[Jesse Joe]

Q&A Dan Aykroyd


Published Wednesday December 12th, 2007


We reach Dan Aykroyd, world-renowned comic actor of Saturday Night Live and Ghostbusters fame, knowledgeable UFOlogist, vintner, House o' Blues and Hard Rock Cafe co-founder and all-round man-about-Canada, as he treks across the frozen wastes of New Brunswick one night this week in the midst of an Atlantic Canadian promotional tour for Aykroyd wines and Patron Tequila.
With hundreds of screaming fans chasing him out of town as the bus makes its way from Fredericton to Saint John and finally the mecca of good times in the Maritimes, Metro Moncton, Mr. Aykroyd riffs skillfully on dinner with the Grahams, chickenbones, Magnetic Hill and many other topics in a discourse which demonstrates a rather discomfiting knowledge of us New Brunswickers, including exactly which buttons to push.
Times & Transcript: We hear you had dinner with the Grahams. Kindly rate him as a cook, and as Leader Of His People.
Dan Aykroyd: I'm very impressed with Shawn and Roxanne; an amazing young couple who really come off as 'down home,' just like the rest of you. They're beautiful people, really, optimistic, intelligent and hopeful.
The food was great: a nice lamb kafta with mint-yogourt sauce -- went very well with the Patron Silver Tequila by the way -- then little slices of brisket with horseradish and mustard, then lamb chops with a beautiful chutney and sweet potato dip with our Cabernet-Merlot, finishing with Patron coffee-flavoured tequila.
T&T: Is it true you like to hit one of the local bars after each liquor store gig, and do you announce your preferred bar beforehand or do you keep it a secret, like the Rolling Stones?
DA: Well, I really like to hit all the bars if I can. I'll go into them and listen to the sound system and talk to the manager first, but we don't usually linger in one place unless the sound system is really good.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: rumour has it downtown Moncton's fabulous Rouge Resto-club -- which indeed has a fine system and the city's hottest wait staff -- has the inside track).
T&T: Speaking of the Stones, they played at our Magnetic Hill concert site here a couple of years ago, what bands do you recommend we bring in this summer?
DA: I know all about your Stones show! The Hip opened for them and Johnny (drummer Fay) said it was the most exciting night of his life. A great venue!
There's some really reasonably priced talent out there. Kid Rock can headline anywhere; a phenomenal singer, dancer, composer, The Kid can do it all.
Think about John Mayer as a great blues act and that wonderful Welshman Tom Jones, who's got his 'Delilah' and 'It's Not Unusual' but also a very solid R&B act, and you know, KC and the Sunshine Band is absolutely fantastic.
How about a blues revue with Johnny Lang, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray. Those three guys would draw 30,000 at the Hill, easy.
T&T: You sign every bottle of wine -- and just about anything else for that matter -- that people shove at you. What's your secret limbering-up exercise for those busy digits prior to an engagement?
DA: Thankfully, I'm left-handed.
The left, as you know doubt know, is the operating hand for the Harley-Davidson clutch and I have been operating a Harley since I was 19 so the left hand is very strong. I could easily, easily crush a golf ball with this hand.
Now if I was right-handed I would have a problem because that is the Harley brake-hand and I don't brake very much. So, my strong left hand makes it possible for me to execute a fairly legible scrawl, or maybe three-quarter scrawl or half-scrawl. Anyway, I'm happy to sign anything, especially movie DVDs because they remind me I've had an improbably long career and should really just go away.
T&T: Never! Judging by the reaction to your tour, do you believe that New Brunswickers love Dan Aykroyd more than do any other sub-species of Canadian?
DA: The heart of the Maritimes is Maritimers and I've met such nice people on this tour.
T&T: Maybe you should consider a career in politics.
DA: I think you're in good hands with Shawn; I think he's in a position to build the wealth of your citizens with what is really a frontier-style opportunity with hydro, tidal generation, nuclear power... and to sell it abroad, which is what New York has been doing for years.
I have been approached in Ontario at a couple of levels but that's really not for me. I actually want to cut down on my travel soon and get back to the farm where I can worry about things like getting the crops up, though to be truthful I hire other guys to do that.
I'm afraid of tractors. I like to watch.