by Nick Travis

Newfoundland-born country singer Michael T. Wall has been many places, met many people and achieved a lot in his day. He’s rubbed shoulders with names like Johnny Cash, Stompin’ Tom Connors and Newfoundland’s own Joey Smallwood. He’s toured in Australia, Japan and even the Soviet Union.

He’s sold, as he puts it, truckloads of CD’s independently through his label Country Road Records. However, this 82-year-old country artist still isn’t ready for retirement.

“I’m not ready for the rocking chair just yet,” said Wall.

Wall seems to always have a creative bun in the oven. Recently he’s been working on both a Christmas album and a country gospel album, set to release in the near future.
On top of that, he’s working on releasing The Best of Michael T. Wall, which includes never before heard bonus tracks.

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THE FINAL CURTAIN

When travel is allowed, he also intends to tour once again. Wall especially wants to get back to his home away from home in Australia for one more tour when it’s safe to do so. True to his seemingly endless wellspring of energy, according to Wall his Australian fans know him as “ageless Michael T.”

But what lies in the future for the ageless Michael T. Wall once he’s recorded his final album and finished booking shows? What lies in retirement for a man who’s done so much after that final curtain call? Simple: Wall wishes to return home to the shores of Newfoundland.
Having lived in Ontario for much of his adult life, he’s gearing up to return to the land that birthed his career — the place he sang about all over the world.

“I do want to spend the rest of my days in Newfoundland,” said Wall. “I will be going back to check out some places.”
Always the showman, Wall has mulled over the idea of moving to Dildo. Even at 82, the idea of furthering his career hasn’t left his mind.
“I like that little town, and Jimmy Kimmel put it right on the map! Maybe I’ll get to be on Jimmy Kimmel,” joked Wall.
Besides Dildo, Wall has also considered spending his retirement years in Paradise. He’s always liked the name, and thought it sounded like a suiting location to live a peaceful retirement in his home province.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS

For any artists and fans out there wondering how Wall has created a lifelong career for himself while maintaining his status as an independent artist, he wants people to know that it doesn’t come easy.
He remembers the times in Toronto where he and Stompin’ Tom Connors were thrown out of nightclubs that weren’t fond of hearing their folksy east coast sound.

He remembers the hard work and perseverance that went into promoting his act and getting the chance to tell stories of his island home from Conception Bay, to Warsaw, Poland to Tamworth, Australia. His mantra for breeding the longevity he’s experienced is simple in concept, but hard for some to act on.

“It’s all about believing,” said Wall. “Believing in yourself. I know a lot of people who don’t believe in themselves. They sit around all day and wait for the phone to ring. I get out there and make things happen. I went to Australia and all these countries because I just made up my mind that was what I wanted to do.”

Despite his years on the mainland and abroad, Wall has always kept Newfoundland close to his heart. His songs still speak of scenes of outports, fishing boats, the trademark Newfoundland dog and the friendly Newfoundlanders that shaped his worldview.
To this day the classic bologna remains his favourite sandwich.

Wall is forever committed to being the man who wears Newfoundland on his sleeve, his ring, his sweaters and on the back of his leather jacket.

“Really, in my mind, I never left Newfoundland,” said Wall. “I just had my dream of promoting it to the world.”

Michael T. Wall can be reached via email at mr.nfld99@gmail.com.

By Nick Travis

Newfoundland country singer-songwriter Michael T. Wall has seen and done more than your average man, to say the least.

From touring Australia to singing his Newfoundland-centric style of music in the former Soviet Union, it seems there isn’t a venue Wall wasn’t willing to attend.

Wall holds the esteem of being the first Canadian musician to play a concert in the former Soviet Union when he travelled to Poland in June of 1984 to play in Warsaw and spent 14 days in this Soviet satellite state. Wall remembers the day he arrived in Poland well.

“When I walked out of the plane, there were all these soldiers — Russian soldiers, with guns. And I said to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the end of this poor Newfie,” Wall said, sharing he was set up in the Forum Hotel, a venue that also hosted visiting U.S. presidents.

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ACROSS THE IRON CURTAIN

“I remember telling the guy at the front desk, ‘If it’s good enough for the president of the United States, it’s good enough for me,’” Wall shared.

Miroslaw Desporak, the Polish DJ who invited Wall, remembers his concert well.

“I will never forget his fantastic concert in the student’s club barn in Warsaw back in June 1984,” said Desporak. “It was a sight to see him walk on stage waving a big Canadian Maple Leaf flag. He was so proud to do it. The club was packed. It was just him and his guitar. He sang some of his personal favourites and some Canadian and Newfoundland classics. He was everybody’s favourite. After the concert, he signed his pictures and distributed some leaflets and maps of Newfoundland. He truly is the singing ambassador of Canada and his native island.”

LAND DONW UNDER

With three tours of Australia, Wall has always considered Australia to be his second home. The people, he explains, are similar to the salt of the earth Newfoundlanders he grew up around.

Wall was the first Canadian inducted to the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame in Tamworth.
“I felt like I was back home,” said Wall. “They’re much like us, you know. And they really like the Newfoundland country music sound.”

Wall, now in his eighties, is still looking to do another tour of his home away from home. He even celebrated his love for his second home with a CD release, From Newfoundland to Australia.

Wall is a devout Christian man. As an expression of his deep-rooted faith, he chose to take a trip to Israel to see the Christian Holy Land for himself.

“I’m a Christian man, and I got baptized in the River Jordan,” said Wall. “That was always on my bucket list. It was quite an experience, because that’s where Jesus — my saviour, your saviour — was baptized by John. It changed my whole life. I later sailed on the Sea of Galilee, and it was just amazing.”

Wall, in his classic sing-everywhere fashion, even performed at a few Israeli clubs during his pilgrimage. This experience strengthened his faith immensely, finally culminating in a country gospel album that he’s hoping to release soon.
In the words of Johnny Cash, Wall seems to have been everywhere, man. But there are still a few places not yet checked off of his to-do list. According to Wall, he’s always wanted to travel to Ireland.

“I haven’t been to Ireland, but they play my music all through Ireland, and they’ve been wondering why I haven’t been there,” said Wall. “They’ve been playing my vinyl albums there since 1974.” As a big believer in Newfoundland-born talent, Wall has also made a point of sending CD’s of other local artists to Irish radio shows to get their name out there.

Wall has also wanted to tour Germany, where he has a surprising amount of devout fans. His influence in Germany has culminated in his own limited-edition German postage stamp. Rainer Schmeissner, the writer and publisher of Country Ideals, a small German country music publication, is a big fan of Wall’s.

ORDERING CDS

“It was 15 or even 20 years ago when I was in Corner Brook and I purchased a Michael T. Wall long-playing record,” said Schmeissner. “At that time I was collecting Newfoundland country and folk style LP’s and Michael was a new name for me. Wall is a household name for my subscribers, but unfortunately, Michael’s CDs are not available over here. I’ve heard of some people who ordered his CDs online from Canada.”

Stay tuned for the final installment in our series with Michael. T. Wall. Michael T. Wall can be reached by email at mr.nfld99@gmail.com

By Nick Travis

Michael Thomas Travis Wall has spent his entire adult life promoting his home of Newfoundland to the world.

From songs like Big Old Newfie Dog to The Newfie Polka, Wall’s entire ethos is centred around his Newfoundlander identity.

His leather jacket featuring a rhinestone map of the island along with his Newfoundland ring, cufflinks, earring, belt buckle and guitar will tell you at first glance where this world-wandering prolific country singer is from, and he’s proud of it.

Born, coincidentally enough, on Country Road in Corner Brook, Wall was performing from a young age. Throughout his childhood on Ernest Harmon Airforce Base and at the Little Shamrock School in Lakeview-Harbour Main, he took every opportunity to get on stage and sing.

MEETING YOUR HEROES

“My first concerts really began at the Little Shamrock School,” reminisced Wall. “I started performing at Christmas concerts and everyone always told me I should be on the radio.”

As a young man, Wall heard his hero country star Johnny Cash on the radio and from that moment on knew he wanted to begin a career in music.

“When I heard Johnny Cash it just hit me. I said, ‘That’s what I want to do,’” said Wall from his home in Ontario.

At the time, he was working nights at a fish plant in Holyrood and decided to save up his wages to buy himself his first guitar and try to make it big. Not long after he made this decision,

Wall was on his way to St. John’s to purchase an Air Canada ticket bound for Toronto to chase his dream.

Upon landing in Toronto, Wall heard news that his biggest inspiration, Johnny Cash, was playing at Massey Hall.

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With his can-do Michael T. Wall attitude in tow, he set out to meet his hero. Wall waited outside until the end of the concert, as it had already started. After the show he was able to catch up with Cash’s longtime guitarist Luther Perkins.

“(Perkins) was just closing his guitar case when I said to him, ‘Would you be kind enough to introduce me to Johnny Cash?’’ recalled Wall. “He put his hand on my shoulder and brought me into the dressing room and said, ‘Here’s mister Cash.’ I said, ‘Hi Johnny! I’m one of your biggest fans, and I’m from Corner Brook, Newfoundland.’”

Cash, having spent time hunting on the island said, “What?! Come on in son!”

THE BIG CITY

From then on Wall was a regular at Cash’s concerts in Toronto. According to him, Cash remembered him well and he was often escorted into the venues by the Toronto Police. Some people recommend not meeting our heroes, as they might not be who we idealized them to be.

Wall had no such fears with Cash and relished the opportunity to spend time with his musical idol. One thing Wall remembers about the man in black was his powerful handshake.

“When Johnny Cash shook your hand it was like God Almighty did, because he was a big man! When he shook your hand, boy he really shook your hand,” said Wall with a laugh.

Besides meeting Cash, Wall has been lucky enough to know many household names throughout his life. From Stompin’ Tom Connors to Shannon Tweed, Roy Rogers and Jerry Lee Lewis to local figures like NL premier Joey Smallwood (who named Wall as a musical ambassador of Newfoundland), Wall rubbed shoulders with many of the greats of his time.

Wall got right to work establishing a name for himself in Toronto. One of the first places he became a regular performer at was the Molly n’ Me Nightclub.

Wall convinced the owners of the club to allow him to host a venue of his own on the second floor – The Michael T. Wall NFLD Friendship Club – where he was booked for eight and a half years of his burgeoning career.

The club was filled with tourists from Newfoundland, the Maritimes and locals who were interested in his brand of Newfoundland country music. His shows even attracted the attention of country stars from across the U.S. border.

“The Nashville stars from the Horseshoe Tavern would come in to see me,” recalled Wall. “It’s amazing. I just had the drawing power, because I believed in Newfoundland. Charlie Pride and all these guys would come in to the Molly n’ Me Nightclub and stand on the stairs and watch my Newfoundland show.”

EARNING FANS

This drawing power has held true for The Singing Newfoundlander the world over, attracting all sorts of crowds to experience his regional flavours of music.

Wall even boasts of getting a local Toronto punk rock band into Johnny Cash. They first came to his shows to see his custom guitar, crafted in Japan and covered in LED lights. They stayed, however, to experience his music. Before long the band had done punk rock covers of classic Johnny Cash tunes due to his influence.

There’s more about the unique worldwide adventures of The Singing Newfoundlander. Stay tuned for part two of our interview!