Like the new-age adage, the only thing that remains the same is that everything changes, so too, does the shade of prairie blue.

"Each of us interprets a song as we see fit, so it may sound different from the time before, but that's the way it's going to sound today.  We're not restricted by having to play note by note and, for a lot of musicians, that's very liberating," explains Terry Tkatchuk, songwriter for the Pace Hill Band.  Terry finds inspiration for his lyrics in the open-ended book of real life experiences.

Whether from his reading on life or citing excerpts from those he has studied by observing and talking with other people, each unique in his or her own way, they are stories people can relate to.

"Some people like to listen to the music, but to me, it's the story that is important," he elaborates, reflecting on the matter of "Flatlander", the band's signature song.

I stand upon this land where I was born and raised, 
the faces changing but the names remain the same

But, his eyes still shine when he talks about how things used to be
That was his time, not mine.

My son looks up to me.  There's courage in his eyes.
Corporate farms, that's the bottom line.
It's all so wrong, but they say it's right.

Now when your starving, pride won't fill you up,
so hold your head down and hold your hand out.

"The more I write, the more I find to write about.  Sometimes I can't get my ideas down quick enough," he says, crediting Bruce LeBarre, vocalist, for his hand in smoothing out the rough edges.  "I sing the lines to him and he plays them back like they should sound."

The sound is one that has caught the attention of a leading publishing house in the US.  The tune "2 A.M.", recorded at the Mike Langois studio in Prince Albert, is now in the hands of a salesperson who holds hope that it will be noticed by a Nashville artist.

"Selling songs would be our ultimate goal, so our emphasis is on songwriting, but we'll keep recording and playing," LeBarre predicted.

Nearing 85 years of combined musical experience, backed by childhood years on the country dine and dance scene with their parents, growing with the trials and tribulations of school, family and dance bands in the Star City and Naicam areas, the band came into its own at the turn of the new millennium and has since been playing Folk Fest and concert venues.  From the Star City Homecoming to the World Trade Centre benefit in Saskatoon and back to the recent jamboree at the museum in Tisdale, their stage is wherever people gather for whatever reason.

While the unpretentious sound captures the imagination of audiences, the Pace Hill Band's style draws local talent into its circle, a songwriting circle, which meets at Tkatchuk's home on a monthly basis from fall through spring.

The informal atmosphere is a conduit for creativity, providing an audience with whom songwriters, singers, and musicians can explore directions and possibilities for their music.  The band hopes to expand on the idea this year with open mike nights, possibly at the Star City curling club, where "original" will be the only rule.

In a more structured setting at Saskatchewan Recording Industry workshops, Tkatchuk and LeBarre have taken the opportunity to learn about the business of making music and connect with like-minded musicians from farther afield.

Selling music and making music are very much one in the same when charting a new course.  "We're going for something different, something that doesn't really fit into any other style," commented LeBarre.  For him, that means looking at things from different angles.

To Tkatchuk, it means telling it straight.  He sees a lot of similarities between the people of Saskatchewan, and those born in the state of blue, Mississippi.

"We're all just hard working people getting by the best we can, and there's so much musical talent when you take a look around," he reflected through a musician's eyes that see a mix of songs waiting to be told and stories waiting to be noted.

In Saskatchewan, that blend is called prairie blues: a true blue from the pulse of the Pace Hill Band.