Black Velvet belts out a Blues Brothers tune, his voice smoky and thick with soul.
It’s this unmistakable voice you’d first notice, if you were looking for Black Velvet on the streets of downtown Victoria, where he spends most of his nights busking for cash.
But the once-homeless musician, whose real name is Michael Thompson, isn’t always easy to find, as Kevan Carlsen knows well.
It was five years ago that Carlsen, a local musician, spent Christmas Day searching the downtown streets, doorsteps and alleyways for Thompson, hoping to give him a gift that would eventually change the singer’s life.
Carlsen, 29, and friend Brad Tasker had made CDs after recording Thompson’s raw and raspy sound in the downtown public library’s courtyard.
It took them two weeks, but they finally found Thompson, and the CDs started selling across the country.
Now, instead of sitting on the cold pavement in the wee morning hours as the bars let out, Thompson is sitting in Carlsen’s home jamming alongside him. Other members of their eight-piece band, Gang of Mischief, look on, adding in their own harmony as the pair sing Sweet Home Chicago.
Thompson has come a long way in the past five years.
While he still sports the same worn leather cap, he now has a place he calls home, a small apartment on Hillside Avenue.
This summer, he was reunited with his son, who shares his name, after Carlsen arranged for Michael Jr. to fly to Victoria from Toronto. Today, Thompson plans to board a plane for Toronto to stay with his son over the holidays and to finally meet his grandchildren, who are seven and 13.
Thompson has been able to make some money from the CDs and from the band’s recent gigs at Hermann’s Jazz Club, where Thompson’s vocals permeated the crowded bar, a throwback to his younger days touring Canada and the U.S. with blues bands.
Thompson said the band has given him a renewed sense of pride.
“I have more confidence in myself. They know me better than any other musicians.”
In a life that’s often been unstable and unforgiving, the band “is something I can rely on,” Thompson said.
The name, Gang of Mischief, reflects the eclectic and individual style each musician brings to the group, Carlsen said. Their new CD, Boss Rowen and the Gang of Mischief, is now selling at the Turntable in Fan Tan Alley.
“Mike always brings a special something to the group. Nobody can sing like him or play like him,” Carlsen said, adding that his talent has finally earned some notoriety.
“I walk down the street and everyone knows who he is now and everyone loves him.”
Thompson was born and raised in Halifax, in a devout Baptist household. His father was a carpenter, his mom “a professional mother.” His love of music, passed down from his grandfather and his father, led him to play in three or four bands at a time. He considers his voice a gift from God, his songwriting a sort of prayer.
He gradually headed west and settled in Victoria in 2002. When his mother died in 2004, he became depressed, stopped working and ended up on the streets.
Thompson, who is 59, said: “Sometimes I feel like 159, but most days I feel great. I’m blessed to be here.”
Even after 40 years of making music, Thompson said what keeps him going is the drive to constantly improve. “It’s what they call staying hungry in the business,” he said. “As long as you stay hungry, you’ll be good. The minute you’re satisfied, you’ll lose it.”
