Jerzy "Smokey" Dymny started playing publicly in the 80s, while organizing demonstrations with ACT for Disarmament, a peace group in Toronto. He played at demos and hosted the “Fallout Shelter” coffeehouse. Since then he's played strikes, rallies, picket lines, labour conventions, anti-poverty events, and anti-nuclear events, and has written over a hundred songs. As well as two entries in our Solidarity Idol competition (above right), he also leads song-writing workshops, and wrote four collaborative songs with the homeless community at the “No Place Like Home” conferences in Toronto. In the late 80s he compiled the first Canadian Industrial Workers of the World “little red songbook”. The songbook hit the streets on May 1, 1990 when the Toronto Wobblies (IWW) spread the last of Joe Hill’s ashes at the Sears picket line on Jarvis Street and at the May Day celebrations at Trinity Bellwoods Park.

A recent project was in response to a call from the Christian Peacemakers group in Toronto. He helped organize six week-end performances to raise money to help free C.P.T. members who had been abducted in Baghdad. In 2006 he held his first CD release concert in Toronto, backed by Kevin Barrett (guitar) and John Millard (cittern). For the west coast release the back-up was Moe Davenport (electric guitar), Steve Moore (drums) and Jaron Freeman-Fox (fiddle). Each year he celebrates May Day at the Free Times Café, and will play any other political gigs that come up. See Smokeydymny.ca for free downloads.