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Sometimes a guitar is just a guitar.
And, well, sometimes, Sue Foley has found, it’s something else.
“There is a Freudian thing I would say — I would go there,” says the renowned Canadian blues guitarist.
“Definitely it’s a very sexual kind of looking instrument “Maybe there’s some phallic symbolism — I don’t know,” Foley says breaking into a giggle.
“I’ve kind of delved into that a bit, but more of it’s just the image of the instrument and maybe women don’t know it could be done.”
Foley is hoping to change that.
Not just with her career, which has produced 10 albums — the latest, New Used Car, is due for release April 25 — as well as acclaim, including a Juno, 17 Maple Blues Awards and three Trophee De Blues in France.
Now, the artist is working on a book called Guitar Woman, which aims to catalogue women who’ve picked up the axe over the years.
“I started it because there’s just no documentation, no decent documentation, on the contributions of women in guitar,” says Foley, who began the project 4* years ago and has already released a compilation CD titled Blues Guitar Women.
“I thought there’d be more because there are so many great historical figures who are really important artists.
“And people from all over the world … True, there’s not as many women guitar players as men, but I think there’s been some really seminal figures that need to be recognized.”
She has interviewed over 60 of the living ones from around the world, including two musicians — Calgary-based blues legend Ellen McIlwaine and Edmonton player Rachelle Van Zanten — who will perform with her in a Guitar Women concert tonight at MacEwan Hall.
Foley hopes to have the project completed in 2007, but is still looking to do another 20 interviews, including Chrissie Hynde and Bonnie Raitt, whom she considers two key influences in her own development as a guitarist.
Foley has, however, found during her research, no matter why the musicians first chose to pick it up, their experiences have all been similar — something she sees as a source of comfort.
“For me it’s been such an eye-opening experience where you really see these people as your peers,” she says, noting she’s also found some shared traits with the other players, including they’re predominantly tomboys, risk-takers, comfortable around guys, down-to-earth, career-oriented, and “a lot of yang” in their personalities.
“We’ve had so many things in common — much more in common than we don’t.”