“They become our songs”

T’S mid-January in Simcoe County and the temperature has dropped to a bracing-15°c. “My dogs won’t even go outside,” reports Margo Timmins. “I open the door and they look at me like, ‘Are you crazy?’” Thankfully, the biting cold hasn’t deterred Cowboy Junkies, one of Canada’s most enduring bands, from recently completing their 19th album. “Over the last two years, Mike’s rented a house up here near me for about a month each time. We would do whatever we were doing in the morning and then in the afternoons I would go up to his place and work on new songs. It was fantastic because I didn't have to go into Toronto, which is not my favourite place to go!” They’re due to mix the new album soon with a view to releasing it in the autumn. In the meantime there’s a “holdover record” coming next month, comprising covers old and new – including their acclaimed version of “I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You” from ’s CD. “We’ve done tons of covers