What first got you into music?
I always loved music, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t trying to make up songs or play a musical instrument. I found an old guitar in the house that I lived in, I don’t think it had all the strings, and I didn’t know anything about playing it, but I tied a bathrobe belt to it and would walk around my house trying to make music with it.
Who inspired you to make music?
I don’t have one of those, I came from a musical family, or I lived in a community where everybody played, and music was a regular thing you experienced around town type of thing, so I can’t really point to one person or group that was my inspiration. It was more like a feeling I had, that when I listened to music or saw it on TV, I felt this was a thing I wanted to do.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I suppose if you wanted to put it into a genre you would call it Americana music, but Americana music the way Tom Petty or The Wallflowers are Americana music. I find that often Americana gets seen more as country music but to me The Rolling Stones are Americana music. I look to the past and the present and come up with something that is uniquely mine. I try to bring in old folk, blues and gospel and mix in some more modern sounds and recording techniques.
Can you discuss a career achievement you’re aiming for?
My big goal this year is to get a sync placement for one of my songs. I started learning more about what the process actually is, turns out there is a lot more to it than I thought. So, I took a course in the business aspect of it, and learned how to organize my work, what tools I needed to use, and what mechanisms there are for getting your songs heard by music supervisors. The whole administrative aspect of it is very different from the creating and releasing music space. Anyway, hopefully all that work pays off this year.
How do you overcome writer’s block?
A change of scene really helps, going somewhere new and just living in that moment, taking a break so to speak. I also find just writing anything helps, it doesn’t have to be well thought out. I find if I keep doing that over and over, something appears that I like.
What album do you recommend everyone should listen to?
It is very hard to pick just one album, but probably Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks. If you are a person that is interested in music as art, then Blood on the Tracks is the Mona Lisa of albums. Musically it spans a few different genres, rock, country and blues mostly and then lyrically it is Dylan’s masterpiece. The complex characters, scenes and imagery, no one else writes like that.
Can you share one of your favorite music-related memories?
The first time I ever played at an open mic. It was at a coffee shop near where I was living at the time, and it took me a few weeks to build up the courage to play. I at that point had only played in front of friends and at house parties. This place was an actual music venue, where in my mind real pros played. I went to the open mic night a few times to scope out what the deal was, and I knew I had to play three songs, so I picked my three and practiced until I felt I could play them without thinking. So, I chose my week, walked down to the place with my guitar and everything, I remember it was fall, and the air was a bit cool, so you needed a coat but still. I nervously signed up and when they called my name, I walked up without saying anything and the host asked some technical questions and I just nodded pretending to understand, played my songs straight through, and after everyone the applause got louder, but I couldn’t really grasp what was going on until I had finished and the host asked if I played on ‘the circuit” whatever that was, as if I had been doing it my whole life.
What’s your go-to song or artist when you need a boost?
Currently it’s Beast of Burden by the Rolling Stones, as soon as Charlie’s drum beat kicks in, I immediately get a rush of energy.
Do you have a favorite venue to play at or attend concerts?
My favorite place to perform is the place I am performing at that moment. The way I approach things is that every audience should get out of the performance everything I have to give.
Who would you swap lives with for a day in the music industry?
I don’t actually think I would trade places with anyone, I always find it better to focus on your own thing and just admire what other people do rather than long for what it is that they have.
What’s your favorite music decade and why?
Probably the 70’s, I feel like music in that period had more soul.
What’s a truly unforgettable concert you’ve attended?
One time I went to a Bob Dylan concert in Boston at an outdoor venue, and while Bob was great, the real treat was Mavis Staples was the opening act. I love the The Staples, and getting to see her perform live was even more impressive than I thought it would be. Still so much power in her vocal performance and such an engaging stage performance.
Tell me about your most recent released song
On June 21st of this year, I released a live recording of a song called Rainy Day April. It was recorded during an afternoon show my friends The Bear Bones Blues Band were doing at an iconic venue in Halifax, Nova Scotia called Bearly’s House of Blues. I actually went there to eat a rib sandwich and hang out with my friends, but the guys invited me up to do one of my own songs with them, we chose Rainy Day April. It had been previously released on my last record Dark and Dirty World and the drummer for the band plays on the studio recording so everyone was familiar with the track.
Unbeknownst to me they were recording the performance for what was to become an album called The Bear Bones Blues Band Live at Bearly’s, and when I heard the raw recording for the song it was so good that I decided to release it as a single.
The song is a humorous take on fleeting, non-committal relationships, centering on a character with numerous superficial romances, particularly with a woman named April. The song captures the essence of blues-rock with its energetic and engaging performance, promising to be a « blow the doors off » good time.