Luke Doucet

Part 1

0:00Luke Ducek, live in the studio. How are you? I'm excellent. How are you? I'm good. I'm good. I'm glad to have you back It's been what May June. Yeah, and I realized over the course of the month I've been playing brother the version you played for us brother on the station a lot I really like it better than the album version. Oh, I don't know why there's just something there seems It seems better stripped down for some reason you know what it probably is and I'm realizing this about myself as time goes by I wear a couple of hats one of them is a producer hat and sometimes the producer hat gets in the way of the Ronis of the singer-songwriter guy, you know, I don't know Jeff Lin is somebody that I admire as a producer who is was he was an ELO Wilbur and the Wilbur's band of all time exactly and he produced he produced Full Moon Fever

0:46The petty record, yeah, which you know is is such a great record like I still put that record on and I listen to it And it still makes me feel like a 12 year old like I want to jump on my bed in my underwear And it's you know punk like shadow box myself. There you go. Yeah, so I was a picture people campaign. Yeah, if they want But I I so I get caught up in that like I really love to reproduce And that's a great example you just brought up you mentioned you just mentioned the Wilbur is like I'm here I'm listening to music like that these days and I'm hearing all the space that they manage to create and how great every single Person involved in in in a record like that sounds fantastic Jim Keltner plays drums the drums sound fantastic the bass sounds fantastic Everybody's voice every guitar even Dylan's voice even Dylan's voice Well, so I get I get caught up in that sometimes and I tend to you know

1:31It's hard when you're producing yourself to leave the warts as they are Mm-hmm, and I know that that's something that people look for in in the kind of music that I make maybe not necessarily directly from me But because it I've been accused of making country alternative so-called country music or or or I don't know what you call it There are many different names for music music Thank you. Thank you. That's a good old fashioned rock and roll music. Let's not go down the rabbit hole of I think of category I think you some of us people let's play people something off the new record sure a song that you can download for free Right now in iTunes. That's pretty cool. Yeah first single off the records. That what it is or is it just I just think it's the one iTunes chose they chose it. You didn't say take this one please well I think songs are pitched I think we gave them a number of songs to choose from and that's that they chose us me first of all us and then and then

2:18They chose that song so yay Yeah, first day in the new hometown. Yeah, that's what it's about That's sort of a I kind of initially wrote the song when I had first moved to Toronto And I but it didn't it didn't work. It wasn't a very good song I had that one line and I let it so I ditched it and then when I moved to Nashville I found myself singing the song in my head for the first sort of couple weeks I was there I go out running or I'd be sitting in a pub having a beer and I'd have the song running through my head and It's just about realizing that I'm in a new place That's not home and sort of finding myself pining for For home a little bit and now you're back home and now I'm back home now. I'm back in Canada. Yeah Yeah, let's play people first day in the new hometown fantastic brand new from Luke Dusette fuel 90.3 J's in a

3:38The Jones up first day in the sun familiar place Let's go see if grime is home Hey, Mr. King just something with a little The Stay in this This is 16th ab I'm Matt I was Luke Dusette first day in the new hometown off his new record Bloods 2 Rich just came in stores

7:53This past Tuesday a little heavier than the last record broken. Yeah, it's it's it's As we discussed earlier, it's rock and roll and and I think this one We sort of turned the rock and roll up a little bit this this is the first record I've made where I really want the band to play a role other than just being hired musicians Well rich Levech who's in the studio with us Melissa McClelland the wife my wife yes and and John Dinsmore On on whatever some not to be confused with the doors John Dinsmore John Dinsmore who people might recognize from from Sarah Harmer's band or from Kathleen Edwards or from and Q our buckle

8:39Anyway, he plays guitar or bass depending on who's around and who's not around and then a revolving cast of drummers Who kind of explode as drummers are want to do? Yeah, the white Falcon the white Falcon with it A couple things crazy horses taken the heartbreakers. Yeah, it's all been used. Yeah those are gone and And my guitar is a is a Gretsch white Falcon That's the instrument I play and it's a fairly ostentatious piece of equipment that that um that I love But I thought I'd like to pay tribute to it by by by naming my band after it. That's what after her after her Are they on the road with you? Yeah? Yeah? Oh, yeah full band not not well. It's a four piece No, it's it's it's it's a four piece band and Glenn Milchum Blue rodeo's drummer is a his plane drums with us

9:30Oh, so he's really in the long haul every night. Oh, yeah, and I mean their set is already two and a half hours long Really and then on top of that. He's playing three almost three and a half hours a night I mean, he's pretty fit in shape after this already in shape. That's why he can do it He's a pretty fit guy. So he's gonna be just fine But yeah, I think by the end of the night it was funny cuz Jim Jim mentioned that he's like I think you wear I think you wore him out, but I think they like that. Yeah, why not pull him back a bit I don't know you're gonna play something a little strip down sure what what do you want to play? Let's do the day Rick Danko died. Yeah, it's live in the studio Luke Dusette the day Rick Danko died fuel 90.3 That's too bad versus in have his face because it's pretty funny. You just have to imagine it I was in Woodstock

10:30Oh the day Rick Danko died I was in Woodstock All the day Rick Danko died I climbed up on a bar stool beside a perfect stranger in both of us cried He said he was a guitar man. He used to play with Bob Dylan He said he was a guitar man He used to play with Bob Dylan. I don't know if I believe him but to call his bluff tonight

11:26Surely kill him cry That's not what today is for that's not what today is for

12:21Dead rock stars in one night. That's way more than anybody's gonna cry for up stranger

13:13And let's tip one for the basement Up stranger And let's tip one for the basement Let's bury him tonight At the bottom of this Mason was in Woodstock

14:15Fuel 90.3 Calgary's classic alternative. This is 16th. I'm Matt joined by Luke Dusette live in the studio I was him doing a tune off his brand new record Bloods Too Rich Song called the day Rick Danko died Rick Danko obviously the band. Yeah big influence big influence big influence I was I mean I suppose if I were to tell you the story I would I would give away all the lyrics But I was I was in I was making a record with this guy Stephen Hagg who's a producer in in Woodstock in New York and Is that where this was recorded? No, no, I recorded this in Toronto But I was hanging out with him because I was making a record for actually an Alberta singer-songwriter called Marin Ord And this is like oh, yeah years ago, and I was just a guitar player. I was just hired to play guitar I think Bill Dillon who did a bunch of Dan Lanlow stuff in the early days and played on YouTube records and stuff was hired to do the

15:06First half of the record, but he's too expensive. So they sent him home after the first time I got me to come in and I'm like hey guys. I'll do it for whatever you want to pay me and But I would go to the pub every night after the session and There was this guy there at the bar and he called himself Alan And we just hang out of beer every night and one day he came in he was obviously upset And I asked him what wasn't what the matter was and he told me that Danco had just died and that they were best friends And I didn't know that Danco even lived in Woodstock. This is a long-winded way of Entering the song, but that's essentially what the song's about. It's more about the guy I met than it is about Rick Danco Shame that he's gone though. It's a shame that he's gone. He was too young. They all are yeah You want to die before you grow old? You know, I think it'd be better for business, but not really. Oh you do have a daughter to that. I have a daughter Yeah, and I just she's great. She's she's 11. She's

15:55She's probably at her piano lesson as we speak no wait. It's Sunday. Where would she be today? She'd be at her circuits circuits. She takes takes a circus class circus. Yep. Yep. Oh You know what's fantastic? It's like this there's an arena like a full-sized arena with with hardwood floors and trampolines and trapeze and Unicycles and the whole the gamut everything you'd expect. Yeah, and it's it's that she's you know She's 11 so it's the it's the older kids the seniors who are I say seniors I mean like the 16 to 18 year old students of the company who teach the 11 year olds and then the 11 year old to teach the five year Old's kind of thing and they get crazy. She doesn't leave the house without her unicycle. She she's unicycle. That's what she wants to do Well, I don't know. It's what it's one of the things they do It's what's it's the things she can bring to school with her and show her friends. Oh, look at what I can do that you can't

16:43Just you want to get into like lion taming or anything like that? I'm playing with elephant. I don't know they don't do there's no animals yet. Oh, okay. Yeah, maybe that's yeah a little farther down the road I think maybe 11 year olds and lions not a good. No, maybe not. No, I think I think in order I Thought there's a book called the life of pie that my oh, yeah, Melissa is just reading that book now and it talks I was sort of reading over her shoulder and there's there's talk about how to How to assert your dominance over an animal that is obviously More malicious and dangerous than you are and it all comes down to your stance and your attitude and your voice And I don't think an 11 year old girl is ready for that. No, yeah, so I'm gonna say I'm gonna spare her that by discouraging any contact with lions Let's play something off the record. What do you want to hear to something? You know, I wouldn't mind I wouldn't mind hearing love cats the love cats. I think that

17:33It's not my song. It's a it's a song by the cure first cover you put on a record Yeah, well, I did a I did a live record which included gun street girl by Tom Waits But yeah, this is the first the first cover on a natural full-length kind of LP Studio release when we'll call it I grew up in a house where there was a lot of good music And I didn't feel the need to rebel against my parents through music Which is how I think a lot of young people define themselves when they they discover music that their parents They discover music period and and that's their way of sort of defining themselves as a unique individual with me There was so much Dylan and Tom Waits and Randy Newman and the Beatles and You mentioned intervision's lost. Yeah, yeah, there's exactly and so that's that's what I that's what I grew up around So I and I love that music so I didn't feel a need to break away from my family

18:20But it was the cure that was probably the first band first record ever put on the stereo at home where my parents kind of wrinkled Their nose is what is this? You know, they're kind of like furrowed brow wrinkly nose. We don't like this and that was great because I was like I think this is great music I love the cure and my parents hate them and that was the kind of a victory It's like I get to experience just in a small way what it's like to rebel against your parents music So but the thing about this particular song with the love cats is I think the interpretation that we've subjected it to is kind of An unearthed part of it that most cure fans probably wouldn't like to admit which is that there is almost a rockabilly angle to the song And at least I've I've created it or I've unearthed it. I think it's always kind of been there I grew up as a stray cat's band so I hear that I hear a connection between these two artists Not only the fact that they both play for garage guitars, but there's something in the music too. There's a connection

19:11So yeah, I I I expose the song for what I think it is. Let's play it love cats by Luke Dusette and not by the cure exactly Feewell 90.3 0.3 Calgary's classic alternative I'm Matt sitting here with Luke Dusette

23:01Is new record bloods to rich and stores now just came up this past week actually you just heard a tune from that record a cover of the cures love cats What do you think they're gonna do? How do you think this new record's gonna come out their first record in like 10 years? I have no idea. I didn't even know they had one. It's coming to like me Really? I'm supposed to come out in the fall, but then they pushed it back because I don't keep working on it You know, I bet it's really good and I bet it's gonna do really well I think for two reasons I think like that they they discovered production values sort of deep into their career Because the first few records were so strange like the production is so strange vocals are all reverb guitars are tiny and thin Hi hats are the loudest thing in the mix like just they broke every rule of mixing And to their credit, you know that those records are amazingly bold because of that But then I think as the as their career developed they they kind of discovered

23:47Hey, if we balance things evenly then it becomes you know that whole Friday. I'm in love or whatever That was a beautiful pop song. Really great So I think I think they'll probably do that again in the sense that I think they'll use production in a more sort of modern way But we'll see and I also think that people are they're they're kind of they're very popular right now with the trendy kids Yeah, you know, I mean all the back is like zepla. Yeah that whole new wave thing came is back. Yeah So I think there's I think a lot of people are going to rush out and buy that record You know a lot of the tastemaker kids are going to go buy that record and they'll buy it or download it They'll steal it. Yeah, they'll steal it. They'll steal it. Absolutely. What do you think about people stealing this new record? You put a lot of work into it. Yeah, you see yourself. Yeah. Yeah, um, I don't know I mean it sucks people steal music, but I don't blame them I mean it's

24:32The fact is the technology's gotten to the point where people don't have to pay for it And let's face it when it comes to people's people's people's pockets are tight people don't have a lot of extra money I mean if anywhere in the world It's here that they do, you know, Canada, Calgary, maybe even in specific. There's yeah. Oh, there's a lot of money There's a lot of money around but I mean the music fans young young people who are Constantly buying music or trying to buy music I mean a lot of these people are living on off student loans or or they're working part-time jobs to support themselves Whether they go to school or or they're working, you know, they might be qualified as the working poor I don't know So if you can get music for free people are going to do that my little brothers never bought a record in his life really Yeah, and like I I don't want to sit him down and say you realize that I'm a musician And that's how I make my living and you and you you know you stealing from from Wu Tang is kind of like stealing from me

25:23They're on a whole other level. They're on a whole other level And I think that that when you think about the genre specific things in music I think that I think that hip-hop fans will steal music and I think that punk rock fans And why I say punk rock I mean it's like like modern rock radio type punk rock the mall punk stuff I think those kids will steal that music too But I there's a demographic that doesn't steal music and I think my fans tend to fall into that demographic Canadian indie kids the Canadian indie kids and and the sort of folk festival crowd Yeah, you know, they're the roots are the americana that no depression crew those people don't steal records And it's partly because they don't have the technology Because it's their organic type Yeah, yeah, I know which maybe it's even just because in some cases they're older and they're like well I just want to put it in my tape deck You know somebody asked me if I had tapes for sale. I'm like, yeah, come on man. That's charming. I wish I did

26:11I guess that tape imagine that I guess that tape. Yeah. Yeah would be cool though Yeah, have one and see if you saw it throughout the whole tour Yeah, but you know the honest truth about the whole downloading thing is is like my With the first day being the the iTunes single of the week You know, it's uh What'll happen is I don't know maybe 100,000 people will listen to the song and maybe 10,000 of those people will really like it and we'll decide to buy the record That's great. That's fantastic Yeah, and if it means that that 90,000 people got a free dose of my music and and decided it wasn't really what they're into Fine. You know, I mean I use this analogy earlier today when somebody asked me a similar question When you you don't buy a pair of jeans without trying them on

26:57Yeah, so you should be able to do that with music and obviously there's listening posts when you go to your your music store You can you can listen to a record and sample it But when you're at home and you know in your pajamas with your headphones on in front of your computer that maybe that's more fun You know, that's it. That's a I sometimes have I avoid retail sometimes I don't want to be in a brightly lit crowded place So if I can if I can buy my music at home and that's okay So if what that means is that people get it for free if they if they absolutely need to if they if they want to Kind of sucks. So we'll see where the dust settles in a couple years how the music industry Yeah, do we understand what do you think's gonna happen? You think there's a way to make it kind of I honestly and and I there are people out there who will cringe at me saying this Notably people at my record company. I think the days of

27:45Hard copies being paid for are almost over I think the time is gonna come when when we'll all have to find different ways to make a living It might still be through music. It might be through touring. It might be music publishing or what have you But I think that I think that the time's gonna come in the next decade when there will no longer be a consumer of recorded music It'll just be obsolete and it's a shame because it's like wow we but I don't feel sorry for there's rec companies are freaking out Not so much the six-shooter people know people the major labels The big majors are freaking out because they're gonna they're gonna sink They're gonna be they're gonna go away And what they're trying to do now is they're they're setting the new deals that they're striking with artists is that they get money They're taking revenues from from performances live revenues. They're taking right? They're merchandising revenues publishing revenues those things were That's if somebody had suggested that 15 years ago

28:32It would be a sacrilegious suggestion. That's you can't have that. That's ours. You take everything else and the major labels have mistreated Their artists in many ways 50s forever talking about diddley a couple months ago. He's still missing royalties and he's bow deadly Yeah, you know, he's yeah, he's still touring because he has to yeah Yeah, I mean the guy should be sitting pretty yeah He should have a great big mansion in Memphis or wherever he wants to live and he should be able to relax with his grandkids Yeah, whatever so so I don't have any sympathy for the for really for the industry And I think that there are people out there who feel that way they they've read enough stories about how major labels have mistreated and taken advantage of their artists So they're kind of thinking eh the artist doesn't get the money anyway So all I'm doing is stealing from Sony who cares? I think there are people out there who think that way. Yeah, so giving advice to a lot of local bands

29:19Listen to the show would you tell them to sign a record contract to fauford? I would say some in some cases. It's the it's the best thing you can do I think the major labels are still The fastest way to mute to rock stardom like if you want to be a big star They can they can spend the money to get you on on mtv or on much music They can spend the money to get you to get your records where they need to to get them So they can get spun on all the modern rock radio stations It's very difficult to do that without the kind of influx of cash that Often only a record company can provide you with so i'm not i'm not dead against the their existence I think they may need to tailor the way they do business so that it's a little bit You know they have to adapt to the ever-changing marketplace But I would say that that depending on what you're trying to do. I don't think you need a record deal anymore I think you can you can have a viable career Whether you make a lot of money off it or not without having a record deal and I think that's new

30:07That that that's you know the whole Alternative slash indie movement. I mean, I guess it was indie before it was there was there was independent music before it was ever viewed as alternative You know with the pixies and the 80s and stuff People started doing things in an independent way and labels like 4ad started to start to come up I remember back in the day when we used to tour out of Winnipeg When I was a kid a teenager right was in a band and we would go on the road and we'd sell out the three or four nights in a club And we didn't have a record You know because because live music was was people there wasn't that's what people did on a friday night So what do you want to do you want to go see this band or this band or this band or you Dance clubs existed but they were sort of a fringe thing And people there wasn't a whole lot for people to spend their time doing and so this This whole influx of live music live music peaked in the early 90s

30:54And I but I think that the product of People being able to manufacture independent records cheaply Is that is that if you if you hustle and if you're clever and if you if you work hard You can make a record yourself and it doesn't have to cost a lot of money And you can you can play music for people and you can sell your records And if you do all those things really well, you don't need a label. Mm-hmm. I like the fact that I have a label six-shooter Your label is cool though. They're great. They take such good care of me And you know we're distributed by by Warner and Warner helps with some of the promotion stuff So I you know I don't want to indict all the major labels on the same charges But I don't think it's I don't think it's the only way in and it used to be the major labels used to control access to music There was a bottle they they had a bottle next like well, we only released 50 records a year at Atlantic and 50 records you're at RCA 50 records at reprise. Okay. Well, so those so there's 400 records being released every year

31:47Well, that's not that many in fact. It's quite possible that there are music collectors out there who would own every single one of them Yeah, you know and and certainly that the 50 to 75 high profile records that would have come out in 1974 Okay, there's Paul Simon and there's Stevie Wonder and there's Tom Waits got a record and the stones got one and you know wings have their Record of that year and oh look there's a Zeppelin record. Okay. Well that That's those are the ones that everybody's gonna have 90% of the population is gonna buy some of those records Nowadays there's 30,000 records coming out a month get this Ellen crosses on the hour the other day 785,000 records were released in 2007. How many? 785,000 now that includes all the myspace stuff too. Yeah, if there's enough to qualify as an LP So there you go 185,000 So some people would argue that that the fact that records are cheaper to make now

32:34And that the technology exists so I can make a record in my in my bedroom if I want Has democratized and removed the bottleneck that served the major label so well Because there was like this this tight source of music And they controlled it all And now it's it's anybody's game Um, so the whole democratization of the music industry. I think it's probably a good thing Um It's harder to account for quality maybe a little bit, you know, well you're just the market's flooded right? Market's flooded and in a lot of cases People are the the the the ability to advertise in a clever way might you surf the Just the music itself like if you're really good if you're really good at marketing if you're really funny

33:20Or you're really handsome or you have a really great little video that you made on youtube or something like that Well, maybe that's the window for you your music might suck. It might not I mean I have more faith in people to assume that they're gonna listen to crappy music. Well, no, I don't hang on a second Come on. Yeah, Britney Spears doesn't even know her records. Okay. I'll give her that though. I haven't even heard it. I haven't heard it It's catchy. Yeah, catchy. So far as it's catchy. I know well, and there's nothing wrong with that No, nothing wrong with that. Catchy's good. Let's play a song Mm-hmm. Let's do a long haul driver long. I like that tune opens up the record. Yeah, let's people know what the records gonna sound like a little bit Yeah, um It's kind of a love song Although I I guess I have a hard time Melissa's always bugging me about this. I have a difficult time writing a very direct obvious love song There's always there always has to be some kind of a twist Um, it doesn't have to do easy. I don't know no, I I I guess I'm shy about love songs

34:11You know, I I I I'm a john lennon fan before i'm a paul karti fan. Okay, you know and and john had he had love songs too, but They were just in a way. Yeah. Well, I certainly up until nowhere man when dylan Pulled him aside and said, you know, well, he said first he said smoke this and then he said, you know You guys make pretty records, but you're not saying anything and that The first song that john wrote after that was nowhere man. Oh, really it was the first serious song he had ever written Oh, look I can't just say from help to rubber soldiers unbelievable right fantastic And yeah, so I I I air on the on the lennon side of things where I I have a difficult time just letting a love song Be what it is at the point of this one long haul driver I spent a lot of time driving from nashville to new york to chicago to to toronto to atlanta to austin last year and I I felt a kinship I did a lot of that driving alone

35:00And I felt a real developed a real kinship with the with the truck drivers on the highway I used to despise because I fear them, you know, because if we get in an accident, they win. Oh, yeah, of course But I I thought to myself maybe I should have uh, I should be carrying a load of I don't know bananas or Something what do you I don't know what you would yeah something that what I have in those boxes everything right um And I thought maybe I'd make some I could make some extra money courier. Yeah, play the gig and curry some well Yeah, and drive a driver rig like I actually have a truck. Oh, that'd be cool. Yeah. Yeah, I thought that's what I think Imagine me in a big truck and how awesome would that be but um I I ran it by a few friends and and people and who have been in the industry and they said that's ridiculous Don't do that you can't do that. So I'm living out my fantasy and through my music through music, you know

35:48By it's a it's a it's a dedication to the I mean the trucking industry is massive Oh, yeah, and I mean those there's got those guys are out there 50 weeks a year by themselves driving around in these big trucks. It's pretty lonely existence Oh, I think so So it's a bit of a tip of the hat to them and and uh, and also it's a love song to my wife. Oh, that's nice Yeah, that's special long haul driver long haul driver Sloot-Doo set from his new record bloods too rich fuel money point three All driver and I'm leaving and I don't I don't think that

36:40I will see you so I'll leave the porch light on I know you'll end at eight o'clock But I'll be gone by five. I'll be waving out the window as I pass the airport by Because I And I'm leaving at dawn. I don't think that I will see you so I leave porch light on Yeah, you miss you get into I'll turn this rig towards the north but still While singing the mines blue eyes strumming your guitar

37:302000 miles between us. Yeah, I'm never ever that far Because I am a long haul driver and I'm leaving at dawn I don't think that I will see you so I'll leave porch light on Oh, yeah, I'll be picking brownite Susan's by those while I pass back into Canada

38:19Well, I may slot before I smoke. Yes, I know these things have killed me, but my dear So might the road Because I am a long haul driver and I'm leaving at dawn I don't think that I will see you so I'll leave the porch light on With no passing for town

39:13I'll try to catch the perbs at high 3 calories classic alternative. This is 16th. I'm matt joined by Luke DuSette in the studio

40:45That's his tune long haul driver. It opens up the new record bloods too rich It's available on iTunes and record stores wherever you want them and uh, what's uh, what's the blue rodeo tour? Like I heard you were like coming on the middle their sets In in the States things like that. Well the u.s part of the tour It was blue rodeo and friends So it was myself and Ron sexmith and osuzana and justin rutledge they alternated and what we did Was rodeo would come out and play? Whatever eight eight or ten songs and then I'd come up and play three of mine in the middle of their set which was truly incredible the generosity Their generosity to yield that very precious real estate To me or to anybody else they don't have to I mean the people that nobody came to those

41:31Concert, I mean, you know, maybe I was responsible for selling two tickets a night in atlanta But the other yeah, yeah, I think so, but I mean that you know rodeo's fans are They're really dedicated especially the expats and that there's you know that the brain drain Folk in the States there's a lot of nurses. There's a lot of Tech people who who move down to the States sort of chasing the buck And when rodeo comes to town they come out in full force So it's really rodeo's thing and the fact that they would actually give give up You know three songs of their set to me and they're my band. That's like what a gift Oh, they're back in you. Oh, yeah, that's what a gift I get to go out on stage with a full ringing endorsement from one of the coolest bands That I that I've known in my lifetime and you know

42:19There's 400 people or 600 people or a thousand people in the audience who who are basically told You're gonna like this and in fact we're gonna play with him to encourage you to like it. It's pretty great Yeah, it's pretty great for me, right? Did you do bloods to rich? I always thought that would be a good Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we did. Oh, okay. Cool. Yeah. What what's your favorite to play with them? Um, you do older tunes or just we did we did broken one Uh, that was really fun because because Greg was singing a counter Vocal part that I'd never even imagined and that was pretty great. Yeah, that was great Um, and we also but I think Cleveland was my favorite with those guys because they there's so much guitar in that band and that The outro of that song as you know is quite long and uh and to have to have to have jim and greg and

43:05Bobby egan and bod packwood on petal steel and piano respectively um All jamming on that song. I mean to it can it can it gave it its full kind of late 70s stonesiness That I always hope that song could could achieve but blue rodeo has the capacity with With the way they play to kind of to kind of elevate the songs to that level. So that was fun That was probably my my favorite moment on that tour was playing that song every night. Cool You're gonna play us on the tune. Yeah, what do you want to play? Uh, I think i'm gonna play This song this song is called motorbike and I actually wrote it with um, I well in Nashville I I I figured I'd do some co-writing because that's what people do in Nashville and uh I was out for a run one day for a jog and I almost literally bumped into

43:52um, mike plume who's a songwriter from abdington. Oh no way. Yeah, who lives lives in nashville And so we we wrote this song together And that was one of two situations where I actually wrote with canadians while You know while in Nashville. So I guess The to write to co-write with in Nashville you you're just as likely to write with your neighbors from back home because nobody's actually from Nashville I don't think Anyway, yeah, this song is called motorbike cool. Let's look who sat live in the studio fuel 90.3 Christ the slums and for me to survive it I find myself a motorbike

44:42And learn how to write it I'll stop out where the grass is driving And the hills are tall and black And sleep under a spotted veil with the dirt against my back I against my back the sky is blue and the sparrows whisper low I will make my windy way across the desert slope Do the cities and oasis that have sin and life and hope

45:31And find me a girl who looks like you and dancing drinking small Dancing drinking small with the dirt against my back In the den we life and hope for the future present pass You roll in the dice you come up sevens or snake eyes At the end of the day we stay This way I wake up close to where I fell my boots are in the fire

47:10I rub my eyes and I read the sky The West is my desire destination Occupation Occupation Situation I don't know what's in drink and smoke With the dirt against my back We life and hope for the future present pass You roll in the dice you come up sevens or snake eyes

47:59At the end of the day we stay I wait at the end of the day we stay That way if we could Fuel 90.3 Calgary's classic alternative luke do set live in the studio That's motorbike from his new record blood's too rich before I let you go Been almost two years since we heard from Melissa Well, she's that Neil Young cover of the cinnamon girl. That's right. What what's she up to? She's writing songs and getting ready to make a new record. Nice. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, and

48:46Well, she's touring with me. You know, she's in the band. Yeah, so so once once this tour winds down She's probably gonna sort of dig her heels and and stay home and And write songs and as soon as she's ready we'll we'll make a new record. Hopefully. Hopefully she lets me be a part of it You know, I think she will well, yeah, I mean she probably will I've produced the last two but You know, I've told her flat out if you can get T-bone Bernat or you can get like Mitchell Froome or Chad Blake or John Brian or Dan Lanwater's all these great producers Who do you want to work with who do you really really want besides Jeff Lynn? Who do you really want to work with Rick Rubin? Yeah, I'd love to think a hip-hop record Yeah, you know, no actually he was good with the Dixie chicks. He was good. He was good at Dixie chicks. He was great with Johnny Cash Oh, yeah, you know, he has an he has the ability to

49:34Strip that well. He also he also did wildflowers Tom That's a great record really great record the thing about that record and this is the way they described it They made a record in three months It took them three months to make a record that sounded like it was recorded in two days And he said that's what we wanted to do we wanted to make it sound like it just happened off the floor But of course it had to be up to heartbreaker standards It had to be up to Tom Petty standards, but we didn't want it to sound like it was a series of overdubs And if you listen to the record it does sound like In an alternate world that could have happened in two days But for them, they'd probably spend three days getting getting snare sounds So that when they recorded it's perfect. I yeah anyway, so Rick Rubin. I'd love to work with Rick Rubin I'd love to work with um John brian I you know any of the guys I mentioned i'm a big fan of Chad Blake the way he records records who see don't well

50:21He was I know the name of yeah Chad Blake and Mitchell from we're a team for a long time And I think they sort of start one of the things they did early on in their careers together was all the crowded house stuff but then they They did some Suzanne Vega records that I thought were really cool. They did loss Lobos colossal head Which is one of my favorite records, but they've done a lot a lot of commercial stuff too. I'm just not really hip to what it is um, but they're they're uh They're a great a great team, but But uh Chad Blake is is this insane recording recording engineer who makes has it the ability to make things sound trashy Like you'd expect on a tom weights record, but they're still they don't hurt You know like a lot of industrial sounds and a lot of weird stuff, but organic You know a lot like trash can lids and stuff but worked into a into a sort of rock and roll format where somehow

51:10Strangely, usually those things don't work on a record because they're too noisy and there's too much weird ambient stuff and they get lost in a mix But he manages to to make records employing those Tactics and they still they still sound good. I don't know how he does it. That's why I want to work with him nice Five questions one word answers see if they're the same from the last time I pod or cds cds Lenin or McCartney Lenin alcohol or marijuana alcohol song you've written your most proud of broken one. That's what you said last time. Did I? Yeah, that's a drag That's a good thing. I should say something off my new record. You know what honestly Honestly, I I'd like to I'd like to revise that answer. I think the the answer is uh, it's cleveland It's my favorite seven minute opus with seven minute opus But you know if you cut the last three minutes off that song which is just a bunch of wanking It's a four minute song a bunch of wanking. Let's be honest take it that take that differently in england

51:59I suppose they would yes it would anyway one word luke do set. I don't know Okay, that works. Yeah Confusion Confusion. Yeah Yeah, yeah, you see what you want one word. I can't give you one word. I'd have to give you like 40 Oh, yeah, yeah, I don't know it my music is is I'm learning is not what I think it is Interesting. Yeah, like I think I make I think I'm creating one thing and and then when I get a certain bit of The the with the benefit of some some perspective in some distance. I realize no that's that's not that's not what you thought it was at all And sometimes it's what is required is that people tell me that whether it's reviewers or fans or people say this is what you've just done I don't think that's what I did. I say well, that's what we hear. So everybody's we hear

52:45So I'm learning that right now because the record's very new so there are sort of this influx of opinions That's fine. Great. Thank you. You're welcome. You're welcome to opine but people are it's not even so necessarily a good or a bad thing It's more just like well you made this is a country rock record And I'm okay with that but I didn't I was I was thinking crazy horse and people say no it's country rock I'm like you mean like like Bob Seager No, like I told you before it's more Neil Young than the last record. Yeah. Yeah, and that that that's that's good. That's great I'm that's fine with me. I don't mean that to compare you to Neil. No go nuts. Please I'm not gonna say you know what I'm not there are people out there who've reinvented the wheel like you listen to a Some some radio head records or some Wilco records or some Sufi and Stevens records or I mean the list is long

53:33What's Yoshimi battles the pink robots? What's the name of that band again? I always forget them flaming lips Right those are some bands who've made some records that almost seem like they're without precedent Oh, yeah for sure, you know, they're so original sounding I'm not gonna lay claim to that like I won there. Oh, yeah, and I'm Up to this point in my career that hasn't really been my objective like I look at The history of American songwriters and and of course British ones as well British invasion type stuff and what I hope to achieve if possible is to develop the skills to be To be able to think of myself in the same category as some of the people that I admire the most and I think I think they're top shelf Writers and artists when I I mean Willie Nelson, you know, I I'd like to be able to compare myself to Willie Nelson someday, which is

54:20probably unlikely, but once I get to the point where I feel like, okay This is legitimate when I'm doing it's the real thing. I don't have to hide behind Um sort of style stylisms or whatever whatever you want to call them After that point if I can take one millimeter of a step beyond the the bodies of work that I'm referring to The classic artists then that would be that would be fine Like I don't feel the need to take 10 huge steps or to reinvent anything I I just sort of want to I want to make that one record that people don't realize didn't happen in 1977 and I want to be the one to make it and go see you thought that you thought that that that song that story book had been written But but this was missing that's cool. Yeah, maybe I don't know this record could fit back in 77

55:06Maybe records could maybe maybe I Yeah, maybe not the veal stuff. No, even the veal stuff. Maybe a little bit. Yeah, I don't know Um, I'm I'm my infatuation with the 70s is not is not dying or I mind you it makes it sound like it's always been there. That's not true uh My record collection at home my actual collection of vinyl is not very large. It's maybe I don't know 30 or 40 records And with the exception of let it bleed which was 69 and tattoo you which is 82 or 81 something like that Every other record I own is is from the 70s and that wasn't delivered. I just go into record stores and I find myself buying You know gasoline alley. Mm-hmm. I've actually bought I think I think I purchased small faces by the stones three times because I forgot that I owned it

55:52Really? I just wanted to make sure I need that one. Yeah That's awesome. So you're back red deer on the 17th red deer on the 17th banful in 21st Banful in 21st you and blue rodeo or is there a third ban to or is it to you? No, no, it's just it's just the the white falcon and blue rodeo White falcon the white falcon is that what you're going by now? Luke and it's Luke in the white falcon. Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of good, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You're going to that as a band name Yeah, well, maybe yeah, no, I'm not gonna sure. Okay. I would I would I'd like that last time you came in you played us brother I love that tune. I want to play it again because fantastic. It's amazing play it. Thanks for coming to man. Appreciate it My pleasure. It's Luke. You sat live in the studio brother fuel 90.3. All right Oh brother

57:03I see you again When I left you on walnut street you were a wanted man And brother or brother Where will you lay your head under a velvet cheeses just to keep you Safe from death brother or brother What is the crime you done? Did you consort with a devil via cocaine and a gun brother or brother

57:52No shame and no surprise We all expect the unexpected from the boy who never cries Oh brother You watch your fragile back Because the vultures they are circling and you know the ones in black or brother Never will they tire Because fortunes are built on laying the guilt for the heat inside

58:38of a fire Prisma Who looks just like you was last seen with a six shot in his hand and he was Drunker than our buckle. He was higher than chain Only by the grace of the god will I see you again

60:05brother You're not the killing type So I will pray for your forgiveness if you string me up tonight From brother or brother Will I see you again When I left you on walnut street you were a wanted man

Part 2

0:00So let's start with that. Let's talk about brother because you just played that song Real Nashville sounding we were talking before about you living in Nashville now. Obviously that's not written before that Yeah, that song is written a long time ago That's interesting because I you know when I go to when I'm in Nashville Nobody mistakes me for country No, they wouldn't of course no they I don't know what they call it pop or they ask usually ask me What do you call what do you call it? I don't you know? I mean the people that the artists that I that I like the most You would probably define them more by their name than by the kind of music they play like who well I mean these are I don't listen to grown up I don't want to compare myself to these people because they're lofty people, but I'm a big fan of I'm a big Tom Waits fan I'm a big fan of JJ Kale and Randy Newman and a lot of the records that were coming out in the early 70s like

0:47Paul Simon Still crazy after all these years was a big one I mean really that the first answer of course like with just about everybody Alive today is the Beatles and the Stones and Zeppelin in the who yeah I'm very sure invasions stuff the kinks that stuff, but but then once I once I realized I wasn't That that the rocker little thing was Well, you know what? I'm not gonna say anything disparaging about it because it's a total riot and I still do it But it came a point when I thought well I I want to be a songwriter and I want to try and delve a little deeper than the obvious and I found myself back in the Listening to the records that my mom listened to in 1974 like Stevie Wonder Intervision's and and JJ Kale and and you know even Linda Ronstad and Emile Harris and stuff like that and Willie Nelson records You know I that's kind of stuff But I don't when I come to in Canada people often say to me well you write country music, but in Nashville. They never say that

1:36Yeah, interesting. Yeah, well, I guess it's country up here, right? Anything that's got that certain twang or certain style of lyrics becomes country whereas down there certainly in Nashville or in Tennessee I mean as far as they're concerned all music is country because why would you blame anything else? Then at that point it's like there are 25 different sub genres and which one do you play? You know, that's kind of gratitude, right? country or Western It's kind of cool and it's kind of weird. I like the shout out to our buckle in that tune is it is your buddy and cute? Yeah, that that really yeah, you get drunk and well Yeah, the I suppose the comment in there is that the person I'm referring to in the song was was drunk or even the Nour buckle. Yeah, which is you know, maybe saying that's a lot. Hey, man. We all have it. We all tip a few pints I'm not pointing the finger of my buddy Neville If you weren't working with him lately

2:23He's gonna make a new record soon and I'm gonna be involved in some capacity I'm not sure if I'm actually gonna produce the record or not I don't know if I have time what'll probably happen is is all I'll mix I'll do kind of a pre-mix where I'll get all the tracks I'll go through it all and I'll Basically do draft a mix that I like yeah, or they take it to the the actual professional mixer now There you go, which I am not You could be well. Yeah, if I want I don't have time. Yeah, are you producing your own records? Yeah? Yeah cool. Yeah Yeah, yeah, I'll play everything on it or do you know give some musicians? Yeah, I hire rhythm section and then I you know I play guitars and String instruments, you know banjos and basses mandolins whatever I need to play pedal steel Yeah, and then it depends I play a bit of piano and I can you know There's a couple tracks on my last record that I do actually play all the instruments

3:11But it's not it's not a goal of mine if you know if it if I thought I could do as good a job as anybody else and therefore I would save money than I would do that but you know There's I have a really I have what I consider to be really high standards for musicians and then the Particularly with drummers. I don't know but drummers mean a lot to me that you can't you can have a good band with a mediocre bass player You can't have a good band with a mediocre drummer especially live right because they're keeping that whole band on time together Keeping it together and it's just I don't know It's a it's a real special relationship that I have with every drummer that I work with you know And it's either a love or a hate thing either you're the best ever I can't stand this gig How well do you know this drummer that's gonna be playing with you there's it I've never met him Awesome, it should be an interesting little show then yeah, buddy comes highly recommended by some people that I trust so I'm gonna get to actually it's not I don't want to give the impression that we're we're gonna just drop it on you

3:59But we're actually gonna rehearse and learn the songs and stuff very nice What's the second gonna be like I mean if you're working with them for what a day beforehand how far can you really delve in you know what? You can delve pretty deep they'll learn the arrangements as they are on the record and they're and they're pretty easy to follow and then I mean I throw them out I throw the arrangement book out once we get on stage anyway Yeah, so I figured in some ways you know it's just it's every bit is it's just as effective It's I mean preferable in some circumstances to have a band that's toured a bunch But at the same time sometimes a band that's toured a whole bunch they get sort of set in their ways and then and then the in the improvisational Element is harder to access with guys who don't know the music that well But know the arrangements well enough to be able to follow you. Yeah, that's some those are the best So sometimes are the best shows. I mean I have I have a rhythm section in Milan in London I've got one in New York. I've got LA. I've got probably 15 or 20 rhythm sections rehearsed and ready to go

4:48Wow, you know that that I just saw just I'll show up in Nashville and I'll use my Nashville band and I'll show up and You know Edmonton and use my Edmonton band and it just kind of depends on I Can't afford necessarily to travel with the band all the time. Yeah, that's still a cool thing though Cuz I mean you always get the be more like a jazz show I would think in some ways it's Improv yeah, except that of course the songs I'm playing are kind of halfway between you know Country and pop songs and yeah, yeah, well size the actual music Yeah, but you're right and I think that's a unique thing and when I discovered that it was possible to do that because I mean We all heard stories about Chuck Berry. That's the way he's been touring for years and years and years like every blues band I've ever met mm-hmm has a one-point been Chuck Berry's band for one night Or somewhere, you know, it's pretty cool, right and I but I mean his songs are all three chords and it's old-school rock and roll That's basically a play Johnny be good in five different keys and three different speeds and that's the whole show

5:37My stuff's not quite like that So it takes a little bit more research and studying to get it and then or an actual rehearsal Which is somebody somebody like Chuck Berry would never rehearse he would just show up at the gig and you know Yeah, grab a suitcase full of cash and get on stage and then leave so but it's it's a really cool thing Yeah, I really enjoyed it. It was a pleasant surprise and I realized that it could work Are you doing most of your shows full band or a lot of solo stuff? I mean I remember LA last year it was just solo. Yeah, it really depends if I were you know that that was the Kathleen Edwards gig, right? Josh Rouse I went back to the same venue like a month later in all right. It was Josh, right? Those kind of tours I'll do alone Because that's just you like driving across the country by yourself. Yeah, that's cool Yeah, or flying depending on the kind of gig. I think that those dates were all fly. Oh, okay

6:23Yeah, cuz they were spread out like I think we just did New York Chicago Nashville LA and San Francisco So driving that would be ridiculous. Yeah, but Otherwise, I'm happy to drive if it's a kind of if I think I'm gonna play for an audience who will be Sensitive or susceptible to what a solo performer would deliver then I like to play that way And if I think I'm gonna play for a bar with people who are gonna be you know watching sports or hitting on each other Then then I have a band and then I can I can win with the band, you know I can pull people in just a little more little more volume a little more energy exactly I'm pretty adaptable when it comes to that cool. All right, I mean not again not always by choice But I don't necessity. Mm-hmm. You can talk to the guys from veal in a while Actually, yeah, Nick is Nick plays Nick is the lead singer in shout out out out out from a man

7:13We were talking about before okay cool. He's the bass player in veal And then Chang is living in Toronto now and I saw him for the first time just recently Yeah, he moved but we moved out of Winnipeg so we we do one show a year usually on away. I didn't know that's cool Just just for laughs. Yeah, we'll we'll we'll all be in Toronto for something and like guys Let's play and look at a gig and and it's a blast. Yeah, that's good. Do something like the horseshoe something. Yeah, nice Yeah, it's pretty great. We're counting material with them. You think you'll ever do another record with them. I hope so yeah Yeah, I mean, you know for fun like it's fun. It's a fun band. I like the guys I like the spirit of that band. I miss it a lot You know you get caught up in the well if I make it a record and it's gonna cost me $35,000 to make it then it has to make me money And I have to have a game plan and it has to be business minded and it's too much money to blow on but you know

8:02We could go hang out at next place for a week and make a record for nothing Yeah, we got these probably a studio. He's got a studio home and he produces records in Edmonton all the time So it's not inconceivable All it would require is a couple of plane tickets and a week of time for it from each of us and yeah, we could do it Yeah, we probably should you know, I think you should do I think it'd be a cool record It's been a while it's been a while how come that first I know the one was a solar record Aloha came out Before the last field record, right? Yeah, what made you decide to let's try something different? You mean why did I do Aloha? Yeah, without the band right well There was there always elements of my songwriting that the band wasn't comfortable with Okay, you know and they would tell me that they're like, you know, this is your little folk song They're really pretty but we don't know what the hell to do with them I'm like, okay Then I'm just gonna do this record on my own and it wasn't that I ever thought it wasn't to replace

8:50Deal it was just that I had all these songs and I wanted to see if I could make a record that that I was again I go back to some of those influences I was talking about earlier the early 70s kind of You know sing American singer songwriter type records and I was thinking I want to make something that at least fits in that Category and and I couldn't do it with them But at the same time I have it every I had every intention of keeping the band as the priority as it turned out I did the Aloha record then we did the next field record, which was a colossal disappointment for us You know, it was a great record We really loved it We all felt so strongly about it and it you know It just they got nothing it completely flopped and we were all broken hard because we worked really hard on it You think if it got released now with my space on the internet everything like that would be different I do Maybe yeah, yeah I think it I think it might be different and you know also the six shooter which who was our label in Toronto there their affiliation with Warner and

9:39You know just some of it. We would be better. We might be better poised to do that kind of thing now But that records four years old now or three years old now, so yeah, it's not it's probably not gonna happen But we'll make another one, you know Maybe we'll make another one and if if Nick the thing about the Nick situation is the shout outs are are Kind of poised to be rockstar. Yeah, yeah, you're starting to hear the name more and more I'm not gonna get in their way those boys are they're going nice. Yeah, I want to get back to that My space thing that just got brought up right. How do you feel someone at your position? I mean Great reviews everywhere right but but still not the mainstream and I would assume you probably don't even want the mainstream thing Or do you well? I guess it depends. I mean I Wouldn't mind knowing that I had 250 gigs a year and I was gonna play to a thousand people a night. Then you'd be away from your family though

10:28Yeah, but I am anyway, I thought she's on the road with you. She'd come with me. She'd come I mean we're on the road together now. Yeah, you know, I mean or or or we'd spend Yeah, you know what I would I would like things to to go to get to a different level at some point I'm not I mean we work we all work too hard at this to to be satisfied losing money constantly You know, and I'm not like crying in my beer here I'm just saying yeah, it's tough it's tough and if and if the opportunity came along with it that things could move to It to another level. I'm certainly not gonna discourage that. No, um, however Something you strive for though. Well, it's weird I I there are so many other more important daily things to focus on that you know once a month You stop and think about that very question for about five minutes and you go cheese Am I ever gonna be a rock star or not? And then you know, and then you know somebody you know Somebody you haven't seen in three years walks in the room and you forgot that you were thinking about it

11:15That's about how much space it occupies in your brain because you're so busy thinking about the next gig and do I have my CDs and is my Guitar in tune and we have gas for the van and we have a hotel's booked and is there an opening act and is coming to the show Those daily things take up It's so much energy, you know that the whole the big picture are we gonna be rock stars is kind of Like I say when it does come up you kind of you have to laugh at yourself a little bit because it's Seemingly and consequential obviously to somebody at the record label Who's presumably thinking about those things on a daily level and trying to make decisions to help make that the case Yeah, it's not really my priority. Cool. Yeah, you think the internet's helping you or harming you more at least the illegal downloading of stuff I think it's getting more kids out to the shows or you think it's harming you I I don't know. I don't know. I think it I think any any harm that it's doing It's offset by the good that it's doing and I wouldn't be surprised if somebody in my position was left sort of at zero

12:04You know what I mean like I don't know if it's helped or hindered. I think my profile I think that on the upside. I've got fans in remote places where I've never toured Just because they've they've found me somehow online So if I went and played a show in San Diego There might not be 400 people there But there might be 60 and they're just people who know of me from from various sites or iTunes or whatever down legal download stuff I it worries me that it's that people are the attitude among young people is that music is free That worries me I don't know if there's anything to be done about it and I don't necessarily blame the kids It's just that's the nature of the technology they have access to and yeah, if I was 14 years old right now I wouldn't pay for records either. Mm-hmm, but I think it's a shame because I mean it's what it's gonna

12:50Do is it's gonna drive a lot of people out of the out of the business. It's gonna make Bring record recording by its way down. So a lot of the Records that that we know and love that are Undeniably hugely expensive You know you think about some of the big sort of rock records made in the early in the mid 90s or the early 90s That are still great records Yeah, those kind of records are not gonna get made anymore because people the producers are not gonna get the money They need musicians are not gonna get the money they need the studios are not gonna get the money They need so they're gonna close so most records are gonna either be huge budget Britney Spears or super lo-fi indie And I get and I think that influx of indie music is really great. That's huge up So like indie music is fantastic. Look at the skins right? Well, there's just a countless bands I think so well make their music is really really good. It's really honest

13:37Although I think what you know, it's it's has a very divisive Effect on the industry, you know, it's there's a lot of us versus them attitudes out there Mm-hmm, and I'm I'm I'm probably a part of that too think cuz it's so divided yeah, you know very few record companies with huge budgets to sink into very small number of potentially Untalented people making glossy records that for children Yeah, and then and then there's everybody else trying to try to you know do right by the work that John Lennon did It's completely different motive. You think we're gonna have records like that. I mean you mentioned letting you mentioned interventions earlier Like it's a full Concept, you know, it's a record. It's not a single that you can download on iTunes then The rest of the record, you know, yeah, it's going away

14:25I think you can I think you can you're always gonna have that I mean there's there are people out there Let me think who am I thinking of I'm thinking of Sufian Stevens and oh amazing. Have you played with them at all? No, no, I'd like to meet them. Yeah, but I mean there's records like people are ambitious and they're gonna make cool records You can't stop that and I guess the good thing about the way technology is going is that everybody's got a computer at home and some gear And you can kind of do it on your own yeah, you know And our ears on one hand are being dragged into the arena where we expect everything to be perfect Because everything's auto-tuned and pitch corrected and you know musicians who can't sing are sounding like they can and Drummers who can't play sound like they can but on the other hand I think the flip side of that and the reaction to that is that people are the people who who Care about music a lot and who are real fans are always looking for something that's a lot more genuine and in some cases genuine

15:11Takes the form of sloppy, you know, so it's and then that's organic. It's gonna keep organic real sounding stuff alive It's like Neil Young said when he was somebody asked him Why are you so dedicated and loyal to crazy horse because they were never very good band really they're decent players And he said well cuz they're not good enough to ruin my music. I think that's that's like bang on Yeah, you can't be overthought. What'd you say you said children? I'm thinking about your daughter I didn't know you had a seven year old daughter or she was someone that was ordered. She'll be 11 in June Jesus Is that changed your writing? You know what kind of has It has because I know she's gonna you know, she's gonna hear it and and she's gonna listen to it closer than maybe anybody else so I feel a responsibility to To be sure that that what I'm saying I can I can back it up

15:59You know, I can if she says dad, why did you say that I have to be able to go well because of this? You know and and whether it's you know, it's not a question I don't censor myself in terms of profanity or subject matter if I'm gonna sing about getting high and drunk and then I'm gonna You know, that's fine, and I don't censor myself around her you know, she she gets the straight goods from from everybody around her and and So she can handle it by the same time. She's kind of there's a there's a truth Factor involved. There's an honesty factor like I just can't I can't really bullshit the same way because I don't want her going down That's not true those things you think about and it's not that I think writing necessarily has to be autobiographical and correct Yeah, fiction is looking right now. Well and and it's anybody mean you're allowed to make stuff Yeah, you are after all so called an artist. Yeah, yeah So yeah, and my stories don't have to be my life, but um

16:47Yeah, it's interesting it does I do having people around you? who Who know you're really well and who care a lot about what you do? Forces you to be have a little bit more integrity, maybe Yeah, it makes sense. Yeah track ten on the record and trying to get this title right because it's insanely long If I drop names of exotic towns, you'll never see in the songs that I write That's all I have but I miss my girl and you're taking yours home tonight. Yeah That's the entire lyric That way I don't know well, I mean the show the song was Did you know strangely short and weird and unusual on the record and and I I don't know I mean I Sometimes people ask me what songs were about and all I can think is if you just read the you know

17:35I could explain them to you or you could read the lyrics like there's not a lot of hidden There's not a lot of hidden meaning in my work. I'm not a particularly a metaphoric person. Mm-hmm. I tend to be literal maybe to a fault And I like I value candor. I mean I value metaphor to I'm just not as good at it Like I kind of missed those classes and creative writing, you know grade 11 but Yeah, I think there's I think I enjoy when things come across as candidly and directly as as possible or something unsettling about Somebody spelling it out for you in a painful way. I was I was a big camper van Beethoven fan Oh, yeah, yeah, and when David Lowry moved on and started cracker. I was even I was a fan of cracker. I mean it Every cracker record has four terrible songs on it, but it has six really good ones And he he inspired me in that way

18:23He's very direct in in a almost kind of a snot nose punk rock sort of way But without but the music still had a really beautiful quality to it I don't know why how do we how I go on the subject of David Lowry? Just just candor and directness. Yeah, like I don't I don't tell I'm not a I'm not a poetic writer You know John Sampson from the weaker thans. He's got all that that poetry and that metaphor on stuff Yeah, it's a really big part of his repertoire I'm baffled by that. Yeah, do you replace those with them? Yeah, I have yeah, I know the big good mix Oh, yeah, like John. I like I think he's really talented guys grew up together in different parts of Manitoba We grew up and we went to same high school. Oh no, I same junior high school. Yeah, you guys ever played a band together? Nope, no, no no no no friends just kind of well, you know When we were kids and we were teenagers we knew each other but it was he was doing the punk rock thing And I was trying to be a blues kid. Oh, yeah

19:09He was much harder back then. Yeah, yeah with the propaganda thing Yeah, and I was at that time I was my dad was a jazz guitar player and he I had a little blues rock band Like playing the kinks and the stones and the British invasion stuff But then we got this gig in a blues bar and we realized well We could keep this gig and play every play every Wednesday, but we we'd have to do two things we'd have to learn exclusively blues material even though that wasn't necessarily what we were into and We'd have to hire an adult to be in the band to look after us because we were all 15 We had to be in the bar so my dad joined the band And overnight we became like your basic like kind of boot stomp in Chicago blues band And that kind of hijacked my focus for long enough that it was difficult to get out of it Nice when you pick up we tear up the first time My 13th birthday, I guess my cousin's boyfriend

19:58Tim taught me how to play squeeze box by the who I was so floored that he didn't have to be a rock star to play rock music I know he can play this stuff Nice. Yeah, it was fun. Let me ask you five quick questions one word answers sure iPod or CDs CDs Lennon or McCartney Lennon alcohol and marijuana alcohol song you've written your most proud of broken one and one word lukde-set First thing comes in your head when you think you're music not yourself Confused awesome. Thanks so much. Yeah, no my pleasure. I appreciate it