Captivating, hilarious, and maybe even a little inspirational, The Great Canadian Tire Money Caper is the story of how Toronto songwriter-storyteller Corin Raymond collected enough of the currency to produce an album.
On Nov. 16 and 17 he’s coming to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre to share it with you.
Most people have a few bills of Canadian Tire money in their wallet or stashed at home in the bottom of a drawer somewhere, but most people don’t have $7,333.75 worth. That’s how much it took for Raymond to pay for a double album — and he did it all with Canadian Tire money.
When Ontario native Corin Raymond found out that the Rogue Music Lab in Toronto would accept Canadian Tire money at par, he started his mission to collect enough to pay for producing an album. From friends and family donating what they could find, to fans sending him their collections or bringing the currency to shows, it took 15 months until he had enough. The entire collection was more than 39,000 bills and weighed over 80 pounds.
Raymond’s sing-along style songs are featured on both of his albums Paper Nickels (2013) and Hobo Jungle Fever Dreams (2016) and have been covered by artists including The Good Lovelies, The Strumbellas, Jonathan Byrd, Dustin Bentall, and The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer.
To share his hilarious journey with the rest of the country, Raymond created a non-musical, one-man storytelling show, The Great Canadian Tire Money Caper, to tell Canadians the story of how he released his album Paper Nickels and sing them the song that started it all: 'Don’t Spend It Honey (with Canadian Tire Money).'
Raymond’s dry humour and charisma will not only keep the audience entertained and laughing as they enjoy the tale of his Canadian adventure, but might even inspire some to think outside the box and start their own patriotic entrepreneurial journey — and if you come, be sure to scour your junk drawers for any spare Canadian Tire money, as Raymond is still accepting donations.
The Great Canadian Tire Money Caper comes to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre on Nov. 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets $25 and available at the Centre Box Office, chilliwackculturalcentre.ca, or by calling 604-391-SHOW(7469).