Eventually the well ran dry, Pigat says. "I had every gig in town. It was ridiculous. But if you do that for any period of time, you're going to burn a town out. Eventually people are going to say 'I don't want to see Paul Pigat again, I've seen him five times this week.'"


Pigat, 35, moved to Vancouver in 2001 where he's remained ever since. This time, Victoria's loss was Vancouver's gain.


A musician's musician, whose guitar licks fit everything from jazz to country, Pigat is a guitar player of the highest renown around these parts. He's guested on records by alt-country sirens Carolyn Mark and Neko Case and boogie woogie pianist Michael Keashammer, among others, and he's played with a dizzying array of musicians, from jazz king Hugh Fraser to torch singer Lee Aaron.


Pigat has no fewer than four acts on the go at the moment, including Pigby (an instrumental guitar duo with former Victorian Paul Rigby), the Paul Pigat Trio (sophisticated late '40's and early '50's swing and bebop), the Hard 8 Trio (country blues from the '20's and '30's), an as-yet unnamed Western swing and jump blues hybrid that features bassist Pete Turland and drummer Jesse Cahill.


The trio will finish recording its fourth album this week in Colwood at Scott Henderson's Sea of Shit studio. According to Pigat, who got his professional start at 13 playing with blues bands in Toronto clubs, it will be all over the map musically.


"Cousin Harley is a real comfortable fit for me because it encompasses all the different aspects of what I like to do. There's a little bit of western swing and I get to play bebop. I grew up playing rock 'n roll and blues - so I get that out. I played country for so many years, so that's another section I get to put out. Cousin Harley gets a little bit of everything."


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