When the first song in their set was about the plight of British coal miners and when the lead singer left the crowd at the end with a right fisted solidarity salute, I knew this was a band Alberta working people needed to know more about.

I was watching a British celtic rock band called Oysterband on the main stage at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. The five members of Oysterband freely blend a number of musical styles, using traditional celtic rhythms alongside pop and rock beats and throwing in a healthy dose of cello and fiddle for good measure. The result is an energetic, contagious musical signature that forces you on to your feet and you just have to start dancing.

But Oysterband also freely blends politics and music. Their music comes from an unapologetic working class perspective. Their songs rail against heartless governments and companies, but more importantly their music exudes a sense of pride and dignity in the life of someone who uses their hands for a living. And of course, there is no shortage of songs about enjoying life and celebrating it with our family and our "mates".

The Labour News had an opportunity to sit down with two members of Oysterband to talk about their music and their politics. Lead singer John Jones and drummer Lee had lots to say about both.

Oysterband was in Alberta to perform at the Jasper and Edmonton Folk Festivals. They have been together for 18 years and have 15 albums under the belt.

The band met at University, but all members have distinctly working class backgrounds.

"I come from a Yorkshire mining history. My grandfather was a coal miner. My dad was a mill worker for thirty years, and my brother still works in that same textile mill," says lead singer Jones. "I was the clever bastard that went to university, the only one in my family."

Lee the drummer considers himself "a basic working class chap who is still looking for his roots."

"Our music is our way back to our roots, to find out more about our roots," says Lee. "We write our music from the bottom up."

Jones states that moving away from his Yorkshire routes, through university and a music career. "I think I had to get away to really get perspective on where I came from. Had I not started doing this, I would have married, had kids, struggled from job to job."

"By getting away from it, I can look on it and realize the fullness of the picture."

The conversation immediately and naturally shifts into politics. "I am of a generation the got the benefit of free education," says Jones. "These days I wouldn’t be able to go to university."

Jones feels today’s generation of working class kids won’t have the opportunity to build the life they want through education. "It is a shame. School is one of the few ways of widening your horizons."

During the 1980s, Oysterband were vocal opponents of the Thatcher regime, advocating in their CD liner notes for voters to "Skin up. Vote Labour." Jones describes the Blair government as "disappointing".

Jones says that Blair has no sense of what it is like to be an average working person. "Blair talks about there being no permanent jobs anymore. What does he know? He has a job for life, and so does the missus. He doesn’t know that every time you switch jobs, a part of your life suffers. [It creates] more insecurity, more stress at home with your wife and your kids."

Their analysis of Blair quickly shifts to the bigger picture. "With Blair, it’s all compromise. With global capitalism as it is, you have to have enough courage to take a stand," says Lee.

"People are under more pressure from corporations and the new economy," says Jones. "They are getting screwed down by the economy and corporations."

Oysterband is excited by the anti-globalization movement, with its energy and creativity. They are looking forward to the G-8 meeting being held in Kananaskis next year. They anticipate the anti-globalization activists will be in the forests in full force. "I would love to play a free gig for the campers every night," Jones says.

To make change happen, Jones says "we need to get people into the streets. It is a time for action, not talk. Talk can come later."

Oysterband is not content to say the same things over and over again, politically or musically. Their last two CDs have marked a shift in both the musical and political tone of the band.

Jones says "Musically and lyrically we needed to say something new. We don’t want to be the old bloke in the corner of the pub shouting over his beer to no one in particular."

Asked if they were concerned that their message is often missed by their audience, Lee replies, "we assume our listeners are intelligent and that they’ll get it in some way, in their way."

Jones feels Canadians are very receptive to Oysterband’s flavour of music. "Canada is a young country. Canadians are looking for roots. Something pop [music] doesn’t cater for."

And with the interview and their time in Alberta coming to a close, Oysterband had one last message for Albertans.

"All thinking Albertans need to give the world leaders a warm Alberta welcome next year down in the Rockies." Jones says with a mischievous grin.

And maybe Oysterband will be there.