What do you do for fun when it’s -35, Christmas is over, and you’re stuck in the house with nothing to do? If you’re Robert Thiessen, you write a music parody and recruit all your family members to star in, shoot and produce the video.
Then you sit back and watch the Internet explode.
Thiessen’s parody of the Toto song Africa now has over half a million views online and has been featured by media outlets across Canada, including CBC, CTV, the Globe and Mail, and umpteen radio stations.
The video opens with a shot of Thiessen and his brother-in-law Joe Kaonga, originally from Zambia, sitting by a roaring campfire, talking about how cold it is here and how warm it is in Africa.
With Thiessen on acoustic guitar and Kaonga drumming on his Tim Horton’s cup, they start the familiar opening riff from Africa but instead of singing “I bless the rains down in Africa” the lyrics become “Must have froze my brain up in Canada.” Then the fun begins.
Goofiness in the snow
The two go out to play in the snow and some ill-advised activities ensue. Thiessen, a construction worker by day, says the idea came to him while trying to figure out the music for the Toto song.
“I was working on learning the song Africa, looking out the window and feeling miserable and cold and sick of being in the house when that line came to me – “I froze my brain up in Canada” - and as soon as I said that, my wife looked over at me and said, “You have to record that right now.”
That was at lunchtime on a Friday. He finished the song and put a script for the video together, then called his sister Jody (an “amazing videographer”) and brother-in-law Joe Kaonga to come over. The shots were done by midnight and the video was edited and online by 3 a.m.
Parody amuses world wide
The views and shares started almost immediately. So did the positive comments from online fans who appreciated the injection of humour during a brutal cold snap.
Debbie Bent: “Thanks for the laugh on another freezing cold night here in Ontario! And a reminder of one of the best things about being Canadian... we can laugh at ourselves!”
Anna Fleuriot: “Love this so much. From a South African girl currently experiencing her first winter in Canada.”
Robert Graham: “From Dartmouth NS, Great video guys! Laughed me arse off!”
Thiessen says, “I had hoped folks around here would have some fun with it, I felt the timing was right with the cold snap, but never thought it would encourage so many people… The exposure has been just awesome.”
First radio single
Thiessen and his family band Prairie Joe are riding that wave of exposure to draw attention to their own music. They released their first radio single “Good Advice” and it’s already getting air play in Winnipeg, Thiessen says.
Prairie Joe has also offered the song to their fans as a free download, their way of thanking supporters for, as Thiessen says, “sharing my goofy parody around the country and the world.”
Despite the viral success of his parody, Thiessen isn’t interested in pursuing a solo career. His future lies with Prairie Joe, he says, doing gigs with his three brothers and brother-in-law.
As such, 2018 is shaping up to be a good year for the five-man country gospel group from Oak Lake.
They’ve been nominated in two categories by the Gospel Music Association of Canada and plan to attend the GMA awards ceremony in Edmonton on Jan. 27.
In response to fans’ cries for more parodies, Thiessen says they have a new project in the works to be released this summer. “I don’t wanna let the cat out of the bag, but stay close to media sources this summer, we might have something coming out.”
You can listen to and download their first single “Good Advice” at PrairieJoe.com
