Discography

This album was a departure because I made it entirely on my own in my basement studio and played all the parts. It was made in the spirit of albums like McCartney's first solo record McCartney and Springsteen's Nebraska, where the flash of fancy studios has been traded in for a homemade charm. I'm proud of it not only as a musician and songwriter but also as a DIY audio engineer with a love of old analog gear. This was the first time I had recorded and mixed one of my own albums and for better or for worse, it was satisfying to do it my way! Many of the songs were written in the last year since True Believer came out, but a few like Let Me Go Home, Oh Lexi and Dust On My Collar are older songs that got re-worked and finally saw a release on this record.

For True Believer I wanted to work with a producer and I ended up hooking up with the very talented Howie Beck. We hit it off well and had a great time making the record. Howie played the drums and most of the bass and I played all the guitars, some keys and percussion, and we brought in special guests for the fancy parts. We did most of it at Howie's house in Parkdale after laying down bed-tracks at Canterbury studios. I battled through my allergies to Howie's cat and I think we got a beautiful record out of it.

Ghost Notes is my first record in two-and-a-half years, and it marks somewhat of a turn away from making rock records, and towards embracing more folk, country and bluegrass influences on my singing and songwriting. The record is rooted in vintage rock and roll production values, but it dabbles with traditional elements in the way The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Dylan, Neil Young, Springsteen, Petty, Van Morrison and the Band do without ceasing to be acts that have aimed big and sought popular appeal. I produced the record myself with the help of engineer Ken Friesen at the legendary Bathouse studio in Bath, near Kingston, Ontario. Ghost Notes features a completely new line-up of musicians – namely Kieran Adams on drums (who had been drumming with me since 2006, Paul Mathew on bass, who I had played with in my other band Live Country Music, and Jesse O’Brien on piano and organ, who I had met years earlier in Hamilton. After the Canadian release, the album came out in Australia on the Code One label in September 2008, and is coming out in the U.S.A. in April 2009. It was also nominated for a 2009 Juno award for best solo roots/traditional recording.

Sweet Nothing was my official major-label debut. For the third time I chose to do it at the Rogue studio in Toronto. The incredible Marty Kinack produced this one and again, we had a great time doing it during one of the coldest Toronto winters in recent memory. Julian Brown and Joel Stouffer returned as the driving rhythm section, and former Local Rabbit turned singer-songwriter Peter Elkas contributed electric guitar on six tracks. This record featured my most amped-up rock to date as well as some of the most stripped-down tunes I’ve released. I wanted to mix styles a bit and make a well-rounded record with high highs and low lows. The first single “Soft One” got played a bunch on radio and still does from time to time. I toured across Canada several times with this record and got to tour for the first time in Europe after it was released by Rounder Records in Europe. Toronto artist Heather Goodchild designed the cover and booklet and did an amazing job with it.

The Story Of Your Life was an e.p. that was my first release on Warner. It was produced by Canadian indie-rock legend Ian McGettigan and it was a lot of fun to make. The songs make up my most energetic collection, leaning more towards power-pop than folk-rock. We recorded them at the Rogue again, with Julian Brown on bass, Joel Stouffer on drums and Paul Kolinski on guitar – the first lineup of The Union Dues. "We’re Gonna Play" had some success at radio and has gone on to be used in a variety of t.v. shows. The title track is my favourite.

Means and Ends was my first official record. I wrote the bulk of the songs while living in Hamilton, Ontario, doing my M.A. in philosophy. It was my first experience in a recording studio (discounting my stacks of home 4-track recordings), and my first time playing with serious backing musicians. Julian Brown played bass and Dean Stone played drums – together they play in the band Apostle of Hustle, but that band hadn’t yet released a record at the time. Julian has since played and recorded with Feist. I met Julian in Hamilton – he was also living there at the time and he became a musical sidekick of mine for several years, playing in my band and on the next two records. The sessions were quick and I had the arrangements pretty worked out ahead of time. One highlight was having the late Richard Bell play on a track. He played with Janis Joplin and the Band (in the 90s), and he added so much to the album. Means and Ends was well-received in the way only debut records can be, and it opened a lot of doors for me in my career. It led to a manager, a booking agent, a profile in the Toronto music scene and an indie-label (Paper Bag Records) that released it properly, with different artwork. It features my still most-requested song, "Cinnamon Hearts."