A Conversation with Dean Brody

Hello ACR readers!
Sarah here with a real treat! I had the chance to chat with Dean Brody this week and talk about the #RoadTrip tour, his new album, “Gypsy Road”, and his incredible foundation, and more!

This was a real privilege for me as this interview has been a goal of mine for many years, so I am happy to share this with you all! Enjoy!

DeanBrody_GypsyRoad_HiRes

SM: This is the epic Canadian country music tour – it brings so many types of country music fans together! Where did the idea for this awesome tour start?
DB: We had met back stage a few times at events. At some point the idea had been tossed out, just kind of in passing. We got to think about it, and we were like, “this could be a lot of fun!” So we got our agents and management to figure out if this was logistically possible, and they said that this was and they could definitely make it work, and have it be a really explosive tour. I think it probably took a year in the making, but here we are!

SM: How is the tour going, so far?
DB: It’s going great! We’re having a blast out here! The fans have been just amazing. Every night’s been a bit a big old party.

S: You’ve kind of got the dream trio right now with you, Paul Brandt and Jess Moskaluke on the first leg of the tour. Fans must be loving it!
D: Jess brings and incredible show every night. It’s something that is really unique to touring for our fans in Canada. Paul’s show is completely different that my show, and Jess’s show is completely different than ours. It’s kinda cool, the night goes fast. We have a blast. With everything I’ve heard from fans – they’ve been having an amazing time!

SM: Talking about “Gypsy Road”, for a minute, this album is truly what the title suggests. This album takes you on such a journey, lyrically, as well as musically. Was this your intention when you began writing the songs for the album?
DB: No, definitely not. When I sit down and write a record, especially the last few, I just write songs as they come, I don’t really think of them as a whole group of songs . I love writing and it’s hard for me to sit still, and hard for me to write in a template, and do the same thing twice. Looking back on this record, I think that’s why I ended up calling it, “Gypsy Road” because of that. It’s a really wild, and seemingly random journey.

SM: I read while researching for the interview you actually wrote “Upside Down” after getting inspired when you learned three chords on your daughter’s ukulele – It’s amazing how the sound of one instrument can not only inspire, but set the tone for an entire song.
DB: Yea, she was taking ukulele lessons, and she still is. So I got her to teach me a couple chords , so she brought our her chord chart, and taught me just enough chords to play a song. I actually wrote “Monterrey”and “Upside Down” on the ukulele. It is interesting how one sound can take you in a new direction.

SM: I gotta say, “Bring Down the House” is such an awesome song. It’s a different sound than what fans are used to hearing from you. What inspired the writing and arrangement of the song?
DB: Me, and the boys were in a club in Calgary one night called “Cowboys”. We had just done a show and we were invited to come out to the club by the owner. It had been probably 8 – 10 years since I’d been in Cowboys at that point and I realized then that there was a whole lot of EDM and Dance music happening in these country clubs now, but the demographic is still the same. There’s still all these country kids, and country folks in the bar, so I was like, “Man, this is crazy! These country folks can groove!” So I wrote this song with a country lyric, but with a metropolitan kind of feel.

SM: The country music genre is really changing and evolving from the traditional country sound to almost an “pop/hip-hop” inspired sound. As someone who started out in the business and still has that “traditional, story-teller” sound, are you concerned with this current movement in country music?
DB: There was a time when I was like, “What’s going on?! This isn’t what I signed up for!” It has completely changed, I mean it’s not even the same ballpark. But, that being said with what’s happened with the iTunes world, and with people buying singles from all different genres, what’s happened is its okay, and everybody’s comfortable with having an instrument that might traditionally be in pop or rock, be in the country genre. Also, in the pop world, now it’s not weird to do something with a little bit of a country sound. I think it’s a good thing now. It’s definitely not the country that I used to listen to growing up. Me and the guys were sitting in the dressing room after a show two nights ago listening to old Randy Travis songs, and Peter Davis at one point. We still have a huge love and appreciation for the old traditional style. Even when Randy Travis came out, people thought his music was progressive, and look at Randy now, you now go, “Oh, that’s really traditional!” So I mean, it just moves on and evolves, and I’ve had a lot of fun evolving with it, and being able to use a lot of other influences, and putting them against a country lyric backdrop.

SM: In terms of where you want head in your career and with your music and song writing, are you wanting to stay on the more traditional side of country, or would you say you’re okay with mixing things up, so to speak?
DB: I am definitely okay with mixing it up. I love traditional country, but I also just love music in general. I loved rock a lot when I was a kid. Country was something I got into when I was 14, or 15 years old through Dwight Yoakam. But before that, I was listening to AC/DC, and Guns n’ Roses, and Aerosmith, and Nirvana. To me, it’s an exciting time to be an artist and a songwriter. Because as a writer, I’ve always enjoyed writing different feels for stuff, with more of a reggae vibe, or something with more of a rock vibe, or something with a total country vibe. There are singles on the past records that are just too country, and won’t see the light of day at radio. I think of “Little Things about Us” from the last record. It’s one of my favourite songs I’ve ever written. But I know that the climate we’re in right now, it’s just not going to get played, and I want to play stuff that’s going to resonate with fans and they they’re going to connect with. I think about that a lot when I am writing stuff, because I don’t just want to write it for me, I want to write it for them.

SM: So you currently reside in Nova Scotia, which as a Maritimer, and Atlantic Canadian, I think is awesome! What prompted your decision to set up home there, having grown up in British Columbia?
DB: It was kind of on a whim, mostly. We were living in Nashville at the time, and I came head to head with my record label at the time, and was basically being forced to do something I felt was a compromise I wasn’t comfortable with, so I asked to be released form the label. When that happened, my sponsorship in the US went with it, so I was an illegal alien at that point. Then I had like, two days to get out of the country. So, I asked my wife where she wanted to go and she said she spent the last few summers in Nova Scotia, and I loved it. So I said, “Lets go!” and we found a beautiful Cape Cod on the South Shore for like $700 a month. Within a week she flew up, and we’ve been 5-6 years now.

SM: Do you think you’ll stay in Nova Scotia long-term?
DB: Yeah, I think so. This is the longest we’ve ever stayed in one place since this all started. I love the East coast, I love the people. You guys have been so hospitable to us. It feels good, and natural.

SM: After growing up in BC and spending several years in Nashville, did you find you had a bit of culture shock?
DB: Hahaha, no. Not after being in the US for 6 years. Anywhere in Canada was home again. We’ve got some amazing friends, and I’ve worked with some amazing people in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. I really love the culture. No shock at all, quite the opposite, actually.

SM: I always love to ask this question – when you first started to really get into music and song writing, who were your biggest influences?
DB: Nirvana, Aerosmith, ACDC and then Dwight Yoakam was by bridge to country music. Here’s this guy who was doing his own thing. He was not a “template” artist out of Nashville. He was just doing his own thing, which I thought was pretty cool. So I started listening to country more, and I realized that there were more artists kinda doing their own thing as well. There was a lyric I naturally related to because I was from the Country. It’s almost like I gave myself permission to enjoy country music at that point. Some of my friends were like, “Whaaat?!”

SM: Is there any one artist in particular you’d love the chance to collaborate with?
DB: Wow. Gordon Lightfoot would be amazing.

SM: The Dean Brody Foundation** is really something to admire in terms of what it’s all about. What inspired its beginnings?
DB: I read a book called, “Remember Me, Rescue Me” by a British author who spent seven years in Brazil just travelling the country to places like Rio and the Amazon. When I read this book, I was really blown away. I just couldn’t believe that what I was reading was actually happening. So, I contacted Matt, the author and asked if there was anything we could do, and he said yeah, of course. He’s seen lots of Brazilian nationals that were amazing people that wanted to work with him, and with the girls and try and help them, and had a concrete plan on how to address the problem. So within a year we started the foundation, and two years later we started the Brazilian branch, and now have an Australian and UK Branch now. Matt, the author is from the UK. It started with a phone call and two guys who had the heart to do something.

* *The Dean Brody Foundation, through fundraising and awareness, supports the work of grassroots organizations who share a passion to rescue and rehabilitate young girls who are victims of human trafficking and modern day slavery. They have a vision to help bring Hope, Healing and Justice to vulnerable and exploited girls around the world**

SM: Are there any upcoming projects/developments with the foundation?
DB: Yeah, we’re thinking of expanding to the Dominican Republic, and supporting an orphanage in the new year.

* Stay tuned to ACR as we will be following up regarding these developments, and will provide updates on how you can help!

SM: So the Road Trip tour ends in Halifax on the 24th of this month. Do you have any immediate plans after the tour, or are you just looking forward to relaxing at home with your family?
DB: Hahaha, yeah, once the tour’s finished I am definitely going to take a few weeks to do pretty much nothing, just relax and just take in being back home. Ya know, I’m so grateful for the road because well one, it’s fun and I get to be with the guys but secondly, absence makes the heart grow fonder and it’s so true. Sometimes you lose perspective of who and what you have at home, but when you’re on the road you can’t help but gain a new appreciation for family and home.

The Road Trip Tour, featuring Dean, Paul Brandt, and Whitney Rose, comes through Atlantic Canada later this month!  Here are some information regarding the dates, and how you can purchase tickets!

Oct. 21 Moncton, NB – Moncton Coliseum (Moncton tickets are $53.50-$63.50 (including tax and service charge) and are available at the Coliseum box office, by phone at 1-888-720-5600 and online at www.sonicconcerts.com.)

Oct. 23 Saint John, NB – Harbour Station (Saint John tickets are $51.50-$61.50 (including tax and service charge) and are available at the Harbour Station box office, by phone at 506-657-1234 (1-800-267-2800) and online at www.sonicconcerts.com.)

Oct. 24 Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre (Halifax tickets are $51.50-$61.50 (including tax and service charge) and are available at the Ticket Atlantic box office, all participating Atlantic Superstores, by phone at 902-451-1221 (1-877-451-1221) and online at www.sonicconcerts.com.)

*Additional fees may apply

*VIP tickets are available, but limited. You can purchase them at http://www.roadtriptour.ca/

If you would like to learn more about the Dean Brody Foundation, and help with their incredible cause, please visit their website. Stay tuned to ACR for updates on their upcoming project in the Dominican Republic in 2016!

Peace, Love and Music!

-Sarah

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