ESTEVAN, Sask. — Keith Alessi spent decades in corporate meetings, guiding companies like Westmoreland Coal (now Westmoreland Mining LLC) — the firm that has owned coal mining operations in Estevan for more than a decade.
Now he spends much of his time encouraging people to follow their passions through a storytelling and music performance.
Alessi brought his Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me, but Banjos Saved My Life tour to the Royal Canadian Legion's Estevan branch on Sept. 22. A near-capacity crowd attended the show, which was part of the Estevan Arts Council's Estevan Concert Series.
"The banjo – the most frustrating of the stringed instruments. Difficult to play. Impossible to keep in tune. It, and the people who play it, are subject to constant mockery. Ridicule. Rehashed corny jokes. They say you can tell who a person really is by looking in their closets. I have 52 banjos in mine," said Alessi, who had several banjos with him on stage.
Alessi wove reflection, humour and emotion as he shared his life's journey. When he was growing up in the Detroit area, Alessi wanted to be a pilot.
His father was an Italian immigrant who became an officer in the Canadian Forces during the Second World War. But due to the elder Alessi's Italian roots, he had to go through parole hearings twice a month. The experience left Alessi's father bitter, and he took his frustrations out on his family.
Tomatoes were a fixture in the Alessi family's meals, he said, but they caused heartburn for Keith Alessi, which eventually led to him being diagnosed with a rare and deadly form of esophageal cancer in 2015 — just 13 days after he'd stepped down from his role as Westmoreland's CEO to pursue his banjo passion. At the time of his diagnosis, Alessi was given a year to live, but he's now survived more than a decade.
"Up to that point in life, I'd never been seriously ill a day in my life. I'd never smoked, I'd been nothing but a social drinker. There was no history of cancer in my family," he said.
One of the instruments on stage was a banjitar — a banjo and guitar hybrid that Alessi bought so he could keep playing the banjo during his treatment. He threw himself into furthering his banjo skills.
He played numerous songs during his concert. After an intermission, he gave some history on the banjo and discussed its African roots.
His favourite banjo is what he called his "cancer banjo" — built by award-winning folk singers Pharis and Jason Romero of B.C. Alessi said he went through a lot to get on the lengthy wait list for the Romero instrument.
He remembered the day in 2017 when he found out he'd been moved from quarterly to semi-annual cancer tests and then learned he'd be getting a Romero banjo.
"Banjos will come and banjos will go. This one is going nowhere," said Alessi.
Alessi has attended banjo camp and classes. The young people in one banjo class served as a support group after his cancer diagnosis.
He now resides in Virginia. He has played at the famed Floyd Country Store not far from his home during Sunday group performances.
"I didn't have to be a banjo virtuoso. And I'm not. On a good day, I'm an intermediate player. That was never the point. Playing was enough. Joining the circle was enough. I was enough. Simple songs played on simple instruments by people longing for their homes far away on an African instrument, I find what I'm looking for, even if only in the moment."
It wasn't the first time Alessi has been in Estevan. He was in the Energy City on numerous occasions during his final years as Westmoreland's CEO after the company purchased the mining operations.
All of the money from ticket sales, along with Alessi's artist fee, will be directed to the St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation to improve chemotherapy services at the hospital.
Erika Conway, who is the show's director-producer, told the crowd that everyone has a story. She described Alessi's story as one of a highly improbable journey to the stage.
"This show is honestly a reflection of the power and purpose that can come when we authentically share our stories with the world," she said.
Conway added this is the most important project she has ever collaborated on.
The stop in Estevan was part of a tour of Saskatchewan for Alessi. The Sept. 24 performance in Swift Current will be the 500th for the show.
Since the show's inception, Conway said it has raised more than $1.5 million for charity.
