‘SLICK BACK BARBER’S BACK’ — AND KURTIS ‘SCISSORHAND’ BAKER SURE TO BE TALK OF THE TOWN
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
GRAVENHURST — Come for the haircut — get an earful.
The Slick Back Barber is a welcome, informative — interesting — and enjoyable addition to the main street business community here.
Kurtis Baker and “my girl” Amanda Burrows are the latest entrepreneurs attempting the revival and rejuvenation of Gravenhurst’s Muskoka Road South business block up from the Opera House.
Like the motorcycle in their front window — “a fabricated engine from China I built cast from a Honda engine” — Baker, 38, is “one of a kind.”
“I’m an old school barber,” the 38-year-old said almost half-jokingly this week while setting up to open this coming weekend.
“I specialize in straight razor shaves — you know, hot towels.”
But he says he can also do a “high fade and high top” if you want.
“The whole nine yards,” which he expects will bring in business from high school kids, working guys and cottagers.
“Old school barbershop, right? Just like the Italians,” who taught him in Scarborough.
“I’ve been barbering since I was 15. I learned cutting hair in high school bathrooms,” added the transplanted Newfoundlander who’s had an eclectic job life, including on Alberta rigs, a mechanic for six years and on sets in the movie production business.
An artist and musician — the shop is dotted with keepsakes and photos of Baker with actors including Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis (“McKenzie Brothers”). As well as a couple guitars hung on the wall and standing in a front door corner. A ukulele his dad built is in a coveted case. There’s also a cheap balalaika with a couple missing strings he picked up in a used store that sits on a shelf. Great prints of how a football and baseball are made add to the guys décor, which he splurged on at the new Winners in Bracebridge.
A bright pink skateboard stands facing the wall, another of his past passions.
Along with them is a prized fiddle in an open case that he pulled out and bowed — just to prove to me he could play it. Even if it was “a little out of tune,” he admitted scratching out a decent version of something that rang of the “Wabash Cannonball.”
He’d like to do a concert at the Opera House and bring some friends up from Oshawa to play. “They’d like that.”
He’s also a golfer and writer and says he’s “halfway through a sci-fi novel.”
So what’s with the motorcycle in the window?
“I like motorcycles. I’ve been riding my whole life. I used to race GP at Mosport, when I was a little kid there. And I always built them with my dad, since I can remember, working on a 1931 Model A. So it’s just something I love doing. I didn’t realize until after being a mechanic when I had lots of cars.”
But he wanted to avoid factory life like his dad, who still works at 75. His mom is a government worker. He has an autistic brother he promises Burrows who some day will eventually come join them, perhaps as a sweeper.
Burrows moved to Gravenhurst “six or seven years ago” where her mother was born. She’s from the Davidson next to the Lookout.
Then she recruited Baker who she met online.
“Yeah,” he said. “We kind of just got, you know, hooked up. You know when you know, you know, right? I’d never been to Gravenhurst until four months ago.”
Burrows worked in real estate with Terry Pilger and Jeff Knapp.
“Yeah, it’s a good experience for me,” she said “just kind of negotiating our commercial lease.”
She will be managing Slick Back’s front end booking customer appointments and handling the business side of things.
After seeing another barber vacate next door, she said “we drove past and we’re like, well, let’s strike on the opportunity. They don’t always come twice, right?
“We’ve been getting really good kind support.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just talking with everybody,” says the understated Baker.
To say he likes talking is like saying he can cut hair with a comb and scissors behind his back.
But conversations between him and customers in his chair are guaranteed to be fun, lively, interesting and assuredly to go in all directions.
Just as with the old school barbers he learned from and where he last worked at a barber shop in Oshawa, before selling his home and again striking out this time with Burrows.
His two sweet new slick black chairs are mostly for guys, but he welcomes “everyone in town,” he said the other evening. “You’re always welcome here.”
He’s going to hire a second barber rather than rent out the other chair.
“I’m trying to create another spot for the boys. So that’s the goal. Yeah, different people want different kind of haircuts, too, right? Like, not everybody wants to go to a beauty salon and nowadays.”
He’s even open to keeping his shop open an hour or two later.
“I know this town shuts down around five,” but he says maybe after an Op show he can cut hair.
“My name’s Kurtis Baker. No, what I mean? Slick Back Barbers — it’s back.
“Whenever you want to feel fancy and special, get a nice hot towel and pamper yourself. I’m always here to chill. You know that.”
And talk and talk and talk ….
For an appointment call 705-687-0389 or email slbbarbers@gmail.com
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