What first got you into music?
I suppose it was my parent’s record collection. Even as a toddler I loved listening to music. My dad played piano and both my parents sang. They had a lot of operas and ballets in their collection and I loved those. Later on I started listening to my two older brothers’ music collections, which consisted of a lot of classic rock and 80s metal. I went on to play folk music, but I’ve always loved something with a little bite to it.
Who inspired you to make music?
When I was 11 my dad put a classical guitar in my hands and sent me for lessons with my older brother who had taught himself. It was very passive on my part. I just happened to love doing it. At some point I realized that a person could play chords and sing over them, and at some other point I realized that I could write the songs I was singing.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I call it prog-folk. It’s decidedly folk music, but heavily influenced by progressive rock, folk rock, and baroque lute music.
Can you discuss a career achievement you’re aiming for?
I would love to do a tour of remote islands. In the north, the south, the middle of the pacific. Weird little spots that are hard to get to and have very few people. It would take a monumental amount of work and funding to sort such a thing out, but I would love to do that.
How do you overcome writer’s block?
I use song prompts extensively. I have D&D dice that I will roll to get random musical ideas to start from. I’ll open a thesaurus at random and riff on a word or two. The main thing is that I have set writing times. As long as you have a regular time and a place to write, and a few tricks up your sleeve to get you started, you’ll never have writer’s block. I broadcast a lot of my writing sessions on Twitch, and having that live audience expectation that you write something is also helpful.
What album do you recommend everyone should listen to?
I don’t believe there is an album that everyone should listen to since the same music doesn’t speak to everybody. I think Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and Megadeth’s Rust in Peace are perfect albums, but definitely not for everyone. Maybe John Prine Live. Everyone should give John Prine’s live album a spin.
Can you share one of your favorite music-related memories?
I volunteered on the 70K Tons of Metal cruise and I saw Emperor play live while I was sitting in a hot tub on the side of the stage.
What’s your go-to song or artist when you need a boost?
If I’ve got a big day ahead I start with the Conan the Barbarian soundtrack by Basil Poledouris. I love blasting the Darkness whenever I need a boost. (the Darkness are far more upbeat and energetic then their name implies…)
Do you have a favorite venue to play at or attend concerts?
There’s a little pub called Spirit Music Bar in St. John’s Newfoundland that I play at every month. It’s changed hands and names a hundred times over the years, but always remains one of my favourite venues. I’ve played there in at least 4 different names and owners and there’s something special about the place. Avant-Garde Bar in Ottawa is another spot that I just love playing. I was a big fan of attending concerts at a jazz and classical venue called Resonance in Montreal, but they sadly did not make it through the pandemic.
Who would you swap lives with for a day in the music industry?
Yngwie Malmsteen’s guitar tech. Just for a day. I definitely want to go back to being me. But what an intense job that must be. A backup dancer for a big pop star would be my other choice. If there are parallel universes, there is one where I became a backup dancer.
What’s your favorite music decade and why?
My answer to this is always the current decade. We have recordings and sheet music. Every decade you get to enjoy everything that came in the decades and centuries before as well as the new stuff. I love 60s folk and early 20th century classical, 2009 was an incredible year for metal, 80s new wave is fun and I love glam. 70s prog rock is divine. 90s alternative! How could I go through life in a time before Janelle Monáe or the Punch Brothers? Bach was rocking hard in the 1700s. I’m greedy. I want all the decades.
What’s a truly unforgettable concert you’ve attended?
I have a lot of these. I lived in Montreal for 13 years at one point and I went to a lot of concerts and a lot of them were unforgettable. Tony MacAlpine, Doro, and John 5 stand out. Another that particularly stands out is Clive Palmer’s band. I love me a virtuoso and they were just incredible. I didn’t know it was happening, or that Clive Palmer was even writing new music and touring until the day of the concert, but I’m so glad I found out about it and went. Inspiration for years afterwards.
Tell me about your most recent released song
My most recent song is a fun upbeat commentary on toxic masculinity as seen through the eyes of a fish.
I was working with a songwriting prompt that was simply a list of words. I knew enough to recognize that all the words had to do with skateboarding, but not enough to feel confident writing a song about it. I do however, live on an island, and we have skate, the fish, off our shores. Skates have spikes along their spines like a punk has spikes on their clothes, and they are tough, but very graceful creatures.
While reading about their mating practices I very quickly found myself writing from the point of view of a lady skate who is sick and tired of all the posturing and bullying that goes on every year in the skate mating grounds. She finds herself wishing for a mate who makes the most of their underwater environment, riding the rip tide and doing mad tricks on the ocean waves.
The recording is simple and straightforward. Nylon string guitar, light bass, just a touch of backing vocals, and some electric guitar to mimic the undulations of the skate.