amazing guitar player. When he started he could barely put a chord together but he progressed rapidly and I’m sure he’ll pass by me one of these days. In fact, he’s already teaching me a few things.”
Music, said Slack, “is good for the soul. Instead of doing drugs and getting into trouble, they learn to play songs and even write their own. It gives them a creative outlet.”
Slack built a studio in his Martensville home where he does his own recording.
The songs on his album ‘Unblind’ are all original. Some are recent, while others have been pulled from his vault.
“Some of the songs go all the way back to the late 1980s and early 1990s,” he said. “I resurrected some stuff I liked, polished them up and made them more relevant.”
Many of the tracks on the album, including ‘Parade’, ‘Meatball Stew’, ‘Must’ve been you’ and the title song, ‘Unblind’, are reminiscent of groups like Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin and Cream.
But Slack also incorporates unconventional influences into his music. One song on the album, ‘Sahara’ carries an Arabian-style minor-key guitar theme throughout.
There are also a touch of mellow reflection in the ballads “Yellow Flowers’ and ‘Tonight.’
For fans of hard-driving music, ‘Unblind’ shines a light on classic rock styles that never grow old.