Now THAT's a show to take a date to. Vancouver-based indie pop darling Hannah Georgas, after wrapping up a summer full of festival dates and touring with the entity known as the Malahat Revue, has announced she'll be hitting the road with Toronto pianist/crooner Royal Wood. They'll be doing a series of theatre shows, from BC through Ontario. She will be opening for Wood on the East leg of the tour, and co-headline on the West coast.
Tickets for all Canadian dates are on sale this Friday August 20, 2010.
On a related note, Georgas will also be releasing a new web exclusive single named "Stranger to Me" on Tuesday August 24. The track is co-written with Matt DeMatteo and Jaylene Johnson.
Related: Hannah Georgasinterview about This Is Good. Royal Woodinterview about The Waiting.
HANNAH GEORGAS – FALL TOUR DATES
September 24, 2010 – Germany – Reepperbahn Festival
September 24, 2010 – Germany – Platzhirsch (CIMA Showcase)
October 7, 2010 – Victoria, BC – Alix Goolden*
October 9, 2010 – Vancouver, BC – Rio Theatre*
October 12, 2010 – Edmonton, AB – Myer Horowitz*
October 13, 2010 – Banff, AB – Banff Centre*
October 14, 2010 – Calgary, AB – Knox United Church*
October 15, 2010 – Saskatoon, SK – Broadway Theatre*
October 16, 2010 – Winnipeg, MB – West End Cultural Centre*
November 10, 2010 – New York, NYC – Rockwood Music Hall
November 11, 2010 – New York, NYC – The Living Room
November 12, 2010 – Peterborough, ON – Gordon Best Theatre*
November 20, 2010 – Ottawa, ON – NAC Studio*
November 24, 2010 – Guelph, ON – Dublin Street United*
November 25, 2010 – London, ON – Aeolian Hall*
November 26, 2010 – Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre*
* Tour with Royal Wood
Reaching him in Winnipeg early yesterday afternoon, Royal Wood was bright and enthusiastic when we spoke over the phone. And why shouldn’t he be? Wood is halfway through a tour supporting label mate David Gray, playing to full theatres every night. On top of that, he has a new album to showcase to these crowds. The Waiting, Wood’s third full-length recording, is already out on iTunes and physical copies are set to be released via Maple Music Recordings on May 25. The future, as they say, is bright.
The Waiting differs from Royal Wood’s previous efforts in that it was not self-produced. Wood had previously arranged and played almost all of the instruments in all his records. However, this time around, he felt the “uncomfortable” challenge to take the album “to another level that you can only achieve with someone else.” This someone else turned out to be producer Pierre Marchand (who had previously worked with the likes of Sarah MaLachlan) who produced 3 tracks off The Waiting. The remaining tracks were co-produced by Wood and Dean Drouillard, who also supports Wood on guitar. The Waiting was recorded in Marchand’s studio in Montreal over a span of two days.
Below, Royal joins me in a conversation regarding the experience of letting go of control in the production process, the muse (almost with a capital M) of his music, and becoming a confident songwriter.
Brenda: What do you think the goal of this record was? Royal: Sonically, I wanted to enter into a new territory. I wanted it to not just be about me anymore. And when you’re self-producing, it’s hard to expand into that since you’re calling all the shots, and you’re pigeonholed by your own choices and limits. That’s why it’s so valuable to have a producer and artist coming together to make something that you alone couldn’t make. That really was the vision I wanted to enter upon, this artistic realm where I had the producer and my band with me. My band that I had with me throughout the years, having them there to have a say. So it wasn’t just me writing the parts and dictating it for them, but having them come up with the parts together in the studio. It was a big group effort.
B: Having produced all your previous albums, what was it like to let someone else grab hold of the reins?
R: It was terrifying. That drive up to Montreal to Pierre’s studio was definitely nerve-wracking. There were a couple of sleepless nights. I knew what I wanted, but it’s strange to play your songs for others and for them to add their own ideas.
B: It’s like having your songs before a panel discussion before you record it.
R: Yeah, exactly. But Pierre acted as a captain. Everyone had their own vision of what they wanted the album to sound like, and Pierre filtered a lot of the ideas so we don’t have the cello or whatever going off in a complete different direction.
B: Do you feel like there was a cohesiveness to The Waiting?
R: Most definitely. I knew what my budget was going in; I knew how many songs I could make. Some artists could record 18 tracks and pick out 11 of the best songs, but I didn’t have that luxury at this point. I was recording with Pierre in his incredible studio, in a different city; expenses were very high. So I had to plan out the songs, which ones would be ballads, which ones would be rockier, or mid tempo, and also met the story I wanted to tell.
In terms of inspiration, Royal Wood returns to the muse of life and love again and again. Known for writing love songs, Wood emphasizes that he can’t write jingles or “hokey pop songs that make someone cry.” Songs seem to flow from the pen for him. That’s not to say that The Waiting is an album which only addresses love; for example, “Birds on Sunday” is a song about faith, whether religious or atheistic, about having it, losing it and trying to regain it. All in all, Wood emphatically states that life is the only muse. “That’s what inspires every artist, and what inspires every human being; it’s our existence.”
B: Tell me a little bit of the title, "The Waiting." What does that signify to you and how does that weave into the songs?
R: "The Waiting" is in all intents and purposes an awakening. Hitting my 30s, and realizing that I had spent a good deal of my 20s becoming the man I am, and learning how to have relationships in life, whether that’s with family or your lover, or whomever. Sometimes I found myself waiting for mirror experiences to happen. If you’re in a great relationship, waiting for it to split, and when it has, waiting for it to come back.
With everything, so many of us are not existing in the moment, and The Waiting is about that. In this industry we also live by a calendar, you live on a tour and you have all your days planned out. You’re always thinking of the next 12 shows but what you should be thinking about is the one show you’re doing. So the songs are about that, the duality that we live with, and what I had learned through the process of writing the songs over the course of the two years - how to live in the moment.
B: In your bio, you mention that this is your first album with “real love songs.” Why do you think you can write those real love songs now, as opposed to before?
R: They were love songs, but they were different. They were honest, obviously. When I was a teenager and trying to write, those songs were fake and forced and I never let them see the light of day. That’s why I didn’t produce my first record until I was 24. I just didn’t know how to write something from a place of truth. It was always just about trying to write a song. What differed this time was that search for true relationships, unlike the majority of relationships in my 20s. That’s what I ended up writing about back then, songs based in love but mostly about figuring out what love is – love of your family, love of yourself, love of your partner. It was about learning how to navigate life as your own person but also how to share your life with someone else. Once you actually learn to share your life with someone and let someone in, then I think you truly learn what love is, and that’s what led to some of the songs on The Waiting, this opening up.
B: At your last Vancouver show, you had mentioned that you recently got married. Do you think that the album was a manifestation of that in your life, to be able to write about this love?
R: Oh absolutely. That’s the muse that led to songs that were strictly about having love – not losing it, not wanting to lose it, not trying to lose it, but about just having it.
B: Yet your first single, “On Top of Your Love,” is a song strictly about lust.
R: That song was purely about lust, yes. Lust of someone that you can’t have. In my industry, we have to work a lot of time away from our loved ones. I certainly have to spend a lot of time away from my wife. That definitely led to that song.
Music video for "On Top of Your Love":
Royal Wood also had some songwriting advice for aspiring musicians. A pianist friend had asked a technical question about the song "Thinking About" on his Lost and Found EP, in particular why he had left it unresolved. He points out the importance of intuition, of letting the ideas flow before trying to impose a structure upon them. (Yes, it does pay off to follow me on twitter)
B: I have one more question from someone who’s a big fan of yours. He’s also a pianist and asked you a technical question – why is the song “Thinking About” on the Lost & Found EP left unresolved at the end?
R: Why I left it unresolved! Good question! You can tell him that with everyone song I make, I wait for a particular feeling. I just have to respect that; something tells me what the song will be, when I’m lyrically exhausted. I’m never thinking in a musically technical way, like whether something is unresolved, or this shouldn’t be diminished because it leaves this feeling. I don’t write it from that standpoint; I write it from the muse first. Afterwards, when the song is complete, then I can think about it in a musical, technical way when I’m doing charts or scores or arrangements for my musicians. It’s just what comes out.
B: So the technical follows what your intuition tells you.
R: Correct. Intuition first, technical after. I find that part of the problem of when I was a teenager writing, I would think technical, of what my peers were writing or what people I was listening to were writing. Listening to them, gathering up all that musical knowledge, and trying to write something. It was technical, it wasn’t inspired and it wasn’t from the muse, nor the heart. If you think technical and write technical, it’s going to sound that way. It’s going to sound like music theory. So there wasn’t a specific reason for me to leave it that way, strictly that’s what had felt right to do.
Below are the upcoming Royal Wood dates as he travels through central Canada and the east coast. North by East West has a contest going on, so you should hop on over and take a look if you'd like to win spots on the guest list for yourself and a guest :
20 May 2010 20:00
Foster’s Inn Stratford, Ontario , CA
22 May 2010 20:00
Hamilton Place Theatre Hamilton, CA
23 May 2010 20:00
National Arts Centre - Southam Hall Ottawa, Ontario , CA
25 May 2010 20:00
Centre In The Square Kitchener, Ontario , CA
26 May 2010 20:00
St. Denis Theatre Montreal, Quebec , CA
28 May 2010 20:00
Halifax Metro Centre Halifax, Nova Scotia, CA
2 Jul 2010 20:00
Stan Rogers Folk Festival Canso, Nova Scotia, CA
14 Aug 2010 20:00
Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Fest Salmon Arm, BC, CA
British singer-songwriter David Gray played to a sold-out show last Friday, the second of two shows at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver. If someone walked in to the show mid-way, they could be forgiven for thinking that it was a revival, not a concert, judging by the amount of arms waving in the air. He played a long set and encore filled with hits spanning his 17-year career, blasting off his set appearing from behind a white screen for crowd favourite "Babylon." The audience, filled to equal measure with screaming men and women, clapped, sang and screamed shrilly whenever the opportunity arose. In fact, the numerous standing ovations that the crowd lavished upon Gray, interspersed with male audience members yelling "I LOVE YOU!" and "HAVE MY BABIES!" made the singer smile and pause several times during his set. And the love was mutual; during his few pauses for banter, Gray thanked the crowd numerous times, and attributed his supposed moodiness to the lack of whales he saw during his tour on a whale-watching expedition earlier in the day.
David Gray and his band demonstrated considerable presence in order to fill the large venue in which they played. Gray in particular swayed from side to side, and swaggered like nobody's business. The crowd reciprocated, and by the time he strapped on the electric guitar for "The One I Love," the aisles of the classy theatre filled with middle aged men and women, swaying, dancing and waving their arms. To add to the comparisons to a spiritual revival, Gray barked "you may rise!" for one particular upbeat song in the encore, bringing scores of audience members to their feet. I had the novel experience of witnessing the (slightly) older generation losing their shit as I grinned in my seat, bemused.
Some other highlights of the set included the slow, burning build up of "The Other Side" in the beginning of the set. "Nemesis," which Gray saved for the second song of the encore, saw the band jamming in an extended mix while he improvised with the lyrics.
Toronto's Royal Wood opened the show with a short 30-minute set, with an even split of older material and new songs off of his yet-to-be-released latest album The Waiting. The people I chatted to during intermission around where I sat, which included two women who had seen the show 3 times and a few people from Seattle, had nothing but glowing reviews for Wood. "Charming," "funny" and "beautiful voice" were words they used, with one of the women enthusiastically retelling the joke that Royal told in order to encourage audience participation in his last song "Lady in White" - sing, for it shows your sexual confidence! A perfect lead-up to the singing, dancing crowd of Gray's set.
David Gray and Royal Wood will be continuing on tour throughout Canada, keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming contest involving Royal Wood! Below are the remainder of the tour dates:
17 May 2010 20:00
Jack Singer Concert Hall Calgary, Alberta , CA
18 May 2010 20:00
TCU Place Saskatoon, Saskatchew, CA
19 May 2010 20:00
Centennial Concert Hall Winnipeg, Manitoba , CA
20 May 2010 20:00
Foster’s Inn Stratford, Ontario , CA
22 May 2010 20:00
Hamilton Place Theatre Hamilton, CA
23 May 2010 20:00
National Arts Centre - Southam Hall Ottawa, Ontario , CA
25 May 2010 20:00
Centre In The Square Kitchener, Ontario , CA
26 May 2010 20:00
St. Denis Theatre Montreal, Quebec , CA
28 May 2010 20:00
Halifax Metro Centre Halifax, Nova Scotia, CA
2 Jul 2010 20:00
Stan Rogers Folk Festival Canso, Nova Scotia, CA
14 Aug 2010 20:00
Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Fest Salmon Arm, BC, CA
Rose Cousinsand headliner Royal Woodput on a fantastic show on November 17, 2009 at the Media Club in Vancouver-- one full of switching roles, great laughs and even greater appreciation of your loved ones.
Halifax-based Rose Cousins, touring her new album The Send Off, began her opening set by the strumming of her guitar and the clear, warm tone of her voice. Well, not completely accurate. She opened her set by commenting on the amount of people surrounded the stage and how it made her feel "popular." And indeed there was a unusually large crowd for an opening set, which consisted of a dedicated base of "Rosebuds," which included Vancouver artists such as Jill Barber, Nat Jay and T Nile. She also thanked Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3, who was in the audience, for interviewing her earlier on during the day and heaped praise on the CBCs across Canada.
It wasn't long into her set that the rest of the people in the room were equally captivated by her honest lyrics, perfect (can I say that?) voice and gut-busting banter, which ranged from touchingly personal to hilariously inappropriate. She also accompanied herself for the entire set on keyboards, guitar and mandolin, save the beautiful "All the Time It Takes to Wait" which was accompanied by the "talented and handsome" Royal Wood.
Rose had the attention of the entire crowd in the usually chatty Media Club. Mid-set, she put the audience on the spot by asking for things in a den-- with the crowd yelling things like "chesterfield!" and "Jenga!" and her constructing a vivid image of that idyllic childhood den with her descriptive imagination. She then transitioned into her song "The Dancers" which imagined an elderly ballroom aficionado couple waltzing around this constructed den.
This was not the only time she called out for audience participation, of course. In another great switching of roles, she called out for an audience member "who's good at keeping rhythm" before playing the last song in her set, "Sadie in the Kitchen." I volunteered hesitantly, and soon found myself sharing the stage with Rose accompanying her on the shaker egg. She gladly regaled myself, an audience member, with the spotlight (and microphone!) while she led the rest of the audience in a sing-along, complete with "random vocal projections." The adorable refrain "before bed, before bed, B for bed, B for bed..." was written with her friends' young daughter in mind, and meant to be an "adult children's song" that she composed for said friends' wedding. Her willingness to share the stage and completely engage the crowd in participation recalls the show by her good friend, Joel Plaskett, whom she supported in a Vancouver show in May.
So yes, I'm going to include that in my resume and CV from now on.
Royal Wood took to the stage with guitarist Dean Drouillard inconspicuously, launching into their first of many songs. Playing many songs from his latest The Lost and Found EP as well as his 2005 A Good Enough Day, Royal filled the Media Club with his romantic, melancholy ballads without his usual backing band. And was the show romantic! Couples lined the perimeter of the stage, as well as filling the rest of the venue, while Royal told of the songs inspired by his brother's wedding, his parents' love, his own love and that of his friend's grandparents. In one of the more poignant moments, he told the audience to never settle for less than the reverberating, lifelong love that they deserve, and for which he sings. These touching anecdotes were nicely interspersed in the song-heavy, banter-light set, which included hits "Juliet" and "Don't Fall Apart."
Royal invited Rose back on stage for 2 songs near the end of his set, and wrapped up with an extended, passionate "Acting Crazy (It's a Breakdown)." Before returning on stage for the encore, he seemed confounded by the presence of washrooms where backstage is supposed to be. The Media Club's backstage is actually at the back of the room, and he commented that he wasn't sure whether to enter the men or the women's washroom in order to get there. Matching Rose's incredible sense of humour, he poked fun at the men in the room by encouraging a final sing-along by saying "this is to show your sexual confidence," which of course, got a burst of laughter and the desired louder audience participation.
All in all, the show was a heartwarming experience, and concert goers exited the Media Club with muted smiles, holding their loved ones into the windy, rainy Vancouver night.
Toronto-based singer-songwriter Royal Wood is currently on a cross-Canada tour and will touch down on the west coast mid-November. He is being supported by Rose Cousins, who's currently promoting her new record named The Send Off.
Royal Wood has been compared to the likes of Ron Sexsmith, the Beatles to Rufus Wainwright, and is hailed for his prowess as a multi-instrumentalist, vocal styling and catchy lyrics. In his previous albums, Wood had enlisted the help of fellow artists such as Hawksley Workman, In-Flight Safetyand Valery Gore.
Rose Cousins, recently known for her vocals in Joel Plaskett's Polaris short-listed Three, is a well-established Atlantic Canadian singer-songwriter in her own right. With 5 albums under her belt, her warm and clear voice can also be found on albums of other Canadian artists like Jenn Grant, Old Man Leudecke, Matt Maysand Jill Barber.
If you're not completely convinced to go to the shows by these artists' accolades alone, take a listen to their respective albums streaming on their websites. Royal Wood here, and Rose Cousins here (player at bottom). You can also check out their Myspace: Royal Wood Rose Cousins
Here are the upcoming dates featuring both artists (links lead to Facebook events w/ ticket information):
HANNAH GEORGAS – FALL TOUR DATES
